This morning started off kind of rocky due to sleeping through our alarm and missing church. Sad:( We made a last minute run to the city last night because I needed to get some shoes to wear on our trip. I had a little too much luck with shopping and ended up with more shoes than I really need.
I’ve had worse problems. Either way, I guess our bodies weren’t quite ready to be up and at ‘em this morning.
We turned things around pretty quickly though, putting it in high gear to get ready to leave for Europe. By mid afternoon we had laid out most of our clothes to be packed, cleaned out the fridge, mowed two lawns (I mowed ours, Jon mowed a friends), and done three loads of laundry. I also was fortunate enough to get two of my drawers and my closet cleaned out. You see, I have had this stellar pair of Nike spandex workout capris that I absolutely adore, and they have mysteriously gone missing as of about three weeks ago. I really want to take them, but alas, even after looking every last place I can imagine they’d be – they have remained undiscovered.
Regardless of the busyness of the morning, I managed to throw together a healthy breakfast and lunch.
Breakfast – Yogurt bowl w/ one soy yogurt, sliced almonds, granola and dried cherries
Lunch – two slices Ezekiel bread, spinach and artichoke hummus, sliced cucumber, tomato and onion. With a side of corn on the cob. Kind of random, but we’re trying to eat the last of the perishables in the fridge.
I am so happy that I planned out my vacation outfits a couple of weeks ago. It has made packing so much easier. Now, if I could just get the laundry done, I’d be set! Folding laundry is my least favorite household task. I’m not sure why, but I’d rather do just about anything else.
We are flying out of Dallas on Tuesday, so we’ll be driving down early to stay with my sister for a day. We are actually comtemplating going tonight, but still have not decided whether it is possible, so we’ll see! Regardless, we will be making a pit stop at Whole Foods once we get there so I can stock up on some healthy snacks. I wouldn’t want to get caught with plane food as my only option!
As far as our time in Europe, I plan to enjoy the food and indulge, but in moderation. I’ll be packing a few of my own healthy things (think rice cakes, nut butter and bars) to supplement, and doing the best I can! I’ll be updating later about ideas for taking food on trips in case any of you are planning your own trips and are interested.
Gotta go finish packing – talk to ya’ll later!
What are some ideas that you have as far as packing food to take on an international vacation? How do you balance eating healthy and indulging while on vacation?
Tomorrow is my last day of school! I honestly cannot believe that my first year of teaching is finally over. It has truly been the most stressful, tiring, time consuming, emotional, roller coaster of an experience that I have ever been on. Through all the mountains and valleys, I have honesty learned so much – about myself, but mainly about teaching. When I started this year, I walked into such the unknown. Even though I student taught for three months in 2007, the two years separating then and now might as well have been ten years. Our year spent in Thailand was a hazy dream that divided all prior experiences from my current reality. Last August, I walked blindly into two preps, 150 16-17 year olds, two hours of commuting each day and quite literally scrambled each and every minute to figure out what I needed to do and how to do it. There were many tears shed and many sleepless nights. But I did it. I accomplished it. And I have to say…I’m so proud of myself.
I also have to pay tribute to my sweet husband who so graciously and patiently put up with my rants, my stress, my total neglect of wifely duties and, at times, my withdraw from normal life. I cannot even begin to explain how loving Jon has been throughout this year. He did laundry, cooked dinners, washed dishes, cleaned the house, helped me with school projects, went on Starbucks runs for me and encouraged me during the times I needed it most. And get this – he got up at 5:30 am every morning this entire school year and made my green monster, made my lunch and helped me get my stuff out to the car. Unbelievable. I most definitely could not have made it without his love and support. And to think he wrote me a sweet card and bought me a massage, manicure and pedicure as a reward for getting through my first year. He is truly the one who deserves the reward. My absolute world, that boy:)
And my mom. So many long drives home of her listening until my little heart was content. She’d give me advice, we’d hang up, and I’d call her right back for more. She never shows that she is weary of listening to me or helping me gain perspective. She has supported me so much through everything this year, and she’s always on my side. When I think of my mom, I find myself searching for a word deeper and more thorough than – thankful. There is no one quite like her and no one who could take her place.
