First Kick of Spring Before Spring Term

Yesterday was so nice, like 75 degrees, that I decided to take a day off of the computer and go outside.
So I threw together a lunch (and a couple bags of snacks), water, and my kindle and headed for the sun.

I had toasted Dave's bread with the sweet and tangle Einstein's honey almond smear.

By the evening, I was tired out from all of the sun. I wanted something filling for dinner that wouldn't take long. I found some rotini, which is my absolute favorite noodle ever!

I didn't want sauce so I found this cheese blend from Trader Joe's.

Now today was Easter but it isn't really celebrated in my family. I ended up sunburned after yesterday so I knew it needed to be an inside day, but I needed something to do to get my mind of off school tomorrow (I am so nervous).

So I decided to do a little reorganizing.

In the beginning I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into...

After a couple of hours, I had to take a break so I sat outside in the shade with an iced tea before getting back to work.

By the end of the day I felt I did a pretty good job, even though I feel that I am never finished.

I kind of had to quit because it turned out that my family was planning on having a nice dinner tonight for fun. So I had to help peel the potatoes.

We had flame roasted ham, mashed potatoes with cheese, crescent rolls, and my favorite, mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar. Yummy.

After a long day, I realized I had to get my stuff ready for tomorrow and get to bed early. No more getting up at 10, I have class at 9 this term :(

Spring Break Day 5

So sad that spring break is coming to an end. I am too anxious for next term and do not want to think about it.
So after oatmeal for breakfast I knew I wanted something different for lunch today.
My mom, sister, and grandma were going out so I tagged along. We went to one of our favorite hole in the wall Chinese food places downtown, but I was not in the mood for Chinese.

Mom pointed out the sandwiches so I went for a cream cheese and turkey sandwich on toasted sourdough. It was sooo yummy!

My sister got what we usually get, so I decided to snag a pic.

It is a teriyaki chicken bento with rice and broccoli. It is so sweet and a wonderful combo.

Afterward, we went to Delphina's bakery, yet again. I got the cream scone again :)

Next we decided that since we are halfway to Walmart, we might as well go there since it is far away and it is a special trip in our family. But on the way, we spotted a little Russian store that we had never seen, and taking after my mother, I begged to pull over.

It was like nothing I had seen before as there were all different cakes, pastries, warm meat dishes, and groceries. I didn't want to get a lot because I knew I would just eat it, so I picked a few.

First, I knew I needed some tea biscuits.

I decided to go with a condensed milk flavor because I thought it sounded unique. I ate a few this afternoon with tea and they were delightful. They were similar to a very airy version of a tangy shortbread.

Next, I saw these little guys that reminded me of pocky.

I have not tried them yet, but once I bought them, I found that the box said vanilla flavored sticks.

Finally, at the end of the day, my sister and I thought it would be fun to make something from scratch for dinner. So we made some chicken soup. We boiled and shredded chicken, and added it to the broth (we created out of chicken broth, chicken stock, water, and milk), celery, onions, carrots, and egg noodles I got at the Russian store. It smelled delightful

However, I do not care for chicken soup, so I went for a pack of microwave mac and cheese from Trader Joe's.

.

Spring Break Day 4

On this wonderful Thursday, I had to grab a baggie of cereal and run out the door to go with my family to the coast for the day.
Lunch was super duper good at Dooger's Restaurant.

I ordered a grilled ham and cheddar on a bun. It was loaded.

However, I asked for sweet potato fries and the waiter messed up so I had to wait a bit, but it was well worth it. I ate the whole plate!

It is not a trip to the coast without a stop at the candy store.

While there I saw this popcorn that was so dang cute! 

Then my sister pointed out these and we couldn't bring ourselves to but it and try it. Ew.

For some reason I was feeling like some saltwater taffy so I decided to start my own bag.

I chose some vanilla, peppermint, and cinnamon. They do not really go together but they are my favorites.

By this time of day, I was craving my afternoon hot tea and it was wonderfully comforting in the breezy beach air, until it began to rain.

Finally, we ended the day of walking through town with an ice cream cone.

Had to go for some sweet and salty chocolate chip cookie dough. Yes!

