By 1:30 I couldn’t wait any longer. Luckily the deli was slow (don’t tell Jason I said that!) and I was able to make myself lunch early. Normally I wait until after 2:00, but today I was just overtaken by hunger…or I just couldn’t stop thinking about food.

Lunch today was an orange, a small bag of baked ruffles and half of a veggie sandwhich on a whole wheat hoagie with pepper jack cheese, avocado spread and spicy mustard.

Once we closed up shop and I headed out I made a mad dash to the St Louis Health Dept to get a copy of my birth certificate. I have to renew my drivers license tomorrow and since I renewed it last time they changed the requirements of what you have to have.

Sadly I didn’t have enough time to go ahead and renew it while I was there because I had to pick Linsey up from school. So tomorrow (on my birthday) I get to stand in line at the DMV. YIPPEE!!

After school Linsey went to a friend’s house to work on homework and I set out for a run. I only did 2.5 miles because it was much more humid than I was expecting and the sweat was pouring into my eyes. I managed to finish in 28 minutes despite the humidity.

I refueled with a chocolate cherry green monster.

Since it was a beautiful day and everyone was in the mood to enjoy it the girls and I spent another hour or so at the park playing before heading home for dinner. Still pretty hot from my run and walking around in my sweaty clothes the only thing I could think of was a salad.

So that is exactly what I made.

Remember the Fresh Express Salad Kits?? I threw together the pear & gorgonzola salad (which is so yummy) and topped it with a Morningstar Farms asian patty.

Then, of course, I needed something sweet. So I found the best choice in my kitchen.

Now I’m going to put two very sleepy girls to bed and veg out with Jason and the DVR for a bit…before I pass out and do the whole thing over again tomorrow.

Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.  ~ Carol Welch

That yummy breakfast was two scrambled eggs with spinach served on a lightly toasted whole wheat bagel thin with a smearing of onion ‘n chive cream cheese. The banana slices on the side gave me just enough sweetness to keep me happy.

Hazelnut coffee rules!!!

All together now…

After dropping the girls off at their respective schools I got gas ($3.74 per gallon!) and headed to the deli. Once I finished all my opening duties I decided to workout my brain (since I didn’t get to workout my body) by opening this bad boy.

FYI: All through school I wanted to be a journalist. I always said I wanted to move to either Chicago and write for the Chicago Tribune or move to New York and write for the New York Times.

Sadly, my lack of self-esteem, bad grades, love for a boy and ultimate chicken shitedness (YES! That’s a word cause I say so) kept me from pursuing that dream.

While reading about Donald Trump wanting to be president (BAD IDEA), the terrible tornadoes that swept through North Carolina, gay students at a Christian college fighting for their right to have a club (GREAT IDEA!), I stumbled upon the VegNews story that everyone has been obsessing about (for good reason) my tummy started growling. So I fixed that situation!

FYI: As an 8 year vegetarian (raising two vegetarian daughters) I was disgusted by the story that VegNews was using meat photographs and editing them for their articles and recipe photos.

Moving on…

We were busy at the deli today (THANK GOODNESS!) and lunch was really wanted by the time I got to eat it. I’m really working on not eating “empty calorie” treats as often as possible. I cut out the chips from my lunch today because I was just full enough without them.

I did enjoy a yummy veggie sandwich on a whole wheat hoagie with pepper jack cheese, cucumbers, red onions, tomato, spring mix tossed with honey mustard and a drizzle of mayo. I munched on pink lady apple slices as my dessert.

Linsey had GOTR after school so I took advantage of the child free time. The weather was perfect for a run!

And because I’m super awesome I took photos of myself before I even left my bedroom.

Rockin the No Meat Athlete t-shirt! How you doin’?

I must have some happy feet because I ran my 3 miles in exactly 33 minutes! Now I know that is hell-a slow for some people (maybe a lot of people), but for me that is pretty fast. I’m working on getting faster, but right now I’ll take an 11 minute mile ANYDAY! Here’s my route…

Once I got home I chugged a huge glass of water and munched down my new favorite post workout snack. A mini apple pie larabar with a smudge of sunflower butter. HOLY GOODNESS!

