A Dentist Date

I would say that yesterday was so lovely and romantic but the truth is…..it wasn’t.  I’ll get to that later.

Breakfast Smoothie!

It was the same as this one except I used just 1/2 scoop of Whey Protein.

“Date” Outfit

So I planned on wearing shorts, a button down and my new shoes, but it was 60 degrees out yesterday morning and that was not going to be very comfortable.  I get cold if it’s 80 degrees and there is a breeze.

Outfit:

Sweater & Tank Top: Forever 21

Jeans: Seven (Steinmart)

Shoes: Blowfish (DSW)

Watch: Fossil

I was so excited after I had checked the mail yesterday.  My friend gave Aidan a movie for his birthday back in February. When I opened the DVD there was a voucher for a free subscription to one of my favorite magazines, Parents!  I sent it in and forgot about it until I got not one but TWO issues in the mail!

Oh Happy Day!!!!!

We took Aidan to school

And then we got our hot date started…..

We spent two hours at the dentist office getting x-rayed, scraped & polished .  Lucky for us we were blessed with good teeth and are also slightly OCD when it comes to oral hygiene.  Excuse me while I brag, but I do floss every night and brush my teeth for way longer than the standard 2 minutes.  I rinse with Listerine.  I don’t eat or drink a lot of sugar.  I drink TONS of water.  I replace our toothbrushes every month.  It really makes the visit much more pleasant & speedy.  My problems are sensitivity and I clench my teeth so hard at night that they break.  I have to wear a night guard.  It is so sexy, and it has helped, but every time I go in, I fear the dreaded words of my sweet sweet dentist. “It looks like that fracture we have been watching needs to be filled.  Let’s go ahead…..” I just tune him out at that point.  “Ok, (nodding) thank you.”  Thank you?  Who does that?  Must be the “southern” in me.  Good news though, he said everything looked great, we will just “keep a watch on 30 and 26”. *big sigh of relief*  I deserved a treat after all that!  I don’t want to talk about Jeremy, he has zero fillings and the dentist looked at his mouth for 30 seconds tops.  *eyeroll*

It looks as though I am being intubated.

He’s sexy and he knows it.

The best thing about the dentist is the swag.

Yes, MY dentist is a man after my own heart.  He gives us sugar free chocolates!

After the dentist we had lunch.  I was so hungry!  My stomach was growling while I was having my cleaning.

Mimi’s Café!

I got the veggie burger from the Fresh & Fit Menu.

I ate all of my fruit and ended up eating just the patty from the burger.

We had to ask twice for our bread basket! Apparently you have to request it if it’s before 4pm.  That would explain last time.  But glory, glory we finally got it…… after we had eaten.  I asked for a to-go box and ate some later.  Yums.

We killed some time by browsing through T.J. Maxx.  Jeremy just LOVES that place…. I think for him, it’s the same as my love for Home Depot.  Slow torture.

We picked up little A from school & stopped for some frozen yogurt.

Chocolate, Vanilla & Cake Batter w/ a little bit of every nutty or chocolaty topping they had.

This was SO good. Just what I needed.

When we got home, Jeremy mowed our lawn &  I was the perfect mother by letting my children play video games while I watched some shows I had DVR’d & napped.  Around 5 or so, I ate some of Aidan’s Easter candy and the bread from lunch.  Do you want to know something lovely and serendipitous?  I had to write Aidan’s name on his eggs for the egg hunt at school.  I wasn’t sure why.  I thought probably so the teachers could know all the kids brought eggs.  No, it was so they could hunt for their OWN eggs.  Imagine my glee when I discovered all those delicious treats back in Aidan’s basket.  I had victoriously resisted and packed them away and there they were, back my life.  BLERG!  Needless to say, I wasn’t hungry for a formal dinner, so I suppose the candy and bread was it!  Dessert for Dinner?  That’s the way you do treat day!

It’s all about Balance.

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Hunger Games, YES YES YES!

