Summer Swap

About a month ago, a summer blog swap was announced by Angela at Sweet Tea Diaries, and I was super excited to sign up! My assigned swap partner was Elizabeth of Precious and Pink, and I was really excited to put a package together for her. This morning, I received her wonderful package of goodies, and want to share with you how thoughtful Elizabeth is! Here's what was in the box:

A beautiful blue and white beach towel.

J.Crew flowered flip-flops in dark blue. To DIE for!

A silver shell-topped bottle stopper.

I'm so glad I signed up with this swap - it was a great opportunity to connect with another blogger on a different side of the country! Again, thanks to Angela at Sweet Tea Diaries for hosting the swap, and Elizabeth of Precious and Pink for being a great swap partner!

Wedding Wednesdays - Episode 8

So it's legitimately been a while since I posted about how our wedding plans are coming along. Sorry! The only real progress that I've made since last time is going dress shopping with my mom and sister - and I can't post about that because Matt reads the blog and the dress has to be a surprise! I want him to be totally shocked (in a good way) when I walk down the aisle, both by the dress AND me!

Anyway, so what HAVE we been doing to get ready for the wedding (which, PS, is only 311 days away!)? Well... we've gotten a TON of information from our church's wedding coordinator - she's there to help with the service and everything that happens within the ceremony itself. One of the primary things that we've been tasked with by her (among the MANY other things that need to get done soon) is deciding on readings for the ceremony!

To help us make our decision, the wedding coordinator sent us a booklet listing out a bunch of different readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Gospels, as well as providing some commentary on them. We need one reading from each section for our nuptial mass.

The readings suggestions workbook.

She also sent us a bunch of programs from weddings that have been recently held at the church to show what readings others have used - but I'll be honest, I looked at them more for stationary and colors ideas! I really like the longer single-sheet idea as opposed to the booklet... but that's another post. :D

Sample programs.

So, blog world, what were the readings at your wedding, or what readings would YOU recommend? I've got a few in mind already, but I'm curious about what others have done.

Grocery Blogging

Yesterday night I had one of the most financially productive grocery shopping trips ever. Seriously! I was surprised! I went in with a hefty list of fresh produce and other foodstuffs to pick up, and managed to walk out having only spent $26! All you Inland Northwesterners, head to Rosauers this week for some excellent deals!

The goods!

Here's what I picked up:

• 2 very large oranges
• Cantalope
• Pepper-Jack cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chiles
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 2 zucchini
• 2 green bell peppers
• 2 large onions
• Package of whole wheat fusili pasta
• Loaf of french bread
• Tostitos chips (Matt's special request)
• Package of salad greens
• Cayenne pepper

This will make everything on this week's menu plan, with a bit leftover for additional meals and snacks. And you better believe I'll be freezing some of that cantalope for post-workout snacks! Yum!

Donate to Jenna!

In the off chance that some of you readers do not also read Jenna's blog (Eat, Live, Run) you should head over there and donate to her Team in Training run! All proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - a great cause that helps tons of people with those two horrible diseases. For a $15 donation she'll send you two great e-cookbooks, and trust me, they're awesome! Tons of great recipes in both that I'm going to be trying out soon.

To read Jenna's post about the cookbooks, head here; or, go directly to Jenna's Team in Training fundraising page to make your donation!

Gym Bag of DOOM

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I take to the gym lately. My shoulders and upper back have been bothering me, and I think it's because of all of the stuff I carry in my gym bag every day! Seriously, when I got an official gym bag months ago, it had just the basics of gym-going staples. Now, it's expanded to a 20 pound beast that I don't know what to do with!

What's in the bag?

• Running skirt
• Shorts
• 2 t-shirts
• Sports bra
• Extra pair of underwear
• Flip-flops
• Athletic shoes
• Bath towel
• Hand towel
• Brush
• Loofah
• Hair dryer
• Trial size shampoo, conditioner, and body wash
• Combination lock
• Tampon
• Water bottle
• Lotion
• Sun screen
• iPod
• Not pictured: running sunglasses, gym card, extra socks

I mean, looking at the picture, it seems like a lot. But it all fits in the bag, and I can't think of a single thing in there that I don't use on at least 50% of my workouts. I just wish it wasn't so darned HEAVY.

What does the inside of your gym bag look like?

Menu Plan Monday

It's been a while since I actually planned out meals ahead of time, but it's nice to sit down and think about it and make good choices. Lots of cheese and spice in this week's meals, but sometimes that's just what you need! I'm trying out something new this week - front-loading the cooking so that there are more options for at-work lunches. We'll see how it works (and if I get sick of cooking on Wednesday or not!). Check out Org Junkie's blog for more menu planners!

Monday: Sweet Potato Chili in the crock pot

Tuesday: Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas

Wednesday: Garlicious Mac-and-Cheese (recipe is at the bottom of the post)

Thursday: Grilled cheese and soup (or leftover chili) after my run

Friday: Stir fry or curry with leftover veggies and tofu, served over brown rice.

Saturday: Festival food while we enjoy the Hoopfest craziness downtown - and maybe seeing Liz because she's on the fence about coming even though she knows she really wants to!

Sunday: Leftovers - because no one wants to cook on Sundays!

Road Trip Eats

Today Matt and I are embarking on a road trip across the state for my little brother's graduation party (congrats Joel!). The 4.5 hour drive usually involves junk food of various sorts - chips, soda, candy-bars, etc. But, in the spirit of healthy eating, and inspired by many other bloggers, I'm determined to snack on some healthier options as we make the trek to Seattle. So here's what I've got packed:

Half a package of baby carrots and half a fresh cucumber.

Leftover peanut-butter and chocolate granola bars (homemade! yum!)

Because we don't road-trip very often, I'm not sure how this is going to work out. But it's summer, and road-trips are more likely to happen. So you people that road-trip a lot -- what are your favorite (healthy) road-tripping snacks?