Thursday and Friday

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What I’ve Eaten –

What I’ve Been Up To –

  • School has been exciting.  Yesterday I hung out at a pediatric endocrine clinic and today we had a guest lecture from a leading renal dietitian.
  • I’m still sick.  Super sick.  Boo.
  • Also, remember when I said this – “[Adam] was sick last week, I’m sick this week; as long as the dog is healthy next week it’s all good.”?  I jinxed us.  The dog has a massive eye infection and was dropped off at the vet this afternoon.  My poor baby!
  • We are heading to Ohio tomorrow evening.  We’re spending a few days with family and then coming home on Tuesday after the funeral.

What I’m Thankful For –

  • I had an amazing grandpa in my life until I was 26 years old.
  • My teachers are all being great about helping me make up the exams/clinic hours I’m missing to attend the funeral.
  • My dad is flying to Buffalo and driving to Ohio with us.

Confessions IX, Clothing Edition

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Click here to read Confessions part I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII.

Confession #1 – The shirt that ended becoming my very favorite was bought on a desperate whim.  We were meeting the some friends for an impromptu dinner and I had worn one of the husband’s t-shirts to the mall.  We stopped at Forever 21 so I could try to find something a bit more flattering to wear and ended up buying my new favorite.

Confession #2 – When the husband proposed to me I was wearing a pair of his pajama pants.

Confession #3 – I’ve basically never done my own laundry.  I mean, I’ve always put it away but the actually washing and drying has been my thing only a handful of times.  My parents did it when I lived at home and Adam’s been doing it since college.

Confession #4 – When I went away to my first year at college and lived alone (Adam was still in high school so he didn’t join me at Miami until the next year) I packed something like 40+ pairs of underwear so the laundry issue didn’t come up all that often.

Confession #5 – When we got those 80* days a few weeks ago I dry-cleaned all of our winter stuff.  It’s been in the 30’s ever since but I’ve been sticking it out in thin long-sleeved tee shirts.  I’ll freeze to death before I take the coats out of their bags.

Now you confess – What’s the most embarassing fasion trend you’ve taken part in?

Samoa Jumbles For Easter Or Pinterest

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I turned Girl Scout Cookies into another form; am I Pinterest-famous yet?

Just kidding; you don’t have to pin these but I do want you to make them.  With the toasted coconut I think these could feel perfect for Easter.  Or any month when the Scouts aren’t playing cookie crack dealer outside the Target.

These Jumbles have all the flavors of Samoas and all the home-baked charm of sugar cookies.  I thought about making a Monster Cookie variety with this idea so if you try that out let me know how it goes.

Samoa Jumbles, yields 3 dozen cookies

  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • 1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • heaping 1/2 cup caramel bits
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Spread coconut in an even layer on a cookie sheet and bake 5 – 7 minutes, stirring once or twice, until toasted.  Set toasted coconut aside to cool and raise oven temperature to 375 degrees Farenheit.
  2. In a small bowl, carefully stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  With the mixer on low, gradually blend in flour mixture.  Fold toasted coconut, caramel bits, and chocolate chips into the dough.
  4. Place dough in fridge for 10 minutes to rest.  Prepare cookie sheets with baking spray or Silpat mats.
  5. Roll dough into heaping tsp sized balls and place in even rows on prepared cookie sheets.  Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until golden.  Let baked cookies stand on the sheets for 2 minutes before removing to cool.

Which Girl Scout Cookie is your favorite?

Sad News

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My grandpa passed away last night.

I’m very sad but I’m also aware of how incredibly lucky I’ve been to have had him in my life for so long.  He was a really amazing man.

I have a fun few posts that were already scheduled to go up today and tomorrow but I’m not sure what my blogging schedule will be over the next few days.

Go hug somebody you love.

Loop De Loop

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I’m going to apologize in advance just in case this post makes no sense.  I’m tired, and sick, and pretty damn loopy.

After my run and cookie consumption I started the day cautiously optimistic that I would keep feeling good.

To eat in class I packed a green pear,

and a 2% Pineapple Siggi’s.

I loved the 2% fat content of this yogurt but the pineapple was pretty weak.  There was no pineapple flavor and the pieces of fruit were few and far between.  But the yogurt itself was wonderful.  I enjoy the original Siggi’s and the 2% variety was a little sweeter and the texture very creamy and less stiff.

Adam was done at the hospital around the same time I finished my classes so I walked home to meet him for a date before work.  I’m not even gonna lie – he took me to dinner at my school’s food court and it was the best damn date I’ve ever been on.  I love spending time with the husband so much!  First we stopped in at Ashker’s for smoothies since we have a Groupon.

I can’t remember my exact selection but I know that it had a few fruits, carrots, and ginger.

It would have been fantastic except that I forgot that I freaking hate ginger.  The texture was spot on but it was just way too spicy for me.  I could only drink a third or so but the husband happily finished off the rest.

Then we walked back to campus.  I work in the basement of a dorm building so Adam clearly couldn’t hang out with me but I’m a total creeper so the simple fact that he was in the same building as me was exciting.

We were both starving (like gnaw your own arm off starving) so we hit up the food court and ended up discovering a new, totally adorable, perfectly priced “asian” kiosk.  We split a Vietnamese coffee for 99 cents.

And I got a tasty lobster roll.

It was good!

We are bottomless pits so we got pizza too.  $4 for two slices packed with toppings; apparently college food courts are the place to go for a cheap date!

My veggie slice came with banana peppers, roasted red peppers, and black olives.

