I liked this picture with the sun shining through- so happy that we are starting to get a little sun!!

Ahhh, this week I faced a couple of temptations…

Doughnuts!!

And pizza- my weakness! But I passed both tests..well I did have 2 small bites of pizza because the hubby insisted. They just opened a new pizza place here- the pizza was really good! I made myself a raw veggie plate with some hummus and was satisfied.

I’ve also been having a GM everyday!!

And homemade organic veggie soup w/brown rice almost every day. Might as well enjoy soup while it’s still cool!

Here’s a picture of the orchid that the hubby got for my office- now I have two!

Last Wednesday after work my sister and I hit up Kohls because she had a 20% off coupon.

We had fun trying on the different makeup- I have so much already so I didn’t buy any. I did find a couple of headbands, a belt and a cute shirt.

On Saturday, I went to the Women’s League Annual Sale and found this fabulous print!

I just love Vintage things.

Surf Sweets sent me a few samples!

I have a MAJOR sweet tooth, so I was more than happy to test these organic candies I really liked these and so did the hubby- it was nice to eat candy and not feel like it was full of bad things like corn syrup and food dyes

Some great benefits of Surf Sweets candies:

• Gluten Free
• Free of Corn Syrup and GMO’s
• Made with organic fruit juice and sweeteners
• Made with Natural Colors
• 100% of Daily vitamin C

I would definitely buy these again- the hubby loves gummi bears, so this gets 2 thumbs up from us!

It’s been one crazy Monday! Work was busy and I was happy to see 5:00 today- the hubby and I headed to Target and picked up barstools for my Mom for Mothers Day. We also picked up some groceries from Publix and headed home. I had coffee and then went speed walking for about 1 hour and had raw veggies for dinner. I’m going to join the hubby now to spend some time together. Oh, and I have an awesome giveaway coming up this week, so be sure to check back! I will give you one hint..there will be FIVE WINNERS!! Okay, I’m out- hope you all have a fabulous night!!

*Giveaway Alert- Jess is having a fabulous giveaway here- check it out!!

I tried a new hair style- I like the curls but it’s definitely more work!

And this is my hair straight- which do you like better?

On Friday my sister went and got us cappucinos- yay!

Since I was so hopped up on sugar, I decided to go shopping after work!!

I found the cutest office accessories!

These organic candies were on sale for like $1

I love this stuff- my entire office area smells like lavendar!

I’ve been looking for one of these forever- now I don’t have to put my bag on the table!

After shopping, I headed home to find this waiting on my doorstep!!

The company contacted me to see if I wanted to try Pure Via and I said yes of course! I really love the mug- it doesn’t leak like my other one and it keeps my coffee/tea extra hot! I also liked the pure via and found that it wasn’t extra sweet and didn’t leave a bad aftertaste either- definitely a thumbs up!

 Some Sweet Facts About PureVia

• It has zero calories.
• It’s made from the sweetest extract of the stevia leaf.
• It uses only natural ingredients.
• Our stevia extract is 97% pure Reb A.
• Each PureVia sachet sweetens like two teaspoons of sugar.
• PureVia is suitable for people with diabetes.
• It’s Certified Kosher Parve.
• PureVia is not genetically modified.

I really love that they also have eco-friendly packaging, that is definitely a plus in my book!

Wow, I will be glad when I get some things done this month and I can slow down!! Things have been so busy with trying to plan my sister’s baby shower, remodeling, work and getting things together for my yardsale. I do have the baby shower invites ready to go out and a date set- March 27 at 1:00-so I’m happy about that! I looked at cakes and cupcakes today and think I found what I needed. All I have to do now is pick up the rest of the food for the menu and set up for the shower- I’m so ready to host my first baby shower!

Things have been going great at work- still trying to get things caught up- we’re making a dent so that’s good. I’ve been doing awesome on my portion control and eating lots of raw veggies, green smoothies and homemade veggie soup. I also started a no-weigh plan- I just eat moderately and exercise and I will see how I fit into my clothing instead of going by a number. It’s been working really great for me! My sister said she could tell I had lost some weight and I also fit into some old jeans yesterday, that made me feel great!

