Spinach and Skittles {and everything in between}

I've moved to my own domain - come join me!

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:35:49 -0700

Hi y’all….I jumped on the blogger train and moved over to

http://spinachandskittles.com/

I don’t want to lose you - clickity-click!

I moved to my own domain name - come join me!

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:16:00 -0800

Hi y’all….I jumped on the blogger train and moved over to

http://spinachandskittles.com/

I don’t want to lose you - clickity-click!

Weigh-in Wednesday 10: The Thin Ideal

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:21:55 -0800

In honor of NEDAwareness Week, I am not weighing in with a number. Instead I am weighing in with my thoughts on the scale: it’s power, the thin ideal and why you shouldn’t let a number determine a worth.

(source)

You know the rules of the scale: first thing in the morning, after your first, ahem, bowel movement, no clothes, and tada! The lowest number should appear. But wait, why do we think we need to follow a certain pattern to weigh ourselves? And why does the scale at the doctor’s office always result in a higher number?

Simple. Our weight fluxuates daily. Sometimes two to four pounds, sometimes up to eight or ten. You know how I had food poisoning last week? I lost six pounds in six hours. Six measly hours. Of course it all came back after I guzzled enough gatorade, rehydrating my body. The old me would have jumped for joy, riding the quick weight loss happy train until I weighed in again, only to discover I had “gained the weight back,” and I would have spiraled downward into a depressed funk until the scale revealed that magic number again.

You would think I could be more logical. I’m a fairly intelligent person, I promise. But for some reason this small piece of equipment with batteries for a brain held control over me for many years. And I’m not alone. Americans, in particular, have a strange obsession with the scale. A simple google search of “fluxuate weight” results in 19,500,000 results. The majority of the first few pages were from diet and weight-loss chat boards, where women and men were freaking out because they’re weight changed from day to day, or even mere hours apart.

(source)

So why is a number so important to us? It represents happiness, after all, thin is in, right? Advertising execs would sure like you to think so. My least favorite quote is one Oprah promotes, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” As Oprah is pretty much the most influential person in American society, it is no wonder she parrots the same sentiment the rest of the media throws in our faces.

Some researchers believe that advertisers purposely normalize unrealistically thin bodies, in order to create an unattainable desire that can drive product consumption.(1998,Hamburg, P.) The media markets desire. And by reproducing ideals that are absurdly out of line with what real bodies really do look like…the media perpetuates a market for frustration and disappointment.

- Body Image and Advertising

What you see is not what you get with the media. Not even the models are safe.

(source)

Sorry Kelly.

(source)

Apparently Faith is too big now?!

(source)

And when a model, weighing 120, is airbrushed to freakishly tiny proportions and then gets fired for being too fat,

(source)

what are we, the normal people, supposed to think about our weight? No wonder we obsess over an insignificant number that pops up after one to five seconds.

What we desperately need is more of this.

(source)

And this.

(source)

And this.

(source)

Because real women don’t live in an airbrushed world. We have jobs, children, money issues, car issues, bad hair days, stress, etc. And what the media presents to us isn’t normal. It isn’t even close.

So the scale, which gets more prayer than a parish on Sunday, is taking our sanity. Sure it can be a good gauge for weight loss and weight management when used correctly, but the way your clothes fit can do the same thing.

Yes, I’ll admit, I weigh in once a week. But I have mentioned that I am thinking of taking a break from the scale, and focusing more on how my clothes fit instead. As a former slave to the scale, I know how difficult it can be to step away and see yourself as more than a number. It can so easily consume every thought of every day.

Only you can change the way you relate to yourself. And only you can determine your self worth. Why let the media, with all of its unrealistic representations of the female role in our society, tell you how you should think, feel and act?

A few years ago I was weighing myself, on average, eight times a day. Now I am down to once a week. As of today I am giving up the scale for one month.

I challenge you to step away from the scale for one week/month/year. You are MORE than just a number.

Want to read more? clickity-click below!

Women ‘suffer poor self-esteem due to airbrushing in advertising’

Airbrushed adverts of “thin ideal” models pose a “significant risk” to the health of young women.

On the CL: The Picture You Can’t Stop Talking About

Love your body campaign

About-Face

Positive words

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:24:22 -0800

Today was the first day back to school after a four-day weekend(!!). To kick off National Eating Disorder Awareness Week at school I posted a positive words wall. It was Mirrorless Monday meets Operation Beautiful.

*I wanted to play Bruno Mars Just the way you are on repeat in the hallway during passing periods, but I neglected to purchase “D” batteries for my CD player.

I don’t know if you had the same experience as me in middle school…but it surely wasn’t the best three years of my life. I remember being gawky, nerdy, wearing high-water denim with vests and a perm. While perms were all the rage in ‘94, I didn’t quite know how to style it, and always felt a tad out of place. I remember wondering is anyone going to like me? Why am I the only one not allowed to shave my legs? When will I actually need a bra? Ugggh, my nose is so big in comparison to the rest of my face!

I certainly could have used a little self-love. So why not give my students the chance to give themselves some self-love?

I posted these signs near the positive word wall:

Each passing period, during lunch and after school I stood in the hallway with a bucket of markers, encouraging the students (and teachers!) to write uplifting notes to one another, (or themselves). The response was overwhelming! I had to put a second blank positive word wall up during 4th period :)

Here are some of my favorites…

This one is my absolute favorite!

How can you not love that? Adorkable? Adorable!!

The rest of my day was so bland in comparison.

I decided to see how long it would take me to run 3 miles…38 minutes. Have I mentioned I am suuuuuper slow? But, I was impressed with myself for not giving up. However, I did NOT realize a news crew was behind me, filming my derriere, for the majority of my dreadmill experience. Erica was kind enough to inform me around the 30 minute mark. No wonder everyone cleared out of my little cardio corner.

After my run I dove into my pumpkin quinoa muffin.

I’m really glad I added the chia seeds - perfect crunch factor.

Lunch was a kiwi + Olive Garden leftovers.

I was at work until 6, and many snacks filled my afternoon.

Babybel + pink lady

Chobani + decaf chai tea

And then it was dinner, prepped by Libb. Bean burritos w/onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream and tapatio.

Rikka decided she needed to take control of my ear warmers.

And I decided I needed to take control of these cookies.

What would you go back and tell yourself in middle school?

For me it would be, don’t worry, life gets much better!

All about ME Monday

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:30:43 -0800

Today’s activity for NEDAwareness week was “Mirrorless Monday.” This activity is geared toward high school students, where the teachers/counselors cover the mirrors in the restrooms/locker rooms and encourage students to look beyond the mirror and write encouraging words to one another.

Considering the fact that it is President’s day, and therefore schools are closed, doing this wasn’t a possibility. I attempted to have my own mirrorless Monday, but nearly burnt myself with my curling iron and decided it wasn’t for me.

