S-S-S-S-Saturday November 29, 2008

Today did not feel like Saturday at all, more like Sunday I suppose.  I was tired and a little cranky last night after I posted, and I went to bed around midnight.  The last few weeks I have had a hard time warming up in bed, even with the quilt and a blanket, so I wore a long-sleeved shirt last night and that helped a lot

I woke up maybe around 7, but stayed in bed and dozed in and out until about 8:45, when I realized I had better get going to be awake and make it to pilates at 10 on time.  I started the coffee, poured a bowl of All Bran Strawberry Medley with almond milk, and headed outside to play with Lily.  I totally forgot to take a pic until after I ate.  Oops.

[imagine cereal here]

Andrea (at Care To Eat) said she’d try to be at pilates, and she was there!  I was surprised b/c I thought she went to a different location of 24 Hour Fitness, but it was good to have someone I knew there in class   Go Andrea!  After class I did 40 minutes of cardio on the elliptical, then headed home in a state that told me I needed food even though I wasn’t hungry. 

What to make, what to make…??? Wrap? Leftovers? Eggs?  I ended up making a wrap with a 1/2 wedge Laughing Cow Light, one lightly scrambled egg, spinach, and broc slaw.  I knew I wanted an apple, so I decided to try one with some cottage cheese.  It was a good combo, but the apple wasn’t that great so I only ate half of it.

I began busting out housework so I wouldn’t have to do any tomorrow (yay!), and got quite a bit done.  I hit a wall around 2 and was insanely tired.  Are the last 2-3 days of activity catching up to me? Did I overdo it? Am I just tired?  I don’t know… I was also getting a tad hungry already, so I turned to my new friend, cottage cheese.  Can’t believe I’m eating it! I’ve been missing out for the last 27 years. 

I had Food Should Be Good multigrain chips with it, and it worked out well.  As I ate this I watched Hell’s Kitchen reruns on Fox Reality, and caught the last season finale.  I thought I may fall asleep on the couch, but ended up staying awake and watching the whole thing while tending the laundry on commercials.

Chris suggested we go to Fajitas (neighborhood Mexican restaurant) for dinner, and I was kind of relieved since that meant I wouldn’t have to cook.  Tortilla soup sounded good, so I did indeed order that with a Casuela, too.

I added lots of jalapenos to my soup, and ix-nayed the sour cream.  I loved the fiery mouth effect of the peppers! My inner ears started to feel hot and itchy–a sure sign of spicy heat. When I was younger I hated spicy stuff, but now I love it.  I’ll need to figure out how to incorporate some Sriracha or spicy curry into my diet soon… Anyway, I ate too much and got home feeling quite full.  I guess a lot of it was fluid, but I need to stop myself before I get full.

The week is finally winding down to a close now, and I have mixed feelings on it.  One one hand, I worked out 5 times this week, with two great leg workouts and a nice walk/hike outdoors:)  On the other hand, I ate too much each of the last 3 nights and didn’t drink enough water this week:(

Tomorrow is a new week, and I’m determined to eat well, work out at least 4 times, and continue (ahem, restart) my approach of not eating until I’m full.  I’ll start out with yoga in the morning, and I am looking forward to having steel cut oats again for breakfast (better prep those now!).  I bought them in bulk this week at Freddy’s, and they definitely look different than Bob’s Red Mill (smaller, a few dark specks in there).  I’ll let you know how that goes. 

I hope you all had a nice end to your week, and I know I’m glad to have one more day off before heading back to work.  How about you?

Free and Lazy Friday November 28, 2008

Wow, it was only Friday today.  Sweet!  I passed out on the couch last night and didn’t sleep all that well, part couch and part alcohol consumption I think.  Does alcohol do that to you, too–make you wake up after one sleep cycle or so?

I finally got up around 9 and did the usual take Lily out/make coffee/make oats routine, but for using a different type of oats today.  I used the rolled oats I had left over from my apple crisp, and made them on the stovetop with pumpkin Silk, water, raisins, and a pinch of salt.  When they were nearly done I added slivered almonds, and I topped off the finished product with some more Silk.  I liked the taste, but think I prefer the chewier, heartier texture of the steel cut oats instead of the mushier, softer texture of these.

I sat around reading blogs, watching some TV, and drinking coffee all morning.  I can’t believe how sore my legs are today from the walk yesterday!  It is great!  I also did a little yoga this morning, as I saw it was on Fit TV and got in like 10 minutes of practice.  I was in a pretty good mood, and enjoyed being able to relax.  I kept wondering about going to the gym, but decided to take the day off b/c of my crazy sore legs and feet.

For lunch I had some leftover roasted veggies, turkey, and a little bit of gravy.  Yummy smell as it heated, and great taste:)

After this I went to Fred Meyer to pick up some things for dinner tonight at my dad’s, and for Chris, Lily, and I in general.  I didn’t do the usual menu planning b/c I didn’t feel like it.  I knew I had protein for the next 2 days already, that I could finagle some sides, and we have Thanksgiving leftovers.  No shortage of food here.

