Summer Lulls. Haute Dog.

"A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession." - Albert Camus

This quote makes me think of my life.  When you are on track, life is beautiful, when you are off, the only person you really have to face is yourself and that is the biggest beezy of judging of them all.  I myself decided to jump off the wagon.  I "needed" a break from being healthy.  It sounds much more ridiculous when you write it down than it does when you actually think it... 

Jackalope and I lacing up for a run... a much needed run...

I seem to always hit this summer lull when I think I am done wearing a bikini and ready for nachos, margaritas and whatever the eff sounds delicious and naughty.   I feel it coming on.  I feel myself letting go of my morning runs and my menu planning.  I feel myself reaching for the cookies at BBQs that were previously ignored.  I feel myself being a jerk, so I should soon feel my foot in my own arse.

Mommmm move your ass!

I don't like feeling bad about myself.  I don't like being angry at myself for skipping my run and sleeping an extra 35 minutes.  And neither does Sir Jackalope, so he starts barking at 6am and my lazy donk gets out of bed.  Not for him, but for us both... Though mostly him because I cannot sleep anyways.

 Lights Out!

I returned the favor with an extra long, extra hot afternoon run.  Jack prefers morning runs, Emma prefers just sleeping and having cute photos taken of her.

Emma Lillian the Lioness!

She also got a hair cut...

Someone's gotta play the part of the pretty blonde...

Today we are almost back on track, minus the 2 homemade margaritas I've sipped.  They are Skinny Girl margaritas, sooo that's fine eh?  Jackalope and I ran this morning, we will be running tomorrow, and we're getting back on track.  Sometimes I am just lazy, and sometimes that is just the way it is.

xo

Bikini = Chia Choco Peanutty Blues Protein Pancake

"Be careful about reading health books, you may die of a misprint."

Do you ever find yourself being a bit too obsessive about reading everything there is to know about being healthy, eating well, working out and being overall ridiculously awesome? Probably just me yet again. So at the end of last week I was preparing to head out to the river so was obviously working out a ton, eating for a bikini, and mentally preparing myself to relax and just be in my bikini. Not easy for me to do at all.

Ordinarily I feel the pressure of eating too healthy and find myself reaching for anything sugary salty and delicious to ease my pain. But this week was different. This time I was armed with Chia Choco Peanutty Blues Protein Pancakes. This is a recipe I have created in adaptation of various protein pancakes I've tried from Tone It Up, PB Fingers, and a few others. This recipe is delicious, nutritious, packed with protein, fiber, antioxidants and to me tastes better than the daily morning Pop Tart I'd rock my day out with in high school.

Start with 1 tablespoon of Chia Seeds

Add a tablespoon of Flax Meal (grounded flax seeds), and a scoop of Chocolate Protein Powder

Add 1/4 cup of Organic Egg Whites

Start mixing it up!

After the mixture is smooth, start folding in a handful of blueberries. About 1/4 of a cup. It helps to scrape the bowl with a pastry spatula!

Cook it up like a regular pancake, you will hear it start to pop and sizzle, and just ease your spatula underneath the pancake to see if it's ready to flip. It helps if you use one spatula to flip, and a spatula or spoon to help guide the pancake on the flip spatch!

Add a teaspoon of Organic Peanut Butter after it's cooked!

Avoid peanut buttah face!

After a week of working out, eating well, and setting yourself up for success every morning with a Chia Choco Peanutty Blues Protein Pancake, go enjoy yourself at the river! Jump with your friends, and remember you work your arss off everyday to feel good about yourself. So ACTUALLY feel good about yourself, or what is it all worth? xo

Chia Choco Peanutty Blues Protein Pancake

1/4 cup Organic Egg Whites (Whole Foods)
1/4 cup Organic Blueberries (Whole Foods)
1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder (Sun Warrior is the BOMB DOT COM)
1 tablespoon Flax Meal (Henry's)
1 tablespoon Chia Seeds (Whole Foods)
1 teaspoon of Organic Peanut Butter (Whole Foods)

Mix all ingredients except blueberries and peanut butter. Fold in blueberries, fry it up like a pancake. Add Peanut Butter as syrup. Nom nom nom away!

