Mini-Vaca time!

So on Thursday, I'll be heading up north for a little bit...


... for a lovely 5 night, 6 day stay in our nation's capital! Mr. Cats has a big science conference/convention up there he is attending, so I am tagging along for a mini-vacation! ;) The best part is it's mostly all paid for; hotel, travel fees, and a good portion of the meals are on the company. I've been anticipating this for months now and it's almost here!!!! :D I'm SO EXCITED to get away for a little while and relax in a fancy hotel, eat yummy food, and do some sightseeing.

Now, I lived in the DC suburbs for 5 years, and there are some things I am DYING to do again now that I'm going to be in the area... visit all of my favorite little restaurants... head over to the Smithsonian and some of the monuments with my new camera... we are going to hang out with my old work friends Friday night and EVERYONE is excited! :D

I think the best part of this is that we're going to be able to spend Valentines Day together! We weren't able to last year, so this year we have reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant Saturday night (because he has a meeting Sunday night and we didn't want to rush our dinner), and it will be tasty and lovely. :)

Hopefully the snow will stop after this last mini-blizzard so getting around won't be too troublesome. I heart the Metro!

And I'll probably be Tweeting more than blogging over this long weekend, so if you're not already following @mufasa, that's me. :)

Okay, I'm off to snuggle up on the couch and get ready for LOST!

It's workin', it's workin'!

So it's definitely well into February by this point (and I'm chilling on my couch watching the Superbowl - Go Saints!) and I'm thinking about my New Years Resolution for this year - get in shape! And we've been doing - exercising for at least an hour every day with either yoga, cardio, and weight training. And it's working out GREAT! I used to be sluggish but now I have so much more energy. And it's only been about 30 days but I have been noticing some minor changes body-wise for the better -- while I only weigh about 122, I've got some big ol' thighs and hips, and the dreaded stomach pooch. Not so much anymore!

I think the hardest thing in this regimen is to EAT BETTER. Ooohhh today I had a MAJOR cheeseburger craving when we were out at lunch! But I did the good girl thing and ordered the grilled chicken wrap. (And it was DARN yummy!) Here are some of the things I've been doing lately, and some I've been doing for a while, that are little changes that are definitely helping!



- Cheese. Oooohhh mommy do I love cheese. (At lunch sometimes, years ago, I used to just go to the grocery store and buy slices of mozzarella and eat them... oh so bad!) But yeah, I haven't met a cheese I don't like. It's tough to not eat cheese, but the Laughing Cow makes some absolutely AMAZING 80 calorie cheese wedges. I was skeptical at first. 80 calorie cheese? Yeah, probably tastes like mulch. Not so, my friends - this cheese has BIG taste with little calories. Love to spread it on some low fat Ritz and go to town!

- Cream cheese. Sort of on the cheese bandwagon; there was a time where I was having a bagel LOADED with cream cheese every morning for breakfast. (That must be where those thighs came from...) Unlike the Laughing Cow, low calorie cream cheese just tastes like poop to me, so I won't eat it. Thusly I haven't had ANY bagels and cream cheese at all this year! I've actually been making a lot of fruit smoothies for breakfast with bananas or mangoes, nonfat yogurt, and nonfat milk. They're surprisingly filling! And fruit is yum!

- No soda. I stopped drinking soda a few years ago actually and I remember when I did; within weeks I felt SO much better and had actually lost a few pounds! Very very rarely will I have a soda, and it's always when we're out somewhere. But I remember when I used to stock the fridge with that stuff weekly... ugghh...

- No fast food. This isn't really tough for me because I don't really eat a lot of it to start with, but sometimes the Burger King down the street just smells too good to pass up. If we get a fast food craving we'll usually hop down to Chik-Fil-A, they have some major yummy chicken wraps!

- Starbucks. Oh white chocolate mocha. (And all of those tastily evil holiday mochas!) SO yummy. This is a REALLY HARD ONE!!! Starbucks used to be a staple for us. It still is, but not as much; I'll go maybe once a week, if that, and when I do I usually get a hot tea or a light tea latte. Their Awake latte is amazing, and a tall nonfat is only 120 calories!

