The Good Life: Part II

Sunday morning, I had plans to go for another run, but opted to stay in bed and later walk to Wawa for coffee with the boy.

After we got back, we ate breakfast with Julie & Mike and headed out to the beach for day two. 

We weren’t able to attend church, so we did devotionals together on the sand.  It was so neat.  I love that we met another Christian couple and have decided to meet on a monthly basis for a bible study!

Jarid & I wanted to do something nice for Julie & Mike since they were kind enough to let us stay with them while we were there, which saved us a lot of money, so we took them out to lunch after we were done on the beach, before we headed home. 

Julie has allergies to a lot of different foods, including gluten, so I thought it was cool that this place called Green Cuisine Restaurant had a ton of gluten-free options.  There were about 23947982374 different things on the menu that I wanted to try!  If we ever get to go back to Avalon, I think we will definitely have to go back to this place!

 

I chose the California Salad, which was a base of mixed greens with marniated artichokes, avocado, tomato, sprouts, mushrooms, and egg which I switched out for turkey. The dressing was a homemade low-fat citrus vinaigrette (I’m pretty sure the main ingredient was orange juice!)

We wandered around the shops for a bit before heading home.  There was so much we put on our possible to-try list if we ever make it back there…in fact, I’m going to document it so we don’t forget

• Atlantic City – Caesar’s Palace
• Island Studio Paint Your Own Pottery (www.islandstudio.org)
• Island Watersports
• Paint Studio (http://paintstudioandgallery.com/)
• Peace A Pizza (http://www.peacepizza.com/Stone-Harbor.html)

   

  It was time to say goodbye to the beach, since we had dinner plans with my parents.   They met us in Harrisburg for a low-key meal at Hoss’s which ended up being perfect.  The drive home was a rainy, stormy one, but the boy handled it like a champ.
  

I ordered the broiled scallops sans butter and a baked sweet potato with the salad bar.

I was pretty pleased at the amount of healthy desserts Hoss’s had available too.  I couldn’t make up my mind and since it was a buffet, I grabbed a little cup of each to try. 

The only one I actually ate was the no sugar added butter pecan.  It was delish!

When we got home, the parents gave me my birthday present & sang happy birthday with a candle in a chocolate Vitatop.  They are the best (: 

A little bit of history behind the gift…when I turned 16, my Daddy took me shopping to buy my first pair of diamond earrings.  It was really special.  Unfortunately, 16 year-olds (at least this one), wasn’t very responsible and somehow lost one of them.  I was absolutely devastated.  More-so because of the sentimental value than the retail.  This birthday, Momma & Poppa FF gave me a replacement pair!  They are absolutely beautiful princess cut studs , and I promise a picture soon!  <3

I could not possibly feel more blessed.

XOXO.

Oh, This Has Gotta Be The Good Life <3

I can’t think of a place that I would’ve rather been to spend my 23rd birthday weekend than Avalon, NJ with the boyfriend & our friends, Mike & Julie.  You may remember Julie from basketball season.  I met her at HACC and we’ve been great friends ever since.

These two are a match made in heaven, and are going to be married in June 2012!  They recently got engaged and asked us if we wanted to join them on a beach trip!  We couldn’t go for the entire week, but headed down after work on Friday.

We had beautiful weather the entire weekend, which wasn’t supposed to be the case, but God pulled through and answered our prayers for an excellent time.

This post is basically going to be a plethora of pictures from our experiences there…maybe a few foodie pictures, but for the most part, it was all about the memories (:

We stayed at the Beachcomber Resort, which was just across the street from the beach access. 

It was at a great location, within walking distance to the little shopping strip as well…oh, and Wawa (:

The first morning we were there, I set out on a 5 mile run…mainly because I’m nosey and was excited to explore the new-to-me area.  I really wanted to see what all was around.  

First, I headed around the neighborhood.  There were runner-friendly sidewalks everywhere, but I found my way to the beach.  Then, I proceeded to run through town until I made it to the bridge.

