Friday Fives (5s) -- Post II

Not everything always fits into the theme of a Blog Post -- So I wanted to start a collection of things I'm currently crushing over each week that didn't necessarily get captured in my posting.

This will be the second post of a series called Friday Fives (5s)

{One}

Breakfast or Lunch @ Cafe Brazil.  They're open 24/7, have a Coffee Bar with unlimited refills, and their egg white veggie omelette is incredible.

{Two}

Low, Side-Part Buns for Work.  Quick, fast, and professional looking.  Or at least I feel that way when I do my hair like this.  I mean business.

{Three}

Holiday Themed Coffee - Starbucks finally has a Skinny Peppermint Mocha!!

{Four}

Days I get the gym to myself.  I can do any of my ToneItUp inspired workouts without worrying that people are staring at me as I jump pike my butt into the air from my yoga mat... 

{no, having huge J Lo inspired thighs is not on my list... I just can't help it}

{Five}

Cuddling with Riley - it's much too cold outside, we should all just stay inside and snuggle! 

This Friday was an amazing  one!  I got up early and snuck in one of the Roommate's Turbo Fire DVD's she's been trying to get me into... I only had 40 minutes to workout so the DVD was perfect!  Those ladies are intense!!  After that I showered up and met the BFF Ashley for a lunch date and a PLAY!  We saw Les Mis and had a little drama because she started having contractions at lunch!  Luckily she made it through the whole show without popping - she isn't due until Wednesday, but then again that's only a few days away at this point!

Now I'm going to hit 'publish' on this post and go grab ingredients to make a Salad since that's my assignment for Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow night -- Happy Holidays everyone!

Positivity and Creating Your Reality

You can see beauty in the world if you just open your eyes to it.


Jillian Michaels was featured on Self's 5 on 5... check out the interview!

I love how she says that you should make sure to notice the positive things in life... yes, there might be that one total jerk that cut you off on the road - but try to focus on the people around you doing good.  Sometimes it's far too easy to let yourself focus and dwell on the negatives... when you find this happening, step back and look around for something to be thankful for :)


Speaking of being Thankful, for Thanksgiving this year I went back to Miami with Mike to see his familia.  This was a big trip because we drove from Miami up to Melbourne for Thanksgiving Day where I met his Nana for the first time - she's a fabulous lady!

The women with Nana

The men with Nana

Nana lives in Melbourne, FL on a Golf Course - but unlike a lot of Golf Courses here in Texas, this one had a jogging/biking path that went along beside parts of the course so I got to experience BEAUTIFUL scenery!

And the weather was perfect - mid 70's the entire stay!  Couldn't have asked for anything better.. so a few 3-4 mile runs were made in the mornings to offset the incredible Thanksgiving food that was *devoured*

Round I:

Salad, shrimp, mussels, fruit and vegetable soup

Round II:

you have to try everything... Turkey, croissant, mashed potatoes, grilled maple salmon, honey carrots, brown rice & stuffing

Round III:

I took a tiny sliver of about 5 different types of cake so that I could determine which one was best -- Carrot Cake was the clear winner.  There are no pictures of said dessert because it was too good to wait for my camera to turn on... 

Group Shot: with Mike's Family for Thanksgiving

I *loved* wearing this dark blue satin dress for the event!

ELIZA J Three-Quarter Sleeve V-Neck Dress

I scooped it up from Ideeli.com on Sale a few weeks before and the fit was perfect!  

After Thanksgiving dinner we went on a walk and later just watched Sports and Movies on the TV.


The next morning (Black Friday) we were up early for some breakfast to fuel us for our day of shopping!

I started the day of HEALTHY with an egg white veggie omelette & side of steamed broccoli

We went to a local cafe called Perkins and our server must have read my blog before and known just how much I love coffee... 

Because next thing I know there are FOUR pots in front of me!!!!

I created a barricade between Mike's dad and myself (he was the excellent photographer behind the above photo)..

No one really needs to socialize with me until after my first cup!

