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Bad, Bad, Yogurt

November 12, 2009 by

Evening Chicas!

I had an awesome run this morning, although it was cold, cold, COLD! I went from running in 55 degree weather to 35 degree weather this morning! I’m trying to run outside as long as my body (and mind) will let me, because I’m dreading going back on the treadmill for the season. Does anyone else feel this way?

I was running late as usual, so I decided to eat breakfast at work. I remembered I had a Trader Joe’s vanilla Greek yogurt at work, so I took a few walnuts from home to stir in. When I actually looked at the date on the yogurt it said November 5. Hmm…I know you can usually eat yogurt a few days past the expiration, but I thought I’d get a second opinion from a coworker. She replied, “it’s yogurt, it’s already cultured so it won’t be bad.”

11.12 Greek yogurt walnuts

After smelling it, I added my walnuts and took a few bites. I realized that it was not a smart move. It was indeed cultured yogurt – a little too cultured for me – and I consider myself a very cultured person – he he! Bad, Bad, yogurt.

I threw it out – walnuts and all (goodbye $2.50) and starting trolling the halls looking for a second breakfast. My choices were very limited, either leftover Halloween candy or a questionable bag of crackers. But then, I saw this…

11.12 Nonnis biscotti

And Nonni’s Biscotti it was! I very rarely eat biscotti which is kind of strange since I’m a big fan of the big CRUNCH. This lovely came from a brand new container a vendor sent to our office – just in time too!

11.12 Nonnis biscotti2

Seeing as it was biscotti, I figured I should have something warm to go with it – enter Tazo Awake Tea…

11.12 Tazo Awake Tea

I just so happened to have one stashed in my desk. I proceeded to drink a HUGE mug of tea and crunch away on my breakfast…

11.12 Tazo Awake Tea 3

Work is picking up a bit, but not so much that I couldn’t meet my favorite guy out for lunch today. We made a last-minute date at Go Roma. I had a lovely pairing – soup and sammie…

11.12 Butternut squash - veggie panini

I haven’t had butternut squash soup in forever and today was the first time I had it at this restaurant. Fantastic! Very rich and creamy with a smooth texture.

11.12 Butternut Squash Soup

My 1/2 veggie panini with spinach, red peppers, and goat cheese also was well-worth the money. Yes, I ate the French fries. All of them.

11.12 veggie pannini

With such a big lunch, it was no snacking for me this afternoon. I wasn’t even interested. When dinner rolled around at 6:30 PM, I had regained my appetite but really didn’t feel like cooking anything challenging. So, it was warmed up pasta sauce with homemade turkey meat balls….

11.12 Pasta and Meat Sauce

11.12 turkey meatball

This is such a comforting dish, I was ready to curl up on the couch and take a nap after I ate.

I am getting very, very sleep, so I checking out for tonight. I have the day off tomorrow so I’m planning to do a little pre-Thanksgiving Christmas shopping – ho ho! If anyone knows of any good deals, please send the info my way.

Have a great night!

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The Traveling Blogger

November 11, 2009 by

Hi Everyone!

Hope you enjoyed my Veterans Day post from earlier today. Although today was my day off from running, I was up and at ’em around 6 AM. I even arrived at work at 8:30 AM because traffic was SO much lighter, no doubt due to the holiday. Which brings me to the question of the day – Did you have Veterans Day off from work or school? If so, how did you spend your day off?

Before work, I made myself a big cereal mix of Honeynut Cheerios and Kashi Go Lean Crunch…

11.11 breakfast

I know, surprise, surprise. Work was a little busier today because my boss was actually back in the office, which translates into more meetings. Although, he is leaving for the next two weeks, going partly to Korea for a meeting and then taking a vacation. I don’t think I’ve ever been away from my job for more than two weeks – at least not anytime recently. 

For lunch, I drove about 30 minutes from the office to attend a very cool luncheon/meeting. At the luncheon, I listened to a presentation by two former top broadcast news journalists and than chatted/networked with a bunch of older ladies. I would love to show you pictures from the luncheon, but I really couldn’t find a good, inconspicuous time to take photos of the food! I did end up having a really yummy turkey sandwich with brie and tomatoes, plus a little fruit salad, and a chocolate chip cookie.

