Seeing Red

I'm wearing my red today for Valentine's day are you?  Here's wishing you a very Happy Valentines Day.

The Mr. and I will be enjoying a nice quite dinner at home tonight - together!  That's super exciting since we've been only seeing each other a little in the morning and then right before bed.  Yes, we'll still be working on work and school stuff but at least we can enjoy each others company.

APY60 Day 3

I'll admit this morning it was really hard to get out of bed.  I'm not sure why, even my Fitbit said that I slept better last night than the night before (98% efficiency only woke up 5 times).  So this morning I have to admit that I didn't do the full morning blend of stretches.  I know day 3 and already slacking!  I did about half of the stretches from memory to get the blood pumping...a small setback!

Breakfast this morning I had a healthy porridge from the little recipe book that came along with the DVDs...Yum!

The "porridge" is actually a whole apple and 4 strawberries just quickly blended to a porridge like consistency with a little almond milk (unsweetened) and a dash of cinnamon.  I threw it in the microwave for about 45 seconds (could have heated it up a little more) and then topped with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, pecans and a little chia seeds for some protein.

It was quick and simple and got me moving and heading out the door for work.

Tonight more power yoga and a tasty smoothie since Rene is working late before I hit the gym for some cardio....Happy Tuesday!

Out with Old...

So remember a little less than a year ago when I added this little kitchen accessory to the apartment?

Well lets just say that Rene is yet again proving he is absolutely amazing!  And this will be donated to my office kitchen and has been replaced by a far superior version!

Rene saw my post about his "great present" he had for me and gave me a nicely wrapped big box a week early for my birthday! *he's a keeper for sure*

What was inside?

The best blender/mixer/puree machine out there!

He got me a Vitamix!

OK so yes "technically" it's a blender and maybe you think I am far to overly excited...however this thing does it all!  It can take whole fruit and make it into juice, make a nice salsa, puree a soup or sauce, and even knead dough quick and easy. 

I mean it's one of the quintessential tools for Iron Chef America, need say more? Rene did a WONDERFUL job on my gift it is way more than I would have ever expected!  Yes, we spurge on gifts for each other every now and then but we typically stick to pretty small birthday gifts.

He knew I was thinking of spending my bonus from work or whatever tax return I had left after paying bills to look into getting one but beat me to the punch.  

The downfall is now is that I want to go out and buy everything in the store I can imagine to make soups, sauces, and smoothies! I can't wait to break it in this weekend!

Happy early birthday to me and a big thank you to this guy! Love you!

Detox Day 2 Part II

Finished with day 2--not sure if I'm feeling "detoxified" but I am definatly not feeling stuffed after dinner or "blah" mid-way through the day (even without my 3 cups of coffee) so that's a start right?!

Lunch was a nice little mix of veggies (califlower, broccoli, shredded carrots) mixed with sunflower seeds, golden raisins, and currants topped off with just a squeeze of lemon juice--it's really good!

Whole Foods makes a salad similar to this called the Detox Salad and I've had it before and thought, why pay $7.99 a pound I'm sure someone has copied this and listed what all is in it....low and behold Google came through with my answer!

I found the "re-make" of this salad on Oh She Glows though I did take out the parsley (I'm not a huge fan) and also the kelp (because I couldn't find it) and added in some wheat germ and chia seeds for a little extra different texture. The salad is great and crunchy and a little sweet and perfect for mid-day!

And I followed it up with a second glass of my green juice from this morning -- you'd be surprised at the looks you get in the office drinking a green something.

For dinner we went with a simple little stirfry of veggies and quinoa instead of rice (added protein).  The only downfall today was that I know I didn't drink enough water, I only made it one large glass of the way into the cold detox tea (recipe here) and was just bogged down with work throughout the day and kept putting off drinking/refilling my glass.

