Author Archives: Emily

Breakfast Like a Local

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Good Morning!  And for once this post is in the actual morning, not my 11am morning/afternoon hybrid 🙂  I cancelled my pt this morning because my foot is super sore from the doctor’s appointment.  Nonetheless, I got up at 7, I took a nice refreshing shower, and got ready for a tasty breakfast.

A crispy gala apple,

and this amazing local find.

White Cow Dairy is right here in New York.

The apple got sliced,

and the low fat maple yogurt was eaten straight from its adorable glass jar.

Mmmn.  The yogurt was actually a bit tangy, so it was the perfect flavor combination with the apple.

The next week, basically until I go home on the 21st, is going be crazy busy but I’m making it my goal to post at least twice a day.  Hopefully it will help give me some balance.

What is your favorite local find?

Jam Flavored Stuffing

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The title is what I imagined when I put these two phrases together:  1.”Running around like a chicken with its head cut off;” 2.”Jam-packed.”  I guess you could pack the chicken with the jam?  Consequently, those phrases also both describe my day today.  It’s been go-go-go!

First, I went to my pt appointment.  Good news, I can run again!!!!  Only a few days a week and I have to start slow, but it’s great news.  I ran a mile during my appointment and it felt glorious!

I had some time between that appointment and my doctor’s appointment so I ended up killing an hour in McDonalds.  I bought some apple dippers to tide me over.

Yums.  And I loved most of the nutrition information on this packaged for kids item.

The only downpoint in my opinion is the zero grams of fiber – the apples had fiber to begin with if they’d just leave the darn skins on!  I guess I shouldn’t have nutrition outrage when I’m guzzling a diet coke at 9am.

I also started a new book – Under the Table, by Katherine Darling.

I’m loving it!  Darling is a good writer and culinary school is my ultimate dream.  I had to wait for more than an hour at the doctor’s office and normally I’d have been seething but today I was just glad to have an excuse to read!

I also got some news from this doctor.  2 out of 4 plantars warts are gone (for good hopefully!).  The other two I’m going to continue with the home-acid for, and I now have a prescription for an oral medicine that boosts your immune system – part of the reason I’m having such a problem is because mine isn’t responding properly.  I’ll take the medicine over break and I’m scheduled to have the wart cut out on January 4th.  This will most likely keep me immobile for a week or so, and could possibly keep me from running for up to a month.  It’s pretty devastating that training (which has barely begun) might break 2 months before my half, but it’s better than running the half with my foot hurting.

After that appointment I went to two separate pharmacies and then drove home for the quickest stop in ever.  I didn’t even take a shower, just washed my face!  However, I got two blocks from my house before I realized the reason I was in the car wasn’t in the car with me!  I left the giant bag of stuff that needed to be dropped off at Goodwill at home!

FYI – we designate a spot in our hall closet for things that can be donated.  Old clothes, free products, gifts that aren’t our style, etc.  Once we’ve got a sufficient pile we drop it off at Goodwill rather than throwing those things in the trash.  It’s better for the enviroment and our society.

When I went home to pick up the bag I realized I was clearly a bit distracted by hunger so I grabbed the can of soursop juice I bought the other day.

YUM!  Handsdown, sour sop is one of my very favorite things.  It is one of my favorite childhood taste memories and I was so excited to see some form of it sold here in Buffalo.

[I told you I didn’t shower!]

After Goodwill I went to Target for some Christmas-ing, and then finally the grocery store.  On my way out I hit up the salad bar.

I filled the small top halfs with yummy things – pesto pasta and mac and cheese.

And the larger bottom half with healthy things – baked tofu and brussels sprouts.

I didn’t say healthy isn’t yummy though, the brussels and tofu ended up being my favorite part!  The tofu was unbelievably chewy, I’m dying to know how they cooked it that way!

I gave myself some time at home to relax while I ate (and typed this post and watched some tv), but now it’s time to get back to jamming the headless chicken – lordy that sounded dirty!

Hopeful list of to-do’s from tonight

  1. put away laundry
  2. clean up the kitchen
  3. Chemistry reading
  4. e-mail regarding class scheduling trauma
  5. dinner?
  6. pt exercises
  7. go back to pharmacy
  8. shower – this one isn’t optional!

