Saturday, July 31, 2010

I'm Loosing My Mind - or Just My Purse!

I don't know what is wrong with me, I think I'm loosing my mind. Today was supposed to be a fun day, but instead I feel horrible because I lost my purse.

Arghhh!!!

Breakfast


We went back to Bowie Bakery this morning to try out their breakfast burritos. I had the bean & cheese and it was yummy because it had muenster cheese.


I had a small coffee and half of this bad boy. It's not really a croissant, it's called a "Cuernito" (horn) in Spanish and it was filled with some pineapple filling. This is the perfect treat for dunking into your coffee/milk.

Oh so good.

The day would take a turn for the worse, though. We went to Wal-Mart, which is about 5 minutes away. That's when I noticed I had forgotten my purse at the bakery. So I rushed back. It couldn't have been more than 10-15 minutes, but by the time I got there, the purse was gone and no one had turned it in.

The lady that was sitting next to us was still there and she said she saw a little boy walk past her carrying a white purse, trailing behind his family. They had just left, too.

I just don't understand why'd they have to take it, or why they haven't returned it???

Luckily, I wasn't carrying any cash or my phone and I left my Nook & planner at home.

Although 2 baby gift cards have gone bye-bye plus the redbox dvd that we rented yesterday. The one day I remember to bring the dvd with me, is the one day it gets stolen!!! Redbox apparently waits 25 days until they charge you $25. They won't let you buy it until then.

I spent the rest of the day canceling cards, ordering new cards and just feeling bummed at myself. I just can't seem to learn not to loose stuff. I do this all the time!!!

Any tips of how to avoid it would be greatly appreciated :)

Lunch


I just had some cereal for lunch. I wanted something sweet and comforting with the day I was having, Apple Jacks hit the spot.

Dinner


I had some carrots, but am sad to say the Chinese cucumber didn't last all week. I was trying to get some veggies in.

We didn't feel like going out for dinner, either. I was tired and still a little bummed. We ordered an order of chicken lo-mein and I had about a third of it. I also had two yummy egg-rolls and a Honeydew tapioca drink.

Desert

I may have some ice cream, I may not. I'll just have to see how I'm feeling. Or, I may go for making the ultimate comfort food, rice pudding!

Just thinking about making a batch is making me feel better :)

Did I read?

I'm going to try, but I'm not promising anything. I'm still tired and I know, I'm a bummer today.

I just have to remember, tomorrow is another day :)

Friday, July 30, 2010

Planning Ahead - What a thought?

It's 9PM and I finally get to sit down!

The doctor's appointment went well, and she even said she thought the baby moved down where she was supposed to be. Yay!

Lunch

I was out of there by 11 and the next stop was my hair dresser. I went ahead and made myself a PB & Jelly sandwich before I left home because I didn't want to buy fast food. That worked out really well! It was a quick lunch but it powered me through the day so I could get the rest of the errands done. I forgot the picture, though :(

Dinner


Afterward, I ran some errands and headed back home to get dinner ready. It was Friday Pizza night so I just popped in a DiGiorno and made a squash, tomato & onion stir-fry. It was so good.

The DiGiorno rising crust has got to be one of the best ones out there!

Dessert


We went to look for rugs at this closeout place. We're going back tomorrow to get us some runners to protect the areas of our floor that get the most traffic.

Then, came the ice cream goodness. Ahh yes, Coldstone in the summer, couldn't ask for more. Plus, you get a 50% discount if you're pregnant!

I went with their new peach flavored and mixed in some pecans. It was too good!

Now we get to watch Hot Tub Time Machine, I'll let you know how that goes!

4th in line

I'm officially 4th in line at the doctor's office. Oh no!!!

Luckily, I brought my nifty nook. Although I feel as the Unfortunate Reader as I'm going through the Unfortunate Traveller. Yuck!

Breakfat


I had my smoothie before our walk. It still tastes yummy after 5 days.

I also made some egg and ham burritos. This is my favorite whole wheat tortilla brand.

I hate to report that this bag didn't make it another 5 minutes. My counter-surfer dog had a nice treat this morning. I was just happy he didn't eat the bag!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Winding Down Thursday

I had such a good day today, despite being sleep deprived because I woke up 3 times last night. I do believe this last month of pregnancy is the worst!

