Silver Linings Playbook

WOW

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WOW

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WOOOOOOW

Jeremy and I went on a RAINY day date today to finally see this movie.  We have been trying to see it since it came out and it never worked out.  I am so glad we finally saw it.  It is a “buyer” <—-that’s what we call movies that are so good, they are worth buying.

I was so impressed by this movie.  It was an unexpected dark comedy that was edgy, hilarious, intense and brilliant.  WOW.  Bradley Cooper is not just a pretty face.  He is so talented and plays this role superbly.

After the movie we browsed through Barnes & Noble to see if I could find a new planner and not only did I find one but also this little gem!

It’s not some cheesy book on how to become a personal trainer. It gives reviews of all the different programs, avoiding common mistakes, gives sample questions from the different exams and loads of other information.  As I was flipping through the book I stopped at a page and what it read ultimately caused me to buy the book.

“The trainer must understand the importance of the client’s personal journey – mental, emotional, and spiritual”

Oh my goodness!  That’s like my entire philosophy on health!  I had never heard of ISSA before today.  I was going to go the common NASM route but now I am thinking I will try a different program.  It was serendipitous.

Even if I can’t actually take the course right now, I can at least learn about it and get prepped mentally.

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Thankfully  I am on the last day of Dr. Oz’s cleanse!  I am so glad because while I am feeling much better and am back to craving apples instead of candy and chips….I am SURE ready for some solid food!  I made a delicious crock pot chicken dish this week that was heavenly…..I did have a taste of it…..you know to make sure it was edible for THEM But I will for sure be making it again soon (and posting the recipe) so that I can enjoy it as well!

Returning to normal

Things seem to be returning to normal…. FINALLY!  After Luke getting a touch of the stomach bug and Jeremy coming down with some sort of nasty sinus thing….we are feeling better around here.  I am not going to lie and say I am just thankful we are all better, it could have been worse.  No, it freaking sucked.  We are not sickly people, we are never ever sick and we don’t do sick well.  That being said, I AM glad we are all better.  The sun even shined today and I wasn’t frozen to the core all day.  I am not a fan of the cold weather.  Not at all.  I would much rather it be 110.  Call me crazy…..when I was obese, I enjoyed the cold.  I would open windows when it was 45 degrees out, the colder the better.  Those days are long gone.   The sunshine was much needed today.

So I have gotten my appetite back somewhat, but when I do eat it’s some random thing at some random time.  The other morning I did make a bowl of oatmeal and didn’t get hungry again until later that afternoon.  I have been CRAVING fat & salt.  I can’t get enough peanut butter, almonds and peanuts.  I was craving chips and queso for days.  So, I hope to eat a little more regularly now and keep my goal of no more sugar.  I hate that I have started the New Year on such a crummy note.  But on the bright side, it can only get better!  I am looking forward to returning to my regular workouts next week when the boys finally go back to school!

Ah….oats, my trust old friends.

Being stuck at home for almost a week and a half, a crummy Christmas, no news on the house, everyone sick, not eating right or working out, and the dreary weather was starting to take it’s toll on me emotionally and mentally.  With a suggestion from my sweet Jeremy,  I took a Mommy’s Day Out on Wednesday. It was glorious!!!!!  First stop was the outlet mall.  I found a great deal on some new running shoes from Nike and an outfit from J Crew! Then I hit up my faves…..Marshall’s and Target.  There I found several other things that made me happy.  Shopping = Therapy.  I ended it with a mani/pedi which unfortunately I did not enjoy because she used some sort of lotion that got cold and I was sitting there literally shaking.  I am not sure she was too concerned because she kept laughing.  Brat.

Yesterday I did some serious grocery shopping since I hadn’t been since I went shopping for Christmas dinner!  Well, minus the trips for crackers and Gatorade.

TODAY…..Luke and I broke out of the sick house again and went on a date.  I had intended on taking both boys to a movie yesterday but Aidan reminded me he doesn’t like the movies because “It’s toooooo loud in there”.  Silly boy.  It’s true though, he isn’t a fan of the movies.  I think the theater we go to turns the sound up extra loud.  Why?

First we went to a matinee showing of Rise of the Guardians.

Rise of the Guardians

It was SO GOOD!  I loved it!

Then we fed my craving for chips and queso.

On The Border

We shared a bowl of queso and the lunch portion of the chicken fajitas.  It was perfect!

There was a Cold Stone Creamery right across the street AND I had a coupon!  I thought that was the perfect ending to our date.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!!

I got the “like it” size of sweet cream with snickers mixed in.

