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Currently: July…and I’m BACK!!!!

Posted on August 3, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Guyssssssss!!!

Oh my gosh, am I happy to finally “see” you!!

I hope most of you were able to see my update on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook! Remember when I said I was having server issues last week? Well, it seems, while the man-friend and I were BBQ’ing it up in Memphis, the bloggy decided to catch the
Bu-BROCCOLI Plague! Luckily she was allowed visitors 😉 but I’ll tell you, I have been a nErVoUs wReCk sitting in intensive care next to my computer awaiting updates from the doctor IT guys all week! After MANY trials and errors, some exploratory surgery, and a look at different treatment options, it looks like our girl has FINALLY made a
full recovery!

I’ll admit, it’s been hard being forced into a blogging break…especially when I have oodles (yes, I said “oodles”) to tell you guys about my trip AND I do believe I have a recipe to share, don’t I? but first, before it gets too late and I look even MORE ridiculous, how about a Currently post? It’ll help me catch you up a bit and well, you guys know how much I love this thing! 😀

Current Book:

I know, I know…but I just had to take a break. Book two definitely hit a climax, but I’m sorry, even I know it’s fiction, but there comes a point where an excessive amount of sex just starts to rub you the wrong way…pun totally intended. 😉

Current Music:

Some of you may scoff, but just TRY to tell me you can resist the urge to dance whenever you hear this song!

Current Guilty Pleasure:

Shopping!

Or more specifically FOODIE shopping…with the man-friend…while on vacation! Now please, someone stage an intervention…my pantry is bursting at the seams!

For the record, he spent more money than I did! 😉

Current Nail Color:

Currently, I’m wearing Essie’s Nothing Else Matters, but for most of the month and again in just a few minutes it will be back to OPI’s I Do De-Claire! <- OBSESSED with this color!

Current Drink:

Liquid Piiiiiiiie!

Current Food:

For the entire month, I have been COMPLETELY obsessed with pairing fruit with veggies…salads, flatbreads, salsas, you name it! Love the sweet and savory…and apparently I also love my cutting board as a backdrop! 😉

Current Favorite Show:

Since I used the man-friend for his subscription to Netflix got caught up on episodes of Switched at Birth, I really haven’t been watching much…well, except for the bits and pieces of Chopped I can catch while soaking in a swanky hotel bathtub! 😉

Current Wish List:

For my knee to miraculously heal itself and be like I never had surgery?

Current Needs:

The motivation to stick with it at the gym! I’ve been hit or miss lately…emphasis on the miss! The last workout I did was about two weeks ago. It was a fantastic leg circuit that I just threw together on the fly, but for the next THREE days I was SO SORE…it’s really hard to gauge my limits these days since I’ve been out of the game for so long!

Current Triumphs:

Throughout my trials and tribulations in therapy (ohh, how’s THAT for some alliteration, Miss P?), I WILL say I’ve made some progress over the last month! Without even realizing it the other day, I brought my knee almost all the way up to my chest…which is CRAZY awesome!

Next on the list: Squat to the floor and be able to get into child’s pose!

Current Bane of Existence:

Maybe it’s the crazy amount of stress from the blog this week, but c’mon, I am 28 years old…shouldn’t I be done with acne?!

Current Celebrity Crush:

One word: Wolverine! 😉

Current Indulgence:

Choc…

Healthy Chocolate

…olate! 😀

Whether it be the REAL stuff or the “healthy” stuff…this month has been a good balance of BOTH!

Current Blessing:

Having the BEST group of guys working to fix the blog over the last week…especially Jay who not only kept me informed with daily email/phone updates, but also handled himself rather well when a bit of stress-induced/sleep-deprived delirium turned into waterworks over the phone! Seriously guys, if you are ever looking to switch to self-hosting, I cannot say enough great things about the Helpful Hosting team!

Current Slang:

Hmm, I’ve been commenting on Instagram a lot lately with “nom nom nom” which is the only thing I can muster when crippled by some serious foodporn! 😉

Current Outfit:

Food’s not the ONLY thing I’ve been shopping for…I bought a new dress!

Dress

Forrrr….

Current Excitement:

My TEN-YEAR 😯 high school reunion tonight! 😯

Current Link:

theleangreenbean.com

As of last month, I’m BACK on the Foodie Pen Pal wagon! For July, I was paired up with Mollie, a blog reader from Maine and even though it was her first FPP swap, she DEFINITELY knew what she was doing…and spoiled me silly!

I <3 local goodies! And she even included an amazingly scented loofah AND a little catnip lobster claw for Tiger! 😀

Thank you SO much, Mollie! You are the BEST!

To see how I spoiled MY pen pal, head on over to Dana’s blog and for more info on how to join in the FPP fun, click here!

Current Mood:

EcStAtic!!!

