She’s alive! October 30, 2009

Dude, I haven’t posted in like over a month.  Where have I been you say?  Inundated at work, fixing up the house, and zapped of brain power to do much more.  But, things are going well at least!  Chris and I move into our new abode next Saturday, and I have like 8 boxes packed.  Gulp.

I get to be kind of a bitch when the important, stressful events in life come up.  I want to be all packed (in an organized way) before the moving day, get up early, and get all the shiot moved ASAP.  That way there’s more time at the end of the day to get the basics unpacked and chill.  But, Chris is the type that won’t be packed on time, will want to wake up at noon, then take like two hours to “wake up”, throw some shit in a box, and then start the move.  Are you fucking kidding me, I say??!!  General Gettheshitmoved here ain’t gonna let that happen! 

So, what’s been going on the last month+?  Not a lot of pictures, but some fun ones indeed.  I turned 28 on October 16, and am feeling a little odd now that I’m so close to 30.  Not bad, just different I think.  I hear someone say they’re 20 or 22 and feel like I’m in a whole different generation.  At least I can enjoy a good margarita and shamelessly sport a sombrero 😉

Here’s some of what I’ve been enjoying lately:

F*ck ups at the house on the HVAC install.  We used a reputable company we’ve worked with for a long time, and who just installed A/C at my mom’s this summer.  Uh, did they forget how to do their job?  Crappy A/C lineset, stained my laundry room floor, put ugly vents on the outside of the house (“they’ll be nearly invisible” my ass!), burned the siding, took forever… Everything but the floor was fixed.  I asked for $200 off the bill b/c of the floor, the owner was only wanting to offer $100, and now he’s ignoring my calls.  Fucker.  Le sigh, as Erin would say.

Chris in the dining room (used to be a family room).  No more wallpaper!

Looking at the more positive side of things….wall paper removal and drywall repair went really well, painting is wrapping up (this biotch ain’t afraid of color!), the kitchen counter went in yesterday, plumbing work is going on today, carpet on Sunday, lights installed soon.  So close to being done!  Walking into the house is so different, I almost cried the other day. 

There used to be a soffit here! (Powder bath)

Have any of you moved into a house a family member used to own?  At first I felt really awkward even thinking of making changes, like my grandmother would be upset or something.  But, more and more I became comfortable with the changes we’re making, and I’m glad we’re embracing the house my grandparents built. 

Food and exercise-wise I’ve been a lazy overeater!  Hardly working out, eating lots o’ crap, and even some chicken (!!!).  When the cold weather came in I really wanted soup, so when we hit up Mexican I ordered tortilla soup.  Yeah, that’s happened a few times now 😐

For my birthday dinner my family went out to Typhoon! Restaurant, a Thai delight.  Eating vegetarian here is rather tough when you crave curry and their pumpkin specialties, so I opted to order what I wanted, fish sauce and all.  The kabocha soup and pineapple curry were to die for 🙂 

I feel rather bad eating the chicken and fish sauce foods.  The food has been good, too, making it hard to resist the tortilla soup especially.  I seem to have an affinity for poultry 😐  With Thanksgiving coming up, I’m not sure if I’ll indulge in the meaty eats or stay veggie.  It’s going to be a doosy.

On Sunday I made soup!  No recipe in mind, just thoughts of what may create a savory vegan delight.  Behold, the weirdest soup ever:

Brussels sprouts, onion, mushrooms, green beans, a jar of tomatoes & their juice, water, Italian herbs, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.  Although it sounds a fright, it turned out really well!  I still have one serving left for lunch today.  I found than un-veganizing it with some parm makes it even more fab 😉

Anyone try those new Reebok EasyTone shoes yet?  I hate the commercial, but am intrigued by the technology.

I’m having some issues with my camera uploading pics to the computer, and this post has gone on quite long already, so I leave you to your weekend!  Have a great rest of your Friday and have a safe and happy Halloween!  Doing anything fun to celebrate?

One dimensional meals February 1, 2009

Erin, you’re a genius.  I wasn’t sure what to call my recent disgust with foods related to my brief, albeit impactful, flu..it is aversive conditioning.  And it’s making me not want to eat much of anything complex, green, or healthy for that matter.  I think I’m getting some junk-like cravings b/c I haven’t had good nutrition for several days now.  My eats today did involve a little variety, but otherwise seemed incredibly one dimensional and lazy (read:  carb-o-licious).

