Sweet Day & Fun Plans
Hello there! No monkey business I have lots to share as always.
Yesterday we had a potluck lunch at work. It was Valentine’s themed so everyone was supposed to bring food that was red, pink, or purple. My food-minded brain started thinking of tons of different options: pink quinoa with Craisins, nuts, and apples, cupcakes with pink frosting, apple nachos….had a hard time deciding on one. But I did decide to go with the Apple Nachos. I got the idea from Pinterest but changed it up a bit.
It included sliced apples, melted peanut butter drizzled over top, and was topped with almond slices, walnut pieces, Craisins, and chocolate chips. This was a huge hit and it was so simple to make! This would be a huge crowd pleaser with kids as well.
At the meeting there was everything from beet salad, to pb and j sandwiches on pink bread, strawberries, red bell peppers, heart shaped egg salad sandwiches, pink and red M & M’s (which I had WAY too many of), pink cupcakes (also had one of those), meatballs, etc. We go all out at our work meetings. Lunch held me over very well.
I had another meeting from 5:30-7 and didn’t get home until about 7:30. This was waiting for me at home upon my arrival.
My favorite gummy treats, three amazing cards which were all so sweet (from Moose, Dana, and one from my mom too), and the gift in the pink bag was a bathrobe from Target that I have literally been eyeing up for the past year!
On the menu: Lightly pan-fried scallops and fresh Mahi-Mahi that Dana caught earlier today. 🙂 Ha ha, that would be great! Alongside were oven-roasted fennel and artichoke hearts. Everything was unbelievable. I even liked the fennel! It didn’t have much of a licorice taste like I was expecting, it took on a “roasted” flavor and I actually really enjoyed it. I couldn’t finish everything on my plate because I was filling up way too fast and I knew there was some really great dessert yet to come.
Dessert started with these adorable chocolate covered strawberries.
Second course of dessert was cookie dough ice cream and warm, fresh brownies.
The combination of cold ice cream and warm brownies, and the way the ice cream melts into the brownie and creates a fudge like brownie….I can’t even believe how amazing it is. I don’t get this treat very often, but when I do, you better watch out, I will put myself into a brownie and ice cream coma.
This picture does not describe the magnitude of my love for this dish. Once I finished this deliciousness, I felt like I had a boulder sitting in my stomach. I ate enough sugar today to last me through the whole month.
After dinner, we watched a great Valentine’s episode of Glee, and before we knew it it was 9:30 which means time to get ready for bed! I promise I am only 26 years old. I really need my sleep though.
Dana really pulled off an amazing Valentine’s Day. I told him “he won” this year for sure. Not that I really mean it’s a competition but he just put so much time into it and made it so unbelievable. The couple hours that I did have with Dana made up for me having to work until 7 last night.
Now, I have some major gummies to eat before lent begins next week!
One last note. Valentine’s Day holds an extra special place in my heart, because I remember my Grandma K who passed away 8 years ago on this day. She was able to join her husband in heaven on this special day devoted to love. She was an amazing, caring, funny, spitfire of a woman who will always be remembered.
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I mentioned previously that I had exciting events planned for the upcoming year. It’s share time.
- Trip to California to visit friends–next week!
- Get Lucky7k run on St. Patty’s Day
- A weeklong vacation to the Dominican Republic—end of April! We just booked this two nights ago!
- Race for the Cure with mom on Mother’s Day
- Boundary waters weekend trip in May
- Two half marathons in June
- Warrior Dash at the end of June
- Long weekend trip to visit my brother in Bogota later summer, early fall
I’m probably forgetting a few things in there! In between those events are birthdays, baby showers, weddings, fun sun time, hopefully a garage sale….and more. It is going to be a great year! I am so pumped for it all! I’m off to get ready for work and maybe going to throw something in the crockpot? We will see. Have a great day! Happy Wednesday.
Tie Up Loose Ends
We made it through Tuesday!
