Last Things Thursday – 1/24/13

1. Last food you ate:

Fish tacos.  Whole wheat tortillas, broiled tilapia, broccoli slaw, cheese, salsa and jalapenos.  YUM!!

(Totally should have taken a picture of those!!!)

2. Last beverage you drank:

Water.  And lots of it!

3. Last workout:

Yesterday’s 100 burpee workout.

4. Last thing you pinned:

This is awesome.  Especially considering I had a Tall Vanilla Spice Latte (skinny) this morning.

5. Last text message you sent:

Hubby was at the grocery store today.  Asked me to guess how much he spent.  My response:  “$99 no beer or $114 with beer.”  He said “With, of course.”  The total was $117.  So I was within $3.  I asked him what I got for being so close.  He didn’t respond.

6. Last blog you visited:

My Elf friend, Claire, in the UK:  http://flakeandcake.wordpress.com/

7. Last place you visited:

Besides work, I went to Trader Joe’s yesterday.

8. Last show you watched:

Big Bang Theory, of course.  🙂

9. Last thing you baked:

Bite Size Apple Pies.  So easy and everyone loved them!!

source:  bettercookies.wordpress.com

10. Last photo you Instagrammed:

A sunset, of course.  In fact, every night this week there’s been an amazing display of color in the sky.

What I Ate Wednesday – 12/5/12

Wow is it really Wednesday again so soon??  Which, as I’m sure you may have figured out already, is one of my favorite days.  Not only is it Hump Day, but it’s also What I Ate Wednesday Day.  So I have to give a quick shout out to Jenn at Peas and Crayons and say thanks for the fun linkup.

And I’m loving that new holiday banner!

Confession time:  I have a new favorite.  Move over Kale Protein Shakes, there’s a new breakfast in town.  Egg sandwiches.  And this is coming from a girl who never really cared for egg much the first 30 years of her life.  Now I love them.  Can’t get enough.  And if I ever did eat scrambled eggs before, you better not dare put anything in them.  Now I love omelettes.  Bring on the veggies!!  Crazy, huh?  It’s so strange how your tastes change.

So that’s an egg with spinach on a whole wheat English muffin (except Trader Joe’s calls it a British muffin – LOL).

But, the piece de resistance (said in my best French accent) is the Red Pepper Jelly.  Yes, I said Red Pepper Jelly.  (By who else, but Trader Joe’s, of course!!)  It was amazing!!!

Outfit of the Day

Here’s my #ootd pic I posted on Instagram with the hash tag “all dressed up and no where to go”.  I didn’t have any meetings scheduled, just sat at my desk and worked all day.  Well, not the whole day – I went for a run at lunchtime!!  🙂

pre-run snack

Yep – I ran on my lunch hour!!  Go me!  I felt I had to take advantage of this gorgeous weather we’re having in December.

Lakeshore Park

I’m getting pretty good at this running on my lunch hour thing!!  I can change clothes, get over to the park, run for 45 minutes, get changed again and back at my desk in just under 70 minutes.  I’d say that’s pretty good!

Post-run lunch

Let me first say that I bought this yogurt without even looking at the nutritional information.  I’ve never seen pumpkin-flavored yogurt before, and since it was Trader Joe’s brand, I knew I would love it.  So it’s way high in sugar content.  (But hey – I figured I just ran 4 miles, I kinda deserved it).  It’s also really high in protein (score!!).  And it was deeee-freaking-licious!!!  The only thing missing was a little granola crumbled on top.  Pumpkin flavored granola, at that!!

We have carrier reps sending us all kinds of crap during the holidays.  This time of year our counters are full of donuts and cookies and you name it, it’s probably there.  Rarely do they ever send the healthy baskets.  Anyway, there were these cute little caramel candies.  I couldn’t resist trying one.  (While you see there a picture of 4 caramels, I promise you – I only had one!  Which one do you think I tried first??  The espresso, of course!!)

For dinner, we originally made plans to go to a local place called the Stir Fry Cafe.  I have one of those Groupon deals I bought where you pay $10 for $20 worth of food.  (Love Groupon)!  Anyway, once we pulled out the printed certificate we realized that there is a restriction – you can’t use the deal on Wednesday nights for Half Price Sushi night.  Bummer.  Well, I already had it in my head that I wanted sushi.  So, by darn I was getting sushi.  Even if I had to pay full price for the half price sushi.  lol

I have to apologize … these pictures are horrible.  It’s really dark in the restaurant and the camera on my phone has been acting up lately and not wanting to focus.

I started with an appetizer of 3 Thai spring rolls. The kids loved them!

Here’s a funny story – as soon as we got home from school, my 7-year old ran upstairs to put his jammies on without me realizing.  When he came back down, I told him he needed to change back into his school clothes because we were going out to dinner.  He gives me this big huff and asks “Why?”  My response was “just because”.  (Mostly the answer was because the fridge was bare and the only other option was to go to the grocery store, which I didn’t want to do because I didn’t have my list or my coupons ready – but I didn’t tell him all this).  He asked me who we were meeting at the restaurant.  I said no one, it was just us.  He looks all puzzled and asks, “Then why are we going?”  I guess he didn’t think we could go just the 4 of us.  We rarely go out unless it’s a special occassion and we’re celebrating a birthday or something.  Kids are funny.

