Go to lunch…Black Bean Salad

I’m all about the quick meals.  For two reasons mainly…I usually don’t start thinking about what to eat until I get hungry and I hate making a big mess that I’m going to have to clean up later.  One of my absolute favorite lunches (or dinners) is a black bean salad.  It’s super simple and tastes great!

(my lovely iPhone shot)

Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 cup of black beans (drained & rinsed)

8-10 grape tomatoes

chopped onion

avocado (optional)

EVOO

Balsamic vinegar

lime juice

salt

Throw the first 4 ingredients together, drizzle a tiny bit of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), a couple splashes of balsamic vinegar and several splashes of lime juice.  Then salt to taste.

It’s seriously, that simple!  I LOVE it!  The tang of the lime juice gets balanced out by the balsamic vinegar, but by adding a splash or two more of lime juice, you get a nice citrus-y taste that isn’t too tangy.

March (yes, March!) 366

We’ve already established that I’m just a wee bit (said in my best irish accent) behind on my postings, so yes, I’m posting my 366 wrap up for March.  I thought I might do it a little differently than I have in the past.  Instead of just posting all of the pictures, I decided to highlight a couple of my favorites from the month.

63/366 – Hubby and I were invited to a Nerdy 30 Birthday party.  This was as nerdy as I got.  Considering I had no clue what I was going to wear, I think I did okay.

70/366 – My baby boy turned 9 this month.  I can’t believe it’s the last year that I will have a kid in single digits!

72/366 – I had my Instagrams turned into magnets.  How freaking cool is that?!

80/366 – Took Lucy-Lou to the dog park for the first time.

82/366 – I finally found some TOMS that look cute on my size 10 feet.

83/366 – Took the kids to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure!  Since I can’t ride roller coasters (motion sickness, remember?), ButterBeer from Harry Potter World was my favorite part of the day.  Other than the usual, you know, spending the day with the family, seeing the kids have so much fun riding rides, etc.  😉

91/366 – Ended the month with a bang…Hubs & I completed the Warrior Dash!  This picture is from before our race time when the skies literally opened up and poured gallons of rain down on us.  Fortunately, just before our start time, the rain stopped completely!  Thank goodness b/c the torrential downpour would have been awful to run in.

March 366 Wrap-up…

Last, but not least…the Grand Canyon!

Be sure to check out part 1 & part 2 of my Vegas postings, if you haven’t already.  🙂

Day 5…we took a helicopter ride down into the Grand Canyon!!!  The highlight of my whole trip to Vegas.

Those who know me, know that I get motion sickness REALLY easily.  I can’t ride an airplane without taking dramamine, I can’t ride a roller coaster at all (even though I love them), heck, I can’t even passenger in a car if it’s a bad day.  So, as you can imagine, I was terrified that I wasn’t going to be able to handle a helicopter ride.  However, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity of a lifetime on the off chance that I might get sick.  I figured even if I got sick, it would still be worth it.

It was an early and cold freaking morning.  I was feeling alright, but a little nervous.  Once we got to the place where the helicopters were, I got really sick feeling and thought I was a goner for sure.  Determined to soldier on, I took my dramamine and popped a piece of ginger gum in every few minutes.  Thankfully, once we got into the helicopter, my stomach started to settle and I was able to enjoy the ride.  The view was absolutely amazing!  We even got to see the Hoover Dam on our ride into the canyon.

Flying in style…

Some photos from the helicopter of our ride in to and out of the canyon…

The Hoover Dam

Some cactus photos when we stopped to re-fuel…

Here we are INside the Grand Canyon!  It was super cool.  We got to have champagne and snacks while we hung out inside the canyon for 15 min or so.

Our pilot for the trip…a good ole southern boy.  Complete with tight jeans and boots.  😉

This was my last night in Vegas so we went to see Ka’ that night.  If you’re ever in Vegas and Ka’ is playing, definitely go see it!  It was awesome.

Finally, here I am about to leave for the airport.  So tired and chilly, but ready to get back home.

