Diary of a Semi-Health Nut

ramblings + recipes of a semi-healthy nut

{MIMM #15} Birthday {Giveaway} + Chobani Freezing Tips

by


Hello Friends!

Well, the KC trip went a little differently than I had imagined to say the least.  It was fun, yes.  It was also rough.  I was kind of a train wreck of emotions the past five days to tell you the absolute truth.

After the chaos of packing and getting the apartment cleaned was accomplished, I was already much later than expected, but still pretty optimistic.

Driving up, I was elated to see Dave and excited at the possibility of meeting new friends and learning a lot at the dietetic conference.  I was feeling super proud that I was taking a step in the right direction for my career and feeling quite excited to wear my new dressy clothes.  Excited to feel my age for the first time in awhile since I am normally surrounded by 19/20 year olds and in sweat pants and gym shoes.

On the other hand I was a little nervous about how Dave might be feeling since work has been particularly rough and abundant in unfair office politics lately.

He did not get the job in KC, instead someone from Denver got the position that Dave has been filling in for the last month.  Not because of his work ethic or his strength as a manager, but due to office politics.  It’s not my story to share, but just trust that he is more than deserving of a permanent position.  The position that everyone, including bosses strongly suggested he was getting. 

To add insult to injury, Dave has to train the new guy this week while Dave continues his life living out of a hotel.  Like I said, rough.  I do know that God sees all injustices, but it is still difficult being in unfair situations.

Dave’s work situation has put our relationship in a tricky, uncertain standstill, not to mention the fact that we are forced to do this long distance since he doesn’t even have a permanent position yet.  (Meaning he is not living anywhere but in hotels so I don’t even have the choice to move to where he is working.)

My turning 26 this weekend only adds fuel to that fire that is the tension of wanting to start a “real life.”

Being 26 without a degree, career, husband, house or any kids makes me feel a little…unaccomplished.  The whole self-pity thing that comes along with birthdays after one reaches a certain age.  The whole unrealistic evaluation of ones life is with a birthday after a certain age.

So basically Thursday came around and I went to the conference and got all of my materials. I went to one session, had a horrible drive back to the hotel that took an hour in crazy traffic that this small-ish town girl is NOT used to, and decided to stay in the comfort of the hotel with my Netflix and wallow the rest of the weekend.

To add to my not-so-great mood, I was supposed to attend a bachelorette party Saturday evening, but for some reason my friend never ended up telling me when everyone was going out.  Of course I saw pictures of the fun they had on Facebook and had to wonder why she never contacted me.
(Update: she forgot because it was too chaotic and she was trying to stay off of her phone….apparently it was my fault and I insulted her by asking.  Ha.  I suppose it turned out for the best!)

Not that Dave and I weren’t having a fun day together, we definitely were.  That man knows how to cheer me up!

It’s just very challenging when you are already in a sort-of-defeated state to rise above a situation and to not care about rejection.  (Which it was…whether she forgot about me or decided not to contact me.  Neither scenario says “you are important to me.”)

It’s also funny that the very underlying factor that was bringing me down the whole past week or so was the very thing that made me feel better about life again.

~~You knew it had to get better somehow…it is MIMM or Marvelous in my Monday after all…

 

All of my immediate family as well as my roommate texted me Happy Birthday.  A beautiful way to wake up in the morning if you ask me! 🙂

Dave treated me to a delightful birthday breakfast, coffee AND lunch (more on the food on WIAW this week).  Plus I made it through my 9 mile birthday long run (more on that on Fitness Friday this week)!  Everything is a birthday (fill-in-the-blank) thing on your birthday by the way…

I also came home (after a dark, rainy, gloomy 2.5 hour drive) to four Birthday cards that were so perfect and so needed that I was blubbering happy tears and thanking God for reminding me that I am LOVED and IMPORTANT, if only to a few people.  I even got some Happy Birthday tweets!  I haven’t checked the Facebook messages yet though.  I think I am saving them for tomorrow when the reality of going back to class hits me.

