Camera-Whoring Pets

February 25

-3 apricots

now Ethan wanted to camera whore it up
until Blizzard stepped in for his close up :-P

workout:
-2 arm machines
-3 leg machines
-10 minutes elliptical

I went up 5 lbs in each arm machine & even more than that in each leg one. WOO. AND I figured out I'd already been lifting more arm weight than when I used to use the machines last year. I thought i had gone down 5 lbs, but I really went up. I feel much less pathetic now LOL.

10:30 am-ish
-tuna sandwich made with vegenaise and dill relish on yeast free/gluten free bread (really chewy and good)
-protein shake (chocolate protein powder, hazelnut milk, 1/2 a banana, ice)
-water

whole can of tuna LOL yikes


1:15 pm
-half of a brown rice pizza tortilla topped with pesto
-pop chips
-eggnog tea
-water




3:30 pm
-1/2 a grapefruit
-chocolate protein cake with 1 tsp white chocolate peanut butter (still blow-your-mind amazingness)
-mocha flavored coffee with a little organic skim (so-so, but I NEEDED an afternoon pick me up)





I was pretty much starving after my last snack/psuedo-lunch, but tried to wait as long as possible.

7:00 pm
-little bit of my Mom's cobb salad with a little piece of cornbread
-water

love my new heart bowl!

Silly me STARTED dinner at 7 when I wanted to EAT at 7. I had a meal planned, but my Mom ordered in food from Blackeyed Pea for everyone else. I had to make myself a bowl of her salad to tide me over while my chicken baked and pasta boiled.

7:45 pm

I was a little bit full from that small amount of salad, but what I made was really tasty, so I ate anyway. Oops.

-whole wheat penne with diced tomatoes, a little truffle-infused olive oil, and goat cheese
-half of a chicken breast with pizza sauce & a little shredded white cheddar
-the last of the sparkling red wine (about 1/2 a glass)
-water


Blizzard peeking back in

Big goat cheese fan these days. We're going through it like crazy!

Oddly, as sometimes happens, I was more hungry AFTER I ate. Hate that. I don't know why I'm so hungry today!

9:45 pm
-cherry cobbler
-banana "soft serve"
-tiny dollop of slightly warmed chocolate coconut butter
-water



My Mom got me the cobbler. I'm not huge on cherry desserts, but it was pretty good. I topped it with banana soft serve, something I've wanted to try forEVER. Actually, that was one of the main reasons I got my food processor, yet it still took me this long to make! Calorically it's probably the same as the vanilla ice cream the cobbler came with, but at least it's fruit and has fiber and potassium and all that. Tres bien.

Man, sorry tmi, but I have been drinking water nonstop today and can't stop peeing. Speaking of which.....

xo,
Amanda

Fruit for Dessert

February 24

10:30 am
-almond & coconut kind bar




Went to physical therapy and had my back cracked again at the end. Hopefully my lower back pain will stay away. At least for more than a week. Sheesh. He also cracked my shoulder blades in two places. I can't tell if that helped or not, since my neck and shoulders are still hurting, but I do think it at least took some of the pressure of. FINALLY he addressed that I'm not feeling ANY better and maybe I need some chiropractic work. A few years ago I went to a chiro and it helped, but he used activation therapy where they pretty much use a pen-type object to "click" you back in place instead of their hands twisting you around. Honestly, I have no idea if that really works or not, but I remember feeling better back then. This guy told me that it doesn't work, but then again he's biased, so who knows. I'm very weary of regular chiropractors working on my neck, because you do hear about those occasions where people have strokes post-chiro work. I know it's rare and blah blah, but it's still a risk. At the same time, I don't want to be in bad pain. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and I almost had to cut a bitch (lol riight). When I got to PT there was one main bed open (for heat/ice) and I was next. Woohoo. UNTIL the lady behind me went and sat on the bed instead of waiting in line behind me. Ohnoshedidnt! Luckily, the physical therapist told her to go to the shorter bed (that's so uncomfy) because it would be better for her anyway. HA.

12:30 pm-ish
-big bowl of leftover chinese (mostly veggies, little chicken + 3 steamed chicken dumplings)
-water



stuffed! I think I ate about 2 cups worth. :-x. Prob could have/should have stopped at 1 maybe 1.5, but..at least it was mostly veggies. I only used a little, but I freaking love the sauce that came w/ the dumplings. Pretty sure it's just a thickened soy, but mmm mmm good.

