Yes, Of Course I’ll Hold

I gritted my teeth and silently pictured the people I had to deal with on the phone today getting punched in the face and got all my to-do’s done.  I also watched some tv 😉  Anyone else into “Private Practice” this season?  I starting bawling at the end the most recent episode.

I ate while I lived vicariously through the lives of the tiny people on my laptop.

My tasty fruit salad contained 2 kiwis and a honey tangerine.

I also dug into the stewed tamarinds.

Tamarinds grow inside a pod, and to eat one you have to split the pod and suck the meat off of the seeds.  Even when they are stewed, West Indian style you still have to worry about the seeds.

The deliciousness is worth the mess though, I promise.

I also dug into the freezer for something I bought on super sale last week.

Weight Watchers pizza bagels sounded a little iffy, but for less than $1 I figured it was worth a shot.

They were actually pretty good.

Back to the couch!

What was the last company that put you on hold?  How long did you have to wait?  I feel like everything I’ve done this week has been extra ridiculous, but one time this summer Budget put me on hold for 45minutes!  Their company is so unprofessional I finally just gave up trying to get reimbursed for the insurance money they owe me.

Fruit eaten so far today:  2+cups (I’m not really sure how to count the tamarinds)

Like Ice Cream Topped with Honey

Good evening!  I hope everyone had a great day.  Mine had some hits and misses.  Like apparently I’m missing the gene that allows you to cook kale without burning the life out of it –

My lunch ended up being a tiny plate of roasted cauliflower, boo.

But I hit the nail on the head with my latest layered look –

My great aunt thrifted me this cashmere cardigan when I moved to NYC and I love it.  The buttons are circular except for the one over my heart.

I LOVE little details like that.  I am obsessed with Volcom because they always do nifty things with the stitching and inner patterns.

Classes went ago, I’m a couple of days behind on my Chemistry reading and I was pretty confused in class today.  I’ve got loads and loads of work to do this weekend.

You know that I inhaled a blondie the minute I walked through the door.  I’m making the husband take these to his friends at school tomorrow so they won’t be in the house any more!!

Dinner was pulled straight from the freezer.

I randomly bought this Kashi Mayan Harvest meal awhile ago so I was thrilled to notice recently that it was vegan.

Ok, I know that looks disgusting, but YUM.  I love plantains so freaking much; I can’t believe it’s less than 2weeks until I’ll be home eating them for real.

For dessert I put two blondies on a plate.

And I’ve told my sweet tooth that the kitchen is closed for the night.

P.S. The title relates to nothing except for the fact that I’ve been singing Lady Gaga ‘Beautiful, Dirty, Rich’ all day.

Mini Explosions

I did not have another mimosa last night, but did make a decidedly Northern dessert.

Mmmn.  However, today was NOT feeling as romantic.  It seemed like everything I touched today exploded!  I was cleaning up messes and putting out (metaphorical) fires all over the place.

For starters I was running late for volunteering so I made my breakfast smoothie a bit smaller than usual.

1cup frozen mixed berries + 1cup plain fat free soy milk + 1T fat free sugar free jello powder.

It was super tasty, but I spilled 1/3 of it all over the counter 😦

I managed to clean up the mess and get to the hospital on time though.  And they actually had a lot for me to do at volunteering which was nice.  Not nice, was 30minutes after my shift when I was still there and I started panicking about getting home in time to make my important phone calls.  No worries though, it’s President’s Day, no one was open.  Boo 😦

And I was supposed to submit my college application today but since there was no one to help me override the system I have to wait until tomorrow to imput my Caribbean high school into the online form.  I did some major damage on this bag of chips during the whole 2hours of failure.

At least they were vegan!  Next I tried to recreate last night’s dessert, only to have it explode all over my microwave.

On the plus side, now my microwave is sparkling, and I put it to good use on a late lunch.

Tandoor Chef Vegetarian Pad Thai is seriously my favorite frozen meal of all time and it’s super awesome that it’s vegan too.  If you see it at your grocery store, buy it!

I had hoped to go to the gym today finally but I’m feeling just under the weather enough still that it seemed like a bad idea.  I would kill for a diet soda so maybe I’ll at least get in another walk (I walk to/from volunteering).  Other than that the plan is dinner and bed.  See you then.

