Author Archives: Emily

Bad Etiquette?

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When Adam got home we spent some time cuddling/discussing his day and then I made some business phone calls.  Among other things, calling Budget insurance which is being ridiculous; our mattress was ruined on the move due to a leak and making a claim has been impossible.

I decided to eat my Newman’s Own Organic 77% Chocolate bar as a pick me up before our run.

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I had half of it (serving size was the entire bar), and oh yes that is sunflower seed butter spread on those two pieces!

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Unfortunately, my pick me up was more of a weigh me down, as now I am having major tummy troubles.  I love love love Newman’s Own Organic products but the last time I had one of these bars I had stomach issues too so I have to think there is a problem with them.  Has anyone else tried these and had issues?

To be honest I was feeling pretty lazy anyways so I am (almost) glad to have an excuse not to exercise!  I very happily filled the time pouring through cookbooks and making a list of “to try now” recipes!

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Over the course of the evening I ended up looking through every single cookbook and now I have quite an exciting list.

In the middle of it all I drove Adam out to his event.  When I got home I walked to the gas station across the street to buy cheese for tomorrow and I ended up walking to Arbys for dinner on a whim.  I got flustered so I decided to do 5-for-5 but when I realized there was no chicken on that menu I got even more flustered and I ended up ordering this –

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Left to right: onion rings, curly fries, mozzarella sticks, jamocho shake, diet dr. pepper.  I ate a few bites of everything (except for the shake which I had 90% of and the pop which I had 100%) and then threw the rest in the trash –

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  1. I know that was a major waste of food
  2. I am aware that I am a totally fattie
  3. I realize this is totally against food blogger customs (which is kind of sad actually, I wonder how many readers look at some of the bigger name blogs and feel crappy because they actually eat fast food more than once a millenia?)

I wasn’t hungry for real food but I did manage to prep my ingredients for breakfast tomorrow morning.

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We are having (better) eggs tomorrow so I sliced 2ish oz of Hellva Good Sharp Cheddar Cheese and sauteed ~1.5C of kale in 1t evoo and 4-5T water.  Not only will things be quicker tomorrow but I am much more likely to get up and make a healthy breakfast if I know I’ve already done some of the work.

I’m going to hang out while I wait to pick up the husband and my goal continues to be bed before 11 – I’ve made it the past two nights, but hopefully tonight I’ll actually fall asleep then!  Sweet dreams.

How often do you eat fast food?  We do not eat fast food all that often (especially because other than Wendys it doesn’t do much for me, making it not a “splurge” but a waste) but we do rely on it from time to time.  There are places I will not eat at because of ethical issues – hello kfc – but other than that I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.  I grew up eating pretty healthy, but once a week my family would go out to dinner.  For a while when I was 6-8ish we didn’t have much money but we continued the tradition by going to McDonalds once a week.  Those 5chicken nuggets didn’t do irreparable damage and I have fabulous memories with my mom and dad.

Am I Awake?

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Thanks so much for all the half marathon support guys!  I am very excited and nervous but since I’m not starting training until September I am trying not to obsess about it until then 🙂

I was running too late to post this morning but I did manage to make breakfast for myself and the hubby.  Just barely though, my dreams have been throwing me off!  All this week I’ve been having very realistic dreams that then confuse me when I wake up.  Today I dreamed 3 times in a a row (in such realistic detail that it was like watching freakin Food Network) that I was cooking eggs; I ended up oversleeping.  And then when I got up I made eggs.

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For 2 servings I used 4whites and 1 whole egg, 1t evoo, and ~2/3C chopped broccoli.  I was proud of myself for using leftovers (broccoli from our AnTEAoxident pasta and egg whites from our homemade ice cream) but I went wrong somewhere because I barely made any.  I ended up giving part of my (small) portion to Adam so he had enough to eat.

I got to the hospital for volunteering early so I got a frozen coffee to make up for the eggs.

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This wasn’t the healthiest of choices (although it sort of was, which was disappointing for a hospital cafe) but I was majorly craving frozen coffee and it hit the spot.

Today was my first day on my actual placement for the next three weeks of volunteering – dialysis.  I learned a few interesting things but the ward was really slow today so there wasn’t much of me to do.  I hope I’m not having to stand around as much tomorrow.

For lunch I used my voucher to get a slice of white pizza with black olives.

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Delish!  The only way it could have tasted better is if the olives were green, which I’ve discovered is the best pizza topping ever.

When I got home I realized another positive to having volunteering being my only responsibility for the next few weeks: this gets to be my uniform once I get home at 2:30 –

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Fun fact – I was wearing these pajama pants (which actually used to belong to Adam) on Christmas morning when Adam proposed to me!

On the agenda for this evening is a short run, a super low-key dinner, and a fun project.  Adam has another “first week” event tonight so I’ll be on my own.  See ya later alligators!

Have you ever volunteered?  What did you do?  I volunteered at a hospital in Brooklyn last year and in high school I did most of my 40required hours at the animal shelter.

