High Five for Friday!

I made it to the three day weekend!  Well, almost.  I still need to make it through the workday and traffic, which by the way, has been disgusting ALL week long!  I am definitely looking forward to a few work free relaxing days.  Linking up with Lauren for my high five of the week:

1) On Tuesday I got to celebrate my Grandma's 93rd birthday with her!  If you read last week's High Five you'll recall she had heart surgery.  Thankfully she came home and was up for some company on her special day.  She requested a thanksgiving style dinner that was delicious and we finished it off with German Chocolate cake.  I really wish I would have gotten a photo with her but since she hasn't had her hair done since the hospital she says she feels "frumpy" and claims that her make-up "can't perform those kind of miracles". Mind you she says all of this while sitting on the sofa in white slacks and a bright pink blouse with pearls around her neck.  Despite what she thinks, my grandma is always put together, even fresh out of the hospital.

2) This is my new "every wedding related occasion before the wedding" dress.  I am so in love and cannot wait to wear it over and over and over and over.  You know because I'm definitely not afraid of being caught wearing something more than once, I'm not Paris Hilton.

3) I caught a lizard in our house all by myself and released it into the wild. I realize we do not exactly live in the city but I naively never expected to have a critter like that inside of our house.  Needless to say I was pretty proud of myself and happy the girls didn't get around to eating the poor guy first.   

4) Thursday was save energy day in our city.  Basically you get charged a ton of money if you use more than a designated amount of energy for the day so we only use lights that are absolutely necessary in our building.  What is crazy is that I swear the building was the coldest it has been all summer on this day and that means the AC was cranking because usually we’re hot all summer.  The building is pretty old which is neat because it has a ton of character but is also not so neat because you never know how hot or cold it will be.  I swear last winter our fingers were going to freeze off one day when it was 50 something degrees inside.  Hence, the penguin blanket. Not sure working in the dark was enough to make up for all the AC use, but the cool temps gave me further justification to keep a blanket at my desk through all seasons.

5) I'm finally taking time to get my hair done this weekend.  This is awesome on two levels.  A) My hair needs some love and B) I get to see my almost-sister-in-law who I haven't seen in far too long.  Like over a month and we live in the same city kind of too long.  I'm very much looking forward to catching up with her while she freshens up my hair do in prep for the big day. T-56 days or 1 month and 26 days.  That's more of a reminder to me than to you because in my head I keep thinking it is so much further away than it actually is!

I hope you each have a fun and safe holiday weekend! I might actually break out my bathing suit for the first time this weekend. You know, the weekend that is supposed to be the unofficial end to summer.  Go figure!  

Bestowed Box

Look at me getting a post out on a Wednesday.  No pigs are not flying, at least not when I last checked.   Any-who, first and foremost, this is not a sponsored post.  If you know me you probably know I love nearly any type of subscription box.  Pair a subscription box with my love of food and discovering new health foods and you have yourself a Bestowed Box.  I was lucky enough to receive a subscription as a graduation present from Aaron and I am yet to be disappointed by a box.  

Here's how it works; every month a box full of food related goodies is shipped to your home.  The products in these boxes are very generous in size, especially compared to other subscription services I have received before.  I have only received a few products that I didn't really love (hey I'm just not a fan of eating seaweed) but that is what I think is so great about these boxes!  They give you the opportunity to try out many different things you otherwise might not ever try and my likes have always outweighed my dislikes by far.

To give you an idea of all you get, here is what was in my August Box:

{Via}
You can read about each product here. 

Clockwise from top left: Miracle Noodle, Cascadian Farm Crunchy Oats and Honey Granola Bar, SeaSnax Grab n' Go Roasted Seaweed Snacks, Mighty Leaf Sunburst Green Iced Tea, Lundberg Family Farms Santa Fe Barbecue Chips, Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar (FULL SIZE!), Reboot, Living Healthy World Flax N' Chia Stix,  and a coupon for a free Noosa Yoghurt.  I'd say that's a pretty amazing deal for a subscription that is only $19 a month!

 So far I have eaten the chips and granola bar, made the tea, and tried the Reboot recovery drink.  The chips were delicious and so flavorful!  The granola bar was really great too.  It wasn't too sweet and was crunchy enough without getting stuck in your teeth like other brands do. I loved the tea so much that I already used the coupon that was attached to the sample to buy a box at the grocery store!  I was really excited to try Reboot since I'm looking for some fueling options with the 1/2 marathon coming up in January.  I wish I would have chilled the pouch before my four mile run so it was cold when I drank it after but, it was still very tasty even warm and I didn't feel any soreness in my muscles today when I normally would.

