I got a lot of random stuff done today! I love when that happens.

• Personal Property Taxes – paid
• Package picked up from post office – done
• Clean out file cabinet/sort bills and paperwork – done
• Gather stuff for a fun giveaway coming up – working on it!

My stomach is still a bit off, but it’s better than it was last night so I’m hoping I’m completely back to normal by the morning. I guess we’ll see?  At least it’s nor worse, right?

Fun thing today!

Nicole and I decided to do a swap a few months ago, and I got to pick up my package from her today!

There was so much stuff! It felt like Christmas and was so much fun to see things I’ve never heard of before.

Sodas, bars (mini Lindts!), candy, Swiss ovaltine, I think(?), Ricola!, Toblerone…

I’ve seen these Eat Natural bars on a few blogs before and am excited to try them – all the flavors sound great. I also got a ton of little chocolates and candy…

…this “crunchy cream” which smells like a malted chocolate spread (!)…

…a Lindt Sea Salt bar straight from Switzerland 

Thanks so much Nicole!!! So sweet to send all of this! I can’t wait to try it all.

After that excitement, I took it easy on the couch for a while with a few episodes of One Tree Hill   

I was all ready to make pizza for dinner around 5:30, but Nick called and said he was going to be a little late getting home so I watched some news and worked on something for work for a bit until he got home.

And then – Pizza Pizza time!

2nd confession of the day? I used premade crusts tonight.

I was going to make my own, but I just did not feel up to it this afternoon – and these turned out pretty good!

They were Mama Mary’s Thin Crust and came 2 to a package, which was perfect for tonight.

We had 2 pizzas, mostly because I wanted both kinds and because that meant we would definitely have leftovers for tomorrow night.

This one had:

• homemade tomato sauce (tomato sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, Italian seasonings)
• diced red onion
• cremini mushrooms
• 6-7 slices pepperoni, diced
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese

And this one was awesome!

This one had:

• 3 Tbsp Mezzetta Pesto (as the “sauce”)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese
• 1 roasted garlic chicken sausage, sliced
• diced red onion

I had 2 small slices of each with my salad of romaine, carrots, red onion, and garlic almonds…

…and then I had one more slice of each.

I’m pretty full + happy now

I normally wouldn’t have this much pizza, but I never had a snack this afternoon…and it was just too good!

The football game comes on in 10 minutes…I may make it half time…but probably not  The late games are just as bad a late tv shows: too hard to stay up for!

Do you have any new/different pizza combinations to try? I love normal pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, veggie), but it’s fun trying new flavors!

Today has been busy, but in a weird way. My normal work tasks have been the same, but I have a few other things to work on that are taking up my time.

I’m actually taking this afternoon off from work – my stomach still just feels kind of off from that shot yesterday, and I got everything done this morning at work that needed to be done so it will be nice to relax and take it easy for a few hours.

I have to go run some errands (post office, pay some bills, etc) after I eat, but at least it’s not raining today! 

Lunch was quick, easy, and delicious.

Even though the rice/quinoa mix is gone from dinner last night, I just heated up a serving of the TJ’s Indian dish/green bean mix and had it with our last whole wheat Naan with some hummus.

This garlic hummus is awesome! Super garlicky, but not that fresh garlic burn, you know?

This, with a cup of water, for the heat + spice = perfect gloomy day lunch.

Okay, I’ll also give a confession.

I am obsessed with One Tree Hill, but this just happened like in the past 3 weeks! I know! I don’t know what it is…I’ve caught a few reruns on tv and am hooked. Of course, I’m about 6 years late on this, but I’ve been watching the reruns and want to get the seasons on Netflix, but I know Nick won’t watch them with me…I’ll need to just take like 2 weeks off from work to catch up! I haven’t watched any of the new episodes yet because I don’t want to get confused.

Are there shows you just HAVE to watch? Have you ever found one and rented/gone back and watched all the seasons to see it from the beginning?

I used to love Dawson’s Creek in high school, and this kind of reminds me of that, but with crazier stuff! I mean, that stalker that Peyton had? I think that was the first episode rerun I saw and it just hooked me in – crazy.

