Month: August 2011

This Friday Night

/ foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

Good evening (and a late one at that!)

The beau and I just got done our plans for the night and I’m pretty sure it was exactly like the Katy Perry hit, Last Friday Night (TGIF).  In case you don’t turn on the radio, it’s something like this:

Yeah we danced on tabletops
And we took too many shots
Think we kissed but I forgot…

Yeah we maxed our credit cards
And got kicked out of the bar
So we hit the boulevard…

We went streaking in the park
Skinny dipping in the dark
Then had a menage a trois.

Anyone ever actually think about those lyrics?  Quite a big jump from going skinny dipping and streaking to legitimately having sex with two people at once, IMHO.  But hey, she’s Katy Perry, she’s got it under control, I’m sure.

Yeah, Jordan, don’t worry about me…

But yes, our night was equally as crazy.

I started out ridin’ solo at the gym, with a fantastic Body Attack class.

Not my best, but absolutely not even close to my worst.

My ankle was still bothering me a little but I focused on the lower-impact options (one of my favorite aspects of Body Attack is that they always give you options) to take some of the pressure off, and still managed to work up one hell of a sweat.

Don’t you love when fitness classes turn into wet t-shirt contests?

Then, as Katy and her buddies danced on tabletops, we did a little dancing in downtown Durham.

He calls this one the "check me out!"

I call this one the "pose pretty with your dream purse". I'll be giving lessons at the Healthy Living Summit cocktail party if anyone's interested.

We took too many shots.  And by shots, I mean slices of pizza.

All pepperoni, half artichoke (me), half buffalo chicken (Ry)

From one of our all-time favorite pizza joints in the Triangle (and anywhere):

Mellow Mushroom’s Mellow Menu

We definitely kissed a few times.  But I didn’t forget any of them.

We didn’t have to max out our credit cards because my Uncle had given me a giftcard, but we ALMOST got kicked out of the bar…

Wait, not even a little.  I did almost kick a woman out of the outdoor seating for smoking while we were eating, but she stopped (aka finished her nasty smelly cigarette) moments before the pizza came out (at which point I would’ve complained, loudly and obnoxiously.  and then, maybe gotten kicked out of the bar.)

I enjoyed a delicious Bell’s Two Hearted with dinner.

Thanks for the bunny ears, Ry.

Then, we hit the boulevard (aka walked back to the car).

The rest of the song gets into some pretty risque stuff and I’ll be honest….. we skipped that and baked (sort of) a dessert for his company picnic.

It may not have been the stuff Katy writes songs about, but maybe she’s missing out on a gold-mine of brilliant lyrics waiting to be written.  Katy, gimme a call if you need any more inspiration.  I’ve got gobs of this stuff.

Did you do anything wild enough to warrant a Katy Perry song tonight? 

Did you watch the double play of Con Air on TNT tonight? BECAUSE I’M WATCHING IT RIGHT NOW!

Time to get back to the oh-so-classy and ever-so-well-dressed Nicolas Cage.

Put the bunny in the basket.

What a dreamboat….

 

Football. Football. FOOTBALL! (oh, and Friday.)

/ foodsweatandbeers / 11 Comments

TGIF! (I know I said that about T[hursday] too, but really, I’m thankful for both days.)

Today, since I woke up, I couldn’t get my mind off of the lunch from Wednesday.  The creaminess of the melted provolone, the crunch of the Roma tomatoes, I wanted it all in my belly.

Well, Jojo gets what she wants:

Sandwich of Dreams

I knew this was going to be tasty from experience, but honestly… it exceeded my dreams.  Eggy, spinachy, crunch, and soft it was perfect all around.

On the side was a little bag of veggies that I should’ve included in my What’s I’m Loving post from yesterday.

Bird's Eye Steamfresh Asian Medley

It’s got a great amount of seasoning on the veggies without overpowering their natural flavor. AND it’s got BABY CORN!  You know… like regular corn, but smaller.  Can’t beat it.

