It might be time for bed...

 Robin 10:46 pm

    imposible
    (said in french)

 Ashley  10:47 pm  
    oooo i like that
    i said it in french
    but i made the italian hand gesture
    like mamma mia

 Robin  10:48 pm
    also, i think i meant spanish

 Ashley 10:48 pm
    thatsa spicy meataball

 Robin 10:48 pm
    but yes
    in some romantic language

 Ashley 10:48 pm
    bahahahaha
    that made me giggle

You know its getting close to bed time when you start saying things in interchangeable accents..... 

Good night all!!  <3

Mini Cauliflower Pizza Cups

Let me start off by saying that colored cauliflower might be my new favorite vegetable. 

Its just. so. fun.

Yes, it really looks like this. 

In my box of magic this past week, I was lucky enough to get a purple cauliflower. 

Can we say stoked!?? 

I kept trying to find an awesome cauliflower recipe that would be fun to prep and that my veggie-phobic friends would actually eat. 

Then I was shopping and found a mini muffin pan on sale. 

So it was decided my cauliflower would be in mini muffin form. 

Mini Cauliflower Pizza Cups

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 tbsp milled flax seed 
• 1/8 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano + 1/2 tsp dried basil (or 1 tsp pizza seasoning of choice)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• whatever additional pizza toppings you'd like

Steps: 

1. Preheat oven to 425. Prep muffin pan for pizzafication (grease the cups, line with lines, whatever. The inspiring recipe says to use silicone or foil liners... I just greased my mini muffin tin with some EVOO and it ended up turning out fine. No sticky mess for me. )

2. Wash cauliflower and break into smallish segments. Steam the cauliflower. 

...before...         and        ...after...

i LOVE the color change! So much purpleyness! (thats a word, right?)

3. Drain out all of the excess water. You may want to try pressing it with a paper towel (I let mine sit in the fridge over night so it kinda drip-dried). 

4. Place cauliflower and flax seed in a food processor or high speed blender and pulse until it reaches a rice like consistency. (Mine was a little more gooey than ricey... perhaps a little too much moisture? After baking it ended up being fine.)

5. Mix cauliflower and other ingredients in a bowl. 

6. Spoon into muffin pan. Press the tops so that its compact and flat on top. 

Aerial view provided by the boyfriend... 

I asked him to take some pics for the blog and he turned into the dang paparazzi

7. Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes. 

8. After 25 minutes, remove from oven and add your toppings. We used mozzarella, lean ground turkey (seasoned with Italian seasoning, garlic and lotsa lotsa pepper) and some parsley flakes for color. 

9. Place back in the over and cook for about 10 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown/bubble. (If you are opting for a topping free version, I'd say about 10 more minutes as well, just keep an eye on them) 

10. Remove from oven. Let them cool a little bit and enjoy! 

The finished product :)  

 I'm still in love with the purpleyness!

Things to note:

• Recipe adapted from here.
• I substituted flax seed + the water from steaming the cauliflower for the egg white, for a slightly healthier kick. Hello, Omega-3!
• I doubled the cauliflower, but not the cheese from the original recipe. Another attempt and making it slightly healthier.
• I personally would not consider this meal as a whole "healthy"... But it's a lot of veggies... and three veggie-phobes said they liked it... and it's yummy.So I'll allow it.
• Very easy to make this meal vegetarian.... I'm not sure about vegan though.  Even though there isn't that much cheese, it does help bind the "dough"... I'm sure someone more creative than me has some thoughts/comments on this.

Dear Robin...

...the clouds in the sky remind me of you today...

...and this line:

"my mama gone you can spend the night, ya heard me.."

(:

1000 gifts

Inspired.


To appreciate the small things. 

To live in the now. 
To be present. 

(source)

I'm linking up with fairy tales are true for "1000 gifts". 

The purpose of this post is to list 1000 gifts (or things or people or feelings or memories or thoughts or gadgets and gizmos a plenty or whoosits and whatsits galore) that you are grateful for.

By January 1, 2013, 
I hope to have accumulated a glorious list of 1000 items
that make me smile daily :) 

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”

THE LIST 

{1} Arizona sunsets 
{2} the end of tax season 

{3} my orange camelbak water bottler

{4} the ability to walk home from work
{5} turquoise nail polish 

{6} banana nice cream

{7} texts from my sister 
{8} the smell of orange blossoms

{9} new nicknames (daily) from the bf
{10} blooming cacti

{11} the word "cacti"
{12} The Art of Happiness 
{13} acai green tea

{14}  planning vacations 

{15} finding super good deals at Ross 

{16} the palm tree right outside my office window 

{17} Law and Order: SVU

{18} gchats with the homies 

{19} listening to Pandora at work 

{20} canoodling (aka snuggles)

{21} a boss that appreciates me 

{22} the ability to walk to the gym (thanks, legs!)