Someone please tell me WHY I keep waking up at 4:20am and not able to go back to sleep?  Those 40 minutes are precious!  I had to drag myself out of bed again yesterday morning.  It may or may not have had something to do with the fact that I didn’t go to bed until almost 11pm the night before.  What was that I wrote about the importance of sleep?  I was fortunate enough to be able to take another nap in the afternoon and felt much better.  I hate going into the beginning of the week (Friday is our Monday) exhausted.

After I had woken up a bit, I had some breakfast.

The Usual

Got ready for my date with Prince Charming!

Played with my new  Hipstamatic app.

Not sure how I feel about it yet….

Outfit:

Jimi Hendrix Tee: stolen from Daniel’s closet

Cami: Wal-Mart

Jeans: American Eagle

Shoes:  old? Payless or Target most likely

Jewelry: Charming Charlie

Leather Cuff: church gift shop

As we were walking out the door my stomach growled so I had one of these,

Kashi

I am so glad I did because I had no idea The Hunger Games would be 2.5 hours!  It wasn’t until after 2pm that we ate lunch.

Sadly we did not go to Mimi’s….again

We went to Schlotzsky’s and it was a good substitution.  I got the small smoked turkey breast, baked bbq chips, a Diet Dr Pepper & a yummy cookie! I ate all of my meal which was shocking to the both of us because I usually eat all of my chips and 1/4 of my sandwich.  Then an hour later I finish it at home.  Not today, I was famished!

So about the movie….

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Please forgive me if I ramble.  I was just so impressed with so many things I can’t even organize them into a seamless thought pattern.  I was surprised that I was brought to tears in a few scenes….Jennifer Lawrence is a SUPERB actress.  Her ability to deliver the emotions of the book was nothing short of outstanding.  I thought all of the actors were remarkably true to the characters in the book.  Effie was brilliant.  I was thoroughly impressed with how Woody Harrelson played Haymitch.  It’s incredibly refreshing to see a female heroine.  Strong, yet vulnerable.  How many women in our society can identify with Katniss Everdeen?  It was just phenomenal.  Although I LOVED it, there were a few things I wasn’t happy about.  How in the world did this movie get a PG-13 rating?  It was so brutal and the situational content was a bit mature in my opinion.  Then again, I wouldn’t let my 13 year old see Breaking Dawn either. That’s just me. The other thing was how shaky the filming was.  I understand it was for effect but man, it was giving me a headache. The director could have scaled back on that.  I have not read the second book yet, but it is waiting for me!  I will probably spend most of the weekend devouring it.

Dinner was leftovers.

Delish!

….and for dessert I had two pieces of Jaime’s bread with some peanut butter on top.  Everything is better with a little PB.

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It’s back to “work” today!  I am not sure what I am going to do for my workout.  Most likely a long cardio session since tomorrow I am planning to do Shred in the afternoon.

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Happy Friday everyone!

oopsie!

 

Oh Channing, I am disappointed.

I enjoyed my smoothie so much the the other day, that I decided to make it again yesterday morning!

Plus I needed something that I could eat/drink while I was getting ready for a hot date with my hunky husband

Look at that baby face. Just 22 years old. So sweet and innocent, un-jaded by life’s curve-balls and the things he has seen in his line of work.

Outfit

Shirt: Target

Jeans: American Eagle

Boots: Payless (had them forever)

Jacket: ???? Had forever?

Necklace and earrings: Charming Charlie

I ended up not liking this jacket because it didn’t fit right. I wore it anyway because I liked the color combination. I have had it since way before I had Aidan when I was at my thinnest before now. It’s really funny to try on things I’ve had since back when I was “thinner than ever”. I remember last year when my “skinny jeans” were too big. Throwing those jeans away because they were too big was a major moment for me. Looks like this jacket will get the boot too. It’s an odd feeling to get rid of clothes because they are too big.

We saw 21 Jump Street.

