Holiday ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAD

We're back from Oregon! We had a wonderful visit with family. It's been tough getting back to reality. I am coping with cyber monday deals. Healthy, I know. By the way, I signed up for six classes next semester. Financially it's smarter for me to take six classes a semester than to take my usual four. The California teaching credential program has about thirty one units total so I'm hoping to knock most of it out in 2 semesters.



Our family road trip started out with a drive to UC Riverside to pick up my baby sister Emily. Isn't her dorm room cute? Not gonna lie, I am thrilled that I never lived in a dorm. I think I would have hated it.



The dorm room door is cute though and Emily's roommate seems sweet and quiet. Emily says she's a great roomie.



After visiting Emily's dorm, we drove back home. (Riverside is about 2 hours from where we live with traffic. And of course we hit holiday traffic!)



My cousin Helena, Sarah, Andy and myself drove in one car and my parents, Emily and Daniel drove in another. It was nice not to be cramped in one car. Here is Sarah posing with some delicious Country Choice Organic Iced Oatmeal cookies. Perfect road trip snack!



These are super addicting.



They are sweet and crunchy without tasting too sugary. I give them 2 thumbs up.



Road trip tunes via Andy's ipod.



We stopped in Weed, Ca for lunch. Yes, we were extremely amused by Weed.









The Weed store was also entertaining. (we had driven about 6 hours at this point. delirium sets in after 5 hours of driving.)





Once we got to Bend, Oregon we stopped at my Aunt Carolyn's house to celebrate my 2nd cousin Ben's 1st birthday! Ben is such a cutie. Totally makes me want a baby.



Ben and his aunt (my cousin) Sam.

We stayed in a town called Sunriver. It was a 15 minute drive from Bend.



Snow!



Andy, Emily and me standing out front of the house.



Emily, Sarah, me and Andy. (I have another sister named Kerry who had to work. She stayed home in California. We missed you Kerry!)



I'm pretty exhausted myself. It took us FOREVER to get home last night due to holiday traffic. I'm going to attempt unpacking now. Can't wait to catch up on blogs and see what you are all up to! And don't worry, we had tons of Oregonian adventures to share with you.

YAY!!

I am too excited to do a proper post but...

I was accepted into the teaching credential program! I start going back to school in January.

I am beyond thrilled.

Happy Birthday Boo!

Yesterday was Andy's 27th birthday! We spent the day in San Diego with Andy's mom shopping, talking and eating. I didn't food blog because I wanted to sit back and relax a little.



Andy in Hawaii looking ultra handsome. I love travelling together!



Andy at the Vatican in Italy.



Obviously getting married was a highlight.



And getting engaged too! We got engaged last November..



I love how Andy gets along with my family. That's my little brother Daniel.





I love our weird sense of humor.





Happy birthday Andy! Love you!!!!

I'll be back to regular blogging Monday. I have tons of blogs to catch up on!

On the road again

"Just can't wait to get on the road again..." Tonight Andy and I are driving to see his parents out in San Diego. We live in Ventura County so we are about 2.5 hours away. Of course I am seeing New Moon with some of my favorite girls so we aren't going to leave for San Diego until about 11 or 12 pm! CRAZY!!! It'll be totally worth it to see Andy's parents. I love spending time with them. I have to say I am very thankful for my in-laws.

My parents on the other hand...well they have 5 children. They have an excuse to be a little crazy. Obviously I like them! Andy and I are road tripping with my fam to Bend, Oregon for Thanksgiving! This is something I never would have been able to do in the past. So I seized the opportunity to see my family and coerced my dad into taking the family to Oregon. (I have 3 aunts and a handful of cousins and a shiny new 2nd cousin who all live there.) I am so thrilled!!! Family has always been so important to me and I really miss when all of my relatives lived closer. My wedding was perfect because almost all of aunts and uncles came. It's a little scary seeing them all grown up with kids now! So we are driving for 14 hours to see them. SCARY!

On that note, HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN RILEY!!! See you soon! (I have baby fever. I might try to hold Ben waaaay too much.)