There is something SO serene about running near water & early enough in the morning that you’re one of the only people out and about.

See my shadow on the bridge?

Avalon, NJ is a very quaint little area which I adored.  It was family friendly, unlike OC, NJ & OC, MD where you tend to see a lot of partying, etc.  This was quiet and peaceful with a sweet little strip of shops and things to do in Stone Harbor. 

Not to mention, the place was SUPER gluten-free friendly, which was great to see…especially because Julie has some pretty strong food allergies.  When I got back from my run, Julie & I headed to Coffee Talk which was actually somewhere that Taylor Swift used to play, while the boys headed to Uncle Bill’s Pancake house.

I got some amazing coffee and we sat & chatted for awhile about things God was teaching us, our families, and anything else that came up in conversation. 

When we got back to the room, I had some breakfast.

Fiber One Cereal, chunked banana, & chocolate Light Muscle Milk

Post breakfast, we got geared up in our beach apparel and headed down to the sand. It was already turning out to be a beautiful day!

Don’t mind the frizzy hair (:  Jarid didn’t.  Haha.

Julie, Mike & I played frisbee on the beach while Jarid napped for a little bit.  He drove us the whole way after a long day at work, so it was totally reasonable that he was a little tuckered out.

We all headed back to the room to grab a bite to eat for lunch in the afternoon and stayed by the pool until it was later in the evening.

I’m pretty positive that I could do anything with Jarid and we would make it fun, but this trip had adventure written all over it.  It was my first weekend away with someone I was dating and it couldn’t have been better.  Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure he’s the one

Must be the adorable dimples or the goofy smile that drive me wild (:   Okay, enough gushing…back to the trip!

Mike & Julie were SO sweet.  They got a chocolate cake, frosted it, and sang “happy birthday” to me when we went back to clean up at the room!

Jarid wanted to give me my birthday presents before we went out for our “date night”/birthday dinner, so I happily obliged.

Remember when we went to the Aquarium and got an artist drew a picture of the two of us?

Welllllll, Jarid made me a copy and framed it for my birthday! (:

AWESOME! His parents also gave me a sweet card & gift (which I forgot to take a picture of.  It looks just like THIS, though).  I never imagined I would like the parents of the person I was dating so much.  Even the times we spent at their house chatting on the couch were so enjoyable.

For the grand finale, the boy gave me a large-ish box which contained

THIS!  I was in shock and awe.  I’ve never owned a REAL Coach bag.  I couldn’t believe how amazing he did at picking it out!  I love that I can match it with black or brown.  It is JUST the right size, not too big, not too small. I think I smothered him in kisses after he gave it to me.  So thoughtful. 

You better believe I made the immediate bag switch from my old to my new before we went out.  The place we found in one of the books about the area was called the “Sea Grill” and it was highly recommended.

Turns out, we were both caught off guard when our waitress told us the way the restaurant worked…See, you don’t give your order to the waitress at this place, you take your “tab” up to the chef’s window, order something off the blackboard menu, and tell the chef exactly what size and how you’d like it cooked. 

I ordered grilled chicken and a baked sweet potato to have with my salad bar, while Jarid picked the crap imperial stuffed shrimp.  He let me try it, and I can say without a doubt, I will be ordering that next time. 

He helped me finish off my chicken.  The restaurant was a  tad dark, so the photos didn’t come out so hot, but we had an amazing dinner.

Afterward, we did a photoshoot by the bay on our walk to the shops.

I actually LOVE this picture (:

 

Part II of “the good life” coming up next

XO.

 

drawkcab dnekeew.

My littlest sister turned 15 years old on Sunday…which means this coming Sunday, I will be turning 23 years old. Bizzare.

We had a joint birthday party this weekend since we are only 1 week apart.  Before hand, Jarid & I went to play basketball, and afterward, returned home to a house full of family guests.

Burned a whopping 973 calories.  Danggg.

