food, fun, fat, flirt, feng shui

Yo! Long time no talk. Happy belated ❤ Day. A long time friend/sixth grade boyfriend/first kiss flew in from Colorado for the week so he and I went to dinner last night. We hadn’t seen one another for 18 years so it was fun catching up. We went to my all time favorite place, The Beehive.  I ordered old faithful, the Mezze Platter. No surprise there. I should own stock in that damn restaurant and dish.

I took today off from work and saw Big Miracle, matinée style. (Stolen pic below.)

I want a whale.

Make fun if you must but the blue hairs (old ladies) and I had a great time.  Such a beautiful story, good for any age.  Prior to the movies, a fabulous breakfast was had at Sorella’s in Jamaica plain. This place is a hidden gem: tasty, unique, and reasonably priced. The menu is very long and overwhelming however.

6 page menu, front and back.

I’m going through a no-meat and dairy phase so today was all about the tofu scram.

Holy crap!

Tofu, avocado, black beans, spinach, pesto, mushrooms, arugula, sprouts, and more. Goat cheese was omitted. Hash browns and toast on the side. Wipe the drool off the keyboard people. It was definitely as good as it looks.

Some other updates

1. I’m still fat and can’t fit into my pants. Ask my clients, they’ll tell you. 🙂 The good news is that a few colleagues and I started a three-month Biggest Loser Challenge. So far it’s motivated me a teeny tiny bit. I’ve been in a serious life rut the past month or so and my exercise habits have suffered. I think I’m going to take a break from running and put energy into other things like yoga, swimming, and sex. I kid.

2. Online dating has come to a screeching halt. I never went on second dates with the two guys I last blogged about. We made plans but then one of us would cancel so the spark quickly dwindled.  I’m gonna hop back on the horse (no pun intended) next week. I need to find myself a baby daddy one way or another. Anyone know of a reputable sperm bank? My roommate and I may or may not have looked into that last week. Oh, brother.  🙂 I just started writing for Examiner.com  as the Boston Online Dating Examiner so I need to get some good material. With that said, if anyone has any funny online dating stories to share, please comment below.

Check out my new bed spread courtesy of Urban Outfitters!

Thanks Dad and Rob for the gift card

Double sided

What guy wouldn’t want to crawl under beautiful creation…

Enough already

You know it’s time to stop blogging about relationships when your inbox is filled with concerned emails from close friends and family. I’m fine everyone, I promise!! I’m great, actually.

Let’s talk about something near and dear to our hearts: FOOD!

I’ve accepted and moved on from the fact that I don’t fit into any of my clothes. It’s been fun boozing face and eating whatever the hell I want but it’s time to reign it in a bit. Plans/diets don’t typically work out for me but I have come up with a plan of sorts to get the scale moving downward.

Healthy eating starts at home (not to say the nearest Dunkin Donuts won’t call my name. God love me a jelly stick.) so I stocked up at Trader Joe’s.

Tofu, veggie meatballs, tempeh, soup, bars, peanut butter (back away from the pumpkin butter mother f-er), bananas, bunch of vegetables, oatmeal, sauce, and soy creamer. I’ve been big into the kale lately. Chomp chomp.

I joined a 10 pound challenge  at my gym. There doesn’t seem to be a prize (what’s a challenge without a prize?!?) so I’ll probably last about 2 days.

My roommate and I are signing up for a 20 mile race for some added motivation. It’s only 8 weeks away so we need to get our butts in gear asap. The thought of running 20 miles makes me gag but desperate times call for desperate measures. We’ve all been there.

I also plan to have lots and lots of sex as a form of exercise. Just kidding, I’m nearly a virgin at this point. (Again, we’ve all been there. Right? RIGHT?)

I’ll start weighing in again on the blog this weekend to keep me accountable. Don’t judge.

So there you have it my loves. 

 

Time to bust out the ear muffs

Hi Everyone.  How happy are you that it’s Friday?? Sorry to all those suckers out there who work weekends. 😉 Sucks to be you.

I forced myself out of Ali’s warm house this morning for a freezing cold run. Don’t I look psyched?  (If I smiled you’d find peppercorn in my teeth from my breakfast burrito). Don’t mind the unwashed face, unbrushed hair and lack of makeup. Though I never understood people who wear makeup to workout.

My intention was to run 6-8 miles but I could only stand 3. My fingers were like popsicles by the end of it and my vagina was numb. I ran along the Burlington Bike Path which runs along Lake Champlain. So beautiful.

Swings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t let the sun fool you.

 

 

 

After the run, I hit up Church Street, which is basically the “city center” of Burlington. It’s so quaint and romantic.  Church Street is very nostalgic for me.

 

My friend and I attempted to go for a nature walk but we are pussies underdressed and only lasted 500 feet.  Instead I snapped some photos and drove home. Good times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I’m sitting on my ass eating trail mix. Balance, people.

 

will run for PB&J.

I woke at 4:45 this morning for an 8 mile run. My running partner and I haven’t been running as much due to the weather and the change in my schedule. We decided to sign up for a 20 mile race in March for extra motivation. Lennster hooked me up with kick-ass running gear for Christmas which has made  training in the cold much easier.  I definitely recommend these products if anyone has any questions about them.

