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WIAW: Mugs, Munchies, and Moochy Meals

Posted on February 26, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Ahoy, mateys!

Sorry…NO idea where that one came from! I hope you are all having a fantastic week so far. And well, I hope I didn’t scare too many of you away with yesterday’s rather blunt post. While I’d like to say I was off to wino dreamland shortly after hitting publish, the truth is I’m running on about 3 cups of coffee AND a can of Zevia right about now! #fakeittillyoumakeit #ordieofaheartattack #eyetwitch 😉

Sooooo, how about we talk about food while I’m still alive? Sound good? I mean, it IS Wednesday which could mean only one thing…

Big thanks to my veggie-lovin’ and chickpea squeezing mama, for ~~giving me something to live for~~ hosting our weekly shenanigans! Be sure to hop on over to Peas & Crayons and check out all the link ups for this week’s What I Ate Wednesday! But first, allow me to start the party off with some rarely seen weekEND eats!

I woke up Saturday morning feeling fully rested (oh the memories) and hit the gym first thing for some kind of workout that I can’t actually remember right now! #goldfish All I know is that when I got back to the house, I was ready to gnaw my arm off!

Edited to add: WAIT, how could I FORGET?! I started Jamie Eason’s LiveFit again! And it was great!! And THAT’S why I was so friggin’ hungry! Lol

Luckily this plate of scrambled eggs, onions, and beet greens topped with avocado was ready within minutes…and not only delicious, but also my two favorite colors!

All washed down with a ~~cup~~ MUG-o-Joe…and oh look at that, my shiny new iPhone says hi! 😉

I realized after the fact, but since I was up and down and in and out of the house for the better part of the day, lunch was more of a series of snacks than an actual meal, but that’s fine by me…especially since it all started with this EPIC deliciousness…

That my friends, would be a PB&J graham sandwich…a childhood favorite brought back from the past and is very much here to stay…especially with blueberry jam! 😀

There was also some cookie dough #questbarporn involved while in the car…

And a sweet and crisp Lady Alice apple which I picked up when in ATL last weekend! Anyone ever tried them? They’re REALLY good! Kinda like a Honeycrisp only a little less sweet!

Then, before gracing my mom and dad with my presence at dinner that night, I ate a carrot the size of a small child…but I forgot to take a picture…so hmm, maybe I didn’t! 😉

Dinner was my mama’s mouth-watering beef & bean enchiladas (one of the first recipes I learned when I moved out the house a million years ago) topped with sour cream, avocado, and salsa along with some corn tortillas topped with warm queso blanco
x ~~two~~ DOS!

With HALF a bottle of gold star…I was so full from dinner, I ended up letting my dad finish it! Ha!

And that’s it! A full Saturday’s eats…well, along with two-ish un-pictured liters (33oz) of water! By the time I made it home a couple of hours after dinner, I was heavy-lidded and ready for bed…only to fall asleep and begin a week of insomnia battles! More on that later though…there is HOPE on the horizon!

But today, I’d like to take a minute to wish my mom and dad a HAPPY anniversary!! Kind of an old pic, but it’s my favorite! Thirty one years ago, they said their “I do’s and forever will’s” and are even happier and more in love today! <3

What was one of your favorite snacks as a kid?
I was a BIG lover of cinnamon toast or (don’t laugh) crackers with Cheeze Whiz! 😯

Are you more of a meal or snacky type of person when it comes to lunch?
I have to say, most days I’d rather just grab & go. And when I do sit down,
it’s mostly with a snackPLATE!

Posted in What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged apples, avocado, beer, coffee, eggs, peanut butter, Quest bar, water, weekend | 43 Comments

Namaste, Bitches!

Posted on February 25, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

I’m sorry, was that a bit too blunt? Truth be told, I’m awake after only THREE hours of sleep, I’ve had a glass of wine (for therapeutic purposes only), and well, I guess I’m feeling a little loose-lipped right now. But let’s get to what I didn’t get to in yesterday’s post that was actually even BETTER than that gold star!

Have any of you ever tried HOT yoga?

I’ve always been curious about it so when a friend from work invited me to go along with her to a class Sunday morning, I jumped at the chance! And I had the most INCREDIBLE experience…a complete detoxification for both mind AND body!*

*Which obviously, I’ll be needing again soon! 😉

And get this, the class was only EIGHT BUCKS! 😀

This was actually first time in an actual yoga studio too! I’ve only taken a dozen or so vinyasa classes at my gym so I wouldn’t consider myself well-versed in all the different styles and names of poses, but I’ve really enjoyed every class I’ve taken…especially since before my first class, I couldn’t even touch my toes!

It’s been over a year since I’ve practiced yoga. Since my surgery, the range of motion in my knee has been really limited so I never even considered going to a class, but over the last few months, I’ve seen a lot of progress in my flexibility, only lacking the ability to sit in child’s pose, so I’d been thinking about it more and more.

I had no idea what to expect from this class, but honestly, I think that helped me go in with the perfect level of open-mindedness. I’m definitely at a place in my life now where I am more patient and forgiving of myself so I knew that if there were any poses I couldn’t manage, I’d just go with the “flow”…haha, get it? So I signed my little “if I hurt myself, I promise not to blame the yogi” form and went in! 😉

The room was small, dimly lit, and you guessed it, ~~smelled like balls~~ about a bajillion degrees! By the time I unrolled my mat and placed myself in the middle of it, I was already sweating! Ha! But I was ready! I kept my focus inward, only pausing briefly to admire the woman next to me who could put her forehead on the floor (what?!), and actually surprised the HELL out of myself when I was able to get into some poses I didn’t think I could manage…I’ll save you from my oddly descriptive terminology though since I have no idea what they’re called!

