Cheers to a Brand New Year!

Happy New Years Everyone!!

I finally decided what my New Years Resolution will be...

Apparently last night as I was leaving the party <very late and very tired> I snatched one last Cake Ball my sister made (they were absolutely delicious!) and said to Mike that I had to have one to-go.

Well, I guess I brought it in the car and left it there.  Uneaten.

When I then inquired as to its whereabouts this morning after hearing the story he says he threw it away.  RUDE.

So... My resolution is that this year NO CAKE BALLS GO WASTED!!!!

{Mari's Balls}

Honestly, I've been working to be healthier all year so I think that I don't necessarily need a resolution to be healthier, maybe just to keep it up and continue to grow as an athlete :)

My new favorite way to start the morning?  Best Cereal Combo EVER:

1/2 Cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch

1 Cup Fiber One Honey Squares

Almond Milk

Strawberries and Blueberries

Speaking of New Years Resolutions... Mike's is to cancel the Sunday Paper.  He started getting the Sunday paper last month and this is pretty much what we used them for:

Placemats.

What?  It's way easier to read the news online or watch it on T.V. Newspapers are just large and cumbersome.  The cartoons weren't even that funny.  Catching up on blogs is just a better use of my time.

That's my chicken salad featured above -- tons of spinach underneath, but it wasn't my favorite salad.  I'm really picky with my deli meat and the chicken just wasn't that great.  I prefer Rotisserie Chicken pulled and fresh to the sliced sandwich meats. 

So RECOVERING from a New Years Eve full of Cake Balls and Drinking was best with an Egg Sandwich and Egg White Omelette!

Too tired this morning to do dishes hence the Dixie paper plate. 

Pretty impressive Omelette, no?  I'm getting better!!  

OH and for all you COSTCO shoppers out there... GO buy some of their Chicken Red Pepper and Spinach Sausages -- too good!  I broke one up and paired it with Spinach, Sliced Red Bell Pepper, Feta and made an Egg White Omelette with a piece of wheat toast the other day and the flavors were so incredible.

Let me tell you.. an Omelette like this would seriously cost you like $10 at a restaurant, I'm saving so much money with my new culinary skills.  Yes... that's another section of the Sunday paper.  Waste not want not.

Favorite thing that happened in 2011?

Probably this little guy being born!!!  

Umm this is the CUTEST outfit ever!  it says 100% Organic... and on his tummy it says 'Made With Love' LOL

And it's been BEAUTIFUL weather here in Texas even though it's now January it's 60 degrees outside -- perfect weather to be outdoors!  

Went running with Mike yesterday and clocked in 3.2 miles before his knee started really bugging him... Looked it up online and seems he has Iliotibial Band Syndrome - all his symptoms are exactly that. 

Anyone else suffered from this?  Any tips/tricks to dealing with it?  

So to stay off the knee, we're going on an extra long bike ride here as soon as I get off the computer!!! 

Happy First Day of 2012 Everyone!! 

Questions for the Day:

What's your New Years Resolution?

Anyone dealing with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?  Any suggestions on stretches?

Favorite Cereal Combo?!

Recap - When Life Gives you 5lbs of Lemons...

Recap of the weekend... in pictures.

Weather has been strange/icky lately.. thank goodness I got a new coat via Ideeli to keep me warm!

Sorry.. that's about all I have to say about the weather at this point.

Thursday night was GREY'S night like always!!!

The sister came over after our 'Pretty Kitty' appointments and we shared some wine from Whole Foods and picked up some Sushi to-go!

Deliciouso!

My favorite scene was at the beginning where Meredith and Christina were lying in the baseball field talking instead of practicing -- sadly I can't find a picture of this online!

While at Whole Foods picking up our wine Mari helped me locate next year's calendar... YOGA CATS!!!

Hilarious!

I had to have it.

Friday for lunch Mike took me out to Cafe Brazil.

