MIMM: Weekend in Columbus

Today is marvelous because my weekend was filled with this...

Ribs made by Tyler with his homemade dry rub which turned out a little spicy and his homemade BBQ sauce which sweetened them up a bit!

And shrimp, shrimp wrapped in bacon, jalepenos filled with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon, and veggies all on the grill, made by Tyler's roommate, Tyler. Mmmmm...marvelous!

The three of us enjoyed all of this delicious food while we watched the Huskers in yet another comeback football win. Following the Nebraska game, we cheered on the Columbus Scotus Shamrocks in the Nebraska High School State Volleyball Championship game. The lost to Kearney Catholic in five amazing sets, but they played hard and it was a fun game to watch. Scotus won the sportsmanship award so the Tylers represented Scotus by receiving the trophy and made it on TV!

Apparently the birds at Tyler's house don't like it when I visit him because my car always ends up looking like this...which is not so marvelous!

I've been trying to find more of this tea everywhere. I looked at Walmart in Columbus on Saturday and they were completely out. I decided to check again before I left town on Sunday afternoon and low and behold they had 8 boxes, so...I stocked up and bought 5! They're not all for me, but dang was I excited! Absolutely marvelous (makes up for the bird bombs on my car!)

I hope you're having a marvelous Monday, check out Healthy Diva Eats for more marvelous-ness today! 

Thankful Thursday: American Edition

It's Thursday, one more day until Friday and it is time to be thankful! Today I am thankful that I live in America, plain and simple. With all of the talk over the election and politics lately I'm just glad I live in a free country where no matter who is president we still have a wealth of opportunities at our fingertips. Facebook has been overloaded with posts like "Today I am thankful for..." and "Our country is screwed..." how contradictory are we?! Let's all just be thankful that we live in 'Merica!

Check out Jessie Loves to Run and see what others are thankful for on this freedom filled Thursday!

WIAW: Pumpkin Orange

It's that time of the week again- time to share all of the goodies I've been eating and lately it's been everything pumpkin and everything orange! Thanks to the lovely Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for hosting this little feast, go check out her blog and see what others are eating lately!

Well after making this weekend purchase at Trader Joes...

And this purchase at Target (buy 3 get a free $5 gift card that I couldn't resist)...

I have been eating even more pumpkin flavored delectables than before! For breakfast I had my pumpkin egg white oatmeal which I also ate everyday last week, but now I have pumpkin pie spice to add to it!

 

Pumpkin Egg White Oatmeal

1/3 c oats
1 T ground flax seed
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
unsweetened vanilla almond milk
liquid egg whites

Sorry I just "eyeball" the almond milk and egg whites, then I microwave it for 1:30 minutes.

Stir in:
1 T chia seeds
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
cinnamon to taste (optional)
pumpkin
more almond milk
100% all natural maple syrup (or other sweetener of choice)

Again, I just throw everything in until it looks and tastes good. I don't have time to measure things in the morning!

Along with my pumpkin oatmeal, I have also been drinking my Dunkin' Donuts pumpkin spice coffee. All I add is a little splash of milk and it tastes like heaven. Very similar to a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte just not as sweet!

My lunch was honestly not even planned to be THIS orange!
Oranges
TJs pumpkin greek yogurt (ahhhmazing)
String cheese
Carrots

After I had all of those things set out for lunch, I decided it was only appropriate to try out my TJs pumpkin cream cheese, so I spread it on some whole wheat bread to make myself a sandwich. Yes, yet another pumpkin flavored food added to my diet.

I had supper at my parents house which I didn't take a picture of, it was just good ol' spaghetti so you can make your own mental picture (plus it wasn't orange!) and then for an evening snack I decided to round out my pumpkin orange day with my TJs pumpkin butter on a rice cake.

I think my skin is turning orange.

What pumpkin flavored foods have you been enjoying this season?

What I Ate Wednesday HALLOWEEN Edition

Well technically I missed the link up party hosted by Jenn over at Peas and Crayons, but what I ate Wednesday was just too good not to blog about! I channeled my inner Pinterest this Halloween, and made some adorable and simply treats for us to enjoy. I went with my sister and her friend to take my nephew trick-or-treating and then we came back to my parents house to endulge in these spooky snacks!

Mummies

Fingers

Teeth and Ghosts

Frankensteins and Jack-o-lanterns

Spiders

Mummies- breadsticks wrapped around hot dogs, Wimmers wieners of course!
Fingers- half a stick of string cheese with sliced almonds attached with cream cheese and cuts for knuckles
Teeth- apple slices, peanut butter, and mini marshmallows
Ghosts- half a banana, mini reece's pieces, and chocolate chips
Frankensteins- vanilla pudding, green food coloring, crushed up oreos, and sharpie
Jack-o-lanterns- mandarin orange cups and a sharpie
Spiders- oreos, twizzlers pull n peel, chocolate peanut butter, and mini reece's pieces

We all decided it was much more fun to eat our food when it resembled something!

What did you eat Wednesday for Halloween?

Foodie Pen Pal Reveal x 2!

I will be the first to admit that I am the worst Foodie Pen Pal, EVER! Actually  feel like I'm pretty good at sending things that my pen pals will love and I always get it sent off in time, BUT I am just now posting my September Foodie Pen Pal reveal, and I was suppose to post October's yesterday. Well better late than never; these pen pals deserve some recognition!

First off, my September Foodie Pen Pal was Katie from Connecticut. She's a high school music choir director and has a blog, so we definitely have a little in common! Check out her fun blog The Simple Song Bird! Katie sent me the most amazing goodies, I didn't know what to try first, check them out!

Look at the amazingness! I told her I love coffee, chocolate, and peanut butter and that's exactly what I got!

These 3 little guys area yummy, especially the pumpkin, I'm trying to use it sparingly!

Coffee from her local coffee joint and HOMEMADE peanut butter!

Tasty candy that doesn't have all the extra junk in it, hence the name- Unjunked!

Who doesn't love fruit strips?!

Thanks again Katie, everything was fabulous!

My October Foodie Pen Pal came from Jennifer who lives in northern Kentucky, just outside of Cincinnati, OH. Soooooo she's a Buckeye fan, booooo! Just kidding Jennifer! She did send me some Buckeyes to eat and as I devour one right now, I have to say they are quite delicious! They're from a local candy store, apparently they also sell Buckeye Blitz ice cream which sounds like absolute heaven...I just might have to visit Ohio. Jennifer also sent me some BBQ potato chips from her hometown, and two cans of chili from Cincinnati which I can't wait to try. Thanks Jennifer!

Jennifer also sent two recipes for Ohio State Buckeyes and Chili Dip!

If you want to know more about how to be a Foodie Pen Pal, check out The Lean Green Bean and get in on the fun! If you love food, you'll love being a Foodie Pen Pal!

Thankful Thursday Halloween Edition

It's November 1st!!! Where did October go?! Yikes!

Several bloggers I follow write 'Thankful Thursday' posts and I love reading them. A Dash of Meg and Jessie Loves to Run are some of the Thankful Bloggers who have inspired me to write this post. Obviously November is a month that revolves around thanksgiving (and food!) but I'm going to attempt to make this a weekly post all year round!

Today I am thankful for my nephew Brylen. He was quite a surprise coming in to our lives, but I seriously can't imagine what life would be like without the little nugget! I'm also thankful that I only live 10 blocks from my parents and sister so I can see Brylen nearly everyday!

Brylen was a Transformer for Halloween last night and he is now realizing the joys of CANDY!

Link up with Jessie Loves to Run to find out what others are Thankful for this Thursday!