Fueling my day.

I have no idea what my eating schedule is going to be like today since we're road-tripping it to the lake with friends. So I decided to have a big healthy breakfast to tide me over in case I don't get to pick from the healthiest things along the way.

First we have a protein smoothie:



Isn't this one so much more pretty than yesterday's? It also tasted a lot better. I split it with the hubs. The whole concoction had a banana, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of blueberries, 2 Tbsp protein powder, ice, water.

I had two teeeeeeny tiny peaches:



And 1 scrambled egg, 1/2 a Morningstar "sausage" patty, and 1/2 a slice of wheat bread with 1 tsp of butter. Real butter mind you. The only way I roll.



And again, Blogger decided to turn my photo to portrait orientation. Does anyone know how to fix this? I'm tired of messing with it. I'll give you a free neck massage for having to tilt your head to see my toast.

Blogging revelation.

I am way more accountable when I blog about the food I eat. The past few days or a week or however long it has been since I last told y'all every morsel I ate have been a blur of junk and nastiness. I've eaten way more meat than my body would have liked since practically giving it up recently. I've not eaten nearly enough fruits and veggies. I'm eating at weird times and skipping meals. This is not healthy at all and I can totally feel it in my mood and energy level. I'm cranky and tired and I'm not sleeping.

DUH Kristan. Get your act together NOW! Tomorrow is the husband's birthday. I'm making his favorite meal (his momma's "Mexican Dish") and he's getting a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I am going to eat both, but only a little sampling. You know why? Because celebrations happen and I need to learn how to partake in them without going overboard.

And then I'm going to try my darnedest to keep making good choices over the weekend. We're leaving Friday morning to go to the lake with friends to celebrate the birthday boy. And if you have read this blog for a while, you know that we can get into some shenanigans that involve copious amounts of alcohol and really bad-for-you fourth-meal drunk food. But I have a plan! And I WILL stick to it. And I will blog about it. I promise. Feel free to call me out if I don't. :)

Recipe Review: SK's Asparagus, Goat Cheese, & Lemon Pasta

Recipe found here on Smitten Kitchen. Thanks Deb!



I just made this for lunch today. It was amazing. I made only a couple of changes. Not even changes really...

-Whole wheat pasta
-Extra lemon zest
-Lots of lemon juice
-Added the end of a package of parmeson/asiago to the mix

I really recommend this. It is super delish.

But here's the thing. This is total binge-worthy food. Food like this is the reason why you should eat breakfast in the morning (well, not the only reason). I didn't eat, and by the time I got to this plate of goodness, all control flew out the window.

I wasn't feeling breakfast. I just wasn't hungry. I need to find the happy balance between listening to my body and doing what is good for it in the short term. I was trying to wait until I was feeling hungry...only that didn't happen until lunchtime. Then I made this and ate 1 serving. Then I thought, a couple more bites won't hurt. Then a couple more. Then another. Faster than I knew it I had eaten two servings and now I'm regretting it. My tummy is too full! :(

Big honkin lunch.

After my disappointment with a bad combo of fillings in my Crack Wrap yesterday, I wanted to make something that would use up the package of wraps I have. Well, maybe not the whole package, but you get the idea.

I filled the wrap with some leftover Israeli couscous salad, a dab of parmesan-asiago vinaigrette, and a slice of provolone. Folded it into a bundle and grilled it.



This was such a better flavor combination than yesterday's wrap. Paired with half a pear, half a cup of watermelon (salted of course), and half a cup of cantaloupe balls. Yum yum!



I must have been starving though, because I wolfed it down way too fast! Oops.

Oh what a beautiful moooooooorning....

I'm sure it'll be a beautiful daaaaaaay!

I could not stay in bed this morning. It was just too dang hot. So I figured I might as well go for a run. It was nice. The sun was just coming up and all the ducks were out by the lake quacking and waddling around. It was so calm and peaceful. I can't guarantee that I would do this every morning, but it was really a great start to my day today.

