Veganism came to me pretty easily today! My morning started with a Green Monster (1 banana, 1 cup almond milk, 2 cups spinach, 1 Tbsp. pb) and a homemade granola bar on the side. (My first time trying them, and they are great! So chewy and banana-y, hehe

After breakfast I ran a few errands, including the dreaded recycling center. Jason and I live outside of city limits, so we have to take our own recycling down to the dump every two weeks or so. We have these hugs crates that we keep outside so we can keep the cans, plastic bottles and paper products separate. When we go down there, we have to carry the crates to each recycling collector. It’s so tiring. But at least we are doing our part for the environment

My breakfast kept me full for about 4 hours, and when 12 p.m. came around I was ready for lunch!

BBQ tofu sandwich with spinach, spicy mustard, cucumber and tomato. Along with a salad on the side.

And homemade vegan cookies for dessert! (2, to be exact )

Trixie and I took off for an afternoon walk through the woods and to the other side of the neighborhood. We came across a few deer hunters while going through the woods Boo hunting! Oh-and I’m glad I was wearing bright clothes! Why do they have to hunt by our house? Can’t they go somewhere else?! I don’t want any animals being harmed in my back yard Run, deer, run!

I walked Trixie back home and headed over to “the shop” (Jason’s work) to do a little paperwork for his grandpa.

I’m kind of peeved with myself.  This morning I had every intention of driving to Charlotte for a hot yoga session at Y2Yoga. Then my errands ran kind of late and I didn’t make it. So then I wanted to go running, but I don’t really have winter-friendly running clothes. The thought of running on a treadmill is ughhhhhhhh. Strength training was done yesterday, so I’m not planning on working my upper body until tomorrow. What does this leave me with?!

 I need yoga. Hot, sweaty yoga. I’ve got it! I’ll go to the gym tonight and tomorrow morning I’ll hop on yogadownloads.com and buy a 40 minute power session. There, problem solved

Sorry to put you through all that drama! Anyway, moving on:

Afternoon snack was homemade (aren’t you loving all of this “homemade” talk!!) hummus, baked wheat thins and celery.

Speaking of exercising, what are you guys listening to right now? What are your latest music downloads? I’m looking for some new tunes! GLEE is overtaking my IPOD Love that show.

Dinner was fun (and vegan!)! Jason requested taco salad and of course, I agreed. It’s made with romaine lettuce, black beans, corn, salsa,vegan pepperjack cheese and avocado. Blue corn tortilla chips on the side nom nom nom.

*I screwed up — the “vegan” cheese I bought contains casein, which is an animal by-product   That sucks! But I can’t throw it out because that would be a huge waste, but rest assure that I will not buy it again. There are a few other stores that I think might sale actual vegan cheese, and I’m gonna check’em out this weekend and keep you guys updated!*

 Meanwhile, I will sneak this stuff into Jason’s food as much as possible just to get rid of it faster! Haha. Just kidding maybe

Dessert after dinner was……drumroll please……another cookie! Imagine that!

Only 3 more days of my vegan trial left. What do you think the outcome will be? I’m already planning the recap in my head. So much to tell you guys about what’s changed and what hasn’t

Well, I’d better get off of here! I promised Jason that I would play Black Ops with him. It’s a game where you kill zombies and throw grenades and what-not. Fun stuff, I tell ya. I leave you with a pic of me caught in total dork mode:

Me in all of my dorkdom. Nighty night, loves!

It’s been a busy, but fun weekend! Jason and I started our weekend by having a date night on Friday.

(Is it possible to look cute while chomping on a tortilla chip that’s almost as big as your face? Probably not. But I can still try!)

–the handsome date–

Just look at that game face. I’m about to DESTROY that froyo fo’ sho’.

