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Archive for the ‘Breakfast’ Category

Holiday Eats, Goodies and Things

Posted in Breakfast, Chobani, Fresh Ideas, Holiday Meals, Holiday's, Recap Posts, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2013 | 9 Comments »

Better late than never… Here’s a little post about what I made, ate, and enjoyed over the holidays.

To start I baked some white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, they happen to be my all time favorite cookie. EVER.

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Made my Favorite Instant Oatmeal Pancakes for breakfast.

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Even Elf loves Instant Oatmeal Pancakes.

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So easy and satisfying.

Instant Oatmeal Pancakes:

Ingredients:

  • 1 packet instant oatmeal (any flavor)
  • ½ banana , mashed
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1⁄3 cup Egg Beaters egg substitute

Directions:

  • Mix and combine all ingredients.
  • Pour into non-stick skillet and when you shake the pan and the pancake moves, it’s time to flip.
  • Brown on both sides

Top with your favorite ingredients and enjoy. I just topped with Chia seeds and agave nectar. Sheer Perfection.

I also made some Healthy Brown Krispy Treats. Gotta have good for you treats with the indulgent one! Just playing fair.

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Brown Rice Krispy Treats:

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups crispy brown rice cereal (I used Erewhon)
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter, peanut butter or other nut butter
  • 3/4 cup agave syrup

Preparation:

  1. Place cereal in a mixing bowl.
  2. Heat nut butter and rice syrup on low heat, stirring until warm and creamy, but not boiling.
  3. Pour the nut butter and rice syrup mixture over cereal and raisins and coat evenly.
  4. Press mixture evenly into a 13×9 casserole dish.
  5. I put the pan in the freezer for about 30 minutes to make it easier to cut into squares.

Made a big old bowl of #justaddgood Chobani for Breakfast from my Chobani score.

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Chia seeds, hemp seeds with a cup of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal, mixed with Vanilla Chobani and you have got your self a big old bowl of YUM.

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Indulged on a candy caramel apple. A co-worker gave this to me as a Christmas gift. It was love at first Sight, I mean Bite.

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Wow, so incredible. Almost ridiculous it was so good.

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For my contribution to my families holiday meal I made the Pioneer Woman Burgundy Mushrooms.

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They were so worth the 9 hour cook time. Yep, 9 hour cook time. Crazy right? But I have to tell you,  I will make them again and again.

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Check out her recipe.

Pioneer Woman Burgundy Mushrooms: 

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds White Button Mushrooms
  • 2 sticks Butter
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 quarts Burgundy Wine (other Reds Will Work)
  • 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • 2 cups Boiling Water
  • 4 whole Chicken Bouillon Cubes
  • 4 whole Beef Bouillon Cubes
  • 1 teaspoon Dill Seed
  • 5 cloves Garlic, Peeled
  • 2 teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

  • Thoroughly wash the mushrooms and throw them into a large stockpot. Add all the remaining ingredients except the salt. Stir to combine.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for six hours.
  • Remove the lid, then continue cooking, uncovered, for three hours.
  • Add salt to taste at the end if desired. The mushrooms will be very dark in color. Simmer until needed. Server straight from the pot or in a serving bowl.

I scored a new toaster oven from the rents. Love new kitchen appliances!

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Love the holidays, but I am so glad they are over. So are these two, they just want to get back to their normal daily routine; Wake up, Eat, Power Playtime for 30 Minutes, take a Long Nap, Wake Up when Mommy gets Home from Work, Eat Again, Endless Playtime and Daily Walk, Bedtime and Repeat!

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Check Ya Later.

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Toasted Millet Pumpkin Muffins

Posted in Pumpkin Recipes, Fresh Ideas, Snacks, Breakfast, Chobani, tagged , , , , , , , on October 4, 2012 | 11 Comments »

Sad to say, but summer is gone and into Autumn we go. So to ease into the change I made my favorite fall muffin, which happened to coincide with Spry Living featuring the muffin recipe on their on-line publication. I was super excited.

Click here, to follow the link for Toasted Millet Pumpkin Muffins.

This is the second time I have worked with Spry Living, back in July they featured my favorite Kale Smoothie. Click here, to follow the link.

kale blueberry fruit smoothie snack frozen treat dessert health spry

I really love Spry Livings site I have found so many amazing recipes and quite a few new blogs to follow, I highly recommend checking them out.

