First of all, today I am wearing the boots and I do love them so. They've very comfortable and while I'm a little concerned that they give the appearance of elephant cankles, the benefits outweigh the risks. Oh, and since they're suede, I'm convinced I'll ruin them soon, but we may as well enjoy them now, right? They're kind of a dusty purple/rose color (hello, Stevie Nicks), and I paired them with a gray sheath dress with a high-waist belt and a little black short-sleeved, shortie cardigan, and I feel cute. Tonight I'm having drinks with a former boss (the former publisher of William Morrow cookbooks) and her other old assistant, and I feel the need to appear like I'm "doing well." You know how that goes. We're meeting here to catch up after a year of not seeing each other, and I'm sure it will be fine, but I'd rather be walking home again! Though I guess my trunks could use a break from biking or walking... and then tomorrow, which is apparently the last nice day before the rainy weekend, I can walk home again.
I've almost finished reading Snow Falling on Cedars, which I'm hesitantly enjoying. It's very transporting and very well-written, though very melancholy and I'm having some moral conflicts with some of the characters, but it's a good read. And it's very wintery--which made sense last week when I started it, but now not so much. Still, I only have a couple of chapters left, which is why I left it at home this morning and started my new book club book. (I didn't want to finish during the day and then be stuck without anything to read on my subway ride home.) Moonflower Vine was my very own pick, and granted, it may have been my third choice, but so far I'm very much enjoying it. I've only read probably 30 pages so far, but it's so evocative of a warm summer on a laid-back farm, and it makes me feel lazy and vacation-y. It also reminds me of visiting farms when I was younger in Ohio, and there's just a certain peacefulness that is really coming through in the prose. So far, so good...and I was nervous, since I picked it.
OH that reminds me, I should report back on the World's Best Meatloaf or whatever it's called. It really is amazing! Granted, it looks quite unappetizing, sort of like cat vomit (sorry), but it's tasty. Other than chicken and seasoning, there's chopped onion, celery and apple in there, and it makes it very moist and sweetly delicious, which is a nice contrast with the Dijon mustard baked on top. It even survived freezing and then microwaving to eat last night, so it's a keeper. I dipped some in ketchup, though it doesn't even need further condimenting. I'm very pleased with both of the recipes I tried this time, and want to serve them to company, or just Mex. He's a good guinea pig.
Last night my Dad's old friend, Chico, who is the color commentator for the New Jersey Devils, called me at 10 pm to offer me tickets to tonight's Devils/Rangers game in NJ. It would've been great, but I had plans that had already been rescheduled once, plus Mex was going to be watching some Big East basketball at MSG, plus I'm not great at last-minute plans when it involves a lot of maneuvering and finding a plus one, etc. So with all those odds stacked up, I politely declined this time, but he's very generous and said if we don't care about seeing the Rangers (and this season, we don't so much), we should just pick a fun weekend game and he'd have no problem finding us tickets. I think that'll be the plan now, and I'm excited! It's nice to have Dad's hookups.
Well, onto the food, and speaking of, I hope it's almost snack time:
B - Honey B's, coffee, milk - 4
L - Turkey BLTC, apple - 5ish
D - Sassy Pumpkin Soup, reduced-fat sour cream, salad with feta - 7
S - yogurt, granny bar - 3
Total - 19
Extras - wine, maybe 2 glasses - 4?
Activity - brief walking to Madison Square Park area
This week is just crawling along, so sorry for the lack of excitement here. You probably wish I were still making out with random boys, don't you?
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Begging for a Snow Day and What I Ate
It is miserable outside. There is just too much rain mixed in with our snow, and therefore my snow-loving self doesn't know what to think. I can't bring myself to open up my umbrella, since it's snow, and (being a good Midwesterner) I mock those who use umbrellas in the snow -- yet, I keep getting soaking wet. That said, our office manager at work keeps talking about how he doesn't think we'll be here much longer, and perhaps tomorrow will have to be a snow day, etc. While he has no authority over such things, he is GETTING MY HOPES UP, so all I can do is plan how much wine I want to drink with dinner and think about sleeping in. Sigh.