Nutrition Facts:
265 Calories
26.5 grams of Protein
10 grams of Fiber
4 grams of Sugar (that's it!)

catching up with summa summa

"Basstrackers, bayliners and a party barge, strung together like a floating trailer park, anchored out and gettin loud all summer long, side by side there's five houseboat front porches, astroturf, lawn chairs and tiki torches, regular joes rocking the boat that's us, the redneck yacht club!" - Craig Morgan, Red Neck Yacht Club

So it's been a haute minute since I last posted.  I've been pretty busy between staycationing, playing OTL, and running head on full speed with my new job.  This summer has felt a bit like a comfortable warm red neck yacht club vacation with the ones I love the mostest.  Being with family and the friends in low places I call my own, really made me stop to think and remember to be thankful for all I am blessed with.  Including the ability to still dive and roll through the sand in my quest to one day win OTL...

Not to worry... I caught it... But it hurt like whoa.

I found something else this summer, my age, at least it was the first time I have felt myself getting older.  I used to be able to run, dive, be dehydrated and bounce right back the next day on a couple hours of sleep.  The funny thing is I am much healthier now than I had ever been through my youth and athletic career.  I used to live off of cereal, chocolate, and no water.  These days my favorite nosh is baked kale chips, and dessert consists of a piece of fruit when the craving surfaces.

Hubs and my cousin's son Brandt Man.  Stud to the muffins.

There's a good chance hubs will not like me posting this photo, but it makes my heart warm so we'll deal with that later if need be...  This past week I was spoiled with a staycation with my family.  Although hubs insisted on bringing the deep fryer along for nightly meals, they fried everything, dough, onion rings, french fries, you name it.  Mix that with my family's shared love of kale, and our obsession with wine and beach fire s'mores, and I was obviously feeling more than fabulous in my bikini... pause.  Nyaattttt! 

 

It's Wine o'clock somewhere!

I don't know if there is anything more beautifully relaxing than wine and a sunset off the water.  Not to mention running by the water is more relaxing.  It may have been my dad who insisted on riding his bike alongside me as I trudged through miles each morning to prevent me from being kidnapped of course, but running at the beach was easy and I woke up every morning before 6:30 on my staycay to run.  What's more, I really, really looked forward to it like it was a treat.  Totally not a treat on most days in the real world.

Blonde Beezies on Court 27

I think I also liked running in the morning because it was like my morning workout preparing for our weekend of OTL ahead of us.  Yeah... I really take this OTL business seriously...

We coulda had it all... Rollin' in the dirt...

This was the one that really hurt, actually stills hurts as I sit here typing 5 days later...  I somehow landed on my back on the end of this dive and my neck still ain't feelin' quite right. 

Most amazing lady lovelies I know...

In the end, the neither the Blonde Beezies or the Bruin Bombshells won it all, despite our diving triumphs.  The ridiculous competitive blood in my veins still boils a bit just thinking about it, but oh well, 364 more days until next year's OTL World Championship, gotta keep in shape, and perfect my swing...

Thanks to my fam and all the beezies that keep me grounded and provide an enormous amount of love and happiness in my life.  Thanks for making fun of me for eating protein pancakes every morning instead of cinnamon rolls, but still making sure there was a healthy vegetarian option alongside all that was fried and glorious.

Hat says it all...

I look forward to aging with all of you and one day soaking it all in while flubbin' and remembering how we used to could.  Here's to one day taking the 'ship at OTL.

Exercise Guilt and Multi-Tasking Workouts

"To be awesome, you have to be good at multitasking." - Shakespeare? Lies, that's a Whitney original...

I myself am indeed a great multitask-er and as we know am super awesome. 

How many people do you know that can chug wine AND take a picture of themselves at the same time?

The skinny of it is, my workout routine has been a bit disjointed.  Jack and I sneak in our morning runs, but the length of each run has been all over the map this past week.  Mostly short and sweet ranging from 13 - 38 minutes all just depending on how much time I have to get to work.  I have gone in a bit early to play catch up but obviously felt no need to adjust my alarm clock.

Run mo fast, Run mo long!