I made a huevo ranchero for breakfast this morning. I actually ate it this time though. Here it is paired with strawberries and mango. If it doesn't look like a lot of fruit it's because I ate half of it while I was cutting it up...



I don't remember if I told you how I make this yet. First, you brown a corn tortilla in a hot pan sprayed with a little cooking spray. Flip it over. Then crack an egg on top of the tortilla. The egg white will run over the side a little, and that's okay. The egg will start to cook a little bit, but you'll still have to flip it over. That's the hardest part. The egg will want to slide off of the tortilla. I like to get the biggest, fattest spatula I have and get it under there enough to balance the egg in the center. Try really hard to flip it fast but gentle so you don't break the yolk. I managed to not break it this time until I plated it. How lame. But I guess it makes for a colorful picture! I topped it with some salsa, scallions, cilantro, and a little avocado. It was a very yummy and filling breakfast.

The hubs isn't working overtime this weekend so we're going to go to Galveston! I'm really excited. The weather should be great. We're probably going to get a hotel room for tomorrow night. I haven't been there yet after the big storm last September, so I'm kind of curious how the island is going to look.

I am thinking about hitting up some vintage stores today. I am not looking for anything in particular, and I really don't wear vintage clothes. But I am inspired by Jessica to at least go check out a few shops. We supposedly have a great little area near Rice University that has lots of fun little places. Of course, I've only been to that area for the bars. Oops. I hope I find something cute. I am looking for a funky belt and maybe a necklace with some character. I also would like to find a pretty thing for my hair to dress up some of my sundresses this summer.

There's also a place I want to check out called Sandy's Market. I think I'll have lunch there today (probably a late lunch). It's kind of like a grocery store, but it has a HUGE salad bar and it looks pretty neat. I found it when I was searching for the farmers markets in my area. So I'm thinking they probably carry a lot of local stuff. We'll see.

Well, I've gotta get in the shower if I'm gonna go out today. The longer I sit around playing on the interweb, the less likely it is that I'll go out. Talk to you chickens later!

I ate a brat today.

I snacked on some cheese and crackers around noon. It was the Kerrygold Ivernia cheddar and some reduced fat Wheatables. Very tasty.



Lunch was leftover pasta with a tomato, parsley, olive oil, and parmesan. Pretty good. I felt very hungry later despite the major calorie load that this was. Not enough complex carbs or protein methinks.



Snacked on a warm pita + hummus taco. No pic.

I played around with the blog all day. I'm not done. I made a new banner. It needs something. I'm trying to see how I want the blog to look. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Dinner was a nice little salad. Spinach, strawberries, walnuts, blue cheese, and raspberry dressing. The dressing was Drew's All Natural Raspberry. It is delicious. Two thumbs up.



But then that's where it went down hill. My stepdad made chicken and bratwurst on the grill. And baked potatoes, hush puppies, and corn on the cob. I made my salad and I was determined not to eat anything else. But, alas, I gave in. See, my decision not to eat meat was because I am just not a fan. Well, I am definitely a fan of brats. So.....I had one. And then ate a potato with some butter. And then two hushpuppies. So, I kind of got a little wild with the unplanned foods. I am not fretting about it, but I can see what led that to happen. I didn't get enough substantial food throughout the day. I should have eaten the salad at lunch and added some more veggies and fruits. And maybe a hard boiled egg or something. But you live and learn, right?

We took the dog for a walk tonight. I'm proud of myself, that's 7 consecutive nights of activity. I'm actually seeing a difference in my body, too. I swear my clothes are fitting better now, and I actually don't mind wearing shorts and tank tops and stuff. The dog is happy too!

I'm still full from all that food at dinner time. Blech.

Product review with dinner

I tried some Morningstar Italian sausage with dinner tonight. Thumbs down. The texture is just off. I won't be buying them again. Kosmo likes them though!

I boiled some crazy pasta (armoniche) and topped it with some vegetable primavera. I really liked it. Drizzled on a little olive oil and sprinkled some parm and parsley as well.