So back to the Pumpkin Millet Muffin, I love this amazing little muffin. It is packed with flavor and crunch, and as a bonus, they freeze well. I love foods that freeze well. I like to keep a few out a few and freeze the rest for another day. Plus their healthy, and who doesn’t like that?

These muffins contain easy ingredients I normally have on hand. Loving my huge tub of Chobani.

I love toasting the Millet, it smells so good and kinda pops and brown up.

Plus they are so easy to just plop a spoonful into the muffin tin because it’s a thick batter.

I’ve made these Pumpkin Toasted Millet Muffin before in an earlier post, I was still learning how to take pictures of food at the time, plus it was in the dead of winter and indoor pictures are a real challenge for me.

Pumpkin Millet Muffins

Ingredients:

Makes 12

These muffins offer an intriguing crunch, thanks to the toasted millet. Savor them warm from the oven, or freeze a batch to have on hand.  Allow muffins to cool completely before transferring to freezer bags. Thawed muffins may be reheated in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes or microwaved for 15-20 seconds to give them a little warmth.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup millet
1 egg
1/2 cup Chobani Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup soy or coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (to replace butter)
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
8 Packs Splenda
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin pan; set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add millet and toast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and just beginning to pop, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer millet to a plate to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Greek yogurt, soy milk, applesauce (to replace butter), pumpkin, Splenda packets and brown sugar; set aside. Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cooled millet in a medium bowl, then gently fold into egg mixture until just combined. Spoon batter into lined muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

I am already dreading taking indoor food pictures now that fall and winter are up on us. Having 90 percent of my pictures being taken outdoors in beautiful sunny weather has been a luxury for this beginner blogger and to go back to indoor food shots makes me sad, but I’m hoping to find a lighting solution by making a light box, or rigging a clip on light. I’ve been looking into some options.

So until then, I plan on taking as many outdoor pictures as possible! Natural Light Rules.

Hey, I also wanted to introduce you to a site I recently started to enjoy. Have you ever heard of SlimKicker? Well let me introduce you to them.

SlimKicker is an interactive website that helps you achieve a fitness goal or maintain your current one. It’s really fun to get your profile started. Once you do your off and running. On SlimKicker you log all your food and exercise and enjoy all the other features. One feature I really can not stop using is the challenges feature. I have a thing for challenges and this really keeps staying healthy fun. You can choose from tons of challenges, one I thought was perfect was the, Exercise before Facebook Challenge! Brilliant really.  It keeps you on track and accountable for all your actions and helps you make it fun and easy to stay focused. They also have a database with recipes and calorie counts for practically every food imaginable. Then add in all the support from the community and the blog with so many amazing posts that will inspire and support your health needs. Just thought I’d share, sometimes when you find a gem you have to share the wealth.

Check Ya Later.

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Sneaky Breakfast Cookie

Posted in Breakfast, Fresh Ideas, Oatmeal, Recipes, tagged , on August 22, 2012 | 16 Comments »

 

 

Sneaky Cookie, what….

Breakfast, it’s a must for me. I have found over the years that I need a really good breakfast. I prefer oatmeal to any other foods for breakfast. It sticks with me through the morning, it’s healthy and packed with fiber. So I am always on the hunt for a new recipes or a great new oatmeal idea. I eat OJIA almost every single day. I try to get my husband to eat more oatmeal, but he prefers bowls of cereal in the morning. So every so often I’ll leave him a jar of OIAJ for him to eat as a break from the box cereal, I’m always trying to sell him on the idea of eating daily oats, but he always goes back to cereal. So when I saw this Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie, I thought, how can he resist?

Well he couldn’t, he loved it. It is basically Overnight Oats, but on a plate. So I think I will make this for him a few times a week. I just feel like the protein value and the nutrients in the oats and nut butters are just so important to get the day started, and so void in boxed cereal. I want my husband around for a long time. So I am always trying to improve on the foods we eat.

Sneaky Breakfast Oatmeal Cookie

Adapted from the Fit Fitnessista

In a small bowl, add

1/3 cup oats

1 tbsp nut butter

1/2 scoop protein powder

Stir to combine and use the spoon to break up the nut butter until you have a nice crumbly mixture:

Then Add,

1/8 cup milk of your choice, and mix until fully moistened

Then, Pick your mix-ins. Here’s some ideas: Banana, raisins, pumpkin, chocolate chips, nuts

I used a ripe small banana

Stir in your mix-ins of choice

Now, season to taste. Here’s what I added: Stevia, cinnamon, unsweetened coco powder

Plop the mixture onto an appetizer-sized plate and with the back of your spoon, flatten it into a round shape with equal thickness throughout

Put the cookie in the fridge overnight. It will harden slightly from the nut butter and the oats will soften from the milk.

