The Study Date That Paid Off.

Daily Verse:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;” – John 11:25

My day almost always starts with something sweet.  In light of Christmas time being so close, I made a chocolate peppermint oatcake in the microwave.

Microwavable is perfect for me…an impatient, time-pressed chick.  Here’s what went into the batter before nuking for about 2.5 minutes on power level 9:

• 1/3 C. organic oatbran
• a quick drizzle from the sugar-free peppermint Torani syrup bottle (I never measure!)
• 1 egg white
• a pinch of baking soda
• some cinnamon to bring out the sweetness

I dunked it in some unsweetened vanilla almond milk.  It reminded me of the flavors in a thin mint girl scout cookie!

The rest of my day was pretty much a blur…I only have photo documentation of part of my lunch…

Packaged butter bliss dole lettuce blend, cucumbers, beets, yellow pepper, chopped green beans, and tomatoes in red wine vinegar + splenda for dressing

I had a sandwich, too…which was 10X better than the salad…it was hummus & turkey. YUM.

Between stuffing my face with salad, I did my best to get some last minute studying in before my A&P test.  My amazing boyfriend actually printed off photos of the ciruculatory system for me that we had taken the night before in lab.

Besides all of the specific parts to the heart, we had to know each and every vein and artery in the body…

Remember when I said Jarid & I were in the lab the night before to study?  I wasn’t kidding. 

After a cross ramp warm up for 20 minutes, I had basketball practice from 5-7pm… I showered up at the gym and Jarid met me with Chinese for our study date.

Only the sweetest man in the world would leave work, pick you up dinner, and be there to support you as you spend a countless amount of time studying just in order to be with you.   Steamed shrimp with extra veggies instead of rice for her, sweet & sour pork with fried rice for him.

Yep.  I’m the luckiest girl in the world. 

It’s hump day!  Andddddd I have reason to celebrate, because all my studying paid off!  With a lot of help from “the big man” as Jarid says, calming my nerves.

50 out of 50 on my test.  Praise GOD.  Now for finals next week!

 

Homemade Thai Peanut Sauce

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile now, you know that I’m all about quick, convenient, simple recipes.  I don’t have much time to throw things together between schooling and working, so time is really an issue for me.  Sometimes I wonder what I could conjur up if I actually made time to cook!

One of my favorite take-out dishes, steamed shrimp & mixed vegetables, from the chinese place in our town comes with a lite garlicky sauce on the side.  Thing is, sometimes, it just doesn’t do the trick as a sauce for my dish.  I’ll be real honest, quite frankly, I don’t like not knowing what ingredients go into it, either.  I came up with this delicious peanut sauce, with suggestions from Monica, and will be using it from here on out…it is THAT good.  It is also wonderful on steamed broccoli slaw!

Homemade Thai Peanut Sauce

• 1/4 C. Peanut flour
• 2 T. Sriracha sauce
• 1 Packet of sweetener (I used Splenda)
• 2 T. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or you can sub. soy sauce)

Just mix all the ingredients together and pour over your dish!  It turns out thick, and creamy with a little touch of spice.  YUM.

Paradise Part 1

I know it’s taken awhile for me to get these pictures uploaded, so let’s get things started, shall we?  Before the vacation could start, we went to support our cousin, Allison at her graduation.

She is a great soccer player and will be attending PSU Harrisburg next year, joining their team!  It was pretty cool that my Dad had the opportunity to present her with her diploma since he’s on the school board 😉

Afterward, there were photos and tears.  The party came to our place afterward for a campfire & reception.

Before I left for vacation, the boyfriend took me on a date.

Since we wouldn’t be seeing each other for about a week & 1/2, it was deemed necessary to have a date night…this was complete with chinese food

steamed mixed vegetables with shrimp

and Kung Fu Panda 2…in 3D 😀

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After a wonderful send off, it was time to get the roadtrip started…My sister, Myranda & I were driving down together in a car by ourselves for the first time.  Typically, we go with our parents, but they were going to a tournament of my youngest sisters’ first and wouldn’t be getting to the beach until a day later. 

