Guess who?

Good morning, bloggies! I hope you've slept well. I did my weird get up and have breakfast then go back to sleep for two hours thing. But hey, whatever works.

Last night Kalle and I met for a light dinner before the play at the Aspen Social Club. It was a swanky little place that looked fun; they have a bar with businessmen in the front so we high-tailed it to the back and had an intimate little corner to our very own.

We split a bottle of this chemin blanc:


AMAZING beet salad. Yes, it was as small as it looks, but it was actually the perfect amount. There were two different types of beets (have you ever seen a pink beet? I sure haven't), blue cheese, frisée lettuce and mint. The mint really made it.


We also split an order of polenta fries with gorgonzola sauce. I've never made polenta fries myself, but I know how popular they are in the blogosphere. They were delicious. I'll have to bake me up some of these! I'm pretty sure their version was fried, though.


We snuck some Milano cookies into the theater to see Speed the Plow.


It was great. The acting was amazing, and especially excited because it starred Elisabeth Moss. Does her name sound familiar? It should, because she is.... yes! you guessed it! Peggy on Mad Men!


This morning I woke up and made a breakfast uncookie and used up the last of the peanut butter. I forgot to prepare it and put it in the fridge overnight, but it tasted just fine without being cooked or anything..

1/2 cup oats
2 scoops yogurt
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp PB
dried fruit
1/2 banana

I'm going to the gym now (I've taken way too many days off recently) and then meeting my cousins in Union Square to go shopping. Have a great day!

Hit the jackpot!

I'm alive, just a little tired and a lot busy!

I'd set my alarm for 7, and I got up and ate half of this Clif Builder's Peanut Butter bar. It is soooo much better than the Vanilla Almond! It has a delicious crunchy middle layer and I would buy it again.


Sadly, I decided I needed to sleep more and would go to the gym later, so I slept until 9:20 and had the rest of the bar.

I got a small skim latte with honey during Poetry:


Cafeteria lunch! I was starving.

Salad: spinach, cabbage, carrots, black olives, broc, cucumbers, chick peas, beets, etc. I got a chickpea/tempeh dish on the side. I didn't end up eating all of the salad, or any of the celery.



Muligatawny soup! I added peanuts, parsley, coconut and raisins.


With coffee. One of the guys who works there asked if I "always eat this healthy"... we all know the answer to that! Ha.


1/2 a cookie bar for dessert.


Pre-workout banana:


Bike:
35:00 minutes
6.06 miles
292 calories burned

ab series


Cheese sample at Whole Foods:



Groceries:





Total: $60.53. I saved $5.00 by using coupons!


This lovely package arrived in the AM, and brightened up my day!


My vitamins also finally came! Good day for mail.


I'm going to be late to my film screening, but I had to shower after my sweaty bike ride! I made dinner to bring, so I'll post those pics later. Happy Monday!

Sugar, here I come!

Isn't that cute? It's how Jalene dries her socks!!!



I had a nice time at Brewberry's with Katey over coffee and homework. Luke wasn't working so I'm sure the "cardamiel" latte (cardamom, honey, espresso and milk) would have been better had he made it, but it was still pretty good.


I realized I'd forgotten something I needed for class (big surprise) so I went back home and ended up eating there (although I'd been prepared with a packed lunch bag!). I had leftover tempeh from last night (with yogurt and salsa) and a chobani with banana and honey.



After class Sarah, Carlye, Jalene and I all came back to our apartment to finish the baking project we'd started... cupcakes! There were several birthdays and karmic debts that needed to be repaid (like helping us move in, hauling furniture, etc.) and what better way to do it then bake? We used the Magnolia Bakery recipe to satisfy sweet teeth and my New York- withdrawal. I used the recipe reprinted in 52 Cupcakes' blog and found a lot of other decadent treats I can't wait to make. I followed the recipe exactly, except for substituting half the butter in the batter for applesauce.

Here's a little peek from the cupcake gallery:






I had to make sure they were edible gifts, so I practically snatched this one out of Sarah's hand.



SO GOOD, oh my goodness. I actually liked it better than the 'real' Magnolia cupcake! I also ate a ton of frosting... definitely a splurge, especially since I'm going to be cutting back on my workouts until my leg heals. But oh, it was so worth it. I saved a couple for me and Ari to have later, but I think this was one of the prettiest.

Our cafeteria was sponsoring local farms today, so I loaded up my plates with fresh veggies. We sat for over an hour as new people cycled into the table, so I probably ate more than I was hungry for, but oh well.

Salad: spinach, carrot, tofu, feta, cucumber, cabbage, beets. Dressing: oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard.


Butternut squash /apple/parsnip soup, acorn squash and honey-glazed carrots and turnips.

I was sort of craving something "real" and not sugary, so I just had an apple. This picture reminds me of a picture in The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown that I read when I was little.


Time to work and clean and get ready for Ari!

Truck on

My workout today was really weird. For some reason the bike didn't record the distance, so I really don't know how far I went. If I base it off of my previous time over the last couple days, I probably went about 8 miles. Here's what I do know:

43:24 minutes
366 calories

Strength
hip abductors (inner)- 3 x 10 @ 85 lbs
hip abductors (outer)- 3 x 10 @ 85
ab machine- 3 x 10 @ 40 lbs
chest press- 3 x 10 @ 20 lbs
shoulder press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs

I don't know why, but this was just not a satisfying workout. Unfortunately, I can't really do anything about it since my leg has been in a lot of pain recently. The bike doesn't aggravate it so I don't think I need to stop altogether, but it's a little worrisome as the race is in 6 days. Before I left, I had a big cup of coffee and a banana.


I got a salad for "lunch" at 4 PM; the only dressing they had was fat-free Italian. In it was romaine, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, and cheese. I wish there'd been some protein... The only other option was a BLT salad, which I can't eat anyway.

I have a film screening at 7 tonight; I don't think I'm going to eat dinner before that but I'm going to try to find a Clif bar somewhere. The profs usually bring cookies, but I'm going to try to be strong. My stomach is feeling a little funky after the salad so I probably don't want sweets anyway.

Marina and I are studying for our French test tomorrow. The semester's going to accelerate (in terms of work) pretty quickly starting this week, unfortunately.