Monday Musings

Hiya happy Monday! I had a very nice weekend, but it went too fast! I'm happy this week is a short one even though I have lots to do to prepare for my biggest event of the year, which is less than two weeks away. AHH!!

My weekend wasn't perfect health wise but was one of the best in quite a while. I actually put some thought into what I was eating and tried to make *better* decisions, even though they weren't always the best. Baby steps. Some of my eat since Friday...

There was also a couple of un-photographed pizza and drinks in there too.

Yesterday I went for a run outside. It was cold and windy at first but got better as time went on. I did a similar run to Thursday:

5 minute warm-up walk

5 minute run

2.5 minute walk

4 minute run

2 minute walk

3 minute run

1.5 minute walk

3 minute run

1.5 minute walk

2 minute run

1 minute walk

2 minute run

5 minute cool down walk

I missed one of my workouts this week and did 2 instead of 3. I think that's okay! I'm hoping to get to the gym tonight and tomorrow (even if I don't run both days) to make up for it. Today is going well so far. Breakfast was the normal cheerios and a banana. Lunch was a turkey sandwich, some raw veggies, a string cheese and pretzels.

I'm excited about dinner tonight! I will post it tomorrow if I actually do it :)

A Healthy Day

Yesterday morning I went to see a nutritionist. It's something I've wanted to do for years but the cost has always prevented me from doing so. I reached out to a highly recommended nutritionist a few weeks ago and decided to set up an initial free consultation with her. We spent about an hour talking about my history, my struggles with eating, and what brought me in that day. When I walked in the door I was actually nervous for that last question: what was bringing me in? Why was I there?

After babbling for a few minutes, here's what I came up with: this is not about the actual weight I've put on. Yes, I'm not happy carrying around this extra weight, but what worries me more is that fact that I was so sure I had ingrained new life-long habits in myself. I spent years working toward a goal of "healthiness for life" -- is that a thing? Do even the healthiest of us get caught up sometimes? I don't know. I spent years reading, learning, listening to my body and making decisions. Decisions like trying to eat as much real, unprocessed food as possible, decisions to stop counting calories, decisions to be the type of person who exercises regularly. I was sure these things weren't just temporary, they were part of me. I just feel a little bit lost and I don't know how I got so far from that place where I thought I had reached for good.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue to see her. Price is still a major issue for me. I struggle with the idea of paying someone to relay knowledge that I already know. She said it herself -- I have all the right tools and knowledge, I just need to re-find my motivation. She told me we all get lost and off track, and sometimes we just need a push in the right direction before we can go on our own way again. She suggested meeting with her for the next 3-6 months, and spreading out sessions in whichever way worked within my budget. I just don't know if it's worth it. I told her I was going to take some time to think about it. In the meantime, I feel like just having that very raw conversation with her has reignited that motivation in me a bit. I wrote yesterday that I wanted to have a fully healthy day today and I succeeded. For some reason taking this first step has been so incredibly hard. But today I woke up feeling committed to today.

I started off with cheerios and a juicy apple from Whole Foods.

I packed my lunch last night and had a turkey sandwich (just turkey and bread, pretty exciting), a little bag of snap peas and cherry tomatoes, some pretzels & mixed nuts, and some clementine-type fruit.

Around 4:00 I had 2 hard boiled egg whites and a Hershey kiss for something sweet!

When I got home from work I went to the gym to run. I walked for 5 minutes then did the following:
5 min run - 2.5 min walk
4 min run - 2 min walk
3 min run - 1.5 min walk
2 min run - 1 min walk
5 min run - 2.5 min walk
2 min run
5 minute cooldown

This went so fast! I was done before I knew it. I went to Tom's after and made us dinner. On the menu was baked ziti (made with pasta, lean ground turkey, part skim mozzarella cheese, fat free ricotta cheese and Whole Foods brand sauce). It wasn't amazing but I think it came out pretty well!

I could have used some extra vegetables during dinner but I'm feeling pretty good about the day! Hoping to feel this way tomorrow too. I'm off to bed, good night!

I Must Not Tell Lies

I'm hanging out on the couch right now watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I love this movie. Now I want to re-read the HP series! Speaking of reading, I had my first book club meeting last night! We only spent about 15 minutes talking about The Secret Life of Ceecee Wilkes. We spent most of the time drinking wine, eating delicious snacks and getting to know each other. It was nice to meet a bunch of new girls and I never mind going over to Beacon Hill.

I decided to stop trying to force myself to read The Guernsey Literary etc. and took my sister's advice and am now reading "Auschwitz" by Miklos Nyiszly. This book is insanely disturbing but I can't put it down. I started this morning and am about halfway done. I also renewed my library card and can now take out books for free!!! I am SOO excited.

