Author Archives: Emily

Party through Paradise

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Hello, hello!  It feels good to be back at a computer; I’ve been wanting to check a test grade for days (still not up).  I can only access the internet here when I got to school with my mom, so I plan on posting all of vacation but in every-other-day intervals.  This is a strange recap to start with though, because I don’t have a lot to share.  Blame booze and lack of sleep.

Our holiday party was great!  You know what else is great?  The drink I’ve coined a “Merry Christmas.”  It’s Goldschläger with orange juice.  Cinnamony and festive.  A few friends came over early to watch The Carebears’ Nutcracker and I poured us some Merry Christmases.

I might have overpoured.  Maybe.  That glass was 2/3 Goldschläger.  So, yeah.  And then I proceeded to spend the first half of my party far drunker than intended.  I had a great time.  And since I overpoured every drink, the whole party was drunker than intended, so at least I was in good company.  But the pictures might have suffered.

I have shots of most of the food and drinks.

Important points – 1. That eggnog seltzer was ridiculous good.  2.  My party recipes all came out perfectly and I plan on sharing them over the next few days.

I have a shot of the Christmas cardi I borrowed from my grandma.  (thanks, Nana!)

I have shots of the adorable cake balls my friend Kim brought us.

And I have shots of some party guests.  Minus the ones of party guests actually taking shots, which I promised wouldn’t go on the internet.

We had 20+ people in our little apartment and I’m not sure the dog is going to recover.

The last of our friends left the party around 1.  Adam and I got up at 5:30 AM to get me to the airport.  I didn’t actually get to my parents’ house until 10:30 PM.  And now you understand why I have no photos recapping what I ate yesterday.

You didn’t miss much, considering that I largely subsisted on two bagels and a giant bag of trail mix.  I did make sure to document the tres leches I got in Miami.

Most exciting airport food ever.

And I made sure to document my reading materials.  You Better Not Cry by Augusten Burroughs I knew would be good.  In typical Burroughs style, his Christmas-themed collection made me both laugh and cry.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen was plucked at random from a sale table.  I ended up loving it!  The perfect amount of fantasy blended into Southern small town life.  Plus, cake!

And Good Morning, Killer by Anna Smith was purchased during layover #2, in desperation.  It wasn’t bad, but I’m not exactly clamoring to read the rest of the Ana Grey series either.

When I got home I immediately got started on my main goal this vacation –

I’ve read every comic in that giant stack of Archies at least 10 times each, but I’m hoping to give them all another reread this trip!

No breakfast this morning.  My cell phone didn’t switch time zones for some reason and I stupidly went to bed and got up later than planned.  I spent my late morning unpacking, then drove over to school to write this post.  Lunch was a tangerine and gala apple.

And the baked spinach patty my mom had for me.

Not traditional – usually pattys are stuffed with meat and fried – but still delicious.

The rest of the day looks to be nice and calm.  My visiting family and high school friends don’t get until later this week so I’m looking forward to time at home with my parents.  I’ll leave you with this –

What two items did I forget to pack for my ISLAND vacation? 

  1. sunglasses
  2. bathing suits

?!??!!!

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve forgotten to pack?

Primed to Party

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We have got –

a) a problem
b) a packed to-do list
c) a party
d) a profound preference towards alliteration
e) all of the above

If you guessed (e), you’re correct!  Adam and I have the problem of being crazy people because we stayed up past 2am doing absolutely nothing.  This morning got off to a late, rough start, but our day was packed full of to-do’s to prep for tonight’s party.  We are almost set up and I’m all packed for tomorrow to boot.

Today was a double smoothie sort of day.  First, another round of berry chocolate mint.

For two, 2 cups chocolate mint soy milk, 2 cups frozen strawberries, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, and 6oz 0% plain Greek yogurt.

My second smoothie was a (soy) nog delight.

For one, medium frozen banana, 1 cup Silk Soy Nog, 3 Tbsp malted milk powder, and a handful of ice.

Plus nibbles while we got ready for the party.

I’ll see y’all on the other side, from St. Thomas!

Note – I will probably be blogging every other day or so on vacation (my parents don’t have internet).  If my first post is Monday morning, that doesn’t mean my plane crashed.  But thanks in advance for thinking safe thoughts for me!

Some Merriment

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Amid doing lots of errands and eating lots of crap, I managed to squeeze in some merriment.

First, chocolate berry mint smoothies.

For two, I blended 2.5 cups frozen strawberries, 6 oz 0% plain greek yogurt, and 2 cups of peppermint chocolate soy milk.

Adam and I both love this Jamba Juice knock-off.

Dinner was especially merry.

Cottage cheese gingerbread pancakes! 

My ingredients for 2 servings (which ended up being more like 1.5 servings!) –

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2  cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp gingerbread syrup
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese

Whisk together dry, then wet, then fold the two together just before griddling.

I topped my serving with Smart Balance Light, syrup, and sprinkles.

On the agenda for tomorrow?

eggnog bread
chocolate Biscoff bars
cinnamon oatmeal cookies
bacon horseradish dip
bagels with lox

Time To Get Merry

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So Wednesday and Thursday I had a slew of exams, and now I’m free until next semester!  They weren’t the best couple of days, but why focus on the bad when there is so much to be excited for this month?

  • December 17 – we’re hosting a holiday party
  • December 18th – I fly home (St. Thomas) to visit my family for 10 days
  • December 23rd – my family is hosting a Hanukkah party
  • December 25th – Christmas
  • December 28th – Adam and I celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary
  • December 31st – we finish 2011!

