#MyHappyMonda Week 2

Ok folks. Before I continue on to my new favorite day of the week post – I was unfortunately offline last week so I am behind on my AtoZChallenge in which I will be creating a whole new section for and catching up!!!  I do apologize for this!!

 

And now, on to #myhappymonday post!! If you aren’t participating in this, you should.  It is a great way to get rid of the typical “case of the Monday” attitude and be positive. Besides, starting your Monday off on a positive note will help you have a more positive and better week, I promise! 😉

What was the first thing that made you smile today?
Everyday I wake up I smile, but aside from the obvious, this morning’s smile was knowing my fiance and I were finally going to be spending some time together today.

What are you most looking forward to about today?
I couldn’t wait to get out and hit the trails today at one of my favorite parks here.  It was a semi-nice day (no sun but kinda warm) and I just love taking pics while out and about.

What is your favourite thing about this Monday?
Since getting back from the walking the trails, I have had this great positive-let’s get this done-energy vibe going on, which is great because it’s been a productive Monday for me!

Do you have a pet who makes your heart melt? Tell us about them and why they are so fantastic!
Of course I do. We call her Wiggly Woo Woo. She’s a pure golden retriever. Her name didn’t start as Wiggly though. But when she finally came out of her shell after we first got her – all she did (and still does) is just wiggle – wiggle – wiggle !!! She’s a sensitive, loving, cuddly ball of crazy fur!!

Are you reading a book currently?
I am reading “What are you Hungry for?” By Deepak Chopra.  Actually, I love this book so much, it is my 3rd time reading it! 😉

What is something small that you’ve done for someone else today, that put a smile on your face?
Today I left a box full of stuff (like canned food etc.) at my landlord’s step as I was clearing out stuff I had to much of.  And knowing that they appreciate it makes me smile.

So that’s it for #myhappymonday!! How has your Monday been? Are you participating in this as well?!? If so, leave your blog link so that I can come check you out!!

xoxo,
The Waisted Diva

#MyHappyMonday

I just absolutely love the idea of #myhappymonday from Sarah over at My (Mostly) Healthy Life..  so obviously I am excited to participate in it and it’s a great way to pre-kick off April’s theme (well it goes beyond April) of happiness and gratefulness.  We need more happiness in this world!!!

What will be or has been the best part of your Monday?

The best part of my Monday today has been being able to be outdoors without freezing. Seriously. It’s been nice having no snow today and “normal” temps!! And enjoying Wiggly Woo Woo as she made sure to step in every square inch of mud possible!

Isn’t Wiggly Woo Woo SUPER cute?!?!

What was the first thing that made you smile on this Monday?
The sunshine!! It was so nice to see the sun shining and signs that Spring exists somewhere here!!!

Hooray for sunshine!!!

What are you looking forward to about your Monday?

I’m looking forward to later this evening to settle down with some wine, getting some work done and vegging with my fiance 🙂

How did you get your Monday off to a healthy start?
I made the most awesome oatmeal, which seriously left me feeling like a rockstar who could conquer the world.  I made peach oatmeal .. with peaches, cinnamon, cloves and Vanilla Almond Milk.

What makes you the most happy about Mondays?
On Mondays I have a take charge attitude. It’s when I tend to be my most creative and ambitious on a Monday 🙂

Share a photo of your favourite meal on Monday

Peach Oatmeal MMmmmm

 

What were some of the awesome things that happened on your Monday?!?!?

April Challenges

  So. I have been in a brief hiatus here. .  Right now my fiance and I are currently in the midst of finding a new place to live and to add to that, we are undecided if we want to continue sticking with renting or owning a house. So we are looking at both and it is completely freaking exhausting!!!  Add to that my already redonk schedule and I am left with very little me time. 😦

BUT … that’s is all going to be changing for the month of April.  I am going to be participating in a few April challenges to ensure I keep up on blogging and hanging on my favorite social media site Instagram.

