Finding the time to sit down and write a blog post has been damn near impossible this month between all the holiday preparation, social events, the insanity of work, and lingering exhaustion from the combination of it all. I don't even quite have the energy nor the inspiration to write a post tonight. I've been at a family party for the past few hours and it took all my energy to pretend to be happy to be there. I promise I'll be better at this when things calm down and my winter hibernation begins. I also just ordered an iPad mini case and keyboard. Woo!
On my agenda for the rest of the night:
+
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
I have a stomachache, probably from consuming far too much of the only vegetables available at aforementioned family function, carrots and Sabra hummus (not my favorite, but I was STARVING). The popcorn I ate upon arriving home didn't settle my tummy troubles as expected, so I'm really banking on this gingerbread tea to ease my pain. It doesn't help that my chest is also radiating pain lingering from a far-too-tight embrace/attempt to crack my back on Friday night. Pretty sure my chestplate has some bruising. I can't really take Motrin when I'm feeling nauseous. Not feeling acid reflux.
I just started watching Once Upon a Time in Wonderland when I have the chance, and I have to say it's a pretty solid spinoff of Once Upon a Time. The cast and characters are great, however, there just isn't anyone as attractive as Captain Hook. WHY IS ONCE UPON A TIME ON HIATUS UNTIL SPRING?!!?!
I'm planning to meet with my friend for some fantastic falafel (alliteration!) and Middle Eastern cuisine at Sonya's Near East Deli in Cranston in the late afternoon tomorrow. FYI: If you live in RI and have the chance to stop by Sonya's Near East, I highly recommend it. Prices are very reasonable, service is awesome, and the menu is amazing. I have to be honest, I like it better than East Side Pockets. So sue me. Mondays also mean vinyasa yoga and hot yoga. Namaste!
Christmas always comes and goes too fast. All of this insanity for one day, then it's done and we fall into the frigid winter months with nothing to look forward to until Spring. And living in New England, that doesn't guarantee a significant climate change.
End rant. Cue Christmas recap.
I believe it's true that we learn something new everyday. I spent my entire Christmas Eve prepping food, baking up a storm, and attempting to clean up before church. I cooked quinoa, baked gingersnap cookies and peanut butter cup cookies, baked gingerbread protein bars (I followed Peas and Thank You's amazing recipe), and diced veggies, all while intermittently cleaning up after myself, from 9am straight through 3:15pm. What did I learn from all of this, you ask? I learned that when my family insists at 3:10 that I attend Christmas Eve mass starting at 4pm and I'm a flour-covered mess still in my pajamas, I transform myself into a presentable human being in less than 15 minutes, makeup and all.
Pretty impressive if I do say so myself. And a valuable lesson learned.
P.S. Is my sister gorgeous or what? I wish I had half her looks.
The end results of my morning chaos:
Gingerbread bars unpictured, they just aren't attractive desserts when your best camera is on your iPad.
Needless to say in my mad rush, I never even thought to wrap my Christmas gifts. So that meant returning home from work to run to the basement and discretely wrap everything before my family arrived. Barely got it done.
Now that we're all older, my family just does all of the gifts on Christmas morning. It's cute that my mom still writes "from Santa" on our gifts. I really hate when people buy me gifts, honestly. I'd rather see them use the money towards themselves or someone else. I have everything I need already; however, I was not at all disappointed in my gifts.
Rocking my festive Santa pjs, my gifts spread on the floor (don't mind the dog bed haha), and my new boots
Crappy pictures, but we had to hurry to get dressed and head to the cemetery to spend some time with Dad on Christmas. Christmas sure is different without him here. He had so much Christmas spirit, he was like a little kid. I love and miss him so much...
What a goon.
Our family is pretty small now. Including the four of us, we had 10 people for dinner. At least it gives me the chance to be a little more creative with side dishes knowing there are less people to please.
We spent the rest of the evening playing Who's on my Head and just hanging out enjoying each other's company. We ended the night watching Just Friends.
I won't lie, I prefer when Thanksgiving comes late. I can only tolerate so much of the advertisements, decorations, and non-stop Christmas music on the radio. I feel that the Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving, and since I've got less than a month to get into the holiday spirit, I can actually enjoy it this year.