L got the “like it”size of chocolate cake batter with Butterfinger mixed in.

His was way better than mine.

We weren’t ready to go home just yet, so I drove him by a few houses that we are looking at, to see what he thought.  Then later while we were having a showing on our house, ALL of us went to look at the houses……We spoke with our realtor today and we just might be getting some good news tomorrow.  I am trying to not get too excited because this has happened before but this time seems to be different…so pray a little prayer for us!  I may or may not have had another complete and total come apart small emotional breakdown Wednesday night…..  I am SO ready to move on with my life!

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READ THIS!  SO good…..trust me it will happen to you.  You should be prepared.

How to be nice to food pushers – Fit Bottomed Girls

A few hot minutes

Testing, testing…do I remember how to do this?  It has been a few hot (literally, I live in Dallas, remember?) minutes since I last blogged.  It was a whirlwind of a summer.  The break was so nice but if you know me….you know I love a schedule.  The lack of one left me in a bit of a funk for a little while.  I found myself sleeping in later and later….not going to the gym…..eating out of boredom.  It was too hot to do anything.  Aidan is such a homebody that when we did go out somewhere all he wanted to do was come home!  I can understand that.  The gym was crowded beyond belief every single day. It was such a chore to go and TRY to get Aidan a spot in the KidZone.  There was a 30 minute wait one morning.   I feel like we did everything and nothing at the same time.  The days seemed to blend seamlessly……..But ALAS! school is back in session and we are all thankful for that!  And by we, I mean ME!

We are getting up at the crack of dawn again, and getting our day started right.

Aidan loves to get up with me (5am) but that just can’t happen. I have to have at least 2 cups of coffee and 2 hours before I want to see anyone but my cat. So he is really trying to wait until his alarm goes off at 7am. It’s an act of congress I am telling you. I need to start some sort of reward system.

Speaking of Aidan getting up….he has to get up because my sweet little baby is a KINDERGARTENER now!!!

1st day of school!

Waiting in the car because it was pouring down rain.  He wasn’t nervous or apprehensive at all until this point!

Picking out his locker.  The 1st one of course.

With his sweet teacher.

I didn’t expect to start crying my eyes out beginning at 7:30am but I did.  I didn’t stop until almost noon when I had to say to myself “Ok, Amanda…..get it together!” I would have taken more pictures of the first day but I was doing well to get these few.  It was not a good day.  I listened to the Lullaby Station on Pandora all day.  Why?  I don’t know, because it made me feel all ooey gooey over my kids and sometimes you just have to feel your feelings ok?

The second day was much better.

It was not raining this morning and we were able to walk to school.

Luke is a big 5th grader now!

Bless his sweet heart.  5th grade is proving to be a lot more of a challenge than he expected, but he is doing great and adjusting well.  He is playing the violin this year!  So far we are only plucking the strings so no ear plugs required as of now!

Someone had her 6th 29th birthday!!!

I love getting older.  I really do.  Each year I am more and more grateful for my beautiful life.  I am so blessed beyond measure that I just have to shake myself sometimes to believe it.  I feel better at 35 than I have ever felt in my life.  I took a real age quiz on my birthday and it said my real age is 23!  Well, how about that!

One of my birthday presents was a Bodybugg!  If you aren’t familiar with it you can read up on it HERE.

This was my readout from yesterday.

I wish that everyday could be like this, but they aren’t.  I jogged in the morning for over an hour and then did housework all day long.  I had gotten behind on it over the weekend.  Add to that walking to and from school, plus an extra trip because Trixie pooped on the sidewalk at the school and of course I didn’t bring a bag.  So I ran home, grabbed a bag, ran back, picked it up, ran back home.  Embarrassed much?  I was mortified because I just KNEW every parent saw what happened and was going to tell the principle and she was going to announce it over the load speakers!   Anyway….about the Bodybugg…..I LOVE IT!  I love all things fitness related and this is just over the top awesome.  It is kind of a bummer that I have to wear it all the time on my arm.  I really don’t know why they made it that way.  I mean for real….It makes me look like I am being monitored by the police or something.  Why didn’t they do a chest strap?  I am sure there is a very good logical reason, but I can’t for the life of me figure that out.  Maybe it is for advertisement?  Who knows.  I don’t care though.  I love it and wear it all the time now.  I do take it off at night and times when I am not really concerned with my “performance”.  It took a while to learn how it works.  I am still learning how to use it.  The operating system isn’t very user friendly but thank goodness I know a super smart man who can figure anything out.  Mainly because he has the patience of Job.  I, on the other hand; was ready to send it back the second day I had it!

