Week In Review

Last week was a series of unfortunate events that I can only laugh at.  Maybe you need a laugh today too?

On Monday I was strolling through the parking lot at work.  Sun shining, wind blowing annnnd a damn bee flew in my hair!  If you know me at all you this causes an immediate panic attack.  I have no idea who saw the show in the parking lot but I was not convinced it was out until I got back inside to check the situation out.  I looked like I had been attacked by something.  Completely disheveled.  I know I looked like a fool running around swinging my head like a crazy person but I can’t help it LOL.

On Tuesday I slammed my finger between two 45lb plates.  I don’t mean “nicked” it either.  I honestly wanted to cry and go home and say lots of bad words all at once.  It turned purple and my worst fear is it would turn black and my nail would fall off but it appears to be healing quite nicely.

I’m itching to go to the beach.  Random interruption here.

On Saturday I cleaned out my fridge woohoo!  Except that wasn’t exactly the plan.  I went to put my creamer back in the fridge and tipped it so I could squeeze it into it’s cozy little spot behind a few things.  Only problem was the top wasn’t on.  Poured cream all over the fridge, which promptly leaked all over the floor.  Womp womp.

I then went and watched grown men in banana hammocks get oiled up and make funny faces on stage–a/k/a attended a bodybuilding show.  I also got to hang with a dear friend I don’t see often enough ❤

I had grand plans for Cinco de Mayo that never came to fruitation.

Sunday was rough.  Anxiety ridden.  Unfortunately I worry a lot and sometimes can't get out of my own head.  My son said I needed a drink.  Or some Ben & Jerry's LOL.  He keeps me sane.  I'm better today.  Quite frankly I'm having one of those days where I feel full of "piss n vinegar" as my Grandma would say.  Like it's 2PM and I wish I could be at the gym killin' it.  By 5 I'll feel like death.

I did make some damn good zucchini muffins for a friend at work.  I also bought M&Ms for my boss and didn't eat them before I got here today!  #winning

How was your week?  Tell me something good!!!  And be sure to check out what’s happening over at Clean Eats, Fast Feets!

LJ

 

Week in Review

WOAHHHHHHH is anyone still out there? I vowed to keep this thing up and I did REALLY good for a while and lately…well, in all honesty, life has hit me–HARD. This last week has brought a little sunshine so I thought I would share via Clean Eats, Fast Feets in a Week in Review!

So……A week ago I was in New Orleans with my sister. Bucket list item for me AND our first “sisters” trip with no kids!

About half way to the airport I realized I forgot to pack a book 😦  I used to read books in a weekend but then I became a working mom and that went out the window!  I can always get through a book when I travel–that is when I remember to bring one and what really sucks is I have a bookcase full of books I want to read at home   Anyhoo…I looked up one of the first bloggers I started to follow years ago for her book list because she always seemed to have some good ones on there…I found this, which turned out to be fantastic!  Thank you to Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers for this great pick!

Take off is my favorite LOL–anyone else fascinated with clouds?  I always take a few pics of them.  Just for me 😀

I flew Delta on the way out and I’m definitely giving them a thumbs up!  Well really I just fly them for the cookies ha!

But why does the coffee ALWAYS taste like pond water??????  I usually don’t drink it but they had the AC set at like -14 no lie!  I flew American on the way home–sorry guys but thumbs down on that one and I believe it’s been a while since I’ve flown on one of their flights.  #deltaalltheway

I ate my packed meals but ventured over to the food court in search of something green LOL and I have to say, I was impressed with the much larger variety of “healthier” stuff–this power salad was amazing!  Coupled with my trusty MaxMuscle protein I had a great airport meal–by the way this is my new favorite flavor and yes I brought the whole bag with me 🙂

Raining when we arrived but our next four days were absolutely perfect!  There was a food festival going on——–HELLO that’s why I came!  Absolutely amazing.  I don’t drink much but…while in NOLA…

I think I had a headache more than half the time I was there.  No idea *shrugs*

Bourbon Street was something to see during the day but even more so at night…

Oh the things you see………………………

We hit all the hot spots, ate all the food, drank, danced (lots shared on my Facebook and Instagram) and a blast.  I was sad when it came to an end ;-(

I arrived home safely with no issues and of course vacation is always fun but there’s no place like home!

Tell me — what travel destination is on your bucket list?