Instead, I decided today would be all about ME! And, really, all days should be about me…but for some reason they aren’t. And I don’t mean this in the world should revolve around me way. I do mean, I really need to attend to MY needs and wants a tad more.

So what does a day of me involve? Intuitive eating, without calorie counting. Ya know, eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full. Novel concept, I know. Yet for some reason my brain always reverts back to calculator mode.

nanner + pb + coffee = perfect pre-gym fuel

Elliptical date with my friend Kyndra for an hour ~~chick~~ chit chat. Followed by a belated birthday lunch celebration for my mother-in-law, Gayle, at The Olive Garden. I was too wrapped up in conversation to pull out my camera, but I think you can imagine what shrimp primavera looks like.

Oh wait, it’s on their website. It looked an awful lot like this.

(source)

Gayle tipped me off to Mel’s Nursery, and insisted the hubs take me there after lunch. I’ve driven by Mel’s for, oh 9 years, and never once stopped in. I assumed they were purely plants.

And while they do have their fair share…

they have so much more!

I think the hubs secretly wants this penguin cocktail shaker.

And I openly want a stash of these gift bags.

Filled with goodies, of course. See that bottle of red, Michele, on the right? I picked that up on an annual wine tasting weekend with my ~~internet~~ book club friends this fall. We had it with Christmas dinner and it was amaze-balls. So happy I can find it in Spokane! If you ever see anything by Nicholas Cole Cellars pick up a bottle, you will be very pleased.

Ooo, and a quick peek at their website revealed that all of their wines are at employee pricing right now - 50% off!

Back to Mel’s goodies…

I walked out with 3 caramels, (2 butter caramel and 1 cashew sea salt caramel - very excited about these), and some fabu perfume.

I think the pumpkin cookbook inspired me, because upon arriving home I was excited to attack little miss Libby and her orangey goodness.

I whipped up some non-oatmeal breakfasts for the work week. And they are breakfasts for ME because the boys hate pumpkin. My pumpkin needs came first today.

Pumpkin-Quinoa muffins.

I used pecans instead of walnuts, added 2 TBS chia seeds, and threw a few pepitas on top for funsies.

I also used Halloween muffin liners…because they had pumpkins on them. When I go pumpkin I go big.

Then I whipped up some Pumpkin Banana Bread.

I only had two nanners, so I doubled the pumpkin. No nuts in my version either. I’ve made this both ways and prefer the non-nutty version.

I declared dinner to be my favorite easy meal: appetizer platter.

I roasted some chickpeas with cumin, sea salt, key lime juice, black pepper and olive oil.

I think I ate at least a serving while getting the rest of the goodies ready.

Rosemary olive oil bread brushed with garlic and olive oil, then broiled.

With Cabernet Sauvignon salami, buffalo mozz, colby jack, basil and tomato slices.

And in a little bit I’ll be dipping into either the caramels or these chewy chocolate chip cookies the hubs made me.

Hello lover(s).

So what can you take from this day of ME?

I require coffee, an endorphin rush and tasty treats to function properly with a smile on my face.This is done most effectively when I mute the calorie calculator in my head. I challenge you to do one of the following activities tomorrow:

Don’t count calories (if you are a counter).
Eat intuitively (if you live your life by a calorie clock).
Eat something “off limits” (if you have rules about what you eat).
Cook something/buy something decadent, and enjoy every bite.

Love yourself today, tomorrow, forever.

It's National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Feb 20-26)

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:06:19 -0800

I signed up to be a community advocate for this cause that is near and dear to my heart. This week I’ll be dedicating all posts to the education and awareness of eating disorders, with a side of self-love.

There are a lot of myths surrounding eating disorders, common ones being:

Only teenage girls suffer from eating disorder.
Eating disorders are a white, middle-class, female issue.
An eating disorder isn’t real, it is just someone trying to get attention.
Eating disorders are only a problem with food, if they just eat they’ll be fine.
You can always tell someone has an eating disorder by their appearance.

Not true:

In the United States as many as 10 MILLION females and 1 MILLION males are suffering from an eating disorder.
Eating disorders do not discriminate age, gender or income.
Without treatment up to 20% of individuals suffering from an eating disorder will die.
4% of college-age women suffer from an eating disorder.
People who diet frequently are at a much higher risk of developing eating disorders than those who do not diet.
Americans spend over 40 BILLION dollars on diet-related products per year.

(source, source, source)

Here is the cold hard truth: eating disorders aren’t a ploy for attention, they aren’t a choice, and they can result in death. Someone with an eating disorder has an illness, and it can be treated. But in our society we are taught to not speak about such things because it if you don’t talk about it, it can’t be real, right? Wrong.

Appropriately the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2011 theme is:

It’s Time To Talk About It.

And the goal? For everyone to do just do one thing. I chose to: Maximize the power of your social networking sites. And let’s be honest, I’ll probably buy and donate Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too! to my middle school.

Let’s define what is an eating disorder:

Anorexia-Nervosa is defined as someone who severely restricts her/his food consumption (typically 800 calories or less per day). This generally results in rapid weight loss and has many detrimental, often life-threatening, side-effects. These include (but are not limited to):

Fatigue and loss of energy, hypertension, dizziness, low blood presser, hair loss, pins and needles feeling, osteoporosis, loss of menstruation, thyroid issues, kidney issues, irritable stomach, and eventually the breaking down of organs leading to death.

Bulimia-Nervosa is defined as consuming food and purging the calories consumed via vomiting, laxatives or extreme exercise. Side-effects from constant vomiting and laxative abuse include (but are not limited to):

Low potassium, kidney damage, heart irregularities, increase in cavities due to loss of tooth enamel, broken blood vessels in the face, bowel damage, intestinal damage, hair loss, yellow skin, premature wrinkles, cardiac arrest and death.

Binge Eating Disorder is defined as consuming large amounts of food in a short period of time. This disorder is very closely linked to bulimia-nervosa, but there is no purging of the calories afterward.

Other disorders not otherwise defined are the pre-occupation with food, or the creation of rules regarding food intake (only before 7 p.m., no white foods, only foods with less than 5% calories coming from fat, etc.) This is the hardest to spot, but is the most common eating disorder. It is often called disordered eating and side-effects are often more social/emotional than physical.

(source)

Food (the restriction of, massive intake of, and preoccupation of) is a symptom of the eating disorder, not the cause. And the side-effects aren’t just physical. Someone suffering from any eating disorder, or a combination of eating disorders, can experience:

Low self-esteem, fear of losing control, mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, loneliness, worthlessness and a tendency to be withdrawn from others.

Often those with an eating disorder will see themselves as bigger than they actually are.

(source)

And there is no one cause that triggers an eating disorder. Causes range from depression, bad relationships, dieting and a fear of being fat, loss of control in other areas of her/his life, etc. Just like there isn’t one cause, there isn’t just one cure. Scroll down to find treatment options.

