Speaking of childhood, I got a fun e-mail from my friend Jenny at 8 this [...]]]> As of 3 minutes ago, it’s officially Thanksgiving! I’m cozy at home in my bed, surrounded by my stuffed animals, Polaroids from high school, and hundreds of books, among other things. What was your childhood bedroom like?

Speaking of childhood, I got a fun e-mail from my friend Jenny at 8 this morning while I was sipping on my coffee. Jenny is hands-down my oldest friend; our mothers grew up together, and although Jenny and I have been separate by half a country for our entire lives and only get to see each other once a year, we’ve always been close. When my grandfather was still living, my parents and I visited him in Indianapolis every winter between Christmas and New Year’s; this photo is from the winter of 1988. (That’s me on the right, with the bowl cut.)

Here we are this past summer, in Lake Michigan.

I miss her so much during the year. We look forward to our week on the lake so much!

After my trip down memory lane, I made a quick breakfast: Ezekiel English muffin with almond butter and a banana, raspberry jam on one side and pumpkin butter on the other.

I went to the post office to mail something; it didn’t open until 10 (which seems a little later) but there was a machine that got the job done. Then to physical therapy I went! It as a particularly good appointment. I learned some new exercises to stretch my hips; I can easily do them from the hotel room in Russia. After PT I raced back home to eat lunch before I had to turn right back around and go to an interview. I made a quick salad:

In the mix:

• romaine
• celery
• tofu
• leftover roasted veggiesM

It was one of the rare occasions where I could not finish my meal. Usually, once I’ve dished a certain amount of food out, I will eat every last scrap even if I’ve long since reached capacity. (Last night’s pasta plate was an example of this.) However, today I started getting a stomachache about partway through, and just picked out what I wanted (roast vegetables, tofu, hummus), leaving a fair amount of spinach.

I felt guilty about throwing the rest out (I won’t be back at the house for two weeks), but it was better than making myself sick. As it was, my tum hurt for the next two hours. My eyes are bigger than my head sometimes, and I think the most important thing I need to remember to do is slow down while I’m eating. I’ve been so rushed these past few weeks that although I’ve been eating foods I love, I’ve barely tasted them as I’ve had to practically inhale them to get from appointment to appointment on time. It’ll be nice to have a little break

There’s always room for sweets, though! I had a couple of these strawberry gummy candies from the Japanese grocery store in our neighborhood. Not bad!

I was starving after my interview. Luckily I had about four different snacks in my bag, so I ate one of the apple-flavored Heart Thrive bars that I was sent to review. I’ll do a formal review once I’ve sampled all of the products, but I liked this a lot!

When I got home I folded laundry and did some preparatory packing for my trip to Russia. I am one of the worst packers ever. I always take too much and forget crucial items, like spare contact lenses or pajama pants. Do you have any fool-proof (or LVP proof!) packing tips?

I snacked on some Concord grapes that were about to go bad while I waited for my dad to help me pack some things up. These grapes are really addicting. There are seeds, which I thought I wouldn’t like, but are actually kind of fun to work through and take longer to eat. Plus, these are the kind of grapes used to make grape juice, so they’re the perfect combination of sweet + tart.

While my dad was at a holiday party, my mom and I had dinner at watched Hannah And Her Sisters. Not only is this a really good Woody Allen film, but it’s told between two years’ worth of Thanksgivings! I ordered a bento box for dinner, which came with a spicy tuna roll, tempura, sashimi & shrimp shumai. (It came with rice, salad & miso soup as well, but I’m saving those for tomorrow.)

I also had a glass of Black Box Wine’s Sauvignon Blanc.

My mom brought home dessert from Billy’s Bakery, the same shop she ordered my birthday cupcakes from.

She bought one pumpkin cupcake and one pumpkin bar; we split them three ways. De-lish.

I’m off to bed. There’s a lot on the agenda tomorrow! Have a great night, a happy holiday, and safe travels wherever your day takes you.