Shew!  Vegas posting is complete!  Now on to our regularly scheduled blogging…

Vegas…Part Deux

Yeah, yeah, I know…story of my life.  This post is a REALLY late part 2 to the previous post.  I’m a sucky blogger…What can I say?  I hope to do better.  Maybe I should blog for a solid 30 days and then it will become habit.  :oP

Okay, on to part 2 of Vegas!  You know, since you’ve been waiting with bated breathe for 3 months and all, I’m thinking I ought not keep you in suspense any longer.  😉

On day 3, I went sightseeing solo.  My sister was in her conference all day, so I checked out our neighboring hotel, The New York-New York, and then took a ride on the LV Monorail.  I took the monorail to help me make my way to The Forum Shops at Caesar’s, but then decided to take the scenic route and walk down the strip back to our hotel, The MGM.  Let’s just say I was not lacking in the physical activity department that day.  😉

I passed the Paris hotel on my walk back to the MGM.  I love all the detail to all the hotels on the strip!

The M&M store was about 1 block from the MGM.  I didn’t stop in, but I’m sure the kids would have loved it if they were with me.  However, since I was kid free, I was pretty much avoiding all kids during my trip.  😉  I thought the huge Ka’ poster was appropriate since it was playing at our hotel and we would be eventually be seeing it while in town.

The Forum Shops at Caesar’s was so pretty inside.  I loved the all the statues!

Inside the mall was a freaking huge H&M…three stories!!

Annnnnd, this would be my ridiculously expensive lunch for the day.  A foot long dog, waffle fries and a tiny water.  Honestly, I wasn’t that hungry at the time, but figured I should eat something.  I only finished about half of my hotdog and 1/3 of my fries.  Definitely could have shared it with someone.

Back at the hotel…I was so happy to see this guy at the end of the day!

On to day 4…there was a huge photography conference (WPPI) coincidentally happening in our exact hotel at the exact time I was in Vegas.  Even though I don’t have a photog business anymore, I thought I’d check out the Expo and see what kind of photography goodies were on display.  Afterwards, I did some more sightseeing and hit up the Bellagio fountains & indoor gardens.  Since we were going to a dinner that night I figured I should go easy on my feet and wear tennies during the day.

The indoor gardens at the Bellagio were gorgeous!  These pictures don’t do it nearly enough justice.  I also got to watch the fountain show out front and I tried recording it, but apparently I don’t know how to use the record function on my point & shoot.  :o/  Note to self…learn your camera!

The Harley shop (and restaurant, I think)

There were plenty of street performers on my walk.  These guys were pretty cool.  When you dropped money in their bucket they would dance!

And these guys were one of the most annoying attractions on my walk.  They were on every flipping corner and there would be 3 or 4 of them!  They were handing out escort/boobie bar cards.  I wish I had gotten a pic of some of the cards.  In case you’re ever in Vegas, don’t take one of their cards unless you want to see some T&A.  😉

My pedometer steps for the day and my treat for walking my hiney off.

That night was a dinner at THEHotel and bar.  The food and atmosphere were awesome, but the bathroom was definitely the highlight of the night.  I know what you’re thinking…dang, she must have really had to potty!  After you see us all spiffy, I’ll explain the bathroom part.

Dun, dun, dun…..THIS is the reason the bathroom was the highlight!  You can use the restroom while overlooking VEGAS!  That’s right folks, floor to ceiling glass wall while you are sitting’ on the pot.  It was freaking awesome!  It was really dark inside, but this gives you an idea of what it looked like.

And this was the view from your seat.  🙂

Seriously, if I go back to Vegas, I will have to hit it up again!

One more post and I’ll be done with my Vegas posts.  Thanks for waiting so long for part 2.  I PROMISE it won’t be another 3 month wait for part 3!

Vegas, Baby, Vegas!!