March Plans/Goals:

• Host Baby Shower for my Sister
• Have a yardsale- get excess clutter out of house/organize! (April 3rd weekend)
• Sell Antique Furniture/Buy new, modern furniture at World Market or Ikea
• Re-plant my garden (the squirrels ate all of my organic seeds )
• Sand & Paint door trim in bath and kitchen
• Work out daily to my DVD or go to the gym
• Eat light for dinner (salads, raw veggies or soup), cut out extra snacking

I was able to get alot accomplished today- I went to the Women’s Junior League sale this morning and was able to find a few things- a vintage painting, some books and baby shower things. I also sent out the baby shower invitations, made veggie soup for next week, cut hubby’s hair, went through thing to sell at the Yardsale, went speed walking and talked to my sister. I also have lots planned for tomorrow:

• Mow the lawn
• Make Green Smoothies for Monday Morning
• Spa Day- mani/pedi, facial, bath
• Big Lots- return some things and get more vanilla tea
• Publix
• Go speed walking/weights
• Make homemade granola bars
• Laundry
• Product Review

Phew! I really have to pack it in on the weekend- I really have to use my time wisely now since I am working! Okay guys, I’m going to bed now, I’ll be back tomorrow!

Yay, it’s my Birthday Week! I still plan on celebrating more this weekend

When I came into work on Tuesday Morning, my sister gave me my birthday prezzie! I loved the beautiful bracelet and bath bomb

My sister got me this cute card- HILARIOUS!!

Awww so sweet!

And my boss got me a $35 gift certificate

And my inlaws gave me cash and some soaps and a cute monogrammed box- I forgot to get a picture!

I got these 18 Rabbits Bars in the mail- they are sooo good! I love how chunky and sweet these are

After work, Mom and Dad took me out to dinner to Tokyo Terrace

Dad had me a variety of Sake ordered before I got there- I love Sake because it’s just fermented rice so it doesn’t really classify as alcohol in my book- I did sleep good that night though!

I ordered the vegan nori rolls and shared- it was too much for me to eat by myself.

Me & the hubby- I did try some green tea but it had a fishy taste, no thanks

Then, they tricked me..Dad was pretending to wait on the check and then the whole crew came out with the drums, the fruit “cake” with candle singing Happy Birthday! I was SOO embarrassed but happy!! (Dad got pictures- I need to upload them!)

This is definitely what I call a “Melinda” Cake- I love fruit!

I get these every year for my Birthday-  I have quite the chopsticks collection now! I plan on having a sushi party one night soon!

I had the best Birthday week! Work was great- we got caught up on a lot of work and are getting things more organized. I am going to my Moms this weekend along with other family to help finish my Mom’s house and do some landscaping/cleaning. Sunday I really want to work on our house some and get some things done! I will be back later with more of an update on my week last week and everything that has been going on- I’m so happy to have my computer back!!

My birthday is tomorrow!!! I can’t believe it!!

Wednesday headed out the door to work

The lovely people at Zukay Live Foods sent me a few dressings to try!

I was more than happy to try them out I loved how light and fresh the salad dressings tasted! And they are all raw, which means tons of enzymes

I could smell the onions before I even opened the bottle- you have to be an onion lover for this one! I really liked it on my salad mixed with some cold press olive oil- really good

I really liked how light these dressings were in comparison to heavier, more oily dressings-and the low calorie content as well

Zukay Dressings are live and fermented (raw) and contain probiotics and enzymes as well-which we all know are essential for the body. They offer salsas, relish and salad dressings and their products are vegan. They can be ordered online or you can check here to see if these products are sold in a store near you.

Ruths Hemp Food also sent me some Chia to try

Finally I get to try the infamous Chia!

The latest addition to Ruth’s Foods line of Chia Goodness instant breakfast cereals- Chocolate Chia Goodness. Raw, gluten-free, dairy free and low glycemic- is made up of chia, hemp and buckwheat seeds with the new variety being flavored with raw organic cacao nibs and fair trade,organic cocoa powder.

Obviously my bowl wasn’t very pretty-but it was oh so chocolately! Next time I plan on mixing with some oatmeal and fruit.

This was my first time trying Chia seeds and I really liked the taste and it held me over a long time- I guess the seeds must expand in the tummy! Not sure, but this was perfect to eat on weekdays when I have to go to work and sometimes don’t have time to snack. I definitely give Ruths a thumbs up- I loved the chocolate flavor

So this weekend is almost over, I can’t believe it is Sunday already!! But it’t okay because I am all prepared for the workweek! Oh, and my Birthday is Tuesday!!

Weekend Accomplishments:

• Work outfits ready
• Laundry washed and put away
• Dishes done
• Pre-made organic veggie soup
• Cooked Dinner for tonight-organic broc. casserole, org. wild rice, and hf baked, breaded chicken breast
• Bought cute office supplies-ready to bring with me to work

Remaining things to do:

• Me-bath
• Bathe Roscoe
• Make Green Smoothie for work
• Dust/Mop/clean some window

I think that’s it!  Well, I’m off to finish up, hope you all are having a fabulous weekend wherever you are!!!

