Author: foodsweatandbeers

Healthy Living Summit Weekend: The Eats

/ foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

As well received as my Healthy Living Summit Cocktail Party recap was, I decided to hold off on a recap of day two until I have time to fully devote myself to a complete writeup of the Saturday sessions.  However, that doesn’t mean you should miss out on everything.  And who doesn’t like food posts?

Before my trip, I wanted to enjoy a tasty little treat, so I whipped up my traditional pre-flight beer and snack!!

Weyerbacher Hops Infusion? Don't mind if I do.

Turkey and Cheese and Lettuce on a sandwich thin! Beer! Carrots! The best.

I also did my best to eat the rest of the spinach before I left.

I felt like a straight bunny, nibbling on leaves. But it got the job done.

At the home of Ali, we whipped out all the stops (aka the baked goods):

I promise, we didn't eat all of this. Some. Most. but not all.

Let’s just say that it was a bit of a smorgasbord.

Wawa: The stuff my dreams are made of...

For dinner:

  • Wawa Shorti with Roast beef, cheddar cheese, light on the mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, salt, pepper, oregano. I always get this when I go to Wawa. It is like a second nature, entering it on the touchpad.
  • Wawa Diet Raspberry Iced Tea

Can someone PLEASE explain to me why there is no raspberry iced tea, diet or otherwise, to be found in North Carolina? I can’t even get the Snapple kind…. If you know where to get some, PLEAES email, call, text, or tweet me. ASAP. This is not a joking kind of request. This is so heartfelt I feel it deep in my heart.

The highlights of the cocktail party food were already shown, minus one: Philly Cheesesteak Empanadas. I didn’t take pictures of these, because I was shoving them down my gullet. Imagine a philly cheesesteak. then fry it.

You get the idea.

Breakfast in the morning was sponsored by Attune Foods, and featured mostly a wide array of their cereals, fresh fruit, hardboiled eggs, and yogurt.

Pineapple. Cereal. I forgot how delicious real milk was, especially from Lehigh Valley.

Oh. A pluot. I had no idea what this was until I bit it.

I could’ve eaten the lunch for days.

Roasted veggie sammy, caprese salad sammy, cous cous and chickpeas, and Perrier. Oh, you fancy.

GIANT ups to Great Harvest bread. Which filled my belly totally and heartily.  The mozzarella was so creamy, and the onions in the cous cous…. ooh, girl.

Snacktime was not really my favorite, but I partook because who don’t want no free foods?

Cinnamon raisin nut butter = the poo. So take a big whiff. The hummus was a little watery for my liking... oh well.

To be honest, though, there was a much more important meal waiting for me at home, after the summit. Something I’d been seeking out since I arrived in Philly.  The holy grail of Philly cuisine.

We belong together.

I went a little off the beaten path with the Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak and was rewarded handsomely with spicy, cheese, chickeny goodness.  Something about the rolls up North, they just know how to do it right.  And, even though it wasn’t in empanada format, it was at least as (if not much, much more) delicious.

What’d you eat this weekend that was delicious? 

Do you have any favorite foods/drinks from growing up that you can’t get now wherever you live (due to a move or [gasp!!] someone stopped producing them?)

Airports: The Great Equalizers

/ foodsweatandbeers / 20 Comments

Good morning friends, blends, and strangers who love/hate flying.

I was so excited that so many of you enjoyed my recap of the Healthy Living Summit Cocktail Party.  Big shout out to Katy Widrick for the twitter love, spreading my words far and wide to her many followers and fans.

Even though the cocktail party was a blast, I’ll admit, there was one aspect of the trip to Philly (or rather, from) that cast a hideous pallor over my memories.

Not unlike the beautiful skin tone of Lord Voldy. (Click image for source)

That thing was so awful that it even warranted an angry tweet from yours truly.

You should never tweet angry. But sometimes, I do.

See, the beau and I are starting the long distance relationship thing a little early this week, with him leaving for a business trip and me heading back to North Carolina, also for work. He called me early Monday morning when his flight landed to say good morning and inquire about my weekend.  And, as we all saw in yesterday’s post, yes, I may be a bit of a loud character.

If you went from hot tub to snow, you'd be screaming, too!

But when the fellow across from me shushed me, I couldn’t help but (quietly) ask,

“Excuse me?”

“I said ‘Shh’…. I don’t want to hear your conversation.”

……………………………oh.  I’m sorry. I thought this was America.  Not District 12 (Bonus points for Hunger Games reference understanding) where we have to be silent coyotes for the sake of everyone around us and to make sure we don’t offend President Snow (who this guy reminds me of.  Roll with me on the Hunger Games train. And if you’re not, read them now.  You will thank me.)

