A glass of wine and a trip to the mall makes a girl happy

Happy Thursday Everyone!! It's ALMOST TGIF!!! :) How is your day going? Hopefully FABULOUSLY!! :) So, Aaron and I were just chatting and we just realized that the ONLY night we had dinner this week was Monday. SAD!!! We are both sitting here STARVING but, its too late to eat something now. So, we will have to go to bed hungry! I'm not really sure what the heck we were doing this week but, we never really got around to making dinner which STINKS!!! :( Hopefully next week will be much better..... hopefully... So, tomorrow we are heading up to Okoboji for the weekend with some friends so we will be MIA. I'll have to update you on Sunday or Monday about our weekend. I will tell you I am SOOOOOOOOO excited to get away. Hopefully the weather will be SUNNY and warm.

This morning I did a 4 mile run and for breakfast I had some fruit and an english muffin with some I can't believe its not butter.... which was a mistake. I should have put some PB or Barney Butter for some protein because by 10 am I was STARVING!!!

I made a mix of banana, cantaloupe, and blueberries. YUMMY!!! My fruit supply is running low... sad. I'll get some more on Monday for next week. And here is my pretty english muffin. LOVE IT!! Would have loved it more with some PB on it though.

This week I was given a FABULOUS gift.... 30% off at Banana Republic, Gap, and OLD NAVY and because I'll be out of town this weekend I felt it was necessary to get my butt there tonight and shop, shop, shop!! And I did just that.... my mom came over and we headed to the mall. LOVE IT!!! Did a bit of damage but, most of the stuff I got I needed for our upcoming trip to Italy. LOTS of black!! :) Aaron went out with a few friends after work for a drink so by the time we both made it home tonight and AFTER I finished up some work I needed to do it was pretty late and dinner wasn't going to happen. SO...... we decided to have a glass of wine. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE wine!! I threw a couple of blueberries in my glass too!! I love putting raspberries and blueberries in my wine. I swear it makes the wine better! :)

NOT VERY CLEAR!!! SORRY!!! Not a very expense bottle of wine but, we really like it!

Well, I really really hope you all have a great rest of your night!! I am sooo ready for the weekend I can't even tell you... I'm off to pack for tomorrow. Jeans and a sweatshirt FOR SURE. It might get a bit chilly this weekend. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures this weekend and let you know how the festivities go. Have a great night everyone!! :) Talk to you in a few days!!

I've been a BAD blogger

Let me first start by saying I think I was just punished by the computer b/c I've been a VERY bad blogger lately. I went to grab the computer and it shocked me. Literally, shocked me. Not just a little shock, but a BIG one!!! It actually still kind of hurts.... So, the blogger gods have spoke and let me tell you I will listen. Ouch! It still hurts! I will try to be better... SORRY!!! So, anyway... HAPPY HUMP DAY!!! How was is your week going?? Mine has been very busy!! Very, very busy! I don't have this exciting list of things I've been doing. In fact, I'm not sure what I've been doing but, I've been busy. Time has flown by the past few days. SERIOUSLY!! Does it feel like a Thursday to anyone else??! I've been thinking its Thursday allllllll day today. I think I'm just ready for the weekend. Any exciting plans for the weekend? We are thinking we are going to be heading to Okoboji this weekend but, there are few kinks we still need to smooth out. Working on it....

So, Tuesday was a very busy day. I had a lot going on for work and then when I finally got home from work I had MORE work to do. I spent the majority of the night last night WORKING!! BOOO!!! Oh, well... some times you gotta do it. For breakfast Tuesday I made a mini fruit salad. YUMMY!!! I was so full after this baby. Isn't it colorful?

It had banana, blueberries, strawberries, and cantaloupe. Perfect mix of flavors! I was actually able to get home for lunch on Tuesday afternoon as well. I love getting to go home for lunch. I actually met Aaron there and I made a wrap with some of the leftover chicken strips I made on Sunday night. I was so full after this.

I actually threw this baby on the grill pan. I wanted a grilled sandwich instead of a microwaved wrap. Much better option! :)

We actually didn't do much for dinner at our house last night... I was busy working and Aaron was busy touching up still from the painting we did this weekend and then we moved all the furniture out of the living, dinning, and family rooms because we were going to have the carpets cleaned today. And when I say "we" I mean Aaron. :) So, dinner pretty much consisted of me snacking on some more fruit and I had a package of pretzel crisps. I love those things!

This morning I ran 4 miles. I know, boring... I'd like to get up and run more but, its been hard for me to get out of bed in the mornings... and FINALLY figured out why- it isn't bright and sunny in the mornings like it used to be a few weeks ago. SAD!!!!!!!!!!! :( That means summer is coming to an end... the day light isn't as much as it used to be in the mornings. That depresses me. I'm just NOT ready for summer to end. BOooooo!!