Short workout or long, by 8:00am I am a real hungry girl devouring my protein shake and already dreaming of my mid-morning snack.  By 4pm however on the day I ran 13 minutes my body head starts to get real upset with me, telling me mean and nasty things about myself for slacking on my morning run.  On Tuesday, the day Jack and I sprinted for 13 minutes, my day was literally filled up by the hour until 10pm.  I had to have my car smogged, and it failed so that's a plus, so I decided when I dropped my car off to do a 25 minute run around the neighborhood.  Good idea, though the man at the smog shop was not particularly impressed and thought I was a bit odd.

 Scrapping the bottom of this delish barrel

This past weekend we played in an OTL tournament so I ran around in the sand all day, but since my working out was not measurable, and I stuffed my face with snacks and cheez-its all day, my body head told me I needed an intense workout on Sunday.  Sunday comes, jam-packed with a to-do list around the house complete with a trip to the laundry mat.

While my clothes were drying I thought it was a perfect time to run for 35 minutes.  Also a seemingly brilliant plan, though it was ridiculously hot out, I didn't bring glide, wore a thin tank top from Forever 21 (no it was not sweat-wicking) and ended up chaffing... under my arms which has NEVER happened to me.  Killer.

You no take me to smog shop for run, I eat your shoes and wake you up so you can't sleep in.... EVER!

The short of it, I got my workouts in, randomly but I got them in... Until this morning.  I was out late last night playing 3 games of slo-pitch, one of which was the championship, we lost and I was upset.  I did not sleep so well so vowed to sleep in the extra 3 minutes this morning by the time Jackalope started barking relentlessly wanting his morning run.  I basically just laid there in bed thinking about how I should have been running.  At 10am sans run, I was even more exhausted than before and feeling even more upset for not running this morning.

No cup of coffee could save me today...

My 'tude made me think of an old PB Fingers post on how to handle exercise guilt. I revisited this post and this quote stuck out for me, "Our life should be our priority.  Sometimes family members, friends or our job require our time and attention more than the gym."  True story morning glory.  As I type now I am accompanied with a glass of wine and a sigh of relief.  I do the best I can to take car of this old body of mine, but I am probably not doing it any favors if I am running into the ground and obsessing over every minute of movement or lack there of.

Take a breath folks, stick to your routine, listen to your body, and when in doubt there's always Tiger Balm.  Time for some dessert... Hmmm popcorn?  Yogurt? 

xo

Family. Crazy. Balance.

"Commitment is like being pregnant, you either are or you're not.  You can't be kind of pregnant." - Susie Q. 

I have been trying real hard to implement balance in my life over the past few months, and for some reason it reminds me of this saying my coach liked to say now and again.  Pretty sure she used it with two purposes, to scare us into how committed to the game and our team we needed to be, and to also remind us to not get pregnant.  Either way, that ish worked.

 Susie herself! 

 She had some brilliant one liners and analogies, but of all the important things she taught me about character, responsibility and life, this one was my favorite.  You have to commit yourself to being balanced.  If you limp in one day out the next, then you're technically out of balance right there.  It's a tall order when you think of the balls we all have lobbed in the air at any given time:

work workout.healthy eating.hubs.dogs.running.running with Jackalope.cleaning the house.yoga?writing a blog.watching TV .not stepping in the ish that is drama and dragging it around the house (it smells).flossing.being a better golfer.perfecting protein shakes.slo-pitch (2 teams).getting ready for OTL.grilling out this Sunday.fixing up the new house.rocking your new job.making sure Jackalope doesn't drop a dooce on the neighbor's lawn...

In the end it's family that can hold your hand to keep you balanced so you don't fall, or laughs with at you and then helps you up.

Balancing this family can be a challenge wicked awesome good time.

You don't get to pick your family at birth, but you can as life goes on.  My real extended family is crazy.  We're talking out of control ruin your Christmas, birthday and funerals type crazy.  Luckily, at my core, my mom, dad, brother and hubs are awesome and have attracted the awesomeness of others to create our own brood. 

Someone's gotta hold Jackalope... Granddaddy loves his Granddogger, and refuses to hold his tongue about wanting a real Grandchild.

