Today was a busy day at work again. I am loving the heavier work load but it is leaving me with less to talk about. How can I possibly be any more boring?
My lunch meeting today went well. Now that I have decided what direction I want my career to take I a ready to take action. Patience is not my strong point, but I have to be smart about the decisions I make. I want to start taking steps to a career in the non-profit industry but I don’t want to be rash and damage relationships with my current employer. Today’s meeting gave me some pointers on networking and let me know about some potential opportunities that may become available this fall, if I can wait that long.
Honestly, I have held out for nearly 3 months just waiting on this meeting. Now I have to decide is I want to wait another 7-8 months. I don’t know if I have that much patience. And although the meeting answer some questions and made me feel good about some things I am still feeling lost.
I feel like I need a change, but can’t figure out what that change is. I have started blogging, eating better, and exercising. I need to get back into church, but other than that I don’t know what other changes to make in my personal like which leads me to believe that I need to make a professional change. How long can I wait and keep my sanity? I am trying to think things through and be an adult about this rather than acting on impulse.
So enough of all of that. Thanks for reading.
No pictures of lunch because that would not have left the most professional impression. Once I got back to the office I munched on a couple cupcakes.
My afternoon was so busy there was no snacking.
B and I were both hungry when I got home from work. I was also craving some more guacamole so I went back out to get some more avacados, and B whipped it right up.
I also steamed some rice and topped it with some leftover Turkey Tortilla soup that I made after Thanksgiving and froze.
We ate at our usual location on the couch and I couldn’t be bothered with the pit stop at the table for my photoshoot.
It was really nice to have something so quick and simple for dinner. Now I am all caught up on Monday night TV!
Dessert will more than likely be a clementine (or 2) and a piece of chocolate.
Time to do a little [web] surfing before bed (and before my battery dies).
Night!
No, I am not devastated over my meeting. It hasn’t happened yet. I am devastated because I worked really hard to look nice this morning (for my meeting) and I ended up getting yogurt on my pants 2 seconds after I got to work. Gah!
I quickly dove into my stash of wet wipes to correct the situation. I think I am good. But now it has started to rain. Its like I am destined to not look remotely put together today.
Regardless of the pants situation my breakfast was fantastic. The star of the show was the new Oikos Caramel flavored Greek yogurt.
It was a little on the sweet side, but I am looking forward to chowing down on more. And the I get to try the chocolate. Mmmmm.
I topped my yogurt with some Nature’s Path Agave Plus granola. Great combo, and I already have plans for my next. Do you think I could replicate Somoas Girl Scout cookies with some shredded coconut and dark chocolate chips added to this mix? I am gonna try. 
What’s in the white bowl you ask?
Strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi. I promise, there really are blueberries in there.
All together now.
After finishing all of this I was stuffed with a capital S-T-U-F-F-E-D. However I did start feeling a little hungry by 10:30. To snack or not to snack that is the question.
I decided to snack because I do not want to me starving by the time I get to my lunch meeting. Inhaling my salad would probably not be a model of professional behavior. Alas, neither will taking pictures of my food. Sorry folks.
I tried to keep my snack light again today.
More mini pickles and an apple. Unfortunately these guys are not holding me over too well. I guess I am going to have to start chugging water to hold me over for the next hour.
No lunch pictures today so I will catch you all for dinner! Please keep your fingers crossed that my meeting goes well.
I can actually say today was a happy Monday for a change. After the terrible week I had last weeks this is really exciting news for me. I expect to go into tomorrow feeling good too because I am finally getting to go to an much anticipated lunch meeting tomorrow.
My afternoon was just as steady as my morning and I was starving once I finally realized I was hungry.
So I munched on one of my favorite new snacks, Triscuits and Laughing Cow. I am completely addicted to these rosemary and garlic Triscuits. I was still kind of hungry but I didn’t want to ruin my appetite for dinner.
Once I got home I waited for Brian so we could take Piper for a walk around the neighborhood. It was so nice to get out and walk, but boy it cooled off. The temperature was so nice at lunch and they seemed to drop really fast.