Yesterday I was going to try to do Vegan 4 A Day and completely forgot. This proves that I can never be a vegan. Instead I went out to breakfast with my friend Sam from See Sami Eat.



Started out with a delicious crepe.



Huevos rancheros. I am officially obsessed.



There was avocado hidden under there.



Delicious flavored coffee.

And good conversation. Sam and I met when she was a customer at my old work. Later we worked at the same place. Now we're good friends. We have tons in common so it's easy to talk. We are going on a run today...needless to say I am a little freaked. I haven't run since I majorily messed up my knee. My knee feels great now so I think I'll be okay...still nervous!



The folks over at Al Dente Pasta were kind enough to send me some samples of their pasta. I was intrigued by the colors, the flavors and the quick cooking (boil water and leave pasta in for 3! minutes) method. I had some veggies on hand and knew I had to try this out!



I tossed in everything that was in the fridge. Chicken apple sausages, roasted eggplant, roasted tomato, pesto, asiago cheese, roasted zucchini and feta cheese. It was so quick and easy to make! Love this pasta. The noodles come out perfect in just 3 minutes like they said!



Alright I'm off to read some emails, take a big test (!!!), run with Sam and drink loads of coffee. Catch ya'll later.

Trying new things.

Yesterday I went out to lunch with a friend. She suggested a couple of things and I decided on Thai food! I always get the same two things though, so I decided to change it up a bit.



I ordered Cashew Chicken.



It came with one crispy & crunchy eggroll. I love eggrolls!



And a rice heart. This won me over. I was going to avoid the white rice but how could I resist this?



I mixed it all together like "londy-londy wanna go down." (Yes, I am listening to Fergie's-London Bridge right now.)

After lunch and an impromptu shopping trip at Tar-jay, I came home and busted out my 30 day shred video. I haven't been running since I hurt my knee. Luckily 20 minutes of the Shred video + 20 minutes of pilates burns the same amount of calories. (Keep it mind, I wasn't running very fast or far.)

Jillian Michaels is intense. I barely made it through this one. I also did side planks. Why didn't anyone warn me? Side planks are officially the devil. My body hates me today.

I'm sticking with planks though. They get the job done. And my abs are purely flab. I could use some strong muscle under there.



Dinner last night was sushi.



I don't really love sushi, so I ordered tempura for Andy and I to share and some veggie rolls.



These asparagus and shrimp rolls were out of this world good. I actually ate them!!! I split this with a friend.



mmm tempura asparagus. These rolls are good because it's just a tiny piece of tempura. And it's surprisingly not too greasy.



Andy got spicy tuna.



An eel roll. Which he tried to convince me to try, but I refuse to have any of it!



I'll stick to my veggie rolls thank you very much!

Challenge total so far- $70.34. Not too bad. Not too good. I still have tons of samples and a few celebratory meals left but still. I have made quite a few excuses-"oh this doesn't count because (insert lame excuse here.)"

Overall, I have learned a lot from the challenge. Restricting my spending forces me to be creative with dinner. I've learned to try new things and to keep an open mind. Next month I'll probably cap our spending at $300. Keep in mind we were spending up to $500-$600 a month on meals out, coffee and groceries. I know we won't get back there. I enjoy cooking way too much and making dinner at home is SO much cheaper than going out.

I'm not disappointed in how we are doing with the challenge because it was designed to teach us to make due with what we have. I think the point of the challenge was not to focus on the number so much but to limit the spending. I can't even tell you how many times I used to impulse shop. We still have way too much in our pantry and we are going to use it all!

$29.66 for 12 days? Yeah, not gonna happen. Should I raise the number from $100 to $150? Or should I just see how we do?

Also I miss greek yogurt. I had some coupons which were great but now I have none! SAD. Guess I'll have to wait to December.

Meat and Potatoes.

Last night, I made dinner FOR A MAN. Please click the link read Kalin's blog. She is hilarious!



I took 1/2 onion and 2 cloves of garlic and caramelized them. It was a slow process. I put the burner on low, added a tbsp of olive oil and stirred.



While the on-yons and GAAAAAHHLIC (a nod to Andy's grandma's southern boyfriend) did their thing, I put a pot roast in the oven with more onions. I was paranoid about cooking a pot roast. I kept checking the thermometer to see if the internal temp had reached 145*.