Enjoy a wonderful Sneaky Breakfast Cookie for breakfast.

Check Ya Later.

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Peanut Butter Amaze-Balls

Posted in Amaze-Balls, Blend Retreat, Breakfast, Fitmixer Boot Camp, Fresh Ideas, Oatmeal, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 11, 2012 | 13 Comments »

Love comes in many shapes and sizes, my new love is in the form of these protein peanut butter balls.

Amaze-Balls is really all I can say about them. Crazy how sometimes the littlest food item packs the most flavor and satisfy my sweet tooth.

I have seen these Protein Balls here and there on other Healthy Living Blogs, but never really saw a flavor that made me stand up and shout, I need those NOW. Yes, I have printed each and every recipe I have seen, but have yet to make them, that was until I saw Calee’s recipe for Chocolate Salty [protein] Balls.

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Adapted from Life + Running. You have to check out Calee’s blog, she is funny, smart, creative, and strong. She also has a mom named Dena, just in case you were wondering. We both completed the Fitmixer Boot Camp together, and we both attended the Blend Retreat. Her electric personality is contagious, go get some.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 Cup Rolled Oats
  • 1/4 Cup Protein Powder
  • 2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar
  • 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
  • 1 Teaspoon Unsweetened Coco Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

  1. Pour oats into food processor and pulse until they become a flour.
  2. Add protein powder and coco powder, and pulse to combine thoroughly.
  3. Mix in agave, peanut butter and vanilla — you can do this by hand if your machine can’t handle it. Pulse a few times and watch your machine. If it seems to be too much, pull dough out and mix by hand.
  4. Roll into tablespoon-sized balls.
  5. Refrigerate. Eat and Enjoy.

I Love these little balls so much. Thanks Calee for such a great recipe. Amaze Balls to the rescue.

Check Ya Later.

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Egg Sandwich

Posted in Breakfast, Eggs, Fresh Ideas, tagged , , , , on May 24, 2012 | 7 Comments »

Loving a good old egg breakfast. One for me two for him.

Microwave for one minute and thirty seconds. Make sure to spray the glass container with cooking spray.

LOVELY.

Toast an English Muffin, top with cheese and get your egg on.

Done. I could pound down two of these without a problem, they are so good. Easy fast food, made at home.

Question of the Day: Have you ever blown up an egg in the microwave? I have. Messy. Very Messy.

Check Ya Later.

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Double Dose of Kale

Posted in Breakfast, Fitmixer Boot Camp, Kale, Smoothie's, tagged , , , , , , on May 21, 2012 | 3 Comments »

We had amazing weather this weekend. I did so much yard work and gardening. I’m sore, tired and hot. Here’s a few of the eats I enjoyed over the weekend.

This is not my first time adding Kale to a smoothie, a while back I did a post called Keeping Up with Kale.  I enjoy adding greens to my smoothie, you get a nice color and it adds a little texture.

Added to my Fitmixer protein powder, makes a nice think shake.

This is my third kale smoothie this week, yummy.

After blending the kale leaves become tiny flecks.

For dinner I used the rest of the kale for Kale Chips. I used my toaster oven, it works great for small batches, if I have a large batch I use the oven.

Kale Chips

  • Preheat oven to about 375*
  • Tear the leaves off the thick stems into bite size pieces. Spread out on baking sheet
  • Drizzle with about 2 tsp of olive oil
  • Season with your favorite spices
  • Bake for about 15 minutes, until edges are brown and kale is crispy
Also roasted up some Tofu and Cauliflower. I love this combo because they can be roasted at the same time. 425* for 25 minutes. We also had a side of Udon noodles.

We ate dinner on the deck again tonight, I love dining outdoors, plus I wanted to take in all the work I had done, I love doing yard work and gardening. I am really excited to pick out all my annual flowers for pots which I plan on planting over the Memorial Day Holiday.  I will be posting a lot of  flower pictures this summer.

Question of the Day: Do you eat outside on nice days?

Check Ya Later.