LJ

WIAW

HELLO!  So I have finally returned from trip to Egypt!  I returned to conferences and computer migrations and needed a vacation to recover from my vacation.  PHEW.  It’s been rough around here!  I thought I would link up with my friends over at Peas and Crayons for a What I Ate Week–a/k/a What I Ate Wednesday but I thought it would be fun to throw in a few eats from my trip — WIAW Egyptian style!

So… let me start by telling you Egypt was FANTASTIC but I am so glad to be home!  Twelve hour plane rides and I don’t really like each other ha!  While Egypt is not exactly a foodie’s paradise (especially if you don’t like lamb!) we still had some amazing food experiences and I definitely didn’t starve.  My scale verified this when I got home 😉

Every day but one we started off with breakfast at the house where my friends live.  Typical eggs, toast and peanut butter :D.  Leave it to me to find peanut butter in an Egyptian market–and one that has protein to boot LOL!  It wasn’t bad!

We would also have coffee at breakfast–like regular LARGE mugs of coffee.  Let me tell you about this coffee thing…first, be careful how much you drink–bathrooms are few and far between and…let’s just say ya never know what you are going to get and ALWAYS carry a roll of TP in your backpack.  So Turkish coffee is good–strong AF but it’s like 3oz.  I kinda missed my Starbucks–ok I REALLY missed it!  I’m also an afternoon coffee kind of girl–you know about 2 or 3pm?  Well I did find a Nescafe…

And…

SCORE!  This was on our breakfast in Alexandria where I also had an omelette but I think I was so excited about my French press I forgot to snap a pic!

Our very first lunch was across from the Great Pyramids of Giza–that was our view on the patio and it was a beautiful day as well.  Lunch was fantastic.  Bread is ALWAYS involved and we ordered an appetizer of different spreads to try.  Typically, hummus, tzatziki and tahini are served with the bread–along with grape leaves filled with rice.

We also had some spicy lamb.  Now my son and I LOVE spicy food.  This however was a bit much for both of us!  Lamb is their main dish–thankfully, he and I also love lamb!

More lamb…

Sidenote:  LOTS of diet Pepsi or as they refer to it Light Pepsi–I missed my Diet Coke LOL

I did some shrimp (prawns) and was very happy to see a few vegetables!  This girl loves her vegetables and besides a little zucchini, I didn’t see many :(.

There was not a lot of dessert either (don’t worry I drank my calories :D) but I did ask one of our tour guides and unfortunately, I can’t even remember what this was called.  I’d give it a 5/10 and no one else ate theirs after a small taste haha!

Liquor is very scarce but a few places offer beer and occasionally wine…and on our last day I found a place with a wine I liked (I don’t do beer).  Fortunately, we had plenty of Titos and crystal light at the house.  I’m not much of a drinker but I kind of took a liking to the Titos–I blame it on my lack of coffee 😛

I have so much more to share–I will definitely have to do another recap post or two.  Right now I’m going to finish my overnight oats and head to the gym–oh yeah I missed my gym too ❤

I'd love to hear from you–been on a trip and eaten some great stuff?

 

LJ

Thinking Out Loud

I’m planning to actually get some work done today-YAY!  In my real life job that is.  I wish blogging and coming up with new recipes was my job but for now…this is also the reason my recipe posts have been few and far between but I’m working on it!

Yesterday and the day before were nothing but meeting after meeting after training–like how do people sit in meetings all day?  ACK!  I felt like I had ants in my pants!!!  Note to self: when sitting in a meeting and a co-worker brings you a diet Coke–save it for later.  Ya’ll I rarely burp but give me diet soda :O TMI?  HA HA Good times!  Don’t worry I was respectful!

I have an event to attend tonight that I’m kinda excited about.  I’d be more excited if the dress I bought fit 😦  It is a Gatsby Gala so I bought a simple, cute flapper dress.  Can’t get it over my head LOL.  Apparently, I’m not a size small.  Who knew?  The real downer is the place I bought it from has the most horrible customer service!  I e-mailed about instructions for returning (it didn’t come with any).  They e-mailed back asking for pictures?  Wait, what?  I replied, nicely and explained.  They sent a second e-mail asking if I would keep the item and accept a “partial refund”?  PARTIAL refund my a**–it won’t go over my head!  THEN  my purchase and customer service but when I click on the link it says “Please purchase the lovely item first”!  Oh boy.  I will get this resolved.  Needless to say, I would NOT recommend shopping at Dress Link!

OK back to happy thoughts.  How about some chocolate?