I also remembered that I said I would be doing a giveaway for my birthday!  Because you readers bring me so much joy that you deserve presents too!

This giveaway is for one case of the “new” Chobani flavors.  In case you haven’t sampled them yet.

I adore the banana and the coffee with dark chocolate chips…I mean seriously??

Something I recently learned about these yogurts is that you can actually freeze them, thaw them and eat them later!  Which is handy when you get a whole case and you are just one person who needs to keep herself from OD-ing on the good stuff!

You can freeze the yogurt for up to 3 months! 

There is a method to this since when you retrieve the container, the date on the lid might be long gone.  What I do is look at the expiration date first.  If it is say, two weeks from now, that is how soon I need to eat it when it comes out of the freezer.  I write the date I need to take it out of the freezer by AND how many days it will be good after that.

All you have to do when taking it out of the freezer is let it thaw in the fridge (for food safety purposes!) a day, stir it up and ENJOY!

More Chobani posts:
Chobani Greek Yogurt Review
Baking with Chobani
Banana Chobani Cookies
Nutty Cookie Bar

Enter below!  Good luck to everyone! 🙂
a Rafflecopter giveaway


*~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~*

Disclaimer: I received a few samples of Chobani Greek Yogurt in exchange for sharing my thoughts.  I will never write a good review unless I fully believe in the company and the product.  I value my readership and my hobby too much to sell out!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Girl, I’m sorry you had a rough weekend but I freaking HEART you and you know I understand! I could belt out some tunes about what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger but I’ll save you from that… 😉

  2. Would enjoy trying the blueberry Chobani flavor! Fabulous that you can freeze Chobani too – didn’t realize that! Thank you!

  3. Sorry about the rough weekend, sending love and light for a good week ahead, I love ya! I never knew you could freeze chobani that long, good to know! <3 Happy Birthday again! <3

  7. Hope the bday love continues and that reading all the facebook messages cheers you up (it always makes me teary every year to read them. love it so!) — Happy belated bday darling! Can’t wait to see all the eats in your WIAW post! <3 xoxo

  8. I didn’t know you could freeze these! The coffee with dark chocolate sounds amazing! Sorry you had a rough week! We’ve all been there one day or another. Hope you still made the best of you birthday 🙂 Love your blog!

  10. I didn’t know you could freeze these! The coffee with dark chocolate sounds amazing! Sorry you had a rough week! We’ve all been there one day or another. Hope you still made the best of you birthday 🙂 Love your blog!

  14. Aww, so sorry about the down weekend you had! That totally sucks about your guy & the position, then your “friend” not texting you & telling you the details on the bachelorette party. At least your guy cheered you up a bit & realized there are some important people who do care. Screw the other jerks! 😛 Happy belated birthday!!

  15. Girl, I’m sorry you had a rough weekend but I freaking HEART you and you know I understand! I could belt out some tunes about what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger but I’ll save you from that… 😉

  16. Would enjoy trying the blueberry Chobani flavor! Fabulous that you can freeze Chobani too – didn’t realize that! Thank you!

  17. Sorry about the rough weekend, sending love and light for a good week ahead, I love ya! I never knew you could freeze chobani that long, good to know! <3 Happy Birthday again! <3

  18. So sorry to hear about Dave’s workplace issues. Frustrating! I know it’s tough and everyone does it to some extent, but do not compare yourself and where you are in life to other people. You will find that as time goes on, situations change and life is not a race, it’s a journey that is unique to each one of us.

  19. Chobani’s new Flips look awesome and I really want to try the Hone Bee Nana flavor!

  24. Sorry your weekend started off so crappy. Life is funny, you know?

    But again, Happy Birthday and wow – 9 miles? You are a rockstar.

  25. Sorry your weekend started off so crappy. Life is funny, you know?

    But again, Happy Birthday and wow – 9 miles? You are a rockstar.

