A good-kinda tired

Yesterday, work wasn’t nearly as busy… we were actually pretty slow at night, despite having a more rushed day. My day started with a 7:30 am store meeting, held by the store managers, with every department having to attend.  

I was nervous about making the meeting because 3 months ago, at the last meeting, I totally forgot to go. I had been counting on it all month long & thought about it all the time to make sure I went, but by the time that morning came, I was even up for the time of the meeting, but instead, I hung out until my class at 9! I had to go to the make-up meeting on a Sunday morning, instead.  This time, you had to get it approved ahead of time if you were going to miss it, so I didn’t want another mishap to occur.

Luckily, I worked on Wednesday night & set 2 alarms on my phone that night to be sure.  And yes! I woke up before 7 & made it to work early to clock in & get some coffee & breakfast.  They had a Panera-catered spread with bagels & cream cheese & also doughnuts & fruit.  It was early for me, so I had some fruit & coffee.  I got paid for this?! Okay! Someone from work texted me at 7:06 am to see when the meeting was… hmm, they made it (though, late). 

After that, I was feelin’ my caffeine, so I drove over the bridge to the beach & started running along this path, next to the bay/gulf:

When I looked to the left, this was my view:

What a beautiful day, huh?! It was still a little chilly because we had a storm the day before, bringing in a front, but it got warmer throughout the day.  I ran down this trail until I hit the beach… then I ran on the sand until my calves felt the work & I continued to run along the water.  I finally came to a pier which marked a good place to turn around, so I did & made the loop back along the water & back on the trail to my car again.  I didn’t bring my camera on the run, but, I assure you, it was faboo!

I ate, walked Bella, ate some more, showered, went to work, & came home really hungry! 

I had cooked some red quinoa earlier, so I opened a can of organic garbanzo beans, & added some carrots, spinach, garlic & salsa to look like this:

…then I heated it up & ate it with organic blue corn chips & more salsa. I promise I ate mannnny more chips than this, but to give you a visual:

I LOVE the way the red quinoa looks… & quinoa in general has a nutty/crunchy texture that drives me bonkers! …in a good way!

(not much) later I got pretty hungry, so I had the rest of my dark chocolate-covered ginger, & also pretzels + (Honey) Shredded Wheat dipped in almond butter & some smilk. By that time, I was finally satisfied, feeling very human & very tired. So, I went to bed! Lots of boldness going on here! Lots to high-light, I suppose!

Today I slept til’ 10:30, after waking up at 8:30 & feeling tired & willing to give sleep another go… success! It felt great to sleep, though part of me was like *oh- get up!*

I met my sister at the beach & we took a long walk together, dreaming of the beach houses we will own one day down there! No pictures of today, sorry… it was another beautiful day, though! Imagine paradise & imagine Miss OP in blissful, peaceful nature!

Well, then we saw the movie Bride Wars, which I liked more than I thought I would! Cute! My sister loves these kinds of movies… I like them, for what they are… I did like this one, though I was predicting what would happen from before I bought my ticket!

It’s not too late, but today I’m just feeling tired from the effects of the previous days being so full of exercise, energy, & life! A good tired, for sure! 

I’ll probably just stay in, watch movies, make some grub & call it a night tonight. Tomorrow, I may take another HOT YOGA class (with my sister?) & use my new orange yoga mat.  I like putting this yoga class in CAPS because it makes it seem that much more intense… ’cause I sweat like a little (not-to-be-eaten) piggy! 

Still searchin’ for a book, though I did sign up for a paperback swap program, so I’ll have to get on that…

51 more weeks of 2009!

Week #1 of 2009 is under our belts: Yow-zee! How are ya’ll feeling?

So, I apologize that while most bloggers play catch-up during the weekend, I am a total slacker. I will tell you why:

• My uncle comes home on the weekends and lounges at his house pretty much the whole time, so I scoot my boot’ back to my house on weekends, to:
• sleep in my own bed
• see my own dawggies & 
• just kick it here. 
• I get a better internet connection there so it’s easier to blog & 
• I work more on weekends than during the week.

So, there’s that. Thanks for understanding, like I knew you would!!!