(source)

Want to learn more?

National Eating Disorder Association Facts & Information

Basic Facts about Eating Disorders, including prevention information, how to talk to your doctor and getting treatment. I’ve wanted to work for NEDA since I started researching my thesis, but they weren’t hiring at a time I could move to Seattle. Maybe one day. For now I’ll just continue to be a community advocate :)

Something-Fishy.org

Information and help for those suffering from an eating disorder and for their family and friends.

Think you might have an eating disorder, but you aren’t sure? Answer this questionnaire and bring it to your doctor or therapist.

Angel’s Wings

Eating Disorder Association of Australia.

Mirror-Mirror.org

Eating Disorder Association of Canada.

Radar Program

Well respected treatment facility.

Kids Health

Full of good info for parents.

Eating-Disorder.com Blog

Updated information about eating disorders in the news, treatment and prevention.

If you have an eating disorder or think you may be suffering from disordered thinking get help. There is no reason to silently suffer. Don’t want to say anything because you think it will just cause someone to worry about you? Chances are they are already worried but don’t know how to bring it up.

You know the quote,

“Be the change you want to see in the world,” (Mahatma Gandi).

Well, be your OWN CHANGE!

Need some inspiration? Pop over to Operation Beautiful to get your head in the self-love/self-acceptance game.

Stop the fat talk.

Stop the self-bashing.

Stop saying you want to throw a burger at that super-thin girl whose eating a salad.

Stop pretending nothing is wrong.

Just do one thing

Love yourself. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.

*If not cited otherwise all information in this post (and subsequent posts throughout the week) comes from years of researching eating disorders. My Senior Thesis in college was on how the media effects women, with a focus on eating disorders and the thin ideal. I have a vested interest in the subject matter, and my hope is that you will gleam a little insight regarding eating disorders, perhaps change your view, and maybe find some information on how to help a friend, family member, or yourself.

Saturday snapshots.

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 13:11:21 -0800

Nanner + chunky peanut butter = amaze-balls.

Dog walk in sun = glorious. Then on to a gym date with the hubs (40 min on the adaptive motion trainer + 15 min arms). Once home I created some sun-inspired eats.

Caprese salad - much better in the summer though :(

Kiwi

And carmelized onion toast.

Yum.

Then I needed to get my creative juices flowin’ for an app to bring to Liz’s Rockband birthday party.

Earlier this week I saw Kath’s recipe for cilantro pesto and I knew I had to try it soon. But I didn’t know what to do with it…top it on fish? Chicken? Make a cold pasta salad? Decisions, decisions. Then I decided it would be the perfect base for a Southwest dip.*

*Recipe to follow

Other dishes included these delicious dolmades + lemon sauce made by the boys.

Erica’s sesame ginger pasta salad.

And chips/dips galore.

The pups begged for samples,

and were denied.

An in depth discussion about brunch occurred, and I saw via fb check-in’s at least one participant actually partook in one this morning. I’m jealous.

And as an early birthday present to Anastasia, a little blog love to her indoor garden of tomatoes, lettuce and something else…onions? I can’t remember.

Now I’m putting on my serious-blogger panties for the remainder of the week. Stay tuned.

Pizza experiment

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:34:40 -0800

My legs are so sore. But it is the good kind of hurt. I decided to use a light traffic hallway to do 3 sets of lunges yesterday. I have a love/hate relationship with lunges. I love the way my legs lean up quickly when I incorporate them into my work out routine. I hate actually doing them, and hate that I walk like a cowgirl afterward.

I’m currently lounging in the basement thinning out my DVR, heating pad under my hamstrings. Between this and my cuppa joe I am feeling rather relaxed. The chores will have to wait.

This isn’t what I planned to do with my Saturday. I am supposed to be in Seattle visiting my friend Reese.

But the forecast predicted snow in Seattle and poor pass conditions. A lack of snow tires/chains and not having more bars in more places, contrary to what AT&T’s advertisements would have you believe, meant I was sticking in Spokane for the weekend.

Not that I haven’t filled my time with fun adventures. Yesterday’s trip to TJ Maxx was rather fruitful.

The hubs decided to make some insanely tasty pizza utilizing this high heat process. Essentially you heat a cast iron skillet on your gas range for 20 minutes, flip it upside down, quickly create your pizza and put it on the bottom flat side of the pan and pop it under the broiler for less than two minutes. This process requires at least two people, and potholders that can stand up to high heat.

Unfortunately we had a miscommunication regarding the type of dough I needed to prepare.

I made my friend Kelly’s olive oil pizza dough, which is beyond delicious. However, this cooking method needs ultra thin dough, (which I didn’t realize), and her dough is perfect for big, chewy and billowy crust.

This dough is also a tad sticky.

I’m Edward Sticky-hands.

But at least I have a cute apron.

Sauce was made with with these bomb(dot)com tomatoes.

Mmmm fresh buffalo mozz.

Our pizza was your standard margarita (tomato sauce, mozz and basil), but I don’t have any pics of ours because I was helping. But I do have Libb’s pie prep to show you.

I don’t recommend topping your pie with pepperoni when implementing this cooking process. It may cause your pie to catch on fire.

But the results taste amazing.

Oh crispy pepperoni, how I love thee.

Sibling excitement for pizza.

Now I’m eating a spinach pancake,

and an ugly bowl of greek yogurt, blueberries, oats, chia seeds and cinnamon.

But I’d much rather be eating pizza.

Fashion Friday: I need new clothes.

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:24:59 -0800

Since October I’ve dropped two sizes(!!). While it is fun to realize I need to purchase new pants, it is not as fun to realize I need new, ahem, undergarments.

Monday - Red, pink, purple and white day at school, (because it was Valentine’s Day). At first I struggled with what to wear that would include all colors. Then I remembered I owned a pair of white pants (ok, “winter cream”). Perfect. Until I packed them in my gym bag and pulled them out the next day only to realize I went from the too tight phase, skipped the fitting phase, and right to the too big phase of these pants. Sigh. I broke the rule of “Don’t wear white after Labor Day,” and I didn’t even do it well.

Tuesday

I recently purchased these boots on super clearance at DSW. They have stretch in them, which means they fit over jeans and the calves nicely, without any tug. Plus they are platform, which means I could wear them to work without feeling like I was wearing heals. I was in love!

Wednesday (I am a total sucker for skirts/dresses with pockets)

Thursday (This is my “interview” top and I haven’t worn it since my interview. At the time I could barely zip it and had to tuck it into my skirt to get it to look decent. Now it is too big! Enter cute gold skinny belt to give it a semblance of shape.)

Friday = no work day! Today was the last of our built in snow days, (we didn’t actually use any). I spent the day gymming and shopping. When shopping I always wear flats and comfortable clothes that take almost no effort to put together, otherwise the multiple changes in the dressing room are a pita.

