Thursday, December 31, 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Another year gone in a flash. Seems like this one just flew by doesn't it? Probably because it was such a wonderful one. I can't say I wouldn't change anything if I could go back in time but I would only change a few things... For the most part I'm overjoyed and happy with the way things have turned out.

Everyone I care about is healthy, happy, employed, safe and secure. I feel loved each every single day by the people that I surround myself with. They love me for who I am, as I am. I finally feel like I can stop conforming to what people want me to be and put myself first. I'm an obsessive people pleaser so this is a huge deal for me. Something about this past year made me realize that I deserve more and I'm taking it, damn it! GIMME GIMME!

I'm healthier than I have been in probably two years and feeling fantastic about my choices. I'm active and I'm eating right to better myself from my core to the very tip of tippy toes. The lovely bonus of my new lifestyle is that my ass is shrinking nicely with each passing day. HA! Work is picking up again and the projected outlook for next year is looking excellent. The stress of work woes and constant worry is almost completely diminished now. Security is one of my favorite blankets to wrap up with and as of this very moment, I'm wrapped snug in it from head to toe.

This past year just puts a smile on my face when I think about it. Am I lucky? You bet your sweet ass I am.

I indulged in a decadent breakfast this morning while I contemplated over my brilliant year. This may have been the BEST bowl of oatmeal I have ever eaten in my ENTIRE LIFE! Yeah, it was THAT serious!
  • 1/2 cup Irish Oats
  • 1 cup original Almond Breeze
  • dash cinnamon
  • 2 Splenda packets
  • 1 banana, sliced
  • 2 tbs sweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/4 cup frozen blueberries (stirred in last)
  • 1 tbs chocolate peanut butter


OHHH, SOOOO GOOOOOD! Ladies and gentlemen, I licked the bowl clean. No, seriously I licked it! HA! It was enjoyed with a cup of Macadamia coffee, of course.


After breakfast I spent a solid fabulous hour rotting on the couch with Mr. Oliver, cup #2 of Macadamia flavored coffee and watched HGTV. I love House Hunters. I ADMIT IT! I DON'T EVEN CARE! ;)

Nick was at work of course, which was the only reason I was able to sneak some Ildie TV time in. He HATES HGTV. HATES IT! He wouldn't be working a full day today though, which was nice. I think he was aiming to be home by 2:00 or so.

For a simple lunch I made a quick black bean burger using a Morning Star Farms patty on an Ezekiel bun with sweet butter lettuce, sharp mustard and pepperjack cheese. On the side I had bread & butter pickles and garlic-herb Melba crackers. Lunch was so dang delicious!


I was feeling so LAZY all afternoon. When 1:30 pm rolled around I was still on the couch in my pajamas. I just kept flipping back and forth between HGTV and the Food Network as if in a trance. SO BAD! I decided to finally peel myself off the couch at about 2:00 and took a bath and got ready for later. The plan was to go bowling at about 5:00 for a few hours with Nick's family and "possibly" a friend. After bowling the plans are sort of unsure. Everyone is either coming back to our place or to his Aunt's house to ring in the New Year. Most of our friends already had plans out of town this year and Ann and her boyfriend decided to stay in tonight. We were spending New Years with Nick's family this year instead. :)

Nick is home now and we are running to the store before bowling so I have to run. ENJOY YOUR NEW YEARS EVERYONE! I will recap this evening for you tomorrow.

:)
XOXOXOX!!!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

FAAA-BUUUE-LOW-OUS!

Today has been a blast of a crazy day! I've just had the best time. It is now 10:00 at night and I just got home. While dinner is simmering and perfecting in the oven, I'm blogging to all of you fantastic people about my brilliant day. Ann and I had the BEST time. I woke up and hung out with Nick before he went off to work. After he took off I made myself a nice cup of coffee and started prepping breakfast. I was craving breakfast sandwiches again. I toasted up an english muffin and topped each half with cooked egg whites, pan seared ham lunch meat and a half slice of fat free American cheese.


Of course the sandwiches were enjoyed with delicious cup #2 of knickerdoodle coffee. Breakfast rocked my socks off.


After I ate I cuddled with Mr. Oliver for a while and then got dressed and dolled up to meet Ann for out pre-planned SHOPPING EXTRAVAGANZA!! I have been looking forward to this day for WEEKS now. We do it every year. We go sopping after Christmas for ourselves and splurge a bit and then enjoy some fine sushi. I LOVE SUSHI SO MUCH! I don't have it very often. It's like a special treat every once in a while. I sort of prefer it that way!

