Playing Hookie

Today I skipped class! Hah. I hardly ever do that so it was strange. I only had one class today and my Professor made it clear that we weren't going to do anything, so I just went for it. I ended up sleeping in and having brunch when I woke up: 2 eggs (one dippy and one cooked), a piece of very burnt toast (grr) and a small salad with some feta cheese on top.
After brunch I went for a run! The weather was beautiful and I'm terrified I'm going to lose my running skills so I slipped on my old sneakers and headed out for a short run. I ran about 4 miles and it was tough! Whyyyy do I lose my running stamina so quickly? I didn't really care because the stress related to racing is gone, but I do plan on running more! My feet didn't hurt at all which is good. I'm not sure if it's because they're recovered or because I went back to my old shoes. I guess I shall see. After the run I went to Trader Joes and picked up lots of treats, likeee:
These are sooo adorable and of course I had to have one as soon as I got home :) I also then proceeded to strategically hide them in my freezer so my roommates can't find them!

Last night I made something slightly new -- roasted potatoes! I sliced up 2 mini red and 1 mini white potatoes and coated them in olive oil and a bunch of herbs, heavy on the rosemary and black pepper. I cooked them at 475 for about 30 minutes (I like things well done) and flipped them halfway through. They were so good but shrunk a lot! This is a before picture:

(Why do my pictures always look so blurry?)

I ended up eating a serving of them with a burger. I made a very small patty out of lean ground beef on the George Foreman grill, topped it with cheddar cheese, and poured pickles and ketchup onto a slice of toast. You can see how small the patty is in comparison to the toast...haha! I probably should have just used 1 piece of toast. Oh well.
So as I mentioned yesterday I went to an AWESOME event on Tuesday night. I write restaurant reviews (for free...haha) and was invited to go to the opening of a new up scale Mexican restaurant by Boston's waterfront called Temazcal Cantina. The restaurant was so beautiful and all of the food was amazing.

I drank a few margaritas and a few glasses of sangria -- this was a raspberry margarita, sooo good.
Everything was served buffet style and the first spread included chips with guacamole and a bunch of other dips, and a ton of exotic fruit. The fruit was possibly the freshest I've ever seen and I absolutely loved the prickly cactus pear! You can barely see it but it's that little pink thing peeking out of the top left hand corner.
The next course was full of meat! We have a chicken taquito type thing, bacon wrapped shrimp, a bacon wrapped quail stuffed with sausage, some sort of fried cheese chorizo thing, and pork which was scraped from a full pig! The taquito was definitely my favorite but everything was delicious and I love trying new things.
And dun dun dun...DESSERT! I am a chocolate lover so I wasn't too crazy about the desserts offered but of course just had to try them all. I absolutely loved the fruit thing and of course ate the chocolate covered banana, but that cheesecake covered in sugared corn kernels was just a little too weird for me!

I do need to briefly give myself some props on how proud I am that I went to this thing alone. I'm definitely not a follower, and am always happy to spend time by myself (i.e. I have no problem going out to eat alone), but I'm just not a great networker. Over the summer I went to one networking event for wok by myself, walked in and almost had a heart attack. I had a really hard time starting conversations and didn't feel confident enough in myself to talk to people who were so far in their careers. I'm not one of those people who can show up anywhere and "work the room". I tend to find one person and stick to them. I don't necesarily think this is negative because I end up having much more thoughtful and deep conversations with the people I meet, but I do get that it's not really conducive to networking.

When I RSVPd to this event at Temazcal I figured I wouldn't end up going. But I made myself! It's important for me to step outside of my comfort zone and even more important to meet new people who share my interests. I ended up meeting a lot of really nice people and am SO happy I sucked it up and went! Yay!

I need to get some reading done then it's off to bed. Good nighttt!

Weekend Recap

So I'm a little late...but this weekend was so good that it deserves a recap even if I'm 3 days late!

Although the weekend was fun, I failed pretty miserable in my goals:

1. STOP DRUNK EATING -- well this just didn't happen at all. I don't know what it is about the end of senior year that's making me go nuts. I seem to be drinking alcohol and eating junk food at ALL times. I'm still going to attempt to get this under control but I really can't beat myself up for it so much. This is the last time probably in my life that I'll be drinking excessively/eating whole pizzas at 4 AM.
Goal Update: Concentrate on eating really well during the week, then cut some slack on the weekend.

