Sleeping Hungry

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Yikes, this is one of those blog posts that veers a little further into the definition of “healthy living.”  Though actually, I think it’s pretty darn healthy to listen to your body!

for this week…

  • the good – I’ve been doing my best to get lots of sleep and I’ve been doing my best to deal with my intense hunger in healthy ways
  • the bad – I’ve been doing a terrible job of packing food for school and I haven’t worked out in almost a full week(!)
  • the ugly – My eats yesterday were consumed under the assumption that I was fueling for a long workout

Yesterday morning (Thursday) I didn’t have time to pack food before school and my stomach was growling in our four-hour class.  I ended up buying pretzels and diet pop from a vending machine at 9am.

Best. Breakfast. Ever.

I stayed on campus for a club meeting and happily ate a slice of cheese pizza as breakfast component #2.  Note, this was also bread/cheese component #1.

Post-pizza my stomach was still growling and I wanted to make sure I was well-fueled for my long workout so I turned to Wegmans hot bar.

Actually, first I ate a Oreo ball from the Tupperware in the back of my car.

But then I turned to hot bar.  Veggies from many different containers plus a few pieces of chicken.

And then bread and cheese component #2.

A jalapeno cheddar bialy with veggie cream cheese.

Yuuuuuuum.  Seriously, just yum.  And I was left super well-fueled … for my nap … at 4pm.

Yup, I fell asleep on the couch at 4pm and stayed fast asleep until 9pm when I awoke just long enough to brush my teeth and transition to the bedroom.

Since I still slept until 7:20 (what? this week my body demands food and sleep) the best I could do for breakfast was iced coffee.

Coffee, skim milk, and 1 Tbsp of English Toffee syrup.

I got out of class at 1 (which is when Adam told me he could pick me up) and have been stuck in limbo waiting for the husband to call ever since.  Sometimes I think being single would help me waste less time; I certainly would have eaten lunch and done some schoolwork this afternoon!

I’m not sure what my plans for this afternoon/evening are now, though I am making my way through this pitcher of Arnold Palmers.

Half home-brewed green tea and half Wegman’s brand organic lemonade.  Good (though I think I prefer AP’s with black tea), but my stomach is definitely ready for lunch!

Bombay To Book Club

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So this last week has sort of been a healthy living fail.  I haven’t worked out since Sunday, I’ve been eating a fair amount of junk, and I clearly haven’t been hitting my bedtime goals.  I am 100% determined to get in a longer run tomorrow though, which is all the more reason to keep this post short and sweet.

Liquid breakfast consumed in class 1.

An Americano with skim milk and a lavender mint Herbal Water.

I bought this Turkey Pepperoni and Cheese GoPicnic snack back from the bookstore on our break.

The pepperoni was crumbly and weird but the crackers reminded me of Mary’s Gone Crackers which was nice.  I ate all of the cheese and crackers, half the pepperoni, and the candy (duh).

For lunch lunch a friend and I decided to check out the new Indian place that popped up in the food court.

Healthy, real food at Buffalo State?  What, what!  I ordered a channa masala with rice,

topped with tamarind chutney and tons of spicy pickled mangos.

Yum!  I never see tamarind in the states (I used to eat them straight from the pod growing up in St. Thomas) so that was fun.  I ended up using two portions of spicy mangos which may have been a mistake as my mouth was on fire and my stomach hurt all afternoon.

My meal also came with a Naan bread but that was the only part of the dish that wasn’t great so I left it uneaten.

Healthy, spicy, veggies for lunch are totally worth a tummy ache.

After classes 2 and 3 had wrapped I headed back to my house for a quick cupcake frosting session.  Janessa actually stopped by to drop off goodies early this morning because we were heading to Kim’s house for…. book club!

Side note – I’ve always wanted to be part of a book club but when I thought about suggesting the idea to my group of friends I felt a little lame.  I sucked it up and you know what?  They were just as excited about the idea as I was!  Lesson learned when in doubt, if you are excited about something your friends probably will be too.  Don’t be so afraid of sounding silly that you miss out on a fun opportunity.

We already chose our first book (The Help) but haven’t gotten to read yet so tonight’s meeting was more of a drinks/snacks/silly YouTube videos party.  We had a nice foodie spread for sure.  Kim made spinach and artichoke dip with fresh spinach and white beans,

Hillary made taco dip,

and crescent rolls with pizza filling.

And Anna brought booze but since I was the designated driver I sat that out.

Here were my bites.

Plus dessert!  Janessa made Oreo cheesecake balls with Biscoff!

This idea was so good I sort of can’t even describe it without drooling but it sparked an even better idea that I’ll share later.

And I made Mint Chocolate Chip Swirl Cupcakes.

Recipe to come tomorrow.

