an epic fall

So yesterday I experienced an epic fall down the wooden stairs at my mom’s house. Like I was halfway down when my slippery flip flop slipped out from under me and I slid down the rest of the stairs on my back. When I got to the bottom I let out a string of expletives and then felt like I was going to pass out from the pain. Which I did. When I came to on the floor of the foyer, I surveyed the damage and cried for a few minutes.

Source

I spent most of the day on the couch with an ice pack on my back. The damage is minimal, except for my dignity. Thankfully no one saw, but still my pride is hurt. I have a giant bruise in the small of my back as well as random small ones on other parts of my back. My right elbow hit pretty hard and surprisingly has only 1 small bruise and some cuts. But man, does it hurt!

Seeing as yesterday was boring and today will be equally as uneventful (just seeing a movie with Mom and my grandma!), I’ll leave you with my latest guest post about body image on Bridget’s blog, Pounding Pavement and Plants!

the hangover

(Note: earlier you may have read that I wasn’t posting because my wireless was down, but I seemed to have fixed it. So disregard that!)

Well hello! I’m back & survived the wedding! While I was gone I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend and I hope you saw Kendra’s guest post she wrote for me! It was a beautiful weekend and it was such an honor to be a bridesmaid and stand next to my best girl friend, Tiffany, as she married her (now) husband Johnny!

Laura, Tiffany, me, & Jennifer -- a beautiful bridal party for a stunning bride!

The happy couple eating some cake

We pulled charms from the cake, an old tradition, and the charm that I got is for true love!

Between the rehearsal luncheon, eating out with college friends in Richmond, and the wedding, I consumed many calories of alcohol and amazing food. I don’t regret one bite or sip — it was an amazing weekend and I loved every second of it!

However, I do feel rather hungover (and not just from the champagne toasts and open bars!). I spent the weekend eating rich foods that sometimes contained lots and lots of cheese, white carbs, and other foods I don’t normally eat. For instance, there was a mashed potato bar where I topped my creation with a bit more cheese and sour cream than broccoli! I certainly wasn’t eating as bad as I used to back in the day, but it was definitely not as clean and wholesome as I’ve been eating lately. It feels like my body is freaking out from the abnormal foods I ate this weekend!

So now I’m recovering, meaning taking vitamins and eating vegetables. I wasn’t hungry when I woke up but was super dehydrated so I’ve been drinking water all day. As I got on the road late this morning I grabbed a smoothie from Starbucks and then ate a sandwich, some cereal, and some fruit over the course of the afternoon. And dinner was comprised of whole grains and vegetables — exactly what my body needed!

Quinoa tossed with Italian dressing, spinach, cabbage, mushrooms, onions, and a carrot.

I love quinoa! A serving is 1/4 cup uncooked — which (as you can see) yields a whole lot of grain! And it is also gluten free! I’ve been researching gluten intolerance/wheat intolerance lately and it seems like cutting it down in my diet might help a lot of my GI issues. I met Christie for coffee on Saturday and we talked about it briefly. I’m definitely going to give it some thought and try out some more gluten free options!

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. If you recall, my mother misplaced my passport and I’m leaving for France in a WEEK! Well, we couldn’t make an appointment for an expedited passport until 14 days before travel and the earliest appointment we could get is tomorrow at 8:30am. We will be waking up well before daylight for the 2.5 hour drive and subsequent metro ride to the office tomorrow morning!

Guest post: Have your wedding cake & eat it too!

Hey everyone! In lieu of boring you with writing zilch this weekend, I have a fun guest post from Kendra, a fellow Hollaback Health blogger, a fellow Wellsphere Top Health Blogger, and an all around amazing lady! Oh, and she just got Twitter so follow her!

Should you be reading this Saturday I am currently at either a wedding rehearsal, a wedding rehearsal luncheon, meeting Christie, hanging out with friends, and sleeping. If you should be reading this Sunday, I will be beautifying, drinking champagne, and standing beside my best girl friend as she makes those timeless vows to one lucky guy! I thought a post on indulging at special events, like a wedding, would be appropriate and Kendra very graciously offered to help me out! Happy Memorial Day Weekend! So, take it away, Kendra!!!

