I’m a Terrible Liar

Posted on February 23, 2010 | 17 comments

Good afternoon. Sorry I have been so MIA. I feel so out of the loop, I haven’t been reading blogs or commenting in the past few days and I feel so lost. 🙂 I promise I’ll be back fully soon.

I am slowly coming back to life. Yesterday was a bad day. I came to work with absolutely no voice and clogged ears, so I really felt like I was living in a bubble.

And now I’ll jump into my antibiotic quandary…

I made a tough choice and filled the antibiotic prescription my doctor gave me a few weeks back when I first visited him. I had these same symptoms way back then – February 2nd. It seemed a little odd to me that I was experiencing all the same symptoms all over again and finally came to the conclusion that I quite possibly hadn’t really gotten better since then, my symptoms had just lessened, but never went away fully. This conclusion led to me think that maybe this was a bacterial infection and not simply a viral cold.

I very rarely consider taking or requesting antibiotics – I don’t think they are necessary in most cases and believe that people tend to think they are the easy fix. I don’t want my body to become immune to antibiotics or worse yet sick because of them. So I reluctantly made this decision.

Well, I filled my Z-Pack prescription yesterday afternoon (I ended up leaving work early because I had the chills and was exhausted), took my first dose and went to bed early last night.

And today – I can feel the congestion lessening. My voice is sort of back and my ears and nose are noticeably less clogged. Whether this has to do with the antibiotics or just that the viral infection had run its course, I’m not sure. But I’m going to finish off the rest of the Z-Pack to be on the safe side.  

So what are your thoughts on antibiotics? Do you avoid them for as long as possible, like I do? Or do you take them without any reserve?

My doctor was pretty unsure whether it was a viral or bacterial infection (p.s. – I’m also hunting for a new General Practitioner on the UES if you have any recommendations!), so he gave me the Z-pack prescription just in case my symptoms didn’t go away. I guess I’m just very wary of them.

So since yesterday was such a haze, I didn’t really take many photos. Instead, I’ll use the rest of this post to thank Chelsea for nominating me for the award below, share my requisite lies and one truth, and pass it along to some fellow bloggers:

Since I received this funny little award, I now have to use my creativity and come up with six outrageous lies about myself and one truth. So here we go, let’s see if you can guess the truth:

1. I love reading biographies and non-fiction books.

2. I’ve never had a cavity.

3. I have a strange obsession with feet – I love them.

4. My husband proposed to me on a mountain top.

5. I’ve been living in NYC for 5 years.

6. I can speak 3 languages.

7. I have 20-20 vision.

Can you guess which one is my truth?! P.S. – I am a terrible liar and this was soo hard for me. Now that I’ve listed my lies and one truth, I nominate the following ladies to do the same:

Once nominated, here is what you have to do:

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth.
5. Nominate seven “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

That’s all for today folks. Stay happy and healthy!

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Wasted Weekend and Weather

Posted on February 22, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning all – back to the grind, right? Ugh – I am not feeling well at all, hence the serious lack of posting this weekend. The weekend started out okay – I headed to Brooklyn to visit my friend Katie for some dinner and drinks.

Although, I noticed even before I left work that I felt a little off. I chalked it up to allergies and headed out to BK. We had a very fun night in Williamsburg. We went to the Manhattan Inn for dinner, which is a very small restaurant that is just adorable. Great ambiance. They even have a piano player placed in the center of the room.

They don’t have a menu online, but our/my food went like this: cheese plate (we got the last one available), bread with apple butter, mushroom spring roll things and then as my main meal I had the Vegan Polenta – per the waitress’ recommendation. Everything was amazing. The lighting was really poor, so these are the only pics that are post-worthy.

The food was amazing and we also shared a bottle of wine. After dinner, we headed to a nearby bar called Harefield Road for Katie’s co-worker’s birthday party. We only stayed for one drink because we were both tired and somewhere along the night I lost my voice entirely.

We headed home to bed and I could feel the congestion mounting in my head and chest. I tried to play it off like it was just my allergies, but by Saturday morning I had a feeling it was turning into a real cold.

We awoke on Saturday and my congestion and phlegm (sorry) was in full force. I managed to make it to brunch with Katie before heading home to bed. We went back to Harefield Road because they supposedly have a great brunch for $12. It did not disappoint. We each ordered the french toast, made from Challah bread, along with fresh fruit. Our breakfasts also came with coffee and a mimosa.

