Morning!
How are you? We’re almost to the weekend! I’m pretty excited, because as of 3:30 yesterday, I’m officially on Spring Break! I’ll still be working and doing some reading for class, but I also get to spend time with the families for the holidays, which is such a treat. My apologies for disappearing yesterday… what with studying and sleep, I hardly cracked my laptop! But, schooling aside, life has gone on.
Breakfast at the diner to start the day on the right foot… although, unfortunately, the feta was missing from my omelet. And an omelet without cheese almost isn’t worth having, don’t you agree?
Egg white omelet with spinach, asparagus, and mushrooms; seven grain toast with butter
Ari and I have been trying to cook more together, so that he can learn a little more about how to make a quick, nutritious, and tasty meal. The other night, we made a stir-fry with lots of veggies, eggs and tofu, garnished with tahini and parsley (a bit like the Double-Shift Scramble!).
We also finally broke into this bag of Alexia Oven Fries, seasoned with olive oil, rosemary & garlic.
Foodbuzz sent me a coupon for an Alexia product (as well as a black apron, which I have given to Ari to be his “man apron”), and because I’ve been on a bit of a fry kick of late, I figured it would be the perfect time to try them out.
Not a terrible ingredient list, although there does seem to be several more types of oil than just “olive,” as the package suggests. Also not crazy about the sodium count, but so it goes with frozen food.
Popped them into the oven at 450, and 20 minutes later we had crispy, thick-cut fries. They were pretty good, considering they’re frozen, but if I’m going to have fries, I’d much rather they be fresh. My mom makes her own potatoes with rosemary, and these just don’t stack up next to those.
Yesterday was a bit of a blur: up early to study–> math test–> study–> psychology test –> WORST HEADACHE OF MY LIFE. Literally. I hardly ever get sick, so it’s all the more alarming when I do. I’d had a little hint of a headache for much of the day, but around 4:15, as I sat in Central Park with a friend I hadn’t seen in years, sipping tea, I started to feel as if a sledgehammer were slowly- and deliberately- pounding away at my skull. It got so bad that I thought I might have to turn around and be sick behind the park bench we were sitting on, so I finally apologized to my companion, picked up my things, and hailed a cab for home. I never like to waste money on cabs (especially since the subway ride wouldn’t have taken more than 15 minutes) but I just felt awful. Once home and sure that I didn’t need to lie on the bathroom floor clutching the toilet, I climbed into bed, barely taking off my shoes, and slept for the next three hours.
I’ve been doing the tea-only thing for four days now, and it’s possible that the killer headache came about from caffeine withdrawal. I’ve been having green and black teas in the morning, but the caffeine content in tea compared to coffee is not nearly the same(26 mg for green, 40-120 mg for black, and 95-206 for coffee), according to the Mayo Clinic.
When I woke up, I felt a little better… the headache was still there, but I no longer felt nauseous and was ready to eat something. Dinner was a treat!
Our friends recently came back from their honeymoon, where they sailed their own boat and caught and cooked their own fresh fish. They bought a whole red snapper, filleted it, and cooked it in a delicious mustard sauce with spinach, onions and tomatoes. I’ve always been a little wary of cooking fish myself, but they inspired me! Expect to see more fish on LVP in the coming months.
So, now that I’m a spring break-er, I feel like I can relax a little bit for the next week and a half. I’ll still be bringing my books to work so I can study when it’s not too busy, but I’m going to enjoy reading for pleasure, too! I just finished Winter’s Bone, which I loved; the film version was one of my favorite movies of last year.
I also have more time to have long breakfasts at the diner, lingering over coffee (er, tea) and the newspaper.
If you’re in school, what do you do for Spring Break? If you’re not, how do you spend your days off? Do you take a vacation, or have a “staycation” at home?
Something to read: my friend Rebecca has just started a fabulous new blog called New York Vicariously. Follow her blog to read about all of the cool, quirky things New York has to offer, from mermaid-style open bars to free theater. She’s run the Boston marathon, loves People magazine, and sometimes has time to share coffee and biscotti with yours truly. So check her out here!
yikes, glad you are feeling better. that sounds like it was awful! congrats on finishing your tests and i hope you have a good break.
Oh no, sorry about your terrible headache:( That sounds like a migraine to me. I’m glad you’re feeling better and hope you are able to enjoy your spring break!
Aww, I’m sorry about your headache- I get migraines a lot, and it’s rare that they get that bad for me, but I know the feeling. :/ I bet it is caffeine withdrawal, like you said, since caffeine or lack thereof is often a trigger. If you get another, I’d try making your room as dark as possible and putting something cold on your head (I use those cheap popsicles that come in huge packs!). I’d say try excedrin, too, but that has caffeine (at least excedrin migraine does), so maybe ibuprofen and acetaminophen until you break your “addiction.” Hope you don’t get one of these again.
I tend to spend Spring Break at home. I almost did something else this year, but in the end decided the relaxation was better than running around all SB plus spending the time to organize something while really busy beforehand.
rebecca’s blog is so fun! i just checked it out and can’t wait to read moree
i’m on spring break too but not really haha becasue i’m working everyday and have my thesis 2nd draft which is pretty much the whole thing, due the following week. BOO. soo spring break is more like spring-work-alot hahaha but ENJOY YOURS!!! i can’t wait to hear about all of the shinanigans you get into!
Wooohoooo for Spring Break!! We had our break last month but I didn’t do anything super special..just enjoyed the time off and was super lazy!
Happy spring break! I was never one to take spring break trips. It was always a time to catch up on rest, extracurriculars, or log extra hours at work. Man, I was no fun!
Fries are one of the very few foods that I get occasional cravings for, but when I do eat them, I’m reminded that they are never as good as I want them to be. Fresh, homemade sweet potato fries are pretty great though!
Cheers to having a little time off! Even though my spring breaks have always tended to be more like “staycations,” especially the past couple years in grad school, being able to take the days at your own pace is really nice. I’m just holding out for the Newport Folk Festival this summer.
I hope you enjoy the extra time this week : )
Sorry to hear you had such a bad headache! Hope you enjoy your spring break! We tend to just stay at home and relax over the Easter holidays, of course we have the surprise trip to NYC coming up so thats certainly something to look forward too!
Sorry about your headache, they’re the worst! When I was in college I never really went anywhere for spring break…I was always just excited to come home and do nothing!
Girl, you need to try the Alexia Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Seasoning. They are INCREDIBLe!!!!! Hope you have a great weekend sweetie.
Yee-haw for spring break! Enjoy it to the fullest, my friend:)
My spring break started two days ago!! So excited
This break was much needed.
Poor thing with that headache! I used to get migraines quite often and I had a similar experience once, where I was leaving dinner with a friend and had to pull over my car and get sick. I hope you never get one of those again!
I’m glad you get a spring break, enjoy your well deserved rest!
I actually love those Alexia fries! Happy Spring Break!
Hooray for spring break! I hope you enjoy every well deserved minute! You know I love seeing your diner bfasts. Bummer they forgot the feta though (lammmme). And I haven’t tried those fries, but I’ve heard their sweet potato fries are really good. The fish looks perfectly cooked. Hope the headaches go far far away
i? love her guitar!!rock!!