I think I've used that title before, but oh well...such is life...

I hit a new record with my phone conferences. I had 8 scheduled hours! That's an ENTIRE DAY of phone conferences! One actually got cancelled (re-scheduled)

I fueled up for zumba today with some Kashi crackers and some Fruit Snacks (10 pieces).

I also had an Raw Organic Food Bar in chocolate coconut (won free via Twitter)

Loving my zumbawear!

Love how me and my zumba friends accidentally coordinated tonight. I'm wearing my new zumba samba pants and new yellow "join the party" zumba top in yellow. I'm also wearing my hip scarf...woot woot!

I did my Slave 4 U choreography tonight for the class and got a nice compliment from a regular. It made me so happy because the regulars are extra particular about what they like to see in class and she told me the choreography was "different" and "refreshing." Ahh. :) That's what I was going for!

I also got a request for my song! My first request. Hooray!

Miso soup and salad with ginger dressing

tempura zucchini

Cali roll with masago

Check out my heart-shaped ginger!

Is anyone taking a big vacation this year for the holidays? Doing anything fun?

I made a delicious concoction of oats this morning - Butterscotch Pumpkin Oats.

Sipping coffee whilst cooking stove top oats.

Organic "soysage" - some savory to balance the sweetness of the oats.

Butterscotch Pumpkin Oats

Stove top

Bring to boil:

• 1/2 cup milk
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp flaxseeds
• 1/2 tsp agave

Once boiling, add:

• 1/4 cup canned organic pumpkin
• 1/4 cup rolled oats

Cook for 3-5 minutes till thick to your liking

Top with chopped butterscotch chips and pecans. Enjoy!

I got back from CPR/AED/First Aid Certification around 2pm and planned to head over to a friend's house later for a holiday movie marathon around 3:15pm. Unfortunately, we were out of butter, so a grocery store trip was a must.

Knowing I was short on time, I at least had the foresight to pick up some Chocolate Chip Cookie mix from Great Harvest, while I was there picking up bread for the week. I figured using a mix would help me make some cookies quickly. Hey, cookies don't have to be made from scratch to be good, and with great ingredients like the ones in this mix, they're pretty close! I read the ingredient list and it looked pretty darn clean.

I was attracted to the package because of the price ($4.95) and the whole grain goodness!

I also picked up some more Trader Joe's Organic Butter. So very good.

I almost picked up some Earth Balance while I was at Trader Joe's, but I'm very skeptical of margarine-type products. I read the ingredient list and it seemed decent, but does any one know for sure one way or the other?

It was 2:45 by the time I got back from the grocery store.

Luckily, hubby helped me out by lining the baking sheets with parchment paper while I got the oven pre-heating and the cookies mixed up.

Get in that oven...quick!

Guess this is what happens when you rush through baking - it's a uni-cookie!

After letting the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, I quickly transferred the cookie-covered-parchment paper to wire racks to attempt faster cooling.

By the time the cookies were cooling, we were already running past our anticipated arrival time of 3:15pm, so I was starting to feel anxious about getting on the road.

After letting the cookies cool some more, I finally loaded them up, slightly warm and all. I used parchment paper I baked with to do the lining between layers of cookies.

Hey, I know I like still-warm-from-the-oven-cookies, so other people must, too, right? Right!

I dunno, I was too busy rushing to get going that I didn't get to taste test.

Cookies ready, we set off for our holiday movie marathon. Time to spread more holiday cheer for my Christmas Cookie Challenge! Tally-ho!

I did it! I passed my CPR/AED/First Aid Certification and once I receive and send in my form, I can be completely AFAA Certified (they require a separate CPR certification in addition to their Primary Group Fitness Certification).

My friend Megan stopped by to pick me up for CPR certification. She's an instructor and needed the certification to complete her AFAA (which we did together) too.

First things first, we needed coffee. I had a cup of coffee at home, but not food. I had good intentions of having breakfast at home, but I was running short on time and decided since we had already planned on an Sbucks trip that I could get food there, too.