{23} blogs... reading them, writing them, loving them

{24} hour long phone convos with my brother 

{25} sunshine 

{26} musicals 

{27} my very soft and cozy bed 

{28} long hot showers

{29} seeing the moon during the day

{30} Rock (see what I did there... 30 Rock!!)

{31} pilates 

{32} my personal chauffeur (aka boyfriend who gives me rides EVERYWHERE)

{33} steamed broccoli

{34} getting packages in the mail 

{35} casual Fridays at work 

{36} Stephen Colbert 

{37} new sunglasses 

{38} purty clouds

{39} stormy breezes with my window open

{40} free lunches at work 

{41} boyfriend saying "i'm gonna snuggle the shit outta you!" 

{42} friends who let you vent 

{43} camelback mountain

{44} storm clouds 

{45} a clean bedroom 

{46} warm, freshly washed sheets
{47} a great book 
{48} hugs when you're feeling blue
{49} new blog friends 
{50} 75 degree mornings
{51} breakfast burritos
{52} fridays, sweet fridays
{53} weekend brunch
{54} cucumbers 
{55} my veggie spiralizer
{56} sore muscles (from bootcamp, woohoo!)
{57} boyfriend dropping everything to take care of me when sick 

(source)
{58} playing board games on a sunday
{59} May 4, 2012
{60} shopping for bridesmaid dresses
{61} hugs from friends
{62} frozen grapes
{63} garlic hummus
{64} having a shower that drains once again
{65} having friends who understand/accept my quirks
{66} The Hunger Games
{67} little birdies singing outside my window

(source)
{68} Three Little Birds
{69} getting a full nights sleep (when i can)
{69} inspiring quotes by inspiring people
{70} thoughtful text messages 
{71} bananas 
{72} friendly coworkes 
{73} a very understanding boyfriend 
{74} It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia 
{75} stretchy pants
{76} fight club
{77} sushi bowls 
{78} texts from bff while she's in Hawaii 
{79} SVU drinking games 
{80} coconut water
{81} yoga 
{82} avocados
{83} lily pads
{84} flippie floppies
{85} Kilt Lifter beer
{86} wraps 
{87} sandwiches
{88} food, food and more food
{89} Monopoly City 
{90} Sugar Rose lip balm 
{91} the "lake" near my house 
{92} San Diego weather 
{93} pool time 
{94} family chats 
{95} banana runts 
{96} business cards with my name on 'em (I'm fancy!) 
{97} Organic Vanilla Nut caffeine free "coffee"
{98} my sisters puppies (aka my cuddle buddies) 
{99} organic raw honey
{100} reaching 100 on this list 
{101} having my hair done by my sister and her super model friend
{102} people who quote same tv shows as me 
{103} proper waffles 
{104} Big Bear
{105} taco salad 
{106} kale chips 
{107} Twittering with friends 
{108} boyfriends secret BBQ burgers 
{109} my niece in a tutu 
{110} dinosaurs 
{111} the number 111 
{112} 112? Peaches and Cream! Memories of high school cheer...
{113} Spa-ghetti days 
{114} telescopes 
{115} Flagstaff
{116} Cave exploring
{117} perogies
{118} BD Wong (first name has no periods)
{119} pizza

.......

Follow Ashley's list here.

National Siblings Day

So I just read that today is National Siblings Day... 

...and I'm all sorts of excited now. 

Let me take a minute to introduce you to my family :) 

Back Row:Lindy (step-sister), Will (Lindy's husband), Holly (the baby), Mark & Momma, Ami (the eldest of my full siblings), Jim (Ami's husband), 

Sitting: Lisa (my bffl), Me, Sean (aka Quincy, step bro, another bffl)

Laps: Carter (Lisa's puppy and my cuddle buddy), Lucy and Micah (niece and nephew)

  How many homeschoolers fit into a tree? 

Apparently 7. 

Me, my sisters and 3 of our family friends.

 Ashley's birthday celebration in Big Bear. 

Bahaha look at Quincy! 

Sisters sippin' on bellinis in Vegas... 

Keepin' it classy 

Sisters in San Diego 

Ami was so mad that me and Lisa "ruined" the photo

We thought it added pizaaz

First game of the season, Redskins vs Cowboys 

My Washington, DC adventure with brother

(and if you look closely, you can see Ashley in between our faces... I tried to include her since she was soooo jealous that we got to go to the game and she didn't)

I LOVE these punks. 

Can't wait to see them when I visit California in a month.

Dear Ashley...

Let's do this next time we are in the same state...

