Ummm…

Hey!  How is it already thursday night?

Thought I should pop in and say hello!

This week has been a delicious one!  You know how some days you have all this inspiration to cook and other weeks it’s just a chore?  Sometimes nothing sounds good except take-out. :/ Truth.  This week I was filled with inspiration!  Of course a trip to the grocery store always helps there.

Look at this cute little onion!  I bought a whole bag of Vidalia onions, which are a little bit sweeter than regular onions.  And they don’t burn my eyes as bad!

Cute lil’ guy!

It’s been a good balance of gym time and healthy eats.  Always a winner in my book!

I eat eggs for breakfast pretty much every morning.  The last time I didn’t have eggs was when I went out for breakfast with Jer and had Belgian waffles.  Obviously.  Belgian waffles are my very favorite!  I want to get a waffle iron one of these days, but then I might eat waffles for every meal!

4 egg whites + 1 whole egg with ham and a sprinkle of colby-jack cheese

For lunch, I’ve been doing a ton of lettuce wraps.  They are just so bright and fresh, perfect for hot days.  Delicious, I assure you.

Lettuce wrap with ham, turkey, hummus and avocado.

a quarter of a very large acorn squash, plus two lettuce wraps with hummus and avocado. One with leftover tilapia and one with grilled chicken.

And hummus, in case you haven’t noticed has appeared in almost every meal.  I kind of got sick of it for a while but lately I can’t stop eating it.  

This won’t last a week

I did something incredibly smart when I got home from the store this week.  I chopped up all my raw veggies and put them into individual bags.  Now I have easy ready to go snacks!  I’m slow, but trainable.

Smarty pants!

 

This week’s dinner winner was fish tacos hands down!  I don’t know why I don’t make these more often, they are one of my favorites.

Tilapia cooked with taco seasoning, lettuce, salsa and freshly made guacamole. Yummm..

I ate three and I was stuffed.

 

But there’s always room for dessert!  Especially one that only takes about 30 seconds.

Quick peachy crumble!

Summer time always makes me think of peach cobbler, so I got the idea to make this really quickly in the microwave.

All you need is:

-cinnamon

-1/2 c. fresh or canned peaches in pear juice (I used canned since that’s what I had)

-1/2 c. granola

Layer most of the granola in the bottom of a small dish, top with peaches, the remaining granola and cinnamon.  Then microwave for 30-60 seconds. Tasty!

 

Last weekend I watched The Vow and it was one of the best chick flicks I’ve seen in a long time.  Sometimes they are too overly sticky sweet or just plain unrealistic (I was NOT a fan of Something Borrowed– why would she want to end up with such a sleezebag??)

Although the whole time I was wondering what was going on with Channing Tatum’s greasy slicked hair.  Does being trendy meaning not showering?  Not a fan, nope.  Still, if you haven’t seen it, be sure to check it out!

Have a good weekend!  It’s almost here!

Making habits

Have you ever noticed how tough it is to make a new habit stick, but how easy it is to break a habit??

Life is so unfair.  

I’ve been so bad about getting to the gym before noon lately.  It’s a little ridiculous.

Who are these people who naturally wake up at 6 or 7am?  Without an alarm clock?

My husband says that when I fall asleep, I fall into a coma.  That I remain motionless and in the exact same position all night.  I think that might be a little bit of an exaggeration.  But not much.

Waking up is so hard.  I can’t be the only one who thinks this?

Thank you Zooey, you get it.

So despite the fact that I’m a terrible morning person, this morning was surprisingly productive.  I cooked tons of meals for this week and portioned them out for myself.  This is a huge pain in the butt.  It really doesn’t take much time, but it’s the action of setting aside the time and actually doing it that seems to be the hard part.

I swear it is the easiest way to save myself when I just want to grab something quick.  Because let’s face it, not being in school has kept me pretty busy.

Not.

I’m bored.  When’s summer school start?  (Two weeks, if you really wanted to know.) Famous last words.

Please note: I do not think I came up with this idea.  Not in the slightest.  However, it’s still a good idea.  Try it sometime.

I’ve been reading a new book recently:  Divergent by Veronica Roth.

