Getting out of the Slump

I haven't blogged in almost a week. Last week was awful. I couldn't get motivated to exercise so I was in an extra grumpy mood. I found out some disappointing news, felt very alone and just in a slump. On Saturday I went to church and it was all about motivation. I really felt the service. I decided to start my week out right and shake my slump.

On Sunday I exercised my butt off... literally! For a group organization we had to clean the Breslin center after the men's basketball game. This is a picture of most of the inside. There are also rows at the top of the picture all the way around. Now imagine this filled with water and pop bottles, concession food, and newpapers. Then imagine 6 girls picking ALL of it up. Yup that was my Sunday afternoon. 4 hours of cleaning and climbing up and down stairs, lunging to pick up trash and bending over. Today I can't feel my legs! It was a great, free workout and I helped my group earn $300 :)

Today (Monday) I was super busy and running late so I didn't eat breakfast. My body felt it until I could eat lunch at 12pm. This picture is of all the food I packed. I had the mac n' cheese and ready pack snack (apples, celery, almond butter and raisins) with diet coke for lunch. The 100 calorie cheese pack and crackers for a snack. I didn't drink the special K shake. It all kept me satisfied till 8:30 pm and I felt energized which was a nice change from last week.


Unfortunately I had meetings all night so I didn't get home till 10pm and made a quick dinner of Veggie Chicken and a sweet potato.

Sorry this is quick and short but it's midnight and a long day... I hope you keep reading in the future!!

P.S. Check out this great giveaway by Sammi. I am in desperate need of some cleaning supplies and these sound great!

A 16 hr Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I know I usually do a Tuesday Tangent blog but today I don't really have anything to go on a tangent about. So instead I thought I'd give a glimpse into my typical Tuesday.

I worked from 7:30am-3pm so I packed my lunch. This is super easy and delish. It's a Morning Star Farms California Turkey Burger with ketchup on the side. I grabbed the patty frozen, microwaved it in the container and packed the bun in a zip lock bag. Highly recommend it!

(P.S. Sorry for the shotty picture qualities they came from my phone)

I really like these Ready Snax. They're very affordable ($2.50 in Michigan) and only 22o calories. This one had hummus, carrot and celery stix and sunflower seeds.
After work I have class from 4-7 but thankfully we got out at 5:45 this week! Hip, Hip Hooray!! I decided to go to our College of Ed (my college :)). We have this awesome seating area and coffee shop that provide comfy seating w/lots of plugs and free wifi... I will miss this when I graduate.
Me trying to study but decided to take pictures on my Mac w/photobooth. Very fun and a good study break. The book is called Behavior Management, it's an ok book. They mostly use data instead of examples of special education in the classroom but it is very informational.
At 7:30 I had a TEAM (Tomorrow's Educators for the Advancement of Multiculturalism). I'm the President and put together monthly meetings with Powerpoints that discuss different issues in the classroom. I didn't take a pic of this... Epic Fail on my part.

I got out at 9, participated in FitBlog on Twitter and went home. Made a quick dinner of a turkey/avacado wrap and finishing up some homework while watching MTV reality shows. It's now 11:30 and I can finally go to bed for 6 hours :)

Good night all and thanks for reading!!!

Chobani Giveaways!!

So lately I've been in LOVE with ChoBani. I've never been a yogurt fan, the weird texture and all the milk made me turn away. But I've been reading a ton about it on Twitter and my blogs so I thought I'd give it a try. It is soooo good!! It's light and full of fruit and the 0% ones don't make my stomach hurt. I highly recommend it!

Here a few links to giveaways of ChoBani :)

http://cookinfanatic.com/2011/02/chobani-giveaway/

http://www.wordsearchpuzzledreams.com/2011/02/chobani-review-and-giveaway.html

http://www.everylittlethingblog.com/2011/02/chobani-giveaway.html (Ends at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, February 23rd.

Quadruple "S" Sunday

I can't believe it's Sunday, February 20th already!! I graduate in just over 2 months!! Yay!

Onto the first "S" in quadruple "S" Sunday. These are Snoozies. They are slippers but they have grips on the bottom and fit like socks. They keep my feet very warm and am thankful to my roommate Kelsey for getting them for Christmas. She tried to get me moisturizing socks but since I wear a size 3 in kids shoes Snoozies were the next best thing. I don't mind at all ;)

My 2nd "S" stands for Sandwich. This is my Sunday off from teaching Sunday School so I went to 9:30 service and was able to come home and make a giant mug of coffee and this super tasty sandwich.

I really wanted an egg sandwich but not the same-old, same-old kind. I dug through my fridge and freezer and found Morning Star Veggie Bacon, left over avacado/ranch condiment, pepper-jack cheese and an apple. Individually they wouldn't seem to go together but they mushed perfectly. The avacado/ranch condiment added a wonderful taste along with the spicy cheese and the crunch and tartness from the apple was a perfect finish. I could only fit 1/2 the apple on the sandwich so I ate the other 1/2 with peanut butter. Delish!!
The 3rd "S" is for Snow! I spent all day at my younger sister's apartment. She lives right across the street from me and needed some help cleaning. It started snowing in the afternoon and continued till I got home around 9ish. Here is a pic of Michigan's Winter Wonderland (view from my porch)

The picture doesn't do the depth fairness so I took a pic of my boots outside. I'm 4'11 and the boots come up almost to my knees. The snow is to the top of the boots. A mathmatician would have a formula but I looked it up on weather.com and we've gotten around 4-6 inches already!
And finally our 4th "S".... Sushi!! I wanted a quick meal that would be light before bed so I had some left over sushi and steamed veggies. Quick, easy, and not a lump in my tummy.
And of course I had to finish with 1 1/2 homemade cookies from my Grandma :)

What is your favorite breakfast food?