Of course, a pot roast cannot be complete without potatoes. I took these mini yellow potatoes and cut off the ugly bits. (I leave the skin on!)

For my mashed potatoes;

use 1 bag mini-yellow potatoes
1/2 cup caramelized onions and garlic
1/2 cup fat-free milk
a dash of half and half
salt to taste
pepper to taste
and 1 tbsp real butter.

The addition of the onions adds so much flavor. (Please feel free to substitute almond milk and earth balance if you are participating in Vegan Week (Or if you are a vegan!) And make some meatless meatloaf ala See Sarah Eat

I definitely could use more vegan meals in my life. But alas, I made pot roast. And it was SO GOOD!!!!



I was so happy with how this turned out. The pot roast had tons of flavor and the potatoes were spot on. I'm almost 100% irish so I know my potatoes. I loved these! I just wish I would have had some veggies on hand. I think some carrots, parsnips or green beans would have complimented this nicely.



But I digress, sometimes meat and potatoes is satisfying. Today I will focus on more veggies. I plan on doing something magical with a butternut squash and an eggplant.

3 things before I go.

1. My weigh-in last night wasn't as good as I expected. I lost 0.6. Which means I need to lose 0.4 to be at 10 lbs lost. Andy's birthday is on Saturday and I plan on sharing some sort of dessert with him...but I'm nervous. I plan on amping up the workouts!

2. Check out Lindsey's Give and Feel Good Challenge. I have been trying to do the dishes everyday. It's a way for me to give to Andy. I loathe doing dishes but it makes me feel good to do them for a change. Andy works so hard and deserves some sort of a break when he gets home!

3. Do you crave veggies? I always do after a few days of carbs, meat and starch. I'm on my way to drinking a big GREEN Amazing Grass Smoothie right now.

P.S. I am seeing New Moon friday! YAY!!!!!!!

Paradise Falls

Last week, my friend Diana asked me to go hiking with her. I happily agreed. I've been needing something like this!

But first, let's rewind to last night.



I wanted to make something quick and easy but didn't know where to start with what we have in the house. The Challenge reminded me to be resourceful.

I took 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (leftover in the fridge and needed to be used), 1 can chicken broth, 1 can sweet corn, half a jar of black bean salsa, a few dashes of tapatio, cumin, sea salt and dumped it all in a pan with the Chicken Chile Verde.



Topped it with the remaining wedge of sharp cheddar and enjoyed it with some chips and hummus. We buy our Sabra hummus from Costco. It lasts forever! We bought this one mid October.



The soup was pretty good for being made up of odds and ends. I would have preferred to garnish it with sour cream, tortilla chips and avocado but we don't have any of those. The old me would have made a beeline for the nearest grocery store but the new me knew I could live without it. (I love the new me!)



We hiked about 4-5 miles (Right Diana?) through this beautiful area in Thousand Oaks. I had no idea it even existed.



We passed a large teepee. (I was huffing and puffing the entire hike so I didn't take as many pictures as I should have!)



The waterfall we hiked to was well worth it! It was really flowing! I was expecting to see a much smaller waterfall.



Diana and I sat for awhile and talked about life. It was relaxing and so nice. I've forgotten to appreciate nature recently. Who knew this waterfall was only 30 minutes away?



I am totally looking forward to more hikes/more outdoorsy-type workouts. The treadmill is getting quite boring. Plus we are enemies. Have I told you about the girl at the gym yet?

Ugh.

So there is a girl who works out at the gym at the same time as me. She runs like the wind and I am jealous of her. Sometimes I try to compete with her ("if she runs for 20 minutes, you should run for 25 minutes!) and it's ridiculously silly of me.

Do you ever find yourself being competitive? Usually I am not a competitive person at all but I'm totally jealous of all the runners in my life. I wish I could be like that!


Good Mood Gig from SAM-e

Also please vote for Meghann. She is one of my favorite bloggers and is so sweet in person. (We met briefly at the Foodbuzz Festival. This really would be a great opportunity for her. Thanks!