So, for breakfast a I had a bowl of cereal with a banana and blueberries and for lunch I was traveling so I didn't get much to eat. I did have an Activia Smoothie again mid-morning.

This might be my new favorite breakfast. I love the cereal mixed with the fruit and I REALLY fills me up for the morning.

I didn't have a whole lot for dinner either or NOTHING really worth blogging about. I did have a little bit of turkey with some pepper jack cheese when I got home from work and I did have some cantaloupe before I left the house to go visit my grandparents and Aunt but, other then that nothing to exciting. I have a pretty good feeling I will be STARVING in the morning especially since I am pretty hungry right now. I hate to eat this late so I am refusing to do so. So tomorrow's breakfast will surely be a big one. :) Well... I am going to get ready for bed. Sorry, I've been a bad blogger and SORRY I haven't really eaten anything worthy of blogging about the last few days- I PROMISE tomorrow will be better. Promise. Hope you all have a great night tonight!! It's almost Thursday..... That much closer to Friday! YAHHHHhhh!! :) Night, Night!

Me vs the Green Monster

Good Evening Everyone!! Happy Monday!! How did your Monday go?!? My day was good. A Monday. Pretty uneventful. So... I am thinking I might just have to blog once a day. My mornings get a little bit hectic trying to blog so.... I'm going to try doing it in the evenings for a while and see how things work out.

This morning I popped out of bed rather easily! Which is a bit surprising because I had a really hard time falling a sleep and didn't sleep very well last night. May be it was because I was sooooo excited to try a GREEN Monster!!!??! :) I did a little over a 4 mile run this morning and then came home and whipped this bad boy up!!

I will admit I gagged a bit. NOT because it wasn't tasty because it was but, because I kept thinking I was going to swallow a piece of spinach whole or something.... I dunno. May be I am crazy. I will make it again but, my first try was a bit rocky... Here is what I put in it.

1. Spinach
2. frozen banana
3. a handful of blueberries
4. a handful of strawberries
5. a little bit of Barney Butter
6. milk
7. ice

For a snack later that day I had ANOTHER smoothie. A strawberry Activia one. Dinner tonight was a late one. After work we went over to see my Grandma and Grandpa and pick my brother up from the airport. For dinner we all went to Francies. I had a grilled chicken salad and the boys (my brothers and hubby) had sandwiches and burgers. YUMMY!! I love that place!!! No pictures tonight.... We left in a hurry and I didn't grab my camera. SORRY!! Well... I am going to go watch the end of the Bachlorette and get ready for tomorrow!! Hope you all have a great night!!! Talk to you tomorrow! Night, Night! :)

A weekend recap

Whoa, what a crazy busy weekend we had!! How are you? How was your weekend? I can't believe it is almost over. BOOO!!! :( Sunday nights make me so sad. But, enough about that... lets recap the weekend. Friday night we stayed in and tried to finish up painting. We were up pretty late working but, did exactly finish it just yet... a few touch-ups are needed!! Saturday morning we woke up pretty early to get going on some of the touch-ups. I had the last of the blueberries while Aaron ran to the store to get some Starbucks.


I had a skinny latte. I love STARBUCKS!!! What a way to start a Saturday huh?!

Aaron also surprised me with a bagel. YUMMY!! :)

I cut the bagel in 1/2 and toasted it. I topped it with some I can't believe its not butter spray. BORING!!! I know, but I love it!

Here is Aaron taking some of the tape off. Isn't that color FABULOUS!! We love it!! I am very happy with how it turned out. I just wish my couch would FREAKING get here!!

Our formal dinning room.... Don't worry, we are getting a new light fixture!! I'd like to go looking for one this week but, we will see.

Saturday afternoon I did a 4 mile run again and it KICKED my butt!! It was TERRIBLE!! It was so freaking windy and it was hot and I have a REALLY REALLY REALLY hard time working out in the afternoon. I would way prefer a workout in the morning to the evening. How about you??! Saturday night we went over to one of Aaron's co-workers house for a cook out!! We had a lot of fun!! We brought some chicken and steak over to grill and they supplied the sides. Some fresh fruit and pasta salads! It was yummy!! No, pictures though.... SORRY!!! I forgot my camera at home.

This morning I wanted to use some of the eggs and the bread we had so I made Aaron some breakfast!! The kitchen smelled so good!! Sonoma wasn't sure what I was making but, she sure wanted some.....

We love her.... she got a few bites don't worry!!

Isn't that french toast beautiful!?!? Aaron made some bacon while I whipped up the french toast.

I had the other 1/2 of my bagel with egg whites and some cheese!!

