Hot temper and hot food

Well, this afternoon was a little frustrating.  It started off by me running out the door and forgetting my coffee mug which I had just brewed to perfection.  I didn’t remember until I was half way to campus, and at that point I had to print out notes before class so I had no time to turn around.

Speaking of those notes, I was printing a bunch of stuff, so when I grabbed my stack of papers from the printer they were probably sitting there for a few minutes.  I glanced and saw that all my packets were there before hole punching them and heading to class.

When I got to class, I opened up to todays notes which I had printed totally filled in.  But the notes I had were blank!  I started really getting frustrated after this incident and the hot coffee that was sitting in my kitchen getting cold.  I was venting to the person in front of me, and she told me the guy in front of her was “surprised” to see that the notes he printed right before class was filled in.  Did he think the note fairy came and printed him out the notes?  He obviously grabbed mine and left me with his!  I was definitely seeing red (especially since he was wearing a red shirt), but I let him keep the good notes and kept my temper to myself.

When I got home I channeled my hot head into a hot spicy dinner.  Buffalo shrimp and celery for me!  I had never thought about how great buffalo sauce and celery go together, but the spiciness adds flavor and the celery is so watery and crisp that is cools your mouth down.  Perfection.

 

Exciting moment of the day ---I officially signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February!

Now who knows where I can get a cute yet comfy for running tutu?

4 Week Diet Re-Vamp Recap

Wow, that 4 weeks went fast!  I thought I would do a little recap on how eating a stricter diet for the first 4 out of the 6 weeks has been working. 

 

Stats: 

Days of diet – 28

Pounds lost – 20

Inches lost – 20 (as of 2 weeks ago I haven’t measured since)

Soda’s consumed – 1 sip

Alcohol consumed – none

Meals out – 4

Weeks left of strict diet – 2

 

So far it is a success!  The weight I gained over various vacations this summer came off rather quickly which was definitely good.  I haven’t been going to the gym for intense sessions during this month, but I have been trying to get a little extra burn on by walking a lot and being more active in everyday life.  It definitely helps that going to and from campus once is 1 mile round trip.  If you make the trip a few times a day everyday that definitely adds up!  I’m even planning on a hike at Hawk Mountain this weekend if the weather cooperates which I can’t wait for! 

 

Sorry for a picture-less post!  Wish I had some before and after pictures.  Got to run to class! 

Devon’s for Date Night

This morning was one of those mornings.  I woke up with justttt enough time to get to class a minute early if everything went according to plan.  Of course it didn’t.  I threw on coffee while I got ready, realized the lid was up when I went back to it, and then when I put the lid back down the coffee pot was not pleased.  Needless to say I went to class without coffee, and also unplugged the pot in case it had a mutiny while I was in class.

Backtracking a little back to yesterday.  My exam went well!  I was very prepared and now I am just anxious to receive my grade.  I came home from the exam, took a little napski, and then got ready to go to dinner with Joe.  We haven’t been out to dinner in a while because going out to eat is a major diet trap for me, but we decided to celebrate that my first test was over and go to Devon’s Seafood in Rittenhouse Square.  We had been here once before and it was so unbelievably good.  I was excited to go back, but since I am only 4 weeks into my 6 week diet revamp, I decided to be well behaved when ordering.

Devon’s has a huge selection of seasonal fish, so I chose to get the Mahi Mahi, cooked dry with sides of spinach and asparagus.  I usually am not a huge fan of asparagus, but I loved it last night!  It was crunchy and flavorful, which is exactly how I like my veggies!

I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of the salad I got, but luckily it was the same salad as before which had watercress, tomatoes, and feta.  This time I opted for dressing on the side. 

Bonus of the night…when I was getting dressed to go out, I decided to try on a pair of shorts.  I bought them in the spring, then I wanted to wear them for the first time sometime after that and they didn’t fit.  I tried them on, and they fit great!  4 weeks in and the best motivation is seeing results!

Do you agree?  Is the best motivation to keep going seeing results?  Clothes that fit better or running faster and farther?

Mamma Mia!

