Boos, Apples, and Catching up

I am long overdue with my recap of Mexico and everything else that has been going on around these parts.  There has been a lot going on here on the life/house/fitness front, so let's get going!

Boos
We kicked off last weekend (not the one that just happened, but 2 weeks ago) with a blog meetup with Amanda and Andy of Two Boos Who Eat.  Amanda and Andy were staying in the city for Andy's work-related conference and I scooped them up and took them on a train adventure with us into the Oakland/Berkeley area. 

Mr. Apple and I lived in Oakland for about a year and thought it would be nice to walk through the area and of course, explore some of the food.  We had Ethiopian food at Asmara on Telegraph Avenue and ended up at Ici for ice cream.  These two places contributed to a good weight gain when we lived in the area as a recently-dating couple (me mostly) but are well worth it.  Amanda eloquently posted so I encourage you to read her recap here.

We had a fantastic time talking food, travel, mixed martial arts, and the functional fashion of men's skirts together ;)

This past weekend we took a little break from our remodel (more on that later) and went to a party at a friend's house.  I brought my easy mango shrimp ceviche with plantain chips.

In other exciting news, Hello Kitty has appeared at my yogurtland. It's pretty amazing.

Chino has discovered a new hobby- mud diving.  He did this not only once, but twice and I kinda loved watching him.

Now that I've ripped off the posting band-aide, I'm going to try to update more. 

P.S. I'm obsessed with instagram...every picture looks really cool with it.

What's new with you?

Reunited

Oh weekends.  How I love and look forward to you and how sad you make me when you go away.  Such a tease.

This weekend I was reunited with a few of my loves- frozen yogurt, shopping, and yoga.  It's funny how something so silly like a cold can kick me out of my routine and how much I crave movement when I'm away.  It proves how breaks are great for the body and a much needed attitude adjustment for the mind.

Now time for show and tell:
1. Yogurt- I love it and I think it loves me.  I got regular tart, honey tart, and red velvet topped with fruit.  Bonus health tip: the fruit makes the yogurt calorie free.

2. Shopping.  My lovely in-laws got me a gift card to lululemon and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I got the astro pant, stride jacket, and a really cute tank that I can't find on their site.  I'm in love and can't wait to wear my clothes as soon as my post-war mentality allows me to wear them.  My current workout clothes are pretty awful so I'm looking forward to wearing some nice pieces and officially joining the cult.  The pants in particular do wonders for the bootay in case you are wondering.

3. Yoga. I finally took a class after 2 weeks and it was so nice to have a thorough practice.  My favorite part was all of the twists and back bends.  The twists are detoxifying and much easier than the detox I finished last month and the back bends are to counteract all the slouching I do in my chair at work while I'm slowly taking over the world.  Now that I can breathe, I'm looking forward to more yoga classes.

What is one thing/activity/food you have reunited with lately?

Iron Chef- The Office Edition

That's right, I'm back!  Do I get a gold shiny star sticker?  I hope you guys have had a good week and are ready to start the weekend.
Now to get to the title of my post, I am really good at going grocery shopping, cooking lunches up for my husband (not because I'm a domestic, but because I have control and he eats anything) and bringing snacks to work.  Unfortunately, I can never plan to make myself lunch because I can't predict what I will be in the mood for the next day.  Am I the only one? 
Working in an office has the advantages of a microwave, utencils, and a fridge, so I play a little game of Iron Chef almost every day. 
Secret Ingredients #1: A smug homegrown tomato, basil, whole wheat bread, and an avocado.
I turned it into a mock caprese open faced sandwich.

The star really was the tomato and the buttery avocado made a nice sub for the mozzarella.

The Verdict: Although it was an accident, I am so making this again.  I win.

Secret Ingredients #2: A baked sweet potato, avocado, and  the remainder of my cottage cheese.
This time I heated it up and topped it with a baked potato that puts restaurant versions to shame in my little mind.

The sriracha I found in my work fridge gave this a little kick and lit my mouth on fire. Perfection.

The Verdict: I think I win again.

Sometimes planning everything out is more cost effective and less stressful, but never as fun.  I have had some flops before and my coworkers think I eat pretty nasty things, but I just shrug my shoulders and tell them I'm strange. 

Another great thing about being spontaneous?  If you don't pack your dinner for school, you get to have frozen yogurt for dinner. 

Do it.  It will make life just a little bit better.

Question for you: Do you pack your entire lunch all prepped for work?  Do you ever just wing it like me?

Let's Get it On- Come On!

Eats

Yesterday was not terribly exciting food-wise.  We went to Yogurtland for lunch/snack and got some yogurt.  They have special edition spoons and new cups, so of course I jumped up and down like a little kid when I saw them:

Mine was the one on the left with raspberries, lychee, honey nut cheerios over plain tart and pumpkin spice yogurt.

I also had this new (to me) bar on our walk home at about 10 last night when my stomach was eating itself from my 4:30 dinner.  It was really good and did not taste fake at all- good job Nature's Path!

