Monthly Archives: October 2013

BCFO Hooked on Dance Event

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a great weekend and are feeling refreshed as we start this new week.

My weekend was a complete whirlwind, but I loved every second of it. So let’s back up to where it all started on Friday evening!

BCFO Hooked on Dance

HOD2013OutsideFinalEach year during the month of October, the local Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks (BCFO) hosts a big fancy event called Hooked on Dance. It’s an evening of dinner and dancing where they auction of lots of big ticket items and trips to raise money for the upcoming year. The tickets are really expensive as it is meant to raise lots of money for the foundation. This being said, it’s something that Nick and I would typically not even hear about, let alone attend. But my company decided to sponsor 3 tables and raffle off the seats to employees! I was lucky enough to snatch up 2 seats, and Nick and I jumped at the opportunity to attend a fancy event for free!

Right after work on Friday night we both rushed home and put on our dancing shoes before heading to the event. The theme was Havana Nights (think Cuban night club, circa 1950’s). I had absolutely nothing in my closet that actually fit this theme, so I reused the bridesmaid dress from Katie’s wedding!

photo(73)I was very excited to be able to rewear it, especially within only one week of the wedding I had it for!

As soon as we arrived to the University Plaza Convention Center, I started hunting for my girlfriend Carley. She works for the BCFO part time, and I knew she would be working the event that night!

photo(81)In that hot pink dress she was hard to miss! She was busy all evening handing out wine and helping with odds and ends, but we got to chat quite a bit. It was good to see a familiar face!

The evening started with some cheese and crackers appetizers, along with some wine that was provided at each table.

photo(79)I couldn’t have much cheese, but they had a huge assortment of different crackers, fruits, and veggies that I devoured. I was hungry!

Then it was onto the main meal which was served buffet style. Going into the buffet line, I knew I would probably eat every bite of my dessert, so I chose to stay away from the dinner rolls and potatoes and splurge more on veggies and protein. So I started with a small dinner salad with Italian dressing.

photo(76)And then it was onto some green beans, fish, chicken, and pork!

photo(77)Yes, I had to try each type of meat they had. It all looked so good!

photo(78)Nick was very enthused with his meal. He’s a ‘meat and potato’ kind of guy, so he was happy with the buffet selection.

Then it was onto my favorite course: dessert!

photo(75)This cake had an orangey hint that made it delicious! It was moist and the icing was light and fluffy between each layer. And yes, I ate every last bite. 🙂

photo(72) photo(71)The night continued on with the live auction of various things: trips to Mexico, fresh meat, antique items…to name a few. We didn’t bid on anything since most items started at $500 and went all the way up to $15,000!

Carley and I ran into another Kappa Delta sorority sister, Michelle, and had to snap a photo.

photo(69)It was such a fun night! We ended the evening with munching around on leftovers and dancing for a bit before heading home.

photo(70)We were home around 10:30 pm, and I headed straight to bed since the next morning’s wake up call would be at 6:30 am to head out for Kansas City! But more on that later. 🙂

Hope you’re enjoying your Monday!

Party Weekend Anticipation

Happy Friday everyone!

I’ve got to admit, this week has gone by super slow compared to my last few crazy weeks. But we’ve made it, and I’m so excited to get this weekend party started!

Morning Workout

Because Nick and I will be attending the BCFO Hooked on Dance event tonight, I made sure to wake up (not so) bright and early to get in a good workout. Yes, I know I can’t ‘out workout’ a night of terrible eating and drinking, but it’ll ease the pain a little I think. 🙂

I started with a 30 minute interval on the treadmill starting with an incline walk and then alternating between a 2 minute jog, a 2 minute faster run, and then a 30 sec – 1 min. sprint. It got my heart pumping, and I was a sweaty mess when I hopped off the treadmill at the 30 minute mark! I continued my workout with some strength training that focused on my thighs and upper torso before finishing it out with a mile on the Elliptical. It felt good to break a sweat!

Breakfast

I was on the ball last night and prepared myself a bowl of butterscotch overnight oats before hitting the sack after Jazzercise.

photo(127)This stuff was extra thick this morning, so I topped it off with some more soy milk before I headed out the door to work. It hit the spot after my workout!

Lunch

It was a busy morning around the office, and it was lunchtime before I knew it. I knew lunch today had to be light since tonight’s agenda includes a big buffet meal. So I opted for a small salad topped with sugar snap peas and some light Italian dressing!

photo(129)Extra green and extra healthy. Yum! Sugar snap peas are so yummy and have the most satisfying crunch. I’m completely addicted.