And yes, maybe I was loud.  I tend to be. But that’s the thing about airports.  EVERYONE is loud.  All around us, there were babies crying, folks trying to get a hold of their rides (“What?! Terminal B?  Did you say BEE or SMEE?! WHERE IS TERMINAL SMEE?!”), tearful phone goodbyes, video game playing, iPod listening.  It’s a loud place.  And I think that sometimes, for infrequent travelers (I am the opposite of this), they forget that, for some of us, the airport is part of our day-to-day lives.

When I looked up in horror at this jerk, all I felt was a totally mind-consuming rage.

Face has been covered because I realized it's not nice to tweet angry.

I think my thought process was something along these lines:

“Who does this ass-hat think he is? Look at him, sitting with that smug su-do-ku playing look on his face [you know the one that all good sudoku-ers get when they su].  I bet he regularly powerwalks past slower walkers in his neighborhood track, and looks back at them, and shakes his head.  Yeah, he’s probably that kind of dude. I wonder if he’s ever purposefully spilled a drink on someone, or elbowed them for getting too close on public transportation. Likely.”

When he got up and left his stuff, I had crazy-person thoughts like “I want to follow him playing sounds of screaming babies on my phone.  is that a ringtone that I have?” I promise I didn’t look (but the thought crossed my mind.)

Airports somehow (and frequently) bring out the worst in some people.  I’ve seen folks have to be split up by TSA agents because they’ve started fights over who was supposed to board first.  This is not a joke.  I’ve watched people butt in front of entire hours worth of security lines, then receive death threats from the folks behind them. The pressure of flights leaving you behind, connecting flights, long lines, and expensive food just seems to put people on edge and make them total grouchballs.  And one grouchball leads to another, and then you have a collective rage blackout and forget how you ended up in a pile of cinnabons and $9 beer puddles with blood on your knuckles.

It.... it all happened so fast.

Luckily, on rare occasions, they can also bring out the best. Because I’ve also watched people share their overpriced Chinese food and laugh like they’ve been BFF when they find out their flight’s delayed due to thunderstorms.  Once, I even saw a Charlotte, NC local offer their guest room for someone whose flight was canceled until the next day.  Having slept over at the Charlotte airport before due to flight cancellations and rescheduling, I remember staying up late, chatting with my fellow airport warriors about past stories and bonding over our mutual tragedy.

The Real Tragedy? This was my bed.

As I fumed with rage blackout potential, I tried to remember those good times.  The laughter, the kindness of the occasional fellow passenger.  Heck, early yesterday morning, my undies fell out of my carry on and a wonderful lady alerted me, in the shadiest manner possible, that I had panties gone rogue.

Who, me?

And so I didn’t do anything rash, like mash a banana into his carry on or report him for sexual harassment and potential dangerous weapon concealment to TSA.  I just decided to walk away.

Whether you’re mean or nice, tall or short, old or young, rich or me poor, you can’t change what happens at the airport. You can’t bypass the security lines, you can’t MAKE the pilot take-off faster, you can’t demand that there be less traffic on the runway.  Airports are the great equalizer.  Maybe that guy chose to respond negatively, and be in a bad mood, but I chose to rise above it (quite literally) in the air, and had a wonderful conversation with my seat-buddy.

I still hope that guy was forced to sit by the toilet and that it smelled.  I hope it smelled REAL bad.

Healthy Living Summit: Cocktails and Tasty Ales

/ foodsweatandbeers / 48 Comments

Greetings friends, old and new, and Happy MY BIRTHDAY Week!!

Have you not been celebrating?  Might I suggest a No Pants Wednesday (or Monday) in my honor?  Perhaps crush a cup of tasty beer with a friend.  You just gotta ask yourself, WWJ(ordan)D? (No sacrilege meant here.  I’d really be curious to know what folks did when they thought, What would that Jordan do?)  If you’re new here, check out my 7 Links post for a little more about me!!

I’m currently celebrating my birthday week in style with a private, GIANT booth at Rockfish Seafood Grill (my home away from home).

How many people will be joining you? None? But you need a table? We got this.

Yet again, I can’t thank the folks at Rockfish enough for being so accommodating (always) AND emailing me a gift certificate for my birthday (!!!! FISH IS THE GREATEST GIFT EVER !!!)

Anyway, chances are, you didn’t come to hear about my fish fiesta.  You came here to find out what this whole HLS drama is that I’ve been posting about, tweeting about, and generally abuzz about since…. well since I bought the ticket.

