Black & Blue

Don’t adjust your computer screen. You are seeing those colors correctly. This morning I was trying to get socks out of the dresser without turning on the light because my husband was still sleeping. Obviously that was a bad idea. I ended up with BLUE trouser socks to go with my BLACK shoes. I didn’t notice until I had been at work for probably two hours. So embarrassing. Oh well. What can you do?

Not sure what it is in the office today, but everyone is wearing their crankypants. I’ve just been keeping to myself. Thank goodness it’s Friday and everyone has to weekend to get over. Oats with banana and coconut first thing in the morning make everything seem not so bad. Tazo Awake tea helps, too.

Lunch was my last portion of the taco soup with ground turkey & quinoa. I’m kind of sad to see it go. It’s definitely one I’ll be making again soon. Perfect for cooking ahead and then packing all week for lunch.

Now I’m on my lunch hour and just hanging out at the coffee shop. It’s the perfect time for two of my favorite things: coffee & blog reading! I’ll be back tonight with my afternoon & evening eats. Hope you’re all enjoying your Friday!

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Box o’ Goodies

It was a pretty ‘meh’ day. Nothing bad happened. Nothing exciting either. Well, that is until I got home from work. More about that later. More oats for breakfast today! I topped them with blueberries & unsweetened coconut just like yesterday, but I actually had my camera today. That calls for two pictures! My tea of the morning was Tazo Awake. Typical.

That was followed by a productive morning of work. I’m halfway through a tedious special project. Won’t be sad when this one is finished. No picture of lunch because it’s identical to yesterday. Still eating the Easy Turkey Taco Quinoa Stew. Still not tired of it. It’s made me super excited to try new recipes from GreenLiteBites.

Around 4 I indulged in one of my new obsessions discovered thanks to you bloggies, Fage. I stirred in some peanut butter almond granola and man was it good! No salmonella worries for me. This granola is homemade at the Amish store using peanut butter they also make in-house. It added just the right amount of crunch and sweet to my yogurt. I think the tea is Tazo China Green Tips though I’m not completely sure. I’d probably had about 6 cups throughout the afternoon (all different) in an attempt to combat the freezing office temperature.
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That held me through the rest of the afternoon and my commute. When I got home there was a box waiting for me on the front porch. I love, love, love getting mail and packages are like the granddaddy of all mail. I brought it inside and tore into it like a kid on Christmas morning.

Back in November I won a contest from one of my favorite sites, BellaSugar. My husband and I were flown to San Francisco and put up in the amazingly glorious W hotel for 3 days & 2 nights. As if that weren’t enough, I was treated to a relaxing trip to Bliss spa, lunch in The Rotunda at Neiman Marcus restaurant with the editors of the site and a hair consultation, cut & color at The Red Chair Salon. The highlight of the day for me was a Bare Escentuals makeover done by one of their National Makeup Artists. I started wearing Bare Escentuals about 3 years ago and have been faithful to the brand since then. It’s the only thing I can use that doesn’t make my face erupt into a minefield. They have so many great products and the quality is phenomenal.

As if the whole trip and day of pampering weren’t enough, Bare Escentuals sent me every product that they used during my makeup and a few extras. Remember by lipgloss mishap? I got two new tubes! They’re not the same color as the one I lost, but these are soon-to-be released colors and equally as fabulous. Guess what I’ll be playing with all weekend? Here’s a picture of the goods:

After all that excitement it was off to the gym with my husband and sister-in-law. She and I decided to try Tina’s 45-minute treadmill workout. I was still a bit tender from lower body work on Wednesday and sister-in-law was feeling the P90X workout she’d done earlier in the day so we decided to try the walking version. Well, 4.5 MPH for this girl is a jog so I did some running in there, too. Sister-in-law is 5’8″ so she was able to stay at a walk the whole time. It was great! We were both working hard and very sweaty by the end. I burned 447 calories.

My husband wasn’t hungry when we got home so I just threw together a quick dinner for myself. It consisted of a chopped-up Gardenburger Portabella veggie burger, freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, a few croutons, and a tomato cut into four wedges. All this was served over a bed of romaine and green leaf lettuce tossed with a little Annie’s Goddess dressing.

It was the perfect post-gym late dinner. I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open through the last bite so as soon as I was finished eating it was off to bed.

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Better Late Than Never

I apologize for my lack of posting last night. It was for a good cause. My roommate from college (whom I love and adore) delivered her 2nd baby yesterday evening and I had to fulfill my promised portion of the phone tree. Welcome to the world baby girl! The name they chose is very, um, unique. Makes me want to watch reruns of the once popular Boy Meets World. There was only one female main character in that show, right? Catch my drift? Yes, I’m serious.