Brunch really hit the spot. However, I was unable to drink my mimosa – I was starting to fade fast. I said goodbye to my friend after brunch and trudged home.

I entered our apartment to find my Hubby doing exactly what I wanted to do: laying on the couch and resting. I proceeded to change into sweats and curl up on the couch and cough and blow my nose all day.

We watched as our temperature gauge showed that it was 46 degrees outside, while we both huddled under our blankets indoors. As afternoon turned to evening, I started thinking about my 9-mile run planned for Sunday. I wondered if I could push through the congestion to get it done. I decided it would be game-day decision, based on how I felt.

Hubby and watched the Olympics on Saturday night and I’m pretty sure I was asleep by 9:30-10:00 p.m.

I awoke Sunday morning to the sound of my own wheezing and phlegm rattling. I tried to speak and found I had no voice at all. Or if I managed to get a sound out it sounded like a small elf’s voice. Hubby thought this was hysterical.

So Sunday proceeded much in the same manner as Saturday. I decided that attempting my 9-mile run would be dangerous since I could hardly breathe. I was upset at first, but then decided that it’s probably lucky that this was a low-mileage long run week. If I had to be sick any week, this was probably the best one. I also know that pushing too hard when you’re sick can make you more sick. If my cold was just in my head area I probably would have gone, but it was in my chest as well and that’s what made me nervous.

So I watched in sadness as two 40+ temperature days passed me by without so much as a jog. Hubby and I alternated between watching the Olympics, sleeping, watching t.v. movies and watching Couple Retreat. We were a sad, sad pair.

Although, maybe it’s a good thing that we were both sick at the same time, rather than one person being sick first and then the other following a few days later. The bad side of this was that by Sunday night, it looked like a bomb had gone off in our apartment. It was a complete disaster, but I was too tired and sick to do anything about it. I was in bed again by 10:00 p.m.

Today I feel a little bit better – I still have stuff rattling around in my chest and congestion in my head, but all the sleep this weekend seems like it helped a bit. I am taking one more day off from running – I’m eager to get back into my training plan, but want to be sure I’m ready.

So how bout you all – did you enjoy the weekend?

And how do you cope with a cold? Do you tend to get sick if your significant other or roommate gets sick?

Have a great Monday everyone – hopefully it goes by quickly.

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Fridays are the Best!

Posted on February 19, 2010 | 6 comments

TGIF all!! Are you excited? I sure am! This was a short week, but a crazy week and I am ready for the weekend. How was your week?

Yesterday was a fairly busy day for me. Breakfast was some plain old Kashi Heart to Heart cereal and juice. I desperately need to invest in some new bowls.

Work was busy and I skipped my mid-morning snack. Lunch was a peanut butter and jelly on an Arnold Sandwhich Thin and carrots.

Afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean and a bag-o-grapes.

The grapes were really juicy and yummy. I usually go for green, but these read ones were great.

After work I jetted to the gym for a run. Things started off rough on the treadmill and I contemplated ending my run after 4 miles, but I trudged on and started feeling better. I ended my run feeling great: 6 miles in 50:26. Then I did some ab work and some arm work as well.

I came home from the gym and was happy to remember that we still had more leftovers from our moms – aren’t moms the best?! I heated some up for dinner and added some broccoli again.

Hubby had some leftovers as well and then curled up on the couch feeling less than great.

After dinner I was most definitely craving some sweets, but instead I chewed on some sugar-free gum. How Biggest Loser-ish do I sound? Let me slip in this plug for 5 gum.

So far so good on the not eating sweets goal! Why is it that women always seem to be more drawn to sweets then men are?

So that was pretty much my night. We watched the Olympics, but I was falling asleep after the women’s half pipe, so I went to bed and missed the American guy winning figure skating. Darn.

So what are your plans for the weekend?

I heard on the news today that it’s supposed to be in the 40s this weekend in NYC. I’m super excited! According to my marathon training plan, I only have to run 9 miles this weekend. I almost feel like it’s a shame I didn’t have to run more when we’re going to have such nice weather. However, I don’t want to up my mileage too soon and risk injuring myself, so I’m going to stick to my plan.

I have my 9 mile run planned for Sunday since I’ll be visiting a friend in Brooklyn tonight and staying over for brunch tomorrow morning. I’m excited to explore a new area of New York!