I’ll start at the beginning….

The beautiful Krissie from PhillyNerdGirl picked me up moments after I walked out of the PHL airport, a grin on her face and a bag of tiny pumpkin donuts in her hand.  What a giver!

And a chatter! Love talking blog-talk.

Krissie and I sped crawled through some serious 3:30 traffic in Philly before eventually reaching Chez Ali (aka the Infamous Allison who planned the entirety of the Cocktail Party and saved us all from sobriety).  Without wasting a moment (ok, we wasted several, ogling Krissie’s sexy shoes and eating s’mores crack like it was…. crack), I politely requested hungrily demanded a trip to Wawa.  This Southern girl needed her fix.

Come to Mama. That's the good stuff.

Then, it was time for some Boost Boozy (DAMN YOU, AUTOCORRECT!) Arnold Palmers (I’m sure there’s a real name for them.  But I like to imagine Arnold Palmer himself, all liquored up, hanging out with us.)

Thumbs up for booze, buddy! (Click image for Source)

Krissie, Ali, and Jordy: Sipping

We could only drink and gossip for so long before the itch to primp kicked into high gear.

A Glam Slam! (like a grand slam. I wish this was a real phrase.)

My best friend Ring, who was quite a hit at the party

We took an incredibly easy cab ride over to Reading Terminal Market, a place where I once enjoyed the best roast pork sandwich known to mankind (at DiNics) and the home of the HLS Cocktail Party.  After jimmying the door open with my superior lock picking skills asking a security guard to let us in, we rounded up the rest of the ladies and, like a herd of extremely willing cats, headed to the party spot.

Hell hath no fury like HLBloggers tryna get some snacks.

Guess where I headed, with my two complimentary drink tickets?

Am I really that predictable?

The selection was actually top notch:

  • Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
  • Voodoo Brewery’s Pilzilla
  • Philadelphia Brewing Company’s Fleur de Lehigh
  • Philadelphia Brewing Company’s Kenzinger
  • Some wine (yeah, I had no eyes for that)
  • A YUMMY cocktail made with DrinkChia that was like a creamy daquiri with jelly chia bits

I went straight for the Chicory Stout first. And then I realized that I could still enjoy a few nibblets.

Quite the spread.

Single asparagus spear? Ok.

Also, I wore a tiara.

See, the thing is, with Ryan moving this week (Wahhhhhhhhh! – Snookie) and me having a work training then heading to OCNJ (again) for my cousin’s bridal shower, I wanted to celebrate.  But really, I just wanted to wear a tiara.  That’s What Jordan Would Do.

I met bloggers, large and small.

A lesson in extremes

I tried to meet them, one and all.

That's a lotta ladies.

I even took a picture near a stall!

Class-Act.

There were spider senses,

With the Okie in Pink, Lisa

And some blog-lebrity blends(es? I’m just trying to rhyme here)

Courtney and Julie, two of the women I read before knowing what HL was!

Birthday buddies!

Carly and Michelle finalllllly found some tiaras! (and a really weird fellow who photobombed from within a photobooth. that's skill.)

And my very favorite sponsors of the entire conference, Chandra and Mark from Drink Chia!!

Ch(i)andra!

I also think I found a kindred spirit in Jess, a fancy lady from the heart of dairy land.

Sassy as hell.

There was dancing.

There was not dancing.  This might be my greatest disappointment of the weekend.  There was something wrong with the iPod hookup, or something, and I felt very weird mingling and running around with no (and then, later, very quiet) music.  Sort of like if the cocktail party was hosted in a GIANT elevator (full of food and drinks).

However, they more than made up for it by allowing me to drink as many cocktails as I wanted.  Either there were so many pregnant ladies that their drink tickets somehow all were given to me, or they overestimated how much folks would drink…. or the beer gods were shining down on me (I choose this one.)  Whatever happened, it worked out completely in my favor.

I want them all.

I tried to mingle, I truly did.  I figured the tiara and octopus ring were both great ice breakers.  And some folks were totally happy to chat.  Other ones were either uninterested, or in the zone with their own little groups.  I’ll admit, I’m not very well “established” in this particular community, and I had never met most of the men and women before, so I understand.  But I’ll say that my heart was swollen with joy when Katy Widrick chatted my head off about beers.  Finally, I felt like my two passions were merged and I didn’t feel like the odd girl out.

Then again, maybe I’m just a little too rambunctious to be brought out in public to new people.  Like that time, at the end, that my overzealous flinging of an umbrella resulted in the demise of said umbrella.

JORDAN SMASH!!

Blonde hair, don't care. (Balaguer, 2011)

But, as I’d learn later in the conference from the wisest of all owls….