So to keep my straight across bangs int tip-top condition I need to trim them every two weeks. This is a pain in the bootay, and they never stay in place unless I attack them constantly with a a comb. But I do love the way they look when they cooperate with me. So, the question I ask of you, dear readers,

should I keep them straight across,

or do side-swept?

Input please!:)

Flatbread....flat out blah.

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:11:48 -0800

I really have nothing to offer ya’ll today…I’m tired and it tomorrow is a full moon, (which, if you didn’t know, kind of makes people a tad crazy. Particularly the tween/teen type of people).

Today was gloriously sunny…yet it snowed.

(source)

My car’s temperature gage read 36 degrees…

Seriously. How was it snowing?

Nothing stuck, but still…it was weird.

Ya know the accent vlog* that is going around? There is a question that asks, “what is it called when it rains and the sun is shining?” Apparently that is a “sun shower.” I’d never heard this term before. Maybe that is because I’m from the Northwest? So what is the term when it snows and the sun is shining? A snow shower? Snow sunner? Sun snower? I don’t know…

*I really want to do the accent vlog, but have been sick the past two weekends, (when I would have natural light), so I haven’t done it yet.

This morning I hit snooze, (twice), and realized that I couldn’t get more than a 20 minute work out in before I needed to shower/get ready because I had an early morning meeting, so I might as well just sleep in, (because 6 a.m. is sleeping in for me).

Brekkie was some oats, cinnamon, chia seeds, thawed frozen blueberries (love!) and a container of yoplait light ff triple berry tort. This yogurt was ok, but wayyyyy too sweet. I prefer plain or vanilla.

Lunch was a leftover quinoa, butternut squash, shroom, onion, chicken bowl. Usually I enjoy leftovers. Today? Not so much. This was so much better the night-of. Sigh.

My kiwi made up for it though.

Mid afternoon I attacked a heart-shaped sugar cookie, (un-photographed) and it was amazing.

Then it was off to The Davenport Safari Room for a little snack attack happiness with some very lovely ladies. I met up with Brittany and Kyndra for some flatbread + conversation. I love these ladies, and it has been way, way too long since we’ve gotten together.

Luckily I’ve already made plans for my day off(!!) tomorrow with Britt so I can continue my girlie fix.

I ordered a roma/pesto flatbread.

Here’s the deal, if you want a cheapie-semi-decent flatbread, the Safari Room is the place to go. For $4.50 happy hour price you can’t go wrong. It has cheese (good), tomatoes, (good, better when in season), and pesto, (umm…who doesn’t love pesto?).

But is this good flatbread? No. It is rather bland. And the dough…kinda dry, flavorless and cracker-like. But when pairing with a glass of vino, it isn’t too bad if you don’t want to spend much moola. Plus everything on their drink menu is half off between 3 and 6, so it is pretty much the best happy hour in town, (if you only care about price).

For a foodie it isn’t the best option, but it is a good, cheapie place to meet your gal-pals.

What are your requirements for a hh fix-food options or drink options? Or is company all you really need?

Weigh-in Wednesday 9: U R Amazing

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:21:20 -0800

My co-worker, (who didn’t want her face on the blog, sorry bout the chest shot), was wearing this awesome shirt today. I want one.

Anyway…

I still haven’t replaced my scale’s battery, but it gave me an equal amount six times in a row, so maybe last week it was having a bad day. Whatever the case, I was pretty pleased with the number.

Starting weight: +21

Goal weight: -21

Last week: -8

This week: -9.5

While at the gym, putzing along on the elliptical, I read another article in Women’s Health about why women need to incorporate weight lifting into their gym routine. A study at some university in California, I think*, followed two weight loss groups. One group only got their sweat on via cardiovascular exercise in the form of running, biking, ellipticalling, etc. The second group switched it up, lifting weights three times a week as well as getting some cardio action in. At the end of the study all participants lost roughly twenty-one pounds, (familiar number, eh?). The difference? The group that incorporated strength training into their routine lost an average of six inches more than the cardio-only group.

*I’m too lazy to go dig the magazine out of my gym bag to give you specifics.

I have to say, I am a total cardio junkie. For no other reason than I can zone out completely with CNN and a magazine. Sometimes my music will amplify my intensity as I keep pace with the beat, but really, I’m not pushing myself all that hard.

Strength training, however, is something I enjoy much, much more than cardio. I love the feeling of increasing how much I can lift, how many reps I can push myself to do and how much better I feel after my work out. So why do I let it fall to the wayside so often?

I have many excuses:

I get to the gym late and want to burn as many calories as I can in a short period of time, cardio does that efficiently.
The strength training area in my gym is small and not organized well.
I used to know what I was doing, with the aid of watching Shapefit exercise guides, and I don’t anymore. (these used to be two to three pictures that rotated quickly so you could get the gist of what you were supposed to do. Now they are videos!). I only like to use free weights and really hate using the assisted machines, so I need to re-learn how to strength train properly.
There are always large, meat-headish men taking over the weights area, which sadly intimidates me.

(source)

But I know that I am just being lazy. I want to get back into strength training, and not just because of the study showing that I can lose an additional six inches. I really miss the euphoric feeling and endorphin rush it provides. Plus I know my body burns more calories after completing a strength training sesh than a cardio one, so the bologna about burning as many calories in a short workout is really non-issue.

The weights area in my gym isn’t going to change. The building isn’t going to expand. I am going to have to put on my big girl panties and deal with that fact and the meat-heads that take over the area. I pay the same amount they do to use the space, (ok, so I have a corporate discount, but I only pay a fraction less than the standard rate), and I shouldn’t let their obnoxious egos get in my way.

And that issue of needing to learn how to strength train properly? Pshh, easy peasy. When I switched gyms from OZ to the YMCA in October I received two free sessions with a trainer. I’ve yet to use them. The hubs also received these, and he hasn’t used his. He doesn’t want to use them either, so I am going to ask the Y if I can use his. I’ve got a 4-day weekend coming up (woot woot!) and I am going to see if I can squeeze at least one of the sessions in there. I don’t know if it’s too late notice though. Setting up my first session is on tomorrow’s agenda.

I’m excited!

But back to the rest of my day…

Brekkie was some violet buckwheat.

My mix included Bob’s Red Mill creamy buckwheat, thawed blueberries, pepitas, cinnamon, chia seeds and a little sugar.

Note to self, add blueberries after cooking.

Lunch was a turkey-avocado-laughing cow sammie on a whole wheat english muffin.

Plus a side salad with craisins, tomatoes, onion and avocado.

After work I swung by TJ MAXX because this happened yesterday.

Another rant to add to yesterday…I am literally falling apart at the seams.

I replaced that craptastic bag with this awesome one.