I then used up some leftover sauteed broccoli slaw from my meal last night to make another eggie scramble in the microwave. Warning: this looks pretty gross, but it’s so tasty and filling!

photo(128)I added about 1 cup of the cooked broccoli slaw to 2 whipped eggs with a splash of almond milk and salt and pepper. Then I cook it in the microwave for 1 minute, stir it all up, and then microwave for 1 more minute and it’s ready to eat! Seriously filling. I love it!

Tonight I’ll be rushing home to get spiffied up in a TBA dress before we head off to the gala event. I can’t wait! Then tomorrow at 8 AM, I’ll be heading to KC with my fellow Jazzercise instructors for our district meeting. I may be scarce this weekend, but I’ll be back asap with some (hopefully) amusing photos and stories!

Enjoy the Fall weather that is on it’s way tonight; I can’t wait to wear some boots and leggings this weekend. 🙂  See you later!

Weekend Prep

This upcoming weekend is going to be a busy busy one, and this hit me yesterday about midday. Luckily, Wednesday night is my night off of teaching Jazzercise so I was home for the evening to take care of a few things that I know won’t get done Saturday or Sunday!

HOD2013OutsideFinalRight after work tomorrow night, Nick and I will be getting snazzy and heading to the BCFO’s Hooked on Dance event. It starts at 6 PM, so I tried to figure out our outfits last night. The theme is Havana Nights – so think Cuban Salsa club, circa 1950. At least that’s what I have in my head. And I don’t have much in my closet that fits this bill. But I have 3 options that I will pick as soon as I get home tomorrow. My bridesmaid dress from Katie’s wedding may be making another appearance this weekend! The weather will hopefully help me decide.

Hopefully this event doesn’t keep us out too late, because Saturday I’m heading off to Kansas City bright and early with our Jazzercise gang! It’s our semi-annual district meeting. All instructors and class owners have a very large meeting to discuss mostly business-related stuff. It’s always fun, especially because I get to travel with this group!

882611_10151533357345470_1187782214_oThis is our photo from the last district meeting earlier this year. This group of ladies is so much fun. We always have a blast when we go on these little trips together!

It’ll be a smaller group of us going up on Saturday morning (some of the instructors aren’t able to attend), so we’ll all be piling into one car. It’ll be a cozy ride! Then Saturday night after the meeting, we are going out to the Power & Light District in KC for a fun evening. We have a suite for all of us that evening, and we’ll head back to Springfield the next morning. It’ll be a quick trip but lots of fun!

Nick has graciously agreed to keep his weekend low-key so he can hang around the house and take care of Mac. I’m hoping to be home by around midday Sunday to get a few normal weekend errands done, but I know it’s going to turn into a whirlwind weekend where I’ll be racing to even get to bed on time Sunday night.

But let’s back up to lunchtime yesterday…I skipped over it last night because of my busy evening of catching up on cleaning and laundry. But it was a good one!

Eggie Lunch

I was craving eggs again when I got home yesterday! So I whipped 2 eggs in a bowl with 2 spoonfuls of cottage cheese and some salt and pepper. I microwaved this for 1 minute and then added a small can of mixed veggies to make a fairly colorful scramble!

photo(126)The cottage cheese keep the eggs from getting extra firm, but after 2 1/2 minutes in the microwave total, I was sure the eggs were cooked all the way through. This was super quick and I was stuffed after all the eggs and veggies were in my tummy!

photo(125)Eggs in the microwave = my lunchtime savior! Yum!

Breakfast

Breakfast today was a little sad. I started my morning at the gym after fighting with my alarm clock. This in turn made me late to everything the rest of the morning. Ugh! Soooo in my haste, I grabbed the first things from my fridge and pantry that I saw.

photo(123)The bag is already opened in the picture, but these Kay’s Protein Pretzel Sticks are actually really tasty when you want something crunchy! I grabbed them to go along with my breakfast because they have 12g of protein, are gluten free, and are cinnamon toast flavor! But they are very good for being gluten free. Really.

photo(124)I also had some Greek yogurt and a big ol’ apple that I chopped up quickly to avoid the awkward apple crunching in my office. No one wants to listen to someone else chomping into an apple at 8 AM.

This mix kept me full most of the morning. I had a small banana and some trail mix as lunch time approached. It’s been a pretty hungry day today. I blame my workouts and my run from yesterday. 🙂

Lunch was the typical salad and Lean Cuisine – yes, I know I said I wanted to get away from the packaged/processed foods. It’ll happen…one day. 🙂

The weekend prep has to move ahead this evening since tomorrow we’ll be dancing the night away! Tonight will consistent of Jazzercise at 6:45 and then a little packing for the weekend trip to KC. The temps are supposed to be chilly, especially when we are out downtown on Saturday night! So maybe some scarves, tights, and boots will be in order. Yay for Fall clothing! LOVE IT!

Have a great Thursday night, ya’ll. We’re almost to the weekend!