The Best Day of the Week

Yesterday, I slept in until almost 7! I spent the first part of the morning in blogland and finally made breakfast around 8. I made whole wheat pancakes from a mix that we bought on our trip to Smith Mountain Lake back in August. I normally make pancakes from scratch but I really wanted to try out that mix since it was local, at least to where we were on vacation. Along with the pancakes, I made scrambled eggs with mostly egg whites. On the side, I had a little dish of real maple syrup. I like the syrup on the side because I don’t like it when the pancakes soak up the syrup. The pancakes were good but an addition of nuts and some vanilla extract would have made them better.

We relaxed for a bit after breakfast; once my breakfast was settled, I did another practice from the Power Yoga for Everybody Dvd. This was a 65 minute flow for balancing energies. I really enjoyed the first 45 minutes of the practice but the last 20 was a little too low key for my taste. I am not into forward bends that last for more than a few breaths and these were right on the verge of being like a yin pratice. I still have one more practice to try on this particular dvd and if I don’t like it, I think I am going to get rid of it.

Once my yoga practice was done, I did a little housework and then settled onto the sofa with my book. I read for a couple of hours before making lunch. I had been really cold most of the morning so I knew that soup would be just the thing. I took some of the soup I made last weekend out of the freezer, heated it up and topped it with parmesan cheese.

On the side, I made a whole wheat yeast roll to round out a delightful lunch.

For my after lunch treat, I took a nap! i guess my body needed the rest because I fell right asleep while watching tv. I slept for about an hour and then did some laundry. I also helped the dear husband through a yoga practice for runners. He is starting to have problems with really tight muscles and yoga is just the thing for that. Once he was all loose and limber, I put the chicken in the oven for dinner and then hopped on the treadmill for about 30 minutes.

Once the chicken was done, I served over barley with sauteed kale on the side. For the kale, I used onion, garlic, salt, lemon pepper, crushed red pepper and a dash of nutmeg. It was a great Sunday dinner.

After dinner, we relaxed a bit and then had dessert; I had a fage with honey and walnuts. I finally made my way to bed when I was falling asleep watching the Emmy’s. My long weekend was great and I think I am energized and ready for another week at work.

QOTD: If you practice yoga, is there a particular style you prefer? Mine is vinyasa and I think I would love ashtanga if I tried it. I like my practice to be active and to get the warm from the inside out feeling.

Spontanious Friend Time

Yesterday, I was a little more sensible about the timing of my breakfast and ate breakfast shortly after waking up. It was a lovely spring morning so I decided to make a bowl of pumpkin oats. I used oats, oat milk, water, salt, the ripest banana I have ever been brave enough to use, cinnamon, nutmeg, a dash of ginger and pumpkin, of course. I cooked it on the stove and once it was ready, I topped it with walnuts and granola. It was warm, filling and delicious.

After breakfast and some time in blogland, I did a 50 minute flow from my Power Yoga for Everybody dvd. It wasn’t my style at all, the name of the practice was invigorating so I was expecting something totally different. It was very slow and rather than flowing through the poses it was very slow. Some parts reminded me of a beginners hatha class and some of the poses were much more advanced like crane pose. All in all, it just didn’t seem to flow together and I ended up stopping it about 10 minutes before it was over. I was aggravated and just ready to stop. I have enjoyed a couple of the other practices on this dvd so all is not lost.

By the time I was showered and ready for our day, the dear husband was back from his long run. We headed out to lunch at Ukrop’s salad bar. I loaded my plate with lots of veggies, cheese, a little ham and the seafood salad that I love so much. On the side I had cottage cheese topped with glazed strawberries, a smidge of pasta salad and my beloved three bean salad. To round it out, I had half a pita. My eyes were bigger than my stomach as it is most of the time we eat there so I was only able to finish about 2/3 of it.

After lunch, we met up with our friends Sarah and Francis to go to a local craft fair. Once we walked around the craft fair we didn’t really know what we were doing but decided we would figure it out along the way. We got into their car and Sarah gave me a tiny bag of chocolate from bars she had tried. I tried the chocolate with bread and sea salt right away. It was interesting to say the least, I called it an upscale crunch bar because it had the same texture.

We made a quick stop at their house to drop off a car and then made our way to Starbucks. I got an americano with a sugar in the raw packet and extra room. Once made, I topped it with a combo of milk and half and half. This seems to be my drink of choice these days.

We ended up shopping for most of the afternoon and I got hungry for a snack late in the day. I had a smore’s Z bar which I enjoyed but I think the dear husband liked better.

Around 6 we made our way to Downtown Richmond to Panda Veg. It is an all vegan buffet that serves a combo of asian style dishes. The dear husband and I had never been but since Sarah and Francis are vegetarians we were surely game for a new eating adventure. On my first plate, I had a little hot and sour soup, double cooked “chicken”, “beef”and broccoli, salt and pepper potatoes and an egg roll. I had a bite of the soup only to realize that it was way too spicy for my taste. Then surprisingly, the “chicken” and “beef” were bland in comparison. I really loved the potatoes, though.

