MIMM: Hibernating

I realize I've been kind of MIA lately. I took kind of a mental rest weekend and opted to, as I call it, "hibernate" due to another round of snow and frigid temperatures. I could have easily taken this time at home to blog, but I didn't. I was kind of wiped from all the shoveling I had to do between Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. I need to learn how to use a snow blower for next year.

But it's Monday and I'm linking up with Katie for some Marvelous in my Monday action! 

Marvelous is...this Napoleon Dynamite Valentine's Day picture I sent to my family. Don't ask me why we find Kip to be so hilarious.

Marvelous is...dedicating several hours of my Thursday evening to watching Olympic curling On Demand and a attempting to interpret the rules and scoring of the game. It's really kind of fascinating. There is a place in Cranston that has a curling club and they run open houses to learn about the game. The next one is in early March. You know I plan on being there.

Marvelous is....when my dogs get haircuts and act like divas.

Chloe is so grumpy and cute!

Marvelous is...staying in all weekend marathoning almost the entire second season of Parks and Recs. I got my mom and I hooked. Ron Swanson cracks me up.

Marvelous is...playing a few intense impromptu games of Rummikub on a Saturday night during a snowstorm. Something about bad weather and board games. Kind of like peanut butter and jelly. Although I prefer peanut butter and fresh spinach sandwiches. Don't hate.

Marvelous is...winter clothing clearance. I've had my eye on this one particular sweater and I scored it for $15 on Saturday! I also made out like a bandit at K-Mart yesterday, with no intentions of buying anything. $35 well spent.

Marvelous is...finally beating level 382 on Candy Crush. I can't stop playing when I'm stuck on a level for over a week. The feeling of accomplishment I get from this victory is so wrong haha.

Here's to looking forward to a week full of yoga, rising temperatures (I hope!), and not feeling the compulsion to play so much Candy Crush.

MIMM: Looking forward to the week ahead

I don't know if it's the time of year, but I've been so busy lately. I've had to cancel plans with certain people several times because I've essentially double-booked myself. It's a welcome change for the winter since I typically hibernate at home due to my hatred/intolerance for the cold. Can you believe I'll be out almost every night this week with several inches of snow and ice on the ground from Saturday and this forecast?

Yeah, me either. Fingers crossed for no snow on Tuesday.

Tonight I'm attending a holiday party for wedding companies at the Providence Biltmore in lieu of my normal Monday routine of vinyasa and hot yoga. Free food and an excuse to dress fancy? Hell yeah. Funny how I get invited to this when I've literally assisted in DJing one wedding. My friend and I have plans to hit up Trinity Brewhouse for wings afterwards, too. Should be a fun night!

I have Tuesday off work (so I hope) and plan to squeeze in lots of yoga to make up for my lack of regular class attendance. I also find myself craving sushi something awful and am considering taking advantage of a sushi lunch special somewhere after AM yoga classes. It has been far too long since sashimi and seaweed salad have been on my agenda, or my plate.

I was scheduled to cover trivia on Wednesday night, but my godfather AKA my favorite man in my life/father figure invited me to Transiberian Orchestra. With one Providence performance each year, the stories I've heard about the show, and the opportunity to hang with Uncle Mark, I couldn't turn down the offer . Thank god my boss was understanding and found coverage.

Back to work Thursday with post-work plans for an unofficial office Christmas party at the Thirsty Beaver. Who knows what Friday holds.

Linking up to Katie's Marvelous in my Monday as per usual. I'm having trouble posting links and pictures on my iPad since I'm still learning, so bear with me! Also, this post is going up late. Oops!

Snow, snow go away. Come again never.

More snow. And even more expected. I'm not enjoying the fact that all of my vacation time is being wasted on inclement weather and risky travel conditions. If the office wasn't so far from my house and if I-95 wasn't the only route, I'd definitely be in today. This really has been a pretty terrible winter for New England, at least in my opinion.

Jesse Lacey knows me too well.

The big controversy flooding social media sites today seems to be the Biggest Loser Finale. Apparently the winner lost a whopping 60% of her body weight, down to 105lbs from 260lbs. That is insane. It's painful how thin she looks. I'm sure I don't need to provide a picture or article link because it's everywhere, you all know what I'm referencing. If not, you obviously have internet access if you're reading blog posts and can just as easily tap into the handy-dandy google machine.

I also happened across this not-so-little piece on orthorexia, which I think it's relevant to this whole ordeal. It's worth reading in its entirety, despite its length. Orthorexia is becoming an epidemic in this country, and it just isn't recognized as a problem. Not all sufferers appear physically unhealthy, but the mental struggle is on par with a DSM-recognized, diagnosable eating disorder. I love that Amanda describes orthorexia as the "sneakiest food disorder." It's almost encouraged in our culture with all of these ridiculous restrictive diets and obsession with thinness. I think a lot of people could also learn a lot from the non-rule rules she provides at the end of the post. Overall, a well-written, thoughtful, and educational article that aims to bring awareness to a serious problem that's too often overlooked.