So let’s start with:
#100happydays.
I can’t wait to start this one actually.  What prompted me to jump on this one was reading someone’s terrible status on Facebook the other day.  Someone actually posted it is impossible to be happy everyday because life happens and people complain and if you think you can be happy every day you are living with your head up your ass.
******crickets chirping******
Ummmm. OK. Well I don’t know about you, but I know I don’t (and I won’t) idly stand by and just “let life happen”.  I do my best to be out there every day and live life to the fullest.  No, I don’t live in a land where unicorns piss glitter.  I do realize, crap happens, but I also know, you got to find the good in everything.
So I figured I’d give this a whirl and show people that yes, you can in fact be happy every single day.

#100happydays

Next up, I always love these, I am participating in an April Photo Challenge #Heatitup Instagram Challenge in which you can read up about it on the following blogs and I also recommend following these great blogs as well 🙂 …
Mom on Empty:
Back At Square Zero
Girls on the Run
Weight Off My Shoulders
Mommies Run
Running And Baking
Road Runner Girl

#heatitup Instagram Challenge

Don’t forget to hash tag it: #heatitup and follow them on social media too!

I also am going to be doing the #365Project that I am going to do right here through the blog, twitter and Instagram.  I also will be starting this April 1st.  There are many sites you can Google if you are interested in participating in it.

Last but not least – I am  really excited to do the #AtoZChallenge.  A friend of mine and blogger as well had asked if anyone was interested and I of course said yes. It’s a great way to keep me faithfully blogging.

Are there any April challenges you are joining? If you are doing the #AtoZChallenge post your link below so that I can follow you along!!

XoXo,
The Waisted Diva

Technologically Challenged

Technologically challenged…… AKA …. I. Am. Getting. Old.
Yup. That’s right. I am now in that category who people who don’t know what the heck they are doing when comes to technology.
I have long been denying it.  The signs have been there, though, slowly appearing.
You see from 2008 to 2013 I had still been carrying around the iPhone 3GS. *DOUBLE GASP*.  I know right. I didn’t want to upgrade. I loved that phone. So easy to use and it was small.
Then September rolls around last year and on my birthday, my sweet, loving fiance bought me an iPhone 5. I was SO delighted. But there was a lot of features I had no idea what they were.  Like, how did the privacy feature work?  What is iCloud?!? And just when I started to get used to the phone ..everything started going on it… but I will get there momentarily.

Then November rolls around. Black Friday, my laptop dies. Sort of a good thing because the sales were awesome.  Bad thing for me. Windows 8. OMG. Are you kidding me? I JUST got used to using Windows 7 after 2 years of having it and now I have to figure out how to use a new system??  And then it happened.
I had to ask the 18 year snot nose in the store ……….(and I say snot nose because he had this ever loving smirk on this face that he had to “again” explain to what he deems “an old person” on how to use Windows 8) ……on how to use this laptop and Windows 8.  I mean, where’s the power button on this thing?  And … ummm.. where’s my desktop!??!  And even worse .. I went into complete panic mode because the first time I plugged in my camera to import photos .. it took me 2 hours to find the folder lol. I still to this day, do not know how to use and find many things on this laptop and one wrong move of my mouse and i got stuff sliding across my screen both ways and up and down :o.