For dessert, a Vita Top with some PB:

Whoah, PB is saltier than I remember

Unlike some most of the bloggers I read, I’m not a huge nut butter fan, so whenever I do indulge in a little Peanut/almond/cashew/whatever butter, I’m surprised by how salty it is.  This sweet and salty treat, sort of like a Reese’s Cup, hit the spot, regardless.

But honestly, that’s just a puff piece about my lunch.  What I want to talk about, and what I’ve been thinking about a LOT lately is….

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON!!

I’ll admit, I may not always love to watch sports.  In fact, more often than not, sports on TV just bore me to tears (my apologies to the beau, and any future sons I may have.)  But college football isn’t just about sitting in front of a tv and yelling and throwing remotes and scrambling to try and find the batteries because the remote hit the wall and muted when you threw it.

College football, to me, is a romance.

It’s not about stats, it’s not about touchdowns (well, for some folks it is), and it’s not about whether or not your football players get 395 parking tickets (woops, UNC).

This is college football:

A sea of Carolina blue (photo credit to my buddy, Shog.)

It’s tailgating, partying, and cheering your team on with thousands of your closest friends total strangers who bleed the Carolina blue (or Ole Miss red and blue… or Penn State blue and white…. or anything like that) that runs through your veins a little bit faster on game days.

Paint up or SHUT UP!

While UNC is definitely a basketball school, football will always hold a special place in my heart.  My first year of college was spent on the UNC Varsity Fencing Team (yeah, I thirsted for the bloodsport) so football games translated to a chance to scoop frozen lemonade out and sell it to drunk fans who made jokes about how cold our chests got (wish I had my fencing weapons to fleche their knickers off) (bonus points for fencing terms.) It wasn’t really until my junior year that I was able to partake in the joy that is…. college football season.

A dream come true

At my fraternity house, we’d sell out the parking lot, grill meat (and veggie burgers…. we had a disproportionate amount of vegetarians in my fraternity… then again, we were also called the “hippy frat” so maybe not), and day drink.

MIMO TIME!!

And, by dating a fellow that went to one of the most fun football schools in the nation, I also got to see how they do it down in the deep south at Ole Miss:

”]I can not even patiently wait for football season, in the hopes to maybe even go to a game (haha, you’ll notice that through this post, I didn’t really talk too much about that. Now you see where my priorities lie.)

But really, going to a game, shaking your pom poms [literal ones, not chest, you pervs] in the face of an opponent obnoxiously, and cheering in unison with the entirety of your fan base…. there’s nothing like it.

Though I graduated from UNC in 2009, during football weekends, I feel like I’m a student again, right there with all the other tailgaters, rabble rousers, and Tar Heels.

I can’t wait for the foods, the shouting, the 6am wake-up calls for the noon games, the hooplah, the tiny Tar Heel face tattoos, the smell of grilled meat, the shenanigans I’ll get in with my fellow brothers and sisters, young and old…. I just can’t wait.

Oh yeah. And the beer.

 Are you stoked for college football season?  And who’s your team of choice?

August is the New October

/ foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

Good evening y’all!!  as I said before in my tweet, tonight I had both:

  • So many beers and
  • So much fun.

The theme of tonight was…. well, it was awesome. I hosted a top notch meetup for Tri-Beer (The Triangle Beer Meetup featured in this month’s All About Beer magazine!!).  The featured beer was Sam Adams Octoberfest and, because we drank that bad boy, we all got a freebie glass (only the PERFECT pint glass.)

That one, pictured here three times.

This glass, known as the Perfect Pint glass, was designed by MIT students. You might be wondering what it was so “perfect”.  Well, according to the Sam Adams website, this is why!

It’s got a narrow top to retain the hop aroma & sustain the head, a rounded shape to collect aroma, thinner walls to maintain the proper temperature longer, and laser etching on the bottom to createe bubbles for constant aroma release.