This morning when I woke up at 8:30, I panicked for a few minutes before remembering that my boss (at my internship) had canceled work for the day. I was up and ready [...]]]> Evening! How was your day?  Mine was just fine, but I’m ready to crawl into bed and call it a night!

This morning when I woke up at 8:30, I panicked for a few minutes before remembering that my boss (at my internship) had canceled work for the day. I was up and ready to go, though, which things to do and people to see!

I was excited to try these goji berries with my breakfast.  I’ve only ever tasted these chopped up and mixed into other things, but when I snatched them right up when I spotted this bag on sale for $2.19 at the food co-op this weekend (they’re usually almost triple that price).  Goji berries are rich in antioxidants, and among their many benefits they are touted to improve eyesight (they’re rich in beta carotene), boost immunity, and spice up your sex life

I tossed them in with Greek yogurt, 1/2 toasted Trader Joe’s Berry Mango muffin, warmed frozen berries and flaxy peanut butter. The goji berries are firm but chewy; the texture really complemented the rest of the mess.

This held me over for a really long time.  The rest of the morning was spent reading, researching, and waiting until I was digested enough to go for a run.  I warmed up with a 20 minute hip opening flow, then set out for an easy 2 mile run.

Total distance: 2 miles

Total time: 20:09

Most of my runs are going to have to be in the morning now that it’s getting dark earlier; I’ll have to crank out some long runs on the treadmill when I’m in Russia, however.  I’m a little nervous that I won’t be able (psychologically) to run 7 miles on a treadmill…. What are you tips for making it through a long treadmill session?

Lunch was pretty basic (and very green): the last of the spinach and rice soup and a crunchy salad (spinach, broccoli slaw, celery, roasted almonds; sesame oil/rice vinegar/sesame seed dressing).

My interview was at 3:30; when it was over I hopped right back onto the subway and headed home.  I had 1/3 of a Key Lime Pie Larabar on the ride back:

I found myself in one of the rare instances when I didn’t have anything to read on the subway… it was completely disorienting.  I always have a book with me (sometimes two!); I would have brought one to prom if it had fit in my clutch!  Ari calls me his word nerd.

When I got home, I went straight to the kitchen to unwind and get dinner started.  I’ve had my eye on Martha Stewart‘s recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Pasta and Lemon Zest (in the November 2009 issue) for quite some time… a little too much time, because the head of cauliflower I’d bought in anticipation a couple weeks ago had started to mold.  But have no fear! I just sliced off the offending areas. I’m frugal, what can I say?

While slicing onion, I remembered what one of my cooking teachers always said: always cut out the middle greenish part of an onion.  I can’t quite remember why that is; I think it has something to do with it not being fully developed yet and causing stomachaches.

I was eager to try out this pasta… Nature’s Place is Hannaford grocery store’s natural, minimally processed brand.  Fresh (not dried) pasta always tastes so much better to me.

Plus, they look like little nests! Two “nests” make one serving.

When the veggies finished roasting (perfectly crispy!), it was all I could do to keep myself from eating them all right off the baking sheet.  I’d already made quite a dent in the cauliflower while I was chopping it… if I wasn’t careful, I wouldn’t have any ingredients left for dinner!

I tossed the roasted cauliflower with the pasta and added lemon zest, fresh parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil.

When it comes to parsley and other fresh herbs, I’m of the “more is more” mindset.

Lest you think this was a dainty, “ladylike” portion…

I had enough fuel to run a marathon with this baby.  Come November 6, you just might find me eating it!

There wasn’t too much room in my tum for dessert, but in the words of Tim Gunn, I made it work.  Dried figs and prunes stuffed with dark chocolate chips are so good… and they just keep me going back for more.  They kind of look like frogs, right?  I seem to have successfully eaten nuts in some form or other for every meal and snack today.

I’m off to seal my day with a lunar flow practice and hope to be in bed by 10.  I’ll make it work.

Bonne nuit

Edited to add: Kristina from Stonyfield Farm wants me to let you all know about a fun “Greek” opportunity!