After our date, we traveled back home to lounge on the couch and watch a few episodes of LOST, Season 6. This is our first time seeing it! The only thing I don’t like about the “last seasons” of any show, is that the writers feel the need to fill us in on everything we already know! Some of the episodes have been cheesy and mushy. Like, why reiterate Sayid’s love for Nadia? We already know they love each other! LOL, I guess I’m just impatient. I just assume the people who are sitting down to watch the last season have already seen the other seasons too! I digress

Saturday morning we woke up in a fog. Er, I mean to a fog

We may have had some sleepy morning weather, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been sleeping well! For some reason, these past few nights I’ve slept very lightly, waking up at 7:30 or 8 What’s up with that?!

Sleepy weather calls for early morning candles

Ahhh, my first pumpkin candle of the season! Hooray!

While Jason lay snoozing (lucky guy) I decided to go ahead and start on breakfast. Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake!

Oh wait. We are out of blueberries and brown sugar. Boo Then I guess it’ll just be a coffee cake!

..with a nice dose of cinnamon sprinkled on top! Yummy! The smells in the kitchen were amazing. Cinnamon, pumpkin, bread and coffee…oh my!

The recipe is under my ‘Recipe’ tab at the top of the page. Just take out the blueberries and brown sugar to make it a plain coffee cake

That’s when Jason came lolling out of the bedroom. I guess he couldn’t resist the smells either

The star of breakfast this morning:

My two favorite guys. Oh, how I love them

3 slices of coffee cake smothered in pb&j + a sliced pear + a cup of coffee = Filling and delicious breakfast!

(Can I get an ‘Amen’ for the return of pears? Amen.)

After breakfast, it was homework time. Jason sat at the computer all day doing his engineering stuff and I sat on the couch doing my chemistry stuff, that was the majority of our morning!

Lunch came and went, nothing worth blogging about though! Just a Morningstar burger with leftover green beans and 2 homemade cookies for dessert.

–Oh, and have I mentioned that I now have to bribe my dog just to get her to go for a walk? Trixie has become a very lazy, unmotivated dog these past few months. She never wants to go for walks. Ever. After making sure that nothing was physically wrong with her, I decided that she just needed a little motivation.–

After all, don’t we all get stuck in an exercise rut every now and then?

Alright. In order to do this, I’m going to have to play dirty. I go to the store and buy a bag of steak-tasting treats and drive back home. Trixie greets me once I come into the door. I let her smell inside of the bag, put her leash on her and take her on a walk down the street. The bag stays under my arm the entire time. Welp, that took care of that. Trixie is walking just like usual. Sniffing things, going to the bathroom, pulling me along just like the old times. 

She still stares at the bag from time to time, so once we reach our turn-around spot, I give her a treat. It’s been 6 months since she has walked willingly like this!

I know, I know. It’s a food bribe, but I have to do what I have to do! I can’t have my dog lying around forever and ever. She’s got to get some exercise! I’ve decided that I’m going to use the treats only for when she walks, and after 6 weeks of giving them to her, I’m going to see if she will walk without them. Wish me luck!

Moving on…

Dinner time quickly arrived and I’m thinkin my itch for a great Mexican meal hadn’t been scratched just yet…Mexican food was heavy on my mind, and my taste buds were saying “Yes, please!”

Corn and Cheese Enchiladas

These are so easy to make! All you need is the following:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stack tortillas, wrap in foil and bake until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

While tortillas are baking, oil a 7-by-11-inch glass baking dish. Warm 1 Tbsp. oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in corn and milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt.

Remove tortillas from foil. Set aside 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of corn mixture in center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with a heaping tablespoon of cheese. Roll up tortilla and set in dish, seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas, overlapping them slightly. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes.

This dish goes along great with a simple side salad!

Consider my Mexican tooth satisfied   I may try adding black beans and zucchini to the enchiladas next time just to get some variety in there.

Stuffed, Jason and I went back for some more LOST action before heading to bed.