I was trying to take a pic of the pasta so you could see the shape. Kosmo thought I was giving him a treat.

Last true day of the Spring 09 semester.

I took my last final for the semester today. It was easy.

I am not hungry today. I have barely eaten because of that. I made a smoothie this morning, well, more like a thick juice maybe. It was a can of peaches and an orange blended with ice. It tasted really good, but I forgot to take a picture. There wasn't any protein or anything in it to make it count as a full meal though.

Lunch. I knew I didn't have much left at home to make a decent lunch from. So I stopped by my favorite grocery store on the way home to get some ideas. I was not inspired at all. I grabbed some goat milk brie, hummus, pita, olives, israeli couscous, and fresh fruits & veggies. When I got home, I just didn't want anything. I did eat though, because I knew I needed to. I had some watermelon + salt, a bunch of strawberries, a few kalamatas, some hummus + olive oil, and a pita cut into triangles. It was enough I suppose. I wasn't hungry before eating, and I'm not hungry now.



Dinner will be some cool pasta (I can't remember the name of it right now, but it's an awesome shape!) with some chunky tomato primavera sauce (lots of veggies). It's from a jar [insert judgy comment here]. I also have some Morning star Italian sausages.

I got some plantains at the store today, too. I've never had them before. The sign at the store said to bake them in their skin just like a potato. I'm going to look for some recipes for them. I still have lots of mangos, too, that need to be used. I'm going to come up with something tasty, I hope.

There's a yoga studio near my house that offers a beginner class tomorrow morning. I want to go, but I'm feeling shy and intimidated about it. But it's only $15 (I think, that's what they list as their drop-in rate on their website, and no mention of the price for the beginner class). I'm gonna set the alarm and try to make it there.

Okay, gotta get off my tush and get some stuff cleaned up around here. I'll check back again after dinner!

Monday Monday

Breakfast this AM is a strawberry banana smoothie made with ice, a splash of Almond Breeze, 1 banana, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 Tbsp flax meal, 1 container of fat free vanilla yogurt, and a packet of Splenda:



Three servings of fruit and a serving of dairy. Yee haw!

Lunch is scheduled to be a taco salad. Oh, that is just classssic Kristan. Hehehehe.

I want to get some activity in today with the Winsor Pilates DVD. I've tried this before, but I'm not very good at it. I'm going to give it another shot. I also need to review some stuff for a final tomorrow. Tomorrow = last day of the Spring 2009 semester WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO.

Right now, I'm compiling a list of things I want. I have paper lists all over the place, so I'm trying to consolidate into one spot. I need a reward system to keep myself on track these next few weeks since I won't have anything to do. I'd like to reward myself for being consistent with activity and with eating right. My list of things I want should help me to pic some good rewards.

I'll check in again after lunch.

Happy Mother's Day, Momma!

Spent the day shopping with Mom and the sis. It was a good day! Lots of giggling and window shopping and trying on super expensive stuff and buying ridiculously cheap stuff.

I got FOUR dresses. It's only May, but it's so dang hot already. I really needed something light and airy to keep me from melting while schlepping across campus this summer.

Here are two of them (the other two aren't online):


I actually ordered this one online because I went to two different stores and they didn't have my size. But it was $UPAH cheeeeep and I wanted it. It isn't near as BLUE as it looks in this pic though. Only $17 shipped! $core!!


I got this dress in a wine color, but they don't have it on the website. This one was only $13! Double $core!!

The other dresses were from Ann Taylor Loft (black & white floral cotton print with a little ruffle at the neckline) and Forever 21 (cool dark purple & ecru tie dye super soft cotton). I'm actually building quite a little collection of cotton sundresses. Thank goodness, because I'll be in class every Monday through Thursday for two months straight and I'll need some things that aren't denim! I'm also gonna get a gauzy white skirt and some tanks in various colors, and I think I'll be set. Oh, and I still need that white cardi...