When we arrived in the Outer Banks, it was about lunchtime, and this little guy was hungry so we made a pitstop at Pizza Hut.  We had been traveling with my Godparents, my best friend, and her family…which included Bowman 🙂  His first beach trip was SO exciting!

Anyway, lunch looked like this…

Not too bad for a Pizza Hut salad bar, huh?  My thoughts exactly 🙂

When we finally were able to check in at our beach house, I decided to take a tour so you all could see it.

Welcome to Blue Point at milepost 16.8 in Nags Head, NC. 

There were three floors, of which, my bedroom was on the second. I was bunking with Allison (my cousin), and my two sisters…plus, my sister’s boyfriend, Braxton.

We were right across the street from the ocean and could see it from our deck. 

The kitchen was on the top floor,

but there was a little mini prep area on the 1st floor that I took full advantage of using for my grocery stock. Yep, you better believe I brought my Oster blender. How else would I make my protein shakes in the morning?! 🙂

 I filled the cupboards with goodies from home, too!  Most mornings, my Godfather picked up donuts for the house to nosh on for breakfast and dinner, most people in the family went out to eat, except my immediate family.  It was just fine with me because cooking and meal prep is limited while I’m at home due to such a busy schedule.  It was nice to have time to prepare and sit down to enjoy my meals while on vacay.

The goods included: Fiber One cereal, Coconut Macaroon coffee (a la Target), Seaweed Snacks, Nature’s Own whole grain bread, Udi’s Gluten-free Vanilla granola, Eat.Think. Smile Crispy Thins, About Time protein powder, xanthan gum, dark unsweet cocoa powder, vitamin water zero, mini clif bars, Pepsi Max, oat bran, Amy’s low fat split pea soup, and some various light dressings.

The game room/pool table, also in the same vicinity as the mini kitchen.  That little table is where I ate most of my lunches!

Most of the time we were there, either baseball or the weather channel occupied the television, with the exception of Monday night, which obviously had to be on ABC for the Bachelorette.

Just another shot of the family room….I’ve always loved how summer homes and beach houses are decorated.  Such bright, happy colors 🙂

As usual, the house also had a pool and hot tub in the back, which the kids took full advantage of.  I spent most of my time on the beach (I can go to a pool anytime, right?), but I did get a nice pool workout in on the last day we were there!  I think this was the first year I didn’t step foot in the hot tub! 

After the tour, everyone settled in, unpacked, and ordered pizza…

I put my freshly bought produce to good use and whipped up a yummy dinner that I’ve been wanting to try for EVER now. 

KELP noodles, a la Elise (<–genius)

• mashed peas
• mashed avocado
• rinsed kelp noodles

For those of you wondering, I’ve been trying to incorporate foods into my diet that have been linked to thyroid health, since I read the book “Must’ve Been Something I Ate“.  The winner of the book still hasn’t claimed her prize, so I’ve decided to pick another winner…

CONGRATS, MARIE 🙂  Please email me your address and I’ll ship you your prize book STAT!  You guys really should check out her blog, Chocolate-Covered Chaos.  It is awesome! 

Annnnnd there’s recap #1!  Stay tuned for numero dos!

XO.

Bring On The Sunshine.

The best days start with award-winning bread.

If you don’t believe me, you’ve probably never tried Rudi’s Organic Bakery products for breakfast.  Trust me on this one, if you’re not a morning person, you will be after fixing a breakfast treat on one of their Multi-grain English Muffins with Flax.

Try them with some sliced banana and sugar-free strawberry preserves.  You’ll thank me later 😉

I had an eye-opening devotional this morning, too…

I couldn’t agree more!  It’s easy to run to God when things are going wrong to ask for help, but how many times do we spend time with him when things are going well?  Definitely something I need to work on…

My walking buddy and I took a gorgeous stroll in the sunshine down by the river today…two, actually, on our breaks at work.  I’m so thankful to be out of this rainy weather phase!

Lunch was eaten in four courses.