And believe it or not I was actually able to go to the gym tonight and NOT have to wait in a huge line for a machine--this may be the first time ever that I've gone to the gym after the new year and not seen 500 people wanting to "start the year off right", but this made me think....what does that say for today's world?  Does the resolution of getting into better shape no longer top the list? And if not, what does that say about how our society has changed....something to ponder!

2012 Goals-one more!

Add it to the goals this year!  I want Rene and I to Volunteer more!  

I would really like Rene and I to find some additional events where we can volunteer this year.  In 2011 we volunteered at a district track meet to spread awareness about Breast Cancer with Susan G Komen, and then also with Hearts and Hammers for Dallas with Deloitte.  

I would like to see us double that next year!  Now where we are going to find the time to do this I am not yet sure but it's something to work forward to for sure!  

Welcome 2012

Today is a bit of a lazy day here at our house.  We got to sleep in, and have been lounging our PJs all day!  Rene's been enjoying some down time playing with his new Nintendo DS games and I've been crafting away.  Here's hoping you are having a nice relaxing and enjoyable start to your 2012 as well!

 Here's Stitch in his very dapper new collar (made by me)...

He's starting off the year on the right foot looking cute as ever!  Though I may be a little biased!  More crafty pics to come later!

On a side note, I postponed the start to my detox one day to tomorrow.  My family always had pork and sauerkraut for New Years day.  And now I've actually gotten Rene to eat it too!  So we couldn't pass up tradition.  

I looked into the reasoning behind the pork and sauerkraut tradition since in Texas and Florida no one seemed to eat it, and I just figured it was a northern thing.  Down south everyone eats black eyed peas for good luck in the New Year.  So I decided to see where the pork and kraut tradition started and why.

In looking around online I found that the tradition goes back to the Pennsylvania Dutch and New Englanders and it is said that eating this on January 1st would bring luck and prosperity to you in the new year!  

It seems the reasoning for the New Years day foods are pretty much the same.  

So are you a black eyed peas person or pork and kraut person to start off your new year?

2012-Resolution/Goal List

It's that time of the year again and I've started thinking about the New Year and things I want to accomplish/change for 2012. Somewhat a list of must do or to-do items rather than resolutions because lets be honest resolutions last about a month for most people before they give up.  Setting a to-do list or list of goals makes it easy to check back and check things off the list throughout the next 365 days!

  Here's "the list" 

Read 52 books - that's right 1 per week!

Finish the wedding scrapbook that I’ve been saying I’ll finish every year (before our 3^rd anniversary)

Take a cooking class

Pay off debt (at least 2 of my credit cards)

Start learning another language (Rosetta Stone here I come! French or Italian)

APY60! Program – 60 days of American Power Yoga - already ordered now just waiting to actually start it!

1 week a month eat like a vegetarian- all veggies no meat doctors say its a good "break" for your GI track

What are your goals or resolutions for 2012?

It's almost that time, Christmas is right around the corner and we're looking forward to a bit of a break between work, and school and rounding out 2011! I haven't even started to think of goals/resolutions for the new year--whoops!

Here's wishing you a very Happy Holiday season from Dallas!

 

Certified!

After finishing up finals this semester I told Rene that I was going to sit and take the next certification with NAPS--my PRC certification (Physician Recruiter Consultant).  This exam was much easier than the 155 question test that I took to get my CTS this summer since it was dealing with what I do on a daily basis!

I am happy to say that with just a little over a week of preparation I successfully passed the exam this weekend!  It's a nice way to round out the year and add a couple more initials to the end of my name.  

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's Wednesday-Hump Day and I've Got a big week still ahead!

What am I loving this Wednesday?

I'm loving.....that I am 100% done with the Fall 2011 Semester! Just one more left....pending finals turn out the way I hope they do!

I'm loving....that Rene and I get a little bit of relaxation and fun this weekend with not 1 but 2 work holiday parties! Mine is on Friday night after work and his is on Saturday night.

