Later 2011

Holy blog break.  I flew back to North Carolina for a very relaxing chill Christmas break which gave me plenty of time to rest up for whatever goes down this weekend. I have never been so giddy for a new year.  2011 wasn't bad but I was never really all that excited for it and I definitely won't miss it.  2012 is going to be great!  I am going to get an "adult grip" on my life. An "adult grip" I think involves something like learning how to save for my future rather than for tomorrow or attempting 6-8 hrs of sleep at least 5 nights a week.  Maybe I'll even start to buy matching towels?  Who knows where this year will lead but I will make sure that it is an interesting and productive one.

Ha who knew the word jiggle could be so funny.

Yep.

Disclaimer

I don't do ish on Monday's, hence why there was no post yesterday.  I prefer to just space out every Monday and pretend they don't exist.  It is just better that way and my week is a better one because I do so.  I did manage to find a bar for New Years Eve and meet up with my friend Alison who was in town for business so it wasn't a complete waste of a day.  Alison and I strolled around NYC and looked at the Christmas decorations.  This is my favorite time of the year in New York and makes the rest of the hectic/frustrating/crazy time worth living here. 

My personal favorite are the big red ornaments...

Obviously you have to take a picture of the Rockefeller center Christmas tree

And as promised... Pictures from this years Santacon.  A huge hit.  I think my favorite moment was seeing a santa passed out in the middle of the street at 10:30am. 

This is at approximately 8:30am still cute and sober

At around 11:30am down in the Financial District.  SANTA'S EVERYWHERE

This would probably not be a great day for you if you have Santaphobia... just a thought.

SANTACON!

Nothing gets you in the Christmas spirit as much as Santacon day, aka the most amazing event/bar crawl EVER in NYC.  Basically it all started a few years ago with a few alcoholic fools (because this is how all great things start) that felt like dressing up as Santa and bar hopping through NYC.  I guess the idea had a snowball effect and every year more and more people started participating to the point that they had to turn it into a charity event (bring two cans of food) just to get by with the craziness of it all.  This is my 3rd Christmas in New York meaning this will be my 3rd time participating in this glorious event.  I will be starting around 8am tomorrow morning wandering around the streets of Manhattan as a Christmas present.  I pre-apologize for any of my behavior.

The first year I was an elf and there were about 2000 people

The second year I was a Christmas tree and there were about 5000 people

This year I am assuming there is going to be double the amount of people from last year and double the amount of crazy.  I will try to take pictures and not break my phone while doing so.  For more information on what goes down on this awesome day check out the website.  http://nycsantacon.com/  The rules are my favorite.


Have a great weekend! ho ho ho

Little Miss Suzy Homemaker

Yes that is what I go by these days, or just last night.  Urban dictionary (told you I love this site) defines a Suzy Homemaker as someone who is awesomely funny and good-looking, and would make an awesome wife, but is not yet one.  Yeah thats about right.  

First, I decided my apartment needed a little Christmas spirit so I went out to purchase a tree.  Finding a live tree in the city is a lot harder than it should be.  Correction, finding a reasonably priced live tree in the city is near to impossible.  I heard that the Home Depot a block from my apartment had trees for a pretty good deal, so to HD I went.  Not only were they reasonable, they were huge!  I debated between the 6 or the 8 footer for a while until I realized I would be spending $80 bucks on an 8ft tree that I would only get to enjoy for a week before I return home for Christmas.  So I go up to pay for the 6ft tree and here is how the next 5 minutes of my life goes:

HD Cashier: Well go pick one out and bring it over here. 
Me: Uh...like pick it up?  Someones overestimating how strong I am now aren't we? 
HD Cashier: Well how else did you expect to get it home?  We can deliver for $20.
Me: No, I can do this.  Delivery is an unnecessary expense.


So I go over to the tree thats already wrapped up so I couldn't even tell you if its a real beaut or not, barely get my arms around it and with all of my force pick it up.  It gets about 7 inches off the ground and I put it back down before me and the tree fall over.  I call my roommate Andrea to talk some sense into me (she's been pretty good at for the past 7 years) and shes short of calling me an idiot.  So I walk back to the cashier with a baby tree that is about 3ft tall.