However, I did manage to snap some photos & remember what I’ve been up to…

Last night after work I came home pretty hungry! (YIPPEE, because my appetite was M-I-I-A (Missing In In-Action) during the day. I made myself this:

< toasted Genesis English muffin with Skippy Natural chunky PB, cinnamon & a squirt of honey

 

 

 

& this:

< plain soy yogurt (I’ll call it “sogurt“) with my Ruth’s Chia Goodness cereal, more cinnamon & another drizzle of honey

 

 

 

Stirred all up, I LOVED it with so’gurt. It was perfectly crunchy & sweet!

This morning I woke up to another beautiful day in FL! I decided I’d head to the beach (don’t throw a snowball at me for it!), after I filled my innards with some goodness! I had an almost-all-black banana that was crying out for some saving… so, I mashed it up, added some regular oatmeal (because half of my good groceries are still at my uncle’s house), cinnamon, raw wheat germ, & a splash of soymilk. Where’s what it looked like:

Making my oats this way with the mashed ‘nana made it super-thick, even without something like PB or nuts in them… schweet! I headed to the beach soon after, after stopping at my favorite place to get coffee. I bring my own mug (BYOM?) and pay $1.06 each time… but I fill my mug with my own soymilk (I shall call it “smilk“)because they “only” have half-n-half, skim & 2% milk… and I like the way my own smilk tastes in my java.

So, yes, the beach was dee-lightful! I spend a little over 2 hours there, took a lil’ walk, picked up some shells, soaked up some rays, fo’sho! I’ve been a little sad because my hair is growing in a lot darker than the ends show. Wah! I LOVE being a natural blonde, so spending some time outside definitely lightens it up! HOO-RA!

I took some veggie cookbooks & my journal to look through, because I’d love to get back in the habit of cooking some good food, instead of relying on the basics. Though I love me some PB&J & sogurt concoctions, I still love a nice meal & interesting new tastes on occasion!

When I got home, I had some leftover soup:

< my mom made it & it has: barley, lentils, a variety of vegetables, spicy canned tomatoes, & some fresh corn from the ear (not HER ear, though!)

 

 

 

I’ve got to tell ya… you know my possible boy interest? Well, we’ve been hanging out (we went to Starbucks where we both enjoyed some green ginger tea), my favorite Thai restaurant, & I met him at work before I had to work to talk, then he came through my line so I could check him out (OH, yes I did!) Unfortunately, though, he said he doesn’t want a girlfriend but would love to still hang out and get to know me because I seem like a cool girl and he’s sorry if he sent me mixed signals. I graciously said thanks for letting me know, & that I’d still like to hang because there aren’t that many of us that appreciate good food & healthy living! TRUE story! Oh well, he seems suuuuper-cool, so it’ll be great to have another friend in town! Way to be positive, OP!

School doesn’t start until next week, so I’ll be enjoying another week of sunny days & leisure time! Good luck to those going back tomorrow! I’ll be able to get my blogging under way a bit more this week, too… take care & have a peaceful week! 

I’m in the market for a good book: any suggestions, my trusted ol’ friends? I love things that are relatable, interesting, some sort of psychology involved, possibly (?), biographical, heart-warming… anyone?

• *P.S.* I love you. 
• But really: is my bolding & italicizing too much? 
• Tell me what you REALLY think. It takes more time to do this, & I think this may contribute to why I blog less than some of ya’ll, but 
• how often should I use these features? 
• How else might I improve upon the blog? 
• Anything you’d like to see differently/more/less of?
• THANKS!

I’ll leave you with one more sad photo. The holidays are over, you know why?

…just take a look, yourself:

…back to it’s natural habitat, I suppose.

2009 is mine!

Hi beauts! I hope you all had a lovely New Year’s Eve & celebration!

Yesterday I went to the beach– can ya believe it?! I’m sorry to those of you in horrible snowy/stormy weather! I’ll soak up some rays and tan my cancer-free skin for ya! There were tons of tourists because of the football Bowl game in town, but still, awesome! I took a run for a little over 30 minutes- not on the sand like the other day, because my calves were feeling really tight today. Light & breezy! Then, I became a bum and laid on the beach, writing my holiday thank you notes! I had a salad with some of my newest produce:

< mixed greens with roasted garlic beets, carrots, sprouts, tomatoes, & avocado. I wasn’t reallllly hungry, but I wanted something fresh, yanno?! Great, beautiful, healthy fats, with my fave Annie’s dressing, to boot! Later, I had some nuts & trailmix for some protein, mates.

