I - I will Survive

As evident by my channeling Gloria Gaynor, I've gone a little crazy over the past few days. I blame it on staring at this for the better part of my weekend:

Between accounting studying and a huge group project that was completed over the weekend, I'm beyond happy for this quarter of school to be wrapping up. I've learned a lot about myself over the past 2 months and am eager to make a few changes moving forward!

Friday I had a relapse in sickness which led to my continued feelings of misery and therefore lack of blog posting. Saturday was group project day followed by a delightful dinner with friends that ended with gelato. Ice cream solves problems and cures illness, didn't you know? Dinner was actually the turning point with this cold I've been battling and I've been feeling better and better since!

Yesterday morning I was up earlier than I would have preferred which at least allowed me to tackle a long to-do list, I was still feeling better, and spend a few hours preparing for my impending accounting final!

There was the standard trip to the farmers market. Has anyone seen black radishes before? These were a new-to-me sighting!

Also, check out the size of this beautiful comice pear. It was at least the size of my face! I love Toigo Orchards - they have the best pears and the nicest staff by far!

Of course I got to enjoy a special breakfast over the weekend - "oats" in a jar! My standard mix with blueberries, cinnamon, maple, and crushed pecans in an almond butter jar.

Last night I had the last of my chicken chili along with half of an acorn squash, which I ate skin and all.

Now, I'm just plugging away through the day and trying to keep prepping for this acocunting final at 7pm. I'll be more than ecstatic when it's over!!

How was your weekend?

Grateful

There are a lot of thoughts swimming through my head so I'm going to do my best to organize them clearly for ya. I definitely want to share that I had a great Tuesday for MANY reasons and I think that my thoughts will demonstrate that my great day was the result of choices I made that made me grateful.

I had a dentist appointment before work which meant getting up early after a long night of class. I whipped up my favorite cereal, choosing peanut butter and a drop of fig jam for toppings with an egg white alongside before heading to the doctor's office.

I made it into work and chugged through the morning despite battling a bit of fuzziness after lots of thinking, etc. as a result of 5 hours of class.

On my walk home for lunch I had a great phone call with my mom that helped me think through some ideas I've been mulling over. She was supportive and encouraging - I love my mom!

Lunch was a serving of split pea soup along with the last 1/4c of baked beans and a slice of Udi's whole grain bread toasted and topped with tomato paste and a schmear of hummus.

Instead of constantly checking my blackberry as I headed back into the office I deemed it a technology-free 10 minutes and thought about what I was grateful for. That might have been the big turning point in my day.

The afternoon flew by and before I knew it I was heading to my late afternoon meeting. It went well and then I headed over to the quad to witness Bid Day with my office. Bid Day is when freshmen find out which sorority they will be joining and they gather on the quad to meet those chapter members and begin their Greek Life careers. I was so happy and back in my element for this hour that I think I scared a few colleagues with my enthusiasm. It brought back so many positive memories of when I joined my sorority and made me feel proud and inspired to continue to be a part of my organization and Greek Life as a whole today. I was on Cloud 9 for the rest of the evening.

I headed to the gym after work (!!!) for an elliptical session inspired by who knows what. It didn't hurt that I wanted to have exercised some before parking it on the couch to watch the Biggest Loser though! I did 2 miles in 20 minutes not wanting to overdo it with my foot (I'd say its maybe 90% better at this point). You have to start somewhere, right?

After a quick stop in the store for a few items I headed home as the sun was setting. Instead of grumbling that sunsets are getting earlier I paused and took in the beautiful sky. Those few seconds inspired even more happiness, yay!

I played in the kichen, roasting up my first kabocha squash, a sweet potato, and kale and got dinner ready. It was time to break into a pouch of Bob's Red Mill polenta and I wanted to make sure I had some for lunches for the rest of the week.

Tonight's bowl contained broccoli, one carrot - grated, fresh grated Cabot sharp cheddar, and a serving of polenta. On the side I had kale chips and a sample of my roasted veg. You'd have thought it was November or December with all the comfort I cooked up!