Throughout our class, our yogi, who I found to be incredibly interesting with his long black beard, V-line abs, and a voice that seemed to be as soft as butter, guided us through twenty-six poses, showing us adaptations, reminding us to breath, and preaching the “yoga word”! Honestly, it kinda reminded me of being at church when I was younger. You know that feeling when the preacher calls out something that makes you feel like you as if you just realized your forgot your pants? Yeah. But you know, sometimes we need that. Sometimes we need to dig deep, face the things that we’ve been trying to avoid, and clear our minds/consciences of all that…well, shit! 😯

I had a few “moments” during class where I honestly felt like I could burst into tears had I not been surrounded by sixteen other people. I don’t know if it was the purging of toxins or what, but I have a feeling that if Yogi Billy had asked me to join some sort of yoga cult after class, I would have been frantically searching for a pen with organically sourced ink to sign up! But seriously, I thought I’d share some words of wisdom I picked up in class that really spoke to me, because well, because I can’t seem to get them out of my head…and who knows, maybe they’ll speak to you too!

No one in this life can validate you….except YOU!

Let go of the preconceived notions of happiness and find YOUR happy.

And after an hour of yogi enlightenment, with a side of sweating my figurative balls off, I came home and made the best friggin smoothie of my life! But I’m already at like 800 sliiiiiightly tipsy words so, you’ll just have to wait until Friday for that! 😉

Have you ever tried hot yoga…or ANY yoga?

Do you like wine?
I like wine. Wine is good! I swear I’m not drunk!

Posted in Randomness, Workouts | Tagged hot yoga, night shift, wine, yoga | 53 Comments

Where IS My Gold Star?!

Posted on February 24, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! And I really REALLY hope you got to share in the amazing weather that we had here over the last few days…I still can’t believe it got up to 70°F (21°C) on Saturday! With the days getting longer too, I couldn’t help but forget there’s still another few weeks of winter left. You can imagine my grumbling when I stepped outside this morning and it was a “balmy” of 26°F (-3°C) outside. Wtf?!

Moving on!

Without much of a plan going into this weekend, I decided it was time I got some stuff DONE. So Friday morning, after I polished off an Apple Cinnamon Waffle, I poured myself a cup of coffee, channeled my inner OCD list-maker, aka, Meghan, and scribbled out my to-do’s! 😉

And I surprised the heck out of myself when, only a few short hours after making this list, HALF of it was crossed off! I’ll have you know that I not only cleaned BOTH bathrooms (tubs/showers included), but I also washed AND FOLDED all my laundry!

Excuse me, but where IS my gold star?!

Knowing that the rest of my to-do’s were of the out-and-about variety, I set out with the most important item first. After running by my mom’s clinic and seeing one of the doctors there, I got a trial medication that will HOPEFULLY help me sleep. I’m not a huge fan of taking prescription medication, but after averaging no more than 5 hours each day last week, I was at my wit’s end. Fingers crossed this does the trick!

A couple more “have-to’s” later, and I decided it was time to reward myself for a job well done…since I had still YET to find that gold star! 😉

So instead, I got a brand new SILVER iPhone!*

*Not that you would be able to tell since I will never EVER (ever, ever, ever) get it out of this case without losing a fingernail! 😯

Omg, you guys…I’m in LOVE!!! I’ve seriously been attached to this thing 24/7…it’s SO FAST! And for someone who never downloaded the latest iOS update for fear of “change”, I have to say, I’m digging the new look! Also, I have a newfound appreciation for talk-to-text, Spotify or iTunes radio has been running nonstop, and I am officially addicted to Snapchat thanks to Melissa!

Then I got new shoes!

I may have tried on EVERY SINGLE PAIR of sneakers in Clarksville, but I only bought the ones on the left…though I have to say, I’m considering going back for another pair since the ones I got I scored at a whopping 40% OFF! 😀

Then I got some makeup!

I found a coupon in the mail for our new Ulta store which just opened a few months ago, so I decided to take advantage and venture in for the first time. All I had to do was spend $19.50 or more in Ulta products and….

Then I got ALL THIS FREE SHIT!!

I’ll confess, I am a SUCKER for samples…but not just when it comes to having “lunch” at Sam’s Club! Part of the reason why I love Amanda so much for turning me on to Sephora is that they always load you up with freebies on your way out the door! I just love being able to try a bunch of new products without having to spend much (if any) on them! Hey, who says I can’t like spending money on myself but still be cheap? 😉

But the fun didn’t stop there because I still had one more stop to make…I mean, I was already on the side of town where my favorite store is located…and I was just SURE that gold star would be there!

No gold star, but I did get FOUR thumbs up! 😉

And wait, doesn’t this look a bit familiar?? Lol

On Saturday night, I got an invitation (that I made for myself) to my parent’s house for dinner! When I was at my mom’s clinic on Friday, she mentioned that she was making her homemade enchiladas…which I haven’t had in basically forever, so I mean, how could I NOT jump on that!

Mmmmm, freeeeeeee FOOOOOOOD!!

Beef and bean enchiladas (with HOMEMADE red sauce), served with sour cream, avocado, and salsa, chips and cheese dip, and some spicy rice that I did NOT partake in since I watched my dad’s cheeks flush red after his first bite! Ha! #imaweenie

And finally…FINALLY, at the end of the night, I found my gold star!

Ok, so maybe it was a gold beer, but hey, close enough, right? And I’d say my first ever Corona was pretty damn marvelous! 😉

Hop on over to Clean Eats Fast Feets and Healthy Diva Eats (ha, it rhymes!) to check out the link ups on this find (though blistering cold) Monday!

What did you accomplish this weekend?

Did YOU find your gold star??