On my way back to the office, I got a little turned around and actually went out of my way about 10 minutes. But, thank goodness for the navigation system!

Dinner was homemade turkey chili courtesy of Scott.

11.11 dinner

Because I’m trying to add more veggies into my diet, I added about 2 cups of spinach to my chili bowl. I honestly couldn’t taste the spinach that much, but it’s great to know that I got all of the vitamins with it.

I booked another business trip yesterday, this time to Phoenix/Scottsdale. If anyone has recommendations for restaurants for that area, please let me know. It looks like I’m going to be traveling quite a bit in the first half of of 2010. Right now, I have at least one trip planned for each month – yikes! Here’s the line up thus far…

  • January – Phoenix/Scottsdale
  • February – Orlando
  • March – Baltimore (Yeah – Fit Bloggin!!)
  • April – Miami and Key Largo
  • May – New Orleans or Washington, DC

There may also be a last-minute trip to DC in there somewhere as well. I’m pretty certain I’m going to be sick of traveling (or at least airports) by June! However, I’m hoping to indulge in some seriously cool restaurants in each of these cities (great blog fodder) and do a LOT of running.

If there are any bloggers in Miami (or Southern FL) or Baltimore who’d like to meet up, let me know!

Have a wonderful night!

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Another Reason to Eat Chocolate?

November 10, 2009 by

Despite getting up at 5:40 AM, somehow I managed to not get to work until 9 AM. I am really despising traffic these days. I need to invest in some books on tape. Too bad Jenna’s book isn’t ready yet 😉

Because I was up so early, it was still dark out and I had to wait for about 30 minutes before heading out to run. I did my typical 4-miler, although it was pretty fast. I am actually sore right now, but I’m not sure if that is from the run or from sitting in 2 hours of traffic!

Being that it was so late, I ate a B-nana in the car…

 

11.10 breakfast

I really should NOT be taking photos (or eating for that matter) when I’m driving. My blogger alter ego is such a bad influence on the regular me.

Work was another totally laid back day – sweet! I could really handle this lifestyle for the next month or so – just get me to Christmas baby! Lunch ended up being Rachel Ray leftovers…

11.10 lunch1

Just look at those little dumpling’s, aka gnocchi, they’re showing off for my new camera…

11.10 lunch2

Later in the PM I had a snack attack and noticed some freebie granola bars in the staff lounge – bonus! Nothing like a healthy and free snack…

11.10 snack

Surprisingly, we have not had our usual obscene amount of food yesterday and today. Ahh, it’s the calm before the holiday food storm.

Scott’s teaching tonight so I had to fend for myself. Why is it that when I have to cook for myself, I end up eating leftovers or a sandwich?

11.10 dinner1

But one thing is for sure, I do eat less when he’s not around. Boys are bad influences on girls in the eating department – for the most part anyway. I wish I could do the reverse and inspire him to eat healthier – or at least smaller portions. I’m just saying it like it is.

11.10 dinner2

News of the Day…

This just in – a new study from Spain reports that chocolate can help prevent hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) which is a precursor to heart disease. Not that I actually need another reason to eat chocolate, but I’m happy to hear that it does the body good! Now, if they could just find that chocolate helps you make more money and get a better night’s sleep, then I’d be all set!

I celebrated this new-found chocolate wisdom with, what else?

11.10 cookie

A few more of my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I made last night.

I need to get some sleep tonight, so here’s to a wonderful and restful night to all of you!

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My New S90 Camera: A Great Substitute for the DSLR

November 9, 2009 by

I love that it is now getting light earlier! I don’t know how long it will last, but I’ll take it for now. I was able to be out the door running at 6:15 AM. Before the time change, I wasn’t heading out until at least 6:45 – what a difference, especially during the work week.