After work today Dana ran some errands including a trip to Mall of America to try to find a backing to my iPhone. Apparently I am kind of picky about my phone accessories because I didn’t find one cover I liked in all of the M.O.A.! The trip was not a total flop though because we decided to get some frozen yogurt at Freeziac  which is self-serve frozen yogurt shop. We don’t have many of these in Minnesota, at least around where I live, so this is a big deal for us and a very special treat.
Yellow cake batter frozen yogurt with cookie dough, brownie, heath bar, chocolate chips, M & Ms (for color of course), a little bit of hot fudge, one pink gummy bear, and a cherry on top to seal the deal. This was heaven in a cup. This will be in my heaven except all the calories will have been removed so I can eat twice as much and not have to buy new pants. Good thing Dana and I were walking around the mall while eating this so we were actually burning calories while eating. Ha ha I know I’m funny. 🙂
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Dinner was one of my favorite salads: The Southwest Salad <——–Check out the recipe!
That is one good-looking salad if you ask me! I covered the fruit and veggie food group, protein food group, dairy food group, and even have some healthy fats in there with the avocado in this meal. I believe I’m just missing my whole grains. I had plenty of those earlier today though. I dare you to check this recipe out and try it at home. It’s a crowd pleaser.
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Remember a little while back when I mentioned I bought a new face moisturizer? Well it’s review time. Product:Â Aveeno Active Naturals Smart Essentials.
To those who may have missed it, I was looking for a moisturizer to help hydrate my extremely dry face, especially in my t-zone area. I have been using this stuff for a week and a half and I really feel it is making a difference. I am using it every night after I clean my face and in the morning I use just a little bit on my t-zone along with my daily moisturizer (Neutrogena Daily Moisturizer SPF 15). I no longer have dry skin and I feel like my skin looks more radiant. I would recommend it to anyone experiencing dry winter skin.
That was loose end #1 I wanted to tie up. Loose end #2 is my Home-made Tomato Soup Recipe! This was my first time ever making home-made tomato soup, and I was a little skeptical as to how it would turn out. It actually turned out really well. I even added a secret ingredient which helps create a creamy consistency (it’s pumpkin puree) without adding any dairy products. Not a secret anymore is it?
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 Tablespoon garlic
- 1-32 ounce container low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- cooking spray
Directions
- In large soup pot coated with cooking spray, saute onion until translucent; add garlic and continue sauteing for 30 more seconds.
- Add broth, pumpkin, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and dried basil; stir.
- Bring to a boil; cover and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in basil.
- Use immersion blender to puree soup to smooth.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with crackers, shredded cheese, grilled cheese, fresh basil, tortilla chips or eat plain. I hope you like it as much as I did.
I am realizing that this post was all over the place. I guess that’s just how my mind works!
I am off to continue learning about my new phone while sipping on a mug o’ tea. Good night my friends!
A big accomplishment
I’m going to keep this short and sweet. My computer is being completely slow and not acting normal at all. Dana was working on it all evening but no such luck. I still can’t transfer photos from our camera to my computer which is super annoying. Anyway, enough of that rant. Womp womppppp.
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Lunch was identical to yesterday. I am really loving the pb banana wraps lately. I will try and branch out again soon to keep things interesting. Maybe.
I had a major accomplishment at work today. I resisted cupcakes. That doesn’t happen very often but I am trying to cut back on the excessive sugar because I have become slightly addicted to the sweet goodness of sugar and want to regain control over my sweet tooth. Plus they weren’t homemade so  I had an easier time saying no. 🙂
After work I headed to the gym and ran/walked for 15 minutes on the treadmill, ellipticaled(??!) for 10 minutes, headed to the weights to work on triceps and chest, hopped back on the treadmill to walk it off for 5 more minutes. Then to the mats to work on some abs with the 6 lb medicine ball. Some days I challenge myself with the 8 lb-er and I’m thinking I should really start doing that more often than the 6 lb ball.
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Dinner tonight involved no chopping, cooking, or cleaning. Only a trip down the road to Subway. Dana and I split a $5 footlong. Did you know it’s FebruAny and you can get any foot long sub for FIVE DOLLARS? What a steal, right? We got turkey on 9-grain honey oat bread, pepper jack cheese, loaded veggies, and honey mustard sauce. Dana got wasabi sauce on his half which is a little too spicy for me. Dinner really hit the spot and it was a nice break from the norm.