I tried a little of the dear husbands blanched bean curd and knew I had to go back for more. This time, I filled my plate with the blanched bean curd and the lo mein noodles. I really enjoyed the tofu and wish I knew how to make the sauce that it was prepared in!

Finally, we tried the warm donuts. O.M.G. were they ever good, I must admit for going back for a second one. I loved how they were not sweet except the outside sugar coating. The center was warm and fluffy, I think I could have packed away at least a dozen of those things.

Then, Sarah said that she couldn’t leave without having a mochi so we gave that a try too. And as good as I thought the donuts were, I thought this was exactly the opposite. I even spit my bite out, gross I know. Sarah dared me to post the picture that I took of the spit out wad of goo but I can’t bring myself to do it. 🙂

After dinner, we wanted to have some dessert and we ended up at the Positive Vibe Cafe. It is a local place that trains handicapped people how to work in the restaurant industry. We had never been there before but local with a cause is my kind of place! I ordered the brownie with vanilla ice cream and the dear husband ordered the Italian Wedding Cake. They were both delicious though the wedding cake was very rich.

We lingered around for a long time chatting it up and having a good time only to realize that it was getting really late. So we made our way back to their house to pick up my car and then headed home. Sarah gave me a lucky bamboo that I placed on my mantel. Thank You, Sarah!

QOTD: What is your favorite way to spend time with friends?

Retail Therapy

I took the day off from work yesterday, so I let myself wake up naturally which was around 6:30. I spent some time blogging and chatting with a couple of friends before making breakfast. My the time I realized I needed to eat, I was already in low blood sugar mode so something quick was on the menu. I made a large bowl of greek yogurt with granola and honey.

On the side, I had a bowl of scuppernong grapes. They were actually already gone bad so I only had a couple.

After breakfast, I caught up on more blogs and then did the 60 minute Jennifer Tipton vinyasa flow yoga dvd. I really enjoyed this one and I can see putting into regular rotation. The menu has a matrix on it that for some reason my dvd player wouldn’t work with so I just hit play and did whatever that was. My guess is that it was the practice with minimal instruction because I was thinking the whole time there was no way it could be for a beginner. It is sold as beginner/intermediate but what I was doing had no instruction just basically either the sanskrit or the american name for the pose. Even in the vinyasas, the only instruction was to flow through a vinyasa rather than the actual poses in a vinyasa (sun salutation). All of this was fine with me of course since I am pretty familiar at this point. I rarely had to look at the screen which was refreshing for me. Some DVDs have tons of poses I have never heard of so I have to look too much and that really takes away from the focus of the practice.

During the practice, I only faltered in Half Moon which I think it pretty good. In my days of taking 3 classes a week and practicing at home, I could easily do it. For now, I have lots of strength and balance to gain before being about to fully get it again.  The good news is that during half moon, I didn’t beat myself up about not being about to get it. I stayed focused on the moment and just kept trying. I guess this is why I like practicing at home, my ego, that I wrote about in this post, doesn’t get in the way. I hope to one day be able to practice at home without the use of a DVD or book.

After yoga, I got ready and met the dear husband for lunch. We met at the Central Park Deli which is one of our favorite local places. I ordered a cup of broccoli and cheese soup to start. It was warm and comforting.

Then I ordered a turkey Reuben. It was seriously not even close to being a real Reuben. But the real truth is that I really wanted the chef salad because I was really craving veggies. The turkey Reuben caught my eye and I decided to go for it. Next time, I will do one of two things. One, if I am in the mood for salad, I will order salad and two, if I am in the mood for Reuben, I will order the real thing.

After lunch, I headed out for some retail therapy. With Fall coming, I needed some new things to get me through the season. I have never been what anyone would call a fashionista but lately, I have really taken a liking to making sure that I dress well. I have been working on my own Fat Acceptance and have come to find that a cute outfit and shoes sure do go a long way in the self esteem department. So, I bought a few things that I loved and had a wonderful day shopping.

By the time I got home and put my fashionable loot away, it was time to make dinner. I had planned a dinner that required more time but I was running short on that so a quick dinner it was. First, I discovered that our salad mix had gone bad so I made a salad of all the other stuff. Orange and red cherry tomatoes, cukes and grapes dressed with salt, pepper, basil, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Very tasty!

I also made spaghetti and meatballs. I used whole wheat pasta and topped it with frozen turkey meatballs from Whole Foods and marinara sauce. A sprinkle of parmesan cheese and I called it dinner. It was very good and I could not tell that the meatballs or the sauce was of the pre-made variety. Yum!

For dessert, we shared a little reese’s extravaganza ice cream from the local ice cream shop. Yes, right out of the carton but this time, I was emotionally stable and only had about a serving worth.

To relax, we watched the movie Coco Chanel on the DVR. It was three hours long so I, as per usual, fell asleep and missed the last hour or so. I plan to watch it later today. My day was splendid, filled with the things I love in life, yoga, shopping, good food and a little extra time with my dear husband.

QOTD: How do you spend the day when you are able to do whatever YOU want to do?