Things that make me super duper happy :)

IT'S THE WEEKEND!!!!


Obviously thats the number 1 thing that makes me happy right now :) At 5 pm today when I got out of work I was filled with insane levels of  excitement knowing that I didn't have to step my little tootsies back into the office until Tuesday morning.

While we're on the subject of excitement, I thought I'd share some of the randomness that has crossed my mind throughout the week that makes me one happy camper.

So here it goes, things that "make me super duper happy"

Coffee makes me happy. This is a huge understatement. The thought crossed my mind the other day and after possibly consuming a few too many cups, I decided to write a love letter  to my cup of coffee. (I never said i was normal)

ahem....."Dear coffee, I love you so much. Thank you for always being hot, yummy, and for filling my body with oodles of caffeine. I don't know how I'd survive without you."

and just in case you are wondering, the coffee said it loved me back by giving me the energy I needed to spaz out and complete all of my assigned tasks.

This sandwich also made me super happy (considering i took a huge bite before remembering to snap a picture). This is TJ's sprouted bread, crunchy peanut butter, crofters jam, and a banana. Delicious doesn't even begin to cover it. Perhaps scrumptious? Either way, I could eat this bad boy for every meal.

And since it was payday, I FINALLY picked up this gem ON SALE :) I have been wanting to purchase this for quite some time now considering I have crazy amounts of recipes saved that require a protein powder. This is a brand I have researched quite a bit and have seen in numerous blogs, so I figured I'd give it a try. Cannot wait to use some after my Saturday morning workout.

This little (but not really) frozen yogurt treat made my Friday night absolutely wonderful. Peanut butter, vanilla, and dark chocolate frozen yogurt with strawberries, some white and milk chocolate chips, cool whip, sprinkles, tad bit of caramel, lil bit of reeses, lord knows what else I piled in there. Absolutely delicious :)

My Saturday consists of either the gym or a run, we will which one i feel like accomplishing in the morning ;) followed by the farmers market (HUGE SMILES) and some errands and COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.
What are some things that make you super duper happy?!

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My very first WIAW!! :)

I decided to just put together a few of my recent favorite eats to get the dice rolling on my very first WIAW. I always love reading (spending hours) other WIAW posts and have been dying to participate!


Here goes nothing :)

This is some of the things I have been loving this summer. Lots of fresh greens! Especially asparagus yummm. WATERMELON! and of course in the upper left corner a greek yogurt bowl. Below that I tried a Larabar Uber bar. It was okay, but I only ended up eating half of it and tossing the rest. I wasn't super happy with the nutrients I read on the package but was starving at my office job. Quest bars are still my favorite :)

This was my dinner last night. Again lots of greens with asparagus and kale along with mushrooms, cucumber, red pepper and TJ's chicken breast (my favorite). So refreshing in this heat!

Both of these "treats" above hit the spot when I'm craving something sweet. I either add greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or a mixture of both with an apple or banana and a little nut butter and cinnamon. So yummy and creamy it's like I am digging into dessert.

Well that is it for my first WIAW. Can't wait to keep participating each week!! Happy Wednesday all :)

TMI Tuesday

I have seen this post on pretty much every blog I've scrolled through. I decided I would participate in this fun little "get to know me" since my blog is just a brand new baby of mine :)

List of loves from A-Z

A: APPLES!! I have one almost every day. They are fantastic with any nut butter, including almond butter (a close tie to winning the 'A' spot). i eat them almost every way possible and they make me do a happy dance each time :)

 

B: Beer. Yeah, I said it. I do follow a pretty clean eating lifestyle and it has benefited me in every way possible. However, I do love an occasional ice cold brewski. Moderation right?

C: Chocolate. Anything. Cookies, cake, candy, you name it i love it. Again, all in moderation?! Thank goodness for unsweetened cocoa. A little bit mixed in my greek yogurt/cottage cheese with some stevia and I get my "healthy" chocolate fix. 

D: Dogs. I love those furry little animals. i have one of my own. His name is Baxter, he was born in Las Vegas on Christmas. He has one of the most unique personalities I have ever come across. I know most dog owners say that, but mine truly believes he is a toddler. He sits on my hip when i hold him and he hits when he wants something. Couldn't get any closer to a toddler in the terrible two stage.

E: Etsy. They have the most unique products. 

F: Farmers Market. You can get the freshest produce at such a reasonable price. Knowing I am helping out the community by buying local produce makes me feel good as well. 

G: Greek yogurt. Consumed every single morning by yours truly. Fage 0% plain is my favorite, but Chobani is also extra delicious. So good with fruit, nut butter, kashi, granola, pretty much anything :)

H: Hummus. Makes my veggies extra yummy!

I: Itch. Because what is worse than an itch you cannot scratch?

J: Jalapeños. A new favorite of mine. 

K: Kitchenaid. I want one of those mixers so I can become a baking goddess. Kale is good too. 

L: Lululemon because I want to go shop there SO BAD.

M: Mat. He's my best friend and I love him dearly. He also puts up with me and my attention span of a gnat, so thats a plus. 

N: Nutmeg. It just smells so wonderful. 

O: Olives. Because I do not like them one bit no matter how many times I try to make myself. 

P: Peanut Butter. YUM.

Q: Quinoa. Another new favorite. 

R: Running. It helps me clear my head, no matter how far, fast, or slow my run is. I never regret a good run. 

S: Santa because Christmas is awesome and he's a jolly fellow.

T: Trader Joes. I mean that place is just awesome. Any the prices rock.

U: Under Armor. The workout gear is awesome!

V: Victoria's Secret. Because unfortunately I have a credit card there. And we all know what that means. 