I laid low, went to dinner with my parents, then settled back into my uncle’s place to watch the movie Elf about 3 times because it’s on for 24 hours! Everytime I watch it, I find something new to laugh at. Har! Har! Har! I think it’s weird, too, that Christmas is over, and we’re still watching holiday movies & sing[ing] loud for all to hear… still & always cute!

The boy, like me, is NOT a night-owl. I talked to him today and he went to bed early, haha. I wasn’t expecting any real romance for the New Year, and I’m a casual gal (fancy things don’t fit my fancy!), but a lil’ movie-watchin’ or something would have been nice. Oh, well.

I like to think I started my 2009 off well!

I bought some really great-sounding cereal the other day, by Ruth’s Hemp Foods:

I guess a lady from California requested that we order it, and you know how people in Cali are about health, so it just must be worth carrying. I actually talked to her the day she 1st bought it from us, so she kinda suckered ME into trying it! I am so-o-o glad she did & I did try it! It’s gluten-free, high in fiber, Omega 3’s & so-o-o much more, so check out the link, for more!

< pre-cook

< when I added some water, to just ~2-3 T. cereal

cha-cha-cha-CHIA, in a bowl! It plumped up!

 

 

 

 

 

< then, I decided I still needed more, so I added some cooked rolled oats & more water & soymilk… then some cinnamon, even though there’s already some in the product!

I LOVED this! It made me feel really good, not too full & not bogged-down at all, & it gave me a great feeling of energy. It says you can try it in yogurt, baked goods, or whatever your lil’ heart desires, so I will do just that!

It was a good feeling to have, because I had decided yesterday to go to a hot yoga class! Boy, did I sweat out some toxins! It was my 1st one, but like I said, I was feeling kind of tight and restless, especially when I try to sleep, so I wanted to sttttrreeeettchhh it out! Miss OP LOVED it! hmmm, guess what color my mat was?!

I drove the long way home, by the water because the sun was shining, but my tummy was talkin’ to me (“FEED ME! *nom*nom*”) I wanted to continue treating myself right, so I made a huge-ontic salad with the same goodies as yesterday, plus garlic & Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. I also had extra carrots with hummus!

< I ate it outside on the porch, because my Mother Nature asked me to join her! …and I always obey my mother!

 

 

 

I also had a Kombucha for more purification & energy for my innards!

I tried the Goji Berry one today, for more anti-oxidents (the Wild Root one is great for detoxifying because of the added herbs, though!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, I had a red banana for some potassium for my cramped muscles

 

…with a container of plain lowfat yogurt (hello, protein!), cinnamon (of course!), & a few swirls of Agave Nectar, to make this mess:

I love those lil’ red bananas because yes, they’re smaller, but they’re so pretty, like a sunset, when you open it up to eat it… that’s why I photo’ed it before adding anything! ...so photogenic! 

Honestly (because I’m an ethical blogger), I’ve thought about New Year’s resolutions, but I have come up with few things to be concrete. I must do this. I have a journal, where I can draft my ideas & things I want to work on… then, perhaps I’ll share, but I don’t know. Sorry. I think personal changes are sort of… personal.

Anyway, Happy & Healthy New Year in 2009!!! THANK YOU for reading & commenting on occasion… it lets me know I’m not alone in this bloggity-world!

The family is all gathering together again at my grandparents’ house for dinner… for the 1st time this year!  (*rolls eyes in anticipation for, “I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU SINCE LAST YEAR!” comments*) But, really, it should be a good time! It always is, when family is together!

peace

A hodge-podge of Ravings!

I’ve been an absent blogger for a while because my sister stole my camera cord and I wanted to post some pictures… sorry!

I’ve tried a few V’con recipes! My first one was sort of an improvisation of a recipe… the Quinoa-Pineapple-Cashew Stir-fry. I didn’t have pineapple, so I just subbed in lemon and lime juice and had no fruit-bits in it. The taste was okay, but maybe I should stick to the real one yesterday. I snapped a picture, anyway… along with some orange pop, of course 🙂

 

