Isn’t it amazing what a few hours of sleep and one GIANT Monsta can do?
They’re baaaaaaack!
Sorry for the bummer post last night, but sometimes you’ve got to have a bad day to make you contemplate your life and the future and get real deep into your soul to think things through. Today, I woke up feeling a million times better, AND I had ingredients for GMs again! I made a big one with 3 cups of spinach, 3/4 a cup of unsweetened soymilk, half a banana, 1/4 a cup of frozen cherries and lots of lemon juice. I slurped it down with a big smile on my face :-D. It really helped me start the day off on the right foot.
I still had a full day at work ahead of me, so I had to fuel up.
My usual: an omelette made with one egg, 2 teaspoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of goat cheese and a handful of wilted spinach.
The one thing I really hate about working on Sundays is that I can’t attend church. My entire day is sucked away by the schedule, so I tend to feel a little spiritually unfulfilled and bummed out. Today, however, I had a good prayer session beforehand, PLUS my friend Vicky (
the one who helped me create a spit to roast the Zsu Zsu pet on) got to come over and work with me! When I’m at work I generally read…. I mean, focus on my work…. but we girls spent the time cracking ridiculous jokes and laughing until our sides hurt, then wandering the store and making up errands to run – one of them being
See’s Candies for some chocolate energy.
I only had one mug of coffee this morning before I had to run to work, so that had to be remedied as well.
A small (I learned my lesson yesterday) ice blended mocha with soy.
Look at the spirals! I felt like a creative photographic genius at this moment.
My friend Griffin’s birthday was today, and he was stuck working. The poor guy deserved a break and a celebration, so Vicky and I took him out to lunch. There was one place neither of them had been, and I just happen to be a big fan, so I led our little group to
Lazy Dog Cafe. First things first:
I had a 16 oz. Lazy Dog Honey Blonde draft beer. My lunch required a lighter brew so it could complement the dish rather than overwhelm it.
I chose the Hawaiian Ahi Poke.
This was, in one word, HEAVEN! The fresh tuna, creamy avocado and spicy Wasabi on top of the crispy wontons simply melted in my mouth. I may have drooled a bit while I took this picture…
The birthday boy chose a simple cheeseburger and a glass of Merlot – good mix, right?
Simple and delicious!
Vicky was craving a BLT, so she went with the classic chicken club sandwich.
BACON!
I think she liked it.
Griffin made me swear on pain of death that I wouldn’t mention that it was his birthday to anyone at Lazy Dog. Oops, my bad…
Free ice cream!
He pretended to be irritated, but I didn’t hear any complaining while he ate!
Their mints be awesome! Why do I look like I’m going to suck your blood, you ask? I blame my latest vampire book, Insatiable by Meg Cabot, which I finished last night.
The rest of work took a long time. It was the most fun day I’ve had in a long time, but still seemed to creep by. Vicky and I grabbed some tea samples and sat on the couch to recuperate. I read my latest beer book: Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion. No, not the late pop star: the beer genius. I’ve added it to my favorites to the right –>
When I got home, the roommate had made a healthy taco salad.
Pardon the guacamole: it was squeezed from a plastic bag. This was a toasted corn shell covered with refried beans, taco-seasoned turkey meat, Tofutti sour cream (dairy-free, baby!), spicy guacamole and a big handful of lettuce.
I chatted with the roommates about life and their day of freedom, read some wonderful comments from YOU guys, and decided to blog before I got too zoned out. Tomorrow I have the day off until work at 6pm, so I’ll finally be getting back on the trail for a hike, and if I have time, taking a long bike ride to stretch out my legs. It’ll be nice to get my heart racing again – this time from exertion and NOT from too much caffeine.
This week, look for more cooking, fancy beer tasting, exercise and happiness! I have something amazing on the schedule for Friday! I can’t wait to share it with you!
Happy eating, Happy Sunday, Happy life.
Yesterday morning I woke up to this. 9 degree weather. 9. Nine-degrees.
But then I decided that instead of dealing with the cold, I’d just hop on a plane and head somewhere warmer.
Still too cold for my taste.
WAY too cold for my taste.
I distracted myself from both the icy mountainous terrain outside, and from my impending aging by being reckless and having a Fat Tire at 9am. Oh, what a crazy 26 year old I was!
As an early birthday present, I got the entire row to myself! Well, actually there were two people sitting there, but they got up right before the plane departed and moved a few rows back. I’d even showered that morning! Sheesh.
When we landed in a much, much warmer place, I stuffed myself with fresh seared ahi tuna and spinach chips…
Before heading back up to the room to get in my workout so I could have my actual birthday off. This 27 year old does not skip out on workouts! Well, except for on her birthday…
Immediately after coming down from my endorphin high, we headed out via a free hotel shuttle to Downtown Burbank! I used to sell in beer at Story Tavern at my old job, so I knew the tap selection would be awesome.
First up – Enegren Brewing’s Hickman Bitter. Such fond memories of this beer. And so. Freaking. Good.
I got a few tastes of some other options on the lineup while perusing the Beer Paper LA and enjoying the gentle sun that streamed across the outside patio…
…And settled down to another bitter while enjoying that 75 degree weather. There are definitely some aspects of California I miss, but man, it’s so much easier to enjoy the state when you’re vacationing and not residing!
