Abandoned

Currently enjoying yet another damp, cold and miserable day here in Ohio. Dear Ohio, why must you hate me so? WHY?

I kept fantasizing about food all day today. BAD food like rich pasta dishes, muffins, pastries, croissants, fresh baked breads, cakes, tortes, cookies, pies. I was DYING for something sweet. Something BURSTING with carbs!


No idea where all of these cravings were coming from. Maybe I need more carbs in my life? Either way, I needed to banish these fantasies QUICKLY, before they got the best of me. As soon as I got to work I made a big bowl of sweet, fruity oats.

• 1/2 cup Irish oats
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 banana, sliced
• lots of cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• dash salt
• Splenda to taste
• a mix of frozen peaches, strawberries and blueberries

I cooked this all up in the microwave. Tragically I don't have access to a stove at work. If only... If only... It was delicious none the less and filled me up for hours. DANGEROUS Cravings averted! I WIN! Ha-Ha!

For lunch I brought in some leftover cabbage soup. I swear this soup tastes better every time I eat it. It was so spicy, thick and filling. I enjoyed it with half of an Ezekiel 4:9 wheat bun, sprayed with spray butter. This bowl of goodness had me sweating in my office with a runny nose in no time. If you ever feel like you're getting sick this might be just the medicine you need. I'm pretty sure it will sweat the sick right our of you. You can find the recipe on my Recipes Blog ***HERE***. ;)


Ann was leaving work two hours early today to go to a Cavs game tonight. Lucky slut. HA! Just kidding Annie-boo. Because of this early departure she decided not to leave the office for a break today. So of course I decided to do the same. As you all know, sis and I are ATTACHED AT THE HIP! We work together, workout together, go out together and so on and so forth. It's quite disgusting I assure you.

It was cold outside and I had nowhere I needed to go. Staying at the office just seemed like the best idea. I spent a solid hour with my office door shut, reading blogs and enjoying a second cup of coffee. Oddly enough, it was sort of nice and relaxing. Who knew?

A bit later I enjoyed my afternoon snack. A messy little bowl of yogurt.

• 1/2 cup of Trader Joe's plain, fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 apple, diced
• dash cinnamon
• sprinkle of Chia seeds
• sprinkle of pomegranate granola

After work it was off to the gym. I felt so alone... So abandoned... So lost without Ann. HA! All jokes aside, I actually had a stellar workout and feel really good about this one!

Barbell Curls
35lb x 15
30lb x 15
30lb x 15
Tricep Pushdown with straight bar (cable)
80lb x 15
70lb x 15
70lb x 15
Arnold Press (dumbbells)
15lb x 15
15lb x 15
12.5lb x 15
Hammer Curls (dumbbells)
15lb x 15
15lb x 13
12.5lb x 15
Side Raise (dumbbells)
12.5lb x 15
10lb x 15
10lb x 15
Tricep Extension (dumbbells)
12.5lb x 15
12.5lb x 15
12.5lb x 15
Front Raise (dumbbells)
12.5lb x 15
10lb x 15
10lb x 15
Elliptical - 30 minutes
Interval Training
Resistance 6-8
364 calories burned

Nick was visiting his Mama for dinner and then heading to Canton to visit a friend for some big screen video game male bonding "thing". This of course translates into GIRLY NIGHT! I immediately dove into a nice, hot bubble bath.


I also applied a face mask to detox the pores, buffed and moisturized.


AHHHH. IT WAS SO, SO NICE! Sometimes you just have to pamper yourself. By the time my beautification, love thyself session was over I was starving. I decided to have.... Well I was craving a bunch of stuff so I decided to have a bit of everything I wanted. I made a small salad with sweet butter lettuce and the leftover tofu from last night. On the side I had carrots, tomatoes, low fat blue corn chips and spicy hummus. I also baked the Spinach Cake I picked up from Trader Joe's last weekend and had a slice. My plate was jam packed with healthy stuff. Everything was incredibly delicious!


A while later I made a quick and fantastic bowl of pumpkin pudding. TO DIE FOR! I didn't add the cup of milk this time and it turned out MUCH better! It was nice and thick!

• 1 can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 box fat free instant vanilla pudding mix
• Splenda to taste (or sweetener of choice)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Add all of this to a bowl and stir like crazy. Super easy! I topped this deliciousness with some fat free whip and a sprinkle of pomegranate granola.


SO GOOD! MAKE THIS RIGHT NOW! DON'T THINK... JUST DO IT!

I just lit some candles. I think I might watch a "chick flick", some HGTV or the Food Network. Or maybe my recorded episodes of Say Yes To The Dress. Yes I watch "that" show. What can I say, I'm a sucker for romance. Watching women finally find their wedding dress gets me all weepy and emotional. HA!

I leave you with a lovely piece of Savage Chickens entertainment. HA!

Sneaky Songs!

Well, it's happened. And it happened SO FAST that I didn't even catch it till after I realized it was already going on! I started listening to Christmas music in my car!! Which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't sing it like a maniac with a little wicked smile on my face. Gesturing the hands all violently and bobbing my head all hap-happily-like. HA! Christmas music is such feel good music in my opinion. I can't listen to it without getting all cozy inside. This really is the best time of year!


Breakfast today was another simple "quick grab in the morning" situation. I had am AppleBerry VitaTop and I was going to have this granny smith apple. However, I got so distracted with work that I only had the VitaTop. What can you do?


Lunch today was SO YUM! I had a salad with the following.

• Spinach
• dried cherries
• cherry tomatoes
• black beans
• toasted english muffin "croutons"
• spray butter

I don't know what it is with salads lately but I can't get enough of them. LOVED IT!