What I really appreciate about my melting pot of a family is that they just let me be.  They let me be cranky.  They let me eat bird food.  They let me go on rants about eating healthier as a family.  Most of them are just as competitive as I am (which is a whole 'notha level of crazy)...  My family takes enjoying-life pretty seriously, and in the summertime the sentiment is heightened.  We are known for volleyball BBQs in our back yard and have only been shut down by the cops twice in the 15 years or so I can remember playing for noise violations... 

My serves are as well mannered as my popped collar...

We are also known for food.  You cannot come to our house and leave feeling like you don't have to vomit from over eating.  It's not okay, you will want to vomit.  But in the past I have found that I gain weight every summer during the time when I am supposed to don a bikini and parade with these crazies at the river.  It doesn't make me happy, and I have yet to stay in balance through a summer.

My happy place is bringing thai lime cashews to the party...

But this year is different.  I am not going to kind-of be in balance, eat well during the week, and feed the screaming bloody murder chubby kid in my stomach on the weekends.  I am bringing healthy indulgences to the party like thai lime cashews, and eating what makes me happy, but not on behalf of the entire population because it's a "free day" and I will likely never see food again.

See only crazy sometimes.  Lies, crazy doesn't just go dormant...

And again, the fam dam taught me something about myself.  Balance in my eating, in my health, in my life and in my relationships comes down to commitment to each of those things separately.  It's not my family's job to yell at me for eating a plate of cheese sauce, they'd probably knuckle bump me, but they do make it their job to tell me when I am being a buzzkill to their good time.  I.E. Me overeating and then complaining about how terrible of a person I am for hours to come.  And mind you most of this self bashing happened to the old me, before I committed to a healthier me inside and out.  But when Jezebel gets out of her cage from time to time, I am thankful my family has no problem smacking her back into place.

Xo

peanut butter and good times

"wow, that was a productive week. *faceplant*" - my good friend, PR and fashionista extraordinaire, Danielle

It's like she crept right into my mind at 5:30ish this evening, as this quote sums up my week. Let's recap:

• I started a new job
• Rebuilt our closets at the new house (lies that was hubs and my dad, but strategizing on how it went down and making sure they were fed is tough business)
• Ran everyday, twice a day (not because I am crazy but because Jackalope the man needed some attention per his summer solstice)
• Ran one time with my bestie (WEEK HIGHLIGHT)
• Currently someone is rolling down our street blasting Whitney Houston and ooohhh I wanna dance with somebody (If you've ever seen me karaoke this, you know that Ms. Houston should actually pay me royalties...)
• Ate a lot of peanut butter...

Girrllll's a buttah face!

Literally it has been my snack everyday in between lunch and dinner. (I have a jar at my desk, and take a spoonful when no one is watching) Word.  Oh and I have almond butter with my morning protein shake everyday... So if someone would like to calculate the amount of nut butter my body is currently fueled with, I might draw a picture of myself eating nut butter or something real fancy like that....

No but I am not kidding.  It's out of control.

The thing is, it's delicious, I feel as though it's nutritious AND it helps me survive the time between lunch and chowing down dinner time.  (It also helps my brain remember what it's supposed to be doing, no ritalin for this lady).

Not gonna lie, life is grape right now!

Long story long, this week I remained pretty healthy in my eating and worked out a good amount.  I love my job, I am still somehow in balance (this week) amongst the ish going on in my life.  I am also currently obsessed with frozen grapes.  Life is good.  Grape actually!

Bird snacks!  Nom Nom Nom (Warning not for the faint... I.E. those who enjoy fat and taste)

What was missing this week?

• Blog.

My lovely little blog got tooted and booted.  Because I simply did not have the time.  However, I will not make this mistake again my darling, so I hope you consider giving me another shot.  Oh and about the bird food pictured above, it's actually a delicious raw food bar that I picked up at Whole Foods that makes my heart warm.  Hubs thinks it is bird food.