I’ve seen a lot of cottage cheese incorporated in all of your blogs out there, so I decided to finally buy some and test it out.  Now, let me tell you about my last experience with cottage cheese. .. It was, oh, about 8 years ago in college (holy shit I feel old saying that) and my boyfriend liked to eat cottage cheese with ranch dressing.  I had never liked cc before that, but one night after drinking too much Franzia white zin with the bf I ate like half a bowl of his cc and ranch concoction.  I promptly got sick (mostly from the wine, I’m sure) and haven’t really wanted to try cc since then.

Enter 2008’s blog scene and my taste test today.  I just had like 1/4 cup with some no salt added Saltines (bought them for Daddy’s halibut recipe, and saw they have high fructose corn syrup in them!!:|)  I ate a few spoonfuls of the cc alone, and noticed how the curds remind me of salty mozzarella in taste and texture.  Great, b/c I love fresh mozzarella   Paired with the crackers it was pretty good, and I’ll see about trying it in oats, with fruit/jam, cinnamon, or other preparations.  I would love to hear your favorite cottage cheese dishes/concoctions/recipes–please leave a comment for me!

 Not too shabby

What did I do after this? Hm…more blogging I think.  I felt kinda lazy and didn’t want to clean or unload the dishwasher, so I was on the computer for awhile. 

Around 4:15 we left for my dad’s so I could put the pie in the oven early before he came home from work.  The pie was from Lee Farms of Tualatin, Oregon: http://www.leefarmsoregon.com/  I also prepped some of the salad, crushed the saltines, got out the brie and promptly began eating it, and enjoyed some Willakenzie 2006 Pinot Blanc.  (My G-Ma also brought over some Spanish sheep’s milk cheese that was really soft, creamy, and mild.  Mmmmm.) Lily asked if she could have some too, so I gave her a cracker:)

I was good, eating just a few bites of everything while keeping busy in the kitchen.  My dad got home and we did more prep, then started cooking when everyone was there.  The halibut was SO good–moist inside, crispy outside, fabulous taste and texture.  My dad coats it in an egg wash, dredges it in the ground up Saltines, and pan fries it in some butter and olive oil–100% perfect!  For sides we had red Bhutanese rice, leftover mashed potatoes (G-Ma insisted on bringing them over since she had leftovers she wanted to pawn off), and a spinach salad with broc slaw, red pepper, and a little basil.  A very yummy dinner that wasn’t overly large.  I decided to forego the potatoes since we already had one starch.

Chris picked out two fantabulous wines from my dad’s cellar: a Bergstrom 2001 Paso Robles Syrah, and an Archery Summit 2005 Red Hills Pinot Noir.  Both were really full bodied, had great flavor, and gone too quickly.  The 7 of us drinkers went though 4 bottles of wine in all.  Here’s pics of the cellar and the Bergstrom:

My dad’s hall closet is under his staircase, and has a bunch of open space in the back; it also happens to stay at a perfect, consistent temperature for most of his wine, so it is therefore his main “cellar.”  I always think it is fun (and funny) to whip out the flashlight, part the coats, and crouch in the closet looking through his wine.

Next we moved along to the yummy pie, but not before I had a few more bites of cheese while sort of helping to clean up.  The marionberry pie was TO DIE FOR.  I don’t think I’ve ever had pie that good before–perfect taste, texture, and crust, not too sweet and not too tart.  I added a little spoon of ice cream, too:)

Double yum!  We had some coffee with our dessert, and sat/stood around chatting in the kitchen and family room for awhile.  All in all it was a great evening, except for me eating a tad too much on all fronts.  Thankfully we don’t get together twice a week like this, or else I’d be in trouble for sure on the eat-fewer-calories front.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the food and socializing, but it is easier for me to control my portions and nutrition when making my own meals, or when eating out at familiar places. 

There’s my honey and my little girl:)

Now Chris and I have succumbed to yet more wine.  I’m feeling like quite the wino lately.  We are enjoying a Willakenzie 2005 Selection Clonale 114 Pinot Noir, and it is yet another great wine.  I like tasting the individual clones that are blended to create the wines.

There’s a Mork & Mindy marathon on SciFi right now, and it is suprisingly funny and entertaining.  Right now they’re about to get married and Mork is turning into a dog b/c his alien master doesn’t approve.  Lily heard Mork bark on TV and started growling… such a good girl protecting us.  Love her

I’m out for the night, folks.  Hoping to get in pilates and cardio tomorrow, how bout you?

Gobble, gobble…gobble-gobble November 27, 2008

Whoo-ee, what a day!  It felt so loooong, and had a few speed bumps in there.  But, here I am, somehow not in a comatose state from all of the food I consumed. 

The day started out well, with me getting up around 8:15 and knowing I was going for a walk around 10:30.  Lily and I played, and the wildlife came out in droves. 

