A Mood Boosting Walk

Hey there, happy Wednesday!

I was feeling a little off yesterday for a variety of reasons and decided when I went to bed last night that today would be better. I woke up a tiny bit earlier so that I could walk to work instead of taking the bus. Spending some time in the sun really did a lot of good because I feel great so far!

But before I get ahead of myself, back to Monday and Tuesday. On Monday I had planned on going home, doing 30DS then cooking up the salmon I got from Whole Foods. Instead, my roommate got some free tickets for the Red Sox game (right behind home plate!!) and there was no way I was passing that up. To keep the day on the healthy side I passed on beer and got a small burrito from Boloco (brown rice, black beans, guacamole and salsa) to have for dinner. It sure was hard passing up those chicken fingers...

Crazy clouds moved in!

Like I said, yesterday I was just feeling a little off, mostly due to some stuff at work. I couldn't wait to leave come 5:30 and hightailed it home to get 30DS done. This was actually a good workout -- I felt strong and finished pretty much all of the moves.

After 30DS Tom and I made the salmon we bought on Sunday. We splurged and got the Chinook king (it was on sale) so we had to cook it before it went bad. I decided to use some of the basil that's been growing like crazy and make a simple pesto in the food processor with garlic powder and olive oil.

Once Tom cut and de-boned (!!) the salmon I topped it with the pesto then cooked it for 20 minutes in the oven.

How good does that salmon look?? I wanted to eat it raw.

I cooked up some orzo and served the salmon over it. This was a really good dinner but it definitely needs some tweaking in terms of seasoning.

After dinner we went to trivia and got third again, walking away with another $25 gift certificate. Go Chicken Nuggets! We are getting so good :)

So back to today. In order to put myself in a better mood I decided to walk to work. Not a bad view, eh?

The walk was a great start to the day, but I couldn't fit my flats on my feet when I got to work because my feet swelled so much in the heat! Too funny.

And just because these pictures are on my phone, here's what else I've been eating on the daily:

Lots of fruit

Catch ya later!

Food Filled Weekend

I had some friends from NY visit this weekend and it was a blast! They arrived late Thursday night and then we all met up after I got home from work on Friday.

I had made us dinner reservations at Sportello, one of Barbara Lynch's restaurants in the Fort Point area. I have loved every Barbara Lynch restaurant I've tried so I was super excited about this one!

Sportello is very cool looking -- it's pretty small and is made up of two large wrap-around counters, a few tables and a corner area for a bakery.

Not my photo

We started off with a few appetizers: a cheese plate, Crispy Chicken Livers with ricotta gnudi, and beef carpaccio with parmesan, olive salad and steak tartare.

For entrees we ordered:

Tagliatelle bolognese with fried basil -- my dinner...AMAZING.

Orecchiette with sausage, fennel, radicchio.

Potato Gnocchi with mushroom ragu, peas, cream -- best gnocchi I've EVER tasted. It melted in your mouth immediately.

Roasted duck with an espresso sauce, plums and polenta.

Everything was seriously incredible and all of the pasta was handmade in-house. I know I will definitely be going back to Sportello soon.

After dinner

On Saturday we woke up and went to brunch at Lincoln with some of friends, then headed over to the North End for oyster shucking lessons! Tom and I had been once before, and it's definitely a great place to bring friends who love oysters. Best part, it's BYOB!

You pay for the oysters you shuck -- at $1.75 a pop you better be careful you're not going to overboard!!

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Boston, eating ice cream and drinking some brews. Since it was a beautiful day we made sure to stop in the Boston Common to do some relaxing.

Tom "choking" the swan. So cute.

Eventually we went home to get ready for dinner. I hadn't made any specific dinner plans, but the afternoon oysters made my friends want seafood, so I knew just where to take them.

We went to Island Creek Oyster Bar, which is one of my favorite places to bring visitors. The restaurant is just so cool and trendy. And the food's not bad either! After a LONG wait (which was spent playing Taboo in a bar across the street), we finally sat down for some seafood!

We started with the salmon tartare and mussels with Isreali cous cous, and of course a couple of oysters. Since we had been waiting so long I didn't take out my camera and we just dug in!

For my entree I ordered the lobster roe noodles with braised short rib, grilled lobster, oyster mushrooms and pecorino. I've ordered this before and loved it so I knew I'd be getting it again.

The next morning I woke up to some cinnabuns in the oven! I haven't had those in so long, but they definitely remind me of home.

My friends left pretty early in hopes of a quick drive back to NY, so as soon as they left I suited up and did 30 Day Shred. After a two day break filled with heavy food I wasn't really feeling it. This workout was tough (mentally and physically), probably the worst I've had since I started. I'm happy to report I have nothing on my calendar this week so I'll be doing 30DS every day. It will only get easier!

Later in the day Tom and I drove out to the suburbs because I was dying to check out the new Whole Foods in South Weymouth. It was really nice, but not as megastore-ish as I was hoping! Of course I picked up the biggest watermelon I could find and put Tom to work...

And I made some baked ziti to eat during the week:

Yum! All in all a great weekend, but I am tiiiired.

I Can Call You Betty

Woah, I can't believe it's Thursday! I started this post yesterday but never finished it, so "this morning" actually refers to Wednesday...
- - - - -
I don't understand why I'm so tired lately. I've been getting plenty of sleep, but still have so much trouble waking up in the morning. I want so badly to be a morning person!