“When consumers buy our quarts instead of single-serving cups, they pay less for their yogurt, but we know that a quart is not as convenient as single-serving cups for on the go consumption,” says our President and CE-Yo Gary HIrshberg. “The reusable yogurt cup gives our quart buyers the convenience of the Stonyfield 6 oz cups by providing a way to create easily transportable single servings for anywhere, anytime.”

Yogurt lovers just have to buy four Stonyfield yogurt quarts through December, and mail in the foil lids (describing this offer), and they’ll receive the reusable, eight-ounce yogurt cup made by Preserve®. Made from 100% recycled plastic, the cup is perfect for yogurt-lovers on the go, the ideal size for breakfast or a snack, with room to stir in fruit or granola. It’s dishwasher safe, BPA-free with a screw-on lid – and it’s made in the US.

Consumers will also get  $4.50 worth of Stonyfield and Preserve coupons along with the cup.

Our recycling partner since 2000, Preserve uses innovative methods to turn used materials (including used Stonyfield yogurt cups) into stylish, useful household products like toothbrushes, colanders, cutting boards and tableware. Preserve products are 100% recycled and recyclable too.

Consumers can mail clean foil lids, with name, address and phone number on an index card or 4” x 6” sheet of paper by February 28, 2010 to:

Stonyfield Farm
Reusable Cup Offer
PO Box 4840
Manchester, NH 03108-4840

Cups will be shipped starting in January, 2010 with delivery in 10 to 12 weeks. This offer is good only in the US, while cup supplies last, and is limited to one cup per household (to better spread the love around).

So save those lids!

The rolled oats stash still hasn’t been replenished, and I haven’t gotten a new batch of steel-cut [...]]]> Good morning and happy Thursday! It’s going to be a good day, I can just tell   How has your week been going? What was the most surprising or thing that brought you the most happiness?

The rolled oats stash still hasn’t been replenished, and I haven’t gotten a new batch of steel-cut whipped up yet, so I had to think a little about what I wanted for breakfast yesterday.  I opened the fridge, pulled out the almond butter, and…

Oh no! Take me to a Trader Joe’s and make no stops on the way!  Well, I don’t know when I’m actually going to get to TJ’s, so I tried to leave a little nut butter on the sides to make oats-in-a-jar when the time is right.  That wasn’t enough for breakfast, though, so I pulled out a sample of Sunbutter that I’ve had lying around for a few months.

When squeezed out, it looks likes this:

One Ezekiel English muffin half had almond butter and TJ’s pumpkin butter, the other Sunbutter and raspberry jam.

The Sunbutter definitely tastes like sunflower seeds.  I think I still prefer almond and peanut butters, but this was a nice change.  I don’t know if I would buy a whole jar of this, but if I had more travel packets I would use them for on-the-go snacking.

I took all of my new vitamins with breakfast (except the melatonin, which is only for when I really can’t sleep at night).

Unfortunately I didn’t read the label carefully when I was at the store and bought the powdered Ester-C (which aids iron absorption) instead of the capsule, which means I have to drink it.  And let me tell you, this is one of the worst tastes I’ve ever known.

I worked and researched most of the morning, and broke for lunch around noon before I had to leave for physical therapy.  I made a big salad through my session:

In the mix:

• 1/2 head of romaine
• grape tomatoes
• 1 orange
• leftover roasted Brussels sprouts
• julienned carrots
• Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burger
• Trader Joe’s Three Layer Hummus
• Cayenne pepper-spiked agave- cinnamon dressing

It was a big salad! I almost couldn’t finish it, but I’m not usually one to leave greens on my plate.  I went into the city to get my H1N1 flu shot (seasonal flu shot has already sold out almost everywhere), then went across town to my physical therapy appointment.  I was early, so I popped into Tasti to get a treat and read a little.  I got a small cup of chocolate raspberry mousse:

My appointment went really well.  I really like my therapist; she’s a former marathoner and current Half-Iron Man-er, and just seems to know what she’s doing (a welcome change).  She  worked with me for over an hour, and came to the same conclusion as the first PT:  my muscles aren’t strong enough to support the kind of running I’m doing. If I want to be an endurance athlete and compete in races, my quads, glutes, calves, etc. have to be really strong.  I need to work on strength moves, increasing my flexibility (stretching, rolling out with the foam roller) and core moves every day. My knees do point in (the first PT diagnosed me with “squinting patellae”) but strengthening my quadraceps will force them back into place.  And the even better news? I can start back up again (slowly) in the next few days, and can run the 15K in December!!!

