Busy bee! December 28, 2008

Wow, the last Sunday of nearly two weeks off of work.  Like Andrea, I’m not sure how it is going to feel to be at work tomorrow!  I just spoke with Erin and she, Andrea, and I are going to dinner tomorrow night.  Yippeeeee!  I’m so excited!

Today was a very busy day; I felt like I was going non-stop from 9 to 9, but in a good way.  My oatmeal this morning was nummy; it consisted of:  1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup almond milk, 1 tbsp raisins, big dash of cinnamon, and a few tsp of Barney Butter.  Tasty goodness!

I headed to the gym for yoga, and was dismayed at how dirty and ugly everything looks outside now that all the snow is gone.  It made me want to live in a snowier area several times today.

Yoga was great, I sweated a lot, and I’m glad I went.  I felt so good, in fact, that I headed to Target afterward to get crew socks and check out the grocery section.  The grocery area is pretty expansive now, and the prices seem really good on some items.  It could be dangerous, though, if I go there more often and end up shopping in other areas! I love Target. 

Once home I made a quick lunch that was very tasty indeed:  sundried tomato flatout with one egg white, 4 slices of warmed turkey, a little parmesan cheese, spinach, a few small slices of Fuji, a dash of red wine vinegar, and ground pepper.  Mmmm!  I also had the rest of the Fuji and about 1/2 cup of lf/ff cottage cheese.  A perfect lunch 🙂

Love the detail of the parmesan rind!

I think I got online for a few minutes, watched TV for a few, and then started my cleaning fest:  unloaded, loaded, and ran the dishwasher; put away snow clothes; cleaned kitchen counters; swept floors; washed wine glasses; put away Christmas wrap and decor (tree is still up, tho!); reorganized recycling in garage; put wine glasses to donate in boxes; did Lily’s laundry; played with Lily; organized Lily’s food and the birdseed….  Eventually I made the grocery list and went to the store.  I even returned bottles/cans and took back a boatload of plastic bags (I hardly ever do those two things, hence the pile that had grown in the garage).

Dinner was easy to make, and turned out yummy.  We had roasted chicken breasts with carrots and onions, and mashed potatoes.  Amidst the storm craziness the only chicken I could get at the store the other day was split chicken breasts with skin and bones on, but they were great for roasting.

After dinner the cleaning fest continued:  loaded stuff into d/w; did handwash; did my laundry; prepped oatmeal; prepped lunch items; made to-do list for work and personal items for Monday; put Lily’s biscuits away (I transfer them from the box into a reusable tub to stay fresh); organized receipts…

I’m so glad I got all that stuff done today, you don’t even know!  I hate coming home to a dirty house during the work week.  Nothing like dirty dishes (or a clean d/w that I need to unload), dirty floors, and shit stacked up to ruin my mood.  How ’bout you?

I had a new snack tonight that I’ve seen all around blog world:  a banana with nut butter (specifically BB).  This was really tasty, and I think will be even better when the nana is a litte more ripe. 

Well, the day is winding down and I think I’ll head to bed.  I know it will be tough to get up, no matter how much sleep I get. 

I hope you all had a great weekend 🙂  Toodle-oo!

Merry Christmas Eve! December 24, 2008

Hi everyone!  Today was rather shitty throughout, but has ended up well, thankfully.  I was really emotional today, and not quite sure why–frustrating!

Things started out with us seeing an inch or so of new snow, and I tried my Quaker Oatmeal Squares warm this time.  I microwaved the squares and almond milk, then added half a nana.  Not quite the texture I was hoping for, but still good.  I’m totally sold on warm almond milk, and may just drink that alone!

The morning was boring.  Chris slept all morning trying to get rid of a headache, and I chatted with family, watched TV, and blogged a little. 

I was in such a funk I didn’t eat lunch until 2pm!  I had a wrap consisting of a sundried tomato Flatout, turkey, spinach, 1/2 wedge LCL, and ground pepper.  (My broc slaw already kicked the bucket, even tho it is just 2 days old!!)  I also had an apple with the other half wedge of LCL.  Yummy, and decently filling.

Chris wondered if we could get out to Costco to get gifts, but I was skeptical of the road conditions.  The freeways looked fine, but the roads we were going to drive on were an unknown.  I chatted with my dad, and he said there were bad ruts, lots of icky, snotty slush, and probably no way my car could make it b/c of ground clearance and traction. 

My dad invited Chris and I over for dinner, and he came to pick us up around 5.  Chris and I madly shoveled the driveway while my dad was on his way, and I checked the mail box when I got out to the street.  Low and behold my Secret Santa package was shoved into the mail box, and it took both me and Chris pulling on it to get it out!  Fuck the postlady, seriously.  She folds all of our magazines in half (hard crease that makes reading them a pain in the ass), jams the mailbox too full, and now this?!  She also bent the mailbox door, probably while she braced herself to shove the package in.  WTF was she thinking.  I’ve had at least 10 post people in my life over various states and I”ve never had service this bad.

Anyhow, my package was full of so many fun things!!! Bars galore, cocoa, gifts (including Christmas socks!)…see the goodies?!

Chris and I left a layer of snow and ice on the driveway, and my dad was so funny–he jumped out of his car and finished shoveling the driveway when he got here!  Once we got on the road I was so glad Chris and I didn’t try driving.  I couldn’t believe how stupid people were being on the road, and how crazy the ruts were. 

We stopped at Freddy’s for a few last minute items, and then headed back to my dad’s.  We made elk tenderloin medallions, a potato/onion/carrot saute, and a broccoli/brussel sprout saute.  We also had a spinach and baby greens salad with tomatoes and a red pepper.  Mmmmm!  Of course we also snacked on a few crackers and cheese beforehand.  Thankfully the cheese was so stinky I couldn’t stand it. 

Liz (my dad’s wife) asked if my dad planned dessert, and when he said no she popped up to get these:

I just had one, and it was milk chocolate with vanilla ice cream.  So yummy!  And thankfully just 60 calories 😉  I also had a few grapes after dinner as we chatted.

Chris and I brought my dad’s car home, and in the morning we’ll be stopping by to pick up Liz on the way to my uncle Erik’s house for brunch.  My dad is on call and not sure if he can make it, but hopefully he can.  My cousin Nick is back from Marine Corps basic traning for a few more weeks; I can’t believe he went into the military!  I’m curious to see what he thinks of it all.

I hope you’re all having a very Merry Christmas Eve out there!  I’m off to watch 2 Days in Paris.  Love the scenery!

Au revoir!