The featured beer of the night was the Sam Adams Octoberfest (as I mentioned moments ago), and here’s what the brewery has to say about it:

Brewed with five varieties of malted barley for a big, rich flavor.

The first thing you notice when pouring a glass of this seasonal beer is the color. Samuel Adams® Octoberfest has a rich, deep reddish amber hue which itself is reflective of the season. Samuel Adams Octoberfest masterfully blends together five roasts of malt to create a delicious harmony of sweet flavors including caramel and toffee. The malt is complimented by the elegant bitterness imparted by the Bavarian Noble hops. Samuel Adams Octoberfest provides a wonderful transition from the lighter beers of summer to the heartier brews of winter.

October comes early.

What I have to say:

It poured a beautiful copper orange color, and it poured many a time (lots of folks came out for this beer night!)

The smell resembled a creamy caramel or butterscotch (and I promise that’s not just because I watched the flick, Cedar Rapids, last night), and was a nice, malty, and sweet.

The taste was so smooth and a pleasant surprise, as what I recall about last year, this beer was nothing to write home about.  The tastes of this beer remind me of college football, of bonfires, and of spending time with some warm rising bread dough.

The best part about this beer…. was that I got to try different ones shortly after.

Sorry this is the only photo I have, and it's from online. I was busier drinking than I was photographing.

The Steelhead Scotch Porter from Mad River Brewing Company was as dark in color as it is by name….  It smelled like a rich scotch, and it poured a deep brown color with a nice beige head. Someone mentioned this tasted like molasses, and I can TOTALLY see that.  And by see, I mean taste.  The coffee taste wasn’t as strong as previous dark beers (like the coffee infused Sweet Josie Brown from Lonerider Brewery!! which was off the chain on every account).  However, I tasted chocolate, and I tasted smooth.  It also, without question, tasted boozy.

I was pleasantly surprised with both these beers, and felt obliged to share with the class.  Seriously, if you’re unsure about trying porters or dark beers, try something like this Scotch Porter, or a coffee infused porter.  It’s a nice way to ease you into the beer of the night, and it gives you a chance to try something you might never try otherwise!

How was your Thursday evening?  Was it as thirsty as my own?

PS this was my dinner:

Egg flatout with turkey, cheese, and spinach

Tasty, but nothing fancy.

Can’t wait for the weekend!

Any big plans?

What I’m Loving This Thursday

/ foodsweatandbeers / 11 Comments

Hey there everyone!

I’m so glad you all got a kick out of my trip down memory lane yesterday.  I’m a big fan of hopping down that particular lane now and then, so thanks for obliging my guilty pleasure.

In a not so guilty manner, I made today’s lunch knowing that tonight I’d be enjoying a few beers and maybe an appetizer (or two) at the Sam Adams Octoberfest Meetup tonight at Rockfish!

Beastly salad or salad beast, now you don't have to choose!

In today’s delicious lunch was:

  • Spinach
  • Red pepper
  • Green pepper
  • Lowfat mexican blend cheese
  • Reduced Sodium Bush’s Black Beans (my very favorite of all beans)
  • Half a small avocado
  • Some crumbled chips (but more on them soon)
  • Salsa!

A virtual fiesta in the mouth.

As I was making this little jewel, I looked around my kitchen and noticed a few new products that I’m a big fan of and wanted to share with the WORLD (or the several of you that read what I’m writing!!)

First up, something I’ve talked about before:

Actually the perfect pinch

I use this McCormick Perfect Pinch Cajun Seasoning on just about everything lately (including my reduced sodium beans… kind of defeats the purpose of the reduced sodium, I know.)  I threw it on my blackened cod the other night and it just rocked my face off.  Ryan likes it because it’s spicy too.  And really, it’s very versatile.  Use it instead of salt and pepper, or instead of taco seasoning.

Trader Joes, you did me right again!

