Currently, Apr 2010

(Oops I missed March!)
Current Book
Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life
and because Wendy said it was good, although it’s for 4-7 graders: “The Golly Whopper Games”

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure
guava juice/vanilla rum/banana liqueur

Current Drink
water

Current Favorite Blog
The new one I am secretly working on that I will tell you about soon.

Current Songs
Naturally, Selena Gomez

Current Wish-List
2 more hours / day

Current Needs
nothing, I’m set.

Current Triumph
Running to the gym and back.

Current Indulgence
Special Dark Chocolate

Current Outfit
Black capri pants, apple green tunic with silver sequins

Current Banes of My Existence
How long it takes to wash my hair, so I cut it off yesterday. By myself, with scissors and 2 mirrors and some spare time.

Current Excitement
karate belt testing

Current Mood
lovely

Busy Weekend

Fri night Alice PR’ed the mile again - 6:27. There’s one more middle division meet this season, and then she’ll run varsity for another couple months.

I’ve started reading “Healing with Whole Foods”. I’m trying to catch up on the lack of nutritional education I received growing up in America. I love that their food pyramid includes exercise and thinking time to create a full body balance.

We spent the day working on plumbing. Not fun, but more fun than not having a dishwasher in the kitchen. (Due to hot water problems, we’ve had an actual dishwasher forever.)

me under the kitchen sink

me "under" the kitchen sink

The girls and I are visiting my parents soon, so I got them packed up - which allowed me to go through their closets and pull out dresses that don’t fit for the Girl Scouts who are collecting dresses for a local mining community.

Eventually Brian and I cleaned up and went out for his birthday. We ate at Texas Cattle Company because we had a $100 gift cert, and everything was “B” level and slightly overcooked. We started with Cedar Plank Crab Cakes- which were the best thing all night - and Wood-Grilled Bacon Wrapped Scallops - which would have been great with about 3 mins less cooking time. The crab cakes had a light glaze of the sauce that came with the scallops. It was a marmalade/apple/red pepper combo (I asked). I enjoyed it but figured it was mostly corn syrup so I didn’t OD.

For dinner, Brian ordered a filet with Roast Garlic Red Skin Mashed Potatoes. They kinda failed to mention the mashed potatoes come with cheese and bacon on top, but he loved them. They were very thick. It came with a salad which they said was “famous”, which is funny because I’ve lived here nearly 12 years and never heard anyone talk about it, and it was nothing special, except some green olives were thrown in. And there were dinner rolls that I avoided because they were white.

I ordered the 1/2 order of Tuna Sushimi from the app menu as my meal (totally overcooked, but surprisingly came with chop sticks) with a side of BBQ Spiced Sweet Potato Fries. I thought (based on the name) that the fries would have seasoning on them, but I think they came out of a frozen bag, and the “BBQ Spiced” referred to a spicy BBQ sauce on the side.(More corn syrup…)

Brian’s drinks were good, I drank water. For dessert we got the peanut butter pie, which was amazing, but I’m guessing they didn’t actually make it. We got a HUGE piece of chocolate cake to take home to the kids, but it was freezer-burned.

Because it was only $13 (after the gift cert), it was fine. But because we so rarely go out, I want to be WOWed and this place was just OK. But if you want crab cakes and peanut butter pie, I recommend it. Or a free steak on your birthday, because they offer that too.

This morning we woke up to Wendy puking. She threw up 7 times from 7am-9:30am. I think due to raw cookie dough last night because nothing else seems to be wrong with her. She fell back asleep on the bathroom floor until 1:30pm.

Today I took Alice to buy art supplies at Wal-Mart so she can make a display of what it looks like to have Yellow Fever for school. Then we went grocery shopping. I cooked up some black beans with onions and peppers for lunch and to have at work for lunch this week. I also made Aloo Gobi…so good and so easy!!

Yummy Aloo Gobi!

Yummy Aloo Gobi!

Do you like Indian food? Do you ever make your own?

2010 goal update (forgot this after Fri core class): 2630 crunches, 64 minutes of plank remaining.

“Last” of the week

This morning I started the day with half hour of yoga and half hour of core conditioning class. Then I went to a meeting of the minds - all the women who helped put on the big school fundraiser this year. It was hard to avoid all the junk food. I had half a dark brown bagel (pumpernickel?), strawberries and grapes. I drank water. Before I left I had ONE bite of some yummy chocolate raspberry ring someone brought from Mazzaro. Then I went to work. Then I cleaned the dining room and made some juice in the juicer from fruit going bad in the fridge. (Why aren’t brooms and dustpans the same stinking width??)

And before I start the plumbing fixing/ laundry washing goodness that some call Saturday, I leave you with The “Last” Game, thanks to eatmovelove:

1) LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED: The Lightning Thief, and I read the book 2 yrs ago. I think 30% of the book was missing and the movie could have been much more exciting. But if I was 8 years old I would have loved it.