Course  #1: sweet potato steamed in the microwave and mashed with sugar-free vanilla Torani syrup + cinnamon

Course #2: romaine based salad with avocado, sliced baby bell peppers, and cucumber + free zesty italian dressing

 

Course #3: a few slices of Oscar Meyer Cajun Seasoned Deli Chicken

Course #4: Dessert!  Sugar-free orange jello cup

Yes, it’s a lot of food 🙂 On my way home from work, I stopped at the Farmer’s Market to replenish my vegetable stock that was slowly diminishing over the week’s time.

Big bag of baby spinach, bananas, spaghetti squash, kiwi, avocado, broccoli, turnips, apples (gala & fuji), and snap peas

I do my best to support local farmers when I can! Alll of this fresh produce for $13.81. 

 

I had a snack at the office around 4PM before heading to basketball open gym

Peanut flour paste (1/4 C. peanut flour, salt, Splenda, water to thin) + a gala apple

I’m sorry if you’re tired of seeing this snack, but it’s a favorite!  Speaking of which, I should probably order more peanut flour soon…

Anywho, basketball was fantastic.

In a matter of two hours, I burned 1,007 calories.  Incredibleee.  Best.workout.ever.  I did miss my workout buddy, though…

I was feeling rather lazy, so instead of cooking, chinese food saved the day.

Steamed shrimp and vegetables with light sauce on the side

I literally have this meal at least once a week and have yet to get tired of it.

I knew my muscles would thank me in the morning if I downed a bit of casein rather than having a glass of milk before bed, so I opted for a KEY LIME protein shake for my dessert.

Yummmmm-oooo; in the words of Rachel Ray.

Here’s what went into the blender bottle:

• 1 scant scoop of cookies n’ cream casein protein powder
• 5 ice cubes
• 1 handful baby spinach
• 4 tbsp. 100% lime juice
• 2 Splenda packets
• 1/4 C. fiber one cereal
• 1/2-3/4 C. water for blendability

You’ve gotta try this…I think next time I’ll add some unsweetened coconut, too!  So refreshing!

I may or may not have downed a Rudi’s Sweet Wheat bagel at 11Pm, too…those 1,000 calories that left my body on the court were calling out for carbs! 🙂

1. What’s your favorite smoothie combination? Depends what I’m in the mood for, but some of my addicitons as of lately are mocha mint and key lime.  I love to add fiber one cereal to my shakes!  It’s like those ice creams that have graham crackers mixed in.

2. Any exciting weekend plans? Jarid and I are going to the gym together today after work and then the drive-in’s tonight!  I’m excited…We’re seeing Insideous & Thor!

XO.

Red, White & Blue Success!

After an awesome workout on Friday afternoon with the babe, we decided on Chinese before leaving the house for The Hangover Part II.

He picked up the food, while I ordered our tickets online, to make sure that they didn’t sell out. 

Steamed shrimp with mixed vegetables

Excellent teamwork, right?

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It was almost a toss-up between this one and Kung Fu Panda 2.

To my surprise, although we had our tickets, once we got to the theatre, which was packed, there were no two seats together, so we sprawled out on the floor and cuddled up instead 🙂

Saturday was beautiful outside, but pretty warm.  We played basketball on Saturday afternoon, but ended a little bit early because of rain.

Lunch was an egg & hummus sammie on whole grain bread with spinach, tomato, and steamed snap peas on the side. 

Any other Tribe hummus lovers out there?

Momma FF had been shopping for our Memorial Day picnic, which doubled as a graduation party for my cousin and tripled as a birthday party for another cousin.  She picked up this backyard inflatable pool which came in handy on Monday in the scorching heat!

In other news entirely, I’ve been brewing different flavored iced coffees for the past two weeks now.  It’s officially in season!  Perfectly refreshing and caffeinated more than diet soda. This Bananas Foster Float by Boca Java is a recent favorite.

Another favorite these days is peanut flour paste & apples.  I’ve been trying to stay away from eating too many orange things, since usually I eat peanut flour paste with baby carrots 😉  My orange glow is almost gone!  Haha.

