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?

It must have been the gym

I’m pretty excited to be using Windows Live Writer since I’ve been hearing all about how amazing it is for the last few months.  Hopefully, I too, will have nothing but the highest praises for it.  Only time will tell.  But for now, I’ll stick to the day’s eats.

I slept in, so the morning was already going well.  Then I had some coffee (Starbucks’ x-mas blend) with lactaid, while I enjoyed the first 2009 episode of The View.  Don’t hate on the guilty pleasures :)

Later I decided to give in to my stomach, so I made some of what I was really craving…Food for Life’s English muffins.  I couldn’t find the Ezek 4:9 ones that I got last time and loved so much…but I’m sure these will be just as delish (they already have me drooling and they are still frozen)!!

Slather on some hummus and that’s what I call breakfast.

What a heavenly start to the day.

For the next 5 million hours I was struggling with Windows Live…no joke.  I’m either a tech retard or my computer sucks at life because this installation was the complete opposite of smooth.  Anyways, I took a break from my labor intensive downloading to eat some lunch.  As I predicted, the Food for Life English muffins were pretty much all I could think of.  Ummm, I’m in love!? 

These are my sando ingreds (romaine lettuce, smart deli “turkey”, and Sabra hummus)…def finished the hummus container and opened a new one.

Now is this a beautiful picture, or what?!  Holy YUM.

The hummus was underrepresented in my sammie, so I had a bit more with some apple slices and then brocc (and 2 lonely cauliflower florets).  I freakin’ love Sabra hummus. 

Since I was still unable to get my blog crap working, I decided some exercise would be good to get my mind off my annoying computer situation. 

Lately I have been insanely energetic at the gym.  Not a bad thing, maybe I’m getting in better shape or something?  I warmed up running 30 mins on the tread mill and then switched to the elliptical machine, which I did for 30 mins also at a high level resistance.  After that I cooled down walking on the tread mill, then headed to the mats.  After half an hour of stretching, arms and ab work, I was ready to go home. 

It must have been the gym that cleared my head, because after the time-out, my computer was suddenly ready to work again.  Hooray!  Windows Live Writer comin’ at’cha!!!!

I did some errands in the neighb and then got my dinner under way.  I was the mood for greens.  Salad time!!!

Spinach, brocc slaw, dried cranberries, cherry tomatoes, and my NEW ingredient…Diced Chik!!!

I’m nervous/excited to try it.  Being canned, I was skeptical from the start.  The good news: the sodium level isn’t horrible, and the rest of the nutritional info looks pretty good.  The bad news: it looks weird.

Fortunately, I am a pretty open minded eater when it comes to vegan food.  I mean how bad could it be, when it’s not made from any animal products…

Here it is all mixed together.  I also added these on top…

Yummy!!  I really liked the chik in the salad.  It doesn’t have a very strong flavor, which was nice.  I’d imagine it tastes a bit like seitan, but not as hard.  Anyways, I really wanted more, so I made another salad EXACTLY like the one shown above (no photo).  It was just as good, and filled me right up. 

I finished the night off with tea and water.  Yup, I’m snapple free in ‘09. 

where the veggies at?

I realized over the last few days my meals have been really lacking in the green department! Hmmm...looks like I'll have to get on that. Maybe later. For now, I need warmth. I woke up because I was shivering, so it looks like I will be getting the down blanket out of the closet for the rest of the winter...it's f-ing COLD.

At least I finally got a day off work so I could sleep in. I def drank my coffee in bed. My slippers are also on their very last legs (no pun intended), so I rocked these fleece socks with rubber tread on the bottom. Maybe I'll get some new slippers for x-mas??

Today was the first day it actually hit me - how close to the holidays it is, it's nearly Christmas!!! I reeeeeeally wish I could be home now! I'm alone here in NYC since Kyle went home already (sad). I'm pretty jealous of all the people who have jobs that actually have breaks over the holidays...maybe I'll go back to school again, just so I can get a break. I have to work on the 24th, 25th AND 26th. Boo!

Okay, enough whining. I had a pretty not normal breakfast. It was more like a snack with my coffee(s).

I craved salty and sweet, so I mixed together raisins and soy nuts. PERfect :)

A while later, I decided to make a real breakfast - although it was more of a lunch since it was past noon at this point. Def still in my PJs btw!

(blurry photo) of ingreds for my b-fast sando: egg beater, chobani, and home-made jam

...and the most important ingred of all EZEKIEL English Muffins!!

This shiz is divine.

Beyond explicable. No words can describe how great this chewy carb-a-licious muffin is!

Mmmm...warm and yummy in my tummy.

I followed up with a nice steamy mug of tea. I am obsessed with this green tea. I am obsessed with all things pomegranate lately, too.

I was trying to get my energy up for the gym, so I had a plate of medjool dates.

Sugar load - check!

At the gym I was hyper aware that this was both my first workout since 3 days, AND my last workout for the next 3 days. Oy ve! So much pressure to get in a good sesh and with such horrible weather conditions outside. I just wanted to stay wrapped in my blankie. But, I'm a good gym rat, and so I layered on clothes like I was heading out to the polar ice caps, and got my ass to the gym (step one). I started on the elliptical for 30 minutes, and the new Lady GaGa cd was keeping me pumped up, so I switched to the tread mill for another 30 mins. After that, I was still going strong so I decided to just finish up my Self mag on the elliptical, but next thing I know another 30 mins has gone by, and I wasn't even fatigued! I finished off the cardio with a 5 minute walk on the tread mill, and then headed over to the mat for stretching, abs and arms.

Wow. That was a serious freakin' gym sesh!

This can't be healthy! I'm ashamed that I bought it, but it was a pomegranate flava!

I also got some vegan parm for my dindin.

Spag squash that I thawed (I made a mother load before so I still have the rest in the freezer).

Add in the sauce and parm...

And that's dinner.

(haha, yeah right)

Here's round 2. On this serving, I added the rest of the Italian seasoned tofu from last week.

I'm cleaning out the fridge! Leftovers much?

So yummy.

I still wanted more greens though, so I steamed some yellow squash and zucch, that I also topped off with tomato sauce and vegan parm.

And yet, after laundry and packing and doing other crap around the apt, I was STILL hungry. So I went for leftover dish #2...this was the curry tofu dish from last week (I ate all the tofu first, and the rest was only so-so).

Dessert was dried edamame. Salt, salt, salt. I heart salt.

Ok, work again tomorrow :( = bed time.