And I shall see you all tomorrow too; if I don’t get to bed soon my long run will turn into a short shuffle!

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!

Here’s what I’m coveting this week –

1. The Cooperative Lace Shift Dress from Urban Outfitters.

Shift dress, check.  Pockets, check.  Lace but not see through, check.  Yep, this dress is adorable.

2. The Harness boot from Urban Outfitters.

I know it’s an itsy bit early in the year for boots but these are just so cute.  I rode horses for years as a kid but I think I overlooked the amazing outfit potential.

3. The Technicolor Tweed Jacket from J.Crew.

At $595 I will clearly never purchase this, but that doesn’t quell my obsessive love of blazers any.  I love that there are only three buttons on this one too.

4. The tuxedo tank from Gap.

How cute would this look under a blazer??

5. The cascading ruffle tank from Banana Republic.

Have I mentioned that I like ruffles?  I like how this top feels girly yet casual all at once.

Coupon Chief

I want to always be completely upfront with my readers so I am letting you know that I was compensated for this review.  Please know that I always (compensated or not) will give a fair and honest assessment of any product I review.  Also, know that if Coupon Chief hadn’t contacted me directly, I probably would have blogged about this site anyway as soon as I found it on my own.

Part of the reason I don’t actually buy the items I covet in Window Shopping Wednesdays is a lack of funds.  Actually, let’s be honest, when Adam’s making doctor money I’ll probably get over my fear of too much stuff in a hurry and start shopping a lot more.  But as a student I don’t do a lot of purchasing and when I do I scour the internet for coupons first.

Googling “store name + coupon code” isn’t exactly difficult, but you do have to wade through a lot of crap once you get your search results.  One of the most frustrating things is finding a coupon code, filling up your online shopping cart, getting excited about your purchase, and then realizing at the last minute that your code is a bust.  When I did our grocery shopping online in New York City I spent more time looking for current coupon codes than I did looking at the items I was actually buying.  It would be much easier if there was a single site to search through, one that gives you only (mostly) codes that are up-to-date.  Enter Coupon Chief.

Coupon Chief (http://www.couponchief.com/) is one of the fastest growing coupon sites, with over 250 thousand visitors a month.  They have over 50 thousand coupons for over 15,000 stores, making them one of the largest databases of online coupons on the net.  The database is easy to navigate and they keep up to date by constantly gathering information from their users about the usability of the codes listed (when you use a code a small screen pops up for you to click the coupon worked yes/no).

I mock-shopped for each item listed in today’s post to test out Coupon Chief myself.  I was able to easily find at least one coupon that would save me money on each purchase (or at least on shipping).  From my experience, here are the pros and cons –

great things about Coupon Chief

  • You can browse by popular tag, an alphabetized list of stores, or through the search bar.
  • Every fashion store that I could think to look for (J. Crew, Banana, Sephora, etc) was listed, as well as several grocery and drug stores.
  • The coupons are clearly marked with, and ranked by, success percentages.
  • One click copies the coupon code and opens a new window for the store’s website.
  • After you use the coupon an easy pop-up system opens for you to label the coupon as successful or not in order to help them rank the coupons correctly.

not-so great things about Coupon Chief

  • Wegmans was not listed (though Publix, Whole Foods, etc were so this may be a more regional complaint).
  • Some coupons with a 0% success rating are still listed.
  • Only coupons for online shopping are available, no printables for in store use.

Overall, I highly recommend using Coupon Chief when you pick up some of the fabulous finds from my window shopping post 😀

Uncomfortably Full

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I love long weekends! And long weekends with trips are especially fun. It was great to visit with my grandparents, I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like.

Before we hit the road this morning we ate a final fancy breakfast.

Chicken sausage,

egg casserole leftovers, which I ate cold to my husband and grandma’s duress,

and a banana.

We were not as well provisioned for this trip as we were on Saturday. I did the best I could but still arrived home hungry. A low-fat string cheese,

and a Muscle Milk Light bar.

Yeeetch! I took two bites and decided I’d rather go hungry. At least with the dog we stop more often and I grabbed what I really wanted a bit later, candy.

I’ve been badly wanting Twizzlers for a few weeks and after a serving that craving was satisfied.

Webster slept most of our journey which meant I had time to finish the book I started on the drive over.

Hands of My Father is a memoir about a hearing boy’s childhood with two deaf parents. New addition to my top list of book favorites! I had to hold my breath to keep from crying at least once a chapter and I laughed just as often. The setting of a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn post Depression lent itself to some good stories.

When we did get home I spent my evening making chili.  And weighing chili, and pricing servings…

This was for a class assignment, and it was beef to boot so I couldn’t even taste it!  Instead Adam and I got take out for dinner.