I have a bunch of to-do’s to tackle before the party this morning and my camera is currently plugged in.  But I’ll be back to blogging this evening with some merry eats I’ve got planned.

Window Shopping Wednesdays

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I am not much of a shopper, much to my mother’s chagrin. The woman can spend days at the mall, while I start to feel itchy after just a few hours. It’s not that I’m not materialistic, I totally am, it’s just that the thought of adding more stuff to my life makes it hard to breathe. But I like the idea of things. So I’m an avid window shopper. I browse catalogs I’ll never buy from and hold my breathe when I pass the window at J.Crew. So while I’m stuck at school all day Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

Let’s go literary this week –

1. The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McLure.

This memoir is about the author’s experiences trying to live like Laura.  Since the Little House on the Prairie series was my favorite as a kid I’d love to see what she found.

2.  Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs.

I just read the first Temperance Brennan novel (Deja Dead) and I can’t wait to tear through the rest of the series!  Think murder mystery novel but with actual, factual forensics.

3.  Sellevision: A Novel by Augusten Burroughs.

I know nothing about this book except for the fact that it is written by one of my favorite authors.  Burroughs wrote his first novel while overcoming his drinking problem; and the story describing that time (found in Magical Thinking) makes me cry every time I’ve ever read it.

4.  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling.

I will admit that I hadn’t even heard of Mindy Kaling before I picked up this month’s issue of Self.  I don’t watch “The Office,” so sue me.  But her short interview was so funny and sweet that I immediately decided that I have to have her book.

5.  Uncompromised by Nada Prouty.

The memoir of a CIA agent wrongfully accused of betraying her country.  Apparently I’m all about memoirs.

What great books have you read recently?

I Wish I Was In Hawaii

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It’s been a good day!  You would barely know that I have three exams tomorrow …  😉

Our trip to the Buffalo Centre went well.  We couldn’t see much due to privacy concerns, but it was really interesting to see the menu selection system and learn a bit more about how appropriate intake for eating disorder patients is determined.  Among other things, the RD mentioned that most patients won’t gain weight unless they are taking in at least 2,000 calories a day.

I ate a late lunch (thanks mom!) while I looked at some notes.

A few pieces of sweet and sour chicken,

and veggies picked from a chicken dish.

I got a lot of work done this afternoon and I definitely have to give credit to my student partner –

Dinner was a shrimp roll.

Plus fruit as an apple with Justin’s Maple Walnut Butter.

And veggies in the tasty form of Hawaiian Inspired Greens.

Click here for a link to the recipe, it’s a good’un.

I ate my dinner way to early in the evening and ended up doing some (unneccessary) snacking as the night wore on.  Popcorn,

and a few pieces of Almond Rocca.

Think smart thoughts for me tomorrow?

Hello, Old Friend

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It’s finally time for my favorite treat of the season –

Silk Soy Nog seriously makes me so happy!  It tastes just like (actually, better than!) regular egg nog but only has 90 calories for half a cup and no saturated fat.

The Silk Nog actually showed up at the grocery store back in early November, and it’s possible I had went into crisis-mode because I thought that meant it would be gone before it was seasonally appropriate.  Thankfully Silk products have a long shelf-life, so Adam bought me two cartons just to get me to stop whimpering!

I like Silk Nog straight from the carton, in coffee, and in overnight oats, but today’s smoothie might have been it’s best use yet.

For 1, blend –

  • 1 medium frozen banana
  • 1/2 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
  • 3 Tbsp malted milk powder
  • 1/2 cup Silk Soy Nog

Topped with seasonal sprinkles for funsies.

It was thick, and sweet, and Christmas-y, and perfect.

I had a late breakfast because I spent my morning at the dentist.  My teeth are perfect and now they feel nice and squeaky clean.  On of our friends is a hygienist at the practice so it was more like catching up with a friend (literally!) than a scary appointment.  I’m not sure what will happen with lunch because I’m actually leaving the house this minute to pick up a school friend.  We are heading over the Buffalo Centre for the Treatment of Eating Disorders to get in some observation hours.  I’ll see you this evening!

Forever And A Day

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Adam says he had a great 26th birthday.

And I’m just glad that I’m no longer the older woman.

No blogging yesterday because I spent the day sleeping, eating, working or playing.  <– there was too much of the first two and not enough of the second

My first final of the semester (at 7:40 am!) did not go well.  But I shook it off, literally, with a trip to the gym.  30 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6.  I took my notes on the elliptical with me and my afternoon test went much better.

The food situation was pretty weak today.  In fact, it was nonexistent.  I was too busy fighting with the husband to pack lunch this morning (someone was cranky and it wasn’t him) and I didn’t want to spend the money to buy food on campus.  Adam and I desperately needed to go to the grocery store so I had him pick me up from school, but that meant waiting on campus until after 5pm.

Since we both hadn’t eaten all day we ended up deciding to split a small plate at Wegmans.

I ate 2 dumplings and most of the veggies and Adam had the rest.

And I was extra glad that I got something into my stomach because it took forever and a day for us to figure out dinner after that.  Finally, hours later, I sat down to a big plate of black bean nachos.

It’s been months since my full-on nacho addiction and I think they’ve officially broken their hold over me.  Not to say I didn’t enjoy downing that entire plate, but I think I’m good going another 6 months before I have more.