How do you say you’re busy?????  I usually go with busy beaver, but I’m also partial to “busy, busy, busy, busy*.”  *Said in the magician voice from Frosty  the Snowman.

*****Update – I managed not to do a single to-do.  I did, however, finish my entire 400+ page book!  And yesterday?  I watched Rose Red; a 4.5hour Steven King mini-series 😉

Wind Blown

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Hello, hello!  I didn’t mean to be gone for the last day or so, I was having computer and camera problems.  The camera was my fault, I misplaced the charger, but it’s a bit concerning that my internet seems to go out whenever the wind blows.

Today is filled with doctor’s appointments, ugh!  I have pt at 7:30 and then a foot appointment at 10:00.  I don’t know how I managed to get myself up at 6:40, but I knew I needed breakfast.

Banana, 0% Plain Oikos, Crofter’s Asia Superfruit Spread, peanut butter.

I’ve got to hit the road, I’ll see you for lunch.

Sugar High, Gotta Have It When I Need It to Get By

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So you know – Adam has yet to turn 24 and we have only been married for 1year and 11months.  Those events don’t take place until December 11th and 28th respectively.  Thank you for the well wishes though!!

However, if you assumed I didn’t post all day because I was busy eating crap, well then you were correct!

I woke up so hungry today!  I actually broke into the snickerdoodles Adam’s mom brought him before I could even get started on breakfast.

For breakfast I was inspired by something my mom sent –

These are actually cookie cutters, but can easily be used to make fantastically cute eggs.

I made an onion bagel with chive cream cheese,

then topped each half with some egg love.

Delish!

Eggs are so tasty.  And very filling. 

I wanted to enjoy a leisurely meal but Adam rushed me out the door and to the movies.  We saw “Brothers” which was very enjoyable.  Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire; I’d say it was very well cast.

Dark Chocolate Cookie Dough Bites were on sale for $1 so I ate some.

After the movie we spent some more time at the mall.  Adam’s parents gave him a gift certificate for his birthday so we spent a looong time in Joseph A. Banks.  He made it up to me by driving to Anderson’s afterwards.

I’ve been yammering about the peppermint soft-serve for weeks.  Worth the excitement?

Yes!  I had mine mixed with Oreos.

I’m not quite sure what the dinner plan is, but if it follows the rest of the day’s eating I’ll just inhale a big bowl of sugar 🙂

How cool are you – what movie does this song remind you of?

Celebrations Galore

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What a fabulous Adam’s birthday – Christmas – 2 year anniversary day!  We had celebrations galore!

We started the festivities with Adam’s 24 birthday (actually taking place next Friday) –

Barb made a yummy looking cake.

I passed, I had my dessert for the day already picked out, you’ll see later.

Next up was Christmas.  Among a bunch of fabulousness – most of which I’ll be showing on the blog over the next few weeks – were some awesome drawings from our niece.

Smurfs!

Finally our 2-year anniversary.  Adam and I celebrated by making matching fools of ourselves.

Aren’t our race windbreakers awesome?  I will certainly be wearing that.  And I scored the very last extra-small so it fits perfectly.

Adam’s choice for ‘birthday dinner’ was Red Robin, so that’s where we headed.

We ordered chips with salsa and guacamole for the table, here’s my plate –

I always ask for side plates when I’m sharing an appetizer, if I picked I would have eaten 4x as much.

Here is the reason I passed on birthday cake earlier in the day –

Oh yeah, that is a gingerbread milk shake!

So yum!

I ate some grown up food too.

Jamaican Jerk’d Chicken Burger spicy Jamaican Jerk’d chicken breast, topped with pepper-jack cheese, grilled pineapple, cool mango mayo, and lettuce and tomato; served on a jalopeno cornbread kaiser roll.

I ate about 3/4 of my sandwich and 2/3 of my fries.  Running kills my appetite sometimes.

The family is safely headed home and we are settled in for the night.  Adam might actually go see a movie (Ninja Assassins, gag) but I’m all set to curl up with some recipe planning.  Have a great night!

What month has the most holidays for you?  December is our busiest month.  We go Adam’s Birthday, Christmas, Wedding Anniversary – 11, 25, 28.  And we celebrate Hanukkah in there too!

Reindeer Run 5k

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Forgive me physical therapy gods for I have sinned – I ran a 5k when I was told to speed walk.  But I didn’t run the whole time!  I’ll go back to the beginning….