If you're looking for something to give the health food lover in your family for the holidays or an upcoming birthday, I highly suggest a Bestowed Box Gift Subscription.  It's the gift that keeps on giving new and wonderful surprises each month. If you couldn't tell, I love mine!

Meal Plan Monday!

Welcome back from the weekend!  I spent time with my parents, Aaron's Mom and some girlfriends.  

Saturday I took Maya and Marley on their first trip to PetSmart, with the help of my Mom, to have their nails trimmed.  It was their first time in a pet store so I was a little nervous about how things would go.  Maya had a giant black lab come right up to her face and she did so well!  She just kind of froze and then wagged her tail a bit.  I was so proud!  Meanwhile, Marley was browsing the bottom shelf of the treat isle and managed to shove three bags of treats in her mouth before dropping them on the floor.  When Marley wasn't busy stuffing treats in her face she was trying to get every person who walked by to pet her.   Overall I'd say our little adventure was a success though.

Maya's "Oh my gosh I'm in the car, you're really taking me with you" face.

Then on Sunday, my Dad came over and taught me how to make and can tomato juice.  My grandparents both grew up on farms in Iowa and moved to California when my dad was very little.  They continued their farming here on a much smaller scale in the form of a backyard garden.  They have always grown the most enormous and delicious tomatoes.  Well my grandmother has this contraption called a riser.  It was given to her by her mother, my great grandmother.  This riser has been used in our family to make tomato juice for nearly a century and now it has been passed on to my Dad. Well, since Aaron and I have taken quite the interest in gardening, my Dad thought it would be neat to teach me how to make juice with the riser so that one day it could be passed on to me.  Here's a glimpse into the process:

It was a really fun morning!

After my Dad left I decided I'd try the ol', clean your bathtub with vinegar, thing I see all over Pinterest. Why oh why did I wait so long to try this?!!!!  Probably because half of the things on Pinterest are complete flops but I digress.  This one works.  I filled my bathtub with hot water and then poured a bottle of vinegar into the tub.  I let it soak for about two and half hours and then emptied the water.  I literally wiped the tub clean with a single swipe of a sponge and it was sparking white! Amazing.

Now that I've rambled on for far too long I suppose I should get to the reason why you're here in the first place.  Here's what's cooking in our house this week:

(All meals are from Clean Eating Magazine and the hyperlinks in light gray will take you directly to the recipe)

Monday: Stuffed Zucchini with Green Salads

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner. Almond Griddle Cakes with Turkey Bacon

Wednesday: Spanish Scrambles served in Spinach Tortillas like burritos with Salad

Thursday: Sun-Dried Tomato & Chicken Pasta with Watermelon 

Friday: Mahi Mahi with Pineapple & Red Peppers served over whole-wheat couscous with Salad

Have a wonderful Monday!  

High Five for Friday!

Linking up with Lauren for my High Five of the week!

1) My sister had her first orientations for grad school at USC this week!  I am seriously so DAG ON excited and proud of her!  She worked so incredibly hard through her program at UCLA and certainly earned her place amongst the elite 98 students accepted into her grad school program.  In three years, PhD will follow her name.  How awesome is that?  Pretty freaking awesome. Natalie, you are a rockstar……and a nerd…….but mainly a rockstar.

2) These Harry Potter Potion inspired teas are headed to our house so we can try out the new single serve loose-leaf teacups we got as an early wedding gift.  I can’t wait for them to get here (and I call my sister a nerd).

{Via}

3) My college diploma and new cross from the Etsy shop GemsInVogue came in the mail on the same day this week.  Pretty much an early Christmas in our mailbox.  The cross is yet to bother my neck, which is a miracle (get it. lol) since I am allergic to basically all metal, even the back of metal buttons on jeans.

 I suppose seeing my college degree in a tangible form was pretty neat too.

4) I splurged on lunch at Whole Foods after my orthodontist appointment on Thursday.  You know, that store where you pay a Whole Lota Money for not a Whole Lota Food?  Don’t get me wrong, I think the store is great I just don’t think $8.99 for 12oz of juice is great.  That being said, I hit up the salad bar and grabbed a juice made by Wild Poppy that was much more reasonably priced and certainly not $8.99. My box was loaded with lettuce, spinach, roasted squash, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, red quinoa, chicken, olives, jalapeños and a sprinkle of cheese. SO good!  