Morning came far too quickly and I wanted to stay in bed when the alarm went off at 8:30.  But, I knew yoga would be good, so I got up, made some coffee, and had a bowl of Barbara’s Shredded Oats with unsweetened almond milk.  Plain, but good! 

Love the pic of that oh-so-happy family on the cereal box that I inadvertently captured with my breakfast.  They’re all so happy for Barbara’s products 🙂

Yoga was the busy beast I’ve come to love, and it kicked my weeny ass today.  Get this, holding my arms up in Warrior Two was super tough!  That took me by surprise.  Yet somehow I did a million planks without pussying out and doing the modified version.  ??  Whatevs.  Afterward I wasn’t feeling up to the add’l workout I’d planned in my mind, so I went home.

Lily was drooling a lot when I arrived!  😐  It was so weird!  She hardly ever drools, and I figured out it was just one side of her mouth.  Because she was acting totally normal we didn’t freak out…we googled it and surmised that she had hurt that side of her mouth or had a tooth issue.  The drooling stopped within an hour, thankfully, and she’s still her crazy, cute little self.  I wonder if dogs can bite their cheeks like humans can.

My lunch was a bit different today:  one tortilla spread with 1/2 a wedge LCL, then topped with a tiny bit of shredded medium cheddar cheese (can’t remember last time I had chedda!), then grilled til golden and melty; one cup of Dannon Light’n’Fit strawberry; followed by one Fuji apple.  All in all a yummy, strange lunch.

I used to live off of tortillas and cheese heated up in the micro or on the stove.  I think I would still live off of it if I could…that melty goodness is SO tasty and hard to beat.  When I was a kid I LOVED melting cheese on Doritos.  (Gawd, the thought of that is making me drool now!)

Chris and I went in to work for a little while, mostly to figure out how to open his file cabinet since he lost the only key.  We arrived to see this flock of geese wandering through the complex.  So cute!  That guy in the foreground was stretching and put his leg straight back, and then the same side’s wing straight back!  Talk about balance!  He would be a great yoga master 🙂

Chris and I were able to jimmy the top door of his filing cabinet open, and then unscrew the locking mechanism from the lock itself to get the drawers unlocked.  Voila, open sesame!  No, we’ve never broken into anything before…and we had quite the comedy going on with this one for like an hour.  I even called locksmiths and asked if they could make a key based on the code on the lock.  Well, usually that can work, but this particular lock was put on furniture made by over 30 manufacturers, with over 10 different lock styles and key possibilities, meaning it still would have been a pain in the ass to figure out.  😐 

We came home so Chris could watch the Superbowl.  I totally despise NFL football, or just about any football for that matter, and kept myself busy for awhile by going to the grocery store.  Before I left I ate a handful of Wheat Thins Toasted Chips with the other half of my LCL wedge from earlier.  These chips have HFCS, dammit!  I guess HFCS is used instead of sugar for the browning properties it provides.  Hmmmph.  They were an impulse buy b/c of price, but I really do like the flavor.  Back to Kashi or Stacy’s when they’re gone I guess.

I got some new things at the store:  organic butternut squash soup carton on sale for $1.67, Fred Meyer Shredded Wheat cereal, curry powder, white vinegar, and Romaine lettuce.  It took me forever to settle on a cereal.  I wanted something with high fiber, low sugar, some protein, and versatility.  Most everything was $5/box or had like 30 ingredients, so that’s why I got the s.w.–the only ingredient is wheat and they were like $2.69 🙂  The vinegar is for cleaning the house–no more chemicals or having to pay for green pre-mixed cleaners!

For dinner Chris wanted pork chops and oven potato fries, and I wanted to go nuts with the butternut and the soup, so somehow all worked out well.  I nuked the b-nut whole for 5 minutes, then cut the upper section into cubes and sauteed it with some onion, a tiny bit of EVOO, and a tiny bit of butter 😉  I haven’t used butter for a few months in my home cooking.  Chris’ fries were really easy:  cut potatoes into wedges lengthwise, put on baking sheet skin side down, spray with non-stick spray, sprinkle with seasonings, and cook at 425 for 25-30 minutes.  I heated a little bit of the b-nut soup, added some of the sauteed b-nut/onion, and curry powder, and had a little bit of a pork chop along with the rest of the b-nut/onion saute.  I also ate a few of Chris’ fries 🙂

Chris’ pork chop was riding along on my plate here.  I ate most of the soup and b-nut on the side, and about half of my pork chop before feeling really, really full. 

