Wrapping Retaliation!

Today was such a sad, wet, FREEZING, grey and gloomy day. BUT, we're still snow free for the season so YAY for that! It's inevitable though. I can sense it (smell it) lurking in the dark shadows up above. Waiting, laughing, teasing, tormenting and torturing me with it's crystalized and flaky whiteness! AHHHHH! I hope it never comes!! I do NOT need a white Christmas! NOPE. SURE DON'T!!

Speaking of Christmas (I can't shut up about it aye?), Nick wrapped my presents today and neatly stacked them all on the porch for me to stare at. OMG! I can't stand it!! HA! Of course I had to immediately retaliate by wrapping his up as well and putting them on display right next to mine. TAKE THAT! HA-HAAA! Oh, and mine look WAY better than his. NA NA NA NA NAAA NAAAAAAAA!!!

Alright, now on to the food! Breakfast was an oldie but goody. I made two decadent little sandwiches out of the following.

• 100 calorie, high fiber English muffin
• wedge of light laughing cow cheese
• 1 packet splenda
• sprinkles of cinnamon
• 1 honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced

All of these ingredients add up to pure, unadulterated deliciousness! SO GOOD! I enjoyed half of the apple on the side with more cinnamon sprinkles, of course!

Lunch however was a complete and total FAILURE! I shredded up some leftover turkey meat and decided to microwave it for a few seconds to heat it through. BAD IDEA! It dried out to the lovely texture of cardboard. MAD! I tried to salvage it by smearing it with cran-apple butter. It was better but FAR from GOOD! I turned it into a wrap by adding it to a tortilla lined with romaine leaves. On the side I had some raw veggies. At least THEY tasted good!

For our break today Ann and I attempted to find a Christmas present for our Mama but our mission was NOT successful. I did however manage to spend money on myself. What is wrong with me? HA! At least I didn't spend a lot. I picked up some calorie free caramel coffee syrup, gingerbread flavored coffee and snickerdoodle flavored coffee. It's my new obsession. I have like 6 flavored coffees at home at the moment and about 4 different syrups. I LOVE COFFEE!

My afternoon snack was a decadent little mix of tasty stuff! Of course I must be talking about a yogurt mess. I made it with plain Oikos Greek yogurt, POM arils...


and a deep chocolate VitaTop from VitaLicious.


I was seriously drooling between bites. The flavor combo was magnificent!


The VitaTop was nice and chocolaty and the tartness and crunch from the seeds mixed with the creamy goodness of the yogurt was SO GOOD! This VitaTop gets a 10 out of 10. I loved the sweet heck out of it.

My Vita stash is running low by the way. THIS SADDENS ME DEEPLY! You will probably see a repeat of this exact snack tomorrow though with a different flavored muffin top. Yeah, it was that good! :)

The gym session was also good today. Here is what we did.

Cable V-Bar Lat. Pulldown
40lb x 25
50lb x 20
60lb x 18
70lb x 10
High Row (plate loaded)
50lb x 25
70lb x 20
90lb x 15
Low Row (plate loaded)
20lb x 20
30lb x 16
40lb x 12
Face Pull with rope grip (cable)
60lb x 25
70lb x 20
80lb x 12
Barbell Curls
20lb x 20
25lb x 20
35lb x 12
Treadmill
10 min., .56 miles, 3.4 speed
Bike
10 min., Random, Level 5, 3.6 miles
Elliptical
2 min "test" run

I wanted to see if my leg could handle the elliptical before we left. I haven't tried getting back on since week 1 back at the gym. We're now on week 17 (roughly, wow) and It felt SO MUCH better then before. I think I will start adding it into my workouts, little by little. STEADY AS SHE GOES! :)

Dinner was easy peasy. I had leftover veggie, cocoa chili. I swear it tasted even better than yesterday. I enjoyed the hot heck out of it.


And there you have it. My very exciting (dull) Monday for you reading enthusiasts. Now I'm off to watch some Top Gear and House M.D.

Chat tomorrow.

Chili Champ

My precious long weekend is almost over. I swear I could weep with sadness! It just flew by so fast!! It was fun though! Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can look forward to the Christmas countdown! IT'S SO CLOSE I CAN TASTE IT! I dug through my scary closet today (FULL of stuff) and found all of my wrapping papers, boxes, bows, ribbons and tape. I'm all set to wrap the things I have already purchased and make them all teasingly beautiful! I ADORE giving presents to people I care about. Some people HATE the giving and receiving part of the Christmas tradition. I'm clearly not one of them. The look on the face of someone you love ripping at a delicately wrapped present gets my heart all a flutter. :)

Breakfast today consisted of coffee (lots of coffee) and an egg white scramble.

• 4 egg whites
• mushrooms (chopped)
• green onion (chopped)
• green peppers (chopped)
• tomato (chopped)
• salt & pepper to taste

I topped it with Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa.. Tasty stuff! Very flavorful!


I also had a toasted English muffin on the side with a bit of spray butter.


Before it was time for the usual Sunday visit with the folks, I decided to get a head start on dinner. A warm and spicy vegetable chili sounded good. I busted out the good old crock pot and added the following.

• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 2 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can of diced tomato
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 small yellow onions, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 8oz mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups Morning Star Farms Sausage meal starter
• 1 tbs hot chili powder
• 1 tbs unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp roasted red pepper seasoning
• 1 tsp Liquid smoke
• 1 tsp green habanero sauce
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Done and done. It will be so lovely to come home and not have to fuss with dinner. :)

I wasn't super hungry when the time rolled around to visit the Fam. I decided to just pack a banana, an orange, a honeycrisp apple, some grapes and an Oikos yogurt cup to make a quick fruit salad. It turned out delicious! I couldn't finish it all all so I shared with Mama.


The visit was fun. We did the usual game playing which was full of love filled yell sessions, tantrums and competition. I lost as usual. HA!

When I got home I found Nick hanging plastic on the windows again and putting up the rest of the blinds I bought a few weeks ago. YAY for rooms WITHOUT drafts and WITH privacy! I was so excited! I helped him finish up and then we hung the curtains back up. I'm not a HUGE fan of blinds but I'll force myself to get used to them until I can figure out something more aesthetically pleasing.

We were both starving by the time we were done. The house smelled like chili, GOOD chili, and my mouth was watering for a taste. I quickly made a nice bowlfull, topped it with a bit of cheese and sour cream. YUM!


I also had a Golden Corn VitaTop from VitaLicious on the side. Oh man, good decision! It was super tasty! It had a really good corn cake flavor. I give it a solid 9 out of 10!


Seriously, the chili was mighty fine! I'm not sure if it was the cocoa or or just luck with the ingredients and seasonings I used this time around. I was almost surprised by how good it was!

WHEW! I was stuffed after dinner. Only one thing can help me now. A nice cup of tea and more House M.D. episodes. We're almost completely caught up! YEAH!

Have a great night everyone!

Leftover Love

Happy Saturday yall. I hope you're all having a fabulous day. It's been a gorgeous sunny, super relaxing and lovely day here today and I'm loving every second of it. I woke up to the aromas of vanilla biscotti coffee. I love it when I remember to set the coffee maker the night before. There is nothing better than waking up to the scent of fresh, decadent coffee! YUM!


I curled up with Bubble But (cat) for a bit and just stared at my tree for while. I was mesmerized! HA! It felt so nice to do nothing!!

A bit later I was feeling hungry so I made a quick little breakfast. A toasted English muffin with sugar free peach preserves, egg white scramble and a side of red grapes. It hit the spot just right.


After breakfast I changed for the gym and met Ann for the usual Saturday sweat session.

Treadmill warmup
10 min, 3.2 speed, .5 miles
Seated Leg Curl
65lb x 20
70lb x 20
75lb x 18
80lb x 15
Leg Extension

65lb x 20

70lb x 20

75lb x 18

75lb x 15

Hack Squat
55lb x 20
65lb x 20
75lb x 15
Single Leg Press
55lb x 25 (each leg)
70lb x 22 (each leg)
90lb x 18 (each leg)
100lb x 15 (each leg)
Stiff Leg Dead Lift
30lb x 20
40lb x 18
50lb x 15
Barbell Curls
20lb x 20
25lb x 18
30lb x 15
Crunches with 8lb ball
x20
x20
x20
Crunches with 10lb ball
x20
x20
x20

I felt so weak today. Not sure what was up with that! I felt like I couldn't catch my breath the whole time I was working out. It was very odd. We took Thursday off because the gym was only open for a few hours (11-2) and I was at home cooking the entire time. I doubt taking a two day break instead of one is the reason though. No idea what was going on. I just felt WHOPPED!

I cam home and decided to unwind in a nice and long hot bath. It felt amazing! I then made another cup of tasty coffee and got caught up on some blog reading. I was a bit behind and had LOTS TO READ!

At about 2:00 I decided to make lunch. I was eating later than usual and my body was feeling it. I got so consumed with blog reading I lost track of time. I LOVE IT!

Lunch was quick and simple. I made a sandwich on rye with roast beef, sweet butter lettuce and spray butter. On the side I had green peppers, tomatoes and some leftover butternut squash. Tasty-tasty!


Soon after finishing lunch Nick finally decided to join me downstairs. He has been upstairs for HOURS writing code for something or another on his computer. Honestly, I have NO IDEA what he has been working on for the last few days. He tried to explain it but to be honest, yeah, I don't speak "code" gibberish. We then turned on House M.D. and watched a few episodes. WE FINISHED SEASON 5. Wow!! On to the NEW season. Probably not today though. I'm just a tad all House'd out for the evening.

I decided to get rid of some more of the turkey leftovers for dinner. I shredded about 4oz of turkey, added a bit of taco seasoning mix and water and microwaved it for a minute. I tossed this into a Flat Out wrap, added cheese and refried beans, rolled it up and toasted the wrap in a skillet. SO EASY! I had it with a bit of lettuce, diced tomato, green onions and sour cream. It was delicious and filling!


Well, I lied, we're about to watch the first episode of House M.D. season 6. HA! It's just getting too good. I CAN'T STAND WAITING!

Goodnight everyone!

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!