I’m Still Here & a Restaurant Review!

Posted on July 15, 2010 | 3 comments

I swear – I haven’t disappeared. I’ve just been really busy. The past two days were spent in a Leadership Development Class I was selected for about a month ago. They were full day classes about Communicating Up, Down and Across an Organization. It was taught by someone from the American Management Association and it was a really great class. However, since it was all day on Tuesday and Wednesday, I came into work early both days and stayed a little late to get things done, so blogging fell to the bottom of my list.

So anyway – I’m here and trying to catch up on quite a few blogs. But I also promised you a restaurant review! Last Wednesday, my friend Katie and I went to a little restaurant in the East Village.

Tsampa
212 E. 9th St., New York, NY 10003

We arrived at Tsampa fairy early (we’re the early-bird people hehe) and could very well have been the only people in the place. This Tibetan restaurant is conveniently (for me) located off the 6 line and I got off at Astor Place.

If you recall, last week in NYC was pretty sweltering. Wednesday was a really tough day and it didn’t seem like Tsampa’s air conditioning was up to par. As we walked inside, we noticed it was a little cooler, but not too much. We tried not to dwell on the heat as we were shown to our table in the front corner.

We were both ravenous, so we set to work on choosing an appetizer to hold us over. We ordered two 1) Khampa Momo With Chicken and Vegetables – which were dumplings and 2) Tibetan Salad Shredded Cabbage, Carrots, Greens, Cucumber with Sesame Vinaigrette.

one dumpling left


Both appetizers were delicious!

We also decided to try one of their “signature” drinks, which I can’t remember the name of, but looked a lot better than it tasted.

To me, this sort of tasted like soured milk. It looked so refreshing and milkshake-like, but it was not. We were very glad we decided to share this drink and not each get one.

For my entrée, I ordered one of the specials which was made with chicken, rice, cabbage, carrots, leafy greens and spices.


It was sooo good!! And it was really filling as well. I wish it was on the menu all the time.

Overall, our meal was delicious and super cheap. The NY Magazine review of this restaurant also states that all their chicken is free-range. While we both chose chicken dishes, there are a TON of vegetarian options. I would say more veg options than meat dishes actually.

All in all, I think we found a great little place to come back to for healthy, cheap and delicious food!

So that’s all for me today folks. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I hope you all have had a good week. I squeezed in a nice 5 mile run on Tuesday night and am going to try to run outside tonight. I’ve got a 4 mile race planned for Saturday morning and I’m hoping it’s not too hot, although the forecast is showing high temps. 😦 I know I shouldn’t complain about the warm summer weather, but sometimes it just makes running feel so awful!

Have a great Thursday all!!

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Back from the Boilermaker!

Posted on July 12, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning – happy Monday! I’m trying to think positively here. How was everyone’s weekend?

I was a little mia for a bit at the end of last week and then we had a super busy weekend, so posting was not at the top of my list. Some of my weekend activities:

  • Finally going to see Eclipse with two of my girlfriends. I liked it soo much better than the first two movies and am looking forward to the next one already. I’m a sucker for cheesy movies.
  • Had a nice pasta dinner with Lauren before our Sunday race.
  • Dealt with some work stress over the weekend, but managed to get done what I needed to.
  • Ran my 6th Boilermaker 15k in Utica, N.Y. on Sunday morning!
  • Had a nice family BBQ at the in-law’s house after the race.

So those were the highlights of my weekend! What were the highlights of yours?

As far as the Boilermaker goes, I did not set a PR 😦 , but it wasn’t my worst time either. I ran it in 1:17:12. Last year I ran it in 1:17:03. I’m happy with that time considering I didn’t really train as well as I could have and hit a major running slump after the marathon in May.  

So how was the race overall? It was fun, but tough. Last year when I ran this race, I had started marathon training a few weeks before and I think I was in a little better shape. This year, we started in a faster corral (thank goodness) and didn’t have to weave in and out of people as much. Here are my stats from the race:

Mile 1 – 8:13
Mile 2 – 8:15
Mile 3 – 8:22
Mile 4 – 8:43
Mile 5 – 7:39
Mile 6 – 7:50
Mile 7 – 8:38
Mile 8 – 7:59
Mile 9 – 8:32
.40 – 2:59

Total mileage – 9.40 miles in 1:17:13. Average pace 8:12 minute mile

It was pretty cool to run this race with a Garmin for the first time. In the past, I really didn’t have much clue what my splits were. Mile 3 -4 is definitely tough for me – it’s at a golf course and there is a big, huge, long hill that we run up for most of that mile. Ugh. I’m glad that is over.

