Totally Bloggable

It feels as though I haven’t blogged in ages. Time has been flying (as I’ve mentioned), and I’ve been snuggling in bed the past few nights thinking, I really should have blogged today. Meh.

Sometimes, I feel like what I have to say might not really peak your interest, seeing as it can get a little monotonous or routine. For reals, who wants to read “I woke up, ate breakfast, walked, ran errands, ate lunch, ran errands, walked, made dinner, and chilled,” every day. Definitely not me.

Finally, after three days, I am confident that I’ve got enough interesting material that's totally bloggable. So, here goes:

Monday, we paid a visit to the flower lady and got a quote for the arrangements that I want for the wedding.

Road trip!

Happy Mommy

 I have to say that I really appreciate someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s so simple, yet so hard to come by. Needless to say, we’re probably going with her.

Monday’s food was rather exquisite:

Nutella on rice cake and nanners sprinkled with cinnamon.

Angle number two!

Deli-like lunch: grapefruit, GF bread with mayo and a slice of ham, and broccoli with homemade hummus

 I would like to take this moment to discuss Think Thin products. The kind people over at Think Thin sent me a large shipment of goodies the day before I shipped out, meaning my review abilities would be a bit hindered until getting settled. Since then, I've had the chance to taste several of the TT products and have a few different opinions to share.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about Think Thin. The company has created low- to no-sugar, gluten-free bars that are perfect for people with active lifestyles who are also trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. They have three types of bars: high protein bars, crunch bars, and bites.

So far, I have tried:

• Chunky peanut butter high protein bar
• White Chocolate high protein bar
• Chocolate Fudge high protein bar
• Caramel Chocolate dipped crunch bar
• Chocolate dipped mixed nuts crunch bar
• White chocolate dipped mixed nuts bar
• Cookies 'n cream bites

The first bar that I tried was the White Chocolate high protein bar, which, I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about. I felt like the consistency was a little chalky (as you might expect from a bar that has 20 g of protein!) and I couldn't really discern the flavor. Obviously, it was White Chocolate, but honestly, it just tasted like vanilla-ish whey protein powder attempting to taste like white chocolate. The Chunky peanut butter flavor was a huge improvement, but the texture still wasn't a seller for me. The major upside, however, is the fullness factor. Wow! One of these bars kapt me going for 4 hours. One bar. This is unheard of.

The cookie bites are basically miniature high protein bars, so I don't think much more explanation is needed there.

Personally, I like the crunch bars the best. Actually, I am in LOVE with the crunch bars. They are amazing and fantastic and tastey and wonderful. Yes, all of those adjectives are necessary... There are so many flavors in the crunch bars, each of which I can taste individually but go perfectly together. They are super high in protein (10 g) and have almost no sugar. Out of all of them, the caramel flavor really rocks my world. 

Flipping good stuff

Caramell-y delight

So there you have it folks. Think Thin in a nutshell. All in all, I think they are awesome. Thanks again Think Thin!

Tuesday was mostly comprised of errand running and the usual, not-bloggable stuff. One of my photographed meals was my lunch of leftovers. I should say, lunch of luscious leftovers, because the goulash was TO DIE FOR on day #2.

Leftover noodles and half-eaten soup. There was no waiting...

Honey-mustard chicken, roasted veggies, and salad

Today (Wednesday), my loving fiancé chauffeured my Moms, myself, and Mons on a shopping extravaganza. Much fun was had.

Much food was consumed:

Grapefruit, rice cake with egg, and rice cake with ham.

Snacktime: apple with a slice of cheese and rooibos tea

Mons spiffing up for our day on the town

Warming myself

Bottomless coffee=happiness

Happy couple

Mom's roasted tomato basil soup and grilled cheese

My ground beef-stuffed omelet and fries.

Miguel's Alabama chicken sandwich

Shoe heaven

Arguably the most awesome sunglasses in the mall

When we got home, after walking the mall for 4 hours, we still went for a 30-minute walk. Dedication, people. I could have probably used more after that colossal omelet, but that amount of exercise just wasn’t in the cards for any of us.

Upon arrive back home, Mumsy and I got straight to work on dinner, which I was not hungry for. However, knowing my ravenous appetite, I decided it wise to eat a rather large salad and an orange so as not to turn into a bottomless pit at around 9 PM. 

 Filled up on veggies and fruit, I spent the rest of my night watching Master Chef (which I am totally in love with) and helping Miguel get some paperwork done. He is in the process of finding a new team which always has us at the edge of our seats. Pretty soon, I’ll know where we’ll be living and what we’ll be doing. Until then, it’s anyone’s guess!  

Life is a Highway

During this blogging adventure that I have been on for the past 7 months (I can’t believe it’s been that long), I have realized a lot of things about myself. Having your life documented every day has definitely given me a new perspective on things.

One thing that has really stood out to me is the fact that my life is a constant ebb and flow. I don’t want to say up and down, because that implies happiness and sadness, which is not always the case. It’s just a waxing and waning of, well, life.

