Seis de Mayo!

by Emily

Okay, okay, so I’m a day late on my May 5th post. Normally I hate to do long-overdue recap posts, but since my new 30 day goal is to post everything, here it is. Quick sidenote – mad props to everyone who engages in drogging (aka drunk blogging); I wanted to share this yesterday but it was just not an option 😉

My classmates I add were touched by serendipity yesterday, when Cinco de Mayo and our last day of classes fell on the same day. After a very long last day of classes (9:25 in the morning to 7 at night) we were able to head out for some much-needed celebration.

First, the morning. Our last day of lab included drawer check out and a final exam. I had a little extra time in the morning to study since I had to skip my workout (boo!), and I think I did pretty well on the exam. I didn’t have it together for breakfast, but I did grab a medium iced coffee with skim milk from Starbucks.

And it was so good I forgot to take a picture until I was down to my last sips; clearly I needed coffee!

Our last lab let out pretty early, and we were left with a six-hour break before our final evening class. No problem, I took my friend Rachel on a mini tour of Elmwood! We ambled down the street from school, stopping to visit a friend at work and hit up the Spot for a study session. I grabbed some brown rice veggie sushi from the co-op for lunch.

And actually stopped at the co-op on the way back to school for dinner as well.

During my night class I noshed on Thai cucumber and peanut salad,

and some vegan pasta salad.

Suddenly we were taking our last quiz of the semester, packing up, and we were done with our first year of school!!! I mean, there are finals next week, but still exciting.

Cinco de Mayo plans were supposed to include a holiday appropriate trip to Cozumel Bar, but a $10 cover later we ended up at JP Bullfeathers.

That was a Jack and ginger ale, but it tasted more like dirty water. Weak drinks aside, JP Bullfeathers ended up being a perfect spot for our end of school celebration; not too packed for good conversation, but busy enough to still be fun.

We ended up sitting at a table and ordering some food as well.

My friend Janessa and I split the turkey and gorgonzola pannini,

which was delicious. Turkey sandwiches seem to be my go-to restaurant order.

And how to do go out on Cinco de Mayo without margaritas?!

What’s the Spanish word for sloshed? Let’s just say I’m glad I could walk less than a minute and be home!

I did stay up to share some dessert, of course.

That’s a caramelized macadamia nut and chocolate mousse tart that Adam brought home.

Now on to today. In true college-girl fashion, I managed to stay in bed well past 1pm!! It helps to have the bladder of a camel and a four-day break before finals begin. 🙂

Adam and made the executive decision that we needed a day together, so we took down a full season of Scrub’s recaps and an entire pizza.

That’s a bruschetta pizza topped with extra green olives, the best pizza topper ever.

The ~~half a~~ pizza pretty much covered all my food groups (what?! dairy, grains, veggies…) but I did sneak in one more veggie with a slice of carrot cake from the co-op.

A few facts – Carrot cake does to count as a veggie. I think I need to be done with the co-op for a few days. It was a glorious day with my husband.

Did you do anything to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? What are you looking forward to this weekend?

5May2011

It’s a New Day

by Emily

New planner.

New workout plan attitude.

I had to skip another training day, but instead of doing nothing I got in a few minutes of stretching and strength training this morning.

New pet.

Highs and Lows

by Emily

Some Low Points from Today

My knee felt so funky that I actually skipped today’s workout (and I have no idea what the deal will be for tomorrow’s workout)
I’m in an overall horrible, terrible, no good, very bad mood

Some High Points from Today

3May2011

Training Day Tuesday

by Emily

My meals today were sort of a disaster, and my pictures (which I tried to take with a cell phone camera) were even worse. Better luck tomorrow?

Instead, I’m finally going to share my training plan with you guys. I’m basically following the beginner’s half marathon plan I found in SHAPE –

The plan has three days running (one long run), two days cross-training, and two days off. I’m also going to try to incorporate stretching and strength training. It’s not on the schedule, but I have an unlimited one month hot yoga pass I need to cash in, so expect to see lots of that in June. If you have training experiences and you have any suggestions about this plan, please let me know what you think!!!

I’m not positive I’ll actually be able to commit to this race (see this post), but for now it feels great to cross off the days!

I haven’t crossed today off yet, but I did get in my three miles. The rain forced me inside all afternoon so I headed to the treadmill. 3 miles in 28:15.

And now, of course, I’m having knee pain. See why I qualified that goal? With any luck I’ll feel better tomorrow, but if not I can do my cross-training with an easy walk while I study for tomorrow’s two exams. See you then!

2May2011

I’m Feeling Wicked

by Emily

Congrats to those of you who guessed it; last night Adam and I saw “Wicked” at Shea’s Performing Arts Center!

I’ve seen the show once before in NYC and I have to admit that the Buffalo rendition totally exceeded my expectations!

Gregory Maguire is one of my favorite authors, and Wicked is actually my all-time favorite book. I tend to read mostly memoirs and non-fiction, but Maguire’s adult fairy tales are totally my jam! I don’t love all of the changes that the play makes to the story, but the added hilarity definitely allow me to overlook them. Adam loved the show as well, which was the most exciting thing at all for me.

We bought ourselves a champagne before the show started,

and nibbled on some Smarties during intermission.

It was a glorious date night, thanks Mom and Dad!

This morning’s breakfast was centered around trying out a new vegan yogurt find, Amande is made from cultured almond milk.

I tried the coconut flavor today, atop a sliced banana and topped with a dollop of Smuckers Natural PB with Honey and a sprinkle of shredded coconut.

I didn’t love love the yogurt (nothing can top the tang and thickness of Greek), but I thought it was the best vegan alternative I’ve ever tried. I wouldn’t buy it regularly, but I am looking forward to trying the strawberry flavor in my fridge. The bowl was pretty good,

though I have to admit, I was missing my usual crunchy/sweet nut addition.