Also for OUR birthdays (Jeremy’s is one week to the day after mine!) we had a little over night stay in Dallas.  We stayed at The Adolphus.

It is a beautiful hotel!!!

This sofa couch thing was on our floor….I could have sat there all day.

Went shopping at the Northpark Mall….well ok we WALKED around the Northpark Mall.  Then we saw The Words.  OH MY WORD it was good.  And not just because Bradley Cooper is in it.

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What? ….just sayin!

We went to the Dallas Farmers Market….interesting….and I can’t wait to go back!

We also walked over to the area where JFK was shot almost 50 years ago!

Fascinating.

Thanks so much to Jeremy’s momma for coming down so we could getaway!!!

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So this morning I wanted to go for another long run jog in the park.  Having Aidan in school now means I can!  The weather is so wonderful in the mornings now. Just thinking about running on the treadmill makes me want to stick a fork in my eye!

Ahhhh, therapy.

For breakfast before my jog, I had a Nature’s Own Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin with 1 tbsp. of Jif Natural Peanut Butter and my daily vitamins.

After my jog I had a protein shake.

I have been enjoying these shakes all summer.  I ran across a new blog that I am totally obsessed with now.  Dashing Dish.  She has AMAZING recipes and I have tried just about every single one of her protein shakes.  Life changing.

My shake today had these ingredients in it.

• 1/2 cup Fat Free Cottage Cheese
• 1 scoop MRM whey protein powder
• Lots of ice
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 packets stevia
• 1 tbsp. chia seeds
• 1.5 tbsp. Hershey’s cocoa powder
• a few drops coconut extract
• a few drops almond extract
• a few shakes of cinnamon.

So YUM!

A few hours later it was lunch time.

Gala apple and a Panini made with a sandwich thin, 1 tbsp. Wholly Guacamole, 5 slices of turkey pepperoni and 1 slice provolone cheese.  This is my new favorite sandwich!  I had one yesterday, and will probably have it again tomorrow!

It feels good to get back to blogging!  I need to thank my sweet best friend Cheryl for the email this morning that lit the fire under my britches!!!  Love you friend!

Of interest:

Talk to your self to stay motivated – Greatist

I guess it’s about time

that I finally post something!  It’s been a full summer thus far but I think it will be slowing down here in the next week or so.  Luke is going to be going to his dad’s for the month of July beginning Friday so it will be just me and Little A most of the time after that.

Last week the boys went to stay with Jeremy’s parents for the week.  On Monday we met at Chili’s, had lunch (I got a cup of the Chicken Enchilada Soup, so YUM) and then we drove back to Dallas…..alone.  It was so quiet that it was just plain weird.

We had planned to get some things done Monday afternoon when we got back into town but I was so tired by the end of the drive and had a headache from reading in the car.  All I wanted to do was lay down.  So I DID!  It was glorious!

Tuesday

Tuesday we got to go somewhere that I had been wanting to go for a really long time.  The last time I went to the Allen Outlets was a few years ago and I only got to go into one store.  Jeremy and I made a day of it and got there first thing!  We shopped around a while, finding nothing and getting hungry so over lunch I devised a plan of attack!

I circled and labeled all the stores I really wanted to go to and when we got back we started on one side and worked our way to the other.

FINALLY,  I found the first of many purchases at Kenneth Cole.  I love the tagline on their shopping bag….Everyone Needs an Outlet.  Yes, and shopping is one of mine!  Thank goodness for Jeremy’s sake I am a bargain shopper.

I couldn’t believe I found these, they look almost exactly like my ones from Target!  These are better because my Target ones don’t have the braid over the ankle and my heel slips off the back when I walk.  These feel much better made although I have a blister on my big toe now.  It’s ok…they are cute enough to endure the pain! 

We had lunch at Mimi’s Café.

Tomato Basil Soup & Fresh Turkey Sandwich

Would you like some turkey and bread with your lettuce?

I asked for no tomato and mustard instead of mayo….I guess they heard no tomato sub lettuce, no mayo sub lettuce.  Either way it was really good!  I ate half the soup and half the sandwich and it was a perfect portion for me.  I hate the huge portion sizes they serve at restaurants.  It’s so hard to leave half on my plate even though I KNOW that even just half is usually too much.  I think every time…..such a waste, there are people starving.

Wednesday

Reality of Love

I think the original name was “I Want to Marry Ryan Banks” but I guess they changed it at some point.  Good move, I want to marry Ryan Banks is cheese.

I LOVED this movie!  I love it so much I want to buy it!  It was adorable and honestly, who doesn’t love Bradley Cooper?  If you don’t, you should see someone.  I want to watch it again.

