Friday iPhone dump

1. Alison was super pissed when she found out we got her a flip phone... Oops. I guess we're behind on our baby technology and did not know a flip phone is no longer cool. Not only that, but they were before her time so she didn't even know she had to flip it open to use it. Poor first world baby.
2. She loves her some cucumbers!
3. Now this is funny. Our daycare provider gave me some of her daughters' old clothes. Packed in zip lock bags with the brand and size written on the bag and a photo of the outfit inside the bag. That is some crazy style organization!
4. She loves her some corn on the cob!
5. We had a fun night alone while Daddy was working late.
6. Until she tried to yank my hair out.
7. New frozen yogurt place = wow, so amazing! I never knew!
8. Laughing cow blue cheese, buffalo wing sauce dip I blogged about earlier this week. SO good!

Recent obsessions - Healthy food edition

Trader Joe's Cilantro and Jalapeno Hummus: I didn't know if I would be a big fan of hummus or not but this stuff is SO SO SO good! I love that it's super spicy and there's a little circle of cilantro and extra jalapeno in the middle for even more spice. While I would love to eat it with pita chips, I've been cutting up small cucumbers from the farmers market for dipping.

There are 80 calories per 2 tablespoons. Which sounds like a lot but a little goes along way because it's so flavorful.

Grilled beets: There's a weekly farmers market at my office during the summers so I've been picking up bundles of beets to grill. I peel and slice them then put them in foil with a little bit of olive oil and kosher salt. Grill for about 20 minutes and move them around a bit while cooking so the ones on the bottom don't get stuck to the foil. I could eat them plain but I've also been putting them on a bed of arugula (or any salad mix) with a bit of goat cheese or Gorgonzola crumbles -- both from Trader Joe's. Here's a picture of our dinner last night -- this is Brad's plate, not mine! He had 2 pork chops and a bake potato with his. Mom stuck with just one small pork chop, beet salad, grilled zucchini and corn off the cob.

Laughing cow cheese + Frank's wing sauce: I've always been a fan of laughing cow cheese but lately I've been mixing 2-3 wedges of the blue cheese variety with some Frank's wing sauce. I microwave it for maybe 20 seconds and then mix in shredded chicken and/or chopped celery. You can eat it like that or I also like to use celery or carrots for dipping. Sometimes I top it with crumbled blue cheese and microwave to melt it in a little bit. It is heavenly! And for only 35 calories per wedge, a damn good snack!

T'was a crime scene

I started a new job a few months ago and I always love figuring out the real meaning of random corporate jargon. I've learned that if a meeting doesn't go very well it is referred to as a "crime scene."

Also, if you want someone to stop by your office/desk/cube/place of business, you ask them to "drive by." I'm beginning to wonder if I work with former gang members with all the crime scenes and drive bys.

Anyways! I started working out with a trainer 4 weeks ago. No, not anything fancy. I found her on that website where you knowingly and willingly meet up with strangers and they murder you. She's a high school track coach who is looking to build up her own personal training business. Which equates to some dirt-cheap private personal training for mommy!

She is awesome! We do one-hour workouts 2x a week - one time we do sprints on the track mixed in with other workouts and one time a week is straight up boot camp. I brought Brad with me to a boot camp session and he almost tossed his bacon double cheeseburger and tuscan fries cookies. (That's literally what he ate before the workout. Genius!)

She also sends me my own daily workouts and stalks my My Fitness Pal food diary and makes recommendations. I haven't lost any real weight yet (I carry around about 3 lbs. of water weight) but I feel great and know that I'm putting on muscle right now.

It's been 90+ degrees out for the past week so my last few sessions have been... CRIME SCENES for sheesy.

Current obsessions

Let's just get the food stuff out of the way first. I haven't eaten lunch yet so I'm literally drooling right now!

Obsession #1: Buffalo Wings (preferably from Buffalo Wild Wings)

I LOVE spicy food. But, within reason. I tried the Blazin' wings last year and... big mistake. They just tasted weird. So, I'll stick to my classic mild or hot. I also like the hot BBQ.

Obsession #2: Hot bread and butter pickles

I do NOT like bread and butter pickles. But someone on Twitter told me about these and I had to try them. They are SO good! So many pickles claim to be "hot" (just like to many women) but they fall flat. These actually have quite a kick to them. The first time I bought them, I swear I ate the whole jar in one sitting. I thank whoever made these and won the State Fair contest!

Obsession #3: Philosophy Summer Grace

I've been wearing Amazing Grace, Falling in Love and other yummy Philosophy fragrances for a couple of years now. Before that I wore Burberry Summer but could never find a good winter fragrance. Now that it's summer again, I was SUPER stoked to see that Philosophy came out with a Summer Grace perfume. It smells just like I thought it would and is very close to Burberry Summer! It is light, clean and fresh with just a little bit of a floral tone. It is just perfect!

Obsession #4: Clarisonic brush

I've had mine for several months now but was slacking on using it. My face has been a bit broken out lately so I've revived my skincare routine and already see the difference!

Obsession #5: Wavy hair

It has been my life's mission for years now to figure out how the H to get Gisele waves. You know, hair that says "Oh yea, I just wake up like this. I don't have to even try." I always ended up with some kind of beauty pagent curls or Taylor Swift teenybopper weirdness. I think I finally figured out how to get these messy, effortless waves. Turns out it does take some effort! I'll post pics of my attempt soon!

What's cookin' good lookin'?

I just love when the mood strikes me to make something when we have NO ingredients in the house. Sunday is our grocery shopping day so Saturday usually consists of slim pickins.

I was in the mood for some kind of casserole with stuffing. I finally found a simple recipe with ingredients that we already had in the house.

Easy Creamy Chicken Casserole
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk
1 box Stove Top stuffing
7 American cheese slices
1 cup cooked broccoli
Seasoning/salt/pepper

Cook chicken breasts in pan with EVOO and table blend or italian seasoning. Chop into small pieces.
Layer chicken in greased 9x13 pan.
Whisk can of soup with 1/2 can milk. Pour over chicken.
Prepare stuffing according to box directions. Then spoon over soup mixture and chicken.
Scatter cooked broccoli on top.
Place cheese slices on top.
Be sure to cover with lid or foil.
Bake at 350 for one hour.

It was delicous and the hubby went in for seconds (always a good sign)!

 I laughed at first about the odd number of cheese slices. Turns out they fit perfectly!

 Bubbling away in the oven...

I choose milk with my casserole but my other drink of choice is spring water with lemon. Add in a slice or stalk of cucumber for a spa experience!