Yesterday, my mom, sister, her boyfriend, and I hopped on the train to Boston. I spent the hour trip coaching my mom through level 147 on Candy Crush, which she's been stuck on for months. I wasn't successful. Fast forward to this morning, she'd beaten the level. Obviously, I deserve some credit for showing her what moves to look for and pair up yesterday.;)
My mom and I on the train to Boston after she ran out of lives on Candy Crush and could be bothered to socialize.
Roasted beets, asparagus, edamame heaven
Avoiding Black Friday traffic without being housebound was nice. We shopped around Newbury and Boylston St, hitting up my favorite Marshall's store, and ending the day at the Prudential Center. We also enjoyed a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory in the Pru. We were all ravenous by the time we were seated...I should have eaten more than a grapefruit at 11:30am. Oh well. The result was me ordering and inhaling two shrimp spring rolls, basically before they touched the table. So good. I also ordered a chopped vegetable salad as an entree with Sesame-soy dressing.
We (barely) caught the 5:05pm train home, and began decorating the house for Christmas. I also baked some red velvet cookies with a cream cheese icing. Pictures and super-easy recipe will be supplied in a later post; I never bake these just once around the holidays.
My favorite part about breaking out the Christmas decorations is a long-standing joke with my family:
A Very Perry with the Wine They Call Sherry Christmas (link to the entire CD on Grooveshark). This beauty randomly came in the mail addressed to my dad one year, and it has the best worst versions of all the yuletide classics. He recognized the guy on the cover as an employee that served him clam chowder on the Pine Lakes golf course during a golf trip with some friends. Oddly enough, my dad never gave his address, nor used his card to purchase anything, yet he was the only person to get the CD. I call that a divine intervention.
Once the tree was up and the lights were lit, we sat down to watch Elf together. Perfect end to a near-perfect day.
So bring on the Christmas craziness. I'm ready to embrace it...as long as I'm not forced to listen to "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney.
- Having the ability to laugh at myself for mistakenly wearing moccasins to the gym this morning, and pushing through a workout regardless.
Clearly I do spend too much time in the yoga studio and not enough time doing cardio. I forget what it feels like to wear sneakers...or have a brain haha.
- This wine, which I'm enjoying after a massive thanksgiving dinner. Drops of Jupiter red blend. If it reminds you of the Train song, you're dead-on. It's from the lead singer's winery.
Didn't snap a picture, but I had an enormous sweet potato, white meat turkey, gravy, chili roasted broccoli, and warm red cabbage salad. Yum!
- My amazing family
This picture is from the last holiday we spent together before my dad passed away. Easter 2010. Today we are smaller, but stronger, and I'm so grateful for what I grew up with and what I still have. I love my family and wouldn't trade them for the world.
I mentioned my pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving celebration with my godfamily in my last post. Needless to say, it was a blast. But let's be real, how could I not have an awesome day when I was sporting teal leggings? Bold colors make me feel happy.
As always, I ended up playing bartender and blowing everyone's minds with my drink concoctions. My favorite sampling of the night was what I called a Caramel Maple Cake. The Red Hot Apple Pie and the Cinnamon Pumpkin drinks were pretty incredible, too, if I do say so myself. (Just a side note, my "drink names" really do nothing more than describe the flavors of nips that were randomly purchased and combined. ) I sampled all night without actually imbibing, however.
Sunday morning yoga was great as always, and almost all of my favorite people showed up. Yay! A good workout + good conversation = success.
I spent the rest of my Sunday grocery shopping, doing laundry, joking around with my family, and taking the opportunity to watch Meet the Millers since my sisters rented it OnDemand last night.
Oh, and I have to mention that leftover turkey is the best and I enjoyed it for dinner on a salad with spicy brown mustard and habanero mustard for dressings. Yum!
Not to break from the positivity, but my Weather Kitty made me sad today with the forecast. So I put on glasses on him. Yeah, didn't change the fact that it didn't reach 30ºF
This is why I hate New England. At least this cat is amusingly adorable.