All that to say…tomorrow will be a sweet day. Not only because the year is over, but also because there will be no more of this:
lunch for tomorrow – Amy’s Split Pea soup
some spinach and artichoke humms with Rye Crisp crackers…
and Greek yogurt with sliced almonds, cinnamon Puffins and a sprinkle of unsweetened dried cranberries for a snack
Plastic!
From now on, my daily eats will no longer be housed in plastic containers or plastic baggies. I will also no longer be eating half my meals in my car. It’s time for some real honest-to-goodness ceramic and silver!
My plan for the coming weeks is that I will be posting regularly to CSM and also that I’ll have time for more blog worthy meals…among other things of course. I’m in such anticipation of what is to come!
And let’s be honest, for starters that is Europe. Only 5 days and counting!
And with that, I’m off to bed. Apologies for this post being a bit heavy and non-food focused. Just had to go with what was on my heart:) G’night.
After another mini hiatus, I’m back again. I have been a terrible blogger, and I take full responsibility. Even tonight I’m under a time crunch, and I’m going to have to make this short. I just HAD to say a quick hello, though. I miss blogging tremendously, and I cannot wait to blog like a madman this summer. Only 2 more days of school and the chaos will settle. Then it’s off to Europe in 6 days!
Here’s a quick little update of what I’ve been up to the last week.
Dodging tornadoes
We had a serious tornado scare last week. This is the line of cars trying to get into the parking lot of our campus (Oklahoma State) basement. Finally, people just had to ditch their cars and run!
And taking pictures of the aftermath.
I’ve been making lots of these for lunch.
Posing for Jon in the morning before work.
Going to visit family and getting PeiWei to go on the way there.
Cooking healthy fare with my sweet MIL.
Sharing meals with Jon at Qdoba.
And drinking way too much Starbucks (as if there’s a such thing!).
I miss everyone, and I’ll be back full swing asap!
After a week long hiatus that seemed like an eternity…I’m back. I just needed a bit of a break. I’m in the final weeks of my 1st year of teaching, and I’m honestly just feeling a bit run down and overwhelmed. Give me 14 more days and all will be sunshine and roses. Forgive me for being a bit naive in thinking my life will be blissful in 14 days, but summer break has never looked better:)
Some of the things I’m dreaming of doing once I have some free time are: cleaning out our office. early morning runs, spending more time in the kitchen (which = a better CSM:), reading for pleasure, getting 8 hours of sleep, blogging more, gardening, going to classes at the gym, helping Jon with his business…I think that’s enough to get me started. Something you may not know about me is that I love being at home, and I love being domestic. So, 10 hours of commuting a week + working around 50 hours a week gets really old after awhile.
This weekend Jon and I have stayed busy trying to get ready for vacation. We’re counting down the days – only 17 days left until we’re on our way! Yesterday we spent the day shopping in the city, working on building a bit of a wardrobe up! That’s my kind of vacation prep:) We both got some really good deals. Today after going to church and getting some work done, we picked out the clothes we want to pack for our trip. The amount of luggage we can take is limited, so we went ahead and put together an outfit for each day. We laid them all out on the bed and took a picture of each one, so when we get ready to pack, we’ll already know exactly what to take!
When we lived in Thailand, we traveled so often that I became a self proclaimed pro at packing; however, as of late my skills have waned a bit, and I’ve become notorious for just throwing in almost everything I own because “how am I to know what I’m gonna want to wear??” I’m hoping this pre-planning will cut down on luggage weight as well as the “last minute running around like a crazy person throwing in random t-shirts I haven’t worn in the last decade just because I might need it” phenomenon! This will also make my husband very happy:) We also used our iPhone app to check what the weather is going to be like both in Barcelona and Paris. Praise the Lord, it’s going to be in the upper sixties and lower seventies the entire week!