This was the morning of the Reindeer Run 5k.  We signed up a  month ago, before my tendonitis diagnosis, so that I could have some race experience before my Half in March.  After my pt told me not to run we decided we would walk the course, so I could have the general experience and since we had already paid for our entries.  Adam was even super-husband and agreed to walk with me.  There was a little snow, but not much, so the setting was perfect.

The race was slightly themed, I saw several elves and one group went as Santa and all his reindeer.  We don’t have a lot of cold weather running gear, but I borrowed an old sweatshirt of Adam’s and did my best.

We picked up our chips a little late and ended up running to the start line from the pick up point.  And I just could not stop.  I love running so much.  I’m not very good and I’m not very fast, but it seriously fills me with joy.

We ended up doing some jog/walk intervals, and I always started walking whenever my leg hurt.  In the end we ran about half of each mile.  I don’t feel like I pushed too hard or set my recovery back too far and we had such a good time!  Here’s an action shot the husband snapped –

Our final time was 33:25.  I know most running bloggers are speed demons, and I’d love to keep up, but for jog/walking it and coming off a 1month hiatus that is pretty damn good!  And I’m feeling much more comfortable with the idea of my half now.

Afterwards we hit up the post race party.  They had hot dogs and pizza and cake.  Here’s Adam’s plate –

That just did not appeal to me.  My post-run breakfast was a little more my style –

But I’m not an angel, I did snag a beer!

All in all in my first race was a great experience.  I’m proud of my self for running, and I’m proud of my self for not running the whole time.  Everyone was super friendly and happy and the setting was perfect.  I had so much fun!

There was even more excitement on the drive home.  As we drove home from the Reindeer run 5k we saw a deer!

It was in a partially fenced in park.  Adam pulled over and I got out to take some pictures.  It go so close to me!

I’m not gonna lie, I was basically swooning, so fun!

Now I’ve got to hustle again so I can shower before Adam’s parents get here.  They are coming up to do a mass birthday/Christmas/anniversary celebration since we can’t connect with them later in December.  I can’t wait!

Have you run any races?  Which was the most fun and why?

Just Call Me Mrs. Peno

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This evening was not at what I was expecting (but still good!).  Adam came home this afternoon and we made a pile*.  For hours.  Fabulous 🙂  *If you don’t know what I’m talking about watch the movie Where the Wild Things Are.

Prior to the pile Adam made a bagel that he was randomly super nice and shared with me.

It was 9:30 before we thought about dinner so we ended up redoing our weekly meal plan and heading to Subway.

I got a 6inch honey wheat with chicken breast, buffalo sauce, ranch, pepperjack, lettuce, tomato, and lots of jalopenos.

It was super spicy, but not that filling.  Which is why I also ended up eating most of this –

I’m having a love affair with jalopenos.

And Bones was fantabulous.  I didn’t get a gym trip in but I am planning on doing arm exercises when I do my pt.

As far as the race tomorrow we have decided to walk it – LAME.  It’s a 5k and we are less than thrilled, but it is just too stupid for me to risk running it when my doctor told me not to.  Such is life.

What is the best thing you’ve ever eaten jalopenos in?  In nyc I used to get jalopeno and cheddar cream cheese on bagels and it was socks rocking.

Snacked

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As predicted I did lots of snacking.  I’m pretty sure any long-term readers can guess what the first picture will be of –

popcorn!  With 1T Promise melted on top.  Mmmmmn.

I also cracked open a new holiday find.  Westoy Chocolate Peppermint Stick Soy Beverage.

This stuff is pretty concentrated (180calories per 8oz serving) so I measured mine out.  I ended up having 1 3/4 cups (i.e. more than one serving) but at least I know exactly what I was getting.  Liquids are really hard to eyeball, if I’m drinking something other than diet soda or water – not that I ever drink anything but diet soda and water – I almost always pull out the measuring cup.

It was very tasty; slightly minty and nice and thick.  And yes, I drank it over ice.  I have a mild obsession with drinks over ice, when I was a kid it was how I drank milk!

The plans for this evening are low-key but exciting to me.  A trip to the gym, making dinner, and a new episode of Bones to watch!

Do you measure out drinks?  Why or why not?