Bellevue Square

We planned a little adventure to Bellevue today to find the Lego store. Emma was spending the night so she happy to get to come along. Its always fun to have kids along when you visit a toy store. We haven`t been here in a long time and it was busy crazy. Nana tried to weave in and out of cars to find our way and gratefully we only got honked at once (it was a teenager so we think it really didn`t count). The adventure began at the glass elevator where Emma nervously held on tight as we rode it up to the skybridge which led into the mall. As we stepped into Nordstrom, Emma was amazed at how beautiful it all was. She thought the whole mall looked like a palace. Our first stop was Williams-Sonoma to check out the kitchen supplies. Nana was looking for a specific bread knife which she did not find but I found some US grown garbanzo beans. Crashing the cooking class, Papa got to try some roasted potatoes. Emma and Nana checked out all the Easter goods and I enjoyed the cookbook library.

After leaving the cooking store, we headed to the first floor of the mall. We were gonna take the escalator but Emma was very nervous so we headed to Macys and used the elevator. On the way to Macys, we saw the Easter bunny. Nana wanted to get pictures taken with him but it was $21 for just one 5x7 photo so we decided to spend our money somewhere else.

We were all pretty hungry (it was lunch time) but we saw the Disney store so we had to stop there first. Emma and Nana talked about how it was like going to "Disneyland" without traveling to the real Disneyland. Its always fun to see the princess dresses, hear the Disney songs, and feel like a kid again.

Papa was starving and everyone was feeling hungry so our next stop was food!! Emma & Papa really wanted McDonalds and I wanted to get some Jamba Juice. With this new challenge, I am very encouraged to stay away from all that fast food, junk food. Nana & I just got juice while Emma & Papa caved in and got both. It was funny to see the McDonalds wrappers next to the Jamba Juice cups. I got a Apple `n Green drink that was filled with apples, strawberries, carrots, spinach, bell pepper, kale, lettuce, peaches, mangos, bananas and ice. It was delicious and it filled me up. Nana got the Strawberry Nirvana drink, Papa got the Berry Fulfilling drink (along with his Mc Fish & Mc Nuggets), and Emma got the Strawberry Whirl drink (along with her no-meat cheese burger & fries).

Our next stop was the Lego store which was conveniently right across from Jamba Juice. I was so excited!! The store was packed and it was hard to even move around to see everything but we all had a blast. Emma and I picked out two of the mini figure grab bags (it is a mystery because you don`t know what mini figure that you are gonna get). I also got a new Star Wars key chain and a Space Needle Lego set. Nana also bought Emma a new Lego cup. After we left the store, I was excited to see what mini figures that we got so we stopped and opened our packages. I got the butcher (ha ha...pretty funny...the vegetarian gets the butcher) and Emma got the fancy fan lady.

Another shop that I wanted to visit was the Fireworks store. I always like to look at their cards, magnets and unusual/interesting items.

Papa & Emma were getting a little tired but I think we were all excited for our last stop, Build a Bear. Emma wanted to build a bear so that her sister, Megan`s bear "Elizabeth" could have a friend. She chose a white bear and named her "Dolly". It was fun to watch her pick out a dress, shoes & a purse. We had to pick out a fancy dress because after all we were shopping in a high society mall.

                                We had a great day and great adventures!!

 

3 Prizes

Wii Fit Weekly Challenge Prizes
Our small group of friends started a fit group awhile back to challenge ourselves to exercise & eat healthy. We all take turns coming up with weekly challenges. Last week I started a 3-week challenge for all us. For the first week, I challenged our Wii Fit group to reduce their sugar & sweets intake, drink lots of water, and exercise 30 minutes a day. I asked them to try to go without eating candy, icecream, and any sugar-sweet desserts. With doing this challenge myself, I have found that I also started checking almost every food label for the sugar counts (if it had lots of sugar then I did not eat it!). It is amazing how much sugar is in these products that we have been eating everyday. By watching how much sugar is in processed foods, it has gotten me prepared for the next week`s challenge. Week 2 challenge is to not eat any processed foods, drink lots of water, and exercise 30 minutes a day. The last week`s challenge is to do a vegetarian diet, drink lots of water and exercise 30 minutes a day. So at the end of each week, I am rewarding the person with the most points (example: exercise-1pt per day, water-1pt per day and no sugar/sweets-1pt per day) a prize. Today we had fun shopping at the new Whole Foods store (196th St. Lynnwood) for the prizes. We also got some good stuff for ourselves.

                                             Papa found sweet onions.

                              Nana and I got yummy sandwiches in the deli.

Emily & Nana found some asparagus for Papa & delicious organic grapes for all of us. Here are the fun prizes that I found at Whole Foods today:

Week 1- Prize

                                          $10 Gift card to Whole Foods


Week 2 - Prize

                                                   whole foods cookbook

Week 3 - Prize

                                                   vegetarian cookbook

Fresh Bread & Pizza Dough

 I am gearing up for next week`s challenge of NO PROCESSED FOODS so we are going to make some homemade breads and pizza. Nana and I pulled out the bread machine which has sadly not been used in quite awhile. Unfortunately finding the cookbook that goes along with the bread machine took alot longer. It was finally found, buried in the back bedroom closet with alot of other good vegetarian cookbooks. How sad that we have chosen processed foods over making the good stuff. I am very excited for this new challenge and eating a whole lot healthier. This last week I did not eat extra sugars & sweets and I feel amazing!! It has helped to cut back on grabbing packaged foods.

                                        White Bread

                                     Banana Nut Bread

                     Zucchini, Green Pepper, & Pineapple Pizza