who needs sleep?

Not me apparently. That's a lie, I need it but I didn't get it last night, any at all. I only got home again from the city at 8 in the morning. I had a fun, never-ending, post-birthday celebration with my favorite people! I'll provide more details later but I'm thinking I should go lie down for a bit so here are some pictures finally! I'll have the previous pics up asap! My surprise guests and I (middle) for my Thursday night birthday treat! Friday's breakfast, all made by me but guess which one is mine??? ;) Lunch at City Limits, Middle Eastern Sampler. Amazing dinner at Spring Street Natural with my best friends. Mixed Greens & Garden Vegetables followed by the Organic Rice and Vegetable Dinner (organic brown rice with tahini sauce, organic seasonal vegetables, organic black beans and hijiki seaweed) And last, but certainly not least, the 1:40am SATC movie! Gooood night!

lucky duck

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I had an especially happy (birth)day because of the great mood I was in... but that's not even the half of it! I rushed home after work to have my Japanese dinner with my family before my sister had her dance rehearsal. My mom called me as I was going up the street to make sure I was on my way. I was about 30 seconds from my door when she called but I expected her to call since they've held me late at work all night and she would check in to make sure I didn't get guilted into it again. Anyway I let her know I'm almost there, get out of my car, and walk up to my front door that she's standing at. This is where it got odd. Why would she be waiting at the door for me? Hm, I thought perhaps my grandparents were coming for dinner and they wanted to surprise me. I walked in and asked if the food was here yet. No, not yet, she replied, still watching me. What was up?! I had no clue but I figured I'd investigate more once I changed out of my clothes and put my stuff upstairs. I ran up the stairs and was talking to her as I opened my door, then I turned into my room and... OH MY GOD! On my bed sat my two very best friends from school with cameras in hand documenting my surprise. One is originally from Syracuse (5 hour train ride) while the other is from Boston (6 hour train ride) and they both were/are/are going ti be here! Turns out they had planned on coming, everyone knew (my family, other friends, even the boy) about it but me! They are going to be here the entire weekend! Now if you don't quite understand the magnatude of this surprise let me provide some perspective: I was bawling when we said goodbye this year because with all of my traveling in the next year I would most likely not see them for 15 entire months and even counting my friends from home these 2 girls are at the top of my list. They are obviously amazing friends, they're in my sorority, they lived up the street from me all year at school, and they knew how much I adore surprises. I wasn't exactly feeling sorry for myself yesterday but it crossed my mind once or twice how sad it was that I was spending my special day working and then I wouldn't even be able to do anything of real significance because my friends from home and family were busy. Was I kidding me? I was thankful yesterday but wow, this was one of the best birthdays ever, and although it technically is, it's not over yet! Anyway! I haven't gotten my laptop yet but I'm running in to Apple this morning to check on it, I just wanted to share that with you. Nothing like that has ever happend to me before, if anything I'm usually the one planning things like that, like when I surprised my French friend two winters ago at Christmas time. Now onto my eats :) the part I'm sure you really care about. Breakfast: Peanut Butter Banana Flax Oatmeal, Lunch: Roasted Vegetables in a Whole-Wheat wrap from Jean Jacques, latte, blueberries, Dinner: Miso Soup, Steamed Vegetables, Salmon Roll, Birthday treat: Chocolate ice-cream with peanut butter, fudge, 1/2 usual amount of cookie dough and 1/2 usual amout of brownie in a waffle bowl from Cold Stone. I'm glad I ate pretty light and healthy throughout the day because my dessert was beyond a splurge. I don't think I could have chosen a more nutritionally void dessert, but hey, it was my birthday, right? That only comes once a year and I got in a ton of nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits. Now I'm off to wake up my friends, have breakfast, do a few morning errands and then go into the city to continue the birthday festivities. I really cannot get over how lucky I am. I'm not sure what I did to deserve it but I sure am appreciative of whoever is looking out for me. I wish everyone as incredible a Friday and weekend as I'm sure I will have! :D

it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood...