After my run, I did a few stretches and a 15-minute ab workout – which I normally do but just never write about. Then, it was time for a big cereal mix for breakfast…

11.9 breakfast

It was a mix of Honeynut Cheerios and Kashi Go Lean Crunch – perfect post-run breakfast!

Due to construction literally everywhere I turned, it took me over an hour to get to work today so I didn’t get there until 9:30 PM – yikes! Thank goodness it was a slow morning and a slow day. That usually happens the few weeks after our big meeting. People need a few weeks to unwind and regroup on projects.

Because it was slow, I was able to meet Scott for lunch at a local Corner Bakery…

11.9 lunch

I had the Greek salad once again, but it wasn’t as good the second time as it was the first. I think it was that it had way too much dressing on it.

After a very slow afternoon, I decided to leave work a little early at 4:30 PM. Little did I know I would spend over an hour trying to get home. Ugh – I so do NOT like construction – and particularly at night.

When I arrived home, I was so excited to see dinner was almost ready, but even more excited to find out that Scott bought another camera!! I guess one just isn’t enough for two bloggers.

11.9 camera

So this is the newest edition to our blogging family – the Canon PowerShot S90IS. This is a point and shoot digital camera and takes high quality photos – especially close-ups. I’ve only played with the camera for a few hours but can already tell you that I like it better than the Canon PowerShot SD980IS digital elph. I’ve had the elph since early October and, although I haven’t had serious issues with it, it doesn’t take the greatest close-up shots of food. Believe me, I’ve tried!

We are not convinced on keeping both cameras, but we will very likely keep the latest one. The way Scott explained it was that the Canon S90 takes quality photos, like the SLR (although obviously not as good) but without all of the bulk. So, the rest of the photos that you will see tonight will be taken with the new Canon S90.

So now, back to dinner. Scott made one of his favorite dishes – Basil Chicken Stir-fry from the William’s Sonoma Chicken Cookbook…

11.9 dinner1

Yes, the stir-fry tasted as good as it looks! Notice the difference in cameras?

11.9 dinner2

I swear this is not me trying extra hard to make this camera look good. From what I can tell in 3 hours, this camera is awesome! I told Scott he could have the other one and I would keep the S90 he he!

After dinner, I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies – the famous Nieman Marcus recipe…11.9 dessert2

Fake Nieman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp. soda
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups blended oatmeal **
  • 6 oz. chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 oz. Chocolate Bar (grated) milk, semi-sweet, or dark
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 3 cups chopped nuts (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla

 Blend oatmeal to a fine powder and combine with flour, powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Using a high powered mixer, cream the butter and both sugars, then blend in egg and vanilla. Add the dry flour/oatmeal mix to the wet ingredients and blend well. Blend in the grated chocolate followed by the chocolate chips, and then the nuts if you are using them. 

Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. You can also free the dough balls and bake them frozen as instructed below.

Bake for 9 minutes at 375 degrees or until the cookies are slightly golden. Immediately remove them from the baking tray and place on a plate or counter covered with wax paper. Makes about 44 small cookies.

I don’t feel bad giving away this recipe because it’s ALL OVER the Internet and has been circulating for years.

11.9 dessert1

These cookies are so easy to make and taste awesome! When you make them without nuts and make the cookies on the small side, they come out to be about 75-80 calories per cookie. I’ve experimented by adding more chips and/or more chocolate and different types of chocolate. I’ve used ALL dark chocolate before and they were fabulous!

OK, nuff said for tonight. See you all on the flipside!

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Could I actually like a Miley Cyrus Song?

November 8, 2009 by

Hi All!

It was another glorious day in Chicagoland, which means another awesome run! I ran a very fast 5 miler but felt like I could have run 6 or 7. I am attributing my energy to not only the weather, but also the LUNA bar I had about an hour before I ran…

11.8 prerun

I received a coupon via email from LUNA saying that I could buy two bars and get one free, but I had to download the “coupon printer”. It says it’s “safe” to download this software, but I’m always hesitant to download things on my work laptop for fear of it crashing. Has anyone downloaded the coupon printer before? What was your experience?

