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DRAFT TODAY, POST TOMORROW: Some posts may be in draft status until I (aka procrastinator extraordinaire) get around to posting them.



Thursday, February 28, 2013

Gluten-free Bakery

I felt compelled to try to do a little something about yesterday's food malaise. So I went to the gluten-free bakery during my super late lunch break. At least it was late because I was busy and not because of my malaise. My stomach actually started growling during my meeting.
Yellow sweater and ivory tights GO, right?
Anyway, the bakery storefront is tiny, with a freezer case full of goodies. After I sampled the vegan (no egg) blueberry muffin (yum), I scanned every label. I found several items I could have including scones, cookies, cupcakes, a large brownie, yeast-free pizza crusts, and the chocolate donuts like my SIL bought me before. They are like little donut holes in appearance but little chocolate cakes in taste.

For dinner, I made panang curry with chicken, zucchini, and red bell pepper. The panang curry paste I bought at LeeLees recently. I used too much so it was way too spicy but it was good. I don't know why I thought it would be more peanut-y; I was thinking about adding some to see if it would take some of the heat.
My goodies, my goodies!
For dessert, I had some of my donut holes with vanilla coconut milk ice cream. Oh yeah, so awesome!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Is food malaise a thing?

It seems to be more frequent but maybe that's just how it appears when I'm in the middle of it.

I find myself going to lunch late because I'm either no really hungry or have no wish to decide what to eat and where.

I don't have leftovers to take for lunch (heated in the gross microwave in our nasty office kitchen, but that's another post for another time) because I'm sporadically cooking and not enough (or worse, not good enough) for another meal.

I hear advice to batch cook but I no longer have tried and true recipes; I'm disappointed in so many recipes that it doesn't seem worth the effort to make extra.

They say to menu plan. I just browse and save recipes but I'm not motivated to make them.

I should take a salad, but I'd have to have some cooked (leftover, since no one sells clean pre-cooked) chicken or something. All veggies doesn't do it for me. I like a salad with stuff, but I make salad with lettuce and barely anything else. It's so much prep work and then the prepped stuff doesn't last long (or needs extra prep steps to stay fresh). And don't forget that nutritional health advice to not eat raw veggies.

Salad with chicken and green ice tea
So I went to lunch after 1, at True Food. Because I'm feeling pretty good and I'd like to stay that way if possible. And it's good but I still have that underlying meh feeling about food. Eating. Now. Later. Planning. Ordering. Shopping. All of it.

I was unexpectedly invited to dinner at Durant's with some colleagues. I was VERY excited about the invitation and the group but not super-excited about the food since my memory of the last visit was that they made a bland special plate for me. An "A" for effort but not for execution. However, the waiter tonight seemed to really understand the ingredients and cooking processes used and was able to direct me to several steak and seafood options in addition to more than one vinaigrette for the salad. I had salmon with a mango sauce, steamed veggies, and a salad. And red wine. I thought it was all very good. The sauce made the fish and veggies better than expected. I would definitely consider a steak if there is a next time.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Not teriyaki

I decided to wear my green jacket without the skirt by putting it with brown pants and shoes and a pink blouse. I felt much less realtor-ish.
Better, I think.
I made a pineapple teriyaki sauce from my Practical Paleo to have with chicken breasts and brown rice. Yes, I know rice isn't Paleo. Anyway, it was NOT a keeper.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Are loafers "old"?

khakis and green jacket
coral scarf

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Grocery Oscars

Grocery shopping is hella hard work. I used to go to Albertson's a lot but it is inconvenient now, so I go when I'm out of things that I only find there. Primarily we're talking about things my husband eats like Taco Bell hot sauce and butter pecan syrup.

his goodies
On this Albertson's trip, I found these nominees for outstanding new (to me, and safe, too) grocery item:
  • several jars of Pico Bravo enchilada sauce on clearance
  • a jar of Casa Visto pizza sauce
  • Sun Flour Mills Pumpkin Cake mix (there was also a pastry flour!)
  • freeze dried jalapenos (I love Litehouse freeze dried herbs and aspire to make my own someday)
  • spicy brown mustard (the store brand was the cleanest!)
  • several canisters and boxes of tea bags on clearance
  • aluminum free baking powder
my goodies
But the winner for outstanding new grocery item goes to the Santa Cruz Organic Chocolate Syrup I found at Fresh and Easy (center of photo above). My new chocolate syrup makes me so happy. Shopping makes me exhausted.

Garden Update


tiny green cauliflower


Hmmm, I think this one is opening already.

And this purple one did.

kind of a mess


recently planted (except that celery in the middle)

Walnut before trimming

Walnut after

Walnut blooms

the new Jacaranda tree (replacement)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Climb to Conquer Cancer 2013

It's about 5 miles uphill on a paved road and another 3 miles down a hiking trail. The dogs did well and made the whole trek.
Look, ma, no scarf!
Nolan the Colon. For real.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Wakey, wakey!