*Football tonight!

9:00 PM ET
No. 16 Oregon State at No. 7 Oregon, ESPN

One thing I wish I did more often is yoga.

I don’t belong to a gym or yoga studio that offers classes, so all of my yoga is done on my own via yogadownload.com, videos, or an awesome DVD from Polly

I love how I feel during yoga and after and want to do it more. I have been to yoga classes, and I do enjoy being a class setting more than doing it on my own, but that’s my only option right now.

After seeing Holly’s posts about her goals and the notion of “just doing it”, I realized I don’t need to wait until 2010 to start!

I’m not exactly sure of the details – I just know I want to do more yoga.

That doesn’t mean I have to do it every day or for an hour each time I practice: I just want more of it in my life.

I feel better when I do – not only about my outward appearance, but because of what happens on the inside. It gives me that quiet time to deal with everything that is going on in my heart and in my mind. I feel strong, I feel limber, I feel centered and balanced. And those are feelings that often get lost in day to day frustrations.

I want to have that time to devote to clearing out all the mess I store inside, to spend some honoring what I have been given and what I have to work with.

The main thing I need to figure out is when to do it. I would love to get up early and do yoga before work, and since I’ve actually been getting up on time this week, it might work.

But I’m not going to set everything on that – because when I pick one way I want something to work, and it doesn’t…I usually just give up. And doing it after work would work, too.

I just need to see what routine I want / need and what will work for me each day.

Even without yoga this morning, I think it’s going to be a good day.

Smile! Today is Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday!

I made some eggs in a basket for me this morning with Nature’s Pride 100% whole wheat bread.

I also sliced up an apple to share with Nick this morning, and made my favorite little “sandwich” with my breakfast rounds.

Nutella!

2 Questions for Today!

- Are you a morning or afternoon/evening exerciser?

- What is making you smile today? I know some people that need a few smiles in their life today, and there is always something to be happy about!! I want to know yours.

Blech. I think I’m having a bad reaction to that flu shot. I’ve never had one before – I never get them – and I just feel sick tonight.

Work this afternoon was pretty good – a little slow, but I was able to get some stuff done.

I snacked on some Oikos + this little mini Luna bar!

I like having something sweet with the tart yogurt. It’s the perfect combination.

I started feeling kind of off right before leaving work, so I was happy that dinner was quick and easy tonight.

No leftovers, but I did have some help from Trader Joe’s again!

After seeing these mixes on Erin’s blog all the time, I finally remember to buy a few when I went to Trader Joe’s for my quarterly trip.

Such a great ingredient list!

I also tried this new mix with dinner tonight. Now, I normally like making my own rice/grains, but this one sounded pretty good and the ingredients weren’t too bad, either.

This was brown rice, quinoa, and roasted garlic! A great base for the Indian mix.

I wasn’t sure what else to have with it or on the side, so I took 1.5 cups of frozen green beans and heated them in a pan until they were thawed. Then I added the TJ’s packet and 1 cup or so of tomato sauce.

While the green bean mix was heating through, I cooked the rice packet in the microwave and toasted a piece of TJ’s whole wheat Naan for each of us.

I love this Naan – so chewy! And the Dal Makhani was great. I loved all the spices in the mix, and it went great with the rice mixture and green beans.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do tonight…maybe take a bath with my book? I’m going to try to stay awake for the first part of the Top Chef finale…but we’ll see. Those 10 pm shows are hard to watch! I always end up missing the very end.

I do think I’ll do my hand scrub/lotion stuff since I painted my nails last night.

I guess we’ll see how motivated I am once I hit publish

Ouch.

I got my HINI shot today.

Did I mention I hate needles?  Boo.

I’m not sure if I actually needed it, but I do work at an educational institution, so I thought it would be good to get – especially since they were offering it at work today…uh, for $20!!!

Am I the only one who thought flu shots were free? Oh well.

I ended up going over to the clinic today on part of my lunch break, so I ate even faster than normal!

I pulled a serving of the meatball + pasta dish from last week out of the freezer for the main part of my lunch, and had some broccoli + celery + hummus on the side, along with a clementine.

