Easy like Sunday morning

My mom has these tea cups. This is one from the set of four. They've always been there, on this rack that hangs on the kitchen wall that has pegs to hang coffee cups. They sit on the shelf it has above the pegs. No one ever uses them. I've always thought they were the ugliest things. Suddenly in the last month they have become the sweetest little tea cups in existence. Each cup has a different image of bright little flowers and are quite happy making. How things change as we get older and appreciate a simpler time. Today I made a cup of green tea and put a skosh of Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk in it. Delish. It almost made a day of homework bearable.

With my tea I had Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon with more Silk. I can't seem to find this cereal in my town so I occasionally snag a couple boxes whenever I get to Whole Foods. I also snagged a bunch of LARABARS while I was there. I still had never tried them and hear so much talk about them.

This one was Key Lime Pie. Not one I'll get again and I'm hoping the others are better. I got quite a few different kinds. Maybe my first LARA experience shouldn't have been so exotic. Peanut Butter Cookie sounds about right. Will give that a shot tomorrow.

For lunch I cooked up two Black Bean Chipotle Gardenburgers and made an open-faced sandwich. It seems like so much more food when you do it that way. I used my homemade hummus instead of mayo and slapped a little lettuce on there. I love love love these gardenburgers. Yet another thing I can't find in my town and have to get at Whole Foods (have I mentioned how eager I am to move back to Portland)?

I might have had another Jell-O Mousse Temptations, too, but don't try and guilt me. They are only 60 calories and that is fat free Cool Whip my friends.

Oh...and according to Steaz, I am balanced. Though I am successfully sitting on a stability ball with utmost balance, I don't FEEL very balanced. Thanks anyway, Steaz.

I'm considering doing a little challenge or giveaway or combo. For the last few summers I have donned the hat of Sergeant Shrinkabootie and coordinated a weight loss boot camp with people that expressed interest through weightwatchers.com. It was a LOT of work and I don't have the time for it as it was previously defined. I was thinking, though, that I could take some of the weekly challenges that I used to come up with and pose them to you all. I'll keep track of who wins week to week and winner gets a prize...from me (which is more than anyone got from me during previous boot camps). Lose weight AND get a prize? That's win win right there. Any interest?

Make it Sparkle.

After my twelve hour day on campus yesterday, and heading home at 9pm, I stopped at Whole Foods Market because I needed to get some Tahini to try my hand at homemade hummus. I love that place, have I mentioned that? I believe I have. I feel ever so slightly lighter on my feet just walking in there. It almost makes the higher prices worth it for this girl. It's the little things. I got all sorts of new goodies that I've been wanting to try, but haven't ever braved. This renewed sense of weight loss empowerment has me wanting to be more adventurous and try all sorts of new things. Know what that means? Reviews.

I contacted a couple companies for samples just for S&G's and so far I'm waiting for my delivery from the ever so kind Vitalicious crew. I'm an unemployed student for cryin' out loud. Trying all sorts of new things is a risky endeavor when you're reserving all of your money for your graphic design habit. Needless to say, I was super excited when they eagerly replied to my email. Love them already.

Where was I? Oh, yes, Whole Foods. As I was walking through looking for things I've wanted to try I was enamored by all the packaging. I know there are some artsy chicks that read my babble, but I don't know if anyone has an appreciation for the Graphic Arts. It is my crack. What was a minor crush pre design education has become a full on love affair (which is good since it consumes 99.9% of my time). Part of my habit includes packaging. When you are a design(erd) you see things in an entirely different way. For instance, you pass a billboard and say "Oh, look. Air Supply is going to be at the casino" (who knew). I pass the same billboard and say something like "Did they REALLY just use Papyrus?" or "For the love of God! You could drive a bus through the space between that A and that I. Kern that SOB!" Road trips for you involve games of Eye Spy and the Alphabet game. For me? It's one big mass opportunity for logo critiques. I am the queen of offtrackedness today, no?

I came upon Steaz Zero Calorie Sparkling Green Tea. I felt flushed. The packaging appealed to my inner minimalist. White and clean with a lovely patterned flower. I wanted it. I wanted it bad. One problem. I hate sparkling water. There, I said it. I do, however, love green tea. So, there I stood, at a crossroads.

You might be able to resist it, but I? Cannot. Lovely packaging coupled with promises of zero calorie goodness is more than this girl can handle. Sustainably sourced, fair trade organic green tea? Sweetened with the leaves from the stevia plant? What choice did I have?

I just took one out of the fridge and am ready for the steaz experience. I'm sure many of you have already partaken, but I have been locked in classrooms and out of the loop. This will happen often as you read my reviews. I'm behind the times. I popped the top on the little gem and Shut The Front Door. Steaz comes with a side of wisdom on every cap. Today, apparently, "I am energy" (or so the cap says). Giggle. I felt a little spunkier just having been told so.

I took a sip. Hmmm. Another sip. Definitely better than sparkling water. Sip. Not quite like green tea. Sip. It's pretty. Sip. I suppose I can drink this. In a nutshell. I'm not swooning over the contents near as much as I was the outer pretty. I think it will be a nice switch when I'm tired of drinking plain water. I think that those that are fans of sparkling water would love it. I also think that the more sips I take the better it is. It might just be one of those better at the bottom things meaning...some things just grow on you after a while.

One more thing...even though I got home late, I sat down at my usual spot (notice the balance ball that I use as a chair) to work on homework and once mom and dad went to bed I watched my DVR'd Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. So sad. Made me tear up. This show provides inspiration beyond what Biggest Loser ever manages to. He went to a mortuary and you saw ginormous caskets built for the obese. You heard about how they have to explain to the families that their loved one won't fit in a regular casket, that the large caskets won't fit in their hearse and that they will have to buy two burial plots at the graveyard. And just when you think that doesn't apply to you because you're one for cremation you find out that's not so much the case. You see, when morbidly obese people are cremated they go up like roman candles because of all the fat in their bodies and there isn't really anything left in the way of ashes. It was profound. It was creepy. It was an awakening. I heart you Jamie Oliver. Truly, madly and maybe even deeply.