Food Reviews

I've happened upon some delightful new food finds recently in my local supermarket. Let's have a look at what it is currently in my kitchen.

Barber Foods Fit and Friendly Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Chicken: I happened upon these in the frozen foods aisle one day. I had their other varieties many years ago, but they are usually high in fat, sodium and calories. This one has some pretty impressvie stats and comes in at only 190 calories per portion. They're indiviually portioned, so they are great for single diners, and they take only 30 minutes to bake fully frozen. They are a little smaller then I expected, but then again, it's probably the right portion size for meat.

Dole Fruit Crisp Bowls: These are a great addition to my cubicle lunch. They have several flavors, but my favorites are the Apple Cinnamon and Apple Pear. The sauced fruit is topped with an oat and brown sugar crumb topping that you mix together to make a delicious dessert. You can find these puppies with the applesauce.

Hidden Valley Harvest Dill Dip Mix: I actually happened upon this by accident. I really wanted the ranch dip mix, but Giant was all out, so I picked this up instead. I mixed it with low-fat sour cream and kept it in the fridge for veggies. Definitely a winner...it just might replace the ranch. Look for it in the salad dressing aisle.

Those are my new favorites! Bon appetit!

Fitness Update

It's been a little while since I've posted a fitness update, so here goes.

Today, I received Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred in the mail. I found Workout 1 On Demand a few weeks ago and did it a few times, so I decided to order the full package online.

I thought that I could be able to move to Level 2 (there are 3 levels)...so I attempted it today. I got through...barely! I'm pretty sure walking and stairs will be an issue tomorrow. I think I'll go back to Level 1 for a little while. 

The workouts are quick...20 minutes with a light warm up and cool down. Her method is 3 minutes strenth training, 2 minutes cardio and 1 minute ab work. You do 3 of these 6 minute circuits and during that time, have your butt completely handed to you.

Anyway, I give it 2 thumbs up. I've heard good things about it, so I'll check back on progress.

As far as my 5K training is concerned, it's going as well as can be expected. I started running outside, so I'm set back a few weeks because it's way different from the treadmill. Since Baltimore is currently experiencing a record-breaking heatwave, running outside in the evening has been impossible. It was 106 when I got in the car to come home from work yesterday...enough said.

I have it in my plans to get up in the morning and run to avoid some of the heat. That was my plan today...and yesterday. Tomorrow...it's still my plan. We'll see how it goes. I like my sleep a whole lot.

As far as going to the actual gym...I haven't been there in a while, since most of my workouts haven't needed gym equipment. I'm keeping the membership though because it's my idea to run in the morning and strength train at night.

Anyway, I'm headed to take a long, hot shower. And take several Advil.

Pet Peeves

Everyone has their personal pet peeves. Today, I experienced one of mine, which inspired this blog post. A list of pet peeves:

1. Running in the office - Seriously....where do you have to go that's SO important?! The color copier? The water cooler? Perhaps the supply closet? Today, some lady from another department (not one of my coworkers :) ) busted out into a FULL sprint. I wanted to stop her and ask her where she was going that was so important. Was she late for a meeting? Perhaps she was about to lose her bowels? Was she going to warn someone of an impending natural disaster? There's no excuse for running in the office, unless you're running from a fire, gunman, tiger or you're going to crap your pants.

2. Improper grammar - This is just the PR/Marketing/Writer in me, but improper grammar makes me cringe. I have several friends that can surely appreciate this, including my super picky husband. I especially hate mix-ups like "they're & their", "you're & your", "where & wear"...two totally different meanings. Seriously.

3. People that walk down the aisle of the grocery store/Target/Walmart and are so oblivious to their surroundings that they either block your desired product of purchase, or run into you - Seriously, you all know you've ran into these people. Perhaps sometimes you've been this person. I have on occasion...it's unavoidable...mostly at Target when you get completely engrossed in a certain item. But there are poeple that are just like this.

4. Mopheads - Also known as Bieber hair, Skater hair, or Emo hair. On teenage boys, it drives my out.of.my.mind. Nile probably gets more irritated with this than I do. He once yelled to a group of teenage boys to cut their hair...and later he came home to a keyed car. Guess they showed him. Punks.

       Bieber Hair     

Skater Hair

Emo Hair

Goal Check

It's been almost 6 months since I started my blog. Let's check in with the goals I set forth in my original post to see how far I've gotten!

1. Do some kind of charity/volunteer work once a month

Ok, this needs some work. Nile and I have good intentions, but it seems like life always gets in the way. We've made donations to several organizations, but we haven't put in the physical labor.

2. Get in shape!
This one, I'm working on! I'm currently training for a 5K at the end of August. I got a gym membership and average working out 3-4 times a week. I'm not near where I want to be yet, but I'm going to keep on pushing.
3. Get a massage by a professional
Last week, I looked up a few massage places and plan on scheduling one this month. Woohoo!
4. Travel to Europe
Nile and I saved our money and we're ready for our Europe trip. We planned it for the end of August, however, Nile's work got in the way and it looks like we'll be pushing it until the Spring.


5. Kiss the Blarney StoneSee above.


6. Get my picture taken with Big Ben (in London, not the football player)See two above.


7. Buy a new carDone and done! I bought a lovely 2010 Corolla in Magnetic Gray! It's delightful.


8. Send more cards to people for no specific reasonI definitely have not done this as much as I'd like to. Look for a card coming your way soon :)


9. See my family more often
I talk to my family (mainly mom and Nat) on a pretty regular basis. Pretty much every other day. Once Nile leaves for a while, I'll probably be making trips home way more often. Andddd, they will be coming to visit me way more often :)


10. Get the cancer butterfly tattoo with Natalie that we've been planning
We've decided on a design and have had it drawn. Now it's just the doing. We're looking at July or August. It's time to get this thing done!
11. Take advantage of the parks and beaches in our area
Nile and I definitely started off doing this. We discovered so many great beaches and parks within 20 minutes of our house. We've been to a few and definitely found our favorite. We'll continue to keep going.