Breakfast today was actual huevos rancheros made with a tortilla. But only one. So I guess it was huevo ranchero. And then I didn't even eat it because I got really grossed out by something and eating was just not going to happen. I know.... [insert lecture here]. :P

We did go out soon after that and had lunch right away though. I got a (can you guess?) TACO.SALAD. Yeah, I think I'm addicted. It wasn't a "bad" taco salad either. No deep fried bowl. No rice. No melted cheese. Just a gigantic bowl of salad, carrot shreds, onions, tomatoes, avocado, a dallop of sour cream, and a little bit of tortilla chip shreds. I added a little salsa to it. And I did eat about 15 tortilla chips with the salsa. And guzzled no less than 4 12 oz glasses of iced tea.

Later on we snacked on big soft pretzels. I had half of a cinnamon sugar pretzel and half of a regular salted pretzel. Good stuff!

Sis needed to get back on the road for Austin and Mom didn't want to go out for dinner. The husband and I went to McAllister's Deli and I had a (there is a trend going here...) TACO.SALAD!! Well, half of one with veggie chili and a cup of potato soup. I didn't think about it at the time, but I am thinking there may have been a negligible amount of bacon in the soup. Oooops.

When we got home, we took the dog for a walk. We went around the lake this time since I am still a little traumatized about last night.

Kosmo made a friend. I should have gotten his and his furmomma's name. We could be walking buddies! Maybe I'll see her again. The pups really got along well.



Then Kosmo tried to make another friend. Actually, I think he was trying to make dinner plans with a duck/goose/white bird with a crazy red beard/whatever that thing is called. My dog needs to be locked in a cage. I can't take him anywhere!

The most interesting part about this story though, is that I thought the bird was safe, because he was on the other side of a 10ish foot wide section of the lake. Kosmo does not like water. He will go in it just enough to where his legs get wet, then he's done. Yeah, he jumped. Right into the water. He was still on the leash too. He swam across, all the while the husband was trying to pull him back. He got out on the other side and then didn't want to come back. Too bad, because there was no way we could get across without wading through. So we coaxed him back and he very reluctantly swam back to us. Punk.



Check out the smile on his face!



I think it's time for obedience training. He's going to try to eat a baby next. :-/

Almost Done!

Only one more final exam left, boys and girls. Remember that little panic last night? Well, I did not end up studying any more. But I couldn't fall asleep. :-/ I guess I was worrying too much. I got about 5 or 6 hours of sleep though.

Breakfast was a smoothie. Well, about 1/8th of one until PunkAssDog Kosmo sneezed in it. Gross!! I didn't have time to make something else. :( I decided to get a bagel once I got to school.

Pre-sneeze:



By the time I got to school, however, my tummy was all in knots and I did not want to put food in it. I didn't know what to do. I knew I shouldn't take the exam on an empty stomach, but I also knew I wouldn't do my best if I was sitting there with an upset stomach. I opted to skip eating. I did fine though, I think. I have to make a minimum of an 80 on it to get an A-, and I think I pulled a B. I didn't think I did all that great on my midterm, but I still pulled an A on that. There was one question that was slightly more detailed than on the review, so I kinda felt unprepared for that section of that question. Thank goodness for BSing skills! :P

I ate when I got home because my stomach wasn't really bothering me anymore. I made a little quesadilla thing out of corn tortillas, the Andes cheese, and some leftover Amy's Black Bean Chili. I also made some guacamole out of some avocado and salsa.



I went to take a nap, but my mom called to say that my sister was at the gate of the neighborhood and needed to be let in. So I got up to go drive up there to open the gate for her, but when I got downstairs she was parked in front of the house. There went my nap!