I woke up to Mr. Roger's tunes in my head, haha, and because of it kicked off my day in an unbelievably good, almost annoyingly good, good mood! Happy 20th Birthday to me! I can hardly wrap my head around the fact that I've been alive for two entire decades. I'm so thankful for how lucky I've been in the past 20 years, years spent with so many wonderful people and so many incredible memories, and for my exciting future, I even have even more opportunities for fun and happiness to come. Wow :). Anyway, here's a recap of yesterday, hopefully my laptop will be ready tonight so I can put my pictures up... Started off with another bowl of PB Banana Flax Oatmeal with a mug of Cafe au Lait (exhausting day!), had another delish Hummus Veggie Sammie (even better than the one yesterday) with hummus, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions with a bag of Cherries and Grapes for dessert, an Apple Pie Larabar was my pre-workout snack that I ate around 5, I ended up staying late to help out but fit in a 20-minute strength routine, Then I had a dinner of a mediocre Salad and 1.5 slices of Spinach Pizza, a bowl of Blueberries & a triangle of Dark Chocolate finished off my long day on a high note, and finally I stayed up late hanging out with my best friend and baking Carrot Pineapple Sunshine Muffins from Veganomicon! Succesful Wednesday in my book :). I haven't tried the muffins yet but I'm saving one for dessert tonight and I can't wait. My "special day" will consist of a shorter day of work, Sushi dinner at home with the family, my muffin, and hopefully some plans at the day's end! And tomorrow the celebration continues with more good times and friends! I'm spending the day in the city for the day, having my belated birthday dinner at Spring Streets Natural- http://www.springstreetnatural.com/, and finally seeing the much anticipated Sex & the City Movie. Until then... hope everyone has an amazing an May 29th to everyone (it's one of the best days of the year ;)!

lindsay's a genius

I ate a pretty early lunch today, a Simple Pasta dish of organic pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, onions, squash, eggplant, and roasted red pepper in a Garlic & Oil sauce. I filled my bowl to the brim but afterwards I was still hungry so I made a Chopped Greens salad and ate an apple. Yummy and satisfying :). By this time I had already finished cleaning my room... what to do, what to do... bake? Of course! I stopped by Lindsay's secret tester recipe site and looked for one that needed ingredients I already had. Well, I didn't have to look far! Happy Herbivore's Chocolate Banana bread jumped right out at me and sounded delectable. I headed right to it and about 3 hours later took this out of the oven. Jealous? You should have smelled the house, incredible! After cooling I cut myself a tiny slice and added a smear of peanut butter. It was an explosion of creamy banana sweetness in my mouth met by a hint of chocolate deliciousness! We'll see how long this lasts :). Right now I'm working on my application to write for Glimpse, "a new National Geographic platform -- in print and online -- about real life abroad. It features stories by young Americans that delve beneath the surface of global cultures and day-to-day living overseas. By providing a mainstream audience, Glimpse empowers talented young storytellers to help others see the world in a new way." Wish me luck!

time & a half

Lucky me... not. It was such a beautiful day today and I was stuck in the pharmacy 9-6 :( plus I was so exhausted from my incredible yesterday. The latter would explain my complaining, I apologize. I've had an odd appetite today, probably due to my lack of a good night's sleep. The boy ended up sleeping over (in my brother's room, comon, haha). Continuing his awesome impression on my family, he stayed to help us clean up and we finally finished around 2 a.m., at which point my mom convinced him to stay since she didn't want him driving alone the long hour ride home in complete darkness. My mom has good ideas :).

Anyway, as a result, I woke up early to make him (and the rest of my family) a special breakfast, Blueberry Belgian Waffles! It was a nice change and they turned out quite well if I do say so myself! I ended up topping mine with peanut butter, banana, flax, and two spoonfuls of yogurt. I had a large mug of Green Tea too. Everything was super filling and I only ended up eating one large waffle. I rushed out the door but ended up arriving at work early so I ran next door and got a small iced latte to keep me moving. I hate relying on caffeine... and admitting how necessary it was.Five and a half hours later (1:30 pm) I had lunch, an Amy's Southwest Burrito, Baby Carrots, and an Apple. It was odd because I wasn't starving when I started and then I wasn't full at my break's end. A few hours later I bought a box of Kashi TLC Original Crackers and had nearly 2 servings (28) throughout the end of my shift. I don't know why I felt like snacking but I just decided to go with it. I seemed to have eaten too much though because when I got home all I felt like eating was a salad. I guess there's nothing wrong with that is there? Haha, I had tomato, cucumber and mixed greens with some Sesame Ginger dressing. Yum! Now I'm ready for bed. It's 7 pm. I hope I last a little longer than that ;) and I hope that everyone else got out & truly enjoyed their Memorial Day, I'll live vicariously through you!

