Breakfast in the PM

Sorry in advance if I sound a little moody in this post; I'm in a bit of a funk. Before I start my little rant, here's a cute little picture of the kitties- it looks like they're getting along!




I have mixed feelings that it's already the end of October: the semester's more than halfway over, and in a few months I'll be back in New York trying to find a job. The job part in itself is pretty scary, especially with the market the way it is. Almost the whole time I've been in college, I've been waiting to get out and move back to the City and start my "real" life; especially since that's where my boyfriend lives most of the time. He's pretty busy now though (which is great, and I am so so happy and proud of him, don't get me wrong) so I probably won't see him until mid- December. And the injury, and the crutches.... I know it's so easy to get down about the things that aren't going quite as well as they could be; the hardest part is staying optimistic. But that's really what I need to do, so I'm going to stop my whining right now!

I had a Sugar-Free Carnation Instant Breakfast packet around 10:00. I've never tried chocolate before, but it was pretty tasty. I bet it would be delicious blended with ice and a banana.




Lunch was a total Caitlin knock-off: grilled cheddar with spinach (broiled, actually) with carrots and pickles.




DO NOT buy this Dasani Plus water. It is SO GROSS. The bottle says "With great taste, refreshment and nutrients, it all adds up to the mouth-watering experience you expect from Dasani." It IS mouth-watering, because it left such a horrible aftertaste that I still felt thirsty!


I was pretty hungry after my presentation (which went alright, I think); I'm going to Katey's to carve pumpkins and watch a movie so I probably won't eat until I get home. I made a big bowl of pumpkin pie oats:




1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk
1/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp brown sugar
pecans
spoonful of almond butter

This is a pretty big and calorically dense "snack," but since I probably won't be eating until 9ish I figured it was okay. And I wanted a little comfort food, and I thought it would fill me up better than a big bowl o' ice cream!

I was still feeling a little bummed so I finished the episode of Gossip Girl that I started yesterday. Sorry to be such a "Debbie Downer"... it seems like a lot of us are feeling that way this week!

On Beauty

Up bright and early to write my Russian presentation... the heat went way down overnight, and the house is freezing! I'm going to prepare my work in bed, but I'm bringing a HUGE mug of coffee so hopefully snoozing won't be an issue.


I tried out a new cereal today: Fiber One Caramel Delight. The calories are a little higher than I usually have without mixing with a lower calorie cereal (180/cup) so I added a Wheetabix biscuit and half a banana. The verdict? It tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch's less popular cousin, French Toast Crunch... in other words, too sweet for me! I LOVE the traditional Fiber One, but this tasted nothing like it. Very disappointing!





I read an interesting article in the Times while I ate my breakfast about the dichotomy of beauty and ugliness, and how that usually equates to good and evil. This is a topic we've talked about a lot in my English class this semester, and it's just something to keep in mind as Halloween approaches and we "monster-up".

See you later when my work is DONE.

Bridges and Blunders

Whoops, sorry, I meant I went to see A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller, NOT A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf OR A Room With A View by E.M. Forster. You can see how it gets confusing! It was so, so good. I recognized the lead man as Frances McDormand's husband in Fargo (one of my favorites)! I'm not sure if it's traveling or not, but if anyone gets a chance to see it, do!

Before I left I reheated the shrimp and veggie stir fry from Monday, which was still delicious. (I was watching Monday's episode of Gossip Girl on my computer, if you were wondering.)


I also had a bowl of nonfat plain yogurt with GoLean, pumpkin, and a squirt of honey.


I've been remembering the cookies at the Guthrie since I went a couple years ago, and when you're dreaming of something for that long, you just can't say no. Sarah and I each got a chocolate chunk cookie with walnuts, and a black coffee. Unfortunately intermission ended a little too soon for me to finish my java, but hopefully a little bit of the caffeine got into my system.




I've got lots to do for tomorrow, so I'm going to brew some tea and hop to it. Bonne nuit!


Edited to add: Runner's World posted these great 15-minute meals for runners. Check 'em out!

Unappetizing lunch

I was in a hurry to this morning so I didn't get to prepare my lunch with the love and care it deserved (ha). I wanted to use up the perishable items in my fridge, and a little lightning bolt when off: why don't I combine them all together?! BAD IDEA. I should have known it was a no-go when I smelled the black beans, but I'd only had them open a few days so I thought they'd be okay. I mixed about 1/3 of a cup into a cup of cottage cheese with 1/3 of a cup of corn. Still looked sort of gross, but I thought if I microwaved it, maybe the grossness would dissolve into cheesy deliciousness. Oh, how wrong I was!


I hate to waste that much food and the container, but it was so foul I can't even tell you. So I spent money I should not be spending on a replacement: a veggie wrap.