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the warmer weather if you can!

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100 Posts, Progress, Kryptonite

Posted on February 18, 2010 | 12 comments

Good morning blogworld! This is my official 100th post – hurray! I’m so proud to have kept this little blog going this long. My Hubby says I have a habit of starting new projects or ideas and then deserting them after a little while. So I’m very happy that I’ve been able to blog on a fairly regular basis for about 4 months.

I thought that my 100th post would be the perfect opportunity to talk about my 2010 goals and how I’ve been progressing.

1. Stop Biting My Nails: Fail. I have possibly curtailed it a bit, but I haven’t been able to stop yet. The cold weather isn’t helping, as it makes my nails brittle and breakable.
2. Become a Real Winter Runner: I think I can say this one has been a success! I’ve run outside just about every weekend since early January and have actually gotten used to the cold temps.  Check out my recent post on the tell-tale signs that I have truly become a real winter runner.
3. Eat Cleaner: So-so on this one. I’ve definitely been incorporating more clean foods into my diet, but there are a few lingering “problem foods” I need to deal with. More on that (and my kryptonite) later in this post.  
4. Read More: I’ve done okay with this. I’ve read Ahab’s Wife, The Weight of Silence and The Historian so far in 2010. I’m currently reading Food Rules and Angela’s Ashes (just started). I guess I’m averaging about 1-2 books a month, which is good, but I used to read much faster. It also depends on the book. 
5. Be Grateful: Fail. I don’t think I’ve been too great so far this year about appreciating what I have. This is definitely something I will work on.
6. Shop Less, Save More: Fail. Need to focus on this.
7. Keep in Touch: Fail. I haven’t been calling people like I claimed I would. I’m just not a phone person. I will make my new goal to call one friend each weekend, as well as my mother, to catch up.
8. Expand My Horizons: Success. So far in 2010 I’ve tried Ethiopian food and Greek food, attended the ballet and a camera class.
9. QT with Hubby: Fail. We’ve been so busy going to weddings, parties and family events that we haven’t spent much QT together. 😦
10. Qualify for Boston! Working on it! I signed up for the Poconos Marathon in May 2010, with hopes of qualify for Boston in 2011. Wish me luck!

Okay – so not as much progress as I would have liked, but also not a total disaster. It’s only February right?!

How are you doing on your 2010 goals?

I’ll do a quick recap of my eats yesterday and explain just where kryptonite fits in. Breakfast was a honey wheat double fiber English muffin with peanut butter and banana. And oops a big hole in the middle of one half.

I had a busy agenda yesterday and knew I wouldn’t be able to eat much from about 1:30 p.m. on, so my mid-morning snack was my Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean.

Lunch followed shortly after – Triscuits with Light Laughing Cow cheese and carrots.

I was at a meeting out of the office from 1:30 – 5:00 and then headed straight from there to church for Ash Wednesday.

By the time we got home I was starving. I made a grilled cheese sammy for dinner with some pickles.

And then I gave in to my kryptonite. In all honesty, I did it to myself. Hubby had to stop at Duane Read after church to pick up some cold medicine (he thinks he’s getting sick) and while I was there, I was drawn to these fellas:

Seriously – I can not resist them and I have a problem. I can eat this entire bag in one sitting. Last night I ate half the bag. Oh the guilt and the unbearably icky-feeling stomach! Why can’t I resist these things?

At my old job, my co-worker would buy a container of these and leave them on her desk and I would literally devour them in two days. When we saw Avatar a few weeks ago, I ate entire bag during the movie. I have a problem. The first step is admitting I have a problem.

Now here’s my solution: I am giving up all sweets for Lent. Yes, technically Lent began yesterday and I shouldn’t have eaten these, but at that point I hadn’t decided what I was going to give up yet. Well, after this overeating debacle, I think my choice is clear.  I am taking the rest of this bag, closing it up and putting away until Easter. It’s time to get a grip on my sweet eating.

Now, if you’ve read my blog much over the past 4 months, you must have seen that I love me some dessert. I typically have some form of dessert almost every night after dinner. So what am I going to do? My plan is to make fruit into my new dessert. I’ll be stocking up on strawberries, blueberries, grapes, etc. to take the place of my beloved chocolate and sugary treats.

