You Choose: Wedding Day Clutch

“Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool…” (Name that movie!)

Last week was my sister’s first week back at school.

I remember feeling rejuvenated at the start of the school year. I would attend my classes determined to take thorough notes in my best hand writing in my brand new notebooks.

Throughout the year, my notes became more abbreviated and my handwriting became sloppier, but hey, as long as my grades stayed high, that’s all that really matters, right?

There’s just something about the start of something new. Whether it be a new school year, new month, new season, new job… Something about beginning a new adventure feels motivating and exciting.

I have a good feeling about the month of September. 😀 Happy September 1!

Lunch

My good September vibes carried over into my lunch today.

Chicken Salad

I enjoyed a homemade chicken salad wrap with a side of grape tomatoes and cucumber slices.

The Spread

I prepared the chicken salad by combining:

• 3 oz. canned chicken
• 1 tbsp. light Miracle Whip (mayo will also work)
• ½ Granny Smith apple, chopped

After topping a whole wheat tortilla with baby greens and the chicken salad, my meal was good to go.

Wraaap It Up

Git in mah belly! 😀

Wedding Day Clutch

I would now like to address the most unimportant decision I will make related to planning our wedding: My wedding-day purse.

I want to have a small clutch on my big day to hold little essentials like tissues and lip gloss and am currently torn between the following options:

Option A:

Option A

Option B:

Option B

Option C:

Option C

Option D:

Ariel! I Love you!

Which one would you choose?

(Totally kidding about Option D, by the way. 😉 )

What Better Way to Spend Father’s Day

What better way to spend a sunny Father’s Day than on a boat?

Pretty Day

A little after 10 a.m., my mom, dad, Ryan and I took my parents’ boat out to cruise around the Gulf of Mexico and test out the new mask, fins and snorkel I got yesterday.

My sister was actually taking a scuba certification course all day, so she wasn’t able to join us. 😦 (We have a trip to the Keys planned in a couple of weeks and want her to be certified so we can enjoy some family scuba diving! )

Though my sister couldn’t join us, we did have a stow-away on board… 

Me & Shark Bait

(Apparently the above picture was taken mid-lick. 🙂 )

Family Photo

My dad did a good job of taking us to an area in the Gulf where it wasn’t too deep so I could test out my gear.

Captain & First Mate

I wanted a hot pink mask, fins and snorkel set but settled on a hodgepodge of neon colors at the scuba shop yesterday since they didn’t have my size in pink fins and the pink mask and snorkel sets were a weird muted pink.

Gearin' Up

I think I will try to get a variety of color into my scuba gear as I get myself some more supplies. I’ll be Rainbow Bright the scuba diver. 😉

Splish Splash

How Cool Do I Look?

Sadie got a little jealous of all the fun we were having in the water. Once she was suited up, she was ready to join us for a dip!

Ready for a Dip

Swim, Swim

Days on the boat are so much fun!

Why do we have to work? Every day should be spent like this! 😀

Lunch

We arrived back home from a fun day of boating with hungry bellies.

We quickly made sandwiches and enjoyed some fresh fruit on the side.

I had a chicken salad sandwich on a multi-grain sandwich thin with a side of fresh pineapple.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Taste of the Tropics

The pineapple was so sweet and perfectly ripe. I ate a bunch!

Once our bellies were full, Ryan and I packed up our bags and hit the road to head back to Orlando.

Now it’s time to unpack and get organized for the week!

Broccoli Beet-Tastic Chicken Salad

Oh leftovers, how I love you.

Today my lunch included pulled chicken leftover from last night’s dinner.

I was going to make a simple chicken salad sandwich, but I decided to add a little oomph with fresh veggies.

I bring you broccoli beet-tastic chicken salad!

Revitalized Chicken Salad

Beet-Tastic

My salad included:

• 3 oz. shredded chicken breast
• 100 grams broccoli
• 2 tbsp. Miracle Whip Light
• 1.5 tbsp. dijon mustard
• 50 grams canned beets
• 50 grams sweet corn

I shook it up to cover the chicken and veggies in the “dressing.”

Broccoli + Beets + Corn + Chicken

Hump Day Lunch

For dessert I had banana yogurt pudding which I made by stirring a large spoonful of instant banana pudding mix into a cup of Greek yogurt.

Banana Yogurt Pudding

If you haven’t tried yogurt pudding yet, you must. It’s so thick and creamy and reminds me of custard.

More Tips for Gettin’ Him to the Gym

You guys had some great ideas for getting your partner to the gym, so I wanted to share a few more straight from you!

• Encourage your guy to workout with his friends. Many guys enjoy playing sports with their buddies and thrive on competition.
• Continue with your own dedication to fitness. It may take some time to rub off on your partner.
• Take your guy to a group exercise class that you’ve scoped out beforehand. This way you can see whether or not there are other guys in the class and make sure that the music isn’t too girly so he won’t feel like he’s in a girly class.
• Don’t make the gym the only option. Exercise can occur outside, in the home or with a friend.
• Offer to create a workout plan for him. Some people are intimidated by working out and don’t know where to begin or what exercises to do.

Thank you to Angela, Tina, Natalie and Tess for the above ideas!

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What Do You Wear?

I haven’t had a big ol’ salad in a long time!

Today seemed like a good day to resurrect this leafy lunchtime favorite.