 This is the universal sign for BLONDE BEEEEZIES UNITE!  (More on that another blog) Photo by the talented Paige Lowe

Speaking hubs, one of my besties (hot blonde in the middle with the black dress) Jen Jen, or as my speech impediment ways refer to her as Gin Gin, is getting MARRIED and just had her engagement party last week.  Made me think of a few things:

• I really miss the 3 girls in this photo whom I got to spend too much time with and make a handful of really well thought out decisions with in college
• My own 2 year anniversary with the hubs is on Monday
• I am very blessed with the people in my life and need to make more time for them (just like my blog needs more time)
• I need to go have some wine right now because I am pretty sure this post officially is not following a theme of any kind

OTL practice tomorrow, and trying to stay in balance again in the next week! HAPPY FRIDAY! Bottoms up (bottoms up, up) ... We both know you're dancing right now.... xo

Muscles, Excuses and Mentors

"You can make excuses or you can make muscles but you can't do both." - Bill Lyons, via my amazing friend January of Bliss Fitness.

January posing for me for a lululemon post about opening up through yoga.

I am blessed with knowing this wonderful lady lovely pictured above. Her name is January and she is one of my fitness/whole life mentors, as well as a wicked awesome friend.  I love her for reasons I have lost count of, but am most thankful for the following:
     She inspires me to love myself, inside out and around this big old badonk we both share!
     She balances life with health, fitness and fun and never takes any of those things too seriously.
     She has taught me how to train, fuel and appreciate the body I have.
     She is the best bootcamp instructor on the planet.  (Don't believe me, here's her schedule, test her for yourself.)

I made her model for lululemon a lot...

Today I am dedicating this post to her because it is her birthday, and I think she deserves to know about the impact she has had on my life, and probably a ton of others.   This morning I was in need of a shake up in my morning workout so I joined her bootcamp class, which I shamelessly have not been to in months!  It more than kicked my badonk, it reminded me of how much more you get out of a workout when it is led by someone who really has love for what their teaching paralleled with incredible knowledge, and a triple threat of actually knowing how to deliver their message.  (We've all had those terrible teachers who mean well but just shouldn't be leading class...) 

Her teaching is a gift, and I am lucky to sweat in her graces every now and then.  I hope to be half the trainer she is someday.  (Remember it's a 1 year goal of mine...)  So today if there's someone in your life who has helped you to become a better you mentally, physically, both, whatever, give 'em thanks.  We tend to view our trainers and teachers as super heroes, but really they're human too and sometimes need to be reminded just how wicked awesome they are.

xo

Running temper tantrum...

"Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath." - Eckhart Tolle

There was anger.  There was hurt.  There was a child sitting on the front porch pouting, and that child was me.  Have you ever thrown a temper tantrum?  Of course you have.  Have you ever thrown a temper tantrum as an adult?  Yep, thought so.  And last question, have you ever thrown a temper tantrum over a protein shake?  Nope, just me?  Thought that might be the case.

Imitating this little nugget at 26 years old... STILLLLLL got it!

This past weekend I set out for a glorious 4 mile run on a hot Sunday afternoon. Not sure if you can relate, but I am motivated by food.  I easily sprint up hills by simply knowing that a delicious peanut butter mocha covered strawberry awaits me at the end of the climb.  As I sprinted into our backyard like a child to an ice cream truck and attempted to open the back door to our kitchen, I nearly shattered the glass door with my fist, pounding in wonderment as to why it was locked.

Day dreaming of better days...

On the other side of the glass in the living room, my hubs looked up from his hands and knees as he refinished our hardwood floors, and motioned for me to go around to the front door.   Crushed. I sprinted to the front door and noticed there was absolutely no trail for me to get into the kitchen, as he had already lacquered the floor and the door to my dreams shut.  I did not think clearly at this moment, I simply turned around and slammed myself onto our front porch and placed my head in my hands. Poor hubs came out offering to send me off to Whole Foods with his wallet to buy a protein shake.   He knew why I was upset, I need not speak, but like Michelle Tanner would, I simply said, "IT'S NOT THE SAME!" and slammed my head back into my hands.   He turned around just shaking his head, and leaving me with the words, "Wow, you've got be kidding me."

I wasn't kidding, I was being an a-hole.   The worst part was I could feel the crazy taking over my body but I couldn't stop it from coming.  The best I could do was tuck the crazy into my pocket when it was all over, run back inside and apologize profusely to my wonderfully kind, hard working and care giving hubs who has to put up with the 5 year old within me now and again.  He appreciated that I acknowledged my lapse in sanity, as we both know me admitting that I am wrong happens about as often as I take out the trash.

