I converted

I may be a little behind the times, but I finally tried Greek yogurt.  I put it off because I LOVE the Dannon Light and Fit, and change is hard.  And I'm stubborn.  Hey, at least I'm honest.  I finally tried Chobani Strawberry and Banana flavor.  The flavor is stronger than regular yogurt, but what really converted me is the texture.  The yogurt is very thick and creamy.  It reminds me of frozen yogurt, but without the sweetness.  The fruit is on the bottom, which kind of annoys me.  I mean, how hard is it to mix everything up before putting it in the containers?  It has about double the calories than my Dannon, but about 3 times the protein, 14 grams!  That I can get used to.

After I thought about what was keeping me from trying Greek yogurt, I'm not sure why I didn't sample some sooner.  The Greeks know food after all.  Greek olives, Greek salads, Feta cheese, Gyros...All pretty tasty!

I can positively say, I am now a Greek yogurt converter.

So wrong, so right.

Do you ever see something and wonder, WTF?  Every time I see two grown men riding a moped together, I think there has to be more to this story than environmental friendliness?

FAIL!


And it's officially fall.  The grocery stores now carry my favorite flavor of coffee creamer.  This makes getting up on those crisp fall mornings so much better.

So right!

What makes you think, WTF?  Or TGI...?

A new day

Today is a new day.  I woke up this morning for the first time in two weeks before 11 am, hey, I've been gloomy.  I felt much better today, so I decided to go for my long run for my marathon training.  Today I ran 17 miles in 2 hours and 24 minutes.  Not...too...shabby.  While running, I still battled my feelings of inadequacy because I felt like I wasn't going fast enough, but I think I (along with the help of Nicki Minaj) convinced myself that I am a bad ass!  HA!  Now hopefully I can walk tomorrow!

After my run, I tried a Cliff gel.  I tried the Razz flavor. 

Dis-gust-ing!  I took one swallow and opted for a banana and an omelet. 

I've been reading a lot about how to prevent muscle soreness and aid in muscle recovery.  One site recommended blood draining.  We do this in yoga at the end of almost every class.  It is when you lay on your back with your legs up, you can prop them up against the wall, and let the blood drain from them.  When you stand back up, new, fresh blood can replace the blood that was drained.

Do any runners or exercise buffs regularly drain the blood from their legs after a hard workout?  What is your opinion?
 

I...Need...Sleep!

Another sleepless night is beginning.  This is really starting to get old!  I know that stress can cause restlessness and insomnia, so I'm trying to stay positive and calm.  Yesterday, I was pretty upset over multiple things, so I tried to get my anger and tension out with a yoga class.  I purchased yoga classes on Groupon a few months back and I'm finally using them.  While in this class, we were told to release our tension and anger with grunts and Oms.-- (We were also told to breath out of our vaginas and anuses, but that's another topic).  You may think that these are simple activities, but I can't tell you how much better I felt after completing these exercises.  The class was a good place for me to begin since it's been about 3 years since I've been to an actual class.  Today, I ran about 8 miles, but I still have a gloomy feeling.  Tonight, I went to dinner with two wonderful ladies.  Is there anything better than your girlfriends when you are feeling blue?  But as I sit here typing, unable to sleep, listening to my bulldog's loud, incessant snoring, I feel nothing but jealousy. 

 
Ah, isn't ignorance bliss?


If you are interested in trying yoga, Be Moved Studio in Lawrence, Kansas is wonderful.  Find out more information on their website  http://www.bemovedstudio.com/

While the husband is away...

My husband just left on Sunday for 2 weeks on business, and the first thing I do is browse through the chick flicks on HBO.  I settle on Sex in the City 2 and Burlesque.  I am prepared for cheesy and unrealistic plot lines, but WOW!  Now, I love Sex in the City like every other female 20 something, but this movie was terrible.  First of all, I'm fascinated by culture in the Middle East, and I'm not sure that they did any research of their own before filming.  Second, I give props to anyone who is a mom, but seriously Charlotte.  Who bakes while wearing a "Vintage Valentino!!!"  Miranda was the only character that was actually believable, and btw, Cynthia Nixon has gotten more beautiful as she's aged.  Slutty Samantha was just as slutty as she's always been, which gives us a conflict because while in the Middle East, Samantha gets caught making out in public.  While unbelievable, it proves to be the only real conflict in the entire 90 minute movie.   Mr. Big is just as big of as a narcissist as ever but seems to be perfect for our girl Carrie, who is so caught up in her own life that she comes across as childish and selfish.

Burlesque is bad.  The story is completely unrealistic, and hard to swallow.  Cher looks plastic... If you are thinking about getting plastic surgery, just look at Cher.

I'm supposed to believe Ali, Christina Alguilera's character, is a small town girl who just got off the bus from Iowa and wants to "strip" at a club in Hollywood. Um, NO!  At this club she meets a guy and they fall in love and it all ends happily ever after.  Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age, but have I outgrown the Hollywood, Cinderella stories?? 

If you don't like my movie review, you can read one here.  http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100525/REVIEWS/100529986

And here.  http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101123/REVIEWS/101129989

Other than sit around and watch chick flicks, I made some delicious pad thai.  I've always enjoyed ordering this at restaurants, but I've never made it.  Mine turned out very well.