Today has been a day of errands, a meeting at the Y and a run. On the third mile of our 4 mile run, my knee started to hurt again Instead of letting it get me down, I just took it as a way of my body saying that it’s not fully recovered yet. Which, still sucks…but what can you do? 3 milers seem to be my limit as of right now, but that’s better than nothing! I’ll take what I can get

This Just In:

–Jason is in the living room watching the football game and screaming at the TV (why do men do this? I find it hilarious). Poor Trixie is scared out of her mind, she’s probably thinking that he has finally lost his mind. (No puppy, not yet…but he’s getting there) HAHA –

Whenever Trixie gets scared, she goes under the desk in the office and hides. I just happened to be sitting here blogging and felt something furry slide by my legs.

That’s her “I’m scared!” pant She is so cute sometimes!

Okay, that’s enough air-time for the dog And just so the cat doesn’t feel left out, I’ll post a couple of pics of him too!

(He likes to blog too.)

Time to go hunt for a snack! Toodle-oo bloggie buddies See ya next time!

Do you have an unmotivated pet?

Saturday morning, I woke up to this:

That is her “I-want-something” face I tried to satisfy her with a longggg belly rub, a couple of treats, a good brushing, but none of that worked. I quickly realized it was because she wanted to go play in this:

Snow!!!! It had accumulated over Friday night Trixie is a very old dog, but for some reason, when it snows she acts like a completely different dog! Like she’s 10 years younger or something It makes me happy. Trixie will not go out walking by herself, so I went with her..ya know, just so I could go ‘splorin and stuff

When we opened the door, her playmate Maggie was there to join us for our adventure!

After frolicking in the cold for about an hour, we came home to thaw out. I made Jas and I a yummy breakfast:

Spinach and cheese omelet, toast with raspberry preserves and a Morningstar sausage pattie. Oh, and grapes! Someone wasn’t able to wait until the picture was taken…or maybe a certain person just really loves toast

Breakfast would not be complete without coffee! Ah hem..in my cutest mug

The rest of Saturday went by uneventfully. I had an afternoon date with a guy named “College Algebra” and Jason had a date with his electric engineering textbooks. We did end up taking a break right before dinner to get in a good workout at the gym! Here is what I did:

20 minutes stairs, 20 minutes elliptical (random hills, level 8), 3×10 chestpress (45 lbs), 3×10 bicep curls (25 lbs), 50 right/left leg crunches, 50 standard crunches, 3×8 V-flys (25 lbs). Whew!

My upper body muscles were like jelly afterwards. Jas and I rested on the couch for the rest of the night..and then it was Sunday! We had a much more exciting Sunday

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Though I made a cute oatmeal breakfast, none of the pictures turned out right I made a heart out of chocolate chips on top of our oatmeal bowls, but by the time I got the camera ready they had pretty much melted into a big chocolatey glob And, I’m pretty sure that while making the oats, a couple handfuls   of chocolate chips made it into my mouth as well. 

After breakfast and a few hours of Food Network, we spent the rest of the morning/day cleaning! We  pulled out all of the furniture, sanitized the entire kitchen and bathroom, and we even took a few things to storage (including my bike ). It took us a good four hours but it was soooo worth it. Our house has never been this clean and tidy

Around 2 o’clock we took a lunch break:

Morningstar garden burger, with pickle, tomato, ketchup, miracle whip, spicy mustard and whole wheat bread. A juicy orange and Oikos yogurt. It was quick and easy, and it hit the spot. Oh. Where is my dessert, you ask?? Well, it’s right here:

I made brownies!! And as you know, the person that makes the brownies gets to lick the spoon and mixing bowl clean You didn’t think I just enjoyed making sweets for the heck of it, did you?! Hehe If you are interested in making these fudgy, delicious brownies, you can find the recipe here.

We let our tummies settle for about 30 minutes then we set out on our “Valentine’s Day” run!

See? I’m even wearing a pink jacket in honor of Valentine’s Day But, what I am not wearing is make-up. And the hat is to cover up my frizzy bed-head…it was Sunday, and I had cleaned all day..so…..that pretty much explains that.