a picture is worth a thousand words

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day! Mine was extra special because, as is tradition, the guests at my family's bbq sang "Happy Birthday" to me as we served dessert. I usually spend my actual day with my own friends so it's so nice to have the chance to be surrounded by family for my "almost" birthday. It was a long day of good food, family, and sunshine! Here's a recap of my eats for the day: 

bowl of cereal with banana & flax, 

apple to hold me over until the guests arrived, 

veggie platter... I was hungry and ate the a lot of all the vegetable sans the gross Ranch dressing dip, 

organic blue corn tortilla chips with homemade guacamole, I also had some homemade salsa with 2 more chips, no picture though, 

4 tiny shrimp without cocktail sauce, 

nearly 1 entire plate of my aunt's salad (the dressing she makes is fabulous, it's my favorite), 

small portion of triple bean salad, 

3 oz grilled salmon fillet & small portion of pecan couscous, 

yogurt parfait, 

slice of homemade cake (it looks just like the one Becca made, lol),

and finally a cookie from yesterday. I ended up going back for a second :) they were scrumptious and no leftovers!

pleasantville

This adorable little town is home to my favorite "French" cafe, Jean Jacques. I've visited France twice because I hosted a French exchange student in high school and have needed to visit one of my very best friends since then, and this is not exactly like the ones there at all, but I love the ambiance and the food is delicious. Anyway, I had been planning on going there during my lunch break all week and today seemed like the perfect day. It's not a great picture but doesn't everything look completely picturesque outside those windows... My rushing day began with a PBJ sammie. I added flax too for extra staying power, it was a nice addition Em :). Unfortunately it only lasted me another four hours and I couldn't eat lunch for another 6 hours. Needless to say, I was starving! I drove as fast as I could to Jean Jacques and was elated that there wasn't a line. I ordered one of the special's of the day, the Egyptian Wrap: hummus, tsatziki, lettuce, tomato, onions, and sprouts in a spinach wrap! Wow! I'm still disappointed that I scarfed it down so fast, this was definitely one of those lunches that deserved to be savored. On the ride back to work I ate an apple to end a perfectly pleasant meal ;). I ended staying an hour late at work since the pharmacy was so busy and then ran to the dentist for a checkup. Good news is my dentist was impressed with how well I've been taking care of my teeth. Bad news is I'm going to need to get my wisdom teeth pulled soon. No fun :(Once again, when the time came to eat I was more than ready. I made a salad and pasta dish: linguine, diced tomatoes, broccoli & cauliflower, olive oil, basil and garlic. And now I'm about to finish my crazy day with a fun night out. The boy's coming down to visit again. Oh, and I have an equally as fun day off to look forward to tomorrow, get excited! Thanks for the suggestions earlier, hope everyone has a good night!

teen more days

I'm excited for my birthday, as I always am, but this year I'm actually nervous too. And I don't know what about! My friends have been laughing at me because "I feel like responsibility is going to fall from the sky right into my lap once I'm in my 20's and I will have no idea what do with it." Haha, don't worry, I don't actually expect that to happen, but it does scare me that I may make mistakes and not have the excuse of being a teenager for them. Granted everyone makes mistakes, age is irrelevant, and I'm obviously over-thinking it :). To start off my day I ate a big bowl of Nature's Path Flax Plus Cereal with an additional tablespoon of flax and a banana. I ate it because I enjoy the flavor (whole wheat, oat bran, barley, flax, etc) and I love that there are 7 grams of fiber but I'm not quite sure if my body can actually absorb the full 500 mg of Omega-3s that they promise. Anyone know? Anyway as much as I enjoyed it, it was not what I had intended on eating. I expected to make some of my favorite Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal but my room was just too hot this morning for me to imagine an equally as hot breakfast! I just want to make sure I got enough fuel to hold me until lunch since I would prefer not to get into the habit of a morning snack like I had yesterday. It's not that I wasn't hungry when I ate it because I certainly was (intuitive eating) but I would like to have a larger breakfast instead, just a personal preference. And after all that I'm drinking another mug of Green Tea as I type. Go figure! Hope everyone has a fabulous Tuesday, I'll be back again around 8!