I love this sign at Starbucks - "I wish everyone could see how much we all have in common." I do.

I got a spinach feta wrap...

...and a grande soy caramel brulee latte.

I enjoyed breakfast on the car ride over.

I wasn't really sure what to expect of the certification. I didn't know if it would formal or casual, rigid or relaxed. I was worried the class would be stuffy and the tests would be difficult ones where you had to demonstrate CPR in front of the entire class, etc. It turned out to be much better than I thought it would be and definitely an overall positive experience.

I did my training through Caskey CPR led by Grace Caskey. I thought Grace was very personable and did an excellent job of taking (sometimes) boring material and making it interesting. She kept my attention and added some good personal stories to add examples. Grace also seems to be quite the real-life-superhero. She told us stories in between lectures about people she had helped over the years - from car accident victims to acquaintances. She is quite literally a real life saver!

Our training went from 8am to almost 2pm and featured videos, lectures, and hands-on practice all mixed up during the day, which all led up to a 50 question multiple exam.

Here's me and my dummy-friend Ralph.

And Megan with baby and her Ralph.

I enjoyed this Yummy Earth organic lollipop in razzmatazz berry as a pre-exam snack. Picked this up at Jason's last night.

After we were done with our exams, Grace even stayed after to grade our tests so we could find out our results right then and there. How nice!? Turns out...I only missed 1 question! Woot-woot!

I have to say after having taken the exam, it would seem beneficial if more people would get CPR and/or AED/First Aid certified, even if you aren't required to do so for your job or for a certification. The material we learned is truly practical to real life and you never know when the knowledge would come in handy and possibly even save someone's life - including a loved one of yours! What if one of your family members, heaven forbid, had a stroke or heart attack or was choking? With this training, you would know some steps to possibly help save their life. I'm thinking of asking hubby to get certified (though I haven't actually asked him yet).

We actually did our certification at the biggest church in the southeast (ok, I made that up, but it's HUGE and totally could be!)

I loved the little Christmas trees up at the front.

I've always wanted to go inside to see what it looked like. It was so spacious and even had side seating like a (broadway not movie) theater!

Neat!

Reader Question: Are you CPR or AED or First Aid certified? Have any personal stories from when your training came in handy?

Ever have one of those days where you come home exhausted from work starving but not in the mood to cook?

That was me yesterday. I had worked a long day and totally zonked. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the grocery store or COOK! I wanted to relax on the couch and watch SYTYCD and Glee.

Luckily, I was prepared. I had plenty of food in my freezer and pantry to throw something together. I decided to cook up the frozen tortellini I had in the freezer to make a yummy dinner:

No Fuss Tortellini Pasta Bake

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen ravioli
• 1/2 jar Marinara sauce
• 2 cups baby spinach and/or arugula (I used a baby spinach blend)
• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Pre-heat broiler. Grease/butter a small casserole dish (broiler proof).

Cook tortellini according to package directions.

Heat sauce in separate pot (doesn't need to boil, just needs to be hot)

Once tortellini is cooked, add greens to pot with marinara sauce.

Add tortellini to sauce pot.

Stir

Add to casserole dish.

Top casserole with cheese (about 1/2 cup)

Place bread on top of cooling rack (helps bottom from getting soggy) and top bread with cheese (about 1/4 cup)

Place both in oven and broil until cheese is melted (careful - broilers burn food easily!)

Done...

...and done!

Enjoy!

Maybe even get seconds! (I saved some of my cheesy toast to enjoy with Round 2 - they pair so well together!)

If you're like me, you'll probably save room for dessert, too! Martha's Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread cookies! Yum-O!

I made a super yummy dinner last night - Spiced Shrimp Quinoa! So faboo...even hubby loved it!

It wasn't the fastest dinner, but it was easy. Here are some photos from the cooking:

Quinoa simmering away

Shrimp saute

Toss in frozen peas

Shrimp go on top

Stir together

Top with toasted pine nuts

Enjoy!