Thanks, Pauly.

But to see the source of this hilarious picture…. well, you’ll just have to stay tuned.

7 Links: Welcome New Readers Edition

/ foodsweatandbeers / 13 Comments

Greetings all, and a wonderful Sunday to you!  At this very moment, I’m writing from the deck of my shore house in Ocean City, New Jersey (my favorite place on the planet.)  I left the Healthy Living Summit yesterday about an hour or so after the sessions ended because, although I wanted to spend time with the new people that I met, I don’t get to see my family too often (as I live in Durham, NC and they all live outside of Philly).  From reading the tweets and posts from these new beautiful bloggers and bloggettes, I missed out on some mischief making, but the opportunity to sip rum & coke with mom and dad and cuddle on the couch watching CSI with my siblings (and the always-gorgeous Horatio Caine was clearly too good to pass up.

Pierce me with those eyes, Lt. Caine... (click image for Source)

Though I was nominated chosen picked for this whole “7 Links” meme a while back by a fellow blogger or two, I figured I’d hold off for a little because it seemed like the perfect way to introduce new readers to myself in a fun, organized fashion.  And also, sometimes, I’m a lazy bum.  But mostly it was because of how appropriate it is for new readers.

For the ease of access, feel free to check out my “About Me” to glean some background info.  And on that note, I’m going to dive right into things.

  1. My Most Beautiful Post

    Football, Football, Football (Oh, and Friday.)

    A Sea of Carolina Blue

    Maybe it’s because I’m romantically involved with my alma mater, UNC. Or maybe it’s because I think tailgating is the most wonderful Autumn pastime of all.  But whatever it is, this post fills my heart with joy and makes my heart beat a little faster when I read it.  If you love college football (or college sports… or any sports), you might think this is lovely as well.  If you don’t, here’s a post on my best friend’s wedding that ought to tide you over: The 61 Hour Whirlwind Wedding Weekend: Picture and the Ceremony.  Don’t say I never gave you nothing….

  2. My Most Popular Post

    New Belgium Tour de Fat, Meet: DURHAM!

    Beer Education: So hot right now

    During a hot summer day this year, I was able to dress up like a champagne bottle and volunteer for the New Belgium Tour de Fat in downtown Durham, North Carolina (the closest city to me).  Being a HUGE craft beer fan (obviously, with a name like “food, sweat, and beers“) I jumped at the chance to volunteer.  I helped bring beer tokens to the masses, got to participate in a mini beer-du-cation class with some of the brewers from New Belgium, and realized that retronasal tasting is a real term (though most folks use it regarding  retronasal wine tasting).  I think this post was especially popular in the Durham, NC area.  But beer fans far and wide are welcome to continue enjoying it.

  3. My Most Controversial Post

    Women and Chick Beer vs. Craft Beer: A Response

    The Infamous "Chick Beer" that sparked the discussion

    While I can’t say this post was incredibly controversial, the topic certainly was, and the discussion was the most enjoyable to read in the comments section. I also brought discussion about this topic.  As I mentioned before, though I just attended a Healthy Living Summit, my passion is also craft beer and this whole topic of women being “catered to” in the craft beer world with weak flavored, low carbonated beers really got me fired up.  Apparently, I was not the only one that cared about it, because I still hear this topic discussed.  It’s a pretty interesting read, if you care about beer, but also if you’re interested in marketing techniques targeting females.

  4. My Most Helpful Post

    Eating Good in the Neighborhood (Pool)

    Poolside with my buddy, Claire

    In the summertime, on the weekends, if I’m not at the shore/beach, I like to be at the pool.  I think this post provided a lot of good advice (and it was a pretty popular one, so clearly others were interested.)  However, I also liked my post on Lunchbox Variety and mixing up your sammies.  Eating healthy on pool weekends AND mixing up my lunches are both challenges for me, so hopefully these posts helped folks in similar situations.

  5. A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

    No Pants Wednesday

    I. Hate. Pants.

    I guess I’m not SUPER surprised that people love the idea of No Pants Wednesday.  But when I shared with everyone the fact that the reason I go home every day for lunch, I never thought they’d get so fired up about me hating pants.

    Then again, who really likes to wear pants?

    If you do, I don’t mean offense…. I just think you should give No Pants Wednesday a chance.

  6. A Post I Didn’t Think Got the Attention It Deserved

    Wisdom Teeth: Be GONE!

    So Very Loopy.

    This is a tough one, because honestly, I never think to myself “this post DESERVES so much attention.” Who am I to expect any attention from anyone?  (other than awesome.)