This posts a quickie :-)

I've basically been studying all weekend at the a library on Penn's campus and am definitely feeling pretty good for my test today at 2. Before the test I'm just going to go over and over the material so there's no mess ups come exam time. I'm feeling kind of crumby today not sure why, joint pain, sore, stomach doesn't feel good. Maybe nerves? To cheer myself up and motivate me il be listening to the Mamma Mia soundtrack (broadway not movie --pierce sounds like a buffalo in that move I can't believe he was ever cast).

Self portrait of what being a mad woman who studies all the time looks like:





Note i had to remove the glasses bc of glare issues. Date night tonight at a nice sea food restaurant! Looking forward to that since I've barely had a chance to eat all weekend! Now I'm starting to get the shakes from not having caffeine in my system after a nom-stop weekend of coffee pumping through my blood. Time to get back to business!

Your choices are half chance…so are everybody else's…

This morning was an early one, and I definitely did not want to drag my comfy butt out of bed.  The bed was extra comfy since I washed my sheets last night and they still had that fabric softener smell on them.  Heaven.

Eventually I got up and quickly packed up to head to a library on UPenn’s campus with my pharmacy school partner in crime, Pam.  We spent about 7 hours there before calling it a day since she had plans to meet up with her family.  I had plans for dinner tonight but they fell through, so I trying to make the best of my free evening.

Since I’m still in a very productive mood, I’m making a self-pledge to not turn on the TV.  I actually have no desire to watch any TV (which is definitely new for me) and I think I’m going to get some stuff off my to do list for school and keep on trucking with the studying for my big test Monday.

After coming home I needed to relax my mind for a bit, so I listened to some music and came across one of my favorite “songs”.  It’s not really a song, per say, but I love it.  I then got inspired to find a good guided meditation online to center myself and relax a little bit. 

Here is the song I came across…Love it!

 

I’m feeling so new agey tonight…weird.  Time to get back to business.   

P.S. Congrats to my brother for an awesome rock show last night playing the best of songs from the 80s!  Great job Shaun!

Healthy Living at the Ball Park

So, just because I am watching my diet doesn’t mean that I never want to go out!  This week I went to two Phillies games, and it was definitely a challenge.  When other people are eating dollar dogs (they taste so much better when you can buy them for a dollar) and drinking a few beers while enjoying the game, I hate having food envy.

So here are some easy tips for trying to beat the temptation if you aren’t willing to indulge!

1) Eat before the game

I ate dinner before both games this week.  This way I wasn’t hungry and tempted to eat ballpark food.  Yeah, a lot of the food was smelling delicious, but I just kept reminding myself that I already ate dinner and wasn’t hungry.

2) Pack. Pack. Pack.

Many people don’t know that you can actually bring food to a lot of stadiums.  You can also bring bottled water if it’s sealed.  This way, you can pack a healthy dinner, and when everyone else is having hot dogs and schmitters (best sandwich ever but definitely not healthy) you can pull out a turkey in wheat sandwich, fruit, etc.  Just because you are going to the ballpark doesn’t mean that you have to eat their food.

3) Say no to the beer.

This is definitely a hard one, but just take one look at the price of a beer at a baseball game and you’ll know your making a good decision.  Instead, I pack unopened bottled water to take with me and sip on that during the game when everyone else is sipping on beers.  I don’t have to pay for anything, and I also save on the calories.

 

We all had a great time at the game last night!  It was a great way to spend the last night of summer…I type that with a tear in my eye.  Even though it hasn’t felt like summer in a while since I’ve been in school, it is definitely sad to say goodbye to my favorite season.  I have a long weekend of studying ahead of me.  It’s going to be a rainy week here in Philly so I’m going to do my best to stay dry and study hard!

One Thing at a Time

I am exactly half way through my diet shake up!  Woohoo!  I am 3 weeks into the 6 and I’m feeling good.  Since I decided to really focus of eating 100% healthy for 6 weeks, I’ve actually been feeling great!  No junk food, no soda, no alcohol, and I’m doing ok!  Do I wish that I could go get a big meal out to dinner for restaurant week?  You bet I do.  But I know that I really need to focus on one thing at a time to get back to where I was.

Tonight for dinner I had some steak!  I was cooking for one because Joe had other plans, so it was the perfect opportunity to have the one steak that’s been sitting in my freezer.  I cut all the fat off, cooked it dry, and ate it with an apple and some spinach. 

