Getting closer

It’s Thursday!!
Anyone else as excited as I am we’re nearing the end of the week?
I must admit, workwise this week was very easy compared to what I know is to come in the next few weeks… the end of the semester is always killer!

I’m still excited for the weekend- Saturday I have my fun blogger lunch with the lovely Michelle from Balance My Cake! If you’re in the area and you’d like to join us, we’d still love to have you!

I have been quite the hungry girl lately- yesterday I was SO hungry after class, I stopped at Belmont’s and grabbed this-

Which I ate half of on the way home. WOW did it taste authentic! Really flavorful as well. I wouldn’t eat one every day because of the sodium content, but for a low cal/low fat/high protein snack, it really worked to hold me over!

As I mentioned, I made one of Nick’s favorites for dinner- Pierogies!
These were cheddar potato pierogies topped with low sodium bacon and sautéed onion, just like we made them last time we had them in Canada.

Her's and his...

(and he was still hungry!)

Here was my portion, with a couple tablespoons of lite sour cream to dip:


I also tried my hand at kale chips!

Drizzled with evoo and sprinkled with s&p baked at 350 for around 15 minutes to make ‘em nice and crispy.

YUM! I ate a whole huge plateful! Nick tried one and wasn’t too into them, but I didn’t expect him to be. More for me!

After I ate dinner and finished my creative nonfiction book… this book was great, I highly recommend any book by Pat Conroy! I’m starting another one tonight!

Nick had his second dinner (boys) and then we decided to go to Brickleys because I was craving a cone of pistachio ice cream SO bad after seeing Jenna eat one on her blog… it reminded me of Italy!

Mmm, mmm perfect after dinner treat.

This morning I woke up STILL VERY HUNGRY… I snacked on half an oatmeal raisin walnut clif bar before the gym (I am really liking these, I think they’re my second fave!)
And spent an hour doing the stat bike & leg strength. I was so starving when I was done, I ate my breakfast on the go so much faster than usual today! I packed the staples- banana, chobani, trail mix. Never fails to keep me satisfied!

For lunch I packed another honey ham Sammie- 3 slices of honey ham, boston lettuce and a light laughing cow on an arnold’s sandwich thin. I also packed some carrots.

For some reason this lunch has not been keeping me full as it normally does, so I grabbed an apple from the coffee shop in the library as well.

For snacks, I packed a nectarine and a light cheese stick.

Tonight Nick is making me one of my favorite things he makes (ok, he only makes a couple things… but I’m really excited about this!) and I’m in charge of prepping sides. But the main course is all him!

I’ll be back tomorrow....

P.S. I know I’ve been slacking on mentioning my pantry-item usage… so sorry! I plan on going back in and adding that this weekend. I’ve been using a lot, which feels really good! Oatbran, trail mix, tuna, chili, all things I already had just using them up!

One more thing...
Thank you to Michelle, who presented me with this:

Which I failed to mention I got a couple of days ago! I'm so honored to recieve this, I love your blog Michelle and I can't wait to meet you Saturday!!

The rules are as follows:

List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sidebar letting the whole world know…you are Kreativ!

7 Things that I love:

1.My friends, my family, my boyfriend.
Ok, not to be too cheesy, but really I've got the greatest group of people supporting me. I don't know what I would do without them! I love you all!
2. Gelato. Best dessert EVER. Of course it's not the same here as it is in Italia!
3. Yoga and Running. Both keep me calm, healthy and fit!
4. A good read. Whether it's a new cooking magazine, or a Pat Conroy book right off the shelf, I love having something enticing to read!
5. Cooking and Baking. Nothing makes me happier than spending hours in the kitchen, and sharing my creations with everyone I love! I guess I have to love it if I plan on doing it for the rest of my life ;)
6. Bulldogs!. When I can afford it, I want an English bulldog named Ramone. (Yes, after Johnny, Joey, DeeDee and Tommy)
7. The Summer. Warm weather, bright colors, the beach/water, running races, barbeques, my birthday... i love it all!

Tagging people is going to be SO hard, because so many of my wonderful blogfriends have already been tagged!
Here are my picks anyway, tags or not!
1.. Sarah
2. Liz
3. Jenna
4. Caitlin
5. Meghann
6.Courtney
7. Katie

Of course, I love you ALL those are just a few blogs I read all the time and love! I'd love to tag you all though =)