The weather was gorgeous, and we hung out on the deck for most of the day.

Thanks to this goober, I found lots of photos of myself on my phone of me while I was opening gifts.

Along with the presents, came the food.  Of course I ate more than just this to re-fuel (think protein shake, fruit, no sugar-added ice cream, & a chocolate vitatop) but this was all that made it to my camera.

Poppa FF grilled up hotdogs, hamburgers, and of course chicken for those of us who were opposed to pork (rat?) & beef (:  I made a pita out of mine, courtesy of Joseph’s + some roasted red pepper hummus & reduced sugar ketchup along with a salad of iceberg, cukes, and cherry tomatoes with light zesty italian dressing.

With my 23rd  year of life comes several new adventures…

A&P starts on Tuesday @ 7pm…right after my first ! HOT YOGA class!

This past weekend, I also trading biking on this:

for biking on this:

I live in a very hilly area, so bike riding isn’t easy.  I just wanted to be outside, and took a 5 mile loop near my house instead of staying in the basement on the stationary.  I appreciated the switch and enjoyed some fresh air after I hit the gym Saturday morning. 

My new sneaks are wonderful.  Completely comfortable and are great for cross training.  Whether I’m playing basketball, running, or biking, they’ve adapted!

Jarid was working, so after my workout that morning, I ate lunch, took a shower, & went to donate some clothing to the consignment store in our area.

I found these cute brown peep toe pumps for just $7! Along with a discounted soup in the grocery section!

I’m happy to report, that I have a new favorite soup.  This stuff was AWESOME.  Impeccable nutrition stats & ingredients, too! 

It came in handy when I was feeling too lazy to actually cook for dinner that night…

For snacking?  My choice was this kashi chocolate turtle roll that I also found at the consignment store.

It was only priced at 25 cents!  Bargain shopper, I am. 190 calories, 12g protein, 6g fiber. It kicked my candy craving for the day.

Finally, Friday night, I made another dinner for the boyfriend & I. This time, turkey burgers were on the menu, using Jeanie-O Lean Ground Turkey.

Here’s the recipe I used:

• 1.25 lb lean turkey burger
• 4 T of your favorite flavor hummus (I used roasted red pepper)
• 2 T worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 medium onion, diced (i used a red one)
• 2 t cumin
• lots of black pepper
• dash of cayenne for spice factor 

They grilled up nicely on the George Foreman, but they ended up being a little bit dry…I expected a little more flavor, too.  Next time, I’ll add more hummus and spices!

Regardless, the boy really appreciates when I cook for him.  He is probably the most appreciative person I know…he makes me feel like a million bucks…even when I cook up a recipe that’s less than stellar

The spread was healthy, with the exception of the pierogies I made especially for Jarid…I knew steamed green beans and turkey burgers wouldn’t quite cut it for him.  Although, I did put together a nice little toppings plate!

Heirloom tomatoes, avocado, and romaine lettuce.  He tried avocado for the first time…and immediately removed the small bite he had taken from his mouth…haha.  NOT an avocado fan. 

After dinner, we spent the night peroozing the mall in search of gifts for the little sister.  We managed to get finished in time to catch a $2 movie…

[source]

Bad Teacher was playing and we thought that it would be a decent flick to see.  It was funny, crude, and overall not bad.  Nothing spectacular, but we made it fun!

So there you have it, my weekend…DRAWKCAB.  Or backward, if you still haven’t caught on

What was the best recipe you’ve tried recently?
For me, it was Mama Pea’s Mmm Sauce.

What’s the best movie you’ve seen this summer?
I’d have to say Crazy, Stupid Love.

XO.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, BOWMAN!

One year ago today, hundreds and hundreds of prayers were being sent up for Bowman. 

Being born three months premature is no easy feat, but we knew from the beginning he was a fighter!

  I remember going into the NICU so many times to visit Bran & Jare before I could even see Bowman. 