We went to dinner when the hubs and Mom got home. We had Tex-Mex. My stomach started bugging me again, so I only ate a few chips and 1 of my enchiladas and a couple bites of rice. I feel really icky right now. :(

We're supposed to go out tonight to one of the husband's co-worker's house. I'm really tired, I feel like poo, and I look like hell. I don't know if I can handle putting on the wife show tonight, and then going out for our usual Saturday night shenanegans. Then tomorrow we are going to his mom's for Mother's Day. I can't wait until Tuesday night when I feel like I can really take a break. Tuesday is my last final!!

Well, I'm gonna have to go see if I can manage to look halfway presentable. Have a good evening!

Lunch + shopping

The morning flew by because I was not doing anything productive. Screwing around always makes me freak out when I see that 3 hours have gone by without getting a single necessary thing done. I decided to have lunch, then blog, then get cracking.

I wanted to use some stuff from the fridge because I don't like to cook a meal when there are 37 leftover containers in there. I took out the lentils and the green enchilada sauce and just kinda looked at them. I still had the taco rice in there too. Grabbed that and some broth and threw them in a sauce pot along with the end of a package of sliced brown mushrooms. Instant soup! No seasoning required. I just heated it through, topped it with some sliced scallions, cilantro, and the Andes cheese. I definitely like that stuff better melted onto something.



Now onto the shopping. I got this dress at Target yesterday. I have some casual navy blue wedges that I can wear with it. I want some kind of cover up though. If I am gonna wear it to school, the classrooms get a little chilly sometimes. There's not happy medium. They're either 345 degrees or -4 degrees. Anyways, I want a really lightweight white cardigan, preferably v-neck (I hate when crew neck cardigans "fall over" when you don't button them all the way to the top). If anyone sees anything like that, can you let me know? That'd be so awesome.

Speaking of dresses at Target...I'm gonna get this one to wear for the husband's birthday party, wherever and whenever that is gonna be. I really love it. Or maybe this one!

Here's my to do list:

Figure out use for leftovers
Study for final
Change sheets
Clean kitchen
Cardio + weights
Clip Kosmo's toenails
Clean out car
Wash car
Pedicure
Eyebrows
Make hair appointment

That's a lot of stuff. I was hoping to get through that whole list today. Maybe I still can minus the pedi & eyebrows. I can do that tomorrow after the exam.

I am a culinary genius.

Okay, for all the real culinary geniuses out there, I am indeed NOT a culinary genius. But I *do* feel like one.

This morning I could not decide what to have for stupid breakfast (we have a love/hate relationship). I didn't want to make a bunch of noise with the blender. I've been wanting to try huevos rancheros lately. Yes, I live in an area where Tex-Mex abounds. No, I have not ever tried huevos rancheros in all of my almost 26 years.

I do know how to make that dish though. Only I didn't have any corn tortillas. I forgot those and salsa at the store. Bummer. But I *did* have some leftover taco rice in the fridge.... (imagine light bulb over head here). Hey, eggs and rice go together all the time in other cuisines.

I sprayed a pan with nonstick spray over medium-highish heat (ours goes from 1-9 + Hi...it was between 7 & 8). Then I poured in a layer of rice and kind of shaped it in a circle. I let that sizzle for a bit and then cracked a jumbo egg on top. I spread around the egg white to get it to fill in the "cracks" between the rice. Let that sizzle for a bit. I lowered the heat to like 5 or 6. I lifted it all up on my spatula and sprayed the pan again, then flipped it. Let it hang around in the pan for a sec. Then I poured in some green chile enchilada sauce. Let that hang around for a little bit too. Then I plated the rice + egg, and poured the green sauce over that. Crumbled on some Andes Traditional panquechue Chilean cheese and some cilantro.

It looked like a masterpiece. Would it taste like one? A resounding yes from all the judges!! (Just me, by the way).

Eaten with some mango:





Now, I'm sure someone, somewhere has already created this dish. I don't know what it's called and I've never heard of it. If it exists (I hope it does, people need to experience this!), can anyone tell me what it's called? If it doesn't exist, what should we call this thing?

