i like it when the sun hits my face.

i have been (sort of) busy these past few days. and by busy, i mean quitting my job and trying to find another one. uh huh. i just couldn't hang with the big boys anymore. sales got the best of me. i wish i could have stuck it out longer-but it just didn't seem smart. traveling such a distance for a job i really didn't like and wasn't good at. so oh well. back to the chopping block.

going along with being busy-i have some exciting things coming up this week for the blog. such as, a giveaway, an awesome interview, and some other little odds and ends. so get ready!

i hope everyone has been having an amazingly gorgeous weekend. the sun has been shining ever so brightly here in horsham. i am terribly giddy over it, too. soaking up the rays in the backyard while reading is considered the perfect afternoon as far as i'm concerned.

last night for dinner i had the most delicious veggie grinder from this pizza pub around the corner. it was seriously divine-and huge!

i could only eat half of this monster-so i ate the other half this afternoon for lunch with a pickle and some grapes on the side. totally satisfying.

i dived into one of my luna cookie samples i received. i decided to try out the chocolate mint flavor.

boy, what a smart decision! this sucker was awesome. it had just the right amount of chocolate and mint mixed together. neither ingredient overpowered the other, which i really liked. i cannot wait to taste the other two cookies.

on friday, since i didn't go into work, i had the pleasure of being surrounded by this little itty bitty porkroll.

if you didn't know already, (and how couldn't you know?) i'm obsessed. she makes me want a smiling baby face of my own so badly. but alas, that is definitely not happening anytime soon. unless there happens to be some gigantic opps-a-daisy. but i like to think i'm a very relatively safe kind of girl when it comes to that.

anyhoo. i came across this song on cmt earlier today. i maybe can't get enough of it. the words are great. the video is great. and well, the singer is also pretty great. (and he's really great live!)

i know i love new york city T H I S M U C H. but i would definitely fit right in living in some small town in the deep roots of some southern state. just sayin'.

tell me what you did over your weekend, pretty girls. . .

it's all in how you slice it.

i left work at 4 today. in hopes to avoid the massive traffic i usually hit around 5:30. i wanted to get home early so i could go for a run, eat dinner at a decent hour, shower, watch the phils, read my book and get ready for my phone date with my favorite new orleans gal!

howeverrrr. that didn't exactly happen. i didn't get stuck in traffic, though. so that was definitely lovely. i got home in perfect timing. just in time for my cousin to arrive to do a knife demonstration. as a summer gig, she decided to take upon selling knives. my parents just so happened to be one of her victims. therefore, i hung out in the living room to watch and never made it out for my run. by the time she left it was much too late. i settled for riding the bike downstairs for twenty minutes and 50 jumping jacks. my butt always cramps up and hurts while riding that darn bike! arggg.

i took my shower and ate some much needed dinner!

grapes and a toasted hamburger roll with almond butter, sugar and cinnamon


it was just what the belly needed.

last few days recap:

sunday night's dinner


oh how i adore barbecues.

i went out on the town sunday night with some college buddies. we didn't arrive until probably 10o'clock, yet curtis felt the need to feed us.
i really, really didn't want to eat anything. but how could i just say no? the burgers looked and smelled amazing. and since i'm always on the hunt for the tasties burger, i grabbed a plate and thought, what the heck! curtis' mom handmade them, and they were truly awesome. i only ate a half-and boy did i enjoy every bite!the night was quite interesting. many laughs, drinks, and some random dancing at a random dive bar. and maybe a few texts that shouldn't have been sent. oh well.

here are some other eats that have happened in the last few days:


world of grains garden vegtabable crackers. sooo good! i savored every crumb.
strawberry crumble luna bar. this thing was so yumm-o. no joke. the strawberry jam on top was simply perfect. and since i enjoyed this bar so much, i can't even begin to explain my excitement when i saw this box
sabrina over at clif bar and company sent me their three flavors of luna cookies to try out.