She asked if I’d be okay with running on the treadmill for a few minutes to analyze my gait, and you should have seen the way my eyes lit up.  Running? Now? Even though I hate the treadmill, I felt like I was flying.  I do pronate, and my hips do come out and come forward when they shouldn’t (which has caused tightness in my IT band that I didn’t even know about until she worked it through with her fingers), but it can all be corrected.  Woohoo!!!! I’m going back today; she wants to see me twice a week for a month or so.  Thank the lordy. If I had a job right now, I wouldn’t have this kind of flexibility!

On the ride home, I was hungry again so I snacked on a Trek Mix bar.

When I got home, I did some more searching and researching, and started to think about dinner.  It was going to take a couple hours to make, so when Ari ordered sushi for himself and Josh I politely requested my very own sweet potato roll.

Seriously, I don’t know how I didn’t know about these until now.  What would I do without Ilana and Ari? Amazing!

My own dinner was based on this recipe.   When I went to the produce store, I found a squash I’d never seen before.  It started with a G… Galaban? Galabaga? When I looked it up on this handy squash glossary, however, I discovered that it was one of the most popular squashes with bloggers: the kobucha!

These were sold already halved; each half was about 70 cents.

I changed the recipe a little bit; I halved the “pudding” recipe, only used egg whites (I don’t have whole eggs), didn’t use anise, and used red onions instead of scallions.

It took a long time to cook (about an hour and a half), but the results were worth it.

I ate one half of the squash and saved the rest for another day.  It was really satisfying, and so good that I ended up eating the skin, too! Oops.

For dessert, I smeared a pumpkin bar with peanut butter.  It wasn’t worth it: still tasted bad.  Into the trash they go!

Ari and I took Carlye‘s suggestion and watched the pilot of Psych.  We thought there would be a few more episodes on the first disc, but it was just the one! So off I go to the mailbox… must make sure there’s a Halloween movie here for Saturday!

Have a great day

P.S. Averie is giving away ProBar Fruitition bars!

I have a [...]]]> Good Sunday, y’all.  How are you spending the last hours of your weekend?  Dinner in bed? Catching up on shows from the week? It’s 8:30 and I’m just getting dinner ready, and will spend the rest of the night doing some internship stuff and possibly watching Thursday’s episode of Gray’s Anatomy.

I have a confession: I’ve been putting off blogging all day. Why? Well, I’ve been in kind of a weird place the last few days, and haven’t wanted to whine about it.  But whine about it I must (for a few seconds), or I have a feeling I won’t post for days.  Either that, or I’m having a blogging identity crisis.

There’s only so much time one can sit in front of the computer applying for jobs and reading blogs.  I haven’t been exercising at all… the thought of sitting on a stationary bike makes me cringe (and it’s a 45 minute ride to the gym, each way) and I haven’t been able to find enough energy, motivation, or opportune time to try a workout DVD. I feel like my muscles are weakening and that by the time I can run again, it’ll take me months to build back up to where I was.  There was one instance yesterday when I seriously thought about just going for a quick two mile run to blow off steam.  I’m not proud about it, but didn’t run, and won’t until I’m given the okay.  But frankly, what it comes down to, is that I’m just plain bored.  Bored and broke.

As happy as I was about quitting my table-waiting gig and spending that lost time looking for a “real” job, I think it’s gotten to the point where I might have to start looking for something like that again.  Hopefully it will be temporary, but I’m not generating any income and it’s getting pretty tight over here.  I haven’t started looking for another waiting position yet, but I really think it’s in my future again, unfortunately.  Unless I win the lottery… I never bought a ticket on my 18th birthday, and have put off doing so because I think I know that in the back of my mind, when I do it will be the winning ticket. Good logic, eh?