After my picture, I crumbled a few of these Spicy Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips on top of my salad.  They aren’t actually very spicy, they just crumble deliciously in my mouth, and it’s nearly impossible to not eat 100 in one sitting.  That could be good or bad for you, depending on what you’re looking for in a chip.  For me, it’s a little of both.  I love the little flax seeds in it, and the texture of the chips is great. Also, the ingredient list is totally natural normal everyday stuff.  Wins, all around.

Spinach artichoke HUMMUS?!

I’ve discussed my love for Sabra hummus many times (and tweeted too.  I’m like a Sabra groupie.)  But until yesterday, I’d never seen this particular flavor in a store before!  Well, the moment I saw it, I grabbed it and clutched it to my bosom like a mother who’d saved her child from a burning house (read: Death grip.) I have only tried it with the aforementioned spicy chips, so the jury’s still out (too much flavor from the vehicle).  I’m hoping to get something plainer this weekend and give it a real focused taste.  Stay tuned.

Lime popcorn? It's a crazy hybrid like that coronarita I had!!

This popcorn totally reminds me of those Hint of Lime Tostitos.  Only better.  I love popcorn, I love lime and citrus flavors, and LOOK they even rimmed everything in salt!!  Great treat for watching a movie, and each mini bag has only 190 calories.  Better than popping that MOVIE THEATER BLAST O’ BUTTER that I used to like, and with much more flavors.

Finally, the coup de gras:

Fiber One 80 Calorie Cereal!

This Fiber One 80 Calorie cereal is AH-MAZING! It tastes like honey and crunch and awesome, AND has 40% of my daily fiber! I even added strawberries, like the picture suggested, it was perfect. Sweet, crunch, filling.  I used to eat the Fiber One original literally EVERY DAY when I first started Weight Watchers.  That was 60 calories but tasted like sticks and twigs.

Morning Delight

This has at LEAST 400 calories more worth of flavor, but only 20 more actual real live calories.  I plan on buying 100 boxes as they’re currently on sale at Harris Teeter (and you can get a coupon for Fiber One Here!)
Ok, so those are my most recent tasty MVPs….

How about you?  Any new products you’re digging?

Surprise Samurai Ale Review!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

I bet you thought that my night was over.  You think I just go have random surprise date nights and then that’s it?

Ye of little faith.

I have another treat for you.

Treat for you? More like a treat for ME!

Tonight’s beer was one I’ve been holding onto for a little while.  But I’m not too upset, it was worth the wait.

A little brewski from the fine folks at Great Divide Brewing Company, this beer was not quite as delicious as that Hercules Double IPA I enjoyed at Milltown last week.  But man, was it drinkable.

Samurai Rice Ale, described by the brewer:

An easy drinking, unfiltered ale that changes the status quo for unfiltered beers. The addition of rice gives Samurai a slightly fruity, crisp, refreshing and clean taste. This is definitely not your everyday unfiltered beer.  5.1% ABV

Samurai Rice Ale, described my MOI:

This beer comes out a beautiful golden color, a teensy bit cloudy but that faded fast, with a little bit of sediment on the bottom of the glass.  One thing I liked about this beer was the amount of carbonation in it (i.e. quite a good amount!)  I smelled malts and maybe like… cut grass. It smelled clean and good.

The taste was tart on my tongue, and very crisp. It finished with very little mouthfeel, and there may have been some sort of bitter fruit taste in there too.  My favorite part about this beer was the drinkability, without question.  If it weren’t a little out of my price range, I’d want to drink these all summer.

I’m not sure what exactly made this a rice ale, I’m sure it’s something beyond my knowledge of beer, but I’d enjoy trying another rice ale in the future to know if it’s anything similar to this Samurai Ale.

Have you ever tried a rice ale?

Do you like a little sediment in your beer?

Surprise Date Night!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

Hello out there in TV Land! (or internet land. All the lands.)