berry pomegranate-real berries and a bit of tart pomegranate-keeps your taste buds on their toes.
chocolate mint-decadent chocolate with just a hint of mint-because, really, is there such a thing as too much chocolate?
peanut butter chocolate-crunchy peanut butter meets rich chocolate-a beloved classic that's hard to beat.

i cannot wait to dig into these cookies. yayyy. thanks sabrina!

handle with care, so far, has been heart wrenching. i'm not even that far into it, and golly! i don't know how i'll make it through. it's definitely an easier read for me than the kite runner.

mmm. now, without further adieu, before i push that little publish post button-i want to say . . .
CONGRATS TO MY BEAUTIFUL COUSIN JENNI AND HER HELLUVA CHEF BOYFRIEND ON THEIR ENGAGEMENT.

i just got the call a few hours ago with her giddy self saying..."we're getting married!"
and i couldn't be happier for them both!

you're a plum.

i gave up on reading the kite runner. i wanted to love it. i really tried hard to love it. but i think i need to retire it and maybe revisit it in a few months. so instead, i took jodi picoult's handle with care from my sister. i always have luck with jodi' books. at least until the very end. because at the end of her books, i usually want to throw the book up against the wall and scream. they really frustrate me. i'm hoping handle with care will be different. (the only exception to this is nineteen minutes-which i adored, cried, yelled, panted and felt decent about the ending)


this weekend has been just perfect so far. mostly because i have been doing. and truth is, i really like doing nothing.
i have watched the phillies beat the yankees two out of three games. they totally should have swept them, though!
i have laid out on the deck and enjoyed the sun.
i have gone on a lovely run on the trail.
i have had a random evening with friends.
i have eaten some delicious food.
i have started a new book.
i have slept in.
i have made a new summer book list.
i have been thinking positive.

it is only sunday, so anything awaits for tonight and tomorrow. bring it on. however, i am tired and would be very okay with just curling into bed and reading. i'm such an old woman. and i'm so okay with that.

on friday, i finished off my last package of funky monkey snacks. booo. i was sad to see them go. these treats are awesome. the last package was purple funk. it consisted of banana and acai. so yummy! i love that there is no sugar added and that they are gluten free.i gobbled these pieces right up during work and on my drive home.

about funky monkey snacks:
they combine great taste and nutrition of fresh fruit with the crunch and conveinence of your favorite snacks. they freeze-dry full slices and pieces of real fruit using a unique process to lock in the taste, smell, and nutrients of freshly-picked fruit, while creating a fun and satisfying crunch. every bag of these bags contains 3 servings of real fruit and contains no added sugar or sweeteners and no artificial colors, flavors or perservatives. they are 100% natural and a 100% delicious!

bananamon: i really enjoyed the slices of bananas with the cinnamon on top. every bite was flavorful and the perfect amount of sweetness.

carnaval mix: i ADORED this bag. probably because it had a little bit of everything in it. apples, bananas, pineapples, papaya and raisins. i could have done without the raisins, but this bag was still my favorite. i enjoyed the mix of these fruits together. perfection!

jivealime: this was my least favorite bag. mostly because i'm not a fan of sour and overly sweet foods. which is exactly what the lime bits were. i thought the pineapple chunks were a great way to tame the over powering sweetness of the lime up, though. i totally still ate every last bite.

purple funk: this was an incredible mix. i'm a real fan of the dried banana. and with the acai, (i actually don't really know what that is) this was totally bangin'.

my dad and i had dairy queen friday evening. it was so warm and sticky outside, we needed something to cool down with. i settled my hot blues with heath bar blizzard.
this morning, i had a big bowl of cereal.

and a banana with almond butter.
i could only eat one of these halves. i was way too stuffed.

for lunch i just had a yogurt with some granola and graped stuffed into it. and since my lunch was so puny, i had a strawberry shortcake ice cream for dessert.this reminded me of the ice cream man truck from when i was a kid. i always ordered this bar.

my dad made bbq chicken for dinner on the grille. i had him make me a plain piece so i could chop it up and put it in my salad. lettuce, vinergarette dressing, parm. cheese, a few fritos and grilled chicken. soooo yum-o!i drank this with it.
i am now off to get ready for a night of some college friends. so much for staying in and being an old lady. oh well. i guess i have to live up my twenties. oh the pity.