For now, though, I think the key is to just do something outside of the house every day.  If I have to read, I should find a place to read.  Preferably near the gym, so that I’ll get myself moving again.  Things will look up, but I have to set that process in motion.  Ho, ho, ho!

Self-pep-talk over, I promise.

Breakfast yesterday was inspired by Katie‘s “brulée” style oats.  I zapped this banana in the microwave for one minute:

I combined it with a serving of steel-cut oats, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and almond butter.   A sweet and rich way to start the morning!

Ari and I spent the morning running errands, going back and forth between the city and home.  We got a lot done! I knew lunch was going to be late, so I snacked on some Greek yogurt to tide me over.

When I did get around to making lunch, it ended up looking a lot like the killer salads of recent days, and it was mighty fine.  I think I’ve figured out the formula for a perfect salad: plenty of greens, a variety of other veggies, fruit, savory protein, and a unique salad dressing.

This was made of:

• spinach
• shredded carrots
• red onion
• 1 Gala apple (yep, the whole thing)
• meatless meatballs
• Dressing: raw agave nectar, olive oil, rice vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & pepper

A little later, I snacked on a couple chunks of energy.

Dinner was another nod to college life; this time, I made a batch of Annie’s Mac & Cheese and mixed in a mashed sweet potato and black beans.  The result? Delicious! And oh so festive with the Halloween colors.  I realize you might not all be sold on this one, but try it!

After dinner, I went into the city to meet Caitlin at the 92Y Tribeca to see the premier of Sufjan Stevens‘ film The BQE.

Source

If it’s not 100% obvious from the above photo, he is a total fox.  And a ridiculously talented fox at that, so ladies, should you decide to join the ranks of rockstar girlfriends, he earned my seal of approval.

After the show I met up with Ari and Ilana, and we all went home together.  I wasn’t really hungry, but all I could think about when I opened the front door was how much I wanted ice cream.

Phish Food isn’t as good as I remember it being… I think there needs to be some peanut butter in there.

A few days ago, a reader asked for the recipe for my miso soup with collards and seitan.

It’s easy peasy: Simply take 1 cup of spicy miso soup , eliminating the tofu, and pour it into a pot over four loosely chopped collard green leaves, until just covered. Steam until leaves turn bright green, about 4 minutes.  Add 1 serving chopped seitan and heat through.  Serve and enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNpoDmsuEPk]

I’m off to get some work done.  Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top [...]]]> Bonne samedi, mes amis! How are you all? Is your weekend off to a nice start? I know I make it a terrible habit of disappearing on the first day Ari’s back, but I’m here now.

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top of a big mound of pumpkin and an even bigger mound of steel-cut oats, and covered it all with cinnamon and agave nectar.

It felt quite festive.

This was the morning that I had my bone density test (the results of which were called in to my orthopedist… who did not return my call and share the findings with me before the weekend but that’s okay).  I had an apple when I got out of the hospital…

… came home, read InStyle took care of some chores, and went back to sleep for a few hours.  When I woke up, so did a hungry beast. I was inspired by the previous day’s salad dressing adventures, so I played around in the kitchen a little bit.

Behold: Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette!

Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette

Serves 1

• 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• squirt of fresh lemon juice

This was delicious. I vow to never have a boring salad again!

Into the salad itself went:

• 1/3 block tempeh
• 1 apple
• red onion
• carrots
• red chard
• pumpkin-miso dressing

I followed it up with a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Greek Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt.

After a few hours of job searching, I snacked on a piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

Other than walking and cleaning, I have done almost nothing physical in almost two weeks.  It’s slowly driving me crazy.  Emily alerted me to these workout videos you can watch instantly on Netflix (if you have an account), which is great. Unfortunately, my will power is not.  I did about 10 minutes of this yoga class, then made dinner and went to the airport to pick Ari up.  Blegh.

