Snuggle Sesh

This morning started off slowly but with a bang.  I've never been a morning person, although I really really wanna be one, so I relish the opportunity to sleep in on the weekends.  The usual routine is Brew wakes me up about 8ish to go potty and eat, then we crawl back in bed for a "nap" until about 10. Not having to wake up to an alarm and snuggling with Brew are probably the two things I look forward to most on the weekends. 

Breakfast
Since I mistakenly cooked up a batch of slow oats last nights breakfast was easy.  I scooped out about a cup and half of oats into my bowl, topped it with lots 'o' frozen berries and a large dollop of peanut butter before I popped the mixture into the microwave to get nice and warm.  Once it was piping hot I stirred all the goodies together and added the final touch of some shaved coconut.  This meal was quite the treat!

My yummy (and filling) breakfast bowl

With a meal like that I had the energy I needed to tackle this mornings chores.  The kitchen was in need of some serious TLC and we had tons o' laundry to do.  I put on a good show and got to work. 

Workout
Today was YogaX day.  Its the workout I least look forward to completing, but MOST love having completed when I am done.  I love love love yoga but it is a real time commitment.  The YogaX dvd from P90X is just over an hour and a half start to finish.  It is a great workout but I was in the mood to see what ExerciseTV had to offer me on OnDemand.  I started out doing the Bethenny Frankel yoga thinking it was going to be 60 minutes, but the yoga portion only lasted 40 and then it turned into weights.  I wasn't feeling weights today so I found a nice 30 minute pilates routine to finish out my workout.

Lunch
I skipped right to lunch today because my breakfast was soo filling.  We had quite a bit of leftovers in the fridge and I was determined to put them to good use.  I heated up the remaining spaghetting squash noodles from Monday's lunch and last nights roasted brussel sprouts. I topped the mix with some marinara and a heaping scoop of ricotta cheese.  I stirred it all together and LOVED the way it tasted.  There was a great spice from the chili oil I roasted the brussel sprouts in and this meal most definitely hit the spot. 

mmmmmmmm tasty!

For dessert I polished off a no sugar added tapioca cup.  It was the perfect cherry on top of the meal. 

Its no surprise who else wanted in...

Afternoon happenings
Right after lunch I caught up on some blogs and then took a nap on the couch with Brew.  Have I mentioned how much I love snuggling with her??  Now I'm enjoying a beer while watching what I wish wasn't the end of March Madness (GO BUTLER!).  I'm thinking of heading out to the store to pick up supplies for some PB & Pretzel balls that I saw online.  Stay tuned for those....

I hope you're weekend has started off great!

Boring? No Way!

For my afternoon snack-turned lunch I had a big ol' helping of cottage cheese.  It may seem a bit boring to you, but I love me some cottage cheese and could eat buckets of it in one sitting.  I also enjoyed a strawberry acai jello.  This wasn't the most balanced meal, but it sure made me a happy camper.  

The reason it became my lunch??  I ended up having an off site meeting that kept me away all through lunch time. Not to fear, there was a going away party for a co-worker at 3:30 and I knew I could find some treats there to tide me over should hunger strike.  The party offered lots 'o good stuff - but I only mean good as far as taste, not in nutrition...  When celebration calls a girls gotta answer!  I had a lemon frosted cookie, a bag of garden salsa sun chips (could've been worse, right?), and the most delicious little brownie bite ever known to man.  All of these went undocumented because I ate them in record time :)
The real workout
Upon arriving home I got back on track!  The sun was still out and Brewer was ready for a run!  I had to pick up a couple things at the store for dinner, so I tucked my credit card in my running shorts and headed out for a very enjoyable 4 miler. 
Before I started cooking dinner, I wanted a lil something in my belly. I downed a glass of water and one of these.

Brewer wanted in on it too!

Dinner
I picked up what I needed from the store to whip up a spicy green curry meal.  I started cooking away and before too long I realized my cous cous was looking funny.  After closer look at the label I learned that I picked up slow cooking oats instead of a hearty topping for the curry.  Another oopsie poopsie :)  So when life gives you lemons (or you give yourself lemons) you quickly start a pot of rice [for the hunny] to eat with dinner and save the oats for a nice Saturday breakfast.

Rice vs. Slow cooked oats

Dinner was quite good, but lacked a bit of flavor.  I like my curry's to punch me in the face, and this was like a soft breeze.  I'll do some doctoring to it when I re-heat the left overs for my second go round.

