Category Archives: work

by | June 20, 2010 · 6:22 am

Friday Recap!

     I’m back!!! I finally got to come home instead of driving to the other sad, empty LBM house after work and relax! Aaaah!

     For this blog, I’ll be recapping my Friday since I wasn’t able to be home and log on to tell you all about it. The morning started off with a BIG breakfast. My work shift was from 7:45am until 4pm, and I needed all the energy I could muster to fend off the crazy customers.

I had a VERY Green Monsta, and an omelette that had one egg, a teaspoon of goat cheese and a huge handful of… SPINACH!
     The day was completely insane with Fathers’ Day coming up – it seems to be crazy during all the holidays. Everyone seriously just spazzes out and goes into psychopath-mode. I needed to escape and take a breather, so for lunch I met with the most special girl in the entire world: my mom!
     We stopped by Lazy Dog for lunch and split the small plate of Togarashi edamame. Deliciously spiced and so hot it’ll make your lips burn!
What? Beer? No way! Okay, maybe I did have a SMALL glass of their Lazy Dog Amber Ale. It’s always nice to try something different!
     I ordered the Mediterranean Pizzetti (also from the small plate list).
     The menu says that this has roasted veggies, carmelized onions, mushrooms, goat cheese, tomatoes, basil and balsamic reduction. They failed to mention that on THIS particular pizza, they had also put parmesan cheese on :(. Boo. I ate it anyway – an hour for lunch is not long enough to reorder. Oh, and that’s half an avocado I stole from my mom’s salad.
     Needless to say, we polished off our plates.
That’s my mum! Ain’t she purdy? 😀
     Then I had to go back to work, but only for another two hours, which sped by. I decided that since I couldn’t go out (I had to work again this morning at 7:45am, plus clean up around the LBM house), I was going to have me a date night with myself! A quick stop at the grocery store and the Redbox and I was set.
I’m not entirely proud of this layout… Spinach, Fraziskaner, cookies (oh noes!) and Zombieland for the movie!
     I opened the bag of spinach first, thank you very much, and made myself a taco salad with spinach, a small corn tortilla shell and fat-free refried pinto beans. Brace yourselves for the picture: I made it small so you wouldn’t have to be totally grossed out, only minimally grossed out.
     This was followed by one or two of those amazingly delectable cookies and the Franziskaner. Apparently I was feeling very weak yesterday…
     Zombieland. Was. Awesome! I’m not a squeamish person at all, but the gore in this movie had me cringing a bit. Overall, it was hilarious and Woody Harrelson was genius! Bill Murray was incredible! Loved his cameo. It’s definitely something I’ll see again with my pops, who appreciates all things gory.
     That sums up my yesterday! Coming up later tonight is today’s blog. I was very, very weak in the food department again. 
Oops.

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Filed under Amber, beer, Bill Murray, date night, edamame, Emma Stone, Franziskaner, Friday, green monster, Lazy Dog Cafe, little blurry monster, Mom, pizzetti, taco salad, Woody Harrelson, work, Zombieland

by | June 19, 2010 · 4:38 am

Happy Friday!!!

     WE MADE IT!!! 

     I was extremely lame yesterday and only took three pictures :-/. I’ll make up for it with tomorrow’s post recapping today, and a special SECOND post filling you in on tomorrow!

     I’m almost done with watching the LBM. Yay! It’ll be nice to get to come home and relax instead of running around to different places for internet and food.

     Yesterday, I ran out of spinach and had to come back to my house for a cherry-bomb Monsta!

This baby had 3 cups of spinach, 3/4 a cup of soymilk, half a cup of fresh blueberries, half a cup of frozen cherries, lemon juice and half of a frozen banana. I want to start putting cherries in all my Monstas! So good!
     My roommate and I went on an hour long hike, then came back and made healthy deviled-eggs.
The centers of these have the yolks, 2 teaspoons of Smart Beat, 3 teaspoons of yellow mustard, and a few shakes of my favorite jalapeno sauce. I made four, but was stuffed after two.
     For lunch I went back to Bristol Farms. They were out of the chicken pesto flatbread, so I ordered the turkey salad flatbread.
This is dairy-free, and has turkey, walnuts, cranberries, celery and a little mayo. I need to avoid Bristol Farms! Too addicting which is not good for my stomach OR my wallet!
     I had half of the flatbread at lunch, then finished the other half before I ran off to work. Work was completely dead, but I got to hang out with my coworkers and be completely ridiculous. We bellydanced. People saw us. I ended up teaching a quick lesson in shimmying, and handed out the info for my bellydancing class. It made for a lively night, even though business was dead.
     Unfortunately, that’s all the pictures I have. I DID stop by See’s for a Tipperary bon-bon, yet another thing I’m addicted to, so I’ll use an old, blurry picture of its creamy, caramel-y ridiculousness.
     