Isn't he a handsome devil?  P.S. Hubs I apologize for sharing this photo, as well as my temper tantrum... Double sorry...

This particular episode really got me thinking as to why we allow the ones we love the most to see us at our very worst?  No one else in the world would have gotten this reaction from me, but poor hubs did.  I bought him lunch and beer to say sorry and thank him for making our home so beautiful (pics to come), but I still feel bad for this one.  Guess we have to remember that we are human and sometimes we throw fits, hopefully whoever is lucky enough to scrape us off the ground is patient and understanding, and hopefully we have already started to apologize.  My bad on this one...

xo

Workout Retail Therapy

"I like my money right where I can see it: hanging in my closet." - Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City

If you have read this blog once, you know by now that I am a fan of shopping. If you've read this blog twice, you know by now that I solve most problems with retail therapy. So here's the sitch:

Problem: My morning runs were getting boring and subsequently shorter.
Solution: New running shoes.

New kicks!  Brooks from the San Diego Running Institute

In my crazy behavioral defense, I really, really needed new running shoes. The Etonics I bought almost 2 years prior had had their day(s) in the sun and needed a proper burial. So I decided to pop over to the San Diego Running Institute and replace my old dogs, since I have had such a wonderful experience with them in the past. I walked in wanting to replace my Etonics with the exact same pair I had before, as they were super comfortable and had treated me right for so long.  However, Heather, my friendly shoe fitter, quickly let me know that Etonics had stop making running shoes.  Shocker. They made wonderfully comfortable and functioning shoes that were not cute. I don't care what they say, pretty will always outperform performance talk. Wish they would have consulted with me first, totally could have given their product management team a tip or two.

In love with my new Brooks: the Ravenna 2

Nonetheless Heather helped me into a wonderful pair of Brooks and my feet and I lived happily ever after, running into the sunset. If you are in need of new running shoes and live in San Diego, I HIGHLY suggest you visit the San Diego Running Institute.  If you do not live in San Diego, I apologize, and anyway here are a few tips for finding shoes and running gear best for you.

Glide is a girl's best friend...

Invest in your Sweat

• Go see an expert.   Preferably a small shop that has a knowledgeable staff INVOLVED in the local running community. They really know what you're dealing with out there on the road.  They also tend to have a better selection of performance shoes.
• Tell them if you have achy feet or any uncomfortable ticks when you run.  For example, I have arthritis, sometimes my feet hurt in the morning and I need comfortable support.  Heather knew this and knocked it out of the park with my shoes.
• Don't buy your shoes at Nordstrom.  We all know I love me some Nordstrom, but most of the "running" shoes I have purchased there have performed terribly despite raving reviews from the sales people.  You may as well run in your Jimmy Choos, because that's about how comfortable you will be.
• Have an open mind and SPEND for performance.   I am not patient, but when it comes to running shoes you have to find the perfect fit, because if you get into any sort of distance running, even 3 miles, bad shoes can be a big problem for your feet.  Think about it, you use your feet everyday!  Treat them right and they will do the same.  Don't cheap it with bad shoes that lead to bad knees later on.
• Like shoes, invest in the clothes you plan on running in.  There is nothing worse in the world than chaffing from bad fabrics when you are 4 miles from home and cranky.  As we know, I heart all things lululemon, and I really love the sports bras from Target.  (Comfortable and they tend to carry neon colors, score!)
• RUN in your shoes.  Run around the parking lot or around the store, do some high knees and see how those bad boys really feel.  If it is a good shop, they will have no problem with this test drive.
• Last but not least, possibly buy some glide.  I used to hate running in shorts because I would always chafe regardless of the brand I was wearing.  Test drove some glide on my 5 mile run this weekend and chafing is officially a thing of the past.  Hello tan legs for summer.