Running Plan - Week #2

My roommate and best friend's wedding is exactly 8 months from today.

Last year on her birthday

I was told that as a bridesmaid, my only duty was to "stand there and look pretty".
I told her that I was really good at that ;)

At our friend's wedding 

I also told her that I would be her workout buddy in the upcoming months, since I'm her only local bridesmaid (everyone else is back in SoCal, where we're from).

Last week, we signed up for a bootcamp together. I don't feel ready for a bootcamp yet, but it was a great deal (hellooooooo, Groupon!) and its super close to our house (15 minute walk or 3 minute drive)... so how could I resist?  It's always way better to make a fool outta yourself when you have a friend to laugh along side you anyways.

Since the bootcamp doesn't start for a few more weeks, I will continue with my running plan for now.
Enjoy :)


My Running Plan - Week 2

1st Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1.5 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 8x
Cool down: Walk 5 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

2nd Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 2 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 4 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

3rd Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 2 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 4 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

4th Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 2.5 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 6x
Cool down: Walk 4 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

Get it. 

Happy Easter!!

from the admin girls at my work

elephants in their Easter Sunday best 

How CUTE is this??? 

P.S. Did RD make a new friend, Ashley? 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!! 

Mean Green Sandwich Machine!

Food, how I do love it so!

Experimenting in the kitchen is one of my favorite hobbies... but its tax season right now. I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark and guess that no one reading this post is a tax accountant (Right? Right? Ok, so maybe it was a lame poke in the light), so I can explain to you what that means to me.

• I am working on average 55-60 hours a week (only two more weeks left!)
• I am too lazy to spend hours cooking extravagant meals when I get home from work
• I am too lazy to wake up early and prep a "real meal" before work

Ergo, I've been eating "easy meals", but trying to stay on the healthy side. Hopefully I spend some time in the kitchen this weekend... but until then, here's a peek into what my meals were like yesterday...


Breakfast

Vega One meal shake with unsweetened Almond Milk and a banana. 

I love that the Vega One powder has three servings of green vegetables in each scoop, along with a boatload of other good-for-you's. It's also vegan, mostly raw and super easy for my lazy butt in the morning. 

Also, I love my yellow blender bottle. Yellow makes me happy :) 

Lunch

Mean Green Sammich Machine: Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain bread, cucumber, avocado, alfafa sprouts, vegenaise, red leaf lettuce, and spinach.

Oooooh I do love me a good sammich! My momma used to make fun of me for it. Said that in order to win my heart, a boy should show up with a sandwich instead of flowers. You may laugh, but my momma is a smart, smart lady.

Dinner

(not pictured.... oops!)

Essentially a repeat of lunch, minus the bread. I went to the gym (running plan, workout day #3... woohoo! Go me!) and when I got home I wasn't hungry at all... but I knew I needed to eat something, so I made some lettuce wraps using essentially the same ingredients as the sammich.


Speaking of the gym... when I was leaving there tonight, there was the most gorgeous sunset! I snapped a quick pic before hopping in the car. Arizona really does have the prettiest sunsets that I have ever seen - and that's a bold statement coming from someone who grew up in So Cal watching the sun set behind the Pacific!

Have a great Friday! :)

dear robin...

every time one of these fools come on the radio

i cant help but blast it

and dance around rapping my white girl heart out..

(although, technically, i'm Latina.. samba my heart out? cha-cha my heart out? oh i got it- SELENAAAS my heart out..)

but it's NEVER the same as it is when we drive together..

can we say random road trips to SD?!

(i guess gwen stefani should be in here, too.. but she's a white woman...

..and that's racist)

{inside joke}

55 Days to Awesomeness

I started going to the gym last week and it has been tough. Physically and mentally.

You see,
I used to go to the gym 3-5 times a week.
I used to work out with a personal trainer.
I used to be some sort of fit.

Then life happened...
work happened....
boyfriend happened....
excuses happened...

But you gotta start somewhere... and I'm positive it will get easier each time I go. I'm going to try a "4 week Beginners Running Program" to get back into that cardio groove. The plan calls for 4 work outs a week. I plan on doing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then either Thursday or Saturday, depending on work.

(Right now, I feel more like the bottom picture...)

Week 1

1st Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 5x
Cool down: Walk 10 mins
Total Time: 30 mins


2nd Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 5 mins
Total Time: 29 mins


3rd Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 5x
Cool down: Walk 10 mins
Total Time: 30 mins


4th Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 5 mins
Total Time: 29 mins

Currently my mantra... I may not be doing as *much* as I used to...

 but I'm doing something... which is better than nothing... BAM!

Time for a throwback!

circa 2005

...on our way somewhere...

...probably up to no good...

...definitely singing and dancing to Devo... 

WHIP IT!!