- Sodium. My mom actually got on my case about this; what in the world?! ;) Anyway this is a toughie too, there seems to be a decent amount of sodium in EVERYTHING. :( A lot of the frozen healthy meals I get are packed with sodium unfortunately, so I can't always rely on that for lunch. It seems the only way to really do this one is to eat a lot of fresh, organic ingredients every day and that can get a smidge more pricey than a Smart Ones out of the freezer section.



Okay, enough babbling out of me. :) Any tips that you find work well? Let us all know! And if I hear either that Jay-Z/Rihanna song OR any more out of Daughtry *barf* on this Superbowl anymore, I'm turnin' it off!

I don't even...

There are no words for this:

Miley Cyrus' 9 year old sister launching a lingerie line for kids

Oh wait, yes there are; how about disgusting, grossly inappropriate, and trashy. I think those all work fine here!

Whatever happened to playing Barbie and running around in the mud and playing kickball until it got dark? Why must young girls feel the need to be SO sexualized so young?? At that age you really can't comprehend long division, much less the complicated world of sex and lust and the feelings that go with it. Who the hell are they going to WEAR this stuff for anyway? Any parent that even considers buying this trash for their little girl needs a swift kick to the ovaries.

Sigh. This makes me sad. :(

V-Day on a Budget, Right Here!

So it's less than two weeks away from the holiday of hearts, Valentine's Day! Some people aren't into this holiday ("it's sooooo commercial, blah blah card companies just want our money", well it's only as commercial as you make it! baha! so there! *heehee*) but if you are a total fan (like me!) and if you're on a budget (again like me!) there's still lots of ways to enjoy the holiday. :) I decided to make up a little list and post it here for others who are in the same boat!

CANDY
(my favorite ones are the yellow ones!)

• Let's admit it, this holiday has some pretty great tasty stuff. Candy hearts at the top of the list, cinnamon hearts, marshmallow peeps (yeah, they have those on other holidays, but they are one of my faves!) A favorite candy or candy bar is a sweet gift!
• Even better IMO, make your own delish treats! I made some amazing chocolate truffles a few years ago - it was easy and cheap with only 4 ingredients, the majority of which I already had at home. And they were SO yummy! Candies, cookies, little cakes... yum, yes please! There are recipes all over the internet, so check it out!
  

SWEET NOTHINGS

• Yeah, love notes are a little sappy, especially if one or both of you aren't the romantic type. In lieu of the smoochiness, maybe make a cute list of 10 or 20 things that you love about your SO, little things they do that make you all fuzzy inside!
• Make your own card! If you're anything like me, you've got some spare scrapbooking paper laying around. Have at it! You can even tuck that awesome list right inside your fab card. Double whammy! ;)

I.O.U NOTES

• I did this one year and it went over FABULOUSLY well!! You can purchase these online and fill in your own stuff (or even find some free ones to print out!), but that can be costly and as I am a crafty dame, I found making my own was much more fun and personal. :) Feel free to make them as PG (good for one car washing, will cook you one dinner of your choice) or as naughty (good for one shower together, good for one blanking of my blank with your blank ;) ) as you like. A combination of both is always nice too.
  
• A nice lasting twist on this is to create 52 IOU cards and have your SO pick one out of a cool little bag or box (Yay Michaels run!) each week for a year.

COOK TOGETHER!

• Sit down together and plan out a meal to make together. Bonus points if it's something new you've never tried before! I love cooking together; we have a blast in the kitchen and generally make an awesome meal while doing the teamwork thing. :) So light some candles, put on some Sinatra, and get in the kitchen!
• I love the idea of a picnic, but it's usually a crummy time of year for that. Be creative; find a cozy little corner or nook in your house or apartment, set down an adorable gingham blanket, and fill a basket with sandwiches, snacks, and some bottled water (or fizzy adult beverages) and enjoy each other's company.

MASSAGE

• I've never met a guy that didn't like a massage. (Oh wait... I did... that didn't last long.) I did this one a little while ago too, and massages are ALWAYS a big hit in this household! In fact, it was so awesome, we're doing it again this year! You can go as simple or all-out as you want, but Bed Bath and Beyond usually has a few selections of budget-friendly scented massage oils. I love that place! ;) Light some scented candles, pop in an Air CD, and get some sexy relaxation on!

Okay, that's all I've got! If you've got any suggestions, leave 'em here in a comment, I'd love to hear them!! :D Hope you enjoyed my little write-up of budgety fun stuff to do for (or to!... *heehee* ;) ) the one you heart this year!