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Biking, Popchips and the Grill

Posted in Blend Retreat, Breakfast, Fresh Ideas, Kale, Oatmeal, Recap Posts, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 19, 2012 | 13 Comments »

This has been my ride to work for the last week. My husband’s car is in the shop so he has been using mine. So my recreational vehicle has become my main vehicle. I will be the first to admit it, I am a fair weather rider. Well this past week I have ridden in a light sprinkle and 45 degree weather. It was not that bad, but the second I get my car back I am going to rejoice. It’s hard packing all I need for the day in those little side bags. Okay pity part is over.

Oats in a jar or OIAJ, for breakfast.

Added all my favorites, chia seeds, soy milk, nut butter and cinnamon.

Came home to this amazing delight. Popchips sent me a case of there Chili Lime Popchips. I love them, they are such a great company. They were a Blend Retreat sponsor and rewarded any of  the attendees with a 30 day supply for blogging about our experience with popchips. Well that was easy for me, I loved them, I cannot get enough of them.

The chili lime flavor is both spicy hot and sweet, so much flavor, I think  popchips are going to be a staple snack in my house from now on.

Such a satisfying healthy snack. Did I mention that they are all natural flavors and ingredients.

Then I got to dinner. Really excited to try a new recipe for kale.

My little kid, Killian loves him some kale. He loves any green leafy vegetable, well he love all veggies.

Side dish of couscous.

So this recipe for sautéed Kale is easy, it softens it and takes the bitter bite right out.

Cook the onions and garlic with some olive oil, about 5 minutes. Then add the kale and a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring as needed.

Grilled some chicken breasts.

Put it all together and sprinkled with feta cheese, and dig in.

Love eating on the deck, makes the work week fade away.

Here a Greatest Hits Look Back on a series of Kale posts I have done. Sell you on Kale. Accidents Happen.  With a side of Kale.  Pancakes or Eggs. Anticipation. Keeping up with Kale. Also check out a post that my friend Tamara did over at Wild Blue Wonder for Tofu Kale Triangles.

Wishing you a happy weekend!

Question of the Day: How have you used Kale? Or does seeing recipes for Kale make you want to try it?

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Fitmixer Boot Camp

Posted in Breakfast, Fitmixer Boot Camp, Fresh Ideas, Oatmeal, Prepping, Snacks, Whats in the Bag, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2012 | 9 Comments »

Okay, I think I am addicted to Boot Camps, first there was Tina’s Best Body Boot Camp, then the Boot Camp at the Blend Retreat and now the Fitmixer Boot Camp.  I love organized workout groups, it keeps me motivated and I really look forward to the daily tasks.

So with the Boot Camp I have been introduced to amino’s, well I am excited about this because I really get sore after workouts and the amino’s are supposed to help repair muscle tissue and recover faster.

The entire Boot Camp package looks like this. This will take me through the entire 12 week program.

These are some of the samples I received from the Blend retreat.

The amino’s taste so good, I love the grape flavor.

Along with the powder supplements they also have a healthy diet plan that is designed specifically for each participant from a registered dietitian. Here is my breakfast and lunch. I love to prep my snacks and meals, it keeps me on task and allows more time to concentrate on the workouts. That’s one thing with Boot Camps some of the workouts and moves I am not familiar with, so they usually have videos showing all the moves and proper execution. So I usually watch the video in full, and then I do the workouts. So that can eat up a lot of time, but worth it when you find a new favorite exercise.

After work I head home and get right on my workout’s.

The first day we had a Fit test to complete. The test gauges us at the start of the program and will be repeated mid Boot Camp and then at the end, this will show us how we progressed through the program. My weak area is and has always been my core. I also see from the test that I need to work on my triceps strength. I like that each evening we get our next days workout, a motivational thought, and a nutrition tip of the day. They also have snack suggestions and recipes. So much support is available. Plus on Thursday evenings we have a group conference call. Looking forward to my first call tonight.

Then it’s off to make dinner. I plan on keeping it clean and simple, a lean protein, a hearty carbohydrate and a vegetable, plus the plan even suggests a dinner roll. Love that.

  

Grilled salmon, roasted broccoli and brown rice.

Hello, my name is Dena and I am addicted to Boot Camp.

Check Ya Later.

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Bloggers Dream Week-End Part #2

Posted in Blend Retreat, Breakfast, Cardio, Chobani, Circuit Training, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2012 | 15 Comments »

So now for the Blend Retreat Part #2.