😆

Posted in Currently, Personal | Tagged blogging, books, chocolate, coffee, knee surgery, movies, shopping | 42 Comments

Friday Five

Posted on July 26, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

I’m reeeeeeeeeally hoping everything works and this posts actually publishes. I’ve been having ~~some~~ A LOT OF issues with my server lately so…fingers crossed! With no time for an intro, I think you’ve seen enough of these posts floating around blogworld to know what’s coming…

Coconut Coffee

1. Liquid Pie

Have you SEEN this coffee in stores?! If so, do yourself a big HUGE favor and pick up a bag! Not only does it ACTUALLY taste like coconut, but it also makes for the perfect addition to German chocolate SEX cake! 😉

2. Wild for Nut Butter

A few months ago, the lovely ladies over at Wild Squirrel sent me a box of their nut butter goodness. And well, I guess you can say I’ve MORE than enjoyed them…

The vanilla espresso is my FAVORITE (totally still hoarding this jar), but I did my best to give the other flavors an ample opportunity to please my palate. Whether it’s on top of a bowl of cereal, Arctic Zero, toast, crackers, cookies, Quest bars, or your frickin FACE, it is absolutely amazing!!

3. Beating the Heat

While I seem to be in another one of my cooking ruts (I blame the summer heat), there has been NO shortage of yummy eats crossing my path…I’ve of course been tossing up PLENTY of salacious salads, but I’ve also been enjoying freshly made salsa and this amazing berry bruschetta I came up with the other day!

Recipe coming soon!

4. Leftovers Schmeftovers

It really kills me how people say they hate leftovers…all week, I’ve been adding a bit of the man-friend’s perfectly spiced pull pork from our BBQ last weekend to my salads and then drizzling the whole thing in thinned out BBQ sauce…YUM!

5. Man-friend Makeover

Looks like my little lizard man has changed his look a bit…or at least for the weekend. That’s right, the next few days will be spent in Elvis-land (aka the man-friend’s
old stomping ground) and we plan on hanging with friends, family, and of course,
getting our FILL of some good ol’ Memphis BBQ!

What are YOU up to this weekend?

What summer eats and treats have you been enjoying lately?

Posted in Product Review, Snacks, Travel | Tagged BBQ, coffee, leftovers, nut butter, salad, veggies | 36 Comments

Thoughts on Self Love

Posted on July 25, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

I hope you’re all having a FANTASTIC week!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “thoughts” post, but honestly, I just have so much more to add to my Marvelous NOT Modest post that it just made sense! At the end of Monday’s post, I asked you guys to tell me what makes YOU marvelous. Unfortunately, I only got one response. 🙁 I’m hoping this has more to do with the distraction of all that food porn and not a reflection of how you see yourselves, but regardless, this has been on my mind ALL week.

If I can sum it up in one sentence (and picture) it’s this…

[source]

The SECRET to true HAPPINESS is SELF LOVE.

Last week, my coaching program with Jamie came to an end. As I rattled on and on about the latest goings on in my life, of course I had to tell her all about my Yoplait adventures 😉 but I also shared a few thoughts I’ve had since coming home from my trip…

I ate too much.

I drank too much.

I slept too little!

But for the FIRST time ever, there was NO GUILT!

I had fun at Blend, but I’ll admit, I missed out a lot of the experience because I was so stuck in my head…overanalyzing my thoughts and actions and frankly, just beating myself up, but my time in Minneapolis was the exact OPPOSITE and I know why…

I have FINALLY learned to LOVE myself.

Jamie used to have to remind me to not be so negative all the time, to speak to myself as I would a child, to forgive my ~~failures~~ ~~mistakes~~ setbacks and move on, but thanks to YEARS of being a perfectionist, I really had a hard time making that stick.

My breaking point was when she gave me my last homework assignment. Every day, before getting into the shower, I was to strip down, stand in front of a mirror, look at my WHOLE self and then repeat three special words…

[source]

Well, it took nearly FIVE minutes to get the words out the first time without tears welling in my eyes. THAT my friends, is how broken I still was…how much I hated myself. But the exercise got easier…and easier…and then FINALLY things just started to click!

All of a sudden, setbacks didn’t set ME back as much as they did before. I was taking things in stride. When I would have instances of overeating in the past, I would be totally stumped as to the reasons behind them and just start labeling certain foods as the “enemy”…further affirming my thoughts that I couldn’t trust myself. That of course would lead me to a LOT of negative self-talk and DAYS of bingeing in a way to punish myself. Now I can clearly seen the reasons behind the times I push my limits…a lack of sleep…a bout of frustration…a FUN moment of distraction with friends.

But NOW I don’t dwell on these reasons. I accept them and move on!

Last weekend was definite proof of my progress. All of that indulgence, overeating, AND baking (the old me would have never even baked a cake to begin with because I wouldn’t have trusted myself around it) in the past, would have left the me with a ton of guilt and of course, the downward spiral would ensue, but you know what? I didn’t even give a second thought to most of my choices over those few days. In fact, I was just there, in the moment…and so was the food…and for a change, I actually felt NORMAL!

So let me just serve as an example. The journey to healing your relationship with food has NOTHING to do with food at all…it’s about healing the relationship with YOURSELF. It’s about self-forgiveness. It’s about self-acceptance.

It’s about self-love.