In my laziness after shoveling snow and then food into my face for a combined 3 hours--yes, that's 90 minutes dedicated to each activity. The snow was wet, heavy, and made me RAVENOUS--I found this hilarious list of The 17 Reasons I'm an Undateable Girl.

TGFI: Thank God for Internet - Making single life acceptable

What I'm reading on a Wednesday

No work for me today. The office is closed, but I was (again) expected to drive to one of the group homes to work for the day or take a forced vacation day. Considering it takes 30 minutes to get to the nearest house on a normal day, I didn't feel like finding out how long it would have taken today. When precipitation falls, New Englanders forget how to operate a vehicle. Clearly, I took today off. It's not even the end of January, and I've already wasted two vacation days to snow. And I just found out they are predicting more snow for next week. Not to mention it feels like -9°F with the windchill today in RI. Come on, winter! Enough already!

Since I didn't have to get up for any particular reason today, I actually slept in until 9:15am, which is unheard of for me. I'm such an insomniac, but my body and mind apparently needed a rest. It felt awesome.

My day today has really consisted of playing Candy Crush on my iPad, an hour of shoveling, a makeshift kettlebell workout at home, and marathoning episodes of Portlandia and Best Ink. Nothing exciting, so I thought I'd share some articles that caught my attention over the last week.

How to Make Sweet Potato Caramel via Bon Appetit

Who knew that healthy, refined sugar-free caramel was awaiting me right on my countertop at almost all times? I definitely need to give this a shot. Worst case scenario, I've cooked some sweet potatoes.

4 Natural Sweeteners That Are Actually Healthy via eatlocalgrown

I sometimes engage in an internal battle about my daily use of stevia in my coffee, tea, or food. Realistically, I use at least two servings of stevia a day, some days more than that. I know it's not as bad as Splenda, but I really feel like I should try to cut it out completely. It's nice to read some positive potential side effects of stevia. I still want to cut back, but maybe there are definitely worse things I could be putting into my body. Like heroin.

10 Benefits of Yoga via yoganonymous

Just more justification for my yoga obsession. I seriously cannot say enough about how much my body and mind has changed for the better since I traded in running and kickboxing for yoga. Miracle exercise, I tell you.

A Horrifying Picture of What Sleep Loss Will Do To You via Huffington Post

Okay, this article freaks me out. I need to start getting more sleep ASAP.

It's a snow day!

Winter storm Hercules left me working from home. Woo hoo! I was so happy to not have to drive 20 miles to the office, plus driving around to the houses and another 20 miles back home.

The major downside to a snow day is shoveling...especially when it's single digit temperatures with a wind chill of -10. 

As you can tell, I didn't want to venture outside...

It wasn't so terrible when I was actually outside because I was powering through shoveling, but once the cold hit me, it was bad. Like really bad. 

After an hour of nonstop shoveling, I gave up and went inside. That's when the torture started. You know when you lose feeling in your hands and all you want is for the sensation to come back because the awkward numb fumbling is just too much to handle? Yeah, we'll this time I would have preferred to remain in that state than endure the aftermath. The pain of the feeling returning to my hands and fingers was unbearable.

The agony eventually subsided, thankfully. But wait, dear readers, that is not the end of my painful saga. After working up an appetite from hauling snow, I decided to cut up some red cabbage to sauté with leftover pulled pork. Bad idea. I sliced the very tip of my index finger off. Talk about a bloody mess. Why weren't my fingers numb when I actually needed them to be?! 

To make myself feel better, I baked some corn muffins from a box. 

Baking is therapeutic. 

Then, I got a phone call from one of the guys on my caseload at 3:30 saying he was in a rotten mood because he was bored and wasn't getting picked up until 4pm and wanted to go out for coffee. Believe it or not, these are real daily problems in my position that can lead to a more serious issue. What is my life?

I'm posting a picture of cats doing yoga because it makes me laugh and I need that.

I had plans more a more detailed post today, but as you can tell, today's happenings weren't exactly in my favor. Not a bad day by any means, just a day where I'm clearly off my A-game.

Snow and a yoga goal

Day two of snow in Rhode Island. Just enough snow to cause everyone to drive like absolute morons and give me anxiety commuting to work. Miguel is not a winter car, just like I am not a winter person. 

Little Miguel Corona Ricardo Guacardo Avocardo, so happy in the summer time. Now he is sad and camera-shy in his snow-covered state :(

I almost partly grateful for the pile of paperwork sitting on my desk because it gives me an excuse not to go out driving around to the houses. 

All of this makes the warmth of the yoga studio after work so much more comforting.

Speaking of yoga, I've been focusing a lot of my energy on increasing my flexibility lately. I've mastered splits on both sides. Now if only I could get my straddle split... 