Right now, I am learning how to focus on one thing at a time.  This is true with living a healthy lifestyle as well as crossing off things from my “to-do” list.  Even though I’m not going to go back to intense workouts for 3 more weeks, I’ve been thinking about my race plans.  Although I was heavier before starting the diet, I was in pretty decent shape. 

I decided (after a lot of thought) that I would not run what I thought would have been my first half marathon, Rock and Roll Philadelphia half marathon, which was last weekend.  I was training for it during the summer, but I missed some of my long runs.  Then I went on vacation, and I decided not to exercise at all.  After missing a lot of important training, I decided to switch gears and shift my focus to something that definitely needed more work, my diet.  This meant not running in the marathon last weekend.  It made me a little sad, but I think I did what was best for me.

I am signed up for the Philadelphia Half Marathon which takes place towards the end of November.  I think that in 3 weeks, I am going to begin officially training for it.  If I feel like I’m struggling, I am definitely going to wait until Disney Half Marathon in January.  If I’m feeling good, then I’m going to go for it!  I am not going to put pressure on myself to run the entire time or finish with a certain time.  I am going to challenge myself to finish the race with a smile on my face and do the best I can. 

I do know that my training plan is going to involve VARIETY.  I have some spinning and rowing sessions that are expiring in the fall, so I plan on a spinning day, a rowing day, 3 running days, and a day of yoga per week.  I’m actually really excited to get started! 

Time to check some things off my “to-do” list now…one at a time of course!

Tortilla-less Chicken Fajitas

I’ve decided to get back to healthy living by focusing on one change at a time, and this month I am really trying to focus on diet.  So far it’s been going great and I have lost all the weight that was gained on my summer vacations plus a little more. 

One thing that poses a challenge when things get hectic is trying to find healthy and quick meals.  I’ve been mainly eating fruit, proteins, and vegetables so I’ve discovered a great meal to eat for a quick lunch throughout the week. 

I’ve been making 3 portions of chicken fajitas, minus the tortillas, early in the week, portioning them out, and then heating it up and enjoying it when I need a quick meal. 

Recipe:

Portion out however many pieces of chicken you want to make.  Cut up one onion for each piece of chicken.

In a large ziplock bag combine:

- 1 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp onion powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp celery seed

Shake all the spices, add in the chopped up onions and chicken.  Shake everything together and let it marinate for a brief period of time.  Dump it all in a pan and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked through.  I didn’t cook this with ANY butter or oil at all which I think has been the key to my dieting success these past few weeks.  I’ve been cooking all my meals dry, with water, or with chicken broth.  The juices from the onion and chicken were perfectly sufficient for this meal, so I didn’t even add anything at all except the contents of the bag.

This meal is delicious!  I honestly don’t even miss the cheese and tortillas that come with traditional fajitas.  The spices really add to the meal!

I then portioned out one bowl to enjoy for lunch and then portioned out the rest into individual Tupperware containers.  Next time I’m looking for a quick and easy meal, I’ll just pop it in the microwave and heat it up! 

Today has been good so far.  First up for me was a large cup of coffee and a 15 minute presentation on Aromatherapy for my Special Topics in Non-Prescription therapeutics elective.  My group rocked it and the teacher even told us great job at the end.  Always a plus to know you did well! 

Now since I’ve gotten lunch out of the way (as well as cooking my other lunches for this week) I am going to hit the books!

Hakuna Matata

Today was a great Saturday.  Since I was spending the night in the suburbs “babysitting” my brother (he’s 15 and doesn’t really need babysitting), I had run of the place.  This is my productive day:

• Woke up 9:30 am
• Got into the comfiest clothes I could find

• Watched 2 lectures
• Did 3 loads of laundry
• Cleaned out our bathroom (team effort between my brother and I)
• Cleaned out my car
• Found these uggs in the bottom part of my trunk.  I think they were never worn kids uggs that my mom gave my brother and I adopted a few years ago.  A little snug but perfect for this cool fall day.

• Went to Wawa – got coffee

• Went to the bank
• Got the car washed

• Went food shopping at Trader Joes
• Bought myself a $3 bouquet of flowers…lovely purple iris’

• Drove my brother to band practice
• Drove back to the my apartment in the city
• Lit a pumpkin pie Yankee Candle

• Made dinner – burger, no bun, extra lettuce. 