It was made of shredded carrots, cabbage, basil, onion and mint. The mint and basil really made it; I'll have to remember these ingredients in my sammies. Would a cheddar/tomato/mint sandwich be good? Because this was served in the "healthy"(ier) cafe on campus, the creamy sauce was on the side. I didn't even end up opening it; I used a little ketchup and mustard and the sandwich tasted just fine. And the veggies were sweet and delicious on their own!


I had it alongside an apple (which was almost too mealy to eat), a cherry pecan Balance Pure bar, and a cup of Darjeeling tea.



Dinner's post will be a little late tonight; Sarah and I are going to see A Room With A View at the Guthrie tonight! My grandparents saw it and loved it, and were nice enough to get us tickets. I'm so excited!

Humpday Oats

Look at that face! That was the look I got all night while I was doing my reading. Sometimes he plops down right on my chest, and I can barely see over the book! Our old cats, Spotty and Sasha, used to sit right down on the newspaper or whatever else we were doing. Cats are very demanding of attention!


I had another sleepless night; I got up a little after I turned out the light and had this Clif Nectar bar. I used to eat these a lot sophmore year... they definitely taste more like a dessert, but they're a lighter form of Larabar. I think they're pretty good!




Warm bowl of oats to combat the 60 degree thermostat I woke up to:



1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup water
1/2 banana
1 tsp flax
small handful raisins
1 tsp brown sugar
1/3 cup skim milk




There's going to be some kind of parking drama (something about a crane somewhere near the parking lots?) so I'm going to get to school early so I don't have to walk a mile to get to class... Happy Humpday!

Stuffed tummy!

The birthday boy with Mike and Wade




Tonight was so much fun! The restaurant was "family style", so Greg ordered a whole bunch of food for the table. The lighting was pretty dim, and I played around with the flash but some of the photos are either super bright or really fuzzy... sorry!


I didn't want any wine (although Greg gave me a sip of his... sparkling red! I'll have to remember that), so I got this huuuuge raspberry lemonade! I couldn't finish... too much liquid!


Appetizers:

Fried calamari:


Garlic bread and bruschetta (I ate about 1/3 total):


Apple/walnut/cranberry gorgonzola salad:


Main:

Manicotti and spiral tubular (I just tried to look up the name for this pasta... it's on the tip of my tongue but I just can't remember!) pasta with mixed vegetables in red sauce, and some green beans in lemon juice and olive oil.



They brought out an ENORMOUS piece of chocolate cake (like, 5 layers) that we split about 16 ways. Everyone was so full that there was still some left over... Here's my bite:




I have a ton of work to do tonight... hopefully the sleep fairy won't come too early tonight and I can get some stuff done! Whenever I have a lot of pasta (which ended up being twice today, should have planned that better!) I just want to curl up in a little ball and hibernate. Hope everyone had a nice Tuesday...

Rock the femur, rock the vote!

I had a TERRIBLE time sleeping last night for some reason. Could be because of my ginormous "nap", but I was so tired while I was reading in bed! Anyway, finally after about an hour or so I got up to get a snack of toast with a little B&B and red raspberry jam. Annnd make sure my absentee ballot was all ready to go!



This is the first presidential election I'm voting in, so it's exciting for me. I'm hopeful...


I got up at 7 for my doctor's appointment and made a quick mess of nonfat plain yogurt, pumpkin, GoLean, almond butter, and a squirt of honey. Delish!



So. Here's what the doctor said: My fracture is healing well, as far as he can tell- the x-ray only showed a little "hazy fuzz", which is what stress fractures look like on film. Typically, femural fractures take 3 months to heal, so here's what the next three weeks look like for me:

Week 1: Add a little weight, assisted with crutches
Week 2: More weight-bearing, still assisted with crutches
Week 3: Try walking, unassisted

My next appointment is the week before I go home for Thanksgiving, so hopefully I'll be off crutches before I have to go to the airport (my #1 fear). I knew I wasn't going to be able to give up the crutches so soon, so I'm not too disappointed. And maybe two weeks from now I'll be able to walk like a 'normal' person.

I had a Chex Mix bar that my grandmother got as a sample in "Turtle" (sorry for the blurry picture, and yes I do have flowered sheets!). It was pretty good... Not something I'd choose for an energy booster, but it only had 130 calories and either 2.5 or 3.5 grams of fat, so it did the trick.


Lunch was Annie's white cheddar macaroni with half a can of tuna, and a sliced apple.



I'm having an early dinner at Bucca di Beppo tonight so I didn't pack a snack, but my tummy's grumbling! I might go pick up some pretzels from the vending machine with the last dollar in my wallet...