A socially responsible day January 14, 2009

I did not sleep well last night   I woke up a lot for various reasons, but at least after I got up I didn’t feel tired at all today.

I wolfed down my oats as I prepped lunch.  That was the last of my oats until I go to the store, so a change is in order tomorrow.  I had a bigger than usual bowl of steel cut oats with more raisins than normal, Barney Butter, almond milk, water, and cinnamon.  I figured out that this cinnamon tastes almost floral; guess that’s what I get for buying the cheap stuff

(side bar:  FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK.  When I insert pics it deletes a paragraph!  Ahhhh.  Just had to insert all pics and write afterward.  WordPress, fix this shit!)

I started my day with a rep from Calvert Investments, one of the oldest and largest socially responsible fund companies in the world.  It dawned on me that I should probably put my money where my mouth is and support socially reponsible companies around the world.  Duh!  I like their new approach, too, called the SAGE Strategies, that strive to push currently non-socially responsible companies to become more socially reponsible. 

My lunch was the same as yesterday.  I left 1/2 of the apple, a few chips, and most of the cc.

The afternoon went quickly, and I think I finally solved the damn computer problem!!  Yayayayayaya!  Finally. I read more data on the item McAfee kept removing (it was called StealthMBR!rootkit), found out it was embedded in my registry, that I was not letting the fix stick b/c I kept undoing the changes at startup, blah blah blah, I think it is fixed now.  Microsoft Security Center was helpful, as that’s where I learned what the program was and how it could have affected me.  Turns out it was a nasty bug that could potentially steal info off of my computer, passwords, have remote control, etc.  Not kosher!  But, supposedly Microsoft doesn’t think it has hurt anyone yet.

Anywho.  Eventually I ate my last two chips, and not too long after had two pieces of taffy, one peppermint and one butter.

We left work a little early so I could prepare dinner before heading to Master Recycler class.  I made stuffed peppers, and found a way to save water while doing it–nuke the peppers instead of boil them!  I totally forgot the rice until the last minute and ended up nuking it until par-cooked.  Thankfully it did end up cooking mostly while in the oven. 

All in all, this recipe was: 3 green bell peppers halved lengthwise & nuked 5 minutes, 1lb 93% lean ground beef sauteed with 1/2 a chopped onion, I then stirred in 1 can tomatoes with green chiles, 1/2 can tomato sauce, Nature’s Seasoning, Italian herbs, Jerk seasoning and ~1 cup cooked brown rice, then stuffed the peppers, poured a little more tomato sauce on top, and added a little shredded medium cheddar after baking.  I baked them for about 30 minutes, and all was well! I  also had the rest of my apple from lunch since I only had one portion of pepper.

Tonight’s MR class was about the recycling process and curbside recycling.  Not much new stuff, but some great tidbits.  I know I said I’d post under my new page, but I’ve been bad about doing that.  Sorry….I’ll get there

Around 8:30 we had a break, and I had a little snack of 2 wedges pita bread, ~2 T hummus, 2 small celery sticks, 2 baby carrots, and 1/2 of a small slice of poppyseed bread.  Good stuff!

During class we passed around this pie plate showing what usually happens to glass at a paper mill:

Not pretty, eh?  The glass hurts their machines, and then gets bound up with paper fibers and staples/paper clips, which then cannot be sorted out and scrapped.  That’s one ugly mess!  Here in the Portland area we recycle glass separately from our big bin of mixed stuff, and that reduces the glass contamination drastically.  Paper mills still get tons of glass mixed in, tho, so until our population is more diligent it will still be a problem.

Well, I’m tired, it’s 11:15, and I think I’ll go to bed a little earlier than I have lately. Tomorrow will be a bit long again, and no oats to start me off!  What will I ever do?

White out December 21, 2008

Wow, Saturday brought an incredible amount of snow to the Portland metro area.  I think we had 6-10 inches, but the wind made it difficult to measure very well. 

Since I have so many pics and am feeling rather poopy at the moment with sinus issues, I’ll insert a gallery for your viewing pleasure.

The day started out with a romp in the backyard snow, feeding the birds, and eating a bowl of Peace Cereal with almond milk and frozen berries.  I thought putting the berries in my cup of almond milk would help defrost them, but it ended up the other way around!  The berries all had a coat of almond milk on them, which is why they appear white in the pic.  But, it was yummy. 

I went to the gym and did ~45 minutes of cardio on the elliptical.  My neck was killing me yesterday morning, which I’m fairly sure is a result of me sitting on the computer and looking to the side to watch TV, or perhaps even spending too much time on the computer in general; the pain developed over the last week, but has been more intense the last few days. It is the right side of my neck that hurts, and yesterday even one small false move would send pain shooting up my neck.  Grrrr.  Thankfully I was able to keep my upper body still on the elliptical and avoided pain for most of my workout. 

I hit the store on the way home, and made lunch when I got back.  I had a sundried tomato Flatout, one fried egg white, spinach, broc slaw, 1/2 wedge LCL, with 1/2 a Fuji on the side and the other 1/2 wedge LCL.  Mmmm.

Chris and I decided to go for a walk in the snow with Lily down to the Clackamas river.  We ended up putting a fleece vest on her to protect her from the snow a bit.  So cute!  Our walk down was good, but it was snowing hard and the wind picked up when we got down to the river.  Lily was so cute in the snow   We stopped at the Starbucks in Safeway on the way back, and I treated myself to a small hot chocolate.  It was so decadent!  I haven’t had hot chocolate in a long time, and the creamy goodness was quite a treat.  Chris had a caramel apple cider–that would have been far too sweet for my taste.

