Tension...

... as in tension headache. I am completely out of whack. This afternoon I had a headache that got progressively worse to the point that I crawled into bed at 4 for a two hour nap. No easy feat! Our room lets in a ton of light, and given that the sun sets so much later these days, I had to put a dark washcloth over my eyes to ease the pain.

Blah. I just crawled out of bed for a second time, meaning I missed my favorite class tonight :-(.

Quick food re-cap:

Pre-work out:

Not as good as the regular Blueberry Bliss bar; this is almost stale in comparison.

Workout:

• 30 minutes treadmill, 3.8 mph at 3.5 incline
• 25 minutes stationary bike

I want to get in more intense feeling cardio, so I think I am going to alternate the elliptical and treadmill. Wish me luck... I definitely have a love/hate relationship with that thing!

Post-work out:

Banana, blueberries, whole-wheat toast with organic strawberry jelly. Plus another FUZE!

I loved this guy, too! It was very strawberry flavored, but not sweet or artificial tasting. Love love love. I'm sure there is something bad about it, but come on. It's better than a soda!

Lunch:

Leftover veggies from last night... so good on their own! I just add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes before I nuked them so it would get a little spice.

No snack this afternoon; I was even planning on expanding my lunch since the veggies were so light. But at 1pm or so is when the headache took over, and I had no intention of eating.

Dinner:

Ky came home at 6 and offered to pick me up something, so I decided to get a calzone from Pizza Roma down the street:

No, I did not eat all of it... the smaller half minus a few bites of Kyle's. It was pretty tasty... huge and FULL Of meat considering it was only $7.75!

Now I am off to bed for the third time today.... apparently tension headaches can fluctuate in pain for DAYS. Not in the mood to feel like I have a headband I can't take off when I have so much work to do! :-/

Delirious

I am le tired.

I set my alarm for 7am, and finally crawled out at 7:30 to go to the gym. Why would I go so early? Mostly because the days I ride in with Kyle I don’t get to the gym until 9:30, meaning I don’t get home until almost 12. I’ve lost half my day!

So, for the next few weeks I’ve decided to get up earlier, and work out earlier, so that I can have more time for productivity during the day.

I was DESTROYED. Like, I couldn’t handle being awake while so tired. Usually I am wide awake once I stand up out of bed, but not today.

I blame:

• Weird schedule last week (getting up at 5am, staying up until 3am?!)
• Not resting enough this weekend to recover from last week
• Too much caffeine

#3 is a BIG problem. I don’t document it (too frequent!) but I am an artificial sweetener caffeine junkie. I can’t resist an ice cold diet coke…. it's not the taste, it's the caffeine! And since I don’t have regular access to coffee, I have started drinking my beloved diet soda too often, so much so that I crave it on days I try to avoid it.

This week I am attempting to wean off, but it was tough going today.

In my delirium:

• 2 minutes on treadmill (I reset it by accident and got annoyed)
• 27 minutes stationary bike

Pre-workout:

And a banana and blueberries when I got home… best fruit combo!

Lunch was more Greek salad, ½ cup wild grain rice, 1 brat + HOT SAUCE!

Afternoon snack, popcorn and a Skinny Water:

Skinny water is my second attempt for a less sugary, caffeine free, low-calorie drink. I LOVED the Fuze I had yesterday, and at $1.50 for that big bottle it was a slightly better value than this Skinny Water ($1.60 MARKED DOWN for a smaller bottle).

I really liked this flavor though… much more flavorful than any citrus Smart Water I’ve ever had. I have a few more of these to try…we’ll see!

Ky came home earlier than usual because of a job interview, and we decided to just have an early dinner… more home-made pasta sauce!

1. Thaw, devein, and sauté shrimp in evoo and garlic
2. Right before shrimp are pink and plump add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
3. Remove from pan
4. Add more evoo to pan
5. When oil is spreading, add in ½ chopped white onion, cook until translucent
6. Add in more garlic, Italian seasoning and a can of no salt tomatoes with juice
7. When heated through, add in 1 chopped red pepper, and 2 sliced and quartered zucchinis
8. Cover with lid to steam (You will use less oil cooking the veggies this way!!)
9. When zucchinis have softened, add in a layer of chopped baby bellas; cover to steam
10. When everything is cooked through, remove from heat and stir in one package of spinach (this keeps spinach from getting super wilt-y and shriveled)
11. Top cooked pasta with sauce and shrimp. Use parm if desired!

It looks pasta heavy, but it's not! We each had about 2.5 oz of whole wheat elbows, 1/3 of the veggies, and about 12 medium shrimp. This was fabulous, and very fresh tasting. The only seasonings were garlic, red pepper flakes (on shrimp), and a few good sprinkles of italian seasoning.