Anything explode on you today?  I’m all ears if you want to gripe about it?

A Lunch Post?!

I knew this would be a busy week, but now it feels like things are just dropping out of the sky!  Last night’s late night issue was the power to our fridge randomly being shut off.  Fun times 😦

I planned on getting up to eat breakfast before lab but my pushed back bedtime meant I just wanted to sleep in.  I packed a (peeled) minneola to eat in class,

and bought a small package of peanuts from a vending machine as well.

Lab went well, but I’m incredibly worried about how difficult the post-lab calcuations are going to be, the minute my test is done on Friday I’m going to have to start working on that.  First I have to get through tomorrow’s Anthropology test though.

Lunch was a semi-Asian affair.  I had a serving of mini chicken egg rolls,

and a Thai-Style chicken Lean Cuisine.

I also randomly had a forkful of peanut butter,

and a (too) big bowl of cereal.

Now I am about to head to the Spot for a quickie study session with Caroline.  I’ll be back for dinner.

Do you have vending machines nearby at your job or school?  Do they tempt you to make unhealthy choices or are there any quality options available. 

F Words

Last night was ridiculous; we have to submit our Chem assignment online and the homework site had a major glitch that made the assignment take literally 4x longer than it should have.  Ack, lots of f words were said.  And my very delayed bedtime meant I took a loooong unplanned nap (drooling all over my Anthro book!) this afternoon.

I got hungry while I was working on my insane Chem assignment last night so I made a small snack –

Banana yogurt + grapes + 1T toasted walnuts + 1t cinnamon chips.

Which was similar to what I had for breakfast.

My eats for the rest of the day were all about the big “Fs” – freebies and fatties.  This (BIG) bowl of cereal was technically free because it stole it from the husband’s stash.

And this Kid’s Cuisine was on sale for <$2!

Dinner was much healthier 😉  The jalopeno poppers were sort of a freebie, Adam had a coupon, but mostly a fattie-choice.

And the potato chips were definitely a fat move.  P.S. I also definitely had my hand in a bag of unphotographed tortilla chips for most of the afternoon.

I’m actually glad I didn’t have time for the gym all day because this evening the husband accidentally kneed me in the shin and it hurt so badly I thought I was going to throw up.  Who thinks I increased my mileage too quickly and that my 5mile run this weekend did more harm than good?  Me!

***Edited to Add*** I’m pretty sure I will be having more insomnia tonight so rather than laying awake in bed I decided to stay up a bit longer and study.  Sadly, I find munching really does help me focus so the husband is out at Wendy’s getting me some chicken nuggets.  No pictures because I will be too busy hitting the books.

New Favorites for a New Year

If the first day set any sort of precedent, 2010 is going to be a great year!  And in case I forgot that it’s not 2009, we got lots of new calendars for Christmas.

Today was all about errands; Office Max, grocery restocking, present returns.  I have my foot surgery this Monday so I’m trying to get all standing activities out of the way.  In between errands I had a lovely late lunch –

The pasta was a Lean Cuisine.  I love how packed with veggies it was, lots of zucchini and the marinara was delicious.

The bread made the meal however.  I don’t know how I managed to only eat half of this cheddar and jalopeno bialy!

Spicy and cheesey and yum!  I also had a tasty bite of Adam’s cookie.

Our final errand took us to the mall, where I discovered my new favorite restaurant – Jack Astors.  There were about 80 things on the menu that sounded good and pretty much everything was affordable.  The booze prices were ridiculous low.  Plus, they let you draw on the table!

Adam’s art was a bit less 6th grade than mine –

I promise I did my drawing before my drinking,

Raspberry Lemon raspberry vodka, lemon, sprite, and soda.  Yums, my favorite drinks are always sour.

And dinner was a Chopstick Chicken Salad Grilled chicken breast on a bed of mixed greens, red pepper, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds and cucumbers, drizzled with zesty sesame soy dressing.  Topped with crispy wonton strips, spicy pecans, and sun-dried cranberries.

