High Heeled Crocs

Gutentag!

This morning began with a waking up from a dream that I was in Australia scuba diving (bummer to wake up in an apartment) yet glorious realizing I slept in until 10:30!!!!!! Shwhat?!?!?! Guess I needed it...


I feel amazing today! Started my morning with a mix of fat free vanilla yogurt with a mixture of Kashi Go Lean, cinnamon banana chips and pumpkin seeds, soynuts, cocoa almonds, nanners, and whipped cream (whip it. whip it good.) because I can.

MMMMMM hmmmmmm....

Guess who started holiday cheer today officially!!!!

This girl!!!!

Now THAT'S how you get in the spirit! Ugly sweaters (mine had gifts that actually opened so you could see what was
inside!) and marshmallows in various orifices!

I don't know about you, but I hate being first for a lot of things. Like.....being the first person at a party (awkward to fist pump by yourself)....being the first to try a trend (shoulda never fallen pray to those jeans/thong in one and croc heels....damn)

I so thought these looked good.

So, for one time only, I will be the first at something so you guys don't have to. You can thank me later. Don't tell Bustin' Justin' but I may or may not have started decorating today!!!!

Oopsie..

Here's a fun fact, EVERY time we come back to the apt. our light is twisted. We have a ghost of Christmas past, I swear!!

Today's lunch was a treat and a half!

Spaghetti squash is an AWESOME pasta replacement. One cup of spaghetti squash has 42 calories, 10 g of carbs, vitamin C, B6, Niacin, and B5! I like to eat it with regular pasta sauce, cheese, or pesto.

Spaghetti Squash How-To:

She's Ripe n' Ready!!

1.) Slice vertical "vents" in squash about 2 inches apart all the way around.

2.) Microwave for 12 minutes on high.

3.)  Remove form microwave and slice long ways. Don't be dumb and reach in there with your bare hands like I did. ouch! 

Safety first.

Next, use a spoon to scrape out the innards and seeds.

4.) Scrape out spaghetti-like strands with a fork. Some say you should go long ways, but I found it doesn't really matter.

This quickly became a delicious lunch with about 3 T. pesto, goat cheese, and low-fat mozzarella!

And some heated turkey slices with cheese for some extra lean protein!

I roasted the seeds with salt, pepper, and butter popcorn seasoning at 375 for 25 minutes. They were delicious!!

Onto more important facts...what I am about to show you may be shocking.


Look what I pulled out of my couch today.

Nooooo!!! Horrified.

Oh my gosh. How many birds had to be raped to make my couch?!?!?!?!?!?!

There was going to be a picture here, but then I googled animal sacrifice and cried and decided against it.

Don't get me wrong, we LOVE our couch. Justin likes to fall asleep there most nights, then I wake him up and make him come to bed, haha, but seriously he loves that thing.


The feathers make me so bad though, seriously, I almost did the ugly cry again once I pulled that baby outta there.

I have no idea what this is, but couldn't help but laugh when I saw it.

So, you know how a few days ago, I said that you should find good look ideas at high end stores, then try to find them cheaper.


 Last week, I tried to do this with a cool fur vest idea. I found a junior's one on clearance at Macy's. This is an example of how this technique goes wrong.

Cool, right? Yeah......on them.

This is what happens when you order from clearance sales online.

Ummmmm......

Yeahhhh...not so cute. You will be happy to know I will be returning this half fur/half sweater vest. Fail.

A few things that made me laugh today:

1.) Since I want a puppy for Christmas more than ever. I am researching dogs that I like, among them are Labs, labradoodles, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Newfoundlands, pugs and bulldogs are in there too. 

Ever wonder how a pug's face got like it is? I did some research, and this is what I found.

So unfortunate.

2.) Segway tour through Tampa.

No explanation needed.

Had a quick snack of chopped pears, nut butter, marshmallow fluff (found a calorie free all natural kind at GreenWise!)

Along with some cocoa almonds, pumpkin seeds, and soy nuts.

My workout today was strength/cardio class. Here's a fun little fact:

*Cardio workout= 24 hours with an increase metabolism

*Strength Training workout=48 hours

*Combo Strenght and Cardio= 72 hours!!!!

So, thought some of you guys might be looking to pre-burn some of those massive piles of potatoes and dessert we're all going to consume one week from today.