So I finished the day at the office, and realized that the minor pain that I had in the front of my ankle was turning into a more major pain.  My pipe dreams of doing AbSculpt followed by BodyPump turned quickly into just an AbSculpt (not too much action on the ankle there, right?)

AbSculpt was hardcore today.

For 26 minutes (only really about 22 minutes of working it), that’s NTS (Not Too Shabby – Cedar Rapids). Then, after work, the beau and I decided to pick him up a little apron for a grilling gig he has this weekend (for his company picnic, he’ll be the guy flipping burgers for families and friends!)  Lucky for me (and hopefully him, too!) it turned into an impromptu date… My favorite kind!

After we scampered in and out of Wal-Mart, one apron richer, we were inches away from a Jason’s Deli, a spot I’ve never been in my whole life. Ry was pretty surprised, I guess it’s a fairly common place known for it’s muffalettas, a New Orleans delicacy.  But tonight, I wasn’t feeling the fluffy bready treat, I was feeling a little lighter fare.  They just so happened to have a whole section of the menu dedicated to just that!

Savvy Chicken Salad, sign me up!

Chicken Salad with some corn chips

I enjoyed the Savvy Chicken Salad Wrap: Organic wheat wrap with lower sodium chicken salad made with almonds and pineapple, roma tomatoes, red onions, and leafy lettuce. 

It was a little sweeter than I normally like my chicken salad, but I threw some of those corn chips in the wrap and a little bit of the salsa, added some salt and pepper, and perked it right up.  Ry went for a different option:

Hot Corned Beef and Pastrami

I’m pretty sure his sandwich ate my sandwich earlier in the day. He enjoyed it though, and I enjoyed a nibble or two.

Seeing as we were in the neighborhood…. I couldn’t help myself.  Tutti Frutti!!

A little more crowded than yesterday.

And if you’re wondering, yes I got froyo two days in a row.

Sorry I'm not sorry. Not even sorry for my crazy face.

And now…. we’re enjoying Cedar Rapids, thanks to the people at Neflix.  And maybe… I’ll even enjoy this beer to my left.

Can I See Some ID, Ma’am?

/ foodsweatandbeers / 17 Comments

Hey there y’all, and happy Hump Day!

Hope you’re enjoying this lovely Wednesday. The weather in Durham is a cool, breezy 90 degrees (note the sarcasm) and I’ve been spending it in an almost Arctic office.  We call it the frozen tundra.  After yesterday’s in-office lunch ordeal, I decided it’d be wise to come back home and eat on my little perch.

I'm basically the cleanest lady around.

I have been taking to typing and eating and chopping up here, this little counter might be my favorite aspect of my tiny little apartment. It’s bar height, and it’s perfect for a giant like myself.  Lunch was FANTASTIC, just what I was craving:

Piping hot!

On the menu:

  • Steamed veggies (the same as I had with last night’s tasty fish! Total mood booster)
  • Coke Zero
  • Sandwich Thin featuring:
  • Turkey
  • Provolone cheese
  • tomato
  • spinach
  • one fried egg!

Perfect and delish.  I also nibbled on a few chips from Trader Joes while cooking and watching Pretty Little Liars (my Wednesday lunch show of choice!)

Now let’s get onto the good stuff.

Last time I was home, I rifled around in my old bedroom, as I always do when I return home.  And I found some REAL gems…. That’s right, various IDs since like… 7th grade.  Now, I present to you:

The Evolution of Jordan

Braces and some sweet single strand bangs

This shot’s from 7th grade, and I’m pretty sure the fiercest of the bunch.  Clearly, I was Sm-eyes-ing. And presenting quality posture.  Did everyone at your school do those single-strand bangs that we all were into, pulled tight to your head?

Yeah, no, me either, this was def a fluke.