Ah-maze-ing!  Next time I would ask for dressing, etc on the side but it tasted awesome.  We were running a bit late to see a movie and I ended up bringing the second half to the theatre and eating it with chopsticks mid-show.  Strangest movie snack ever?!  I also split a small popcorn with butter with the husband.

The only thing that could have distracted me from that salad was an incredible movie, and Sherlock Holmes delivered.  It was my new favorite movie!  It was funny as hell and fully captivating for 2hours.  I love love loved the costumes and setting and artistic shooting.

Now I’m planning on settling in to fill out my new planner before bed.  There is something deeply satisfying to me about a fresh, crisp planner and I’m so excited I could burst!  

Do you use a planner to keep track of your life?  Love or loath it?

San Fransisco Bound!

Today has been packed!  Similarly, I am all packed, and ready to go to San Fransisco for the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival!  Actually, that’s a lie, I’m packed, but not fully ready, and I’m leaving for the airport in 5.5hours!  Obviously this one will be quick.

My friend Caroline came to pick me up at 10 for an all day study session at Barnes and Nobel.  I overslept and didn’t have much time to pack, and therefore did not do so hot on food all day.  I did manage to bring my Sigg and a delicious Cheeky Cherry Chocolate 18Rabbits bar (from SF!) for breakfast.

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I also bought a small diet coke because I felt bad sitting at the cafe without ordering, $1.25.

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We studied all day long!  I am not 100% ready for my test on Monday but I certainly know more than I would have.  After we drove to school for lab I caved and bought a bag of Doritos because I was starving, $1.00.

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Lab went really, really well.  I was one of the first ones done and all my calculations for next week are complete!  Adam picked me up at 9 and we drove to Wegmans.  I realized this evening that my flights are much, much longer than I thought and that I cannot not pack food for the plane.  I would usually buy something on my layover but since I’m doing the Thanksgiving Challenge that’s not an option.  We had nada at home to pack so we bought some supplies at the store, along with food for next week and Adam’s food for the weekend, $26.23.

Dinner was my exciting find from last week.

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Kashi Caribbean Carnival Pizza.  I ate mine cold, hours after Adam made it, and it was still fricking unbelievable.  I loved the plantains, the tangy of the onions, the ww crust, everything!

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I am so excited to be heading to California, it is 30* outside and it hailed today!  I did get to wear a vest gifted from my grandma though.

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Now I have a few final to-dos (including a shower!) before I go to bed.  My flight is at 6:30 tomorrow so we’ve got to be up super duper early.  My plan for the festival as of now is to post at least once a day.  If there is some sort of internet trouble I may end up doing a mega recap post on Sunday, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  See you in San Fransisco!!!!!

Challenge Balance – $29.08

Waking the Dead

Hello, hello!  My absence was more than necessary – my sleepless night left me the living dead for the next two days!  Wednesday night I went to class and had a successful study session but by the time I got home I was a mumbling mess.  It’s possible the evening consisted of me throwing a massive tantrum when Adam wouldn’t walk with me to get a soda, getting said soda, and then taking 2 sips and passing out fully dressed.  Thursday was more successful, but only slightly.  I think I did alright on my quiz but I definitely failed my lab.

This morning I had lots of plans, but Adam took the car because it was raining, leaving me blissfully free.  I stayed in bed until practically 1, reading Heat and talking on the phone to my mommy.  Once I did finally get my teeth brushed and my face washed (I’m still in my pajamas!) it was time for lunch.  We are low on food (I was supposed to be going to the grocery store before Adam took the car) so I turned to the freezer.

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Amy’s offered to send me this meal, along with a dessert, and I  happly agreed.  I’m going to eat the dessert this afternoon (it has to thaw).

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The Enchilada Verde was delicious.  I ate it out of the container, because I’m classy like that.

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I left 95% of the rice but killed the beans and enchilada, I love verde salsa!

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This afternoon/evening should be pretty low-key.  I have lots of cleaning, school work I want to do, a gym trip to accomplish, and we are going to the grocery store.  Adam’s parents are visiting us tomorrow so we are just getting the simple to-do’s out of the way.  I’ll be back this evening.

What is the latest you sleep in? 

P.S. Please vote for me here, for the Good Mood Gig.