Sorry for my absence... I was at home in NC with my family this weekend, so rather than keeping up my daily blogging regime, I went into vacation mode.
Friday am I woke up like any other, and had another new Luna:
Not a fan. This reminded me of really bland, chewy granola bars from my youth. Did not enjoy, so I forced down have of it for fuel.
I had a great workout, though! Friday mornings no one is at the UMD gym, so it almost felt relaxing!
- 20 minutes elliptical, level 8
- 20 minutes on bike, level 10
- 20 minutes on treadmill, 3.6 mph on a 4.0 incline (it burns a TON now!)
After that, I headed over to meet Kyle for lunch. We would have left at 11:15 to walk to town, but he was in a meeting until 12:30! I very nearly died after my hour long workout and miniscule breakfast. Luckily, we made it to (where else?) Chipotle just fine:
Bol with rice (I was FAMISHED!), black beans, steak, corn, tomatoes, and ~tbsp sour cream. Then Kyle and I split chips and guac:
It tasted soooooo gooooooood. And it kept my stuffed the rest of the afternoon while I packed and ran errands for our trip. At about 6:30 Kyle and I split our last 3 slices of gouda cheese before hitting the road:
It was goud. I mean, good. Since we had to leave late to beat traffic around DC, we wanted something fast and went to McDonalds:
Mighty Kids meal with chicken nuggets and a diet coke, plus 1/2 a container of sweet and sour sauce. If you eat fast food seldom or all the time, I always recommend getting the kids meal. Most places have a "mighty" or bigger meal, so you still get a decent sized sandwich or or nuggets (this came with 6). I just think this is smarter because it cuts down on the amount of fries you would ordinarily consume getting a larger meal.
Our drive wasn't so bad; we drove straight from DC down to Durham, and got in after 12:30. My dad had gone to bed already, but my mom and lovely pup CASEY! was there to great us. For those of you who don't know me, I have a love affair with my dog, Casey :-). This is us a few years ago:
Perfection. Anyways, back to the trip.
On Saturday I woke up deciding it would be a rest day for me. I had the option of running in the 57 degree weather (so nice!), but I still wasn't sure my body could handle running quite yet. For breakfast I had a piece of multigrain toast with a smidge of butter with 1/2 a Vitamin Water:
Another Casey shot (she loves people food, and is very good at eating it).
Lunch was at Torero's, a local Mexican restaurant. I decided to get something different than I ever had a mexican restaurant... the vegi-chiladas:
I was intrigued by the "steamed" part; I've had veggie entrees at Mexican places before, but they are usually fried or steamed. As we waited for food, we chatted and snacked on chips and salsa:
Then it came...
And was REALLY good! I totally recommend it, and will re-order it next time I come. The veggies were really fresh and I loved the sauce on top. I mostly dug the veggies out, but had some big bites with the tortilla/cheese. I ate all the veggies, 1/3 of the tortillas, 1/2 the low-cholesterol no lard beans, and 2/3 the rice. It was delicious, and necessary. I was starving after that measly piece of toast I had 3 hours prior.
After lunch Kyle and I ventured out with my dad to run errands. While the boys went to play in Best Buy, I sought out new yoga pants at Marshall's. No such luck, but I have GREAT news for another entry... I feel like this one is going to be massive already and I'll save my update for tomorrow :-) We also went to DSW, where I came out empty handed and Kyle got 2 pairs... I'm so proud!
And we had grabbed some wine at Total Wine. There was a tasting:
I had one pinot noir sample and one cabernet sample, and was not impressed. Since I knew we would have some wine before and at dinner, I stopped there!
When we got home it was after 4pm, so while the guys tinkered with their new toys, I tried out my own:
This was $2.99 at Marshall's... how does one say no? I liked the looks of it because it is light cardio but focused on toning. I am clearly getting in a ton of cardio, but am really only feeling the muscles in my legs changing. I want to get some upper-body moves in to help with my arms, back, and chest (a.k.a: bra fat).
I did the 8 minute upper body section, and really liked it! Very simple to follow, and has modified examples and instructions as well. Was perfect with my 3 lb weights (yes, I brought my exercise mat and weights home!).
Before dinner, Dad, Ky and I had some wine:
It was eh, but I only had a glass or so before we went to Parizade, one of my favorite restaurants in Durham since I was little, a fabulous Italian restaurant with a fabulous, eclectic atmosphere:
Munched on bread with evoo and parm:
I had about 1 1/2 pieces all night, and did not refill my oil. Dad also selected this wine, which the table had two of for the night:
To start, my mom got the fried calamari lemon garlic aioli and Kyle got the seared scallops which the shared with the table:
I had three calamari + 1 squid + a dab of the aioli, then one scallop and a scoop of the tomatoes it was served with. Mmmm!
