It’s a bloggy blog world! April 26, 2009

It is amazing how often I think of blogging, my blog, your blogs, blog friends, etcetera.  I’m really gald I’ve found this world, and I’m amazed at the cool people I’ve “met.”  Thanks everyone for creating such a fun, educational, supportive, and inspirational network

As I mentioned last night, my house was a mess, my mind flip-flopping about my new office, and more, which lead me to think today would be stressful and shitty.  But not so!  Not at all!  I started doing little things cleaning this morning, and when I cracked open my office sketches one in particular spoke to me. 

Last night I forgot to prep my oats, but I figured out that soaking them in hot water for several minutes, then nuking them for two, creates a desirable consistency.   I almost forgot the PB!  Added it at the last minute, which meant I could play with it and eat around it so as to enjoy mucho PB bites at the end of the bowl

I didn’t go to the gym this morning since I didn’t have any clean workout clothes!  Oops!  So I did some laundry, some more office planning, and then realized I wanted to go to the gym sooner than later.  Seeing as how it was nearly lunch time I figured I should have a snack before heading out:  handful of almonds and part of a Braeburn apple.

For whatever reason I’ve not felt like doing weight training this weekend, so I didn’t.  Bad me.  I went for a full hour of cardio today instead, split between the elliptical and the stair mill.  I think I have an addiction to the stair mill.  I was so sad that the new mills were full when I got there, and when someone got off of one around 15 minutes into the elliptical I almost ran for it.  But no, I kept plugging on the elliptical.  I got nervous that the mills would be full when I was done on the elliptical, though, so around 26 minutes I jumped off that fucker and flew to the mill when a lady vacated it.  I’m obsessed   The mill was worth every sweaty minute, though, all 32 of them or so. 

Lunch was a healthy scramble of two egg whites, broccoli, carrot, peppered turkey, and some avocado on top, plus a carrot and slice of ww toast w/ SB Light.  I never thought I’d say this, but it was almost like I was craving that broccoli!  Ew, who craves broccoli, you ask?  Weirdos like me I guess…

This afternoon involved a very long trip to the grocery store, and I’m not sure why exactly.  I scored some new eye cream–Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra Lift Eye Cream, and it came with a free Maybelline mascara.  Score!  When I ran out of eye cream a loooooooooong time ago I never bought more, and now I see more fine lines and dryness around my eyes.  Booo!  Hopefully that will be history soon…

Dinner tonight was a new protein with an old starch:  flank steak medallions with balsamic shallots and roasted rosemary over potatoes.  Not many greens in there, I know, I should’ve had a salad on the side.  Everything was really yummy, and I especially loved the shallots.

I did lots of little cleaning tasks this afternoon and evening, and I finally feel like I’ve tackled most of the crap that bugged me.  There are a few big projects that I hope to work on over the next few months (sort through and reorganize clothes, sort through and pare down “stuff,” etc.), but for now I’m happy

Did you all have a nice weekend?  I hope so!  Good luck heading into the week

Dusting off the high heels April 25, 2009

Yup, that’s right folks, I actually wore high heels to work on Friday!  I had to wear something that would go from day to evening, and I knew I wanted to dress up a bit.  I wore a multi-color weave skirt with fringe on the bottom from one of my skirt suits, plus a vibrant multi-colored form fitting 3/4 sleeve shirt with some beads and sequins.  Sounds a horror, I know, but it really was pretty and well put together, especially with my purple high heels

(After being complimented like a hundred times yesterday I felt really incredible, and I can’t believe I forgot to have someone take a pic of me all day and evening.  D’oh!)

Friday evening I actually went out, and not to the gym!  A bunch of the ladies from my mom’s old neighborhood had a table at The 51st Annual Ebony Fashion Fair–The Runway Report, sponsored by The Links, Inc, of Portland, OR, and we were invited to join them. 

There was an appetizer bar that served as dinner for me… pineapple, cantaloupe, grapes, swiss and cheddar cheese, egg rolls, chicken pasty puffs, and a few other things.  I also had a few glasses of Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling and a vodka rocks (!).  Not quite a healthy dinner, but whatevs, I don’t get out to fashion shows or socialize with others very often.

The show was really cool, and had a ton of haute couture and high end designs from major domestic and international designers.  I’d never been to a fashion show before, and liked seeing the fashions displayed to some great R&B beats.

Before the fashion show started we all decided we should go out afterward (this coming from a group of ladies who usually go to bed and get up really early), and ended up leaving just over half way through the show since many of us started to fade a bit. 

At 1001 we hit up more booze, and some tasty eats: fries with truffle oil, a charcuterie plate with toasts, and some risotto fritters.  I had two lemon drops, a few fries, some toasts, and (gasp!) some chicken liver mousse on toast.  I never thought I’d eat that in my whole life… I’ve always been rather disgusted by pate, fois gras, and the like. 

Many times during the evening I was asked what my workout routine is, what I eat, how I was able to lose weight… I felt a little awkward b/c I don’t feel like I’m that small or svelte or anything, but it was really complimentary and I hope I inspired a few of the ladies who mentioned they wanted to make some changes  

We headed out around 11:45, and my mom brought me home.  I had this perverted idea that I’d get up early and do cardio before Pilates, but after I’d been asleep awhile I woke up and turned off the alarm I’d set.  “WTF was I thinking?,” I asked myself, “I want to sleep in and relax!”