a leap of faith

I've been quite busy the past 24 hours... what else is new? Of course, this is my favorite kind of bus--good times with family and friends! When I say I've been non-stop though, I really have: I woke up at my friend's apartment in the Bronx around 9, we packed up his truck (he's moving out), he dropped me off at home, I jumped in the shower, ate a quick bowl of cereal, and left with my family for the church. I spent about 5 hours with my extended family. It's been a few months since I've seen everyone so I always appreciate these happy occasions that bring everyone together again.These are 4 of 6 cousins that I've been missing so much. Aren't they adorable?! The little boy in the white tee is the one who we were celebrating :). I was so distracted by them I forgot to photograph my food. Sorry! I had some Couscous Vegetable Salad, a huge portion of Steamed Vegetables and some Penne Vodka. When I realized that I'd eaten everything without taking a picture of it my brother decided I should at least document my dessert- a cup of coffee with cream.

After sufficient family time, I continued on my way. I finally finished putting everything away in my room, packed an overnight bag, and printed out directions. Where was I headed you ask? Oh, you know, just to visit the boy :). I met his parents (so cute) and then we went on another dinner date, and a movie. We ate at this really nice restaurant right on the Hudson River, Shadows on the Hudson. Beautiful atmosphere, good food, and another incredible time. I had the Pan Seared Scallops, "Seared Dry Scallops Served with Wakimi Seaweed Salad, Basmati Rice, Fresh Vegetable Blend and a Mandarin Orange, Mirin, and Fresh Basal Reduction." It was as delish as it sounds. We actually both wanted to order this but he let me go ahead and ended up getting his second choice, Simply Grilled Salmon. What a gentleman. He fared out very well though. His fish rocked my world. We like to try each other's food, lol. Again, neither of us got dessert but we both nursed a piping hot cup of coffee. Following our yummy meal we went out to the deck to enjoy the view and each other's company before heading to the movie theatre. We ended up seeing "What happens in Vegas," a perfect date movie. He even admitted that it was the best chick flicks he'd ever seen. Haha, it really was that good, and so funny. The only downfall was the ending line. Anyone who has seen the movie probably knows what I'm talking about ;) still worth it.

Okay, so, the boy is just amazing. This may have been the last time we have the opportunity to spend time together so there was a lot to talk about. It's scary because if anything comes up in the next year, which it very possibly can, this could have been the last time I saw him. Ever. He's a year older, taking the MCATs at the end of the month, moving to Boston to work for the summer, graduating from college next June, and then going to med school. And pretty soon I'll embark on my year of traveling the world. It all really makes me wonder. Here's my logic: I'm a hopeless romantic and I figure if this is IT than I'm lucky to have spent the last few happy weeks with such a great guy. But if this really could be as good as I think it could, if something's truly meant to be, it will happen. Not wanting to say goodbye, we continued to hang out until until it was so late that I had to stay at my cousin's nearby house.

She had just come back from being out with her friends so it was great timing for us to bond before bed. I really missed spending time with her, and boy, did we have some great stories to share. During our heart-to-heart split a dark chocolate truffle. Sweet ending to a bittersweet night!This morning, I drove the hour-long ride home and ate a big bowl of the remaining Crispix and a banana. I'm planning on resting a little and reminiscing about last night a lot before I have to go to work tonight. No, it's not good bye, everyone, just see you later...

mere formalities

Good morning! The formal was a lot of fun last night, I haven't been able to dress up like that in a long time. These past two nights may have been mini-splurges but I'd say they were worth it! But I'm getting ahead of myself, before we could sit down there was a nice happy hour. It was great time to meet his friends and enjoy a glass of white wine. And for accountability, I also had another with dinner.

I don't drink often or excessively when I do, but others took full advantage of the open bar and were already tipsy ;) btw, I'm on the left.