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A few years ago I was a bridesmaid in a wedding for the first time. At first I was totally excited. I got to dress up, get new shoes, wear sparkly things, and even sing at the wedding. Then I saw what I was expected to wear…

Once a proper dress was finally selected (really brides, do you want us to look ugly???), I was set for a weekend away of parties, food, drink, and flirting with that one cousin of so-and-so (I’m not wearing stilettos for nothing!).

Now that I’m working on a healthier lifestyle and weight loss, things are different. With wedding season starting, we need strategies to navigate the oh so delicious minefield of wedding festivities.  Abstinence? Um… no. Go hog wild? Only if you want to come back feeling like, well, a hog. So how do you find the middle ground? Let’s talk about some strategies.

Before You Go: Be Prepared

As with most things in life, preparation is key. Here are a few things you can get in place ahead of time to make the weekend more fun and less stressful. For the few days before the weekend away you should be proactive about getting enough sleep, water, and vitamins.

I’m not normally an advocate of vitamin supplements; I think that it’s better to get your vitamins by eating balanced, but in some cases it’s helpful. If you’re going to be eating and drinking extravagantly (and you know you will be) these things can help. Alcohol depletes your body of certain vitamins and you’ll want to compensate a little bit.

It’s also a good idea to bring some things to snack on. Yep, I’m advocating for being that girl. Now, if you’re thinking 100 calorie packs, please just bitch slap yourself now. Bring real food. In fact, throw all those sorts of things away and you’ll be much better off anyway.

I’m not much of a snacker so I like to have things that are calorie and nutrient dense that I can eat pretty quickly and get on with things. Nuts are great, 15 almonds will stave off hunger for a few hours and almonds are easy to pack. Trail mixes that aren’t sugary are in general a fabulous snack as well.

If you are traveling beware of anything that can ooze. Spillage in you suitcase is never a good thing. Some of the odd things I like to take are radishes, Triscuits, Roma tomatoes, a few salami slices, and cheese sticks. All of these things can survive outside the fridge and won’t make a mess.

The last tidbit of preparation is mental. You need to know that if you are working on weight loss, there will be a little damage done to your progress. It can be minimized, but accept that there will be some and enjoy it. Much of it will be water retention from sugar, salt, and alcohol, but some of it will be from more calories than usual. It’s okay.

During: The Balancing Act

Keep being proactive about getting enough water and vitamins. You probably won’t be getting enough sleep. Doing both of these things will help with your impending hangover and will reduce water retention later. Unless you want to get out the elastic waist pants on Monday, keep drinking water.

Pick your poison. Seriously, eat a piece of wedding cake. Pick and choose the things that you’ll really enjoy and the things that are symbolic of the event, but think about what’s worth it and what isn’t. Are you going to really enjoy the pigs in a blanket? Maybe not… Be picky here. If you think you’ll regret eating it, don’t. If you think you’ll feel cheated in not eating it, do. For me anything with rum in it is worth it but I won’t look twice at the finger foods. The chocolate fountain doesn’t interest me but I will not pass up cake.

Work it. Dance your ass off. Literally. You’re having some extra calories but you also have to opportunity to dance many of those calories off. Don’t be a wallflower. Considering that dancing is pretty much the most fun form of exercise ever this is a pretty good deal.

After: Get Over It

Water, vitamins, and sleep. Am I sounding redundant? Good. Boost your vegetable content for a little while to give your body nutrients it can absorb well and really keep hydrated.

Welcome back to work, laundry, and your daily routine. It’s sad that the party’s over but it is. You have to bounce back into your routine now and leave the party behind. You’ll still have the memories and your BFF will still have that one picture of that one incident… but it’s time to get back into the swing of things.

Respect your body when working out. If you are just to depleted of energy and oomph in general, go easy on the first workout back. Don’t kill yourself just to burn 300 calories. It isn’t worth it. By Wednesday you should be able to hit it hard again but on Monday you can give yourself some lee-way.