The first place we went is Macy's. The gift card I got from my coworker was BURNING in my pocket. I couldn't wait a single second longer to spend it. Today was the day! And spend it I did. I picked up a few clearance (LOVE a good clearance) items and a FABULOUSLY glam coat. I LOVE THIS COAT! Check it out, the fake fur collar is rockin.


AND it's removable! I LOVE IT! I got it on sale and I was very excited about it.

After Macy's it was SUSHI time! I was so excited. We ordered a bottle of wine to start and some Edemame. YUM!


When our Sushi finally came out they had beautifully placed all of the decadent little rolls on a Sushi boat. The boat made us feel so SPECIAL! HA! Everything was so pretty! Almost too pretty to eat. ALMOST!


We ordered the Eel roll, California with cream cheese roll, Kiss roll (tuna steak, spicy tuna, avocado, crunch, salmon and cucumber, YUM) and Tiger roll (spicy crab, shrimp, avocado with wasabi sauce) and ALL of the rolls were out of this world! We hung out, chatted, feasted, drank and laughed for about an hour. IT WAS SO NICE TO RELAX!

After lunch we went to Penney's and did a bit more browsing/shopping. What a blast! While there I received an EMERGENCY CALL from my Papa. I had to make sure to post the following recipe for Cabbage Soup before the end of the day today. IT WAS AN URGENT MATTER OF TOP NATIONAL SECURITY I guess! HA! Hi Dee, here is the recipe you asked my Papa to have me post for you. :)
  • 3 large cans chicken broth
  • 1 bag shredded carrots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 large head green leaf cabbage, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup fresh chopped parsley leaves
  • 3 large onions, chopped
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1 tbs red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbs black pepper
  • 1 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne
  • 1-2 tsp sea salt
Add all of these ingredients into your LARGEST stock pot and simmer on low heat for at least 1-2 hours. You want to soften the cabbage and the celery slowly and make sure that everything is nice and tender. I love this soup with hardy bread smeared with butter. DELICIOUS! OK, there you have the EMERGENCY RECIPE. Now moving on.... :)

After Penney's we went to Target. We couldn't get enough of shopping I guess! YAY! Somehow we always, ALWAYS end up at Target! It's a TRAP DAMN IT! A CONSUMER TRAP!

After Target we decided to head to Wolf Creek Winery. It's the local winery we always find ourselves at. We both LOVE the place. I had never been there in winter before. There was a nice layer of snow over the entire place. It was so pretty!


We enjoyed some fine wine and some cheese and crackers. The creamy garlic and herb cheese was so rich and delicious! I WAS BEING BAD but it just felt SO GOOD!


After the winery we drove back to Ann's Apartment. We hung out there for a while and I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee.


While sipping on my coffee, I felt the need for a SASSY little Cat Photo Session with Ann's sexy little cat Pepper. Just look at her. What a beauty!


After about an hour or so, I called it a night and headed home.

By the time I got home Nick was in his pajamas and both of us were super read to relax and to have dinner. I have been marinading a flat iron steak since yesterday afternoon and we were DYING to cook it and feast on it. I eat steak MAYBE twice a year so I get excited about it. Nick gets even more excited. The poor guy never eats it either. HA!

Marinade....
  • 3 tbs orange juice
  • 1 tbs lime juice
  • 1 tsp garlic. chopped
  • 1 tbs Thai chili paste
  • 3 tbs Asian ginger salad dressing
  • 3 tbs Teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
I pan seared the steak in my dutch oven skillet for 2 minutes on each side and popped it in the oven for 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or so, uncovered.

Already IN the oven I had some broccoli florets, an onion chopped into large chunks, a small serving of sweet potato fries and some Idaho potatoes cut into thick wedges and mixed with salt, pepper, olive oil and fresh dill.

DINNER WAS AMAZING!


Nick and I didn't speak at all while we consumed this deliciousness! No words were needed. I had no time to talk! That would take away from my PRECIOUS chewing time! HA!

Seriously, dinner was super delicious!

As my lovely days draws to an end I find myself smiling and reminiscing. It was a fabulous day. Do you hear that Ann? FABULOUS! I know you hate it when I say the word FABULOUS but what can I say..? Except that it was FAAA-BUUUE-LOW-OUS! ;)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Catibalism

Why hello there. Happy Tuesday! It is Tuesday right? My days are starting to blend together since I haven't been to work since the 23rd. Jealous? MUWAHAHAHA (evil laugh). ;)

Today started out with a tasty little breakfast. I made a quick egg white scramble with 4 egg whites, bunny sea sat and black pepper. The bunny rabbits kept lingering after their work was done. Sneaky little wabbits!


