Blogger Vegan for a Day and New Moon

Well today is Blogger Vegan for a Day and I must say that it has really made me question a lot of the foods I have been eating. It makes me want to learn so much more about what products I use that contain animal products. Some of them are quite gross. Check this website out: What vegans don't eat
My eats for the day included: fresh fruit.. of course! :) .. for lunch I made a pita with couscous and hummus and had fresh veggies and a banana. YUM
I haven't really had any snacks today..not because of the vegan day but just haven't been hungry. We had a catered lunch at work and it was pizza.. It smelled sooo good and I just about caved in but I was strong! I remembered a quote from Caitlin's website: "We defined not just by what we do; we are defined by what we are willing to do without. Vegetarianism requires the renunciation of real and irreplaceable pleasures." 
And that really gave me strength. 
My husband is coming down with a cold.. YUCK and it is so close to Thanksgiving!! I hope I don't catch it but I need to take care of him. I am off to make him some yummy veggie pasta.


Also.. New Moon comes out tonight.. I know that I am excited. Team Edward!

Tampa and Vegan for a Day

Good Wednesday evening to everyone! I hope you all had a great day.

Today started with a wonderful cup of coffee and some fresh fruit! My usual of course:

• apples
• bananas
• grapes
• some pears :)

I just love that combination. Work was pretty busy today.. as usual. Last week I mentioned that I had received some bad news at work. Things are starting to play out and it may end up not being too bad at all. I may end up making more $$ in the end.. which is a good thing. Here is a picture of my office

It isn't anything special but I do have a door! It's the small things in life that are so great.

I am currently in the process of making dinner. On tonights menu:

• White wine marinated Chicken for the hubby
• Baked Tofu for me
• Butternut squash
• Quinoa with diced veggies and pomegranate arils

It smells so delicious in there!

That's my squash cooking!

Tomorrow is Blogger Vegan for a Day and I am so excited to try something new. Check out Katy and Michelle's blog for more info.

Also, today, we decided we will be going to TAMPA for the ACC Championship game!

OK.. it is time to go check on my food. Be back later!

Looong Weekend

Well on Friday, the husband and I drove up to Raleigh..about a 4 hour drive.. just barely going over the speed limit ;) ... and stayed with our friends for the weekend. We had a great time and got back Sunday afternoon. I had a lot of chores to get done and try to rest a little. Unfortunately, we had to sleep on an air mattress... it was not the most restful of weekends.. I think that is why it has taken me so long to get back on here. I was just so exhausted and wanted to crash on the couch since we got back on Sunday.

On a great note though.. the Clemson Tigers beat NC State! We just need to beat Virginia this weekend.. at home too!!.. and we will be going to the ACC championship in Tampa on December 5th! We will be playing Georgia Tech.. my 2nd team! After all, I did grow up in Atlanta! GT beat us earlier in the season so we are looking for revenge!

There are some talks of us going to Tampa to watch the game.. wouldn't that be fun??

Anyways, today was our 1.5 year anniversary so the husband took me to 17 North.. a roadside kitchen here in Charleston. It has the same owner as our favorite restaurant.. Oak Steakhouse. YUM!

I had a grilled ratatouille and the husband had pulled pork. It was quite yummy and I look forward to going back.

The 10K training is going well. I ran 3 miles yesterday in 28 min. and 50 seconds. That's a whole minute faster than last time. I just think I can be doing better. Running is such a mind game and I feel I haven't quite won yet. The race is on Thanksgiving Day.. so not much training time left! Any tips??

I am feeling much more rested today and so happy to be back on the blog!

TGIF!

Today is going to be a great day! It should be pretty dead at work.. hopefully that won't make the day go by too slowly. Then I get to leave work early (around 3:15 or 3:30) and drive to Raleigh! I am excited to see good friends and have a weekend with them. There is a good chance I won't be able to post later today.. but I am not sure. If I can.. I will!

I got up this morning and did 30 minutes of yoga with Exercise TV. It was Yoga Sculpt with Maura Barclay. It was tough but I feel good for doing it. I highly recommend it for someone looking for a challenge.

Have a great day and know that You Are Beautiful.

A Time For Baking

Happy Friday Eve! I am so thankful that tomorrow is the last day of the work week. It is time for a couple of days off work. The husband and I are going up to Raleigh this weekend to spend time with some good friends and watch the Clemson Tigers play! It should be a good weekend.