Excited!

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First things first, my exciting news – one of my best friends and I just registered for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in March!  I am super excited but very nervous.  I am sure you will hear lots lots more about it in the upcoming months, especially once I start my training in September.

My parents had lots of excitment for us at the post office –

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They sent magazines, books, bath products, and a huge stack of cookbooks I’ve stored at home for the last few years.

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That isn’t even all of them, some didn’t make the cut!

They also mailed the two adorable vases I bought an Anthropologie years before I had anywhere to put them.

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Now they are right at home on my cookbook shelf 🙂

Adam and I spent some time talking about his first day and looking over his schedule and then we got started on dinner.  We made a recipe from the March issue of Fitness in under 30minutes!  I’ll post the recipe below but just to warn you, I’m not so big on measuring – I used way less cilantro and peanuts than called for, and more chicken because the husband scoffed at the suggested portion.  Also, where it called for sesame oil and red pepper I used 1t of the chipotle oil* my mom sent instead.

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Here was my portion –

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It was pretty darn delicious.

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Cilantro Chicken with Peanuts, serves 2, from the March ’09 issue of Fitness

  • 8oz skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips
  • 1t cooking oil
  • 2t reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1t rice vinegar
  • 1/2t roasted sesame oil
  • 1/4t crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3/4C fresh cilantro leaves
  • 2C Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
  • 2T dry roasted peanuts
  1. In a medium nonstick skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat 3-4minutes, or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.
  2. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper.  Stir and cook 1 more minute.
  3. Remove from heat.  Stir in cilantro.
  4. To serve, spoon mixture over cabbage and sprinkle on peanuts.

If you follow the recipe the nutritional stats per serving are: 231calories, 30g protein, 6g carbohydrates, 10g fat (2g saturated), 4g fiber.

After dinner I ate a serving of Lindt mini truffles (180calories for 3, in fantastmic flavors like cappuccino, caramel, and hazelnut) before I got ready to go out.

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Adam had a first day of medical school mixer at a bar nearish our apartment.  I wore my new perfume – how cute is that packaging?

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And my new favorite shirt.

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I met a lot of neat people, it seems like he has a pretty great class.  We stayed until almost 10 playing pool and chatting.  I drank this x2 –

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The bar made its own microbrews, I had a Blueberry Blonde Ale and an Irish Oat Stout.

My goal is bedtime by 11 again, especially because I’m hoping to get up and cook Adam breakfast tomorrow.  Sweet dreams all!

Have you ever run any sort of race?  How did it go?

Get Excited…

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So this has to be another quick post because Adam is on his way home from his first day of medical school and he is picking me up to go to the post office.

My first day of volunteering went well, just for today I did clerical work a couple of places.  I have to have patient contact for the rest of my time but I really enjoyed today, did you know that when I was a little kid I dreamed of growing up to be a secretary?!  I used to help my mom in her library and I thought that stamping, and filing, etc was just so much fun!

I got a break for lunch around 12:30 today.  We get a free voucher for food but I was a little confused and worried about going over the limit so I ended up with a teeny salad.

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Spring mix with peas, 1/2 a hard-boiled egg, an artichoke heart, green olives, cucumber, balsamic vinegar and evoo.  It ended up being way too salty so small as it was I only ate half.  I’m going to try to get a snack a little later.

I’ve got to run, but I have super super super exciting news coming in the next post.  I won’t be posting until late because I’m going to an event with the husband tonight but see if you can guess my news…

  1. I’ll be going to FL
  2. I am not at all ready
  3. 3:30:00

P.S. Giveaways –

  1. click me
  2. click me also

Give Fuzz a Chance

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This has to be quick because I am leaving to start my volunteering shift (from 8-2) in just a few minutes.  I skipped posting last night because I did (and ate) nothing worth mentioning.  I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch with the husband, eating crap and watching movies.  It was glorious 🙂

This morning I made this bowl for breakfast –

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  • 1 YoKids Strawberry Lowfat Yogurt
  • 1 huge, fuzz-intact kiwi
  • 1t peanuts

I’ve seen other bloggers eat kiwi au natural for years and I finally had to try it.  The verdict?  I prefer them clean, but for convenience sake this was pretty good.

Do you eat your kiwis fuzz-on?

Leftovers and Virgins

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I was feeling a little off last night and that carried over because I was still exhausted when I woke up…. at noon!  It’s ok though, here was the view out of my window at 1pm –

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It’s normal now but the weather was crazy for a little bit, we are going to have to get lots and lots of lamps this winter!

Adam and I took advantage of the inhospitable outside and watched “40 Year Old Virgin.”  I ate my Cheesecake Factory leftovers, spicy cashew chicken, while we vegged.

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I also ate a mug of our homemade mint cookies and cream ice-cream.