Speaking of being excited, the other day I found out the new grocery store finally set an opening date for late November! And wouldn't you know it, it was just too good to be true. On Tuesday morning the basement of the store caught on fire and they had to gut all of the walls. I think the universe doesn't want me to experience food shopping happiness. Luckily I have a nice boyfriend who took me to Whole Foods tonight because he felt bad that my dreams were crushed. I want to have one 100% healthy day tomorrow. I already packed my breakfast and lunch and will just have to figure out dinner. I can do it!!

Now it's time for a weekend update! I had a very fun, very long weekend! On Saturday, I woke up and went for a run outside because it was too beautiful to be on a treadmill. I did my final 3 minute running-1.5 minute walking workout.

I was definitely reminded that running outside is way different than on a treadmill. I found I ran faster, but struggled to keep a decent walking pace. Being outside also means I have to deal with wind in my face and the rolling Southie hills. It's important for me to get outside and run on the days I can. I want to incorporate some hills from the beginning so I won't be killed when I finally run a race.

When I got back from my run I showered and had a delightful little breakfast before packing up my things to head to Burlington for the night with Tom!

We were heading up for his friend's surprise birthday party and I did some research on where we should stop for dinner along the way. We decided on Elixer, a gem of a spot in White River Junction, VT.

I ordered my very first dirty martini (extra dirty -- which I felt ridiculous saying, kind of like how I feel asking for extra pickles at Subway) and I loved it! The bartender was so nice and gave me some delicious bleu cheese stuffed olives to go with it.

We started with some truffle fries to split, then I ordered the salmon over spaghetti squash and Tom got the barley risotto. Everything was really delicious!!

We spent the night in Burlington and hit up a few different cool spots. In the morning we went to brunch at Leunig's Bistro. I got a breakfast skillet and a meat lover's bloody mary -- complete with a VT meat stick!

Tom and I both took off work on Monday and Tuesday so we spent the next few days sleeping in, relaxing and eating lots of delicious food! We went to Charlies Sandwich Shoppe in the South End for breakfast one day, which has  been open since 1927! It was super cute but I wasn't as impressed with the breakfast as I thought I'd be. My omelette came with a side salad. Strange.

I just checked the wikipedia page and apparently as a child, Sammy Davis Jr used to tap dance in front of the restaurant for change. Cool!

We also hit up Dave's Fresh Pasta in Davis Sqauare whih has been on my yelp  bookmarks for years. I would die from overdosing on cured meats if I lived closer to Dave's. This was the italian market of my dreams. I ordered a sandwich with salami, provolone, lettuce, tomato, pickles, roasted red pepper and olive tapende. Yum!! I don't know why this picture looks so weird.

That's about it for now. Catch ya later!

Broccoli Rob

Just a quick update! Last night I made it to the gym (woot!) and completed 30 minutes of 3 mins running/1.5 mins walking intervals. I decided to split up the running by doing 30 seconds slower, 30 seconds faster and it went super quick! I love when workouts fly by.

I grabbed some sushi on the way to Tom's and we watched last Sunday's episode of Dexter. I am not a huge fan of this season. Dexter is simply out of control and I'm not super intrigued by the Kashka brotherhood. I hate Hannah McKay and Quinn has got to go.

I forgot to take a picture of my food but did take the picture of the bag, labeled Judy instead of Julie!

Work was going pretty quickly but has slowed down in the past 30 minutes or so. I want it to be 5:30! I am so ready for the weekend.

I forced myself to eat soup today because a. it's one of the only healthy options in the food court and b. I really want to kick in my soup-loving again!

I got a new mushroom & wheatberry soup from Au Bon Pain and a banana.

The soup was actually really good! I love mushrooms and wheatberries so it's not a surprise I liked it. This afternoon I snacked on two hard boiled eggs.

My egg obsession has also diminished recently. Wonder if that will come back?

Happy Friday ya'll. Enjoy the weekend!

PS -- I don't know if anyone still watches the office, but last week's episode was hilarious. Love Stephen Colbert as Brocolli Rob/when Andy described how the nickname "Boner Champ" came about. So good.

Not gonna lie. Andy looked pretty good as George Michael. He should keep the facial hair.

What I Ate Wednesday & Other Stuff

I meant to post this last night but my laptop sucks and I was in suuuuper lazy mode. So here's a Thursday edition of What I Ate Wednesday!

Breakfast - cheerios and a banana

Lunch - Chicken & broccoli with lo-mein. I rarely get Chinese food because I only eat half, then usually end up throwing out the other half after 3 weeks of sitting in the fridge. Oops!