I'm just happy I get tomorrow off. I have another doctor's appointment and hopefully I'll find out where the baby is. I can never tell!

I'm thinking of getting chunky highlights ala Kelly Clarkson:


















I don't know about the red highlights, though.

Dinner/Dessert


I got home and just wanted something easy to make.  I settled on pan-fried fish with a side of veggies.  The veggies were just stir-fried but they were so good.  The squash I got at the farmer's market was delish!

For dessert, I just had a yummy mango and now I'm just trying to relax watching some Bethenny's Getting Married.

I'm probably going to turn in pretty soon, I am sleepy!!!

Sit Bobo Sit - I need to check the calories of ...

You guys have to check this little guy out because he does Doggie Tricks Online!  I just want to take him home with me!!!  Let's see how many tricks you can get him to do!!!

As you all know, I'm a big calorie counter, well maybe calorie estimator.  I tend to do a lot of mental rounding of the food I consume.  I'm not looking for specifics, just an overall idea of how many calories something has. I know there's tons of calorie sites online, but if you're looking for a pretty fast and nifty one try CalorieConnect.com. I like their interface, it's so simple and fast too.

Snack



So yes, I know I'm boring, but I just love edamame as a snack. I'm an edadame fanatic I tell ya! It really fills me up, has tons of protein & fiber and it's so tasty. Plus, its a snack that's cube-approved! Meaning, none of my cube mates would complain because it's not a noisy snack nor does it stink up the joint!!!

Between Two Ferns & a Baby Shower



I was literally holding myself back trying not to laugh as I was watching this. I couldn't help it, it's too funny!!!

My co-workers are awesome! They threw me a Baby Shower today and it was too cute! We had yummy pineapple cake and ice cream. What more could a pregnant lady ask for?


Lunch


I just had a bowl of leftover whole-wheat spaghetti & veggie tomato sauce. The pineapple was really good too!

This Thursday is My Friday

Yay, I love the 9/80 schedule. Today is the last work day this week and I get tomorrow off. Woo-hoo!!!

Breakfast


I had a repeat of yesterday's breakfast, which was great. The pre-made smoothie held up to my taste test another day and really fueled me through my morning swim.

I was so tired this morning, though, I just took it easy at the pool but still managed to get my laps in. Albeit, a little slower.

When I got to work I got to enjoy some cereal, Frosted mini-wheats rule! I use regular 1% milk, that's my favorite but apparently, we are in the middle of a Milk War!

I've had the pleasure of trying all of them, here are my overall impressions:

  • Soy milk - I actually really like the 8th Continent light plain variety. It has a really light texture that actually works with some cereals.
  • Rice milk - I love the taste! For me, it's almost like a special treat that reminds me of a healthy Horchata water. However, it's never really passed the cereal test for me because it's too sweet. I would only be able to enjoy it with a bowl of bran flakes or cereal with no sugar added. It definitely wouldn't go well my Reece's PB cereal!
  • Almond milk - I can't remember the brand I tried, but it was really thick. I could not finish the glass I had. It just wasn't very appetizing and I shutter to think of what it would taste like in my cereal.
  • Hemp milk - I recently tried this one, and it was NOT GOOD. I think I tried two sips and regretted the second one.
  • Oat milk - I think I tried this one, but now I can't remember. I'll have to give it another shot though.

In the end, I stick with skim or 1% and have some rice milk from time-to-time.

Has anyone found a good substitute that passes the cereal test?

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Healthy-Homes-Hospital



I saw this video today, and thought it was hilarious! I just thought I'd share :)

Dinner/Dessert


I came home and made a very simple and delicious veggie spaghetti sauce over whole-wheat thin spaghetti. I just sauteed some garlic, onions, squash and eggplant. Having everything pre-cut really cut down the prep time. It was great!

I added some garlic & onion spaghetti sauce and mixed it with a little bit of pre-made basil pesto.

It was so good, I really love the flavor of the eggplant. I was worried that having pre-cut it was going to affect the flavor and texture, but it came out better than it usually does.

