Sunday, January 17, 2010

Repaired


Speechless.  That is how I felt after I read every single one of your comments from my last post.  Honestly, I was a bit nervous revealing such honest emotion, but you all had the most kind, supportive and loving things to say that tears were brought to my eyes and my heart wanted to explode by the grace that I felt.

I felt repaired, renewed and so blessed to have some of the most caring and beautiful people in my life.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so understanding, loving and gracious.  I love you all!

Well, the rest of the weekend went much better after a slightly gloomy start.

I woke up Saturday morning by my own body clock, which I rarely do.  It felt fabulous!

It also felt fabulous to put these Pumpkin Oats in my belly.



Pumpkin Oats with Blackberries, Apricots, Crumbled Blueberry Apricot Blondie and Coconut.  I also think there was some White Chocolate Wonderful under there. ;) 


After breakfast, we got ready for our day.  We planned to run some errands and also do a little window shopping for a new car.  I don't think I've mentioned this, but we have been talking about getting a new car for a few months.  I really love my Civic and it has done me so well for many years, but the time has come to step it up in the automobile department.  With all of the traveling I am doing now with my job and since it requires me to haul materials every which way, an SUV was just so appealing.

We did have an particular one in mind.  I have had my eye on the Nissan Muranos for YEARS!  I'm not sure why I like them so much, but out of all of the SUV's, the Muranos are my absolute favorite.  Maybe the fact that they are the perfect size, have great reports, and look super cool.

Well, we checked out a few dealers and didn't really see much.  Toly decided to call another dealer to see if they had gotten anything in aside from what there website had, and to our surprise, they had just gotten in two pre-owned Muranos the day before.

We zipped right over and low and behold, there was my dream car.  A white SL Murano with leather tan interior.  I took her out for a spin and we feel in love with each other.




After a few hours of negotiating, Toly (with my much notable assertiveness) were able to score an incredible deal.



She is ALL mine!

The car hasn't even been serviced or detailed yet, so we aren't picking her up until tomorrow.

Toly and I are both so happy about this purchase and can't wait to drive around in our new car!

Well, this morning, we were both up pretty early.  Toly said he couldn't sleep because he was too excited about the car, and me, well, I was rudely awoken by some nasty stomach pains, but they eventually went away.

After awhile, we both were ready for Sunday breakfast.

And waffles were born….



Blueberry Banana Waffles with Pomegranate Yogurt and Pom Seeds





I spent the next 5 hours cleaning.  No joke!  I went a bit wild on the kitchen as one of those obsessive organizing bouts came over me.  I re-arragened our entire pantry, junk drawers, fridge cabinets and cleaned never nook and cranny.  Mainly, I believe this was all in preparation for my Trader Joe's trip I have planned for tomorrow.

Before I knew it, I was starving for lunch.

So I made the only thing I ever crave when I am starving for something fast but amazing….

 Huge Jass with Roasted Squash and Brussels, hummus, cranberry goat cheese and raspberry balsamic


Also had a slice of my leftover Kashi Mediterranean Veggie Pizza from the night before.  This was pretty good for a frozen pizza, after I jazzed it up a bit with some more veggies of course. 


Refueled and ready to get back to cleaning.  It was a rainy day and I planned to do nothing but clean the house.  I really like when I have the entire day to devote to housework because I can take my time and really feel like it gets a good thorough cleaning.

I think I finally sat down at one point, but not for long.  After cleaning, I was on a cooking kick.

First, I made the Chia Pudding from my Living Raw Cookbook.






Only I changed a few things by making mine "Pumpkin Chia Pudding".  I added a ton of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and also about a 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin.



This pudding is delightful.  Not only one of the best things you could put into your body, but also soooo delicious!  Can't wait to have some for dessert!

Next up, I made a Black Bean, Mango and Avocado Salad for tonight's dinner.

                      

And eventually, dinner was created using the key ingredient for my inspiration….



I was so thrilled to win Kristin's giveaway the other week and my year's supply of Food Should Taste Good Tortilla Chips arrived a few days ago.  These are hands down my FAVORITE chip (and I don't even like chips all that much).  I was so excited to try some flavors that I have never had before, including this one. 

With the help of the chips, I made 
Tortilla Encrusted Tilapia 



The fish was incredible!  Love this chip flavor by the way. 

Now to make this meal a real Lauren-style dinner, I did what I do best….

Bowl-ifed it! 


First layer, wilted spinach.  Second Layer, Black Bean Mango Avocado Salad, Steamed Broccoli, Third Layer, Tilapia, Fourth Layer, TJ's Peach Salsa and Okios. 



Yeah, it was awesome!  So happy to have leftovers of this! 

Okay, now I've been waiting patiently for hours for my Chia Pudding to rise.  Love how those little seeds grow in liquid- just like the Chia pets.  Who would have thought that those funky little heads could be so good for you? Cha Cha Cha Chia! :)  

Tomorrow is a holiday for both Toly and I, so we have off from work. Martin Luther King day, I believe it is…..wow that's pretty awful that I can't recall, but I do recall that I won't be going to work. 

And so, what do I do with my random Monday off.  Why go to Trader Joes with my dad of course! 

Yep, it's that time again, for our father/daughter Trader Joe's stock up.  Nothing I love more than this time! 

Okay my wonderful friends, I really hope that you all had the best weekend. 

Again, thank you all for being so amazing!  I am such a lucky girl. :) 



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11 comments:

  1. Glad you had a great and productive weekend! Maybe you could come clean my kitchen? Hehe! Congrats on the new car! I love it!! I am super jealous of your TJ's trip tomorrow! We dont have one anywhere close to here:( I hope you have a fabulous day tomorrow!

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  2. Congrats on the new CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy sweet!!

    Have a great time at TJ's with the pops.

    So glad you are feeling better.

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  3. Awesome car! Great choice... and holy yum... all your food looks fantastic!! I might have to try that chia pudding, I haven't done it yet, because I'm a bit nervous about how it tastes!

    Glad you are feeling a bit more positive!! Have a great day off and feel free to shop for me at Trader Joes too! ;)

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  4. Have fun at TJs- I am so so jealous! Congrats on the car! The muranos weren't out when I went on my last hunt and I ended up with a Tucson (which I loveeeeeeeeee) but I do plan for my next car to be a Murano! We actually looked at them a few months ago (we're such twinkies!!). Those salads all look so incredible. Loving the one with the brussels and the black bean salad! So colorful. Enjoy your day off

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  5. Mmm... love chia pudding. I was clumsy with mine last time though and tipped my (uncovered) bowl of it over while it was still in the fridge! Gelled chia seeds are such a pain to clean up, haha.

    Have fun picking up your new car today!

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  6. my dad has a murano and LOVES it! it is so tech-saavy and smooth - its totally a great ride.

    yay for days off - me too! i am going to go off to a coffee shop for more coffee and just enjoy this FREE day off. have SO MUCH FUN at trader joes my dear.

    so jealous of your FSTG year supply, and your bowl of food lovin' looks AMAZING! love ya!

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  7. Ahhh!! Your new car is so pretty - enjoy it! Have fun at Trader Joe's! I haven't been in far too long - that should change :)

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  8. OMG I LOVE YOUR NEW WHIP! it is so cute and you totally look perfect in it. congrats on the birth.. and death.. of those glorious waffles. YUM. sure hope you are enjoying your day off, sweetie. love you!

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  9. the car looks great- i really like it. and i am so gladyou are feeling better, you deserve every great comment you received :)

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  10. congrats on the car - and i'm so glad you're feeling better.

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  11. Congrats on the new car - how FUN!

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