It’s also time to look at the damage done without emotion. You probably gained a few pounds. Don’t look at it as the ground you lost, instead think of where you are now as a new start point. Use this experience later as a reminder that you can have a weekend party away and not derail yourself completely.

Guest Post!

Well this was originally going to post yesterday but seeing as WordPress messed up and didn’t post it (???) you can enjoy it today while I’m off exploring the hot state of Arizona with my family

But for your enjoyment, I have another lovely guest post lined up from Bess who wrote one last week when I was bored at meetings all day! This is the second and final edition of how to eat vegetarian at restaurants. On today’s menu? Chain restaurants!

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It’s Not Easy Being Green… At A Chain Restaurant

Last week I showed you the dining out forest for the vegetarian trees extends beyond cucumber rolls, chips and guacamole and the bread basket.

Even more terrifying for a vegetarian is the chain restaurant. Here, I walk you through the most palatable options to keep you energized and not feeling that crash that comes after you thought the only thing you could eat were the fries and shake (sorry, this justification doesn’t cut it).

Beginning with “best for veg”, without further adieu:

Ruby Tuesday! Ruby Tuesday’s gets the gold medal, not for quantity of options but for overall HEALTHFULNESS.

Well hello, salad. You look awfully delicious.

Three words: COLOSSAL SALAD BAR (pictured below)! I personally can make a meal out of just that alone (this veggie lover has been known to go back for thirds). If you’re not feeling a salad, try:
Avocado quesadilla
*Round this off with a side of black beans and/or steamed veggies
Veggie minis (a vegetarian adaptation of sliders with veggies, rice and black beans)
*You can get the salad bar with this and I would ix-nay the “endless fries” (a disaster waiting to happen).
Side plate (Ruby Tuesday has DELISH sides)
*Mashed cauliflower, steamed broccoli, sugar snap peas, sauteed mushrooms, plain baked potato, brown rice pilaf — I choose a couple and add a side of black beans.

The Cheesecake Factory

While I haven’t eaten at a Cheesecake Factory in quite some time due to a bit of an obsession with their gargantuan desserts, I am pleased to see they have expanded their vegetarian horizons beyond “breaded and fried” enough to earn the runner up title. While no veggie burger, they do offer both portabella mushroom and grilled eggplant sammys (which you can get with a salad). Other good options include:

Appetizer portioned beet/goat cheese salad, Greek salad or arugula salad with golden raisins and marcona almonds.
Weight management Asian chicken salad or Weight management pear and endive salad (sans chicken)
Edamame
*Perfect protein accompaniment to the above salads
Margherita or wild mushroom pizette
*Thinner than a regular pizza, this is a good “share for the table” appetizer
Fire roasted artichokes
Sweet corn tamale cakes
*Tamales may be my favorite food discovery of the last year (side note from Sweaty: I tried to eat one a day while I lived in Mexico… legit)
Thai lettuce wraps (sans chicken)
Sides of fresh broccoli, asparagus or sautéed snow peas and vegetables

Chili’s

Chili’s now lists a vegetarian menu on their website, but substitutions are quite complex. They do get props for looking out for the vegans by notating which dishes feature dairy, eggs or honey.  Try ordering:

Fajitas without meat
Any of the burgers substituted with a black bean patty
*If you want, sub the fries out for steamed veggies or a house salad
Santa Fe Chicken Wrap sans chicken and tortilla strips (which are not vegetarian there)
*Add some black beans in the wrap for a protein and fiber boost
House salad
*Getting black beans, steamed veggies and pico de gallo on top adds “oomph” to this salad. You can also order a larger portion of the salad if it will be your main meal.
Southwestern vegetable soup
*Round the meal out with sides of corn on the cob and sautéed mushrooms

Applebee’s

While Applebee’s gets a thumbs down for not offering a veggie burger, with some creativeness, you can make a good veggie choice.

