Morning!!!!!! Hey everyone! Well, I am have been busy these past few days! You know when you have some time to yourself and you do all the things you need to do but never do and then time just gets away from you? That’s what happened these last few days. But, let me bring all of you lovelies up to speed!

First off, I hope the rest of your Christmas was great! I know mine was. After my last post I showered, made salad, talked on the phone to my brother and then headed up to my mom and dad’s for dinner. Christmas day was really, really casual!

Jeans (Seven for all Mankind), Gray V-Neck T-Shirt (American Apparel), Sneakers (Puma)!! Adam got me these new sneakers! I needed new casual sneakers, since any time I ever buy an athletic shoe it’s a running shoes! I thought these were super cute.

Before going up to my parent’s house, I brought Oscar for a walk. His stitches are pretty much healed so he is able to go out in the snow now! I was thrilled because this little guy loves snow! Of course, the day after his surgery we got about a foot of snow and the poor guy could not go out and play. While walking I came across the pole I had decorated in my Grandmother’s memory. My Nana LOOOOOOVED Christmas! So for the past few years, I pay to have a pole decorated in her name. It made me a little sad to see the pole, I miss my Nana so much, especially around the Holidays and now that I am planning my wedding. But, the pole made me smile because it reminded me that she is always with me.

Dinner started with some appetizers.

Shrimp and cocktail sauce.

Cheese and crackers. I had a few shrimp and a few whole wheat crackers with cheese. The cheese in the middle was this garlic and red pepper cheese my mom picked up! It is awesome! Good pick Mom!!!!

Dinner was lasagna and meatballs.

The big pan is regular lasagna and the small pan is “Ali Lasagna”. My mom made me a little pan with reduced fat ricotta, and whole wheat pasta. What can I say, the woman loves me!

Doesn’t it make your mouth water?

The table all set!!! Don’t you adore my mom’s Christmas dishes? I have a similar set that were my grandmothers. You see the salad in the middle there? I made that!!!!! It had romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheddar cheese, red peppers. I had a small bowl of that with a fat free dressing, but forgot to take a picture of it…ooops!

Dinner: a piece of lasagna and one turkey meatball. I put two meatballs on my plate but only ate one, my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. My mom is the sweetest and mage me turkey meatballs, with ground turkey, whole wheat bread crumbs and egg whites! YUUUUMMMM! Thanks, Mom!

I washed dinner down with a glass of Pinot Noir (x2).

After dinner, we cleaned up and then our family sat down in the living room and watched Home Alone. OMG…I forgot how funny this freakin funny this movie is! That 15 minutes straight where Kevin just kicks the crap out of the robbers is intense. None of us could breathe!!!! I laughed so hard I was bawling my eyes out, I had mascara allllllll over my face! GOSH that movie is funny!

Once the movie was over, we decided to play Scene It! My family is a bunch of Scene It freaks! Last time we played mom and dad killed Adam and I. So of course, my dad was talking a whole bunch of smack. But, Adam and I were convinced we could take them.

Scene it:

+ Spiked Eggnog

= Craziness!!!!!

Guess who won?

Oh yeah, sweet victory dance too!!!! Dad and mom demanded a rematch and…….

We won again!!!!!!! SAY WHAT?! Notice how in the second picture Adam is holding his eggnog? Well, while we were playing the second game, Oscar started drinking Adam’s eggnog. YIKES! I think he got a little drunk!!! He just climbed up on a chair and started staring into space.

Poor guy!!!! After the game, we had dessert. I had a chocolate chip cookie and a tiny piece of peanut butter pie.

Later in the night, my bestie May came over. She had to work all day, so she came over late. We exchanged presents and chatted. She got me this book and an ADORABLE outfit from J Crew. I can’t wait to read this book!!!

All in all it was a great Holiday with my fantastic family and great friends. We went to bed around 11:30 and we were pooped!!!

The next morning, I got up at 10am (!!!!!!!). WOW! I think my body is trying to catch up on sleep. I made oatmeal :

Oats:

• 1/3 of a cup of oats

• 2/3 of a cup of almond milk

• 1/2 of a banana

Toppings:

• cinnamon

• maple syrup

• smooth Barney Butter

  

All mixed in!

