Being Grateful for Friends

One of the great things about traveling for work is that I have the opportunity to meet a lot of awesome people. Rachel of One Day At a Time is one of those peeps and she just happens to be my current caffeine pusher and also another working mom with whom I can connect during my busy days on the road. During one of our conversations, we realized that we both enjoy blogging and exchanged site addresses. As I was reading her blogs on gratitude, I started thinking about all of the things for which I am thankful. So, I decided to copy borrow her idea and write about gratitude. I am extremely, beyond belief, can’t even express, ever so thankful for my friends. I know people who have great friends and others who have no close friends. I have been blessed with friends from all stages of life. My triple G (Good Good Girlfriend) from undergrad used to pick at me because I did not make friends easily. It’s not that I’m not friendly. It’s just that I have very high standards for people I call friends. My triple G from grad school said that she knew we were friends when I hugged her since she never saw me hug anyone. And my local bestie knows that anything she tells me in confidence will never resurface in another conversation – not even to my hubby. I am loyal to my friends* because I love them and I know they will be there for me.

So, this post on gratitude is about my friends and why I am grateful for them: • They will listen and provide advice (if I ask) without judging; • They will pick up my kids from school not once, not twice, but countless times and never complain about it or expect anything in return (thanks Kendra!); • They will never remind me of the time I called them crying in the middle of the night unless I want to talk about it (and vice versa); • We can fundamentally disagree on a topic, have a heated debate, and then go shopping; • We can go “radio silent” for days/weeks (we never make it to months, thank God!), and pick up like we were in the middle of a conversation; • We can sit in silence and be happy in each other’s company; • We can beat spank discipline each other’s kids with no hard feelings; • We can hang out with each other’s spouses and never have to wonder about improprieties (this pertains to only a small as in ”I can count them one one hand” group of friends); • We feel each other’s pain; • We are genuinely happy (not fake “let me talk about you later” phony) for each other’s accomplishments; • We learn from each other, mentor each other, and nurture each other; • And on and on…

Though I have never been and probably never will be a touchy-feely, super sentimental type of person, I can say that I have immense gratitude for my friends. Thanks to my triple G’s and BFF’s! *My sister is one of my best friends but that relationship is so unique that I will have to blog about it later.

Travel Size

Since I travel frequently for work, I am always looking for ways to streamline the packing process. However, I still like to have my staple beauty essentials and toiletries and that darn TSA-approved quart bag can only hold so much. I recently stole a great toiletry packing idea from my hubby....contact lens cases! Every travel size container of contact lens solution contains a new case so I have a small stash. I now know that not only are they great for their intended use but they are wonderful for small amounts of beauty products. For instance, I use a couple of prescription facial products that only require a pea size amount for my entire face. The contact lens case packs the perfect amount for a 2 - 3 day trip. Try it for yourself.

Exercise on the Road

I am a big advocate of fitting exercise into life. Trying to eat right and exercise on a regular basis is challenging with the large amount of business travel I've been doing. Challenging but not impossible. I don't always feel like going down to the hotel gym in the wee hours of the morning so I pack workout DVDs and some basic equipment so that I can exercise in my room. I get a great workout in and feel energized all day. And since my workout DVDs range from 15-minute high intensity intervals to 60-minute traditional cardio, I have no excuse to deviate from my regular schedule.

Stuffed Shells

I have been traveling alot for work lately so I've been preparing meals that reheat well. Since takeout options in our city are limited, I'm happy to know that my husband and kids are able to still eat healthy while I travel.

Last week, I prepared stuffed shells with help from the kids. They declared it "one of the best meals ever!" It's fairly easy to make and it makes great leftovers. If only I could have found whole wheat shells...oh well, it was still a great recipe

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini peppers
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes with added puree (such as Progresso)
• 1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded provolone cheese, divided
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (9-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
• 1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 20 cooked jumbo shell pasta (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat; cook 12 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. Combine 1/2 cup provolone and the next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl. Spoon or pipe about 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pasta shell; place stuffed shells in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon tomato mixture over shells; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup provolone. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese melts.

Krista Montgomery, M.S., R.D., Cooking Light DECEMBER 2006

Veggie burger wrap - quick and healthy lunch

It's been a minute since I've posted on this blog because I have been extremely busy with home and work. But lately I've realized that many of the things I do to make my busy life more manageable are worth sharing.

As a consultant, I am often on the road but I sometimes work from home. When I'm home, it's hard to switch from work mode to "run to the kitchen and whip up something healthy" mode. But here is a quick and satisfying lunch idea.

Simply cook a veggie burger and place it in a wrap with a lot of fresh veggies. I love the flavor combination of avocado and tomato. Plus, the avocado makes the sandwich more filling. You can prepare this lunch in under 10 minutes and avoid the mid-afternoon energy slump. Let me know what you think!

Juicing!

In an effort to incorporate more fresh fruits and veggies into my daily diet, I've decided to start juicing. I've learned that you can juice just about any type of fruit or veggie. And the cool thing is that my kids are so fascinated by the process that they will drink just about anything from the juicer. I must admit that beets were a fail. But you can't win them all!

Detox Wrap-up

So what happened with my detox?! I made it through Day 3 but I was so hungry I had to resume my regular diet after that. My regular diet consists mostly of veggies but it also includes protein (fish, chicken, and protein shakes). I think if (or rather when) I detox again, I will have to prepare myself by lowering my calorie intake in the days leading up to the detox and also minimize my exercise during the detox. Overall, the detox process was helpful because it helped to get rid of my sugar cravings and also cleansed my system (a little extra fiber always helps!)

I am considering a juice detox in the near future however I know that I will have to completely give up exercise during the process and I am just not ready to do that. I am totally addicted to my daily sweat sessions so I have to mentally prepare myself for a week of no physical activity. We’ll see….