Now I'm snacking on an amazingly flavorful ripe pear from the farmers market and watching the Biggest Loser. I am pleased to report that it's much, much better than the season premiere was. I have a conference call at 9:30pm that I doubt I'll complete because I am exhausted. I had quite the full day!

 

What are you grateful for today? Do you find that positivity and a "good day" is a conscious choice you make?

Unexpected Twist

Last night took an unexpected twist shortly after I finished blow drying my hair to go out. I got the first symptoms of a migraine :( I quickly popped an Advil, put on pajamas, and crawled into bed... at the late hour of 9:52pm. I fell asleep about 45 minutes later but woke up in the middle of the night with extreme hunger pangs. I made a mini cup of hot cereal (~1T of grains) and crawled back into bed. I finally woke up at a reasonable morning hour of 9:15am with another round of hunger pangs.

Enter - hot cereal with blueberries plus an egg white with a drop of cheese. It's cloudy and in the 60s so a hot breakfast that was quick to make was a perfect choice. The cereal is topped with 1/2T total of almond and peanut butters plus a few crushed almond slices.

From there I set out for groceries for the week from the Farmers Market and Whole Foods. I first perused the market for a bit:

Here's the haul for the week (plus there was a mini trip to Trader Joe's on Friday for a few essentials):

Farmers Market:

• corn
• Honeycrisp apples
• eggs
• Comice pears plus one Asian pear
• kabocha squash (1st time trying it!)

Whole Foods:

• Food for Life English muffins
• kale
• roasted buckwheat (kasha)
• maple syrup
• onion
• barbecue sauce (it was $1.70 so I stocked up!)
• frozen strawberries
• frozen broccoli
• Food Should Taste Good chips, The Works flavor
• baked beans 

Total: about $45
That may seem high for one person but keep in mind the gluten free barbecue sauce, syrup, and English muffins were $5 a piece. I also don't mind spending my money for some of the best tasting, local apples and pears. Store-bought just can't compete!

I procrastinated getting work done by prepping a soup for the week in the crockpot. Here's a hint:

Any guesses??

How much do you spend on groceries each week? Do you prefer buying specific types of food (local, organic, what's available, etc)?

One Day Weekend

After celebrating Yom Kippur Friday and Saturday and ending the fast with friends, I was excited to have a day to get myself together before a new week started. Sunday was going to be my one true weekend day dedicated to my to-do list. Somehow, I made a huge dent in what I needed to accomplish!

I slept less than well on Saturday night, probably from my 2 hour Saturday nap and a late dinner that stretched for a few hours. I peeled myself out of bed and spent some time at the farmers market. I picked up a few peaches, apples, and eggs. Look what else I found!

Breakfast was a leftover quarter of a bagel plus toast with an egg white and a pear.

I did homework and played catch up for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. When I took a break I realized my stomach was ready for food. Enter a simple salad plus homemade BBQ kidney beans and wild rice mixed with butternut squash and a few brussel sprouts.

The afternoon was less productive than I'd hoped. I can't seem to motivate myself to do ALL of my accounting homework at once :-/ I finally gave up and left for a walk before a group meeting in the evening. I got in ~3.25 miles in 50 minutes, had a good group project, and then picked up a couple of things at the store.

By the time I got home I was thinking about dinner but unsure of what to make. In the end I went with my favorite - roasted veg and brown rice pasta. I had carrot and okra "fries" plus a serving of pasta with tomato sauce, roasted broccoli, spinach, and a bunch of spices on top.

Dessert while doing some cleaning and tidying up was an apple topped with a couple of tablespoons of Crunchy Maple Sunrise cereal, raisin, and a drop of peanut butter.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Onward and Upward

Today was a great way to round out the weekend. After the structure and excitement of yesterday's adventure, it was time to get down to business and get myself ready for the week. Plus some relaxing is a requirement!