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I was SO excited to see this movie but was incredibly disappointed by it. I watched the T.V. show when I was younger and was completely in-love with Richard Grieco. I love Jonah Hill. I love Channing Tatum. There were a lot of funny parts. I liked that a lot of the old cast made cameos. The basic plot was good.

The completely unnecessary use of the f-bomb and other language took away from the movie. It was distracting and tasteless. There were SO many crude moments that just were gross. I really didn’t like seeing Channing play this type of role. It was 2 hours of my life & $10 I will never get back.

We had planned on going to Mimi’s Cafe again for lunch but the movie was 2 hours long and we didn’t have time. I was REALLY looking forward to it. We settled on Chik-Fil-A in the mall.

Lunch

Side Salad with all the toppings and Fat Free Honey Mustard, Medium Fruit Cup & a Diet Dr. Pepper.

The lady at the counter was so sweet. She said, “I love the way you are eating! I need to eat like this.” It’s those little moments that remind me why I am doing this.

There was a cupcake shop right behind us. No, I didn’t have any. Strangely I didn’t really want one! I think J did though. He kept talking about them!

When we got home I ate a little snack ( Z-Bar) and was off to pick up Luke for his dentist appointment. It took forever because they are just so darn friendly, we talked and talked. Luke kept making starfish on his tongue with the sucker thing and looking at his charts. When we were done I needed to go by Target for a few things and Luke announced that he was “STARVING”. So was I for that matter. We both picked out a Luna Bar and shared them. When I got home I had this,

Chobani Kids

Not good but not terrible. I also had some peanuts.

Then I got my Betty Crocker on.

(Healthy) Double Strawberry Cream Cheese Filled Muffins

These are SOOOOO GOOD! I accidentally left out the Wheat Germ so I calculated these to be around 150 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 5 grams of protein. With the germ they are about 160 calories.

I found the recipe on another one of my favorite blogs called:

Sweet Tooth Sweet Life

Because of the Luna Bar, Greek yogurt, peanuts and the above muffin, I ruined my appetite for dinner again. Blerg….. When will I learn?

In other news, if you got to see The Hunger Games today, I don’t like you.

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You may also enjoy:

Turn Housework into a Workout – Greatist Daily

Cupcake Heaven

I started my day yesterday by sleeping in until 6:50am It was still so dark out I was surprised it was so late!  I am still in-love with Spring forward.

Breakfast

A small banana, 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter and sprinkle of cinnamon. I heated it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

I had a smaller breakfast because I knew we were going to be having cupcakes later that afternoon.  Hey, save where you can!

The boys went for their donuts and brought me home a surprise!

Non-fat Misto and two donut holes

It was 3, but Aidan wanted “a taste” – then proceeded to stuff an entire hole in his mouth.

Outfit

Please do not be offended by my Cullenesque skin.  I am hoping to still look 30 when I am 50.

Dress: Target (the one I got on this day)

I am not sure where the accessories came from; I have had them forever.  I’m wearing gold beaded dangly earrings too.  Sorry you can’t see them.

Watch: Fossil

We saw The Lorax

These were my dates

The Lorax was a super cute movie.  I can’t believe I have never read it.  I loved all the bright colors and the characters where so funny!  I really liked how it touched on consumerism and also on how just one person can change the world.   I love Dr. Suess & am putting the Lorax on the to-buy list.  I have been meaning to take A to B&N, that gives me an idea for Saturday! 

Lunch was at one of my favorite places

We hadn’t been there in so long, but I think we will be going back more often.  I forgot how much I love it!  I was very sad though because we never got their famous bread basket.  However, we were waiting for a long time before our server came over and to apologize she brought us a to-go box with 4 gigantic muffins.  I can’t complain about that!   I WILL be sure to ask for the basket next time though.  It was the reason I chose Mimi’s.