Grade: 10 Shirt: Volcom Attitude: Pure Jordan

Up next, we have a snapshot from 10th grade (we’ll call 8th and 9th my “black” period during which I refused to take photos…. or I couldn’t find those ones.)  I think this was when I started standing up straighter, and truly coming into myself.  I was on the varsity basketball and volleyball teams, playing lotsa sports, and finally feeling like I had a place in the world/school. I also shopped almost exclusively at PacSun and owned more tshirts with little characters or logos on the front than I own VS underwear now (hint… well over 30… and 40).  It was a pretty good time.

This might be my favorite ID outfit of all time. Also, sorry for the crumbs in front of the ID.... maybe those TJ chips I was talking about.

In 11th grade, my mom finally started demanding a modicum of fashion sense from her eldest child.  I thank her for this every day of my life.  At this point, I was thinking almost exclusively about colleges to go to, Junior proms, and being the captain of my sports.  Oh, and boys.  But let’s be honest, even though I had my first real kiss at 16, stuff didn’t start getting really interesting until my senior year.

Yeah, that's me. Winking obnoxiously. In my senior ID.

Don’t worry, this wasn’t in the yearbook or anything (at least I’m pretty sure…)  Since we had fancy shmancy senior portraits taken, these were just IDs used for lunch and to get discounts at the movie theater.  And I figured, it was my last year at this joint, I was already accepted to UNC (GO TARHEELS!! LOVE OF MY LIFE!!), go hard or go home.  As the photographer counted back from three (3… 2…. 1!) I hammed it up REAL big at the ONE and got this beaut to have and hold for the rest of my life.  That year, I was voted Most School Spirit, Most Likely to Change the World, and (shocker) Best Sense of Humor. I wish they’d just used this picture for the yearbook superlative shot, it would’ve summed it all up….  (PS So as not to hurt anyone’s feelings, I chose Best Sense of Humor since we weren’t supposed to hoard the superlatives.  BUT THE TRUTH’S OUT NOW, GARNET VALLEY ALUM! Sorry for spilling the beans. But not that sorry.)

Buzz's girlfriend... woof.

I hated my first one card with a fiery passion. My eyebrows are huge, I’m cracked out from having spent the past 2.5 days at Orientation (not sleeping and sneaking out to Durham to play beer ping pong with friends), and my hair looks like a horse’s tail.

Well, wouldn’t you know that got stolen (though, not for good) in 2007, so I had to get this bad boy:

Faded glory

My most used ID of my school years, you can really see the weight on my face in this one.  So I guess my junior year was when the poundage started going on. Something to do with moving into the fraternity house and having constant access to my bean-cheese-hot sauce dip at all hours of the night…. really did a number on me.

And now, here we are!

Glamour Shot!

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane… Because that was a blast to write.

Can’t wait to get a new ID, maybe I’ll post that one to see how things have changed.

Do you keep your old IDs like a secret hoarder (or like me)?

What’s your favorite ID picture of you? (mine’s the senior year one, hands down.)

The Wrong Side of the Bed

/ foodsweatandbeers / 15 Comments

Good evening friends! You made it through Tuesday, congratulations!  I made it too, but barely!

See, the thing is…. this morning I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

This was my bed setup my Junior year of college.... Neon room? Heck yes. Half consumed bottle of Riesling on the desk? Duh.

See, I didn’t get to sleep until late last night, my own fault, I know. But when I woke up extra early this morning…. I was really off my game.  The result? A grouchy girl.

RAWR!!

Every single thing seemed to annoy me.

Forgot cheese for my salad? Anger.

My emails at work coming in slow? Fury.

This driver’s park job?

WHO DOES THAT?!

Rage blackout.

I knew it was a problem when not even my perfect salad from lunchtime was making me feel better.  So I took matters into my own hands, and spent the rest of the day trying to do all my favorite things that make me happy.

I dropped some packages off at the post office which, coincidentally, was right next to my favorite frozen yogurt spot, Tutti Frutti.  I mean, no harm in stopping by, seeing how long the line was, right?

Completely. Totally. Empty.