On the side I had a banana and a slice of French Meadow Bakery cinnamon raisin bread. BY THE WAY, I've been so busy with Christmas that I forgot to share with you the wonderful package I received from the very friendly folks over at French Meadow Bakery. They sent me 3 delicious loaves of bread and some bagels.


I was SUPER excited to receive these goodies and I have been dying to try them. So today, I did! The Cinnamon Raisin bread was dense, rich, filling and delicious! The stats were excellent too.


Even though the slices are smaller, they are jam packed with goodness and very flavorful. This slice gets a 10 out of 10. It was excellent!


After breakfast I changed into my gym clothes and met Ann for a great workout.

Inclined Shoulder Press
50lb x 15
50lb x 12
Modular Lat Pulldown
60lb x 15
60lb x 12
Modular Chest Press
50lb x 20
60lb x 12
Tricep Pushdown (straight bar)
80lb x 20
80lb x 15
Barbell Curls
30lb x 20
35lb x 8
Elliptical, Interval Training
10 min. - levels 6-8
10 min. - levels 7-9
5 min. - levels 8-10
5 min. - level 12
379 calories burned

This workout left me feeling good, but a bit whooped. I crashed on the couch as soon as I got home and ended up sitting there for about an hour and a half. For some reason I never eat right after a workout. Not sure if this is a bad thing or not. ???

When I did finally get hungry I had a wonderful salad with more egg roll stuffing leftovers. Egg Roll Salad? Sure, that sound like a good name to call it. It was delicious. Here is what went into the mix.
  • Baby Arugula
  • Sweet Butter Lettuce
  • Green onion
  • Black beans
  • Egg Roll Stuffing (You can find the recipe ***HERE***)
  • Spray butter
  • Chili sauce (egg roll dipping sauce)


Oh man, the salad was delicious! You will never believe what I did after I finished lunch. I CLEANED SOME MORE! Yeah, that's right. I'm LIVING ON THE EDGE ON MY WILD VACATION WEEK AWAY FROM WORK! HA! With Nick working this week, I finally had a chance to clean his office. I had to do it!! IT NEEDED DONE! I'm forbidden to go in there and touch anything and the room is covered with dust, papers, receipts and "electrical man toys". Forbidden or not, I was going in there today to clean that sucker. He was at work which meant he wouldn't be able to stop me. HAHAHAHA!

After the office was done (WOW, that was fun) I walked past the bedroom and came across this vision.


OMG. Mr. Oliver is such an adorable, mean little bastard. I mean, just look at this SUPERMODEL!


I could just eat him. I'm fighting all urges to nibble on his cute little fuzzy face. OLIVER! I WANT TO EAT YOU! YOU'RE SO CUTE!!!!!!!! HA!

Once the cat supermodel posing session was over I dove in and cleaned the bathroom as well. The ENTIRE house is now officially clean and this makes me GIDDY with excitement. YEAH!

After the cleaning session, I was left with about an hour before Nick got home from work. Relaxing, girlie, bubble bath time. It was a nice way to end the afternoon!

When Nick got home he surprised me with a last minute invite to go visit his mom with him for dinner. This meant EMERGENCY COOKIE BAKING TIME! I purchased a little something for his mom for Christmas already which I planned to give to her the next time I saw her. However, the plan was to bake some cookies for her boyfriend for Christmas as well. Nick inviting me at the last minute meant I had to bake the cookies right away.

Kodiak Cakes to the rescue!


I quickly grabbed the box of Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip cookies and went to work. The recipe was SUPER easy. It called for a stick of butter and one egg, that's it. BRILLIANT! I had the batter ready in no time and into the oven they went for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. I let them cool on a cookie rack for 10 minutes and packed them up in a cute little basket. Done and done.


His mom was making the usual FATTY "I can't have" type dinner again so I packed up some leftover Stuffed Pepper Soup to take along as well. Good thing I made extra yesterday! I also packed up two slices of French Meadows Bakery, Spelt Bread to have with the soup.

Dinner was delicious! Once again the bread was brilliant and dense. Heavenly little slices of goodness! :)


His mom loved the craft beads I got for her. She makes her own jewelry and metal crafts so it was the perfect present in my opinion. Her boyfriend LOVED the cookies as well. He kept moaning while eating them. HA! They were CLEARLY delicious! I was going to try one but never got the chance. The soup and bread had me stuffed!

By the time we got home it was nearing bedtime but I wanted to post this before I called it a night. I'm very sleepy tonight for some reason!

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day with Sis! We're going shopping and having Sushi. I haven't had sushi since June or something crazy like that. I CAN'T WAIT!

Have a great night!
 

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