1:30 pm
-the last 2 bites of frozen yogurt from last nite (yes I'm weird and saved 2 bites. I was too full but didn't want to waste it!) with a little chocolate coconut butter & a few goji berries on top
-water


Don't worry, he just wanted to sniff LOL

I really wish I liked goji berries more than I do. These are kind of old, but even "fresh" (as fresh as dried fruit can be lol) they have an off taste to me. The juice is okay, though.

2:30 pm-ish
-aloe vera juice

oh look who's visiting again lol. Camera whore! ;)

4:30 pm
-homemade hummus
-half serving gluten free crackers
-celery sticks
-chocolate protein cake stuffed with peanut butter
-starbucks via instant coffee
-water



soooooooooooooooo delicioso


zomg protein cake? DELICIOUS. Better than regular cake, I'd say. So fluffy and mmmm. Love. And EVERY ingredient is healthy. Yeah!

8:45 pm
-tilapia (steamed in foil pack in oven with organic diced tomato, olive tapenade, capers, olive oil, and added in goat cheese in the last 5 min)
-broccoli and cheese mixed with a littttle white rice
-sparkling (altho it was mostly flat, but still tasty) red wine
-water




Not to be egotistical like my Dad was jokingly calling me (while still agreeing on its tasty-factor), but holy sh!&...best. fish. EVER. I want to eat this....um....every nite.

9:35 pm
-small apple
-half of a grapefruit
-orange sparkling water mixed with a lil pom juice




Healthy dessert!

Outfit of the Day:




Yeah for jeggings. Yes, I said jeggings. What?

At least they're not pajama jeans.

Yet.

:-D.


xo,
Amanda

Chocoholic

February 23

8:30-ish am
-gf buckwheat waffle with honey drizzle

I don't think I can ever manage to get a pic in before the first bite LOL

workout:
42 minutes on elliptical

10:30 am
-hemp oatmeal with shredded (unsweetened) coconut, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, 1 tsp white chocolate peanut butter, a few dark chocolate chips, a few pecan pieces
-most of a mug of starbucks via instant coffee with 2-3 drops of chocolate liquid stevia
-water




DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELISH.

2:30 pm-ish
-half of a banana oatbran Kind bar



3:00 pm
-homemade hummus with celery sticks
-moo goo gai pan (90% veggies with a few pieces of chicken)
-3 steamed chicken dumplings with a thickened soy-based sauce
-water



I wasn't terribly hungry when I ate lunch, but I didn't want to wait any later.

7:00 pm-ish
-tall nonfat cappucino a la Nordstrom's Cafe



8:20ish pm
-frozen yogurt with fruit + chocolatey toppings



8:45 pm
-pistachio chicken salad (organic greens, grapes, chicken, craisins, and pistachios with a champagne vinaigrette) a la Nordstrom's Cafe
-water




Yay dessert before dinner LOL.

So. Full. I only meant to fill up the yogurt half way (as usual), but went a little overboard. OOPS.

My Mom picked up bbq for my cousin and her family (prior to the frozen yogurt we went over to her apt for an hour or so), but I kinda wanted salad (which the bbq place does not offer, aside from potato salad lol). After I ordered my cappuccino I noticed this salad and decided to have that instead of bbq. Good choice, if I do say so myself :-P.

Mom, Me, Kendyll. Besides being squinty lol, isn't my Mom so pretty? :)

xo,
Amanda

Green Nails

February 22

workout:
3 shoulder machines
3 back machines
10 min treadmill (5 beginning, 5 end)

I had to get up an hour earlier than my usual earliest time (7 instead of 8). I didn't go to bed until a little after 2. Ugh. It took quite the toll on me. After working out I laid down on the couch to take a 30-45 minute siesta. Bella kept licking my face lol, so it turned into more like 15 minutes. Not enough, but I reluctantly woke up in time to make it to physical therapy.

I wasn't hungry until 10 am and had a snack on the way...

-peanut butter full bar
-water

better than the chocolate, I think

Physical therapy sucked. Surprised? lol. They were out of open (large) stretching beds and stuck me in a room on a massage-type table instead where I could barely stretch and kept hitting the wall. Surely I did most of the stretches wrong, as I didn't have the room to execute them properly. Awesome. 9 sessions down, 3 to go. So far: still in constant pain.

-90% of a strawberry banana vivanno smoothie (a little bland, banana chocolate ftw)
-faux chicken parm sandwich (morningstar patty, multigrain sandwich thin, sprinkle of white cheddar + goat cheese, loads of pizza sauce)
-sample of shrimp scampi
-water

the receptionist at physical therapy asked if I was getting ready for St. Patricks Day. At first I thought she was just making odd, random conversation until I realized she asked because of my nail color, lol. I was like "umm...yeah, sure." :-P

cooking scampi

After I made lunch (mine + scampi over pasta para mi madre), I let my Mom take a nap while I perused the interwebz + tv land. Sure enough, right after that I fell back asleep. Until 5 pm. ACK. I slept right through work. Good thing I work for my family or that wouldn't work out so good. I hate naps and wasting my day like that, but I guess I needed it.

