Turkey Meatballs For Dinner: The Only Way to Make It Through a Monday

This is one of my favorite recipes and is one that both my kids love and continue to ask for year after year. If you knew my kids, you would be very impressed and running to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. It is very easy and based off a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis,  but I tweaked a few things and this is my version. Just as an aside, when I cook this recipe, I like to pull my v neck down so you can see my cleavage, say pecorino romano with an Italian accent that I don't have and pretend I'm on Food Network. That was mean. Sorry. 

Add together in a large bowl:

3 T ketchup

1 Egg

1/4 c plain breadcrumbs

1/2 c pecorino romano (NO SUBSTITUTIONS- I think this is the secret to my success)

Once this is mixed well, add in 20 oz ground turkey (I use Shady Brook Farms). Form into meatballs.

Get out a large pan and clean out the cat fur (how did that get there anyway?). Heat a pan with 1 T vegetable oil and cook meatballs, turning so that all sides get done. Remove from pan and blot, blot, blot with paper towels. Try to wait for them to cool before eating a few. Top with your favorite sauce. Serve with more pecorino romano. 

There is no picture, because I would never be able to do them justice. I found this on Pinterest and it made me laugh. Let me know what you think!

A little lipstick never killed nobody

That Fergie song, "A little party never killed nobody" is stuck in my head! And that is the only line I know, which makes it even more annoying. Argh


I think I am a lipstick addict. I have lipstick in my car, in my bag, in my coat pocket, in my gym bag, stashed around the house, and other random places. You know how people put on a winter coat for the first time in the fall and find money, well I find my missing lipstick. Or lipsticks. 

Living in New England, my lips get very dry in the winter. They also get dry in the summer. I know that often the heat or air conditioning is blowing right on me and that doesn't help. I also know that I talk all day at work and that doesn't help either. Plus, when I exercise, I breathe through my mouth.  All these things combined give me chapped lips. So I am that person who always has lipstick or lipgloss on.  Even at the gym or when I go for a run. Especially when I run. I don't bring keys, but I do bring something for my lips. I am really good at applying gloss while running. At least I think I am.

I have come to the conclusion that Bobbi Brown rich lip color stays on me the best while hydrating my lips. So, when I was at the mall trying to cool off the other day, I stopped at the Bobbi Brown counter at Nordstrom and a very lovely lady helped me pick out a new shade for summer! Such a little thing, but boy, lipstick can be a real picker-upper. Of course, I also walked out with the Sheer Color Cheek tint in Summer PInk and I am in love. It looks like I have a natural rosy flushed cheek and even a makeup klutz like me can put it on. I'm even debating getting another one. The lip color that I bought is  

The top color is the lipstick. These pictures don't do the colors justice, though. Note to self, next time apply lipstick over age spots or burn from oven!

As far as lip gloss goes, Carmex is the worst. It just dries my lips out. I love Aquaphor and
I did walk out with Bobbi Brown tube tint in Pink Cloud. It is a little sticky but stays on pretty well. It's a really gorgeous color. I think I got suckered into spending $19 for it. But that's okay, since I know I will end up using it.

Somedays, or most days,  when I don't get to shower after the gym and I am wearing my sweaty Lululemon clothes, I don't feel quite so yucky because I have lipstick on! 

How to get a free razor so you can show off your toned arms!

Text the word SCHICK to 24444 to get yourself a FREE Schick Hydro Silk Razor!

I did this a while ago and the offer is still available. The razor came pretty quickly. No tricks. I have unlimited texting on my plan so it really didn't cost anything. 

I found this on swaggrabber.com. A great place to check for freebies and deals. 

Workout clothes are expensive, here's how to save a penny...or $14

I don't know if you have ever used Ebates before, but I won't shop online now without going through them. Basically, when you know you are going to make a purchase, go to ebates.com, look up the store you want to shop, and check out the percentage that you can save. It is totally legit and every few months they send you a check. For real. Just for shopping, which most of us do anyway, right? When I bought my most recent Asics Gel Noosa Tri 7 running shoes (yes, I know, I really like saying that), I saved $14 by going through Ebates. I shopped at Eastbay.com and they were currently at 14%. I just got an email that the cash was credited to my account. Check it out below.


http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=R6jAuu%2F6PcjK2zr3%2Fgev4Q%3D%3D


Unfortunately, ladies, Lululemon does not do this. I don't know why retailers use Ebates, and I don't really care, just show me the money. Nordstroms, Sephora, Macys, Victoria's Secret, all the other stores you can think of. Not Zappos, unfortunately, but you can't beat their fast shipping.


The other place I always check out before I make any kind of online purchase is Retailmenot.com . They often have free shipping codes that I otherwise wouldn't know about.

Can you tell I have too much time on my hands as I wait for the repairman?

A healthy smoothie to satisfy my sweet tooth

Well unfortunately, I didn't get to the gym this morning because I am waiting for the air conditioner repairman to come. I always take a killer tabata class on Sundays, and hate to miss it, but sometimes life gets in the way. I try not to beat myself up over it too much, even though I was really looking forward to it. Crazy huh? Anyway, to make up for my lack of exercise, I decided I was just going to eat really clean today. Since I am basically hanging out waiting, there is no excuse for not eating well. 