What else will help me with this sacrifice? 1. Reading Micahel Pollan’s Food Rules, and hopefully his other books in the near future. 2. Remembering that the ingredients in my kryptonite are: Sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch, citric acid, tartaric acid, artificial flavors, titanium dioxide, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1. Gag – did I really just enjoy eating tartaric acid and titanium dioxide? 3. Reliving the terrible burning sensation on my tongue after eating too many of these things – seriously, that should be a huge red flag for me right there. Real food shouldn’t strip, burn and desensitize your tongue.  

So that’s the plan man – I’m really hoping I will have the willpower to say no to the Sour Patch Watermelons, chocolate and other sweets that come my way. And maybe by the time Easter rolls around my sweet tooth will have diminished a bit and you won’t always see me capping off a meal with a piece of chocolate or candy. 🙂 Here’s to hoping!

So tell me – what is your kryptonite? Besides sweets in general and Sour Watermelons, mine seem to be nachos, cake and french fries.

P.S. – How awesome was Shaun White last night? He’s the reason I didn’t make it to the gym this morning and have to try to squeeze in 6 miles tonight. I just had to see that Double McTwist – so glad he did it!

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Early Morning City Street Running

Posted on February 17, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning – happy Hump Day! It’s 8 a.m. and I am already done with my run for the day – hooray! All my talk of being a “real winter runner” yesterday must have inspired me this morning. I was supposed to go for a 3-4 mile run with a fellow blogger (who shall remain nameless…but you should check out her blog 🙂 ), but she had to bow out of our run. So it was 5:30 a.m., I was awake and semi-dressed for a run and my choices were to: a) go back to bed, b) fly around like a maniac and grab all my stuff for the gym, or c) just go running outside.

I chose option c and did so very warily. I had a conversation with another NYC blogger last week about the potential perils of running on the streets of NYC during the early-morning hours before sunrise. I told her I’d never done it and was too chicken to ever attempt it. Apparently, I lied. I found some sort of courage this morning, or maybe it was just sheer desperation, but I went.

The Verdict: It wasn’t bad at all! (I swear Mom!!) Within the first 5 minutes of hitting the streets I encountered another female runner – with headphones (I was sans headphones and on constant alert). I ran down York Avenue to 61st Street and then started heading West and back up. I hit 79th street while still on 1st and then went all the way over to 5th Avenue and turned around and headed home. I was able to squeeze in just over 4 miles. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 8:24
Mile 2 – 8:35
Mile 3 – 9:00
Mile 4 – 9:26
.11 – 1:46
Total mileage: 4.11 in 37:14

Mile 4 was very slow because I waited for two red lights – grrr. Anyway – my entire run was very well-lit, and surprisingly, there were more people out at that hour than I expected. I saw doctors/nurses heading to work in their scrubs, a total of 3 other runners, doormen (one who was very nice and warned me about ice), store owners opening up, and plenty of cars driving around. I didn’t feel at all nervous or in danger. I will definitely entertain the idea of running the streets again in the future (and I always welcome running buddies of course!). But March 14th and Daylight Savings also can’t come soon enough!

If you live in NYC – have you ever run the street before sunrise? Or if you live elsewhere – how safe do you feel during early-morning, pre-sun runs? What precautions do you take?

As promised, I do have photos once again! Here is my recap of yesterday’s eats:

Breakfast was a delicious bowl of oats with banana and peanut butter.

During my lunch break I ran out to Borders and picked up Food Rules by Michael Pollan and a salad. I’m already halfway through the book. A  lot of it is common sense stuff, but I’m still glad I bought it. I used my 33% off coupon (for Borders Rewards members that coupon is good until the 18th), so it was a good deal. Borders also had a Buy One Get One Half Off Section and both of Pollan’s other books: The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food were on the table (I went to the Borders down near Wall Street).  So my lunch looked like this:

Sorry for the blurriness. My afternoon snacks were some Brown Cow Greek Yogurt (decently priced at $1.09 upstate) and an apple.

After work yesterday I headed to the gym. I had a 5-mile run scheduled on my training plan, but I figured since I’d be running the next morning, I would only do 4 miles (plus then no guilt about running for more than 30 minutes). I finished up 4 miles in 32:18 minutes, did some ab work, some arm work and headed home.

Both my mom and Hubby’s mom sent leftovers home with us this weekend, so we are set for a bit when it comes to dinner. I had some of the leftovers (wheat pasta, chicken, tomato sauce) and added in some broccoli to pump up the veggie quotient. I think Pollan’s mantra of “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” was in the back of my mind.