Having a workout partner is key to my  success. I’d be lost without her and not just because she hooked me up with a jar of homemade clementine jam last week.  I typically find clementines annoying to eat and not that great. But as a jam? Yes please! I got a little crazy with it and now it’s gone.

Okay so the presentation doesn’t do the dish justice. What you see here is roasted butternut squash sliced and topped with peanut butter and jam. Holy hell people. Get on this.

Let’s just say that there were countless, countless peanut butter and clementine jam sammies.

 

An oldie but goodie.

 

For those of you who don’t eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you are missing out.

Even Eleanor LOVES her crack peanut butter. She turns into an evil gremlin without her daily fix.

Settle down there rat.

 

All better.

Not gonna lie..

The new Weight Watcher program has me really intrigued and I’m being very careful not to get sucked in. I may fall victim. I say “victim” because I’m one who pays the money and then never follows through with the program. I think WW is a wonderful program for those who actually stick with it.

So…. I started my new job on Monday. So far so good. The worst part about being the “new girl” is having to be dependent on others to figure things out. By tomorrow I should be good to go and independent again. The cool part about my schedule is that the hours are staggered. Today I work from 1-9:30 so I was able to sleep in late, go to the gym later than usual and play with the little rat. Not so bad. I also have 2 days per week that I work from 7-3:30, allowing me to scurry to my other job (as an outpatient therapist) and see my clients. The outfit thing has been okay this week though I am only working with one black pair of pants. In time my wardrobe shall grow. For now, the bottom half of me might smell. No big deal.

I can tell the rat misses me.

See, I’ve been spoiled over the last 2 years in graduate school and for several months post graduation. I’m eager to see how my fitness regime might suffer with my new 46 + hour week. I guess it just means even earlier morning (earlier than my standard 5:45 wake up call) and late nights.  I’ve always struggled with hitting the gym in the evenings but this will have to be a reality for me now. How do you motivate to hit the gym at night when there’s so many excuses not to?

Fall rocks

Saturday we spent the day outside enjoying Fall activities with Len’s cousin and her boyfriend. Three years ago we started an apple picking tradition so the four of us go together each year. The first year we hit up Brooksby farm.

 

First annual apple picking

 

 

Cousin Julie and bf Sharky

 

The second year we went to a totally bogus farm where there was minimal apples and an annoying corn maze. (Some people like that stuff, I don’t have the patience.) I can’t seem to find pics from that year so just let’s just skip 2009.

2010 brought us back to old faithful– Brooksby Farm

This year we had a little addition to the party who happened to LOVE chasing apples.

 

Say hello to Kenzy-- Jules and Sharkys puppy.

 

Before jumping on the hay ride, a random girl asked if we wanted their homemade apple picker. It looked a little ghetto and I was reluctant but now I cannot imagine picking without it.

That contraption helped us reach even the highest apples in the tree. If you want one for yourself all you need is a broom stick and an empty milk carton. Simple as that.

Len thought it would be funny to peg apples at me.

And find apples that resemble human parts.

Can you guess what that might be?

Jules and Sharky had fun watching their little one run around and make friends.

They spoil her just as much as we do Eleanor.

If you are in the Boston area, Brooksby farm is a great place to take the kids, friends or partner. They have animals, pumpkins, food, hayrides and a huge variety of apples.

banter about eating/weight

God love me a rest day. It feels so good to wake up with no intention of strapping on my sneaks. I am definitely one of those people who feels guilty when I don’t work out but having two races in one weekend is sure to alleviate those feelings.

For any new readers, I have a blog weigh-in every Saturday morning. There are some weekends when I don’t weight in because I’m scared to see what it says–like last weekend after nights of eating and drinking. However, I’ve been mostly loyal to them. I must say that I’ve been working out a lot and feeling really strong (not buff strong since I don’t strength train but stronger overall) but I’m not seeing movement in the scale. “Well Lindsay, you’re gaining muscle.” Well we can justify it however we want but the truth is, I’m not changing my eating habits. I binge. It seems that my body plateaus at 145 with consistent workouts only. This doesn’t work for me because I know I’m not feeding my body what it needs. As much as I’d like to believe that Boston Cream Pie (totally overrated) and donuts were proper nourishment, they aren’t.

My new habit of really late night-time eating isn’t helping either. Put it this way, Len and I eat dessert (or a snack of some sort) from under the covers in our bed right before going to sleep. Is this necessary? Last night it was a piece of bread with PB&J. Really Linds? Get a grip.

The problem is, I do not want to diet. That mentality is what has provoked the bingeing in the first place. Somehow I need to get my eating controlled without restriction so I can be my healthiest self. At the end of the day I want to eat intuitively but the process is long and I give up on myself quickly. How do you eat like a “normal” person?

Well friends, I’m off for a day of apple picking. Three cheers to Fall (and apple pie)!