Last night I went to the gym, and since the upright bikes were all taken, I used one of the bikes where you pedal out in front of your body. I've read up on the comparisons between the two styles, and apparently they're pretty similar effectiveness-wise, though it seems easier to do the one where you're more relaxed with a backrest, so therefore I think it's less of a workout. But I made do, and I have decided that my butt feels decidedly exercised, so perhaps there are butt benefits to that style. I need to pump up my butt -- if you've seen it, you know I'm dealing with a sort of flat/heart-shaped box o' chocolates back there. (EW, that just got grosser than I meant it.)
Tonight Mex is coming over for dinner, and I bought a ton of meat on sale at the grocery store last night, so we'll be having $2.19/lb London Broil with baked sweet potatoes and salad. And wine, maybe a lot. I've been marinating the steak overnight in garlic, worcestershire, salt, pepper, rosemary, and dijon all mixed together, so I think it'll be delicious. And not terribly bad for me with the health benefits of a sweet potato and salad greens, yes? I will also have to talk to him about my ending tolerance for this stage of our situation, so I hope that goes OK. I feel all mad, which you know, happens, but I can't exactly unleash a tirade, as that will be very unreasonable and unproductive. And then we will watch ladies' hockey, or as he called it, "US Canada chick-fairy hockey." It's a joke, so don't be offended.
Oh, so those of you who know me well know that I read Gawker obsessively. It's my go-to blog, but I tried to give them a "tip" today and I think I'm getting into a fight* with another commentor (I keep wanting to say commentator, which is more fun.) I will reproduce the exchange for your benefit, though it's not for those with delicate sensibilities:
ME: I am way behind the times on this, but thought it a bit curious: Pre-Precious release, I read the NY Mag review of it which said that the mother genitally fingered the daughter. Based on that mental image, I declined to see the movie, finding it too disturbing. However, a friend finally saw it last night and informed me that there wasn't any shown fingering -- there was only implied sexual abuse by the mother. Why report it if it's not true?
OTHER COMMENTOR: You are expecting a screenplay to be a documentary?
ME: When the review said "She’s also sexually molested by her jealous, welfare-cheating, gross, and sedentary mother, although the genital fingering might seem preferable to the verbal and physical abuse," I thought it would be shown. I'm not criticizing the movie; I'm saying I was perhaps dissuaded from seeing it because of the review. I take it you find my discomfort at seeing such imagery to be backwoods, so I can only wish you well on your quest for incestual pornographic imagery. To each his/her own.
I mean, COME ON, leave me alone, too-cool-for-school internet person. Though I realize I asked for it by trying to participate. I should remember my late-high-school mantra: don't participate.
In other great news, I was chatting with Blackbeard a few minutes ago. One of the bosses here is named Ian, and often callers will ask me if it's pronounced Eye-an or Eee-an. So I asked Blackbeard if he's ever knew of an Eye-an, because really, that's silly, and he said "Well, other than that Ian guy from 90210..." and he melted my heart EVEN MORE. I was visibly excited that he referenced Ian Ziering. I mean, it's clear we're soulmates, yes? Maybe every time we have an awkward conversation, he's as upset about it as I am. It's so romantic.
Anyway, clearly I'm avoiding this Excel spreadsheet like the plague. I've been wondering today what the maximum row limit of an Excel spreadsheet is -- does anyone know? I like to believe that it goes on for infinity (which is something I should discuss with Mex, the master of infinity theory), but I doubt that's realistic. The real question is, has anyone ever reached the end?!
Oh, another charming thing today was that I overheard a UPS delivery man trying to quickly explain Lost to an office building super. It was clearly too difficult of a task, so he gave up, but the conversation went something like this:
UPS guy: Did you see Lost last night, man?
Super: No, I can't keep up with that sh*t. Didn't they crash on an island?
UPS guy: Well, yeah, but it's much more than that.
Super: What do you mean? Why doesn't someone come and rescue them at the end?
UPS guy: Let's put it this way: The island is alive.
Super: With what?! Monsters? Animals?