As much as I talk about fatigue due to MS and thyroid disease(s), I find it interesting that I am not generally in the throes of exhaustion when everyone else is dozing off. A primary example is when everyone wants a nap after the holiday meal because (they think) the turkey made them tired. But it doesn't make me tired so...
best clearance tights evah.
We're having a lunchtime learning in my office every week or two. It gets warm in the room, which certainly makes it harder to stay awake. As several people were dozing today, I though about how good, awake even, I felt. Huh. We know that will pass! There's always another slump around the corner.




Thursday, February 21, 2013

Survey says Beckett's Table

I had some trouble figuring out what to wear with this black and red sweater. Then I bought a coat that came with a scarf. A black and gray plaid with a little red in it. I think it works pretty well.



I went to dinner with B at Beckett's Table. It's unfortunate they aren't open for lunch because I ate GOOD there. Okay, the Brussels sprouts were just okay. But the chicken and roasted vegetables were really fantastic.


And when I got home, I took my monthly monitoring survey. Whoo-hoo, nothing to report. Nothing to see here, keep it moving...

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Barbacoa

My husband was telling me how terrible he felt after going to Chipotle. We've had this conversation before so I asked what he ate. Apparently Mick gets the barbacoa burrito with the hot sauce. I used to get and enjoy some barbacoa every once in a while at Sabroso.

So when I saw this at  the grocery store, I had to have it. I don't have any tortillas to make a burrito or soft taco so I decided to have it over a tamale that is mostly masa. I'm not sure if I'd get the barbacoa again because he won't eat it but it was actually pretty good for packaged pre-cooked microwavable meat in a plastic bag. I may still have to get it again if I see it.

convenience food!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Fix me now

They called. I need more. Higher dose Synthroid. 137 mcg. Where do they come up with these measurements? Nevermind, don't want or need to know. Really. Just fix me now. I wish you would.

Monday, February 18, 2013

How to spend a holiday weekend

Friday--I worked until 6 on Friday. I got a lot of compliments about this outfit. It doesn't look like it in these photos, but J's scarf is an exact match for my skirt.
Green jacket--not cold enough for a coat.
I swear--exact match!

Saturday--I went to lunch with M at Pita Jungle on Saturday. We took a walk in the gorgeous weather. I went home and did some housework and got some rest in preparation for the evening.

We went to dinner at St. Francis with R and his date. They have a gluten-free and dairy-free notation on the menu. I got a salad to start--they use olive oil in the dressing. And fries--they use canola oil. Then I had salmon with quinoa. It listed soybeans on the menu description but the waitress, whose boyfriend has a poultry allergy (bummer), said they could leave them out. And then they didn't. The runner who brought my plate even confirmed for me that there was no soy in the dressing and said the plate was soy free. Then my DH said it wasn't comped from the bill so I complained on the feedback card. And the waitress came out into the parking lot to make sure we knew that it was comped; she was really upset that we thought it wasn't. And that is why you don't listen to anything a man says.

R invited us out because he had extra tickets for Louis CK. It was being taped for his HBO special at Celebrity Theatre. Funny show, terrible area and parking. Then we went to Red Owl, a tiny bar that seemed like a chill college party. It had games and we played dominoes with the grossest dominoes ever. We managed to leave before closing (not by much) since we had plans for the "next" day.

Sunday--I slept in a little but then it was time to get busy cleaning and cooking. I couldn't figure out a scarf to match my shirt so Mick said "don't wear one." Huh. Okay. He went to the mailbox and came back with my recent order of tinted lip balms and solid lotions. I have had a lot of trouble finding tinted lip balms that don't have soy or some other nastiness.

So. Freaking. Awesome.
My dad was in town and wanted to bring his wife to see our house but when he arrived, she wasn't with him; she was sick. It sounded like my brother and family were sick too so she may have picked something up, but we weren't included in any of those visits. (Yes, I am annoyed that the family who lived 3 states away in the same area as my dad and his wife moved across town from us 2 months ago and my dad and his wife have seen the family more than we have.) I invited some others as well. Mick's parents came and my niece came with my nephew's baby, but not her kids. There is some yucky stuff going around!

We had some leftover pulled pork and barbecue sauce with salad. I made mashed sweet potatoes but they were lumpy; I think I rushed them. I also made apple honey chicken drumsticks for the first time. They turned out fantastic but definitely take enough time that I wouldn't try making them during the week. I'm glad I made them since my MIL doesn't care for the pork.

It's a "normal" recipe. I used coconut aminos for the soy sauce, left out the sesame seeds, and based on the comments, I generously salted and peppered (not fresh ground--not fine enough) the drumsticks, used 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper instead of red pepper flakes, and added 3 Tbsp brown sugar. Everyone loved it and I'll definitely make it again. I was surprised that they thought it was the right amount of heat since I didn't taste that at all, so I'd increase the heat if it was just me and Mick, and maybe reduce the brown sugar to 1 or 2 Tbsp.

That's all that's left from about a dozen.
The baby is walking and he wore me out. My niece talked about her mom who comes over and "cleans" and moves things, comments on her bad housekeeping, and throws things away. She has four little kids and works crazy hours in health care; I would be shocked if her house was ever clean! Why are moms so judgmental?