 

I hear a gun shot outside my window last night and had to call the cops and answer questions when they came. No big deal.

meet the fockers

Does anyone else think that kale chips make your sink smell? I made them the other night successfully (meaning I didn’t burn them to ashes like last time) and the remains that got washed away must have sat in my pipe or something. Old, soggy kale chips are not the scent we wish for. Anyways, check out what I found…

Kale Krisps

For seven dollars a bag, you can own already made and flavored kale chips. They offered several flavors including maple coconut and cheddar. There was no way in hell I was paying 7 bucks for these suckers but I was curious about the taste. Instead I opted for a two dollar caramel nut covered apple. And yes, I slammed that baby right in the store.

They also offered a chocolate fudge flavored apple with sprinkles. Oh my.

Anyways, I took a cardio kickboxing class this morning and had the strangest instructor teaching us upper cuts and jabs. There were only 3 of us in the class so that made things awkward in and of itself. Mike, the teacher,  reminded me of a British version of Ben Stiller, only he wasn’t funny in a cool kind of way. He was also staring at my boobs. They were pinned down to my chest by an Enell bra yet he still found them to be a nice focal point. You can take the gym class instructor out of the perv but you can’t take the perv out of the gym class instructor.

I haven’t been around much this week on my blog but I assure you it’s been a slow week. A few exciting things.

1. I finally got my period. Ever since I turned into a psychopath and went off the pill in October, aunt flow comes around every 6 or 7 weeks. What’s that about anyway? Some people would love that schedule but not this one. See, I still expect my period every four weeks so around week three, PMS kicks in. Well, at least that’s what I tell myself. This means bloating, bitchiness, crying over everything, chocolate cravings–you know how it goes. Then those symptoms drag on. And on. And on. For weeks. How I have friends still I’ll never know.

2. After almost a year of not dieting, I joined Weight Watchers. You should know that in the past I’ve joined WW about 2, 672 times. This is not an exaggeration. So why would I set myself up to fail again? Well, I’m taking a different approach this time. In the past I would stop  counting if I had a binge. Not this time folks. I will plug every last bite of carrot cake, fajita, and candy that touches my lips. (That may or may not have been my dinner menu last night.)

I also wanted a way to monitor my calories and exercise. In the last few months, I’ve increased my workouts dramatically yet I haven’t lost any weight. Yeah, yeah, I’ve gained some muscle but still, I want weight loss. It’s no surprise why the weight’s not melting off, I overindulge everyday, several times. I need to get a grip and am hoping weight watchers will help me reign it in a little. If Jhud can do it……

With that said, I totally forgot about my Saturday morning weigh-in because I was too focused on my new WW weigh-in days. Sorry about that. Just assume there was a gain. Trust me. Speaking of packing on the pounds, is it me or does it appear that Miss. Eleanor is filling out too?

That's so not cool, mom.

Our weight gains may be contributed to all the dog treats I’ve been baking up. Yep, I eat them too. With butter.  Sure do.

3. I’ve been reading a wonderful and informative book called An Unquiet Mind. It’s about a Psychiatrist with a history of Manic Depressive Disorder, also known as Bipolar Disorder. It’s well written and so interesting. I would definitely recommend it to one of my clients or anyone who struggles with this mental illness.

Yes, that’s some kind of stain on the bottom corner. This is what happens when you’re a slob.

I blame mania for my impulsive decision to look into being a foster-mother on Saturday morning. It seems like a fairly easy application process and I think I’d be a wonderful foster mommy to one of the many kids who need love.  When I sent Len a text at 7:30 in the morning (he’s away again) saying, “We’re applying to be foster parents! Hope that’s okay”, he chalked it up to my everyday ridiculousness and responded with “dog fostering?”. Yes, babe, dog fostering.  Maybe next year. I’m coming for you kiddies!

Enjoy this beautiful Sunday!

workout guilt and my new girl crush

Everyday I  mark down my workout on the calendar. It allows me to see the micro and macro picture of my training. This morning I woke dreading my workout. This is 3/4 laziness and 1/4 heat factor. Today is a day when swimming, biking, running, body pump and strip dancing have absolutely no appeal. Well, strip dancing is up in the air. Anyway, looking back at my calendar, it tells me that this week I’ve done 2 long bike rides, two runs, and two days of swimming. I should be able to take today off without feeling workout guilt. Here’s the problem– I did a pretty bad job of eating well this weekend. Between the beers, late night desserts (somehow the scone and chocolate croissant made their way into our bed last night), and  mexican food (my attempt at fighting off the restaurants chips and salsa was a complete bust) I’m feeling less than stellar. The logical part of me knows that even a 3 mile walk will make me feel much better. Still, I’m not interested. I need to give myself permission to take the day off guilt free and I don’t know how to do this. Help a sister out. If Ellie could talk I would totally take tips from her since she seems to know the secret.

Confession–I have a new obsession and her name is Christina Perri. Besides the face that she’s absolutely adorable/hot, her voice is out of this world. If you haven’t heard her latest ballad, Jar of Hearts, get on it asap. Over the last three days I’ve listened to the song at least 200 times. She might have some competition on her hands. Just sayin’.  I also may have stalked her many youtube videos for an embarrassing amount of time yesterday. Have a listen and before you know it you’ll be  flailing your arms and legs around in an interpretive dance. Promise.