Speaking of being a morning person... I just am not.  I don't know if any of you have seen the new commercial that's out for 5 hr energy but Mike laughs everytime he sees the guy and says that's exactly me!  Except I don't love 5 hr energy shots.. I just love me some coffee. 

Now if I only had a better way to get my coffee in the mornings...

Oh, right, speaking of.. flipping through channels yesterday I came across an Oldie but Goodie - 

And Xzibit had an espresso machine installed in the center counsel of some girl's car!!!

HELLO WONDERFUL IDEA.

And because my boyfriend's day revolves around deciding where he's going to eat his next meal, by the time all our Black Friday shopping was completed at the Outlet Malls he'd already scoped out our next venue.

We had dinner at Cracker Barrel - not too shabby!

Mike and Abillo (his Cuban grandfather) even tried the home made Apple Cider.

Other highlights from the Thanksgiving trip included our first attempt really Mountain Biking!

We went to Oleta State Park and rented Mountain Bikes there... OMG the trails were so hard!  There were huge roots and rocks and drop offs everywhere!  I seriously should've had knee pads, elbow pads... I most likely should've been put inside a gigantic protective bubble!  

But I survived and tried something new... with only a small battle wound, it looked as if a baby tiger clawed my calf... then tried to bully me to the ground.  

The scenery was gorgeous though and the park was really awesome - next time I'd just stay on much simpler trails since I was a complete beginner!

Mike going over a ramp in the park

View from the Miami Beach Condo ---- Goodbye Miami!!! Until Next Time :)

Questions for the Day:

Do you try to focus your days on Positive Thoughts and not to Dwell too long on Negative Things?

What was your *favorite* thing you ate over Thanksgiving?

Mine was most likely Mike's mother's home made Ropa Vieja!!

How do you feel about Coffee?  Are you a morning person?

Ever tried Mountain Biking? Tips for beginners like me?

Caffeine Addiction My Friends

I love coffee. I don't just love the way it makes you feel in the morning when you take that first sip and it instantly warms your soul and brings life to your eyes, I don't simply love it for the decadent aroma that envelops you like a soft blanket, I don't only love it for the taste of creamy perfection each cup holds, but I love coffee for some strange reason that I cannot even define. ::sigh::

That being said, now that it is summer I much prefer iced coffee to combat the crazed Texas heat - luckily I discovered N.O. Brew New Orleans Style Iced Coffee at Whole Foods the other day!  All I have to do is add a serving of the iced coffee, some almond milk, ice, truvia and VOILA! a perfect coffee :) 

My problem is that typically when I discover something amazing I become slightly obsessed with it and that was the case with my new iced coffee.  I made myself a protein shake to-go this morning for breakfast with a serving of the coffee tossed in, but as I was about to walk out the door I thought to myself "Wait, what if I want a second cup later in the day?"  So the coffee came with me to work.  We cannot be separated.

It is now 3:11pm and 1/4th the container is devoured.  For the record, the nutritional label says that it holds 13 servings.  So I have consumed about 4 servings of coffee.  And I'm tempted to have more....

The issue is I don't really need the caffeine at this point, I just love the taste, but I start to wonder - exactly how much caffeine is really too much??

Luckily, the world wide web & Google accomodate all sorts of ridiculous ponderings and after I type the phrase "how much caffeine will kill you" into my handy-dandy Google search shortcut box a website pops up called http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine.  Intrigued, I followed the link. 

Don't judge, the weight is all muscle mass thanks to the strength training Jillian Michaels' DVDs I'm obsessed with ;)

Wondering how much coffee it would take to kill me? (rude!!!)

Luckily, I think I'm safe!!!!!!

And, since my best friend's caffeine of choice happens to be those new Monsters... I did one just for her!

Did you get that Ashley?  No more than 68 and 1/4th cans of Monster!! 68 is perfectly fine... but don't over do it!!!


So tell me, are any of you out there coffee addicts as well?  Do you drink energy drinks from time to time?