Tuna melt on sourdough (no butter on the bread) with cheddar cheese and a side of fries.

Plus a slice of carrot cake.

Umm, plus the last two chocolates.

Can we so uncomfortably full?

Two Desserts

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I started my morning off right with a run. I didn’t pay attention to time, I forgot my heart rate monitor at home and didn’t check the clock before I left, I just ran. Thanks to the miles markers on the path behind my grandparents’ house I did learn a couple of things – 1. I can’t run a whole mile without stopping to walk (bad). 2. I ran/walked five miles this morning (good).

I came home feeling good in time for breakfast.

Cantaloupe melon,

chicken breakfast sausage,

and a delicious egg casserole with mushrooms, cheese, and bread cubes.

The fluffy texture and slightly sweet flavor were just like a souffle.

Adam and I had to run to the store for my grandma after breakfast and we spotted a Subway where I rewarded myself for my run.  (not that I don’t just drink diet soda all the time anyways but it can still feel like a reward sometimes)

They had Coke Zero and Cherry Coke and getting to mix them gives me this face –

We spent the afternoon hanging out with my grandpa and actually ate lunch at the hospital cafeteria.

I filled a plate at the salad bar with lettuce, a few kidney beans, black olives, almonds, and mushrooms, and some honey French dressing.  Not bad.

Adam and I did a few things around the house for my grandma but overall this has felt like a total relaxation vacation, right down to snacks before dinner.

In addition to a few small handfuls of nuts I had a few mini buckeyes,

and the olives from the husband’s drink.

Adam and Nana had martinis but I was drinking a more pg (and old school!) Tab.

Dinner was great, per usual.

Another small piece of foccacia (with butter after the photo),

side salad (with garlic vinaigrette ATP),

roasted glazed carrots,

and penne with tuna, feta, capers, and fresh tomato.

I like dinner but I enjoyed my two desserts better.  Peanut butter ice cream pie with heath pieces,

plus a bowl of homemade tapioca pudding.

I seriously love tapioca so much, I was moaning with joy while I ate this!  And my grandma sent me home with the dry tapioca so I can make some myself!

I’m going to hurry to get in bed, but first I’ve got to tell you guys that I totally kicked the husband and my grandma’s butts at Rummy 😉

I’ve got another long day in the car tomorrow before I’m back to a short week at school.  Thank goodness I’ve got such good travel partners.

Serendipitous Stop

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Hello from Ohio!  I’m so glad we had this long weekend so I had the chance to get over to visit my grandparents.  My grandpa is in the hospital at the moment unfortunately, but we’ll get to visit a bit and we’re hanging out with my grandma until Monday.

I went to bed at 3am last night this morning and my alarm went off at 7am so you know I turned to coffee.

Adam and I shared this cup, with a small splash of English Toffee syrup and a big splash of skim milk.

Webster had an appointment to get his booster shots so we headed to the vet’s office on the way out of town.  Adam took him alone for the first visit while I was at HLS and I was so impressed today with how brave he was.

He was a total champ on the car road too.  Most of the trip was spent like this,

or like this.

And he drank water out of a glass in the cup holder like a little traveler!

When we weren’t fawning over how cute the dog is, we were eating.  I didn’t get a chance to pack lunch for myself and I got very lucky with a serendipitous stop.  I was hungry and thirsty when I spotted a Chipotle so I asked Adam to pull over,

and then we realized that we were only 2 miles from froyo!

Booyah!  You’ve seen my froyo face, but here is my “froyo and Chipotle?!?” face –

self taken in the bathroom mirror because even I have a little shame.

We actually ate our froyo first.

I stuck with a theme and got a small cup of low-fat mint froyo topped with snowcaps, crumbled Andes, Oreos, and fudge sauce.

Swoon.

Then I ate my Chipotle rice bowl in the car.

They let me do a small scoop of rice topped with black beans, fajita veggies, corn salsa, mild salsa, and a tiny sprinkle of cheese.

I topped the whole thing off myself with TONS of green Tabasco.  Double swoon.

Other snacks included part of this apple which got warm and gross,

and this baggie of snacks (yogurt pretzels!) from my grandparents’ house.

We made it to Ohio in pretty good time and got to spend an hour visiting with my grandpa before coming home to a gourmet dinner.

I swear eating with my grandma makes you feel like you’re at a hotel!

Homemade cole slaw,

a slice of foccacia,

roasted asparagus,

and enchilada casserole.

I only left a bite or two on my plate but I definitely made room for dessert.

Homemade chocolate pie.  I scraped my crust off for Adam (crust is to filling like cake is to icing) but practically licked the rest of my plate clean.

The filling of this was like chewable pudding, so good!

I am stuffed, exhausted, and ready for bed.