Tonight was my last shift at work (the calling sessions only last for a month) and I was sad to say goodbye.  Of course there are people who are total jerks to tele-fund-raisers but most people were really nice!  I had several older alumni sweetly tell me that they loved talking to me.  I’ll miss it!

I’m not sure anyone will miss me after tonight though; today’s sickness levels hit their peak mid-shift and I basically hacked up a lung in the corner all evening.  By the time I met Adam I could barely talk.  The loopiness had set in at that point so it’s possible I also told bad jokes and laughed like a hyena the whole walk home but I can’t really blame that on the sickness.

But it definitely was my sore throat that demanded a strawberry milkshake.

Mmmmn, if I could set up a constant stream of icy beverage down my throat that would be excellent.

I had to stay up to set up my class schedule for next semester (I can register tomorrow morning) but now it’s clearly time for bed.  So goodnight!

Can You Guess

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Having a (soon to be) doctor husband is great, for obvious reasons, but there are a few drawbacks.  Like the nasty bugs he wears home from the hospital, particularly if he’s been on a pediatric rotation.  He was sick last week, I’m sick this week; as long as the dog is healthy next week it’s all good.

In spite of my sore throat and late bedtime (<– I’m an idiot), I did manage to start my morning with a workout.  My goal for today was completing the route from Monday 30+ seconds faster.  Not quite.  I did the first loop (1.2 miles) in 12 minutes and 50 seconds and I could tell that my form was terrible because my knee was killing me.  So I stopped and picked up the dog for the 2nd loop.  We had to do some walking with our running but I was so impressed with him, 1.2 miles in 14 minutes and 40 seconds.

When I got home I ate the other half of my Vanilla Almond Luna Bar.

I’m glad I stuck with my breakfast goal because all I’ve eaten since then is three cookies!

I’m not going to tell you what they are because I’m sharing the recipe tomorrow.  I will tell you that they’re good!  I’ll give you some hints, can you guess what I made?

What type of cookies do you think I made?

Window Shopping Wednesday

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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 on Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

Here’s what I’m coveting this week –

1.  The entire Capitol Colours line from China Glaze.

They are sparkly nail polishes and they were inspired by The Hunger Games?  Count me in!  I want to say I like “Smoke and Ashes” and “Stone Cold” the best but honestly I’d rock them all.  And I need to go see the movie asap before I die of longing.

2.  The coral sculpture from Delightfully Chic.

I love the look of faux coral (you should never buy real) for decorating.  The bathroom in my dream house is going to be beach themed but I think this piece would look nice in the living room too.

3.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

A “funny” book about a cancer support group for teens sounds like the perfect blend of humor and substance.  530 5-star reviews on Amazon can’t be wrong.

4.  The Spork Little 3 Pack from Daytrip Society.

I know some people don’tget the spork but I’m a fan.  I like that these are nice and small (they are for kids, or adults with small mouths!) and the pink plastic is fun.

5.  The Hansel Dress from Piperlime.

God I love lace so much!  This is classy, and summery, and sexy all at the same time.  I love the cut of the dress and that it’s structured and fitted but not tight.  I like the little line on the waist too.

Have you seen The Hunger Games yet?  Did you read the book?

Humbolt Fog

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Last night’s sleep session was a disaster.  Usually my sleep issues are related to falling asleep but lately if I get woken up I can’t fall back to sleep either.  The dog woke us up in the middle of the night and it took me at least another hour of tossing and turning to get back to rest.  The husband brought home some sort of bug from the hospital and my throat was killing me.

I overslept today and the morning was rushed but I managed to do what I needed to do, mostly.  I was heading to the gym after 9 am so sticking with my monthly goal I ate a small breakfast before I left.  A few sips of strawberry Powerade Zero,

and a half of a Vanilla Almond Luna Bar.

I didn’t have much time at the gym but something was better than nothing.  20 minutes on the elliptical at random level 7.

After a quick walk home and an even quicker shower I made a Lemon Cookie Smoothie for breakfast.

The last time I made it was apparently a dark and stormy night and I wanted a chance to get some better less awful photographs for the recipe page.

It probably wasn’t my best use of time though; I made it halfway through my smoothie before I had to throw it away and rush out the door.  I didn’t have time to pack lunch and having half a smoothie digesting in my stomach just made my hunger stronger all afternoon.

I got out of clinic a bit early and when I spotted a Manhattan Bagel on the drive home it felt like an oasis in the desert.

I was eating the chips that came with my meal before I was even out of the parking lot.

But chips only seemed to anger the beast (aka my stomach) and I ended up eating my bagel on the ride home!

Eating while driving is sort of nice because instead of dreading red lights you can use them to shove food into your face.  And my bagel was quite enjoyable; I got a veggie sandwich on a rye bagel.

Red onion, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, veggie cream cheese, and a little bit of chipotle mayo.  I thought the veggies were pretty weak but the bagel was super chewy and good.

I had my 2nd to last shift at work this evening and then I came home to an easy salad dinner.

I needed a vehicle for a veggie, a fruit, and this amazing looking cheese, and salad fit the bill.

This Cypress Grove Humbolt Fog Chevre was delicious.  Sadly the blue cheese and goat cheese were in layers and not the hybrid mixture I was hoping for, but both were quite tasty.

Along with chunk of cheese I had romaine lettuce, groats, chopped honey crisp apple, and Stubbs BBQ Sauce for dressing.

Those ingredients sound strange together but it worked.

I’ll see y’all in the am for some running and some baking!