California shrimp salad sans shrimp and bacon
*This is my top pick as the salad is chock full of some of my favorite ingredients: avocado, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, black olives. Topped with an avocado dressing? I just might want to bathe in this salad… avocado is good for the skin and hair!
Italian chicken & portabella sandwich sans chicken
*This item off the “light” section on the menu scores points for using a wheat bun and being served with fresh fruit, not fries. If desired, request a little melted cheese on top
Asian chicken salad sans chicken
*Another option off the healthy list, even without the chicken, you still get the flavor and crunch of roasted red peppers, snap peas, cucumbers, onions and sliced almonds. I recommend asking for extra almonds for some additional protein.
Veggie patch pizza
*Round out this thin crust veggie pizza with a side salad or steamed vegetables

Outback

Believe it or not, this “steakhouse” isn’t even the worst offender. That said, it’s pretty freakin’ terrifying for the veghead, who might worry all there is to eat is that terrifying bloomin’ onion (be damned) or token vegetarian dish (Alfredo-like pasta). These choices will leave you feeling much better as you give those heavy greasy lumps of indigestion the heave ho!

Wedge salad (sans filet and bacon)
*Who needs the bacon when you have grape tomatoes and red onions on a huge wedge of iceberg lettuce enveloped with bleu cheese dressing, a sweet balsamic glaze and bleu cheese crumbles — I abhor bleu cheese so would do mine with just balsamic dressing and a sprinkling of Monterey Jack.
Queensland salad (sans chicken and bacon)
*Mixed greens with hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, toasted almonds and cheese-count me in!
Sides plate
*Seasonal veggies, baked yam, baked potato (plain or with cheese), house salad (make sure there is no bacon),

T.G.I. Friday’s

I find it hard to believe that a restaurant named after my favorite day of the week can be such a major offender, but the proof is in the pudding (pun intended). Not only is Friday’s also lacking a veggie burger but most of the “vegetarian options” are fat baths (mozzarella sticks, spinach and artichoke dip, French fries, buttery breadsticks… Even their macaroni is loaded with 5 cheeses, bacon and served with a “juicy grilled chicken breast”. And we wonder why the US is plagued with an obesity problem. (Side note from Sweaty: This is where I had to eat last time I was in an airport and it was truly appalling how few vegetarian options there were… not even a veggie burger!!) If you are forced to eat here, make do with the following:

Santa Fe Chopped Salad (sans chicken)
*Even without the chicken, this salad is still a monster, loaded with tomatoes, corn, black beans, red onion, tortilla strips, black olives, avocado and cheese. Since I loathe ranch dressing (I have an aversion to white condiments-don’t ask), I would probably dress the salad with just salsa and ask them to go light on the cheese given there are lots of “big flavor” ingredients in the salad).
Italian Wedge Salad
*Topped with bruschetta mix, parmesan cheese and vinaigrette. I would round this out with a side of black beans and steamed broccoli for extra sustenance.

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Thanks again, Bess! This is so helpful to me as I am traveling so much lately Maybe I’ll get to try out one of these tips soon??

meetings, friends, & famous restaurants

Good evening! I hope you all checked out the amazing guest post this morning from Bess and enjoyed it thoroughly! Great tips, especially for me because I’ll be traveling a lot and will have to go to lots of restaurants!

Well today, as you know, I was in meetings all day long for my summer job. I started off the morning with a pathetic spread at the hotel continental breakfast where I had some yogurt and a piece of wheat toast with a smear of PB. We had lunch in a university dining hall (my summer job — an immersion “camp” for high schoolers — is held on a college campus) and it was just alright. I ate her all last summer and know it isn’t the best. But I did make a pretty decent salad with sprouts, tofu, and hummus and I had an apple with PB on the side. Later in the afternoon, I snacked on a banana and met my old boss for coffee where I had a skim vanilla latte (iced) and half of an oatmeal cookie.

I’ll spare you the details, but the meeting was actually really fun and productive. Plus it didn’t hurt that one of my friends from last summer is returning (I’m technically her boss now?) and a lot of other friends from the other language academies (there are 8, I do Spanish obviously). Super fun!! I cannot wait to work with these guys all summer!!!

After the long day ended, I headed to my old college campus (15 minutes from my summer job’s locale!) where I’m staying with a friend this weekend. Everyone here is finishing work for finals and I’m so glad that I have this semester off to relax (technically graduated in December). We hung around and eventually pulled ourselves back out the door to try a restaurant I’ve wanted to try for years but never have! I figure before I walk at commencement next weekend, I might as well have gone!

