Oats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nom, nom, nom.

(1/2 cup almond breeze, 1/2 cup coffee, 1/2 cup quick oats, 1 mashed banana, almond butter, sprinkle of coconut, and 4 macaroon chocolates). The right way to start the morning!

By 10:00 this morning I had a killer headache. I rubbed my temples while trying to convince twenty-six 13 year olds that working quietly is the new awesome.

They were easily duped.

When the Advil finally kicked in around 1:00, I must have given off a "she's back" vibe, because pretty quickly annoying the teacher and trying to give her another headache were the new awesome.

Lunch was leftover stir fry, an orange, and some cheese:


(Not too pretty, but tasty nonetheless).

I went to a meeting after work, and then came home to make Italian sausages (from a wonderful local Italian deli) and brown rice topped with pico de gallo:



The Italian sausages were the best I have ever had.

I am going to make myself a Green Monster, and watch Grey's with the man.

Do you get headaches? How often? What causes them? What is your remedy?

I used to get headaches all the time, but now I get about one a month - a bad one. I get nauseated, and often throw up. As much as I hate to take medication, I do for headaches because otherwise I would have no life for at least a day. I have no idea what causes them, but I think it may be when things in my life are out of balance (sleep, diet, etc.).

All About the Toppings

hen it comes to toppings, I like to load 'em on.

Take for instance my oatmeal this morning:



Banana oats (made with 1 cup almond breeze, 1/2 mashed banana, 1/2 cup quick oats):
- 1 T chia sees
- 1 T coconut
- 1 T maple flakes
- 1 T apple butter
- 1 t walnuts

For lunch I topped the leftover tortellini (what I didn't use in the soup yesterday) with some tomato sauce:



I also had an orange and some cheese:





After work I went for a pint, and also shared some calamari with friends.

Dinner tonight was a pita pizza - loaded up of course!! I topped 1 whole wheat pita with:

- Green Pepper
- Onion
- Tomato
- Pineapple
- Green Olives
- Cheese



I then baked it for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.







Perfect pita pizza every time.

And it is official - I am addicted to juicing. I can't stop.

This evening I juiced:
- 2 cups honeydew
- 1 large pear
- 1 1/2 green peppers
- 1 grapefruit



Refreshing!



There is something about drinking all those nutrients down - I swear I can feel them seeping into my blood. I like to think about it while I drink it.

Hehe.

TGTIF (Thank Goodness Tomorrow is Friday)

Any big plans for the weekend?

Happy *Early* New Year 10 in 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR

A little early?

I will be taking a one week blogging hiatus to go on vacation to the Dominican!!
Our bags are packed, and the hubby's mom will be house sitting. We are all set to go!! Our flight leaves at 9:45 tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

I won't be able to blog or read blogs while I am away, but I promise I will do a photo-jammed recap and catch up on all your blogs when I return.

Breakfast this morning was some oats with almond butter, coconut, and a sprinkle of chocolate covered cranberries.



I went shopping with my dad this morning and he took me for lunch to Applebees. I had a small French onion soup and a side spinach and prawn salad. I didn't have my camera, but it was actually delicious - unexpected for a lame chain restaurant.

We were meeting a bunch of friends for a late dinner, so to hold me over I had a berry smoothie (with 2 berry amazing grass packs, almond breeze, almond butter and frozen mixed berries).



And the hubby and I shared this plate of mini quiche.



Dinner was at a local pub. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, and it was GINORMOUS!!


I clearly only ate half.

Because I will be away on New Years Eve, I have 2 matters of business to attend to.

First, is my LOVELY sister's 23rd Birthday!! She turns 23 on New Years Eve, and I won't be around to celebrate with her.

Happy Early Birthday Leah!!!!!

This is her with her beautiful boy:


(Yes sister face, this just happened). Welcome to my blog.

The second matter of business are my goals for 2010.
I am not big on New Years Resolutions, as who ever sticks to them anyway ... but I am big on making small/ attainable goals for the year.

Before I tell you my 10 goals for 2010, I want to do a mini recap of the past 10 years.

Let me take you back:

2000 - Graduated from High school!! (10 Year Reunion this year!!!)
- Started University (Bachelor of Education)

2001 - Bought my first car (a 1989 Cavalier)

2002 - Still in school ... working at DQ to pay tuition :-)

2003 - Internship in a grade 7/8 room.
- Got engaged on December 7th

2004 - Convocated from University with a BEd Degree
- Got Married
- Moved out of my parent's home for the first time
- Bought a new car
- Took a grad class
- Started my BA in Psychology

2005 - Went to Hawaii!!

2006 - Went to school, worked as a substitute teacher

2007 - Went to Mexico
- Went to Cuba
- Nephew was born!!!!
- Bought our first house, gutted and renovated it!!