Each and every one of the nurses absolutely adored him.  He was the “most handsome” baby in the unit.

We celebrated when he turned 100 days old, and we celebrated when he was able to come home from the hospital.

I remember everything from the first time I got to see him to the first time I got to hold him!

As he grew, he developed such a personality!

His little smiles and giggles are enough to melt your heart.

Everytime I visited, it was made clear to me over and over that he is SUCH a miracle and a blessing for our family.

I can’t wait to see what other things God has in store for his life!

I can see so much of his Mom in him, it isn’t even funny.

Those baby blues are easily going to mesmerize the ladies!

His little chin dimple is simply adorable, too. 

Watching my cousin’s motherly instincts take over and seeing the joy that he brings to her life makes me really excited to have a family of my own someday.

He’s such a spunky little guy, yet so well-behaved, too!

It seems like he grows, he only gets cuter….if that’s possible?

He’s got a healthy appetite for life…

…and cake

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, little man. 

SOOO many people love you SO incredibly much…I guess it’s not hard to see why

So Much To Post, So Little Time…

I don’t have much to say, because I have too much to show you all from recent adventures with the boy (we’ve been geocaching, traveling, working out, and going on dates together!), buuuuut, I will say, thanks so much for all your birthday wishes to the birthday boy (:  We definitely had a memorable time at the Baltimore Aquarium and this past weekend…here’s a little glimpse   

XOXO.

Fuel To The Fire.

Things just got crazier.

I woke up with a bump, redness, and pain in my right shin one morning last week.  It almost felt like a bruise, but the pain was more intense while walking.

My Dr. first referred me to a specialist to get an ultrasound, making sure there was no blood clot.

There wasn’t.  My TB time test came back negative as well. 

So, for now, I’m just going to be taking anti-inflammatory medicine, which has really been helping with the pain.

Finals have taken a backseat to all the tests I’ve been having done, but I think I’ll be fine when they come around.  After all, there’s only so much you can study.  It’s more of a test to determine whether you remember anything that you’ve already learned from the course.

On the positive side, the food is still good   I can always depend on one thing to always make me feel better…nutritious, delicious food.

I made these tasty little treats to snack on, courtesy of Danica, one of my favorite recipe gurus in the healthy living blog community.  You have to check out Danica’s Daily.  This recipe was for “Cinnamon Sugar Wonton Crisps“.  I used non-stick cooking spray rather than butter and Splenda rather than sugar, though.

Steamed broccoli slaw is still one of my go-to lazy dinners, made complete with Light Ragu & Forty Spices hummus sauce.  Sometimes I add some meatless crumbles, but I had just downed a protein shake, so I opted for a plain bowl.

I went to see another house this weekend with my realtor & this sweetheart…He ended up joining me at church on Sunday, too

The night before, Jarid (who didn’t want his picture taken, thus the hiding behind his energy drink) and I went to the driving range and he taught me how to tee off   Beforehand, we grabbed some Subway subs and afterward, we took a nice little walk on City Island before settling onto a blanket to look at the stars…Unfortunately, there weren’t any, haha, but it was still fun!

Back to the house.

I love the stone exterior…and the inside was cute, too, but I got caught up and forgot about my camera.

And a cute little backyard, too!

After the showing, I made some lunch and left the house again to meet Jarid for basketball & a workout at the YMCA.

Hummus & egg sammie with reduced sugar ketchup on light multi-grain fiber one bread with a side salad in Light Zesty Italian dressing

Other events this weekend consisted of family birthday parties.

And lastly, this weekend there were some phenomonal breakfasts.  One, for example, was this Cherry Oat Bran microwaved cake.

I used lite, sugar-free cherry pie filling (1/3 C. = 35 calories), 1/3 C. oat bran, a pinch of baking soda, and 1 egg white simply popped in the micorwave for about a minute & a half.  Holy yum.

Annnnnd, that’s a rap.