Note pretty yellow color. I added this with spices! I added cumin and chili powder for flavor...I added turmeric for nutritional benefits, color, and of course, flavor. You can read about my previous turmeric challenge with tidbits by clicking here.

Seconds!

Spiced Shrimp Quinoa
by me

serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2-3/4 lbs peeled, deveined shrimp
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• dash red pepper flakes (or more depending on how spicy you like it)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• toasted pine nuts, to top and for garnish

Directions:

1. Pre-heat a medium pot over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and cook till translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add cumin, turmeric, chili powder, and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add quinoa, lower heat to simmer, cover pot, and cook for 20-25 minutes, until quinoa is tender.
2. Meanwhile (near end of quinoa cooking time), pre-heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add other tbsp olive oil to pan. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add shrimp to pan and saute till shrimp are cooked through, about 3-5 minutes (give or take depending on size of shrimp used).
3. When quinoa is done, add peas to top of quinoa, then cooked shrimp, cover and let cook for 1 minute.
4. Remove lid, stir.
5. Serve topped with toasted pine nuts.

Well kiddos, this week is going to be pretty brutal work-wise. I have phone conferences and meetings from 10:30am to 5:30pm straight-though tomorrow (the other days are looking pretty busy, too)! This means that I:

• will probably not be able to eat when I'm hungry (unless I have something in my desk because my phone headset doesn't reach the fridge and I will likely not have any breaks between meetings to go to the breakroom, thank goodness for snack bars like Larabar and Organic Food Bar!)
• will probably not be able to take bio breaks when I need (this just seems inhumane! I may have to sneak away during a call or two. A girl's gotta do what she's gotta do! All my co-workers are in the same boat and are pretty understanding, so I think I'll be ok)
• will be multi-tasking like a madwoman! (because people are always asking for things by EOD and if I'm on the phone all day, multi-tasking will be a must)

Since today was pretty long, I have another post ready to blog, but to keep things short (because I'm ready for bed!), I'm just going to share some food photos.

Breakfast was the shiznit!

Choco-Coconut Oats

Pre-cooking ingredients:

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• pinch flaxseed
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp organic, unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tsp agave

Microwave 1 minute, stir, 1 minute again

Post-cooking ingredients:

• Sprinkle almonds on top
• Sprinkle coconut on top

Wow, this oat combo was fab! I think I have a new favorite! I'm already craving this for breakfast tomorrow!

Morningstar "soysage" on the side for extra protein so I wouldn't get hungry too early in the day.

Starbucks Monday - for Sbucks Monday, I got another Caramel Brulee latte with soy. Very sweet, but very tasty. I think Peppermint Mocha is still my fave holiday flavor (besides the pumpkin spice, of course) but I wasn't feeling cocoa in my coffee today.

A new healthy cafe opened up for another lunch option. I'm craving fast food less and less these days, especially for lunch, so its nice to have quality healthy options around.

I got the Popeye (roasted chicken, supposed-to-be-spinach-but-I-got-romaine, mozzarella, tomato sauce, on a spinach wrap) with a side of hummus and whole wheat pita and a green/peppermint unsweet tea. I decided to try the unsweet tea because the flavor sounded pretty tasty, but I don't like using artificial sweeteners and sugar just doesn't "melt" right in cold drinks. Turns out unsweet tea is pretty awesome. Why have I waited so long to try it? I mean, I drink my green tea sans sweetener at Dim Sum and all, but this was new.

Oh yea and the wrap and hummus were pretty awesome. I couldn't quite finish the hummus so I saved it for a snack for tomorrow.

This place would be a new favorite of mine if I ate out more. I'm hoping to make it more often because they have lots of yummy foods on the menu and I want to try them!

Zumba Debut

No, I didn't get a zumba class to lead as an instructor, but I did choreograph my first song! I did a belly-ish dance to Brit's Slave 4 U. I've been working with some fellow zumba instructors and our head instructor to polish the choreo, but tonight, I debuted my new dance TWICE!