    But really, if you want a laugh, check out the pictures on that post. For some reason, when I was loopy on pain medication, I was SO intense about the nurses taking pictures of every step of the way.  And I demanded to keep my teeth (not unlike my new buddy, Jessica and her pillow of baby teeth.)  Now, not only am I the weirdo who was a total bossy brat at the dental surgeon’s office and documented every step of her wisdom teeth removal, but I’m the creep with four bleached wisdom teeth in a shot glass in my apartment.

    Be careful if we ever do shots at chez moi… no one wants a shot of tooth.

  7. Post I’m Most Proud Of

    Wake-Up Call

    Namaste.

    This post was both a reminder to myself of all the progress I made (I have lost 40-45 lbs since March 2010 with the help of Weight Watchers, exercise like Zumba and Body Pump , and support from family/friends, as well as a reminder that sometimes, all you need to change your entire life is a little wake-up call.  It sums up my progress, it talks about how my thinking about food and health changed over the past year and a half, and it has a cute shot of me sleeping (in case you’re into that kinda thing.)

    This weekend, I realized that even though I never really have experienced the hardships of disordered eating that many of my peers dealt with, I had my own interesting set of circumstances that others might benefit from.  No one becomes who they are in the exact same way, and though my story feels unique, I am sure I’m not the only one who slowly put on weight until they were living an unhealthy lifestyle without even realizing it, and then decided to change things up.

So there you have it.  Some funny posts. Some poignant posts. Some food posts. Some beer posts.

Read up, learn about me, comment, email me, follow me on Twitter, and let’s get this party started.

Now, I’m back to hanging out with this stud:

Princess of the Jersey Shore

Isn’t he handsome?

 

Should I Throw the Kitchen Sink In, Too?

/ foodsweatandbeers / 11 Comments

Hey there, ladies and gents!

This time tomorrow, I’ll probably be enjoying a beer before my flight to the Healthy Living Summit at the beautiful sufficient Raleigh-Durham airport.  I’m hoping to eat something small before I get to the airport, mostly to save room for a small Wawa hoagie when Krissie from PhillyNerdGirl picks me up (you know…. if we have time.)  I did, however, manage to get through most of my crazy to-do list from yesterday (and there’s still time to weigh in on my dress selection!!)

It won’t be nearly the caliber of my lunch today, though.

Everything but the kitchen sink!

This wanna-be wrap-turned-taco really was just my way to use up all the random foods that I had in the fridge.  Last tortilla in the bag, last two slices of buffalo chicken, some spinach artichoke hummus, last pieces of muenster, last bits of tomato and bell pepper, a giant handful of spinach? Sounds like lunch to me.  I contemplated tossing in my sink, but decided I already have plenty of iron in my diet.

Also on the menu: a few carrots wrapped in that last slice of muenster (random but tasty), a bite (or five) of my Chocolate Crack: S’mores Style, leftover steamed asian veggies from lunch two or three days ago, really, I’m just trying to clear house.

My bag(s) are almost entirely packed!

Victoria's Secret bags = gift bags, free with purchase. Voila.

I’ve grabbed a few magazines for the plane ride, and I’m now adding last touches to my luggage.

  • Jewelry
  • Snacks
  • A flask? Is that classless?  God, I never remember, I just know that it’s a snake-print flask from Pier 1, and I never get to use it. Maybe, like Will Smith with cigars, I’ll just bring an empty flask and try to become known as that “bad girl” at the HLS cocktail party. OR I could bring it to the NEXT LEVEL and bring it to the breakfast.  Not really. But it would be funny. (Or tacky. or both.)
  • Business cards (WHAT?! Yeah, I’m a pro like that.)

I’ll shoot you straight, I had no idea what to wear during the sessions on Saturday, so I think I tried on every possible combination of what’s in my bag.  And I still don’t know. But I’m sure the beau appreciated my fashion show.

Too much going on today, I can hardly think straight!

I’m off to rush back to work so that I can leave a little earlier and pack up the rest of my life.

What are you up to today?  Starting your weekend a little early?

If you’re in the RDU area, meet me at Rockfish in Durham for a drink from 6-7 OR at Busy Bee Cafe in Raleigh from 7:30-??

PS I almost just walked out the door still wearing my apron.  Nice.  Talk about frazzled, right?

Smooth move.

 

No Rest for the Wicked (and sweaty and tired!)

/ foodsweatandbeers / 10 Comments

Hello friends!!