Can you believe that Jarid and I helped put this swingset together? Again, let me reiterate how great we work as a team 🙂

While we worked on the swing set, Poppa FF was busy putting together a trellace for a patio that Momma FF requested.

Pretty amazing for a day and 1/2 of work, right?  You can even see the pool in the background.

Parsnip fries & chips roasted with broccoli @ 430 for 15 minutes and dipped in reduced sugar ketchup after being sprinkled with seasalt & pepper

We had a great weekend with beautiful weather.  I think I may have even gotten a tan!  Speaking of which…I just realized…only two more weeks until THE BEACH! 😀

Hope you all had an amazing Memorial Day weekend.  Thank you to all of those service men & women out there!

XO.

I’m Here!

Well, the weekend began with a trip to the Orthopedic Institute of PA for an x-ray on my right leg. 

They are still mystified as to what the pain, redness, and swelling could be stemming from!

The good news is, it’s doing much better since I’ve been on the inti-inflammatory medicine. The doctor who checked out the findings explained that it is probably a stress fracture.

I had a stress fracture once before, and this is NOT the same type of pain.  They’ve got me scheduled for an MRI in the near future, so I’ll keep you all up to date!

The weekend was full of favorites…favorite foods (like Brown Rice Mini California Rolls), favorite guys (like Jarid, who not only took me bowling, but also came to church with me again on Sunday :))

 favorite activities (like basketball!), and favorite babies (like Bowman).  I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking from here on out 😉

On weekends, I try my best to make use of the time I have in the mornings to prepare breakfast like these little oat bran cakes ❤ 

They are my favorite lately.  Simple recipe – 1/3 C. oat bran, 1 egg white, pinch of baking powder, pinch of salt, sugar-free vanilla Torani, a few banana chunks, and topped with peanut flour paste. Mmm.

 

I picked out some cute tops that I’ll bet you never guess how much I paid for them…The brands consisted of Roxy (pink), Ann Taylor Loft (blue), NY&Co. (lilac)

And these comfy, summery sandals.

I managed to visit Bowman, Bran & Jare twice this weekend, which was a total blessing.  Jarid came with me to visit the crew.  I couldn’t get enough of this little man!

Here’s a picture of lunch take out that we ordered in the office the other day.  Random, but it was time to unload some pictures from my camera, so here they are. 

Oh yeah, and this soup is noteworthy, but mainly because of the dippers!

Health Valley Garden Split Pea Soup with Flamous brand Organic Falafel Chips!

I never considered myself much of a chip person until I tried this brand.  They come in an original and a spicy version, but I highly recommend you try them dipped in hummus.  After all, aren’t hummus and falafel basically married? 🙂

You simply can’t argue with nutritional stats and ingredients like these.  All healthy fats, only 118 calories per serving, and the chips are BIG.  Each chip is exceptionally thick, too, not like those flimsy “baked lay’s” or other “healthy” chips. Not to mention the protein and fiber you get along with it! Super impressed with the flavor as well. (We’ll talk about it more on the product review, though).

Anyway, that was my weekend in a nutshell.

Who watched the first episode of The Bachelorette last night?!  My faves so far are JP and William.  Who are yours?!

XO.

 

What Gives?

I know, I know…where the heck have I been?!  Well, I have a perfectly good explanation.  LIFE has been happening…so I’m just rolling with the punches.

Here are some bits and pieces:

Saturday I got to sport my Kopali Organics tank, that the company sent me, for the first time.   

I had to give a persuasive speech for my communications class and my topic of choice was eating organic!

Afterward, the class was required to “heckle” us while the prof judge dictated.  It was actually kind of fun.  I’m a fan of debate.

There were several visits to my Insanity DVD collection over the past few days, too.

I’ve been mixing and matching between these cardio workouts and P90X ab ripper sessions.

After the workout on Sunday, I showered up and went to church! 