Moving along. I only ate twice yesterday, but I had a big, late lunch and was not hungry at all for anything after that. Until it was bedtime. I ate about a cup of watermelon + salt:



I don't know if this is a regional thing or not, but sometimes people look at me funny or question my desire to eat salt on watermelon. If you have not tried this, please do. The salt just does something for the melon. It doesn't taste like salt anymore once it touches the watermelon. It kind of melts into it and helps the watermelon be more delicious. I don't know how to explain it. You don't need a ton, and I've only tried it with table salt. Just a little sprinkle should suffice. I first tried it when a relative from Florida (he lived in Florida, but grew up in Jersey) introduced me to this trick. Do you do this or have you heard of this? If so, do you know if it's a regional thing?

I'm supposed to be going onto campus today to study with a classmate for our final tomorrow. He hasn't contacted me. To be honest, I don't feel like going all the way up there and sitting in the hot ass library. I'm gonna start studying here and wait for his call.

Lunch needs to involve the lentils I made the other night. I'd like to use them up. And now that I've opened a can of whoop ass green enchilada sauce, I need to figure out what to make with the rest of that. If only I could always be a culinary genius. *Le sigh* (that's French for *sigh*, right?).

My sister (from Austin) is coming to town this weekend to hang with the Momma. She's a veggie too, I just found out, so we can share ideas and she'll be happy to know there's plenty of stuff for her to eat while she's here without having to scrounge around for stuff.

I'll check back with you kids later. Gotta get my re-learnin' on.

Evening walk + maniac.

I ended up eating a late lunch with Mom because she wanted to go out. We walked around Target and Marshall's first and then went to Jason's Deli. I got some really cute stuff at Target. I planned to model it for y'all but I looked so fat and icky in everything that I thought was cute in the dressing room. :( But I'm not trying to throw myself a pity party, so let's move on...

I didn't get anything at Marshall's. I was looking for one of these in the French Bull pattern. Mom said she saw them at the TJ Maxx near one of her stores. They did have a Market Tote style in the Dot Pattern for $14.99 though. Pretty good deal! Mom's going to check the TJ Maxx for it.

I got the Portobello Garden Pasta from Jason's Deli. It's yummy. A little bit too much cheese though. It's a WHOLE LOTTA calories and a WHOLE LOTTA fat. Oops. NOW I know not to get that again. :(

Stopped by stupid Walmart to grab some produce, which I hate to do, but it was the only place on the way home. Suprisingly, the produce was pretty fresh and they had some good deals. I spent $3.67 on a package of scallions, a package of strawberries, 4 mangoes, and a bunch of cilantro. But I guess there's a reason why it's so cheap. :/

The hubs and I went for a walk with mini-maniac today. He's a maniac because he pretty much looks like this 24/7 (true story):



We saw a bunch of cute little critters!



This little lady was a momma to a bunch of cute baby bunnies, but they scampered off safely into the brush nearby.



See that little turtle sticking out of the water in the bottom left? Such a cutie.




Kosmo played hide & seek:



And then he chased some birds (don't worry, he was on the leash and we weren't gonna actually let him get them):



I like how this bird was like "What? Dogs aren't scary." See how Kosmo's feet are not even touching the ground? But that bird is just chillin. He's a hard ass macho bird.



And look, I even got y'all some flowers! You're welcome. :P

Check these out.

Ta-Da!!



I'm sorry the pic sux.

But these taste delicious. I had a minor craving for something sweet and I thought about strawberries and the PB&Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams. But then I saw the graham crackers in the pantry and had an epiphany.

1 graham cracker broken into its four perforated pieces. Spread 1 side of each with the peanut butter. Cut up some strawberries (I used 4 small ones) and arrange on two of the graham crackers. Then top with the other grahams. Then devour. *nom*

Dinner Mish Mosh

Remember how I said my parents were making dinner and that I was going to make my own taco salad? Well, neither thing happened. My stepdad was too tired to cook, so they wanted to go to Outback Steakhouse. The husband wasn't going to be home in time (working late) so I told them to go without us. Then the husband emailed and said that he was going to be even later than he thought. So I was on my own for dinner.