While I was running I heard this great song that actually made me want to sing along with it. I had heard the song before but had no idea who sang it. Come to find out – it’s MILEY CYRUS!! OMG, I can’t believe I actually like a Miley  Cyrus song, but her “Party in the USA” song is so fun. I don’t plan on turning into a Hannah Montana fan anytime soon, but I will definitely not turn this song off when it comes on the radio.

After my run, I enjoyed a quick yogurt bowl while getting ready for the day…

11.8 breakfast

I had Chobani’s vanilla Greek yogurt with a handful of walnuts for added MUFA and crunch – super filling and so YUM!

After breakfast, we spontaneously decided to head out to the zoo for the day. Although it was spontaneous, it seemed to take us forever to get out the door. We didn’t actually arrive at the zoo until noon! Of course on the way, we made a couple stops, including Barnes and Noble for my sweet indulgence on this “last day of summer”…

11.8 starbucks

Because we arrived at the zoo right at lunch, we plopped down at a picnic table and enjoyed some homemade salami/ham and cheese sandwiches…

11.8 lunch

Although we’ve been to this zoo many times, today was the first day I had ever seen the bats. Creepy but kind of cool. The giraffes and Meerkats are more my style.

Dinner was another Every Day With Rachel Ray recipe from this month’s issue. Tonight it was the BLT Creamy Mac & Cheese…

11.8 dinner mag photo

The above picture is actually a photo I took right from the magazine, but check out how closely my creation resembles the real one…

11.8 dinner2

Woo Hoo – another recipe winner! This recipe was fantastic, although I’m guessing pretty high in calorie due to the cream cheese and bacon. Ok, did I mention that I like bacon? I was never really a fan of bacon until I was an adult and learned to make bacon the exact way I like it – crunchy! I try not to eat too much bacon, but when I do I buy/eat the uncured/all-natural kind. Bacon really kicked this dish up to a whole new level and the added spinach (substituted for arugula) gave the dish some much needed veggies. This dish is definitely going into my recipe book, not only for the flavor but also because it only took about 30 minutes to cook!

After dinner, we decided to celebrate my last evening before going back to work by heading to the ice cream shop – Maggie Moo’s, which is similar to Cold Stone, although I think they have better-tasting ice cream than Cold Stone. I was so torn between Red Velvet ice cream – because you all know I’ve been on this Red Velvet kick – but decided to go with the…

11.8 dessert

Blueberry Muffin ice cream! I just adore this specialty flavor – although it’s very rich so I don’t suggest making it a habit. I had mine with walnuts – I needed to make it healthy somehow! Sorry about the odd looking photo. I forgot the camera so I had to rely on Scott’s iphone.

Gotta head to bed. I want to make sure I’m fresh and ready to go for work tomorrow. Have a great night!

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Outdoor Grilling in November – In Chicago!!

November 7, 2009 by

Hi All!

It felt awesome sleeping in this morning! I didn’t get up until 7 AM. I’m sure I’ll get a reality check on Monday when I go back to work.

Today started with a big bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch – I’m making up for lost Kashi from last week – he he!

11.7 breakfast

After a morning of more cleaning and shopping in 70 degree weather, Scott cooked up some burgers on the grill for us…

11.7 lunch

I can’t believe that it was 70 degrees out day!!! It’s like I never left San Diego!

In addition to the burger, I also made myself a small spinach salad with…

  • 2 cups of baby spinach
  • 1 chopped carrot
  • 1 tbs Mezzetta jarred red peppers
  • 10 grape tomatoes
  • white cheddar cheese

And I topped it all with a little EVOO and balsamic vinegar.

Later in the day I ran to Trader Joe’s to pick up a few things for dinner tonight. While in San Diego, I picked up the latest issue of Every Day With Ray. It has so many fabulous recipes, including the one I tried tonight…

11.7 dinner recipe

Sorry about the fuzzy photo. Scott thought it would be a good idea to at least show you what the recipe looked like but you can actually get the full recipe on Rachel Ray’s site.

