New Kicks! Yeah!!!

Today, I returned home from teaching co-teaching a really fun Zumba class to a surprise… new shoes!  I was so excited!  I actually ordered these about 4 weeks ago from Nike ID.  You can design your own shoes!  Several years back I did this and designed the best running shoes ever!  I really wanted a good pair of shoes that I could do Zumba classes in but also run or just wear wherever. 

Take a look at my new kicks!  They are the Nike Free shoe for women. 

I think they turned out super-cute.  I wanted pink because I love pink, but I decided on blue with pink accents. 

I chose to put “Outgrow” on the left shoe and “Yourself” on the right shoe.  Those of you who know me well know that one of my favorite quotes is “Risk everything.  Outgrow yourself.”  The quote is by Ralph Fletcher, who writes professional books for teachers, but I think this quote applies to everything in life.  I couldn’t fit the whole quote, but I thought “Outgrow yourself” captured the essence of the quote!”

When I got home, I decided to use my leftover chili as a baked potato topping.  I micro-baked a potato, added chili, cheese, and sour cream!  An easy, filling meal!

Wow!  I just finished my post for the day and it’s not ten p.m. yet!  Whoa!  Go me!

True Love and Noodle Love

Happy Monday!!!

I am ending the night with some true love… The Bachelor finale.  Do you watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette?  I just can’t help myself.  I am a sucker for that show.  I can’t wait to see who Brad chooses! 

Today, I want to talk about convenience foods.  Lately, my life has been so busy that I am doing a terrible job of planning ahead and cooking meals for myself and my family.  I think that poor planning is one if the biggest pitfalls of getting (and staying) healthy.  Some nights I am coming home at 9 p.m. and I am starving… so I eat whatever is quickest. 

Sometimes it’s frozen convenience foods, like this lasagna we had last night. 

Good, yes.  Best ingredients?  Probably not.

But today I cooked two meals that only took a few minutes, but turned out pretty tasty!

Today, I had several meetings with teachers planned, so I decided to make chili. 

I planned to make this into chicken chili, but the grocery store was out of those convenient packages of grilled chicken strips.  Grrrrr…  So at the last minute, I added Morningstar Farms crumbles to the chili.  I love all the Morningstar Farms products.  This chili was delish with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream mixed in.  And it took me just FIVE minutes to prepare this in the slow cooker!  Now, these directions are to prepare the soup in a slow cooker for a lunchtime meal.  But you could definitely make this on the stovetop, too!  (Much quicker!)

Sorta Homemade Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili

• 1 pack Bear Creek “Darn Good Chili” Soup Mix
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 12-oz package Morningstar Farms “beef” crumbles

Preparation: Fill slow cooker with 7 cups of hot water.  Turn on high for an hour.  Add tomato paste and stir so that it breaks up.  Add the chili packet.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes.  Add crumbles and cook 2 more hours on high.  Serve with chips, cheese, and sour cream!

Then tonight, I decided to try something new.  My friend Diana over at The Chic Life is constantly making these Noodle Stir Fry dishes, like this one.  I’ve been wanting to try this!  So tonight I did! 

I cooked Udon Noodles, and then drained them and set them aside.  I stir-fried my broccoli and edamame in a skillet with a little canola and sesame oil, and some reduced-sodium soy sauce.  When everything was almost cooked through (to crisp-tender) I added the noodles to the skillet and added a sprinkling of sesame seeds. 

And wow… this was so good and took only a few minutes to prepare!  The longest part was cooking the noodles!  I will definitely make this again… SOON!  SO much better than getting takeout!

OK… the Bachelor is getting INTENSE!  I’m gonna have to give it my full attention…

Good night!

One Busy Child-Free Weekend

Did you remember to set your clock ahead?  I always have a hard adjustment when we change the clocks.  It’s crazy how much difference one little hour can make!

This weekend was a busy, child-free weekend!