Despite giving myself permission to sleep in, I was awake around 8:45 with a stomach ready for breakfast. About 15 minutes later I bribed myself out of bed and got to work on "overnight" hot cereal. Once the bowl was cooling in the fridge I dashed off to the farmers market.

I was definitely torn between summer and fall with my selections: corn, peaches, Asian pears, honeycrisp apples, and eggs.

A few samples helped tide me over for the short trip but I was ready to eat! I had a muesli inspired bowl of hot cereal with apple, a few grapes, and maple syrup added to my standard mix. Of course, it was topped with the obligatory 1/2T peanut butter.

I decided to get my homework for class tomorrow out of the way and headed to the roof. I enjoyed the sunshine and got through all of my reading and then I could relax with a clear conscience for the rest of the day!

I headed to Whole Foods for my shopping for the week. Of course my stomach was more than ready for lunch once I got half way through my list. Hot bar saves the day! In this beauty was:

• spring mix
• beets
• carrots
• radishes
• Peruvian rice with corn
• Cuban black beans
• BBQ collard greens
• dashes of feta and cheddar cheeses

Plus, look what I found! Snyder's gluten free pretzels! I had heard about these being on the shelves but hadn't seen them yet. The bag was $2.99 and was pretty full so I would say it's a good bargain. The nutritional stats are decent as well: 20 pretzels per serving, 120 calories, 2g fiber, egg, dairy, and casein free. They are extra crunchy and really delicious!

This afternoon I was quite the handywoman and chef. I moved my old couch down to my building's dumpster all by myself. It was a great leg and cardio work out! Plus I put the slipcover onto my new couch, vacuumed, rearranged some things, and tidied up. OH and cleaned the bathroom! Whew. I refueled with a pear with a spoonful of yogurt and cinnamon.

I did food prep for the week. I baked some chicken breasts seasoned with 21 Seasoning Salute and made a batch of these amazing baked beans. Jenna - you rock! I really enjoyed making my own baked beans and probably saved $0.75 by not buying them canned (and I get an extra serving). Not a bad trade off.

While the beans were baking I started with a salad that contained romaine, spinach, carrot, pickle, one of the crackers I made last night, and Annie's Italian dressing.

Then I had cheese toast on Udi's whole grain bread with a serving of baked beans. These are sooo good. I added extra ground mustard and hot sauce - that's more of the flavor my grandmother's beans have. These were a great, close second! I also used 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil plus non-stick spray instead of 1/2T.

The night's been full of Emmy watching, blog stuff, washing dishes, and prepping for the week. I can't believe I start classes tomorrow.

Onward and upward!!

Lazy Sunday

I've said it once and I'll say it again. I love lazy weekends! Having no firm plans in place has been refreshing after a hectic couple of weeks. My brain has appreciated the down time and being able to do some planning and assessing. Yes, that's how I spent a good chunk of my Saturday.

I slept in til 11:00am again this morning and it was glorious. Since I wasn't hungry yet I decided to make my way over to the farmers market, if only because I wanted to see some of my summer favorites again before summer ends.

I treated myself to some beautiful okra (purple and green!) and Asian pears. I believe that just this week I announced the longing I've had for a good, in-season pear despite not wanting Fall to arrive.

Brunch was my last donut peach and a baby pear along with an egg sandwich on Udi's whole grain bread. While savoring this sandwich I realized my favorite part of the bread - the crust. It has such a deep flavor with good crunch. Plus there's a bit of flour on it that reminds me of regular bread I've watched people eat for years. When I made a grilled hummus sandwich it took on that grilled texture, soaking up a bit of oil for extra flavor. It's the crust that really makes this bread what it is.

With that, I'm off to tackle some errands. On tap:

• shopping for throw pillows
• gym for the elliptical and weights
• washing dishes
• cooking prep for the week
• maybe seeing Eat, Pray, Love?
• get organized for the week

How will you spend your Sunday?