The sermon was all about the time that Jesus healed the blind man.  🙂

Lunches have been pretty lame, to be honest.  I haven’t had time to get creative lately, so a hugh jass salad with some kind of protein has been my saving grace. 

One of my two sponsored children, Cristopher, from Nicaragua, sent me another picture that he drew and a sweet letter that the agency translated for me.  Through these dreary, rainy days in PA, these really cheer me up!

Know what else cheers me up?  Fresh steamed shrimp and vegetables…that I didn’t have to cook myself.  It’s always a treat when Momma & Poppa FF think of me at dinner time and decide to treat me to my favorite Chinese dinner when I get home 🙂

This duo has been a go-to treat as of late, too.  Chocolate milk seems like such a simple, childhood comfort, but it’s been tasting just as good at age 22 as it did at age 10 🙂

I’ve still been finding time to hit the yoga studio at 5am on Tuesdays and Thursdays for booty camp. 

Ladders were on the agenda on Tuesday…We did weighted lunges, walking planks, weighted bunny hops, and even got a “penalty round” at the end. 

By the time I walked out, my HR monitor had a 300 calorie burn reading.

Basketball on Mondays and Wednesdays has been great, too!  I get to play for a full two hours!  As you may remember from the season, nights like this are sure to get my heart rate up!

When I leave, I’ve usually burned from 700-800 calories. I’m a sweaty, happy mess.

And rewarding myself with peanut flour & jelly cheesecake (1/8 c. peanut flour mixed into 1/2 C. fat free cottage cheese + sugar free blackberry jam and sprinkled with fiber one cereal) is a common occurrance afterward.  It helps my muscles repair while I sleep, since we aren’t finished until about 10 PM 😀

Since you guys were loving my SALLY HANSEN SALON EFFECTS nail polish, last week, I figured I would show you the polish change that I did this past weekend 😉  Houndstooth has always been a fave of mine!

This post was written totally haphazardly with absolutely no continuous train of thought.  Maybe I should make that a disclaimer at the BEGINNING?  Nahh 😉

XO.

When Life Gives You Brown Bananas…

…use them to make banana bread!

Okay, so that didn’t sound as clever coming out as it sounded in my head, but you get the picture.

I didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend this weekend on baked goods, as class, workouts, and family time consumed more of my schedule, but I did manage to whip up a pretty awesome, healthy banana bread from a box 🙂

Although it wasn’t homemade, I was quite content with the ingredients list and nutrition facts.  Organic brown rice flour, being the base, it also ended up being gluten-free!

All you need are deuces.  Two overly ripe bananas, two EGGLAND’S BEST eggs, and the boxed mix.  Talk about a lazy baker, right?

It was so easy, it almost felt wrong.  But if it is, I don’t want to be right.  Just wait…you’ll see…

While it was in the oven at 350° for 40 minutes, I got my elliptical face on and went downstairs after class on Saturday afternoon.  It was kind of pleasant having everyone out of the house and just doing my thing.

A short time later, this hunk of burning love deliciousness came out of the oven.  Everyone knows that baked goods are best straight from the oven, so it was an obvious choice to slice off an end piece and devour almost immediately ❤

Oh.my.word.

Another amazing find this weekend?  Thanks to Katie, I was on a mission to find some Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips.

Lord knows, I’ve been needing to get some color on my nails for quite awhile now.  I figured Saturday was the perfect opportunity.

I’ve had to keep my nails trimmed back for many reasons…I don’t bite them anymore, but I can’t stand trying to put in and take out my contacts when I’ve got longer fingernails.  I scratch my eyes everytime!  Not fun.  Annnnnnnd, my job is pretty reliant on my typing abilities, since it’s such a fast paced work load, the faster I can pump things out on the computer, the better.

I really wanted the “kitty, kitty” color, which was a cheetah print!  But, they were all out, so I went with “bling it on”  🙂  Super simple.  I did them in a matter of 4 minutes and didn’t have to wait for them to dry!  Sweeeet.

 That night, we ordered chinese take out for dinner.