Big Ol' Salad

I topped a big bed of romaine lettuce with leftover roasted cauliflower and zucchini and chicken salad made with grilled chicken, sweet corn, light Miracle Whip and freshly chopped portobello mushrooms.

Grilled Chicken Salad

Tuesday's Lunch

This salad it sittin’ big in my belly. I always feel like my stomach expands a little after a big salad. It’s gotta accommodate all those extra veggies, after all.

What Do You Wear?

For Part One of my bachelorette party, I’m heading to Chicago to party it up for a weekend with my girlfriends and top off the celebration by running in the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.

A group of my girlfriends will also be running in the race and we want to wear matching running outfits. My friend Merri asked me today what I like to wear when I run and it made me think… There are certain items of clothing I love to wear and others that I hate.

I love running in workout tops, sports bras and tank tops but can’t stand running in a t-shirt. I get so hot and feel almost trapped. I may be insane, but I really can’t stand running in a t-shirt.

My ideal running outfit looks a lot like this (but only if I’m running outside… I would never run without a shirt on at the gym).

My Fav Running Buddy and Me

(This picture was taken the morning of our engagement… I was still completely in the dark at this point!)

When I do strength training I like to wear spandex pants or capris because I don’t want to worry about accidentally flashing some butt cheek when I’m doing dead lifts or step ups.

What do you like to wear when you work out?

This morning I wore an awesome pair of Thorlo padded running socks (in pink, naturally) on my run with Sadie.

Pink Padded Socks

These socks were great and the extra padding was definitely appreciated since I got a lil’ blister on my left foot after my 6 mile run on Saturday.

Phew!

I’ll thank my mom for today’s wonderful lunch!

Following our dinner party with Ryan’s family on Saturday night, we had a lot of roasted chicken leftover, so I took a big bag of it back to Orlando with me.

It made quite the stellar appearance in my lunch today!

Chicken Salad + Roasted Veggies

I had chicken salad (made with light Miracle Whip, Dijon mustard, relish and sweet corn) with a side of roasted veggies.

I prepared the vegetables last night by tossing them in olive oil and garlic salt and roasting them at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Wednesday's Lunch

Which do you prefer: Chicken salad or tuna salad?

I’m a tuna salad kinda girl, though this chicken salad was awfully tasty!

Dessert

A coworker also brought in homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were made from scratch and who am I to refuse warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies? 😉

Chocolate Chip Cookie

It was the perfect sweet ending to my lunch!

AMA: Final Round

This is it… the final round of Ask Me Anything questions.

Phew!!!

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. This whole “Ask Me Anything” ordeal was a much bigger undertaking than I anticipated, and I appreciate your support and kind words throughout this somewhat revealing process.

I tried to address most of your questions and I apologize if yours slipped through the cracks! I’m happy to answer your questions privately as well. You may email me at pgfingers@gmail.com if I didn’t get a chance to answer your question and you still have something on your mind.

You say you use a food scale but don’t count calories, is that right?  So why do you weigh oatmeal and what not? How do you know how much you want?

I do not count calories, but I am aware of calories. While I do not count calories, I try to keep my portion sizes in check and using a scale is a great way to ensure that I’m eating just one portion of oatmeal (or whatever food I’m measuring) rather than two. I do not use it to weigh everything, but I do use my scale a lot for portions of food I’d likely overestimate.

I notice your meals are so small and hardly any calories. Like the other day you had some turkey tacos but all you ate with it was lettuce and tomato. Do you think you could eat more than that? Are you afraid to eat more calories?

I am never “afraid” to eat. With regard to the taco meal you referenced, I really only like tacos with the shell, meat, lettuce and tomato, so that’s all I put on my tacos. I had two tacos and a big plate full of taco salad. If you’re a calorie-minded person, I’d estimate that meal to have around 450 calories, which isn’t huge, but is a decent size meal. I make an effort to eat healthy foods. I definitely eat until I am satisfied and I do not go to bed hungry, I promise! 🙂 Also, as I’ve said before, I do not post everything I eat in a day, like the majority of my snacks or “random nibbles.” If I am still hungry after a meal, I’ll grab something else, like a handful of nuts, to satisfy any lingering hunger.

What is your greatest fear and why?

I know it’s cliché, but my biggest fear is losing a loved one. My family and friends mean the world to me.

Do you buy organic fruits and vegetables?

Not unless they’re on sale.

What kind of makeup do you use?

I am doing a post on my makeup routine within the next couple of days. Stay tuned!

I’ve been with my boyfriend for quite awhile.  We plan to get married one day.  I worry because we live together that  there won’t be a big enough difference or change once we get married to “feel married.”  What is your take on this?  Are you and Ryan doing anything different or special before the big day? I just wanted a perspective from you since you and your fiance seem very similar to my boyfriend and I!

I love this question and think it’s wonderful that you’re concerned about making the transition from a happy couple to a happy, married couple successfully. Ryan and I really aren’t doing anything differently. To be completely honest, I hope not much changes when we get married because I really like how our relationship is right now. I’m not naive enough to think that things won’t change, but I love our relationship as is. We’re getting excited for married life and have really enjoyed reading 1,001 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married. Though there are tons of silly questions, there are a lot of thought-provoking questions as well that touch on questions just like the one you asked, such as “What do you expect to change after we’re married,” etc. It’s fun to hear your partner’s answers!