So I have a love/hate relationship with this whole blogging situation. Being able to express myself through writing is something that I absolutely adore and find completely therapeutic. On the other hand, I sometimes feel like I’m just complaining about something or am so ridiculously happy with something that it seems like I’m just this “life is wonderful, nothing gets me down” kind of gal. I guess all I can do is just stick with it. Write about daily happenings (good and bad), share some recipes/projects and just do the damn thing.

Claire Marie: wine lover, pseudo-foodie, mom to fur-babies, socialite, girlfriend, auntie to the best kiddos, daughter to some kick-ass parents and friend. I’m sure there are many more descriptors that could be used to describe me, but those are some of the titles that I wear with great pride.

Speaking of wine lover and pseudo foodie, this weekend is going to be pretty awesome in those departments. On Friday night, one of our favorite wineries is having their Spring Release Winemaker Dinner and if it’s anything like last year, sure to be a doozy. Saturday we are going back to W2 to do a little bit of wine tasting and then to a MAGIC SHOW! Yea, I know .. I’m psyched about this one. Sunday is Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby, so it might get a little crazy. I’m thinking margaritas, big hats & mint juleps .. Yikes.

Ciao for now.

I know that this phrase has been used a zillion different times with a zillion different quips at the end. But today it is really making sense!

The simplest things can be daunting if you make it that way. I should lose about ~30+ pounds. Seems like a big number and something unattainable…but when you break it up into small goals and congratulate yourself on these small victories, the goal is so much closer and seems much more reachable.

So that, my friends, is what I am here to do. I will give myself a goal every day, and when I reach it – HELL YEA, GO CLAIRE! It can, and probably will be, small things.

Today’s goal – get on the treadmill for 30 minutes.

XOXO,

C

Alright, folks. Let’s be serious – who loves getting up early to make breakfast and enjoy coffee/juice before work? Some of you, OK. Who always has the time to do it? Not so many of you. I fit into that crowd more often than not .. alarm goes off, it is “snoozed” several times as my kitty, puppy and R are so snuggly in the warm bed. One more snooze and then I realize that damnit, I have to get up if I’m getting to work on time and the coffee on before anyone gets there and the angry mob starts. So I get out of bed, make myself generally presentable and head out the door .. without breakfast and usually without coffee.

These little egg muffin scrambles are the perfect low calorie/point solution to running out the door without breakfast. They can be made up to a week ahead of time and are a wonderful grab n’ go breakfast.

EGG MUFFIN SCRAMBLE

Ingredients:

1. Lowfat milk (1/3 cup)
2. 4 eggs

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Crack eggs and add to magic bullet/blender
3. Add milk
4. Blend. Seriously easy, right? If you don’t want to use a kitchen tool, you can do this by hand but I’m much too lazy and I like having everything evenly blended.
5. Pour egg mixture into small silicone trays
6. Bake for 8 1/2 minutes, or until done. You can test this by inserting a toothpick and if it comes up clean, voila – DONE!

I then dished up a couple for breakfast, with some ketchup. Mmmm simple and yummy. Feel free to add whatever you would like into your egg mixture.

WW POINTS: 2 for 4 muffins

Beer, cheese, and my dear friend K? HECK YES! All the makings of a great afternoon off.

One of my favorite spots downtown, Zinful, has a great cheese plate & yummy beer/wine offerings. And although creepy Tina Turner was staring at us during our meal, we survived. And we talked about life and laughed .. Always laughing.

These random afternoons that end up as evenings are my most cherished memories. My friends are an extension oft family and as awkward and weird and goofy as we can be, we are the best.

This is one of those things that although I have heard it before, it doesn’t always pop into my mind in moments of frustration or weakness. What does pop into my mind is “Oh, it’s only one more snack ..” “My homework can be done tomorrow ..” etc. I really need to get my mind right and I don’t always know how to do it.

I guess one of the best ways to do it is just to take things day by day and focus on the small things. Life is lived in minutes, hours, and days. And before you know it, months and years.

XO,

C

Football Sunday and the Hawks are playing – so what to do? Make food of course and sit in front of the TV for hours on end. I had one appetizer in mind (buffalo chicken wontons) and needed another to round out the afternoon. Ryan got his thinking cap on and found Take A Bite Of My Life. Holy delicious and so extremely simple. Enjoy!

What you need:

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1roll of breakfast sausage

1container of Crescent Rolls.

How to make:

Brown sausage and combine with softened cream cheese.

DO NOT SEPERATE THE ROLLS! Spread the mixture onto the rolled out crescent roll sheet.

Roll the rolls (I know, sounds silly) back up – long ways

Put in refrigerator for ~30 minutes or freezer if you’re in a rush. They just need to be firm.

Take out of fridge/freezer and cut into the size of wheel you so desire.

Pop in the oven for ~20 minutes at 375.

ENJOY! If you cut the wheel into 16 pieces, each wheel is 3 WW+ points

I’m baaaaccckk .. (insert creepy voice). I have been a “blogger” for awhile, but not with consistency for quite some time. I use quotes because I feel like bloggers have influence, and that is something that I don’t think I’ve given the blog-o-sphere.

One thing I do intend to do on this blog is to share – drink & food recipes, inspiration and hopefully some laughter. Please feel free to share these posts with others, via facebook, your blog or in any other way.