The juice was really good too.  The company also makes a Blood Orange Chili flavor that I am dying to try but I’m not sure where I’ll find it.  They are sold out on Amazon and as far as I know, can only be found in Whole Foods stores and possibly BevMos but none in my area that I know of.  If you happen to come across the brand I encourage you to try them, you will not be disappointed.

5) If I didn’t have shoes for our wedding I would have an amazing excuse to buy a pair of these from Kate Spade New York:

{Via}

The most perfect pair of flats with just a little bit of sparkle.  Plus 15% off if you sign up for the Kate Spade emails.  I currently have no real need for them.  But if I did, I’d be even more tempted to make a purchase.  

And a bonus:  If you recall, my grandmother had a pacemaker put it a few months back.  If you missed it you should read this post.  Anyway,  this week she had emergency surgery on her heart to open the main artery with a stint.  Keep in mind that she is nearing her mid 90's, the surgery was on Wednesday and she was all set to come home the next day.  My grandparents never cease to amaze me and with the wedding only 9ish weeks away I have high hopes we will see them both there, in the front row.  I can't wait!

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend! 

The Asthmatic Runner

She said, "I want to run a half marathon."

He said, "13.1 miles is a long way you know?"

She said, "Yes. I know."

He said, "Ok, then let's do it."

And that my friends is basically the conversation that went down when Aaron and I decided to run the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland in January. 

I can do this.  I can run 13.1 continuous miles.  I mean I think I can.  I'm pretty sure I can.  Wait, can I?!

I would completely understand if other people with asthma and allergies like mine thought I was insane.  Who knows, maybe I am but I'm also determined.  For those of you who live under a rock and think asthma is just an excuse for being out of shape or overweight, let me set the record straight. Things are about to get graphic so if you're reading this while eating breakfast I suggest you come back later.

Every winter I seem to end up with a cold.  In the essence of fairness I'll refrain from calling out the typical source of my colds workcoughwork .  A cold is not a huge deal for most, but for me and my asthma it turns into the knock you on your butt for at least a week, turns into bronchitis, kind of cold.  The kind of cold with a cough that leaves me gasping so hard for air that I end up throwing up in our bed.  Yes, 24 year old me, snot and tears running down my face because I'm home alone with a cold that triggered an asthma attack that resulted in me throwing up in our bed since my inhaler didn't rescue me in time. So yes, asthma is real.  It is not a term made up by people looking for excuses. 

End mini rant.

Fast forward almost a year from that incident and here I am training for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland with my asthma under pretty decent control.  Asthma aside, there is so much to think about when distance running.  When will you re-fuel? How often will you sip water?  Are you going to wear a pack with said fuel and water? How early should I eat breakfast before the race?  And the list goes on and on and on.  

The best news about all of this is that I wont be alone.  I'll be lucky enough to have two runners with me (one being my new husband!) on race day and I'm pretty confident we're all going to do great.

Wish us luck! I'll need it!

Meal Plan Monday!

Welcome back from the weekend, I hope yours was as great as mine was!  On Friday night we walked over to the neighborhood park to watch the movie The Croods. It was really cute and pretty funny for an animated film. Then on Saturday Aaron and I actually had a day off together, which is practically unheard of during fire season. We had our tasting with the catering company for our wedding (the food was wonderful!) and then we headed downtown to watch the Padres beat the Mets.  Pretty excellent day in my book. Sunday was spent on the usual house chores: cleaning, doing laundry, changing sheets, meal planning and grocery shopping.

This is about as close as I'll ever be to preparing for the apocalypse:

You know, because all of those Dooms Day Preppers are straight up crazy in my book.

 For those of you planning for the week and not the end of the world, here's what's on the menu in our house :

Monday: Grilled Pork Chops (pre seasoned by the grocer), roasted garden vegetables and watermelon 

Tuesday: Meatball Sub for Aaron with Green Salad (I'll be having dinner with a friend)

Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas with Green Salads

Thursday: Asian Chicken Bowls with Garden Veggies over Brown Rice

Friday: Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Watermelon and Salad

It's Monday, make it awesome!

High Five for Friday!