Up in the beginning I had mentioned my phone starting flaking out.  First the top button broke.  Then my battery fried.  And last not but not least, my speakers got water damage.  Which this all baffles me because on all my other phones… I was rough on them. And by rough I mean, they have swam in water, fallen down many a flights of stairs, concrete ones included, one was driven over (oops) .. I even had one that my dog chewed. Yep. Right through the corner of the phone and it and all the rest of them.. still worked great.  This iPhone 5 I carried around as if it was baby. Never letting it out of sight. Never dropping it. And it falls apart.
So frustrated, I break down and decide to get a new phone.  YAY. It arrives yesterday. And here is how my day went:
***Over an hour to figure out how to get the back of the phone off to put the battery in. Finally had to watch the online tutorial. 🙂
***Then I sat here for 1/2 hour trying to insert the SIM card into the Micro SD spot and couldn’t figure out why it didn’t fit. Oh. My. God.
Realized finally it was the wrong spot. Well why doesn’t it into the SIM slot. Oh. cause I gotta retake out the battery.
By now I can feel the gray hair multiplying by the thousands, literally.
Um. How does this thing turn on?!?!
After roughly 2 hours just to put battery and SIM card in and turning it on .. now I need to charge it.
By this time, I was so frazzled and agitated, I am pretty sure my face was fire and smoke was coming out my ears.  So I finally decided I needed to swallow my pride and  go into the  ATT store, because I seriously couldn’t handle watching another tutorial on how to operate this clunky thing. And yes, compared to the iPhone, this thing phone to me is just ridiculously ginormous….
….  2 hours later after being laughed at by all the little 5 year olds in there getting newer, faster and more confusing model phones, I am now pleased to say I am semi-schooled on how to use this phone.

Truth be told, I really don’t know how all this blogging stuff works either. I don’t know what blog linking, hopping, blinking (insert overly dramatic tone there with the blinking) and sharing is.  And Twitter. Geeesh. Not good with Tweeting at all.  I just finally learned not that long ago how to use Instagram.

And be tee double u … (that’s btw)… I am really not that old, I am in my 30s… but don’t let anyone kid you.  When it comes to technology… 30s are really NOT the new 20s!

I spent the remainder of my evening curled up in the fetal position crying, while realizing I have now become all the “old people” I had made fun of for not being able to use their phones and computers.

Just Kidding. I busted out the wine and called it night 😛

Hope everyone has been enjoying there weekend this far!!
Xoxo,
The Waisted Diva

 

Talking Thursday

Ah. It’s talking Thursday, where I am going to mish mash my week rolled up into one post and talk your ear off. Or read your eyes out. 😛

Well I finally know what it is like to have a case of the Mondays, since technically doing what I do, I don’t have “Mondays” 😉 And everyday since Monday has felt like a Monday.
**Insert sad face**

Sad Face 😦

It’s been a crazy week. I spent half my morning yesterday on the phone with a company getting absolutely nowhere over a dispute. Good times.  In the meantime, my cell phone has gone in for repairs 5x in the last week.  First it was my top button that broke.  Then my battery needed replacing and finally my speakers are shot.  So now I have a phone in which I cannot currently talk on. However, I do thankfully have a back up phone, even though it’s a bit prehistoric 😉

We went from 40s on Tuesday to over a foot of snow and blizzard warnings yesterday. So I decided  my yesterday’s workout would be shoveling. And today, I’m totally feeling it. I was happy though with the results, a little over an hour and 533 calories went out the door!
While I am tired of the snow and longing for sunshine and warm weather, it was nice to know that I didn’t have anywhere to go yesterday and that I could spend some time in the kitchen, and that is exactly what I did.

I managed to make a pot of delicious chili followed by roasting a chicken, making a banana walnut “bread” and a small chocolate cake.  And both the chocolate cake and banana bread are “healthy” too 🙂  In between being in the kitchen, I was also able to get some work done .. so all around it was a win win productive day for me.

I made a simple Turkey Chili recipe … it was actually supposed to be vegetarian but this girl here had no beans in the cupboards. Who plans to make meatless chili but has no beans?!!?
It was delish. Just some ground turkey meat, red onions, diced tomatoes, pepper, chili powder, cayenne and red pepper flakes and some sauce.
Now if you are looking for a banana bread that is “crap-free” and that you can veganize .. then you got to check out this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen.  Seriously, the best banana bread everrrr. I did make mine vegan by simply swapping honey for maple syrup, though I didn’t use quite 1/3 c of syrup.  I actually used a little extra banana in the recipe to keep it as healthy as possible.  Also, I simply subbed out the egg for flax egg. And this is great if you worry about salmonella with uncooked eggs, though I don’t. 😉  I then proceeded to add in some chopped walnuts because I love banana walnut bread. Mmmmm Mmmm.  Oh and  she even gives the option for gluten free as well.  You seriously will not be disappointed with the result.
I had a piece this morning. Sorry, couldn’t photograph it whole because I just HAD to take a bite. 😉  You’ll have to excuse my fancy “fine China” plating underneath too :p

