Grab a Tissue

I was going to save this video to post after dinner tonight, but it really deserves its own post.

Grab a tissue, my friends.

God bless our troops.

Salad & Shamu

First: Salad

Since not one vegetable surfaced in my lunch yesterday, I felt the need to overcompensate by including a plethora of greens in today’s mid-day meal.

A Whale of a Salad

I made myself a huge salad including:

• Chopped romaine lettuce
• One chopped cucumber
• Roasted Brussels sprouts
• Fresh broccoli
• Sweet corn
• Goat cheese
• Rotisserie chicken deli meat
• Balsamic vinegar

Check it Out

Close Up

I bought the head of romaine lettuce that I used in this salad two weekends ago, and it was still good!

Apparently buying your own lettuce and chopping it up yourself triples its fridge-life. Those packs of pre-chopped lettuce for salads in the grocery store go bad so quickly!

Second: Shamu

Tonight my dad’s company is hosting a work event at SeaWorld and I will be attending as his date.

I am excited to spend time with my dad and spend some time among the animals as well!

Growing up I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. Though I eventually decided to pursue other dreams, I still have a strong love for marine life and the ocean.

Me and Flipper

Ryan, Me & His Mom at Discovery Cove in 2006

When I was in college, I actually interned in the marketing department at SeaWorld.

Sounds cool, huh?

Well, distributing hundreds of brochures to areas hotels in a Shamumobile isn’t quite as amazing as you might think.

Here is a picture of my wheels:

Sweet Ride

Fancy, no?

I would often forget I was driving such a ridiculous car until I would see people whip out their cameras to take a picture. Slightly embarrassing. 🙂

Question of the Afternoon

What was your first or most embarrassing job?

My first job was working as a lifeguard. My most embarrassing job was definitely driving the Shamumobile.

“If You Like Pina Coladas…”

“Getting caught in the rain
And the feel of the ocean
And the taste of champagne”

(Great song!)

Aaand, coincidentally enough I do like piña coladas (and the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne)!

My breakfast this morning was inspired by the above song when it came on my iPod at the gym.

I thought a piña colada sounded pretty fantastic at around 6:30 a.m., but since hanging out by the pool and sippin’ an umbrella drink wasn’t exactly on the menu today (silly full-time job…), I nixed the rum and added some protein powder to make myself a piña colada smoothie.

Smoothies Make Me Smile (And Stand Awkwardly With a Spoon in My Hand)

Into the blender went:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop vanilla Aria women’s protein powder (Which tastes like butt hole on its own, but is decent in shakes)
• ½ tsp. coconut extract
• ¼ c. canned pineapple
• ¾ c. almond milk
• 1 tsp. Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum (the thickener of angels)

Totally Real Coconut Extract 😉

The result was a creamy, fragrant, stark-white smoothie.

Spoonful o' Smoothie

Sip, Sip, Sip

Though the smoothie was good, it put me in vacation mode. I want to be in the middle of a Corona commercial right now.

Questions of the Day

1. What is your favorite tropical drink?

I love piña coladas, strawberry daiquiris and mojitos.

For those of you unsure what qualifies as a tropical drink, I’d say just about any alcoholic drink with exorbitant amounts of sugar (think mai tais, bahama mamas, bay breezes, etc.).

2. If you could be anywhere on vacation right now, where would you be?