Tag Archives: oatmeal

Give me my dunce cap

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14

Hey guys! I’ve been a terrible blogger lately. I do apologize. Some weekends I don’t post because I barely did anything worth blogging about, and some weekends I don’t blog because I was too busy. This weekend was kind of a combination of the two. I was boring Friday night and then things kind of got crazy.

Work thoroughly wore me out last week, so by Friday evening all I really wanted to do with my life was shut myself in my apartment and never come out. I watched some TV on the couch and I watched some TV on the elliptical. Leftover paella was had for dinner along with a delicious orange for dessert.

Holly is right – oranges are bomb right now.

I stayed up until 2 a.m. watching TV and being lazy and woke up before 9 a.m. Pissed. Me. Off. I think I’ve lost my ability to sleep my life away on the weekends, something I used to pride myself on and something else that working for the man has robbed me of. I attempted to cheer myself up with oatmeal.

Simple and delicious oats: 1/2 cup old fashioned oats boiled in water with peanut butter mixed in and on a spoon, plus one very ripe banana. Perfection.

I did some more ellipticalling at home (note: did not go to the gym once this weekend) and then headed to the eye doctor where I dropped almost $600 in order to continue being able to see. I really need to get lasik!

Feeling sorry for myself for having to spend so much money, I decided to spend even more money and get a mani/pedi. My logic is often very flawed. But I had nothing else to do (besides go to the gym…).

When I got home I got adventurous and tried packaged tuna for the very first time. It was the kind in the air-sealed package, not the can and I think the flavor was sweet and spicy? I put it in a wrap with some spinach, greek yog and hot sauce and gave it a whirl.

Oh just looking at that picture makes me gaggy. Ew ew ew. I like fish, but this just did not do it for me. Chicken of the sea is not for me. I really wanted to like it, but sadly it did not happen for me. I did manage to choke down the majority of the wrap because I hate wasting (although the rest of the tuna sadly went in the trash bin far far away from my apartment so I wouldn’t have to smell it anymore) and then I did a weight lifting video on Exercise TV.

I really did have intentions to go to the gym, but a friend called and wanted to go to a concert downtown so I had to get ready in a hurry so I could have a ride. Because I suck at life documentation, there are no pictures from the night out. It was an interesting one though, in that I ran into a lot of people I hadn’t seen in awhile. It was a good time and almost drama free, so I was pleased.

The next morning I woke up feeling slightly less than refreshed, so I headed to Sonic for a diet cranberry limeade (my favorite hangover cure) and a breakfast burrito. I offer no apologies for this situation.

That meal took me back to college mornings. Sigh. I miss college. I even did some Facebook stalking while eating it.

Lunch yesterday was yet another wrap situation. I’ve definitely been getting down with my La Tortilla stash. I made a wrap consisting of spinach, my last Sunshine falafel patty, feta, and of course, hot sauce.

Then I lazed for a few more hours before meeting Taylor (ex-roomie) to see Avatar at the IMAX theater. I really didn’t want to see Avatar until after watching the Golden Globes, when I realized I was quite possibly the only person in the universe that had not seen it. It was my first 3D/IMAX viewing experience, and it totally blew my mind. The movie really was not my cup of tea, I just do not like huge productions like that and I have a hard time with 3-hour films, however I definitely appreciated the message and the beauty of it. Probably won’t watch it again though.

It was 8 p.m. by the time the movie was out and I didn’t feel like cooking dinner so I picked up a salad beast from Qdoba.

Inhaled that in about 3.95 seconds, watched the SAG Fashion Police (Kate Hudson really did look amazing) and headed to bed where I slept like crap. One of those sleeps where you wake up every 15 minutes and have crazy dreams the entire night and then roll out of bed feeling like you ran a marathon in your sleep. Boo.

Needless to say, I did not go to the gym this morning either. But I’m going this afternoon. I miss it.

And with that I will cease boring you with the details of my weekend. I have an update on my New Year’s resolution to challenge myself coming up in my post tonight, which will sadly be posted later than usual. I’ll try to get my act together one of these days.