I’m going to wager that my dinner is not going to ignite any food jealousy.   I had no idea what I wanted for dinner except that I had to have an Ezekiel English muffin.  On one half I had a TJ’s Masala Burger with mustard, on the other egg whites with salt, pepper & ketchup. Boring, but got the job done.

We found the band at the airport, piled all the gear in the car and squeezed in like sardines.  Everyone was a little jet-lagged, so we just watched a short movie and In Treatment.  While doing so, I had another piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with almond butter and jam and a small glass of Merlot.

We slept in a bit yesterday, although I woke up a good hour before the boy.  This is usually the case even when he hasn’t just come back from a tour in Europe.  No matter! I made myself a bowl of brown oatmeal: steel-cut oats with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, brown sugar and peanut butter.

By the time Ari woke up and decided he wanted chicken parm for breakfast, I was ready for lunch.  I made a salad that was almost a repeat of the day before’s, but why mess with a good thing?

In the mix:

• red chard
• carrots
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/3 brick tempeh
• 1 pear
• red onions
• pumpkin-miso dressing

I also had a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Nonfat Honey Greek Yogurt.

We went into the city and took care of a bunch of errands, including chopping what Erin refers to as Ari’s “alterna-hair.” We stopped by my old restaurant for a glass of wine before going to dinner at Friend House, one of Ari’s favorite sushi restaurants.  Something happened to my camera and it would only take really blurry (and incredibly frustrating) photos.

I ordered the sashimi entrée… I promise that’s what’s in the picture!

It came with miso soup.

We went down to the Lower East Side for some Upwelling work, got caught in the rain, and practically ran all the way home.  After showering away the acid rain, we settled in for the night with our cartons of Ben & Jerry.

I went for Light Phish Food (but demanded asked nicely for the peanut butter cups in Ari’s Everything But The…), and did my best to put it down after I plowed through 1/4 of the carton.  I guess I have a little bit of will-power.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Source

Good morning! How are you today? It’s a blustery day so far here in the city, and I’m happy to say that the air conditioner is no longer running on its automatic circuit.  It seems like most of us have mixed feelings about birthdays, but… I think I’ve decided to be less of [...]]]>

Source

Good morning! How are you today? It’s a blustery day so far here in the city, and I’m happy to say that the air conditioner is no longer running on its automatic circuit.  It seems like most of us have mixed feelings about birthdays, but… I think I’ve decided to be less of a grinch and just enjoy seeing my friends and family, as usual.  Why not celebrate when you can?

Yesterday was another Fall-inspired breakfast: oats cooked with water and almond milk, topped with a small apple, pumpkin pie mix, and a scoop of peanut butter.

At work, fearing a grumbly tummy (I work in the same room as my boss) I took a water break and ate a Trek Mix bar in the reception area.

My mom and I were able to meet for lunch today, and dined at Baoguette, a chain of Vietnamese sandwich and noodle shops.

I ordered the Bu’n Fish, which was baked in spices and plopped on top a HUGE portion of noodles and pickled vegetables.  I ate so much, but still had at least a pound of leftovers to take home!

I went home, made some tea (which I promptly spilled all over myself and the floor), snacked on some chunks, and fell asleep.

I woke up just in time to shower before having to leave to meet my parents.  We were going to a play with at 7:00 curtain and weren’t going to eat dinner until it was over, so I made myself a Greek yogurt/ warmed Mangolicious blend/applesauce snack.

The play, called Is Life Worth Living?, was a revival of an Irish play from the 1930s.  We all really enjoyed it! The perfect way to kick of birthday season.  Ahem.

After the play, we went to John’s Pizzeria for a late dinner.  This was a hotspot when I was in elementary and middle school… almost everyone had birthday parties here.  I don’t think I’d been for 10 years!

We ordered a spinach salad with apples, blue cheese, walnuts, onions and olives to share:

We also split a large Margherita pizza with basil and onion.

I had two slices.

I haven’t ordered pizza in so long, and it felt so good. It was a really, really nice evening.  When I got home, I finished off the last of the coconut milk ice cream and topped it with frozen cherries and homemade almond milk. I love eating straight from the carton… it feels so naughty!