I had the Egg White Veggie Omelette with an English Muffin, half a sliced Avocado & Fruit cup along with their endless coffee bar.  Seriously, they have an entire menu dedicated to coffee -- new flavors for the season included S'mores and Snickerdoo YUM.

Yes, it was breakfast for lunch but it was delicious. 

I ended up mashing my avocado onto the toasted english muffin and putting some of my egg white on top like a breakfast sandwich.  No, I don't order breakfast sandwiches - but then I make them myself lol

Friday once I got off work I pumped myself up for a run outside - it wasn't rainy/freezing so I had to take advantage of the break in crappy bad weather.

I hadn't worked out much all week due to work/weather so I knocked out 5 miles in 49:30 including two extremely long breaks at a stupid stop light that did not ever want to let me cross.  The run was hard, probably from sitting on my rump all week.. after walking ~3min and realizing I still had a mile before I was home I jogged another half mile then walked the last half as cool down bringing my total mileage to 6.

Snapped this pic when passing the brick wall... sunset was pretty!

Friday Night was the WORLD SERIES FINALE.

Okay, Finale probably isn't the correct term but I'm not a huge sports buff... so... 'Finale' it is.

Mike and I went to Kenny's Burger Joint to watch the game and eat some of our favorite burgers.

View of the bar --- like the quote on the wall? ;)

I don't typically like burgers (blasphemy I know -- how American am I?) BUT the Turkey burgers here are practically gourmet.  I get mine with Sauteed Mushrooms & Brie ::swoon::

And it's served on an artisan ciabatta bun.

And we split some sweet potato fries.

This was the best reward after a long run!

Saturday Mike & I had our COSTCO run and picked up millions of veggies and other food supplies so we decided to grill out with some friends.

I made the veggie skewers!!

Roasted Red Bell Peppers are SO delicious off the grill!  I could have had a skewer entirely of those babies...

We also had shrimp and some Broccoli Slaw our friends brought over.

At Costco I also saw a 5 POUND bag of lemons... and thought to myself HOMEMADE LEMONADE, HOW GREAT?!

It was a workout just lugging this bag to checkout at the front... it was a last minute thought and I'm sure Mike thought I was a little crazy showing up with the huge bag of lemons.

When we got back from the store, after making the veggie skewers I started on the lemonade.

Realized I don't own a lemon squeezer so this project was really rough!  I chopped a lemon into pretty thin circles for decoration and chopped 6 or 7 into wedges that I then de-seeded and squeeeeeezed with all my might into that pitcher.

PHEW!

That was exhausting.

After getting enough lemon juice/pulp in the pitcher I added water, TruVia, and 7UP to taste.  I had to go back and add like two more lemons.... but finally the finished product!

Homemade Lemonade <3

Recipe:

Yields 1 large pitcher

Juice/Pulp from 8-10 large lemons

1 lemon sliced in thin 'wheels'

1/3 liter 7 up or Sprite

Fill the rest of the pitcher with water & ice

TruVia to taste *(I used quite a bit -- just add, stir, and taste until you get the right taste!)

Optional: Spritzer of lime juice, Vodka

We enjoyed ours with a lil' Vodka, and it was a big hit.

Sunday was the BFF's family baby shower (we're having a friends only version in a few weeks) and it was fun helping her prep for the event!

Yes she is skilled... brushing her teeth in Sky High Bebe Pumps!

I seriously hope I look that sexy when I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant!!!

Oh yes, and also Sunday morning Mike & I made a bunch of lunches for the week - trying to be healthy AND save money. Win win.  I shall be having a delicious sandwich and salad for lunch!

Questions for the Day:

What's your ideal weather forecast? Bright and Sunny? Snow?

Mine would be BRIGHT and SUNNY approx 80ish degrees with a light breeze.

Do you ever order eggs/an omelette and end up creating your own breakfast sandwich?  What do you think makes the perfect breakfast sandwich?

Egg white, english muffin, avocado... maybe a slice of provolone cheese OR some lox depending on my mood.

Ever tried making homemade lemonade?