I chose their Grilled Veggie Flatbread: Whole wheat flatbread with zucchini, red onions, mushrooms, red peppers, tomatoes and hummus. Served with baby greens and fat-free balsamic vinaigrette

It was huge.  I ate all of the greens which had a delicious dressing and half of the wrap.  I packed up the rest to eat for dinner.  It was pretty good.  Not as flavorful as I expected.  Next time I am getting what Jeremy had.

The Veggie Burger.

YUM! Served with fresh fruit.  The cantaloupe and honeydew were superb!

We then went to Kirkland’s to see about finding a mirror and a few other things I have been looking for but Aidan was being a brat a challenge so we decided to head to our final stop.

Kristen’s Cupcakery

Cupcake Heaven

My favorite “Keep Calm” saying.  I have a bookmark that says this!

L-R: Peanut Butter Cup, Cookies ‘n Cream, Almond Joy-ish

Oh…..my…..heavens.  Words can not describe how decadent these ALL were.

I chose the Almond Joy-ish.  I did scrape off most of the frosting, not because it wasn’t good.  It’s just that too much of a good thing can be bad.

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….and this is the TRUTH.

We came home after the cupcakes.  I made a quick grocery list and then left do the grocery shopping.  It was easy this week because Luke is out of town & Jeremy is working his long week. We don’t require fancy meals.  It’s so late and Jeremy is so tired by the time he gets home from work, he doesn’t care what he eats, as long as it doesn’t take too long to get in his belly so he can get in bed.  Works for me!

Dinner was the other part of my wrap.  For dessert I cut all the muffins from lunch in half.  Put one half on a plate and heated them up and the other halves back in the refrigerator.  Jeremy and I shared and even sharing half of the muffins was muffin overload. They were muffins on steroids

Over muffins, Jeremy and I had a deep and emotional conversation about life that left me completely exhausted.  I both love and hate conversations like that!  You better believe I was ready for bed after all that!

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These are totally my cats.

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 Sleep deprived? Hit snooze, skip the gym – Greatist

Finding Balance

Let me start by saying how GLORIOUS Date Day was.

I don’t think there is much else I’d rather do than watch The Big Bang Theory, in my sweats, reading a magazine next to my sweetie. And that is what we did for 3 hours yesterday! It was perfect.

Around noon I got hungry so I made a salad that was so pretty, it looked like a rainbow.

Romaine Lettuce, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, baby carrots, cucumbers, walnuts, fat-free feta cheese, whole wheat pita with fat free balsamic vinaigrette. Lovely.

The perfect bite.

While we were eating, a fire truck drove down our street with it’s sirens on. We went outside to see where it was going and found that it was neither cold nor rainy outside! As a matter of fact, it was quite warm. We walked back to the kitchen and saw a huge gust of wind blow through the back yard. Jeremy opened the door and it was at least another 10 degrees cooler. Then another fire truck drove down our street so we went back out the front to see what was the deal and it was even colder! Texas, you are bi-polar, that is for sure!

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TRUTH

But my oh my how I love thee! She is one crazy broad!

At first I thought I might be ready to get out and go somewhere, but after that gust of wind blew straight through to my soul, that thought quickly diminished.

Jeremy went to pick up Aidan and I started to feel a little blue. I think I was having a little case of the SADs. I didn’t want to workout. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I didn’t want to nap. I didn’t want to do….anything. My mind started to wonder to what might be in the pantry. I was a little hungry so I had two pieces of Jamie’s Pumpkin Bread. Then I wondered around. I don’t know what I did exactly. Laundry? Dishes? Who knows, but I am pretty sure I looked like this

Poor me, I am so sad

So a little while later I had this

Larabar

You know what else? I am not even going to try anymore. It’s futile.

And seriously, I didn’t want anything else after it. They is my magic bars! (said a la Forest Gump)

Then I moped around a little bit more….not hungry at all but wondering what I had in my baking cabinet that I could make to make me feel better. Then like someone had slapped me. I said to myself:

“No, No, No, you are NOT going there today!”