The girls couldn’t decide what they wanted for dinner so to stop the fighting (one wanted spaghetti and the other wanted cereal) I made the executive decision that we would have leftovers. I reheated the last of the vegetable quinoa.

On the side I served fresh sugar snap peas with roasted chick pea hummus for dipping. Can you say happy tummy?!

While the girls each enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie I sipped on a chocolate cherry green monster while we watched last night’s episode of Food Revolution season 2.

Are you watching Food Revolution this season?? What do you think about the LA school district not letting Jamie into ANY of their schools??

(photo source)

I adore Jamie Oliver and would love to have him come to our deli!! If you’re interested in helping Jamie’s cause and getting healthier foods into our children’s school you can sign his petition here.

Sometimes you meet people who inspire you. Sometimes you meet people you want to inspire. And sometimes you meet people who make you want to f*cking stab yourself! ~ Jamie Oliver

1. I introduced the girls to Newsies via netflix.
2. After bouts of tummy trouble I started journaling my food.
3. I began looking more into the Gluten Free diet.
4. I said Farewell to 2010.
5. Made my 2011 Resolutions.
6. And really began to dig into Clean Eating.

Today I managed to wake up, do level 2 of 30 Day Shred, take a shower, get dressed AND fix myself a cup of coffee all before…

It was a glorious Monday morning.

I got the girls up and dressed so we could have breakfast. By then I was STARVING! If either one of the girls had given me any back talk I wouldn’t have hesitated to eat them.

Chocolate cherry overnight oats hit the spot.

Now before you ask me I’ll go ahead and give you the answer. These are NOT gluten free oats, but after lots of research I’ve learned that most oats are free from gluten, but have a very small possibility of cross contamination during the packaging stage. I have a TON of oats in my pantry right now, but as soon as they are gone I WILL be buying gluten free oats. I never did feel yucky after breakfast today, but now that I think back I don’t recall ever feeling sick after eating oatmeal.

The girls DID enjoy a gluten free breakfast though. Regan went with gluten free toast and half of a banana.

While Linsey opted for wildberry gluten free waffles with the other half of the banana.

Apparently goofy faces were also a requirement.

My morning snack (I actually had time for one today) was gluten free and VERY tasty! I found a new – to me – flavor of larabar at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago and pulled one out today. I only ate half of it, but it was a very good half.

A little bit later (about 2 hours) I had a clementine too. No photo though. I forgot.

Around 2:00 ( we closed right on the dot today) I made myself some lunch.

I made a garden salad with spring mix, red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers, tossed it with honey mustard dressing and topped it with one hard boiled egg. Along side was a cup of fire roasted tomato soup and 3 packs of saltines.

I felt just fine after this meal. I think turning my veggie sandwich into a garden salad was a good idea. I really wanted a chocolate chip cookie, but I stuck to my guns and “just said no”.

When the deli was all clean I picked the girls up from school. Neither one of them argued about going straight home today. I guess they weren’t ready for the holiday to be over either. Live and learn girls. Live and learn..

Dinner was a reinvented version of last night’s meal. I like taking leftovers and turning them into something a little different.

I simply took these chips…

and paired them with last night’s taco fillings plus added some steamed sweet corn that the girls were eating. My tummy was happy!

Now we’re going to watch Home Alone…

and I’m going to seek out a little something sweet.

How was your holiday weekend?? Make any resolutions yet?? Do you make resolutions??

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ~ Author Unknown

Today has been filled with a little of this and a little of that, but let’s start with the food. That’s always the best part of any day…no?

Breakfast was a really good bowl of overnight oats.

I heart this stuff so much!

In the mix:

• 1/2 c old fashioned oats
• 1/2 c vanilla almond milk
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
• dash of cinnamon

Then I topped it with a scoop of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter, 1 tbsp of Bare Naked granola (for crunch) and 1/2 of a banana. YUM!

I got Regan dropped off at school then Linsey and I headed to the deli. We were running late as usual so we had to get a ton done the second we walked in the door.