HD Cashier: Couldn't pick it up could you?
Me: Big trees are overrated and messy.




Once I got home I went to cleaning and decorating.  Here is the finished product:

Chevy Chase is looking a little creepster in Christmas Vacation.


I then spent the rest of the evening cooking.  On the menu- Salmon, roasted vegetables, heinie lights and chocolate chip cookies.  In my vegetable assortment I included butternut squash which I learned is a total pain to peel.  No wonder my mom cusses me when I ask for it.  However there is a trick to getting this yummy veggie peel free, a potato peeler.  Worked like magic and also saved some fingers. That is my only tip for the day.  Overall it was a perfect night in and I have done enough suzy homemaking to last me a solid week or two. 

White girl problems

White Girl Problems (WGP) Urban Dictionary Definition:  Problems that only stereotypical middle to upper class white girls seem to encounter. To the untrained eye these problems might seem like a symptom of being spoiled, ungrateful, and overly obsessed with superficial appearances and material possessions. The truth is though life is like really hard.

It started off first thing Monday morning. I overslept and didn't make it to the gym so I decided to walk the 32 blocks to work  for exercise.  In the middle of Flo Rida telling me sometimes he gets a good feeling, my IPhone was ripped out of my pocket and fell 3 ft to the concrete shattering the entire front screen. Awesome. When I picked it up quickly a piece of glass got stuck in my thumb.  So I walked the remaining 8 blocks leaving a trail of blood behind me (a trail might be taking it a little far but there was blood!).  Even more awesome.   Once I whined to the Apple tech people for a solid 15 minutes, I was told I was in the clear to get a new phone so basically I wouldn't sue.  I assume this means for free.  Wrong.  Once I got to the Apple store they told me they would exchange my phone for a new one for JUST $250 and that's all, good as new.  Yeah, no.  I just spent a ton of money buying new jeans because (WGP #2) none of my old pairs fit anymore thanks to my dieting efforts.  I am pretty sure I lost 7 lbs in my rear alone which I can no longer consider one of my key assets.  I want it back but I can't figure out how to besides gaining weight and I obvi don't want to do that.  See, there is a downside to dieting besides being miserable and hungry all of the time.  Anyways, someone told me I could find a 3rd party vendor that would just replace the glass for $100.  Definitely go this route if nothing else is wrong with your phone.  I convinced the guy to give me a discount if I wrote a review about his company on google.  Done, but whatttt a hassle!  Now I just need a massive rubber case.


If you are ever bored you should probably spend a few minutes/hours on www.urbandictionary.com.  Its my go to for all of my basic knowledge after wikipedia started boring me.  For kicks and giggles you should search for your name.  Its way more entertaining than it should be. 



Christmas wishlist- Really the only thing I want in life, a female golden retriever named Carter. 

Don't feed the fat kid.

I am so over this eating thing.  I have consumed more than I thought humanly possible in the past week.  Now its time to find a healthy way to not over stuff myself every time I see food.  It also doesn't help that my parents house is like a buffet that is open ALL of the time.  Yummm. I did everything I said I was going to while I was home minus the running, which basically made the week perfect.   (I did attempt to run with the dogs but they have worse A.D.D. than I do when it comes to running, so we gave up after a solid 10 yards).  By Sunday I was getting a little stir crazy and actually starting to miss the action of NYC.  Now that I am back, I am ready to return to NC, just can't win.


This week I am trying to get my life back in order since I am no longer starving myself or stuffing myself.  Tonight I am going to clean to prepare for Christmas decorations, maybe do a face mask, eat some lettuce and vegetables... caramelized brussel sprouts, probably, and hopefully continue my marathon of Lifetime/Hallmark Christmas movies I started while I was home.  Some of those are real tear jerkers, I know every single person reading this has teared up at least once, if not twice when watching one.  No shame.

If you are in need of an awesome face mask try this:


Not going to lie, its a little scary at first because its solid black and if it gets stuck in your hair, it will rip it out.  So follow the instructions...

If you are in need of a Dr. Suess motivational quote, read this:

  

And if anyone knows a baby I can steal for a day to put them in this awesome Burberry blinging baby suit, please let me know.  K thanks.