2. Go to the gym -- this didn't happen at all either. Like I said, I was literally drinking/eating from the moment I woke up until I went to bed the entire weekend. The gym wasn't exactly an option. I know I obviously could have carved out some time for it but I just didn't.
Goal Update: Similar to eating -- really concentrate on working out during the week then cut some slack on weekends.

3. Apply to 2 jobs -- not bad. I applied to just one but made a lot of mental progress this weekend. I also found someone to sublet my apartment which is awesome.
Goal Update: Continue searching and applying!

So now on to why the weekend was so fun!

On Friday I went to see Joel Mchale as I mentioned last week. He was HYSTERICAL. I'm definitely going to start watching Community as soon as I have some time.

On Saturday we woke up and went straight to the Fenway Park area to watch the Red Sox/Yankees game. It was really fun and we got to watch the game from the outfield at Bleacher Bar. While there, I ordered a few Sam Adams Summers (!!) and a buffalo chicken sandwich. We also ordered fries for the table. Yum.

That nightt we had out Springfest concert which featured Taking Back Sunday, Third Eye Blind, and Wiz Khalifa. We ended up only seeing the end of TBS which was upsetting but the rest of the show was really fun!

On Sunday I woke up fairly early but was not feeling too great. My friend came over and we watched a documentary called Good Fortune. It outlined the possible negative effects that international development efforts (with good intentions) may have on Kenyans. Interesting stuff!

We then headed over to Cheesecake Factory for lunch where I got a grilled cheese and fries. I forgot to bring my camera but it was huge. While eating lunch my friend's mom called and offered us tickets to Sunday night's Sox vs. Yankees game!! I was thrilled because she has 8th row seats and I looooove going to games -- even if I am a Yankees fan. We headed over to the Fenway area and split a few pitchers of beer with some other friends who were going to the game. Then we headed to our awesome seats!!
We were on the jumbotron twice which is seriously exciting! I can't even tell you how many people told me they saw me!

Of course we had to order some ballpark food. My friend got a regular hot dog but I went with the Italian sausage topped with every possible condiment...haha. This thing was massive!



In true New England fashion we also split some clam chowder, most of which was spilled all over my legs and bag...gross. The people around me started calling me "chowder girl" and I had about 50 chowder related jokes made at my expense throughout the night. Verrrry funny.

Okay this is a really long post! Tomorrow I will update about an aweeeeesooome event I went to last night with some unbelievable food :)

Love at first bite

I'm in love. No, not with a man. With overnight oats in a jar!

Oh my goodness...this was seriously the best breakfast ever! I was almost at the end of my jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams and decided to try out this blogger-lovin breakfast.

I added to the jar:
1/2 cup of oats
1/2 cup of skim milk
about a tbs of chia seeds
cinnamon
sprinkle of brown sugar

This tasted like cookie dough!! Will absolutely be making it again!
(And yes, I did eat this while in bed! Hahah)

This kept me full for so long and because I had a super busy day I didn't end up eating lunch until 4:30! I had a soft taco with ground beef, salsa, cheese, sour cream and lettuce and a side of chips from Q'doba. That held me over until about 8:30 but since I didn't feel like eating a full meal I just had some string beans and pistachios.

I went out with all intentions to just have one or two relaxing drinks with friends -- after all, I had a presentation to do this morning (you know, with that group I hate). Somehow one or two casual drinks resulted in playing quarters, which left me drinking a lot more than planned. I didn't realize how tipsy I had gotten until I was eating pizza and fries in the pizza place next door. I split a slice and an order of fries with my friend so it wasn't THAT horrible. But still, I probably should have eaten more before going out.

So I haven't made any goals lately and I think I need a few for the weekend:
1. STOP DRUNK EATING
2. Go to the gym
3. Apply to 2 jobs

Yay. I'm seeing Joel Mchale (the host of The Soup) do stand up tonight and I'm beyond excited. I looooove him. But not as much as overnight oats in a jar.