High Five for Friday friends!  Have no fear, I didn’t get lost in the abyss of cyber space.  This week has just been a tad bit busy and I haven’t had time to write.  My High Five of the week will give you a glimpse as to what I’ve been busy with, linking up with Lauren:

1) I’ve been listening to this book on my way to and from work.  It is so incredibly inspiring and much of what is discussed is completely relatable.  Don’t let the title fool you, I would highly recommend this book to men too.  Especially those who have spouses that are career women and want to have families too.  Two of my favorite chapters so far discuss families with “career loving parents” and being in a “fully supportive” relationship. 

Read more about it here

2) I have been eyeballing this dress at Target for some time now, but since I have a closet full of dresses, I have talked myself out of buying it for weeks.  Well, when I was in Target last week this dress was on clearance and the only one left just happened to be my size.  Naturally I bought it and I keep saying this just had to have been God’s way of teaching me how patience can pay off.

See full dress here

3) I have been enjoying the products in my Birchbox that came this week.  If you haven’t heard of Birchbox you should check them out here.  I received a gift subscription for my birthday and LOVE it.  In this month’s box I received samples of Cranberry Gommage face wash, Mermaid Mane Sea Salt Spray, Professional Mattifying Gel, Super Lash Mascara and Designer Fashion Tape.

{Via}

4) I also hope to have caught the varmint that was eating our tomatoes.  There were many guesses as to what could have been enjoying our fruit as tasty little treats but nothing new has been eaten since we trapped a gopher so hopefully our plants will be spared.  I can’t wait for the day I can just walk out and pick a fresh tomato!

5) My wedding dress is done, fits perfectly and is now safely stowed at my Mom and Dad’s house.  Between receiving some pretty hilarious RSVPs (we have some really creative friends and family members), picking up my dress and going to our final details meeting/tasting tomorrow this whole wedding thing is starting to feel very real.  10 weeks to go, I CAN’T WAIT!

Customized and ordered through vistaprint.com

I hope you have an excellent weekend!  I’m already working on some posts for next week so hopefully I won't be leaving you stranded again!

High Five for Friday!

Happy Friday!  This week seemed to fly by and was full of great days.  Linking up with Lauren as always for my High Five of the week!

1) These new shoes.  Aaron and I picked out new running shoes a while ago but during check out the store lost power so we couldn't buy them.  Well, this week Aaron went back and picked out new pairs for us both.  They ended up being different than the ones we originally selected but, unknown to Aaron at the time, are the newer version of the pair I just wore out.  I loved those shoes and love the new ones just as much.  I even managed to put a few good 1/2 marathon training miles on them already. 

Nike Zoom Vomero+ 7

2) Sam Adams Octoberfest beer is back.  This is probably my most favorite seasonal beer and I love that it's already out because that just means my favorite season of the year is getting even closer!  T-42 days until Autumn begins and T-77 days until the wedding!

3) Speaking of, I've been growing out my "wedding hair" for about two years now.  Yes, roughly a year before we were even engaged although it technically didn't become "wedding hair" until the engagement.  I think my hair is officially the longest it has ever been and is basically out of control.  I'm pretty freaking excited.

Insert super awkward selfie here. Check.

4) My co-workers planned a surprise belated birthday party for me at my desk.  I was called into my Director's office to discuss a special project.  The details of the project seemed pretty outlandish and the whole time I was discussing said project with my Director, all I could think about was how crazy I thought the lady requesting the results of this project was, as their track record with me has been rather interesting to say the least.  I left my Director's office and came back to find my desk fully decorated with hilarious photos of women who looked crazy, balloons, a card and sweet treats.  The whole "project and meeting" was just a ploy to get me out of my office so everyone could decorate.  They had me completely fooled, it was a perfect hilarious surprise! I was officially punked.

5) I got a surprise thank you Starbucks gift card from my dentist for referring a co-worker to them.  I'm telling you, it is an excellent practice if you're in the San Diego area and need someone new.  

6) And a bonus!  On Thursday I got to unexpectedly have one of nine attachments removed from my teeth for my braces!  It would seem I'm on the downhill slope with only about 4 months left if all goes as planned, keeping my fingers crossed and celebrating the small victories!

This weekend I'm looking forward to hopefully relaxing a bit.  The last several months have been so busy but I think I might just have time to squeeze in some daytime book reading, a walk with the girls and maybe even some baking.  I really want to make these cookies (most of which will probably end up at Aaron's station but I'm sure they wont mind), wish me luck!