Monday’s seem to be our slowest day of the week for some reason, but we still did pretty well.

About 11:00 Linsey and I had a snack.

Then we finished up the day and made ourselves some lunch. Linsey went with a grilled cheese and small garden salad, but I opted for fire roasted tomato soup and a veggie sandwich. It was tasty!

After we closed I took Linsey to buy new dance shoes because the big dance year starts tomorrow. She’s officially a company dancer now!! We also went to the bank and picked Regan up from school. Once home we had a ton to do.

We are planning on moving at the end of the summer so we wanted to get a jump start on packing and purging. I’ve been posting furniture on craigslist like a mad woman and have two people coming over tonight for two separate pieces of furniture.

Jason and I started going through boxes and tubs in the basement and our agreement is this…”If we haven’t touched it since moving in here then it goes to Goodwill – NO QUESTIONS” and so it goes. Jason loaded up my jeep and took over about 5 boxes of toys, stuffed animals and baby clothes this afternoon.

Then I got a voicemail from a good friend along with a picture message…I’M ON THE YAHOO HOMEPAGE!!!

The Woman’s Day article that I was featured in last week is now on the Yahoo Home Page. I am so stoked, excited and happy!! I kind of can’t believe it actually, but I think it’s super cool. I’ve already gotten a few emails from people I don’t even know and someone I went to school with (more years ago than I would like to admit) that read the article today. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?

Gotta go for now. The girls are asking for dinner…since when am I supposed to feed them too?? Not sure what we’ll have…any suggestions?

Joy is not in things; it is in us. ~ Richard Wagner

I finally gave up and just said screw it. I’m in for the night!

I could really use a good cardio session alone with my iPod because things are starting to stress me just a little.

The deli is doing well, but not as well as we need it to be. That is making things tight financially and when money is tight – tension starts building. I keep telling myself that it takes time to get a business up and running and doing well, but I feel like a lot of the customers that used to come when it was under the previous owners stopped coming the last few months they were open because they stopped caring. They stopped cleaning very well and the place was DISGUSTING when we took over.

We’ve been doing a ton of marketing and advertising and trying to get people back in to see how awesome it is now, but that will take time and word of mouth. I just have to stop, breathe and have faith.

Like I always tell Linsey…patience is a virtue.

I snacked on yet another larabar.

This one was way better than the last. Did you read about my peanut butter and jelly larabar incident yesterday?? Today’s new flavor, Cinnamon Roll, passed with flying colors!

Once the deli was done for the day I made myself a little lunch. I started with this…

And half way through eating the potato soup I decided I wanted a small veggie sandwich to go with it. So that is precisely what I made for myself.

I started to eat a chocolate chip cookie, but after a couple of bites I just wasn’t in the mood. I wrapped it up and brought it home for Regan to have as dessert after dinner.

I think we are definitely just hanging out at home tonight. I have to finish cleaning Linsey’s room because I started it this past weekend and haven’t fully finished. I don’t want her to come home and see it all in shambles!!

We may have breakfast for dinner and pop in another movie to relax. Tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day. My nephew, Diego, turns 3 and his party is in the afternoon. I STILL NEED TO GET HIM A PRESENT!!!

Don’t forget to enter the Good OnYa Bar giveaway!! You only have 2 days left…

What awesome plans do you have for the weekend??

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow. ~ Gilbert k. Chesterton

This has been the oddest day. Normally Thursday’s (BBQ day) are slammin at the deli, but not today. For some reason we were just kinda slow. Business was still decent, but nothing to write home (or in the blog) about. So I won’t.

I will tell you though – a good friend of ours (Jeff) came by the deli yesterday to take photos of the restaurant, sandwiches and us hard at work. He wrote the nicest blog post about it that you can read here. It was awesome to read!!

Regan hung out with my mom all day. I was a little nervous about leaving her while she wasn’t feeling well because this is how she looked when I was heading out the door.

 Pretty pitiful and sick looking – no? Well, now I’m home and she is napping away in her bed. My mom told me she was wild, rowdy, happy and energetic all day long. Fever?? Hopefully not anymore…

Breakfast today was super yummy! I ignored oats for something else entirely…my homemade banana bread!