The hike was my favorite activity. I looked forward to doing it from the moment I signed up for the Retreat. This hike was legit, it very challenging and the terrain was rocky. Then add the altitude and the elevation and there you have the 4 mile Flat Irons Hike.

My heart was pounding out of chest within the first few minutes of the hike, I was feeling really out of breath from the altitude, so I adjusted my pace so I could enjoy the hike and the scenery. But you really had to keep your eyes on the path, it was a very rocky path once you got off the main trail leading up the hill.

Stopping to take a picture with Katie was a great way for me to catch my breath.

It was so cool to see the line of bloggers making their way up the mountain.

Felt like I was on a stair stepper for most of the hike. There were portions of the hike that these short little legs had to really stretch out and up to get up on a rock, but that was the best part of the hike, I love a challenge.

The trail winded up and around and sometimes seemed to get quite narrow.

Again, stopping to take pictures helps one catch their breath.

Along the way we were greeted by this little hiker, Bella. She was so cute, and seemed to hike effortlessly.

On the hike I found myself with different groups of bloggers/hikers along the way. Kim and Meghan were great company.

At the Sentinel Pass I found Tiffany, and from there we hiked the entire way back down the hill together.

The landscape is so amazing in Boulder, it’s picture perfect. I swear it was like looking at a postcard.

Loved all the boulders in Boulder. I love rocks, I love taking pictures of rocks, clearly.

Post hike protein shakes provided by Core Power. I needed fuel after that hike and the vanilla shake hit the spot, it was very taste. It was real milk protein designed for post workout recovery. Recovery is just what I needed.

After the hike we cleaned up and headed out to lunch. We went to lunch at the Mountain Sun Brewery and Restaurant.

Mountain Sun had so many beers to choose from, and I was not sure what to order so I was given a sample, but unfortunately another side effect from the high altitude is alcohol can go straight to your head, and after just the sample glass I realized alcohol was not a good idea for me, so I went back to water. I think I drank gallons of water over the week-end. The shuttle bus driver told me it was a great way to help ease altitude sickness when I first arrived in Boulder, so I took his advice and chugged. I was bummed out that I could not sample a few different beer flavors, I love me a nice cold beer.

Beers, beers and more beers, I did not get to drink.

Lunch was a blackened shrimp and blue cheese wrap with a side salad, it was so good. After lunch I headed back to my cottage and took a nap, I was tired.

When I woke up I wanted a snack so I looked in my swag band and found some popchips. Can I just say this, I am in love with popchips, they have so much flavor. They are all natural popped snacks. I had several different flavors at the retreat, but I think the Jalapeno and the chili lime are my absolute favorites. Spicy, tangy and crispy. Perfection. I love it when I find a really good healthy snack.

Zesty also comes to mind.

Most of the girls went back out for dinner and drinks later in the evening, but I stayed back and relaxed on the back porch and had some more snacks from my swag bag. I called my husband and took a long hot shower. I went to bed early in anticipation of the Boot Camp that we were having bright and early on Sunday morning.

Putting my feet up is all I wanted to do.

Sunday morning Boot Camp was led by Tiffany at Chobani Fit, she kicked our butt’s, plus it’s 7am and it’s cold.

She was very good at motivating us, she really got my pumped up and ready for a great workout.

No excuses here, these girls are tuff and a little cold and an early start time can not stop them.

Learned a new stretch called the Pigeon Pose. Where have I been, this stretch was perfect for my tight hips.

After the workout we all headed to breakfast which was sponsored by Chobani. I had the pineapple yogurt with some simply oats Love Grown granola. Talk about a perfect combination.

Then came the Closing Ceremony and Raffle. Which made me super sad because I knew that this was our last activity and that we would all be going home soon.

I was super excited when I won the Nature Box Raffle. This entitles me to one month’s worth of healthy snacks. So looking forward to getting this package in the mail.

After the raffle took place, all the ladies went outside and we took our group photo. Photo taken from Ashley at Edible Perspective.

After the photo it was time to checkout of our cottage.

A bunch of us meet outside the main lodge and waited for our taxi’s and shuttle bus.

Last minute hugs and goodbyes were everywhere.

I made my way to the airport and had my gopicnic in the laptop/cell phone charging station area.

This lunchbox has all my favorites.

Hummus and crackers always make me happy.

I am really looking forward to Blend 2013. Our hosts were amazing, the swag was stellar and company was outstanding.

Check Ya Later.

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