2008 - Busy with school

2009 - Became a certified wedding planner/ coordinator
- Finished our basement
- Bought another car (the hubby and I lived with 1 car for 5 years)
- 5 Year Wedding Anniversary in Las Vegas
- Completed my BA Honours in Psychology
- Got a permanent teaching position
- New Years in the Dominican!!

As you can see, I haven't had a break from school in 10 years. Actually, I haven't had a break since I was 4 and starting kindergarten. This winter semester will be my FIRST semester off of school! I cannot wait!

No school and nothing to do with the house ... This year is going to be about doing things for me. I am going to try and take the time to do the things that I enjoy doing as often as possible!

10 in 2010

1) Learn to Run. I will start with the C25K training plan (from the couch to 5k in 9 weeks) this spring and I hope that I can learn to enjoy running.

2) Run a half marathon in September (I don't know if this is possible, but I am going to go for it anyway).

3) Read books for fun. I LOVE reading non-fiction books about a variety of topics (nutrition and food, philosophy, mathematics, religion etc.). I would like to make time to read about 10 - 15 really good books this year as a bare minimum.

4) Find some type of system to organize my recipes and all the pages I have ripped out of magazines over the past few years.

5) Travel to at least 2 new places (by plane).

6) Get accepted into Grad School (Masters in Educational Psychology). I wouldn't be starting until the fall.

7) Have dinner parties on a regular basis!! I absolutely LOVE entertaining and dinner parties are just so much fun!! I love to try new recipes, and have themed nights with friends. Makes for fun blogging too!

8) Learn to swim well. I am going to get the husband to help me with this one. Surprise husband!!

9) Take some sort of class just for me - not for "school." I am thinking of something along the lines of a cooking class, or hip-hop dancing, or yoga. Something for the spirit, not the mind.

10) Post operation beautiful notes in as many places as I can.

~~What are your goals for 2010?~~

See you in the New Year everyone!!

I will return with a BIG recap on January 6th.

Birthday Oats and Snow.

Something miraculous and unexplainable has happened folks.

When I went to bed I was 26 years old ... and when I woke up, I was 27.

I thought they said sleep helps to keep you young - liars!

I decided there is nothing I can do about it. So I made myself a drink.

Just kidding ...

It is just some antioxidants. You know - to stop the aging process in its tracks.

I also made my favourite oats.

Mocha Coconut Oats





1/2 cup coffee, 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 1/2 cup quick oats
Sprinkle of unsweetened organic coconut, and mini chocolate chips (you know - for the antioxidants).

I also woke up to this lovely gift from mother nature:



Luckily it is supposed to be +15 degrees Celsius on Saturday, so this should all melt away.

Does it snow where you live?

Have a great day everyone!

I Apologize in Advance ...

For my super boring meal pics today. I ate the exact same thing for lunch and dinner ... and it was leftovers from last nights dinner. Oh well, it was SO good, I don't mind!

No morning post today, because I was in a rush to get to work for 7:45 - I had a lot to do!

First things first ... this was my snack from last night:

(Source vanilla yogurt topped with Glo-nola, Chia Seeds, and Organic Coconut).

I also had this:

(You might see a lot of these little babies on here for the next little while - they are my FAVE, and they are less than 100 cal - perfect for a little snack!)

This morning for breakfast, I had 1/2 a bagel with cream cheese, and a Green Monster:

Lunch today was leftover Mousakka from last night:

An orange:

And a piece of cheese:

After a great day at work, I headed straight to the university to run my experiment in the lab. I was there pretty late, and had this bar to hold me over until dinner:

When I got home, the hubby had already had leftovers for dinner, so I had the same ... more mousakka!

Looks gross, but tastes great!

I would like to thank Jessica for this thoughtful award:

And I would also like to thank Nicci for this lovely award:

In order to accept the "Over the Top" award, I have to answer each of the following with 1 word answers ... here goes!

1.Where is your cell phone? Bag
2.Your hair? Brunette
3. Your mother? Giving
4. Your father? Youthful
5. Your favorite food? Pasta
6. Your dream last night? Forgotten
7. Your favorite drink? Water
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. What room are you in? Office
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Vacation
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something you aren’t? Judgemental
15. Muffins? Meh
16. Wish list item? Books
17. Where did you grow up? Saskatchewan
18. Last thing you did? Email
19. What are you wearing? Robe
20. Your TV? Reality
21. Your pets? Someday
22. Your friends? Fun
23. Your life? Busy
24. Your mood? Overwhelmed
25. Missing someone? Always
27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
28. Your favorite store? Metro Park
29. Your favorite color? Black
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? days
33. One place that I go over and over? Chapters
34. One person who emails me regularly? Chris
35. Favorite place to eat? Korea House

My snack tonight is this:

(1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, frozen peaches/ strawberries, mango, 1 tsp coconut).

Tomorrow might be another single post day - my life is a little crazy right now ... but it should slow down soon! I am holding out for New Years and my trip to Dominican!! I need to kick back and relax!!

Do you have any travel plans for the next little while?