A New Trend?

There have been lots of trends in the blogworld- oatmeal, pumpkin-everything, green monsters, chia seeds, raw diets, the yoga challenge, and many others that I am probably too far behind on to capture.  What I'm proposing may not catch on, but it's worth a try!

Last night we went to a bar to watch this event:

(Image courtesy of http://www.ufcupdates.com/)

I won't spoil the results for all you fans out there, but the main event was a good fight.  In case you are wondering, this is what some of the athletes look like before their faces get pounded in:

We are not much of a sports family, but I have been brainwashed to appreciate Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA over the last 4 years of our relationship.  It was a little hard to get used to at first, but my natural aggression came out and has made me a fan!

Do you watch any sports?  Have you learned to like any with your significant other over the years?

We are waiting for my parents to come over to have breakfast and so I can get hyped up on espresso for the day!  Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

Lovely Day

Today has been a nice day from start to finish! 

Workout

I started out with a workout at the gym- nothing crazy, just enough to get my body moving:

• 10 minutes elliptical
• 25 minutes treadmill intervals including sprints and hills
• Stretching, shoulder raises, push ups

When I was walking out of the gym, I got this lovely Cheerios sample from the front desk- a workout and free food- total score!  I love the simplicity of Cheerios- sometimes this beats all the fancy cereals.

We spent the day running errands and doing chores around the house.  I didn't get too far on those cards, but tomorrow is the big day to get them out of here!

The most exciting part of the day was going to Yogurtland.  If I have not declared my public love for this place yet, I'll do so right now.  This place is the best frozen yogurt place, ever.

I don't do well in buffet situations (or self-serve, in this case) so here is my portion:

They surprised me yet again with another great flavor- pumpkin pie!  It was amazing.  I mixed the pumpkin pie flavor with plain tart (my other favorite) and added a few carob chips, blackberries, raspberries, lychee, some almonds, and coconut.  It was wonderful!

I'm off to bed and to get ready for a busy Sunday! 
What do you have planned for Sunday?

Always Eat Dessert First

Tonight was a rare night without late school or work plans and I used it to my advantage. I went to the gym for a quick and intense workout and then I came home to hang out with a friend who will be moving from beautiful California to North Carolina. It kinda sucks when your friend of nearly 18 years moves away!


I warn you that some horrible photography follows, but this is nothing new! I munched on some cashews and had a few pita chips and hummus to save my appetite for dessert:








Since we didn't have much time, I took her to get some frozen yogurt. It was her first time there, and as I promised, it changed her life. Here is a picture of mine in some bad lighting:






We spent the evening looking at our professional wedding pictures and remembering the day- kinda fun for a newlywed, because really, most people don't care once the wedding is over!


For a little fun, this is what we looked like when we were kids (yep, that's ME on the right):





And this is what we looked like a month ago:




After we looked at pictures, I was still hungry, so I toasted up a sandwich thin with some sweet chili sauce and a couple of slices or roasted turkey- easy and quick!


Quick Question: Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends?

I do- I have known most of my friends for at least 12 years!

Happy almost-Friday!

The Tank Top

When you live with your fiance, there are many things that you learn to share. Now- something you must understand- I am the younger child. I do not share.

I like to buy men's tank tops or wifebeaters as they are known in our cultural circles. I buy mine in Small and black. They are perfect for wearing over sports bras at the gym and are part of my weekend uniform. Occasionally, I buy white tanks as well, but they are a little too sheer for my taste. We do our laundry together and all tanks are separated and folded.

Today I packed Mike's gym clothes because we were running late. We both went in to change for the gym and Mike walks out in the tiniest tank top I have every seen on a guy- and not in a good way- there was hairy belly button involved. I burst out with laughter in the middle of the gym. Luckily I was wearing one of my longer tanks and we exchanged shirts right on the gym floor. I am sure we received a few strange looks, but damn...I'm afraid he looks better in my top than I do. We decided to carefully sort our clothes from now on.

Now on to food- the reason I'm here:

Breakfast today was a fruit parfait with fat free yogurt, strawberries and 1/2 cup of Special K. I put this together at work and I must say- it kept me full for a whole 90 minutes because Special K is made of air- skimpy air.




Next, my plan was to get my veggies in:



This was a boatload of celery, a small green apple, some nasty fat free cheese, and a couple of baby peppers. This was just my appetizer because it was time for Yogurt Friday. I behaved myself but forgot to take a picture.

After my workout at the gym (which was frieken awesome!) I came home and tried a famous modified crack wrap. I'm still ironing out the details and will post when I have the perfect crack wrap.

After this, I went with dessert:



This is about 1/2 cup of TJ's tart fat free yogurt, a couple of pieces of frozen fruit, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a mini Reese's cup. Take that, Coldstone. I estimate this dessert at 300 cals- yes, it's high, but better than the damage I would do out someplace.

Yes, I am aware that I ate fro yo twice today. If you include my morning yogurt, my calcium intake is frieken fabulous! I am embracing it!