I got myself dressed

Shirt: Target

Vest: American Eagle

Jeans: Gap

Boots: Gift from my mother-in-law

I decided I would take the afternoon to go pamper myself a little, instead of beat myself up with food and negative self-talk. I was also feeling some exercise guilt for not “feeling” like working out.

I went to get my hair trimmed. Thank goodness my girl was there!

Then I got my nails did.

much better.

I gabbed on the phone with my best friend

Browsed Barnes & Noble

Found some drink coasters finally at World Market

and then came home.

I felt 100 times better. I also had a lot of time to clear my head of some things that had been bothering me. Why was I feeling this intense exercise guilt? I wrote last week about feeling burnt out, and out of balance. Yesterday I thought about how I could make my workouts more balanced. At the beginning of the year I wanted to place more emphasis on strength training so I decided to change my workouts from an hour of cardio M-F to M-W-F 30 min cardio/30 min strength training. Tues-Thurs cardio days. That was really working for me for a while but lately it seems to have really put me in a rut. I am exhausted by Thursday, and that day’s workout becomes a chore. I never want exercise to feel like a chore. It’s not. It’s something I am privileged to do. I think I was feeling exercise guilt because I had planned on working out but didn’t want to. For the last two years I have learned to “Shut Up and Sweat”. But what I realized while I was out is that I don’t have to work like that anymore. It’s such a huge adjustment shifting from actively dieting, to just maintaining and trying to stay healthy and balanced. Of course I am tired by Thursday. I was working out M-F and resting on Saturday and Sundays. Now I am going make a Rest Day of Thursdays. I will most likely turn that day into my Treat Day too since Jeremy and I USUALLY go somewhere to eat. I never feel guilty for not working out on Saturday or Sunday because I have scheduled those days not to workout. By Monday I am so ready to work out. Well duh, you have just taken two days to rest your body! I also feel that I am not eating enough to sustain my energy for the intense workouts, and that may be a factor. I was “on a diet” for so long, shifting is difficult. I have lost 3 pounds in the last few weeks and I am not looking to lose anymore weight. I am actually trying to work on my strength and muscle tone. I hope that by having a rest day in the middle of the week I can refuel my body with not only rest but extra calories. Healthy calories! At least I’ll try to make them healthy.

I made Gina’s Arugula Salad again last night. I had quite a bit of the ingredients left from last week to make at least two more salads, so that was on the menu for this week

I added some walnuts on top.

Aidan loves it!

So that was my “date day”. Even though I was feeling a little down, by the end of the day all that had passed and I was feeling refreshed!

Of interest: Beat Exercise Boredom – Fitness Magazine

Old Married People

Neither Jeremy nor I slept well last night.  I finally got myself in bed around 10 which is about 2 hours later than I like.  I woke up around 4 unable to go back to sleep, that is until around 3.5 minutes before my 5am alarm went off.  When it did, I got up, turned it off and crawled right back in the bed until 6 when Jeremy’s alarm went off.  I laid there and went through countless ways I could sleep a little longer and still get the boys ready for school.  No go, I had to get up at that point.  But as always the hardest part is actually getting to the coffee maker.  Once I was there I was good.

Jeremy and I had our coffee and quiet time together, I really wish it was like that every morning .  Then we got the boys ready for Donuts with Dad.  They go every Thursday morning to get donuts together.  While they were having their donuts I had my breakfast.

I made them the same as I did yesterday

Our bananas aren’t quite as ripe as I like them so I had some fresh blueberries and grapes instead

I ended up putting the last of the blueberries in the oats.

It is a dreary, cold day here in Dallas.  It’s supposed to rain all day.  Yuck.  My LEAST favorite weather.  I hate being cold.  Since losing 50 lbs, I am always cold.  And if I am not already cold, it won’t take much to get me there.  I am SO ready for some Texas heat!  I am not sure if Jeremy and I will go anywhere today.  Old Married People. We are both feeling kind of blergh…..But, I am going to get myself dressed super warm, put on my leopard rain boots and maybe that will put some fire under my britches to get out of the house today!  I have been wanting to go to The Container Store that just opened and I am still on a mission to find some drink coasters.  I’d also love to sit in B&N drinking coffee and catch up on 3 magazines I have yet to read this month.  I also need some new workout tops.  But none of that sounds enticing enough to leave my warm and cozy house.   I am just a ball of fire today ain’t I???