Technically, I was on my own for dinner to begin with. But for some reason I decided not to make the taco salad (gee, maybe it's because I ate it like 30 times this week?!). I got a strange urge to make lentils. I don't know why. I've never made lentils or even tried them before. I only bought the bag of lentils because they were next to the split peas and I said "why not?".

So, I threw them into the pot, and poured in some water and an undrained can of diced tomatoes. And a ton of spices: salt, pepper, garlic, minced onion, cumin, paprika, curry powder, and chili powder. Turned out pretty good. Although I don't actually have anything to compare them to...

I also made some random package of taco rice that I needed to get eaten. And then I stuffed some celery with blue cheese. Yeah. None of those flavors go together.

But each one tastes good on its own. :) Eaten with multigrain bread + butter, all by myself in the kitchen while watching the news.

Wazzup chickens?

I'm having a very lazy day. I had planned to get up and whittle down my to do list. But I couldn't wake up today and slept in. It was nice. I'm going to set an alarm for tomorrow morning though. And maybe try to get in bed by 10 tonight.

I slept through breakfast hours, but I ate right away anyways. I had a cinnamon sugar mini bagel, 2 Morningstar sausage patties, 1 cup watermelon, 1 large orange, and 5 strawberries.



Later I snacked on carrot sticks and the end of the hummus, with a little olive oil.



Now I'm just being lazy (hey I *did* do 2 loads of laundry today, that's something, right?). I was talking to some peeps on the message board about cheese. And so I got thinking that I wanted some. I had a tiny bit of Kerrygold Ivernia cheese. It's an Irish cheddar. I really, really like it. It's pretty sharp and reminds me of parmesan. What are your favorite cheeses, and what do you pair them with? I see this Sticky Toffee cheese at the store a lot, and I've tasted it a couple of times. I really like it, too. I think I may buy some next time, as well as goat cheese, which Nancy-Pants recommended to me.

The parents are cooking dinner tonight. They want steaks. I'm not going to eat steak with them. Instead, I'm going to make another taco salad. I swear, that's all I ever want these days! I'm seriously obsessed. When I make it for just myself, I use a cup of Amy's Black Bean Chili for the "meat" instead of the meatless crumbles. Actually, I'm thinking of doing it next time (or maybe tonight?) with a black bean and corn salsa. Anyone have a good recipe?. I just realized that I'm out of salsa though, so I'm probably going to use the Amy's chili since it's got a kick to it.

What are your plans for dinner tonight?

(PS - I realized while tagging this post that this is the first post in a long time that isn't about school. YAY!)

Ahh. Relaxation feels nice.

Hear that? That's the sound of *nothing*. NOTHING. Ah. That's nice.

Well, technically, I had to go school to turn in the paper. But I got to hang out with Season for a few minutes in the hot ass library. I guess they forgot it was May in Houston and didn't turn the AC to a lower temperature. I went up to my prof's office to give him my paper rather than put it in his box. Call me a kiss up, but I kind of felt like I should say bye and "have a nice summer". I mean, I did talk to this guy for like 3 months, why would I just part ways without saying something? Okay, I might want a reference in the future. But really, I thought it would be nice to leave on a good note.

I planned on going to the gym, but I didn't. I was so hot and I was hungry too. Yeah, those are excuses. Sorry. I'll get back in a routine soon.

Breakfast was a bigass smoothie made the regular way (banana, flax, spinach, blackberries) except I used unsweetened almond milk instead of skim. I didn't take a picture because it was ugly. I used more spinach than usual I guess. Instead of purple, it was brown. Tasted good though.

Lunch was Annie's Organic All Stars in my favorite bowl! I had a coupon. Yes, I realize I'm not 7. I have no idea why it's my favorite bowl, but it has been for as long as I can remember.




