Mama Mia

Letting go of expectations from others is easy. Letting go of expectations for self...not so easy. In all honesty, I expect a lot from myself. I think it was Nelson Mandela that said "how do we inspire ourselves to greatness when nothing else will do?" I believe that nothing but greatness will do in all aspects of my life. I ask, how do we let go of the expectation of greatness when we are exhausted. That is how I feel today ExHaUsTeD. My body is raring to go, but my mind is saying slow down. rest. My mind does not often have the opportunity to be less than sharp, but today it (not I) was.

My day started at 6:16 when I heard the coffee machine beep (letting me know it has brewed and is ready for consumption). I stumbled out of bed and greeted Allie who was sipping coffee made from the french press. [Normally, I wake when his alarm goes off, but not this morning]. I poured coffee and put some cream in it and curled up on the couch with my laptop. I checked emails and prepared mentally for the day. I was very excited to go to yoga and spend the day with the youngsters. I did some stuff around the house and then got ready for yoga. My belly was growling so I had a bite of my breakfast cookie. At 9:07 I walked out the door with water bottle in hand. As I walked to the subaru I silently questioned how this 1.5 hour class was going to be over at 10:30...and realized in that moment that Friday morning classes begin at 9:00...ughhh...I missed yoga AGAIN!! I tried to roll with it, but I am very disappointed in this mental lapse. So, I came back inside and finished off the breakfast cookie. I found this recipe on runnerskitchen. Last night before bed I mixed together mixed 1/3 cup oats, Tbs chia seeds, Tbs raw cacao powder, 1 Tbs almond butter, splash of rice milk, and 1/2 banana, spread in container and refrigerate overnight. This morning I topped it off with about 1/4 cup greek yogurt and 1/2 banana...scrumptious.

I then left for Target to purchase the food processor I told you about. Last night, Alistair and I went online and found this KitchenAid food processor. It had really good reviews and only cost $39.99. There were a few cheaper options, but they had bad reviews. There were also a lot more expensive options that we frankly can not afford. So we opted for this 3 cup KitchenAid food processor.


I really appreciate the size of this appliance. It is small and can be tucked away when not in use. All the other options were much bigger and bulkier. I am happy with this purchase and hope that it does the job. I am sure that my arms will miss the exercise, but I can make it up elsewhere. While at Target I also picked up some tupperware and Kashi Heart to Heart cereal.


I got back to the house at 10:30 and jumped on the bike for a 45 minute ride. I love riding in the heat. At 11:15 I jumped into the shower and met my sista and all 5 nephews and nieces at Red Robin for lunch. I ordered a Caesar salad. I know not the healthiest option, but I was craving a salad with creamy sauce. I ate two french fries and one piece of bread.


I want to take a moment to honor all you mama's and papa's out there. Raising children is a very tough and tiring job. I swear I feel more exhausted after an afternoon with these kiddos than I do after a marathon. I may re cooperate a bit more quickly, but...

Here is Justin (my honored hero for TNT) and Jacob.

After lunch we walked over to the movie theatre and bought our tickets for Toy Story 3 in 3-D. Quite honestly, I didn't get into the movie, I was being entertained by these two characters.

I returned to the house at 4:45 and tried to decide on dinner. All day I had been thinking of ideas for the leftover lentils from last nights dinner and finally decided on Lentil Quiche. I snacked on a handful of granola while I prepared the meal. So, the recipe calls for:

1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dried lentils
2 cups water
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)

I didn't have everything and did not want to go to the store so I made due with what we had.

1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dried lentils
2 cups water
2 cups mushrooms
2 cups baby spinach
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons parmesan garlic seasoning
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place the onion and olive oil into a 9 inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until onion is tender.
Place the lentils and water into a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Drain most of the water off, then place the broccoli florets on top of the lentils. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. This will dry the lentils, and cook the broccoli.
Transfer the lentils, broccoli and tomatoes to the pie plate with the onions, and stir to evenly distribute each item. Stir in cheese at this time if using. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Pour over the ingredients in the pie plate.
Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the center is firm when the quiche is jiggled. Cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

So the second big mental lapse that I had today is that I left the lentils out of the recipe. Hahaha...really it was veggie quiche=) I love that I planned the meal around the lentils and then left them out! The spinach made the quiche pretty watery, but still it was good. Next time I will try an add the lentils...

I am thinking I am going to go to bed early tonight and watch a movie, Happy Tears, that came in the mail from NetFlix. I will keep you posted...good night.