lovelaughwag: saturday morning shuffle

it's been such a gorgeous day around here today

i'm currently waiting for bill to be done with work for the weekend

and sitting out on the patio

this morning i did the typical grocery run

and finally committed to a new sweetener

i had done a really good job of almost eliminating all artificial sweeteners from my diet

aside from the rare diet coke

but i've been wanting tea like crazy

and i MUST have sweetened tea

and with the new diet + exercise plan i really didn't need to be drinking my calories

so i broke down and bought some stevia (a natural, calorie free sweetener)

i tried stevia about a year ago and thought it had a horrid aftertaste. i recently learned that not all stevia is created equal. and because stevia has been deemed a "safe" sweetener i really wanted to find some i liked.

trader joes to the rescue - they had this liquid form as well as powder/crystal (like normal sugar) - i decided to take the liquid for a whirl - it was already in my shopping cart when i noticed their complementary coffee stand that had the product out to use. yay. i tried it in my coffee and was so happy that it didn't taste like licorice. my only worry is that after i tried it in a cup of coffee at home i got a headache that lasted a few minutes -? moderation, hopefully will curb that.

before i got to the grocery, though

i was semi bad on my diet - and stopped at starbucks...

it was on the way...

that's a lie.

i had every intention to stop at heine brother's coffee for just a straight up plain coffee...but i needed gas, and the starbucks was near the gas station...and i really wanted a grande skinny caramel macchiato

so it happened. 190 calories later...i was walking through trader joes in super fast motion with a smile on my face bigger than the employees'.

i came home and was putting away groceries when i had a nervous breakdown at the state of our refrigerator.

i threw a lot of old salad dressings out, i did a quick reorganization of the freezer, and then i decided it was time to go through the cabinets and throw out all the old baking supplies (candy, chocolate, sprinkles) and organize my teas, and then re-organize my oils, salts, spices, honey, and nuts.

then i did the elliptical for 30 minutes on straight up rolling hills

and then i prepared lunch.

caramel macchiato =crack

but my kitchen is thankful

and so was bill for lunch that we ate out on the patio