Dinner this evening was meatball sandwiches and a big salad!! Very yummy. My fabulous friend Season very generously bestowed upon me a plethora of meatless deliciousness. One of the items was Nate's Zesty Italian Meatless Meatballs. I approve and so does the husband. I heated them up in some zodka sauce, crammed them in a roll, topped them with some provolone, and then threw the sandwiches in the oven to get all toasty and melty. I know in the pic the salad doesn't look big, but I ate another portion equal to that one.




And now, an Actual Conversation:

To set the scene - Kosmo is laying on the couch between use cleaning himself.

Husband - Kosmo, why are you licking your kneebow?
Me - Ummm...what's a kneebow?
Husband - It's the part of his body that is a knee on him but an elbow on us.
Me - **blank stare** Honey, he has an elbow.
Husband - Oh, I guess that's his wrist then. Kosmo, why are you licking your frist?
Me - Do I have to ask what a frist is?
Husband - It's his foot and wrist.

Yeah. He's a special breed. The husband, not the dog.

I still exist.

I'm so very sorry I've been neglecting my little blog lovelies. I have been SO VERY busy with the last bits of school this semester. I'm going to inundate y'all with lots of pics because I have a lot of things to share from the time I've been gone from the blog. And also I may not be on here for another week or so while I finish up some stuff.

Good news though! Thursday and Saturday are the last official days of class. Then I have finals, in which I only have to take TWO of four classes. Yay! And only one of those is going to be in the area of hard. So I'm feeling pretty good about them.

I have 3 papers due within the week. One due on Thursday, one due on Saturday, and one due on Tuesday. The Tuesday paper is my BIG paper and I'm actually having a lot of fun writing it (I already finished the other two). Here's what writing my paper looks like:



I regret to inform that I have not been doing very well in the eating of healthy and nutritious foods. I've kind of been relying on convenience foods and it's not going very well. I think I've gained like 5 pounds, but I'm staying away from the scale until Friday. I have been doing well with not eating when I'm not hungry and/or stopping when I'm full. I'm still being mindful of portion sizes and stuff, but I'm not obsessing over every bite like I usually do. Hopefully once I switch back to fresh veggies and stuff when things are less hectic my body will get back to normal.

My new favorite breakfast:

Blackberry, banana, spinach, flax smoothie



My new favorite dinner:

Fabulous taco salad made with romaine, Boca crumbles made with taco seasoning, tomatoes, avocado, salsa, low fat cheese, fat free sour cream, green onions, and crunched up tortilla shells


OH!! I totally want to thank everyone that participated in Erin's bake sale and auction. Y'all rock! And BIG FAT JUICY thanks to Erin for doing that whole thing and helping everyone kick cancer's ass.

Here's what I made for the lucky winner of the blondies I donated:



So yumtastic. This is a pic of Kosmo trying to trade his toy for a blondie (his negotiations were futile, BTW):



And even though I've been busy, I have snuck in a few nights of fun times with the gang. Single ladies, the guy in blue is taken but the other two yahoos are looking...and being the girl sometimes they think it's my job to pimp them out to all my girls. But fewer and fewer of my lady friends are single anymore...



Houston got ridiculous amounts of rain for the past two days (eleven inches!) and my neck of the woods (along with many others) got flooded. Both houses are fine, but the yards were super saturated with water (the pic below was from yesterday, before another whole night of storms + flooding, and doesn't look as bad as it really was). Many people were stranded after trying to drive through the high water in some places. It took me two hours to get to school this morning, and I was 30 minutes late. But only like 7 people braved the elements to get there anyways so it wasn't a big deal. Most of the water has receded now and all should be better by tomorrow. I tried to get a pic of the creek thing that runs directly behind the house, but nothing would come out good. But it was even more full than when Hurricane Ike came through here last fall!



Oh, I've purchased thestepfordwife.com so in the near future we'll be dropping the .blogspot and moving to that. But I'm not sure when because, well, I've got other things to do right now.

Alright kids, that's all I got. Good night!