Mmmm SO good 🙂

All in all thus far this week my eating habits are staying pretty on par. I am upping my water intake as I am trying to cut out my iced coffees (booooo) and the occasional cup of pop.  I thankfully haven’t experienced any crazy withdrawals from caffeine, though really the only caffeine I intake is from soda as most of the time I order …..wait for it ….. DECAF coffee…. Yes folks, I already know all the punchlines of drinking decaf coffee. 😉

Honestly though, I drink coffee for taste vs. the caffeine. I’m a naturally energized and wound up person so too much extra added caffeine just makes it worse for me.  You should see the result of drinking a red bull … Yikes!! Though my red bull days are LONG over, when you’re in your 20’s you don’t care and you’re all like YAAAA CAFFEINE doing cartwheels and dancing in the middle of the street… When you’re in your 30s… you start thinking there’s a possibility your heart may explode from drinking too much caffeine :p
Anyways, tomorrow is FRY DAY!!! YAH BABY! Which means .. it’s #ManiFriday for me.  #ManiFriday is my every 2 week treat to myself where I can sit and relax, get a manicure and fantastic hand massage and weather permitting hopefully be getting some pedicures in between there too.  Right now it’s a bit too cold to walk around in flip flops. Brrrrrrr. No amount of nail polish will look pretty on my toes if they have frost bite eh?  And hopefully I can get in with no problems tomorrow!  I love my nail place, which took me 4 years to find. I am not originally from Western NY .. so it was trial and many, many errors of finding a great nail salon.   If you missed it on my Instagram these have been my last two runs :

Amazon by Opi

Another OPI color with Hearts for Valentines Day

The top one is my current one, “Amazon” by OPI. Totally loved this color and pretty much everywhere I went people were complimenting on the color and asking which one it was. I did love my pink glitter nails though.  They did such a super cute heart design too 🙂

Well that pretty much somes up my week thus far.  I’ll be ending tonight with a quick workout indoors (way too frigid to go outdoors) followed by a glass wine.  Still deciding if I want a glass of Riesling or Pinot Grigio.  Decisions Decisions!!

Are you excited for Friday and the weekend? What kind of plans do you have in store?

xoxo,
The Waisted Diva

A week ahead

Meal Prepping. Meal Planning. My two least favorite things to do. Actually, I don’t really meal prep *GASP* I know, I know. It’s like a sin in the world of fitness and weight loss to not meal prep these days. But there are 3 simple reasons I shy away from it:

1. I most definitely do not like food reheated in the microwave and I avoid using the microwave as much as possible.
2. I get super bored eating the same stuff over and over.
3. I just like my food freshly prepared, plain and simple 😉

I actually am lucky though. I work straight from home, so most times I do have the luxury of cooking in the now, which is great. But even I tend to occasionally get a case of the “but I don’t wanna cook” because ” there is nothing here to cook”.  Well, OK sometimes more than occasionally 😉
However, I do *sort of* meal plan.  And by sort of, I mean it’s more like a guideline for me, plus it forces me to have to do a quick inventory of what I actually have in house so that I can’t use the excuse, there’s nothing here to cook with.

My meal planning is going to look a little weird though. I am trying to transition back into a vegetarian lifestyle.  I already do not eat red meat or pork.  I eat occasionally some poultry and fish.  A look at what will  possibly show up on my dinner plate this week:
Turkey Meatballs (more for my fiance then me)
Chili (Vegetarian)
Spicy Tomato, Spinach and Orzo Soup (vegetarian)
Baked Haddock
Baked Salmon
Fish Tacos
On my plate last night was this delicious recipe: Shrimp and Scallop Scampi
I don’t plan breakfasts out.  Often times my breakfast is a smoothie, which is also my pre-workout fuel since I can’t workout on a crazy full stomach. 😉
And since Wednesday is going to be a snow day here – I figured it’d be a great day to also whip up some different muffin recipes, one of which happens to be gluten free and actually easy to make! Win Win!