  26. Hope the bday love continues and that reading all the facebook messages cheers you up (it always makes me teary every year to read them. love it so!) — Happy belated bday darling! Can’t wait to see all the eats in your WIAW post! <3 xoxo

  27. Aww, so sorry about the down weekend you had! That totally sucks about your guy & the position, then your “friend” not texting you & telling you the details on the bachelorette party. At least your guy cheered you up a bit & realized there are some important people who do care. Screw the other jerks! 😛 Happy belated birthday!!

  28. So sorry to hear about Dave’s workplace issues. Frustrating! I know it’s tough and everyone does it to some extent, but do not compare yourself and where you are in life to other people. You will find that as time goes on, situations change and life is not a race, it’s a journey that is unique to each one of us.

  29. Chobani’s new Flips look awesome and I really want to try the Hone Bee Nana flavor!

  34. I am so sorry to hear that your weekend started off not so lovely, but to hear how the end was more than wonderful just made me smile! God does work in mysterious ways. We may not know the reasoning @ first, but he will never throw something your way that you can’t handle <3

    I am dying to try the coffee & dark chocolate chips.

  42. I am so sorry to hear that your weekend started off not so lovely, but to hear how the end was more than wonderful just made me smile! God does work in mysterious ways. We may not know the reasoning @ first, but he will never throw something your way that you can’t handle <3

    I am dying to try the coffee & dark chocolate chips.

  48. Thank you for the words of encouragement. Sometimes it’s challenging to have that perspective!

  57. I’m so sorry to hear that your weekend started off less than ideally. However I’m glad you were able to enjoy your Birthday with those that are truly important!I’m jealous of that giant case of Chobani, I haven’t seen any of those flavors in the stores by me yet (but I bet the lemon would be great for summer)!

  58. I’m so sorry to hear that your weekend started off less than ideally. However I’m glad you were able to enjoy your Birthday with those that are truly important!I’m jealous of that giant case of Chobani, I haven’t seen any of those flavors in the stores by me yet (but I bet the lemon would be great for summer)!

  60. Oh definitely the coffee! That sounds amazing! Wish we could have actually met up during MINK conference :/ Hopefully soon we can meet in person! 🙂

  61. Oh definitely the coffee! That sounds amazing! Wish we could have actually met up during MINK conference :/ Hopefully soon we can meet in person! 🙂

  62. Thanks Sarah! My birthday did turn out pretty great! 🙂

    And don’t be jealous! Enter to win!! 😉

  66. Yes I agree! I read your post and I’m so sad I didn’t make more of an effort, but there’s always next year!! And I think we go to the same school?

  68. Thanks for the freezing tips. I freaked out a bit when I had so many of the ‘bites’ left and even though I tend to neglect expiration dates, wanted to maximize my Chobani goodness! 🙂

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Oops. I was supposed to say the flavor I most want to try is….well, I’ve tried them all. However. I can’t get Passion Fruit where I live anymore, so even though that’s not a ‘new flavor’ I want MORE! 🙂 [Oh, I haven’t tried the coffee flavor! I just remembered. Or any of the flips. So I would try those too. Who am I kidding? I’ll eat anything Chobani hands me, ;)]

  69. Thanks for the freezing tips. I freaked out a bit when I had so many of the ‘bites’ left and even though I tend to neglect expiration dates, wanted to maximize my Chobani goodness! 🙂

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

  70. Oops. I was supposed to say the flavor I most want to try is….well, I’ve tried them all. However. I can’t get Passion Fruit where I live anymore, so even though that’s not a ‘new flavor’ I want MORE! 🙂 [Oh, I haven’t tried the coffee flavor! I just remembered. Or any of the flips. So I would try those too. Who am I kidding? I’ll eat anything Chobani hands me, ;)]

  77. WOO HOO! I can post here! I LOOOOOVE me some Chobani Greek Yogurt. Haven’t met one I didn’t like yet! =)

  78. WOO HOO! I can post here! I LOOOOOVE me some Chobani Greek Yogurt. Haven’t met one I didn’t like yet! =)