Spring Break Day 3

This whole waking up at 11 everyday is throwing me off. However, I was exited to open the fridge here at my sisters and see the stuff from Einstein's Bagels.

I had a 9 grain bagel which was very seedy. It would have been pretty boring with regular cream cheese, but I remembered my mom picked a different kind this time.

I have only ever had regular cream cheese because I don't like fruit, however, I just discovered my new favorite spread. The honey almond smear they carry is amazing!!! It is delightfully lightly sweetened as opposed to the tartness of regular cream cheese (ew) and there were a couple of lumps from almonds.

Plus, it finally felt like spring break today. It actually got to be over 60 degrees so I tried to suntan a little after lunch. Sadly, I didn't know that the medication I started a couple of months ago makes my skin sensitive to sun. I got a burn in less than an hour and my arms and face has been itchy sense.
But, my dog was sure happy that we spent time out there.

For dinner I was craving pizza, so I just went with a Red Baron Deep Dish Single.

Dreyer's Slow Churned Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream Review

Yet another single serving cup of Dreyer's Ice Cream!!!

This one is Cookies 'n Cream flavor for 190 calories.

Cookies and cream ice cream used to be my favorite, especially when there was big chunks of cookie (I am more into cookie dough now). I have had all different brands but never Dreyer's before.

When I opened the cup I was nervous because it looked similar to Skinny Cow's (made by the same company) cookies and cream ice cream which was bland and just tasted like ice cream with a gritty texture.
Well, my first bite was kind of gritty, but as I kept eating, there was actually several larger pieces of cookies and cream. Only about a quarter of my spoonfuls had a real bite of cookie in it.

Pros: When I spooned a nice crunchy bite.
Cons: The bites without large cookie was pretty gritty.

Taste: 8/10
Texture: 6/10
Amount for calories: 9/10 Dreyer's is always pretty good about having a "light" load.
Overall: 7/10

I did not love this flavor of Dreyer's so I think I will stick to their Mint Chocolate Chip and Rocky Road. For cookies and cream in the future, it would be worth it to drive to Baskin Robbins for a scoop.

Spring Break Day 2

This morning I had to chuckle when I looked in the cupboard for mug for tea and I saw this...
My kitty, Marty, has yet again scouted out a chocolatey snack.

The first end of this Three Musketeers bar was all crinkled like he really was having a hard time, but it looked like he gave up and went for the other end.

Bingo! He got a hole in it and nibbled away. (You may not be able to tell but there is a pretty big dent taken out of here.)

After, I wanted something a little different this morning after having too much of my homemade granola in the past few days, so my mom took me to Starbucks. (Again, always with my mommy...)

Man I love their breakfast. I chose the Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon Sandwich as always (with white cheddar cheese, egg whites, and a wheat english muffin).

The only problem is that these do not keep me full for very long, not much does.
So I was happy to remember that we got a half dozen bagels at Einstein's yesterday.
My favorites are the asiago (which I ended up leaving at my sister's house), 9-grain (also at sister's), and chocolate chip (which my dad ate).

So my only option was the honey whole wheat. It was not very good, kind of had a weird tang. But, I still ate it because I love a freshly toasted bagel with a mug of hot Starbucks tea.

After a Trader Joe's run this afternoon, I decided to try something new for dinner.

It was a fully cooked Trader Joe's chicken breast, Uncle Ben's original ready rice, and La Choy sweet and sour sauce.

Once I heated it all up, it was to die for! Simple, tasty, and much healthier than deep fried Chinese food  from a restaurant.

Spring Break Day 1

Mondays are normally the worst day of the week due to it being the kickstart of the work week. But not during spring break :)
I woke up this morning thinking I was going to just drown in oatmeal whilst staying home all day.
But no...
Mom took me to Einstein's Bagels! (I know I should be old enough to do my own thing but I don't want to go alone)

I had a pizza bagel, which was an asiago bagel with sauce and mozzarella. When I looked at it, my heart sunk due to how bad it looked. But then I took a giant bite... YUM!

Plus at the check out I spied a cookie, as always.

An iced sugar cookie and tea in the afternoon is wonderful! (But then I followed it with pretzel sticks, peanuts, jelly beans, and reese's piece... so I had a little tummy ache)

But, I didn't feel to bad to skip out on Spaghetti Factory. We go there all the time but it never gets old.

In addition to the classic bread I had some minestrone soup.

Then I had just plain spaghetti with marinara and it was sweet and delicious.
I forgot to take a picture of my rainbow sherbet but it was kind of a melty, light brown mess. Not photogenic, but nicely tart.

Oh, and amongst my travels I saw these cookies and thought of how gross they look. I cannot even imagine how green one's mouth would be afterwards...

Planter's Trail Mix Energy Mix Review

I love nut mixes, especially sweet and salty ones. However, I hate raisins and other dried fruits of that sort, so it is hard to find good ones.

 Planter's Trail Mix: Energy Mix

I chose to buy a box of the individual packs where you get a pack that is 1.5 oz for 240 calories. There are quite a bit of nuts as you can see, and a fun variety.

First there are honey roasted peanuts. These are small and there are not many, however the flavor of them, rubs off onto the other nuts which gives the whole pack a yummy slight sweetness.
Next there are pecans and walnuts. These have a similar flavor, which is pretty plain, and a similar soft flavor, but they are nice for variety.
Also there are sesame sticks which help to break away from nutty textures and make the mix a little lighter. They are an interesting contrast.
Then there are plain crunchy almonds and candy coated dark chocolate covered soy nuts. These go hand in hand in my book since almonds are crunchy and bitter and the chocolate is creamy and so sweet, so I eat one of each at a time.

Pros: Such a unique variety (and of course I love that they come in packs).
Cons: None?

Taste: 10/10 Perfect sweet and salty combo.
Texture: 10/10 So much going on.
Amount for calories: 9/10
Overall: 10/10

This mix is a must try in my book. Also, there is a similar mix that I love as well that one could try instead that is the Planter's Sustaining Energy Mix in Chocolate nut which is honey roasted peanuts, cashews, almonds, soy clusters, and dark chocolate covered soy nuts.

Feels like Spring Break

Finally done with finals and more than ready to kick of my totally rad spring break (just kidding).
Although I did wake up this morning and decided while I was having some oatmeal that I wanted to bake.
So I did. :)
I recently found a scone recipe, because plain scones are my favorite, that includes ingredients that I always have on hand. Even though scones can be a pain in the butt, I did it!

Before they went in the oven, they were pretty small.

But they puffed a little and were amazing. I was very worried about overcooking them so I knew I had to take them out just when the tops were set. The middle was amazingly moist and buttery, while the top had a nice crunch from the sugar. So delicious!!!

By lunch time I wasn't too hungry from munching on scones all morning, but I decided to ride with my mom, grandma, and Kerby to go shopping.

We stopped at a mexican place down the street, and it was only okay. Everything was just as bland as it looks.

Chicken and cheese enchilada with black beans and rice.

After shopping around I was needing a pick me up. My grandma wanted a McDonald's coffee and although I am not fond of their food, there is one thing I like

The McDonald's little ice cream cone may not be real ice cream, but it sure is sweet.

Statistics Final Day

So my final exam for statistics was rough, but hey, I am done! I am itching to see how I did.
Anyway I did get some yummy food today.
For lunch, my dad took me to Arby's. Gotta love their value menu.

This used to be my favorites fast food, but after not eating fast food much lately, I realize how not great it is... Oh well.
 I also gave my little bud Gino a bath today.

Then, I told my mom I wanted to go to my favorite bakery. Delphina's is the only place around that I know of to find a plain/cream scone. They are almost always sold out, but today they have one left!

I wish I could find more places that carry something like them, like a grocery store or somewhere closer. I have tried making them but it is so hard.

Plus, yesterday at the dollar store my sister spotted these and had to get these.

They are the Jelly Belly factory mistakes, also called Belly Flops. We love to have her give me the flavors and I close my eyes and guess.

Later, I was not feeling well when the rest of my family was shopping so I read in the car :(
But, on a bathroom break on Starbucks I decided to get a little something. I had only ever had their plain bagel that I didn't like, but I saw a multigrain one today.

The Starbucks multigrain bagel is amazing! There are lots of seeds, flax, and whatever other good stuff in there.

Once it was toasted and a dollop of cream cheese was applied, I gobbled it up. YUM!