On a side note: I did also take advantage of some beautiful weather today here and part of my fitness was getting in some walking miles along the river here.  It was SO nice to finally get in some sunshine and natural Vitamin D before the cold and snow hits again here!
Plus I got to take some photos of the beautiful scenery, as one of my newest hobbies I am dabbling in, is photography.  I am planning on taking a photography class to learn some tricks 😉
Are you a meal prepper and a planner? What are some of the items on your menu for the week?

Xoxo,
The Waisted Diva

Shrimp and Scallop Scampi

So Monday night, I gotta admit, there was a whole lot of awesomeness happening in my kitchen.  I whipped up some roasted veggies.   Brussel Sprouts in some coconut oil with pepper and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and roasted carrots (which are becoming my favorite roasted vegetable) which were roasted in some balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  I roast these @ 400 degrees until they start charring up a bit.

And for the star of dinner last night I made shrimp and scallop scampi. Ummm..taste buds .. totally dancing. Especially since this is the healthier version of it’s otherwise calorie and fat laden old self.
I actually saw a recipe on Facebook for just shrimp scampi and decided to toss in some scallops.
I use frozen precooked shrimp and frozen raw scallops and thaw (and cook for the scallops) according to directions.
Use however much you want of each, but of course the more you use, you would have to increase the amounts.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter ( I used Olive Oil about 1tbps but you could sub anything in here)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (Uh I used 6 cloves, the more garlic the better!!)
• Kosher salt (I personally skip the salt)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth (I only ever use White Wine)
• 1 pound raw, peeled, deveined shrimp with tails on (thawed, if frozen) I use tail off
• Pasta, crusty bread, or rice, for serving (optional) I use Orzo
• 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped Italian parsley, for garnish I toss it right in there
• Lemon juice, about 2 tbsp
• I also add in a little bit of vegetable broth
• Optional: You can add some onion, like I did.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until foaming. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  I add half the 6 cloves and then add then sautee the other half right before adding the wine and lemon juice
2. If using raw shrimp add the shrimp and cook, turning occasionally, until pink and opaque, about 3 to 4 minutes, otherwise add in your precooked shrimp ( I pre cooked my scallops in a separate pan and added them in here).  Remove shrimp and scallops.
3. Add lemon juice, white wine and veg broth and let simmer until reduced by almost half.  Add back in the shrimp, scallops and parsley. Let cook for another 2 minutes or so.
4. Serve over pasta, crusty bread, or rice, if desired, and garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

I served mine (and I always do over Orzo) with a side of roasted vegetables.

You’ll have to excuse my lack of fancy and pretty photography here. With a meal like this, trust me, you don’t want to waste any time from the plating of your food to eating it 😉

Enjoy!
xoxo
The Waisted Diva

DIY Chocolate Mint Body Butter

I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for ways to cut “dirty” products out of my routine, and while I don’t make all of my own stuff yet, I do make sure every ingredient is clean and organic in my products I use.
I first started getting intrigued with making my own butter after reading how you can whip coconut oil.  However, the problem with coconut oil is, if it’s too warm (above 76 degrees) it melts and you have to rewhip it.  You can store it in the fridge, but it does get pretty solid when you do so.  The good news there, is that it does melt when it hits your skin.
I do love the benefits of coconut oil on my skin, especially this time of the year. But I also like good smelling products.
I did some “Googling” around and found so many easy DIY recipes that I couldn’t make up my mind which one make and then I found a 3 ingredient chocolate body butter but I took one more step and added in peppermint essential oil.
It smells SO good I just wanted to eat it.  My house a few hours later smells like a million thin mint cookies exploded, and who doesn’t love thin mints? 🙂
Now I purchased my Cocoa Butter Wafers from here at Mountain Rose herbs.  I use Nutiva Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil. I purchased my Sweet Almond oil and Peppermint essential oil from a local health food store.