     Tonight I’m going to head to the grocery store and get a big bomber of beer, some salad makings and a Redbox DVD, then I’m going back to the LBM house to have a date with myself. Yes, it’s Friday, but I have to work at 7:45am tomorrow, so I have to be lame or I won’t survive the day. 
Tomorrow’s blog will be EPIC. At least I hope you think it is….
🙂

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Filed under cherries, deviled eggs, green monster, little blurry monster, See's Candies, tipperary bon-bon, work

by | June 14, 2010 · 7:58 am

Little Blurry Monster!

     I HATE standing still. I hate not being able to move or walk at an extremely fast pace to the beat of my iPod in my ears. I think this job I have is slowly killing me. My legs hurt from doing NOTHING all day! Quite ridiculous :-/.

     Woke up this morning and made a GM for myself and my roommate, and used some frozen blueberries that I found in the freezer. This was the outcome:

Kind of a funky brown color, but it sure tasted good!
     I headed off to the house where I’m staying while I dogsit this little monster.

     Yes, she’s THAT hyper. I can’t get her to sit still unless she’s asleep. It should be an interesting week.

     At work there wasn’t much to do, but many managers around, so I didn’t get to read my book until lunch :(. Sadness. For a snack I had a blurry apple…

     …and a kiwi. WITH the skin on! I’ve never tried it like this before and it wasn’t bad at all! I think my tongue is burned from the acidity and the rough outside, but it was quite edible!
     For the last hour before my lunch break, I made the perfect mental picture of the sub sandwich that I would order. It looked a little like this:

     This was a 6-inch on wheat with turkey, roast beef, LOTS of spinach (I had to ask them to add more), tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, avocado, mustard, and a tiny bit of lowfat mayo. I have no idea why the word “lowfat” came out of my mouth. I never order lowfat – ewww! I went outside and wound up tearing off a lot of the extra bread. There is no reason for the bread to be that thick – it’s just a filler in my opinion. More veggies! I ended up with mustard all over my hands and the table, and ran away before anyone could pin the mess on me!

     I walked by See’s Candies about four times and didn’t stop once! I realized I wasn’t hungry, just bored and in need of something to do. I snacked on a handful of raw almonds – picture omitted because it was just plain boring.

     The last hour crept by until I was bored to tears, and then I booked it to my car and picked up the little blur and went home for a quick dinner.

     I don’t know why every picture is blurry today! This salad had lettuce (duh), roasted zucchini, cucumbers, diced tomatoes, homemade egg white salad (my roommate’s a GENIUS!), and fresh tilapia that was marinated in mustard aioli. The tilapia warmed the salad and I inhaled the entire thing!

     For now I have to head back to the house with the little blurry monster to stay the night. Before I go, I must bid a sad farewell to some friends that have been near and dear to my heart for the past eight years.

 
     These shoes have been with me from my first job when I was 16, up until today. Looks like I have to go do one of the few things I absolutely HATE to do tomorrow – shoe shop. I HATE SHOPPING! AUGH!!! Not the way I want to spend my day off, but I think the shoe situation is officially dire.
    Now I’m REALLY off to the other house. I’ll have a coconut milk ice cream sandwich and cuddle with the Blurry Monster and fade off into the pages of The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.
Hope you’re enjoying the end of your weekend! Happy eats 🙂

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Filed under housesitting, ice cream sandwich, salad, sandwich, See's Candies, Shoes, Subway, work

by | June 13, 2010 · 9:35 am

A Morning of Firsts, and Lasts

     I didn’t mean to… I swear I didn’t! Last night, I promised you all that I’d eat two ice cream bars, but I failed. I only ate one. I guess it’s a good thing that one satisfied me, but after my promises of not lying to you anymore, I felt guilty. Just had to let you all know the truth.