Dinner was nice and low maintenance. Before work this morning I put a beef roast (not sure exactly what cut of meat), 1/2 onion, green bell pepper, red wine vinaigrette, and water into a slow cooker and set on low. This cooker was packed full. I really could use a bigger one.
After our walk I sautéed some collard greens in sesame oil with some garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken broth. This recipe was inspired by a recipe I found in a cookbook my brother and sister-in-law gave me for Christmas.
Greens are a veggie that I am still working on trying to like. I have struggled with like vegetable all of my life and greens are really low on my list. These were okay. Tolerable. I ended up eating them mixed with bites of meat and BBQ sauce. B said that he really liked them. They were very different from the collards he grew up eating.
Since I ate all of my veggies I definitely deserved dessert. I really wanted to go to Cold Stone and get some chocolate ice cream with Heath Bar and caramel sauce but did not want to leave the house. If only they had delivery.
Instead I had some Edy’s Somoas Girl Scout cookie ice cream with mini semisweet chocolate chips and toffee chips. This was definitely the next best thing to what I wanted. 
I may be over exaggerating this in my head but I feel like tomorrow is a big day so I have to go get ready. I need all the beauty rest I can get.
Good Afternoon. Today has been surprisingly good for a Monday and even included a trip to the dentist.
I started my day out strong by getting up early for a workout. I decided to use a YogaDowload.com pose guide since my knee was hurting. I really need to work on my stretching. I think I ma going to look into getting some more of these workouts.
Next up was Oats in a Jar!
The jar of deliciousness included 1/2 apple, 1/3 c oats, 1/3 c milk, 1/3 c water, salt, cinnamon, 1 tbsp flax, 1 tbsp chia seeds, and 2 tbsp wheat berries. Plus I topped with 1/2 an Ultimate cookie that I crumbled on top.
There was so much in this little jar that I could not finished it all.
Since I knew I would be eating lunch early I tried to keep my morning snack kind of light. I started with some tiny pickles.
In my opinion these guys are a great substitute for chips since they are crunch and salty. I just forget about them sometimes.
Plus a really big carrot.
I had a busy morning so time seemed to breeze by. All of a sudden it was time for me to heat up my lunch and hit the road to head to a dentist appointment. I was actually running a little late thanks to an impromptu conference call that caught me off guard.
In preparation for my busy lunch I packed some food for the road. Unfortunately it wasn’t particularly travel friendly.
It is not the easiest thing to drive down the interstate with a plate of tuna and Brussels sprouts sitting in your lap. I somehow managed to get to the dentist almost on time with all my food in my belly and none on my clothes (not that I have noticed yet).
I sautéed these Brussels sprouts and onion in balsamic vinegar this morning while making my oats. I was not a huge fan. I like them better with bacon.
Once I got back to the office I treated myself to a cookie.
A little crunchy for my taste but still tasty.
Time to dig out an afternoon snack and start wrapping things up. Catch you for dinner.
The Superbowl is ruining TV, there is nothing else worth watching.
This morning I got in time to go to church B had a different idea in mind that involved sleeping in. Oh a whim I decided to give savory oats a try after seeing them on The Great Balancing Act.
1/3 c oats, 1/3 c milk, 1/3 c milk, salt, 1 egg whisked in, shredded cheddar cheese, and diced deli ham.
It looked really good but I did not like it at all. I am not an egg fan and this was really egg-y. Not for me. I only ate about 1/4 before giving up on it.
Then I moved onto a bagel.
Costco parmesan cheese bagel with onion and chive cream cheese. This was really good but I got full after eating about 2/3 of it.
I feel like I wasted so much food this morning and I can’t stand that!
B and I spent the morning running some errands. I love it when he goes with me since I am much less likely to spend money of frivolous stuff. I really could use some new clothes, but I am going to hold off for now. The shape of my body seems to be changing since I have been eating better and working out. I am not losing weight but my pants have been fitting looser lately. Maybe I will be able to it back into my old clothes soon!
Lunch was ahi tuna tacos.
La Tortilla Factory tortilla, ahi tuna, spinach, leftover shrimp, shredded cheddar cheese, Jack’s Special salsa, Oikos plain Greek Yogurt, and sliced jalapenos.