Cassi spends quality time with Jr.
Mick photoshopped my scar out of the photos but I'd rather no one see them anyway--my hair was super crazy for some reason. Blech.

Monday--Today, since Mick wasn't off work, I got up at the regular time, did some kitchen cleaning and taking care of the dogs. I ran out of the 125 mcg Synthroid so I took a previous prescription for 88. After my hour passed, I had leftover teff pancakes with Earth Balance peanut butter (with coconut oil) and syrup along with sausage. Throughout the day, I continued working through the laundry and cleaning but also getting some rest and catching up on my DVR. I napped for several hours. Then I headed to the garden to harvest some lettuce, collards, and herbs.

I bought a Ninja Bullet last week with a gift card my friend B gave me for Bed Bath and Beyond. After washing all the parts and skimming the booklets (mostly unnecessary "nutrition" advice but some recipe ideas also), I made a smoothie with collards, flax meal, frozen cherries, chocolate hemp powder and almond milk. Oh, yeah. That worked way better than my blender.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Busy, busy

My friend B had given me a gift certificate to BBB and I kept forgetting to use it when I went to pick up some odds and ends. Yes, it's in my wallet and I have no idea I have it while I'm there. I'm lucky to remember to use a coupon, okay!

When I started using new gluten-free ingredients, I bought a set of airtight containers. And I've used them all, labeled nicely with my awesome Container Store label maker. And I need some more. So I went to Bed Bath and Beyond, but they didn't have the ones I was looking for. Boo!

My friend J recommended I get a Nutribullet but she had told me to get it at Target much cheaper. Unfortunately, I've been to more than one Target that didn't have it. So I was really tempted to get it at BBB but thought it seemed a little much and left without it. I found a few small things including a wire rack I wanted to cooling baked goods (I'm going to start baking again, really!), used my coupon and left.

I grabbed lunch and realized that I hadn't used my gift card. As I thought about it, I decided to go with a coupon and my gift card and get the Nutribullet that I wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

Argyle
Scarf came with a coat!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Prioritize


I feel like I'm behind on everything. Okay, I think I always feel that way. I realized (that's not the right word but it's the one you get) that I have taken what I learned from Stephen Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or the audiobook/program Beyond the Seven Habits I just finished listening to*) and at least partially applied it to my to-do list but it doesn't help me with my drowning feeling.

I generally do 3 things personal and 3 things (or many more) professional on my list each workday. I've never quite got the hang of taking my projects and breaking them down into tasks except for the current task(s) I'm working on. A typical week might include a trip to the dry cleaner, library, pharmacy, pick a medical professional, get blood work, call to schedule or follow-up on things. The bank, the multiple grocery stores and other stores, gas station, taking the recycle from the office, and so on.

I went to Labcorp this morning for my thyroid bloodwork. I'll have to follow-up this week. Check one thing off, add another. It never gets shorter.

But if I put all my tasks on a list, I do many more personal tasks; those 3 are just the ones when I'm not home. I seriously don't understand how people get all this shit done. And there are so many more things I'd LIKE to do but don't even bother putting on the the list! Maybe I'm just having a moment because I feel bloated and fat. Or I really suck at prioritizing and time management.





*I thought it was meh. The content was an okay review but it was a recording of a (I'm guessing) half day seminar. It didn't add anything to the book and while the recording was fine, he sounded a little winded most of the time, which I found distracting. I still highly recommend the Seven Habits though.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Obscura

Last night, I made it to Obscura for some dancing to 80s alternative and other dance music.My friend T always invites me. I talked my friend A into going and then, since it was a Morrisey tribute, I was able to talk my sister M (my dad's third wife's daughter) and her boyfriend into meeting us.

We met first for dinner at True Food. I decided to branch out and tried the seafood caldo which was very good. It was somewhat spicy so I joined everyone in having dessert. I had a scoop each of the pistachio and maple sorbets. The maple "ice cream" is a-freaking-mazing.

We didn't stay out all that late relative to some of our nights out with other friends. It was nice to catch up a little with M.

Today, instead of cooking up a storm as I planned (as I plan every weekend), I took a four hour nap. So. Freaking. Awesome.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Garden Update


Compost bins
Left compost bin
Middle compost bin
almost empty compost bin
potatoes started growing in the bin--so we're planting them
Eww, a dead slug from my garden
I thought this was the asparagus but it must be part of the root?
the asparagus seems to be the purple-ish growth in the lower right?
Cauliflower! (I thought they died.)
All these giant leaves for that one tiny cauliflower
spinach

Friday, February 8, 2013

TGIF

What a ridiculous week. So I left the office "early" (before 6) and went to happy hour with a couple of work people. I didn't eat and wasn't too sure what I could order to drink at an Irish pub so I sipped a tequila shot. Weird. Okay but weird. TGIF, y'all, TGIF.

green jacket cause I was cold, it was handy
Navy top with coral scarf

I should have worn socks--brr.