3 ingredient Whipped Body Butter (adapted from Holistic Squid)
1 c Cocoa Butter
1/2 c coconut Oil
1/2 c jojoba or other light oil (almond, mild olive oil)
Essential Oil, optional

Using your preferred method of melting, GENTLY melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil.

Double Boiler Mehtod

Now add in your oil of choice (Jojoba, almond or olive) and stir. Then add in your essential oil

Place in fridge and allow to cool until it is firm but not too hard.  Mine set in about 2 1/2 hours but check often as fridge temps vary 😉

Nice and firm ready to be whipped!

You can use an immersion blender, a hand mixer (I used a hand mixer) or a standing mixer and whip it. Now don’t overwhip like I did. Whip until peaks form.  Place it into jar (or jars) and refrigerate for an hour.

At this point, you’re going to be tempted to eat it, I strongly recommend you don’t 😉

Place into jar (or jars) and refrigerate.

I have a small double boiler that I scored off eBay. You can use two pots on top of each or I believe you can also microwave the ingredients or you can even use a heat safe mason jar and put your ingredients in there in water.
Now I whipped my on accident a little too long as I got side tracked hahaha! Don’t make that mistake – when it’s whippy put it in your jars! Otherwise it looks like mine, but it still works so it’s all gravy!
At first it does feel a little greasy, but you’re skin (or at least mine did) soaks it up in a few minutes and you are left with some seriously soft, smooth skin that smells so good you are going to want to nibble on hands :p
This truly is a delightful treat for your skin!!

xox,
The Waisted Diva

Woooo!

Woooo Hooooo!!! Does anyone even say that anymore?!?

It’s my first official post on my new blog. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to write about so I figured I’d start my first post off with showing people how crazy I really am some days. Ok, well, most days haha!

Yesterday the 8th, was my official 4 year “engageaversary”.  Now to understand this post a little better, here is a brief back history.

I met my fiance 5 years ago.  He is original from the Western New York region and I am from PA.  We decided, well more like he convinced me and I followed, to move here to the WNY region in January of 210. It’s freaking freezing here, a cold like no other cold I have ever experienced in my life. The first week I was here, it snowed. Every. Single. Freaking. Day. I mean for real?!? The temps were so outrageously frigid, I am talking real temps of 0 and below, I swore my bones would break going outside.  As a matter of fact, the first few days, I avoided the outdoors as much as possible.
So in February of 2010, my fiance decided the week before Valentine’s to take me up north a little further, to a beautiful lighthouse, where had planned to propose.  Except, by the time we got there, it was pitch black and the winds had kicked up to about 40MPH.  Brrrrrrr.
So we left there, and on the drive back home, he stopped at NIagara Falls to walk around.  And on the bridge which overlooks before the falls drop down, he asked me to marry him ❤ It was so romantic.

Fast forward to yesterday. We decided to make the trek up the falls. Um Hello. Not sure what we were thinking. WInd Chills -10 degrees. The mist was practically freezing in the air. It was SO cold, that I got to take ONE pic of the falls with my phone and right after my phone died and it was on a full charge!

But I gotta say, as cold as it was, it really was worth the walk out to see the falls.  There is something so beautiful and calming about being at the falls and seeing the beauty of winter all around.
Of course, it would have been even more awesome if there was a way to see the falls in the winter without having to get out of the car 😉
Yesterday was a great reminder of how lucky of a gal I really am to have a fantastic supportive, loving and caring guy that has stuck with me all these years and being up at the falls reminded me yesterday of just how strong our love is.
I think it’s very therapeutic, calming, peaceful, whichever word fits, to be able to go back and visits places from the past that help keep the happy, loving feelings inside that keep that fire burning.

Do you have a place that you love to visit that brings back floods of memories?!

xoxo

The Waisted Diva