However, that didn’t stop me from having two of these bad boys for dessert.

I headed to bed early last night, but managed to sleep terribly the whole night. I’m sure I will crash later today.

And I totally forgot that today is Ash Wednesday. At least my run is done so I can head to our church after work for the 6 p.m. mass.

And lastly, an interesting health article in the news:

As Girls Become Women, Sports Pay Dividends – I definitely agree that there is a connection between playing high school sports and the level of confidence and/or success a girl (or anyone for that matter) has.  What do you think?

Have a great day all!

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You Know You’re A Winter Runner When…

Posted on February 16, 2010 | 19 comments

Good morning – happy Tuesday all – even though it feels like a Monday to me. I enjoyed my long weekend, but wish I had an extra day of rest. These long weekends always seem to fly by so fast when we use them for travel.

This post will again be photo-less. I realized halfway through the weekend that even if I wanted to take pictures, I left my camera at work. Eeek! So it’s a combination of my laziness and forgetfulness that has led to another photoless post.

I have to say that I was dying for my camera yesterday. After I wrote my quick check-in post I got word from the Hubby that he was going to be out for a while running errands and such, so I had about 2 hours of free time. I decided it would be smart to use that time for a quick run. However, I soon realized that my travel bag with all my running gear was in Hubby’s car. I was frustrated and upset and then I decided that I could probably find some decent running duds in my old clothes still at my parent’s house.

I rummaged around and ended up finding spandex (score!!), a t-shirt and the long-sleeved shirt I received from the Mohawk Hudson Marathon. I also snatched an old L.L.Bean vest from the hallway closet. The only missing elements were a sports bra and a winter hat. I managed to find a somewhat comfortable old regular bra buried in one of my drawers and decided it would have to do. And after much searching, I was only able to find a regular baseball cap. I also grabbed an old regular running watch – I was so sad to be running Garmin-less.

I have to tell you that I looked ridiculous. My hat was bright pink, my long-sleeved shirt was bright orange, my vest was grey and my spandex were black. I looked atrocious, but at least I was able to get my run in!

After completing my 3.3 mile run in 27 minutes (I used mapmyrun.com to track it after), I thought about how desperately I wanted to get that run in (afterall it was a decent day and it was daylight out) and realized that somehow over the past few months I’ve become a legitimate Winter Runner! Here’s how I can tell.

You Know You’re A Winter Runner When…

  • 30 degrees and sunny sounds like a balmy day and perfect for a run.
  • You believe that the invention of women’s winter running hats with the ponytail hole in the back was pure genius.
  • When you hear about a large predicted snow-storm your immediate concern is if it will affect your planned long run, not whether you’ll be able to make it to work or have enough food/reserves to ride it out.
  • You wonder how gross it would be to rewear your warmest running tights/spandex without washing them when a decent running day unexpectedly presents itself and you haven’t done the laundry yet.  
  • You constantly have a raw spot under your nose from your runny-nosed-runs.
  • You feel you’ve finally perfected your light-footed sloshy snow running and scoff at other runners you see slipping and sliding all over the place.
  • And lastly, you’re more excited about Daylight Saving Time beginning in March (a.k.a. setting the clocks ahead – meaning more light earlier in the morning and later at night) than you are about your birthday.

Those are just a few of the tell-tales signs that I can finally count myself among the ranks of the real winter runners. What about you – how can you tell you’re a real winter runner?

That’s all for today folks. I promise a picture-filled post for tomorrow, as well as a book review of The Historian coming soon! All I can say at the moment is that you should definitely put that book on your list. 🙂

Have a great Tuesday!

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A Quick Check-in

Posted on February 15, 2010 | 3 comments

Good morning all. I have been especially MIA this weekend and I apologize. Hubby and I headed upstate and for some reason I was just really craving a blogging break. I didn’t even take any blog pics – I know awful. But it was a good weekend despite my lack of photo-taking.

Friday night we headed upstate a bit late because I got stuck working until 6 p.m. We got to my parent’s house just in time to watch the last 15 minutes of the Olympics opening ceremony. Then I headed to bed because I had a longish run on the agenda for Saturday morning.