It’s Hump Day, I know, but it feels like it’s at least Thursday.  And tomorrow (the REAL Thursday) will be jammed to the brim with work, the gym (hopefully), glass night at Rockfish (and a SWEET beer all the way from Belgium’s own Palm Breweries, and then North Carolina Girls’ Pint Out invading Busy Bee Cafe in Raleigh (I plan on drinking the heck out of a Dogfish Head Namaste!)

So tonight, as I was eating my snack:

Mottled Avocado and Wheat Thins

I put together a quick little to-do list.

I don't think I've ever had "cook crack" on a to-do list before....

As you can see, much to do tonight!!

I squeezed in a quick ab class and 20 minutes on the elliptical, the last 5 at a SUPER high resistance.  It felt like I was running through mud.

Work it, girl.

Now, I’m focusing on more important things….

Decisions, Decisions...

Any favorite dresses?  Still trying to choose for the HLS Cocktail Party….

Back to running around in an apron, packing, cleaning, and wishing for more time in the day (just not in the workday!)

What My Pandora Stations Say About Me!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

Hey there, all, and Happy No Pants Wednesday!! Hope you’re celebrating in style.

I'm sort of cheating with a dress and leggings. So sue me.

Today’s lunch was…. identical to yesterday’s.

Surprise, Surprise

I’ll be frank: repetitive lunches are sometimes necessary when you’re trying to clear out a fridge full of produce and eggs. I wanna leave the beau with the bare minimum for his weekend of manliness (you know…. beer, meat, and cheese.)  All his favorites.

Last night, on #fitblog, the questions were all about music. The music you work out to, the music you’re embarrassed about, and all that jazz.  And it got me thinking about my (many) Pandora stations that I’ve made over the years.  For a little glimpse into my inner workings, I present:

What (Most of) My Pandora Stations Say About Me!

  1. Britney Spears Station

    Rah Rah, ooh lala !

    Deep down inside, I’ll ALWAYS love whatever the Pop Princess du Jour is.  It was all the finest ladies in the past: the Spice Girls, Britney, Xtina, Beyonce, Cher (never), Mandy, and (most recently) the Mother Monster herself.  Something about powerful rockstar ladies always gets me hype.

  2. Wicked (original Broadway cast)

    Belting out the National Anthem with the besty

    When I was younger, I’d sing at any chance I had.  Choir, showers, volleyball tournaments.  Once, I sang the National Anthem at the Baltimore Convention Center. It was the most exhiliarating experience I had in my days of yore. To this day, I still sing, though I tend to keep it in the shower. But this station is full of Disney songs, Wicked songs, other Broadway musical songs.  I’ll catch myself listening in the grocery store and accidentally bursting into song.  Or, you know, not so accidentally. Everyone deserves a little show now and then.

  3. Today’s Hip Hop and Rap

    I'm a little bit gangster, myself.

    I’ll admit, I was the proud owner of my share of Eminem CDs. And sometimes I garble together words really fast to pretend like I rap. But truly, this station is SUCH a great one to power through strength training, or a particularly tough elliptical run. It’s like Dr. Dre is right there with me, pushing me further and faster.  That’d just be…. the coolest.

  4. Party in the USA

    Back it Up!

    I’ll admit, nothing makes me wanna dance more than my pop music.  And, for any of you that are going to the Healthy Living Summit this weekend, if you’re lucky, I’ll break out some sweet dance moves.  And by “sweet dance moves”, I mostly mean “watch out for the flailing giantess…. she’s trying to Dougie.”

    You’ve been warned.

  5. Sigur Ros

    Good night, Jojo

    Looking for sleepytime music? Look no further. Sigur Ros is my relaxation station. Explosions in the Sky, instrumental jams, words that I don’t understand.  I use it to relax, and once in college, I ended up falling asleep my teacher’s office waiting for her.  Thanks a lot, Sigur.

  6. I Told You So – Keith Urban

    The Dirty South

    When you date a boy who attends college in Mississippi, and you drive there several times…. You either learn to love country music, or you stop listening to the radio on the 12 hour drive down.

    Just call me a country girl.

What are your favorite Pandora stations?

What do they say about you?

Demand and Dinner

/ foodsweatandbeers / 7 Comments

Good evening folks, I hope none of you are still as sweaty and gross as I am.  But if you are…. I salute you.

After my lunchtime post where I showed you my advanced icing techniques, my ankle actually started to feel a little better. I spent the day in a long meeting, taking care of business, and then tidied up my desk to show off for the new employee tomorrow.

This might be the most normal it has ever looked.

If you take a closer look, you’ll notice a McCormick’s Italian Herb blend, a toy dog wearing a fruit hat, and my iPhone got a text! A rare opportunity to look at my life, behind the scenes. Cherish it, y’all.