But overall, this is such a fun race. The whole town comes out to cheer you on, there is music, tons of water stations, and even a popsicle station. It’s a good time and I highly recommend this race. Plus, it’s the biggest 15k in the U.S.! This year was even the largest in the history of the race – over 13,000 people! Anyway – if you’re even slightly intrigued, you should check it out.

We were having so much fun that we didn’t end up leaving the in-law’s place upstate until about 7:15 p.m. and get home until after 11!! That meant that bedtime didn’t happen until about midnight. That is super late for me. So, I’m pretty tired today and have a dentist appointment – not a good Monday.

Hope you all have a great Monday though!! I do have a NYC restaurant review that I need to post – hopefully tomorrow!

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I Admit it…I’m a Planner

Posted on July 7, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning all. Happy Hump Day! Except it really only feels like Tuesday since we had Monday off. Don’t ya love that?

Yesterday wasn’t as rough as I thought it would be. Anything that technically feels like Monday is never fun, but the day went by pretty fast for me. Breakfast was boring cereal – no pic.

In the afternoon, I went out into the sweltering heat to grab some lunch.

You know – my usual salad. The salad place happened to be particularly busy yesterday and my regular salad guy was trying to move quick. So he literally just started throwing all my items in without me even asking. I noticed several people giving me strange looks and then finally the guy next to me said “Don’t worry – he does the same for me too. He knows my usual. It’s kind of nice and it impresses the tourists.” Haha. It was pretty funny.

Do you have staple meals or items that you consistently eat?

For some reason, I have always been this way when it comes to my lunch salad. At my last job, my co-workers wanted to buy me my salad as a surprise for my birthday, so they actually went in with a picture of me, showed it to the salad guy and he knew exactly who I was and what I wanted immediately. Surprisingly, I never feel like I get in a salad rut either. I only eat it once or twice a week at max – so it doesn’t seem to get old.

Sorry for that random tangent. I just thought it was hysterical.

After work yesterday, I decided to head to the gym for a short run. The heat was out of control and I knew running outside would be brutal. I did a quick 3 miles in 26:14 and then finished up with some ab and arm work. I was just not feeling like working out yesterday.

Dinner last night was back to the basics – pork chops and a massive side salad.

After dinner, I spent a little time working on some of our Ireland itinerary. We are all set for Dublin and Galway. Slowly making some progress. And yes, I’m booking all of our accommodations ahead of time because I’m just not the girl that can go without having everything set. I’d love to be that spontaneous and free, but that’s just not me. I’m a planner and I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I didn’t have it all squared away.

Are you a planner or do you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants?

Oh and just for fun, here is one of the few pics that was actually taken this weekend.

Yup – that’s Hubby and me on a four-wheeler! My mom grew up on a farm (a real one with cows, chickens, vegetables and all that), and we go up there once or twice a year to visit with our family in that area. In case you didn’t know, the easiest form of transportation on a farm is by four-wheeler. I grew up riding on them with my older cousins, so this was like a little blast from the past…and a lot of fun! 🙂

Ok all – have a Happy Hump Day!!

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Back from Break & A Book Review

Posted on July 6, 2010 | 6 comments

Hi all – welcome back to the work week. It was so nice to have a little break, but Tuesday really felt like it came fast. At least we’ve got a short week right?

How was your 4th of July? What was the most exciting part of your weekend?

My 4th was filled with family, friends, fun…and lots of driving. Ugh! I am really getting sick of the car. I didn’t take many photos this weekend. I wanted to just spend some quality time with family and friends. So I don’t have any exciting pics to share.

I did eat a lot of good and bad food this weekend, and squeezed in a 6.5 mile run with my friend Lauren on Friday. I’m not sure if I’m completely ready for the Boilermaker this Sunday, but it’s too late to squeeze in much more training now. I have a feeling that most of my running during this week will be done in the gym on the treadmill anyway. The brutal heat is just not conducive to a good run for me. So I’ll be playing it safe inside.

But, I do have one thing to offer you all! Another book review. I know – just call me speed reader. 🙂 I can’t remember the last time I finished a book this long so quickly. It was really good. So, here it goes:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By: Stieg Larsson

I picked this book up because I had literally seen about a dozen people reading it on the subway or elsewhere in NYC. I figured there had to be something to it. And there was. I started reading this book on a Tuesday and finished it the following Monday. This book is 500+ pages, so that is superfast for me. It was a total page-turning thriller.