Curry 'n Sprouts

Since we only had white rice on hand I ate my curry with a whole wheat tortilla and had a big helping of roasted brussel sprouts.

For dessert I discovered something I'd like to call heaven in a cup.  It was a fudge covered banana pudding cup.  I'm not a huge fan of banana flavored things, but this was, in one word.....WINNING.

So far, April is off to a pretty great start!  See ya in the morning :)

April ain't foolin' me!

Lots of exciting things have happened today!!

Workout (kinda)
The only thing that I haven't been a big fan of is that I woke up with some major shoulder pain.  When I told Jon about it, he jovially proclaimed that it was probably from all the post-its I put up last night.  I decided to take this morning off working out because I didn't want to aggravate my shoulder any further doing Core Synergistics from the P90X program, and also because the weatherman told us that we could expect some sun today and I LOVE running in the sun with Brew!  I think I'm not the only one, because I just read this adorable article on Melindas blog that talks about how great it is to run with your canine friends.

Running the Doggie Dash last year with my friend Collen, sister Ceressa and our pups!

The sun is just starting to show its face so I'm hoping it'll have around until I leave work.


Breakfast
That covered my workout (or lack thereof) now back to breakfast.  I once again enjoyed an egg/veggie scramble.  This topped I added some feta cheese and it was quite tasty and very filling.  This is quickly becoming my go-to breakfast.  Its quick, delish, and fast to make.

 A few hours after I digested this I was ready for a snack.  I tried a string cheese quesadilla that I learned from my trusty fellow blogger, Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers.  It was quite tasty, but I think next time I'd like to add some almonds or something to give it that extra punch!  As with all my string cheeses, this one too had a fun trivia fact:

Q: The signal from NASA's Voyager requires less energy than what common household appliance?
A: The Blow Dryer (GASP!)

 

Check out that oooey gooey goodness

When I read that post I thought how much I am killing our environment every time I blow dry my hair.  I don't think I'm willing to give it up yet, but I will do my part to make this world better.  Its green month here at Nike and they have quite the fantastic campaign going right now.  Check it out: Nike Better World

So inspiring!  On that note, I'm off!

Oopsie Poopsie

I'd like to title this post Oopsie Poopsie because I had a bit of an oopsie poopsie day in diet land yesterday.  It started off well enough: a workout, a veggie scramble, a fantastic lunch and eggs for a snack....then things went south.  I started craving something sweet.  I tried crystal light, I tried a piece of fruity gum, both to no avail.  I needed something better.  I know of a very convenient yet evil candy drawer in my coworkers office. I picked up a mini pack of peanut M&Ms and a fun size Snickers.  That curbed the sweet tooth, and I didn't even feel guilty afterward.  I mean, the whole reason I want to do this diet isn't to lose weight, its to become healthy.  Part of being healthy to me includes happiness and the amount of pleasure I get from enjoying little treats now and then is definitely worth the extra calories. 

Having said that, the derailing of the diet didn't stop there.  Some girlfriends at work and myself were getting ready to pull off the BEST April Fools Day prank in history but we had to wait for everyone to leave work before we could undertake the task.  They threw out the option of going to sushi and who I am to turn down my favorite meal ever.  I went with the best intentions.  I was planning on getting some miso soup, edamame and sashimi.  That didn't work out.  I am a sucker for sushi and especially eel.  So I indulged in my favorite treat: sushi rolls!

Eel sushi roll!

I have come to the realization that since I am not "dieting" to lost weight I can eat things that make me happy and are nutritious.  I am just going to be more aware of what I put in my mouth and the impact it has on my body.  For instance, this white rice in this roll gives my body the same reaction as if I had eaten straight sugar.  I know its not good for me and causes my insulin levels to spike, but I also know since I ate it with edamame and avocados and fish that the general glycemic index level for this meal was lower than if I had eaten the white rice alone.  This saved my body from crashing too hard and I had a delicious meal to boot!

The ULTIMATE PRANK
The fuel was just what I needed to undertake the best prank I've ever pulled, which took some serious attention to detail for about 3 1/2 hours.  The finished product was worth every minute!  Myself, along with two other girls decided to post-it note our managers office.  And not just a post-it or two... We used over 8200 :)

only half of the finished product last night

The whole office was abuzz about it this morning.  We were secretly giggling amongst ourselves :)

Some peeps checking out the work



Our manager posing amongst the madness!

So far, this day is off to a very good start!!