Thankful Thursday

I've been lazy on this Thankful Thursday bit I started.  I got a whopping 3 weeks of consistency and fell off.  Dangit.  Usually it would be Friday when I realized that I had forgotten about it.  Jordan reminded me yesterday that I needed to remember Thankful Thursdays.. so here I am.  I found it difficult to not be so material about the things I'm thankful for when trying to come up with one thing to blog about today.  Finally, this morning as I was doing my morning Quite Time I realized exactly what I am thankful for.  My Journal.  I spend so much time in my journal and never realized how helpful it truly is for me.  Reading and praying is one thing- but it is also helpful (to me anyway..) to write my thoughts down.  A few months back Jordan and I decided we wanted to 'journal'.. not sure how or why that conversation started but we were in the car and ended up at Barnes and Noble in the stationary section trying to pick the best one for each of us.  I selected one that Jordan picked up and said 'This is an Amber journal..'  whatever than means.. but I went with it.  I usually have it in my purse.. just in case a thought or idea pops in my brain I want to jot down. If I don't carry it with me I'll forget once I make it to the house. A couple days ago I was sitting at a red light and a song sparked my interest into something worthy of ink and paper.

So, I like to have it with me- even if it does make my purse a little heavy. 

In my new found journaling experience I've come to the conclusion that you don't have to be a great writer, perfect speller, or creative thinker to keep a personal journal. Journal writing means whatever you want it to mean.  I am Thankful for that today. 

What are you thankful for this Thursday?

Random Monotonics

I am a creature of habit.  Although random at times, well, most of the time.. I will pick and choose certain things that I repeat over and over again.  I try something new and decide I love it and will repeat that function over and over for days, weeks, months.. years.  Take for example..

Since I was a freshman in high school I have repeated the same morning routine (so this would be years of monotonics.) I fill a large plastic cup (this has changed over the years.. different cup.. although it is still plastic and big.) to the top with ice and then fill with Diet Coke to the brim (Don't forget the long straw..and the straw has to go in before the ice..) and place in the freezer.  After a shower and brushing out the mop of hair and dousing the naturally curly hair with hair product to make it straight, I grab my half frozen Diet Coke and enjoy it during the remaining time I spend getting ready.  I will say that my mom used to do this for me.. no more mom.. and Jordan abruptly denies my requests everytime :)

 How about breakfast? 



During the week and occasionally on the weekends I repeat with 1/4-1/2 cup of Organic Pumpkin Flaxseed granola and one 5oz Plain Oikos Greek organic yogurt.. this breakfast goes in the same bowl, too.  Creature of habit, folks.  Plus it is delicious. 

Most recently I have developed a liking of Snapple iced tea at my lunch meal. I have significantly cut back on my DC intake (Hallelujah.) and replaced it with other things like water.. (if you know me personally this is BIG.  Huge, actually.) Snapple is wonderfully tasty and entertaining as well.  Underneath each cap there is a funny and unusual tidbit of information that I will always remember.  So lunch is not only a time to fill my hungry belly- but I look forward to reading what is under that cap!  Some of my favorites:

*Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

*Vultures can fly 6 hours without flapping their wings

*Lemons have more sugar than strawberries

*Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name

     (go ahead and try to prove this wrong.  Pretty sure I did..)
*A Goldfish's attention span is only 3 seconds (Good.. so Lou is in the clear.)
*Broccoli is the only vegetable that is also a flower (So, what about a chocolate flower?)
*A Bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps (poor thing..)
*President Warren G. Harding once lost White House china in a poker game.
     (Running our country right! HaHa!)
 
Anyway..You are now smarter because of me on this Wednesday. I'll continue with my Snapple habit, for now.  I'll keep you updated time and time again with more Randoms of my Monotonics.. I'm not so weird.  You have them, too.  I'm sure of it.

RW 2011

After three years of attempts, it finally happened.  No- this is not a pregnancy announcement.. this is a Stephan Pyles announcement.  This weekend marks the end of Restuarant Week in Dallas/Fort Worth.  For three solid years I've made attempts to get into this restaurant with no success.  When I got wind of reservation acceptions- over a month ago (I like to plan ahead) - I jumped right to my handy OpenTable  iPhone app (I LOVE this app..) and booked a table for 4. Frea-king-Awe-So-me.