Now I am about to crawl into bed... I am not kidding. I need a good night's sleep because tomorrow is looooooong.... up at 7am for the gym, work 9-7, and class 7-10. :-(

Three Posts in One Day... Not Bad!

Today we got a late start because...

...we have been without hot water for a week now. Last Saturday night our basement began to flood due to the heavy rains we got.

Yes. There is a reflection off of the rug BECAUSE IT IS UNDER WATER. We got over an inch down there, and it was so wet and damp it blew the pilot flame of our water heater out. Now, even with the water having been cleared out a few days ago, it won't re-light. I won't even get into the landlord part of this. It's a nightmare.

Now, if you remember the early days of my blog (the entire first month), I had no oven. I handled that well enough, and probably benefited from it because I could not fry or saute anything.

However, no hot water means:

• no one can shower, the water is 40 degrees or less
• no one can do dishes by hand OR in the dish washer
• no one can do laundry

That is too much.

At least I am in the habit of showering at the gym anyway, but it sucks for everyone else in my house!

Therefore, we were off to a late start today because Ky and I both needed to shower, and someone COkyleUGH didn't get up until after 11. And we have no food, so I was starving!

Luckily The Bagel Place saved the day! I got the NOVA salad platter:

Fresh salmon, tomatoes, red onion, cream cheese, lettuce leaves, swiss cheese, and a whole grain bagel.

I love that I was able to make my own sandwich! I've gotten the sandwich before, but you pay the same price for the platter and you can add as much or as little of whatever you want!

I left the cheese, 2/3 of the cream cheese behind:

After lunch we finally got shower at the gym (no workout today), then ran errands.

During day four of NCAA play (I LOVE IT!!!) I made a Greek salad:

• 6 chopped campari tomatoes, 1/3 english cucumber sliced and quartered, 1/3 white onion, 1 heaping tbsp of feta, fresh pepper, and a sprinkle of evoo

I love Greek salads, and have ever since I studied abroad in Greece in 2005:

Ahhhhh I want to go back!

Anyways... I also had a new drink:

This. Was. AMAZING. I have never EVER been torn between savoring or chugging a drink because it tasted THAT good to me. It tastes just like a grapefruit, very natural and thirst quenching. I had Kyle try it, and he said he could tell there was almost no sugar in it. I thought it was just sweet enough, but not tart. I don't even care that it's "slenderize" or whatever that means, this stuff tastes AMAZING!

Dinner was thawed chili from a few weeks ago. I put mine on a bed of spinach with 1/3 cup greek yogurt, 1/8 cheese, and some chopped onions:

And some Juicy Juice to drink! I loved Juicy Juice as a kid....

I am off to bed. I have a RIDICULOUS schedule this week in my attempt to finish up the semester, so I need to be well rested.

Have a great end to the weekend!

Saturday, 3/20/10 The First Day of Spring!

Such a gorgeous, lovely wonderful day yesterday! SANDALS ARE BACK!

The first order of business? HIT THE GYM! I had not exercised since my walk Wednesday, and that combined with little veggies left me feeling fluffy and not so healthy.

Guess who else came to work out?

Mother Goose! I don't know about her, but I did:

• 15 minutes on the elliptical (I REALLY hate that thing now!)
• 30 minutes treadmill, 4.0 incline, 3.8 mph

For lunch, Ky and I grabbed some Altanta Bread. If you are ever in College Park, never EVER go there. Every time I've been, they are out of something (like, for example, BREAD), or mess up your order.

I asked for half the veggie panini and half the house salad. I got a WHOLE veggie panini and a WHOLE salad.

The salad tasted wilted, so my greenery plans were smashed. The panini was actually tasty, but why white bread?

I also orderd a vanilla latte thingy, which they forgot about. I wish I had, too, and not asked for it. NASTY. I sipped about 1/4 of it.

Luckily, lunch was quickly forgotten because it was such a beautiful day, and we were heading out to visit our favorite wineries for the first time this season!

First Stop: Barrel Oak Winery

This place was absolutely gorgeous! A huge yellow tasting house with a large outdoor patio and lots of nice stonework. For $9 you got to taste all 10 wines (5 white, 5 red) and keep your glass. Also, in honor of the weather and it being the first day of Spring, they had their patio set up for tastings as well as some live music.

And there were TONS of dogs, and I love me some dogs. I loved this little guy... and so did all the other dogs. Every time I turned around he was getting humped by someone!

The wines were also pretty good; some had not matured yet because the winery is SO young. However, they had a wonderful Chardonnay that they treat in a special way so as not to have an over-bearing buttery taste. It was very light, and also didn't have an oak finish because it was kept in stainless steel. Very good, but too pricey to get a bottle especially since it was our first stop!

Love him :-)

Second Stop: Vintage Ridge!

This place has fantastic food pairings... you get a plate of cheeses, breads, house-made chutneys, meats, etc to have with five 1/3 glass tastings of wine. It is also the most beautiful winery in the area in my opinion.

