The Work Lunch and Family Traditions

If you work in an office or even just with a group of people the time will inevitably come for a “work lunch” with coworkers. Personally, I love the work lunch. It gives you time to bond with coworkers outside of the office, relieve some stress, and get a little break from the workday. Unless you are a complete control freak you will not always have control over where said, work lunches take place. That is why, when on a weight loss plan, it is important to have a general idea of foods to avoid and foods to order. Today some fabulous ladies from the office and I headed to Roly Poly in Lynchburg for some lunch. PS: Kudos to Roly Poly for listing calorie information right on the menu. It certainly takes out the guess work!!

I ordered a cup of Green Chilies and Corn Bisque along with a whole grain wrap stuffed with grilled chickens and lots of warm veggies. It was very tasty and certainly got me over the mid-day slump! I also have to say it was fun to sit and talk with a co-worker I don’t know very well (though it is always awkward to take photos of my food in front of people I don’t know). Luckily she was cool about it and the group of us girls had a nice relaxing lunch.

The hubs had the day off and was waiting for me when I got home. We decided today would be as good of a day as any to take some shots of my favorite holiday ornaments. We got the idea for the photos from our pal Jason at Star City Photo. While this was a simple tip it made for some adorable photos. (For some super fabulous photography check out Star City Photo HERE. ) Anyway, the hubs and I are short on our own holiday traditions. The Christmas brunch was passed down from my mother, the fancy Christmas Eve from my Grandmother, the Christmas pajamas from my parents, and you get the idea. I wanted something that was all our own. So, the hubs and I started picking up an ornament to commemorate special occasions, vacations, etc. I love this tradition and hope to one day have a tree full of special memories.

We snagged this Alice In Wonderland at Downtown Disney after the Princess ½ Marathon last year. Isn’t she sweet?

We also pick up ornaments on vacations. This one is from an early Spring weekend in the Outer Banks two years ago..

Here is an ornament given to us as a housewarming gift when we bought our home..

And Finally, another Alice because I heart all things Alice In Wonderland..

We had a lot of fun reminiscing about all of the ornaments origins. Well I reminisced and the hubs sort of just listened. It was actually pretty cute to watch the hubs in action. We had quite the set up for photos of such tiny things. 🙂

All in all, it was a sweet little way to spend an afternoon with my family. Do you have any holiday traditions that are all your own??

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One

Besides being a fantastic U2 song it was also kind of the theme of my day.  Yesterday I planned to blog but things got so hectic I completely spaced. The highlight of my day yesterday was certainly my visit to see the hair guru Caleb. I am rocking the Snow White look here. Maybe I should be her in the Princess 1/2 marathon next year!

This morning I was up super early for a Saturday. I had a handful of All Bran crackers because I strongly believe I have been waiting too long to eat in the mornings. I know I have mentioned these guys before but I love these crackers. They have almost a sweet taste. Having them with some milk is my absolute favorite.

I got in some stretching and errands before breakfast. I contemplated a workout but the hubs and I have a pretty major workout planned for tomorrow and I want to be at my best for it. Definitely check in with me tomorrow to see how it goes. After the errands/stretching I made my famous low fat Vanilla French toast.  In order to make this you will need:

• 2 eggs (or 6 egg whites which I prefer)
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• Nutmeg (to taste)

It is SO simple. You mix the above ingredients, dunk your whole grain bread, and “fry” with non-stick Pam/Butter Spray. Then drizzle on some fat free syrup, cut up a side of fruit, and add a slice of turkey or soy sausage. Yum! I had mine with a V8 fusion.

After breakfast only one of the twosome that is Bryan and Sara headed up to Roanoke for an event with friends. One of my best friends baby girl is turning one and today was her party. Bryan gets a free pass though because he needed to spend some time with a friend who is going into the military.

For those of us who are not yet to the baby phase of life sometimes these events can be, well, awkward. I knew that was not going to be the case with Kristen’s party for her baby and I was right.  It was gorgeous. Pink and brown decor, fresh cut flowers, a cookout by the pool, cocktails for the grown-ups… I told her minus the babies and it could have been a party I threw for myself. 😉 Speaking of babies, her little one looked adorable and all of the kids/babies were so well behaved and precious. It was a really adorable and fun event.

Did I mention how much I LOVE the pink? Partying in Pink. I like it!!!

Every Last Detail was Gorgeous.

This made me giggle all day. Keeping the big “kids” and the little kids happy is the key to a great party!

My thoughtful pal made sure to have some veggie burgers for me since red meat and I are not really seeing much of each other anymore. I also had one scoop of baked beans and one gigantic scoop of pasta salad.  I was also told I had to mention the one Hershey kiss I ate too.

I love good cookout food. Yum!

We of course took a moment to pose for some pictures…

Kristen and I

Nikki~Me~Kris= The New Charlies Angels. 😉

After the Birthday party I headed back home to meet up with the hubs. We decided we wanted a relaxing night so we ended up at the movies. I love love love Katherine Heigel so we went to see Killers. I see all of her movies. Do you have an actor or actress that you cant resist going to see? I was also excited to see her hair in this movie since the previews are what inspired my current hair cut if you recall. We had a great time. We split one Icee  which is my favorite indulgence at the movies. My stomach may hurt a little from all the sugar but it was really tasty. What is your movie snack of choice?

I am that most excellent kind of tired and am heading to bed. I have ONE big workout to rest up for. Fingers crossed there is no rain!!