Weird dinner - cheese on toast, an apple and some pickles

I didn't make it to yoga the other day because I left work a bit late and wasn't home until 6:45. Hopefully I'll get to go next week. I am supposed to go run at the gym tonight but am suffering from a case of gym-dread. Hopefully by time 6:30 rolls around I'll be feeling better and will be able to get myself there. Now that it's cold out all I want to do is lay in bed all night with my blanket wrapped around me.

Last night I had a terrifying dream that I was trapped in a haunted house/scary movie and Jonas was trying to kill me. I woke up at 4 am feeling freakin' horrified and had to watch Parks & Recreation until I could fall asleep again. Life is strange.

It's only Tuesday?

Hi there. I'm tired today. For some reason I was up pretty late last night and then was restless throughout the night. Gah. Tonight I'm planning to go to yoga at 6:30, watch the election results, and hopefully go to sleep on the early side as a happy American. Speaking of the election, all I'll say is that today should be a national holiday. Why make people have to choose between going to work and going to vote?

Last night I made the mistake of getting in my bed after work. I had planned to get in a run at the gym but basically debated every possible excuse I could think of to ditch it. After sitting there for about 20 minutes I was finally able to pry myself out from under my blanket and stood up. I repeated my "just get dressed" mantra out loud a few times and eventually made it out the door. Go me!

After a 5-minute warm up walk I did 3 minutes running/1.5 minutes walking for about 25 minutes. I got a crazy stitch in my side at that point and switched it to 2 min/1min intervals for another 7 minutes or so. I don't know what that was about. I ate an apple with peanut butter when I got home from work...maybe that was it?

After the gym Tom and I watched the most recent episode of The Walking Dead.

*spoiler alert!*

After seeing a few different friends talk about how crazy the episode was, we couldn't wait to watch it. I was SO sure Lori was going to have a zombie baby. When they killed her off I wasn't that surprised, nor that unhappy which makes me sound like a bad person. Honestly, I couldn't stand Lori from day one! The woman is basically responsible for Shane's death, Rick's craziness, and my boy Dale's death. If she could have kept her eye on Carl for ONE SECOND Dale would still be alive! Seriously, what else was she doing? Why was Carl always wandering off??

At least she went out in an admirable way of sorts -- giving up her life for her baby's. But how the hell is the group going to keep a baby alive? When they were scavenging the neighborhood for food during the winter I doubt they left the formula untouched. I just can't imagine any way that this baby can survive. Now that they lost T-dog (sadly not that surprising either...at least they finally gave him a few lines in his last episode) not only are they 1 strong man short, but they are going to have to carry around a baby and an old guy with 1 leg. C'mon people.

I can't wait for the reuniting of Merle and Daryl.

Bye!

Monday Rambles

Hello and happy Monday! I had a really great weekend so I was sad to see it end, but today is actually going pretty quickly. Yay!

I'm having this weird issue at work that reminds me of a Seinfeld episode (I've been watching with Tom). This is so ridiculous I can't believe I'm even typing it here! I eat breakfast at work every morning. Always the same thing -- a bowl of cereal and a banana.  Since I started doing this, probably about a year or so ago, I've kept a box of cereal in the shared cabinets in the kitchen. The kitchen is shared by the whole floor and people keep random things in there. I always keep my box on the top shelf up against the right wall. A few months ago someone started storing an insane amount of oatmeal ingredients in the same cabinet as me. By insane amount I mean a HUGE container of oats, a HUGE container of honey, and then various large bags of toppings -- sliced almonds, raisins, cinnamon, nut butters etc. plus their gigantic bowl and spoon. This is totally fine, but a few weeks ago this person has started moving my box of cereal around to make room for their stuff in the cabinet, often leaving my cereal out on the counter (where who knows how many grimy hands have dipped into it!!!). I'm embarrassed by how angry this makes me feel but I'm only human people. Whenever I see this happen I want to spend the day camped out in the kitchen, waiting for the oatmeal person to come in so I can scream at the top of my lungs. It makes me SO furious!!! Okay, that was a ridiculous vent.

Back to the weekend. On Friday I went to the gym to run again. I felt sooo much better this time and it really made me excited about running. I did my last 2 mins running/1 min walking circuit with a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down walk. I covered about 3 miles in 40 minutes.

I'm finally feeling the running excitement again! I have been browsing races and am thinking of signing up for one of the holiday jingle bell runs. Even though it will likely be freezing outside I really want to do a race, and I don't know if I'll be ready for a Turkey Trot. I may just sign up the day before if I feel like it. We'll see!

On Saturday Tom and I celebrated 1 year together <3! I can't believe how fast time has gone. Feels like just yesterday I was secretly referring to him as TKO on the blog. I'm not going into the details of our day but I can tell you it included a lot of amazing food and some activity! We spent the beautiful afternoon hiking at Wompatuck State Park. We covered 5+ miles and it was just a lovely day.