Steamed shrimp with mixed vegetables

Afterward, I had a skype date and then took my little sister to see a movie.  We had both wanted to see “Beastly” for awhile now!

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For those of you who haven’t heard of it yet, it was supposed to be a modern day “Beauty and the Beast” story.  I thought it was decent…definitely not a waste of time, but nothing life-altering.  They could’ve done a lot more with it in my opinion.

Regardless, it was a fun night with a loved one, so I was thankful ❤

Have you seen Beastly yet?  What did you think? Any other good movies lately? 

The Blink Of An Eye.

This weekend seemed to have come and gone in a split second.  It feels like just moments ago that I was leaving work on Friday, stopping by the Farmer’s Market for some produce, and heading home to start the weekend.

(Red leaf lettuce, romaine, bananas, broccoli, cucumber, red pepper, orange pepper, blueberries, apples, squash, avocado, and tomatoes)

I always try to support the local farmers by getting as much as I can at the market.  It’s usually much cheaper than the grocery store, too! 

After Insanity and some brief cardio on the elliptical, I got a quick shower, sat down for dinner with the family.

Pops had picked up Chinese, since no one felt like cooking, and chose to branch out from my normal steamed shrimp & chinese vegetables.

I opted for the steamed chicken instead.  It wasn’t bad, but I definitely missed the seafood and will probably never make that mistake again.

After dinner, I went to visit the best friend & baby Bowman.  He is getting so big!  My phone died, or I would’ve taken some photos.

Saturday morning, I did have breakfast, but somehow let it manage to escape my camera.  I’m pretty sure it was something basic like peanut flour ontop of Kashi waffles 🙂

All I found was this shot of my coffee with sugar-free vanilla bean frozen yogurt plopped inside.  If you’ve never tried this, it’s a great alternative to “cream” in coffee.  It tastes like dessert! 

 Next up, my Speech Communications class from 9-11:50AM.

 

The expository demonstrations were still going on this week, but since I had already done mine, the only work I had to do was “toastmastering” the other speeches, aka writing commendations and recommendations.

 

Some of the interesting topics this week, was one all about black women’s hair (weaves, braids, wigs), palm reading, and how the internet works.

And then there was lunch, of course.  I wanted to try out a “new-to-me” product that I found in the freezer aisle of the grocery store.

 Garden Lites are little souffles that come in a few different varieties, but I chose the roasted vegetable version.  They’ve got butternut squash, too, which I think would be awesome!

Good stats, great ingredients!

1 Garden Lites souffle, canned green beans, and a slice of toast with fat-free refried beans and sugar-free maple syrup

 The souffle was good, but nothing mind-blowing.  It was also rather pricey for the taste, so I would probably make my own from now on.  Can’t beat the convenience, though!  All I had to do was pop it in the microwave.

After lunch, I checked facebook and got to chat with D for the first time since he’s been over there.  All of our correspondence until this point had been messaging.

Then, it was time to get sweaty.

Insane abs workout & then some cardio on the bike & elliptical.   I get tired of typing those words…I can’t wait until it’s warm out, so I can get outside!

I rocked til I dropped…or actually, until my episode of “What Would You Do?” was over.  Ever watch it? 

It’s a reality show, that puts people in uncomfortable situations where they are forced to either speak up about an injustice that they’re witnessing, or ignore it.  For example, in this particular episode, they place two, role-playing soldiers in a diner that had just reunited.  They made it obvious that the two were a homosexual couple, and they publicly showed affection in front of all the people at the diner.  I thought it was interesting how many different types of reactions were caught on tape, and even some of the word exchanges that occurred!

After getting cleaned up, I finished an English Comp. paper and made some dinner.  Green monsters are perfect for tiding me over until my veggies are finished roasting. 

They’re refreshing, too, which is perfect for post workout eating.  This one was 1/3 C. canned pumpkin, 1/8 C. peanut flour, 3/4 C. unsweet almond breeze, sugar free syrup, ice, and spinach.

Soon the buzzer sounded on the stove, which meant my feast was ready to consume.