 

Of course the bestie and her hilarious hubby were to be seated at the other two chairs in our table for four!

Jordan is always such a good sport.  Since my regular RW Foodie Friend moved to Chicago, he has been tagging along to celebrate restaurant week with me for the past two years.

 I love my D-ways.  Ashley and Jarret are such the handsome couple!

 About 3 minutes after this picture was shot, Chef Pyles was spotted by Jarrett greeting the guests at various tables.  Of course I began to shift to and fro in my chair- and was made aware that I twirl my hair when I'm nervous.  What if he came to say hello to our table? 

 

He did.  Stevie Py was so polite and courteous.  His hand was on the back of MY chair.  Mine.. yep..standing right next to me.  His addition to our dining table turned a fabulous night into a fantabulous night!  Not to mention the food was outstanding.  I chose the following off the RW menu:

• First Course: Maple Glazed Chipotle Pork Belly with Pickled Peached
• Second Course: Bay of Fundy Salmon with Vanilla Polenta and Bean Ragout
• Third Course: Butterscotch Panna Cotta with some sort of chocolate trifle ball thingy... deliciousness.  Thats what it was. 

Oh yes, yummy dins and lovely times with our good friends.  Three years?  Worth the wait.

Happy Anniversary to The Massey's

Saturday was our 6 year anniversary :)  Exactly (serious) six years from that day we were married.. on a (hot) Saturday night at 7pm. 

A few weeks back we were on our way to church and heard on the radio that Jeremy Camp was coming to the Allen Events Center- immediately- almost reflex-like action- picked up the phone and dialed TicketMaster to get the best seats we could get.  Mr. Camp is probably my most favorite.  I love, love, love his music.. and his love for the Lord.  It's pretty impressive.  He reminds me..kind of.. of John Mayer- my other favorite.  Even better, his concert was on our anniversary night- what a GREAT idea for a date :)  (He will be in Austin in November)

Saturday morning finally came and the most wonderful surprise came along with it- RAIN!  I walked out the front door on my way to the grocery and was met by wet grounds and sprinkling rain.  We needed it so bad.  Once the rain came and went, we were graced with glorious 89 degree weather.  Jordan made the comment that we needed this weather 6 years ago (we were set to be married outside until about 2 weeks before the wedding.. we moved it in doors- too hot, and too much sun- but still just as beautiful.)

After spending the day together in our PJ's and spoiling each other with sweet tokens of our affection, we got ready and headed out to Allen.  We took advantage of the weather and had dinner on the patio at Gloria's and then went on to a night of awesome music.  Royal Taylor and Peter Furler opened for Jeremy Camp- which made for an even better night.

The love of my life- how lucky I am to have 6 years with you (so far.)  This picture is us at age 23 and 20..one month before our wedding day.  I love you, sweet husband. 

Dang.

Welp.. I just got an email for LOFT letting me know they have a Shoes Boutique now.  That's great.  Let me just apologize now to Wells Fargo and to my (wonderful and providing) husband. 

Pretty sure I NEED these :) and these, too.. both scream Fall and sweater dresses and turtlenecks, and wearing scarves without the expense of laugher by my husband because it is 110 degrees out and I have a scraf on.  My response of "It is an accessory" will actually be valid. 

Hurry up Fall.  It's almost September..then October.. and October starts the holiday season in my house.  First Cowboy game was last night- so it's all downhill from here!

Meet Lou. By Dr. Suess (almost)

Lou is my new friend at work. He keeps me company at my desk space.  My (not-so-new) work friends seem to like him, too..they stop and say 'hi' to Lou every time they pass through. He likes his new place alright.. although it isn't blue-like he is used to- it has green grape colored curly bamboo..which will seem to do.

Meet Lou.  You should say 'hi' to Lou, too :)

Tapella's Plus Top Golf..

Equals Beautifully good times and Baby Love!  This weekend Jordan and I met up with a third of our Supper Club crew to test out our golfing skills.. which equates to a lot of laughing and repeated swings and misses.  I've decided that my golfing skills-or lack thereof- are pretty sad. 