I saw Dot’s Back Inn on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” a couple years ago when the show was brand new and knew I had to go. There have been many Richmond restaurants featured on various FN shows, but this was the first I actually had never heard of before the show! I’ve been dreaming about the Black Bean Corn Cakes since I saw the show, and the rest of my dining companions got some of the other dishes that had been featured. Everything looked amazing and the restaurant had a really cool, friendly vibe! I can’t believe so few people in Richmond know about this place! I also had a light beer to go with dinner

Black Bean Corn Cakes (corn pancakes topped with black beans, provolone cheese, fresh veggies, salsa, and sour cream).

Did not disappoint. At all. I might make my family come here during my graduation weekend next weekend! The prices were SO reasonable, not at all what I expected for a restaurant that is FAMOUS.

Off to hang with Kim and enjoy a quiet night

an honored guest

Dear readers, you are cordially invited to read the guest post from the amazing Bess, a fellow Hollaback Health blogger, vegetarian, and friend She is an honored guest here at Sweat Every Day and I hope you enjoy reading what she has to say!

(FYI: I’m stuck in meetings all day for my summer job, so I figured you’d enjoy this more than pictures of my hotel continental breakfast and lunch at the sub-par campus dining center — I know it is bad, I ate here all last summer too.)

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Vegetarian Dining Dilemmas Solved: Part 1

I was hardly the girl who saw Bambi and swore off meat for the rest of her life.  More like I hightailed it to the nearest steakhouse and powerhoused a 16 ounce rib-eye (since venison wasn’t on the menu).

In fact, I didn’t even realize I liked vegetables until after college when I moved to Southern California and discovered farmer’s markets.

Now fast forward to the present, where the only vegetable I don’t like is the pickle (and not even sure if that classifies as a veggie because of all the brining and sodium). And the only meat I eat is of the “tofurky” variety.

My vegetarianism was initially met with a “Oh she’ll get over that phase real fast,” or a “You’ll make an exception for sushi, right?”

I stuck to my guns but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to find something yummy to eat at a restaurant.

So I wanted to share some of my best kept secrets for vegetarians when confronted with Mexican, sushi, and the especially terrifying steakhouse.

I am the first to admit I am a bit of a “Type A Foodie”, as in I want to eat exactly what I want.

However, I have found that as long as I am polite and just explain I am a vegetarian before making special requests, waiters are happy to comply. Remember, you are paying; it’s your right to enjoy delicious food!

Mexican Food:

Have you resigned yourself to assuming you will just carbo-load on chips, salsa and guac, a bland burrito the size of a brick or enchiladas hidden under a never ending coating of cheese? I’m here to tell you there’s broader horizon beyond those warm greasy triangles and pillars of fat such as:

Veggie Fajitas
*Disclaimer, if they come with frijoles, I recommend asking if they have lard in them or not (some places use lard, others don’t).*
Tamales
*When I sleep over at my friend’s in Venice Beach, I am always awoken to the smells and sounds of the “tamale truck”. Most Mexican restaurants offer at least one form of tamales.
Fancified Quesadilla
*Ask for grilled fajita veggies to be added in, or even plantains for a sweet/salty combo.
Salad
*Kick up your basic salad by adding grilled veggies, guac, black beans, a sprinkling of cheese and pico de gallo.  *Be wary of the deep fried taco shells (especially if you’ve gone to town on the chips)-I usually request my salad without the shell.*

Sushi Restaurants

I have to be honest when I say that vegetable rolls do not do it for me, in large part because I am not a fan of rice…even when I ate fish, I ate mostly the innards of my sushi rolls. If you think you will regurgitate if you have to eat another cucumber or avocado roll, here are some great alternatives:

Agedashi Tofu
*This lightly fried tofu is served over a warm, flavorful broth. *Ask if the broth has dashi and if so, I like it to be served atop a green salad with ginger dressing*. — Side note from Meredith: I tried this for the first time a few weeks ago. Amazeballs.
Miso Eggplant (pictured below)
*One of my favorite appetizers of all time, this piping hot eggplant is topped with an earthy yet sweet miso sauce and generally garnished with sesame seeds. The flavor parade in your mouth is so intense from this dish, I have been known to get 2 orders in the same meal.