Ahahahahahahaha

So, dinner tonight was a little late, considering Justin didn't get home until 8:30!!!! I wanted to wait for him though, because we haven't had dinner together all week since we've been so busy. Way to keep a lady in waiting sirrr....

Anyway, I whined and blogged while I waited...

Get it, whined, wined?!? Ha!

After several glasses one glass of Sauvignon Blanc, I prepared us this seafood fest!!!!

I Got Crabs (Cakes) (Adapted from Hungry Girl)

Ingredients:

Two 6-oz. cans lump crabmeat, drained (about 1 cup drained)

2 1/2 slices light white bread (40 - 45 calories each with around 2g fiber per slice), lightly toasted

One wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese, room temperature

3 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)

2 tbsp. finely diced onion

2 tbsp. finely diced celery

1 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise

1/2 tbsp. Best Foods/Hellmann's Dijonnaise

1/2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh curly parsley

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. whipped light butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown), melted

1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

dash hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)

dash salt, or more to taste

dash black pepper, or more to taste

Butter-flavored nonstick spray

Optional: additional Dijonnaise (for dipping), lemon wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Tear lightly toasted bread into pieces and place in a food processor or blender. Pulse until reduced to breadcrumbs, and then transfer to a medium bowl.

Add crabmeat, parsley, garlic, salt, and black pepper to the bowl, and gently mix until combined. Add onion and celery, lightly mix again, and set aside.

Break cheese wedge into pieces and place in a small bowl. Add egg substitute, mayo, Dijonnaise, lemon juice, melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Whisk until smooth, and pour over the crabmeat mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the liquid mixture into the crabmeat mixture. If you like, add additional salt and black pepper to taste.

Prepare a medium-large baking dish by spraying with butter-flavored nonstick spray. Take one-third of the crab cake mixture (about 3/4 cup) from the bowl. Gently form it into a ball, place it in the baking dish, and flatten it into a cake about 1-inch thick -- repeat twice with remaining crab mixture so that you have 3 cakes in the baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 14 - 15 minutes, until the cakes are slightly firm and cooked through. Remove carefully from the dish and serve with additional Dijonnaise for dipping and/or lemon wedges for squirting (that's what she said)!

These were Justin's favorite, can you believe it?!

Coo-coo for Coconut (Scrimp) (Adapted from Hungry Girl)

1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
3 tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Dash salt
12 oz. (about 20) raw large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
3 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original) 

Preheat oven to 400

Directions:

Place cereal in a sealable plastic bag and, removing as much air as possible, seal. Using a meat mallet or heavy can, carefully crush cereal through the bag. Add sweetened coconut, panko breadcrumbs, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to the bag; seal and shake to mix. Transfer mixture to a large plate and set aside.

Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside. Pat shrimp with paper towels to ensure they are completely dry.

Combine shrimp with egg substitute in a bowl and toss lightly to coat. One at a time, shake excess egg from shrimp and transfer to the coconut-crumb mixture, gently patting and flipping to coat. Evenly place coated shrimp on the baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 10 - 12 minutes, until outsides are crispy and lightly browned and insides are cooked through. Serve and enjoy!

MAKES 4 SERVINGSrees.

These were my favorite, holy cow, they were soooo good!!!!

Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh green beans
1.5 T. olive oil
S+P to taste


Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.


Coat green beans in other ingredients. Place on nonstick sprayed baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes

Apple and Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients:

• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 chopped small gala apple
• 1/4 cup cherry craisins
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1/4 cup various nuts (I used almonds, cashews, macadamia, etc)
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. agave nectar or honey

Directions:

Put all ingredients except oil and honey in a bowl and mix lightly. Top with oil and honey and mix all together.

Justin liked this too!!!!! Shwhat?!

The feast.

I also made a ramoulade sauce, but it sucked, so no recipe to share there.


Today, I feel just as thankful for quiet days where you got nothing done except what you have to. Today was one of those days. 


This might sound silly, but I'm also thankful for blogging. It not only has helped me feel much more connected to friends and family, but gives me a reason to find something to celebrate everyday whether is something huge like a friend's engagement or something silly like a run in with a cockroach. It truly helps me to recognize the beauty and value in every single day. 


You didn't know a blog could do all that, did you?


Happy birthday to Justin's Aunt Renee, the ultimate Colts fan! Hope it treats you better this year than any of the others!

She's the beautiful one in the middle :)