Side Note: My “dinner” last night was atrocious.  On the way out the door for church I had a Luna Bar…..I had to, it was the only option! I went to a class after the service and they had cookies for us.  I was absolutely starving, it was so bad I was getting a headache and was having a hard time paying attention. I had two cookies.  All I could think about was that there was sustenance in front of me and I needed it.  I did feel better after the cookies and was able to pay attention, thankfully.  When I finally made it home I was starving again but too exhausted to make anything that took an ounce of thought.  I walked straight from the garage to the pantry, not even taking off my jacket or shoes and had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and an bowl of Peanut Butter Cheerios.

Jeremy asked “How was class?”

Me:”mmmmitwasgoodcrunchcrunch”

Jeremy “Hungry much?”

Me:”mmmphreakinstahvingcrunchcrunch”

At least I wasn’t hangry thanks to the most delicious cookies I have ever had in my life, that I am convinced were sent by God.

Date Day <3

Thursday was our weekly Date Day!  The one day a week that Jeremy and I get to see each other for 5 hours straight uninterrupted.  A day where we can finish a sentence, even an entire conversation.  Sometimes we even make lofty plans for our future.  Its truly a sacred time!  This week’s date was so nice.  Even though we spent half of it doing “non-romantic” things, it was nice just being able to sit, talk, laugh and reconnect after a long week.

Before our date started I had breakfast

Leftovers from Wednesday’s “Brinner”

Turkey Bacon, Jamie’s pancakes w/ 1 tsp. Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams, 1 tsp. all-natural peanut butter, & too much chia seed.

I am not exactly sure how we ended up being Twinsies, but it happened.

You can’t really tell, but my shirt is grey and white striped also.  Side note: The sleeves on this shirt are so annoying.  I really hate wearing it, but I think it’s cute so I wear it anyway.

Date Day Outfit

Tops ~ White Cami: Wal-Mart , Shirt: Target

Jeans ~ Aerie for American Eagle

Shoes ~ Target

Jewelry: Watch: Fossil, Bracelets: Coach & a gift from a friend (several years ago), silver hoop earrings & key necklace: gift from Jeremy last year.

Our first stop was Petco to take my doggie for her grooming appointment at 10am. Next was a stop at Starbucks of course, for my Misto.

We then went to Service King to have my car repaired from the accident.  Waiting on Enterprise to get my rental set up took a good hour.  While I was kind of excited to get to drive a different car, I was also worried that I would like it more than my own and want a new one.  My car is like a trusted friend.  It’s been there through all the changes in my life the past 5 years.  I wonder if anyone else feels the same way about their car.  Is it weird that I have a strange emotional attachment to my vehicle?  Sure it has some bumps and bruises, but I love it.  The thing I love most about it is that its PAID FOR!  HOLLA!  One of the things we talked about while waiting is that while I don’t want a new car, I would like to give my old friend a face lift!  Several years ago the side trim piece came off.  We have intended to get it replaced, but with two kids and one income, it hasn’t exactly been on our priority list.  I am excited that Jeremy is having Service King replace it for us while they are fixing my bumper.

After all that we went to my happy place

(via)

I found a dress, a shirt and a favorite piece of “intimate wear” .

Jeremy found these

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I could strangle him.

We finished the bag by the end of the night.  Oh yes, yes we did.

After a little while in Target, it was time for lunch so we went to one of my favorites

Corner Bakery Café

I had my usual

Spinach Sweet Crisp Salad & the Roasted Tomato Basil Soup Combo.