Red tomatoes + orange clementine + purple eggplant in pasta, skin on + green broccoli and celery + white garbanzos in hummus = good variety of colors today.

Lunch, alongside my “Office Quote for Today””

(At Dwight’s Beet Farm)

Jim: I’d say one in six.

Pam: What?

Jim: I thought you asked me what our chances were of being murdered here tonight.

I love this little calendar – each day’s quote makes me laugh!

What is/was your favorite sitcom?

Some of my favorites:

Full House

Growing Pains

Family Matters

Boy Meets World

Friends

Perfect Strangers

The Office

How I Met Your Mother

Happy Humpday!

This week feels like it’s going by fast for some reason – that’s always a good thing after you get back from a break.

The only bad thing about today? It is nasty here – pouring down rain and only in the 40s…all day long.

I did have a good breakfast to start the day, though.

I made the same breakfast I had on Monday – it was so good, I just couldn’t wait to have it again!

I’m sure it may have to do with those chocolate covered coffee beans

• 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, pinch salt
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• cinnamon!
• 1/4 cup TJ’s trail mix, choc. coffee beans saved for top

Yum.

Oh! and I did get my nails painted last night

I used my Essie Real Simple color for my fingernails, and this OPI color (Wine Me, Dine Me) on my toes.

I love dark colors on my toes, but I always chip it so easily on my fingernails!

Random question, but a fun one!

What’s your favorite Christmas decoration (at your house or family’s)?

Mine is this blinking green + red wreath that my parents always hang over the fireplace every year. We’ve had it forever, and it is not Christmas until that wreath is up and blinking away.

It was chilly today! No rain, thank goodness, but you can tell winter is coming.

Nick and I had to go to the post office at lunch to mail some stuff and you want to know what I did?!?

I felt so dumb.

I had 2 envelopes  – one already had a stamp, and I needed to buy a stamp for the other.

Well, I dropped one in the “out of town” box without double checking, and I dropped in the letter without the stamp! Doh!

So…I had to ask the guy at the counter to get it out of the pile so I could buy a stamp for it…I’m sure he’s had that happen before, but still! I’m such a dork.

—

I snacked on some broccoli, celery and TJ’s garlic hummus this afternoon while working.

This garlic hummus is so good! Super, super garlicky, and I don’t care if I can’t really talk to anyone after eating it. It’s that good.

And dinner tonight was a new recipe!

Chicken and Spinach Tortilla Bake

I saw this recipe in a Rachael Ray magazine at my parents’ house this weekend, and it went right on the menu plan!

I ended up making a few changes, but it still turned out great. And it was easy and quick, which are my favorite things for weeknight dinners.

• I used leftover rotisserie chicken instead of cooking it tonight
• 1 only used 1/2 cup part skim ricotta + 3/4 cup TJ’s Green Salsa
• I forgot the red onion!
• 5 corn tortillas instead of 4 flour
• I only used about 1.5 – 2 oz. of a pepper jack cheese that grated over the top

This was tasty – I’m liking all the tortillas we’re having this week The TJ’s green salsa is just a little bit spicy, and it went perfectly with the ricotta, tortillas, and spinach.

Our side dish was just a mixture of frozen peppers + onions, corn, and black beans with some garlic, salt, and scallions.

And now…dessert.

Also from TJ’s

I bought these cookies the last time I went to Trader Joe’s, and we never even got to bring them home. We opened them at my parent’s house, shared with everyone, and I only got 1.5 cookies!

This time…we waited to open them until we got home. Sneaky.

And, as I’m eating my 2 cookies, there’s only 1 left which Nick just ate. I’m glad I grabbed my 2 when I did! He is a cookie monster, so I have to make sure I grab what I want, or I’ll miss out

I think I’m going to paint my nails tonight…that didn’t happen last night and my lunch is already packed.

Nite!

I can’t believe it’s December!!! This year has flown by…I just do not believe that Christmas is in less than a month!

I love the holidays – mostly because I always get to see family – and I can’t wait until the next one. Thanksgiving was so much fun, and I know Christmas will be just as nice.