I also dug into some snail mail from a certain buddy who must know I’m obsessed with pugs…

… a special note from Miss Gliding Calm!

This girl sure knows how to brighten a day

Well, I’m off to go get my license renewed.  Don’t you just love the DMV?  A certain someone might be coming home today, too… I’ll give you one good guess.

Have a great day!

On Friday morning, I made one of the [...]]]> Good evening! I’m so sorry about the posting delay; I spent the weekend with older that, while it still works, is just not up to blogging speed.  No matter! Today’s will just be Doublemint style; double the pleasure, and most definitely double the fun

On Friday morning, I made one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time: Butternut Oatmeal Pie. The combination of flavors and textures really did taste like a Fall dessert!

In the bowl:

• 1/2 cup steel-cut oats, soaked overnight
• butternut squash purée
• Greek yogurt
• walnuts
• agave
• cinnamon
• nutmeg

I spent a lot of time puttering around, catching up on e-mails and cleaning.  I ended up leaving the house pretty late, so my time at the gym was minimal!  I did manage to get a total-body workout in, though: 10 minutes on the stairs, arms/lazy abs (one ab machine), and 10 minutes on the bike.  It’s very efficient, if you only have half an hour.  On the way in, I gobbled down a Trader Joe’s Mixed Berry Fiberful bar.

After making myself moderately presentable, I headed uptown to meet Caitlin for lunch at Alice’s Tea Cup.

I’m a creature of habit, and always order the Light Fare: small salad, soup & bread.  I was very excited when I heard they were serving butternut squash soup… but, of course, it was made with chicken stock.  Instead I ordered the lentil soup, which bummed me out a teensy bit because a) it seems like always have lentil soup, and b) I still have a big vat of leftover lentil sitting in the fridge! But it was still good, and their bread was amazing as usual.

The warm pear + endive salad with carmelized onions and roquefort cheese was, as always, very good…

I think I’m just a little burned out on the Tea Cup. Never thought that day would come? Neither did I.  After lunch, Caitlin and I wandered around, hit up some sample sales, and wandered around trying to figure out what kind of tasty treat we were craving.  Turned out to be… nothing! We couldn’t make up our minds, which I think was because we were actually pretty full from lunch.  On my walk home, however, I stopped and bought an apple from a vendor on the street (and scored last month’s issue of SELF for $1!). Hit the spot!

A little while later I met up with Greg for dinner, and we stopped at our favorite Middle Eastern hole-in-the-wall for take-out falafel. The restaurant has undergone some ownership changes and is now lit with bright flourescents and features a Maoz-style logo.  Strange.  I ordered the falafel/hummus plate, which came with pita and about a pound of yummus.  I ate all of the falafel (which was a little cold by the time we ate it, but still good) and a piece of pita, and saved the rest of the bread and hum for later.

We then went back out for drinks and chat…

… which led to this.

I don’t even really like Ben & Jerry’s, but Peanut Butter Cookie Dough? Half-Baked Frozen Yogurt? I couldn’t say no.  I felt a little sick afterwards, to say the least… oops.

When I woke up the next morning, my mama was ready to RUN!  We fueled up with coffee, and headed out for a leisurely 2 mile walk-run.  When we got back, I dug into my hummus and pita leftovers, topping them with a microwaved egg, salt & pepper.

This was a delicious combination, and I’ll have to re-create it soon.

I also had 0% Fage, an apple and cinnamon.

Finally, my mom and I headed out to take on the day and run some errands.   On our walk downtown, we got distracted by the delicious smells coming out of Georgia’s Bake Shop and stopped inside.  I munched on a chocolate almond croissant to better fuel my shopping tasks. Scrumptiously decadent

We crossed everything off our our lists in record time, and did a stellar job shopping the sales.  On the walk home, we munched on Gala apples.

I also introduced her to chunks of energy… she was a fan!

Since I never ate a formal “lunch”,  I snacked pretty much throughout the entire day… when I was little, I followed the “six small meals” plan completely unknowingly!  I like to sample, what can I say.