Thursday

We went to breakfast at La Madeline.

I ordered the Breakfast Sampler.

Fruit Salade (no, I didn’t misspell), Mini Chocolate Croissant, Oatmeal with brown sugar and toasted almonds

This was REALLY good.  I ate half the oatmeal,  half the croissant and all of the fruit.  It was perfect and filling.

Then we caught the matinee of Snow White and the Huntsman.

Love, love, loved.  It was freakin loooooong but I had no clue.  This says a lot because I have the attention span of a 5 yr. old.  I think Kristen Stewart did a great job.  Clearly she has had some acting lessons since her Twilight days.  Charlize stole the show for me though.  Evil Queen indeed!

I had on a cute top under this jacket….but since I get cold if its 85 degrees and there is a breeze, I turned into a fashion DON’T before our movie.  Good thing we were in a dark theater.

We decided on lunch at the Chick-Fil-A in the mall.  It was 2 pm and I was getting hangry.  So I figured it would be a good idea to get something quick.

We found a sunny spot to thaw out under and enjoyed lunch.  I got my usual side salad with fat free honey mustard.  I added all the sunflower seeds and croutons.  This time I decided to add my fruit cup on top instead of eating it separately.  I didn’t like it as much…I don’t like the honey mustard on my fruit.  I think I will do this next time but change my dressing to the vinaigrette.

…and then this happened

Jeremy made me do it…..but really, it was inevitable.

I didn’t eat it ALL…..just about 3/4!  It was REALLY good, but as expected not as life changing as I had imagined.  I could totally make this at home and in fact, have made something like this before with plain M&M’s, granola, raisins, and some sort of cereal.

That night I got to watch the week’s episode of Dallas!!!  I am so excited to have a new show to watch!!!  I never really get attached to a series because I never have time to watch them.  But this is appointment television for me!  Scandalous!  I vaguely remember the show from when I was little, but I want to buy the original series and watch all of them!!!

Friday

I can’t really remember what we did Friday, but I DO remember dinner!

Crunchy Onion Barbecue Chicken w/ Alexia Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries.

I can’t even begin to tell you how good this was.  I have yet a THIRD go-to recipe from my new cookbook!

Friday evening we watched this movie.

In Time

Great storyline, just waaaaaaay toooooo long.  I fell asleep but was rudely awoken several times by sounds of gunshots.   I’d recommend it, just know it’s really long.

I just remembered what I did Friday. DUH!  Jeremy worked his extra job so I had the day to myself!  I slept in late, cleaned the house a little and then went to exchange some things from Ulta & Target.  By Friday I was REALLY missing the boys.  I was honestly sort of depressed.  It’s funny because when I said goodbye to them on Monday, I thought….gee I am not sure 5 days will be long enough.  Clearly….. I needed a break.  By Thursday I was getting pretty bummed and by Friday I was just depressed.  I really missed my little boys.  It was so incredibly quiet Friday morning.  The energy they give off is tangible.

Saturday

Finally FINALLY it was time to go get them!  The drive there seemed endless.  We met again in Abilene and ate lunch a Chili’s.  I had the chicken enchilada soup again!  So YUM!!!!

The best mom/mimi in the world and her boys!

I am so glad they are back.  We all slept late this morning and had a great day today!  Fussing, complaining, fighting and all!  It was music to my ears. Tomorrow is back to reality and a regular schedule.  I hope the treadmill doesn’t kill me after a week of ignoring it!

Last Date Day

Aidan’s last day of school was yesterday and it was our last “Date Day”.  The boys will be going to spend a week with Mimi and Papa over the summer so we WILL get to have another date or two over the summer, but besides that…this was it until Aidan starts K in the fall.  Then we will have tons of them!  It’s so crazy to me that we are finally moving into the next phase of our lives.  I was changing out some of the pictures in our frames last night and found one of Luke at age 5.  Then I put Aidan’s 5 year picture next to it and thought….Wow, where has the time gone?  Cliché, I know, but it’s the truth.  Seems like yesterday……It’s so bitter sweet.  I am happy, relieved, hopeful, excited about the future.  Being able to finally do some of the things I have only dreamt about being able to do over the past 10 years, having sense of freedom.  But at the same time, I am sad that my baby boys are growing up so fast.  It makes me want to savor every moment and sad that life is so busy and hectic that I can’t.  I just pray I am not missing valuable opportunities to teach them, love them and nurture them.  I pray that I am not making mistakes I will regret later.  I pray that they will grow up knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that I love them more than anything and that our house and our family is their sanctuary in this messed up world.