If you've never cooked with eggplant, make sure to slice it, sprinkle it with salt on both sides, and place it on a strainer for 30 minutes, then rinse. It makes the eggplant so much tastier!!!

For dessert, I had a mango.

Did I read?

No, but I'm planning to. I also need to do the write up on the last book I finished. Off to read :)

Attack of the Cherry Twizzlers!!!

I was attacked by a Cherry Twizzler today, it came out of nowhere. I was walking by a co-worker's cube, and then BAM@!#$$, it was in my hand and I just couldn't resist.

I love Twizzlers, specially cherry-flavored, and this one was gone in an instant!

Snack

So as you can see, I'm going through my edamame stash at work with lightning speed. I love these tasty little treats. I had to get some protein to balance the Twizzler and the little tiny piece of birthday cake that was calling my name.

I didn't have the apple I was planning to because I felt I was already on sugar overload.

Oh that Sugar strikes again!!!

Cravings Under Control - 2 Layer Burrito

Lunch


So I had this big craving for a beans & rice burrito, for some reason I love, love, love that combination. I'm a big fan of Taco Bell's 7-layer burrito, but with 510 calories & 18 g of fat I tend to shy away from it!

The cafeteria at work also sells burritos, they're yummy, I just don't know how healthy their beans and tortillas are. I mean, to me beans are tasty and nutritious just as they are. They're is no need to add anything else.

To satisfy my craving, I got home and opened up a can of pinto beans. I rinsed them (I heard this helps with the well-known beans side-effect) and mashed them up with some water. I used a whole-wheat tortilla and topped the beans with my leftover guacamole.

Craving satisfied!

I also thought I was getting my veggies in, but now I'm more confused than ever.

Are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable? What about avocados?

Well, according to this wiki page, tomatoes are botanically a fruit, but the U.S. Supreme court declared them a vegetable in 1893 due to some tariff controversy.

My Food Pyramid does classify tomatoes in the veggie group, but the avocado I guess is a fruit. So I got one veggie serving in!

I never looked at avocado's as fruit because they don't seem sweet to me. I would be willing to try this Indonesian Avocado Shake, or try to make it a healthier version!

I'll let you know how it goes, it depends how adventurous I'm feeling tonight!

Mini Wheats to the Rescue

Breakfast

Pre-made smoothie on day #3 still held up to the taste test. Plus it saved me a whopping 5 minutes to get myself to the gym for a swim.

I'm out of oatmeal and steel-cut oats, and I didn't plan ahead and had no time to make breakfast burritos so mini-wheats for breakfast it was.

It was also our pot-luck Wednesday at work, and they were late. They brought sweet bread, but I decided to stick to the mini-wheats instead.

It was a good and healthy option :)

Guess what, according to this article going online can actually help people loose weight.

I think it's the accountability aspect of it. I'm not trying to loose weight right now, obviously, but I am trying to lead a healthy pregnancy and this blog is helping me achieve that :)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

I'm Married to Therapist Sarge



Richard and I were watching TV and this commercial came on. I looked at him and told him that's how he'd be as a therapist.

His reply, "Why do you think I didn't go into psychology?" Oh my dear hubby, gotta love his honesty. At least he knows who he is!

Dinner



We finally got to enjoy these fajitas that have been marinating for two days! They were really good. I got to use the pre-cut veggies so that made dinner, and the cleanup, so much faster. I also made a quick guacamole with avocado and tomatoes. I'm liking this pre-cut idea!

I topped my tacos with the guacamole and a little bit of sour cream. Oh so good!

We got the beef and the white corn from the farmer's market, the meat was really tender. The marinade was a little spicy too, but everything just worked together.

Dessert


There was one more lonely little slice of the almond bread, so I couldn't resist and had to top it with some ice cream.  Besides, it was one of those days where I just wanted some nice comfort food at the end of he day.

Now it's time for some relaxing and I'm planning on going to sleep early.  These last two nights I've had the pleasure of waking up two or three times a night.  I'm tired!!!

Sweet dreams everyone!

The Coffee Never Kicked In Today!

I am so tired and it's been such a long day!!! I'm ready to go to sleepies now :(

Snack


Hopefully this snack will give me some more energy to power through the rest of the day!