I was sooo nervous. I definitely messed up the song the first time and a bit the second time, too, but I'm getting more comfortable with the choreo and leading the song, so it's all good. I'm just working out the kinks. ;)

I wasn't sure how the class would react. Would they love it? Hate it? Would they be able to follow the choreography...would they even want to try?

I don't know what the general class thought, but I did get some positive feedback from a couple of the "regulars" so I'll call that a win. One said she was getting caught up on one part, but was excited about practicing it so she could rock it out. I like her attitude!

Post zumba sushi dinner with the girls: miso soup, house salad w ginger dressing, cali roll with masago, tempura zucchini. This was just about the perfect amount of food for me. And pretty affordable, too! I like ordering small because it's easy on the wallet and I don't have to waste food (I HATE wasting food!).

A "secret" dessert ;)

I had about 10 things on my to-do list that aren't going to get done, including a recipe contest, but oh well, maybe I'll try out next time?

Some friends, Matt + Melissa, called Saturday afternoon with a suggestion of an impromptu dinner at Basil Thai Restaurant.

Since we hadn't seen them in awhile, we thought that sounded like a good idea.

We met our friends at the bar area where I spotted this giant container of pineapple soaking in (I believe) rum. Melissa told us the fruit and rum were used in the restaurant's signature pineapple mojito.

Upon sitting down, I knew I had to have one so I promptly ordered one of those pineapple mojitos.

We also ordered a couple apps to split among the table: chicken lettuce wraps

spring rolls

We also ordered a soup - Tom Kha Gai - Chicken Coconut (to split among the girls...the boys got their own soup)

The soup came out in a flaming silver dish. Luckily the waitress served us so we didn't have to risk burning ourselves.

The boys' soup looked pretty good, too (mixed seafood)...

...but us girls aren't big seafood fans so our coconut-y soup was perfect for us.

Group rice and Matt's whole fish dish with an edible flower.

I wanted one of my fave noodle dishes but hubby talked me into trying the Volcano Shrimp (served over wilted napa cabbage with steamed broccoli & cauliflower). They were quite tasty, but I still like my noodles best.

For dessert, I got something I haven't had in awhile - decaf coffee with a shot of Bailey's on the side. Oh wow, I had forgotten how good coffee with Bailey's is...YUM! I'm going to have to get one of these more often! I added a single pack of sugar and 1/2 the Bailey's per cup of decaf (two cups total). I love how the Bailey's is my creamer.

We ordered a couple desserts (they only had 2 to choose from!) to split among the table: fried green tea ice cream

...and a coconut custard. Two coconut dishes in one meal! That's different. I can hardly find a restaurant to get ONE! lol

The green tea dessert was ok, but the coconut custard was super yum.

My dessert sampler plate had a little bit of each. Well...a little of the ice cream and half the custard.

Such a great dinner with great friends and with a perfectly sweet ending to the evening!

Ahh...the age old debate comes around again. What to make with all our Thanksgiving leftovers - especially the leftover turkey! My personal favorite use for leftover turkey is to make Turkey Tettrazini. I've tried a couple recipes over time but haven't really been 100% happy with any of them.

What's a girl to do but make up her own recipe? ;) I give you my take on Turkey Tettrazini - a healthified and from-scratch version.

I decided to add some extra veggies in addition to the norm mushrooms - celery and onion - two mild veggies.

Cooking up the mushrooms

Making the sauce.

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Add lots of fresh parsley

Add the sauce.

Stir.

Add ingredients to a prepped casserole dish.

Smooth flat.

Top with breadcrumbs and fresh-grated parmesan.

Bake.

Enjoy with leftover Thanksgiving veggies...because you can never have enough veggies!

Maybe add a slice of leftover pumpkin pie to boot.

Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Tetrazzini (Healthified)
serves 4-6

NOTE: I searched high and low for the perfect recipe, but didn't find any I loved. This recipe is healthified than others I've seen by using whole wheat flour and less cream than traditional recipes. Add more cream for a richer flavor. This is also a healthier version than recipes that use cans of cream of <something> soups since you can control the ingredients and sodium levels better. Extra veggies are added through mild onions and celery.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups leftover turkey (dark and/or white meat) - chopped into bite sized pieces
• 8 oz dry linguine pasta
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 package mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
• 3 stalks celery, cleaned, chopped small
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 3-4 tbsp wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• dash nutmeg
• salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13" casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook linguine following package directions, except cook pasta about 1-2 minutes less than recommended time (it will finish cooking when the casserole bakes in the oven). When pasta is done, rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Add cooked pasta to a large mixing bowl when done.
3. Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over medium heat. When ready, add onions and celery and cook till veggies are tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add veggies to large mixing bowl when done.
4. Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over medium heat. Melt 1 tbsp butter in pan. Add mushrooms and cook till mushrooms are tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add veggies to a large mixing bowl when done.
5. In same pan as mushrooms were cooked in, melt 2 tbsp in pan. Add flour to pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, add sherry, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper (to taste), and cook till sauce is thick, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Add parsley to mixing bowl, then add sauce. Stir all ingredients together and pour into the prepared casserole dish. Smooth top flat. Evenly distribute the breadcrumbs (add or reduce amount of breadcrumbs to your liking).
7. Grate parmesan over breadcrumbs.
8. Optional step and ingredients - break small pieces of extra butter and spread out little pieces over top of casserole to help top brown.
9. Bake casserole for 30-40 minutes or until sides are bubbly (the top may not brown unless you do optional step #8 so look for signs of bubbling rather than the browned top for doneness)

The perfect use for Thanksgiving leftovers!

Hubby woke up at 3am on Black Friday to buy some door buster items from Best Buy. Unfortunately, they RAN OUT of BOTH the items he wanted to buy (as if!) and had to return home empty-handed. I almost went with him, but thank goodness I didn't! My poor hubby had to wait outside in the cold for an hour and a half and didn't even buy anything. How "fun"?

We went back to bed and slept in till 10:30am! So much for hitting up Black Friday! lol We did wake up to a fabulous breakfast: oven-toasted Great Harvest whole wheat rolls, scrambled eggs, broiled bacon

We turned them into breakfast sammies (sans cheese - wow, I hardly even missed it!).

I went back for more. I really just wanted a roll with butter and honey, but the last bit of eggs was calling my name and I hate to waste food, so I ate them, too. I also had a banana.

Great shopping fuel!

Hubby and I did end up going to the mall afterall, but we didn't really buy anything. It was sort of a disappointment. We expected better sales.

I did find a gorgeous couch and chair set that was on sale for being floor models but we figured by the time we got the set back home, we would have paid full price anyways. Bummer! Fare-thee-well gorgeous couch set that I can't have. :( Hubby and I have been having the HARDEST time finding furniture we like, so I was happy to finally find something I liked for the formal living room, but disappointed that the set wasn't feasible for us. (I'm hoping we get lucky by finding the same set back home).

I did end up buying a couple things:

• a mini 1 quart Calphalon pot (for stovetop oatmeal for one)
• Bobbi Brown hydrating face cream (the only face lotion I use - this after testing hundreds of products as a teen)
• Bobbi Brown eye make up remover (no sting!)
• Bobbi Brown lip gloss in Aubergine (my official Winter lip color)

I ALWAYS hit up Bobbi Brown to restock my face goodies because they have the "holiday sizes" (larger sizes) during the holiday months and they're much more efficient (and last me all year).

I got a mini makeover while I was at the Bobbi Brown counter. A makeup artist applied the new holiday palette to my eyes and lips.

I LOVED the colors! I also liked that the lip colors had shea butter for extra moisturizing.

I almost bought the set but managed to hold myself back. The palette wasn't cheap and we have other things we need to buy now. :( Who knows...maybe Santa will bring it to me? ;)

Family photo!

Too bad hubby wasn't in this picture...we could have used these photos to make Christmas cards!

Did you go shopping on Black Friday? If so, what did you buy? Any good deals?