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So now it’s 3 and the weather has cleared up.  Tomorrow is Adam’s first day of medical school and my first day of volunteering.  I’m not sure where the afternoon will take us but I’m sure it will be fun!

Do you like raunchy movies or chick flicks?  My husband loves chick flicks, for which I tease him mercilessly, but I like raunchy comedies.  “Knocked Up” is pretty much my favorite movie of all time but I also love “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

Was That a Mall or a Chamber of Hell?

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Lordy, lordy, lordy, what a day!  I want to say things picked up from their low point but that would really be a lie.  I will say that the husband and I are very good at (and used to) making the best of things, so even frustrating situations can be laughed at.

Number One on our fun agenda was using an exciting wedding gift to make…..homemade ice-cream!  I’ll talk about that more later but suffice to say that poor communication between Adam and I led us to throw out an entire bowl of ingredients and have to start over from scratch.  Our emergency grocery store trip put us way behind schedule and we got to Fun Activity Number Two – the mall – much later than planned.

Somehow, Fun Activity Number Three was a total sucess.  We saw “Julie and Julia” which rocked my socks 🙂  I thought the book was better than the movie, but the movie was still great.  It was funny and touching and the husband and I thought that Julia and her husband were the cutest couple ever.

Our main purpose for coming to the mall was to find me an outfit for a semi-formal Adam’s first week of med. school.  That activity took all day.  I’m not big on shopping anyway so having eaten nothing all day it was very very tedious.  We went to every single woman’s store in the mall and I was in tears by the end of the day.  At our very last stop however, our 2nd trip to Banana Republic, I finally found a dress that worked!  It’s not perfect, but at least I won’t go naked, I’ll show you guys pictures next week.

In the interim I at least did some unnecessary, but totally necessary, shopping.  A stick perfume I needed and a hair clip I needed –

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plus the cutest top ever on sale at the Gap –

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After our final shopping sucess our Final Fun Activity was dinner at Cheesecake Factory.  I started with a major serving of bread, sourdough is my favorite.

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For dinner I ordered Spicy Cashew Chicken which used to be my favorite Factory meal.

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I knew I would devour it so I asked for a box with my meal and took half of it out before I even started.

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It was delicious!

Nothing could compete, however, with homemade ice-cream!

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I cobbled together a base recipe from a few sources (and made some changes based on what we could find during our emergency trip) and then we added in crunched Newman’s Own Organic Mint Newmanos.  So good!  The next time I make ice-cream I am going to try it with skim milk but I figured I would follow a traditional recipe the first time around.

Mint Cookies and Cream, makes 1 quart

  • 8-10 mint oreo-ish cookies
  • 4large egg yolks
  • 3/4C sugar
  • 1/4t salt
  • 2 1/4C half and half
  • 3/4C 1% milk
  • Ice water
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1/4C sugar, and the salt.
  2. In a medium saucepan, whisk the half and half, milk, and remaining 1/2C of sugar over medium heat until just begining to simmer, about 5minutes.
  3. Add to the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour into the saucepan.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens, about 8minutes.
  4. Pour the custard into a bowl set in an ice water bath.  Let cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
  5. Use an ice-cream machine to process the custard according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  6. Fold in crunched cookies after removing from machine into an air-tight storage container.

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We are eating ice-cream and watching “My So-Called Life” and at this point, the day looks pretty good!  Hope everyone else had a good Saturday, see you tomorrow!

Have you ever made your own ice-cream?  What flavor would you most like to try?  I was saying to Adam today that I can’t believe no one has made a maple waffle ice-cream yet, I think that will be my next venture!

Discouraged

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It has not been my day so far (kind of sad to say that before noon!).  I hope to be in much better spirits when I do my next post.

I was so proud of myself last night because I actually stuck to my goal and got in bed before 10.  But then?  Bupkes, I couldn’t fall asleep!  I woke up at least three times and in fact I even got out of bed and ran to the computer in a fruitless search to find the name of an old book.

Sidenote: Do You Know the Name of This Book – It was written at least 10years ago.  It was about a boy and a girl who runaway from camp.  The boy and the girl are both unpopular so as a joke the other campers steal their clothing so they swim in a lake and run away.  They find a cabin and they stay there.  At some point they steal a hot dog.  One of them has glasses.

This morning, due to lack of sleep, we totally missed our planned 6:45 wake-up and I didn’t stumble out of bed until after 10.  We pulled it together and went for a 2mile run but that same route took us 23minutes!  To be fair, we walked some because I wore my cross-trainers instead of my running shoes by accident and my ankles were feeling abandoned.

After we got home I made a stupid mistake and locked us out!  It was a stupid embarrassing rigmarole.

Some positives –

  1. I am proud of myself for wearing spf 55 while we ran
  2. At some point it is impossible that I will not start to get back into shape and 2miles won’t be so hard
  3. We have super super fun plans today and there is no way they won’t cheer me up
  4. This evening we are using one of our more exciting wedding gifts to make something fun

What were the lowest and highest points of your week?