Well, at that point, what option did I have, really?

My little day-changer!

Yup.  A mini-cup (about $2.30 worth of froyo) did the trick.  And then, after work, my favorite zumba class and instructor!  It was killer, sweat pouring all over.

And an ab track thrown in at the end! Well-rounded, she definitely is.

And then, for dinner, my favorite method of cooking fish:

Blackened Cod, complete with Cajun Seasoning!

I used a buttload of the McCormick Perfect Pinch Cajun Seasoning which I’ve been putting on everything lately. It has cayenne, thyme, garlic, salt, and paprika in it all in one dash! I paired my piece with half a bag of steamed broccoli and cauliflower and Ry and I split a few fancy beers he got in a birthday pack.  None really worth noting, though, but I’m sure I’ll find one soon to write about in a review.

Basically, after watching an episode of Alphas (my newest favorite Sy Fy show) and splitting some Haribo gummy bears for dessert, I’m feeling a lot better.  In fact, I might even hit the hay early tonight…. but I’ll make sure I get to sleep on the right side (which, for me, happens to be the left side of the bed.)

What do you do when you’re having a lousy day to get your spirits back up?

How do you sleep in bed? On your side? On your stomach? On which side of the bed?

Before and After: Office Meals

/ foodsweatandbeers / 7 Comments

Hey hey there cool cats! (or hot dogs… whichever you choose)

It’s a sunny Tuesday here in Dirty Durham (at least it was earlier this morning….)  Ry has my car today until his car is fixed and working pretty again, so I brought my lunch to work.  And as I was packing it, I realized why I don’t normally do this.

I HATE prepping my lunch at the office!  And, more than that, I hate pre-prepping my lunch the night before, so I chose the lesser of two evils.  I jammed my bag full of the ingredients needed and walks outta the apartment with a grocery bag literally full to the top of stuff.  One day, I’m sure I’ll be a super-organized mom who packs her kids lunches in an adorable fashion:

Oh, this ol' thing? It only took me two and a half hours. I always keep rice pandas around.

But in the meantime, I’ll focus on “Ordo ab Chao” (Order from Chaos, if my memory Internet serves me correctly…)

I started this morning off with a little Attunes Food cereal mix up (which you may have seen in one of my secret hoarding cabinets yesterday…)  Finishing off a box of cereal that has dried blueberries in it results in this:

Not little critters, just blueberry dust!

Which is what my cereal looked like before I even took a bite.  What it looked like after, though, actually matched the color of my FR60 watch more than a cereal!

Violet! You're turning violet, Violet!! - Mr. Beauregarde, Willy Wonka

Regardless of my blue milk, I slurped it up like a little kitten.

But this was the real kicker.  Lunchtime.  Here’s my before:

Salad Ingredients or what a mother of 2 bought at the grocery store?

My haul included:

  • Two bags of spinach (one that I just opened, one that had about 12 leaves left so I polished it off!)
  • Tupperware full of thyme roasted veggies (eggplant, banana pepper, and red onion)
  • Avocado
  • Plum tomato
  • End of a GIANT green pepper
  • Leftover box with fajita veggies and a teensy bit of chicken
  • Trader Joe’s Salsa Authentico (arguably one of my favorite salsas… and I’m a salsa officianado)

The “after” was a lot more manageable.

Salad Beast: You are my lover.

The process took quite some time, but the result was more than worth it.

It sort of reminded me of the “blogging behind the scenes” by Chelsey this morning…. only taken with a cheaper camera and with no real trickery. Just blue milk and a counter full of bags!

Are you an ordered chef or baker?  Or does your counter look like chaos every time (like me!)?

What’d you have for lunch?

Garmin FR60: The Perfect HRM for an Everything Exerciser

/ foodsweatandbeers / 6 Comments

Good morning y’all!!