W: WMU. Because Western Michigan University was my school of choice at the age of 10 and I graduated this past April. It will always hold a special place in my big heart. 

x: XXX? lol I have no idea!

y: Yogurt. Frozen yogurt. Yes that was kind of a cheat but I couldn't help it. It is just so delicious!

Z: Zenon girl of the 21st century. Disney was awesome as a child/preteen! 

Happy TMI Tuesday :)

Tummy ache...

I woke up this morning at 6:18 am-not random or anything. Thought i would take full advantage of the opportunity and I headed to the gym. I had a good strength training workout and even made it to the farmers market and home by 9:45. Side note: If you don't get your produce at the farmers market you are nuts! You save SO much money, get fresh local produce, and even get to purchase zucchini that is the size of your head (picture later).

Speaking of the farmers market, this is what I purhcased: zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, apples, cucumbers, blueberries, a cookie for my main squeeze, beets, and carrots. I can't wait to cook up some yummy eggplant :)

Needless to say, my day was going GREAT. Then, my boyfriend and I decided to go out to eat. That resulted in me getting a side salad (high five) and then sharing a huge fried appetizer (what the heck was a thinking) and a beer...

MY STOMACH KILLS! I already had my cheat meal this week, and I am not used to eating food like this. I guess this stomach ache/upset feeling is my body telling me "Don't put that crap in my system". Cheat meals once a week are okay, but anything more than that and clearly I feel like a big pile of poo :(

 This is how I feel, and how i will spend my evening. I hope everyone else enjoys their Saturday night. Do a little happy dance for no rain tomorrow, we are having a BBQ! :)

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

So, as I said in one of my first posts, i am OBSESSED with greek yogurt. Fage 0% plain to be exact. Every morning I have it in some form for breakfast. Yes, every.single.morning. This has been going on for a solid couple of weeks now and to be honest, I have absolutely no problem with it. It is lowest in sugar than many others yogurts, has a ton of protein, and tastes delicious with some sweet yet healthy toppings.

My preferences are adding a serving with either oats, kashi go lean cereal, or a banana. I ALWAYS add a nut butter, cinnamon, blueberries, flaxseed, and sometimes some organic jam. I really want to pick up some chia seeds since I read so much about them and throw some of that in there as well.

This is what it looks like pre mixed. (I apologize for the crappy iphone photography) Greek yogurt, almond butter, kashi, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, blueberries, jam, cinnamon and flaxseed.

And here is a glorious (yet another crappy iphone image) of the wonderful greek yogurt bowl mixed up ready to be demolished by my mouth. This breakfast keeps me full until my 2nd meal of the day, tastes AMAZING and makes me one happy camper. 

Do any of you have any favorite foods that you can't go a day without? 

Because I can't imagine a day without this! :)

Thirsty Thursday Cheat Meal

Happy Thursday kiddies! So I started my first full time job this week, and still managed to pack clean meals and snacks to get me through each day (high five to myself). Anywho, even though its only Thursday I decided I would make my designated "cheat meal" tonight. This entailed going to a local wings joint with my main squeeze (I still find him attractive even though he lets wing sauce drip down his face) and share an appetizer, indulge in a beer, and eat some yummy boneless wings. Let me tell you, staying on track with clean eating really makes having a cheat meal worth the wait. I enjoyed ever single bite and I didn't feel a bit guilty about it. By the way, this is a big deal and huge point of progress for me! (once again, high five to myself).

Note to self: TAKE PICTURES. I just downloaded instagram to my iphone, continue to forget my digital camera, and totally forgot to snap some pics of my cheat meal tonight as well as my clean eats throughout the week. Clearly I get a big fat F on being a good new blogger :( However, the above picture does look pretty accurate to what I stuffed my face with this evening :)

I'm hoping to catch onto this whole blogging thing and interact with some of the amazing people I have been following for awhile so if anyone has any suggestions lemme know!

Tomorrow is Friday so let the countdown to the weekend at 5pm begin! And the happy dance...

mmmmm breakfast

So I am working my first full time job this week (EEEEEK! SO EXCITED) and am also keeping a sort of part-time-but-not-really floor set job that has me working last night and this Wednesday 9-midnight. (By the way this is totally screwing up my waking up early to work out and sleep schedule considering I got a whopping 3 hours last night) Anyways....I woke up this morning, and made my yummy, absolutely delicious favorite breakfast greek yogurt bowl :) It includes Fage plain, some Kashi go lean cereal, a little unsweetened almond milk, pb/almond butter, a little banana, blueberries, and cinnamon. YUM!! However, after I do this I immediately go onto Jenn's blog and follow everyones WIAW (cause i'm obsessed). Next week I shall participate and get this blog going and in the mean time I am going to stuff my face with the most absolutely delicious breakfast of all time :) Happy Hump Day Friends!

Oh boy, the "first" post..

Hello! So, after being completely obsessed with following health blogs I've found online, I decided it's about time I started my own. I always read about these awesome girls who are truly passionate about health and fitness, track their food choices of the day, their workouts, and life details, and make it seem so easy and fun! Then I get to thinking "hmm maybe I should try this, I have so much in common with these people!" but then I get afraid that no one would follow me or be interested in my normal, non exciting life. However I decided that I shouldn't be worried about that. If I start my own blog, I'll not only be sharing what I know, but also learning from others and using it as a tool to track my ups, downs, successes, failures, and growth. 

So, this is my official "first" post. Hopefully this is a new hobby that I can truly enjoy and a new tool to meet people who are as passionate about health and fitness as I am. I'm ready to finally step out of my comfort zone and start a blog where I can look back someday at how much knowledge I have gained and how I (hopefully) have grown into a strong, healthy individual :) Hoping I get welcomed with open arms! Here goes nothing..