working hard, not hardly working

i love summer but it's a bit crazy!

last week i followed my half-marathon training plan to a T.

this week we have:

monday: swimming 35 minutes (i'm switching this with running - i just can't run on mondays ... too tired!)
tuesday: running 4 to 5 miles
wednesday: rest
thursday: running 4 to 5 miles
friday: swimming 35 minutes
saturday: running 4 to 5 miles
sunday: rest

my weekend was good. i had friday off in lieu of working wednesday, canada day. on thursday night i met one of my girlfriends at fresh, and it was absolutely phenomenal. i ordered the "energy" bowl which was marinated tofu cubes, rich coconut curry sauce, chick pea & vegetable stew, cucumber, tomato, red onion, sunflower sprouts & tahini sauce on brown basmati rice. i asked for no cucumbers and got beets or carrot instead - the bowl was a bit messy so i couldn't tell.

i also ordered the hot lung lover drink which was made from pineapple, apple, ginger, lemon, cayenne and a respiratonic. i have been on the brink of having a lung/cough/sore throat for about a week now. i am killing it with tons of vitamin C and cold fx. i think i may have beaten it because now i just have a dry cough and that's it.

anyway, it was one of the greatest meals i've ever had. everything is vegetarian and healthy - perhaps not low in calories but that's ok. i wish i was there right now.

friday i went swimming in the morning, worked (at home - i am very busy with work) all day, then went to the dentist in the afternoon. DAMMIT they sure did probe my gums! my whole mouth killed for hours afterward. i have no cavities but the chip fell out of a previously chipped tooth so i have to go back and get that fixed. on friday night i went to a bbq - our host made sweet potato fries, bbq'd asparagus, chicken kabobs and burgers. i had everything but no bun with the burger - delish. i also enjoyed samuel adams summer wheat ale which had a hint of lemon. enjoyed it.

saturday, worked all day again, went for a 4-mile run in the early afternoon. i am finding the 5-milers to be too much for me right now. i think it's the throat cough wearing me down. in the evening i went to see poison and def leppard with some friends. no i'm not joking haha. it was a lot of fun. this post is getting too long! more tomorrow :)

lunchtime

i scheduled yesterday's post to come out of the blog vault at 1:40 pm, and it didn't work. i wondered why no one was commenting! dammit! and now this one didn't post either.

yesterday i went swimming. it was pretty good. my bf came over for date night and he brought some food his mom had given to him so we had a mishmash for dinner. some lasagna and some sausages with peas and potatoes. i added beans to the mix. it was all right. i really appreciated it more when i realized i only had our dinner plates as dishes to wash. and by wash i mean put in the dishwasher. and by that i mean i'll do that tonight.

today i am scheduled for a run, but it's supposed to rain. options: a) go running in the rain - hardcore! b) run on the treadmill inside. i think i'd rather go outside and get soaked. i LOATHE running on the treadmill. it makes me so hot and bothered and i mean sweaty and actually bothered as in "this is the worst" - not to mention it's boring and there is nothing to look at except once in a while the condo maintenance guy comes and throws something in the outdoor trash. boring! sorry condo man, but you are a dullard.

i am excited because tomorrow i am meeting a friend for lunch - guess where?


wow, i'm jealous of myself. did you know they have these in ontario now? well, two or three of them - but one is close enough to my work. i have seen lots of US bloggers visiting panera bread and receiving gift cards and enjoying sandwiches and soups and i longed for that to be me. alas, my dreams are finally coming true! what shall i order? i will have to peruse the online menu tomorrow morning. ooooh i can't wait.

does this sound good to you?

GRILLED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM SANDWICH
With spinach, goat cheese, pomegranate molasses, red pepper, fresh basil. Crafted with our wonderful hearth baked, traditional Italian Ciabatta bread.

served with crisp greens.

it's what i had for lunch at milestones

i am going to eat the second half of my sandwich later when HUNGER STRIKES.

shshshshopping

last night i went to homesense to do a little shopping. i am going to a girlfriend's birthday dinner tonight and don't want to show up empty handed. everyone always says "no gifts, no gifts" when no one is going to refuse (and not love) a little something. i like homesense because it is the same company as winners. i can go in, find the perfect gift, and not be distracted by the clothes!

i ended up buying more for myself than for my friend... of course. i absolutely LOVE flavoured coffees and i found two amazing ones from a company called "pie in the sky" and distributed by figueroa brothers, inc. although i can't find anything about the coffee on the website. the coffee flavours i got... are you ready for this?... coconut creme pie and boston creme pie. mmmmmmm. of course i haven't tried them yet but am confident they will be sinlessly delicious.