Like I said, I’m going to keep this short and sweet. I am so frustrated with my computer I can just feel my blood pressure rising. I’m hoping to be back up and running soon. I will keep posting as often as I can. Keep readin!
Hope everyone had a great Wednesday!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Love
I am so happy today is Wednesday. I really like Wednesdays because it’s halfway through the work week  and especially like today because my wonderful co-worker brought me home-made chocolate chip cookies that were to die for (you are the best). Thanks for the nice surprise!
Breakfast
My day started with a favorite but with a little extra jazz. A perfectly ripe banana topped with slightly warmed peanut butter, sprinkle of cinnamon, and chia seeds. It was so so tasty and did a great job of holding me over until lunch which is a good thing because work was VERY busy.
Quick morning snap shot before heading out the door….
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Lunch
I decided to head home for lunch which I have been doing more often than I ever used to. I used to run errands on break but instead of going to spend money, I am going home. Plus, I love not having to pack a lunch every day. I have a hard time knowing what I’m going to be in the mood for until the time comes to eat! Ya know?
Today’s lunch looks a lot like last night’s dinner except in a bowl, and I added some bright banana peppers on top. It was so delicious. I also had a couple of Pepperidge Farms Cheese Chips then finished off lunch with a dark chocolate Adora disk and another bite of peanut butter.
I gave Moose a kiss, then headed back to work to finish off the afternoon.
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Dinner
Driving home from work I felt so hungry, but couldn’t decide exactly what I wanted for dinner. I had a feeling it was going to be a snacky kind of dinner, and I was right. I started off with some carrots.
Then moved on to some protein. Hot pinto beans with BBQ sauce (I’m in a BBQ sauce kick apparently) and a sprinkle of onion powder.
A Wasa hearty grain cracker with a Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese wedge.
The last of my chocolate chip cookie gift.
And that’s when I stopped taking pictures of my snacks/dinner. I continued on to have some almonds and dates. I will probably have another snack before bed because that’s just the kind of mood I am in and have a bottomless pit stomach today. Off to stretch the legs a little while on the treadmill and then call it an early night hopefully!
Buenos noches amigos!
My Fam Bam
Happy Hump Day!
I am so glad we are more than halfway through the work week. Anyone else super tired today or was it just me?Â
I had a pretty boring day of eats today. I wasn’t hungry for breakfast this morning which honestly does not happen to me, ever. I ate an energy bite which is made of dates, almonds, peanuts, cocoa powder, and Craisins (I’ll be getting you this recipe eventually) and headed out the door with my coffee. I did get an appetite a couple of hours later and had packed some dry cereal and a clementine.
Lunch was the exact same as yesterday. I told you it was boring! Whole wheat tortilla with natural peanut butter, carrots, apple, banana, and another energy bite. I actually went home for lunch and walked on the treadmill for twenty minutes to try to wake myself up/warm myself up. Unfortunately it didn’t do either but I at least got a little activity in! I generally like to do my workouts before work in the morning but just couldn’t get myself out of bed after a bad night of sleep.
I snacked on some Snyder’s Natural Potato Chips while we reheated some leftover black bean mushroom chili (recipe revised slightly from this recipe from eatingwell.com). We topped it with shredder cheddar cheese and cilantro and called it a dinner! I also had a side of broccoli with some asian sesame dressing.
Then for dessert….
Micky D’s for some vanilla soft-serve! The snow and freezing cold weather won’t stop us from our ice cream. It was the best thing I ate all day! The chili was actually really good too. I will have to get you that recipe too!Â
A brief introduction to my wonderful family
Left to right: Brother Scott, Mom Kathy, Me, Dad Tom, Brother Jeff, and Brother Kevin
I am the baby girl of the family with three older brothers. I love my family like crazy. They mean the world to me. You’ll be hearing about them more in the future, just wanted to give you a quick intro. =)
Hope you all had a great day. Off to get a couple of things done around the house! Good night!