These were good–sweet but good!  NOT as good as the cookie crunch.  You should get some–Ghiradelli has some great deals right now on their website:
Shop Gift Baskets + Save 10% on orders $100+ with code JANUARY10 at Ghirardelli.com!

Valentine’s Day is coming!

But so are Girl Scout cookies!!!  WOOHOO!

So tell me your thoughts…you know the things you think but don’t always say?  And don’t forget to see what’s happening in everyone’s thoughts over at Running With Spoons–huge thanks to Amanda for hosting!

LJ

Week in Review

Good morning and happy Monday.  I’m especially happy today.  I am a government employee and unless you are living under a rock, you know our government is a mess right now.  I drove into work not knowing if I would stay or go…but I’m still here!  Amazingly grateful I am exempt from the current shutdown/furlough.  Of course this could change at any time but for today, I am grateful!

So…my week in review is more like uhhhhh a month in review?  Nah.  You’d be asleep by the end.  I’ve been busy.  Traveling and stuffing my face but I already admitted that in last week’s Thinking Out Loud because confession is good for you 😀

Since I can hardly remember what I ate for breakfast…last week was a holiday on Monday, followed by cold, ice and a lot of no school and short work days.  Aside from the cold…and teenage boys at my house all day eating all the food, I can’t complain.  Snow days = new snacks because…boredom?  HA!  Not really.  More like procrastination because I can’t think of a single productive thing I did besides the usual cleaning, laundry and cooking because those are a must.  Or at least someone told me that.  I did receive some new peanut butter though *happy dance*!

I love all peanut butter and I love maple but I have to say the naked was actually better than the maple.  However, if you put it on this…

I actually didn’t because this needed no help–it was AMAZING all on its own!  And I’m not even a pretzel fan.  I give this a 10/10!

Despite the snacks, I am back to being WAY more consistent on my macros than I have been.  Hopefully this pays off.  Quickly.  Like tomorrow.  Too much to ask?  Three weeks til vacation!!!!!!  Not bikini weather where I’m going so no strict dieting until after that’s over.  I’d like to compete this summer so I’m going to continue to enjoy for now.

Can you guess where I’m going??

How was your week?  Are you kicking ass in 2018?  Make some new friends and find out about a week in the life of others over at Clean Eats, Fast Feets!

LJ

Thinking Out Loud

Oh hey hi!!!!!!  You know what I’m thinking?  I’m thinking it’s been soooooooooooo long since I opened up this blog to write that I forgot my password!  Bad blogger.  BUT it was the holidays and I traveled and… well ok we ARE half way through January and……..I have no excuse.  So there’s that.  I’ve actually had some extra time on my hands due to the wonderful winter experience Mother Nature has blessed us with<

How was your holiday?  Mine was amazing.  Cold, but I basically ate, drank and sat on my a** for 10 days…well, unless you count standing around the cheese platter any form of exercise.  WOOPS.  I’m paying for it, trust me.  The scale refuses to go back to where she belongs.  Ah well it comes and goes–just like everything else in life, #amiright?  It’s called living!

I took a trip to Charlotte last weekend to have my eyebrows touched up–finally.  I decided last year to give microblading a try and now that I’m invested, I felt I should keep up with it.  I never went back for my last treatment last year which means I don’t have hassle free eyebrows LOL.  Not that anyone cares about my eyebrows…but if you are interested and of course in NC, you should check out Rejuvenate Spa in Charlotte. Sherry does amazing work and I must note I am a BIG baby.  I don’t like needles and I survived HA!  Self care is going to be part of 2018!

So I’m looking forward to a weekend of nothing and much warmer temperatures.  I have so many home projects/decluttering I want to do and always seem to find something else to do instead 😀  Procrastination at its finest.  I’m reading “The Biggest Mistakes That Keep You From Living A Miraculous Life” which has a lot to do with “letting go” and I feel my whole life needs some of that this year–you feel me?

I’m pretty sure I’m hooked on this StitchFix thing.  It’s kinda hard not to be?  I never go shopping and the only things I order online is workout stuff and Lord knows I don’t need anymore of that!  I’m not 100% into everything they send but I have gotten some cute stuff.  Some is a little pricey but you can change that in your preferences.  Quality is definitely on point.

I’ve got some great recipes to share and I promise to do those up this weekend.

Have any thoughts you’d like to share?  Comment below and find others over at Running With Spoons and oh yeah Happy Friday Eve people!