Nine Rules of Driving to Keep Other Drivers Happy

The Rules:

1)     Use your turn signal! There’s no issue with you exiting the freeway, but a nice warning as to why you went from 70mph to 35mph out of nowhere would be great.

2)      If someone lets you in, wave thank you! People have no problem throwing a middle finger in the air when they are cut off; throwing that same hand in the air with all five fingers up in appreciation shouldn’t be too hard.

3)      Plan your route.  You drive the same way to work every day, I know you do, I see you on the freeway.  So tomorrow, why don’t you get into your exit lane a mile or so before your exit instead of being like the guy who thought he was Edward Cullen in his Volvo and drove up the side of a hill to get on his off ramp because he waited too long to merge.

4)      Stop throwing cigarettes out the window! If you want to smoke that’s your deal, but let’s try not to burn down our communities in the process, ok?

5)      You don’t actually have to come to a complete stop in the road before turning into a driveway, in addition, see rule 1.

6)      Try not to drive like a complete Jack Face; it won’t get you anywhere any faster.  100 yards from now we’ll both be sitting at the same stop light.  Fact.  This especially applies to you if you drive a vehicle with identifying markers like fire plates, advertising, or outlandish stickers.  We will see you on the roads again.  Fact. 

7)      If you can’t drive the speed limit, drive like my dad……… in the slow lane, going 55mph, behind the semis, happy as a clown.  Otherwise you’re likely to be run over. 

8)      Get off of your phone.  Becky’s status update about her cat bringing a lizard into the house can wait. I promise.

9)      Don’t tailgate, it only makes people want to drive slower and increases your odds of a pretty sweet insurance claim.  And by pretty sweet I mean pretty sucky.

You're welcome. Now continue on your way, happy little drivers.

 

Meal Plan Monday!

*I really need to stop forgetting to hit “publish” after I write.  I thought I had this out last night (still late, I know) turns out I didn’t. Sorry!  Let’s flashback to Monday shenanigans shall we?

Did you know this is back already?! Monday made!

You know that feeling you get when you finally climb out of the pile of tasks that have been suffocating you for a while?  Well I finally had that feeling at work today.  207 student files cleared from my life forever……until they come back to haunt me under a new program of study but whatever.  Having a day that allowed me to catch up AND make progress on new tasks was so refreshing.  

 But enough about that, here’s what’s for dinner in our house this week:

Monday: Grilled Pork Chops with Watermelon and Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad  The Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad (this was SO good!!!!) comes from another one of my favorite food and fitness bloggers, Gina from The Fitnessista.

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw and more Watermelon.  Usually I make pulled pork by covering the pork tenderloin in root beer and letting it cook on low for 8 hours. I then shred the meat and mix it with BBQ sauce.   I know it sounds weird but the acid in the soda eats away the fat and keeps the moist.  This is one of Aaron’s favorite dinners and was my brother’s too when we lived together.  However, this week I’m mixing  it up.  I’ll be cooking my pork tenderloin with a chopped onion and one cup of BBQ sauce on low for 8 hours.  I’ll let you know which version our house prefers. 

Wednesday: Summer Veggie Pasta. This is one of my super easy, got to quick meals.  In a pot cook noodles of your choice.  We use either veggie pasta noodles or whole wheat organic noodles.  While your noodles are cooking cut up some yellow squash, zucchini and asparagus and saute in olive oil until tender.  Toss veggies and cooked noodles in a bowl with artichoke hearts and pesto, then serve topped with Parmesan cheese.  This week, instead of a pesto sauce, I’m using something called Hooray Puree that came in my Bestowed Box, we’ll see how it goes!

Thursday: Honey Lime Chicken Tenders with Mashed Potatoes and Side Salad.  The recipe for the chicken comes from Family Circle Magazine.  They use chicken drumsticks but since I don’t eat meat off of the bone I’m going with chicken breasts instead.  You can find their recipe here,
although you might have to register for their website to see it :/

Friday: Grilled Pizza with Caesar Salad.  I get all of my pizza stuff from Henry’s unless I’m home on a weekend and can make the dough myself.  They have great sauce and excellent whole wheat crust dough, not to mention the best price on all the veggies you need to really give your pizza the works.  I’ve never grilled a pizza before but I think I’m going to try out this method. 

Happy Eating Friends!