While cleaning up after dinner I also cleaned out the fridge.  I felt bad b/c I wasted more food this week than in a long time:  chicken that went bad before we ate it, leftover meatloaf we didn’t eat, green leaf lettuce that makes me want to puke, a few pieces of tofu that do the same, and some limp celery.  😦  Not good people, not good… I hate wasting food and feel quite guilty, esp. about the chicken.

I moved on to the recycling, organized a tad, did some laundry…blah blah blah, got hungry and decided to have a snack.  I finished off the box of PB Puffins with almond milk.  They were better tonight than yesterday.

 Crikey, it is like 10:35 already. I think I’d like to end the day by watching a little TV in bed before falling asleep 🙂  I’ve been one cold lady tonight, and getting warm in bed sounds heavenly.

Holiday party kickoff December 4, 2008

I knew that today would end with my first holiday party of the season, so that gave me something to look forward to all day.  I was a tired girl today…watched some of the South Park movie after I posted last night, and fell asleep on the couch for a short while.  Erin & Andrea, that’s one fantastic swear-a-thon for us! 

(OMG, my dog has horrible gas right now!  I can hardly stand to sit here, holy moley, what did my mom feed her today!?)

I ate breakfast late this morning, around 10:30, and knew a friend was bringing pizza in for the office at 11:30.  I figured I wouldn’t be that hungry this way and could avoid the pizza temptation mostly.  My oats consisted of 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup pumpkin spice Silk, tbsp slivered almonds, tbsp+ raisins, good shake of cinnamon, and pinch of salt.

As I ate I prepared shipping labels from my eBay sales.  I tell ya, the whole packing and labelling process took longer than I thought it would!

I worked, then finally had a 1/2 slice of Pizza Schmizza Zorba pizza around 12:30, which had chicken, basil, tomato, and polenta on it.  It wasn’t quite as tasty as I’d hoped…I originally thought it was Spicy Thai when I saw the pizza, so most things taste bland compared to that spicy goodness.

After a meeting and working more I at my salad around 2:30 or 3.  Spinach, broc slaw, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

I knew that tonight’s holiday party would be really light on food and potentially heavy on booze, so I ate another snack around 4:30.  Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt (3/4 cup? 1 cup?) with a tbsp slivered almonds, half a banana, and cinnamon. Yummy!  Chris stopped by to chat and had a taste, and I was surprised he liked it a lot 🙂  I had the other half of the nanner like 15 minutes later.  I couldn’t leave half of it…wouldn’t have eaten it tonight or tomorrow and didn’t want to waste it.

I ate this while proofreading my email to the people in my office suite; I was trying to politely ask them to use the recycling bin that I manage for anything that could be recyclable.  I still see tons of recyclable stuff in the trash 😦

Left work around 5, picked up my mom, and headed to the party at Carl Greve, a local jewelry store.  They liquor everyone up and offer drawings in the hope that we all buy jewelry, I suppose, which is kind of what happened 3 years ago when Chris bought my rings.  Hehe. 

I had a few glasses of champagne, and three pieces of appetizers circulating–crostini with parmesan, tomato, and goat cheese; sushi roll with avocado, cucumber, carrot, and wasabi; and endive with Dungeness crab, avocado, and caviar.  None of them were that good, so I didn’t bother to have more.

This year was not nearly as busy as previous years, and the jewelry didn’t seem quite as va-va-va-voom either.  My mom was hungry, and I knew I should eat something eventually, so we walked down the street to Typhoon! (best Thai place ever!) for dinner. 

We had salad rolls (rice wrapper, rice noodles, basil, shrimp, peanut sauce), pumpkin soup (pumpkin, coconut milk, spices, ???), and pineapple fried rice (rice, chicken, shrimp, pineapple, onion, dried chiles, ???).  I was desperately craving curry, but wasn’t that hungry and figured I’d overdo it fo sho if I ordered that.  The pumpkin soup was rich and spicy, and actually fulfilled my curry craving 🙂  I didn’t eat too much and felt satisfied when we left.

I love Thai food and wish we ate it more…curry=my second love.

After this we went back to the party (where Chris had stayed), I had another glass of champagne, and we headed home not too long after.  No, no purchases tonight.  We don’t usually buy anything but love looking at all the pretty stuff 🙂  Each year we pick out something we would love to buy; tonight Chris picked a Roberto Coin enamel and diamond garden motif gold ring , or rose enamel and gold earrings shaped like roses.  I wish!

I can’t believe it is almost midnight already.  Off I go to bed in the hopes of getting a lot of sleep.  Nighty night!