LJ

Week in Review

Good morning and happy almost Christmas!  EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!  So excited.  I am traveling to my home state of Vermont via New York.  Thankfully not Atlanta eh?  Scary shit!  I’d probably lose what marbles I had left if I was trapped in an airport for 11 hours with no power.  I have trip stress already and I don’t leave til Wednesday!

Joining Clean Eats, Fast Feets for a review of the week…since I can’t seem to find the time to post daily.  My goal for 2018 is to improve this!

I’m happy to report I delivered and received my first bottle of wine in the wine exchange!  Hoping to get more but even one was exciting<<doesn’t take much to excite me these days LOL

I made dozens of buckeyes all week in preparation for the cookie swap which happened on Thursday.  I did really well by not eating ALL the cookies I received but the bad news is I had a belly ache as I still ate too many.  Every year I try to do better…the good news is someone made Russian Wedding Cake cookies or Russian Tea I’m not sure what you call them but the powdery white ones.  YUM!

Friday was our company party.  They made me sing.  I don’t sing.  Thankfully half the people in the group don’t either 😀  After the party–translation I ate too much–I took the night off from the gym and made friends with my couch.  I rarely lay on the couch and never watch TV so I asked my 16 year old to find me something on Netflix.  He chose Orange is the New Black.  Yes, I know I am waaaaaaaaaaay behind the power curve on this one AND I’m not so sure that I am ok with the fact that he recommended it?  YIKES.  He also says that I remind him of the main character…I’m too nice and people always take advantage of me.  YIKES again.  I mean if he thinks I’m nice that’s great but I hope I am setting a stronger example than that, which he assured me I was.  Maybe I read too much into that.  Anyhooo–interesting show.

I tried really hard over the weekend to organize my house, the laundry and a bunch of other things.  I hate leaving things in disarray when I go on vacation.  Like no dishes in the sink and don’t forget to dump the coffee grounds out so they don’t grow mold.  There will be lots of them.  We need to leave the house at 0400 :O  Good times.

So this is a short week for me.  It’s supposed to be 60 degrees.  Preparation for the below zero weather I am about to endure.  And snow.  All for the kid.  I’d rather go to the beach!

I hope you have a wonderful week and holiday.  I’d like to think I’ll have time to write over vacation…BUT I plan to have eggnog keeping me occupied.  Speaking of…I tried the Almond Nog…ummmm yea no.  I mean with a little liquor it was quite tasty but I’ve now turned it into a coffee creamer and that works exceptionally well!  I will be buying the real stuff soon 😉

OK it’s your turn.  Tell me about your week!

LJ

 

Week in Review

Happy Monday folks!  Linking up with Clean Eats, Fast Feets for another weekly review.  I’m not sure I “accomplished” a whole lot but I did a lot–that counts, right?  It’s a cold one here but thankfully the rain has stopped.  Is there anything worse than cold AND rain?  Like for two days straight??  So glad to see the sunshine yesterday!

It’s been a busy week–with lots of food.  My kiddo put his back out and so we made a trip to the doctor last week (nothing but a muscle strain) and finished the day off with Olive Garden.  Haven’t been there in years.  Rarely eat pasta–not for any reason in particular but I can find numerous other things to fill my carb macros with!  But I ate pasta.  In cream sauce.  It was divine.  My scale thought otherwise the next day LOL.  Ah well.  The boy is better.

Boy also participated in his first Air Force Color Guard Event so I found myself at a basketball game Friday night.  Been a loooooooooooong time since I’ve been to a high school basketball game.  As a cheerleader throughout my school years I found myself a bit more excited to watch them than anything else ha!  But why do they still make them wear those God awful polyester uniforms?????  Haven’t we evolved people?  Anyhooooooo–beyond proud of my kid.  I didn’t realize all the additional stuff they get to wear aside from the uniform I see him wear and I was all but jumping up and down but contained myself very well on the outside because, well, teenagers.  They get embarrassed so easily.  He said his heart was beating out of his chest and he thought everyone could see it–I assured him we could not.  Such a great experience.

I started a new training program and I am LOVING it!  So glad I decided to make the investment in one of the programs offered by John Meadows at mountaindogdiet.com.  He puts out a ton of great information and I’ve used his training programs before a few years back.  Excellent!  He also has a YouTube channel with great videos.  I got Omega Sentinel.  Highly recommend!

Got my hair did.  Went dark again.  Just seemed fitting with the weather.  LOL just kidding.  It’s dark but just because I like it that way.  This month anyway.

I actually ALMOST caught up at work on Friday.  That just means this next week will be crazy AF.