B wasn’t a big fan but I loved it. There was another tuna steak leftover that will likely be making an appearance in tomorrows lunch. Any ideas?
Somehow the afternoon managed to get away from me while I was going some baking. I am not sure what got into me!
I started with some Ultimate Cookies that I saw on Iowa Girl Eats.
This recipe caught my eye because it has chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and toffee chips. 
I only made a half recipe and then still froze some of the dough. I let them get a little crunchier than I wanted, but they will still be perfect for dipping in milk. I am going to have to start remembering to use the oven timer!
After the cookies I decided to make some cupcakes. I have some store-bought frosting in my fridge that I want to use up, plus I was thinking of making my coworkers some sort of baked treat for Valentine’s day. Two birds with one stone. 
I loaded all of the (mini) cupcakes in my Cupcake Courier. This will be the first time I have used it! I love how it holds so many.
I wanted to make some carrot cake bars but I decided this was enough baked goods for tonight.
After cupcakes it was time for dinner. Whew. In honor of the Superbowl nachos were on the menu.
I started with some Tostito’s Multigrain tortilla chips.
Then I dolloped on some refried beans. I wish I had spread these out a little more. 
Then topped with shredded cheddar cheese.
While all of these were getting all melt-y in the oven B was whipping up some homemade guacamole with the organic avocados from this past weeks produce delivery.
2 avocados, 1/4 large red onion, tomato, garlic powder.
I am not usually a guac fan but this was fantastic.
After the nachos came out of the oven we topped with tomatoes, salsa, Greek yogurt, and slice jalapenos. And we ate the entire dish full. The only thing that would have made these better would have been olives. 
Since I tasted tested my baked goods earlier on the day and am now feeling a little sugared out I stuck with a clementine for dessert.
And I may have another.
Time to start getting ready for work tomorrow. There is quite a bit of laundry on my bed that has to be folded before I can get in it tonight. The weekend is always gone too soon.
I think today has been one of my busiest Saturdays in ages.
I was up early this morning because I was excited about brunch at Kath’s house. Although I almost ruined it for myself. I had in my head that brunch was at 10:30 when it was actually at 10. Good thing B looked over the email or I would have been late!
After realizing my error in timing I rushed to get a shower and get ready. I have really horrible dark circles under my eyes (I think its hereditary), so I rarely go out and meet new people without concealer under my eyes. At the beginning of January I bought a new product to try, Erase Paste by Benefit.
I finally have a camera where I can get a non-blurry close up. This is my eye before and after.
I have been really happy with the results compared to the other products I have tried, which include Bare Mineral Bisque and Bobbi Brown corrector/concealer combo.
Onto Brunch. I did not get a group picture but the group included Me, Kath (of course), Diana, Whit, Stacey, Emily, Kate, and Michelle.
Oatmeal was on the menu and we has a spread of amazing toppings.
There were several Great Harvest baked goods and some biscotti.
A large assortment of nut butters.
Agave Plus granola, TJ’s pumpkin granola, Crofter’s Superfruit spread (blueberry I think), pumpkin butter, cranberry preserves (or something like that). There were also wheatberries and fresh raspberries that I forgot to get a picture of. 
In my bowl was banana oats, Agave Plus granola, wheatberries, raspberries, Nutzo, and Crofter’s Superfruit Spread.
This was a fantastic bowl of oatmeal! And it came along with some great conversation. We all sat and talked for 2 hours! It was really great to meet all of these ladies.
By the time I got home I was ready for a little lunch. On the ride home I had decided on Brussels sprouts.
Sautéed Brussels sprouts, onions, and turkey bacon. This bowl was nice and light and saved room for what I had planned later.
At 3PM B and I headed to Birkdale Village to go see Avatar in Real 3D. Of course I had a big tub of popcorn planned for me and B to share!
Plus some peanut M&M’s. 
There may have also been some Mr. Pibb involved too.
I liked the movie despite the similarities people have pointed out between it and Pocahontas. I liked the story and it actually held my attention for the whole 3 hours. I really did not think the 3D was spectacular and was really excited that it didn’t make me motion sick.
And if all of that wasn’t enough food B and I still had dinner.
