tappity tap tap

thursday... yahoo! note that i posted a poll - it's on the right side of the page. nothing too exciting but something i want to know.

last night was pretty good. for dinner we had homemade bean and barley soup (delicious), my homemade meatballs (i had 4) from the weekend, and rye bread. surprisingly it was very satisfying all night long. later my boyfriend wanted to make a snack but i refused. the thought of a giant bowl of popcorn and ketchup chips did sound good but i was happy i didn't need to give in. i had some chai tea instead. (he didn't snack either.)

i also put together a night table from ikea. it was a pain in the bumhoolio. why? because there is a door on hinges and i just couldn't get it to fit right for such a long time. and you all know those ikea instructions are hit or miss.

this is what it looks like but in white and much bigger of course. and the door swings open from the left:


let me say, thank you mom for buying me that cordless electric screwdriver/drill a couple of years ago for christmas. it was a lifesaver. the thought of handscrewing (that sounds funny haha) bolts and screws in and out in and out makes me cringe. so i did one and i have another to do, so maybe tonight and maybe not. tonight i am going for a treadmill run, and then i have tap class. tappity tap tap.

today my menu is:

breakfast:
coffee at home
coffee at work
1 and a half packages of pc blue menu multigrain oatmeal (i am trying this because one package is often not filling enough to last until lunch)
blueberries

snack:
clementine

lunch:
turkey sandwich on rye bread with swiss cheese and mustard
apple
raw baby carrots and tomatoes with hummus

snack:
fat free yogurt
grapes

dinner: not sure yet. :)

product review: aveda comforting tea

another post you lucky people. at work in the afternoon i like to drink this aveda comforting tea to relax and because after 4pm i start getting the bored munchies. this tea is SO DAMN GOOD. not joking. i enjoy tea but think herbal tea is only okay, but this tea blows my mind. it has peppermint and licorice, is caffeine free (although i like caffeine myself), and is 100% organic. i have the loose leaf kind and put it in one of those metal balls that sits in your tea, although it also comes in bags. the loose leaves scatter in the mug, even with a tea ball, so don't let this scare you. it doesn't need milk or sweetening or anything. it's perfect just the way it is.

finally a post

so, check out this food:


there is: one mexican casserole, two bags of frozen perogies with some sort of gravy or sauce, one bag of frozen kopytka, two jars of homemade soup, one jar of homemade meat spaghetti sauce, one cucumber (sick), four apples, one tropicana juice container, one giant loaf of rye bread, two types of deli meat, and swiss cheese.


i have never seen so many swiss cheese slices in my life. in one place. actually probably if i combined all the swiss cheese slices i've seen in my entire life it would be more than this. not the point.


and a close-up of the perogies and kopytka.

and how did my boyfriend's mom react to my superclean apartment? well, she didn't come. that's right, you read it right. she didn't even come. she got my boyfriend's brother to drop it off... so all that cleaning, for nothing! well, except my own happiness because i do like a clean apartment. she called me while i was at my friend's house and gave me food storage and cooking instructions and to thank me for taking care of her son while she was gone. very nice but what a european thing to do. lex- they are polish :)

so anyhoo, last night i had swiss chalet at my friend's house. i got the quarter chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and a multigrain bun. they gave me a regular bun and a multigrain one, so i brought one for lunch today. mmmmm yum. i had a nice cup of starbucks "calm" tea at home (i have the bags) and had a great sleep.

this morning i woke up and walked on the treadmill for 80 minutes switching up the inclines. it's a good workout. i like to read while i'm doing it but nothing heavy. as in, no hardcover books haha. and usually something light and fun as well. it is obscenely early of course. i'm reading "the line of beauty" by alan hollinghurst for my bookclub but it's too heavy (in weight and topic) so this morning i started reading the first book in the gossip girl series. i ordered it from the library. scandalicious. then i was going to do a leg shave... ran the tub... put a foot in... and the water was ice cold! what in the world!? that was a surprise i did not like. something was up with my hot water this morning. so i had a shower and it was barely luke-warm... bleh. and on a windy, frigid morning like today as well.

in other news, when my boyfriend comes over tonight for our regularly scheduled wednesday date, he isn't leaving! testing testing one two three... ;o)

and today's menu:

pre-workout:
1/2 fibre one oats and chocolate bar

during workout:
1 giant travel mug of coffee
1 plastic container filled with club soda and low cal grape juice (don't ask - i am trying to make room in the fridge)

post workout:
tea
1/2 fibre one oats and chocolate bar (1)

breakfast:
coffee
weight control maple brown sugar oatmeal (2)
blueberries
clementine (0.5)

snack:
grapes (1)
raw baby tomatoes
raw baby carrots
scoop of hummus (0.5)

lunch:
NHL chef boyardee pasta cup (2)
multigrain bun (2)
clementine (0.5)

snack:
fat free yogurt (1)
1/4 cup all bran (0.5)
grapes

dinner:
i assume perogies and homemade soup.

