Nap Time Anyone?

I am SO tired today. I went to bed fairly late last night (well for a work night...around midnight), and it was so hard dragging myself out of bed. I miss the college days where if I were out late one night, then had to get up for an early class, as soon as I got back to my room it was nap time and it was awesome! Nothing like a good nap when you really need it :)

The show last night was amazing! We had pretty good seats too...a little to the side but great view

Opening number:Will's Solo...seriously this guy is insanely good!
Beautiful
I thought this picture was cool because they are all turning
And....MY FAVORITE! Yay! They did all the favorites though so it's hard to pick just one.

We (roomie and I) went with one of my good friends from when we danced together on the Arena Football Team dance team for 3 years, AND she just got engaged!! IN PARIS!! Her Fiance (then bf) had to go for work and was bugging her to go with, and of course I was like YES GO! Everyone had a feeling the proposal was going to happen, and it did, at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant!

She brought us back some goodies from Paris too...

The middle bar is a pink champagne bar!! Don't know what that means but I'll let you know when I break into it.
Can't wait to try all these little morsels of deliciousness!
Breakfast was supposed to be the same as yesterday, but I forgot my leftover half of banana at the apt! I knew I wouldn't like it without it, so I stopped on the way for bananas. They could of been riper, but my options were slim. Then as I was microwaving it, the cover to my glass bowl sort of melted/deformed when it started to bubble over....ugh! It was pretty good, but not quite the same as yesterday.Thank god for the White Chocolate PB! The mix was oats, milk, water, salt, vanilla, a little cinnamon sugar mixed in, half of a Kashi Pumpkin spice crunchy granola bar crushed up, and the WCPB!

For lunch Brian picked me up and we went to the chowder place...too bad I left my camera at work!! I will tell you though that I had an amazing cup of Butternut Squash and Crab Bisque...SO GOOD! With a side salad topped with turkey meat :)

Lots of errands after work...still need that Halloween costume!?!?

So You Think You Can Dance?

As you know, I love to dance, and so I am extremely excited for tonight because I'm going to the So You Think You Can Dance tour show!! Went last year too...awesome! They basically just do a bunch of the most popular routines from the show, and a few new group ones...but still SO GOOD! I really hope Twitch and Kerrington do the John Mayer one with the bed...loved that one...

Speaking of dance, last night I missed the first half hour of class because of the stupid (yet awesome) Celtics!! My studio is RIGHT near the Garden (where the Celtics play)...so yeah NO parking. I then had to drive to a T stop, which took forever in rush hour traffic...so annoying.

No pics of dinner because it consisted of some Pirates Booty in the car, and half of a PB&J in between class and rehearsal.

It was a cold windy morning and I had a hankering for some oatmeal! I added 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/4 cup water, salt and vanilla to my bowl before leaving this morning.

When it was time to eat, I added half of a chopped banana to the bowl and microwaved for 2-3min, stirring occasionally when the mixture was about to boil over (happens so fast!!).

I was very excited for my toppings...I had half of a Kashi pumpkin flax granola bar crushed up, a drizzle of maple syrup (tiny drizzle), and a spoon of White Chocolate PB!!!Yum!! This was AWESOME! To tell you the truth I think this was my first oatmeal with banana AND PB experience, and it was heavenly. I may or may not have gone back for a tiny bit more PB towards the end of the bowl.

This kept me full til noon!! Then I hit another weakness...cold pizza :) Someone had some leftover BBQ chicken pizza, so I sniped a small piece, ate it cold, and it was amazing. This pushed my planned lunch back til about 2:30. I was in no mood to make a lunch this morning so I grabbed a freezer option...there are hardly any frozen meals I like but this stuff is incredible...
Trader Joe's (pardon me, Trader Giotto's) Eggplant parm...GRILLED eggplant parm. I love that it's delicious and cheesy and nicely portioned at 270 calories!

Along with my parm I had brought some frozen peas (which I tossed into my parm) and an amazing apple.
The apple was from our offices weekly fruit share from the local CSA, and I have no idea what kind it is!! Anyone?!? It's unlike any apple I've had...sweet but slightly tart and juicy! I can tell you what it's NOT... Macintosh, Macoun, red Delicious, honey crisp, Paula red, granny smith (obviously), Cortland...so now that those are out...anyone have an idea??
This was a very warm filling lunch, and will definitely hold me over til I get home...then it's off to SYTYCD show!!!

Rain Rain Go Away

It's so dreary outside right now...rainy, cloudy, cold...tomorrow there's even a chance of...SNOW! What is that all about, it's October!?! The weather has been so gorgeous lately though, so I can't complain too much. I mean last night I went out for ice cream!

Before the ice cream, though, came the gym and dinner. I was all ready for my 40min iTrain workout on the elliptical. That was until I got to the gym and realized I left my headphones at work!!! Grrrr. Thank goodness I had a magazine, or I would of gone crazy. I decided to do the stair mill instead. I usually choose the stair mill when I don't have much time (or want a faster workout in this case), because I do 25min on that thing and I'm dying!! It's the weirdest thing too because you don't feel like you're going fast enough to break a sweat but all of a sudden you're sweating ALOT and breathing hard!