Changing the subject – I got caught up for awhile earlier, looking at pictures of our time in Thailand. I get so nostalgic sometimes, thinking bout our time there. I found this video and thought I’d show it to your for fun – and for an example of how the Thais get their exercise in! They honestly don’t exercise like we Americans do. In fact, you would almost never see a Thai person out running. When Jon and I would go running near our neighborhood, the Thais would just stare at us like we were from another planet. haha.
This video is when we were visiting a village over Christmas, and as we were wandering through the streets, we came upon a group of Thais “working it out.” If you look closely, you can see Jon in the back in the green shirt – he decided to join in:)
I’m sorry that I’m not posting food pictures tonight. I have been slacking a bit with the busyness this past week, and I honestly haven’t taken many food pics. I’m sorry I haven’t been more committed to making that happen. I’ll be getting back in the groove this week, and it’s only going to get better once school is out and I’m at home more! Thank you so much for sticking with me. I’m so thankful to you who come to my little blog. You’re amazing:)
We just arrived back home from our Mother’s Day vacay about an hour ago. It was a fun overnight trip, but I am exhausted! Too much driving methinks.
Anyway, last night my mom made enchiladas for dinner. She custom made each of our enchiladas just the way we like it. Sweet mom:) Mine was stuffed full of sauteed spinach, onions, mashed black beans and diced green chilis all rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla and drowned in green enchilada sauce. Delish!
This morning we spent time hanging out at the house, then headed out to take my mom out to lunch. Mexican food was the meal of choice (again!) – no complaints about that! I went with my favorite way to healthify Mexican food by ordering the taco dinner. I subbed in steamed pinto beans for the meat and added lots of lettuce, tomato and salsa. I also ate a bit of rice on the side and of course tortilla chips and guacamole. Might have went a bit overboard on the chips. Oops! Unfortunately I failed to get a pic, so you’ll just have to take my word – it was tasty!
After lunch we headed over to visit my Grandma and Grandpa. Luckily, my aunt, uncle and cousins had the same idea, so we all ended up there at the same time. Fun!
I am so very thankful for the moms in my life. I am so blessed.
My mom is there for me anytime I need her. I always think of the zillions of times I’ve called her to ask for advice or even just to vent about something. She never fails to listen for as long as I need her to, and she always gives the best advice. She knows me better than almost anyone. I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life. She’s the best mom I could ask for and a heck of a grandma too:) Right, Olive?
I’m also so very thankful for my mother-in-law. She is the sweetest, most wonderful MIL I could ask for. She loves me like I’m her own daughter and is always so supportive of Jon and I. She’s selfless, sweet and darn funny:) Don’t know what we’d do without her. She’s off galavanting (love that word:) around Greece right now, so we didn’t get to spend time together today. We were together in spirit, though;)
I hope that I’m able to be even half the mother that these two are.
Well, I’m off to get some grading done. I’m still buried in essays, but I can see a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Just gotta keep chipping away!
Hope you all have a great end to the weekend and a great start to your week!
I’m bloggin’ from the road today as Jon and I head to my hometown to spend some time with my mom. We slept in this morning, and I woke up with a smile on my face! I love love love waking up to sunlight coming in through the window, and it happens far too seldom.
Our Mini Cooper is getting serviced right now, and it just so happens that the dealership was fresh out of “service car” minis, so…..they gave us a BMW for the weekend. We don’t mind a bit. I could get used to this;)
As soon as we got up and got around we headed to the lake to get in a quick three miles. It was super windy, but the temperature was perfect! We followed it up with the first two circuits of Jillian’s level two shred workout. We totally stuck with our two workouts every day this week – Jillian in the morning and 3 miles in the evening. We did take a rest day on Friday.
Before our run I ate half an Ezekiel English muffin with a bit of almond butter. Considering our entire workout didn’t end until almost noon, it was not enough fuel! By the end of Jillian, I was famished!
it almost missed the camera…oops!