So what’s it all about? A Swedish financial journalist, named Mikael Blomkvist, is convicted of libel because of a story he wrote about a successful (but shady) businessman. But that’s just the intro to the story. After his conviction, he is offered a freelance job by on old industry titan. The first part of the job is to write a family history, but the real objective is for him to research the mysterious disappearance of the titan’s niece over four decades ago, and try to figure out what happened to her. The “girl with the dragon tattoo” ends up being investigator Lisbeth Salander, who Blomkvist brings on as his assistant.

There were definitely some disturbing scenes and themes in this book, but in understanding it’s a thriller, you’ve got to accept that there will be some drama and disconcerting episodes. The plot of the book and investigation completely drew me in and kept me intrigued and curious. I could not wait to find out what happened next and who was behind it all.

Throughout the novel, there are a few storylines going on—which means just when one mystery is solved, you remember that there are others that are still floating around. Beyond that, the characters are unique and interesting in their own right. I ended up wanting to find out more about them and what would happen—especially to Lisbeth.     

I was satisfied with how Larsson tied it all together and wrapped up the different stories and mysteries. I was not entirely thrilled with how Lisbeth’s story ended, but then realized that she appears in his second book, which made her conclusion understandable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers or mysteries – or to anyone who is simply looking for an entertaining read. Just remember that it’s not all flowers and butterflies. It contains explicit material which might make some people cringe. I will definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy as well: The Girl Who Play with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.

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Book Review: Olive Kitteridge

Posted on July 1, 2010 | 6 comments

Good morning all! As promised, here is my book review of Olive Kitteridge. And I am flying through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. That one shouldn’t be too far behind! Have a great weekend. Today is technically my Friday and I am pumped. 🙂

Olive Kitteridge

By: Elizabeth Strout

This Pulitzer Prize winning book has a different narrative style than most of the novels I typically read. It is broken up into several separate stories, told by different narrators. The only commonality between all the stories is Olive Kitteridge.

So, who is Olive? Well, she is a large woman, who is a wife and a mother, and tends to present a hard demeanor with resolute ideas and principles. I found her to have many characteristics as I learned about her throughout the stories. She was a bit judgmental at times, strong-willed and powerful in some stories, very vulnerable in others, a voice of reassurance and strength in a few, and even somewhat annoying here and there.

Each story is told by a different author and although at first I thought I’d need to remember all these people because they would show up later in the book and everything would tie together – that is not so. These characters do not serve as a plot device, they serve as the lense through which we gain a better view and understanding of Olive. She is the only person that is the constant and returning idea throughout the book.

It took me a while to understand the flow of the book and what I needed to retain and focus on. About one-third of the way through, I finally got it and began to enjoy the book more. It was hard for me to really like or dislike Olive, I think because she was crafted to feel like a real person. And real people have both positives and negatives to them. In one story, I would find myself siding with Olive and then in the next I would wonder what the heck she was doing and become annoyed or angry with her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I wouldn’t say it’s the most exciting in terms of plot or intricate story lines—it is definitely more about character development and understanding. I came to feel that I understood Olive on so many different levels and watched as she passed through various phases of her life. It was also a nice change of pace, as far as the way the book was set up. I enjoyed each unique slice of life in every chapter once I realized that was how it was set up.

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Bookworm & A Break in the Heat

Posted on June 30, 2010 | 2 comments

Hello all – happy hump day! Except today really isn’t my hump day because I have Friday off! Yay! So today is really like my Thursday.

How was everyone’s Tuesday? Mine was pretty decent. It wasn’t as hot as I expected it to be – thank goodness. I started off my day with some oatmeal – no pic.

Lunch turned out to be kind of a mish-mash of things. Triscuits with Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb cheese with a side of carrots.

It’s a little random, but it worked. Sometimes I crave a bunch of little things for lunch, rather than a sandwich or other typical lunch items.

What is your strangest or most interesting lunch choice?

In the afternoon I snacked on a Chobani, an apple and a few of these bad boys.

After work, although it wasn’t sweltering, I decided I still preferred to hit the gym for an “easier” run. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill in 33:55. After my run, I did some ab work and arm work and then headed home.