Let’s take food, for example. I felt like my food choices the past week had been mediocre, and that I was sometimes eating just to eat instead of eating to enjoy (an act I’m not very fond of). But on Sunday and Monday, I got back on track with my deliciously nutritious meals. Who says health has to be boring? Quite the contrary!!

Sunday eats:

Oatmeal with cooked apples and a spoonful of peanut butta on top.

Turkey pickle sammich with left-over roasted veggies. The sandwich= bomb diggity.

Chocolate peanut butter shake with greens.

 My first thought was, This is interesting... Second thoughts? None. I got over it.

Banana bread "cake."

 I used Better Batter's Yellow Cake mix to make this cake. It was so easy because I didn't have to worry about adding sugar or anything to the mixture. It was so light and fluffy, and oh-so-decadent. Here's what I did:

 Banana Bread "Cake"

• 4 bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix up all the ingredients and pour into a 11x9 grease baking dish. cook for 15 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil, turn the heat down to 325 and cook for another 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Voila! Enjoy!

Holy amazing. There is less than half the cake left. Special thanks to Better Batter for sending me their awesome GF mixes! I can't wait to try them all out!

French toast with strawbeezies OTS.

 It was clear that my eye was bigger than my stomach and I couldn't eat the last piece of toast. Luckily, Gigantor packed it away for me.

New favorite tea.

 Everyone who has tried  this tea agrees that it's basically liquid Red Hots. It's pretty much the most unbelievable thing ever.

Monday munchies:

Mexican Quinoa Egg Bake with a pear OTS.

Mexican Quinoa Egg Bake

Seriously, this one's so easy. Almost too easy for how delicious it is.

• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp salsa (plus more for the topping)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix quinoa, eggs, and tbsp of salsa and put the mixture into a greased (w/ olive oil) microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5-6 minutes, or until there is no more liquid on the surface. For those of you who are microwave-aphobics (like my mother), bake this at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Top with your favorite salsa and/or sour cream. Enjoy!

Tuna salad, GF crackers, sweet peppers, and a pickle.

Banana bread "cake." Yum-O!

Chicken salad beast: spinach, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, radish, red pepper, garbanzo beans, and a whole chicken breast topped with raspberry walnut vinaigrette. Exquisite.

Let’s discuss the home life. On both days, I’ve taken my nap outside in my bathing suit instead of inside under the covers. This Florida weather has been rocking my world as of late.

Lovin' the neck strain.

I'll never get over the gorgeous view.

Looking over my history in the blog world, another trait of mine that has come to my attention is how quickly I become unhappy when things aren’t on the up and up. I think the most important thing for me is to recognize the really great moments, but also acknowledge the “ho-hum” ones. Life can’t be perfect and wonderful all the time and you have to just be able to recognize, live in, and appreciate those awesome, warm, happy, joy-filled times when they come. (Here's the cheese and the cliché . Are you ready for it?) Instead of thinking about life as a roller coaster with ups and downs, I want to think of it as a winding road, if you will, with twists and turns (it makes me feel better). If life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long...

Let It Happen

Do you ever have one of those days where you have a long to-do list, and somehow, almost none of it gets done? Monday was one of those days for me. Only three out of about ten tasks were accomplished. Senioritis is taking hold, and I’m letting it happen.

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been more of a bottomless pit than usual. This morning, I had a rather filling breakfast.

Green drink smoothie and blueberry pancakes.

An upped food intake my trouble most people, but I’m just gonna let it happen.

Giving the pear some lovin'

Quinoa with spaghetti sauce and roasted butternut squash.

I was supposed to write a paper today, but instead, I donned my itsy-bitsy bikini and enjoyed the Florida sunshine.

At snack time, I munched on yet another blueberry pancake topped with a layer of cream cheese and a giant apple, which is not pictured… I’m getting lazy with the food photos, but I’m just letting it happen.

Another little task I had scheduled was watching a documentary (for class) after talking to my hubby-to-be. Instead, I felt sleepiness creep over me. I just let it happen.

When I woke up an hour later, I did a little yoga, one of the few productive activities of the day. I used this awesome video:

Right after my flexibility-slash-strengthening exercises, I ate yet again.

Broccoli and cauliflower with ranch and sweet potatoe with coconut oil and cinnamon.

For dessert, I had Earth Café’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” cheesecake. 

Cheesecake nestled in strawberry sauce.

So delicious. The consistency was the same as the blueberry flavored cheesecake. I really enjoyed the fact that it tasted like real strawberries instead of artificial flavoring. It had the same crunchy, nutty crust as the first two. What a treat! Thanks again, Earth Café! Blueberry is still my fave so far.

The rest of the night, I wasted more time, taking way too getting for the upcoming school day and sitting in front of the boob tube. This whole slacking thing might be a bad habit to get back into (Yes, back. This used to be routine for me), but I’m just gonna let it happen.