These straps will not be coming undone any time soon.

After returning home I had a late afternoon snack of white chocolate strawberry yogurt fulfilled my urge to eat candy, (much better than an apple to cut cravings).

Then it was dinner prep time.

Well hello my long lost autumn friend.

The hubs grilled some chicken and I whipped up a mean quinoa bowl with roasted butternut squash, sweet onion and shrooms with a light sauce of stone ground mustard, sea salt, key lime juice and olive oil.

Oh yes.

My stummy is very content right now.

Do you like lifting weights? What is your cardio/strength training ratio?

Rant-tastic Tuesday

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:54:06 -0800

Remember how pleased I was with myself yesterday for waking up before my alarm went off? Yeah, didn’t happen this morning. I did, however, only hit snooze once. Actually, I hit it a second time, but immediately dragged myself out of bed because I felt guilty. I also didn’t want a repeat of last week when I hit snooze four times every.single.morning. (that would be 36 minutes of extra no-sleep snoozin’)

I got my head in the game to tackle the dreadmill with half a nanner and cold coffee+almond milk. Unfortunately, last night’s brownie sat like a rock in my stomach and after 17 minutes of walking/jogging I gave up. Enter 15 minutes of leg work and 20 minutes on the recumbent bike. Much easier on the ol body.

Upon reaching the locker room I was pleased to see two showers were open. But by the time I changed out of my gym clothes and grabbed my towel, a matter of 45 seconds, two repeat offenders had entered the empty stalls…fully clothed.

This behavior really needs to be added to the gym do’s and don’ts post. I really don’t mind the fact that some people don’t want to strip down in front of others. No problem. But another person finished her shower, packed up her belongings and dried off in the amount of time it took these gals to change their clothes. Then they take extreamly long showers and I think they break another gym don’t (shaving legs…they must, what could possibly take so long?!). When I say this is a get in/get out situation, I mean it!

I got in, started/finished my shower and was packed up/dried up and out of my stall before they finished bathing (and I entered after their water was on). I found a line outside the stalls 3 people deep. Long showers at the gym = totally unacceptable.

On the no-nudey in front of people thing, fine, like I said, I don’t have a problem with that. But there are changing stalls specifically for this reason. So if they don’t want to strip down in front of others, there is a specific space where they can take their sweet time. But that isn’t the issue. These gals parade around in their birthday suits after they bathe, so really, they are just being sneaky jerks* who think their time is more important than others.

Kinda like Steve Martin.

(source)

Actually, I’ve never seen The Jerk, so I don’t know if his behavior is up to par with theirs, but I assume so.

When I saw the pile of clothes sitting outside the shower stalls I kinda wanted to grab ‘em and run.

But I didn’t.

Because I am nice. Which is a gym DO, in case you were wondering. And I did clear my conscience by lending my conditioner to the repeat offender when she mentioned she forgot hers. Another gym DO. I guess complaining about them in a blog is kind of a DON’T behavior, but I’m not at the gym right now, so it isn’t applicable.

*I could think of a more articulate phrase in which to describe the type of person who exhibits this behavior, but I don’t really feel like it. They royally pissed me off this morning.

K, unintended rant over. Normal foodie ramblings will commence now…

Upon arriving to work I assembled an un-overnight overnight oat concoction for brekkie: raw oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, thawed blueberries and an Archer Farms ff vanilla yogurt.

I’d never had Archer Farms before, but for 49 cents a pop I thought I would give them the ‘ol girl scout try. The verdict? I really liked the vanilla! I wasn’t a fan of the honey almond, however. That one tasted kinda aspartamey, but I am not entirely sure aspartame was on the ingredient list.

Lunch was a blurry* and bland sammie of roast turkey, laughing cow and english muffin, plus a side salad.

*totally left my point n shoot at home. My iPhone’s camera is craptastic.

Around 2 p.m. I had a snack attack, and I really wanted candy. I read an article this morning in my Women’s Health magazine about how we often crave sweets mid afternoon because our blood sugar drops and we should reach for fruit instead of candy and we’ll be more energized. Remembering this, I sliced up a pink lady apple.

Yeah, it might help my blood sugar levels, but it definitely didn’t trick my body out of wanting that candy. I only had a few life savers to suck on, but they totally did the trick.

A while later I was still craving sweets, and still hungry. Enter my friend, Luna.

Mmmmm seasonal flavors. Actually, I think this bad boy is in their regular rotation now.

After arriving home tonight I attempted to do a little photo shoot action with Rilo for Tina’s Blog Dogs series. Rilo did not want to cooperate!

She did give me some high fives though.

After acting as the paparazzi, Libb whipped up a mean tuna noodle casserole a la Gina’s Skinny Taste. We subbed a yellow bell pepper for the shrooms, used regular sharp cheddar instead of the reduced fat (reduced fat cheese…vomit) and didn’t add the sherry (don’t have any).

Serious yum factor.

Look at those crispy noodles!

A side salad made this meal complete.

Then it was DVR time…90210 style.

(source)

Every Monday Libb asks me yo, is there a new 90210 tonight? When the answer is yes he gets really excited. I am so pleased to have hooked my brother on such a ridiculous guilty pleasure. It makes for great sibling bonding Tuesday evenings.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure t.v. show?

Hey, did you know it is Valentine's Day?

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:11:52 -0800

Have you checked your facebook feed today? Yeah, it is Valentine’s Day. It always cracks me up to see married couples wishing each other a happy v-day via fb wall posts.

*quick check to make sure Timmah didn’t do that* phew, we’re in the clear.

I guess my body was excited about the ol Hallmark holiday, I woke up at 5:03 a.m., one minute before my alarm went off. Crazy, right? Here’s hoping I can make this a week long winning mini-goal streak. However, with all this extra time on my hands I didn’t actually get to the gym any earlier than normal. Well, I mean I got there one time (on a machine at 5:55 a.m.).

After 50 minutes filled with Katy Perry, Usher and CNN on the Adaptive Motion Trainer I did a little arm action. I haven’t worked my arms in ages, and I am thinking I may be rather sore tomorrow.

Brekkie was a less pretty version of yesterday’s creamy buckwheat with chia seeds, pecans, raisins, brown sugga and half a nanner.

With a side of bright pink sparkly heart nails…

Fun, right? I felt very, very girlie.

Lunch was oh, so good. A turkey sammie with avocado, laughing cow, lettuce, tomato and onion on a whole wheat english muffin, with a side salad.

Plus a side of operation beautiful. I thought the other teachers, aids and support staff needed a little love aside from the raging tween/early teen hormones that were wreaking havoc on our Monday. :)

Perhaps I snacked on a heart shaped sugar cookie. Perhaps.

Pretty soon I’ll be throwing two pizza’s in the oven. I know I promised a meatless Monday dish, but I really didn’t feel like cooking. Meh. Take’n’bake pizza is only half cooking, so I feel like I kinda made my man a home cooked treat.

