comfort food

Thank you all so much for your kind word and encouragement! That is one thing I absolutely LOVE about this community - bad day? Don't worry, you've got a bunch of friends ready to lift you up. Awesome, thanks everyone. I love you!

Yesterday after I posted I immediately face planted into my bed and took a little nap. After I woke up, I felt much better. My foot was still throbbing, but I felt a little refreshed.

Mommasita then highlighted my hair. Just a fun little fact: we have a hair salon in our basement. When we were younger, mommasita did hair from our house so she could be home with us. I have had my hair cut only twice by other people, one of them including Mandi (friend who just had the baby - btw, her baby is by far the CUTEST thing I have ever seen. You know how many babies look all wrinkly and old when they're born? Not this little guy!!! He has a head full of hair and is beautiful. I am in love...)

Back to the hair highlighting.... I feel really lucky mommasita does hair - it costs a lot of money to go to the salon!!

After I was done, I made myself my version of comfort food:

crispy tofu, grilled potato wedges, broccoli & brussel sprouts

this was all dipped into about 1 cup of ketchup :)

These potato wedges are so good - very simple as well. All you need to do is slice your potato into wedges, toss them in EVOO, garlic, pepper, and basil. Stick them on the grill (about 375 degrees) and cook on each side for about 5 minutes. These bad boys take about 15 minutes total and are so good!

After dinner I went out looking for a mirror again. Believe it or not, I actually found one at Target. Why I didn't go there to begin with is beyond me. Target never fails me. I'll post a pic when it gets up into the bathroom. When I got home, I was tired and my head was pounding. I needed a snack that would make me feel better....

love this guy for a special treat!

topped with a chocolate protein muffin and some justin's honey almond buttah

That definitely hit the spot. I fell asleep early (around 10) and was out until about 6:15 this morning. I guess I was exhausted.

I started my morning with some yoga, inspired by Chelsea. I never have gotten into yoga, but would love to. Whenever I did go to a yoga class, I felt so much more a tpeace with my body - so much more balanced. I feel like it woke me up a lot! Thanks Chelsea!

My breakfast today needed to have a little sunshine in it, so I turned to my trusty breakfast mug, sent to me by Allie! This made me feel better as well.

Sorry for being boring, but you have no idea how many blueberries I have to eat up before they go bad. I may have to take Kelsey's idea to ask you all for help for my future breakfasts!

Question: What should I eat for breakfast tomorrow? Pleeeeease include oatmeal :)

Branching out to New Products

Good afternoon lovies!!! I hope you are having a fabulous day so far.

I did make it until 11:30 last night - then I was knocked out so fast! I noticed the other day I had some questions on my comments and wanted to address them really quick.

How do you find living with your folks? I don't mind it too much. I get along great with Mommasita, so we never have any problems there. We always say if we only had to live and cook for each other, life would be a piece of cake. :) It is hard from time to time because I am an adult, and sometimes the parental units can forget that. However, I do not pay rent, they pay for my groceries, and put a roof over my head. I find because they have been so graceful to let me live here while FH and I saved up money for our home and through renovating it that I should be respectful and follow their rules. It is only fair!

Now that you are "off" for the summer, how do you find your daily and morning routine different from when you teach during the school year? I am a lot less tired - haha. I go to bed later, but tend to wake up still around 6 or 6:30 in the morning no matter what. During the school year, I get up around 5. My breakfasts are the same, just at different times. I am able to eat more throughout the day as I please, which I love :) During the school year, I run after school with friends. During the summer, I run mid-morning after my food digests. This summer is a little different with planning the wedding and renovating the house, but I have a loooot of free time to cook and bake, which I do not have time for during the school year most times. I love being a teacher - I could never imagine doing anything different. I also cannot believe some people have to work during the summer - YUCK!

I started my morning off right with a bowl of whipped banana oats! These were a little dry, probably because the banana was not as ripe as I usually like. This was topped with cinnamon, flax, bloobs, and peanut butter. Yum!

Why yes! That is my new breakfast mug from Allie. Thanks for noticing!

dry, but delicious

I don't even care that you think this looks disgusting. I know how good it tasted going down into my belly.

After breakfast, I did some blog surfing - then I had to head off to Trader Joe's to get more eggs for make another meatloaf. However, when I got home, I realized I still had one more egg in the fridge which is all I needed as I was cutting the recipe in half. RAWR!

However, I was more than okay with this because I picked up a few things I absolutely needed in order for my existence to continue.

Enter in: Apple Pie Lara Bar

Can you believe I have never had one before?

I am now a believer in LaraBars - this was great. I am not at all ashamed of the fact that I ate this at 8:15 in the morning right after my breakfast. Sometimes, a girl just has to do what a girl just has to do!

The bar was soft, chewy, and really did taste like an apple pie. I usually go for bars that have the crunch factor, but I can imagine this would be absolutely delicious if frozen for a while. In fact, I just left my computer to go put one in the freezer. :)

Also neccessary: Trader Joe's Sunflower Seed Butter

I haven't tried it yet, but probably will have some with my nighttime snack. I have never had sunflower seed butter before, but I am sure (just like all other nut butters) I will enjoy it immensely. I love looking forward to something new!

After making my padre his other meatloaf, I set the kids up in the sprinkler outside. They had fun, and I got a little sun - I know, I should be a poet. When we were good an hungry, I brought them inside for some lunch. PB&J was on the menu for them, leftovers were on the menu for me.

salad, carrots, hummus, leftover tofu

Can you even believe that after 4 days I have gotten the kids into a routine of having "rest time" after lunch? They are peacefully watching Enchanted right now on the TV so Auntie Chelsey can have alone time. LOVE IT!!!