After work, with my ankle feeling up to snuff, I hit up Zumba (considering my favorite instructor was there, I had to do it.)  I’m glad I did, as I rocked it out.

Woo, baby.

I specifically remember the track where my HR reached 180 because, in the midst of panting, I glanced over at the watch and was like WHOAH! My ankle’s feeling a little sore now, but during the class I actually felt pretty decent.  It was a packed class, lots of total newbies, but everyone handled their business and rocked it out.  The energy was awesome, the music was perfect, and we even did an all-arm track to Carry Out by Justin Timberlake.  I’m sore, but in the best way possible.

Following the gym, I received word from the beau that he was going to be late for dinner, so I made the executive decision to go shopping.

In case you didn’t get the message, my 24th Birthday is Next Wednesday, August 24. That’s right, one week and one day away.  Feel free to shower me with sexy presents like beer and sports bras and Norts (Nike shorts, for the folks who aren’t familiar) and all the like.  Or packages, or tweets, or email love.  Or just buy me a cocktail and compliment the tiara I’ll be wearing on my big day and, more than likely, the night of the HLS cocktail party.  I’m needy like that.

Now that we all are on the same page for what I was shopping for, you might understand that Nordstrom Rack was at the top of my list.  Since my feet are huge (size 12-13), any store that carries my size is somewhere I frequent.  And today, I finally got lucky.

Sam Edelman, you've done good.

I’ve been looking for a pair of sandals with this single long strap.  Though these weren’t the silver I hoped for, the gems and spikes on the back…. I felt like Lady Gaga when I put them on.  And then I found my birthday dress.  Which just so happened to have little white streaks in it. The price was a little steep, and there was a gem missing, so I asked the man at the front if there was another one, or if I could get a discount.  I couldn’t get a discount, and he almost wouldn’t sell them to me….  and then he told me they were the only size 12 Sam Edelman sandals of this style AT ANY NORDSTROM RACK IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY!!!!!

I left, one pair of shoes richer (and a few more bucks than I wanted to be poorer…. but they were shaved about halfway from their original pricetag…. I’ll chalk it up as a win.)

With my birthday outfit success warming my heart, and my zumba class rumbling my tummy…. I headed home for dinner with the beau.

It was clean, it was fast, and it. was. tasty.

Grilled chicken covered in Frank's Red Hot and Laughing Cow Blue Cheese, steamed veggies, and a Diet Cherry Pepsi

Sweet Moments Caramel Delights

Now, it’s time to finish The Adjustment Bureau, shower, and sleep, sweetly and hopefully for a long time.  So. So. tired.

Do you get yourself birthday presents?  How about special birthday outfits?

I pretty much always do.  And rest assured, I’ll be rocking a tiara that day…. hard.

Minding My Peas and Qs

/ foodsweatandbeers / 11 Comments

Good afternoon y’all, hope you’re enjoying this glorious summer day!

For a Tuesday in the middle of the August, the weather couldn’t have been nicer. It was crisp, it was cool, and I must say…. I think love was in the air.  In fact, I actually caught two little lovebirds in the act!

Sweet, sweet mothra love.

These two lovebugs (literally) were sitting on my car all morning.  And I’ll be honest, if this is what Moth-Sex looks like…  I’m not too impressed.  Gross.

Before work, I hit up the Teet for the tail end of super ultra mega hyper coupon week and picked up some serious cereal goodness.

Stocked and Loaded!

Yeah, a few of my new favorite cereal were on sale, AND I had a coupon, and so three boxes = about $5, slightly more than what would normally cost for a single box.  Love it.

While at work, I was thinking about heading to Zumba later today, and I figured I’d ice my ankle a little bit, as it’s still been bothering me.  At the office, though, my first aid supplies are running rather thin so I made due.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present:

Ice Pack made of Frozen peas, and held to my ankle with bubble wrap

If they had a competition for the MacGyver of Doctors, I’d win, hands down.

When I got home for lunch, all I could think about was yesterday’s Good Karma Omelet and, since everyone loves good karma, I whipped another (remarkably similar looking) one.

1 egg white, 1 egg, green pepper, spinach, roma tomato, buffalo chicken, and muenster cheese

But I also paired it with a little something extra.

Buff Chick Rollups and Carrots

I rolled up some lunch meat and cheese, added some carrots and Sabra Hummus (Spinach artichoke), and chomped away.

Dessert was a salty one:

Nature's Place Salted Sunflower Seeds!

Since I’ve been inhaling these puppies all throughout ABC Family’s new “hit to be”, The Lying Game I think it’s time to pack the gym bag and head back to the office.