Today we ran around like crazy people!! We went to Costco, Homemakers, Slumberland (Yep, still looking for a bedroom set), and HyVee and before we knew it was 4:00 and we were starving!! I decided this morning that I wanted to try and make some of the Planko crusted chicken strips. They were REALLY REALLY good!! But, first when we were at the store and were VERY hungry Aaron decided he wanted to get some bread to dip in an olive oil balsamic mixture. This was our little appetizer and was VERY tasty!

While the chicken strips were baking I grabbed a couple of the baby tomatoes off my little plant on the deck. She is getting so big!! I am so proud of her... and the tomatoes are so yummy!!

My salad. I actually mixed up a little bit of bbq sauce and fat free ranch for some dipping sauce. I love, love, love that combo.

I really liked how crunchy these strips were!!

Here is Aaron's salad. He added some Parmesan cheese and some raspberry vinaigrette dressing to his salad.

One more of my salad all mixed up!! We made a lot of the strips so I'll some how have to eat them tomorrow for leftovers! May be a wrap?!?! We will see....

Well, I need to get going and get prepared for the work week! :( Plus tomorrow is a BIG day!! I am planning on having MY FIRST EVER Green Monster Smoothie!! I can't WAIT to try it... Hope you all had a great weekend!! Have a fabulous rest of your Sunday night!! Talk to you tomorrow!!

Crazy paint lady

HAPPY Friday EVERYONE!!! TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) So sorry I've been MIA!! Last night I wasn't feeling all that great. I didn't do much for dinner. I met my parents at Palmer's Deli and shared some pasta salad with my pops!! I would've taken pictures last night but, I just wasn't feeling it. This morning I did get up and get about 4.5 miles in but, I was in a rush to get ready for the day before ANOTHER CC. After the call I rushed out for the day and by the time I got home my parents were at our house helping us paint. AND that's about ALL we've done tonight. A little bit boring but, once its all done its going to look great. We are still in the process of painting.... hoping to finish it all tonight. We will see..... For dinner we carried out Wok In Motion!! Yum, Yum, Yum! We had a couple of different kinds of sushi, pot stickers, egg rolls, and crab Rangoon. It was an AMAZING dinner!! I love Wok In Motion!!! Well, I hate to cut this short and not post any pics but, I have to get back to taping/painting!! Hope you all have a fabulous Friday night!! I'll be better about blogging this weekend!! We just want to get this paint project OVER!!! Talk to you tomorrow! Night, Night!

A cup of joe kind of morning

Happy Thursday Everyone and Good Morning!! It is almost Friday!! YAH!!! :) This morning I really wanted a cup of coffee. I needed a little bit of a pick up!! MMMMmmmmmm coffee!! Do you guys drink coffee EVERY morning or just every once in a while. I am an every once in a while kind of gal. Some times I need it and other days I don't. So, Aaron and I were talking this morning and trying to figure out what we are going to do this weekend. Originally, we thought we'd be going to Okoboji for the weekend but, that isn't going to work out. BOOO... :( May be next weekend though. So, we are thinking we are going to start taping our formal living room and dinner room and then paint, paint, paint away!!! No, we never taped the other night we I said we might. So, may be tonight... or tomorrow!?? Not sure yet but, we are ready to start the project!! This project is going to be just a little bit bigger then kitchen one last weekend. Hopefully, we are mentally prepared to do this....


I also had a banana with some Peanut Butter and another Activia Mixed Berry Smoothie for breakfast. Pretty much think PB and banana is the most amazing flavor combo EVER!!

Okay everyone- gotta run. Gotta get to work. Hope you all have a grrrreat Thursday!! :) Talk to you tonight!

Hump Day needs to be celebreated with a glass of wine

Happy Hump Day/Evening Everyone!! How was your Wednesday? Sorry I've been MIA today... I had a really early morning CC and then my whole day was thrown off. SORRY! I woke up early to get a work out in before the CC. I did about a 3.5 mile run and then had to call in. I did a few sit ups and push ups while listening. During my call I grabbed some breakfast. I didn't get a picture of it this morning but, it wasn't exactly anything new. I had a banana, cereal, and blueberries. I LOVE this combo for my breakfast but, I talked with a friend of mine earlier this week who said she tried a GREEN Monster and now I am thinking I REALLLY need to join the club. May be this weekend...

So, I've talked to a TON of people today and earlier this week who have all said they are really tired this week. What do you think it is?? Something in the air may be??? I dunno... Wish I had a magic pill I could take and STOP the tiredness but, that doesn't exist. BUT I will say, I do feel better knowing that other people out there are feeling the same way.

Enough about me being tired..... LUNCH

I had a pretty busy morning but, managed to get home for lunch today. I made a quick salad and had an Activia Smoothie. I cut up a little bit of pepper jack cheese and had a TINY bit of turkey on it too. It was yummy!!!