I did the 25min, plus a little cool down, then did some arms in the mini weight room inside the women's locker room. I like to go in there when I'm not in the mood to be around so many people in the main gym.

I did:

bicep curls 2 sets of 15

lateral raises - 2 sets of 15

tricep kickbacks - 2 sets of 15

overhead press - 2 sets of 15

Then it was time to leave. I really wish I liked my gym better, but right now just cannot afford a better one...I'd rather spend the $$ on dance class.

I was in the mood for a refreshing, not so carby, dinner. So I prepped veggies for dinner and lunch for the next day. I grated 2 carrots, chopped up some yellow bell pepper, and cucumber.

I mixed this veggie medley with a small can of tuna, a few bagel chip "croutons" and Newman's Own light Caesar dressing!

This dressing is awesome...it's really strong, a lot of garlic, Parmesan flavor! So you only need a little bit! This was my lovely salad BEFORE I shook it all up...looks much prettier pre-shake.I also had a couple slices of sharp cheddar cheese on the side!

This was filling yet felt healthy at the same time. I really love shredded carrots!!
As I said before, roomie (Jocy) and I went out to meet up with a couple of our good guy friends for some ice cream in Harvard Square. We went to Lizzy's!! I wasn't really hungry, but I wasn't about to pass up Lizzy's so I ordered a kiddie cone of Mint Chocolate chip frozen yogurt! (no pic sorry!) It was really delicious...esp the sugar cone...mmm.

I had one of my favorite breakfast combos this morning. TJ's Greek Yogurt, strawberries, bananas, a toasted Kashi Heart to Heart waffle, and real maple syrup drizzle!
Something about the hot waffle with the cool fruit and yogurt and sweet syrup make this such an amazing combination!!

Mid morning snack was a KIND Fruit and Nut bar. I love the macadamia apricot flavor, so I was sure I'd love this too...
Yup! It was so chock full of all different nuts!! This was great!


Lunch was a mish mosh of things.
#1 was leftover veggie mix from last night. I brought in a can of tuna as well, but decided to use that elsewhere
#2 was half of a pita ripped in pieces and roasted red pepper hummus!
#3 was where the tuna came in. I spread the other half of the pita with laughing cow garlic and herb cheese, and filled it with the tuna, then popped it into the toasted oven!That laughing cow cheese went really well with the tuna, no need for any dressing or mayo in the tuna with that stuff!
Not pictured is my dessert...half of a homemade apple dumpling from Sunday's dinner at moms! I'm feeling very satisfied right now, and have LOTS of work to do before I leave for DANCE!!

And so begins the season of eating...

It's not even November yet and I have left over turkey (well actually chicken) dinner for lunch today! Don't get me wrong, this combination of food and flavors is one of my all time favorites, but it usually ends up being pretty high on the calorie scale and heavy sitting in your stomach. For the past 3 years I've had 3 Thanksgivings: I host my own for my friends on the Sunday before Thanksgiving (a tradition started in Junior year at college!), then there's the real day of, then Brian's mom has one the Saturday after. It's always delicious, but between those meals and LEFTOVERS!! I, myself, become a stuffed turkey!

Although, for now it's just starting and last nights dinner was delicious...so I'll just enjoy it. I do think this year I am going to try and branch out a little from the classic sides for my dinner...well except the stuffing...I've got my friends obsessed with my family's stuffing too!

Because I knew I had a fairly high carb lunch packed, I wanted a less carby breakfast, and since I bought some strawberries yesterday I had:
TJ's Greek yogurt, half of a banana, strawberries, granola with some added sliced almonds, and a honey drizzle! This was fantastic!



My mid morning snack was a beautiful fruit cup I bought at WF's yesterday. I wish I could have these everyday but at around $4 a pop...that would make me broke.









Then my yummy leftovers...chicken, stuffing, green beans, squash and a little mashed potatoes...SO GOOD!


There was a big soft chocolate chip cookie in the kitchen so I broke off a little piece for dessert.I have such a weakness for soft cookies.

I am planning a nice sweaty workout this evening, probably my 40min iTrain workout on the elliptical...that always makes me sweat! It really helps me to have someone in my ear telling me to up the resistance and double my pace :)

Also, I NEED A HALLOWEEN COSTUME IDEA!!!! This was the last thing on my mind before my exam, and now I have 4 days...eeeek! I'd rather not spend $50 on a pre-packaged costume either...any one have any creative ideas?? PLEASE??!?!

Supermodel for a Day

Today was so much fun!! After getting myself "camera ready" this morning, we headed out the door and I just had time to heat up my last banana hazelnut muffin for a little breakfast.

Our engagement session was at Castle Island in South Boston. It's an old fort from the Spanish-American war, that's right on the water. There's a harbor walk that goes out into the harbor and loops back around. I come here frequently to run because it's so beautiful and a nice 2 mile loop.