There were also a great deal hors d'oeuvres. I was actually quite hungry since I irresponsibly forgot to have a snack so I really packed our plate full. I ate all the water crackers (4) with about an ounce of brie (my favorite cheese) and as much veggies, if not more, than you see on the plate. There were raw zucchini, cucumbers, and carrots. Oh and above the plate is my friend's drink, Jack & Coke.

After a good deal of mingling and dancing we sat down for our first course: a Spring Fresh Salad with dried fruit and candied walnuts and a Mushroom Soup Souffle. I ate all of the salad (it was much tinier than it looks) and 3 spoonfuls of soup. It was good but not great, so I decided to save my appetite for what was to come.

I was happy I did! Next was a scrumptious but huge bowl of Penne Marinara. However, to continue my pacing habit I only ate as much as you see in the picture, a little less than half. I also ate the bread that they provided each person with. Oh my gosh, so good!

Finally, we got to the main course. Mine was a Vegetable Risotto. I obviously wasn't too hungry by then. Nevertheless, I ate the roasted vegetables on the side because I couldn't resist and tried the risotto even if I've had better. This is my after picture :).

About an hour and a half later, once the food had settled and we danced some more, they served dessert. It was a cute little sampling of 3 yummy items: Chocolate Mousse, Fudge Truffle with Caramel & Almonds, and Creme Brulee. I ate the majority of the truffle, a third of the mousse and only small bite of the creme brulee. As you can tell, I have quite the chocolate fixation! :) Like I've said before, it was a good time and I'm glad that he invited me. I have another busy day today with my cousin's first communion but I will be back later to show you some more pictures. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend as much as I am!

happy endings

Yesterday was such an incredibly good day! The date went so well and the food was absolutely fabulous! I didn't take any pictures (he knows I read food blogs but I didn't want to scare him away with photographing my own) but I will do my best to describe everything. The restaurant wasn't too crowded so we sat down without a reservation almost immediately. To start they served homemade corn chips and the house salsa. Corn chips are never the healthiest but I had to have a few since I knew they were fresh and they didn't disappoint. I probably had about 6 small chips throughout the night. I had heard about their famous Guacamole from all the reviews I read so we ordered that as the appetizer. So yummy! I'm a pretty hard critic, especially with Mexican food because my dad is from Mexico and as a result I know authentic Mexican really well... this was probably the best guacamole I've ever had at a restaurant. I tried it with one of the corn chips of the night and then saved it to eat with my meal. The boy, however, continued to devour it by the spoonful. I was so glad that he was enjoying it. For our entrees I ordered the Tacos de Pescado with the Daily Vegetable on the side. My taco dish was on the smaller side. There were 4 homemade flour tortillas, red snapper in a spicy marinade, and radishes and cilantro. I ended up eating 2 tortillas which I stuffed with the fish, cilantro, guacamole, beans, and a bit of salsa. Oh my gosh, it was to die for! The side of vegetables was a large plate of zucchini, asparagus, and mushrooms. I felt so good knowing they were market fresh and organic and they tasted like perfection. They were in another type of sauce that had a little kick, to tell you the truth I don't know how to describe it other than delicious. I finished all my veggies. I also had a pretty generous piece of the boy's Sunset Enchiladas in the Mole Sauce. Another good choice! It was definitely spicy but I have a high tolerance so it fit the bill for me. The boy was chugging water by the end :). One of our dishes came with a side of Mexican Rice and Vegetarian Beans. It sounds like a whole lot and when they served it our table was so jam packed with food but it ended up almost being the perfect amount! When it came time for dessert we were both feeling adequately full and satisfied so we decided that any type of sweet ending might do us in. He had the guacamole wrapped up and we just sat for another hour talking. I haven't been on many first dates, but this will probably be one of the best, ever. He is so incredibly sweet and makes me feel so good about myself... it's just amazing. He admitted to liking me a lot, more than he thought was possible, and that he was really sad I'm going to be away for so long. I'm going to miss him, for sure.

Here was my morning snack from yesterday, a Grande Nonfat Latte, and my lunch a Garden Salad from the pizzeria next door to CVS. I also had an unphotographed Kashi TLC Trail Mix Granola Bar later in the afternoon to keep me fueled as I was running around the pharmacy and a small apple as I was getting ready for dinner. I was starving after work but didn't want to unattractively scarf down food :).