I spent a few minutes planning out my workout schedule for this week. I'm going to try out the yoga class at my gym tomorrow night and see how I like it.
Monday - run
Tuesday - yoga
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - rest
Friday - run
Saturday - rest
Sunday - run

Easing back into it!

I'm still having trouble with eating well/food shopping. I NEED the new grocery store near me to freakin' open already!! It was supposed to open in May, then the summer, then October, now the website says November. Whenever I think about this place I am overcome with joy (riiiiiiidonkulous), but seriously, it just needs to open so I can start eating vegetables again.

Oh, I can't remember if I mentioned this but I finished the Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes last week. I loved it! As soon as I finished it I downloaded the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. I'm enjoying it so far but not in a "can't put it down" way.

Is it time for lunch yet?

Thursday Things

Hi there! Lots to update on today.

Last Saturday Tom and I went to Cambridge Brewing Company's Great Pumpkin Festival! We had to wait almost 4 hours (!!!!) to get in, but it was worth it! The festival featured over 40 different pumpkin/autumn beers and a pumpkin inspired menu.

We decided to eat as soon as we got in. Everything on the menu looked great but we settled on splitting the burger (all natural chuck, clothbound cheddar, peppadew pepper jam, bibb lettuce, Iggy's peppercorn brioche, house made full sour pumpkin pickle)

 
and the pumpkin risotto (lobster, vanilla, brown butter and pomegranate).

They forgot to put the lobster in at first so we (Tom) sent it back! It was much better with the lobster :)

The festival was so fun, but someone had a little too much to drink. There were a few special limited release beers throughout the night that we were super excited to try. One of them was "Rumpkin" by Avery Brewing Company which is a pumpkin ale that was aged in rum barrels and has an 18.1% ABV! I had two 4-oz pours of this baby and should have been immediately put to bed. I don't know how I was drinking this much and going out 3-7 days a week just a year and a half ago...

On Sunday I spent the day trying to recover, eating a lot of fried food, and awaiting the wrath of hurricane Sandy. By 6pm or so on Sunday I learned my office would be closed on Monday so I was very excited for an extra day of sleeping in. We were very lucky here in Boston and had very little damage from the hurricane. Our power stayed in tact, and there was nothing but a lot of leaves and a few branches covering the streets. My family back in NY didn't have the same luck and is still waiting for their power to come back on. I'm just happy that everyone I love is safe. Really can't ask for much more than that.

On Tuesday all was back to normal here. As soon as I was home from work I made sure to go to my new gym and sign up since the pricing was increasing on November 1st! Talk about good timing! I managed to squeeze into the current member pricing right before the change and am now officially a member. Woo hoo! I feel really excited even though the gym is small and am really looking forward to trying out the classes.

After I signed up I did another walk/run workout -- 2 mins running/1 min walking for 40 minutes. This picture is blurry and the treadmill displayed the time backwards, so that's 2.83 miles, 4:21 minutes left in the workout.

For some reason this felt pretty difficult. I was super crampy and just struggled throughout. I think it had to do with all of the weekend's eating and drinking. Will have to work on that!

Last night I FINALLY went to the supermarket after a long stretch of eating out and raiding the pantry. I picked up the ingredients for a taco night plus a bag of candy for trick or treaters! I had about 20 kids come by my apartment yesterday and was sooo happy! I wish I had been home longer and had decorated my porch. I can't wait to have my own house to decorate. I've always wanted to have the house on the block with the most lights/decorations but my parents weren't as into it. 

When all the candy was handed out I went inside and made everything for our taco night! Here we have ground beef, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, tortillas and rice & red beans on the side.

Can't wait to eat these leftovers!

And finally, today I had our tasting for my event coming up in late November. This is THE best part of  being an event planner!! We got to try out so much delicious food but I didn't snap a picture of everything:

Mini hot dog, shrimp toast w/ cashew butter, bacon wrapped tator tot with pickled jalapeno

Asian tuna, curry pumpkin bisque, seaweed salad, black sesame crisp and pickled rainbow carrot slaw

Decosntructed chicken caesar salad, white truffle vichyoisse, parmesan flan dressing, black pepper bread stick,

Meatloaf with parsnip puree, peas and carrots

Delicatta squash stuffed with curry roasted vegetables and red quinoa

Braised short rib on truffle macaroni & cheese wrapped in prosciutto, roasted fall vegetables, orange gremolatta

The event is benefiting an education focused organization and has a back-to-school theme, hence the school trays and school-reminiscent food like meatloaf. Everything was sooo good and I think I'm going to be full for quiiiite some time today.

Almost the weekend! Woo woooo!