(source)

It’s pretty good.  It is a dystopian novel, like Hunger Games, which is why I figured I’d be interested in it.  I have to admit, at first I reeeally wanted it to be a continuation of Hunger Games which, of course, it isn’t.

But now that I’ve stuck with it, I’m actually really enjoying it.

Wanna see what I’ve been eating lately?

Sooo many egg whites. And a double fiber English muffin with strawberry jam. How did that get in there??

Sauteed spinach, egg whites, strawberries.

Sometimes salads are a hit or miss for me.  I choose bad combinations and find myself picking stuff out.  This one was a winner though!

Chopped salmon burger, romaine, spinach, grape tomatoes, green pepper, cucumber and feta with poppyseed dressing (not pictured).

This is my “berry” favorite new snack.  Hee, hee, hee.

Strawberries, plain Greek yogurt, drizzle of honey

Green smoothies never get old for me.  However, I couldn’t ever have one for a “meal”.

Spinach, pineapple, banana, water, milk, vanilla protein and flax.

And because woman cannot survive on chicken alone:

Al Fresco roasted pepper & asiago chicken sausage. Yum!

Chicken sausage sauteed with spinach and sweet onion. Plus half a sweet potato with a smear of smart balance and plenty of cinnamon.

Look how big Jax has gotten.  He’s all legs and ears.  And quite feisty.  Though very sweet at the same time.

Hit the ground running

Hi friends!  Good news!

I feel more like myself than I have the past few weeks.  Getting back in alignment and getting over being sick does wonders for appreciating health!  It’s no surprise how different elements of our health impact each other (mental, physical, spiritual, emotional) when one is out of balance!

This week, I hit the ground running (not literally, mind you) getting back into the gym and back into phase 2 of LiveFit.  There is something to be said about a nice 2 1/2 week hiatus, because I definitely felt energized and ready to work hard.  I definitely believe in the importance of rest weeks or days to give your body a chance to heal and rest.

Except, maybe the fact that the resuming week, everything gets sore very quickly.  Whoops.

As I was doing yard work this evening, (oh it never ends!!) I found my mind wandering the way it usually does when there’s too much silence.  I started thinking a lot about karma.

I actually think karma is kind of a hokie, hippie word.  It has a lot to do with your attitude:

It just boils down to being a nice and maybe letting go of things from time to time.  After all, we only have so many hours in each day, week, lifetime.  We can spend them doing and thinking positive things or doing and thinking negative things.

There’s also something to be said about how we deal with negative life experiences.  People aren’t perfect, despite our best expectations.  They hurt our feelings, snub us, make us mad, betray us, lie to us, disappoint us and leave us feeling defensive and maybe even insecure about ourselves.

How do we deal with these experiences?

Just think what this world would be like if we all were a little kinder.  If we smiled just a little more at each other.  If we gave each other compliments instead of criticism.

If we took things a little less personally, got a little less offended and took a second to consider that everyone has much more on their plate than it may seem.

I can’t control how others act, but I do have control over how I act.

Do I want to be known as a positive person or a negative one?

I know this post is a little sentimental, but it’s what’s been on my mind.

Now, who’s with me?

Peacefully,

p.s. None of these images are mine.  I got them all from pinterest.  Now you know.

Thursday Things

Yessss… time for a list.

1.  Those who follow me on Pinterest know that I have no life.  Or an addiction to Pinterest.  Quite possibly both.  I think my favorite thing on there are the quotes.

I’m pretty sure that I could write a post every week with all the quotes I love.  What’s your favorite quote?

2. At my very first chiropractic adjustment, I got the giggles.  Which I guess is my way of coping when I’m nervous (it could be worse right?) And I’m not talking about a little tee-hee here and there.  Oh no, I had full on belly laughs.  What the heck is wrong with me?!  However, it’s been two weeks since I started seeing a chiropractor and the relief is unbelievable.  I’m not cured, but I sure feel a lot better.

3.  Just when I was feeling ready to get back into the gym, I’ve come down with this horrible sinus infection.  Yuck.

4.  I have little (if I’m being honest) to no fear of public speaking, or large spiders.

But let me tell you: preparing to apply to nursing schools is TERRIFYING.  Yup, I fear failure.  Too bad fear doesn’t burn calories.  Or does it?