Do you think that moths make sweet, sexy moth love? Or they just got stuck that way?

What’s the most creative “makeshift” bandage/brace/etc you’ve ever made?

Molto Bene: A Tale of Triumph

/ foodsweatandbeers / 6 Comments

Good evening, Ragazzi!! (I’m not an expert, but I’m gonna pretend I’m certain that means boys and girls)

Monday’s been a long day for me.  I hit the office early and running and stuck around late to clock in some extra time (as I’ll be doing all week).  I hate hate hate taking vacation time if I think I can make it up during the week and, since I’ll be taking about a half-day on Friday for my travels to the Healthy Living Summit (I’d stop linking, but it’s addictive), I’ll be trying to earn about an hour extra each day. Then, voila! guilt free time off on Friday to schmooze with all the friends and blends-to-be (P.S. since I don’t even think I mentioned it, this one time I did a Guest Post for Alexa of Simple Eats a while back about how I make friends in new places… there’s even a picture of me and Jason Segel so check it out.)

At work, for a snack, I enjoyed some strawberries, an Adora Calcium disk, and some seeds. It was just like a tasty bird food mix up.

Paired with a side of Coke Zero

Now that I’m done shamelessly promoting myself (which is needed since I’m the only one who ever read/commented on my own guest post) and my snacks, it’s time to get to the meat of the day.  Or, in this case, the meatBALLS.

To get there, though, we have to go back.  Old school….

One time, for one month, I lived in Florence, Italy, home of Michaelangelo, Amerigo Vespucci, Acqua al Due (which fed me the greatest steak of my life), and (more recently), my twin, Snookie.

Only one? Come on, Jordan!

That's my goal... Only I'd never ever smoke a cigarette. YUCK! (click for Source)

Italy was a glorious place to live, even just for a month.  Only all… we ever…. ate… was pasta.

Pasta and Nutella

Pasta with veggies, pasta with sauce, pasta with prawns, pasta with pepperoni, pasta with meat…..

By the end of the month, I was so sick of pasta I never wanted to see it again.  And honestly, since then, it very rarely has.  Unless I felt obliged to eat it due to being at someone’s home (as a guest), I avoided it like the plague.  But tonight, after saving my poor little basil plant , I was inspired.  It helped that sauce and pasta was on sale too….

I purchased a package of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Spaghetti at the store (sticking with the whole grains, though not too low carb…)

Snagged picture, click for the Source!

I also snagged some turkey meatballs from Harris Teeter and some sauce I already had on hand…

In a little sauce-pan, I sauteed some spinach and green peppers, several leaves from that dear basil plant, then added the sauce, and some tomatoes.  Once the pasta was sufficiently done (I like it tender, not a bit al dente), I threw it in a big ol’ bowl with about 3-5 of the turkey meatballs, and covered it in a few sprinkles of reduced fat mozzarella cheese, OODLES of crushed red pepper and dried oregano, and gobbled it up like I hadn’t eaten pasta in years (when it may have actually been a year.)

Pas-TASTIC!

Loved the effect the basil had, and how hearty the meal tasted even though I went with less-pasta and much more veggies. Pasta made a triumphant return in my life, and (if I always make it this veggie laden) I foresee it becoming a repeat offender.

Even though I was, for the most part, full, I wanted to chase it down with a tiny sweet treat….

Pillsbury Sweet Moments Brownie Bites in Cocoa Caramel Obsession

There were 12 of these tiny nibblets in a package, and I limited Ry and myself to 2 each (so we could feasibly repeat this 2 more nights!)

I’m gonna shoot you straight, as tiny as they were, they tasted like tiny gooey bites of sweet, delicious sin. I could EASILY have wolfed all 12 of them down, but the 2 that I enjoyed were a perfect 120 calorie way to end my night on a sweet note.

I forgot to take a shot of their size, but luckily someone else did that for me (see Finding Inspiration in Food’s review for a finger comparison!)  I love caramel mixed with chocolate, and anything that combines them in an itty bitty bite is even more enjoyable.  I found these at Harris Teeter for $2.50 and had a $1/off coupon so it was a bargain.  You can get your own coupon at the Pillsbury site (just make sure you have a printer ready!)

All in all, this has been a top notch Monday, as far as Mondays go…. and in due time (3.5-ish days…. but who’s counting?) I’ll be on a plane headed North!

Do you like pasta?  If so, how do you like it (shape, sauce, cooking style, veggies or meat)?

What’s your favorite weeknight “dessert” that doesn’t kill the calorie intake but satisfies your sweet tooth?