Random Tuesday

I promised I wouldn't be all baby all the time, so here goes a random post from me.  You'll thank me later- or not. 

• This Tuesday, I'm thinking back on our beautiful day at the beach this weekend.  The husband surfed while boy genius and I ran around the beach.  I know people balk at San Francisco weather, but can you imagine anything more pleasant than this?

• Shar peis are supposed to be afraid of water.  I don't think my little boy got the memo since he was running around like a tazmanian devil for over 90 minutes chasing the waves and playing with dogs around him.  He even jumped in chest deep and followed hubby into the water for a little bit.  He did stop for a second so I could take a picture.  I'm thinking he needs some sunglasses soon.

• My favorite snacks at work vary from day to day, but often include typical Trader Joe's fare.  Doesn't matter if I break into said snacks at 10:30 AM.

• The elusive flavored Chobani flavors that I could never find are now everywhere.  I enjoyed the lemon yogurt last week and it was quite refreshing and not too sweet.  I think I'll have it again.

• Honeycrisp apples really are worth the hype. Trust me.
• I love yoga

Any random thoughts for you this week?

Like It

I just spent the last few minutes 'liking' pages on facebook.  Likes of note include:
~Dirty Dancing
~UFC
~Target
~Modern Family
~'Working Out'
~Dancing With the Stars

I have eclectic tastes people.  Seriously- is there etiquette to how many items you 'like'?  What if you only kinda like them?  I like sleep, but that's obvious, and not really something I need to tell my network about.  Do people judge facebook likes?  Ah the things I ponder.

There are a few things that I like this week and I'm not ashamed to admit them.

Cherries!  It's cherry season somewhere in California and they are gooood!

Heaping plates of fruits and veggies swimming in hummus.

Eating the same breakfast for probably a whole month in a row.  My waffle is the bomb.

iPhone apps- I'm all over them now.  My new favorite is mynetdiary.com.  I'm using it to track nutrients, water intake and other moderately OCD numbers.  Today I found out that my ratios are
34%fat /49%carbs /17%protein.  Definitely something to work on and so easy to track since my phone goes everywhere with me.  People get all hot and bothered over counting calories but I think it's always good to do a pulse check so I'm going to try it for a while.

The upcoming long weekend.  Oh long weekend- I'm swooning just thinking about it.  I hope my wolf pack will take me to see Hangover 2.

Happy Thursday kids!

Walk is the New Run

I feel like an old person, but the months, weeks, and days have been flying by!  How is it May already?  I can't figure it out but I am loving the 80 and 90 degree days that have been adding sunshine to my days and evenings.

Since I'm a little light on pictures- I've got some random things for you.  Some are from this weekend and others are from the last two weeks.  Gotta get out of my blogging slump somehow!

Number of miles covered this weekend: 12
Have you tried MapMyRun?  I have the iPhone app and I am obsessed with taking it on my daily walks and hikes with the doggie.  I get to see how much distance I cover, the different elevations and wind resistance makes it a workout, and most importantly I'm not on a treadmill surrounded by stinky people or meatheads.  Walking is for everyone- not just old ladies like me.  I know Melissa is into walking too and I just love it now that my foot seems to be feeling better.

Number of yoga classes attended this weekend: 2
I'm still all over it.  I love the candle flow and vinyasa style classes and I also love the slower classes that force me to hold my pose and get it right.  Sometimes I feel like one of those people who thinks she is a good dancer until someone tells her the truth.  That's how yoga is- I think I'm doing a pose correctly until I get completely re-aligned and then it all makes sense.

Number of meals cooked this weekend: 0
With the exception of breakfast we didn't eat at home at all this weekend.  I also find frozen yogurt a perfectly acceptable lunch.  Ice cream is appropriate for dinner because it's a heavier meal.


Number of calories in this Starbucks treat (salted caramel): 180
Totally worth it.  But it's so sweet I almost couldn't eat it. Almost.