This meal was extra special because they forgot to put my sweet crisps on the salad so I got an extra one when they brought it out to me later!  I also was able to finish the entire thing.  Usually I am full after eating half the salad.  I bring everything else home to eat later.  I really need to attempt to make this at home because I could eat it every day.

After lunch it was time to go pick up little A and then run some more errands.  Home Depot to get paint for a project, Marshall’s and Ross to find some drink coasters. I didn’t find any coasters, but I did get a table runner, a wooden spoon, and some dish towels.  Isn’t that how it always happens?  You go in for one thing, you come out with 5 and none of it is what you went in for in the first place. 

Trixie was finally ready to go home from her Spa Day

 

I told them not to put bows on her ears, she hates them, but I must admit, they look pretty darn adorable!

I had planned on taking advantage of the beautiful Spring-like weather and going for a run but I was super hungry and it was a little late.  I also had a serious case of the I-don’t-want-to’s again, so I ate a snack.

Sargento String Cheese, Cuties, Peanuts.

I left the house a mess that morning so I tidied up and then got dinner ready.

Nutty Summer Squash with Asiago Cheese, Turkey Burger w/ Provolone & Spinach on an Orowheat whole wheat bun.

These veggies are amazing.

“These are yummy, you have to make this meal once a week. This is perfect” – Jeremy

I got the recipe from my South Beach Diet Cookbook but I was also able to find it on-line!

Nutty Summer Squash with Asiago Cheese (Phase 1)  (source)

Summer squash couldn’t be better! Chopped walnuts and Asiago, an Italian cheese with a nutty, rich flavor, add a surprise crunch to this delightful veggie dish.

2 teaspoons trans-free margarine
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, cut into 3″ strips
1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 3″ spears
2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable broth
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese

1. Melt the margarine in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, or until soft.

2. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes, or until the zucchini and squash are tender. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with the walnuts and cheese.

Makes 4 Servings
Per Serving:120 calories, 9 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 5 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 10 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium

After dinner we collapsed on the couch, watched some DVR’d Big Bang Theory and polished off the rest of the M&M’s like any normal couple would!

Date Day/Rescheduled Treat Day

It’s Thursday which means its…DATE DAY! I also decided to reschedule my treat day to today.  Good thing because my appetite was ready!

Yesterday afternoon, I had a little snack of an apple and some string cheese,and then repeated yesterday’s lunch for dinner.  After dinner I had a couple pieces of protein bread.

For breakfast I switched things up slightly!

Better Oats in Dark Chocolate with 1 tbsp. peanut butter

We started our date by going to Starbucks for my tall Misto and then going our separate ways for a bit….I know but sometimes when you have kids, you have to make the most of your alone time.  He desperately needed a haircut and I needed a manicure.  Luckily neither took too long.  We met back up and went to our movie.

source

I know the critics don’t have good things to say about it but I DO!  It was so fun!  It is a perfect date movie.  You have action, spy stuff, computer and techy stuff for the guys, but it isn’t over the top.  Then you have adorable Reese Witherspoon and hunky Chris Pine and Tom Hardy for the girls.  The guys were super tough but then sweet and vulnerable while they were with her.  It was a perfect balance.  I loved the music. I really loved Chelsea Handler.  I laughed a lot, and actually got laughing so hard in one scene I was crying.  It’s light and fun.  5 stars in my opinion!

After the movie we ate at Frullati, and I had the Rustic Veggie Melt on flatbread.  I was famished by the time the movie ended and finished my meal before I remembered to snap a photo. I ordered the combo meal which was half a Panini, chips and a drink.  I chose Sunchips and a Diet Coke. I REALLY loved it! I must try to recreate this at home!  It was super messy though, and I will probably eat it with a fork and knife next time.  Times like those I wish I still carried baby wipes everywhere!

We went to pick up little A and stopped for yogurt since I had been craving it for a couple of weeks now.

