Autumn Awhs.

The weekend continued, and so did the fun.  Saturday night, we took a little road trip to the Coliseum and played some games together.  It was fun to just let loose & be goofy.

Neither of us are very good at Guitar Hero, but we had a blast  trying to rock out.  Ha.

 

Have I mentioned how completely in love I am with my best friend?

Jarid got me this little squeezy penguin, which we named Fonzy with our tickets as a prize from the arcade.  I totally felt like a teenager.  It was great.

As you can see, we love him as our own 😉 

Sunday morning, we went to church with my parents for a change at my home church, and then came home to make lunch together.

I had a turkey & hummus sammie on whole wheat bread with a bowl of veggies on the side (mini bell peppers, shredded green leaf lettuce, and english cucumber) with Mango Vinaigrette.

Somehow, almost every picture I take of him, his eyes are almost or completely closed.  Haha.  He spotted a turkey & cheese sub at Giant that he wanted so he snatched it up, along with some chocolate milk and cheese puffs.

After lunch, we took a lovely 5 mile walk around the loop close to my house.  You guys have seen it before, but this time of year, the colors are indescribable.

How stinking gorgeous is this place?  The quaint little valley I live in now will always have a special place in my heart.  It was a wonderful area to grow up in.  Safe, scenic, and comforting.

Annnnndd we’re off to watch football…as it should be on a lazy, Sunday afternoon 😉

Bahahaha.  He wasn’t excited AT all 😉

XO.

To walk or to run…that is the question.

So, I got home from work yesterday and did a bit of snacking for some walkin’ fuel (1/2 Glo Bar, 1 Weight Watchers string cheese, & 1/2 peach).

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I was determined to just go for a leasurely 5 mile walk as opposed to running.  I started out doing well, but eventually I got bored and started running anyway. 

When I got home, I did a little time on the stationary bike burning 250 calories.  Then I did some ab rippper moves before dinner. 

Salad!

This is exactly what I was craving!  1/2 C. warmed fat free refried beans + plain greek yogurt + salsa + red pepper over a bed of baby spinach. YUM!

whites w/ salt & pepper.

I also added some egg whites to the salad to amp up the protein 😉

Greek yogurt + sf syrup.

I finished off the little container of greek yogurt with a sweet touch and also had some red beets on the side!

Then, I packed my lunch for today consisting of some more refried beans topped with SF syrup, a light flat out wrap, some sonoma jack’s for the wrap, and a big tub of veggies!

the spread.

Then, it was time for girls’ night!  Since The Bachelor is over, we decided to turn on Dancing with the Stars and play Apples to Apples.  It was a fun night!  There was a huge spread of goodies for dessert and I shared my GloBars with some of the ladies which were a hit!

I had a chocolate mint protein shake & a plate of fruit as my dessert:

Strawberries, orange slices, & pineapple.

Tastes like mint chocolate chip ice cream!

I also made a 100 calorie bag of kettle corn to share with the gals.

Pop Secret 100 Calorie Kettle Corn.

Unfortunately, most of it burned, so it wasn’t consumed, but that’s okay.  I was stuffed by then anyway!

Happy Tuesday Bloggies! We’re almost half way 😉

EUREKA.

Hallelujah, it’s Friday.

And here’s your Verse of the Day:

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,”- Philippians 1:29

So, last night when I got home, I was a little bummed about the chill factor, but decided to go for a run anyhow.  It wasn’t exactly COLD, but it wasn’t nearly as gorgeous as it had been Wednesday!  I grabbed this little guy from Granola Gourmet (reviews to come!) for some fuel and headed outside:

Brownie Energy Bar!

 I actually only ate 1/2 the bar (75 calories) because Wednesday, I felt like I ate too much before I ran, which slowed me down a bit.  The five miles felt MUCH better.  I only stopped for a few minutes to talk to our family friend, Kimmie as she was driving by in her mini van! LOVE that girl. 

When I got home, I decided to experiment a little bit.  I wanted to pack my lunch, but I also needed to whip up some dinner.  I steamed a whole bag of these steamfresh veggies, california blend to be exact, and topped it with salt & pepper with mustard on the side for dippage. 

Prior to mustard dippage.

If anyone has had the privelage of winning or working with Progresso, they know what I mean when I say I LOVEEE the huge, blue mug that I have from them.  It’s so PERFECT.  Big enough for mixing, steaming, whatever! 

Anyway, as I was prepping my lunch for today I had a few handfuls of this addicting cereal:

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Lunch today is some Quorn Chick’n Tenders with some coleslaw for crunch and all mixed in with some balsamic vinegar + sugar free honey homemade dressing. 

Asian Chicken Salad.

Along with this beastly salad, I packed a navel orange to enhance the asian flavors:

fruit!

To top off my dinner, I knew I needed some protein!  I decided to experiment a little bit and tried to make one of Janetha’s protein cakes with my BSN banana nut bread protein powder.  I failed miserably.  I don’t know what went wrong?  I used the correct amounts of everything???  The only thing I can think of is that maybe I didn’t mix it well enough before popping it into the microwave. 

Anyway, I had the whole house to myself last night, so I felt like a mad scientist in a lab.  I went to work with my Bella, in an effort to create a Strawberry Cheesecake GREEN MONSTER. 

EUREKA.  Seriously, you MUST try this recipe.

Strawberry Cheesecake Green Monster:

• 1/2 C. Fat free cottage cheese
• Handful spinach
• 1 oz. Sugar Free Strawberry Torani syrup

IT’s SOOO easy, but so yummy. 

Grinch-like stache 🙂

Trust me on this one.  To die for.  After consumption, a bike ride on the stationary was taken worth 200 calories, and some ab work was done on my living room floor 🙂

On that note, HAPPY FRIDAY!  I’ve got lots of fun stuff planned for this weekend including family egg painting tonight at mi casa, a massage with my bestest tomorrow, a wine & movie night with Nic on Saturday, and softball fundraiser bingo with the troops on Sunday after church!

Make sure you check out Tina’s giveaway of some Brother’s All Natural Fruit Crisps & Gliding Calm’s cookbook giveaway!

REMINDER!:  ONE WEEK TO ENTER MY AURORAE YOGA MAT GIVEAWAY!