i think i could use a cup of this

viaaaa

i cried practically the entire way into work this morning. i completely broke down. i don't know what happened, but i lost it. maybe it was the message my mom left me about being sorry for fighting with me earlier. or maybe it was because warm days and driving with the windows down and listening to rascal flatts makes me really miss a certain boy and it kills even though it shouldn't anymore. maybe it was because i've decided i hate getting stuck in traffic and hate it when people cut me off and almost cause me to have an accident. it could maybe be that i wanted no part of going into the office. maybe it was because i feel like i'm not myself when i'm in the office. maybe it was just because i want to get hired by a magazine more than anything. but maybe definitely, it was all these things.

i really don't like feeling sorry for myself. and i basically never do. because i have better things to do than to feel sorry for myself. and i wouldn't even say that's what this mornings' cry was about. it was more just some built up tears that needed releasing. and what better place than in the car, by yourself, and driving? it sure did work for me. minus the whole, red face, blotchy red eyes thing i had going on once i finally arrived to my destination.

and all day, my boss felt the need to keep saying tomorrow was going to be my going away party. because i haven't made any sales. it is a good thing i'm not more sensitive. otherwise, i'd be totally offended. but regardless, it is still not nice. and i still didn't and don't love it. and on top of my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day...it took me two and a half hours to get home. and my gas light came on. so i had to get off at an exit and find a gas station. and then my credit card wouldn't work. and i only had 5 bucks to give the dude. and i spilled gas allll over my hand. there was A LOT of talking yelling at god today. (sorry big man!)

i was more than ecstatic to arrive home and have dinner waiting for me. dad, you rock. he made me this amazing and delicious dinnerfatty, breaded chicken parm. haha. thanks, pop! and you best believe i gobbled that sucker rightttt up.

lunch was easy. i brought a smart ones ravioliit was good. but there was way too much sauce and not enough content. therefore, i was still hungry. good thing i packed these

just strawberries 'n bananas. oh how tasty! especially since i'm a dried fruit fanatic. there is just something about a dehydrated fruit that makes it awesome. these treats have nothing added to them. they are simply what they say they are. no salt. no sulfur. no fat. no sweeteners. no preservatives. just pure fabulousness. i can't wait to try more of the yummy stuff, just tomatoes! also, these would be killer in yogurt.

i think now that it is 10:14, i will crawl into bed and pretend to read. but really i will just close my eyes and go to sleep. and perhaps make lists in my head and have a chat with the clouds and think about being tan and tell myself i am going to wake up to go running in the am and wiggle my toes, just because i really like to, and i can.

by golly

i'm tired. i did not by any means want to wake up this morning. i mean, not one single tiny little bit. so i stayed snuggled up for as long as i physically could. and than i knew i had to rise and shine and make my coffee and lunch and eat breakfast and ugh, get dressed.

i had another big bowl of peanut butter puffs for breakfast. i love those little round goodnesses of peanut butter flavor!

lunch was nothing fancy. same old, same old. turkey sandwich, honey mustard, pickles. side of grapes and strawberries
and a delicious yogurthowever, this is obviously neverrrr filling enough for me. because by 4o'clock i am starving. and by the time i am in my car and trekking home, i feel like i could nibble my arm off. ho hum.

thankfully, and smartly, i packed this bari was quite pumped to give the peanut butter honey flavor a try. because well, i like all of those things. peanut butter-check. honey-check.yay! i liked this. good work goodonya company! but i still don't think i'm a raw eater. but i still haven't given up in the raw department. i am game for trying out some raw recipes, perhaps. but! about this peanut butter honey treat.

it is made from pure, organic, live, whole foods. there aren't any chemicals put into their bars. (amen!) the premise of goodonya is to make you eat well and feel good. their ingredients are healthy, and they make them by hand in their cafe. this particular bar had 15.6 g of fat. which is a lot, but it is so filling. and i think they are supposed to be eaten more as a meal or something. not as a mid-afternoon snack. but whatever.