A heart shaped pie no less.

And I baked brownies!

Oh wait, they came from a box.

Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, right?

I almost forgot I promised you a peak at what I got the hubs for v-day…

‘Cause nothing says I love you like fried food.

His gift to me was a tad more appropriate for the day’o’love.

A fabu paper flower arrangement from anemone. These will look very lovely in my office at work.

Happy Valentine’s Day, or National Singles Appreciation Day, whichever you fancy.

Sleepy Saturday turned Sunday.

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:12:06 -0800

Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law, Gayle!

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday, I spent the day very lazily recuperating after my food poisoning/severe soy attack Thursday night.

Seriously lazy.

Friday morning I woke up at 6:45 a.m., passed out in the shower, called a sub, and went back to bed around 7:30 a.m. I woke up at 11:33 a.m., watched a movie, wrote a blog post and went back to bed at 2:00 p.m. Woke up at 4 p.m., called the clinic, spoke to a triage nurse, who said I didn’t need to come in unless my temp rose too much, (what is too much? I was at 100.4, so is 101 too much? 102? 103?), and to continue drinking gatorade & eating saltines and to get plenty of sleep.

Sleep I can do.

I hit the sack at 7:30 p.m. and didn’t wake up until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. In case you aren’t feeling up to doing math on a Sunday, that would be 15 hours straight sleep. I still couldn’t eat much, so I drank some peppermint tea, nibbled on some saltines and by 2 p.m. I was ready for a nap. Pretty pathetic, eh?

After starting and finishing 78% of my new kindle book, (Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella - Bridget Jonesy, super fluffy chick-lit, predictable and all I had the energy to focus on), and hitting the sack around 11 p.m. last night, I awoke at 9:06 a.m. feeling refreshed. Not my normal gym-going self, but no more body chills, aches, etc.

Enter a cure for the blah oatmeal blues: Bob’s Red Mill Creamy Buckwheat Cereal.

Perfect!

I topped my bowl with pecans, raisins, chia seeds and some brown sugga. It was a tad dry so I added some almond milk. Mmmmm, just what this girl needed.

Plus coffee, of course.

Then a little sunshine called us out for a midday stroll with the pup.

Vitamin D? Don’t mind if I do.

I also browsed chic camera purses online, after reading Elise’s post on the subject. I found some super cute purses at Kelly Moore and Epiphanie, but they are so expensive! No more expensive than my favorite B. Makowsky bag (cheaper actually), but still more than this girl is willing to spend at this moment in time. Especially since I am still learning how to use our nice Canon Rebel T1i. Maybe instead I will make my own, using Allie’s wonderful tutorial. Cute no?

Menu planning also took over my Sunday, and I am pretty excited about tomorrow’s Meatless Monday meal. We planned to have dinner for V-day over at Downriver Grill, (which really needs a website), but they aren’t normally open on Monday’s and are only taking reservations during a short 3 hour window. By the time I called to make the reservation it was too late and we could have only gotten a table at 8. Meh, no thanks. On a Friday or Saturday, sure, but on a work night? Not my thang. Then we planned to hit up ValenWine weekend and stay at The Davenport, leaving the kid, aka Libb, at home. But my food poisoning sitch kinda put a damper on those plans, so we’re having a lazy no frills V-day celebration. Wait til you see what I got the hubs.

The rest of my Sunday was equally lazy, doing the usual work-week prep, lounging, and curling up with my kindle. Rikka and Rilo were equally lazy.

They say hello.

Oh, and this broke.

You know how I feel about my hair, so obviously this needs to be remedied right away.

After sipping on more peppermint tea (good for the stummy, in case you didn’t know), and nibbling on more saltines, I decided a real meal might cheer me up. Enter a LaaLoosh recipe. Well, a modified one at least.

We made the “fried fish” sammie, but subbed panko for Fiber One cereal, and pan seared it before putting it in the oven.

Pretty tasty.

Plus a side of (overdone) kale chips.

I’m planning to scuttle off to bed shortly, nurses orders after all. Maybe I’ll be 100% tomorrow, as I would really like to enjoy a little dark chocolate + sea salt action.

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

Fashion Friday

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:18:09 -0800

There are entire blogs dedicated to fashion, my friend Lindsay has one. Mine is not. I don’t consider myself to be fashionable. However, over the years I’ve worked in quite a few places where I was the “cute dresser.” Me? *snort* oooookaaaay.

I’ve noticed more and more healthy living bloggers, like Laura and Megan who also work in education, are including Fashion Friday on their blogs. A post dedicated to what they wore to work that week. I love looking through these posts! I’ve also noticed a lot of “teacher clothes?” posts on a chat board I frequent. I figured why not join the Fashion Friday bandwagon? Plus it will be a fun way to look back on my progress over time. Libb thinks I should take a picture of just my face every single day until I’m 80 and see the progressive change. Is it weird that I think that sounds like a really good idea?

So this week I’m kicking off Fashion Friday on my blog, but you don’t get today’s outfit. Sorry. Yesterday I spent my evening at our school’s Literacy Night, manning the “bring one, take one” table, where the kids could exchange books.

Since the event lasted until 8 pm, I swung by Starbucks for a soy chai pick me up. I was very disappointed to discover they had not made the drink correctly. I think I got half a pump of chia? It tasted like hot water and soy. I still kept drinking this terrible mess, and regretted it later. I’m not sure if I had food poisoning, developed a severe allergy to soy in the past 24 hours, or something else, but I am very sick. After passing out in the shower this morning I called a sub and went back to bed. You don’t want to see pictures of my meals (ummm saltines + gatoraid), or my outfit (gray pj bottoms + baseball style The OC swag shirt from when I worked at FOX). So I may as well share what I wore the rest of the week instead.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Tada!

Timmy's Salsa

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:50:33 -0800

Tonight I am going to be slinging books at our school’s Title 1 Literacy Night. Rather than leave you postless, the Hubs agreed to do a guest post. Enjoy…

Ingredients

- Three to Four pounds tomatoes, at least 4-5 of them being beefsteak, or on the vine variety. Super fresh or homegrown is great

- One white/yellow onion

- One bunch cilantro

- One Anaheim pepper (called a New Mexico Pepper in new mexico and parts of texas, but is a different cultivar that is a little hotter)

- Two to four Serrano peppers or jalapeño peppers (depending on your heat tolerance)

- One to three poblano peppers

- One shallot

- Three to five cloves garlic

- One TBS Olive oil

- One TBS White Vinegar

- One tsp crushed red pepper

- Salt and black pepper to taste

- 14 oz can of tomato sauce (can be skipped; see below)

Directions

This is best with a food processor, but can be done by hand or with a blender.