Sorry for the haphazardness of this post, but you get the gist.  I just don’t have time for organization right now  

Tell me something exciting that happened to you this weekend!

XO.

The Momma.

Someone very special to me had a birthday this weekend. Since I don’t blog on weekends, I wanted to dedicate this post to her

She’s the most beautiful person I know, inside and out.

She’s always been there for me to lean on. 

She knows me better than I know myself. 

Even when I do my best to hide it, she is the only person who can tell how I’m feeling and usually has already figured out why.

She’s the best judge of character that I know.

She has wiped away my tears and held my hand.

She has pushed me to be the best athlete and person that I can be.

She comes from a long line of amazing women.

She’s got a heart of gold and is constantly showing others unconditional love.

She’s PASSIONATE beyond belief. 

She’s got one of the most resilient spirits I’ve ever known.

She’s just plain TOUGH.

She has always taught us to remember JOY:  JESUS, OTHERS, and then YOURSELF.

She supports me and tries to see my point of view even when I’m being hard-headed.

She is all-around fun-loving and one of my favorite people to hang out with.

She knows what I NEED, even if it’s not what I WANT at the time.

Sure, our relationship doesn’t always go as smoothly as I’d like.  We get busy sometimes, we don’t see each other much, our communication isn’t always great, but i know if I needed her, she would be there. 

She’s been the greatest influence on my life to date, and I thank God that He blessed me with such an amazing Momma <3

Happy Belated Birthday! LOVE YOU!!!
XO.

 

We Are The Champions, My Friendsss <3

Of course I was a bundle of nerves the entire day.  I had to wait for 4pm (gametime) to roll around so I could get it all out of my system.  The only thing that calmed me was a song that I listened to on the way to church, thanks to Mr. Matthew West for his encouragement…to be honest, I don’t even remember what song it was.

I’m in breakfast groove with peanut butter banana oatmeal. 1/4 C. peanut flour, 1/3 C. oats, 1 mashed banana.

  Here’s a nice little shot of me on my way to church…half asleep.  Just kidding!   I know you all asked for shots of my entire outfits, because you want to see what my fasion taste is like, but I simply didn’t have time this morning…Sorry!

Don’t mind my fuzzy jacket.  I think it needs dry cleaned pretty badly…

Anyway, on to more exciting things…like what our message was on Sunday morning.  It was all about loving people and being unselfish on a daily basis.  Thinking of everyone around us and their needs over our own. 

Since our game was at 2pm, we had to be there at 1pm to get our jerseys and warm up.  I packed lunch to eat on the way so I wasn’t playing on an empty stomach.

(Peanut flour paste: 1/4 C. peanut flour + sugar free vanilla Torani + pinch of salt & water to thin, with sugar free strawberry jam on 2 slices Arnold 10 grain bread, celery and carrots that actually went uneaten, and cherries that were also saved for later)

I couldn’t eat too much because I was so nervous, so I just stuck with my PB&J

 The game felt like it was here and gone in a flash!  We were down by TEN POINTS at half-time.  The team totally came out on fire in the second half and I got to play the entire game, not coming out one time!  It was all tied up in the fourth quarter and they fouled me on a drive to the basket.  I made a foul shot, putting us up by 1 point.  There was 17 seconds left on the clock, it was our ball, and coach called a play that we had run in practice, where someone sets a screen for me, and I take a long pass from our point guard down the entire length of the court…It worked!  I got to shoot a layup at the buzzer and we won by 3 points!

Afterwards, there was an awards ceremony where we were presented with our trophy.  Coach received “Coach of the Year“, which she totally deserved, and I was surprisingly awarded the Eastern Conference Most Valuable Player God deserves all the glory, of course.  He gives us things and can take them away in an instant.

(1 chopped apple + butternut squash sprinkled with cinnamon & splenda, then microwaved until soft; along with a huge salad of lettuce & baby spinach with chopped yellow pepper, tomato, and cucumbers; peach balsamic glaze for dressing)

I figured a celebratory dinner was in order.  When I got home, I showered and packed something to take to my cousin’s house.  She was having a pizza party for her daughter, whose birthday is on Valentine’s Day! 