     Bad news: I ran out of spinach. There was no GM for me this morning. Instead, I decided to try the overnight oats that I’ve read so much about. I used the vegan version from Oh She Glows. Luckily, I had picked up some chia seeds at Sprouts before the farmers’ market on Thursday, so I was able to throw all the ingredients into a bowl. It looked a little scary…

     
     When I woke up in the morning, it looked even scarier.
     Then I stirred in a tablespoon of flaxseed peanut butter and a drizzle of maple syrup and it looked like it was going to crawl out of the bowl and beat me up.
     I’ll say this nicely – I’m NOT a fan. Cold oatmeal and I just do not mesh. It was chilly and slimy, and after every bite, I took a sip of coffee like a chaser to get rid of the shivers it brought on. Maybe if I ever get the guts (ewww, that’s what it reminds me of) to make it again I’ll reheat it and try it warm. Have you ever heated up overnight oats? Did it make them inedible or better?

     When I got to work, I diligently focused on my responsibilities.
     That’s one of the pages of The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud. The only copy that was available in my library was a large print. When I want to read something badly enough, I’ll settle for this, but large print takes some getting used to! Personally, I find it harder to read than regular.
     I also got to hang out with some of the boys.
     They hang out with me when I have a snack break and guard my purse from the delinquents who may try to steal it. They’re chill.
     My annoying stomach started going off an hour into work, even though I’d had massive amounts of cold, clammy protein in the oats and peanut butter, so I swung by See’s Candies to get a sample. The workers at See’s know me. They know me well. I paid for two pieces, and this is what they gave me:
     I ask for two, I come out with five. I hate those workers so much…and yet I adore them! Double caramel FTW!
     For lunch I had a mini spicy tuna roll with brown rice and sriracha soy sauce, yet again. I met up with my friend Brittany and we sat outside in the beautiful sunshine, enjoyed the fresh air and dreamed about what we could be doing if we had money and weren’t trapped doing retail. Girls gotta dream 🙂
     I bailed on work early. I just couldn’t take anymore standing around and reading, plus I had to pick up the roommate from the train station. I got home, sat in a comfy chair, tweeted about how I never wanted to get out of it, then finally got up and made myself a mini-KSS.
     This baby had lettuce, warmed lentils, half a bell pepper, half a container of Spicy Ranchero Egg White Salad, a sliced and sauteed zucchini all tossed with about 2 teaspoons of homemade dressing. I feasted. I smiled.
     I headed on down to the train station, picked up the adored roomie and came back to catch up over a Franziskaner (for me) and a glass of wine (for her). Then I realized I needed to write my blog before I fell asleep in the aforementioned cozy chair, so I opened up a coconut milk ice cream bar, and here we are.
     Tomorrow begins a week of housesitting, so my blogs may be slightly sporadic because I don’t get internet connection over there – BOOOOO! I hope you all enjoy your Saturday nights, and aren’t as lame as I’m about to be – passing out in said chair before dragging myself to bed.
Bon Nuit!

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Filed under books, Chocolate, coffee, Franziskaner, kitchen sink salad, overnight oats, reading, See's Candies, sushi, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, vegan, work

by | June 12, 2010 · 7:08 am

Friday? What’s That?

     Ahhh, the bliss of a Friday –  a day that everyone looks forward to so that they can start their weekend. Wait, a weekend? What’s THAT?

     My schedule is quite sporadic. I generally work every weekend, and random days during the week with my acting class every Tuesday. I miss the old days when I had a regular school schedule all week and worked towards the weekend, and finally summer.

     Tonight is graduation night. I’ve been listening to the performances of, “I Will Survive,” reverberate through the canyon up to the house as all the seniors bid farewell to their safe little high school bubble. I never attended my graduation – never really saw the point (I’m weird, remember?), but I listen to this and enjoy what I didn’t mind missing back then. Did all of you attend your graduations?

     Today was an early day at work. I woke up and made a GM for myself. My measurements were a bit off, and I ended up having a little bit extra.