Back to NC!

And I am OFF!  I have not spent more than 12 hours in my hometown since last Christmas.  It is an understatement to say that I am excited.  I NEED to see my entire family including the mammals, Tess (dog) and Calvin (meow).  I am going to eat, eat, shop, sleep, eat, run, eat and sleep some more.  It is going to be AWESOME.  See you next Tuesday!

Kind of hookerish, eh?

Winning.

The only thing Charlie Sheen actually won at was coining the term "winning".  And thats just what I did.

Weigh in was this morning at 8:30am.  I wasn't sure if I was going to make it or not.  Not so much about making weight but actually living to see if I was going to do so. My weekend consisted of eating 2 egg whites and 4 green juices.  I caved and had two saltines last night before bed.    The hardest part was not being able to drink liquids after 6pm.  It doesn't sound like it should be that difficult but its shocking how much water your body actually needs.  So for the final results.  I came in at 126.5 when I needed 129.6.  I lost 12.2% of my original body weight.  So not only did I win, I KILLED it.  But that's what I do, go big or go home.  What I will not do anytime soon however is another weight bet.  DIET THE END. 

So now I can focus on things that I really like.  Like cooking healthy meals.  I leave tomorrow to go back to NC for a week but once I get back here are a few things that will definitely be happening in my kitchen.

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts:

Ingredients:
12-14 large brussels sprouts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch sea salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted
Directions:
Slice each brussels sprout very thin until you have a mound of feathery brussels sprout ribbons. Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large skillet and saute the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the brussels sprouts and continue sauteing for another 4-5 minutes, until bright green and tender. Add the sea salt and brown sugar and toss together. Finish by adding the toasted nuts.
Time:
20 minutes






Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger (this looks harder)



(Makes 8)

• 15oz black beans, drained + rinsed
• 3c cubed sweet tater, cooked + skin on [~1.5lbs]
• 1/2c frozen or fresh corn
• 2/3c finely chopped onion [1/2 medium onion]
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2c cooked quinoa
• 6T rolled oats, partially ground
• 2T sunflower seeds
• 1/2t salt
• black pepper
• 1t cumin
• 1t oregano
• 1/4t coriander
• 1t chili powder
• 1/4t cayenne [optional]
• 1T olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 375* once you finish cooking the quinoa + potato.
2. Mash half of the beans in a bowl until paste-like.
3. Add in the rest of the beans and give a very light stir/mash to combine.
4. In a large bowl, mash the sweet tater.  Each cube should be mashed, but you don’t want it creamy.
5. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, coriander, chili powder, cayenne [if using] and olive oil, until combined.
6. Mix in the onion, garlic, corn, black beans, quinoa, sunflower seeds, and ground oats, until just combined.
7. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
8. Form into balls, between your hands and flatten into 1/2”-3/4” thick patties.  This should make 8 medium/large patties.
9. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper [or lightly greased pan] and bake on each side for 15min, flipping once, half-way through.
10. Remove from oven + serve! 

And of course dessert- Snickerdoodle Blondies - uh YUM (maybe not so healthy but dessert isn't supposed to be)

• 2 2/3 cups AP flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch turbinado sugar

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Combine flour baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and set aside.

2.) In a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.

3.) Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and turbinado sugar in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

4.) Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting. Makes 20-24 bars.

Let the Unhealthy Begin!

It's on.

For the next 3 days my body is going to hate me.  I am going to be eating the bare minimum and then starting Sunday around 1pm I am going to consume no liquids or food and sit in a sauna.  I can't lose.  I promise on Monday after weigh in at 8:30am I will go back to eating healthy.  Besides getting skinny, this little competition has been pretty positive for me, regardless of whether or not I lose (which I won't).  First, I no longer feel the need to snack all of the time and it has lessened my need for something sweet after every meal.  Second, it has gotten me on a great routine of getting up at 5:15am 3-4 times a week to go to the gym.  Going to the gym in the morning is great.  A.  You don't have to fight for a machine. B. Everything is clean and no one's in there to smell it up yet.  C. Its too early for your body to register what you are making it do so it just goes along with it.  D.  None of your friends are up to convince you that going to happy hour is better than going to the gym, which duh, happy hour trumps gym every time. 