After confessing to my Secret Snack Hoarding yesterday, I felt as though a weight had been lifted off my chest.  To combat that newfound lightness, it only made sense to talk about something else that goes on my chest! (well, at least partially).

The Garmin FR60: The Little HRM That Changed Everything

I actually was lucky enough to win this bad boy last September from a blog…. that I don’t even remember, because last September I spent most of my time on my Tumblr blog CaseInPoints, and didn’t understand these crazy “wordpress” blogs… Oh, how naive and young I was (says the word-presser of like, 66 days).

Anyway, I had been jonesing and lusting after these so-called “HRMs” for a while before I was lucky enough to win one, and thought they were only for hardcore runners.  I saw the giant 310XTs  of Triathletes and the 305‘s of racers, and thought “I don’t run… I don’t bike…. But I wanna know.”

I wanted to know:

  • The length of my exercise
  • My average heart rate during different classes like BodyPump (or Pilates…. where I think my heart actually just stopped beating and  took a nap.)
  • How many calories I truly was burning

I noticed a lot of variety when I used machines like ellipticals, and had no clue what I was burning in a group fitness room.  It was very important to me, when I was deeply engrossed in my weight loss journey, to know exact numbers, and I hated not knowing.  But that all changed.

BEHOLD! My first tracked workout!! (from September of last year, wow!)

What you see is what I normally post regarding my workout.  That is a graph track of my HR throughout the near-hour of class, featuring the average HR on the left as well as the Max HR.  You can also change what type of workout you did on the top left, but I didn’t really utilize that option.  I did all this on Garmin Connect which I set up when I first received the FR60.

The Whole Kitten Caboodle

These are the three pieces that I use to track and upload my exercise.  These are the only three pieces of my package that I received (other than the online program) that matter to me, FR60 wise.

The Wiggity Watch (and my attractive left wrist.)

This is the piece I look at the most, the watch.  I was lucky enough to win a cute purple one, which is great because purple’s my second favorite color (after green.)  I heard this HRM is water resistant, but have never tested it.  One thing to note is the FR60 is NOT GPS-enabled. If you’re looking for a HRM that is, you may have to look into spending a few more doll-hairs. On the Garmin Website, you can buy the FR60 package for about $200 and that includes a foot pod (which is an accelerometer, better suited for runners I think.)  But my package just came with the three pieces (no pod.)  Just to get what I got, though, it runs about $129.  The watch is smaller than the big’uns I’ve seen others wear and honestly, I’ve worn it as a watch before (not with anything nice, but out and about definitely.)  It’s also very comfortable to wear and doesn’t slip, even at my sweatiest.

I'm with the Band!

The band that goes around my chest has only ever bothered me a few times, once I realized that you can NOT have it set too loose on your body (or else you’ll be adjusting it more than a strapless bra at your cousin’s wedding.)  Every now and then, when I’m doing ab work on my back, I’ll have to shift so that the adjustable part doesn’t sit on my spine.  Other than that, it’s great.  You can wash it with soap and water (and even throw the removable strap into the wash) and it fits so nicely that most of the time, I forget it’s there.

Sneaky little bugger

It’s the ANT stick, though, that puts it all together. Your link to Garmin Connect, and the only way you can pull your data from your device!  Once, I lost this.  It’s very small, the size of any jump drive, and I absentmindedly didn’t put it in it’s little trunk next to my bed…. never saw it again.

I caved and bought a new one on ebay for about 15 bucks (they normally sell, separately, for $50!!), because I just couldn’t deal with not knowing.

And now…. you know!!

Also, I have a feeling that, if I wanted, I could use even more functions on this bad boy but honestly…. it gets all the jobs done that I need.  As a gym rat, but not much of a runner, this is great for me AND if I wanted to become a runner, I get a foot pod and VOILA it’s set for that!

Do you have any questions about the FR60? Thinking about getting a HRM?  I’m an open book!!

Do you have a HRM that you love?  Which one? (I always like to stay hip on the HRM knowledge)