AKA

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12

Hey guys! So sorry for going the whole weekend without posting. Truth be told, it’s been a crappy weekend. Some fun birthday events have occurred but last night after I got home and went to bed I was awoken by the telephone and had several hours worth of drama to deal with. It’s not worth going into, but it was just really disappointing to realize that some of the people I’ve considered friends for years have turned into people I no longer recognize. I’m just really sad about a lot of things, but I’m trying to keep my head up and believe that bigger and better things lie ahead.

I don’t have a lot of pictures from over the weekend. I managed to eat Mexican food TWICE yesterday at two different Mexican food restaurants. Yikes. But here are the pictures I do have.

Peanut butter/banana oats aka – Pure Heaven.

Godiva Chocolate Pearls aka – the solution for too much drama.

Avocado sushi roll aka – Adult Happy Meal.

Popcorn + hot sauce aka – something I am sure I’ll crave if I’m ever pregnant.

Del Monte Fruit Chillers aka – what you eat when all the chocolate is gone and you have no ice cream.

I’m currently chilling out and watching The Golden Globes (I <3 award shows!) and trying to focus on the positive. I’m challenging myself to not let the crap that went on last night bring me down and to continue to believe that 2010 is going to be a great year!

Have a wonderful Sunday night everyone! I’m super excited to get to sleep in again tomorrow and then get in a good workout before heading to my Mom’s to celebrate my birthday with the woman who gave me birth.

Goodnight!

Plea for advice

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19

I cannot tell a lie. I did not end up going to yoga last night. I really intended to, until I realized how hungry I was. Then, I saw a tweet from my favorite sushi place asking me (okay maybe not me specifically) to come get sushi in exchange for a 10% donation to a charity of my choice. It was an offer I could not refuse.

I didn’t realize how hideous and awkward this picture was until I uploaded it onto my computer. Clearly, my focus at the time was simply getting the comida into my boca. A little love for my girl Sarah right there. Lets just hope I got the words right :)

Anyways, despite the crap picture, the sushi was very tasty. I got an avocado roll and a philly roll. But despite the deliciousness, this was not a filling meal. Which proved to be problematic considering the fact that there is zero food in my casa right now.

So to distract myself from my rumbling tummy, I did some makeshift yoga to the hum of my space heater. It was lovely. I can’t wait to move and get my workout room all set up. It’s going to be amazing.

And that bringgs me to a plea for advice from you all about my future gym situation. I have several options, and I just don’t know what to do! Here’s the list of options and, if you love me, please choose the one you think is the best choice :)

A. I could stay with the YMCA because they have gyms all around the Oklahoma City metro area. This is an appealling option because it’s the easiest (requires no action on my part) and because I like the Y’s that are by my current apartment. However, I hear that the ones by new apartment aren’t all that great.

B. I could cancel my gym membership and try to get by using only my workout room and the small gym at my apartment. This is appealing because it would save me $40 a month. But it would mean I’d have to give up a lot of great classes. And since I don’t plan on getting cable, it would take away my ability to watch TV (which I could do at the gym).

C. I could find a new gym in the area I’m moving to. I’ve worked out at a gym close to me before and I really liked it, but that would mean I’d have to pay the sign-on fee, which is usually a pretty big expense.

Okay, what should I do?! I really need the input. 

Moving on. I slept much much much better last night and awoke quite refreshed. I put on my “Love in this Club” playlist on Pandora and shook my groove thang while I was getting ready. That was glorious.

Then I made a lovely bowl of simple oatmeal.

The bowl of oats contained probably 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, 1 tablespoon agave, 1 tablespoon chunky peanut butter (the homemade stuff I bought awhile back) and one frozen naner.

The frozen banana got all gooey and creamy in the hot oats.

Luscious. I’m getting my oatmeal making routine down now, so it takes about the same amount of time to make as my smoothies do.

Alright I’m off to be productive! I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Q: Do you have a gym membership?

Oatmeal Transition

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14

Mondays after a holiday might be the worst thing ever. It’s been busy busy busy, and I’m sure it’s the same for most of you!

Last night after posting I had a square of organic, free trade chocolate for dessert.

And since I ate kind of early, I got snacky during my shows later on in the evening. I had a cup of hot tea and some of my Mom’s homemade Chex Mix to tide me over.

My Mom is kind of famous for her Chex Mix. It’s one recipe she refuses to give out. I hope she gives it to me someday, because it is amazing.