Friday afternoon, Ryan and I took a ride to Gaffney to meet Leenie and Poppy at the Outlets.  They were taking Sadie to stay with them for the weekend.  Sadie has really been looking forward to her trip to Greenville.  I am sure she is having lots of fun as I write this post.  She was hoping for a trip to the Greenville Zoo.  Just about every time we go to Greenville, Sadie takes a trip to the Zoo!  Anyway, we had a quick dinner with Leenie and Poppy at Cracker Barrel and then we parted ways. 

Sadie enjoyed riding the merry-go-round.

And we played with the big checkerboard.

Saturday morning, I was up early to sub for another Zumba Instructor.  I taught a very high-energy class with lots of fun ladies!  It was a great way to start a Saturday.  Then it was time to come home, shower, and head out for more Zumba!  This time, I was headed to a workshop with the dance-fitness company I am training to work with.  It was actually a really fun workshop and I learned so much!

As soon as the workshop ended, I had to make a quick wardrobe change and get on the road for my friend Meredith’s wedding! 

It was a beautiful wedding with a really fun reception!  The food was great…

and we all especially liked these chicken tenders that had sort-of a tempura batter.  We ate just a few of them. 

It was fun seeing all our friends, dancing, and chatting.

I really liked the “signature drink” they served.  (Can you tell?)

Instead of having a full bar, they had beer, wine, and one signature cocktail.  I thought that was a great idea!  The drink was fruity but not overly sweet—with grapefruit juice, which I love! 

In fact, we had such a good time that we decided to skip church this morning.  It’s not often that we can sleep in.  So Ryan and I enjoyed a breakfast alone at one of our favorite local breakfast spots: The Little Cafe.

Of course, when you lose an hour of sleep, you start with coffee.

And Ryan caught up on the news.

 

I decided on a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich on wheat toast.  Perfect!!!

 

  

Now I am enjoying a free moment and resting up before I head out to Zumba and then to pick up Sadie.  The weather is amazing today!  The high will be around 75 degrees!  Wow!

GU Chomps and Giveaway Winner!!!

Happy Friday Eve, friends!!!  I am ready for the weekend!  A few weeks ago, my friend Diana wrote about “waiting for Friday.”  I try not to do this, because I hate to wish away time.  But sometimes I catch myself waiting for Friday.  It’s always nice to have time to refresh and recharge.  We have a very busy weekend coming up with lots of fun activities, but I am looking forward to it!  You’ll have to check back and see what I am up to!

After work today, I came home, “suited up” for Zumba.  

I forgot to mention my super-cute new Zumba pants!  I am loving them!

While I was making my playlist, hubby and Sadie snuggled up watching cartoons.  He’s teaching her about all the Marvel Comics superheroes.  A few times, she would call out, “Look!  There’s the Green Lantern!”  I thought Hubby was going to tear up, he was so proud.  He’s a huge comics fan.

Then it was time to make my Zumba playlist.

I want to tell you about a product I have tried the past 2 days.  Sometimes I need something to give me a boost just before I go teach Zumba.  When I have run 5K races in the past, I have used GU Energy gels, which sort of “fuel you up” before you get into the race.  I really like the GU brand, and I have been wondering if these would work well for Zumba, too.  Well, the hubs and I were in a sporting goods store the other day, and they had the gels!  I was about to pick out a few flavors, but then I saw these “Energy Chomps” made by the same brand.  I decided to try them.  Each pack has 2 servings or 4 chomps, which are really like a gummy candy. 

I really think these are helpful!  I used them two nights in a row and I didn’t hit a “wall” either night.  You can get them with or without caffeine.  Mine had caffeine, but I bought another pack without the caffeine.  I’ll try them out on Saturday and see how I like them!

After Zumba, as usual, I was starving, and on the way home, I remembered that I had a $5 gift card to Subway!  YESSSSSSS!