Saturday morning I woke up and fueled up with my usual English muffin with peanut butter and banana and then hit the road running at about 9:00 a.m. It was 17 degrees outside. I think that is officially the coldest weather I’ve ever run in. It wasn’t a problem because I layered appropriately and was snug in my running gear. However, the problem occurred at around mile 4 when my Garmin decided to go hay-wire, switch to navigation mode and beap incessantly for the remainder of my 12-mile run. It was obnoxious and I was actually running along yelling at it to shut up – the people driving by probably thought I was insane.

I haven’t uploaded the data from that run yet, but I already know it was a bad one. I was fiddling with the Garmin while running all around upstate and my times we all over the map. I was able to determine that I did finish 12 miles, but that was about it. It did not feel like a great run, but at least I did it, right?

We headed up to Utica in the afternoon and gathered at Bill’s parent’s house for a small birthday party for his father. It was a lot of fun and we finished off the night by watching the Olympics and seeing the U.S. win gold in the women’s moguls – it was awesome!

Inspired by such great athleticism, I forced myself up and out the door for a short run on Sunday morning. It was snowing, but not too bad. I ran 3.18 miles in about 28 minutes and it was tough. The streets were slushy and slippery, so I had to take things slow. I’ve never actually run when it was snowing out before and it was kind of tough. But I got the run done and was extremely happy that I actually ran 5 days this past week and hit my intended mileage!!

Saturday afternoon we visited with Bill’s friend who just had a baby and then had a low-key night. We’re in Albany right now and heading back to NYC in a little bit. We hear that another snow storm is on the way and I am none too pleased about this. I am ready for winter to be over!!

Anyway – we’re heading out soon. Hope you all had a great weekend! I can’t wait to watch more of the Olympics – I’m hooked! How bout you?

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“Over Easy” Ain’t So Easy

Posted on February 12, 2010 | 6 comments

Happy Friday and happy long weekend for some! Oh and Happy Valentine’s Day soon. Hubby and I don’t do anything for V-day. Neither one of us has ever really been into it. We’ll actually be traveling upstate this weekend for a quick stop at my parent’s house and then on to his parent’s house. So we’ll be with his parent’s on Valentine’s Day. What are your plans for the romantic holiday?

I hope everyone had a good day yesterday. Mine was pretty decent. I started off breakfast with some boring Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with almond milk. Sometimes you just feel like having some cereal – you know?

Work was busy yesterday. After the snow on Wednesday and our office closing early, there was lots to catch up on. I ate my lunch very late in the afternoon and had leftover bulgur with chicken, veggies and salsa from the other night.

My afternoon snacks were fairly light – a pineapple Chobani yogurt and a pumpkin muffin around 4 p.m.

I am loving these muffins as a snack. They give me energy, but don’t fill me up too much. And with that added energy boost, I got myself to the gym right after work to try to squeeze in a 6-mile run.

I’d like to name this next little section: Tales from the Habitual Gym Rule-Breaker…

Well, I did it – I got in my 6 miles, but not without some guilt. Things started off alright when I arrived and saw hardly anyone on the treadmills. But around mile 4 things started to fill up and I realized that 3 of the treadmills must have been out-of-order because people would get on and then hop off after a few seconds. You’d think that during the height of winter the gym would to try ensure that all the machines–especially cardio machines–were working right. So no one was actually waiting for a treadmill until I hit about 5.6 miles. And at that point I was soo close to 6 miles that I could not stop. So I increased my speed to 8.3 (holy cow – I’ve never run that fast on a treadmill in my life!) and finally finished up my 6 miles in 49:12. It is definitely the fastest I’ve ever run 6 miles on a treadmill and toward the end I felt like I was in a race and experienced a minor adrenaline rush. But then when I finished I felt really guilty and actually apologized to the girl waiting in line that took my machine.  

I did some ab work while I sweated profusely and then headed home. I certainly didn’t want that girl to come find me and yell at me. 🙂 

Once I was home and showered I made some dinner. I have been craving eggs recently, and yes, I had them on Wednesday night, so two nights in a row is probably not a great idea, but so be it.

I was picturing a beautiful egg sandwich in my mind and decided to attempt to fry an egg “over easy.” I went through a stage in high school where I ate an egg sandwich with an over-easy egg every morning for a while, but my mom would always handle the egg part. This time it was all on me and I was intimidated. I may have even Googled “how to fry and egg” before I got started.

My first attempt was pathetic. I just plopped the egg onto the skillet from rather far away and watched as the yolk in the center broke and spread into the white area. I contemplated just throwing it on the sandwich and making due, but I wanted to do this right. So I ate that ruined egg (I couldn’t waste it) and set to work making another.