Coffee!

After breakfast, I got to cleaning up the mess that was our apartment. I unpacked all of our gifts, threw out a whole bunch of trash and tried on all of my new clothes. I have a few things that need to be returned, too big. After doing that, I decided to do something I have been meaning to do for a long time. I went through my clothes and got rid of things I don’t wear. I tossed stuff with holes and all the socks without a mate. I also got rid of all the yoga pants that were too big or too short. I put them aside for my friends to take. While getting of stuff, I somehow got an insane splinter. I pulled it out myself with tweezers.

Ouchie! After cleaning up, I had some leftovers for lunch. Salad:

a piece of lasanga and turkey meatballs

Around 5:30pm, I hopped in the shower, and headed out with my bestie May. We went out to go and meet her old roommate Neal for a few beers while he was home for the Holidays. Remember when Neal moved to Chicago?

I ended up having three beers throughout the night. One Same Adam’s Cherry Wheat (sooooooooo yummy) and two blueberry ales!

May and I decided to get a little dinner. We started off with an order of Bruchetta.

The goat cheese REALLY made this! It was awesome! For my meal I got the veggie burger.

I ate it open faced with all he veggies. I also ate all the fries! I loved that they didn’t overload me with portions.

Yesterday morning I slept until 10am again!!!!!! WOW! I got up and made a quick breakfast.

Cinnamon raisin Ezekiel toast with barney butter with 1/2 of a banana and a clementine, and some coffee.

Yesterday’s outfit:

Black t-shirt (Target), yellow sweater (H&M), Scarf (H&M), Skinny Jeans, Gray boots (Target).

I headed to the mall yesterday with May and her friend Cortney. It was a fun girl’s day. We went shopping, I got some make-up I was out of at Sephora, a cover for Lady (my iphone), and s few fun things at Forever 21. We headed to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I started off with a glass of Sangria. They have the BEST Sangria!!!!

I had a small piece of bread while looking over the menu.

We decided to order a bunch of appetizers.

Fried Macaroni and Cheese.

Edamame

Avocado egg rolls

Buffalo Chicken Wontons

Fire-Roasted Artichoke.

I got a small French Country salad.

This salad was awesome. It had lettuce, asparagus, beets, goat cheese and pecans. SO GOOD! I had one of each appetizer, except of the edamame and artichoke, I had a number of bites of that.

After the mall, we headed to May’s sister Beth’s house to make fortune cookies!!! Sooooo fun!!!! While creating fortunes, we had some chocolate.

The cookies were easy to make! All it was was egg whites, sugar, flour, and vanilla. I forget the exact measurements of each.

At first, we had a hard time getting them to look right.

I snacked on some of the “ugly” ones.

and also had some cheesecake.

Eventually, we got better at making them. Before and after.

Look at these beauties!

May’s nieces got a Candy Fortune Cookie Kit from Santa and we used the folding directions from that to make the cookies. Thanks, Hello Kitty!!!!

After we left Beth’s I came home and crashed.

I spelt until 10 am AGAIN today!!!!! WOW! When I got up, I made a whole wheat bagel with Barney Butter topped with half of a banana.

In Other News:

This week’s Blogger interview is with Julie from Peanut Butter Fingers

Blogging Related:

1. Why did you start your blog?

I am a writer and I love reading and writing about health, food and fitness. I figured a blog would be a great way to share my passion with lots of people.

2. What is your favorite blog?

Carrotsncake.com. Tina is such an accessible person that so many people can relate to. Plus, the pictures of her adorable pug keep me coming back every day. J

3. How do you keep readers interested in your blog? Especially if your blog is new?
My blog is very new and I want people to enjoy reading it enough to follow along daily. To keep things interesting, I try to change up my meals a lot and incorporate a lot of pictures. I do not limit my posts to food and enjoy posting about great coupons, activities and crazy daily observations.

4. Have you found blogging difficult to keep up with?

Yes, but I try to keep the mindset that my blog is my hobby and shouldn’t be a source of stress in my life. It’s something I like to do and something I do for fun and enjoyment. If I have too many things on my agenda or feel overwhelmed or stressed, I will not post or I will do a fly-by post that doesn’t take too long to assemble.

