I feel pretty and witty and bright

I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by! February is National Heart month and Valentines Day so it’s only right that we brand it “Love Month”. Since we only have 1 week left in February I wanted to touch on a topic I’ve been reading a lot about, “Self-Love”.

If someone asked me “Do you love yourself?” I would immediately respond “Of course!” But if I sat down and actually thought about that question I wouldn’t be so sure… I’ve noticed that if I have that cookie I’m craving after dinner I’ll say to myself “Good job on ruining your entire workout”  but if a friend told me that she had a cookie after dinner and was upset about it I would reply “Omg, don’t be so silly it’s just one cookie! Everyone needs to indulge sometimes.” It’s so easy to give advice but following it? Wellllll, not so much. Why couldn’t I be that easy on myself? Why am I beating myself up over 1 cookie? For the most part I am extremely healthy – I eat a well-balanced diet and exercise 5-6 times a week so I should be able to have a cookie without feeling guilt if that’s what my body wants! Everyone knows that love is a good thing. We love to give it and we love to receive it. But how often do we actually take the time to give it to ourselves?

I’m sure I am not the only person who beats themselves up over silly issues like this so we should all make a pact to follow Katelyn’s mission: I feel pretty! Today, I am making a promise to myself to be a little nicer, speak a little sweeter and cut myself some slack from time to time. I deserve it, and so do you 🙂

I feel as if I’m always on the go, go go to do things for others and I want to make sure I give myself the same attention. Each day this week I am going to post something I did for myself as a token of love: To me, Love me.

Here is what I gifted myself today – Relaxation Time –I know this doesn’t sound like much but I couldn’t tell you the last time I laid down with my phone, TV and computer off. It felt so good to sleep for 3 hours and I am feeling very refreshed now!

I think that everyone should join me and do something for themselves in the last week of the month of love – Feel free to share with me your plan and remember this: You are a truly loveable person — and you deserve only kind treatment, especially from yourself. 🙂

On a lighter note! I had a great weekend filled with 3 workouts – Zumba, Bodypump & Spin Class. I took full advantage of the $60 a month I pay to my gym! Nothing better than getting a good sweat in on the weekends. After my workout on Sunday I did my weekly grocery shopping where Whole Foods then took advantage of me. Why is it that I can never leave with just what’s on my list? I also left my brand spankin new iPhone in an aisle I shouldn’t have even been in while browsing labels – Thank goodness someone with a good heart found it and returned it to the lost and found! Whew..

Saturday night I had one of my girlfriends over for some girl time. We made dinner, went out for some Tasti D-lite (i know, again?) and watched hours worth of Bachelor re-runs on my DVR til 1 am. We get crazy and wild sometimes 😉

For dinner we made quesadillas…not just a plain boring quesadilla. But an exciting chicken, peach and pepperjack quesadilla. I’ve made this before and LOVED it but I think the peaches were a little bland this time around… It was still delicious and if you have some fresh peaches I suggest you try this combo out!

Chicken, Peach & Pepperjack Quesadilla

Ingredients

• Rotisserie chicken
• Pepperjack cheese (w/ jalapenos)
• Peaches
• Greek Yogurt
• Agave
• Cilantro
• Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

Directions

• Shred chicken

• Slice peaches

• Place tortilla on plate and add the chicken, cheese and peach slices to HALF.
• Sprinkle Cilantro on top
• Fold in half and place in an olive oil misted skillet
• Place a cast iron skillet on top so it flattens out the quesadilla and everything cooks evenly.
• Cook for 4 minutes on side – Flip and repeat.
• While quesadillas are cooking Mix together your greek yogurt, agave and lime juice.

• Slice the quesadillas and serve with the dipping sauce

The sweetness of the peaches and the dipping sauce go perfectly together! Sorry the pictures are blurry – I need to stop rushing them but sometimes I’m just so excited to eat 🙂

Our dessert from Tasti D-Lite

My friend had smores with choc chips and crushed graham cracker and I enjoyed bananas foster with the same toppings. I’ve yet to try a flavor that I haven’t loved yet! We may or may not have bought some Oreo & Peanut butter to go… Whoops.

Yesterday I also got my haircut (got some side bangs, wild!), had lunch with my grandma at Nordstrom Cafe and got some goodies in the mail!

Carba nada pasta, PB2, Donut Pan, Pizza Crisper, Gluten Free Pretzels, Banana Supreme Pancake mix and Alternative Bagels! I ordered these from a lo carb site – I’ve read about some of these items on various blogs but couldn’t find them ANYWHERE in stores so I resorted to some online shopping. I’m excited to try these out and hope they live up to the hype!

Tonight I am going to test out my pizza crisper and throw myself a pizza party… I might also get a little crazy and have some more of that Oreo & Peanut butter Ice Cream. I really need to settle down.

Day 23: Favorite Movie

I believe they already asked my favorite movies so I’m going to go ahead and skip this challenge and if you are that interested you can check out Day 7’s post here

Day 24: Something you’ve learned

I think it’s only fair that I say to love myself! Starting with treating myself the same I would to others or as Katelyn would put it a 5-year-old version of myself!

Also, Kate is having another giveaway! Check it out 🙂

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and if you have the day off tomorrow (lucky) you enjoy it!!

QUESTIONS: What do you do to show yourself love? Have you ever tried any of the lo-carb items I purchased? What was the craziest thing you did this weekend (get bangs, stay up til 1 am watching the bachelor, eat ice cream?? 😉 )

 

Love is in the Air

Love is everywhere.

What is love?

Love is the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love may also be described as actions towards others (or oneself) based on compassion.Or as actions towards others based on affection. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure (“I loved that meal”) to intense interpersonal attraction (“I love my partner”). “Love” can also refer specifically to the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love, to the sexual love of eros, to the emotional closeness of familial love, or to the platonic love that defines friendship, to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love. This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.***

To feel loved, to be loved and to love is one of the greatest feelings of all. I have been in such a great mood today and I think it’s because I can feel the love all around me.

I’ve seen love in the morning sun.

I’ve seen it in my breakfast

I’ve seen the love in the girls I nanny for…through their eyes, for me

In their lunch we made at the park

The love I have for myself apparently because I took about 10 of these while driving

In the flowers I received from my wonderful boyfriend

and of course in a Valentines snack

Where have you seen love today?

Whatever you do, whoever you’re with and wherever you may be just remember that love is everywhere. It’s not about having a significant other – if you don’t have a special someone to share this day with – love yourself, your pet, your life and maybe make yourself a special dessert tonight.

and eat the whole thing 🙂

I’ve also reminded myself that this isn’t the only day to show someone you love them…but maybe just make it extra special today! I see love everyday in my family, my boyfriend, my friends, my job, and of course all of you who read my blog. I don’t say it enough but I appreciate each and every one of you who read my blog and take time to comment on them daily. You guys are the best and make me feel LOVED!

I hope everyone has a beautiful day and shows some love to at least one person today.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY LOVES!!!!!!!

Valentines Day Fun Facts

• About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in US each year. That’s the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.
• Women purchase 85% of all valentines.
• In order of popularity, Valentine’s Day cards are given to teachers, children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
• Parents receive 1 out of every 5 valentines.
• About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.
• Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are the biggest holidays for giving flowers.
• Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given for Valentine’s Day each year.
• 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
• Men buy most of the millions of boxes of candy and bouquets of flowers given on Valentine’s Day.
• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
• In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future husband.

***Wikipedia defined.