Thursday started with a couple of bites of Stonyfield Farms yogurt and some coffee, sweetened with Agave nectar.

At work, I had an apple, 1/2 banana, and some grapes. Lunch was this delicious veggie sandwich from a local cafe. It had sprouts, cucumber, avocado, Russian dressing, smoked gouda, and tomatoes all on focaccia bread. YUM YUM

When I got home from work, I was unable to run (due to bad weather again!)so what else would I do but bake! I rarely get time at home to just try something. Sooo.. I tried to make a granola bar! My ingredients included:

• rolled oats
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• flax seeds
• pine honey
• almond butter
• pomegranate arils

I didn't measure it all out, just eye-balled it since I had never made this before. I baked it at 350 for 20 minutes.

The result was pretty good. The husband even had half and thought it was good. It just needs a little tweaking. After I did some packing and rummaging all through my closet, I decided to make french toast for dinner. I haven't had french toast in quite some time and after seeing Caitlin's, I decided I would have it.

I made it just like hers.. mostly..

I used:

• 3 eggs
• a couple of splashes of almond breeze
• flax seeds
• cinnamon
• vanilla
• 3 pieces of bread

I toasted the bread first and then mixed all the other ingredients and soaked the bread and threw it on the pan to cook. It was yummy!

Overall, it has been a good evening. I would have really liked to run though!! *sigh*

I feel as though my eating habits have gotten much healthier. I no longer crave as many of the bad foods that I used to. Eating healthy is definitely something that takes time and requires dedication and a lifestyle change. I certainly think this blog helps because I feel I need to photograph my food and "fess up" about what I eat. It keeps me honest. For anyone out there that is struggling to maintain healthy habits, keep it up. You will feel so good about yourself if you keep going! YOU ARE AMAZING

Rain Rain Go Away

Well happy Wednesday to everyone! It's always nice to get over the "hump". In Charleston, it has been raining all day long! We had a 3 mile run planned and I was really excited about it but we had to cancel it due to the rain. I always could have jumped on the treadmill but I really hate do that, I just love to run outside! The weather should be a little better tomorrow so we will probably run 4 miles instead. That is only 1 mile short for the week.

The day started well. I had a nice bowl (tupperware) of fruit!

It consisted of:

• 1/2 Banana
• Grapes
• 1 Small apple
• A few pear slices

I also had about 1/2 C plain Stonyfield Yogurt.. just no picture.

Work was somewhat slow today, even though I was quite busy. It was probably because I got some sorta bad news and I was just dwelling on it all day. I don't really know what to say about the bad news, other than there will definitely be changes at work, it will just take time to see how drastic they are. *SIGH*

Lunch was delicious though! Of course..

I had raw veggies and a yummy wrap. It included a flat out wrap, traditional hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, Israeli couscous and pomegranate arils. The pomegranate added such a sweet, juicy kick to the wrap. It was wonderful.

When I got home from work I had a nice talk with the hubby about the job and then got some much needed reorganizing completed. Even though it doesn't get REALLY cold in Charleston, I put up all my winter clothes and I was ready to pull some of them out.

For dinner I warmed up some stuffed grape leaves that I got at Costco, roasted some corn in the oven, and made macaroni and cheese!

After dinner, I have been busy with laundry, laundry, laundry!! And playing with my kitty :)

I also did some strength training and stretching. I did:

• 75 bicycle crunches
• 2 30 second planks, arms extended
• 20 squats
• 40 heel raises
• 20 dead lifts
• Various stretches for the whole body

It was quite a productive day. Now I am off to continue with the laundry. I also feel some cookies'n'cream fro-yo coming for me later ;)

Family Time

I am just returning from my evening activities. My doctor's appointment went well and I then headed to Target where I browsed and picked up some much needed items (lotion, toilet paper.. etc.). When I got home I realized my eyes were still so dilated that I did not feel like cooking (a rare thing) so my husband took me to get Mexican food. I had a bean chalupa and chile poblano. They were delicious. I haven't had Mexican food (from a Mexican restaurant) in a long time.

Now, because my eyes are actually still dilated.. I am ready to just go crash on the couch with the hubby and kitty.

Have a great night and I will be back tomorrow!