Brixx Pizza

We tried a new place for dinner tonight…Brixx Pizza – I loved it!

We started with an order of bruschetta – it was very good. I’m a huge bruschetta fan, and I’ve definitely had better, but this was pretty good….plus a glass of Cabernet.

Brixx Salad to share – spring mix with pine nuts, goat cheese, croutons, and balsamic vinaigrette. Simple and delicious. This was my half…

And, chicken florentine pizza – mozzarella, spinach, tomato, crumbled bacon, and feta – very good also – I had two slices…

I definitely want to go back….several other pizzas on the menu sounded great…Artichoke, Rustica, Pesto Portabello….The atmosphere was fun and the service was great. I see more trips to Brixx in my future.

After dinner, we visited Anthony’s parents for a while, and now two dogs are getting a bath while I type….always fun at our house.

Have a great evening!

Football Time in Tennessee

Happy Saturday!! How’s your day going so far?

I woke up around 7:30 this morning and powered up with cup of coffee #1. I headed to the gym to teach my first step class in 2, maybe even 3 years. Luckily for me, another instructor was able to teach at the last minute – so I gladly attended the class as a participant instead of the instructor- it was fun – maybe I’ll even have to think about starting to teach step again occasionally.

After class, I had a nice breakfast outside at Starbucks – the weather is amazing here today, there was still a bit of a chill in the air as I enjoyed my banana-walnut bread and Pike’s Place brew (cup of coffee #2)….

Then, I went shoe shopping! I took advantage of the fact that most of Knoxville was either at Neyland stadium or in front of their TVs for the first football game of the year…so, the shopping areas were pretty empty. I may have told you before…I’m a horrible shopper – meaning, I don’t really enjoy shopping, I’m super impatient,  and I usually can’t find clothes that I like, so I often go shopping and come home empty-handed. Today, I did great! I scored a great new pair of New Balance running shoes and some nice dressier shoes for work.

When I got home, lunch was leftovers from last night’s Drunken Noodles – seriously, the. best. meal. ever…even as leftovers. This photo totally doesn’t do it justice.

And, after being so busy for the last few weekends, we are so excited to have a day at home…Football on the couch. (I’m not even a big football fan), but this is a new era in Tennessee Football…new head coach Lane Kiffin….

And, even I was excited when TN scored 4 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter!

So, at halftime – it’s 28 – 0 – TENNESSEE – Go Vols!

Hope you’re having a great Saturday!

Step it Up!

Happy Friday night!!

Today was my department’s Silent Auction fundraiser for our upcoming walk….Different hospital departments provided baskets/items for auction and they were so creative….Here’s a few of the items up for grabs…Michelle’s football cake…so cute…

A great garden-themed basket – very impressive….

A Lady Vols basketball to be personalized by Coach Pat Summit….

Our department put together a basket full of coffee and teas…

Great job Dana, Michelle, and our volunteers for a successful fundraiser!

I had leftovers from Anthony’s great homecooked bean dinner for lunch today…delicious again!

After work, I decided a walk on the greenway was in order…

So relaxing with a beautiful view…

I walked by this guy several times…

After my walk, I got home and just wanted to relax- I crawled into my cool bed and relaxed for awhile before dinner. We went to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner and I had my favorite meal, Drunken Noodles, Pad Kee Mao + a glass of Chardonnay- possibly the most perfect meal ever!

Now, I’m trying to remember how to teach Step aerobics….my friend Tammye isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to step in for her 9 am class tomorrow- it’s been over 2 years since I’ve taught Step…hopefully it’s like riding a bike.

Hope you’ve had a great Friday….Goodnight!

Fall in Tennessee

What a beautiful morning! There is just a bit of a chill in the air- feels like the beginning of fall to me! I love it! And, this is the first big fall weekend in Knoxville- the kickoff of UT football! Plus Boomsday, one of the largest fireworks displays in the country, is coming up on Sunday night.

I started my morning with a delicious cup of hazelnut coffee with cream…SO GOOD. And, a bowl of Special K with chocolate + strawberries…Have you noticed that I somehow always manage to fit chocolate into my breakfast in some way?

Hope you have a great Friday! I’ve got to finish getting ready and head out the door to work….my schedule is pretty calm today- we are having a Silent Auction fundraiser at the hospital to raise money for our walk which is coming up quick…two weeks from tomorrow! And, I’m going to try to get some continuing education completed…my Certified Diabetes Educator certification is expiring soon and I’m behind on continuing education.

Have a great Friday- see you later!

Balance

Where do the hours go? I can’t believe it is almost 9:00 already.

Today was such a good day at work- just the right amount of busyness balanced with some down time to accomplish a little some catching up. This morning, I had one of my favorite snacks…this has to be the best yogurt ever.

Lunch was a delicious salad from our hospital cafeteria topped with a grilled chicken and veggie skewer…You know, hospitals get a bad rap for having bad food, but our hospital does a good job of offering some healthy options- you just have to make conscious choices.

After a couple of diabetes nutrition consults, I was “starving” later this afternoon…I found the perfect afternoon snack…a Fiber Plus bar + coffee with cream.

After work, I had the chance to take a great Body Step class – I don’t often make it to this class and I love it – it was a great workout and so much fun!!

My amazing husband made the best dinner tonight- his specialty – Southern Beans and Cornbread (yes- in a real cast iron skillet) – it was so good!

Now, I can’t wait to go spend a little more time with Anthony- I’m constantly aspiring to find more balance in my life…between work, family, fun, friends….as well as balance in my food. This week, my time with my husband hasn’t been as much as I would like…Gotta get in a little time with him now and can’t wait till the weekend!

Have a great evening…Goodnight!

Black and Blue Oats

Good morning!

I started today with one of my favorite bowls:

• banana oats
• dark chocolate chips
• blackberries + blueberries
• crunchy almond butter

Delicious!

I hope you have a great Thursday ahead….I’m rushing off to work….See you later!

Un-Intuitive Eating

Hey everyone!! How are you?

Today has been non-stop….I started out with a payroll system training class at work, some paperwork catch-up, and then I had to drive about 30 minutes to do a lunchtime presentation at a local business. For the 2nd day in a row, I knew lunch would be late, so I grabbed a pre-lunch snack on my way….

I love Vivannos – they are so great for a quick snack!

My lunch presentation went well…it was for a wellness program for a small, local business. About 20 people showed up, which was a great turnout. The topic was Healthy Lifestyle Changes to Improve Cholesterol. We had a great, interactive discussion – fun time!

On my way back to work at nearly 2:00, I stopped by Moe’s and had a vegetarian burrito…the Art Vandalay- love it!! It was so good that I definitely overate. I ate nearly the entire burrito, + about half of the chips….I was satisfied after half the burrito…but, it was so good, I kept eating anyway. You can teach Intuitive Eating and totally believe in it and practice it well most of the time…but, nobody’s perfect! I was definitely over-full after lunch. Life is a learning process.

This afternoon, I met with my great co-workers, Heather and Chad, to put some finishing touches on the plans for our new session of weight loss classes that begins on September 14. We had a productive meeting and made some progress with the schedule/class agenda.

Tonight was our monthly girls’ night dinner. There were 4 of us tonight- we all happen to be dietitians…Sandy and Brenda, who work in pediatrics, and Heather (my co-worker and friend) and I. We ended up at Bonefish Grille….I had a delicious salmon and asparagus salad + an amazing glass of sangria – what a perfect meal.

Dinner was delicious and the company was great- always a fun night of discussion!

I’m so happy to be home now…Anthony just got home from a night of fishing- I can’t wait to go spend some time with him. See you tomorrow.

Goodnight!