I made the mistake of trying to talk to the insurance company while eating this and didn’t really get to enjoy it.  I am not sure why I did that, I know better.  She had called me about a billion times already.  Ok, only twice. But still….either way it really wasn’t that good.  The cake batter yogurt was good but everything else was just mediocre.  At least I took care of that yogurt craving, until the next time that is. 

 Treat Day was rescheduled for today and one of my FAVORITE things is trail mix.  Salty and Sweet is something I just can’t be trusted around.  I really avoid salt, and sweets, and I REALLY avoid the two combined.  So for my treat,  I mixed together mini chocolate chips, homemade granola, peanuts, almonds and dried cranberries.  I will most likely eat all of this in one sitting, graze on this through the evening.

Yum!

Luke had a friend over this afternoon and the house was a bit chaotic.  I had planned a run, but that didn’t happen. Luke  goes to his dad’s house Thursday nights and Jeremy took Aidan to soccer practice so I get to enjoy an hour or so of peace and quiet! I am going to try to work on a few things around here while everyone is out and I can hear myself think!

Before I go here are some outfits from the last few dates I forgot to post.

as you can see I am a jeans/t-shirt/flats kind of gal.  Simply Comfortable.

Date Day!!!!

Aidan has pre-school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and since Thursday is one of Jeremy’s days off it’s DATE DAY!  This is a sacred SACRED time for us.  Don’t ever try to contact us during this time unless someone needs to be hospitalized.  And even then, only if it’s an absolute emergency!

My day started like any other.  Up at 5 am =  coffee immediately.

Breakfast was the same as Tuesday.

We dropped off little A and went to browse Barnes & Noble.  Got some more coffee, a tall non-fat misto!

While we were waiting for our movie to start I needed to see about getting a case for my new phone.  Due to my OCD attention to detail, I am super anal kind of picky about stuff I buy, so, I was pleasantly surprised that I found one right away!

Speck Case

I LOVE this!  It’s perfect!  The best part is that it came with a matte screen protector that the seller put on for me.  I am so glad because he went through probably three of them before he got it right!  The matte is cool because I don’t feel the need to constantly clean grime off the screen.  It’s slim and cute which are of the utmost importance!

After this it was time to see our movie!!!

I am going to be honest and say anything that has Ryan Reynolds in it, I am going to enjoy regardless of the content.

I mean, c’mon.  I even enjoyed Buried.  I did.

With that being said, Safe House was not exactly my kind of movie.  Too much fighting. Too much shooting and explosives…it was loud.  I like to see movies, its relaxing for me.  This movie gave me anxiety!  The acting was really good, but the story line lacked.  It was just another CIA movie.  Ryan was nice though….

My date was nicer….

We ate at the Corner Bakery.

Tomato Basil Soup & Spinach Sweet Crisp Salad

The salad is – “baby spinach tossed with freshly sliced strawberries, oranges, red grapes, dried cranberries, green onions, creamy goat cheese and raisin pecan sweet crisps, drizzled with our homemade pomegranate vinaigrette.” – Corner Bakery Menu

After lunch, our date day came to an end.  We went to pick up little A, make a quick trip to the grocery store and head home.  Jeremy worked out in the garage and the boys rode their bikes.  That gave me time to have a little snack  (OK a big snack. I love salads but they sure don’t keep me full for long!),

….do some housework and Jillian’s 30 Day Shred Level 1.

I normally run 5 miles on Thursdays but it was getting late, and I was feeling tired.  What I really wanted to do was nap but…considering my behavior earlier this week…I had to engage in some “painful discipline”.    I showered, ate dinner (leftover chili, except I had TWO muffins, hungry much?) Then Jeremy and I worked on the blog for a few hours.  He is the IT behind Simply Southern.  You see, I have these grand ideas but have no clue how to execute them.  He does though.  He’s smart like that.  Thank goodness one of us is!!!!   I got hungry watching him work so hard…..

Apple and a protein bar.

It had been a loooooong day and I was super ready for bed!  5am comes EARLY.