I had some remaining few grape tomatoes in the fridge that were about to reach their peak, so I used them up in our dinner. Use them or lose them – right?!

Chicken with brown rice, grape tomatoes and corn. For flavoring, I used some chicken stock, lemon and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. It was a very enjoyable meal. 🙂

After dinner I literally buried my nose in my new book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I am not a fast reader at all. I think I take longer than most people, but I seem to be flying through this one. The book is almost 600 pages and I’m about 150 pages in at this point. I have a feeling that I’m going to be really happy that there are follow-ups to this book.

So when I left this house this morning, it was a brisk  and beautiful 68 degrees outside. Woohoo! It was lovely. I’m going to try to do a 6+ mile run tonight to take advantage of the weather and feel a bit more prepared for the 15k next weekend. Eeks – I can’t believe how fast it snuck up on me!

Have a great Wednesday all!

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Heading Back to the Mill

Posted on June 29, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning all – happy Tuesday. I’m super excited because I have a short week this week and next week! I am looking forward to a nice long weekend.

So we made it through Monday. I started off my day yesterday with some plan old Kashi Heart to Heart cereal for breakfast (no pics).

The morning was busy and flew by and then I grabbed a nice big salad for lunch.

Romaine lettuce, carrots, cheddar cheese, dried cranberries, almonds and chick peas with balsamic vinaigrette. My afternoon snack was a Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal mixed in.

So yesterday I had planned to get up early and run outside. Well, as past efforts have shown, I just don’t do well with getting up early to run. So yesterday I didn’t end up running. 😦 And then today I didn’t get up either. However, then I remembered my other option – the gym! So tonight I plan to run 4-5 miles on the good old treadmill. I get so into the groove of running outside, that I think I totally forget that the treadmill is still an option. So off to the mill I go tonight.

Do you ever choose the treadmill option in the summer when temperatures spike?

I love running outside and will usually always choose that option, but I think I need a change of pace as well. It might be good to switch it up a bit.

After work yesterday, I headed home, started a new book and then made some dinner.

That would be some baked tilapia with butter, lemon, seasoning, crushed garlic and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, topped with grape tomatoes. I actually really liked the tomatoes baked on top. I am starting to like our tilapia and fish dinners more and more. We also had a side of broccoli with a sprinkle of cheese.

As an FYI, the newest book I’m reading is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I finished Olive Kitteridge this past weekend and will have a review posted before this next weekend.

Health & Interesting Stuff in the News

In Summer’s Heat, Watch What You Drink: I like this tip: “To calculate how much water you need each day, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.08; the result is your requirement in eight-ounce cups.”

Teens who snack may weigh less – This is another study that really doesn’t say much in my opinion. It’s a broad statement to say that teens who snack weigh less because there are so many factors to consider: what they snack on (healthy vs. junk food); activity level; snack size, etc.

Exercise: Bicycling to Keep Off Extra Pounds – I wish I was a bike rider, but it’s just never been my thing. Kudos to those who bike though – it’s obviously good for you!

That’s all for today folks! Hope you have a great Tuesday – stay cool!

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Too Hot to Trot, Soccer and a Royal Run

Posted on June 28, 2010 | 3 comments

Oh gosh – is it really Monday already? How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was good. We had one last weekend in the city before we spend almost the next full month traveling every weekend.

When I posted last, I had just finished up the American Heart Association Wall Street Run & Heart Walk and here is a group shot of my work team:

On Friday I was busy, but not overwhelmed at work and then Hubby and I  just hung out on Friday night – very low-key. I wanted to get up super early on Saturday for a long run. However, I could not seem to get myself out of bed until about 8:30 and then I didn’t make it out for a run until 9:30 a.m. and that was just way too late given the heat and humidity. I had planned to do a 7-9 mile run, but ended up calling it quits after only 5 miles at a very slow pace. 😦

On Saturday afternoon we headed to a local dive bar to watch The World Cup game and were so saddened when they lost. Hubby really loves soccer and was super bummed. So we got some late-afternoon ice-cream to help cheer us both up.

Then on Sunday, it was time for me to volunteer. I had signed up to volunteer at the Achilles Run for Hope & Possibility a while back. I was assigned to be a Course Marshal on the UES. I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect. I had no reason to worry though, the NYRR organizers were really great and explained exactly what I needed to do. I also have a new respect and understanding for the marshals who try to get people to stay within the coned area. I wasn’t one of the really stringent marshals though. I understood when people were trying to work their way up a bit and needed to go around to the outside to do that.