I topped it with a tbsp of peanut butter which made it even more amazing and then had a kiwi and a plum. Talk about yummy and filling!!

I have to tell you that I bought a sh*t ton of larabars at Whole Foods last week. (You can get them in my OpenSky Shop at 20% off until Saturday by entering the code July20pct at checkout) I bought quite a few flavors I had been dying to try for quite some time, but the peanut butter and jelly one was the kind I have been DYING to try.

When I found it I was ecstatic!! I got so excited when snack time rolled around today that I ripped into that bad boy like a teenage boy ripping into his girlfriend’s prom dress in a hotel room! One bite and I was…..BUMMED! It was no where near as good as I had been expecting. I threw it away in frustration and ate a chocolate chip cookie instead.

This was in no way as healthy for me as my original snack, but it tasted a zillion times better and if I’m going to eat something it damn well better taste good!

We had a fun day visiting with our customers who have become our friends. We joked and laughed and talked about topics in the news. It was nice. I think one of our customers that we have gotten to know might even come hang out with us tomorrow night with his wife. Maybe we’re making new friends because of this new business venture.

Lunch was small but good. I made a really small caesar salad and a slice of pumpernickel rye toasted with mozzarella on top.

I need to get some dishes and laundry done before Regan wakes up from her nap. Jason is doing a table sit at Regan’s school for the Family Organization Board that we are both on. I was supposed to be the one doing it, but we both decided that with Regan being sick she was going to want me. So he volunteered to take my shift.

Awwwwwww…isn’t he sweet!!!

Don’t forget about my awesome Good OnYa Bar giveaway!! Linsey will pick the winner Saturday night.

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.  ~ Chinese Proverb

We were finally busy today at the deli!! It was a steady flow of people all day long which is EXACTLY what we want! I started to munch on a new larabar…

but sadly I was NOT loving this flavor. I really wanted to because chocolate/cherry is one of my favorite flavor combos. Unfortunately this one just didn’t work. I only ended up eating half because it wasn’t great AND we started getting busy right then so I just didn’t have the time.

Once we closed I was able to eat a real lunch.

I went with a large garden salad (romaine, spring mix, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, banana peppers and homemade croutons) then topped it with 2 tbsp of caesar dressing.

I made two small pieces of garlic cheese bread out of half of a whole wheat hoagie, chopped garlic and mozzarella cheese.

I WAS STUFFED!

Once my lunch settled and I got home I did a quick wardrobe change and hit the pavement. It was still 96 degrees outside with a heat index of almost 105 degrees. I dressed in running shorts, a sports bra and two bottles of water. My route was originally  5 miles, but I turned a little early and ended up doing 4.2 miles instead.

With the heat and the fact that my hip is still bothering me (and starting to worry me a tad) I made it a power walk instead. I finished in 59 minutes.

WHAT! WHAT!

I must admit that I was pretty proud of myself. It isn’t my fastest time by far, but with all the circumstances around today’s session I could have easily just said F it and not gone at all.

That’s called dedication my friends…

and now I’m dedicated to cleaning my sweaty, smelly, rock star ass off and going out with my family for a fun filled Friday night.

HAPPY FRIDAY!! TGIF…

This one’s for Linsey because she loves this song…

It was sad.

When we pulled up to the deli this morning my parents had already arrived to pick her up and she had a meltdown.

She wasn’t ready for them to be there yet.

She wasn’t ready to go yet.

She didn’t know if she wanted to go to camp.

But we got her stuff out of the car anyway.

And she got into my mother’s car.

And then they drove away.

10 minutes later they were back and Linsey was crying. She decided she was too home sick and couldn’t go away.

We had a little pep talk and she got back in the car to spend the weekend with my family. She’ll decided on camp Sunday. She may go or she may come home. Or she may call tonight to tell me she’s too sad and I must come get her at once…then Jason will drive the 3 hours to Springfield, pick up his little girl and then drive the 3 hours back home. Who knows?

