Three Beautiful Things Thursday!

I've missed a couple of Tuesdays, but I thought it was about time for another Three Beautiful Things post!

*Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays is a series I was inspired to create after reading Clare's blog: Three Beautiful Things, and she invites everyone to join. The idea is that you post three beautiful things about your day, life, the world, whatever. Please join the fun and post your own Three Beautiful Things (3BT) in the comments (or on your own blog and post a link in the comments so that I can follow along)!*

1) I received two free 10 minute massages this week! Because my work is awesome and invited some massage therapists to give out massages at our Health and Benefits Fairs.

2) I finally talked to my mom on the phone today. We've been playing phone tag for a few days now, and we don't talk often. I invited her out to come stay with us for Christmas. Fingers crossed. They might not do it, but I pulled the grandma also lives out here, and she hates flying at Christmas card. Also, the my husband's family comes to visit all the time, and you've never seen our apartment cards! Maybe I will guilt trip them into coming. Haha!

3) Halloween is tomorrow, and I have a sweet costume to wear this year: The Bride (aka Beatrix Kiddo) from Kill Bill. If you don't know who that is, you need to watch Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2 ASAP. They're both on Netflix. Also, here's a picture:
(I have the sword, and I'll be wearing the same jumpsuit, minus the blood splatters.)


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Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays #3

Welcome to my third "Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays" post!

*Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays is a new series I was inspired to create after reading Clare's blog: Three Beautiful Things, and she invites everyone to join. The idea is that you post three beautiful things about your day, life, the world, whatever. Please join the fun and post your own Three Beautiful Things (3BT) in the comments (or on your own blog and post a link in the comments so that I can follow along)!*

1) I worked out twice today! I did arm weights and crunches during my lunch break and 40 minutes of biking after work.

2) I didn't lose any weight this past week, but I also didn't gain any! :) I focused a lot on cooking and food last week, so I'm going to put a little more emphasis on cardio (biking, swimming, and maybe the elliptical if my foot permits it). I did not swim at all last week, which explains my lack of progress on the weight loss front.

3) I made up a new meal plan for this week with lots of fun recipes! They say it takes 21 days to start a new habit, and I want this one to stick. I've been trying out a lot of new recipes and actually getting excited about cooking something different each night. I can already tell I've got some winners planned for this week. Check out this week's meal plan below:

I'm actually a day behind on this week's meal plan because yesterday my husband had to go to a dinner meeting for work. His favorite meal is tacos, and I didn't want him to miss out on the deliciousness which will be burrito night! So I stopped by the store and got some veggie sushi for dinner for myself and some of the groceries on my list, which I didn't have time to shop for this weekend. I was too busy binge-watching Charmed on Netflix (Yes, it's kind of an embarrassing thing to admit.), taking my dog, Miki, to the dog park, and then also taking her to Petsmart in an attempt to meet Squidward from the Lost Dog Rescue.  Squidward wasn't there, but she became instant best buddies with a dog named Cooper, who unfortunately is much too big to share our 1 1/2 bedroom apartment. However, he is a very sweet guy if you happen to live in the DC/Northern Virginia area and are in the market to adopt a 100 lb. friendly, but calm love bug.

Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays #2

Welcome to my second "Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays" post!

*Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays is a new series I was inspired to create by reading Clare's blog: Three Beautiful Things, and she invites everyone to join. The idea is that you are to post three beautiful things about your day, life, the world, whatever. Please join the fun and post your own Three Beautiful Things (3BT) in the comments (or on your own blog and post a link in the comments so that I can follow along)!*

1) The cafeteria at my work now offers tofu on their salad bar! I'm a fan, and to show my total appreciation for this fact, at 12:30 pm, I bought all the remaining spicy Thai tofu and put it in a container to save for tomorrow's lunch. My coworker (a fellow vegetarian) and I also told the chef personally that we really love the new tofu he had out. So hopefully my cafeteria will keep it up with all the awesome vegetarian options!

2) I biked today (on an indoor exercise bike), and it didn't hurt my bum foot. Yay! My bum foot is not so bum anymore, and the cardio options are expanding!

3) I'm going to a mid-week party at a friend's house tonight and bringing some delicious homemade Baked Beans, recipe courtesy of Happy Herbivore!  Yes, mid-week parties are totally a thing when your husband and his friends happen to have weird work schedules where Tuesday is part of their "weekend".

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Stay tuned for an update on the meal plan I made this week, which I am using in an effort to try new recipes from all the awesome cookbooks that I got for Christmas and my birthday and spend less time wondering what I'm going to have for dinner and from where I should order takeout yet again.  I received so many great vegan cookbooks! Thank you friends and family! This week my meal plan features The Happy Herbivore Cookbook By: Lindsay Nixon (who I actually met this past November when she came to DC) and Vegan Comfort Foods from Around the World By: Veronica Grace of the Low Fat Vegan Chef.

Also, I was totally going to upload a post about the first recipe (well, 3rd because I technically started the new-recipe-extravaganza on Sunday) I tried on Monday night, but my husband and I totally got distracted my adding new photos from my camera to Facebook instead of adding food photos to my blog. Oops!

New Series - Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays!

I've decided to switch things up on the blog a little bit! Yes, I'm a vegan, and yes, I like to exercise, but I'd also like to write about non-vegan things, like doing crafts (mostly knitting and yes, there are some non-animal fibers vegans can knit), music I like, and just general life events that I'd like to share. I follow some other lifestyle blogs, and I really like the personal touch of reading along and following the story of someone's life.

I've been vegan for over a year now, and it's feeling like old hat to me now. Don't get me wrong! I still love reading vegan blogs and getting ideas for new recipes, and I'm sure I'll continue to post my own. However, I want to expand my focus to the wider, more accessible world of the blogosphere.

So starting today, I'm doing a new series: Three Beautiful Things Tuesdays! There is a wonderful blog entitled Three Beautiful Things hosted by Ms. Clare, and she invites everyone to join in the party. The idea is that you are to post three beautiful things about your day, life, the world, whatever. I don't think I can commit to everyday. Therefore, I'm only committing to Tuesdays, which should hopefully also help me stay more on track for a regular blogging schedule. (I'll at least be posting new content every Tuesday! Yay!)

I hope you enjoy my Three Beautiful Things (or 3BT), and also please check Clare's original TBT blog out!

1.  Yesterday night, I went swimming for the first time since my foot surgery on July 28th, and it was so great! I'm in much better shape than I thought. I swam 1,000 meters (further than expected) and even passed some people because they were swimming slower than me!

2.  This morning, I had an awesome (vegan) blueberry muffin for breakfast, courtesy of the awesome vegan-goods-stocked-bakery at the Tenleytown Whole Foods (near the pool where I like to swim)!

3.  I had enough time this morning to make a delicious chai spice latte and take my time to really savor it (with the previously-mentioned muffin)!  I'm usually in a rush in the mornings and not a morning person, so this does not happen often in my world.

Please feel free to add your own Three Beautiful Things in the comment section if you feel so inclined!