I had my oats, but today added a bit of nutmeg since I had it for the apple crisp.  It was so yummy!  To recap, the oats consisted of steel cut oats, pumpkin spice Silk, water, dried figs, almond slivers, cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg. 

I got ready for my walk, got Lily ready, too, and headed over to my dad’s house to carpool.  Lily was excited b/c she saw lots of dogs and people walking in my dad’s neighborhood, so while my dad changed we ran around his back yard.  There was a bright orange fungus growing at the edge of his lawn, and it fascinated me.  I forgot to take a pic!  At first I seriously thought it was flower petals or an orange peel.  Way cool!

We went for our walk on Mountain Park, in Lake Oswego, and it kicked my ass!  It was my brother, my dad, my bro’s dog, me, and Lily.  We huffed it up the hill, moving at a good clip, and finally reached the top of the hill about 50 minutes in.  At that point I noticed my left heel was getting rubbed by my shoe for a few reasons.  1) My left foot is a half size smaller than my right, so sometimes shoes are a little big for it.  2) I wore low cut socks, and the left one kinda shrunk down into my shoe.  On the way downhill my feet were barking at me a bit more, and I was kicking myself for not thinking more about the socks I wore and the friction I’d experience.  Grr.  My feet hurt pretty bad afterward, but my dad wanted to go to Whole Foods and I wasn’t about to say no.

We shopped for Friday’s dinner, and ended up getting halibut, rice, brie for a starter, and some beer   While there we sampled some yummy Seaside Cheddar.  I LOVE their cheese section and could probably just stand there all day asking for samples.  As you can see, my cheddar sample was HUGE.  I stabbed the toothpick into the bowl of cubes, and accidentally snagged that big boy on the end of my toothpick.  I was famished from walking so I gladly ate what I got

When I got home I felt tired, sore, and the dogs were barking.  As I bent over to untie my shoes Lily accidentally head butted me so hard I cried!  I’ve totally got a bruise on my forehead.  I made myself a typical wrap for lunch, and got out my yogurt snack that I prepped earlier.

The wrap was a low fat tortilla, 1/2 wedge Laughing Cow Light, turkey, spinach, broc slaw, and ground pepper.  I probably didn’t need the sidecar of yogurt, but I ate about half of it and saved the rest.  It was Dannon Light & Fit vanilla, half a nanner, slivered almonds, and cinnamon.

After this I got to baking my Thanksgiving dishes, starting with the vegetables.  They smelled yummy as they roasted, and I was happy with the finished results.  This consisted of parsnips, onions, carrots, acorn squash, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Simple and tasty.

I was in quite a funk for some reason this afternoon, and totally emotional.  It was so weird and unexpected, and Chris had just the thing to try to snap me out of it:

 Cheers!

Next the apple crisp went in.  Just mixing the topping up made me drool!  Check out this pre-baked dish of goodness.  It smelled like heaven already and I totally licked off the beater from my mixer.  Wow, out of control!

As this baked I thought I was going to melt b/c the smell was to die for.  The finished product looked beautiful, with the top all crispy and brown, but I forgot to take a photo since I was in mad prep mode to get going to Grandma’s house.

After arriving at G-Ma’s I helped to finish and dish things, and the usual family stress crept in.  Too many people helping out in the kitchen, too many things going on at once… “hand me the wine.” 

Once we finally got seated for dinner, I just about died at how good the food was   SO TASTY!!! I put too much food on my plate, at it all, and even had a little more afterward.  And, yes, those wine glasses are both mine   The plate o’ goodness included: white turkey meat, mashed potatoes, dressing, roasted veggies, two kinds of cranberry sauce, and gravy over half of the above.  The bowl back there had fruit salad with apples, orange, bananas, walnuts, cherries, and whipped cream (zoikes!). 

I was so bad and kept picking at the food as we cleared dishes and put leftovers away.  Naughty girl!  My sis-in-law’s dressing was super tasty, and I kept sneaking bites every time I passed by.  Someone slap my hand away!

Dessert was fabulous, and I had tastes of my apple crisp and my mom’s pumpkin pie.  The whipping cream froze solid during its short stay in the freezer (don’t ask…), so we opted for the blow-on kind instead.

Here’s where I really went over the top–too much food=uncomfy tummy!  I had a hard time sticking to my guns today, obviously.  All I can say is at least I worked out a lot this week, otherwise I think I would be feeling a lot more guilty now.  Did you all workout more to get ready for today?

I think Chris’ parents had a good time, and everyone got along really well and had fun.  Phew, and yay   The puparoos were really good during dinner, and here they are laying down watching the kitchen activity.  They were both laying with their heads on the floor, but Lily heard me and lifted her head up.  Hi sweetie!

Lily is tuckered out, and so am I.  I’m watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion right now–wow, them bitches are crazy!  Off I go to watch more and drink massive quantities of water (too much vino). 

Hope your Thanksgiving ended splendidly