The perfect amount to get a $5 Footlong… I went with Black Forest Ham on wheat with lettuce, tomato, black olives, pickles, and banana peppers.  It ended up costing me only $0.45!  Yay for free Subway!

So now… it’s time to announce the winner of the big giveaway!   Thanks to all of you who entered!!!  I am so excited to announce that the winner is…

 

…pause for dramatic effect…

 

 

… Mandy Harmon!!!  You have won a $25 gift certificate to CSN!  I will email you directions so you can go shopping!  :)  Thanks again to all who entered and thanks to CSN for the giveaway opportunity!!!  Be sure to check them out! 

Special Announcement! GIVEAWAY!

Great news, everyone!


I was recently contacted again by Sean of CSN Stores.  He said that they got great exposure from my site and that he'd like for me to do a giveaway!  Yay! 


CSN has a HUGE variety of items to select from, many of which ship for free!  (I absolutely hate paying shipping!  Don't you???)  I really like their flat panel TV stands and all their media storage solutions.  We are looking at finally upgrading to a flat TV and I am definitely interested in CSN's storage solutions.  With a DVD Player, cable box, wii, and more... you really need an organized way to store all of that!


So... on to the giveaway! 


Sean is going to give one lucky reader a $25 Gift Certificate to use at ANY CSN Store!!!  This is awesome! 


Do you remember my fabulous bowls I got from CSN a few months ago?




They have great items!!! 


You must do two things to be eligible for the drawing:


1.  You must be a public follower of this blog.  (You can join by clicking where it says "Follow" on the right side of the screen.)  You have to be a public follower or else I can't see you.


2.  You must fill out the form below.  For this giveaway, don't leave a comment... just make sure you fill out the form.

3.  You must live in the US or Canada... sorry... that is where CSN ships.

GOOD LUCK!!!  The winner will be drawn on Thursday night at 9 p.m. (EST)

It’s Mardi Gras Monday!!!

Happy Monday, friends!!!  It was a little rough getting up this morning.  I got plenty of rest this weekend… and I went to bed on time… but it was just tough getting up.  But once I was at school, I was doing great.  There was lots to do!

I had some prep for some lessons I plan to do…

 

 

By the way… if you’ve ever wondered where I spend my days… here is the home of the Former Couch Potato during the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Big conference area for teacher meetings…

Small Group Lesson Area

Reading “Nook”

After work, I did something I have not done much lately… I COOKED DINNER!!!  I have been doing a terrible job cooking meals and being prepared.  But today, I tried a little experiment.

Some of you may remember the Pork Chop Casserole that I have made.  I make this one-dish meal all the time.  However, I decided to play with that recipe and see if I could add a twist to the original.

It turned out great!  Very easy, and lots of flavor!  And VERY little prep!  If you ever buy those bags of frozen chicken breasts, this meal is a snap!

Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed golden  mushroom soup
• 1 can condensed chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups of Uncle Ben’s Converted White Rice
• 4 frozen chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• parsley—fresh or dried

Preparation:

Spread dry rice in bottom of a 13 by 9 inch casserole dish.  Place chicken breasts on top of rice.  Pour chicken broth over chicken and rice.  Then pour Golden Mushroom soup over chicken and rice.  Pour wine+water over chicken and rice.  Sprinkle parsley over everything.  (I didn’t have fresh, so I used dried.  Fresh would definitely be better.) Bake covered at 375 for 45 minutes.  Then uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 

Easy, easy, easy!!!

Dinner was ready just about the time I had to leave for Zumba.  I don’t like to eat dinner before Zumba, so hubby and Sadie saved some for me. 

Tonight was a special night at Zumba… it was a 90-minute Mardi-Gras themed class! 

There were lots of beads and bright colors!  You may remember my mask from my weekend post!  I got to wear it tonight!  Even though it wasn’t “technically” a Mardi Gras mask… it was the closest thing I could find!

What a great way to start a Monday!  I’ve got a feeling this will be a great week!