After counting up my bumps, bruises, and scratches from the game (it was VERY physical), I headed out to my lil’ cousin’s birthday party.

  She was born on Valentine’s Day!  I’m a little disappointed with the quality of these pictures!  They don’t do justice to the beauty of these bruises.  They were all such gorgeous shades of purples and blues   haha. 

When it was over and I got home, I admired this stunning sunset view from our deck.  The little sister and I were on our own for the night because my parents were celebrating Valentine’s Day early and staying over at a cozy cabin somewhere.  I was glad they did.  They NEVER go and do things just the two of them, and I think it’s important that they get time to themselves.  Besides, it was nice having the chance to hang out and take care of Morgs.

I ended the night with some ice creammmm.  Because that’s the best way to end any night, right?  

It still amazes me that cookies and cream Arctic Zero manages to pack in 16g of fat-free, whey protein for just 150 calories.  Uh-Ma-Zing.  Not so amazing? The price.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some, right?  Nothing wrong with splurging every now and then.

On to States on Saturday in Western PA vs. Potomac State College!  Wish us luck!

And before you go, check out this awesome Vitatop giveaway at Oats & Spice!

XO.

Three R’s

I don’t know about you, but for me, weekends are the perfect time to regroup, recoop, and relax.  In that order, actually.  During the week, I sometimes feel like my schedule gets the best of me and I don’t take nearly enough time to stop and enjoy what’s actually going on around me.  OUT of my own little world.

Friday night, my teammate Eryn and I went to the campus cafeteria where the school was hosting a battle of the bands after basketball practice.  It was cheap (only $3 admittance with a student ID), but beforehand, we went to the closest grocery store and got some eats.

I grabbed a container from the salad bar and got to fixing my dinner.  Spinach, cukes, shredded carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, imitation crab, strawberries, cantaloupe, chickpeas, and some fat free Vidalia Onion dressing with a strawberry Oikos on the side.

The bands were all pretty good!   We didn’t stay the entire time, but it only because we were beat.  I walked away with a cute little bowl from one of the vendors at the show!

I’m a sucker for handmade ceramics…but seriously who could pass it up for just $5?  If you could’ve, more power to you.

It’s even dishwasher and microwave safe: WIN!

I crashed pretty hard when I got home that night, but knew the weekend would continue on.  Saturday morning I began with a random, yet mouth-watering breakfast.

It’s so funny that during the week, I read about how bloggers come up with these intricate, delicious breakfasts that I excuse, claiming that I just don’t have enough time in the morning (aka, I don’t want to get up any earlier than I already do).  Truth is, I’m just as content with a waning apple butter jar filled with raw tofu for breakfast.  Weird and random? You betcha.  Delicious and nutritious?  Check & check.

This was absolutely wonderful.  The tofu seriously soaked up all the flavors in the apple butter and cinnamon only infused the flavor even more. Don’t ask me where I came up with this, because I have no idea.  It did, however fuel me through a pretty nice workout on Saturday morning.

Insanity is the second best workout I could get, I think.  First being basketball, of course.  But Shaun T gets my heart rate up in more ways than one if you know what I mean HA.  Plus, biking and ellipticalling while I caught up on my One Tree Hill episode.  Anyway, 813 calories later, I made some lunch.

Roasted Garlic hummus with black beans, alfalfa sprouts, and baby spinach on a flat out light wrap. 

I just LOVE natural lighting   After I demolished my wrap, I made some okra fries in the oven and polished them off as well without thinking twice.

With obligatory reduced sugar ketchup, of course.  It was a big day, and that required big fuel.  We were going together as a family down to Lancaster for my Aunt’s 50th Surprise Birthday party! 

The party started around 6PM and we got there right around that time.  My Aunt didn’t get there until about 6:30 and we all totally caught her off guard.  Her friends, co-workers, and family all celebrated and I think she really had a great time.