The hubs ordered fish tacos, of course.  I think we’ve tried them at almost every restaurant in town.  And Marlin and Rays still wins hands down!!

The White Diamond and Red Dragon rolls

There’s another local place called Nama, which to me is the standard by which all sushi should be judged.  Nama has the BEST sushi I have ever had.  While these rolls were good, they weren’t Nama-good.  And now that I’ve had mid-grade sushi a few times in the last couple of weeks, I think I’ll be making a trip to Nama soon so I can remember what the gold standard tastes like.  (Get the Soy Joy if you go)!!

So that was what I ate Wednesday!  Now head over to Peas and Crayons to see what everyone else ate on Wednesday.  🙂

What I Ate Wednesday – 10/17/12

As always, thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting the What I Ate Wednesday series.  I don’t know how ‘Spooky’ my food was, but I tried to keep it festive.

morning fog

For the last week I’ve been driving 30 minutes to a client’s office for meetings.  This morning, I thought it would be nice to sip on some pumpkin cappuccino on the way there!

I almost never stop for cappuccino anymore, but it’s really hard to resist when the local convenience store brings out the Pumpkin Spice flavor.  I just wish there was a sugar free option.

Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino

The hubby had made us the usual kale shakes before he left, but mine was in the freezer for a while.  So I left it in my car to thaw while I was in the meetings.  I ended up drinking it on the way back to the office around 11am.  (Sorry no pic)

I packed a few healthy snacks to eat at my desk and while in training.  We are getting this whole new system at work so everyone must get trained on it.  This is the absolutely worst possible time to try to change systems.  This is our busiest time of year.  Isn’t that how it always goes though?  Why try to make it easy on us??

The salad I brought from home

I was so glad when the day was over!  I headed over to my favorite track to do a 2.1 mile loop.  It was a gorgeous day!

When I got home, we enjoyed some leftover soup.  I meant to take a picture of it, but I was so hungry I forgot.  We call it Dump Soup because it is different every time, and you basically just dump in whatever meats/ veggies are on hand.  This time it was chicken, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, corn, and beans.  It was so yummy!

But, I did take a picture of these wraps we had with our fish tacos the night before….

If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, I highly recommend these wraps!  They went PERFECTLY with a piece of grilled fish, slaw, avocado and sauce inside!!  I’ll have to take a pic of the final product when we make it again next week!!

I’ll leave you with a picture of the gorgeous sunset from the night before.  This was taken just off my back deck.

And that is what I ate Wednesday.

Question of the Day:  What did YOU eat Wednesday???

Weekend Recap: Music and Rest

First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who posted with their own homemade remedies on Friday!  I’m not sure what worked, but I am feeling better now.  I had planned on taking it easy all weekend.  But then I found out that a band I really like was playing a free concert in Market Square!!  I couldn’t pass it up.  These guys aren’t in Knoxville very often and I didn’t want to miss it.

We were first introduced to The Delta Saints in February when they opened for our beloved Dirty Guv’nahs.  They were really good, so we downloaded a few tracks and started following them.

My favorite song is the brand new one, Liar.  The album hasn’t even been released yet.  But you can get a FREE download from their website HERE.

Other really good songs are: Swamp Groove and Momma and Bird Called Angola.  Check out their You Tube channel – they can jam!!

Me with the Delta Saints, minus one

We love to listen to LIVE music.  As you might recall, we saw The Dirty Guv’nahs in Market Square not too long ago.

Brooklyn Octoberfest

There were still 2 more bands to play after them, so we headed over to Blue Coast Burrito for some grub.  We sat outsite while we listened to the second band.  It was freezing!!  Good thing I had beer and hot salsa to keep me warm!!

We ordered the fish tacos, but I didn’t take a picture of them.  They were super disappointing.  Kinda soggy and wrapped in not one, but two corn tortillas.  I think Marlin & Rays still has the best fish tacos around!!

That was Saturday.  Despite my fatigue, I am soooo glad we went!!

I didn’t do too much on Sunday, I tried to take it easy and rest up for a busy work week ahead.  Although, I did manage to get a brisk walk through the neighborhood in.  It was super cold.  Okay, it was like 55 degrees.  But for this summer girl, I’m never ready for the first cold snap.  55 felt like winter!  Brrrrr.

Bring summer back!!

I’ll leave you with a sunset pic from the weeekend!  That is unretouched.  And, taken from my crappy phone!!

Have a great week, everyone!!  🙂

Birthday Funday

Today is my birthday.  I won’t tell you what number it is because at this point in my life, I would prefer to stop counting.  I subscribe to the old adage ‘Age is just a number’ and ‘You’re only as old as you feel’.  Sometimes, though, I’ll tell you – the kids make me feel so much older.

I was surprised with a banner, dinner, and presents when I got home from work yesterday.