:)

Rants and...more rants

Well after yesterday's great day I should have expected today would be rough! I woke up with a serious headache, but didn't have time to do anything about it because I had a meeting to run to. After the meeting I had to show my apartment to a few people and then run to class. By 3:15 my head was POUNDING. I can't remember the last time I had a headache like this. I ended up going and buying a diet pepsi in hopes that the caffeine would help me out a bit. And it did :)

After class I had a group meeting -- which I hated. I HATE GROUP WORK! I have never once had a good group work experience and always prefer working solo. No one ever comes prepared and I end up doing all of the work myself, but still have to sit there and listen to people's opinions/comments that are usually wrong! Like don't sit here and offer a comment about a book you didn't read -- you'll save us both time! Okay that was a little bit of a vent but seriously, I hate group work. It took 3 hours to make this very simply power point that would have taken me 15 minutes to do on my own. Grrrr!

Anyway, because the group meeting ran longer than expected I had to grab dinner (which always annoys me when I have food in the fridge) then eat it while standing up at work. Great way to enjoy a dinner! I got a mini burrito from Boloco (whole wheat tortilla, black beans, brown rice, salsa, cheese and a little sour cream) and a banana. It was a good dinner but I wish I hadn't had to scarf it down.

Also, even though it's still very cold in Boston my body seems to sense it's April 6th and my allergies were out of control today! My eyes are killing me (plus I've developed a cute little sty) and my nose was beyond itchy all day.

Last but not least, I wasn't able to make it to the gym today which sucks. It's probably for the best because I am insanely sore from knockout yesterday! My calves, triceps and EVERYTHING in between are killing me. I am actually happy about this because it means I finally whooped my butt a little bit out of the comfort zone I've been in for a while.

On one good note, I made my very first overnight oats in a jar tonight! It was just an attempt because I had some milk on hand for once and we'll see how it turns out tomorrow! I'm off to watch some Top Chef and hopefully will wake up with a smile for a new day!

Happy Tuesday

Heeey there. Today has been a really great day with eating/exercise! I started the day with a Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut bar (sooo good) and a banana. For lunch, a plate full of colors:
A strange combination: One of the juiciest/best smelling apples I've ever had, string beans, a piece of oat toast with hummus, 2 pickles, and 2 hard boiled eggs with most of the yoke scooped out. I like the yolk in hard boiled eggs, but have found that I like it better when there's just a little bit inside. This was definitely a random, but healthy and filling lunch!

I had class until 3:30 then came home and had a handful of pistachios, plus the other 2 hard boiled eggs I made. I just couldn't let them sit in the fridge!

I took a short nap (why can't college students stay awake throughout the day???) and then headed to a class at my gym that hasn't seen me for a loooong time: KNOCK OUT! This class is awesome and so hard! It's an hour of cardioboxing/boot-camp/actual boxing. My quads and arms are already killing me and I was pouring sweat by the time I left. It was so much fun though and it felt great to be back in that environment. There is definitely something unique about tough fitness classes!

And for the main event...as soon as I got out of the gym I placed an order at my favorite sushi restaurant to FINALLY fulfill my craving!! I pronounce to you, vegetable and udon noodle soup!!This soup seriously hit the spot. It was exactly what I wanted and I'm so happy I just gave in and got it. Plus I have leftovers for tomorrow! On the side I had some cantaloupe and blackberries on one of the adorable little plates my sister bought me for Christmas.

Now it's time to get some work done! Hasta manana.

Dinner Fail

Here are a few things I learned today:
- I do not like broccoli
- I can no longer buy giant bags of Whole Foods popcorn (my most recent bag lasted about 48 hours)
- I rarely enjoy my home cooked Asian-style meals
- Serious cravings can really only be satisfied by the real thing

Today could have been a pretty decent day of food. I woke up pretty early because I had an exam at 1:30. I wasn't hungry when I woke up and by the time I heard my stomach growling it was 12:30! Woops -- skipped breakfast. For lunch I had a similar sandwich as the one featured yesterday: turkey, avocado, hummus, tomatoes and lettuce on oat bread and a side of cantaloupe. The smell of melon is making me CRAZY!! I feel like it's summer. Luckily I have the constant freezing rain of Boston to remind me it is not, in fact, summer.