I think it’s safe to say, I get a LOT of my features from Poppa FF’s side of the family.  Freckles, auburn hair, button nose, green eyes…I wish this were a clearer photo, so you could really see the depiction.

I packed some goodies since I figured the selection would be limited.  I ate them on the car ride down for dinner!  Sweet potato slices, cucumber and red pepper spears, snap peas, and a wrap in the aluminum foil made with a Flat Out light, a sonoma jacks cheese wedge and sugar free apricot jam.

It was neat to check out all the old pictures that were displayed in the house!  I love stuff like that.  See the black and white of the two kids in the bottom left hand corner of this collage?  The little guy in the bowtie is Poppa FF   What a cutie!  Haha.

Sooooo that was my Friday and Saturday…Sunday’s post still to come! 

ALSO a reminder to enter my Oh!Nuts giveaway!

Double Deuce.

Gooooooood morning, loves!  This is basically a catch up post from all the festivities this weekend!  I missed you all and thank you SOOO much for the birthday wishes!

First, I’m going to give God the glory, because He deserves ALLLL the credit for my life…This is a quote from one of my favee songs by Hillsong! 

“Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains
Your justice flows like the ocean’s tide
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King
I will find my strength
In the shadow of your wings”

Friday night my girl Mandy & I met up for dinner at Hong Kong City for a birthday dinner.  You wouldn’t think so by looking at the outside of this place, but it actually has some amazing sushi!

She ordered some kind of delicious looking roll with cream cheese, tobiko, avocado, and fish for her meal.  And before I got there, she snacked on these.

I’m not exactly sure what they were.  I’m thinking they were like fried noodles with sweet & sour dipping sauce.  Fried stuff doesn’t agree with my belly too well, so I passed.

For my appetizer, I ordered a salmon & avocado handroll without rice.  Mmm.  Great with the wasabi, pickled ginger, & a little bit of soy sauce!

For my entree, I ordered the steamed shrimp & mixed vegetables (surprise, surprise!) with no rice & extra veggies!

Yummmm.  I love that when you order steamed vegetables from chinese restaurants, they NEVER add anything.  When I ask for them at other places, I always have to specify NO butter sauce or NO cream, but at Chinese restaurants, they know what they’re doing with those veggies

This sweet girl adorned me with some unneccessary gifts, too!  One of them is a game called Quiddler, which I have been wanting for awhile now!  It’s a word card game in which each card has a letter with a point value and you do your best with your dealt hand to score high as you can.  She also gave me some ADORABLE bowls, as she knows my love for all new blogging goodies.  Thanks Mandy, girl.  I love you!

After dinner, we went to

One of my favorite places EVER.  We painted pottery & chatted away the entire night

Before:

After:

I chose a rice bowl coated in “Olive You” green and etched on the inside with Vanilla Bean overtop.

Mandy chose a mug to paint which ended up looking really neat!  I can’t wait to see what they look like after being in the kiln!

We had a great night laughing and just hanging out!  If you have never been to a paint-your-own-pottery place, I highly recommend it.  For me, it’s like therapy! Haha.

The rest of the weekend was kind of here & there as far as photos.  I decided to not freak out if I missed a “documentation” of everything, because I was enjoying the moment instead of worrying about whether or not I would miss a chance to blog about it.

You guys know what I mean!  I can say, however that this weekend was a fantastic one and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my birthday any other way.  I was constantly surrounded by family & friends!

Each morning started with an Insanity workout with Sean T!

So far, I think the plyo cardio is my favorite! 

Saturday, my actual birthday day, Momma FF took me out for lunch at Bob Evans!

Low-fat cottage cheese, wheat toast

I LOVE this place because they serve breakfast ALL day

Side salad with apple cider vinegar + Splenda drizzled ontop!

I love her so much!  I seriously cherish the days we get to spend just the two of us.  She is such a blessing in my life.