I think this picture speaks clear- Jordan is laughing at his wife..that after three, yes, three attempts to hit the ball off the tee, I did indeed finally hit it.  It landed 3 inches from the tee.  How does that happen? 

So I went right over and snagged that sweet baby Landon from his arms to get some good baby lovin' in.  I am good at that, at least! Landon has the sweetest pouty lips.. I couldn't help but giggle when he pushed it out. 

 Landon Lovin'- Jacqueline was sneaky with her picture taking!

Pretty Momma- love LOVE this girl

 Landon is quite the little observer

Jordan attempting to explain to me how to swing.  He has played golf ZERO times in his life.  His experiences stops at the driving range with his fire station buddies.   I did my best to listen with intentions to follow his instruction.  I was SURE to be a success ;)  tehe..

 Feet level.. hands in the place he showed me..

Here..let me show you.  I'm taking this seriously- if you can't tell :)

 Batter Up!  Wait..wrong sport?

Travis showed us all up.. he's only been playing for..oh- I don't know.. his entire life.  This was serious business.

Love my hubby- handsome man!

Fantabulous time with these Tapella friends!  Attempt one at Top Golf was a success- We still have our game cards, so the Massey's are up for more!  Any takers?! 

C'mon.. you know you want to see my skills.

A Healthy Habit

On this edition of Thankful Thursday I decided to finally listen to my belly brain and make note of my regular snacking habit.  I L.O.V.E. to snack.  The great thing about my snacking habits is that I can pretty much eat any vegetable known to man and be satisfied. I like fruit.. well- I love fruit.  So they work for seeking my snacking satisfaction, too.  As a dietitian I educate my clients about the importance of snacking on a daily basis.  Snacks should be thought as 'mini' meals based on healthy whole grains (preferably high in fiber to keep us with that full feeling and to promote heart health) and a combination of a heart healthy fat (mono and poly unsaturated fats) and a lean protein.  Fat and protein take longer to digest and combining them with a fiber-rich carbohydrate with make that mini meal stick with us significantly longer than, say, a single apple (a carbohydrate with fiber- if you eat the skin!).  Add some peanut butter or a low fat string cheese and that apple will hopefully satisfy your hunger until your next meal time.  Ok- stepping down from the soapbox, now.  So- what am I thankful for exactly?  Oh- the glories of 'grab-and-go' vegetables. 

Frozen vegetables are my best friend during my work day.  I am lucky enough to have a fridge in my office- and so bringing boxed/bagged vegetables to steam up in a jiffy is so easy!  My favorite at the moment is Green Giant Boxed Vegetables- Baby Brussels Sprouts & Butter Sauce.  Delicious :)  I know my girl Ashley (and her momma) can appreciate this- although my office friends holler when I make it stinky with the cooking of a cruciferous vegetable.  The most awesome part about these vegetables in particular is that-yes, it is 60 calories per serving.. a little more than 2 servings in a box (I eat the whole box..) So- total: 163 calories, 2.7 grams fat, 25 grams carbohydrates, and 8 grams of both fiber and protein.  Read  it- eight grams of fiber.  This dietitian approves this rockstar of a snack!!  (Plus- I like it acceptionally well. So, thats what counts.)
 
My other favorite snack is new found..
Standing in the soup aisle last week, these boxed soups caught my eye and after reading the label a couple made their way into my basket.  I have made Cambell's V8 Soup into my regular rotation this week for my snacking habit.  I purchased the Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup last week, and the soup is on my grocery list again for this week.  One cup (of the tomato herb): 90 calories, zero fat, 19 grams carbohydrates, and 3 grams of both fiber and protein.  I added a part-skim mozzarella string cheese into the mix ( It was a toss between the cheese and Kashi TLC Pita Crisps..the cheese won out..this time, anyway.) I stick with the one cup versus eating the entire box because (as with any pre-packaged food item- soups in particular) of the high sodium content-480 mg/svg.

So there you have it- A Thankful Thursday dedicated to several things..
1.) My love for snacking..
2.) My love for vegetables (more so than my love of cookies, thank goodness.. or else my snacking habit could be a lot worse, I'm afraid.)
and C.) I am so darn thankful for my pre-packed-on-the-go frozen (and boxed) veggie products!

Whatchu thankful for today?