i have one more bar to go with this company. . .stay tuned!

i love coming home to packages. the first package consisted of a few goodies i ordered from amazon.

the second package came from the wonderful people of just tomatoeswahooo. they sent me some dried fruits and veggies and pineapple powder. i can't wait to give it all a try. i adore dried fruit! thankssss just tomatoes.

i was basically ridiculously hungry and didn't feel like waiting for my dad to finish the garden to eat dinner. so instead i made myself an egg wrap and paired it with some cheetos. i shouldn't have, but i did. sue me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

okay, so last night while laying in bed not being able to sleep, i decided i'd have a talk with god. i do that sometimes when i'm driving, or running or laying in bed. i haven't always been a god talker. it wasn't until i became slightly obsessed with my college priest. (holla, father mike!) before that, i always thought it was strange to talk to god. because i never felt any satisfaction after doing so. like, i was just talking to myself. (which i totally also do) but i don't know, during many conversations with father michael, things he would say to me started to stick. one of them being, if you never talk to him, how will he hear what you have to say? it was at that moment that something sort of stuck-and my daily ramblings to g.o.d. began. (you down with g.o.d.? yeah you know me!) i don't know if he's always listening. i don't even know if he always cares what i have to say, but i say it anyway. (and um, isn't it a rule that god has to care what we all say?) still, a little piece of me is always looking for the satisfaction of whether or not he is up there on that cloud tuning into what i have to say. as in, if he is listening, why doesn't he answer? i know he is a busy man. i know there are a million and one other questions he needs to handle. i get it. but just one of these times, i'd like a response. something. anything. thanks, dude upstairs. i greatly appreciate it. and i'll patiently impatiently be waiting.

ps, god. when i said i'd like a boyfriend-that didn't mean to have the toll booth man slip me his digits. come on, you know i'm picky! but thanks anyway.

i have decided,

that from now on, in the futuristic dancing with the stars seasons, they will give a mirror ball to the top three contestants. (in this seasons case, top 4. because i heart ty) but ugh. seriously. how sucky is it to be top three...and than just like that get the axe? i really loved tony and melissa. and umm...gilles and shawn only had a 1% margin between them? okay, that's just insane. i had a slight feeling it was going to be shawn walking away with the grand prize. i am definitely not saddened in the least. because all three of these gems deserved it. but i'm sad the way it all goes down. i'm such a ballroom sap, and i just can't help it.

hey allison, you might have been a little weird. especially with the whole, "i think nose bleeds are beautiful" comment. but i was hoping you would take the cake. i was pulling for you, girl. i really was. but tyra knew who she was going to pick from day one.

i h.a.t.e that all my shows are coming to a close. there always seems to be something missing during the summer when they aren't around. (okay, how lame am i?)

does anyone coupon cut? this girl i work with is a big coupon cutter. she just saved $130 at the grocery store. to me, that is fantastic. and basically an entire list of groceries. i was in shock when she told me this. on top of what she saved-she spent about $140 or something. which is nuts, since it is just her and her boyfriend. i told her that i would like to come eat at their place. so telll meee. do you dig coupons? or do you think they are a big pain in the butt? i hate them sort of kind of. and never, ever use them on time. plus-i live at home and don't do the grocery shopping. BUT...i'm going to give it a try. collect my coupons and hit the acme. give me your tips!

not having a computer at work is oh so awful. word.

this morning i woke up and had a big bowl of peanut butter puffsalong with this yummy mug of coffee
i had a turkey wrap for lunch. stuffed with lettuce, honey mustard and pickleswith grapes and strawberries on the sideand vanilla yogurt
for dinner, my dad made grilled cheese on the georgei had a pickle and those evil cool ranch doritos on the side.

so now i am off to bed. it's late and i'm pretty sleepy. once again, i'm going to try and make myself wake up to exercise. my mom is going running in the am and has invited me to tag along. i told her i'll say yes tonight but end up saying no tomorrow. hmmm. we shall see. . .