1. Core four to five of the tomatoes (your bigger tomatoes) and place on cookie sheet

2. Broil in oven until tops are blackened and skin is falling off. Set aside and let cool

3. While the tomatoes are broiling skin and halve your onion and put in food processor.

4. Seed the peppers, but preserve the whitish flesh inside. The white flesh is the pith of the pepper, and contains the highest amount of Capsaicin, the spicy compound. The outside flesh also contains Capsaicin but not as much as the inside. The seeds themselves do not contain Capsaicin, just the flesh in which they are located.

Side note: Two of the many things that I love are spicy foods, and fresh, homegrown plants, especially tomatoes and peppers. I love to grow tomatoes and peppers, and whenever I grow a garden at home, typically tomato and pepper plants are overrepresented. Further, I love heirloom plant varieties that are usually not represented in grocery stores, “organic” food stores, or even many farmer markets.

We have a couple nice, improving farmer markets in our town, but I have been disappointed by the selection in the past. The most interesting markets I have seen, when it comes to tomatoes and peppers, was when we in Rome. I wanted to buy pounds upon pounds of produce.

With the purchase of our new house, I can finally have the garden that I want. I have been planning out construction since last fall, and boring Leila with the details. This includes reviewing the seeds available from my favorite place to buy seeds. They have a catalog that you can look through online, or sent by mail, and they have tons of interesting varieties of heirloom plants.

Chili peppers are amazing plants. They are related to tomatoes, and also, potatoes, tobacco, eggplant, and paprika, which all of the family Solanaceae, or Nightshade. It is also related to belladonna; which, while not as tasty, has its own varying uses, from medicine to poisoning political figures throughout history.

Chili peppers, and their derivatives, are used for topical analgesics, arthritis pain, diabetic neuropathy, postmastectomy pain, migraines, and other ailments. They have also been used historically as weapons, including pepper spray. They are also used to defend crops and food stores. They are also extremely high in vitamin C, B Vitamins and carotene. See, simply amazing plants!

However I like them most for the documented rush, that they provide, which includes increased heart rate, and which can provoke pleasurable and even euphoric effects. But, as you can assume, that depends on the person. To each his own, right? But back to the salsa.

5. Put chilis, onion, shallot, and garlic cloves in the food processor and pulse until to a well diced/minced consistency (see picture). Remove to a large mixing bowl or Pyrex.

6. Peel skins from the broiled tomatoes and place them in the food processor. Add all of the cilantro leaves from the bunch of cilantro. Pulse until well blended. Add to the onion/pepper mix and mix.

7. Core/trim the remaining fresh tomatoes and place in the food processor. Pulse, but not as much as the other steps so far. You need something in between a minced and diced size. However, if you would like larger chunks, or want a salsa closer to “salsa fresco” style, then dice the remaining tomatoes by hand.

8. Add the fresh tomatoes to the bowl and blend.

9. Add a teaspoon or two of kosher or sea salt (to taste) and a teaspoon of black pepper

10. Add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

11. Add a Tablespoon each of EVOO and White Vinegar

12. Mix all ingredients

13. Pour in the can of tomato sauce. Again if you want the Salsa Fresca style, skip this step. However, it is important for the normal recipe.

14. Taste for salt, and then place in the refrigerator to cool for a couple hours. Note that the spiciness will increase during this time, in case you believe you need more spice before you put it in the fridge.

15. After chilling stir again, and enjoy. Of course, if you’re me, you would have homemade tortilla chips to eat it with.

Weigh in Wednesday 7: time to recharge.

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:57:05 -0800

Me thinks my scale’s battery is dying. I received 5 different weights this morning, so I have no idea if I lost, gained, or stayed the same over the past week. Time to either change the battery or get a new (better/more accurate) scale. However, I am afraid to do both options because even though I know weight is rather irrelevant, I like to use the same scale every time I weigh in for consistency sake. Yeah, I am kinda drama-rama.

The scale at the gym hit somewhere in the middle of the other weigh-in’s, so I guess I’ll take that as my weigh-in for the week.

Start weight: +21

Goal weight: -21

Last week (which I think is a total fluke due to being sick): -9.5

This week: -8 (which seems more accurate)

Oh, and I created a weigh-in page to track progress. And did you notice I finally got my About page up and running? Ch-check-check-check-ch-check it out.

Other than changing my scale’s battery I decided I really need to invest in some static cling removal spray. The dry air combined with my tights and dress really aren’t the best combo.

What else isn’t a good combo? My morning oats. Blah, these used to excite me. But now I’m in a bland rut. Tomorrow I am determined to eat something new.

Partway through my morning the sun began to shine little rays of joy into my office. It was perfect timing because my outfit is really designed for warmer weather. I was rather thrilled with this weeks forecast of sunshine daily, but when I drove to the Y this morning I was met with snowflakes. While getting ready I quietly grumbled about the possibility of wearing my North Face fleece all day to stay warm. As a fellow morning gym goer noted, you have to be really committed to your outfit when you pack your bag the night before.

The sun warmed my office nicely and my lunch warmed my soul. I finished off my container of roasted red pepper & tomato soup and inhaled a nummy salad, (spring mix/spinach, red onion, bell pepper, tomato, cherry craisins, goat cheese & homemade dressing).

This guy kept us company and sang us some ridiculous Easter bunny songs.

A little later on I snacked on some apple wedges with a laughing cow, (and an un-photographed babybel and homemade chips while waiting for dinner).

Guess what we are having again? Tacos! We are almost finished with our super bowl leftovers. I think we way overestimated how much food we would need. Sigh. Looking forward to some non-salsa inspired dishes this weekend.

Salsa chicken disaster.

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:18:59 -0800

Homigawd I am starving. The prunes I’m munching on are not cutting it either. (Yes, I happen to like prunes. No, I’m not 80.) I’m watching Arrested Development while I wait for my dinner to hurry up and finish cooking.

BEST.SHOW.EVER. Seen it? If you haven’t you really need to put this on your Netflix queue right away. I have been known to bust out the chicken during random events. And may have *almost* fallen into a fire once.

(source)

This weekend the lovely Anastasia informed me the Arrested Development movie is definitely on! I will be in the theater opening day, thank you very much.

Anyway…

The hubs opted to take the bus to work this morning (*thanks hubs!), so I wouldn’t have to deal with an extra early morning work out, driving back home, driving him to work and then driving myself to work. Just writing that sentence made me exhausted.

I really hate driving. I think it all started when I got in an accident four days after I got my license. My mom was napping and I interrupted her slumber to ask if I could borrow her car to meet my friend for lunch. After lunch I was attempting to drop my friend off at work and I pulled into a parking spot. Unfortunately my foot slipped off the brake and slammed onto the gas and I went flying over the divider between Burger King and Big O Tires. I hit another vehicle and their back end looked like my front end. It wound up costing my insurance company a pretty penny, (my bill went up before I even received the first statement in the mail), and I was scarred for life. Now I pretty much refuse to drive unless I have to. Or if there is a sale I need to scope out.