We both wanted to do a 5 mile run, so we parked at a local Rite Aid and started running towards the greenway. This is a route we have never done before, so it was pretty exciting! I was wearing a watch so I could time out our miles. The first 2.5 miles of the run felt extremely easy and breezy. Chit chat always seem to make the miles fly by! Jas and I reached our halfway point and turned around to go back the 2.5 miles we had just run.

During mile 3 I was really starting to feel all the aches in my muscles. Not only in my leg muscles, but my upper body muscles were still sore from Saturday’s workout. I told Jas I was feeling crappy, but he edged me on. What we failed to notice was, though the first part of the run is mainly downhill or flat, the second part of the run was not. It was a steady climb uphill all the way to our car!

On mile 4 my legs were screaming out of soreness. They literally felt like mush. Jason and I had kept up a good 9:30-10 minute pace, but on the last mile he says “Let’s try to make it to the car in less than 2 minutes!”.

Me: “Uhhhhhhhhhh.”

So we did We sprinted the last 3/4 mile uphill. I thought I was going to die. Just fall over and wheeze to death. But I didn’t. My short little legs were going as fast as they could, and much to my amazement, we made it back with a minute to spare Woo hoo!

Once home, I set out to make dinner. I knew that once I sat on the couch, I would not get back up..so I wanted to get it out of the way! On the menu: Twiced Baked Spinach Potatoes!

Ingredients:

• 3 medium baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup fat free milk
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 tomato, sliced

Bake potatoes in oven at 400 degrees for one hour..or do it the easy way and pierce potatoes with a fork and cook for 16 minutes in the microwave, turning them halfway.

Once they are cooked, let them cool for 5 minutes. Add milk and cream cheese in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until mostly smooth. Scrap out the middle of the potatoes, leaving 1/4 inch thick shell. Add potatoes to milk mixture, add other ingredients and stir until blended. Spoon potato mixture back into the shells. Top with slice of tomato, and sprinkled cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Viola!  There you have a meal

Before going into the oven:

After:

Nom. Nom. NOm. They smelled a-mazing! I probably could’ve made a side dish for this, but I wasn’t in the mood. Actually, beer was my side dish

My plate:

Add two brownies to that please A run, potatos, beer, brownies…there is only more activity that could make this Valentine’s Day perfect…Scrabble! I guess I’m a bit of a game nerd

And seeing as how this was Jason’s first word, I’m guessing he thinks so too

Yikes! I need to get ready for school!! Some exciting things that are coming up:

• Jas and I celebrate our 2 year anniversary this Thursday! <3
• Black Eyed Peas concert this Saturday
• FitBloggin is only 4 weeks away!
• I start Girls on the Run coaching this afternoon! Wish me luck

What is something exciting about to happen in your life?? See you later blogulaters!

Hola chica’s

How goes it?? My weekend has been pretty great so far!

I started off my Saturday with an oatmeal brunch at Kath’s house. ‘Twas delicious and nutritious Upon arriving, we were met with a table of toppings to add to our oats:

Jams, Great Harvest muffins, granola, wheatberries, raspberries annnnddddd….the star of the show, of course, was the peanut butter selection!

Holy cow. How can one not be jealous of her peanut butter selection?!? It was love at first bite sight for me I ended up choosing a spoonful of the Chocolate Cherry peanut butter and a spoonful of the Cacao Bliss to go into my fab bowl of oats:

Mmmmmmmm….waiting to take a picture of it was pure torture. I was ready to dig in! And the way the French Press was smelling too, ohhhhh Lordy…my stomach was being obnoxious..luckily there was enough chatter from the rest of the ladies that no one noticed

After everyone went through the ‘topping buffet’ we went to take our seats at the dining room table:

Let’s see if I can remember all the names! Here we go: Whit, Kath, Diana, Michelle, Kate, Jessie and Emily. There. I think I got them all