This morning's breakfast! or shall I say lunch? The usual, PB Banana Oats, I slept in quite late this morning since it's my first day off since coming home. Tonight I am going with one of my best guy friend's to his senior formal (he's graduating college). I'm not sure if I'll eat much before then, maybe snack on a few veggies since I don't know what they'll be serving at the dinner. Let's hope I can make smart choices and pace myself like I did last night! Enjoy your Friday everyone! 

ready? okay!

Anyone else reminded of cheerleading when they hear that? Haha, yes I know, but it is also "super" appropriate for this marathon post. Let's see, it's been 10 meals since I last checked in. Wow. Alright, let's back-track! 3... 2... 1...

After packing the car, I brought my dad to my favorite little cafe, A la mode. They sell the best sandwiches, soups, and, of course, ice cream! I chose the Veggie Delight Wrap: a spinach tortilla stuffed with hummus, lettuce, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and pure deliciousness ;). I also packed an apple and Dunkin' Donuts Iced Skim Latte for the car but it was another few hours before I even craved a snack. I just love satisfying lunches!

Fast forward about 5 hours and I finally got home. I pulled in a few minutes before my dad and raced inside to warm up the dinner my mom had made. Having been driving for so long I really worked up an appetite! She had made Raviolis (gold star for being vegetarian-friendly Mommy!) with a garlic tomato sauce.

While I quickly warmed that ^ up I turned to the fridge in search of veggies to round out the meal. Unfortunately produce was scarce but I managed to find a lone tomato and bag of baby carrots which I turned into my makeshift salad.

It may not have been the most creative meal but it hit the spot and within no time I was on the run again to watch my sister perform in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the middle school (she played Violet's mother).

The next morning I woke up bright and early with a growling stomach! I love waking up hungry because breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. I had a lot to do though so only had time to have Multigrain Cheerios with banana and flax. Oh well, it still was yummy! Could you tell from my empty bowl?

Mid-morning I took a break from unpacking and took my 2 dogs for a 45 minute walk. It was really nice to get some fresh air and bond with my puppies (I miss them when I'm at school!). When I got back I was feeling a bit hungry again so I ate an apple and a handful of almonds.

When lunch rolled around I had to throw something together quick before Mother's Day shopping & food shopping with my little brother. So, I made a classic of mine, Toasted PBJ. Yummy!

Alongside it I steamed broccoli and added a mix of different spices I found. I should do this more often because not only is broccoli on of my favorite vegetables but it was also a lot more decadent-tasting than expected.

Once I got back I wasn't all that hungry but had to eat because I was going to be running around for the next six hours serving other people food. Still, it was my first night back at the restaurant and I was home from the stores later than expected. I needed to make another quick meal, this time, even quicker. While I was figuring out what to eat I enjoyed a perfectly fresh, gorgeous, red pepper.

I ended up finding an Amy's Black Bean Burrito in my freezer. I love Amy's meals! They are not always the most photogenic but I find they definitely make up for it in taste.

I found Larabars on sale at Mrs. Green's when I had gone grocery shopping earlier in the day. One of the best food finds ever let me tell you! I never tried them before but was eager to after reading everyone's rave reviews. I brought the Cinnamon Roll flavor with me to work. Here's what it looked like after being ever so slowly enjoyed in tiny moments of bliss throughout the night :).

We're almost there! Happy belated Mother's Day! Unfortunately, as a waitress, that meant a lot of hard work. Beforehand though I made sure to eat a warm breakfast with my Mom, another bowl of scrumptious Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal. Then, us kids gave our wonderful lady her gifts. I ended up buying her a webcam for the home computer. She is devastated that she won't be seeing me for so long when I'm abroad and I know we won't be able to talk as often so it seemed like the perfect gift and sure enough she loved it!

After seeing our list of reservations the night before I was convinced that I wouldn't have a chance to eat lunch at the restaurant so I made sure to pack a bunch of snacks: baby carrots, an apple, and mixed nuts. It was great to have these quick foods because I couldn't sit down from 11 am - 6:30 pm but I should've packed more, by the time 4 rolled around I was already feeling shaky.