We decided to use leftover shrimp to top a salad of spinach, romaine, and baby bella mushrooms.
So far that’s it for so far. Time for chores since I have been out playing all day. Boo.
I don’t think I have ever been happier to see Friday. Fortunately last nights blogger dinner was exactly what I needed to turn this week around. Today was much better than the rest if the week and to top it off they closed our office an hour early today!
Work was steady this morning and I was happy they the morning seemed to breeze by.
I had Triscuits with Laughing Cow and an orange. It is good that I portion out these crackers because I think I could eat a whole box in one sitting.
Today’s lunch was leftovers from last night with a little extra sauce. This was a ton of food and there was no room for dessert.
Even though the office closed an hour early the afternoon seemed to drag, but I think that was just sheer anticipation.
Shortly after I got home B and I headed out to run some errands. Earlier today I decided to return the Nikon Coolpix S203 that I got the day after Thanksgiving. I have been kind of iffy on the camera ever since I got it but initially decided that I just need to get used to it and learn to use it. After using the camera for almost 3 months and still having at least 80% of my pictures come out fuzzy I decided to take it back since I had until February 25th. I ended up buying a Canon Powershot SD1200 IS. Does anyone else out these have this camera? What do you think?
After our errands we decided to go to dinner at Maddie’s Southern Bistro in Birkdale Village. I have been having a craving for fried chicken for 2 days and this was the perfect place to satisfy that craving.
I started with the Southern Salad.
Other than being a bit salty this salad was a winner. The lettuce was lightly coated with ranch dressing but not soggy. It was hard to tell what was spiced pecan and what was ham so I kept getting little surprises with each bite.
And of course I had fried chicken for my entree.
I subbed “seasonal vegetables” for the collards.
Zucchini and summer squash aren’t in season, are they?
B had the fried green tomato BLT.
He chose to get the stone ground grits as his side.
We also had some amazing bread with our meal. 
Sweet potato muffins. Yum, especially served with honey butter. I really want to find a recipe and attempt these at home.
Even though I was full and packed up plenty of leftovers for home I really wanted to get dessert for the road too. I have been eying this mini cupcake trio for a while. They are made by a local bakery that I have been dying to try. 
The flavors were lemon, raspberry, and Mississippi Mudd.
They looked amazing!
They tasted awful. The icing was hard and they were dry. Boo. These guys definitely were not fresh. I may be willing to try this bakery again when I can go to their storefront and get something that is fresh, but I will never get a cupcake from Maddie’s again.
Tomorrow is a big day. I am going to a blogger brunch at the house of KERF. I am really looking forward to meeting Kath and several other Charlotte area bloggers. Time to get some beauty sleep so I am nice an refreshed in the morning.
On top of being in a super icky mood yesterday I was really ready to get off of work so I could head to a blogger meet up for dinner. Seriously, the anticipation of this meet up is what has kept me going this week. If that makes me lame I don’t care.
Dinner wasn’t until so I had a snack to try to hold me over.
Surprisingly this orange held me over until at least 6:30 PM. For me, oranges don’t usually have that kind of staying power. Maybe I was just nervous at meeting these bloggers for the first time.
The occasion for dinner was not random, Holly the Everythingtarian is in town visiting so it was a perfect occasion to get some food bloggers together for dinner.
I came straight from work and got to the area super early and ha d over an hour to kill. I spent my time checking out Marshall’s, Rack Room Shoes, Ulta, and Books A Million, all that walking made me hungry. By the time 7 PM rolled around I was starving.
Me, Meredith (Whit’s sister), Whit, Holly, and Stacy.
Whit had been to this restaurant before, Blu Basil, and quickly ordered the hummus platter for the table.
This stuff was tasty. I love bread, especially when covered in hummus.
My good hair day was long gone by this point.
The menu looked great, but there was one thing in particular that caught my eye. There was a picture of their spaghetti and meatballs in the menu and I knew that is what I was having.
I also ordered a side of sautéed veggies.
The food did not disappoint. Plus there was so much! I brought at least half home to eat for lunch today. I had to save room for dessert.
For dessert we all split chocolate cake, turtle cheesecake, and tiramisu.