So this weekend I am going to see what NYC is all about if you don't eat or drink.  I have no clue what this entails.  That is basically all I do  because otherwise you spend gobs of money on shows and shopping.  A tad bit of shopping might happen but shows aren't my thing.  I get antsy and bored half way through which usually leads me to eating (can't happen).  

Motivation:

I beg to differ... Obvi girl's never had a cheeseburger, or a burrito... or a chocolate chip cookie.

M.B.O.A.

Missing because of action.

I left last Thursday to go to Boston for the weekend to see some friends and some boy I kind of like a little bit.  It was a GREAT weekend filled with hiking adventures, hanging around Boston and fun.  Once I returned home, life has been non-stop.  I joined a coed indoor soccer league here in NYC and last night was our first game.  My team is a "free agent" team meaning everyone shows up knowing no one on their team.  Awesome.  I have never been so nervous for something that is supposed to be fun in my entire life.  Luckily I wasn't the worst, obviously far from the best, but I didn't completely embarrass myself and my team won 6-4.  Today, every part of my body hurts.  I feel like I was thrown into a concrete wall a few times, oh wait, I was.  Can't wait for the next game. 

As for the diet.  I have 2 lbs to go which is shocking since I feel like I haven't been that extreme.  Maybe I did have some weight to lose.  But to ensure that I jump on that scale safe I am eating cabbage soup all week.  I am not following the "official" cabbage soup diet found here because honestly it sounds like a lot of food.  I think it would've been great to follow if it was week one of this whole adventures in weightloss fun, but I can't chance how my body might react to 10-20 ounces of beef on day 5 or 2-3 steaks on day 6.  Boys, thats a lot of meat.   The soup itself is actually very tasty and my version is about 62 calories a cup, maybe even less.  I made sure to make mine spicy and I left out the bouillon cubes.  Too much sodium.    Every day this week my mom and I have been mapping out my revenge on dieting by planning every meal from breakfast, lunch, dinner to happy hour apps that will start the minute I get off the plane for Thanksgiving.  Can. Not. Wait.

Happy cabbage Wednesday!

Shout out to Kelsey Marie Mitman

Kelsey has now been taken off of my list of banned items and is now on my list of over achievers.  This little munchkin just found out that next year she will be teaching Elementary school in Atlanta through Teach For America.  THIS IS HUGE AND I AM SO EXCITED FOR HER!!  Hence why I am taking a break from talking about me and making it all about her... for at least a post.  I can't think of anyone that would make a better teacher.  Especially for youngsters in Elementary school.  She has one of the biggest hearts and is great with kids, not to mention shes a bundle of fun no matter what the situation. 

I wanted to have a mini timeline with pictures of me and Kelsey except apparently we don't like to take many appropriate pictures together that really show how great of an influence she is going to be on these kids, so here's just a few.

  

So if you are lucky to know this Kelsey girl I call my best friend tell her congrats and give her a pat on the butt back!

Crunch Time

It has been the longest day EVER.  I realized that it didn't help the watch I am wearing is pre-daylight savings so I've thought it was an hour later all day only to constantly have to go back in time.  Talk about bad déjà vu.  I am also so hungry.  I knew I liked food but I had no idea how it affected my mood.   I once took a "what kind of eater are you" test and the three choices were, boredom, stress, or energy.  I chose stress eater.  False.  I eat for energy and happiness.  I am not in a good mood today to say the least.  Weigh in is in 2 weeks and I have 7 lbs to lose.  Sounds impossible. Mostly because it is, especially if you expect to do it in any sort of healthy way.   This week involves as few as calories as possible.  I am sure I will destroy whatever weight I lose this weekend so I am saving the last seven days for the cabbage soup diet.  I have only read negative things about this diet.  Mostly about how bad it is for you because you lose so much weight in such a short amount of time.  Diet jackpot.   That is exactly what I am going for, cabbage soup it is! 

On a positive note, after these next two miserable weeks,  I am going to be SO skinny... maybe not for long but I'll get a taste of how skinny feels, which I can go ahead and say probably feels hungry.

 Diet Humor