I quickly threw some tempeh in a pan with a couple squirts of Bragg’s. After heating it through, I added it to a whole wheat pita along with some Sabra pine nut hummus, spinach, onions and pickles. Also, some grapes on the side.
After lunch we spent some time cleaning up the house and then I settled in to do some blog surfing grading. Unfortunately, I didn’t get near as much done as I needed to before we had to get packed up and head out!
Oh, I also snacked on some soy yogurt with frozen cherries, sliced almonds and granola…and we grabbed a soy latte on our way out of town.
I just want to say thanks for all the sweet comments and encouragement from you guys regarding my personal trainer certification. It made me feel so affirmed about my decision. You all are the best! I can’t wait to share with you as I go through the process. It’s so exciting to me to master something new. I’m also realizing that I am a much better student now that I’ve been a teacher. Totally didn’t’ expect that, but I feel like I just understand the learning process better now. Good thing ‘cause I’ll need all the help I can get!
Exciting things going on here at the CSM house! But before I get to that, let’s see some eats, shall we?
The last two days have actually been almost identical up until lunch. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?!
Green monsters for breakfast, of course. For the last two days, I have actually managed to get up and get a workout in before work – shocking, I know. I’m not going to lie, it hasn’t been pleasant or easy getting up at 4:45 am, but it has been so worth it. To make it quick, I’ve been doing Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred. I started off with level two, and it totally kicked my butt! If you have never tried her workouts, you should definitely give them a go – they’re the only workout I’ve ever found that really pushes me with minimal equipment (just hand weights) and minimal time. Sometimes I really want to punch her in the face, though. If you’ve done it, you know what I’m sayin’.
Jon and I have also added in a 3 mile run the past two days after work as well. I miss having really great workouts so much. Ever since starting my new job last August and my hour commute, my workouts have really suffered. But with the end of school fast approaching, I’m starting to get antsy to get back into it, and I figure I can push myself to do anything for four weeks. So, double workouts it is!
Anyway, back to the point. After a tough workout, I’ve been wanting nothing but green smoothies for breakfast…so refreshing and energizing! You guys have all seen my smoothies a million times, though, so no pics today.
Lunch for the past two days has been salads!
salad numero uno = spring mix, corn, black beans, chick peas, chia seeds, chopped carrots, avocado and balsamic vinegar
salad numero dos = spring mix, corn, black beans, avocado, chia seeds, balsamic vinegar and…….egg. Yes, egg.
I’ve made a tentative decision to start incorporating an occasional egg into my diet. I’m honestly not sure how it’s going to go. In my salad it was just fine, but when I tried to eat a plain boiled on yesterday for a snack, I got a little queasy. Honestly, I’ve just been looking for new ways to incorporate protein into my diet. I don’t believe I need a lot of protein, but I do try to have a protein source at most of my mini meals throughout the day. Since switching to a mostly vegan diet, my complete protein sources for on-the-go meals and snacks (I pack most of my food everyday) have been based on nuts, nut butter and beans. I just have been wishing for another option, and I feel like organic, free range eggs are a decent choice. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start eating many animal products anytime soon, but as long as the chickens are raised appropriately, I don’t have an ethical problem with eating eggs.
So, anyway, you may see the occasional egg on here in the future. Just FYI:) Even though it was a bit challenging to down the boiled egg on Tuesday, the healthy fat and protein sure held me over for a looong time. shrug. But if they don’t become a bit more appetizing soon, I’ll def. be nixing them.
Onto dinner from last night. As you will probably notice, I have been craving veggies. So, I roasted some parsnips, brussels, sweet potatoes and tempeh. With a side of natural ketchup for dipping:)
And tonight – same story. Except I switched it up by having roasted kale chips, roasted squash and a slice of Ezekiel toast with Sabra spinach and artichoke hummus. I sprinkled nutritional yeast, ground red pepper and garlic powder over the veggies. Perfect. It totally hit the spot.