Miso eggplant

Edamame
*I’m convinced these green pods are infused with crack. Confession: sometimes I like to dip these bad boys in some spicy mayo and follow it up with a ginger chaser. Then again, I have quite the obsession with ginger. (http://bit.ly/aBbB7v) (another side note from Meredith: ME TOO).
Dumplings
*Even if there aren’t steamed veggie dumplings on the menu, I’ve found if I request them, most restaurants are happy to oblige.
“Geuged Up” Miso Soup
*A lot of Japanese restaurants take your regular miso soup to a new level by adding vegetables, soba noodles, etc. *Again, if it’s not on the menu, I definitely recommend requesting it.*

Steakhouses

While your dining companions start with the shrimp cocktail, oyster on the half shell or lobster bisque and wash it down with a thick steak, you will not be forced to seek solace in a loaf of bread slathered with butter.

I should note that for some reason when I am at a steakhouse, my cohorts always feel the need to repeatedly offer me a bite of their meat, deeming it “exception worthy”. I politely decline, and that is that.

Behold the Upscale Salad
*I love me a good steakhouse salad, especially because they tend to use ingredients that “upgrade” the salad like burrata cheese (sinfully good), Asian pears, toasted pine nuts, jicama, etc. *If the salad has bacon in it, just ask for it sans bacon*
Sides Are Your Friends
I have had many a delicious steakhouse meal constructed purely out of sides like:
*Sauteed mushrooms
*Steamed asparagus or broccoli
*Snap peas
*Roasted, baked, mashed potatoes
*Baked yam *Try asking for a side of balsamic vinaigrette with it-yum!*
*Mac and Cheese (this is a good share for the table dish)
*Grilled or roasted vegetables

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Thanks, Bess! This is so helpful for me because I love Mexican food (I lived in Mexico for a summer) and my family loves steakhouses

I hope you’re all having a great day! As you read this I’m likely sitting in a planning meeting, directing my new staff (I’m Lead “RA” — more like camp counselor — for the same Spanish language immersion program I did in high school & worked at last summer!).

pleasant change in schedule

Hello Once again, I am sitting in a hotel room, catching up on blogs and emails. I wasn’t lying to you when I said how much I am traveling in the coming weeks! I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s say I’m not even halfway through this travel marathon.

Today I was super hungry for lunch (a 5 mile run will do that to me) and went with what I was craving!

Steamed brussels sprouts with s&p; smoky sweet potato hash with 2 tbsp crumbled goat cheese

This hash is so easy and so amazing. I use smoked paprika but you could use any spice you wanted to create your own flavor!

A short while later, I wanted something sweet and was not entirely satisfied. Apparently there wasn’t enough carbs in my sweet potato because that is all I wanted!!!

A handful each of Cheerios & flax flakes with blackberries and 1/4 cup light coconut milk

Since I’m not a huge milk fan as it is, I decided to change it up and use the light coconut milk. It isn’t something I’d do every day (it has a lot of fat, still) but it was yummy and definitely satisfied my sweet & carb craving!

I then cooked my dinner to pack for the hotel room and headed out the door to the tailor to get my bridesmaid dress fitted. I ordered it in November when I warned them I would be losing more weight, yet the snooty boutique wouldn’t order it in a size that wasn’t “correct” based on my measurements. Well guess what? That was like 30 lbs ago or something so I am swimming in the dress. $100 in alterations later, I will have a dress that fits in 2 weeks. While leaving the tailor, I found out my babysitting skills were not needed for the day so I got on the road 3 hours early for Richmond.

I snacked on a banana and a 100 calorie pack of natural almonds while I drove

I like the empty hotel room, but will be glad when Harris gets here (we’re sharing a room since we’re both attending the same meeting tomorrow). It has given me the opportunity to take a short nap, do the mountain of paperwork for my meeting tomorrow, and get some writing done for a couple projects. Yay!