Look at That Cute Abacus face!!!


Isn't my little baby Abacus adorable??? He's such a happy dog and a joy to live with when he isn't looking for some trouble to get into!!!

Lunch

I love leftovers! I had the rest of the Tilapia fish with the rice and added some of the pre-cut veggies I had in the fridge to kick it up a notch. Those pre-cut veggies do come in handy.

I also had a cup of pineapple and some cucumber water for a refreshing summer treat. I had a yogurt-covered pretzel, which I love, but decided to bring the rest to work for all to share. These little pretzels are delicious, but they also pack in a caloric punch. 35 calories for a little bitty pretzel. I could easily eat the entire bag without an afterthought, so the best thing is out-of-sight, out-of-mind!

By the way, here's a good post about the truth about sugar!

Steel Cut Oats Are Out to Get Me!!!

In the last two weeks, it seems I have managed to go 3-for-3 in burning my steel cut outs. I started to cook the oats last night for 30 minutes and leave them out overnight, but by the time I remembered they had turned into this:


I guess it could have been worse, I think I caught it before the oats really stuck to the pan, but I still had to leave the pan soaking over night.

Why are these oats doing this to me?

Breakfast


I had the rest of my pre-made yogurt+fruit smoothie for my pre-workout snack and it still tasted yummy.

I was able to rescue enough oats for our breakfast. I added milk, some raisins and a bit of the local honey for some added sweetness. I also managed to burn my toast at work, what is it with me these days. I topped it with some Dark Choco Dreams PB and was able to cover the burnt taste, sort of.

The peach and the coffee were good too. I just need that coffee to kick in now cause Imma sleepy!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Gasoline

Since we're waiting on the fajitas until tomorrow, I got a chance to go and get eyebrow wax. I had gone yesterday, but the ladies had stepped out so I had to go back again today.

I also filled up my gas tank on the way home. I usually try to do that on the weekend but I ran out of time. Two days is just never enough for a real weekend!

I managed to spill one drop of gasoline on my flip-flops and had to endure the smell the whole way home. Yuck, how do you get that smell out?

Dinner

Richard's Mom made dinner for us today, yay! She's a really good cook and made this Tilapia fish today. It's one of my favorite dishes, but I haven't been able to recreate it :(

I only had half the fish and the rice, and will have the rest for lunch tomorrow. Double yay!

Desert


I had some cantaloupe, a slice of the almond bread and some milk for dessert.

Yummy!

Did I read?

I read some of the Unfortunate Traveler, it's one of those books I wonder why I started.

So far, I haven't been able to figure out the plot and it's really hard to follow. Should I stop wasting my reading time on this book, or suffer through it? I'll have to decide soon. There's so many other good books out there, though, why did I pick this one?

Why???

Nursery Dreamin'

We finally tackled the Baby Nursery this weekend, we didn't go overboard so it only took a hard day's work!

Here's what we had to work with, a guest room with pretty basic decor. I love the soft pale blue wall color and how it contrasts with white and works with gold and silver accents. We like it so much, that we decided to stick with it even though we're expecting a little baby girl!


We love that this room has tons of light!

Richard got to work on setting up the crib, and I got to decorating!!!

The first thing I did was replace the old frame with a new one, that's more nursery-themed. Both Richard and I are big doggie lovers so I found the cutest print on Amazon and had it framed. Isn't the Labrador Pup just precious?

We picked the frame and matting to work with the other pieces that we already had, so I didn't even need to use a hammer for this task. I wish all projects could be this easy!



The next task did involve some self-anchoring screws. I bought this cute wall shelf that went with our white & gold theme. I also like the fact that I can replace the fabric or add personalized pictures. For now, I like the way the current fabric looks so I'm sticking with that.

I usually hate hanging items, I always feel there's so much pressure to make it straight. I should have added the hanging wire to the back, but with a shelf, I just think hanging on two screws makes it more secure.



Once Richard was done with the crib, we were just breezing along that day! We got out the CoCaLo Creme Brulee bedding and set that up. I love that it works with our current quilt. I know it's not pink, but I think it's still very feminine!