12. Go on a picinic
We haven't done this yet this season, but it's definitely in the plans!


13. Learn to golfOk, this is something I really would like to do. However, in the name of realism, this is likely to not happen this year. Perhaps next. But definitely in my lifetime.


14. Keep up with my scrapbookingUgh. After I finished the wedding, I stalled out. I've got to kick this back up...I just need to get motivated.

Ok, so I haven't finished everything, but we're only half way through 2010. I'm hoping to knock a few of these off by the end of the year, but it's good to have a reminder of the goals I set!

Sleep. Vicodin. Repeat.

I'm officially at the end of Day 5 of being completely house-bound. Yesterday, I couldn't think of doing anything other than sleeping and taking pain medication. I was really hoping the pain would subside by this morning, but alas, it did not.

I called the doc this morning and demanded that someone see me because the pain I'm experiencing is clearly not normal. Could they see me today? Of course not. Tomorrow morning is their only opening.

Today looked a lot like yesterday. Sleep, Vicodin, Repeat. However, I began to run out of said Vicodin, so I had to make the long (and by long I mean down the street) trip to the pharmacy to pick up some more. I also decided it would be a good time to stock up on more applesauce and frozen yogurt.

With all the Vicodin I'm taking, I'm beginning to feel like House. I'm not sure how that man could actually practice medicine while on this stuff. It makes you feel, well, floaty. I have problems with words when I'm taking it. My sister or Nile usually call me just after I've taken a dose, and will usually end up hanging up because I don't make any kind of sense.

Hopefully, the doc will have some answers for me tomorrow. Until then, I have big plans for my night, which include vanilla frozen yogurt, Vicodin (duh), and some On Demand television programming. Big night, I know. Don't be jealous.

Negative Nancy

In general, I'm usually a pretty positive person. However, today I'm not feeling so positive.

First, I'm in immense amounts of pain from what I think is either an infection or dry socket in one of my tooth holes. I'm only allowed to take Advil and Vicodin every 4 hours, but for some reason, it's only helping for a little over 2 hours, making about 2 hours of agony for me.

I still can't eat anything other than soup, mashed potatoes, applesauce and ice cream...and it's getting very old.  In general, I like all of those foods, but it's very boring when they are your only options. And yes, I had ice cream for breakfast today. Don't judge me. I couldn't eat another bowl of soup or applesauce.

My mom left today because she has a life to get back to and that makes me very, very sad. I was so nice having her here. We obviously don't get to spend a lot of time together with her living in PA. She usually doesn't drive down here because she's scared of driving, but I'm proud to say that she drove all by herself this time. She had a few wrong turns, but she got back on track and made it :) I'm so very proud of her. And super thankful that she came to take care of me.

I miss Nile so much. He's been working like a crazy man, so even getting the time to talk to him has been hard. This is going to be my first full week without him. It's gonna be a long one, especially since I can't even keep myself busy by going to the gym because doc says I have to wait a few more days.

Ugh. Today, I'm a Negative Nancy. Sorry for the downer, but I needed to get it out. Tomorrow will be better, right?

It's Over!!!

They're gone! The Wisdom teeth are outta here!

My mom took me on Friday morning. I worried the whole way there and paced around the waiting room until I was finally called back. The nurse could tell I was super nervous, so she gave me some laughing gas.

If you've never had laughing gas before, you're really missing out. This stuff is amazing! Yes, I giggled needlessly. My fingers and toes tingled. I didn't even feel the IV go in. All I remember saying to the doc and nurse before I passed out was, "Well, I guess I'll see you guys later!"

I woke up, super groggy, but still feeling pretty awesome. They brought my mom in. This is when I decided to just say whatever came to my mind. Apparently, I asked the nurse if I passed gas during the surgery. I didn't. Good news. Then, I told the doctor I thought he was very grumpy. Nice. Apparently I also told him that before surgery. Good thing he was a good sport. Then, I was trying to convince my mom that they removed my lips during surgery. I was so numb that I couldn't feel them, so I kept hitting myself in the face saying, "They cut off my lips!!!"

When my mom finally managed to get me to the car, I tried to call Nile and my sister. Apparently, though, I was making no sense to anyone. I don't remember any of that.

On the way home, mom got me a strawberry milkshake, upon recommendation from the doctor. I got home and attempted to drink it. Now, remember, I could not feel my face...so getting the milkshake into my mouth wasn't very easy. Mom had to sit beside me and wipe my chin after every bite. She's such a good sport! Also, I haven't had a milkshake in forever, and it was awesommmmme. Thanks, Burger King, for making a delicious shake and being located so close to my house.

Finally, I was prescribed Vicadin. Awesommmmeee! It really helps with the pain and also makes me feel very nice. It feels kind of like having 3 shots of vodka, but still being able to function. I can see how people get addicted to this stuff. Don't worry...I only have a few more doses. I don't plan on developing an addiction.

Last night, I was in a lot of pain in the middle of the night. Did I wake my mom up and ask her if I could take meds? Of course I did. I've resorted to being a 10 year-old this weekend. Mom cooks for me, medicates me, and pretty much makes sure I have whatever I need. I think she should just move in. I don't think Nile would care.

Well, it's about time for my nap and an ice pack. What a weekend :)