I thought I had plenty of water yesterday evening, but this morning my body told me a different story!  I had a headache and sort of felt icky, so I ate my oatmeal, made coffee, and took a Tylenol allergy pill (they often help the headache more than just straight up Tylenol).  I also chugged a few glasses of water, but my headache didn’t want to go away until this afternoon. Grr.  I was quite a lazy ass and just sat around all day.

Lunch was: an omelette with one egg, one egg white, lightly steamed broccoli, peppered turkey, and some avocado on top; and a piece of whole wheat toast with a big schmear of Smart Balance Light.  I also put a little bit of cheddar in the omelette (hungover brain telling me to eat something oily and tasty), but it didn’t add anything and I should’ve just left it out.   

With the move to my new office growing ever closer, I spent a ton of time today sketching out furniture, envisioning the layout, looking up furniture, and never arriving at a conclusion I totally like   We have to pick paint and carpet colors by Tuesday, which isn’t a big deal, but we also have to decide where to put the power outlets, network plugs, and lights, which requires knowing the office layout.  With like 10 million choices of furniture and layouts it ain’t easy to figure this shit out and feel confident in my decision.

All of that thinking made me hungry, so we visited Fajitas for dinner.  I had a small tortilla soup but it just wasn’t quite as tasty as usual.  The La Casa seemed to taste different, too, but was still delicioso. Was my taste just off today?  I don’t know… it seems like I didn’t enjoy my savory eats much at all :(

After dinner I hit up the Nordstrom Rack to exchange some hair conditioner that was too perfumey for some face wash I think will be good, then I went to the gym for 45 minutes of cardio on the stair mill.  I picked up the pace today and got in a really nice sweat that flew by as I read The Economist, my new friend in beating the clock on cardio.  What a great Saturday night, right?  I never thought I’d look forward to going to a quiet gym on a Saturday night…

Once home and cleaned up I ate a snack of vanilla Dannon Light’n'Fit yogurt, soy protein powder, and pumpkin flax granola.  I got a ravenously hungry feeling not too long after eating that, and figured it was allergies, or the soy didn’t set well with me.  Has that happened to you before?  I’ve heard soy can be tough on the tummy sometimes. Eventually I had to eat something, so I went for a serving of Kashi TLC 7 grain crackers.  That seemed to do the trick

Time to unwind a bit and hit the hay.  My house is a frickin’ mess, I have a busy day otherwise tomorrow, and I need to figure out this office thing.  Perhaps some mind-numbing TV will help   Later, yo!

This crazy thing called life April 23, 2009

Lately I feel like I’m all grown up, with work, family, extracurriculars, yardwork, and the whole nine yards.  My days feel busy, my nights busy, my weekends busy, and my to-do list growing longer all the time.  Stop the insanity! Can’t I just go back to a simpler time without all of this responsibility and business?! 

Okay, done with my little rant now

Morning came too soon and I never got over feeling a bit tired today, and my right jaw joint is killing me (effing TMJD).  My ass wasn’t dragging, but I was just tired, and the jaw thing annoyed the hell out of me all day.  At least I started my day with a nice bowl of oats!  I had a new idea–what if I nuke ‘em right before Chris and I leave the house, then he drives and I eat in the car on the way to work?  It worked out well!  Another bowl of perfect oats–yay!

We had an early working lunch planned, so I messed around at work for like an hour and then we left for McCormick & Schmick’s Grill at Bridgeport Village.  From the prix fixe menu I chose the chicken and shrimp rice bowl, sans shrimp.  We also had a mixed greens salad.  I was able to sneak in this pic when no one seemed to notice

This was quite yummy, with a spicy kick and tender chicken.  I almost yelled out at one point when my jaw suddenly hurt, but I figured out that small bites helped avoid it.  The wontons were so yummy!  I saved over half the meal for dinner, but ate all the wontons b/c I knew they wouldn’t stay crispy.  For dessert we had a dark chocolate torte cake (like a slice of soft fudge practically!), of which I ate ~1/2. 

Back at the office I busted out some quality work, had a phone meeting, blah blah blah…the day was over around 5.  Chris wanted to visit Fajitas, but I ixnayed the idea b/c Mexi 3 nights in a row just didn’t do it for me.  Since I had my leftovers available, I suggested just dropping Chris off at Fajitas while I went to do cardio–perfect.  I had a little snack while playing with Lily before heading out.

Tonight I remembered some reading material and cardio flew by pretty quickly   I sat with Chris at the restaurant for a little while when I got back there, and we talked biz while I was feeling rather ditzy from busting my ass on the stair mill for 45 minutes.

Once home and cleaned up I nuked the rest of my lunch, which was bigger than I expected.  Still tasted good, but I ate a little too much of it. 

[Side note for y'all:  I hate Tyra Banks.  Bitch is so annoying, fake, and full of herself I nearly puke when I see her.]

I don’t know why, but when picking my new jar of peanut butter I went for Skippy Natural Super Chunk.  One of those under-the-time-gun-and-not-thinking-fully choices at the store.  It’s not bad, but I feel bad since I think the Maranatha was on sale, it’s organic, and it comes in a more earth-friendly glass jar with an aluminum lid. 

Late this afternoon my mom called and said a friend invited us to a dinner fashion show event tomorrow, and I need to figure out what to wear!  I think I’m going to end up wearing it to work all day…  I had better go scope out the closet. 

Nighty night folks!