5. Has anything happened that was unexpected or shocked you as a result of having a blog? For example, negative feedbacks, new found blogger friends that live next door? Really anything that didn’t expect?

I was shocked when I was contacted by a couple of different companies to test products or offer giveaways on my blog. I love it! I am also amazed when I receive heartfelt emails from readers. It’s wonderful to hear such kind words from people who enjoy following along.

6. Do you have support of your family?
Yes! They’re pretty darn fantastic.

7. How long have you been blogging?

I have been blogging for about three months.

8. How has your blog changed over the years?

It has only been around for three months, so it hasn’t changed too much! I hope to do a blog makeover in the upcoming month or two.

9. What new directions do you see taking it in?

Though I will definitely continue to focus on healthy living, I see my blog taking a wedding-related direction in the future. I’m in the process of planning my wedding (Oct. 2010 baby!) and I’m sure my posts will become more and more wedding-obsessed. J
10. What is your favorite ‘freebie’ that you’ve ever received?

You and Your Healthy Lifestyle:
11. What is your favorite workout?

I LOVE BodyPump classes.
12. How often do you workout?

I usually workout six days a week.

13. Have you always lived a healthy lifestyle? If not, What made you change your lifestyle?
I have always been a pretty healthy girl, but also fell victim to thinking that certain foods were “bad” – like bread and pasta. Reading other food blogs and listening to my body helped me change my mind set to realize no food is bad in moderation. A healthy lifestyle includes indulgences like cookies and ice cream, just not for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.

14. What is your favorite healthy snack?

I love a crisp, cool apple with creamy peanut butter. I also enjoy whole wheat tortillas with light cheese, microwaved quesadilla-style. Fancy, huh?

15. What is your all time favorite food?
Soft-serve ice cream.

16: What is your least favorite food?

Catfish. I can’t really speak to the flavor though, since I’ve never tried it… but it totally freaks me out! A fish with whiskers? Ah! Plus, my fiancé told me they grunt which pretty much sealed the deal in terms of me never, ever trying that particular kind of fish. Creepy.

17. What is one kitchen appliance you can’t live without, besides your fridge?

My oven! How in the world are you supposed to make freshly-baked cookies without one?

18. What is your favorite thing to try? New workouts, new restaurants, bars, beer/wine.

New foods! This past year I was much more adventurous on the veggie front. I realized I actually really like mushrooms, broccoli and all types of squash. Who knew!?

Getting to Know you:
19. What are you wearing today?

William Rast skinny jeans, white tank top (Forever 21), black sweater (Express), gold sandals (Express), gold bracelet (was my grandma’s), yellow purse (Franco Sarto)

20. What do you do for a living?
I am a full-time writer/editor for several different Web sites. I also do freelance writing for Examiner.com as the Orlando Diets Examiner.

21. What is your favorite movie?

I have quite a few but I could watch Father of the Bride over and over (and over!) again.

22. What are your hobbies?
I have an insane dog that requires an inordinate amount of exercise, so walking or running with Sadie is something I do every day. I also love cooking and baking, creating new recipes, working out, being crafty, going on hot dates with my fiancé and of course hanging out with my friends and family.

23. What trends are your fashion favorites this season?

I love boots! I adore the knee-high brownish/reddish leather boots with a slight heel. They’re so stinkin’ cute. I want a pair so badly but haven’t found the right ones just yet. I may end up stealing them off a stranger’s feet because everyone else seems to have found the super-cute pair that I cannot seem to locate.  

24.What are your plans for 2010?

In 2010 I’m getting maaaarried! Ah! Other than that, I plan on living a happy, healthy life while continuing to work as a writer/editor. I’ll continue to update my Peanut Butter Fingers blog daily and may sign up for a half-marathon, too!

Thanks Julie!!!! Well, I planned a long run today, but it looks like it is pouring so I may wait it out a little before I head out for a run!!!! We shall see.

Tags: Bagels, Beer, Bread, Cake, choclate, Coffee, Cookies, Crackers, Eating Out, Pasta, Salad, wine