• Got dressed up in another really comfy and warm outfit

• Went to the movies to see the Lion King 3D

• Decided Joe should be Rafiki for Halloween

All in a days work!  Not a bad Saturday if you ask me!

Peace Wall

I’m spending 24 at “home home” in the burbs so I wanted to take full advantage of being out of the city.  I got a haircut at my go-to place and then headed over to Ridley Creek Park to meet some friends and walk the loop.  The loop is about 4.5 miles long, and it was so nice to spend the afternoon outside.  It had been awhile since I’d done a nice long outdoor walk so I was loving enjoying the nature and the exercise!

Before getting our walk on, we had to stop and take some pictures by the peace wall.  They paint the mural every few years, but it always is painted as a symbol of peace.  Pretty awesome if you ask me.  This years is especially cool.  I love the map behind the dove.

Today was the first actually chilly day of fall.  It was pretty sad, but temperatures are supposed to be up a bit more next week.  The first cold day always reminds me that the first warm days of summer are soooo far away.  Although this does mean that my beloved summer is coming to an end, I’m trying to focus on all the great things that are to come in the fall and winter.  I’m definitely not trying to think of walking to class in the freezing cold and snow…which is coming sooner rather than later! 

Tomorrow is hopefully going to be jam packed with all my suburban errands.  Here’s hoping for some Saturday productivity!

You can’t do it all

This morning I woke up at 9:30, was super tired, and thought that I would go to sleep for just another 15 minutes or so.  Next thing I know it was 12:05..oops!  Good thing I didn’t have anywhere specific to be this morning.  I took a walk and decided to stop in the Green Line Café to do a little studying.

Green Line café is a place that I walk by all the time.  It’s super cute and kind of big for a coffee shop.  All summer I kept thinking how I was going to go there to to study once the school year began.  When I arrived, I ordered a coffee, got settled into a table, and then I noticed that the shop was playing rock music rather loud.  I sat there enjoying my coffee for about a half hour, looking over my notes and finalizing my “to do” list.  Not super productive, but it happens.  I think I prefer the smoother Starbucks sounds to the loud hard rock hipster music of Green Line.

I love going to coffee shops to work because it removes me from my apartment environment where it is so easy to find a distraction such as TV, dishes, laundry, etc.  Well, a hipster coffee shop with loud music wasn’t that escape I was looking for.  Probably will be finding another local coffee shop for my future study getaways.

12 days of No Diet Soda and Counting

Today is day 12 of my revamp of my diet.  So far it is going well!  I haven’t had any diet coke or alcohol which is awesome!  I am a huge diet soda lover so giving it up hasn’t been easy at all.  Even though diet soda doesn’t have calories, I do think deep down that it has an impact on health and weight. 

source

After doing some research on the subject..this is what I found in a nutshell.  Basically diet soda contains artificial sweeteners.  These sweeteners mimic what happens when you eat something sweet and full of calories.  Your body doesn’t receive any calories from the soda, so it get’s confused.  Diet soda can lead to even more weight gain and also an increase in appetite since the body is expecting more calories.

“A study presented at a American Diabetes Association meeting this week shows that drinking diet soda is associated with a wider waist in humans. A second study shows that aspartame -- an artificial sweetener in diet soda -- actually raises blood sugar in mice prone to diabetes.”

I have missed my bubbly friend a little the past week or two, but instead I’ve been drinking lots of water and coffee with Truvia.  When I have that urge to grab a soda, I instead try and opt for a bubbly alternative.  Seltzer water made with my soda stream and fresh lemons is a great substitute.  This is also a great alternative when out to dinner, since I usually order soda there as well. 

source

 

Any other fellow soda drinkers out there?  Do you try and reel in your soda intake or just enjoy soda as much as you want?

Pumpkin in the Pubs

Even though I am abstaining for alcohol for about 6 weeks to focus on reeling in my negative dining habits, I have noticed something that I didn’t last year around this time….pumpkin spiced brews!  While randomly at a local take out restaurant, I spotted all of these fall flavored beers while I was there.

That’s a lot of pumpkin beer!  Especially considering I took these pictures during the first week of September. 

 

Have any of you ever tried fall flavored adult beverages?

Any recommendations?