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How To Make The World’s Best Sandwich

Once not too long ago there was a restaurant here in Lynchburg called Vines.  Vines was really fantastic because not only was the food great, but it was also a specialty wine and beer store. Not only was it also a specialty wine and beer store but they also brought in awesome truffles from a chocolatier in Charlottesville. All in all it was a very cool place. Unfortunately, they switched locations and even more unfortunately they changed their menu from fun and different to boring and mediocre and then the most unfortunate thing of all happened- they closed, someone bought the space and put in yet another Italian place. How does this matter? Well, they might be closed but I have replicated some of my favorites from Vines and tonight’s masterpiece was from the lunch menu.  It is my all time most favorite sandwich.  I am going to share the “recipe” with you.

Step 1: Turn your stove on to 350 degrees, cut ciabatta rolls in 1/2, drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven.

Step 2: Make your own light cranberry mayo by mixing light or fat free mayo with canned cranberry sauce-whole berry. (You can reserve the rest of the cranberry sauce to make cranberry BBQ chicken later in the week. I am a HUGE cranberry fan so I LOVE this!)

Step 3: Slice some beautiful tomatoes and 2% cheddar from the block

Step 4: Remove rolls from the oven

Step 5: Assemble your sandwich as follows: bottom bun, fresh shaved deli turkey, cheese, LOTS of arugula, tomato, and your top bun smothered in cranberry mayo.

Step 6: get a side of fruit, fat free chips or tortilla chips, cut in 1/2 and enjoy!

For all of my veggie friends out there this is still a great method subbing some veggies, tofu, or protein of your choice for the turkey.  Let me know if you give it a try!

Now off to spend some quality time with the pups.  Harlow is expressing her boredom with my writing tonight. 😉

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Rain and Shine

For all those wondering the cookout Saturday was a lot of fun. My normal picture taking, always thinking of new blogs self kind of spaced and took not one picture of the food. I had the burger I was so badly craving but I took my own All Natural 96% fat free version. On the grill it was fabulous. I also had some fat free chips, a deviled egg that my aunt-in-law (yes I know that isn’t a real word) made and a couple baby sized scoops of side dishes other people brought.  I sampled a bit here and a bite there of desserts including a fabulous little white chocolate raspberry cheesecake square for under 75 calories. YUM! I felt a little sick afterward and I think it is just because my body has gone through a change of sorts with the new eating plan. I can have little indulgences but I think the red meat + the scoop of potato salad + fat free chips + baby cheesecake plus the oodles of water I downed was just a recipe for disaster.  I stayed within my points but it was just a lot of food. The games were fun and I think everyone had a great time. There was a little downpour there at the end but it is definitely something we want to do with friends and family again later in the summer.

Sunday we woke up to rain. Rain= no hiking (AGAIN) to the Peaks of Otter. Maybe it is just not meant to be. I told the hubs we could do anything he wanted today since his Birthday is tomorrow so he decided on breakfast (more like brunch by the time we made it out) and a movie (his choice-no “girl” movies. Ahem). Bry pulled around so my feet wouldn’t have to get wet in the little patch of grass before our driveway. Sweet huh?

That is my umbrella from Wicked and the inside says "Careful My Dear. You Musn't Get Wet".

We headed downtown only to discover tons of the streets blocked off. This usually means race. Since I keep track of the running schedule I assume this was a cycling event. Since the rain had stopped we decided to park a few blocks away from the restaurant and walk. Sometimes I entertain thoughts of living in a “walking city” so I kind of like walking around town.  We walked a block or so and I grabbed my camera to take a picture. The rain had left everything green and willowy and beautiful. No one was out so the streets were pretty deserted. It was nice.

The hubs and the beautiful greenery on our walk.

We walked a little further and decided we needed  to pick a street to get us downtown. Since neither of us had ever walked down monument terrace we thought today should be the day. It is a LOT of stairs but I do love the view heading into downtown.

Lots of stairs and eventually we had to walk back UP them of course!

We made it down and walked another block to a relatively new restaurant Market At Main. It is a “counter” restaurant with a little store attached. On the upside they had some healthful and vegetarian options. On the downside, it’s a little slow and the food is just average. However, for what it is, a spot to grab a simple meal, its fine and we will definitely go back.

The inside had a cool vibe. I like places that are simple but have something unique going on.

Since all I had was a v8 fusion for breakfast I opted for a slice of quiche, some fresh fruit, and one slice of whole grain toast. It was a perfect brunch combo. The quiche was a touch salty but otherwise it was great!

After brunch we took our stroll back to the car. It turns out this was a great day to walk because we discovered a new sushi spot that just opened as well as a new cupcake shop! Yipee!

I heart fancy cupcakes!

I actually can’t tell from the website if its a go in and buy a cupcake or cookie type of confectionery or if its special orders only but I have sent an email to find out.

We also stopped for a mid walk hug and self portrait photo!

Rainy day = Hair up

On the way back up Bryan decided to take a photo of me. This is the same spring shirt that I love in yellow but in white with some gray pants, flip-flops, and a pink cardigan.

I am also continuing with my “Spring Bling Rings” with this pink shiny number I picked up a couple summers ago.

The sun came out in full force so it was nice and muggy/gross just in time for us to get to the movies. Bry picked “Death at a Funeral” and I did not complain even though the new J-Lo movie was playing next door. 🙂 Tonight I am settling in for a relaxing night with the TIVO and the pups. A green monster in a beautiful glass is on the agenda for dinner and I am hoping to book our Disney trip. This week’s hill goals:

1. 20 minutes each night on organizing the bedroom. I have let way too many projects go for too long in there plus the new furniture will be here soon.

2. Intervals while running. I will keep them no matter what (I must repeat that over and over). I need to train myself to keep a pace properly.

3. Increase my veggie intake. I have been doing well but I can always do better. I will be looking up some new veggie recipes this week. (Yup Ill be trolling YOUR blogs for ideas!!!)

What is your favorite veggie main or side dish?

Have a Happy and Healthy Sunday!

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