It is hands down our favorite winery... BUT IT WAS CLOSED! We were so bummed; totally sure it would be open by now. Not until April 9th.

After that, we stopped to get some soda and a light snack:

Tasty! Ky and I split half the bag and saved the rest.

Third Stop: Swedenburg

Not a fan. We had never been here before, and had to pay $5 each for a tasting, when our server didn't even talk to us about the wines. They had a large group there, but still. Either close your winery for the group, or provide service to other patrons besides pours. The wine wasn't that great, either.

Fourth and Final Stop: Quattro Gumba!!!

This place is just as cool as it's name :-) you walk in and it feels like someone's house. A nice kitchen/tasting area and lots of overstuffed couches and chairs. Cozy!

This place is also cool because they import grapes from all over the world, while most wineries import from their local country (like Barrel Oak imports mostly from California).

We also had a special treat... the owner was our pourer. She was really funny and informative, making up for Swedenburg. Also, they had a carmenre, my favorite kind of wine! However, it is not easy to find. I knew I wanted a bottle, but they were down to only 1/3 a bottle left, so you couldn't even taste it, just buy it by the glass. Luckily I jumped on that and she was kind enough to give me the rest of the bottle for the price of one glass. Fabulous! And it was delicious... I'm glad I was lucky enough to get it!

She filled my glass to the brim, then said "Honey, it's all you... take a big gulp and I'll top you off!" Fabulous!

Kyle also got a glass (Chard) and we relaxed outside in the sun listening to some more live music. Another plus? He bought a bottle of the Chard, and Gumba waives the tasting fee with purchase. Fabulous all around... we basically got to try 10 wines and get a bottle for $10.

DINNER!

We hit up a place in historic downtown Leesburg, the Doner Bistro. Kyle had been talking about it for a while, so we finally hit it up.

I have never eaten German food before, so while Kyle got a traditional Doner, I asked the cashier what she recommended. She said try the currywurst, so I did! Kyle and I split his Doner:

and my currywurst (pork sausages with curry ketchup and fries... you could also get shredded beef):

And a german beer (of course!)

I liked the doner,which is essentially a German gyro... but not the currywurst so much. I don't like my food smothered in sauces or dressings. I would have liked it better with the sauce on the side, for sure.

After that, we started our long drive home to watch some NCAA basketball (I effing !LOVE! basketball) with Nick and Kristen.

We talked a bit about the blog, and I am trying to decide how long I want to keep this project up for. I like doing it, but I know I don't want to go to the "big leagues" with sponsers and ads, etc.

We'll see.

While we chatted we played Mexican dominoes, and I had 3 rum and cokes and some beer. Today I feel really lethargic, most likely from drinking all day and night yesterday. Maybe not a GREAT choice, but I'm about to have a serious work crackdown the next two weeks, so I don't plan on having much alcohol for a while!

Time to make a writing schedule, catch you guys later!

Work Hard, Play Hard.

Guys? I am EXHAUSTED. Absolutely worn out.

I spent my spring break at my parent's house under a self-imposed house arrest. Not fun. But, I got a TON of work done, and can just focus on getting my paper done. Sadly, this means blogging is going to be a low priority, and may not happen on a daily basis (as I'm sure you've noted).

RECAP!

Wednesday Dinner, Thai Cafe:

Spring Rolls which my parents and I split 3 ways:

A bad bottle of vino:

Veggie medley with Shrimp.... SO flavorful! One of the best I've had!

Thursday Breakfast, (AT 5:30am!!!):

1 egg 1 egg white with Cholula and a slice of whole grain toast + buttah, Smart Water

Thursday Lunch:

3 oz rigatoni with sauteed garlic, tomato, shrimp sauce I threw together:

Thursday Snacks:

Naked!

Black lentils for some protein power

Thursday Dinner:

Papa John's pizza with mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and italian sausage

Yeah. I can barely see the toppings, too. And let me tell you, they weren't under the cheese.

Friday Breakfast:

Fruit... I got to the airport at 10:30, when food is being switched from breakfast to lunch and I didn't have time to wait around.

Friday Lunch:

I got back to College Park just in time to watch Ky, Nick, and Brendan eat AMAZING looking burgers from the Cornerstone, but I got there too late to order. I settled for the next (not really) best thing:

Quarter pounder with Cheese. What up?

Friday snack:

Bunnies! About 1/2 the bag

Friday Dinner, Thai Food:

Lab Gai salad (I usually find this comes on a lot of greens, no such luck!)

Autumn Rolls

Love that wasabi sauce... they never include that in our takeout orders!

Then Ky and I settled in for an early evening (I was exhausted beyond belief from writing all week), and I enjoyed my Alice White Sparkling White Wine.

I am so ready for grad school to be OVER!