I finally busted out my dinner that I cooked earlier…

Steamed broccoli & Mexican pasta

This pasta was rocking! Along with another recipe by my bff Harris, I will be adding it to my recipes page stat! There are a few I still need to add, but don’t have the written (official) versions with me right now. Another day…

Dessert was necessary (when is it not?) so I brought along the end of my Chocolove Crystallized Ginger bar. I don’t think I’ve detailed my love for this bar adequately. For anyone who has ever eaten sushi with me or read a post in which I ate sushi, you will know that I LOVE ginger and ask for extra. Well this doesn’t change when it is put into chocolate! I think I have a special taste for it since I get motion sick pretty easily and I innately know it is good for me THIS BAR IS FANTASTIC.

The end of my Chocolove Crystallized Ginger bar!

And did you know that this bar came with a love poem inside the wrapper??

An excerpt from Robert Browning's "Two in the Campagna"

If you’re a nerd like me, you’ve already Googled the rest of the poem. But from the excerpt, the middle stanza is particularly amazing:

Such life here, through such lengths of hours,
Such miracles performed in play,
Such primal naked forms of flowers,
Such letting nature have her way
While heaven looks from its towers!

And I leave you with that Tomorrow there is an AMAZING guest post lined up, so tune to see the first official guest post that someone wrote for MY blog!!

in need of running inspiration?

Yeah, me too.

Tonight I was totally lost as to what to write about and my college friend Corinne suggested writing about first ever 5k experience. Since I’m in need of running inspiration and so is she (she’s running a half this weekend — whooo hoo!!!), I figured why not? Instead of boring you with the details I’ll recap it: when I crossed the finish line, I felt like puking. Then I had to catch my breath and figure out where the bananas were. Then I had to sit around and stretch awkwardly among the super fast runners who had finished far ahead of me.

Thinking about this race brings up a lot of thoughts and emotions, but definitely inspiration. That 5k was a hard race, mentally and physically. But once I finished it (and after the nausea disappeared) I felt like I could conquer anything. Even though I may have taken a walking break, even though I may have huffed and puffed across the finish line, and even though I had not yet learned of the wonder that is a Garmin watch, I was officially a runner from that point on. That race was never about winning or losing, but about proving to myself that I was capable of something I never thought was possible.

As I am about to start training for a half marathon (technically I already started, but it is pretty loose and unstructured at this point), I need to remember the feelings from that race and use them every day. Hey, I am out there doing it. Isn’t that what counts? Even if I’m not running 7:30 mile splits (or even 10:00 mile splits) I am still just as much of a runner as Joe Marathoner.

Tomorrow I am planning to run with my friend Mel, again. And I am going to attack that pavement with renewed vigor and inspiration. I may not go fast, but I will get it done and be proud of what I have accomplished. We’ll all have our good days and our bad days, but we’ll always remember our races and what we’ve proven to ourselves

And to turn this post in an entirely different direction, I now present my eats:

Lunch was a chick’n sandwich and lots of vegetables. I woke up craving hummus, too!

Roasted red pepper hummus with carrots & broccoli; pear; chick'n sandwich with a Gardein patty, cheddar cheese, ketchup, lettuce, on a sandwich thin

At babysitting I had a delicious afternoon snack!

Strawberries; Kashi Fire Roasted Veg crackers with Laughing Cow Light

I got done with babysitting early since their dad picked them up today and I had plans to see my friend Nathan! I saw him a couple days ago when we had breakfast together. He quit his job and moved home (to where I grew up, about 30 minutes from where I am now) to be with his very ill mother But, he got a temp job in Va Beach so we made plans to have dinner & dessert.

At No Frill Bar & Grill , a place I’ve been to several times before and loved, my hummus craving had not yet subsided. Since I wasn’t terribly hungry (dinner was earlier than usual!), I got the appetizer hummus plate for dinner. I was under the impression the veggies would be more substantial, but I did not have a problem consuming this in it’s carby goodness (and about 1/2 that hummus as well).

Hummus plate with fresh pita, carrots, cucumber, and cabbage.

I was glad I kept dinner on the lighter side because we went to get crack froyo for dessert at the self-serve bar down the road.