The main ingredients of the recipe are chicken and store-bought gnocchi which I so conveniently purchased at TJ’s. Surprisingly, Trader Joe’s only had one type of gnocchi and it wasn’t even whole wheat. The actual recipe was super easy, although be very careful when simmering the sauce, my first attempt boiled over!

11.7 dinner2

My second try went much better, especially because I watched it much more closely. And now, the final product…

11.7 dinner4

This seriously looks just like the photo – which means I done good! And, not only did the photo turn out well, but the dish tasted awesome! However, I would NOT eat this dish on a regular basis. Between the gnocchi and the cream sauce, this dish was very heavy and I’m sure not very low in calories either!

11.7 dinner5

I just finished watching (or glancing at) the Fantastic Four on FX. This is the first time I’ve really seen Jessica Alba act. I’ve heard so many good things about her so was surprised that her acting skills in this movie were less than great.

We are in for another 70 degree day in Chicago tomorrow – can’t wait! We’re still debating on what we’ll do to enjoy the weather, but I guess you’ll all find out tomorrow!

Have a great night!

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Still Adjusting To The Time Change

November 6, 2009 by

Hello Everyone!

I don’t know about you but I felt like I could have slept all day today. Between the time zone change- going from Pacific to Central – and Daylight Savings time ending, my sleep schedule is all out of whack. I’m hoping I’m back to normal on Monday – my first day back in the office in about a week and a half.

Despite being super tired, I headed outside in the brisk air to run my Friday 4-miler. Although it was nearly 50 degrees, it felt much colder with the wind and the fact that I had just been running in 60 degree weather for an entire week.

Breakfast was a bowl of Kashi Go Lean, which I haven’t had at all in over a week. The closest thing I could get to Kashi out in San Diego (at the hotel anyway) was Raisin Bran, which was not great, but adequate.

11.6 breakfast

With the time change and just being plain tired from working 70 hours this week, I was moving in slow motion all day. Browsing through Target seemed like it took forever. I didn’t even want to attempt to go to the grocery store.

Lunch happened to be leftover chicken soup that Scott made a few days ago…

11.6 lunch

I guess you could say this was my first home-cooked meal in over a week. Ahh, chicken soup really does soothe the body and soul. 

I spent the afternoon cleaning and then rewarded myself with an hour’s worth of reading a bunch of new magazines that were delivered right after I left for San Diego. Woo-hoo! I love holiday issues of magazines. They are always so thick – granted a lot of those pages are ads – and they have such colorful, creative, and festive photos.

Tonight, Scott and I went up to our local outdoor mall to see holiday fireworks. I know what you’re thinking – holiday fireworks? It’s only the week after Halloween! Well, I didn’t make this year’s fireworks schedule, but every year the mall welcomes the holiday season with a visit from Santa followed by fireworks. It seems that this day gets earlier and earlier every year.

Prior to the fireworks, we headed to Go Roma for dinner. I was really NOT in the mood to go to yet another restaurant. However, on the night of the fireworks, if you don’t get there by 5 PM – dinnertime – you may not get a parking spot.

For dinner, we started with a little toasted ravioli…

11.6 dinner1

I seriously eat toasted ravioli probably every two years. It’s not that I don’t like it but, in most cases, it just does nothing for me. However, I had the toasted ravioli once or twice in San Diego and it was really good. So when I saw it on the menu tonight, I thought, why not?

We then split a full plank of pizza – 1/2 cheese and 1/2 pepperoni/veggies.

11.6 dinner2

I am really surprised I didn’t have pizza at all in San Diego, with how many times I went out to eat. 

After the fireworks, which were rather short this year due to the strong winds, we headed to Barnes and Noble for a little book browsing. I also topped off the night with – guess what? Another cupcake!!!

11.6 dessert

I really have to stop this cupcake obsession! But I just can’t get past the cream cheese frosting – soo goood!!

Ok all, I need to get some sleep. Stay tuned for a some exciting things in the next week or so!