Believe it or not, the next project was the toughest.
I bought these "Dandelion in Wind" Removable Vinyl Home Wall Art Sticker Decals from Amazon. They are easy to work with, but I wanted everything just right so putting these up took forever!



I wish there was a way to make the white pop-out a little bit more, they are definitely not as bright as the picture on Amazon would lead you to believe. The flash didn't help either! Regardless, I do like them and think they're romantic and whimsical. Plus, I didn't want to actually hang anything on the wall that might fall in the crib so these decals worked out just right.


The next step was moving the old TV stand which we've converted to a diaper changing station. Go us, way to reuse! We just bought a changing pad and the cover and voila, it is now a changing station. I still need to buy some baskets to fill in the slots as I'm sure they'll come in handy in the future!

Richard helped with the final step, which was to decorate with stuffed animals.  You'll see those scattered throughout  the room.  There's doggies everywhere and Abacus & Dulci made sure to inspect each one, thoroughly!

I love the personal touches we added, like the Pound Puppies that Richard collected as a boy or the Cowboys Rowdy mascot that he's kept for all these years.  Plus, my Mom actually knit the dress that we hung on the shelf.  She is multi-talented in the arts & craft area, let me tell ya!

There's still a couple of things that I want to buy, like lamps and more throw-pillows, but I guess those can wait.

I've also been searching for a crib mobile, but haven't found anything I really like.  Then I read that high-contrast mobiles are great for babies, plus you can make them yourself.  Here's a how-to

That'll be next week's project, so I'll let you know how that turns out!

Crossfit & a Snack

I was looking through some of the discounts that we get at work, and found this gym that specializes in Crossfit training. They have tons of videos and the training looks pretty intense.

Has anyone ever tried one of these gyms?

Snack

I had my standard edamame & fruit for a snack today. Plus, I got word there was no need to make dinner today. Yay :) Richard's going over to his mom's house so the fajitas will marinate one more day!

My Bad Hair Day Continues!

I went home for lunch, I love seeing my little babies wag their tale when I get home!

I wish we could take them to work with us, life would be so much more fun!

Lunch

Having the pre-cut veggies ready to go was nice. I had the cucumber and shared some of the carrots with the doggies.

I also had a PB & pineapple jelly sandwich with some milk. I know, it doesn't sound too appetizing but I did give it a taste test before I made it. It was good, but I think the PB over powered the pineapple, so I'll stick to strawberry from now on :)

Here's me and my bad-looking hair sipping on some refreshing cucumber water!

Imma Be in a Ponytail Type of Mood Today

I woke up later than I wanted to, but having the smoothie, coffee & eggs ready to go definitely helped!

Breakfast


I had half of the smoothie container and it was really good. The almond extract definitely gave it a unique flavor and I did not miss not adding sugar!

I had a really good swim, then realized I forgot all my styling products at home. Arghh, I hate it when I do that! Luckily I always leave a comb and a hairdryer at the gym. It still looks bad, though, so it's time to resort to the oh so sophisticated ponytail.

I had the burrito, peach and iced coffee at work and now I'm ready to go.

Hope you're not all having a ponytail type of day :)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Pineapple Explosion!

Dinner/Dessert

I had this flaky & fresh biscuit from the infamous Bowie Bakery for Dinner/Dessert. I topped it with some Smart Balance and some apple butter & pineapple jelly that we got at the farmer's market. I had to wash that down with some milk.

It was delicious! The little bite was courtesy of my hubby who wanted to try the apple butter :)

I also had some fresh pineapple that didn't make it to the picture.

Here are my boys enjoying a lazy Sunday at home!

Aren't they cute?

Any Reading?

Yes, I got to read during the pedicure and I finished one book and continued the other. I'll post the review soon!

Busy Bee

I thought today was going to be easy breezy, boy was I wrong.

Breakfast

We woke up and went on our regular doggie walk.  It was gorgeous!  I had the leftover cantaloupe-coco-yogurt smoothie.  Delish!


When we got home, I had no groceries to make breakfast at home but I did have enough to make a PB & banana smoothie.  Richard wanted to get a pastry at Bowie bakery, which I found hilarious because he's been known to talk trash about this landmark bakery that's been voted #1 in EP for I don't know how many years.