But I digress. This morning I hit the gym for my Tuesday ~~run~~ walk/jog. I decided my unofficial training plan would include a jog on the ol dreadmill Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and attempt an outdoor run once on the weekend. The couch to 5k program has never worked for me, so I am just making this plan up as I go. So far so good, except for the fact that I was still to Sudafeded-up to really have a good work out. After a half hour I jumped off the dreadmill to work my legs instead.

Brekkie was same ol, same ol oats (blueberry craisins, cinnamon, chia seeds, almond milk/water) and coffee…which tasted like an ash tray? Gross. Once we are out of this Kirkland House Blend I am going to be on a mission to find something locally roasted.

Are you bored with my breakfasts lately? I am.

Lunch was a repeat of last nights dinner: taco salad (turkey taco meat, bell pepper, tomato, red onion, homemade salsa, homemade guac and some colby jack cheese).

I snacked on a sad looking nanner w/decaf chia tea + ff half&half (finally threw out that nasty caramel macchiatto coffee creamer!)

I swung downtown to pick up the hubs and threw dinner in the oven: salsa chicken. We have SO MUCH salsa to use up this week! So last night I threw 3 large (Costco size) chicken breasts in a bag with 2 cups of salsa (half medium, half spicy). Tonight I threw it in a pyrex dish and into the oven it went…an hour ago. Usually this dish only takes a half hour. But due to the size of my breasts the dish took double the amount of time to bake.

What, you don’t like tasteless jokes?

Tada, by the time I finished writing this post dinner was magically ready. Ask and you shall receive I guess. Salsa chicken w/leftover cheesy rice.

I’m still starving though so I may dig into this (salted caramel chocolate!),

or this cookie a student decorated for me :)

Yes, I do go girl.

Medicine haze Monday.

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:38:27 -0800

Random thoughts filled my cloudy head today….

Does 24 Hour Sudafed contain caffeine? If not, why couldn’t I sleep last night.

Why am I so parched? Does Sudafed do that to you? Why does my water taste gross?

I wonder when I’ll get my next 20% off coupon for Bed, Bath & Beyond. I could really use some more storage containers.

Why don’t we have a Container Store?

When will Trader Joe’s really open?

I wonder if I could talk the hubs into running over to World Market to pick up some more dark chocolate with sea salt.

Why have I not made my own nut butter yet?

I wonder if I could make my own Nutzo, there is no way I am spending $11.99 on a jar of nut butter.

There were more, but I’ll spare you. My head is very foggy from a combo of meds and I can’t really function.

I had to drive the hubs to work this morning because his car had to go into the shop. Long story short he left his car in his work parking garage over the weekend because it is making really loud, clanky, scary noises. He made an appointment for this morning at 7:30. He dropped the car off and walked back to work only to receive a phone call from Volvo informing him that they never ordered the part! What the fudge Volvo? So we have to wait around 5 days before the part will come in…one car + morning workouts + working on opposite sides of town = really cranky Leila.

Brekkie was a pretty standard coffee/half&half/raw sugar + oats/blueberry craisins/chia seeds mix.

Lunch consisted of some roasted red pepper & tomato soup, a side salad, some seltzer and a side of laughter.

Snackie of peach chobani + ice water, (I love that my water bottle still had a huge chunk o ice in it at 2:30 pm).

A co-worker dropped off a bunch of free brand new books from his sister, making my afternoon a whole lot brighter. Included in the mix is the 2011 Newbery Award Winner, Moon Over Manifest!

Then it was off to the gym. Uggh, I hate working out with the after work crowd. Not that I have anything against these people, I’m sure they are all very nice in another setting. But the too small parking lot + too many pieces of cardio equipment in a small space = really cranky gym goers. Plus I am slightly claustrophobic, and after hitting elbows with the girl next to me for a half hour I was totally over it. Luckily she got off her machine before we had an elbow war and I was able to complete a full hour on the adaptive motion trainer.

After picking the hubs up halfway between his work and the Y, (volvo is not to be trusted on the roads), I quickly assembled taco salads from yesterday’s leftovers.

Yum.

And maybe a few chips w/salsa and guac on the side.

Now about that dark chocolate w/sea salt…

Guactastic Super Bowl.

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:48:55 -0800

First of all: PACKERS WIN!

Remember this picture?

My mom texted me saying she was pretty sure my dad was going to wear the cheese head to work tomorrow. He was born and raised in Wiscaaaaahhnsin, and is a major, major cheese head. (Yes I pronounce Wisconsin with the long ahhhh sound in the middle. No, I don’t have a Midwest accent, but I find it more fun that way.)

Guacamole can actually make me want to watch football. I know, crazy, but oh so true.

Today we hosted a few friends for Super Bowl Sunday, and between sudafed and dayquil I was feeling up for a little fun. The hubs made chips & salsa, (I promise to post the recipe soon, you will want to bathe in this salsa).

The tennis ball was passed between friends.

They were both rooting for the Packers and called a truce for today it appears.

And I made a ridiculous amount of guacamole. I pretty much followed this recipe, added cumin and pentupled it, (multiplied by five…is there a word for that? I’m calling it pentuple, even though I know that is a scientific term that does not mean multiply by five.)

Avocados were 69 cents each! And they were soft, perfect for making guac! When I giddily exclaimed this at the grocery store yesterday, the fellow next to me looked frightened and slowly backed away. Clearly he does not get as excited as I do about this green goddess fruit.

I find the easiest way to mash an avocado for guacy goodness is to cut it in half, remove the pit and squeeze directly into your bowl.

A little more green and yellow goodness…

Cilantro is a tricky beast, and unless your knife is very, very sharp it is rather difficult to chop it up without wilting the leaves. My mom taught me to bunch the cilantro together, (stems removed, which can be a real bugger), and chop with your kitchen scissors, perfect solution!

I enlisted Libb to dice up the serrano peppers.

All mixed up with love.

Cute cook in the kitchen alert.

What? I can’t call myself cute? Self love peeps, self love.

We normally don’t eat until at least 7, sometimes 8, (ahem, last night it was 9:30). We consider it European style, but that wasn’t going to work tonight. The game started at 3:30 pacific time, which meant an early dinner. Like early bird special style.

Taco bar all set up.

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, that would be a football crock pot my friends.

Would you like your turkey taco meat with a side of sippy cup?

I decided to dish mine up taco bowl style. The lovely Anastasia cooked up a mean cheesy rice dish that served as my base. Topped with some medium salsa, turkey taco meat, bell pepper, tomato, red onion, sour cream and guac.

Holy yum.

Oh and p.s. when you party at my house I provide skittles as hors d’oeuvres.

See I knew that sparkly heart bowl would be put to good use.