2) LAST TIME YOU FELT ANGRY/IRRITATED: When I came back in town Sunday night and there were 4 days of dirty dishes piled up around the kitchen. But in my family’s defense, the hot water wasn’t working and Brian was spending his time either trying to fix it or preparing for the marathon he ran Sunday morning.

3) LAST TIME YOU SAID “I LOVE YOU”: I think to my husband when he left the office today. If not, then when I left the house this morning. I say it a lot to the 3 wonderful people in my house.

4) LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED (REALLY LAUGHED): last night as Wendy and I left karate and we were walking to the car, she imitated her friend and said, “When a rabbit needs to poop, it shakes its leg like this” and shook her leg.

5) LAST TIME YOU DEBATED WHETHER IT WAS TIME FOR A NEW JOB: years ago. I love making websites and helping businesses fix their broken, stupid web sites.

6) LAST TIME/PLACE YOU WENT OUT TO EAT (&/OR WHAT YOU HAD): Sunday morning I was out of town and my hotel roommate wanted to go to Waffle House because she hadn’t been to one in years. I remembered from my last trip to Waffle House that they don’t have much “real food” on the menu. Like fruit, for instance. But I got 2 eggs scrambled and grits - and asked for no added butter on anything. The Fri before that I had a tastier meal out at Soby’s in South Carolina: Crispy Seared Local Duck Breast, Root Vegetables, Apple Bacon, Swiss Chard, Bourbon Vanilla Sorghum.

7) LAST TIME YOU TOLD A LIE (includes “white” ones): someone is going someplace soon to surprise someone else and I know all about it, and I had to cover it up.

8)LAST SPONTANEOUS/ADVENTUROUS/RISKY THING YOU DID: When I went up in the 4-seater plane and had my wits scared out of me.

9) LAST TRIP/VACATION YOU TOOK/WHERE? If you’ve gotten this far, you’ll know I went to South Carolina last week.

Back from GSP

You don't find this in Florida!

You don't find this in Florida!

I had a great 4 days away to see a close high school friend walk down the aisle. It was my first time in South Carolina, and the people there were super sweet. So sweet it made some of the east-coasters suspicious (Leslie, this means you)!

While there, the groom-to-be took me up in a tiny 4-seater plane. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I was scared of how scared I was, because I have never reacted that way to anything - surgery, childbirth - perhaps a moment when my daughter was missing in a theme park… but this was different. I hope to have photos soon though. They are all on his camera, and who knows when a newlywed man goes through his Canon…

Exercise was totally on the back burner, but I moved a lot. Thurs night schlepping boxes, Fri 20 mins morning yoga, Friday 6 hours of cleaning a filthy hangar and making it a wedding venue, Fri night dancing with the Bachelorette girls & guy (although it was lesbian night. Ha!) , Sat night dancing at the wedding for a couple hours, Sun morning yoga.

Sat on the plane next to a tennis pro now on the senior circuit. We basically discussed nutrition. He said one better than chia seeds is hemp. 1/2 tsp in a smoothie and you’re ready to run all day! He introduced himself as “one of the best tennis players in the world” so I introduced myself as “one of the best mommies in the world.” Yes, we are humble folk.

Today I started the day with a juiced pear and carrot combo. Brian said to call it Parrot Juice. Ha! Add some tequila and Buffet himself might want some!

I hit the gym for the first time in a while. With a goal of much cardio, I hoped to catch the Zumba class, but the teacher didn’t show. So I ran 1.5 and then did an upper body workout, a bit of karate kick practice, then core on the mat with medicine ball and on the captain’s chair.

No karate Tues. It’s black belt testing night. I kind of want to watch, but I know it will be over 3 hours, and I have a lot to catch up on at home. Like a lack of hot water and a husband running a marathon leaving 4 days of dishes to wash. And a mountain of laundry that reminds me somewhat of Jaba the hutt. If he had colorful tattoos instead of a colorful tongue.

If you ran at Gasparilla, be sure to tell me about it!

2010 goal update: 2770 crunches, 69 minutes of plank remaining.

Currently, February 2010

Current Book
umm I guess I forgot to read the last 2 weeks. Too much screen time. Sad.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure
Mike’s Mudd Pie

Current Drink
water

Current Favorite Blog
The new one I am secretly working on that I will tell you about soon.

Current Songs
Darling It’s True - Locksley

Current Wish-List
Safe travels

Current Needs
video editing time

Current Triumph
Fitting Chuey with bras and grapefruit. Long story.

Current Indulgence
Chocolate

Current Outfit
Black velour sweatpants from Children’s Place, a Guess long sleeve-T, pink cardigan zip-up hoodie

Current Banes of My Existence
sugar headaches. When you eat healthy all the time it can be painful to indulge.

Current Excitement
Going to Cindy’s WEDDING!!!!!!!

Current Mood
eager