Oh, it hit the fan alright!

I apologize for being away (I missed you all, even if you didn’t notice I was gone, haha).  These past few days have been insane. 

I can’t even begin to try to condense it into a blog-worthy Cliff's notes version.  So…

(a) I was working a LOT – gotta get the cash flow to pay those billz, yo!

(b) A patient stroked out RIGHT before I was supposed to head out on my lunch break (the blogger meet up, no less) – ahhhhhh!  I hate to say which part of that last sentence disappointed me more.  SHOOT!  I’m a good nurse, so even though it wasn’t my patient, I obviously had to take over that nurse’s other patients while they called a code and went through all the shenanigans that go down when a patient has a stroke.  Not. Fun. Period. 

(c) We are moving!!!  After a loooooong time discussing all the pros/cons of this decision, Kyle and I are SO thrilled to make this upgrade.  We are still staying in NYC, and we are still staying in our same Upper West Side neighborhood, but we are going to be upping the square footage BIG time.  EXCITING!  The closet space alone, y’all…

(d) We had our friends from CA staying with us.  Party time?

(e) Kyle’s birthday.  A lot of chocolate.  Not a lot of exercise.

(f) My computer and the Geek Squad were having a sleep over (for a week), and I just got it back today.

Since I was pre-occupied with the above, the food stuff came to play second fiddle this past week. Here’s a few highlights.

 

 

 

Hope that holds you over for a bit.  I’ve got a google reader with hundreds of posts to catch up on…alas, I head back to CA for my cousin’s wedding in a few days. 

When the hell am I gonna have the time to MOVE by April 1st?

Happy Birthday Kyle!

This is gonna be snappy because I'm tired and grumpy.

AM: I made some java with silk and sf vanilla syrup...which I sipped while doing some mega apartment cleaning.

I had an apple for a mid-morning snack. Thrilling, I know.

And then the fun began...that's right, I'm talking March Madness!!!

A few quarters under way, I got lunch ready.

I spread some plain greek yogurt and red pepper hummus on a whole wheat tortilla, then added in spinach, shredded carrots, and baked tofu (more from yesterday's batch), with lots of CURRY on top.

I don't know why I consistently try to stuff so much in my wraps...will I ever learn? Not bloody likely.

It was delish, even if I had to eat half of it off the plate after (that poor tortilla...never saw it coming).

I washed it down with the last of my sugar cookie sleigh ride tea.

Good thing I ordered in bulk! I still have 5 more boxes :)

Since I did a long run yesterday, I didn't feel like cardio much today. I decided I should stick to low/no impact exercise, so I ate some dried figs and headed to the gym for spinning fun.

Dried fruit gives me such a good sugar high for working out. It's not the kind that makes me crash, either, just a nice rush to get me going. I'm trying to keep track of my best pre-fitness eats so that I will have a good idea of what will work for me before I run the half marathon. Unfortunately, my stomach is pretty sensitive so I can't eat too close to running. Anyone have ideas?

What foods do you guys eat before working out or racing? I need something to give me energy, but nothing that will sit like a brick.

I did about an hour of spinning, stretched, did some arms, and headed home.

Coconut date rolls held me over til dinner.

Kyle submitted his huge China deal today, so he finally got home at a decent hour (poor guy has been living at the office for the past month)...pretty good timing since it's HIS BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy 25th babe!

You know you are an old fart when...

all you want to do on your birthday is watch basketball and get take-out. We cheered on UCLA while vegging on the couch and reviewing our brackets (our Cali visitors were more than okay with this plan, too, after a long day of covering Manhattan on foot).

I'm doing pretty well so far in March Madness. Kyle, not so much.

For dinner we got take-out from OZEN (Asian cuisine), an upper west side restaurant. They had cheap eats and a ton of variety...perfect for big groups with different cravings. I got steamed brocc and tofu with black bean sauce on the side. The sauce was SOOOO good.
There was a TON of food, too.

Notice the container with the other half on the left, next to my first plate full on the right. You bet I finished it all. I could have bathed in that black bean sauce.

I tend to get a little sketched out with certain Asian eateries, so steamed dishes are how I roll. What can I say, MSG and random additives are not my cup of tea.

Kyle got chicken pad thai which smelled divine. I was jealous for about a second, and then I remembered my stomach would have put up a violent fight if confronted with his dish. Oh, IBS, how blessed I feel to have you in my life...(TMI, guys?)

For his birthday dessert, Kyle had requested brownies...and since he loves chocolate and peanut butter more than a PMS-ing teenager, I knew exactly what to make.