Some random standing split stretch from Sunday morning yoga. My leg did not feel this high at all.

I think I'm going to refocus my practice for the remainder of the year, however. I'll still challenge my flexibility of course, but I have set a personal yoga goal for myself to achieve by 2014. A pose that has seemed impossible for months, no matter how many times I've tried.

One-Legged Crow

a.k.a. Eka Pada Bakasana

That's my beautiful yoga instructor, Paula, demonstrating a perfect example. (Love you, Paula! Please don't be upset that I'm posting your picture, it's just so stunning!)

This pose requires so much body awareness, balance, core strength, lack of fear, and determination. I think I've finally figured out the body mechanics behind this pose. I'm so close I can taste it. I am at the point where I can extend my leg, but I can't seem to hold it up just yet. I refuse to enter the new year without having mastered this pose, if only just for a second. 

I have a lot of practicing to do.

Apple bread fail

Just stopping in for a quick post before my usual hectic Tuesday schedule of work followed by a trek to Federal Hill to host trivia. At least I'm in at 10am today, so my first day back after a long weekend is a mere 13 (so I hope) hours rather than 14 or 15. Big props to the coffee manufacturers on days like today.

Yesterday was entirely uneventful. I had intentions of going out to look for new boots, but ended up staying at home all afternoon because 1) I'm lazy and 2) it's better that I save my money right now.

I had some apples in the fridge that were losing their appeal for raw snackage, so I thought, "Why not whip up some apple bread?" Cue Google. I came across this recipe from Southern Plate and figured it looked simple and delicious enough. Any recipe that only requires one bowl is for me. I also added a granola and cinnamon sugar topping to the top of the bread.

As evidenced by the final product, it was not such a success. When I took it out of the oven, the toothpick came out clean and it seemed done from the outside. Yeah, not the case. Apparently the inside wasn't cooked. Sigh, and usually I'm such a great baker. My family agreed it was still delicious, but more cake-like than bread-like. I think next time I use this recipe, I'll bake it in 8x8 square baking dish instead. 

Southern Plate's Amazing Apple Bread

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium apples, peeled and diced (about two cups)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups self rising flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup cinnamon or oats & honey granola (optional)
• 1 - 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel and dice apples, place in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, and sugar. Stir with a large spoon until well blended.
2. Add flour, cinnamon, and allspice. Stir again until well combined.
3. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray and spoon batter into pan. Sprinkle granola and cinnamon sugar on top, if desired.
4. Bake at 350 for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool in pan for five minutes. Turn out.

Anyway, time to head off to work. It's snowing right now in Pawtucket, but it doesn't seem to be sticking. I am so not ready for winter! Breaking out the trusty Northface today and hoping that the temperatures don't stay in the mid-30s all week.

MIMM: A Long Weekend Well-Spent

Happy Monday! And a very happy short work week! Needless to say, this Monday is extra marvelous: I'm embracing the opportunity to sit around in my pajamas, sip coffee, and watch an America's Next Top Model marathon on Oxygen just because I can. Since weekend mornings typically have me (gladly) rushing off to yoga right after I get out of bed, this morning laziness is a rarity.

Just a few marvelous weekend highlights:

Saturday night I spent a lazy night in to free up some space on my DVR. Nothing exciting there, other than staring into Jonny Lee Miller's gorgeous eyes throughout last week's episode of Elementary.

Usually on the weekends I make a crockpot meal, but it just didn't happen this week. I gladly enjoyed a roasted acorn squash as part of my Saturday dinner. Hooray for winter squash being on sale for $0.89/lb at Stop and Shop the past few weeks!

Olive oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper, roasted at 450F until desired crispiness.
Always enjoyed with the skin intact, my favorite part!

Sunday was unusually busy this week. I started my day off with two hours of yoga, then headed home to grab a quick meal before heading to a Providence Bruins game with my mom, Kris, and her friend, who was so nice to get us free tickets!

Didn't mean to catch Kris with her eyes closed. Oops!

Providence Bruins definitely like to put on a show. There was a fight within the first 3 minutes of the game ending in blood shed.

Not sure what caused a fight this early, but it was entertaining. 

In the 3rd period, every player on the ice was involved in an all-out gloves-off brawl. It was nuts. Bruins ended up dominating the game, shutting out the Hartford Wolf Pack 6-0. 

After the game, I rushed home to eat a quick dinner, then headed to Hose Company for trivia. It's much harder to play than it is to host, that's for sure! We ended in last place, but had fun nonetheless. 

I came home to end the night with Once Upon a Time. How sexy is Captain Hook?

Marry me, please.

Not sure what lies ahead for today, other than vinyasa yoga and hot yoga from 6-8pm. I expect today will be marvelously relaxing :)

On a not-so-marvelous note, Tuesday's weather forecast is bleak:

I'm not ready for snow and cold :(

The bane of my New England-based existence.

Linking up to Katie's MIMM: