Salsa Improvers I: complete

Celebration dessert for my last day of Improvers I salsa :). Unfortunately, I don't feel like I improved much from when I first started. I'm still not following my leads and the connection with my partner is hardly ever there. Must. Keep. Practicing!

Pretty rich brownie but it wasn't all that moist or exciting. I should have saved the calories.

Breafast this morning:

 Oats:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• goji berries
• sprinkle of salt and cinnamon

Toppings:

• almonds
• mixed berry bread crumbled 
• agave nectar
• fresh blueberries

Off to the gym for a back, chest, and shoulders workout

Want a flatter belly? Read this and don't forget that flat abs don't come with a million sets of crunches. It's 80% diet and the rest cardio. You must burn the fat away before you can see any definition in your abs!!
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/abs-diet-foods?cm_mmc=Newsletter-_-2010_Dec_08-_-Dose-_-readon

It's going to be a messy one folks

I love corny Christmas decorations. This lil guy was only a £1.

Lunch:

sauteed spinach and mushrooms in siracha/dijon mustard and chicken breast with sliced beets and mayo on the other.

Scrumptious.

Somehow I managed to put it together and eat it. Don't ask me how.

Clementine for a snack.

The sun was out for a brief moment today. Halleluj-ER! I almost forgot what the sun looked and felt like. :)

Happy Hump Day!

Cubano Boricua

Another successful salsa night under my belt. I'm currently in an improver's cross body salsa class but its almost over so I decided to branch out and try another style of salsa. Enter into picture: cuban salsa. http://www.cubanrhumjungle.com/ . I've noticed that when I go to salsa clubs, people are always spinning me around in circles. Definitely not what they teach you in cross body where you move across the floor in straight lines. Cuban salsa also seems to have more flair, passion, and hip movements. Much more my style :)


After salsa, I met T at Milk and Honey where they were doing a free monthly event. Last night's event was a tasting of four new cocktails. They've changed their menu and decided to invite member's and one guest to try it out. I came just in time to try the last one. It was an interesting cocktail to say the least. Sorry I forgot to take pictures!
http://www.mlkhny.com/home.php

I was starvin marvin afterwards so we stopped at Pizza Hut. This is the second time in the past week I've had Pizza Hut (I hadn't been inside an actual pizza hut restaurant in the States in over 7 plus years). One would think it was my favorite food or something! Maybe they should add pizza as a food group. Just a thought.

Warm cheesy garlic bread. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuumy!!

Ehhhh just so so breaded chicken strips.

The hawaiian is back in rotation baby. It's probably my favorite pizza topping as of late. There's just something about that sweet and salty combination of the ham and pineapple. Makes me very happy :)

Whoever invented this dessert is one smart cookie. heh heh. Get it? Warm baked cookie dough dessert? Oh lordie. It's still too early. Chewy, buttery, chocolatey goodness all over my spoon. Such a simple and amazing tasting dessert *if you're a fan of chocolate chip cookies*

I opted for something a bit more healthy this morning.

Vanilla yogurt w. blueberries, almonds, goji berries, and muesli.

Wholewheat toast w. fried egg and flaxseeds on top.

Off to the gym! On the agenda: Legs

RIP Elizabeth Edwards. You were one brave soul.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/06/elizabeth.edwards.obit/index.html?hpt=C1

Popeye would be proud

Chicken sandwich w. sauteed spinach, siracha, dijon mustard, and light mayo. Very messy but delicious!

More green monster muffins!! I think I overmixed the batter this time around. Apparently, you shouldn't overmix because they won't turn out as fluffy.

Still green and tasty tho. I like having healthy snacks around the house. These muffins are wholewheat and use only 3/4 cup sugar. Handy on-the-go type of snack.

Off to try cuban salsa tonight :)

So fresh and so clean clean

We have a working washer and dryer finally!! Our old one was making this horrendous noise during the spin cyle (as if it was going to spontaneously combust at any second) and THEN it later started releasing this awful chemical smell. So grateful that our landlord was quick in getting us a new unit. We only had to wait a week and a half. Not bad.

Very impressed at my husband's handiness. He should really quit his job and become a househusband. He can cook, clean, and put together just about anything!!

Dinner last night was leftovers because we didn't have much in the house. Our groceries came this morning thankuverymuch.

I ate dinner in front of the tv. I don't think I've turned it on in a few weeks. I'm now caught up on Gossip Girl. Can I get a WOO HOO!!!

A little princess decided to snuggle up next to me on the couch.

Dessert: Smoothielicious

In the mix:

• skim milk
• vanilla yogurt
• handful of frozen blackberries and blueberries
• ice
• water
• splenda
• sprinkle of muesli, almonds and dried fruit mix on top

Breakfast this morning:

I ordered this pancake mix from Ocado and was excited to try it this morning! I'm in a breakfast rut and wanted something different.

Simply add milk, eggs, and oil to the dry mix

Add a sprinkle of fresh blueberries to each pancake prior to flipping

One topped with vanilla yogurt and the other with Vermont maple syrup. Guess which one was the favorite?

Maple syrup of course! The vanilla yogurt was a bit too sour with each blueberry bite but the syrup gave the pancake a nice sweetness. Hopefully this breakfast will fuel me through some French studies, and then Zumba later this afternoon.

I saw mommy kissing santa claus

My morning was spent going over Zumba routines and practicing an entire cd's worth of music. The trickiest part for me will be remembering all the steps for about 12 songs. Lots of rehearsing will be involved before I can even think about looking for a teaching position. BAH hum bug! Anyways, on to things I'm more capable of for now.

I stopped by Sainsbury's for lunch after a kick ass body combat class.

Large tub full of salad bar goodies.

In the mix:

• cous cous
• bean salad
• onions, beets, cucumbers
• potato salad (The potatoes were hard just like the last time so I left them on the plate. As if I didn't learn my lesson the first time around!!)
• Italian pasta salad

I forgot to mention that stockings are up!!

No, the extra stockings aren't there for purely decorational purposes. We are anxiously waiting the arrival of some special guests later this month!

I awoke this morning to find a little surprise on the wall. The little red stocking is actually Sonoma's bandage from her foot that she managed to wriggle off.  he he he he. T is so silly sometimes. Sometimes all you need is just a good laugh :o)

We also got a delivery this morning. Unfortunately, the new washer/dryer is still in its box. Seriously, what ghetto company doesn't install your unit for you? Grrrr... I was looking forward to working on our huge pile of dirty clothes. I think we have about 10 loads worth. No joke. I go through about 2 pairs of workout clothes a day and we haven't had a working washer for over a week. T will be putting it together later tonight so I won't have to wait long to get started. Yippee!!

Song of the day: Mariah Carey "All I want for Christmas is you"

Bachata lotta

Last night I went to my first meet up alone!! Meet up is an online community where users can join social groups based on hobbies and interests.  I recently joined a salsa group hoping I could make some new salsa friends :). Score! I got a freebie salsa lesson and I learned a new dance. We do some bachata in Zumba classes so I figure it's also research for my soon to be career.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachata_%28dance%29

Dinner:

Veggie eggrolls w. unpictured sweet thai chili sauce

Ready made Bigham meal: Indonesian chicken over rice. Hearty and satisfying. It was nice to eat in after a busy weekend of dining out.

Breakfast this morning: I decided to cut into our mixed berry soda bread that we bought at the Taste festival this weekend.

This bread is sinfully good. I don't care if it's vegan. It doesn't equal healthy. It can't possibly taste that good and be healthy.

Two large slices for me 

Off to get registered at my new doctor's office. O goody ;)