This week I bought the mixed berry smoothie instead of just the strawberry one!! I think I like the mixed berry one better!! I LOVE THESE THINGS!!!! :)

So, all this afternoon ALL I could think about was how badly I wanted to go and sit outside tonight and have a glass of chard. So, I asked Aaron VERY sweetly if we could go to Gateway Market. He agreed a glass of wine sounded fabulous too but, when we drove up it was PACKED and there was NO way we were going to be able to find a seat so, we decided to go to Fire Creek
instead. Here is my glass of wine.

LOVE IT!!! I love Chardonnay!! LOVE IT!! Not to mention it was FREAKING beautiful outside tonight!! I didn't want to go home! So, we decided to have an appetizer for dinner.

We ordered the shrimp scampi. It was sooooooo good!!! And it was just enough for Aaron and I to share.

The bread they served it with was soooo yummy too! :) I love carbs!! Yes, I just said it!!! I love carbs! But, I just had one slice and Aaron had 2. I was very restricted.

For happy hour they had $4 martinis. So, After our appetizer Aaron wanted to try a martini. He tired the April Rain one and it was REALLLY yummy!!

I finished up my glass of wine and then we headed home.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE summer!! I am so sad to think that it is almost over. Sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather is one of my favorite things to do in the summer. What about you?? What are you favorite summer activities? Well.... I told myself I was going to try to research some places to stay while Aaron and I are in Rome tonight so... I am going to check it out!! Hope you all have a great night. Just think- the weekend is just a few more days away! THANK GOODNESS!! Hope you were able to get out and enjoy this amazing summer night! Talk to you tomorrow!! Night, night!

Veggie Pasta Experiment

Good Evening Everyone!! How was your Tuesday??! My day wasn't too bad. I had to stay home most of the morning to sign for my new work computer. And was pleasantly surprised when the NEW computer Aaron ordered last week came at the SAME time!! YIPPY!!!!! We have a new computer to play with tonight!!! LOVE IT!!! Don't you just love NEW things!? So, this post will be quick... gotta get to the new toy downstairs!! :)

For dinner I decided to try something new..... It turned out okay.... just okay though. Here is all I put in it:

• Broccoli
• whole wheat pasta
• zucchini
• tomato
• I Can't Believe Its Not Butter spray
• Parmesan cheese

I steamed the broccoli in the steamer and grilled the veggies on my grill pan. Here are my veggies before I mixed it all together.

YUM, YUM!!!! They actually were REALLY good!! I just put a little bit of PAM in the pan. Nothing to exciting... but the tomatoes were really good and gave the pasta most of its flavor!!

It was pretty simple to make and I liked that I was able to get in some veggies. I love pasta and usually don't eat it much in the summer. That is, unless it's a pasta salad but, because it was a cooler day today I figured it might be a nice change.

AND of course I had dessert!!!

This little puppy was a Skinny Cow Skinny Dipper!! The box has both vanilla and caramel favors dipped in a chocolate coating. Isn't is the cutest little thing ever??! Just 80 calories. It totally hit my sweet tooth spot! I would HIGHLY recommend trying these babies out. So, I am trying guys.... this pasta was sort of a quick fix but, I AM TRYING!! At least I decided to try something new instead of having a boring turkey sandwich like I was thinking earlier. How do you guys come up with things to eat for dinner?? Do you try out new recipes? Do you just put something together quickly? Or do you really think about it and plan it all out? I am just trying to figure this cooking thing out... and keep it healthy along the way! Okay, I want to go play with the computer. :) Have a great night!! Talk to you soon!!

A GLOOMY Tuesday

Good Morning Everyone!! Happy GLOOOMY Tuesday!! Hope your mornings are going well.... I am waiting/working from home this morning for my new work computer to get delivered. Thank goodness... my old one is in bad shape!!

I'm so sad... that last few mornings I've woke up its been dark outside. BOOOOO!!! I don't like this rain we are having here today!! It stinks!!! So, I had to go to the gym for my workout this morning AGAIN!! I was really looking forward to running outside but, hopefully tomorrow will be better and I can get out and run. This morning I did 45 minutes on the elliptical. It was a nice change... but I didn't feel like I got as good of a work out. Do you ever feel like that?!? I almost felt like it as easy.... Oh, well... may be taking it easy isn't such a bad thing every once in a while.

For breakfast I had another bowl of cereal with a banana and blueberries!! It was delicious!!! I love blueberries!! I just can't get enough of them....

Well.... I better get some work done. oh, I almost forgot!! I actually had a really good night sleep last night!! THANKFULLY!!! I needed it.... What sort of things do you guys do if you have problems falling asleep at night?? Or if you've had a bad night sleep will you do something differently the next night to try and catch up?? Hope you have a great Tuesday!! Talk to you soon! :)