I'm loving....that I get to wear my fun new shoes to Rene's holiday party! Aren't they cute?
Gianni bini cameo pump from Dillards

I'm loving....that all the Christmas prep is done! Now we a can actually enjoy the week of the holidays with a little R&R sitting by the Christmas tree just enjoying a nice evening and a glass of wine!


I'm loving....that I can finally really start reading my new book! The newest book in the Pretty Little Liars Series that came out this month!

I want to get through at least 2 more books before the end of the year to hit 40!

Happy Wednesday! What are you loving today?

Macarons!

As promised I figured I would post some of the many cookies I've baked in the past couple of weeks...I will have to say though that not one of these remains the office and Rene and I gobbled them up!

I am a big fan of macarons and these were perfect!! A basic butter cream and chocolate butter cream filled delight!

I would highly suggest trying the recipe listed on FoodNetwork's website...our first batch was wonderful and produced the above, however I tried again last weekend and Rene used a little bigger item to trace for the cookie and they didn't turn out nearly as good...so maybe I'll try again this weekend.

The trick is whipping the egg whites enough but not too much....quite tricky!

More cookies to come in the next few days!!

MIA?

Yes I've been completely missing since Thanksgiving! Whoops!

It's been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks to say the least with craziness at work (it's audit time so there are a million and ones things to be done)...and school (finals and assessment test for this semester just about done)....Christmas decorating (at least a little bit), Christmas shopping, and baking cookies (for both mine and Rene's offices and the apartment)!

As you can see it's been busy but I figured I needed to post a quick little update!

I am happy to say that all of our holiday cards have been mailed off, the presents are all wrapped and under the tree, and those heading to Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Arizona are ready to be dropped off at the post office on Monday.

The office audit will be officially over this Friday at 5pm....Almost all of the cookies and treats are baked for our offices and by the end of this week it will be the official end of the Fall semester-- so hopefully this time next week it will be calm just in time for Christmas....though we are looking forward to a very low key, wake up whenever, sit in our PJs all day type of holiday.

It will be nice to not have class for 2 weeks and enjoy a little bit of a long weekend coming up though I have a feeling Rene will still be working on the computer most of the time, at least he's in town and not traveling :)

I'll be sure to try to post of pics of the holiday decor and cookies sooner rather than later--until then!

Re-Invent Thanksgiving Leftovers

Lets be honest you can only have so many turkey sandwiches after turkey day...so I always try to come up with some easy ideas to re-invent and re-use those turkey leftovers!

This year we did a whole lot of reinventing! I must apologize though I forgot to snap pictures of a couple of the items.

First off here was our Thanksgiving Dinner--lots of food = lots of leftovers!Re-invention #1 - Sausage Egg and Cheese "muffins"
First take a muffin pan and put a little of the stuffing in the bottom (we used our apple and sausage stuffing) next pour a little egg white or whole egg onto the top and bake approx. 12 minutes at 350 degrees-top with a little cheese and melt. Quick and easy breakfast/brunch!

Next up? #2 - Turkey and Noodles (no picture sorry)
Take turkey bones, sage, and thyme and create a delish stock-simmer at least 2 hours!
Add in some veggies we used carrots, onion, peas, and corn
Next add in your shredded turkey (light and dark meat)
Simmer and then add in your noodles. The longer you cook the noodles the thicker everything becomes rather than a soup it's like a little turkey and "dumplings"

Re-invention #3- Turkey Nachos!
For anyone who has ever been to an Ale House this is a play on their Chicken Nachos

Super simple! Layer tortilla chips, then cheese, turkey, more cheese, jaleponos (optional) and bake!
Serve with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole!

#4 --Cranberry Almond and White Chocolate Chip Pancakes!
(sorry no picture)
Make a basic pancake mix, add in cranberry almond sauce and some white chocolate chips! Delish!