Unfortunately it will be about 2 weeks before I'll have any pictures to show you guys...I didn't bring my camera with me because I didn't want to have anything to carry around. My photographer was shooting 3 more sessions later in Boston Public Gardens and she invited us to come down there a couple hours later if we wanted to do a few more shots...YES!! I was originally debating on locations, but now I got both :)

In between shoots, we went to a little cafe on Charles Street (this is like the epitome of the Beacon Hill area...very old Boston)...it was called cafe Bella Vita, and they have delicious homemade soups...

I ordered a cup of Chili which came with soft fresh french bread, and an insalata verde...it was a great simple mixed green salad.

Later on it actually started getting warm out, so we got some frozen goodies... I ordered a small non-fat frozen yogurt, half chocolate half PUMPKIN! YUM!!

Brian ordered the Cherry Ortiz (which is like Cherry Garcia, originally named Cherry Garciaparra here, and now Cherry Ortiz, obviously)

Later on, Brian and I went to my mom's for dinner! Whole Foods had whole chickens on sale, so she made a whole Chicken Dinner! We even broke out the bottle of wine we brought her back from Oregon...when we tried it at the winery we thought it was going to be too sweet, but we surprisingly loved it! Unfortunately you're not going to find this at any store.

Below is the chicken, post carving...I didn't get the camera out in time.

Mashed Potatoes...

Homemade stuffing...family recipe...this is may favorite part of any chicken or turkey dinner :)

My plate! A little bit of everything...including green beans and squash!For dessert, mom made homemade apple dumplings! I only had a little half of one because I was full...the crust is sooo delicious. They were a little too sweet for me, I think I've acclimated my taste buds to enjoy less sugary desserts.

All in all, a great day and great weekend! However, the exercise portion of my life has taken the backseat for the past 4 or 5 days, so I need to jump back in full swing tomorrow.

the plan so far:

Monday - solid post work gym trip

Tuesday - DANCE!

Wednesday - no workout because I'm going to the So You Think You Can Dance tour!!!! :D

I would also like to throw out a very special Thank You to Amy at Coffee Talk! She gave me a very thoughtful Buddha award! It's so amazing to be thought of like that by a fellow blogger; it really capped of a great weekend...Thanks Amy!!!

How was everyone else's weekend??

Lack of Camera and Kim Kardashian

I woke up nice and refreshed this morning and went for a little walk/run first thing this morning since I haven't really worked out since dance class on Tuesday. Roomie and I were going up to NH to visit one of our friends who just got engaged! I had a little medley of breakfast items this morning...

Some TJ's Greek yogurt with granola, and a drizzle of maple syrup...about 5 min later I added some Annie's Honey Bunnies to the mix :)

A banana hazelnut muffin defrosted from the freezer and heated in the toaster...these are still awesome...only 1 left now!And for some fruit...a half of a juicy red grapefruit!
All in all this was a great combo of a breakfast to keep me going through a big planned shopping day!

Unfortunately, I left my camera here!! Which is too bad because the roomie and I ended up at the Cheesecake Factory on our way back from NH, and I ordered the fish tacos! These were awesome...grilled mahi mahi with lots of fun toppings. I ordered the toppings on the side so they weren't inundated with cheese and sauces...well what I received was an entire second plate with 8 little bowls all full of different accoutrements: Guac, salsa, cheese, ancho cream, avocado cream, tomatoes, cole slaw (dry, like just the cabbage mix), and marinated onions! It was awesome!

Today was a successful shopping day...got two sweater dresses from Banana...1 for my engagement pictures tomorrow! Brian and I are taking our engagement photos tomorrow morning...maybe I can ask her to take one with my camera too :)

And now a small rant...why does Kim Kardashian have to ruin my birthday! I just found out she's hosting an Ultimate Girls Night Out at the bar that we were planning to go to on my birthday (Nov 7th...just in case you were wondering). Not the end of the world, but we are going to move my bday outing to the 8th instead...the place will be waaaayyy too packed to have fun when she's there...ok that's all :)

Exhausted...

First of Thank You for all the Good Luck comments!!

I can't even think straight enough to type a good post! Well it was a looooong and draining day. We took our seats at 7:40 AM, then with instructions, morning session, lunch, and afternoon session we finished at around 5:45. Then I lugged my 150lb suitcase full of books back to my car...I'm not kidding, that thing easily weighed over 100 lbs!!

I finally got back here and had a raging headache...I opted for no coffee this morning and luckily that went well until the end of the day. I did enjoy a nice lunch from the campus center (the test was at UMass Boston)...I really wasn't looking forward to my PB&J I packed since I had PB and Banana for breakfast!

I got a turkey sandwich on Rye, with honey mustard, and lots of veggies!

Once dinner time came around I was just not capable of making decisions, plus at 7pm on a Friday, going out to dinner was not going to happen...but luckily the roomie and I got the most amazing pizza in Boston...Upper Crust! We kept it simple with peppers and onions...

Then split a small Greek salad
This was definitely what I needed after that day. We ate pizza and watched DVR'd shows...I have so much TV and magazines to catch up on now :)

I think it's bed time...I left the apartment when it was still dark this morning...I hate when that happens.