Anywho, on to yesterday’s eats. I slept in a little to make up for my late bedtime Tuesday night. Darn you Biggest Loser! I was in a hurry this morning so I plopped two fried egg whites and a slice of 2% American cheese on a whole wheat english muffin and ate it in the car. I did try to snap a picture while I was rushing around like a mad woman, but I got the ever dreaded “Change Battery Pack Now” message on my camera screen. It really wasn’t that pretty anyway.

Wednesday = Coffee Day(!!!) so I arrived at work to find a crimson cup waiting on my desk. It was filled with my standard venti skim gingerbread latte. I opted for the hot version over the frozen this time in honor of it being 2 degrees outside. The battery pack was on charge so no live picture, but this is as close at it gets.

That kept me full until noon when I heated up my Turkey Taco Quinoa Stew. So. Freaking. AWESOME! I’ve had the same thing for lunch every day this week and I’m nowhere near tired of it. Today’s lunch tea was Celestial Seasonings Antioxidant Plum white tea.

After lunch I sat through the most painful training/brainstorming session ever! I love organization. I crave structure. This 1.5 hour train wreck had neither. I left feeling more confused than I was beforehand and I was very anxious. That called for a cup of Tazo Calm tea. Along with the tea I did some breathing exercises at my desk to help me get back to my happy place. Thankfully the rest of the afternoon went by quickly.

I listen to audiobooks a lot during my commute to and from work. I love to read so it’s a great way for me to make the most of my 3 hours spent in the car each day. During my trip to the library earlier this week I picked up Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business by Gary Erikson, the founder of Clif Bar & Company. I love books. I love Clif Bars. Coincidence? I think not! I started it Tuesday and so far I’m really enjoying it. I’ll post a better review when I’m finished listening.

Early on in the book they outline how Luna bars came to be. I’m ashamed to admit it, but until then I wasn’t aware that Luna bars were made by Clif Bar & Company. You learn something new everyday! In the spirit of the book, I packed this for my drive home snack. I swear this flavor is becoming like crack to me.

It was a quick change into workout gear when I got home so that my husband and I could hit the gym before dinner. Turned out to be a great workout. I warmed up with 10 minutes on the elliptical then did the Week 11, Day 2 workout from Buff Brides by Sue Fleming with bursts of cardio between the sets of upper & lower body exercises. I finished with crunches. I burned 426 calories in 48:13.

Afterwards we headed home and had breakfast for dinner! My husband and I are both big fans of breakfast food so at least one night every other week is devoted to our love of traditional morning fare. Last night it was pancakes and sausage. I had one of each. My pancake was topped with Parkay spray and a little bit of maple syrup.

Not to toot my own horn, but my pancake skills last night were off the hook. My husband deemed them perfect!

I got the baby news just as we finished dinner so I called everyone on my list while I cleaned up the kitchen. My adrenaline was still pumping from my workout so I took a hot bath to unwind and then headed to bed.

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TGIF!

Happy almost-the-weekend everyone! The end of the work week is in sight and I’m looking forward to a three day weekend. The temperatures this morning were hovering around -20 degrees and the high for the day was -5. That’s cold. Really, really cold.

I woke up STARVING this morning. I was in a hurry so it needed to be something quick as well as filling. I grabbed this Clif bar and ate it during my commute. Yum!

Everyone at work was in a pretty good mood. Typical Friday, but I’m not complaining. There was a very pleasant surprise in my e-mail inbox around 9:00AM. The coffee house we order from on Wednesdays had a delivery near our office and said they could stop by our office afterwards if anyone was interested. I rounded up the orders and e-mailed them in. No picture today because it was the same thing I posted on Wednesday, venti frozen skim gingerbread latte. Most of my coworkers thought I was insane for ordering a frozen drink (again) when it was so cold outside and our office felt like a refrigerator.

I really wanted to stay in for lunch and catch up on some magazine reading, but I needed to run errands. I went to PetSmart for dog food. Of course, a new toy snuck in my cart. Then I stopped at the vet’s office for flea and heart worm treatment since we just used the last tube. I ate lunch at my desk when I got back to the office. Today was edamame with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil from the bottle I keep at my desk. I buy the frozen, individually portioned containers at Sam’s Club and microwave them at work. Sometimes I eat them from the pods and sometimes (like today) I shell them all before I eat them. I also had a string cheese and a cup of green tea. I think it was Tazo Green Tips.

The rest of the day was pretty normal and boring. Around 4:00 I started my Friday ritual of cleaning my desk. Before I leave on Friday I sort through the clutter on my desk, get rid of trash, shred anything that needs it, do some filing and then wipe my desk down with surface cleaner. I also make a “to-do” list of any pending tasks so that I can pick right back up after the weekend.