After lunch I worked for a bit longer and then Ann and I managed to get out on a break for a bit. We were on a MAD MISSION today. We ran to the bank, grocery store and a "SECRET PLACE FOR MAMA'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT" (shhhhh) and still got back within an hour. I have NO IDEA how we did this. Do you believe in magic? La La La La La Laaaaa......

HA! I LOVE GOB!!!! I MISS Arested Development so much!! ;)

The afternoon snack was the TYPICAL yogurt mess. Am I boring you yet? Well I don't care because it's DELICIOUS! I had it with a 4oz container of plain Oikos, POM Arils and a chocolate brownie Clif Kidz Bar. It was good but not as good as they are with the VitaTops.


After work we were off to the gym. The people (animals) on the highways today were a particular breed of crazy. Sometimes I think the time we save by avoiding the back roads isn't worth the stress. C'est La Vie.

Anyways, here is our workout.

Seated Shoulder Press
Weight of machine x 20
+10lb x 15
+20lb x 12
+30lb x 6
Behind Neck Shoulder Press
20lb x 20
30lb x 15
40lb x 12
Front Dumbbell raise
5lb x 25
7.5lb x 20
10lb x 15
Side Dumbbell raise
5lb x 20
7.5lb x 20
10lb x 15
Barbell Curls
25lb x 20
30lb x 15
Elliptical
21 min, 220 calories
Treadmill
10 min, 3.2 speed, .52 miles

I decided to keep dinner simple tonight. I had a ripe avocado just screaming to be eaten so I felt obliged to consume its deliciousness. A sandwich sounded like the best, fastest and easiest solution. I spread a wedge of light laughing cow cheese on two slices of rye bread and added roast beef. I sprayed both slices with spray butter and toasted the sandwich in a skillet till golden. I then added half of the avocado and also made a small side salad with spinach and the other half of the avocado. OH SO GOOD!


For a bit of a treat later I made my new obsession again. Pumpkin pudding.

• 1 can pureed pumpkin
• 1 cup vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 box sugar free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 packets splenda
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• dash ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla

I mixed this up till smooth and well blended. SO EASY!! Then I crumbled a 100 calorie pack of graham crackers and layered in the following order. Graham crumbles, pumpkin mix, graham crumbles, more pudding mix and topped it with fat free whip. TA-DAAAA!


This is my new favorite treat!

Now It's time for The Office. Gotta go........ :)

Rockin Around...

The Christmas tree of course!! IT'S UP. YAAAAAAAAAAY!

We actually put it up very late last night. Both Nick and Dan helped so it went up pretty fast. We managed to put the lights on too but it was nearing midnight by the time we were done so I called it quits. The boys continued to celebrate the day with more beer and video games. I managed to hang with them until about 1:00 AM and then decided to head up to bed. What a LONG but fun day! I actually didn't add the ornaments until earlier today.

I woke up late as heck this morning. IT WAS AFTER 10:00 people! I couldn't believe it!! I must have really needed the sleep! I had a cup of coffee straight away to try and slap myself awake. It must have worked because less than an hour later I was on the phone with Ann asking her if she wanted to go shopping. I PROMISED MYSELF I WOULDN'T GO OUT IN THE INSANITY THIS YEAR! However, it was 11:00 so most of the insane shoppers should be done by now. The roads and stores should be safe. So off we went.

I grabbed a Kashi cherry dark chocolate bar for a quick breakfast on the go. I wasn't very hungry. Not only did I wake up late, I also woke up feeling full from all the Holiday feasting yesterday.


We only hit up two stores. I managed to buy a few more presents for Christmas AND get my grocery shopping done. All in all, a successful mini shopping trip! It was nearing 3:00 by the time I got home and I was freaking STARVING! I immediately whipped myself up a quick little salad.

• Romaine leaves, coarsely chopped
• 4oz leftover turkey breast, cut into cubes
• Handfull of dried cranberries
• 2 green peppers, sliced
• 1 Roma tomato, chopped
• Red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper to taste
• Spray Butter

It hit the empty growing pit in my tummy just right. It was SCREAMING for food!!

After my late lunch I decided to add all of my ornaments to the tree. It was staring at me, all pretty and dressed up in its glowing little lights. It needed more though. It NEEDED ornament fulfillment! I worked on it for maybe thirty minutes. DELICATELY placing each piece JUUUUUUST right! TA DAAAAA...


Oh man, I love this tree. I could just stare at it ALL day. The new lights I picked up on clearance at Target last year looked awesome!

My house is all Christmas-Decked-The-Heck-Out! I love it!


After my tree extravaganza I dove into some laundry duties and nice pile of dirty dishes. Exciting I know! Before you knew it, dinnertime was upon us. I'm SURE those of you who read this blog regularly know what tonight is. Come on now... Sure you do.... TACO SALAD NIGHT! (Recipe can be found here...)



Somethings are just better left alone. Why mess with delectable and delicious perfection?

For a bit of a treat later Nick and I enjoyed a dessert I whipped together earlier today. It was SUPER simple.

Stir together the following.

• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup Vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 box instant, sugar gree vanilla pudding mix
• 1 packet splenda
• dash cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• dash ground ginger

That's it. Easy as pie. And speaking of pie, it tasted JUST like pumpkin pie in a glass. YUM! I pured the mixture into two pretty little wine glasses and let them chill for a few hours. I then topped them with some fat free whip and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Even Nick liked it!!! I believe this will get made quite often in the next few weeks. Pumpkin just tastes so good around the holidays! :)

Well lovely people. I'm going to call it a night now. Time for some cuddling in front of our mind numbing, big and magical box of moving pictures (TV). HA!