In my tiredness of this morning I left my made lunch in my room. Ugh. When I came into work I bought a thing of mixed fruit to eat with breakfast and it cost me $5.33!! WTF!!!?? Why is that so expensive?? A whole watermelon cost me $5.50 the other day.

Anyway, I wanted to spend a minute recapping the 5K I did last week. Tom and I ran the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K right on the beach in Southie and it was a very nice race! The race is in its 25th year and they had tons of sponsors and participating companies. Since it's smack in the middle of summer it's actually an evening race, which was really nice!

So how did I do? Not too bad. My goal was to beat my time from the Tory Row 5k and I did that, by about 2 minutes. Which is great! BUT, I know I didn't push myself as much as I could. For the second half of the 3 miles I found myself in a comfortable running/walking groove. If I wanted to, I know I could have ran more.

The biggest indicator for how my endurance has improved these last few weeks was how I felt during this race. From start to finish I felt 100% better all around than I did last month. I wasn't breathing as heavily, my legs weren't hurting, and I didn't want to collapse when I finished. It was nearly as hot out and yet I felt so much better. I guess I should take that as a success!

I decided to take a much needed rest day last Friday and planned to workout while I was home in NY over the weekend. I packed my workout clothes and even my 30DS DVD, but unfortunately it still didn't happen. Working out while traveling is so hard for me, I don't know why! I can be as prepared as possible and still my whole mindset changes while on vacation.

I pretty much spent my time at home eating. Really. Like I said, I feel like I become a different person as soon as I enter my house! I basically stand in the kitchen opening and closing the fridge. It's insane. Definitely something I need to take steps in changing. Here's a few photos from the trip:

Italian ices...please come to Boston!

Baby Laura in home videos

Baby Laura all grown up!

Marvin, Liz and Laura at my Grandma's 80th bday party!

Since I've gotten back I am happy to say I completed 30DS on Monday and Wednesday, and will be doing it tonight. I had plans to do it after work on Tuesday but was randomly given 4 free tickets to the Red Sox game that night. Couldn't pass those up!

Tonight is officially the 10th day of level 2, but I definitely won't be moving on soon. After a few days off it's feeling difficult to get back in the groove and I don't feel nearly as strong as I did last week. Oh well. I have friends visiting this weekend and I'm worried about when I'm going to fit working out in. It's going to be another weekend focused on eating and drinking, ugh. I love my friends and when they visit, but it definitely makes sticking to healthy habits tough.

And on a last random note, look at this weird thing growing on the fence or our garden. Any guesses as to what it is??

Oh, and re: the title, I'm listening to Paul Simon.

A to Z

HAPPY FRIDAY! I ran a 5K last night -- my second race of 2013! I don't want to write about it until I get my official time, so more on that later.

For now, something fun because the work day is almost over. I found this A to Z survey on Carrots n' Cake and thought it was easy enough, so here goes!

A. Attached or single?

Attached, technically, to this cutie pie.

<3 him :)

B. Best friend?

I have lots! But best of the best are Rose & Kathy.

C. Cake or pie?

Pizza pie please, I'm not a dessert girl.

D. Day of choice?

May 31, hah! But really, Saturdays are da bomb.

E. Essential item?

Umm, my yelp chapstick. Teehee

F. Favorite color?

Blue.

G. Gummy bears or worms?
Worms all the way.

H. Home town?
Plainedge, NY aka North Massapequa, home to the Baldwin brothers.

I. Favorite indulgence?

French fries!!

More about these babies in an upcoming Brussels post!

J. January or July?
July. 100%.

K. Kids?
Not now, not soon!

L. Life isn’t complete without?
Good people, good food, good experiences and doing something rewarding (anything!).

M. Marriage date?

Hopefully one day in the future?

N. Number of siblings?
2 sisters

O. Oranges or Apples?
Oranges. And clementines. Yum.

P. Phobias?

Vermin.

Q. Quotes?

"Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist but in the ability to start over."

"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."

And my high school quote!
"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."

R. Reasons to smile?

There are lots:
I am enjoying working out!

I am going to NY for the weekend and looking forward to family and FOOD!

It's summer!

It's Friday!

S. Season of choice?

Spring.

T. Tag 5 People.
Umm, I'll tag Hayley and Liz because they have blogs!

U. Unknown fact about me?
Hmm...

Before I went bungee jumping I sat by myself and listened to my favorite song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1haxirBNPpM) in case I didn't make it!

Deep breaths!

V. Vegetable?
Pretty much all except asparagus, but faves are cucumbers, spinach and snap peas.

W. Worst habit?
Chewing pens (cue remove pen from mouth)

X. X-Ray or ultrasound?
Neither??

Y. Your favorite food?
Pickles, french fries, shellfish (mussels, oysters, clams, crab)

Z. Zodiac sign?
Gemini! I've actually never looked this up, but here are some supposed Gemini traits:

Mentally astute, rather brilliant, vivacious, enthusiastic, cheerful, tactful, versatile, diplomatic and witty – the Gemini thrive on communication. They are excellent at social situations, and rarely possess any social awkwardness. On the flip side, the Gemini may exhibit a dualism of sorts, they may also be lazy and untidy, with a marked tendency to prevaricate.

Hmm...does that sound like me?