i also bought two bottle koozies. what is a koozie? yeah... that was my question too. it's a little zip up jacket for your bottle. i bought them with the intention of using them for alcoholic drinks. for example, if a person wanted to enjoy a pomtini on toronto island without arising suspicion. but then it occurred to me that they are probably for water bottles. one is bright orange with white polka dots and the other is bright green with white polka dots. each one has a cute little mitten zipper tag. i'm assuming they are being marketed towards women, which is why i never thought they were for beer. but they could be for beer. if you like beer. in a bottle. like a corona... alright i feel better now. they were on super discount for $0.70 each. in these hard economic times i can justify this goofy purchase.

i bought my friend a pretty amazing present, if i do say so myself. it is a Liquid Solutions Tea-zer Tea Brewing Tumbler with Infuser Basket in blue. basically a loose leaf tea thermos. what a great idea not to mention adorable. not everyone likes coffee (did i just say that?) but most people like tea. AND loose leaf teas are becoming more of a mainstream rage. or maybe, when you get to a certain age more people can afford and drink loose leaf teas.

afterward, i went to loblaws to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies. i love loblaws AND their organic section is pretty similar to whole foods market. last night i spotted almost everything i buy at whole foods for cheaper prices. i bought grapefruits, blood oranges, bananas, and this. i know it's overpriced for oats but i have to try it! review to come later.

i didn't do any yoga last night but i did do some this morning. i tried the 20-minute lunar flow. i loved the spine twists but some of the weird backward bending moves made my lower back ache and i'm sure i'll be in yoga pain tomorrow. i am heading down for a swim around noon, and tonight am walking a) to my boyfriend's apartment 2.5 miles away and b) to the restaurant, maybe another mile or so.

taking a rest day

i hate it when people talk about how tired they are in the morning because everyone is tired and no one cares. it's so boring and i'm really sorry, but I AM SO TIRED. seriously, i haven't felt like this (death) in quite a long time. here is my scoop:

i went to stay at my bf's apartment last night for date night, and since i drove i had to park on the street and leave before 7am this morning. all night long all i heard was loud people and loud trucks and i woke up in a panic a thousand times thinking i slept in and the noise was my car being towed away. needless to say it was not a good sleep and i am a zzzzombie today.

i was going to swim this morning, but decided it's a good day for a rest day, seeing as how i can hardly open my eyes. i did 20 minutes of hatha yoga last night, and maybe i'll do some again tonight, but probably not. it's my book club meeting for gone with the wind.

here is today's menu:

quaker reduced sugar oatmeal (2)
1/4 cup all bran (0)

1/2 cup greek yogurt (3)
1/2 cup pumpkin (0)
2 TBSP pomegranate seeds (0)

sweet potato (3.5)
wrap made with:
flat out wrap (1)
2 sliced smoked fat free turkey (1)
mustard, spinach, tomato (0)

yogurt (1)
3/4 cup kamut puffs (0.5)

and then going here for dinner. any suggestions on what to get? i'm thinking maybe the moroccan chili or the vegetarian chili. they are under appetizers. i don't want to eat too much or spend too much.

big fatty fatterson

there is too much going out to eat in my world. last night the bf and i ordered swiss chalet online. we got messy chicken sandwiches but they forgot the gravy! that's like going to an amusement park with no rides! luckily i had an extra swiss chalet gravy powder in my cupboard but still - that is not the point. i wrote them a message this morning so hopefully something will come of it.

tonight i am have a lot of girlfriends over to watch the premiere of grey's anatomy. we are ordering thai food which i had pretty much planned for, but now - surprise - my office is taking the staff to this mexican place for lunch. do i just get a salad? do i get whatever i want and eat until i'm full? do i think about what would be the best and try to eat only 1/2? i really don't know. i have a pretty good idea about calories and fat (for the most part) so i'm just going to make an educated guess when i get there. it's not the end of the world. this weekend i am going to try *extra hard* to watch my portions. i am a fit person, who exercises, so as long as i watch portions i should be able to maintain my weight... apparently!

the good thing is - i am not eating many nuts. in fact, today i had no nuts at all. i had peanut butter, but that isn't like chomping down on an actual nut anyway.

here is today's menu:

breakfast:
whole wheat bagel (4)
PB2 peanut butter (1)
5/19

lunch:
enchiladas maybe - i read on dwlz.com that these were a good option. or a salad. i don't know.

dinner:
something thai

one things is for sure - i've got to stop dreading eating! i love food - i don't want to dread eating it!