I finished up at work around 9:30. Long day, right?! I ended up eating about a cup of Ziti Marinara, large Mixed Green House Salad, and a slice of Broccoli Pizza but didn't have a chance for photographs since it was in between waitressing tables. I shouldn't be complaining though. Financially working Mother's Day was worth it and I did make it home in time to watch TV with my Mommy for a bit. Deep in my exhaustion, I began craving something sweet and refreshing so I split blueberries with my mom (they're her favorite fruit) amongst two bowls.

Today I worked all day again! Just kidding, not quite. I was at my CVS job from 9-4. Doesn't mean that I didn't needed another bowl of oats and big mug of green tea to get me going though!

I had to leave earlier than yesterday so by the time lunch rolled around I was starving and empty-handed. I went next door and bought a 6-grain Bagel with Vegetable Tofu Spread and a Mixed Greens Salad. Oh my gosh was I full after that! It was a nice treat but I usually prefer to pack my lunch as it's more economical and I'm more in control of how what exactly I am nourishing my body with.

Tonight I surely feel as though I've crashed. I have been working seemingly non-stop since I passed the county line! Thankfully my mom came to my rescue and prepared a comforting dinner. She made chicken cutlets for the rest of the family but whipped up my most favorite soup ever, and she definitely makes it best! I had a bowl of Mom's Homemade Lentil Soup, with Roasted Asparagus, and Baked Sweet Potato on the side. Mmmm... good!

Phew! We made it! The past 3 days have been absolutely insane but I think I did pretty well making sure I was eating a healthful and balanced diet. I swear that my life is not usually this crazy. I'm sure that I'll be able to make some delicious vegetarian family-friendly meals before I leave and either way I'll try my best to keep it as interesting as I can! Speaking of cooking, I want to purchase a vegan cookbook for inspiration. I know that there are a seemingly endless number of great ones out there but I really can only get one. Suggestions?! Please and thank you :). Alright well, I am beyond in need of sleep so I think I'm going to get ready for bed now. I've got another working day ahead of me! Be back soon!

mrs. greens

I left my house at 8:30 this morning and finally walked in again about 20 minutes ago (7:45 am). I'm so glad I really got to rest last night! It wasn't all work and no play though. I went to the grocery store and gym before heading back. Food shopping is definitely one of my favorite things to do... ever. Sugar Snap Peas, a Green Pepper, Carrots, Edamame, Steel-cut Oats, and tomorrow's lunch, a Mrs. Green's Salad Bar Creation, complements of moi. You know what that means, my time spent shopping for organics was simply pure enjoyment! :)

And it didn't stop there either. My grandparents just moved into a special elderly apartment complex with a new state-of-the-art gym. Well, I don't mind if I do! I figured this would be the perfect place to begin my running routine. I did a 5-minute warm up walk on the treadmill, 5-minute Rolling Hills on the elliptical, 5-minute Intervals on the stationary bike, 5-minute Rolling Hills on the elliptical, 5-minute Intervals on the stationary, and a 5-minute cool down session on the treadmill again. Definitely excited about this habit! Rewind...

A few hours into the morning the pharmacist asked me to go on a coffee run, his treat. Even though I wasn't too sleepy I didn't want to turn him down so I had a small coffee with skim milk. I also at the Kashi Trail Mix bar I packed to complete my morning snack. By the time lunch time came I was completely ravenous! My breakfast seemed a bit larger than usual but I had had it 7 hours ago so I didn't expect it to still be holding me. Thankfully I had a yummy lunch planned. A large Arugula Salad and the final left-overs of Mom's Lentil Soup, the picture doesn't do it justice. Hit the spot and got me moving full-speed ahead into 5 more hours of work!

Attack of the sweet tooth! :) 2 York Mini Peppermint Patties

I got out of work at 6 and was pretty hungry for dinner but knew I had other things planned so I ate a small package of Triscuits and an apple. And now for more recent news! I came home to my favorite "stir-fry" dish. My mom used Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes, and a secret mix of spices to create this amazing meal to which I added Parmesan cheese. She also made pasta to put underneath it but I didn't want to have another refined grain so opted for toasted Whole-Grain Bread instead. I made the loaf the other day in our bread-maker. After the combination nutritious foods and exercise I'm feeling energized and refreshed... even after such a hard Monday. There's another reminder of why I insist on practicing or attempting to practice such a healthy lifestyle :).