This time I was much more gentle and slow in my release of the egg onto the skillet. I was psyched when it landed gently with the center yolk in tact! I cooked it that way for a bit, added some pepper, and then ever-so-gently flipped it over and let it cook on the other side for about 30 seconds. I flipped it back and let it cook for a little longer and then decided it was done!

My very first fried egg over easy!! I was so proud. I placed it gently on an Arnold Sandwich Thin along with a slice of cheese and my egg sandwich was complete. 🙂

I know – my small feat is probably a mindless routine for many, but for me it was a new challenge and I’m glad I figured it out – all on my own too. I fully enjoyed my delicious egg sammy and have a feeling this little fella will be showing up again soon.  

Dessert was….you guessed it – another muffin. I know two muffins in a day maybe isn’t the healthiest option, but after my super-fast 6 miles I decided I needed it.

What is your favorite way to cook eggs (if you eat them)? And who taught you to make eggs? The over-easy egg sandwich might be my new fave. I was a scrambled egg or omelet girl before, but my heart may now belong to another egg.

Alright – that’s enough rambling about eggs. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Valentine’s Day. Anyone going to check out Valentine’s Day – the movie? I’d like to see it, but Hubby will not be up for that one. That will have to be a girlie movie night. 🙂

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Home Office with Hubby

Posted on February 11, 2010 | 10 comments

Good morning – happy Thursday. Did you make it through the snow – if it touched your area? It was kind of crazy just how many people in various states were affected by the storm. I feel like the west and far south were the only people who didn’t get it.

I worked from home yesterday and so did the Hubby. That was certainly interesting.

I started off my day with a 3-minute breakfast cookie made with: oats, protein powder, apple butter, baking powder, walnuts, raisins, vanilla extract and a packet of Truvia. It was really good.

I tried to stay on my normal work schedule and ate lunch right around 1:00 p.m. I had leftover venison and barley soup (now stew).

I also had a Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean.

During the entire day, this was pretty much the view from our window. Snowing like crazy.

Setting up our work at home situation was interesting. We live in a 550-square-foot one bedroom apartment. We have one desk area and both Hubby and I needed to use it. So – I concocted this interesting set up for us.

Here was my work area and our combined work area:

Yes, I sat on the corner of the desk and used a kitchen table chair. I never realized how hard those chairs are until I sat in one for about 3 hours. Then I decided I needed some cushioning – hence the lovely blanket. How do you like our little work from home arrangement!? I thought it was a pretty decent use of our small space. I think NYC residents are the most creative people when it comes to utilizing and maximizing minimal room.

Around 4 p.m. I was ravenous and had a nice little apple snack with peanut butter.

I ended up working till about 5:30 because I was into a writing project and lost track of time. It was kind of strange not to have to travel anywhere to leave the office.

My overall work-from-home thoughts: It was definitely very convenient, but also tougher in some ways.

  • I feel like I have such a standard routine at work that I was a bit confused at times as to what to focus on next.
  • I’m much better at multi-tasking when I’m actually at work.
  • I didn’t have access to all the resources that I have at the office.
  • I also realized that I didn’t drink as much water when I was working from home.
  • I only had the Hubby to interact with – and while I love him to pieces, sometimes I like chatting with other people too.
  • I didn’t experience that “leaving work excitement” when the day is finally done and you are free to focus on stuff you want to do.  
  • Without that definitive dividing line, I could very easily see work creeping into home-life.

So that’s my general feedback on working at home. I think it was a very good experiment and was happy to see that I still managed to get quite a bit done. Hubby and I were also very good and didn’t have the t.v. on at all until about 4:00 p.m. I think that certainly helped lessen our distractions.  

What about you – what do you like or dislike about working at home? What tips do you have to stay focused and keep your work and home life separate?

After work was “done” I showered (yup – I was gross and didn’t shower all day) and headed into the kitchen to make dinner. I made an omelet with two eggs, spinach and feta cheese. It was yummy.

And then to further divide the work/home worlds, I baked some Pumpkin Muffins using Megan’s recipe. I saw this recipe on her blog a little while ago and have been wanting to make them ever since then.

The recipe made 12 (one is missing above cuz Hubby ate it). And then after dinner I ate one with my tea.