super prepared

last night my run was not good. it started out alright, but i tied my right shoelace too tight and it was bothering me, so i pushed pause to re-tie it and all my settings disappeared. i hate that. so i had to restart but then my leg was feeling all weird, excuse excuse etc., i did it (4 miles) but the last ten minutes of my run went like this: three minutes running, two walking, three running, two walking, and so on.

here is my get this: today i had to be super prepared. i cleaned my bathroom last night, and then found out at 10 pm that my boyfriend's mother would be stopping by my apartment tonight. ah! this is a big deal because she has never been there before, and obviously her youngest son spends a lot of time there, so first impressions are very important. she is a stay at home european mom, so things like having a clean, good looking house (meaning that i am a lovely young woman who can take care of this stuff in the future) are vital.

why is she coming? well, she is coming to drop off food, like perogies and homemade soups and stuff. she is going to europe for a couple of weeks and my boyfriend is coming to stay with me... starting tomorrow (at her suggestion!) she drives him to the subway and stuff in the morning (he commutes to the city) and won't be there to do that. do i need her to bring food? no, but 1) who am i do deny delicious homemade (free) food and 2) there is no point in refusing this for other obvious reasons.

so of course i had to clean like a madwoman! thank god i already cleaned the bathroom so it really wasn't that bad. but i have plans after work today and won't be home until after 9pm, so i had to leave the house this morning with everything immaculate. also i had to remember to bring stuff (books and movies) for my friend (ex-roommate) that i am meeting, set the tape for biggest loser, bring my old remote control from my old house to return, feed the cat, etc. i think i remembered it all. i hope, anyway.

so tonight i am going to my ex-roommate's apartment - we used to live together until december and now we both live alone. should be fun. we are going to order swiss chalet or something.

this morning i woke up early (because i am having mad trouble sleeping lately... mind is racing) and did 60 minutes incline intervals on the treadmill. i changed from 80 to 60 because i needed some extra sleep. still a good workout. if i don't get a good sleep tonight i am gonna lose it.

today i'm eating:

post walk:
1 slice of sprouted grains toast with peanut butter
coffee

breakfast:
more coffee
maple brown sugar weight control oatmeal
blueberries

lunch:
peanut chicken lean cuisine

snacks i brought and may or may not eat:
fibre source bar
clementine
apple
red grapes
fat free yogurt

dinner:
swiss chalet? if so, i'm thinking of a quarter chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy. did you know the mashed potatoes and gravy is less calories than the baked potato? and more delicious? it's true. :)

gonna do it

well. normally i wouldn't make another post in the evening, but i'd like to tell everyone (and myself) that even though it's 8:55pm, and i'd like to curl up in my bed with a book, i'm going to the gym now. i've had a nice big salad, cleaned the bathroom, and now i'm going to the gym. yep. going! mondays are for tcb (takin' care of business) and if i don't go now i'm going to regret it. so here i go...

another great contest!

A Cowboy’s Wife is having a contest on her food blog! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible!

monday again?

yes, it's monday again. i took the weekend off from exercise because i was pooped and needed a break. friday night was my boyfriend's show at the rivoli and that was fun. i tried to take a nap before it started but i couldn't which was really annoying. i don't like taking naps and i hardly ever do. why? because i always lie there like a flopping fish, trying to sleep but thinking about nonsense instead. but the show was good. saturday we slept in (big time) until 1:30pm... can you believe it? i can't. alright i can. we were supposed to go to ikea and exchange these bedroom curtains i got which don't block any light but i was too lazy and we just did nothing.

actually that's not true. i walked to the grocery store and got lots of stuff. my boyfriend made us breakfast (at 4:30pm!!!) while i cleaned the apartment. then i transformed a package of lean ground chicken into two delicious hamburger patties (for dinner) and meatballs (which i have frozen). touching raw ground meat really grosses me out haha but the outcome is rather nice.

this week i am going to try and take care of business. i really need to clean my bathroom... tonight! in terms of eating i am going to try again to only eat when i'm hungry. last week i did a lot of mindless snacking, or just eating because the food was there in front of me, which isn't a good habit to get into.

today i'm eating:

breakfast:
weight control maple brown sugar oatmeal
clementine

lunch:
lean cuisine mushroom something pizza

snacks i brought:
2 fat free yogurts
fiber one peanut butter bar
another clementine