Long story long, it pays to be comfortable and supported in your runs and all workouts.  You will want to do it more often, and your body will really thank you for taking such good care of it.  Cost per wear is a terrible place to waste your money or not spend enough...  xo

Happy running!

healthy happy hour

The first cup is for the guest, the second for enjoyment, the third for the sword. - An old Arabic saying on coffee

That's right, pourin' one out for my homies this morning. Funny story. After my run and while making a morning protein-a-cinno, I checked Facebook while the blender mixed up my treat.  I found Facebook chat was open, which is odd as I never have it turned on, probably some Facebook software upgrade so I have to go re-do my settings again...

My favorite mug of all time, purchased at Vernazza in the Cinque Terre

To my delight, an old friend from Italia, Giovanni who speaks zero English, messaged me to come back to Parma and visit his cafe for a delicious cappuccino. Me speaking only a bit of Italian, and babble fish translating the rest, responded with what I think probably read to him in Italian: I go work now. Make coffee for myself. How is you? I miss you a lot. What I wanted to say: Getting ready for work, making some coffee but really missing the coffee from your cafe. I believe it translated awkwardly because he responded with 8,000 kisses emoticons. Whoopsies.

New obsession: love burritos.

Healthy Treats

I personally am a very big fan of treats.  I love snack food and could live off of snacks and never eat an entire meal.  Luckily my Tone It Up plan calls for little meals all day long and I can snack like a king.  It is my gigantic need for good snacks that has inspired today's post.  For quite some time I have been purchasing Kale snack chips from Whole Foods, but they are usually like $100 for one small pack (okay maybe $7.50 but still) so I was beyond delighted to find a kale chip recipe in my Tone It Up plan! 

Kale all dressed up, and in the oven we go.

I heart kale by the by.  I could eat it everyday and I actually probably do.  Yesterday I was in need of a snack to hold me over between lunch and dinner and decided to give baked kale chips a try.  I strayed from the TIU recipe just a bit and here is what I created:

Kale Cayenne in my Belly Chips:

• 1 1/2 cups of fresh kale (torn into "chip pieces")
• 1 Tbsp. of drizzle olive oil (probably could use 1/2 Tbsp., this was too much)
• A few shakes of cayenne pepper
• A few shakes of onion powder
• A few shakes of cumin
• A few pinches of Sea Salt
• Juice of 1 lime

Lined a baking sheet with foil and baked for 15 minutes.

Mmmm baked deliciousness! 

Nosh away I did! The verdict: I think I have found my new favorite snack, though next time I will definitely use less olive oil. And I am dying for a dehydrator because I think they would taste even mo bettah!

Very much not on the TIU plan: Carne Asada Tots (luckily I don't eat meat and was not tempted)

Did I mention I met my slo-pitch team before our game last night to watch the NBA finals?  Surrounded by big hungry men they ordered no less than 4 trays of Carne Asada Tots!  I am a vegetarian and sat happily full with kale chips in my belly, and a veggie patty on the way. Though I may have picked at one tot on the edge that never touched the meat...  Just one.  I also enjoyed a pear cider, just 2... 2 too many....  All the sugar from the 2 ciders really did not sit well with me and I did not wake up too happy this morning. 

Summa Summa Summa Time: Healthy Happy Hour Drinks!

My RA rattles every now and again when I eat things like sugar and basically anything white, so I was a bit achy this morning.  From my achy breaky bones, I started dreaming of healthy summer delights and so I thought I'd share my favs with you to wrap it all up!  I'd probably prefer to make every single recipe from the Fashionably Bombed girls, but their drinks tend to have a lot of sugar which does not sit well with me.  Not to mention is a leading culprit in hangovers!  So here are a few of my favorite summer healthy happy hour recipes!  Share 'em, enjoy 'em and love 'em in moderation.  xo

My best beezy whom we share the exact same tastes in food and cocktails and life!

Beezy Breezies

• 1 Shot Vodka
• 4 oz Water
• 1/2 Lime
• 70 calories of delish. P.S. These can get you quick, so probably just a couple and take it slow.

Grapefruit Drank Drank

• Juice of 2 Grapefruits (makes about 1 cup)
• 1 shot vodka
• 163 calories of refreshing deliciousness, and the best cocktail to escape the warm weather.

P.S. Got any healthy happy hour recipes? ALWAYS in need of more!