It seems like I’ve been working quite a bit lately and I’ve been a bit tired. I managed to get 2 days off in a row last week, though, since I picked up a Sunday shift, so I went to visit my sister, went shopping and had lunch with her one of the days. That same night, since I’m dog-sitting at a house on the beach, I invited my parents over for dinner and relaxing! They loved it! It wasn’t a problem that I was running so behind on my plans, because they just enjoyed being at a serene and tranquil water-atmosphere! I love being by water… there’s something very peaceful about it. SO- I broke out my V’con and made some super-spicy Black Beans in Chipotle Adobo Sauce. I used real chipotles, not canned, and I wasn’t sure what the “Adobo sauce” was, but I managed. I think I underestimated the heat, because I kept mincing more peppers! Oops! I served them on top of the Spiced Sweet Potatoes to off-set the spiciness of the beans and sauce. I also had some cool avocado and tomatoes on the side, and sauteed zucchini, squash and peppers! YUM! To drink, there was plenty of Pomegranate Lemonade to be had.

Dessert was excellent, too. At work, everyone’s been raving about this new coconut milk ice cream. It’s soy and dairy free (vegan, in fact- Purely Decadent brand), and totally delicious! I got the vanilla kind because they were out of coconut, and it tastes like vanilla, but it’s like you can’t pin-point the flavor… what is it?! Oh yeah, coconut! I picked up some fresh kiwi and blackberries and heated some semi-mashed berries and served it on top. Y-U-M! So fresh and summer-y!

Okay, so am I a real vegetarian?! I got a much-needed and long-awaited pedicure (soo nice, sitting in those massage chairs). My color: “Cajun Shrimp.” It was just too cute to pass up because of the name, which is how I determine whether or not a color is worthy, many times! If it doesn’t have a name, I’m not going to pick it! Anyway, I went to the beach and snapped a picture of my sandy, shrimpy toes!

Sorry for those who have something against feet!

Work today until close, unfortunately, so I’ll have to miss my family’s dinner celebration, again with my dad’s side at our house. Oh well, I guess more meat for them!

Ah, summertime!

It sure is summertime in FL! School is out in this county, but since I don’t go to grade-school, it almost feels like I’m always on break! Yeah… still looking for that job and waiting for fall semester for college! Kelsey (my oldest sister, who lives in NJ now, but comes home frequently!) and I went to the beach– it was a scorcher! I went in the gulf for the 1st time this year, actually and it felt fabulous! I saw some dolphins, too, which is still cool everytime I see it! Also, summer in FL means clouds and/or rain EVERY afternoon and, without fail, the clouds rolled in and we left after only over an hour lounging at the beach. I still got some sun, even with my SPF! No cancer for me! 😎

When I got home, I was feeling like making a GOOD sandwich! I love-love-love tempeh and have had a tempeh-Reuben and tempeh-chicken salad before, but we had no sauerkraut and I didn’t feel totally adventurous, so I made this:

 

Toasted honey-wheat bread, sundried-tomato hummus, lettuce, tomato and bell peppers with pan-fried soy-marinated tempeh. A mish-mash of flavors, but very good! It was a little dry with the toasted bread, so I had some extra hummus to lather each bite in! Delish! Of course, I had some orange popbecause, well, I love it and I’m thirsty. It’s like FL’s new OJ… OP? OS? OK! I don’t even say “POP!” That is such a northern thing… it’s “Coke!” No matter what flavor…

a: “You want a coke?”

b: “Sure.”

a: “What kind?”

b: “You have orange?!”

a: “PSH, YEAH!”

…but you can’t expect to have a blog called, “Orange Coke!” How does that sound?!

Have I said that I LOVE summer and I LOVE tempeh?! It was very good and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some sauerkraut… however gross that may be, this girl likes that combo!

I am a vegetarian and have been for over 2 years, I think… I am the only one in my family that chooses to live this way permanently, but the rest of them are learning how to make substitutes for me. I also cook once, twice, or more each week and it’s usually a meat-free dish, though sometimes I have someone prepare, say, the poor little chicken, while I do the rest.

Tonight I made dinner. I have loved some of Rising Moon’s products, and I found some ravioli on sale, so I got 2 packages (each package SAYS it feeds 2, and there were 3 of us). That’s something I love to… a good sale! No matter what it is, I’ll take a double-look if it’s on sale! Well, good thing I did with these babies! I mixed the ravioli with some lightly sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, green beans and cherry tomatoes and tossed it with olive oil and this parmesan Italian blend seasoning. That, and a salad (with raspberry walnut vinaigerette) and dinner was made! Oh, my mom made apple crisp for dessert!
Gosh, I had some gooooood eats today 🙂