Vanilla & mint swirl froyo with mochi, coconut, and jellybeans.

The jellybean canister exploded into my bowl, so I forced myself to eat them all. What a sacrifice.

Off to bed early tonight. Waking up at 5:30am for spin was fun, but now I’m dead on my feet. But before you follow suit, check out the guest post I wrote for Bess!! She’ll be contributing to this very blog on Friday!

off start to my day

Eh, morning. It would be too optimistic to say “Good” before it. So just morning.

I didn’t sleep well at all but I valiantly climbed out of bed early in venture of some pre-run fuel. I ended up eating a mini Luna bar and got back in bed to read emails while it digested before my run. But then my stomach took a funny turn and let’s just say it is a bad idea to run when my tummy is acting that way. I’ve had digestive issues my whole life so it is nothing to be alarmed about, but just annoying. And frankly I feel like crap.

So I stayed in and decided that, if I feel well enough, I’ll just go to the gym after babysitting for some cardio goodness. We shall see.

Eventually I did get myself out of bed to make something and brighten my day a bit: oats in a jar. Seriously the best way to scrape the last of the nut butter out of the jar. On today’s menu was finishing the last ~1 1/2 tbsp of sunflower seed butter. I have too many jars of nut butter (not possible) and since I’m leaving Va Beach in about a month, I should start trying to use them up.

Oats in a jar

1/3 cup rolled oats, 2/3 cup water, 1 handful mixed dried fruit bits, the remainder of the sunflower seed butter

I’m pretty convinced that any amount of nut/seed butter can cure most anything. I’m already feeling happier

I think I’ll call this post quits and take my bad mood elsewhere! Hopefully I’ll be back this evening with something more deeper and longer (TWSS?).

Didn’t see my guest post last night? Read Why I’m a Vegetarian!

writer’s block & more thai food

Hello, kiddies! How is life treating you this Sunday evening? Hopefully you are ready for Monday morning!

This afternoon, I was trying to work on some stuff and got severe writer’s block. I went downstairs to watch the DVR’d finale episode of “Food Revolution” and then geared myself up again. I popped a bag of popcorn, put “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” by The Proclaimers on repeat, and tried to bust it out. And I did! Popcorn was the cure-all. The only interruption was having to pee 800 times. This new Whole Foods bottle I bought is awesome because, though it is just a water bottle, the novelty of it makes me fill it and drink it so I’m super hydrated! But not awesome because I kept running to the baño!

After that was done, I got some more organizing/cleaning done and flipped between watching “Runaway Bride” and “You’ve Got Mail” — don’t you love it when there is something fun on TV?? I knew I was going out for dinner but I was starving so I had a more substantial snack to hold me over. You mean popcorn & water isn’t a meal??!!

Grapes & whole wheat bread with 1 tbsp sunflower seed butter

Eventually we went to dinner. We took Mona’s mom (my pseudo-grandma) out to dinner since we’ve all been out of town and she wanted to see us. Even though I had Thai on Friday in Austin, I will never say no to Thai.

Bangkok papaya salad (shredded papaya, chili, beans, tomato, peanuts, lime juice)

I convinced Mona to try this a while ago when we went out for Thai and she loved it, so we decided to split it tonight as an appetizer since portions at this particular place are notoriously large. This salad never disappoints.

Sweet basil tofu (with unpictured steamed rice)

My entree was killer. I asked for it spicy, too, so it was extra tasty! I probably had 4 glasses of water during dinner, keeping up with the hydration plan I’m clearly on today I actually ended up eating mostly the veggies and rice and have about half of the tofu with some rice mixed in for leftovers tomorrow!

Tonight marks my first official guest post on another blog (tomorrow will be my first post as a member of Hollaback Health). Via Twitter and the blogosphere, I was connected with Maria over at Real Fit Mama. She and her daughter are vegetarians who proudly wear the No Meat Athlete shirt along with me and other awesome bloggers Well she is doing a once-a-week series on “Why I’m a Vegetarian” and I’m one of the writers! Check it out here!

Have a great night! I’m going to read in bed!