The Buddha is alive and well

Fri, Mar 12, 2010

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Hi Everyone

This week was another fun filled,  busy week.

Breakfast consisted of a smoothie of some sort just about every morning.

This one had frozen blueberries, frozen banana, soy milk, water & protein powder.

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This one was made with a handful of spinach, a scoop of Amazing Meal, frozen bananas and soy milk.

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Thanks Trudy for these beautiful wine glasses! I haven’t had any good red wine lately but I had to put them to use!

I found my new favorite hummus.  Normally, I go for the Trader Joes Roasted Red Pepper but this stuff is great.

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My lunches were either a huge salad….

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Or the new concoction I came up with.  Half a Sandwich Thin, Hummus, Baby Spinach, Avocado and Hot Sauce.  I was a little nervous to try it but it hit the spot.

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I’ve probably ate about 3 of these Egg Puffs this week ( 1 egg, hot sauce and sea salt)

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As all of you know, I’m a big lover of Greek Yogurt.  I bought some Chobani Peach at Whole Foods this week, not to shabby!

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While I was on my little trip to Whole Foods, I stopped in the juice aisle and decided it’d be a good idea to try Coconut Water.  I tried both of these brands.

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I discovered that I’m not a huge fan of it by itself. I could never sit down and chug Coconut Water. But because of it’s nutritional value you can bet I’ll be adding it to my smoothies from now on.

Since the weather has been so nice lately, Will thought it’d be the perfect time to fire up the Chiminea aka ” The Buddha”

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(Look Chris…you made my blog this time! :) )

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If you read my last post, you saw that I was reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. What a great book!  But now, I’m moving onto this Month’s book for my Book Club.  Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore.

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This weekend I’ll be off to beautiful Naples, FL for our yearly family vacation.  I’ll be posting as soon as I get back.

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Well that pretty much sums up my week.  I’ll leave you with one more picture….

Believe it or not, we had this picture taken before a Drag Show last week! :) No, we don’t frequent Drag Shows, it just so happened there was one at the same venue where our friends band was playing that night. Fun times!

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Hope everyone has a good weekend!

:)

Nicole

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I’m back!

Fri, Mar 5, 2010

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Hello again Blog World!

I’m back from my hiatus and ready to get this blog going again.  My apologies for not having a formal “good bye” but things just got super busy in my world.  But, nevertheless, I’m happy to be back.

While I was away I made a trip to Memphis.

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Froze my rear end off at a College Football bowl game!

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Joined a Book Club. I’m reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett at the moment. Even though I’m only on page 75 I’m already in love with it.  Go get it and read it, you’ll thank me. :)

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Since I feel like I’m lacking a little bit in the “community service” aspect of my life I’ve decided to join the Junior League  http://www.ajli.org/ My provisional year doesn’t start until June, so I’m anxiously awaiting that.

My Uncle, who used to teach a Bible Literature class at a local high school is now retired and teaches a shorter version of the class at our church.   www.stlukesumc.com I’m taking his class once a week  and I’ve already learned so much about the Bible that I didn’t know.  I love love love it!

Believe it or not I actually learned how to knit.  Here’s the hat I made in January.

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No, this picture wasn’t taken in a studio. That’s Will’s green accent wall at his house! It’s actually not that “tacky” in real life.  I’m working on a matching scarf right now.

I’ve also been training to run a Half Marathon. Sadly, last Monday something horrible happened to my knee and I can’t put ANY pressure on it. I’ve done my research and basically my training to run the half marathon is done for the next 30 days at the least.  This puts me WAY behind schedule and I’m really really really disappointed. But, things happen and I’m on the bike trying to keep my endurance up.

On a lighter note, lets talk food.  Dinner last night was a glorious veggie and turkey sausage stir fry.  YUM!

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Today so far I’ve had two Puff Eggs with hot sauce and sea salt. (thanks, www.fitnessista.com for the idea) and an orange.

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That’s all for now folks! Glad to be back…..  :)

Nicole

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All in a day!

Fri, Nov 13, 2009

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I started reading a new book yesterday, it’s called Precious. I think it’s about to come out in the theaters soon.  I probably won’t go see it. I’m half was through this book and it’s pretty disturbing, I feel horrible for the main character.  Although it’s not a true story, I know there are kids out there that go through the exact same things and it’s just sad.

Anyway, yesterday after getting a few things done here at work, we breaked for lunch and I made Organic Mac & Cheese with steamed broccoli.

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I always get tired after I eat, so I made a little bit of coffee. The barista at starbucks gave us a handful of the Instant coffee and we love it!

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I always put a little bit of Raw Agave Nectar in my coffee…it’s much better than sugar or artificial sweeteners.

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I have another obsession that I haven’t shared on the blog yet. I absolutely love my two little plants. :) Hahah!  I bought them a few months before I moved from Chicago and they’re still alive and kicking.  The large one is a Jade Plant (My FAVORITE) and the small on is a succulent plant called an Elephant Bush.

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Anyway, back on track.  For dinner last night I made Homemade Lasagna (it’s so easy) and green beans with 1/2 an onions and 2 cloves of garlic. I made the lasagna with Whole Grain Lasagna noodles, low fat cottage cheese, organic pasta sauce, ground turkey and fresh baby spinach.

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I guess I ate a lot of pasta yesterday! Oh well, more energy!

Today has started of good so far. I did a little reading this morning before heading off to work and made myself Gluten Free Rolled Oats with milk and a little bit of honey. Yum!

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That’s about it for now. I’ve got lunch plans with my Mom, Dad and my Uncle today, so it should be fun! :)

Bye

Nicole

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I’m not a morning person

Thu, Nov 12, 2009

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As much as I try, I will never be a morning person, ever. I can’t seem to pull myself out of bed when the alarm goes off. Thank goodness someone invented the snooze button.  Honestly, if I never set my alarm there would be days when I really think I could sleep until 10am.  But, I wouldn’t want to do that because that would mean my mornings would be  completely wasted.

Even though I dispise getting up, I really like morning time.  I love the smell and taste of Coffee, the sun coming up, how quiet and peaceful things seem to be, once I’m up and out of bed mornings are great! :)

This morning it was foggy, and I saw the first frost of the season.  I made another blueberry smoothie and started checking my emails.

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As the morning ran on I got the munchies.  I had a craving for chips and salsa at10:30am!  Weird, but it hit the spot.

I bought Veggie & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips from Trader Joe’s a while ago and they go really well with salsa.

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The rest of today will consist of meetings and working.

I’ll be back later on :)

Nicole

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Just another Wednesday

Wed, Nov 11, 2009

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Just for the heck of it Will and I decided to go to Mo’s Steakhouse tonight for dinner. Thank goodness we got there early. Believe it or not, it was packed on a Wednesday night.

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I also needed an excuse to wear the new dress Will bought me.  :)     He knows my style and size perfectly!

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I wasn’t all that hungry, and I really don’t get excited about huge pieces of steak, so I ordered a crab cake.

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A cup of Lobster bisque.

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And a Ceaser Salad

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I’ve been on an “after dinner coffee”  kick lately.  I think it’s the greatest way to end a nice relaxing dinner.

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Sorry about the bad pictures tonight. The lighting in there was horrible.

Well, I’m off to Target and Barnes and Noble for the rest of the evening.

Bye

Nicole

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