I had a peach chobani greek yogurt as a snack, and then started on dinner. I have been craving that udon noodle soup for weeks now, but am reluctant to pay $10 for it. I know I just should since I want it so bad...now I know better! I thought creating an Asian-style dinner would satisfy the craving so I threw some shrimp, calamari, frozen veggies (broccoli, peas, and edamame) into a wok with some sesame teriyaki sauce, thin rice vermicelli noodles, and chia seeds. Even though I felt like it was all cooking for a while, the calamari was a bit undercooked and the texture just made me nauseous. Nothing like gagging through every bite of your dinner! I also realized I just do not like broccoli. Frozen, fresh, cooked, raw. Whatever. I'm done trying! I ended up just eating the noodles, peas, and edamame then chucking the rest. I hate to be wasteful but this was just not appetizing. This my friends, was a dinner fail. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

On a good note, I fianlly got myself back into the gym tonight! I really needed to show myself that I don't need to a. take a group fitness class or b. have a scheduled workout in order to get exercise in. I can't remember the last time I just went to the gym with no plan and did some cardio...probably not since December. Tonight I spent 30 glorious minutes sweating it out on the eliptical, 15 minutes on the stairclimber, and 20 minutes on the stationary bike. It felt really good to be sweating and feeling my heart pound again! Best of all, my feet don't hurt at all. I ended up switching back to my old sneakers to see if it helped. I'll keep monitoring this over the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up! I'm off to do some homework...good night!

Sundays are No-Fundays

If there is one thing I'm excited about with graduation, it's getting Sundays off. My internships have definitely made me appreciate the weekend off that comes with being part of the working world (I realize not everyone has the weekend off...) and I'm definitely looking forward to it! I have a huge exam tomorrow so the whole day has been spent studying, and I'll probably be in the library for another 12 hours. Fun!

So March really came and went huh? That's fine by me...now we are one step closer to spring and summer! Although it doesn't really seem that way around here. We basically had a blizzard the other night with a mixture of rain, snow, sleet, and hail. It's just wonderful to wake up on April 1st to a blanket of snow on the ground. Riiight.

Speaking of April 1st, I didn't witness one prank this year! I usually try to come up with something but I skipped it this year. The best (and worst) April Fool's joke I ever played was on my roommate 3 years ago. I love her to death but the girl is gullible! And I know she isn't the type of person who looks forward to April Fool's day so she was the perfect target. This was back when I was dating Jonas and he was going to a different college about 8 hours away from Boston. When my roommate woke up that day I told her that I'd really been thinking a lot about it and decided I was transferring to Jonas' school. I told her all the (made-up) details and she started crying!! I felt really bad when she started crying so it only lasted about a minute...but she believed me 100%.

Now onto some food. I was at Whole Foods last week and saw this greek style orzo pasta salad that looked amazing. I try not to buy whole foods premade food because it's just too expensive, and I realized this was definitely something I could make on my own so I bought the ingredients and did some improvising. I ended up spending about $7 on this (I had a few ingredients at home already) and used it for 4 meals!

My Greek pasta salad contained: orzo, chopped olives, cucumber, red onion and spinach, a few roasted red peppers, feta cheese and was coated in Whole Foods pesto from the antipasta bar. If I had a blender this could have been even cheaper because I could have made my own pesto instead of buying it already made. This was sooo good! I definitely preferred it room temperature instead of cold so I usually let it sit out for a bit when I knew I was going to be eating it.
Yesterday I went out to lunch at a new place I found on yelp called the Corner Tavern. I always pass by there on my runs so I figured I'd check it out. The place had awesome reviews and I can see why. I ordered the sandwich below (turkey and brie on raisin bread) with pasta salad for $8! I don't usually eat turkey, brie or raisin bread so I kind of surprised myself with ordering this. But it was delicious! And it turned out I had met the bartender like 2 years ago and we are friends on facebook. Ha!
Today for lunch I made this great sandwich: toasted oat bread with peppered turkey from WF, avocado, tomatoes and pickles. I wasn't sure the pickle-avocado thing was going to work, but it did! Maybe I just love pickles too much? On the side were some blackberries and carrots with spinach and artichoke hummus. Yum.
I also had this new Papaya Mango tea snapple that I got for free the other day. It seriously tasted exactly like a pina colada!
And here is a random lunch from I think Friday: tuna salad with chopped pickles (more like pickle salad with some tuna), some wheat thins, a banana and carrots.Alright I gueeesss I'll go back to studying now. Boo.