Mom bought me some MORE “healthy” cookies- I really don’t need these in my house- aaaaah!! But it was really sweet of her

I found these fabulous teas at Big Lots- I LOVE the Vanilla Hazelnut- I can’t even explain this combo with a splash of coffee & vanilla hempmilk, stevia and cinnamon- heaven! I plan on going back maybe next week to load up on those!

And Daves Killer Bread sent me some yummy products to review!

I love Sprouted Breads!

The world’s first killer sprouted wheat bread! Moist, chewy, and full of sprouted grain flavor, this one makes killer sandwiches!

• 100% Whole Grain
• 4g Fiber
• 800mg Omega-3 ALA
• 6g Protein

The hubby tried some with his boars head turkey and loved it!

 I had a slice with some Tribe hummus- so good and chewy!

INGREDIENTS: Organic sprouted whole wheat, water, organic good seed mix (organic whole ground flaxseeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic whole flaxseeds, organic unhulled sesame seeds, organic black sesame seeds), organic evaporated cane juice, organic vital wheat gluten, organic molasses, yeast, organic oat fiber, sea salt, organic cultured wheat.

The Sin Dawg (like a cinnamon roll, but healthier!) was definitely sinful - oh my gosh, I had to tell the hubby to please take it away from me- I could have just eaten this all day and nothing else!

See what I mean? Loved the cinnamon and sugar all wrapped up in healthy whole grains- I liked it so much better than the homemade, yet unhealthy, cinnamon rolls that I grew up on. It was nice knowing that this was a much healthier choice!

The healthiest cinnamon roll in the world. 100% whole grain and sinfully delicious.

• 100% Whole Grain
• 3g Fiber
• 5g Protein
• 850mg Omega-3 ALA

INGREDIENTS: Organic whole wheat flour, organic raisins, water, organic evaporated cane juice, organic canola oil, organic molasses, organic sunflower seeds, organic flaxseed meal, organic sesame seeds, organic whole grain oats, organic wheat gluten, organic cinnamon, yeast, organic pumpkin seeds, salt, organic vanilla extract, organic rice bran extract.

By the way, The “Sin Dawg” was gone pretty much in 2 days between me and the hubby Yeah, that’s dangerous stuff in our house I LOVED Dave’s products

My Plans for this weekend:

• Movie- Friday night
• Gym- Friday and Saturday (Tonight as well)
• Shopping for a few more work outfits? Set out work outfits for next week
• Complete 2 more product reviews
• Pre-make some vegetable soup for the work week, not sure what else yet..
• Tidy House/Laundry
• Bathe Roscoe
• Help hubby clean yards

I have to get as much done as I can this weekend because next Tuesday is my Birthday!! And next weekend, my family is getting together to go and help finish up things on my Mom’s new house. Family time! I’m kinda excited about hanging out with everyone

Moving on to my week so far at work (I hope you guys aren’t tired of hearing about it yet) I am learning more and more new things. I’m starting to really get excited to be working at such a great job- I feel like this is a place that I could see myself working at for a long time and I haven’t ever really been able to say that about any other job that I’ve had.  I really want to start doing quotes so I can learn but make a commission as well I also talked with my boss the other day, and he said if we meet our quota we could all go to Venice, Italy this year!!!  Seriously, I love my job!! I wanted to show you a picture of my awesome boss- so here he is! I told him that I was going to put him on my blog- which I actually showed to him my day of hire.

BEST BOSS EVA!!

Me on my way to work with organic black tea in hand

Cedars Mediterranean hooked a girl up!!! Thanks so much Molly for shipping me these fabulous products to try!

I got this package when I came home for lunch- just in time for this delicious looking salad!

The salad stood no chance It was so good- crunchy, zesty and sweet at the same time- I also had a slice of sprouted bread with the artichoke spinach hummus that Cedar’s sent. Heaven.

While I was trying my salad- I also helped the hubby make a quesadilla with the wraps that Cedar’s sent as well. They browned perfectly and were fluffy and crisp at the same time- Yum!

GIVEAWAY!!