We got back a full 2 1/2 hours after we left!  The last mile felt like walking in sand b/c of the texture and depth of the snow.  Yay, it was a great workout and really pretty and fun, too

I was so tired when we got back, and tempted to take a nap, but we got cleaned up and made dinner.  Chris wanted something far too rich for me (sausage and pasta), so I had a Gardenburger riblet and a spinach salad with broc slaw, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Yum yum yum yum yummmm! 

Eventually I got hungry, so I had a bowl of vanilla yogurt with raisins, almond slivers, and cinnamon.  Chris had some of the fudge pictured–check it out–it is made by monk in Amity, Oregon.  It has 200 cals in a ~1″ cube, and that was enough to help me say no.  I’ve found that if I just don’t go in for a taste/small bite at all, it is much easier to say no to the foods that would blow up my daily intake.  How bout you?

Freezing rain started to fall at night   Boooo!!  That means we can’t play in the snow anymore, and it is tough for Lily to get around.  We let her out when the ice was still thin, and she hopped through the ice/snow around the yard, but was confused and didn’t like it.  Chris was sweet and got out there to stomp an area clear for her to do her business.

Today the ice is like 1/2″+ thick, and we had to go remove it from a larger area for Lily.  I hate the ice, and the fact that we can’t go for another walk in the snow, and that Lily can’t play.  She relishes in running around the yard chasing the ball, and she’s going a bit stir crazy so far today.  We’ll see what happens and I’ll report back to you later on today’s eats and happenings.  Hope you’re staying warm and dry where you are!

Only one week til Christmas?! December 18, 2008

Wow, cannot believe we’re in the homestretch to Christmas.  Where has the time gone?!  I have bought only one person’s gifts, two if you include Blogger Secret Santa, and have many to go!  Guess I’ll be running errands this weekend with all the last minute shoppers like me and hoping what I need is still in stock.  How are you all doing with your shopping?

Today felt productive, and is ending on a nice note because the snow is finally sticking outside   Pretty!

The day started off with a new oatmeal combo:  steel cut oats, almond milk, water, frozen berries, cottage cheese, and cinnamon.  I put the berries in last night before microwaving, and may add them after heating next time to preserve more whole berries and for add’l texture.  This mix could have used some add’l sweetness, too.  Perhaps I’ll seek out some stevia.

 

The weather was odd today, with snow over most of the area except for our house, I swear.  It was raining when I woke up and when we went into work mid-morning, and the temp was around 37. 

I worked a bit and then had lunch around 12:30.  I had: a Flatout wrap with a 1/2 wedge of LCL, 4-5 slices of turkey, spinach, broc slaw, and cracked pepper; ~1/2 cup lf/ff cottage cheese, and 1/3 of a Fuji apple.  Tasty and filling.

Worked, worked, worked this afternoon to catch up from not working much this week, and found out that Chris and I will probably be reaching our last annual business goal next week.  Perfect timing, eh?

Around 3 Chris came in and wrote me a note in Spanish:  Tu amiga Maria te llamo y te hecha de menos, y espera que vengas a reunir con ella.  Basically, he wanted to go to our fave westside Mexican restaurant, Si Senor.  Okey dokey.  To prevent pigging out on their unhealthy happy hour menu, I had the rest of my apple around 4.

At Si Senor I had a big Diet Coke and Tacos al Carbon.  Each taco consisted of two corn tortillas with grilled chicken and pico de gallo inside; I added in a little guac, some lettuce, and ranchero sauce.  A few chips and spicy salsa sneaked their way into my tummy, too

(Wow, I’m watching a TLC show about landslides–crazy stuff!)

Chris and I always take a doggie bag of chips home for Lily.  She loves the corn tortilla chips and Chris started feeding them to her in a cute way–he puts one in his mouth and then lets her take it from him.  So funny!  I tried it out tonight, and had him take a pic for you to see how silly we are.

I had hoped that yoga would still be on tonight, but sadly it was the only class of the evening that was cancelled   Boo hoo!  No yoga class yet again b/c of the weather.  But, I got dressed and headed out anyhow since I knew a good workout would feel great.  I nearly fell on my ass walking into the gym, as the temp was dropping, wind picking up, and snow falling when I arrived there.  I did an ab and lower back workout, then ~50 minutes on the elliptical.  Felt great just as I’d hoped!

When I left the snow was sticking a lot more! Pretty!  I got home safely, cleaned up, and decided I needed a snack.  Cottage cheese sounded like a good base, and I added some of the Peace cereal I showed you yesterday.  It was tasty, but apparently I wanted something sweet b/c I kept thinking it wasn’t sweet enough while eating it.  So I had a piece of TJ’s cinnamon flatbread, too.  Not exactly sweet but hit the spot.  I love the cinnamony, buttery taste of these crispy suckers.

The house seems to be getting messy and staying messier these days, even after I clean.  I think part of it is extra holiday related stuff is piling up, and we’ve been home more to create more mess.  I had to do something about it so I cleaned the kitchen up and swept the floors.  Much better (sigh of relief).  And, for those of you tracking me, I remembered to prep my oats for tomorrow.  Yay!  Here’s a random pic of the snow accumulating I took out back tonight.

Off I go to fold some clothes and then watch more TV before hitting the hay.  I was sad the Top Chef wasn’t on tonight…forgot it won’t be back for a few weeks b/c of the holidays.  Do you miss it, too?

Oyasumi nasai.