-a few candied walnuts (I. can't. stop.)

-veggie masala potato "burger" with deli mustard & half of a multigrain sandwich thin
-fat free refried black beans
-plantains
-water



Not very good (except the plantains) but supeeeeeer filling. And super random to boot.

-a lil chocolate cake dipped in skim milk

my slice

only picture I could get of the b-day cake I made for my Dad's party
center


too full, but couldn't resist a small piece.

-chinese veggie soup



I was stuffed all late afternoon AND nite from my last snack-meal hybrid thing. I ordered chinese delivery with the family, but expected to have to wait 'til lunch tomorrow to touch any of it. At the last second, at 10 pm, I went for the soup to get some veggies in me. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow, though! Moo Goo Gai Pan w/ extra veggies (no rice) + steamed chicken dumplings. Yuuuummm-y!

-tastes of homemade hummus to adjust ingredient levels

-small glass of apple juice



& BTW: Don't Forget to enter Averie's Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter giveaway. Does that not sound incredible or what? Check it out HERE. But HURRY. It ends tonite.

xo,
Amanda

Hungover Home Depot

February 21

-part of a rock candy (I thought it was cotton candy, but it was bubble gum flavored. Yuck)



I woke up feeling so-so. Not great/normal, but not terribly hungover. Just slightly headachy and blah, but nothing like my true "I think I may die, but death probably doesn't even hurt this much" hangovers of the past. I felt slightly worse as the day went on, but again, nothing too bad. I took B vitamins, a multi, 2 fish oil, and a D-3 before bed. Unfortunately we were out of milk thistle, but I took that this morning. I also drank lots of water + an emergen-c. I woke up at 9:30 (went to bed close to 3. yikes late for me now!) and didn't let myself try to go back to sleep (don't think I could have anyway). I just hate the day after excessive drinking, even if I'm not hungover I still feel off. Neeeeded food.

-water
-half an order of eggs benedict
-potatoes



My stomach just barely hurt (slightly acidy) for a couple minutes when we sat down. I'd been looking forward to coffee all morning, but decided it was probably best to pass. Boo. I really wanted a smoothie, but our usual place which we went back to doesn't make them. Oh well. I didn't feel like the usual omelet or anything sweet. I wanted something different. Good choice, as the eggs benedict was delish. I didn't realize it came with potatoes, so I didn't ask for extra crispy. The regular style is actually really fluffy and "pillow-y" lol. I liked 'em, I may have to switch off.

I went to Home Depot after breakfast and think I finally have the plan for my bathroom. Found the perfect tub (extra deep!!!) & perfect (well, as perfect as they had) shower tile. I'm so inlove with the wallpaper & the shower tile border I picked out. Gorgeous. I still have a lot left to pick out, but the idea is coming together now for sure. I've had to let go of my turquoise tile dream, as I can't find any anywhere, but the new plan is pretty rad too and I can add all turquoise accent pieces (bath rug and/or mat, trash can, toothbrush holder, that sorta stuff), so it'll still have a pop of color. I can't WAIT for it all to come together, it's going to be amazing. I know, I know, it's just a bathroom, but.....whirlpool tub with bee-you-tea-ful damask wallpaper to look at. Come on! :)

Starbucks was across the street and I was dying for a milky-coffee drink. Cappuccino it was! And I also finally picked up a box of the vanilla rooibos tea. Much more cost effective and I won't have to wait 30 min to drink it when I make it at home. At a Starbucks recently I was told the tea is brewed at 220 degrees. That's ridiculous. I also hate how they rarely put the little brown sleeves on their drinks anymore. Um. They're still hot. What's up with that? Love the splash sticks though.

-the rest of the eggs benedict and potatoes
-venti nonfat cappuccino (should have gone for the grande)




Let's see, what else...

-banana milkshake (one banana, one cup of skim milk, honey, ice)



I read online that banana milkshakes with honey are great for hangovers. Again, if you'd even call it a hangover, mine was verrry mild, but I did have a headache. This worked like a charm! Yay nutrients.

-chicago popcorn



-a few candied walnuts (adddddicting)

-brown rice tortilla pizza (pizza sauce, white cheddar cheese, sprinkle of goat cheese, basil, oregano, dollop of pesto)
-water



-the rest of my leftover vanilla rooibos tea from yesterday



xo,
Amanda