Since I've Been Gone

Hi friends! I'm back from a much needed and well, necessary blogging break. The truth is, I've missed it!

The last several days have been packed, mostly with work, and it doesn't feel like anything will be slowing down soon! This week I will be working some overtime, which is good and bad. But enough with the boring stuff!

I do have some very exciting news to share! I just paid for my ACSM personal training certification exam!! My current certification is not one I'm really impressed with and I finally decided to just get the one I really want! I am feeling so inspired to start training again:) It will definitely be a nice distraction from my current full time job! This will hopefully be the beginning of a very nice transition to doing something I am passionate about again:) Yay!

Last week was pretty much a blur of work, workouts, errands and just trying to get to the weekend. Not a feeling I am very fond of! Chris knew I had been feeling tired and just plain worn out so he surprised me with a really fun date Friday night to dinner at Bella Bru Cafe, where they had live music on the patio! It was exactly what the doctor ordered! We listened to Blues while we enjoyed a delicious meal:)

So here we are, it's Sunday night and I'm trying to prepare myself for another hectic week. Although, I am a little more ahead of the game than I was last week. Because my Aunt was here last week and we spent a lot of time with my family, I wasn't really home to catch up on laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning, which made this week feel a bit more chaotic. Not that I'm complaining, as we has such a great time with my Aunt!! But now that I've had a whole weekend to catch up, I say "Bring it on Monday!".

Okay, my hubby just brought in my hot tea and reminded me of the time, which means we should probably decide on the movie we're going to watch before I turn into a pumpkin:)

I'll leave you with some photos of the week...

Our delicious wild mushroom bruschetta appetizer at Bella Bru!


Relaxed as can be with his 'Down Town Brown' :)


Look at that Goodness of Tiramisu!


It deserves it's own picture:)


I was out shopping this afternoon and snagged these cute plum colored flats for only $4.90!! Oh how I love good sales:)


I also made a trip to Trader Joe's and picked up some favorite goodies of ours:) This Pesto Torta is oh so good!


And so are these scrumptious treats...dark chocolate covered espresso beans and almond coconut chocolates:)


And finally, their Vodka past sauce...mmm, mmm good!



Stay tuned, I've got some good posts for the week!

All In Good Health

Today's post is on some of my favorite components to my daily snacks (or meals)!

Since I can remember, oatmeal has been a true comfort food of mine. I basically have it everyday and if I don't have it for breakfast, it is usually a part of my morning or afternoon snack. Some think it's weird, but I just think it's delicious!

A few years ago, my Mom shared her discovery of Trader Joe's frozen steel cut oatmeal with me. I was amazed at how tasty it was even though it came frozen! Which, by the way, makes it a great thing to keep at work since it takes a mere 3 minutes to heat up in the microwave. Now before you write this off as another "healthy food" you won't like, let me get to the good part. This steel cut oatmeal is lightly sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup, making it (I believe) a winner even for an oatmeal hater. Now if you happen to be a bit of an oatmeal snob like me, you should know that these taste as good as when I spend the 12 minutes cooking them over the stove! And as oats so wonderfully do, this treat offers 4g of dietary fiber to your meal. Now just add a banana or some berries and you are well on your way to the 25g recommended daily for women (30g for men). How sweet is that?


You all know how much I love my coffee, but maybe not as well known is how much I also love tea. In fact, usually after my morning fix of coffee, I switch to a few cups of tea. So today I'm going to share two of my favorite kinds. They are made by Republic of Tea (thank you, Lael) and very different from your typical green or black tea, as they are red teas made from a blend of rooibos. They are called Get Clean and Get Charged and if you are a tea drinker at all, I recommend you explore these or any of their other fantastic flavors!



Wishing you good health always!