We had some surprise guests for dinner (Judy and Caitlin!), so I helped my dad get dinner ready.  While we were prepping ingredients, I sipped on a glass of Black Box Wine Sauvignon Blanc.

Whenever we have company, everyone gravitates towards the kitchen!

My mom set out dried apricots, walnuts, and rosemary-baked bread sticks.

Dinner was superb.  We started with avocado halves dressed with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic, salt & pepper.

And for the main event: mango/onion/green pepper salad with chili-infused dressing, shrimp stir-fry with homemade Italian egg noodles, and steamed asparagus.

For dessert, we had fresh figs dressed in lavender honey served with Haagen-Dazs’ Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream.

It took a couple tries to get the ice cream right, though…notice anything funny?

The carton on the left was missing the chocolate-covered almonds, and they’re the best part!  I’ll be calling the company tomorrow.  Once, I bought a box of Oreos that were missing the cream filling!  What’s the goofiest product blunder you’ve ever come across?

Regular posting will resume tomorrow.  I hope you had a great weekend!

Although we both managed to be in bed early- before 11:30- I had a terrible time trying to sleep, I was so excited! I woke up at 1:30 and thought it was time to [...]]]> Good afternoon! Thanks to all of your wonderful support and comments, Ilana and I had a great race this morning.

Although we both managed to be in bed early- before 11:30- I had a terrible time trying to sleep, I was so excited! I woke up at 1:30 and thought it was time to go… I made the same mistake twice more at 4:30 and 6:30.  When it was finally time to get up, I was pretty tired! I still bounded up, walked Charley, and sat down to a pre-race breakfast.

I had a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, cinnamon, a banana and honey with a cup of coffee.

Ilana had a bowl of Mueslix, Puffins, and a banana.

We were tired, but ready to race!

We packed all of our necessities and hopped on the subway.  We found the Museum of Natural History, and made our way to the starting line outside the front of the building… along with 25,000 other racers!

You can see that I decided to bring my camera after all… I ran with both my iPod and camera in my right hand, leaving my left free.  Hopefully I’ll have a new iPod for the next time!

We played around a little…

Stretched…

Then we got in line.  They were broken down by pace, so I decided to try and push myself and got into the 9-minute mile lane.  Worst case, I’d fall behind!

We listened to speeches by breast cancer survivors, Uma Thurman, Gabrielle Union, Gov. David Patterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Cyndi Lauper (among others), who sang the National Anthem.

I started off pretty fast.  Every article I’ve read about racing has said not to do this, but I couldn’t help myself.  I was excited! I ran past the first mile-marker and saw that I’d been running for 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Woohoo!

I started getting a stitch in the middle of my right ribcage during mile 2, but remembered what K said and inhaled through my nose, exhaling through my mouth.  It still hurt, but eventually went away.  I finished my second mile at 17:30, making that an 8-minute mile. What?!

Although I knew the end was in sight and that this was not the longest distance I’ve run, my legs started getting tired.  Adrenaline pushed me on, though, and I sailed through the finish line after 27:40, with an average pace of  8:55/ mile.  That is definitely a PR for me!

Ilana and I found each other, sweaty but victorious.

We headed over to the swag tents…

Found out some more about the Susan G. Komen Foundation…

Sampled Fuze (too sweet for my tastes)…

… and came home with POUNDS of swag.

We immediately broke into our samples of Dove milk chocolate… I’m not a huge milk chocolate fan, but this was a pretty sweet reward.

When we got back to the apartment, we were tired and hungry.  We decided to enjoy a celebratory lunch at Picnic!  We sat outside to dog people watch.

In honor of my dad and grandparents, who are in Nice eating the real deal, I enjoyed a slice of baguette with butter.

Ilana and I both ordered the same thing: quiche & salad.  I had the Alsatian Tarte, which was filled with potatoes, leeks, onions, and gruyère cheese. It was a great post-race treat!

When we got home, we fell into bed and slept for a couple hours.  As Ilana said, “That’s what Sundays are for!”  I agree.