#5-Spicy Pumpkin Soup
See the pumpkins in the mail photo? We baked our stuffing inside the little pie pumpkins then used them in our soup!
First start with a little chicken stock (about 3 cups) add in onion, and pumpkin flesh. Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Next add in cayenne pepper, salt, curry, and red pepper flakes to your own taste--continue to simmer another 10 minutes until the pumpkin has started to fall apart.
Next in small batches or large depending on size of your food processor, blend until nice and smooth
Return to stove and add 1 cup of heavy cream, and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, stir until combined.
Our soup is in the freezer for a nice cold day this winter!

And last but certainly not least! #6 - Turkey and Winter Greens Eggrolls!
We used what remained our our winter greens and mixed them with some shredded light meat turkey and reheated it in a saute pan. Next we then took egg rolls and wrapped the mixture up and brushed with a little melted butter and baked at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes!
Served with a little gravy it was a nice crunchy treat to end out the weekend!


And thankfully we used up almost all of the left overs!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's the day before Thanksgiving and yes I'm at work but it's Wednesday and here's what I'm Loving!

-- There is no school today which means not only is there no traffic, but also no line at the Starbucks drive thru!

-- We are going to get our holiday/family pictures taken today for holiday cards!

-- It's a day at work where I don't really have to stress out too much and I'll actually leave on time not an hour or two later!

-- No Finance class tonight!

-- I get to start cooking and prepping everything for Thanksgiving tonight! (I love to cook it, but cleaning duties will fall on Rene).

Happy Wednesday! What are you loving today?!

Thanksgiving Menu!

Here it is--the 2011 Blanco Thanksgiving Menu!

Cocktail:

Toasted Walnut Martini

Appetizers:

Mini Cheese Balls with Crackers (almond, chive, paprika)

Fried Brussel Sprouts

Main Course:

Orange and Bourbon brined turkey with chipotle maple butter

Sides:

Wilted Winter Greens

Spice Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Acorn Squash

Sausage and Apple Stuffing roasted in pumpkin

Chipotle Maple Mashed Sweet potatoes

Dessert:

Pear and Apple Pie

What are you making for Thanksgiving this year?

Sad Halloween

I am quite sad today, it's official that Rene and I aren't making costumes for Halloween this year.


With the trip to Orlando and UCF's tradition of super early morning tailgating on game days plus the homecoming parade if we get to campus on time...we figure that going out at night is a shot in the dark if we will "last" that long.


So I guess out super awesome idea will be held off until next year...*tear*

Thursday is going to be a good one!

Today is going to be a good Thursday!

Why you might ask? Because while stopping at Panera Bread to pick up bagels for our weekly office meeting I figured I would grab a cup of coffee too....the best part?

The lady gave it to me for free! It's the little things that make the day better!

Happy Thursday!

It's Fall

And isn't it fun how a little bit of food coloring, some green candy and a box of rice krispy's can celebrate fall so well? Yum!
Happy Sunday!

Help Us Raise Some $$ for the Cure!

Rene and I weren't going to be able to walk/run in the Race for the Cure this year because we had planned on going to the UCF vs. SMU game which was scheduled to start at noon this Saturday....

Now things have changed and it's a 2:30 start so we have plenty of time to do the 5K and still make the all Texas UCF Alum Tailgate.

Help us raise a little money for a great cause before we walk!

Click here for our donation page!

Manual Labor

That's right this past Saturday Rene and I worked our butts off putting in some quality community service. We were painting and scraping the exterior of a house here in Dallas along side other Deloitte employees for their annual Hearts and Hammers event.

Each year Deloitte works with the local Hearts and Hammers group to help fix up the home of a local person who has fallen on hard times. We spent from 9am on Saturday until around 2pm scraping old paint and then re-painting the exterior of the house.

Even though my arms and legs were feeling it by the end of the night on Saturday and even worse on Sunday it was great to be able to donate some time to the community. Even if it meant that I didn't get to sleep in this past weekend :)