Yay!  I love opening presents.  Do you see that black ball??  I’ve been wanting a Medicine Ball for so long now.  I am so excited!!

And my son made me some sweet cards.  On the inside of one, he drew me a sunset.  He said, “because you love sunsets.”  How sweet he is!

The hubs handed me a new beer to try.  I love Shock Top, I love wheat beer, and I love Pumpkin!  He did good.  It could have been a little more pumpkin-y, but it was really good.

Then he grilled us some fish and veggies, the makings of fish tacos!!  See that grill pan?  That was one of my birthday presents.  I’m not sure how much it was really for me.  He’s the griller.  I think he bought himself a present and wrapped it up and gave it to me.  But that’s fine.  I’m the eater.  So if he’s grilling, then I’m benefiting!  🙂

Fish tacos have become my new favorite thing!!

He attempted to make me a “healthy” pumpkin cake with almond flour.  He says it didn’t turn out well.  I say it was delicious!!!

I took the day off today so I could pack, get a few things done, and get pampered at the spa.  I also had a killer workout.

That felt good.  I haven’t been as disciplined with my workouts lately as I should be.  I’ve been feeling a little ‘soft’.  So I needed this workout.  Those wall sits are going to hurt tomorrow!!!

That’s the hill I was sprinting.  From stop sign to stop sign.  I wish I had worn my heart rate monitor.  My heart was about to beat out of my chest on that fifth sprint.

I was so excited to use my new medicine ball for the ball slams!  That box jump-ball slam combination also spiked my heart rate quickly, even though I completed it in under 5 mintues.

After my facial, I came home and made a Low-Carb wrap.  There’s grilled chicken, cheese, hard boiled egg, grape tomatoes, fresh jalapenos, and greens topped with some wing sauce.  All on a 90-calorie Flat Out.  Yum!!

The birthday is not over yet.  We will do lots more celebrating this weekend.  Stay tuned for the Weekend Recap with lots of exciting photos.

Also, I wanted to say a quick Happy Birthday to my first foodie pen pal, Stephanie at My Freckled Life.  Other than Bill Murray and Nicole Richie, I’ve never known anyone else who shares my birthday with me!

Question of the Day:  How do you pamper yourself on your birthday??

Randomness

I just have a few random things to share with you…

#1 – I always like to check out my blog stats.  I like seeing where my readers live, but more impotantly, what brought them to my blog.   Yesterday, there were a few different search engines that directed traffic my way.  Although, what’s disturbing is one of the search terms was “I’m giving up on life quotes”.  Is that really something that someone does a Google search on??  And I’m baffled as to why MY blog would come up if you’re giving up on life.  I would hope my blog does just the opposite.  I would hope that my blog motivates or inspires you to create the life you want.  Because that is what I am doing.

#2 – Our first Trader Joe’s just opened in my town this weekend.  If it’s possible to be in love with a grocery store, I am.  It’s only been open for 6 days and I’ve already been there three times!  I should have taken a picture right after my shopping trips because as soon as I came home with some of this stuff, it was gone immediately.  Here’s a pic of what’s left from my haul:

Their organic produce selection is good, but best of all, the prices are very reasonable.  Starting from the left, I found this interesting little seaweed snack.  What you can’t tell from the picture is that it’s wasabi flavor!  YUM!!  They are thin like tissue paper with a slight crunch, but a wonderful hot wasabi flavor.  They are just weird enough that I keep popping them in my mouth.  The package says they are good on salads, so I’m going to try that tomorrow.  Fig butter, need I say more??  I love all things fig!

The BEST thing that I’ve found so far is the Thai Chili Lime Cashews.  The flavor is awesome and there is just enough heat to make this girl happy!

Those fresh jalapenos are probably the HOTTEST jalapenos I’ve ever eaten!!  We’ve bought jalapenos from the farmer’s market all summer.  They were sweet and tasty, but never hot.  So my hubby got quite a surprise when he took a big bite out of one.  He was just about to cut them up to make these cream cheese filled jalapenos for a quick appetizer.

Jalapeno poppers with cream cheese and olives

I also bought a few things for my foodie pen pal, but I didn’t put them in my picture.  You’ll just have to wait til the end of the month and read her blog to see what she got!  🙂

#3 – New Favorite Place.  On Saturday night, the hubs and I were able to sneak away for a couple of hours to have a date night while his dad watched the kids.  We discovered this new little place called Marlin & Rays.  They have THE BEST happy hour specials!  If you sit at the bar, the fish tacos and the beers are $2 each.  Or your can upgrade your beer to a Large for $0.99.  Yes, please!

I also tried the steamed mussels just for fun.  I’d never had them before and a plate was only $2.  Why not?  Well, now I know why not.  Ick.  I finally found a food I do not like.

Anyways, if you have a Marlin & Rays near you, I highly recommend it!  The grilled fish tacos are really good!!

#4 – I couldn’t help but post a few pics from the sunset the other night.  These photos have not even been retouched.

No photoshop necessary

That’s off my back deck.  Then, the very next night we watched a storm roll in…..

That’s all.  I’m done being random now.