I had to head to school a bit early because I was meeting with a professor about a project and I needed to go grovel at the financial aid office as well. Part of the reason I have been feeling wicked is because I have NOT been keeping on top of my work! <– more on that in a minute

Lunch was all about the leftovers; a piece of corn bread,

and a serving of steamed spinach,

topped with maple turkey sloppy joes.

The “sauce” mixed with the spinach was divine; I’m never eating ‘joes on a bun again!

I also snagged a few bites of free cotton candy from the student union.

Boo-yah for free spun sugar!

I mentioned feeling wicked above, and I think I put that shame to good use. After classes ended today I headed to the dietetics lab (computers and silence) with a friend and hunkered down there until after 8pm! I finished a ton of work and I’m on such a roll that I’m planning on making it a late night of studying. The goal is a 12-1am bedtime alternating 30minutes of tv with 45+ minutes of studying.

We grabbed lattes – medium, non-fat, half pumps of almond rocca syrup –

before the study session but dinner never really happened. My stomach has been feeling off all day, hurting and bloated, so nothing ever sounded appealing. I’ll probably grab a snack at some point this evening and I’ll just blog about it in the morning.

Have you ever seen (or read) Wicked? What’s your favorite Broadway show?

1May2011

May Day

by Emily

Welcome, May! You haven’t quite warmed up to us yet, but you allowed me a glorious run around Delaware Park with the husband, so I think I’m going to like you.

The half marathon plan called for 4 miles this morning, so we set out through our neighborhood for a loop around the park and back. Runs like this are when I’d kill for a Garmin; MapMyRun isn’t 100% accurate when you’re not going in a straight line. To the best of my knowledge, we ran 4 miles, in 48 minutes. That’s crazy slow, but I ran the entire time so I’m feeling proud of myself! We finished with a short walk around the ‘hood to bring our workout to 1 hour.

Then I came home and got into bed. The run didn’t really tire me out (my legs feel great!), but we’ve been staying up way too late watching “Scrubs” lately. Running knocks my hunger back anyways, so I gladly showered and fell into bed without breakfast.

When I was done with the Sleeping Beauty routine I made myself a glass of hazelnut cocoa,

and some baby carrots.

And we just finished a Southern feast of a dinner –

Cheddar and Scallion Corn Bread from Fitness Magazine,

Sloppy Maple-BBQ Turkey Joes from Everyday with Rachael Ray,

and some steamed spinach.

I ate my spinach in the ‘joe juice and it was so good! I definitely took an extra large serving of everything. A great meal all around.

We ate the early dinner because we are headed to Shea’s Theatre to take in a show. I am beyond excited! My parents bought us tickets for Easter and we are seeing one of my favorites.

For funsies, see if you can guess the show from my hints –

Any ideas? I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap!

30Apr2011

Confessions Post II

by Emily

Confession #1 – I’m not posting today because I’m supposed to be studying, but instead I’m having long philosophical discussions with the husband. 1.a – Whenever we pull into a parking space we usually sit in the car a few minutes longer to continue talking.

Confession #2 – I’ve been chipping away at the extra chocolate cream cheese frosting with a spoon ever since we made the ‘Smores Cupcakes.

Confession #3 – I didn’t shave my legs once the entire winter. Not once. And though I was sporting pants for those months outside, I definitely walked around the house in shorts. The husband’s pet name for me is Mouse, so he took to calling me ‘Wooly Mamouse.’

Confession #4 – I really, really dislike when major companies try to give themselves nicknames. Pacific Sunwear and Washington Mutual – if you continue to call yourselves Pac Sun and WaMu, I will continue to hate you.

Confession #5 – Sometimes I’m bad about washing my hair. Also, sometimes I lie; I’m always bad about washing my hair. Hence my obsession with this –

Click here to read confessions part I.

29Apr2011

A Random Assortment

by Emily

Spring had sprung. Spring sprang so hard that it wore itself out and had to go lie down.

Let’s pretend we’re chatting face-to-face, this is the expression I make when discussing Buffalo’s descent back to 50* weather –

At least it’s not hot?!

Today was actually a busy day (hence the late recap post); I attended an event this evening and helped set up a bit as well. Since a friend was coming home with me between class and the event, I needed to get in my workout before class. <– not a good day to oversleep. Sometimes when you try to live a healthy life (especially when you make the unhealthy choice to stay up too late at night) you’ve got to weigh your options. For me today, workout > breakfast.

I had a great gym session and I’m glad I squeezed it in! My right knee was feeling a little funny so I lowered the resistance and upped my time – elliptical level 6 random, 40minutes. Followed by a quick strength/stretch session.

When I got to campus for class – after I walked home, showered, walked back – I grabbed a Red Velvet Latte for breakfast.

Skim milk, half syrup, fully delicious!

After class I went to the health center to get my PPD read and learn the shocking news that I don’t have TB. <– I was holding my breath. I celebrated my health with a new yogurt find for lunch, Athenos 0% Greek with strawberry.

I love the idea of jam-on-the-side Greek yogurts, but this wasn’t my favorite. Actually, it was super sour and unappetizing, and I threw it out after a few bites. I’m glad I also packed a clementine which got the taste out of my mouth.

P.S. I brought in the last of the ‘Smores Cupcakes to share and they got rave reviews.

I volunteered an hour helping to set up the event – the Nutrition Club arranged for a few local dietitians to come in and speak to us tonight – and then Rachel and I headed back to my apartment to watch Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Shonda Rhimes’ saptastic tv is so much better when you have another girl to sniffle with!

I’m obsessed with taking people to Wegman’s hot bar, so we headed there at 5.