What was amazing though, was seeing so many disabled runners and walkers competing in this event. They were absolutely inspirational and so many of them thanked me for volunteering, when really I felt like I needed to thank them! I just kept watching as more and more amazing people came by. I guess I was so in awe of these runners and walkers, that I totally overlooked when Prince Harry either ran or walked by! At one point early on, I saw some cameras out in front of someone and another camera man running to catch up, but I really didn’t think too much about it because there were so many amazing runners out there. I just figured a news crew had the smarts to capture this race and one of the exceptional runners on camera. But most likely, that was probably good old Harry going by me.

source

Anyway – it was a great experience and I’m glad I chose that race to volunteer at. I know that most people do the volunteering thing so they can qualify for the NYC Marathon as part of the NYRR 9+1 program, and I might be going that route as well, but I think even if you aren’t trying to run the marathon, you should consider volunteering once or twice a year. It really did give me a new appreciation of all the volunteers and the work that goes into coordinating a race.

So that’s all for today folks – have a great Monday!!

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America Heart Association Wall Street 3 Mile Run

Posted on June 25, 2010 | 7 comments

It’s Friday!!! Yippee! This week went by pretty fast for me, but I am still thrilled that the weekend is finally here. I am soo far behind on all my favorite blogs – I have some major catching up to do.

So last night after a busy day in the office, filled with about 4 hours of meetings and more fun, I decided it was a good idea to run a race in the near 90 degree weather. Yeah it was really gross out.

About eight of us from the office signed up for the American Heart Association Wall Street 3 mile run/walk, which started at 6:45 p.m. We took a team photo and then the walkers and runners were split up. We lined up at the Start, well actually quite a ways from the start, but we could see it.

When the race started, as usual, it took a while to get to the actual start. Then the weaving and avoiding people began. There were soo many people and so many people who started walking within the first mile of the race. I had to run up on the edges on the sidewalks for a while and try to avoid people walk or stopping abruptly – all within the tight confines of the downtown streets. By mile two things started to get a little clearer, but it was still pretty frustrating.

Between the heat/humidity and the crowd, I can say that it was not a great run. It was different to run downtown instead of Central Park, but not the most conducive for running.

My overall finishing time was 24:23. Blah!

After the race, I walked with two of my co-workers from the downtown finish up to 14th Street and then crossed over to the east side and hopped on the 4/5 at Union Square. I got home around 9 p.m. and was starving! After eating some leftover pasta and showering I headed straight to bed.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I think the NYC heat and humidity is finally supposed to break a bit!

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Who’s Staying in a Castle – We Are!!

Posted on June 24, 2010 | 5 comments

Hi all – Happy Thursday – how is your week going? The forecast in NYC says it’s going to be around 90-93 degrees today! Craziness. Does anyone remember last June and how totally different it was from this year? Last June it rained almost every day of the month! What a difference a year makes, right?

Today after work I’m running the American Heart Associations Wall Street Run and Walk. It’s only three miles, but I thought it would be kind of cool to run a race down here where I work. Then a few co-workers and I might jog up the West side to about 14th Street. That is if the weather holds out and it doesn’t pour on us.

I started of yesterday with a breakfast of oatmeal with frozen fruit.

Then I got to work and my camera battery died, so no lunch or afternoon snack pictures.

After work I picked up my race packet at the NYRR’s on 89th Street and then headed home to get into the air conditioning. Yesterday was pretty brutal as well.

For dinner last night I made a boat load of pasta – so I have some leftovers for lunch today. I wanted to keep it light, so I just added some veggies and sprinkled with some Italian salad dressing.

Multi-grain pasta with grape tomatoes, corn, peas, walnuts, raisins and cheddar cheese.

However, the highlight of yesterday was definitely when I booked us a room in a castle in Ireland!! Our trip is at the end of August and our last night there will be in a castle. I may not want to leave!! I’m so excited. We’re really starting to get into planning now. I’m a huge planner and want to have our hotels and B&Bs booked in the near future. But other people have told me that we don’t need to book our B&Bs in advance and should really only worry about finding rooms in Dublin. I just don’t think  I can go that route – I’ve got to have it out planned out and set.

BTW – if anyone knows of any great B&Bs in the following cities in Ireland, let me know! Kilkenny, Kinsale, Killarney and Galway.

Have a great Thursday all – hurray for tomorrow being Friday!!

Finish

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