Went to a Christmas party.  Like fancy.  Dress, heels, make-up–the whole shebang!  Was actually kinda fun to get dressed up and amazing to see friends I haven’t seen in forever.  I didn’t drink but had a bit of a hangover on Sunday…I may or may not have tried every flavor of the cupcakes they had for dessert 😀  They were mine cupcakes OK!

Sunday I started making Buckeyes for my cookie swap this week.  One of my absolute favorite activities this time of year and I’ve been doing the one at work for…maybe 11 years?  So much fun.  I was craving buckeyes.  My mom used to make them all the time when I was a kid and it’s no secret I am a lover of all things chocolate and peanut butter!  I put a little spin on them…a batch of “kinda” healthier, I used four different types of peanut butter and then of course mom’s recipe which only requires like a pound of powdered sugar 😉  Have a few more batches to get to but taste testing will start tonight.  Stay tuned!  Hoping to share some recipes if they are good–at least I know my mom’s are good–AND I put a secret ingredient in hers—SHHHHHH.

Guys have you tried these?  Hands down my favorite. Buy More Save More at Ghirardelli! Enjoy up to 20% off your purchase.  You must grab a bag.

And then I had a salad and some protein.  Because balance.

Lots of exciting things this week too.  I love the holidays!  So tell me about your week!

LJ

Banana Power Muffins

Chock full of good for you ingredients and still taste great–when I can get my teenager to eat one I know I did ok!

1 cup Greek yogurt–I used plain, non-fat–you could use any

3tbsp unsweetened cashew milk–or whatever milk you have on hand

2-3 medium bananas mooshed up 🙂

2 tbsp. coconut oil

1 egg

95g oats

80g oat flour–pretty sure any flour will work

6tbsp flax seeds/meal–I just put mine in the Magic Bullet

100g dark chocolate chips–I love this brand

Mix dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and bake ~20 min @350

Macros:

Calories: 216

Fat: 10

Carb: 24

Fiber: 6

Protein: 6

Week In Review

Gooood morning!  It’s Monday!  Linking up with Clean Eats, Fast Feets.  I missed last week so it’s been a while!

How was your Turkey Day?  Has it been that long since we’ve chatted????????? I guess last week was a busy one because now it’s DECEMBER!  How did that happen?  I’m thankful our weather has been rather nice still but the weatherman says prepare…it’s coming!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again–reverse dieting is hard!  I’ve had a few bumps in the road…translation: Thanksgiving was awesome 😉  For some unknown reason some people gain, then lose once they get back on the horse.  Well I got right back on but still haven’t gotten back to where I was, despite my 100% consistency!  Sigh…..I need to take progress photos this week–missed last week and the week before I could already see my lines disappearing 😦  It’s part of the process, I know.  Can someone send me a memo on that so I don’t forget?  I’m still doing better than I was last year at this point so there’s the silver lining!

My son and I traveled to Tennessee for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful–from the weather, traffic, time spent with family, food–an excellent time!  I was a little said there was no leftover turkey and cranberry sandwiches at my house 😦  My mom did send us home with some pumpkin pie though!

Last week was a busy one at work.  We are preparing to interview interns for next year and it’s been a little hectic.  This week will be no different.  We did have a quiet weekend at home which is always nice after being out of town.  I baked a cake, made a new recipe (both requested by my son).  They were both…6 out of 10s LOL.  He is currently obsessed with BuzzFeed tasty and watching videos.  The cake looked amazing but the taste just wasn’t there–and why they call it a Loaded Dr. Pepper I have no idea–it tastes nothing like Dr. Pepper and you only use 1/2 cup.  The second recipe was empanadas.  They were ok.  No pictures of that as they were gone kinda quick!  I also made some fantastic healthy muffins…

I will share the recipe this week.

So a lot of baking/cooking which is what I do when I am procrastinating doing other things ha!  I also watched a Netflix series–13 Reasons Why.  I never watch TV and I’m not sure why I chose this but they way it was written I just kept watching–and it’s short–like my attention span!

I made an exceptional amount of appearances at the gym < go me!

I also tried a whole bunch of new snacks over the last two weeks.  Maybe I will do a  WIAW.

I know I’m looking forward to a whole lot in December–parties, cookie swaps, going home and just the holiday feel in general!  We have decided no to put a tree up since we will be leaving on the 19th…I’m both relieved and sad.  I did however pull out a wreath and snowman because I can’t be a total scrooge!  Hope you are all off to a wonderful start to December as well!

LJ