KIDS!!!

About 11:30 I munched on half of my larabar.

I finally decided on the banana bread flavor and it was delicious. So delicious in fact – Jason stole the other half!!!

So delicious in fact that you can order your very own from my OpenSky Shop and get either 20% off your purchase (just enter the code July20pct at checkout) or you can get  free shipping (just enter JulyFreeShip at checkout) between now and July 31st!!!

Once we closed for the day I had lunch. I was pretty hungry by 2:00!

I went with half of a loaded veggie sandwich on pumpernickel rye and a cup of potato soup. I’m trying to switch things up a little bit, but with this heat I’m sure you’ll be seeing a giant salad again tomorrow.

I managed a 2 mile power walk after I got home. The heat index was right about 106 so running was just out of the question. I still managed to get a 12 minute mile so I was fairly impressed by that!

Jason rode his bike to and from work today so when he got home we walked up to Regan’s school. She was pretty excited to see us both!

We made a little stop at the grocery store to get more almond milk and spinach. I have a hankering for a green monster tonight and was out of the essentials!

Off to make some dinner…

Is it a good thing that LInsey is sad to go away?? Or have I held her too close for too long?? I can’t decide…

It may be that the satisfaction I need depends on my going away, so that when I’ve gone and come back, I’ll find it at home. ~ Jalal ad-Din Rumi

I snacked on a cherry pie larabar around 11:00.

Just to let all of you know – there are two really great offers going on with OpenSky right now. Take a look around my shop, find some great products and then choose one of the following deals to save money on your purchases.

JulyFreeShip – (you guessed it: free shipping on any product thru July 31!)

July20pct –  (20% off any product thru July 31!)

You can only use one coupon per order though. Just enter the code at checkout to receive the discounts!!

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Lunch was simple and filling – as most of my lunches are when at work. About 1:30 I made myself a nice full garden salad (with honey mustard dressing) and spread chopped garlic onto half of a whole wheat hoagie, topped it with mozzarella cheese and then popped it in the toaster oven. YUMY!

Luckily the afternoon rain stopped as Linsey and I were leaving the deli and I was able to get in a great cardio workout. Oddly enough it wasn’t ungodly humid like I figured it would be. There was a nice breeze and the weather was absolutely perfect.

I took a tip from Ashley, left my self-conscience at the door and went out in just my sports bra and running shorts for this afternoons 3 miles. I pulled off a 12 minute mile too!

Can I just tell you how freeing it was to feel the breeze on my sweaty belly?!

My stomach may not have a six pack, but it carried two beautiful girls. I should be proud of that!

I had to go back and reread a blog post I wrote at the beginning of June called I MUST love my body because…

Oh yeah…now I remember.

If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred. ~ Walt Whitman

This is one of my favorite breakfasts! A light english muffin, 2 “fried” eggs, 1 tbsp of peanut butter and 1 tbsp of jam (grape today) with a mug of organic orange juice. I don’t know what the deal was because usually this keeps me feeling pretty full well into late morning when I then munch on a snack of some kind. Today – I was hungry all morning AND I was chugging iced tea and water!

My first snack (at 11:00) was a larabar I found hidden in my purse.

Then about  12:30 I was hungry again! So I wolfed down the last chobani I had hidden in the deli fridge.

Luckily I keep healthy snacks hidden all over the place because who knows what I would’ve eaten otherwise!

When my actual lunch time rolled around (2:00) I was ready to dig in again. So I fixed myself my usual small caesar salad and garlic cheese bread.

I’m phasing this meal out of my diet tomorrow because as I track my eating on livestrong I have realized (I think I was in denial) just how much unneeded fat is in that dressing. Tomorrow will either be a garden salad with honey mustard (keeping the garlic cheese bread!) or a good old veggie sandwich.

In other news – I have some exciting stuff in the works with my OpenSky Shop and a super awesome product is going on sale tomorrow!! Check back tomorrow for all the details…

How do you handle it when the munchies strike?? What have you found to be the best breakfast combination to keep you satisfied longer??

It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat. ~ Robert Fuoss