Pad Thai

Rice Noodles- soaked 8-10 minutes in hot water
1 can of stir fry vegetables
4 baby Bella mushrooms- sliced
1/4 sweet potato- diced
4 baby carrots- diced
1 stalk of celery- diced
1/4 cup diced pineapple
1 tsp garlic
1/2 cup spicy teriyaki sauce
peanut oil- to taste


I sauteed the sweet potato and carrots in peanut oil and garlic till softened; add mushroom, celery, and pineapple.  Cook 1-2 minutes.  Add can of stir fry vegetables and cook 1-2 minutes.  Add noodles and sauce and cook till heated through. 

This was so simple and delicious.  You can add shrimp or chicken if you want meat, but I'm trying to eat vegetarian while Jade is away. 

If you make pad thai regularly and you have any suggestions to make it more authentic, send them my way.

Las Vegas

A couple weeks ago, I promised I would blog about our trip to Las Vegas.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I spent the majority of the time shopping... well, it's true!  Look at one of the most fabulous purchases I made...

Fabulous, right?!!!  I love them.  I've had the pleasure of wearing these a couple of nights already, and they are pretty comfortable (for heels), and I've received so many compliments that they make all the pain worth it anyway!  In my opinion, Vegas has the best shopping in the world (although, I'm not exactly an expert).  I saved up my shopping all summer and fall for this trip to Vegas, and I took advantage.  I hit up the Burberry, Tory Burch, Barney's NY, Saks, and Neiman Marcus stores.  Ooh la la!  

Well, besides shopping (hehe) Jade and I went to "O" at Bellagio.  It is a Cirque du Soleil show.  It was great, but not my favorite.  Here is a small image of one of the most memorable parts of this show.  I stole this from Bellagio's website.  No photos are allowed inside the theater.  You can check out the website here.  http://www.bellagio.com/o-cirque-du-soleil/o-cirque-du-soleil.aspx

Actually, one of my favorite shows in Vegas is the Cirque du Soleil show, Love.  We saw this show a few years ago.  It includes all the acrobatics found in every Cirque show, but they perform along with music by the Beatles.  So good!  Love is performed at Mirage, and I definitely recommend seeing this show.

Another favorite, Elton John.  For Valentine's Day in 2009, Jade surprised me with tickets to see Elton and the Red Piano at Caesar's Palace.  Now, Elton (I so wish he and I were on a first name basis) is coming back with the show, Elton and the Million Dollar Piano.  Yeah, I'm sure they had to give him many Million Dollars to come back to Vegas.  If you are in Vegas, this show is a must.  I mean, Elton is an icon!!  

You can purchase tickets here,  http://www.caesarspalace.com/EventsDetail.do?detailName=elton-john-detail&locationCode=CLV  
Should MGM be paying me commission?  Or at least giving me some roulette credits?

We had a couple of great dinners while in Vegas.  One, I mentioned in an earlier post, was The Palm.  We also ate at Craft Steak inside MGM.  Chef Tom Colicchio, a judge on Bravo's Top Chef, prepared an amazing fillet for me and T-Bone for Jade.  We also both had the lobster bisque...O...M...G...!  To die for!  If you are in the mood for a good steak, or delicious lobster bisque, this is a great option.

Even though Jade and I lived in Vegas for several years, it's always a new experience visiting because the city and the venues change all the time.  A new casino and hotel in Vegas is Cosmopolitan.  We got bottle and table service inside The Chandelier.  It was such a fun night, and a great ending to our time in Vegas.  I may or may not have partied too hard, but "meh, it's Vegas".  I can't wait to go back in December with one of my best friends, Abby, to run the Rock' n 'Roll 1/2 Marathon.  You can check out her blog here, http://mcguiresinireland.blogspot.com/.  She's been such a rock star with her running and training.  Reading her blog, motivates me to do better. 

What are your favorites about Vegas?

What motivates you to be better?

Yumm-O

Last night Jade and I decided to try to make a dinner using veggies grown in our garden and something completely vegetarian.  We've been traveling and eating so much meat every day that an entire day without meat was much appreciated.  We made Grilled Stuffed Green Peppers.  De-licious!

After we returned from Vegas, we headed to Missouri for my sister and Keith's wedding.  After all the stress that Ashton went through, it was a great day.  She was a beautiful bide, and the wedding was so much fun.  Can you tell it was an open bar? 

Jackie, Dan, Jade, and me (with Samantha jumping in) in the photo booth

My little sister Paige and I.

My sexy husband.  Isn't the second picture always such a hot mess?

The beautiful bride getting those final touches before the ceremony.

My hunky husband enjoying some great music and drinks

 We've had a lot of fun traveling to Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, Las Vegas, and Cape Girardeau, but I'm so happy to be home, cooking in my own kitchen.  Enjoy this recipe. 

Grilled Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 8 medium poblano peppers
• 1 cup cooked black beans
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (about 1/2 bunch)
• 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (about 2 small tomatoes)
• 2/3 cup chopped green onions (about 1/2 bunch)
• 2 jalepeño, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine rice, water, and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan and reduce heat to low; cook until water has been completely absorbed, about 10 minutes (rice will be slightly undercooked). Remove the lid and set the pan aside to let rice cool.
   
    
2. Place beans in a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher or the back of a fork, lightly mash them (some whole beans will remain). Stir cumin, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, jalapeños, pepper, and remaining salt into mashed beans and mix until evenly combined. Gently mix in cooled rice. Stuff each pepper with the filling and replace caps, securing with a toothpick.
    
3.  Place stuffed peppers on their sides and close the lid. Roll each pepper a quarter turn every 7 minutes or so to cook all four sides. The peppers are finished once the filling is hot, the skins are well-charred, and the flesh is soft to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove from the grill and serve.

Please send me your feedback.