I found this apple pie smoothie recipe on Pinterest, of course, and followed it back to Dashingdish.com and tweaked the recipe a bit. Smooothies are all the rage, now aren't they? I find that I can throw spinach into any smoothie and I don't taste it, although it does turn it green. The cottage cheese just makes it creamy, you can't taste it either. I found it was sweet enough and I didn't need any additional ingredients. Also, I have a Vitamix, so I can put in a chopped apple, skin and all, and it blends it beautifully. If your blender can't mix up an apple, then you definitely have to make adjustments. If it is too thick, then you can add water. I don't like my smoothies cold, but if you do, you could of course add ice. 

1/2 cup cottage cheese (the kind where it is 90 calories per half cup)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Designer Whey)

1 apple, any variety, in pieces, with skin on

2 T sugar free butterscotch pudding mix 

1/2 t apple pie spice

1/2 cup almond milk (I use So Delicious Vanilla Almond Milk Plus)

handful of baby spinach

It has tons of protein and is really very filling, so it is perfect for after a work out or even to go. A co-worker mentioned to me that she tried a carrot cake smoothie, and lo and behold it is also from dashingdish.com, so I might try that next. Do you have a favorite smoothie?

Anything to escape the heat- Lululemon Charcoal Wunder Unders

Where do you go to cool off? The mall, of course. Next to the Apple store, I think Lululemon is the second busiest store. I know I am there way too much. I wonder what percent of Lululemon's sales are now from teenage girls buying headbands? My daughter "inherited" mine when I discovered the gangbuster, but every time I am in there now, it seems as if teenage girls are swarming the headband area! If anyone has a teenage girl, tell me if you recognize this outfit: Uggs and North Face jackets (I live in New England), skinny jeans or leggings and Lululemon headbands. Messy buns or top knots. Like clones.

In my mission to find better running shorts, I tried on the Groovy shorts. While I liked them, they fit me pretty much like the turbo that I have. I also tried the Speed short, but they were way to low and short. I really tried to love the Work it Out shorts, but they just didn't lay right on me. Plus, I do like a liner and they kindof got bulky at the pockets. Oh well. I did walk out with the new wunder unders. Oops.

Black is just so forgiving but I have so many black crops. That is how I rationalized a new pair. We will see if I end up keeping them because I wonder about sweat and cellulite. I love the New Limits Tank and the Back on Track tanks because they are super at camouflaging the midsection but there isn't enough support for me in them for anything but lifting weights. I have a few and just can't justify getting more. I wish Lululemon had a tank or top that wasn't super tight. Oh, and I loved the Voyage hoodie and Go With The Flow bag. I made myself walk out without them, but I know that I can order them online. Thinking about the gray/black hoodie and I'm not sure what color bag. Might be a great beach bag. Hmmmm. 

Oh- Nouvelle Vague (like a robins egg blue) by Chanel on my toes! Major blister from wearing my summer shoes. All you gals who live in the warm weather all year round have no idea what I just said, right? 

I get a kick out of group kick and Lululemon clam diggers

What a corny name for a post, but it is going to be another hot and steamy day here and when I went to turn my central air conditioning on nothing happened. The earliest I can get service is sometime next week and according to the repairman, everyone in the area is having air conditioner problems. Of course. My cats are ragdolls and have long fur, and it is so humid, I swear one of them has a good frizz going on. It was a very uncomfortable night sleeping and I am very tired. Hence, the very uncreative post title.

But, I am still going to the gym!  Every Saturday I take a Group Kick class (part of the Body Training System) and just love it. First, it really feels good to air punch and kick and I get all of my frustrations out (two teenagers, remember?). You don't have to be coordinated at all. Also, it is a totally killer class. It NEVER gets easy and it is a complete body workout. For example, there is a ton of core work before we even hit the floor for abs. Your arms are moving/punching the whole time, so your shoulders get fatigued. Every front kick or side kick or roundhouse kick is like a crunch, in addition to legs. Also, the music is great, which is a great motivator for me. The last reason I go every week is that there is a group of women who take the class with me who will ask "Where the bleep were you?" It is nice to be held accountable and I know I better have a really good excuse . So for today, all of those above reasons will push me to work out even though I am too tired to go kick.

Just getting dressed is really a workout in this heat, but I decided to wear a very old pair of Lululemon clam diggers. I know there are new ones out in stores and I am tempted, but I already have these in grey and black. Mine have a drawstring waistband, which makes the waist a little bulky,  and I know the new ones don't. I love them since they have pockets (deep enough to put my iphone in) and being 5'1, they hit me just right. Lululemon energy bra and plain old black cool racerback.

Boy, seeing this side view makes me want to kick extra hard!

My question to you is how old is too old to wear not-black crops or pants to the gym? Lululemon has some great colors out and I am so tempted, but then I remind myself how old I am and stop. The power purple clam diggers look fun. I can't imagine wearing the white ones. I have a pair of the In the Flow crops in black and really like them. I am considering the inkwell. I did try the power purple on in the store but didn't buy them because I was also worried about sweat and thought it was a little much. Off to get happy!