Except maybe heights… and ghosts.  I hate those slightly more.

5.  You know what’s kind of great about being a woman?  You can cry, at the drop of a hat, for no apparent reason at all, and it’s perfectly acceptable.  As long as you remember to mop up all the mascara afterwards.

6.  I could never meet a celebrity.  Never.  I would totally embarrass myself and giggle the whole time.  And either talk non-stop or stare at the floor.  But if I did, I would want to meet AnnaLynne McCord.  Am I the only one who thinks she is drop dead gorgeous?

Love her.

(source)

7.  With all this time being laid up, I’ve been painting my nails a lot more.  I’m kind of getting into the whole one nail painted different thing. Actually, I like it a lot!

 

I bought this bright coral a year ago, and never really got into it.  But now I think it’s my favorite color!

I love my wedding ring, I do.

 

8.  Eggs + spinach sauteed with smart balance and a little lemon juice has been my #1 breakfast lately.

 

9.  Has anyone had this before?  I’m curious what you thought of it.

I thought it tasted… very healthy.  And like grass.  I hope my body liked it.

10.  Strawberry season is upon us…  Which means the return of my favorite strawberry spinach salads!

Maybe I’ll have another one for lunch today.

 

Have a good one!

 

A-Z

Wow, you guys are terrific.  Thanks for all the love on my last post about whiplash. It means the world to me to have so much support!

A is for age: 26 years young!  (shhh… don’t tell anyone I’m officially in my late 20′s)  Apparently, I’m already losing my memory because I still tell people I’m 23 on occasion.  That is my favorite number after all.

B is for breakfast today: pumpkin spice protein pancakes!  I have no idea why I waited so long to get on this bandwagon.

C is for currently craving: Cheese pizza.  Lemon meringue pie.  Particularly this one.

D is for dinner tonight:  Yikes, I have no idea, and no food in the house.  Here’s what I had for dinner last night:

Rice pilaf, shrimp, broccoli

E is for favorite type of exercise: Weight training has become my number one!  I’m still a pilates lover though.

F is for an irrational fear: Car accidents.  ”Face germs” on my husband’s pillows.  Ticks *ew*

G is for gross food:  I’m not very easily grossed out.  Once I saw baby octopus salad, that looked pretty gross.

H is for hometown: I guess you could say Boise, ID since I’ve lived here the longest.  My dad was in the Air Force so I was born in Cheyenne, WY and then we lived in Albuquerque, NM for a while before moving here when I was 9.

I is for something important: My husband.  My dogs. My mom.

J is for current favorite jam: Strawberry!  Or pineapple peach.

K is for kids:  Zero.  But I want a couple in a few years.

L is for current location:  My kitchen counter.  Where much blog stuff happens.

Gee, I don't know if I've ever shown you my kitchen before.

M is for the most recent way you spent money:  bodybuilding.com  They are based out of Idaho and I support local!

N is for something you need:  A (spray) tan.  A new bikini.  And a beach.

O is for occupation:  Student.  CNA.

P is for pet peeve:  People who follow too close (seeing how I’ve been rear ended twice in a year).  When you are in the grocery store and a group of three or four thinks they need to take up the ENTIRE aisle.  Grrr…  When some people think they are “above” others.

Q is for a quote:  “I love you with all my butt.  I would say my heart, but my butt is bigger.”  Hee hee!

R is for random fact about you:  I love to paint.  Sadly, it’s been years but I hope to get set up in the office sometime.

S is for favorite healthy snack:  banana or Greek yogurt

T is for favorite treat:  Chocolate.  Or fro-yo. Or cheesecake.  But not together.

U is for something that makes you unique:  My mom is from Canada.  My dad is from Alabama.  Pretty sure I’ve yet to meet anyone with that family combo.

V is for favorite vegetable: sweet potato

W is for today’s workout: a walk with the doggies

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Well!  Before this month it was just my teeth. And even those are boring.  But now I’ve had my neck x-rayed.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Cleaning out the fridge/freezer and my cabinet under the bathroom sink.  Time to purge!

Z is for your time zone: Mountain time.  Holla!