All the wonderful sleep I got over the break caused me to stay up tossing and turning for the majority of last night. Needless to say, this morning’s wake up call was not pleasant.

Some warm, comforting oats made it all better though.

This bowl of goodness contained 1/3 cup oats, big ole squirt of agave, the last of my cranberry apple sauce, sweetened coconut and chopped pecans. Loved it. I think I have officially made the transition to oatmeal breakfasts now that it’s getting colder. I may have to try the green oats I’ve been seeing around the blogs so I can still get my morning veggies in.

Well I’m off to tackle my inbox and the other mountains of work that piled up over the weekend. Have a good Monday ya’ll!

Vegan for a Day

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16

Hi all! As I said this morning, I went Vegan for a Day today as part of a movement that’s going on throughout the blogs.

My vegan meals are not incredibly inventive because I am not doing much grocery shopping until after the move, but I did my best.

Anywho, my mornings are usually vegan for the most part because I have a green monster.

Sorry about the ugly slime lining the edges. But a commute will do that sort of thing. Today’s greenie included (I’m including a list of ingredients for all my meals to ensure that they were, in fact, vegan):

  • vanilla rice milk (first time trying this, but I’ll be buying it more often because it’s a bit cheaper than almond milk)
  • 3 cups spinach
  • 1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1/2 fresh banana
  • ice

Delicious and vegan as can be! The one area that was hard for be, veganly speaking, was not having half & half in my coffee. I like the consistency of fat free half & half over almond milk in my coffee, but I think I’ll start buying a dairy-free creamer (I know there is a Silk version and a coconut milk version) substitute from now on. I don’t see a completely vegan lifestyle in my future, but those little changes can make a difference. Today I just drank my coffee black, but I can’t do that too often. I’m not that hardcore!

For lunch I had an amazing bowl of oats.

The bowl had:

  • 1/3 cup oats – cooked with water
  • 3/4 of a ripe banana
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 1 tablespoon sweetened coconut
  • 1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter

I think this was one of the best bowls of oats I’ve ever had. The dash of coconut really took it to another level.

Snack was an apple I snagged from the trade show.

However, in my opinion, Red Delicious apples aren’t all that delicious – or at least this one wasn’t.

I also had a stolen (from the trade show) orange.

The rest of the day went okay. My mood didn’t stay as chipper as it started out, but 8 hours of work will do that to ya. I would tell you that I didn’t really feel good all day, but then I would sound like a major hypochondriac/whiner, which I’m NOT. So I’ll just say…. have a good night! :)

Oh, and you’ll have to tune back in tomorrow morning to see if I made it through my Vegan for a Day challenge! I think the odds are in my favor.

Five Days of Oats: Day 1

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First off, I have to say that I HEART award shows and all the awkwardness that comes with them, and rigged or not, last night’s VMA’s were thoroughly entertaining. And the best part? I never saw Miley Cyrus once! I needed a break from that bidness after her pole dancing faux paus at the Teen Choice Awards.

Moving on… It’s Monday morning and once again I’m not in total loathing of my life. I love going away for the weekend, but when I stay home it makes the transition back to work so much easier.

I got up this a.m. and did the Jackie Warner upper body workout again. I’m going to try to do one segment every morning this week before I have to return it to the library.

I think I’m going to try to focus on keeping my workouts fresh from now on. A little less focus on running and a little more focus on strength training. I love running, but I hate being in so much pain so I’m going to go really slow until time to start training for the big races I want to do next April.

I broke my fast the usual way this morning, nothing new to report. Work was quiet today, lots of people out of the office. So I was productive and the morning passed by without incident.

It was another rainy day here in Okie-land and it was actually quite chilly out of doors, so for lunch I turned to a bowl of comforting oats.

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This is my go-to oat recipe – super simple. I just stir in pb and add a banana plus some kind of berry. It’s basic but the flavors are spot on and I love them.

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And of course, it’s always better all mixed up and de-beautified.

In fact, I enjoyed these oats so much that I decided I’m going to have oats every day for lunch this week – but a different way each time. I need to try some of those delicious recipes I always see floating around the blog world.

And since I’m trying to save money, it will allow me to have variety in my meals without using up all my food! I’m really excited about this – I love trying new things.

Now it’s back to work with a full and happy belly!

What is your favorite way to enjoy oatmeal?