Number of glasses of wine I enjoyed of this delicious shiraz for a friend's birthday last weekend: 1 full glass (a lot = tipsy me):

Number of stinky pups we have to bathe before I can pass out and go to sleep: 1

Any number facts for me?

Defining the Relationship

Smells gooood!
Thank you for sharing all of your fabulous childhood memories with me.  I loved all your answers.  In case you missed them- here are some fabulous ones:

My lovely sister in law: The smells that remind me of my childhood are mangoes , my uncle had a mango ranch and every time they were in season we got huge boxes of that yellow goodness!
Good times :)
Jessica Comfort food scents remind me of my childhood, but I'd have to go more with perfumes my mom used to wear and other scents like that.
Anne Marie  My grandmom or mom's homemade spaghetti gravy reminds me of my childhood.
Ildie: DILL. Fresh dill. My mama used to make all of her own pickled vegetables and she loved adding dill. :)
Shannon : I have so many smells that trigger childhood memories. There is a certain flower smell that reminds me of summer in Woods Hole (Cape Cod). Always makes me smile.
Kalin: the smell of tomato plants (the plants themselves have a distinctive scent) makes me think of childhood. we grew a ton of 'em as a kid, and i was always roaming through our tomato patch stuffing my face with them.
Jolene: I agree with Kalin about the tomato plants - they totally remind me of my childhood. So does campfire smell, and chocolate chip cookies!
Mo  the smell of meatballs and baked ziti remind me of sitting in grannies kitchen testing her meatballs. we both knew they were ready for hte sauce but we both liked to "taste" them... for quality assurance...
Gabriela :The smell of my house after being away from it always reminds me of childhood...I love this place, and it holds so many memories!! Chlorine is another childhood smell, from spending way too many days in my pool as a kid!

So very awesome- as are all of you!  I love that you were able to share some fun memories mixed with delicious smells.

The Talk...
In the past few months I have been working through a bit of a workout "defining the relationship talk". I don't call it a break-up, but more of a pause to evaluate things. 
I am not a runner, I don't have any kind of a sport to build endurance or strength for (unless you count power chocolate eating or shopping), and I am not looking to lose a significant amount of weight.  To add to that, I also don't follow a strict diet (makes me rebel and go apes*it), nor am I vegetarian, vegan, high protein, or gluten-free. 
None of these things have meant that I have gone to the gym for less than 4 days a week or not enjoyed my time there, but I seem to always be looking for the next new thing when really, I have fun doing my own thing.  I love making up an obstacle course among the juiceheads at my gym, running on the treadmill for no particular length of time or distance while listening to music so embarrassing I sometimes take my headphones off to make sure I'm the only one who can hear it, or benching by myself with no spotter (doesn't matter that it's just the bar with the Cheerio size weights or that the person next to me smells like poop) only because I want to know that I can.
I know a bit of focus is good, but I like coming in with a general plan and then doing my own thing.  Maybe one day I'll have a hard core training plan, but for now, I hit all the muscles once a week and do my cardio thang.
The other day I ran 3 miles for fun and lifted shoulders like a maniac (shoulders are my favorite). 
I think I'm in the happy, butterflies in the tummy stage of the relationship.  I think there is still a little mystery left and the open door peeing policy is NOT welcome.

The Other Talk...

Another item that I have been defining lately is my relationship with meat.  I am not a huge fan, but eat organic chicken or wild fish maybe once a week.  I don't crave meat, but if I do, I want it to be from a reliable source.  I know there are a lot of fabulous veggie bloggers and I love them all, but I just can't commit either way and I ain't gonna.  Plus, I have an irrational fear of anything that is supposed to taste like meat but isn't.  No veggie hot dogs or chicken nuggets for this girl. 
I love tofu, but I'm not sold on its benefits or harm, so when I eat soy, I go for fermented soy in the form of tempeh.  I tried it again in my Tempeh Tacos, and I am pretty sure this one and I are in it for the long haul! Really, I want to marry tempeh.