Lunch today included more Chicken Tortilla Soup from the other night, with a little guacamole + red onion on top.

Plus a clementine!

I needed a little crunch with my soup, so I ended up buying these from the vending machine.

Meh – they were okay. I was hoping the machine had some pretzels, but I struck out on that one.

Fun Giveaways to Check Out:

RhodeyGirl Tests Regional Best Giveaway!

CCK Coconutty Giveaway!

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/faq/veganism/ccv-in-a-box/test/door-1/in-a-cave/ive-got-a-lovely-bunch-of-coconuts/  – sorry it wouldn’t let me link!

Iowa Girl Eats Popchip Giveaway

I loved hearing all of your favorite Christmas songs yesterday, so now let’s do movies!

Favorite Holiday Movies?

I’ll go first (in no particular order):

The Santa Clause

Miracle on 34th Street

ELF

Home Alone

Although I like any good breakfast, the best are the ones I’ve planned out the night before.

There’s just something about creating a recipe in my head and then having to wait to make it – it makes me happy to get up in the morning and get going so I can sit down to breakfast.

And, today, I actually got up on time! Go me. Let’s see if we can keep this ball rolling for the rest of the week.

The last time I made oats-in-a-jar, I thought that would be end of the jar, but I couldn’t finish it!

I ended up leaving about 1 Tbsp of almond butter in this jar and knew it was time to finish her off.

My bananas weren’t really ripe yet, so I used an apple for the fruit in my breakfast today. I really love the apple bites in oatmeal – I’ve never been a fan of just apple flavor in oatmeal (like the instant packets), but having semi-soft apple pieces mixed in gives the oatmeal such a great texture!

• 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, pinch salt
• 1 small apple, chopped and cooked in the microwave with cinnamon for 1:30
• 1 Tbsp butterscotch chips, most mixed in – a few on top
• 1 tsp or so pumpkin butter
• about 1 tbsp almond butter at bottom of jar

The almond butter, pumpkin butter, and butterscotch chips don’t hurt either

Do you dream up food combinations and get super excited to finally try them? Or am I the only one?

Happy HIMYM Day!!! I’m watching right now – it’s a rerun, but still hilarious.

Work was nutso today! Emails, emails, emails…rescheduling things…processing…nonstop!

I made myself a little snack around 4:15 today. I’m usually digging through the cabinets around 3:30, but my lunch held me over really well.

An apple mess, a la Jess 

I diced one tiny gala apple and popped it in the microwave for 1:30 with some cinnamon. Once that was softened, I topped it with a tablespoon of peanut butter, an little drizzle of pumpkin butter, and some graham cracker crumbs.

Yum! This was also a great choice because I was freezing and couldn’t even think about having yogurt today.

Once Nick got home, we headed over to the chiropractor. Is it sad that I’m upset when I don’t really need adjustments? I just miss that feeling of having everything put back in place – does that make any sense? Probably not. Either way, it was a good visit!

I was excited for dinner tonight!

I dreamed this up the other night and have been waiting to have it ever since.

When I went to TJ’s this weekend at my parents’ house, I bought a package of their whole wheat Naan bread. I mainly bought it to go along with some of their Indian meals I also bought, but I had the best idea the other night.

Hot Hummus Flatbreads

It was even better than I thought it would be!

For the flatbreads, I just put the Naan on a foil-lined baking sheet and Nick and I each made our own with whatever toppings we wanted.

On mine, I layered:

• spinach
• TJ’s Garlic Hummus
• black olives
• sprinkle of feta
• diced red onion
• diced sundried tomatoes
• crushed red pepper
• parsley

After we had the toppings on, I popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes until they were hot and the bread was a little crispy.

This TJ’s hummus is super garlicky – that’s all I can taste! But it’s so good.

We also had some salads with more olives, feta, onion, and tomato.

All that’s left for me to do is pack my lunch for tomorrow, fold one more load of laundry, and maybe paint my nails? I meant to paint them while I was at my parents’ this weekend, but that never happened in between all the eating + shopping