Dad, Zach, Mirya, and I got salads. Zach and Mirya got the ceasar, but dad and I went for the baby spinach:
So good! I loved the pancetta/mushrooms/gruyere combo; however the lemon-mustard dressing had very little flavor.
Dinner was the main reason we came, though. Ever once in a while Parizade has their spanish paella on the menu... the only thing I bother with when it's available. I absolutely love paella, and one of my cooking goals to learn the process of cooking one COMPLETELY from scratch!
It was loaded with muscles, clams, oysters, shrimp, chorizo, and a few pieces of chicken as well. This did NOT dissapoint at all in terms of flavor; the only thing was my father also ordered the paella, however, his was cooked with spinach. I was a bit jealous, but still very happy over all :-)
I passed on dessert, but had a generous pour of Macallan 12 year scotch. I love me some scotch. It used to be a game to see if Zach and I could get away with ordering it, but now I really do enjoy the taste. I usually stick with the Glens, but I liked Macallan a lot:
After dinner, Ky and I went back to my parent's house and played yahtzee for a few hours and drank more vino (my family loves vino). I also watched Paranormal Activity again, alone in the dark. SO GOOD!
Sunday morning I woke up not feeling very good, and munched on a few bagel chips:
I was still not feeling good by lunch time, but we went to another of my favorite places, 411 West in Chapel Hill. I've been there for lunch and dinner before, but never brunch.
I started with "The Arnold" a mix of lemon, orange, and lime juices and sweet tea:
My mommy ordered a plate of beignets for the table. I had my first beignets in New Orleans from Cafe du Monde, which are big puffy donuts that look like so:
Real, traditional beignets covered in powdered sugar. At 411 West, we got little pastry rocks:
I nibbled on one, but left it at that. I much more enjoyed my Omelette Oscar, an omelette with asparagus and crab with a bit of hollandaise on top:
It was pretty good, love fresh crab! I also had a biscuit with a little strawberry jam, and fruit on the side:
After lunch we headed home and I got a bit of a workout:
- 15 minutes of light weights and sit-ups
- 1.5 mile walk around my neighborhood
After a mini nap, Ky and I then made some quacamole for a snack:
2 avocados, 1/2 a yellow onion, 3 campari tomatoes, 1 tsp fresh garlic, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, and juice of 1/2 a lime. The flax seed chips are also really good, and really good for you!
For dinner, we had to go somewhere fast because Zach got tickets to the Duke game. Now, I am a born and bread Dukie. My dad has worked at Duke for about 30 years now, and from age 10-18 I went to every Duke Men's Basketball home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium (Zach went in the earlier years before he headed to college!). Needless to say, I got obsessed. I love Cameron, Coach K, the players... everything! Since I graduated high school, however, my dad gave up our tickets because he didn't have a set partner in crime anymore. Since tickets are next to impossible to get, it is a special treat to get to the games now!
Dinner was at Chili's, which is so-so. I know the sodium is beyond bad news, but I chose to push it out of my mind and do the best I could. I got the taco combination:
- two tacos with fried shrimp and cilantro dressing
- two tacos with smoked chicken
They were okay; the tortillas were those cheap, rubbery ones so I picked the fillers out of 3 of them. The cilantro dressing was great, but why fry the shrimp and not have a sauteed option? The smoked chicken was okay, but the cheese on top did not go well. Instead of rice and beans on the side, I got a house salad with chipotle vinaigrette:
This was a surprise... I liked having roasted corn, as well as shredded romaine instead of iceberg lettuce. Also, they served the dressing on the side (mom and dad each got salads DRENCHED in dressing). I did my usual dip the fork trick, and used very little of the dressing.
Then on to the game. GO DUKE! It was a great match against VA Tech, and a unique experience. Usually we have seats in the regular admission, but Zach got tickets down in the student section where the Cameron Crazies hang out. So, we got to watch the game amid the craziest NCAA fans in the country!
We did good! I had a GREAT time doing all the crazy student cheers and watching the Duke team run in and out right in front of us!
When we got home, Ky and I hung out with my mommy for a bit and I had a sip on TJ's beer:
It was pretty good, but I didn't want to drink so Ky helped me out.
This morning we hit the road at 10, stopping to get bagel on the way. Mine was a salt bagel with veggie cream cheese and tomatoes and onion:
It was GROSS! The cream cheese was really soft, like it had been sitting out for a while. And the bagel had no taste. At least I had my smoothie:
I had 2/3 of this while I read, and at about 12:30 I was starving for something else, so we stopped at Subway:
I got an italian on whole wheat with spinach, tomato, onion, banana peppers, and mozzarella cheese. As you can see I knocked off a bunch of the cheese. It was pretty good, though it was hard to pass up the oil and vinegar!
When we got home, I unpacked and had some honey bunnies:
Now I am exhausted, and going to read for class. Check you later!
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