Tempeh Tacos

• Pan sear 1/4 block of Trader Joe's tempeh with taco seasoning and oil spray
• Heat up 2 small tortillas of your choice- I prefer corn
• When your tempeh is hot enough, build your taco with Mango Salsa an LOTS of guacamole or toppings of your choice
• Devour along with the whole farmer's market tomato

While I'm at it, I have to gush about my real relationship.  My husband spent his evening helping me do my grad school finance homework for fun tonight because he is a math genius.  He also washed all the dishes and is patiently waiting for me to come to bed so we can have our Modern Family date.  If that isn't love, I don't know what is.  I'm off like a prom dress!

Tell me about your gym/workout relationship- is it true love?  I also want to hear about all the things you are training for!

Blog-less Blogger

I just looked and the last time I posted was in April. We are already at May 6th! Where has the time gone?!?

I don't have a really good reason for my little hiatus. Yes, I have a whole boatload of food pictures on my camera. Yes, I have been keeping up on my workouts. Yes, school has been busy (as has work) but I have always found time to at least post once a week. So what has changed?

I can't say I'm getting sick of blogging- in fact, it's one of my only creative outlets. The blog community is so supportive and inspiring that sometimes I am overwhelmed by all the ideas and exciting news people post about. Sometimes I feel like the daily 'non-news' I have is a little boring and not worth blogging. Other times, when I am running around I don't make the best food choices. I want to be a good influence because this is such a public forum and I know that it's not acceptable to have pretzels for dinner- so I don't want to set a bad example. In addition, I don't seem to have a focus. Can daily ramblings really serve the purpose of a blog? How many more times can I say 'and oops, I ate chocolate for lunch'?

Despite all the self doubt, I'm back to the blog world. I owe some product reviews, some wedding updates (because the wedding is really interesting to ME), and perhaps a few challenges that I can stick with. I am not a quitter and I am excited to bring some more focus!

That said, is there anything you would like to see more of (besides regular posts)? Anything to avoid? Please let me know and maybe this will help me become a more focused, consistent blogger!

Hope you are having a happy Wednesday!

B is for Bronchitis and Other Random Thoughts

Bronchitis!
I'm a bit of a complainer and a hypochondriac...probably due to my childhood of being the younger, spoiled child and many winters of colds. I thought that the last month of 'cold' was just that- a cold. Apparently I was wrong and have been walking around with bronchitis- how dumb is that?

In addition, I have been working very long hours and have not taken a day off to get better- also dumb! When I finally cracked and felt like crap yesterday, I went to the doctor. I came home with antibiotics to take for five days, along with 2 inhalers to help open my airways. I have never had asthma and have had a little bit of a hard time with breathing, but I am weary of the inhalers. I have decided to give them a try for a couple of days as I am getting bizarre side effects from them. I get a little shaky and antsy- not a good combination for a spazoid to begin with. I did get some eats in yesterday before the drugs kicked in:

Ginormous Whole Wheat Bagel with teaspoon almond butter:



Whole Wheat Tortilla Pizza with Roasted Eggplant, Tomato sauce, and a Sprinkle of cheese:



Snack Plate of Orange, Almond Butter, a few chocolate chips, and 2 mini meringues:



Random Thoughts

• Today I stayed home to rest up and my co-worker has managed to torture me while sick...what do people not get about a SICK day? I got a million e-mails and requests for things that could have waited until tomorrow. This overwhelms me and is counter-productive. I dread going back in tomorrow, but I'm glad I got the rest.
• I can't exercise for about a week while I get over this and take my antibiotics. It's not like I have been overly excited to exercise and know that I will get back into it...but when someone tells me I can't do something, I want to!
• I can't stand when people comment on my weight- in one way or another. Do you experience any of this? Some of my parents' friends were talking about how I lost weight but it is really triggering and I wish people kept their thoughts to themselves.

Well...that's it. I'm off to take my pill, inhale some medicine, and eat some dinner.
Have a great night!