I was really looking forward to getting home. My husband had promised to make omelets for dinner. Breakfasts are the only thing he really likes to make and he’s especially proud of his omelet skills. He got to work in the kitchen while I changed my clothes. I remembered the tube of polenta in the refrigerator and decided it would make a nice accompaniment. I sliced it into rounds and baked it.

When my husband put my plate in front of me he told me there was a “surprise ingredient” mixed in with my eggs. I’ll admit it. I was a little nervous. One bite told me I had nothing to be scared of. In fact, it was really good. He put garlic in the eggs when he scrambled them! It’s something I never would have thought to do, but the flavor was amazing.

My dinner consisted of a one egg, one egg white, mushroom & cheese omelette. On the side I had 2 polenta rounds topped with dijon mustard and parsley flakes. We also opened a bottle of champagne that we received as a Christmas gift. Here’s what everything looked like:

After dinner we played a little Wii bowling and Wii tennis. I lost miserably at both and I’m blaming it on the champagne.

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Farewell, My Lip Gloss

My day started off with a cup of coffee with the hubby. I fixed a light breakfast of peanut butter and blackberry jam on low-cal wheat toast. This is not any jam, ladies and gentlemen. This is amazing-mouth-water-crave-it-in-your-sleep jam made and sold at the Amish store just up the road from our house. The people there are extremely friendly and I could stand in there for hours watching them make pasta, pastries, jams, jellies & bread. They also sell a lot of unique and natural ingredients. That’s a great thing considering the closest TJ’s is an hour away and the closest Whole Foods is around an hour and a half. Anyway, here’s the picture:

The drive to work was a little slower than usual. Snow was still covering some of the roadways and I ended up in a huge line of traffic that formed behind a car doing 15 MPH. This was a bit unnecessary in my opinion. It wasn’t *that* bad. Oh well. I arrived safely and immediately got to work on a cup of hot tea. It was a variety I’d never tried before; Tazo Passion. I liked it a lot. Definitely something I’d have to be in the mood for though. It was really fruity and tart. It was a really pretty color, too.

Around 10 I started to get hungry again. I was still cold so I had another cup of tea (Tazo Lotus) and a container of Dannon Light ‘n’ Fit Peach yogurt. It was tasty. I wish I’d brought some fresh fruit to bulk it up because I could tell it wasn’t going to stick with me.

I pack my lunch from home almost every day, but today I was going out with my friend and former boss, Miste. We went to a place called Seasons Bistro & Grille which is right across the street from my office. Their menu changes 4 times a year to reflect what’s in season. They also use organic and local produce and meats whenever possible. Good thing it’s close because it was 2 degrees outside and we didn’t want to walk very far.

I started with a mixed greens salad (didn’t eat the onions because I don’t like them) tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Yum!

For my entree I chose a veggie sandwich on wheat toast with herbed cream cheese spread. Oh, and a pickle spear! The veggies were cucumbers, roasted red peppers, greens & shredded carrots. This was really good although I wish the bread had been a little more hearty because the moisture from the veggies made it a little soggy. Still, very enjoyable.

We bundled back up (it was 12 degrees) and headed back to the office where I spent a productive afternoon…and commented on some of your blogs. Lunch kept me full until around 4 o’clock when I ate 1/2 of a green pepper, sliced and topped with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese.

I was rushing across the street on the way to my car in order to beat the crosswalk sign. I heard a faint *click* sound, but waited until I was safely across to turn around and see what it was. When I did, I saw lipgloss laying in the middle of the road. I was NOT going to let it go without a fight and decided to wait until traffic had passed and I could safely retrieve it. That was not to be. A car ran right over the tube and smashed it. My heart sank. This was not just any lipgloss. It was my favorite. The perfect shade, the perfect consistency, the perfect applicator, EVERYTHING! Of course when I told my husband he was confused by my extreme reaction. “Just go buy another one,” he said. That’s the real problem, though. It was part of a set my mom gave me for Christmas and it’s only available in that set. She bought it from QVC at a special introductory price on the first day it was available. The price is now more than double what it was that day and I really don’t need 2 of the other things in that set. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that they release the stand-alone version sometime soon.

It was soo tempting to just take a hot bath and change into warm PJs, after my drive home. I didn’t, though. Instead, my husband, sister-in-law and I hit the gym. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical, then 3 sets of some upper and lower body with 10 minutes of brisk walking at an incline between each set. I was really glad I went. It helped me warm up and felt good to use my muscles.

Neither of us wanted a big dinner by the time we got home so it was more leftover turkey meatloaf muffins (it was a big batch) and some won ton soup.

I just finished cleaning up the kitchen so I’m going to head to bed. Good night!

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