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Top 5 Reasons Healthy Eatings Habits Fail While Traveling

November 3, 2009 by

When I’m traveling, in most instances, I will choose healthy over nonhealthy foods. However, during our big meeting ever year, I find this extremely challenging. Everywhere – and I do me everywhere – I go there is food. Not just a little food, but a LOT of food. And, unfortunately, much of this food is the unhealthy version that on any given day would remain right where it was and never reach my lips.

In regard to healthy food choices, today was not a good day for me. Although I started with a great 3-mile run (I could have run way more but I didn’t have time), I proceeded to eat probably twice the amount of food I would normally eat on a regular day. OK, maybe not twice the amount, but quite a bit more food than I’m used to, especially in the “junk” food category. Take a look at what I had:

  • Breakfast: 2/3 of an egg white omelette with ham, veggies, and cheese; one slice of bacon, a muffin top, and fresh fruit
  • Snack: a small bag of potato chips and a chocolate chip cookie
  • Lunch: a small salad with lettuce/veggies and a scoop of chicken salad; 2 slices of salami; 1 piece of chocolate cake (as if the cookie wasn’t enough)
  • Snack: a small bag of potato chips and a chocolate chip cookie
  • Dinner: 2/3 Mediterranean salad with chicken; 1 potato skin; a few fries
  • Dessert: Fried pound cake (I’m not kidding – it really was fried!) topped with caramel sauce, butterfinger candy, and whipped cream

11.2 dinner2

I know, I know, I can hardly believe it either. How in the world can I eat this much junk food in one day? Well, that is a very good question. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there really are definite triggers for making me eat this way…

  1. Convenience – when I’m crazy busy at work and especially during the annual meeting, I sometimes grab whatever is closest, whether it’s chips, candy, or cookies.
  2. Variety – When I’m at home, I eat, for the most part, many of the same foods each week. My food is sort of reliable that way. But at our annual meeting there is such a wide variety of food to choose from that, unconsciously feel like I have to sample everything.
  3. Abundance – Again, the annual meeting is never at a loss for food. There is always food and plenty of it. And, when you’re faced with food around every turn, it’s hard to always say no.
  4. Stress – When I’m tired or stressed – and I am currently both – I find that I have poorer judgement when it comes to food choices.
  5. Reward – So, after working through the stress and the craziness all day, my subconscious tells me that I need to treat myself. But seriously subconscious – did you really need to have 3 desserts today?

So as you can see, despite all of my efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle, I am very human, just like everyone else. No matter how hard we try to live out our ideas – be it healthy living or anything else – our plans and ideals are not foolproof. But the key is to recognize that we’ve strayed from our plan and try to get back on the path to being healthy. Sounds perfect – But I may need to postpone that thought until after the annual meeting 😉

Night everyone!

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The Traveling Runner

November 2, 2009 by

One of the best things about traveling is the great opportunity I have to run in fun and exciting places. I have been fortunate enough to run along a tiki-torch lit path in Maui; in balmy weather in Mexico; in and around Kensington Park and Palace in London; and along a Mediterranean beach front on the coast of Spain.

And this week, my job has been kind enough to indirectly support my travel and running habits because today, I ran along a fantastic pathway along the Pacific ocean. My 4-mile journal took me along cobblestones, gravel, and pavement, but all among the fresh, clean, and salty sea air. Not only did I have an amazing view of the water, but everything that comes with water, including sailboats, naval ships, and pelicans! Being away from home due to business is definitely hard. You’re not sleeping in your own bed, you live out of a suitcase, and you have to deal with airport hassles. Yet somehow, running in the cool, crisp air along the Bay in San Diego –  hearing the waves hit against the rocks, makes being away from home that much easier.

And, on my way back from my glorious run, there just so happened to be a Starbucks across from my hotel. Perfect timing and a perfect convenience…

11.1 breakfast

If you can’t tell, I tried to take a photo that incorporated my lovely latte with the perky palm trees below. However, this was not the extent of my breakfast. Raisin Bran Crunch awaited me in the staff lounge, taunting me a little because I arrived too late for the hot breakfast.