UPS guy: Spirits, man. That's all I can say. Right?
[At this point he knew I was listening and smiling, so he tapped my arm, looking for affirmation. I gave it.]
Ok, ok, food:
B - coffee, Special K cereal, skim milk (5)
L - low-salt turkey and muenster on sandwich thin, L&T, Miracle Whip light and mustard; apple (5)
D - steak; sweet potato; salad with tomatoes, cukes and feta (?)
S - Dannon Light & Fit yogurt (1); granny bar (2); wine (?)
Total - a little extra
Activity - crying and/or cuddling
*This "fight" may only be in my head. What do you think?
Last night I went to the gym, and since the upright bikes were all taken, I used one of the bikes where you pedal out in front of your body. I've read up on the comparisons between the two styles, and apparently they're pretty similar effectiveness-wise, though it seems easier to do the one where you're more relaxed with a backrest, so therefore I think it's less of a workout. But I made do, and I have decided that my butt feels decidedly exercised, so perhaps there are butt benefits to that style. I need to pump up my butt -- if you've seen it, you know I'm dealing with a sort of flat/heart-shaped box o' chocolates back there. (EW, that just got grosser than I meant it.)
Tonight Mex is coming over for dinner, and I bought a ton of meat on sale at the grocery store last night, so we'll be having $2.19/lb London Broil with baked sweet potatoes and salad. And wine, maybe a lot. I've been marinating the steak overnight in garlic, worcestershire, salt, pepper, rosemary, and dijon all mixed together, so I think it'll be delicious. And not terribly bad for me with the health benefits of a sweet potato and salad greens, yes? I will also have to talk to him about my ending tolerance for this stage of our situation, so I hope that goes OK. I feel all mad, which you know, happens, but I can't exactly unleash a tirade, as that will be very unreasonable and unproductive. And then we will watch ladies' hockey, or as he called it, "US Canada chick-fairy hockey." It's a joke, so don't be offended.
Oh, so those of you who know me well know that I read Gawker obsessively. It's my go-to blog, but I tried to give them a "tip" today and I think I'm getting into a fight* with another commentor (I keep wanting to say commentator, which is more fun.) I will reproduce the exchange for your benefit, though it's not for those with delicate sensibilities:
ME: I am way behind the times on this, but thought it a bit curious: Pre-Precious release, I read the NY Mag review of it which said that the mother genitally fingered the daughter. Based on that mental image, I declined to see the movie, finding it too disturbing. However, a friend finally saw it last night and informed me that there wasn't any shown fingering -- there was only implied sexual abuse by the mother. Why report it if it's not true?
OTHER COMMENTOR: You are expecting a screenplay to be a documentary?
ME: When the review said "She’s also sexually molested by her jealous, welfare-cheating, gross, and sedentary mother, although the genital fingering might seem preferable to the verbal and physical abuse," I thought it would be shown. I'm not criticizing the movie; I'm saying I was perhaps dissuaded from seeing it because of the review. I take it you find my discomfort at seeing such imagery to be backwoods, so I can only wish you well on your quest for incestual pornographic imagery. To each his/her own.
I mean, COME ON, leave me alone, too-cool-for-school internet person. Though I realize I asked for it by trying to participate. I should remember my late-high-school mantra: don't participate.
In other great news, I was chatting with Blackbeard a few minutes ago. One of the bosses here is named Ian, and often callers will ask me if it's pronounced Eye-an or Eee-an. So I asked Blackbeard if he's ever knew of an Eye-an, because really, that's silly, and he said "Well, other than that Ian guy from 90210..." and he melted my heart EVEN MORE. I was visibly excited that he referenced Ian Ziering. I mean, it's clear we're soulmates, yes? Maybe every time we have an awkward conversation, he's as upset about it as I am. It's so romantic.
Oh, another charming thing today was that I overheard a UPS delivery man trying to quickly explain Lost to an office building super. It was clearly too difficult of a task, so he gave up, but the conversation went something like this:
UPS guy: Did you see Lost last night, man?
Super: No, I can't keep up with that sh*t. Didn't they crash on an island?
