Invasion of the Ladybugs

First things first... Gina's having an awesome giveaway!! So why wait? Get on over and take a shot at winning all those goodies! :)

Other than that, my house is overrun with ladybugs as we speak... ahhh!

ONE "warm" day (it was maybe 62 today) and they come out of the woodwork and take over the windows!! They're adorable but in masses like that, no thanks.

Anyway... time to play catch-up, per usual...

Going back to yesterday's lunch... I tried these out for the first time because I've had them in my freezer & loved the MorningStar mushroom burgers... AND needed a quickie on the run lunch since I was racing up to UConn:

Delicious! The MorningStar burgers are, to me, a littttle bit greasy, but not so much that they're unappetizing.. they have great taste, they're juicy, and don't need much of an addition.

I added only baby spinach and put the burger on a toasted Arnold's Thin

Then headed up to UConn to see boyfriend :)

I haven't been able to see him for over TWO WEEKS which is much too long for us!

We spent the night just relaxing and enjoying each other's company since we haven't been able to as much as we would prefer...

Let me just say, I'm one lucky girl to have the boyfriend that I do :)

He asked me what I wanted for dinner because he insisted on "spoiling me" while I was visiting... I simply said "seafood" (surprise, surprise) so he whipped up a an incredible dinner, invested in a big bottle of wine, and turned on Monday night football/Yankees v. Angels... Me Likeyyyyy :)

Orange-glazed broiled salmon (marinated for an hour w. orange marmalade, OJ, dijon mustard, & ginger) & a warm pasta salad with WW rotini, chopped tomatoes, Feta, salt & pepper, & a drizzle of EVOO... sooo simple but SO ridiculously good!

I seriously had this ^^^^ times two...

Enjoyed two or three glasses of Chardonnay (hey, it was a special occasion!) and got to get in high-quality snuggle time with my bebe *sigh* Everytime I'm there I never want to leave!!! :(

I brought a quick & portable breakfast to eat before I left boyfriend...

Stonyfield Banilla yogurt with Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal & cinnamon

...with a delish Gala apple on the side

I got up at 9 AM, got dressed for the gym, and ate my breakky before bidding my beau goodbye (sadddd) and making the 1-1/2 hour drive back home...

My workout was PAINFUL to say the least... my shins were tight, achey, and no matter how much I stretched they didn't seem to get any better.

I first attempted my usual warm-up on the treadmill doing a power walk at a 0.0 incline... after about 10 minutes my ankles still felt a little tight but I pumped up the speed and started running... 5 minutes later I was massaging my shins like never before and sitting my butt down on the floor. The pain was extreme and I made the wise choice to NOT keep attempting a run today...

Instead, I hopped on the elliptical....

30 minutes / 3.0 miles / 260 calories

Better than nothing, right? :-/

I got into the Halloweeeeny spirit and snacked on this after leaving...

Delishhhh!!! Loved the pieces of chocolate and the itty bitty marshmallow bites... I love ALL Z-bars so I knew Clif couldn't go wrong with this but I am thinking I need to stock up on these bars before the season's over!!

Lunch brought a new product for reviewing also!

I'm a big fan of Amy's soups so far and this was a new one...

Veryyy yummy! Even though the pic doesn't do it justice...

I had the soup alongside another MorningStar Spicy Black Bean Burger
Then it was time to whip up a birthday cake for my sistah's b-day celebration tonight...


She's a huuuge coconut fan so the second I saw this recipe a few months ago, I knew it was being saved for this very occasion. It's a pain-in-the-ayyyy cake, for serious, but it was worth the hard work!





The final product!!


After baking away I was starving...


Enter PB stuffed naner ;) Heyoooo


With a cup or two of this...

The fam and I went to 99 for sistah's bday dinner... I could have thought of plenty of other better place for dinner, but she's a big fan of their popcorn bowls (weird?) Instead of bread, they bring out bowls of buttered popcorn... I can safely say I steered clear of it.

The parents ordered two appetizers for the table:

Potato skins & Buffalo Wings

Steak Spring Rolls & Onion Ring tower

I tried a bite of one of the spring rolls but it was wayyy greasy so I passed it off to Stepdad, who gobbled it up happily. What can I say? I'm a giver :) haha...

The crab cake & shrimp skewer combo option caught my eye... mostly because it was one of the only options where you could choose two sides instead of having french fries & coleslaw. Blech!

My sides of choice? Rice pilaf & steamed carrots...yummmyyy! Sorry for the sub-par picture... I didn't bring my camera so I had to resort to my camera phone.

The veggies & rice actually ended up being my favorite part of the entire dinner!

The crab cake was definitely nothing to rave about. I've had some really good crabcakes and this one just didn't compare... The shrimp was pretty good. I liked the seasonings but I almost knocked my Blue Moon off the table trying to pry them off the skewer. That would have been a major FAIL right there...

Sistah had a Blueberry Mojito for her first legal drink (yayyy!) but didn't really like it... she's not much of a drinker anyway. But she was psyched for cake when we got home!

I had a sliver of heaven....

This MAY or may not have been followed by another tiny sliver ;) Ummmm, what??? Haha... the cake was perfect for a coconut lover... there's coconut milk, chopped coconut, & coconut extract just in the cake layer... not to mention shredded coconut around the perimeter. Its possible a coconut coma may occur soon after eating... but I'll take it.

Now I'm enjoying a cup of Vanilla Caramel tea and hoping these ladybugs magically disappear by tomorrow morning... gahhh!

What would your dream birthday cake be???

Mine would have to be espresso/coffee themed for sure...yum!!!