Chocolate brownies with dark chocolate chips and peanut butter chunks on top. He was in heaven (as were the others). I wish I could have made a vegan treat and "tricked" them into trying it...but time was an issue, so I stuck with a recipe from mom. I'll leave the vegan baking to the one and only, miss VeggieGirl, aka vegan baker extraordinaire. She was kind enough to suggest a wonderful recipe, which got veto-ed before it even left the starting line :(

Oh well. I bought myself a little treat to rub in their non-vegan faces...hehe!

Sorry about the pic. It is in a clear plastic box, on a place mat with a pattern.

A slice of (vegan) death by chocolate cake. O.M.G.

HOLY yum!!!
Seriously, no words can even begin to do this justice. I was in heaven. Now I know how they came up with this name...I really thought I was going to die, by chocolate.

After a few bites I was so in love, I wanted to savor this cake forever. You know when something is SO good, you just wish it would last and last? Well, this was like that. I felt so much pleasure mixed with so much sadness after each bite. It was almost TOO good. I know that sounds crazy, but seriously. WOW.

I only ate half, so the food porn will continue tomorrow.

I forgot I had these carob covered raisins, too. Look at those massive clusters in the middle. I live for those. I am a vegan dessert freak.

Kickin' it with the Knicks

When I woke up, it was WAY later than I expected...obviously my alarm didn't go off. Shoot! But then I made my way out to the living room (aka the only other room in the apartment that's not the bedroom), and our houseguests were all still sound asleep. No worries, I figured, they are probably just jet lagged...I made my coffee and headed back into the bedroom to sip and read blogs.

Stevia and silk makes the world go round. This mug is CRAZY big, so this was quite the caffeine load.

(Not wanting to make too much noise) I grabbed the bag of dried figs to snack on for a make-shift brekkie.

FINALLY, around 1:30 pm, I heard some movement, and was beyond relieved to find they were awake. Seriously? If I were visiting NYC, I'd be up and at 'em exploring the city way before 2 pm. But that's just me...oh well.

I emerged from my lair to get some tofu baking.

While it was doing it's thing in the oven I snacked on an apple.

Then started making some (late) lunch. I decided on an "egg" scramble sammie, so I threw some spinach on the skillet...

The tofu was done baking, so I took that out to cool (the far right ones were flavored with some Country Bob's, the others are plain).

I tossed shredded carrots and "eggs" into the mix, too.

Once it was done, I threw it on a toasted Arnold's thin...

(and 2 slices of baked tofu since it was there)

Food porn anyone?

In the words of Fergie, it was TASTY tasty!

A bit later I had some dessert (sugar).

Dates

+

carob raisins

= HEAVEN

I had way more than pictured. Uncomfortable full. This is why I should NOT have the full bag right next to me...note to self: always portion out amount and put the bag away!

(After some time to digest) I decided to go on a run outside because the waether was GORG! So sunny and bright, I could have stayed outside forever just to soak it all up.

In fact, I was so pumped up on my run I did the full loop of Central Park (~6 miles) and then some...followed by a 3 mile cool down on the elliptical at the gym. Yeah, I was THAT motivated by the weather. Reason #720,539 I need to move back to CA.

All that exercise left me way less time to get ready, I felt like the tazmanian devil - showering, blow drying, straightening, and dressing in a whirl of chaos. All this for a Knicks game!!

Ok, it wasn't just any knicks game...it was an early birthday party for Kyle - so we rented out his work's box suite at MSG.

I know all too well from previous trips to Madison Square Garden that their vegan options are non-existant. So, even though I was in a crazy rush to get out the door, I still had enough time to make a little somethin' somethin' for dinner (and shove it in my purse's hidden zipper compartment). I'm so crafty!

Red pepper hummus and greek yogurt spread on Arnold's thins, with spinach and smart deli "turkey." Not re-inventing the wheel with this one, but like I said, I was in a hurry to get out the door.

I inhaled this odwalla bar on my way to the subway.

The Knicks were (are?) really bad, but I wasn't really watching the game.

You really can't beat a birthday party in a box suite at MSG filled with your friends.

Jess and me enjoying the dancers and cheerleaders, and the score (below).

I told you, I'm as mature as a 5 year old.

I was also a couple beers deep, so that wasn't really helping...I heart B minus.

The Knicks lost :( as if I really cared, haha.

We got home pretty late, but I can't go to bed without my plate of dessert goodies.

Meanwhile everyone else had (non-vegan) brownies that I made and Kyle opened one present (his real birthday is tomorrow).

Happy early birthday Kyle!!!!