A month or two ago, I got a call from my sister.  Apparently she had a conference to go to in Las Vegas and she wanted to bring someone to tag along with her, but my BIL couldn’t make it.  Soooo, I was the lucky one that got to go!!  It was my first trip to Vegas and it was awesome!  Other than a trip to the Grand Canyon, I didn’t venture out past the main strip the whole time I was there.  I had fun just walking up and down Las Vegas Blvd and taking it all the sights. One of the things on my “must-do in Vegas” list was that I had to get a picture in front of the “Welcome to Vegas” sign.  It’s a corny, cliche pic…but it was a must!  Soooo, without further ado, I present my obligatory Vegas pic, complete with a showgirl!  😉 Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let’s get on to the rest of my trip!  Everyday I took pictures of all my outfits.  Geez, the fun things I remember to do and actually have time to do when there are no kids or a hubby around. Day 1 – plane ride & Vegas arrival outfit I didn’t get in to Vegas until 8pm.  By the time my sister’s plane arrived from Orlando and we got to our hotel, we were exhausted!

Muhammad Ali was making an appearance at our hotel today for his 70th Birthday celebration.  Coincedentally, my baby boy was doing a report for school on Ali, so I had to try and get a picture.  Unfortunately, when you looked at the ring in the main lobby that normally looked like this….

…looked like THIS after Muhammad Ali arrived!

But, eventually, I pushed my way through and was able to get a few passing shots.  Nothing great, but hey, I got to see Muhammad Ali.  Plus, Evander Holyfield as a bonus!  🙂

Afterwards, we headed to the Venetian hotel.  It was GORGEOUS!  It’s theme is Italy and it was complete with an indoor canal and gondola ride.

An example of the ceilings inside the hotel/main lobby…

This was our view inside the shopping area part of the hotel.  This ceiling looked so real!  It really felt like we were outside, in Italy.  Well, except for all the stores and tourists.  😛

This statue is an actual person.  Took us asking someone why there was money on the ground in front of her and why everyone was just sitting around staring at her for us to figure out that she was alive.  lol.  She was so still!

Annnnd, this was how I ended my night…winning $50 at the slots!  Don’t get too excited.  It was the most I won the whole trip and I lost more than I won.  I know what you’re thinking though, “but did you at least take advantage of your free drink while gambling?”.  And the answer would be, YES!  Every time!  Somehow losing stung a little less knowing that I was sipping on my free drink.  😉

Okay, boys and girls, I think I’m going to cap this post here or else it will be a super long, photo overloaded post.  Stay tuned for days 3 & 4!

February 366

My month in review…and, yes, you are counting correctly…I have 30 pics.  I had a tie for one of the days, so I uploaded both.  🙂

Hello again…long time, no see!

Oh my!  It’s been a little while since I’ve posted, huh?!  I’m going to try to get back on track here.  I was sick for a little bit, took a trip to Vegas for several days, came back and was sick again and then dealing with my hubs being really sick and finishing the plans for baby boy’s birthday party.  I’m happy to report that we are all feeling good right now and with the birthday party behind us, I’m ready to get back in the gym and stop eating all the junk that I’ve been munching on due to sickness and stress!

Here’s a little Monday Motivation to kick off your week…

iPhone-ography – January 366

I am attempting the 365 project again.  I usually don’t make it more than a week or two and so far I’ve made it 38 days!!  Here is my month in review…in order from Jan 1st-31st.  🙂

Monday Morning Randoms…take 2!

UGH!!!  I just spent 45+ min writing up a blog post, only for it to disappear on me!  :'(  Seriously annoying!  I know why it happened, and it’s completely my fault, but it doesn’t make it sting any less.  So, I’m trying again.

But, first I have to make my breakfast, since this could take another 30 min to remember everything I posted previously…

Okay, I’m back and enjoying my pancakes while re-typing everything I lost.  *sigh*

So, I was saying that I’ve been a little scatter-brained lately and it’s driving me crazy.  I tend to be a thinker, not a doer…a procrastinator…a one track minded individual.  If I have something that has most of my focus, i.e. fitness, then the other things, like laundry, dishes & housework tend to be done on an emergency basis.  Last week I had some errands that I had to get done out of the house, so everything else was kind of pushed off until it was a *must-do* thing.  Which makes me crazy, I know, but I can’t seem to get it under control.  There is also a ton of clutter building up around here and it’s making me grumpy.  Eric, aka hubby, thinks I must love clutter since I seem to always let it pile up, but it’s really the opposite.  It’s usually the fact that I’m OCD about it.  You see, the clutter doesn’t have a place and I don’t know how to “properly” organize it, so it gradually piles up.  Plus…I’m lazy.  😛  So, internet, I’m letting YOU hold me accountable!  Today’s task is to clean off my mess of a desk.  Cluttered desk, cluttered mind!