And then after that I ate another. 🙂 These were really good and very moist. Thanks for sharing a great recipe Megan!!

As you will note, I did not get my 3-mile run in yesterday. I may try to work it into Friday morning or Sunday. I am supposed to run 6-miles today, but did NOT make it to the gym this morning (boo), so I’ll have to take my chances tonight and pray that it’s super slow.

After dinner and muffins Hubby and I watched Blood Diamond. I had seen parts of it before, but finally watched the whole thing. I really liked it, but I’m not sure Hubby was overly impressed.

And that was the end of our work-from-home day. We pretty much spent about 36-hours together in our tiny apartment non-stop. We both said that we don’t know how my parents do it; they own a business together, so they work together all day and then come home together at night. I love Hubby and he loves me, but everyone needs a little space.

Have a great Thursday everyone – it’s almost time for the weekend!

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Working from Home!

Posted on February 10, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning everyone – did you get some snow? NYC is getting dumped on. I woke up this morning and although there wasn’t a ton already on the ground, it was coming down like crazy. Yesterday, my boss told people with laptops that if it was bad out today we could work from home. I’ve never worked from home before and when I looked out at all the snow, I decided today was the perfect day to try it.

How about you – does your office let you work from home? How often do you work from home?

I’ve got to say, so far I’m liking it. I’ve got my coffee and breakfast and have sent a few emails and am working on my first project. All without having to trudge through the snow, onto a bus, onto the subway, etc. I live in NYC, but it still takes me about 45 minutes to get from my home to work. To everyone who is commuting today in this snowy weather – be safe and travel slow.

Let me do my quick recap of yesterday and my eats. I actually made it out of bed to hit the gym before work and was very excited. I’d like to try to hit the gym in the a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we’ll see how that goes. Tomorrow morning could still be sort of a scary commute.

But I made it to the gym yesterday morning and ran a decent 6 miles in 51:11. I also used my new towel at the gym. I invested in an Aquis Microfiber Body Towel. The reviews from amazon.com said it was super absorbent, took up minimal space and dried quickly. I found out that all of that was true! I know a lot of people use the towels at the gym when they shower, but for some reason I really prefer to bring my own. My regular towel was taking up so much room in my bag. This one is definitely better.

Do you have any favorite gear that you bring and use at the gym if you have to shower and get ready there? My prep gear looks something like this: towel, flip flops, mini make-up bag, deodorant, work clothes. I don’t bother with my hair though. I also use the shampoo, conditioner and body wash that the gym provides – that certainly saves on space and it actually smells pretty good!

I finished up at the gym and headed to work for some breakfast. My make-shift work breakfast was a banana, coffee and an orange cranberry gnu bar (flavor was just okay).

For lunch yesterday I tried something new – Tofurkey! I made a tofurkey sandwich on an Arnold Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin with mustard and a slice of cheese. I also had a peach Chobani yogurt with some Kashi Go Lean cereal added to it.

The tofurkey was pretty decent, but for some reason it made me burp for the rest of the afternoon. Around 4 p.m. I also snacked on an apple. Have you ever tried tofurkey – what’s your opinion?

I headed home yesterday with my laptop in tow – in preparation for the mammoth storm they were forecasting. I got home and relaxed for a bit — another plus of hitting the gym in the morning – so much free time in the evening. A growling tummy got me moving and headed toward the kitchen to make dinner. I decided to make buglur again. I made what amounts to a bulgur burrito bowl. I know, sounds kind of weird, but it was good.

In the mix: cooked bulgur, chicken, carrots, celery, black beans, salsa and teeny bit of cheese. The end result:

My bulgur dinners always look kind of gross, but this was pretty good. Although Hubby did ask if we “could just have plain brown rice” sometime in the near future. Haha.

The Biggest Loser came on shortly after we finished dinner, so we tuned in. I totally forgot about American Idol. I’m usually an Idol watcher, but BL has got me hooked this season. I can’t seem to understand why Melissa could not lose weight at the ranch when she seemed to do okay at home. Very strange. And the blatant product placement with the chewing gum vs. the desserts in Vancouver was pretty annoying.

So that was my Tuesday and my Wednesday has started off snowy. I’m supposed to run 3 miles today at some point, but I’m starting to question how that will happen. I’ll have to call my gym later today to see if they’re open. Oh how I wish I had a treadmill in my apartment.

Have a great hump day everyone!

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