I’m currently finishing off half a soy yogurt with a sprinkle of granola and frozen cherries for dessert!
Okay, now onto the exciting news. I have officially ordered my materials through ACE to become a certified personal trainer!
I’m am stoked. I’ve been considering it for months now, but fear has been holding me back. Well, I’m not going to let fear rule my life anymore, so I’m going for it. I felt so empowered last night as I clicked “submit order.” I was watching a video of Kris Carr the other day. She was being interviewed by Oprah, and she said “many people wait around for someone to give them permission to live. Well, no one is going to give you that, you just have to go for it.” I’ve been struggling with overcoming fear all my life, and especially lately I’ve been praying that God would give me the strength to overcome fear and not let it hold me back from doing what I’m passionate about. I’ve decided I’m going to stop waiting around for that “permission” and just go after what I want.
So, I’ll definitely be spending a lot of time studying in the coming months, but I’m so excited about all that I’m going to learn and I’m looking forward to sharing some of it through CSM as well.
Do you find that fear sometimes holds you back from taking risks or trying something new?
If you’re vegan, what kinds of things do you eat for a quick protein fix?
Well, I’m off to bed, so I can meet back up with Jillian bright and early! Hope you all are having a great week so far!
Friday I took off work so that Jon and I could leave early for the Train concert. I started my morning off with an ice cold green smoothie and Pilates at the gym. Bliss. I miss going to the gym in the morning. Only four more weeks until I can go everyday!
Later I had some carrots and hummus to hold me over until lunch.
A little while later we packed up, hopped in the car and headed south. The concert was at a casino about 3 hours away, so we had quite the drive! It was nice, though, and we arrived just in time to check into our hotel, eat some pizza for dinner (sorry, no pics!) and make it to the concert with plenty of time to spare.
Guys, the concert was awesome! If you don’t listen to Train, you should, and if you do listen to Train, you MUST hit up one of their concerts. They put on a great show and played all my favorite songs. Jon and I sang and danced the night away:)
The concert was over by about 10:30. We just headed back to our hotel and spent the evening just hanging out. It was the best night.
Saturday morning we slept in a bit, then hit the road. We picked up some Starbucks for breakfast – I had the perfect oatmeal made with soymilk. I added about half the amount of nuts and dried fruit that they gave me. This was my first time to try Starbuck’s oatmeal, and it was fantastic! It was the perfect serving size and was so delicious! I would definitely get this again.
Next, we met up with my MIL and FIL in the city. My FIL was going to play some golf, so we planned to hang out with my MIL for a couple hours. Not before joining in on a little family golf and juggling.
I promise there is a ball there:)
Later we hit up PeiWei for lunch. Yum! My favorite. I had a nice ice water with orange…
one vegetable spring roll…
and the Korean Spicy dish which consisted of brown rice, tofu, mushrooms, carrots, long beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, onions and sesame seeds. I cannot get enough of this dish! I ate almost all the vegetables and about half the tofu and rice.
After lunch and some quick shopping, we stopped at my mom’s house to pick up Olive and headed back home. It was such a great weekend…I totally wish I could go back and re-live it all!
I started off this morning with a bowl of cereal. I found a new Nature’s Path cereal that has corn flakes, amaranth flakes and quinoa . It’s awesome! We found it at Big Lots ( a bargain store) of all places. So random! I’ll be doing a real review over it later.
After church, we had lunch at Panera (I had my usual – black bean soup and mediterranean veggie sandwich), then spent the rest of the day taking a nap, watering the flowerbeds, doing laundry, washing the car, cleaning out the fridge and buying groceries! Such a productive and fun afternoon.
Olive even made a new friend:)
And I ended the afternoon with another energizing green smoothie. This one had a TON of spinach, Amazing Grass, 1/2 banana, almond milk, a bit of soy yogurt, ice and a sprinkle of granola on top!
Well, that’s it for tonight! I’ve got to do some work for school still, and I need to be off to bed in about a half hour. eek!