UPS guy: Well, yeah, but it's much more than that.
Super: What do you mean? Why doesn't someone come and rescue them at the end?
UPS guy: Let's put it this way: The island is alive.
Super: With what?! Monsters? Animals?
UPS guy: Spirits, man. That's all I can say. Right?
[At this point he knew I was listening and smiling, so he tapped my arm, looking for affirmation. I gave it.]
Ok, ok, food:
B - coffee, Special K cereal, skim milk (5)
L - low-salt turkey and muenster on sandwich thin, L&T, Miracle Whip light and mustard; apple (5)
D - steak; sweet potato; salad with tomatoes, cukes and feta (?)
S - Dannon Light & Fit yogurt (1); granny bar (2); wine (?)
Total - a little extra
Activity - crying and/or cuddling
*This "fight" may only be in my head. What do you think?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Misc and What I Ate: Monday
Happy MLK Day to those of you who, like me, are in the office today. (I am ignoring the presence of those of you who get a vacation day.) It's fairly quiet here, but also slow and sleepy, and all I want to do is curl up at home and never leave my bed. That's reasonable, right?
I finished Julie & Julia over the weekend, and was happy to. I had a major personality clash with Ms. Powell, and won't be reading her next book. This was a strange case where I thought the movie was highly superior to the book, but I guess I was advocating for Meryl/Julia to be the entire movie (leaving out the modern storyline), so really I just wanted something else entirely. That's reasonable, right? So anyway, during the midst of too much football watching in my apartment yesterday, I started Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida (Eggers' wifey) and so far, so good. It's set in a cold, bleak environment, which seems appropriate for this time of year. And that's what I want to be reading right now instead of debt schedules.
The weekend was rather eventful. Friday night I was an upstanding weight watcher, and after running downtown to the bankruptcy court at 4 pm to get some claims filed by 5 pm, (and appreciating the beauty of Bowling Green/Battery Park area, that I so rarely see anymore), I came back to Astoria with a big grocery list. I grabbed everything I needed on my way home, then cooked like a fiend till 11 pm. I made a roasted vegetable lasagne (with eggplant, tomatoes and red peppers) and a butternut squash baked penne with thyme. Then I froze them in portions, so I have my next 14 weeknight dinners ready to go.
Saturday was a mellow daytime, then off to Ax's for dinner and merriment. She has such great antiques and decorations that it was storytime every five minutes, and it was all very interesting. And there was lots of wine, then we went out and "crawled" down the bars of Broadway towards the N/W so our Brooklyn friends could return home. Ax and I stayed out late again, and flirted with boys, etc. I actually saw the boy from last weekend, but it wasn't a very pleasant encounter, and so there won't be any repeat business there. (He's someone I know from the neighborhood, and I had to diffuse a fight between he and my ex, who came out, etc. etc.) Clearly there was some drama, but there was also lots of fun. That said, yes, I saw the ex, and there were a lot of things said, and I fear I'm treading into the cliche zone. Nothing's changed right now, but there might be some negotiations to come. We'll see -- I am clear on what I want/need, so I really don't have to worry about it, as the changes aren't mine to make. I'm going to keep myself going on my own path, but who knows what could happen. So yeah, Sunday was Chinese food and football and reading and laying around. It was a good weekend, just too short, especially in light of the WORLD'S 3-dayer.
Food for today:
B - coffee, Smart Start, skim milk (5)
L - Lean Cuisine (some pasta with veggies) (6)
D - Butternut Squash Pasta (5); romaine salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, homemade vinaigrette (2)
S - Dannon Light & Fit yogurt, light string cheese (2)
Total - 20
Activity - Gym
Flex points remaining - 0, though I didn't do the math. Sometimes you just know.
Back to my Excel spreadsheet and daydreaming. Adieu!