Question: What food product have you recently tried that you love? What do you want to try soon that you have been meaning to?

Truth: I forgot a title and added one after this was published.

Thanks for the great comments yesterday! I am so glad you all liked my post last night - I guess I can be creative sometimes. Most of the time, however, I am too lazy....

I got up waaay too early for not getting much sleep this past weekend. I had too many things to accomplish before 9:30 when my babysitting duties started. I had to drag myself out of bed at 6:30 this morning. I won't lie, I walked into my wall... twice. I also walked into the corner of my bed .... that baby hurts! I was NOT excited to be awake at that moment (probably because i was up until after midnight catching up with all the blogs from the past weekend) However, I was very excited to finally eat breakfast at home! I love my morning routine, and I can't stand when it's messed with.

typical whipped banana oats, topped with cinnamon, raisins, and pb

I loooooooooooooooved my breakfast. Maybe it was just because I was so excited to finally be at home, in my chair, reading blogs, and watching The Today Show (at 7). Maybe it was because whipped banana oats are delicious. Maybe it was because the raisins warmed up through the oats and "popped" in my mouth. Whatever it was, I loved it.

I went to the gym to do my weight training session around 8, then headed home at about 9:15 to shower and get ready for the day. My lovely niece and nephew were dropped off at 9:30 (yes, I instantly became a full time babysitter). They were not very thrilled, but we had a lot of errands to run.

I love children. I'm a teacher. They're fun. Guess what. Kids are not so much fun while shopping. Please picture hands flying, kids screaming "Aunt Chelsey I want this!""No, I don't want to go!""Hmmmph you're mean!" all the while, dragging a 6 year old out of Home Depot pouting, yelling at a child in front of many strangers you don't know.... oh man. Don't worry folks - FH and I will be waiting to have children for a long long time. No matter what, I do love these two. They kept me on my toes.

After two short (insert sarcasm here) hours of running errands, I came home to find a package on my doorstep addressed to me. Intrigued, I began to take pictures of the mysterious white box.

what is inside?

a present from Allie!!!


I can't even believe I was patient enough to take pictures

BREAKFAST MUG OF CHAMPION!!!

Allie is such a doll. Last week I commented on how much I loved the breakfast mug she was using for one of her glorious breakfast creations. She quickly emailed me asking me if I would like to receive an early wedding present (24 days... eeeek!!!). I, being the polite bloggie friend, responded YES - My momma always taught me to graciously accept (and give) gifts. :) This baby can be found here. It is such a great breakfast mug! Just one more reason to look forward to breakfast tomorrow.


I then made lunch for the rugrats - I was surprised at how easy it was to get them to eat healthfully. I really do believe that children will eat what is given to them, healthy or not. I am a firm believer in "tough love". I don't think children should be given the opportunity to make some decisions for themselves until they are at an older age. One of these decisions includes food. Sure, kids should be able to choose between different foods (grilled cheese or pb&j?), but the choices should be limited and healthy.

enjoying a salad (yes, she asked for one!!), and grapes - enjoying grilled cheese, cukes, and grapes. This boy downed the grapes like you would not believe!!!

I was so worried about getting the food on the table for them that I forgot to take a picture of mine! Don't worry, you're not missing much. Standard salad topped with hummus with zucchini, crackers, hummus, and grapes on the side. Lauren's fun fact from comments yesterday said:

Fact: the serving size on the tub of hummus is 2 tbsp
Opinion: the serving size on the tub of hummus is stupid.

BAHAHAHAH! I could not agree more! 2 TBSP? Pleeeeease!!! I don't even know what 2 TBSP looks like. What's a serving size again? I kind of just eat it until I get full.

Up next... the park! Despite the moderately scorching weather, we braved the Chicago humidity and walked to the park down the street. Yes, whining did occur, but I made them stick it out and play outside!

they're such hams

I cozied up with a great book and supervised the play time. This book is awesome. I am almost done with it and I started it yesterday. Anna Quindlen is a great fiction author - easy reads, but great stories.

oh, hello engagement ring! i love the way you sparkle in the sun!!

After my sister relieved me from my duties, I ran a few more errands (as if I didn't do enough of that this morning). I visisted my friend Mandi who is due to have her baby tomorrow! I am holding out for tomorrow, but she thinks she is going to fly right through it! I think it would be so cool though. Her mom's birthday is July 7, her birthday is July 7, and she is due to have her baby on July 7. Do you share a birthday with a family member? My dad and I share the same birthday - it has always been pretty cool!

I also went to the store to pick up a few essentials!

tip: when buying bananas, get 2 bunches. a green bunch, and a yellow bunch. the green bunch will be ready to eat when the others are gone! (those bloobs are going to be delicious in my oatmeal tomorrow)

not one, but TWO coupons for Silk Almond Milk!

I had to get rid of some veggies before they went bad, so tonight's dinner is something I call Operation Clean Out the Fridge. I love these dinners so much - they always turn out so yummy! It's one of my favorite things to throw a whole bunch of stuff in a skillet and call it dinner.

In the skillet went: onion, garlic, pepper, zucchini, brussel sprouts, chick peas, stewed tomatoes.
On the side: sauteed spinach and garlic

Absolutely delicious. The skillets were filled to the brim and mommasita and I dominated the thing! Is it bad to say I want more? Unfortunately it is gone, but that doesn't mean I can't have a snack (or two) ((or three)) before bed tonight. I think it's going to be an early one due to my eyelids already closing on me at 8:45.

Pathetic? I'm okay with it.

Question: What is a meal you have made that turned out far better than you could have ever imagined?