Here’s a before…

Ridonkulous, right?  I’ll share my after tomorrow.  🙂

And, since I titled this post Monday randoms, here’s some more randomness for ya.

  • First up, BOOTS!  Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m not the trendiest dresser.  I like to think I dress nice, but it’s not really super fashionable or trendy.  Since I finally bought some skinny jeans and some leggings, I decided I needed some tall boots.  Who would have thunk that it would be so hard!  It might be because I’m kind of picky so that coupled with the fact that it’s kind of late in boot season, made my shopping a little difficult.  I ended up deciding on these pretties….the Antonio Melani Elena boot

Antonio Melani + Sale kinda sealed the deal for me.  I’m not in LOVE with them, but I like them well enough until I find THE perfect ones.  After trying on several, I think I have a better idea of what I want in the perfect boot.  I did some online window shopping this weekend and found this awesomeness to put on my wish list!

Frye Veronica Slouch boots!  Gorgeous!

  • And while I’m on a shopping tangent, check out this cool picture frame from Crate & Barrel

I love the look of two of them together!

  • I adore this awesome ampersand pillow too.  When you flip it over, it’s white with a black ampersand.  😉

  • I’m going on day 30 of my 366 project!  Instead of sharing daily or even weekly, I figured I’d share a month at a time.  I’ve tried to do a 365 (366 this year!) project before, but I always put a lot of pressure on myself to make it an awesome picture every day, but in the end never ended up sticking with it.  This year I decided that it just had to be any picture from any camera.  All of the ones so far have been from my phone…Instagram to be more specific.  But that’s okay.  A picture, is a picture.  It still tells a story.

  • Annnnd, because you might be wondering about my LiveFit journey…I’m about to start week 4.  I am a little off on my workouts so I’m going to end week 3 with shoulders today and start week 4 with back & biceps.  I’ll try to do a summary of week 3 soon!

Gotta run since I’m seriously behind on my day due to my little blogging mishap!  Hope your Monday is great!

Seriously Good Protein Pancakes (and LiveFit – day 10!)

A week or so ago I tried to make some protein pancakes…you might remember this post, saying the only way to get them down was to smother them in greek yogurt & peanut butter.  Yeah, they were way to egg-y for me.  Not one to be discouraged, I found this recipe and decided to give it a whirl.  I changed it slightly, but I was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out.  They were actually really good and weren’t overly egg-y!

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned oats (uncooked, non-instant)

3/4 cup liquid egg whites

1 – 4oz cup fat-free cottage cheese

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

3 packets sugar substitute

Blend all ingredients together in a blender and then cook like you would a regular pancake!  It makes 4 pretty large pancakes or several smaller ones.

See how fluffy they are!

Nutrients (whole recipe) — 475 Calories; 66 Carbs; 6g Fat; 41g Protein; 9g Sugar

I’m not giving up trying other recipes since this one is a little high in carbs, but it is yummy, so it will be a favorite until I find a better one.  😉

LiveFit Update — day 10, legs & calves

Leg day again!  Exercises were the same as last week, but due to an issue with squats, I added an exercise or two to make up for it.  I didn’t go as heavy on my leg presses and was able to complete all three sets of 12 without stopping, but the last reps were tough.  I went to squats next and during my first set, my inner right thigh, close to my pelvic bone, was hurting every time I squatted and it wasn’t a good pain so I decided it was best not to complete the exercise.  I added in the outer thigh machine for 3 sets of 12 and also did 10 min on the stairmill.  I was ticked off that I couldn’t get my squats done this week.  Maybe my body will cooperate next week.  😐