Monday's forecast, regardless of the physical outdoor temperature, is looking a-okay to me. Lunch with someone on my caseload as part of my workday, vinyasa and hot yoga, and a 3-day work week.
As always, thanks to Katie for the push to see the positive side of Mondays. Linking up!
Case in point, Thursday night. I had made plans with a co-worker to hang after work at our usual spot, the Thirsty Beaver, but when she went home with a migraine, I texted a friend and suggested we go out that night. I'm usually really bad at coming up with new places to check out, even though there are a million places I want to try (I really should start keeping a list), but I suggested we grab drinks at The Grange in Providence.
Fast forward to 8:30pm. We park in front of this:
Weirdest store front display I've ever encountered. Napoleon Dynamite status.
We waited for a seat at the bar and asked the bartender what he suggested off of their drink menu. We were a little indecisive, but decided on some drinks...somehow he managed to make us both the wrong drinks. Go figure. But it was a pleasant mistake, I'd say. I ended up with the Holy Smokes (left), a mezcal-based cocktail with basil and a smoky aftertaste. It was mind-blowing. My friend got the Adonis, made with bourbon, Pama pomegranate liqueur, and a slew of other alcohols. It was really strong, but had a good flavor. The best part? The drinks were mixed in a beaker, it was like watching a mad scientist work.
The place was adorable. There were swings by the windows and a little lounge area, a dining area for the restaurant, the bar, and it looked like there was a bakery section with a display case to the right of the bar that might be open during the day. I loved the vibe.
My friend ordered the quinoa dish with butternut squash, avocado, and lettuce. Delicious. The Grange is owned by the same people who run the Garden Grille so we expected nothing less.
We opted to stay for a second round of drinks, something I don't typically do since I'm a lightweight, but we just weren't ready to leave and I'm trying to embrace my 20s. I had a tequila-based cocktail with various citrus notes and orange oil; Kristen ordered an apple cider cocktail served with a dried apple chip. Again, both were amazing.
Gotta give The Grange a solid 9/10. A little pricy but so worth it for the experience. I'll definitely be back!
Sancho Panza (left) and Helen of Troy
Good thinking on having a hearty breakfast-for-dinner before I consumed all of that alcohol: Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal with 1/2 scoop of Designer Whey Sustained Energy vanilla protein powder and 1T dry butterscotch sugar-free Jello Pudding mix.
+
I love the texture of Scottish oatmeal, especially when you add in the pudding mix. Dessert without the sugar.
Time felt like it was standing still throughout my entire workday on Friday. This long weekend is going to feel so good. I already started it off on a good foot last night when I made out like a bandit at JC Penney. Colored tights on clearance for under $3 a pair! Plus two unpictured fitness tops for $5 each and an adorable pair of workout capris. I rang up at $34 for it all, but the cashier gave me a random $10 off. Steals.
We ended up buying a new "Smart" TV for the basement with built-in wifi and all that jazz, so I spent the rest of the night with my sisters assembling the TV stand and setting up the TV while my mom watched, glass of wine in hand. She claims she helped. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mom ;)
My snack before said TV assembly. Weird, but so good.
Pictured above is a typical snack when I know I need to take in a little more fat and protein at the end of the day and when I'm blessed to have a near-empty jar of peanut butter. I was especially fortunate this time to have Peanut Butter & Co White Chocolate Wonderful <3.
Basically I use 1/2 cup of egg whites and 1.5 T dark chocolate cocoa powder with a little chocolate stevia to taste. Mix it all up in a large microwave safe bowl until it's combined and microwave on high for 90-120 seconds. Then I break up my little chocolate egg white puff and scoop it into the nut butter jar, seal it up, give it a shake to melt all the peanut butter into the egg whites and enjoy straight from the jar with a spoon. Damn right I make sure to scrape every last bit of peanut butter out of that jar.
We took advantage of the WiFi to watch this hilarious Jimmy Kimmel segment where celebrities read mean tweets about themselves, then segwayed into Zach Galifinakis' Between Two Ferns videos. I also enjoyed a glass of Redvolution red wine. Don't hate on BotaBox.
I'll leave you with some LOLs, courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel:
P.S. Apologies for the long-winded post, but it's been an eventful past few days!