I got a concha, yummy, but I only managed to have about 2/3 of it.  I had it along with some Seattle's best coffee, which is usually too strong, but I mixed it with the decaff and it was quite good.

Afterward, we went to do our grocery shopping.  I had enough time to put everything away and get ready for church.  I was 5 minutes late, I hate being late!  Richard stayed behind to do some studying, so I decided to go get a pedicure.  At 36 weeks pregnant, I'm surprised I can still cut my own toe nails!  I found out yesterday, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of painting them.

The place I went to was great, they had these massage chairs that were AWESOME.  I had never tried them before, and it was completely worth it!

Lunch


I didn't get home until 2, so I was quite hungry.  I was going to make fajitas but hadn't marinated the beef so I put that off until tomorrow and decided to make an egg & potato skillet.  We also tried the Chinese cucumber with some lemon & chili.  I had the rest of the banana water too.  The rest of the time was getting ready for the upcoming week, which you'll see in my new "Timesaver's" page.

Lets see if it works!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

My Tootsies (and everything else) Hurt!!!

Today was a long, but very productive day!

I actually woke up to sunlight and doggie kissies from my little babies!!! In my opinion, that's got to be the best way to wake up!

Breakfast


I made another cantaloupe & yogurt smoothie with coconut, but I made too much so I only had half and am saving the rest for tomorrow morning.

We went for a 45 minute walk and it was great weather, really cloudy and there was a light breeze. We decided to go to the farmer's market and had some of those awesome breakfast burritos. Apple-wood smoked bacon is the best!



Yummy!!!



Look at my babies, too cute. Doesn't Abacus look handsome in his bandanna? He got loads of compliments.

Here's what we scored at the market:


  • Eggplant
  • Local Honey (great for allergies)
  • Elephant garlic (if you've never tried, you must!)
  • Chinese Cucumber
  • Summer Squash
  • Pineapple Jelly
  • Corn
  • Almond Bread (SCORE!!!!!!!!!)

After putting everything away, I got the chance to refill my soap bottles. That's got to be one of the most boring things to do.

We then went to Lowe's and then checked out this cool antiques shop that we saw last week. They had a bunch of old signs and fuel gas pumps. Richard's looking for signs to decorate his garage, but they were a little pricey so we didn't get anything.

Lunch


When we got home, I had frosted mini-wheats and a peach for lunch. It gave me just the right boost to tackle our next project: the nursery!!! I'll post before and after pictures tomorrow. It came out so cute and Richard helped me put the final touches together!

Dinner



Before we knew it, it was 6:30. We were so tired we decided just to order take-out from that great Chinese place, but they were closed. They went on vacation :(

Luckily, we had a menu for another place so we just ordered from there. We both got half portions, and even then I only had half. That is just way too much pork lo mein. I also microwaved a cup of frozen veggies because the lo mein didn't have that much. It turned out really well :)

Dessert



Ice cream, we all scream for ice cream! I had my yummy cone and 5 minutes later remembered that I had wanted to have some ice cream with the almond bread we had picked out earlier. Booo! I couldn't resist so I sliced a really thin piece of bread and added a scoop of ice cream.



Oh so good!

Did I read?

No, and I probably won't either. Richard DVR'd "The Right Stuff" and I'm not sure I'm going to get through it.

The cute little monkey just made it back from space!!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Pizza Friday & Baby Loot

I met Richard after work at the Starbucks and had a Tazo Passion Iced tea that quenched my thirst on this hot, muggy day. It's our monsoon season, so you never know what you're going to get.

Dinner


I went to Albertson's and I picked out this Bruschetta pizza. I kind of wanted to try the CPK Margheritta pizza, but my husband likes the supreme pizza and I felt like being nice and getting it for him :)  After all, the poor guy had to mow the lawn in this weather!

I also made some Calabacitas to get some veggies in!

I guess my little Dulci likes PIZZA!


Dessert



I also picked up some Cookies & Creme ice cream and cones for dessert. I find that if I don't go the cone route, I end up having 2 or 3 more times the serving size.

This really hit the spot!

PLUS, I ended up getting a Baby Loot delivery. I love those!!!


Look at the little mittens and the little hats. I can't wait to be putting these on my little one!!!