The great news is that Cedars sent me some coupons to give away to you guys!! The winner will receive Free Coupons for:

• 3 containers of Hommus
• 1 Free Salsa
• 1 Free 12 oz. Natural Dip
• 1 Free Bag all natural Pita Chips

 That’s 6 free items! So all you have to do to enter is simple- just leave me a comment on my blog on why you want to win some Cedar’s Mediterranean coupons and also what I could do on my blog to make it even more fun and interesting! Good luck everyone I will announce the Giveaway winner on Monday! Also if you want to print off some coupons now-they have a page with .55 cents off coupons here!!

So, I’m supposed to write 6 outrageous lies about myself and one outrageous truth- so here goes:

Six Outrageous Lies:

1. I’m not a girly-girl.
2. Paris is my dream place to visit.
3. I haven’t been to Hawaii.
4. I hate reading books.
5. I am a terrible listener.
6. I don’t like to travel.
7. I hate sports & things like riding 4-wheelers & motorcycles.

Can you guess which one is the truth??

Okay, now for the 7 blogs that I nominated!

1. Chelsea - Love reading her blog- she is so sweet yet hysterical at the same time!
2. Shelley- such a brave and strong girl and a total sweetie!
3. Kacy- So honest and real
4. Jess- Total sweetie and leaves the loveliest comments
5. Ashley- cool girl who is down to earth and just gorgeous!
6. Kristin- Creative girl who has the best recipes and best givewaways!
7. Stephanie- This girl makes the best recipes- always cooking up something fabulous!

Okay, so now that you have been nominated, here is what you have to do:

Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth.
5. Nominate seven “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

Okay, girls have fun with it!!!

Sooo good

So backing up to Friday, my boss mentioned going golfing, but he was worried about leaving me alone at the office since I was new. I reassured him that I would be fine and could handle it on my own- he apparentally trusted me, because around 1:20 he left to go golfing. But before he left he gave me my paycheck and a $25 bonus just for doing a good job- he told me that he really appreciated how hard that I worked this week He was going to buy me a restaurant gift certificate but he knew I wasn’t big on eating out- I may have my nails done instead. Anyway, I handled the office just fine on my own- I had a few payments over the phone and walk-ins. Once 4:00 rolled around, my Mom in law came to pick me up to go shopping!!

At TJ’s Mom bought me this Raw bar- it was pretty good!

I found lots of work outfits!! Thanks to my praying beforehand- I pray about everything!

We made a quick stop at Publix to pick up a few necessities.

We also stopped by Tuesday Morning and I found some gardening gloves- perfect timing since I am planting my garden this weekend! I also found lots of baby items for the shower, but I can’t post them on here since my sister reads my blog.

Okay, so I wanted to model the work outfits that I bought- I want your opinion, so here goes:

Here is the first outfit- I added leggings because the dress was too short.

Outfit #2

Oufit #3 (sorry for my dirty floors- I am cleaning them this weekend )

Outfit #4- this would be for Fridays.

 Oufit #5

 Outfit #6.

Okay, so I want to know what you guys think about my new work outfits- cute or no?

We also stopped by Redbox to pick up a couple of movies, since we had a free code- we rented Inglorious B. and Julie & Julia (for me). I have to tell you Inglorious B. was not my kind of movie, it was gory, too much blood and violence- it was definitely a guy movie and for most of the movie I had my face and even ears covered. Julie & Julia- I LOVED!!!! What a fabulous movie- it was definitely my type of movie

So now onto Saturday…

I planted all of my garden seeds!! Plus some parsley, basil and cilantro.

I made myself some jicama fries for lunch- sooo good

I decided to marinate some mushrooms since we were going to grill out- Saturday was so beautiful and sunny! I marinated them with olive oil, sea salt, pepper and  some Georgia Muscadine wine from when we went to a festival and stomped the grapes- so fun

Of course, hubby wanted some more of the hot wings as well

I did have several organic mushrooms then I had a grapefruit yogurt mess for dessert.

Accomplisments this weekend:

• Laundry
• Organized hubby’s closet- have lots of pants & shirts to pass on to my nephew.
• Dishes
• Planted Garden Seeds
• Shopped for Work outfits & set out oufits for work next week.
• Cleaned bathroom
• Cleaned Microwave
• Cleaned Fridge
• Listened to 2 encouraging sermons!
• Paid several bills

On the Agenda for today:

• Bathe Roscoe
• Myself- bath
• Big Lots- to use 20% off coupon- pick up more baby shower items
• Watch Survivor online- missed last episode.

 I also noticed alot of blogs having an “Ask me Anything” Session- so I want to let you guys know that you can ask me anything as well! No questions are off limits- so please ask away! :D I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!!

*Giveaway Here!