What I ate Wednesday

30 days of consecutive Shakeology is underway.  I've gotten out of the routine of having it everyday, and I am ready to up my nutrition and energy.  Most days, I plan on having a shake for a snack, but today was one of those mornings I needed something quick and ready to go.  I dropped Wills off for his first day of Mother's Day Out, taught a 10:15 yoga class, and headed across the street to Earth Fare to work and have coffee with a girlfriend.

Breakfast was chocolate shakeology mixed with 1/2 cup of almond milk, 3/4 cup of chilled coffee, a frozen banana, and a Tablespoon of sunflower seed butter.

Lunch was a grilled chicken arugula and spinach salad with chicken left over from the night before.  I added strawberries, avocado, and smoked almonds.

Wills hosted his very own dinner party of dinosaur chicken nuggets, green beans, and Annie's shells and cheese.

Bethany, Anna, and I enjoyed a glass of wine and snacked on crackers, hummus and cheese while the kids ate and played.

Dinner was shrimp tacos for her, steak fajitas for him.

Served in corn shells with fresh salsa, avocado, and plain Greek yogurt.

Getting Away

Sometimes a weekend away is just what we need; it's good for the soul.  When we are home, there is always grass to cut, projects to complete, errands to run, cleaning to do, and a to-do list that never ends.  Thus is life.  When we get to Beaufort, we truly escape those every day tasks, and for a few days, do whatever we want to do.

Wills is always up for the new adventures.  This was his first time golfing with his daddy, and they both loved every second of it!

For hours, he played on the beach with his friend, Law.

Sunday night was deemed Rib-eye night.  Thankfully, Tony prepared me a delicious grilled portobello mushroom with blue cheese crumbles, tomato and fresh basil.  I will be making this again!

More adventures with the horses!

Pure bliss.

“But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one's life, is it so awful to travel through time with no greater ambition than to find the next lovely meal? Or to learn how to speak a language for no higher purpose than that it pleases your ear to hear it? Or to nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day?” ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love

Until next time, Beaufort, know that we are thinking of you. 

Win or Lose

Obviously, I wasn't thrilled about the outcome of Saturday's game.  I didn't really want to talk about my beloved Bulldogs on Sunday, or even Monday.  I was disappointed and sad, but I'm not a fair weather fan and regardless of the final score, we had one of the best game days ever.

We started game day and college football season off perfectly with a Bloody Mary on the beach.

Wills practiced his "touch down."

The morning was full of playing on the beach.  After naps and showers, we were ready to "tail-gate."

Wills knows the Dawgs are Number 1.

The weekend was even better with my sister, Tony, and Baby Maddi joining in on the fun!

Must have been a nail biter...

Wills stayed up past his bedtime to watch until half-time.  His daddy insisted.

Surrounded in the Lowcountry by Clemson and Carolina fans, we will always fly our Georgia flag with pride.

Win or lose, the Dawgs stole my heart a long time ago.  Nothing will ever change that. 

The Best

It doesn't get much better than this. I am thoroughly enjoying my day off and this gorgeous morning in the Lowcountry!

Happy Labor Day!

Open House

I think I jinxed myself with all this talk about fall; yesterday was HOT!

While Wills and I sweat our way through his open house, grocery shopping, and an afternoon walk, my parents sent me these gorgeous pictures.  They are camping near Cherokee, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and are having a blast with their best friends.

Look how bundled up they are!  I'm jealous. 

Wills' teachers requested an open house/first day of school picture of him.  What seems like a simple task, was nearly impossible with this almost 2-year old.  Here are our attempts.  This made me a little nervous about his 2-year old pictures happening in a few weeks.  I hope we can get some good ones.

He was so excited to be back in his Mother's-Day-Out room and promptly began to pull every dump truck, fire truck, tractor, and bulldozer off of the shelves.

After open house, I had a lunch date with two handsome boys.  William met us at Jimmy John's for a quick sandwich.

Other than the Christmas season, this weekend marks the start of my favorite time of year.  Go Dawgs!  Happy Labor Day!  See you next week. 

Salmon Salad and a Picnic in the Park

My friends in Charleston and Savannah rave about Whole Foods Market Wild Alaska Salmon and Avocado salad.  I decided to make it for lunch today.  I would have quickly run to the grocery store for the last three ingredients, capers, a freshly squeezed lemon, and red onion, but I promised William I would try to stay within our grocery budget and only shop once a week.  I'm not liking this agreement, but I am trying.

So, for now, this is what I used.  I improvised with the bottled lemon juice, and added a chopped roma tomato.  I used 2 tsp of olive oil mayo and 1 tsp of Dijon mustard.

All mixed together.  My fresh herb of choice was basil, of course.

Served with Fire Roasted Veggie crackers.  It was a perfectly simple, delicious, healthy lunch, and it kept me full for hours!

We met some friends for an afternoon/early evening picnic at the park.  This little boy was excited and insisted on wearing his daddy's filthy dirty Georgia Bulldogs hat.  I guess I can't complain.  We've been talking about them daily.

Our spread of grapes, carrots, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and broccoli (which I spelled incorrectly in my last post...oops) bites.  The broccoli bites were a huge success, by the way.  Especially when dipped in ketchup or ranch.

Wills shared his grapes with Mommy.

Two days until we are in Beaufort with my sister and Tony!  Bring on the tailgate party, salt air, sandcastles, golf-cart rides, boat drinks, guitar playing, and crabbing.  We can't wait. 

Broccoli Bites

I have a confession.

Wills will not eat a vegetable these days. Not one. Not a green bean with ketchup, not a sweet potato fry, not a plain carrot, not a carrot dipped in ranch. He won’t even look at a pea and immediately starts crying if I mention the word zucchini.

Thankfully, he can’t get enough fruit and loves almost any kind I give him.

This is it. This is the only vegetable he’s had in weeks. And they are expensive!

I put some sort of veggie on his plate every night, and every night he leaves them there.

I believe it’s time for more of these muffins with hidden veggies.

In the meantime, we have a fun picnic planned for tonight, and I’m bringing broccoli bites and grapes for the kiddos.

Here’s what I used.

Broccoli (thawed and drained) , 1 cup of bread crumbs, 2 eggs, and a cup of cheddar cheese.

I mixed it all together and baked them on 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Let’s hope they’re a success. They smell and look yummy to me.