I finished Julie & Julia over the weekend, and was happy to. I had a major personality clash with Ms. Powell, and won't be reading her next book. This was a strange case where I thought the movie was highly superior to the book, but I guess I was advocating for Meryl/Julia to be the entire movie (leaving out the modern storyline), so really I just wanted something else entirely. That's reasonable, right? So anyway, during the midst of too much football watching in my apartment yesterday, I started Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida (Eggers' wifey) and so far, so good. It's set in a cold, bleak environment, which seems appropriate for this time of year. And that's what I want to be reading right now instead of debt schedules.
The weekend was rather eventful. Friday night I was an upstanding weight watcher, and after running downtown to the bankruptcy court at 4 pm to get some claims filed by 5 pm, (and appreciating the beauty of Bowling Green/Battery Park area, that I so rarely see anymore), I came back to Astoria with a big grocery list. I grabbed everything I needed on my way home, then cooked like a fiend till 11 pm. I made a roasted vegetable lasagne (with eggplant, tomatoes and red peppers) and a butternut squash baked penne with thyme. Then I froze them in portions, so I have my next 14 weeknight dinners ready to go.
Saturday was a mellow daytime, then off to Ax's for dinner and merriment. She has such great antiques and decorations that it was storytime every five minutes, and it was all very interesting. And there was lots of wine, then we went out and "crawled" down the bars of Broadway towards the N/W so our Brooklyn friends could return home. Ax and I stayed out late again, and flirted with boys, etc. I actually saw the boy from last weekend, but it wasn't a very pleasant encounter, and so there won't be any repeat business there. (He's someone I know from the neighborhood, and I had to diffuse a fight between he and my ex, who came out, etc. etc.) Clearly there was some drama, but there was also lots of fun. That said, yes, I saw the ex, and there were a lot of things said, and I fear I'm treading into the cliche zone. Nothing's changed right now, but there might be some negotiations to come. We'll see -- I am clear on what I want/need, so I really don't have to worry about it, as the changes aren't mine to make. I'm going to keep myself going on my own path, but who knows what could happen. So yeah, Sunday was Chinese food and football and reading and laying around. It was a good weekend, just too short, especially in light of the WORLD'S 3-dayer.
Food for today:
B - coffee, Smart Start, skim milk (5)
L - Lean Cuisine (some pasta with veggies) (6)
D - Butternut Squash Pasta (5); romaine salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, homemade vinaigrette (2)
S - Dannon Light & Fit yogurt, light string cheese (2)
Total - 20
Activity - Gym
Flex points remaining - 0, though I didn't do the math. Sometimes you just know.
Back to my Excel spreadsheet and daydreaming. Adieu!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Misc and What I Ate: Thursday, January 7
Almost the weekend...phew. I was spoiled with so many short working weeks over the holidays! This long, frigid, boring week is almost over, though, and I can't wait. At least I was very responsible with the odds & ends of life.
Speaking of, I did NOT make it to the gym last night. I actually worked some overtime and got home around 7 pm, starving and with low blood sugar. So I ate and relaxed and watched an episode of Lost (to refresh my memory before the season premiere!) I am going to go tonight, and I do think 3-4 times per week, with additional movement in the form of walking, stair climbing, etc., is reasonable.
Eat it.
B - coffee, Special K with Red Berries, Milk (4)
L - chicken and swiss on sandwich thin with L&T, Miracle Whip light and mustard; apple (4)
D - brown rice with vegetable tomato sauce and cubed chicken (7); romaine salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, homemade vinaigrette (2)
S - light yogurt (2)
Total - 19, for now
Activity - 30-40 minutes of stationary bike riding (at varied resistances)
Flex points remaining - 35
I've almost read through my collection of books at home, or at least the ones that look appealing right now. (I've been out of corporate publishing for almost a year, and it's taken me this long to get through some of the stacks!) So...I'm planning on stopping by my branch of the Queens library this weekend to pick up some good ones. I know I want to read Julie & Julia, but I'll see what else looks good. Feel free to make recs. That said, I've never actually set foot into the Broadway branch of the Queens library -- I always had so many books to read at home, plus I was scared away by screaming-in-Spanish children, but I'm resolved to go now. It'll be an adventure.