Ready for our date!

Breakfast

Orange and not pictured, a bowl of oatmeal.

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 tbsp. natural peanut butter
• 1/2 tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 tbsp. Ideal Brown Sugar Blend

Outfit

I tried on about 27 things before settling on this….I don’t know why I even bother with more than a t-shirt and jeans….it’s what I always end up wearing anyway.

• Shirt: American Eagle
• Jeans: New York & Company
• Sandals: Target
• Watch: Fossil
• Bracelets: Charming Charlie

Our first stop was to Sephora.  I finally picked a new fragrance after trying the ones in the Sephora Fragrance Sampler that Jeremy got for me a few weeks ago.

 Michael Kors Gold

“This fragrance brings together iconic yet complementary scents to create the perfect accessory. Exquisitely alluring notes of magnolia and freesia blend with delicate violet flowers to cast a brilliant sparkle that commands attention. The headiness of tuberose and the peppery hint within peony meld together for a sensational presence at the fragrance’s heart. The finishing glow of ambergris drapes you in a sexy aura of gorgeous, glimmering gold.” – description of the scent on Sephora.

Who writes these?  I love it!

Then it was time for our movie.

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I wish I was like everyone else and could say this movie was the best movie ever made, but for me it was not.  Let me just say first that I really like super hero movies.  I love the witty humor. I love the heroism. And of course there is usually a love story.  My favorite super hero is Iron Man.  Robert Downy Jr. is just adorable.  I loved the first part of this movie, but by hour 2, I was bored.  All I could think about was how much longer would this be going on and what I wanted to eat for lunch.  It was so freaking loud and the violence was just way over the top for me.  I was getting a headache.  I know….what did I expect?  I just have a short attention span and anything longer than two hours is just too much.  Over all it was a good movie, just (IMO) did not live up to the hype.  Definitely a guy movie.  My favorite part was when Hulk smashed Loki like a rag doll.  I couldn’t stop laughing.  There have been a few people I wish I could have done that to.    KIDDING!!! not really.

So all I could think about during the last part of the movie was this salad. Actually, not this salad but THIS salad.  The Chick-Fil-A in our mall didn’t have it so I settled on the regular one.  I should have ordered a fruit cup and put it on top.  Definitely next time!

Chick Fil A Chargrilled Chicken Salad

I added the sunflower seed and crouton packets and used fat-free honey mustard.

and then this happened…..

Small Snickers Blast from Sonic

I am not sure what got into me.  I don’t think I have had something like this in….well, ever.  I think I was wanting a Blizzard from Dairy Queen but we don’t have one around here.  I had been craving one since Sunday and suggested….(during the movie) we take Aidan to get a milkshake to celebrate his last day of school.  What was up with that too?  I never “celebrate” with food.  At least I try not to SAY we are, even if we are.  Sadly, this wasn’t even that great, but you better believe I ate all of it and had a stomachache afterwards.  At least I got THAT out of my system!

I spent the remainder of the day chillin out on the couch or just putzin around the house.  Jeremy and I stayed up too late and since I was still full (and nauseous) from the Sonic treat, I had skipped dinner.  Of course by 10pm I was starving.  First I had an apple.  That just made me hungrier.  Then I had an Annie’s PB&J granola bar & finally had a bowl of cereal.  Not exactly the best things to be eating right before bed but it’s whatever.

We don’t have any plans today besides going to the gym this morning.  I do need to catch up on some housework and about billion other things.  Hopefully I will be able to get all those things done for my sanity!

I stumbled upon this article yesterday while I was in my sugar coma on the couch from the Sonic Blast

Best Health and Fitness Apps – Greatist

I downloaded Stress Check, Epicurious, ShopWell and Fooducate.  Then I scanned almost all of my food items obsessively.  Thankfully they all came up with good scores!

I hope everyone has a BEAUTIFUL Friday!!!

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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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.

via

….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

Sweet Friends

Pizza

Movies

Cuddles

Sprinkles

That was my night!

Friends are so fun to have around.

I may or may not have had a slice of terribly greasy pizza and about 2.5 of those cupcakes last night, as well as a few other snacks yesterday afternoon…..  My friend actually made these from a kit that I got her for her birthday!  Dare I say better than from the shop?

This morning Luke has a youth wellness class at our gym and Jeremy and I are planning on burning off the 4000 calories balancing out our splurge last night with a nice workout while he’s is doing that.  It’s a good thing I enjoy fitness as much as I enjoy sweets.  Damage control indeed.

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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.