* Breakfast sandwiches or french toast from Golden Harvest

What is your favorite Sunday activity?

* I often find myself cleaning and doing homework... not my fav but productive :)

Do you have anything to look forward to for the week?

* Not really... I only have 1 quiz and get to watch a movie in the dreaded English class so "knock on wood" it'll be an easier week!

Hair, Grandma, and Vodka with Cookies

How do you wear your hair to the gym? I usually don't pay attention. I roll out of bed, pull on clothes, brush teeth and throw my hair up. Today though a girl comes up to me and says, "wow, I love your hair. It's like a spice-girl turned ballerina up-do". This cracked me up. Here is a pic.

And another pic. My hair looks a little red which I like :)

After the gym I made a larger breakfast. It was around 11:30 by the time I ate so I had a whole wheat bagel w/ homemade veggie cream cheese. 1/2 banana with peanut butter, and a blackberry, blueberry, Chobani yogurt, and chocolate granola parfait. It was super and kept me full until I ate dinner around 5.

Today is my Grandma's birthday! She is 81 and is amazing. To celebrate we (my parents and I, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Larry, and older brother and sister-in-law) went to her house and made dinner and visited. I love my Grandma. She's only been a part of my life for the last 4 years because she's my Step-Dad's Mom, but she makes me call her Grandma and treats me like one of the grand-kids. This is a picture of all her sisters at Christmas, she is the 2nd from the left :)

After dinner I was helping her clean up and she pulls the vodka out of the freezer. She MADE me take it, along with cookies! How awesome is that?!

What hair dos do you wear at the gym?

* Like I said, I throw it up.

Who is an important person in your life? How do you celebrate their birthday?

* My Grandma obviously, and my Mom and older sister and younger sister. Both my sister's have the same birthday (crazy that they are exactly 6 years apart!). We always cook our favorite meals and have Sam or Costco cake.

Does your Grandma, Grandpa or Parents ever give you gifts on random visits?

* My Grandma ALWAYS gives me her whole pantry (or so it feels), and the parents take me grocery shopping... they all understand I'm a broke college student!

Friday Favorites-Home Dinner Edition

So lately I've been reading a lot more blogs about healthy eating and fitness. A few of my favorites include Megan, Christina, and Emily, you should definitely check them out! On Friday at work I was catching up on blog reading and thanks to some inspiration from them and my Mom I went to Meijer after work to get a healthy, quick dinner. I was in and out in 30 min and with only 3 bags, I think it's a record.

I've always loved MorningStar products and they were on sale (2 products for $7)! I got some bacon, chicken patties, chicken fingers, and burgers. I also picked up some fab steamers and sweet potato fries.
I also needed some fresh produce and good snack food for classes this week. Thankfully blackberries and blueberries were on sale and the snack packs look rally good and come in handy containers. Combined with some Chobani yogurt, 100 pack cheese cubes and bagels I'm set for the week :)
I also picked up some sushi for a little taste. Meijer sells this 12 pack California roll for only $5.50! It's not the most amazing sushi but it satisfies the need for a little taste. I may have eaten some after this picture... it looked and tasted amazing!
Mary highly recommended the LaraBar, chocolate coconut flavor, and I love the KIND bars. Full of fiber and organic ingredients. Can't wait to eat these.
For dinner I decided to have a chicken patty, sweet potato fries, and veggies. I really wanted avocado on my sandwich but wanted a little kick to it. I mixed 1 avocado with 2 tablespoons of low-fat ranch dressing and a little lime juice. It's amazing if I do say so myself.
My amazing dinner. It was filling without being heavy. The sweet potato fries are to die for and at 150 calories/serving I can easily fit them into my diet.

What is one of your favorite, quick dinners?

* This is in the top 5, along with pasta with sauce and salad, and tortilla-encrusted fish from Costco.

Do you have any special sauces?

* I always have my grandma's BBQ sauce on hand. It has mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, and some spices... I put it on everything.

What are some of your favorite blogs to read? I need suggestions!

What's up Wednesday?

Yay it's half way through the week! Technically today was my last day of classes for the week, but I teach all day tomorrow and work and Friday I work so no relaxing.

Today was a day where I felt rushed. Wednesdays are my "sleep in" days, meaning I sleep in till 8 or 8:30. Today I slept till 8:45! I was lazy last night and didn't pack my lunch, pull my clothes, or pack my bag so I had to do all that this morning. Thankfully the roomie was able to drive me to classes... She's the bestest!

Once at class I quickly chugged this Special K shake. Very tasty and filling.

On Wednesdays I have class from 10:30-3:30. I had a basic salad for lunch so at 2 I was starving and needed a pick me up. I love this popcorn because it's high in fiber, low calorie, and filling. And it's only $1!

I worked at 4:30 today so I packed an amazing fruit cup and grabbed a frozen quiche lorraine that my Mom had made me. She makes homemade quiche and they're great for freezing and reheating!

I'm sorry this is a shorter post and that some words are underlined and some not. Blogger did that and I'm a little too tired to figure out how to stop it. If you want a fun and interesting blog you should read Kelly's blog called Foodie Fresh (click here) and enter in her coconut giveaway... but only submit 1 entry because I really want to win some coconut for macaroons. If I win I'll send you some :)