After setting up my meeting room and doing “work” things, it was time to head back to the staff lounge for a bit of lunch…

11.1 lunch1

I started with my version of a cosmopolitan salad, which was a mix of green leaf lettuce, squash, roasted veggies, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and bacon. It felt sooo good to eat a salad today, especially one with tons of goodies. My salad was quickly following by a cup of bake potato soup with a few fixins’…

11.1 lunch2

Hmmm… good, incredibly tasty and filling. 

There was no “dinner” per se tonight, only a series of buffet lines and pasta stations at an evening reception. I ended up having a little pasta with side of huge green olives and aged cheddar cheese. The food was actually really good – too bad I had to eat standing up – a situation I hate nearly as much as I hate eating in the car. But, when you’re tired, hungry, and are threatened with a group karaoke song, you just have to eat and then get the hell out of there!

On the way back from the reception, I stopped in our staff lounge and found that there were still 3 cupcakes left from yesterday! How fantastic because I just so happened to be craving a cupcake – a chocolate peanut butter cupcake to be exact….

11.1 dessert

This was definitely NOT as good as it would have been last night when I actually bought it, but it was still a melt-in-your-mouth, peanut buttery cupcake.

Now I must leave you for the evening before I fall asleep. 

Night all!

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Cupcake Heaven

November 1, 2009 by

Hola Todos and Happy Halloween! California is still sunny and beautiful, and I still have 4 days left here!

I started my Halloween with a super fast 4-mile run on the treadmill. I woke up around 6:30, jumped out of bed and was in the hotel fitness center by 7 AM. About 5 minutes into the run, as I was staring out the window at the ocean, I thought, why the hell am I running inside? Duh – I don’t know what I was thinking.

Due to a few work issues that came up, I had a late breakfast, which ended up being a very small bowl of blueberry yogurt with chopped walnuts…

10.31 breakfast

I spent the morning working on a few projects that I should have finished last week, but just didn’t have time. Through all of the work and chaos today, I did actually find time to eat lunch. However, because I was so hungry, I completely forgot to take a picture of what I ate. It would have also helped if I would have brought my camera to the restaurant. Anyway, I had a huge turkey and brie sandwich – the sandwich was serious 6 inches high!! I only ended up eating 1/2 the sandwich, but I polished off the fries in record time.

Later in the afternoon, as things were winding down for today’s activities, a colleague and I walked to a nearby pastry shop that specializes in cupcakes. Heavenly Cupcake is located in the Gaslamp District of San Diego. They sell AMAZING cupcakes. They have different flavors of cupcakes each day, such as pumpkin, carrot, vanilla caramel, and lemon coconut. I had one of the best cupcakes I’ve every eaten…

10.31 Heavenly Cupcake2

A red velvet beauty with cream cheese frosting. Oh my, absolutely sweet and sinful! Obviously, this is not the actual cupcake I ate (photo from Heavenly Cupcake web site) but you get the idea of how gourmet these babies are. We were so excited at our new found dessert heaven that we purchased a dozen cupcakes to put in our staff lounge at our meeting. I highly recommend this boutique dessert store (although the staff were NOT very friendly) although you may need to save your pennies to eat here.

Tonight, I attended a special VIP dinner. I did not pick the menu personally, so therefore there were very few things that I ate at the dinner. However, I did start off with a very nice salad…

10.31 dinner

It included what looked like bibb lettuce, grape tomatoes, and hearts of palm – all topped with lime dressing. Very good, although I wish my salad had been bigger. When the entree came out, I was give the beef with a side of sweet potatoes and asparagus. Hmm, who needs beef when you can eat pureed sweet potatoes?

Having a lighter-than-normal dinner made it easier to say yes to the super awesome dessert that was served at the dinner…

10.31 dessert

This dessert was cross between chocolate mousse and a white chocolate torte. So yummy indeed, but I only ate about 1/3 of it because of the cupcake I had earlier today.

Once again, I am falling asleep as I’m typing away. I must go recharge my battery with a good night’s sleep.

Happy Daylight Savings Time!

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