So yes, that's part of what I'm looking forward to this weekend. Being newishly single, I need to find/plan activities to keep me busy, so that's one of them. I'm right now planning to do laundry and then watch a movie at home on Friday night, then brunch in Astoria on Saturday with T, then library and grocery shopping, then to Brooklyn at night for HennaParty2010 with L. And lots of wine. Sunday will be my day of rest and recovery, and probably lots of movies/Lost.
I would reaaallllllyyyy like to get some Indian takeout this weekend, too, but so far I haven't found a good reference for the actual number of WW points in the dishes. (Most just say "Way too many!") There's a place across the street from me that serves ghee-free homemade, delicious, fresh and authentic Indian food, but it still may be too full of fatty stuff. Hmm, though perhaps I can split my flexies between Indian and wine?
It's time to do some math. "Small" glass of wine is 2 points. Chicken tikka (4 oz.) is 4 points. Naan (7"x8") is 4. Chicken tikka masala, according to various sketchy internet sites, is in the 5-7 point range. (It has its own Facebook page!) Basmati rice is about 4 points for 1 cup.
Saturday night wine allotment is 8 points-ish. Food at L's is probably a few more flexies, but don't know what we're eating yet! Let's say I have about 20 leftover flex points, so technically if I behave otherwise, I could swing an Indian meal (2 actually, since I'll have leftovers), though I should probably skip the naan. Thanks for letting me think out loud, internets!
Speaking of, I did NOT make it to the gym last night. I actually worked some overtime and got home around 7 pm, starving and with low blood sugar. So I ate and relaxed and watched an episode of Lost (to refresh my memory before the season premiere!) I am going to go tonight, and I do think 3-4 times per week, with additional movement in the form of walking, stair climbing, etc., is reasonable.
Eat it.
B - coffee, Special K with Red Berries, Milk (4)
L - chicken and swiss on sandwich thin with L&T, Miracle Whip light and mustard; apple (4)
D - brown rice with vegetable tomato sauce and cubed chicken (7); romaine salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, homemade vinaigrette (2)
S - light yogurt (2)
Total - 19, for now
Activity - 30-40 minutes of stationary bike riding (at varied resistances)
Flex points remaining - 35
I've almost read through my collection of books at home, or at least the ones that look appealing right now. (I've been out of corporate publishing for almost a year, and it's taken me this long to get through some of the stacks!) So...I'm planning on stopping by my branch of the Queens library this weekend to pick up some good ones. I know I want to read Julie & Julia, but I'll see what else looks good. Feel free to make recs. That said, I've never actually set foot into the Broadway branch of the Queens library -- I always had so many books to read at home, plus I was scared away by screaming-in-Spanish children, but I'm resolved to go now. It'll be an adventure.
So yes, that's part of what I'm looking forward to this weekend. Being newishly single, I need to find/plan activities to keep me busy, so that's one of them. I'm right now planning to do laundry and then watch a movie at home on Friday night, then brunch in Astoria on Saturday with T, then library and grocery shopping, then to Brooklyn at night for HennaParty2010 with L. And lots of wine. Sunday will be my day of rest and recovery, and probably lots of movies/Lost.
I would reaaallllllyyyy like to get some Indian takeout this weekend, too, but so far I haven't found a good reference for the actual number of WW points in the dishes. (Most just say "Way too many!") There's a place across the street from me that serves ghee-free homemade, delicious, fresh and authentic Indian food, but it still may be too full of fatty stuff. Hmm, though perhaps I can split my flexies between Indian and wine?
It's time to do some math. "Small" glass of wine is 2 points. Chicken tikka (4 oz.) is 4 points. Naan (7"x8") is 4. Chicken tikka masala, according to various sketchy internet sites, is in the 5-7 point range. (It has its own Facebook page!) Basmati rice is about 4 points for 1 cup.
Saturday night wine allotment is 8 points-ish. Food at L's is probably a few more flexies, but don't know what we're eating yet! Let's say I have about 20 leftover flex points, so technically if I behave otherwise, I could swing an Indian meal (2 actually, since I'll have leftovers), though I should probably skip the naan. Thanks for letting me think out loud, internets!
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