They were all good, but the tiramisu was definitely my fave. They also had some red velvet cake that looked amazing.
Thanks to Whit for getting this dinner organized!
I was really sad that I missed the fashion show at Marshalls, but this girl had to get home. I can’t wait to hang out again.
And while I am on a roll I will go ahead and show you what I had for breakfast.
Oats! I was going to call them AB&J oats but they are more than that.
I started by heating up 1/2 banana in my pot. I looked like it was melting. Then I added 1/3 c oats, 1/3 c water, and 1/3 milk. I seasoned with a little salt and some cinnamon. I topped 1/2 microwaved apple with my oats and then topped them with wheat berries, Nature’s Path granola, AB, and strawberry preserves. This was a great combo, nice and chewy.
This morning is flying by, thank goodness! And I have to get back to work.
Actually its not so much that I want to go home as much as I just want to get the heck out of here. This entire week I have been in the worst mood and it is only getting worse. I can’t imagine what tomorrow is going to be like. Most of the afternoon my mood has been so fowl I have been on the verge of tears. I just don’t know what has gotten into me.
I have really been trying hard to sit quietly at my desk as to not take anything out on my innocents (sometimes) and unsuspecting co-workers. And my poor husband.
Can a mood this bad count as sickness? I wish.
At the end of my post last night I made mention of making a smoothie.
This guy was a bit chunky, which made it very hard to drink. Otherwise it tasted just fine. I sipped on this while I soaked in the tub and read Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. Very relaxing.
Despite my poor mood, I was/am having a good hair day so I took some pics before I left the house.
Good hair days are few and far between so I have to make the most of them. 
For breakfast I was craving a chicken and cheese bagel from Chic Fil A, but since I am eating out for dinner I was reluctant to eat out another meal today. Plus, I had to get Piper to doggie daycare. With all the wet weather she has not had any good playtime all week (our backyard is a mud pit because of the melting snow and Piper has already had to have one bath this week).
Back to breakfast. I had a space chicken breast that I seasoned with S&P and cooked up last night. So I decided to make my own chicken and cheese bagel…except without the bagel.
The bagels we have are monstrous and way too big to eat a whole bagel plus chicken so I subbed in Sandwich Thins.
I also put together a little fruit salad.
Kiwi, blueberries, and strawberries. 
I was really surprised when I was hungry for a snack just a few hours later. 
I started with a bog ole carrot and when that didn’t satisfy my hunger I popped a bag of popcorn too.
By lunch I was really ready to get out of the building, but I had no idea what I wanted to eat. Actually, I really wanted to eat some Bojangles fried chicken and mashed potatoes but I knew that was just my bad mood.
Instead I went home and made one of my go to lunches, taco salad. 
Brown rice, refried beans, wilted spinach, shredded cheddar, 2 tomatoes, Jack’s Special salsa, and plain Oikos with some tortilla chips on the side.
Taco salads always seem to be delicious and filling (as long as I have salsa in the house) and they even satisfy food cravings caused by emotions (no more fried chicken craving here).
I finished things off with some Girl Scout cookie ice cream.
We just got this stuff on Saturday and its almost gone!
The happy food feeling pretty much evaporated as soon as I got back to the office. Boo. Maybe I need a window? Do you think some natural sun light would help my mood? I don’t know but I need this mood to lift soon. I don’t even want to be around myself.
Tonight I don’t even know where to start. I have been in a horrible mood all day even though nothing particularly bad happened today. I don’t know what got me in this funk. Do you ever have those kind of days?
This afternoon involved some snacking.
I started out with an apple.
Then I moved onto an orange.
My snack didn’t last long because I was ready for dinner right after I got home.
Rosemary balsamic chicken, roasted potatoes, and Brussels sprouts with sautéed onions and bacon. These Brussels sprouts were awesome. I am so excited that I got restocked on this past weekend’s trip to CostCo, and they won’t last long.
For dessert I ate the last of my PB chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. The pictures were awful though.
I scrubbed down the kitchen and that has worked up my appetite again and I am thinking a smoothie would be perfect right now.
I hope I don’t make a mess and ruin the cleaning job I just did. Night!