I remembered to photograph about 1/2 way through my plate.  I can assure you, this plate was piled high with zucchini, squash, broccoli, parsnips, and mushrooms with sea salt and pepper.  The sauce is a combo of light ragu and garlic lovers hummus ❤  I had some toast with the meal, too, for whole grains, but it was camera shy 😉

That night, a friend of mine was playing at the Hardware Bar with his band, Faded Fortune!

Stay tuned for an exciting Sunday recap! 😉

XO

Be A Top 10.

Thanks everyone, for your encouraging words about my situation at home.  I never realized how many of you guys actually find yourselves feeling the SAME way I do. 

My devotional this morning was a definite good reminder.

One thing that I always pray about, is the fact that I want God to help me make a positive impact on the lives of anyone I come in contact with, but especially my teammates and coaches.  I want them to see Him shining through me…that there’s something different in my life than most.

Breakfast is easily my favorite meal of the day.   From egg white omeletttes to oatmeal, some of what I consider to be the tastiest foods ever are comsumed at breakfast time.    Another fave of mine used to be bagels…that was before I realized exactly how many calories I was taking in with each and every one…not to mention, toppings.

Those Bagelthins just didn’t do it for me…the whole bagel taste just wasn’t there.  It was too much like a sandwich thin…I’d rather have toast.  Then I was sent these awesome little guys from Kim’s Light Foods to try out!

(1 Kim’s Light Wheat Bagel + 1 smashed nanner + peanut flour paste: 1/4 C. peanut flour, sugar-free vanilla syrup, pinch of salt, and water to thin)

Bagels and I rekindled our old flame 🙂

Things are definitely looking up around here.  The weather, for starters, is absolutely fantastic!  I am so excited that Spring is around the bend!

Check out the temperature reading from my car yesterday!  That’s almost shorts weather! Thank you, Lord for the sunshine!

I discovered yet another bruise at work today.  Haha.  Just had to share.

Lunch was eaten at my desk.  I’ve been really into eating eggs lately…they’re cheap, convenient, delicious, and nutritious.

(A side of snap peas accompanied by a kale salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, yellow pepper, and a microwaved egg + 1 white all tossed in peach balsamic glaze)

The money shot 😉

Not that I didn’t know this already, but my Nutrition class and MyPyramid Diet Analysis confirmed the fact that I consistently eat quite a bit more vegetables than the daily recommended value.  Can’t hurt, right?

Snacktime was another Kim’s Light Bagels’ treat.  PB&J before my gym workout and basketball practice!  It would be our last practice this season on our home court.  We’ll be having one more practice down in WV at the court we will be playing on for the Championship Saturday!

I took it easy because I didn’t want to have tired legs.  A good practice was necessary to calm my nerves about the upcoming event!  Before practice, however, I was interviewed by a man from The Patriot News about our season so far!

Here’s a link to the article if you’re interested 😉

2:29:15; 757 calories; 205 max hr

After practice, I scurried home to get a shower, pack for the weekend, eat some dinner, and get some good rest.

Momma FF emailed me earlier in the day and asked if I would like Chinese for supper…does she really have to ask?! 🙂 hehe.  She’s the sweetest!  She picked it up for us on the way home from her softball open gym.

To hold myself over until she got home (which ended up not being until about 8:15!), I made a green monster and had a light wheat bagel with sonoma jack’s pepperjack cheese + splenda.

And thennnn came the entreee 🙂

Steamed shrimp and chinese vegetables with lite garlic sauce, you know…the usual.

It took awhile for me to get in my head what exactly I wanted to bring with me for the roadtrip.  Obviously, I’m hoping for a Skype date with D on Saturday morning, but he has to be able to find Wi-fi first.  I packed the webcam, just incase 🙂

Just before bed, I had a cup of unsweet almond milk with some Newtree belgian biscuit chocolate.   Does anyone else know where to find this stuff in stores?  The only place I’ve seen it is at Target!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Who are the most influential people in your life?  What’s one thing you’ve learned today?

XO,