There was also cantaloupe, but I must’ve forgotten a photo.

Anywho, after lunch, we hit Color-Me-Mine for another pottery-painting-therapy session   At this point, my camera battery was borderline dead, so you’ll just have to wait and see what I painted when I get it back on Friday! Ohhh the anticipation!

After that, we hit up Dick’s Sporting Goods to check out HR monitors, but had no success.  On the way to meet Poppa & Seester FFs for dinner, we stopped at Best Buy too.  I wanted to look into upgrading and ended up with a Samsung Captivate as part of my birthday gift from my parents!  

I am beyond excited!!  It is JUST like the Apple Iphone, only the Samsung version. 

The whole family went to Ruby Tuesday’s together for dinner.  It was my choice, and I was craving a good salad bar! 

Seesters & I

They’ve got all of my favorite fixin’s, so I piled my plate high!  Baby spinach, leafy greens, sliced zucchini, cucumbers, red beets, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, peas, lima beans, chickpeas, mushrooms, cottage cheese, and a few grapes ontop!

Food baby ensued.

But, that didn’t stop me from hitting round two.  All the photos were from plate #1, but they pretty much looked the same.  Just a little smaller in size.  Always drizzled with a touch of balsamic vinegar!

When we got home from dinner, we relaxed together & played my new Quiddler game!  Thennnn there was MORE gift giving.  As if the new phone wasn’t enough!?   I am so blessed and need to remember to thank God everyday for all he has given me.  I would’ve been just as happy with the time I got to spend with everyone on my birthday.  They made me feel SO loved and cherished just by the way they treated me and their attitudes toward me…THAT, I wouldn’t trade for all the gifts in the WORLD.

This gift was from my parents, too.  I was a 1,000 point scorer in basketball my senior season, and typically, people get to keep the ball that they scored it with for painting and showcasing.  My parents gave me THIS for my birthday this year and are having it hand painted with my name, number, game, & date scored!    Such a neat idea! 

They also gave me a gift card for the campus bookstore, which will really come in handy when I have to go buy books this semester! 

They also ordered Vitacakes to sing Happy Birthday to me with! I was super excited.  How sweet are they?! 

Poppa FF even ran to the grocery store (without my knowing!) and got a box of sugar free vanilla bean ice cream!  My fave!  

It was truly a special day.

Sunday rolled around and I was still on a high from the weekend.  I don’t have many pictures of eats from the day, but that’s not because they didn’t happen.  It’s because I was a slacker of a blogger.  No excuses, the battery was fully charged at this point.  Just didn’t photograph.

After Insanity, I got ready for church.  Sunday is supposed to be an “off” day, but I didn’t start on the designated days so the schedule is a little different. 

After church, there was lunch.  I had some leftover grated zucchini & tomato soup (chilled) with a La Tortilla Factory rolled-up wrap for dipping and a Strawberry Chobani on the side.

You like?

After lunch, Morgy & I went to redeem our gift certificates at a local nail place called Beyond Texture. 

She went with a full set of acryllics

and I went with a pedicure.

It was convenient  because I needed to get my car serviced at Walmart, which is right next door, so we dropped the car off and went for a walk to the nail place.

The aftermath.

When we got home, I snacked on a gala apple & did some baking, laundry, and cleaning.

Nutrition First!  Not from scratch.

Not bad, not bad! 

I also added sliced banana to the top.  Why isn’t this more common?  I mean, am I the only person who loves chocolate & banana together?

Best decision EVER.  The bananas got nice and carmelized in the oven!

NOM.

And then there was a mountain of laundry.

Anddddd lunch packing.

Dinner was pretty much just a load of grazing…and some brownies.  But then, I had a bag of broccoli slaw steamed and mashed with some garlic hummus, so it all evens out, right?

Here’s to a wonderful weekend…and thanks again to all of you who made my birthday such a special one!!  Hope your weekends were great, too!

 

XO.