HAHA. Look at that face I’m giving Whit! Sorry Whit I don’t really mean to look so angry lol. This pic (and another previous one) were courtesy of Diana and her camera

The ladies sat and chatted for a while after our tummies were full of oatmeal, then it was time for me to leave to go see my niece and nephew! I drove back into my neck of the woods and spent some time with my sister, her two kids and my mom. We went to this huge place called “Monkey Joes” where they have all this inflattable stuff the kids can play on. It looked like a lot of fun! I didn’t take my camera in though because there were so many people in there, and I figured I’d be riding down some of the slides with my Lukey anyway Here is a pic of us last summer:

Love him <3 Miss the straight hair too!

After my visit with the family, I headed over to Books-A-Million for some reading, writing and more coffee time:

Jason was stuck at home doing homework I thought that we he was going to meet me when he was finished, but it was a big miscommunication! I headed home after I found that out.

On my way I gobbled down an unpictured banana, and then popped veggie marsala Kashi meal into the micro for a quick lunch fix:

Yes. Very appetizing, right?? It was just okay, nothing outta this world or anything. I’m not a big fan of microwavable meals, but I was pretty desperate for some nourishment at the time! Plus, these were on sale at Target for $2!!! Can’t pass up a bargain

While Jas finished up his homework, I took it upon myself to finish a book and soak in a hot, steamy bath Around 8 o’clock I set out to make a soupy dinner!

Broccoli and Potato Cheddar Cheese Soup, with a twist.

Into this pot:

• 6 small (or 3 big) red potatoes
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups frozen broccoli
• 2 (14 1/4 oz. cans) veg broth
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups skim milk
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
• salt, pepper, Tabasco to taste <–perfect kick!

Directions: Whisk together 1/3 veg broth and flour in small bowl, set aside. Pour in rest of broth into pot, add broccoli, onion and potatoes, heat to a boiling until potatoes are tender. Gradually stir in flour mixture, stirring often for about 5 minutes. Add in milk and cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese melts evenly in pot. Add s+p, Tabasco to taste. Ladle into bowls, top with sprinkle cheese and enjoy!

On a rainy day like yesterday, it was a perfect comfort meal

My bowl:

Mmmmm…melty, cheesy, ooey, gooey goodness.

Dinner was the prelude to a little game playing Jas and I set up a game of UNO on the couch, and pretty soon the popcorn came out as well!

Jason won three games in a row…

…he was a happy, gloating, camper

Finally, around 11:30, it was time for bed. I was in some serious need of sleep, these past few nights have been 5 hour nights, so I was totally excited about being able to sleep in! ‘Twas a peaceful, uninterrupted night of sleep…At 9 a.m. I woke up to this:

That would be Humphrey..the bear I got from my pe-paw when I was 4 years old. He gave him to me as a Christmas present back in 1989, and I was immediately in love with the bear. When you would press his heart, it would thump beneath your fingers Poor Humphreys heart has beaten since I was about 7 though He sleeps in the bed with Jas and I, and I desperately casually mention how cool it would be if his heart still beat…and this morning, I found Jason doing his magic on him

Out of all of the stuffed animals I have ever owned, Humphrey seems to be the one that has been by my side for years…through moves, breakups, school, fights, friends..everything. At first, having him through all that was unintentional, but now I can’t seem to sleep in the bed without him, as corny and childish as that sounds!

And OMG, you should’ve seen my face when Jason fixed him!!!!!! He had to hold the battery in place the whole time, but minus a few smoky sparks it started working! I felt the same Tha-thump, Tha-thump I did when I was 4 years old What Jason did is actually better than any store-bought gift he could give me.

Ironically, I am currently listening to Celine Dion’s “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” Haha Jas is waiting for me to finish up the post so we can head to Target, the gym and then to our fav little lunch spot. Stay warm today and be safe!

Do you have a childhood treasure that means a lot to you?? Please say you do so I don’t feel like such a dork