These had spinach, half a frozen banana, 1/4 cup of blueberries, soymilk, ice and a tablespoon of flaxseed peanut butter. I finished them both 🙂
     I was hoping the extra Monsta, plus the peanut butter I included would keep me full until lunch, but alas, my metabolism has gone into overdrive. Luckily, I’d thought ahead and sliced up the rest of the strawberries from yesterday’s farmers’ market to take with me.
What? I don’t read at work! I take my job very seriously! 😛
     I packed my own lunch for work today. I’ve been desperately trying to save my money to move out to the lovely Santa Monica so I can have the LA experience while enjoying some unpolluted ocean breeze. Today I had the last of the chana masala and the other half of the TJ’s garlic naan.
     I FINISHED Julie and Julia finally! Not at work… I would NEVER read at work, no matter how dead quiet it was, even if there wasn’t a single customer in the store and there was nothing better to do… I actually ended up enjoying the book! Not a fan of all the kidney/liver/organs-that-filter-out-toxins recipes, but it ended up being a good read. Although I must say, her filthiness really got to me – I can’t stand a dirty kitchen!
     After I finished lunch, I had another hour at work before my stomach began insistently calling to me. To abate it, I went to See’s Candies and got a dark almond cluster – or 4.
Not the smartest move, but 4 of these have 260 calories total, with the fat mainly coming from the roasted almonds, which help keep you full longer. I’m okay with paying that price to calm the tummy.
     I snacked on those almonds throughout the rest of my day whenever my stomach started hollering. When I got home I wasn’t very hungry, but decided to get some more veggies into my system and up my daily green count. I chopped up two small zucchinis and 5 stalks of asparagus.
     I heated up a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat, then tossed all the veggies in and let them sear for about four minutes to create a nice brown crust.
   
     After they’d gotten that crust, I liberally sprinkled a big pinch of herbes de provence and a small pinch of salt, then placed a lid on top. If you’re like me, you can’t fancily toss the vegetables without getting them to fly all over the place, so I put the lid on top, then lifted the pan and gave it a good shake to disperse the salt and HDP. Then, I left the lid on for another 5 minutes to let the asparagus and zucchini soften in the steam.
     Now I’m relaxing watching “Build a Better Burger” on Food Network, and prepping for my Friday night! I’m going to enjoy it, even if I do have to work another full shift tomorrow before picking up a roommate at the train station.
     And now, I must admit, I lied to you all last night. I didn’t get a second So Delicious ice cream bar. The Fat Tire filled me up. I promise now that I will have two tonight to make up for the falsehoods that I claimed. I’m so, so sorry. Never again will I lie to you. Now I’m off to enjoy my Friday night! I hope you all have a lovely Friday as well!
Many blessings and happy eatings 🙂

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Filed under asparagus, Becki Kregoski, burgers, Fat Tire, Food Network, Friday, ice cream, so delicious, work, zucchini

by | June 8, 2010 · 6:58 am

Monday Blahs

You can kind of see the etching on the glass – these were party favors from my bro’s wedding 🙂 He and my new sister-in-law are big homebrewers!
The day crawled by. Around noon I started getting hungry, and being possibly, officially lactose intolerant, I whipped out the goat’s milk yogurt that I’ve read about. How can I describe this to you? It tasted like liquid goat cheese, and when you pull the spoon out, little strands hang down, back into the cup. EW. I ate about a quarter of it before I just couldn’t take anymore.
Those are stale cinnamon Puffins on top. Sigh.
I had to get that awful taste out of my mouth, so I went on lunch and got the usual: a mini spicy tuna roll with brown rice.

Sorry for the lame picture. I really did look crazy taking this, so I was trying to be discreet. Massive Fail.
After four more hours of counting the minutes, I got to come home and throw on some sweats, wash my face and eat a big KSS with the last slice of pizza and… you guessed it: a Fat Tire. This KSS had roasted zucchini, asparagus, chopped red bell pepper, Spicy Ranchero Egg White Salad, warmed lentils and fresh herbs that came in the salad bag.

Sorry for the short post. I have the next few days off, so I’ll be getting on the trails, back on my bike and taking more pictures! Happy…? Monday…..

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Filed under brown rice, Fat Tire, grind, kitchen sink salad, Monday, sushi, work

by | June 7, 2010 · 8:19 am

Lunch Date!

Today was a long day. I mean a really, really long day. I woke up to my phone serenading Owl City to me at 7am, rolled out of bed and threw about 6 cups of spinach into the blender along with 2 frozen bananas, the juice of half of a lemon, a cup of blueberries and a cup of soymilk and ice. I skipped on the Emergen-C again, but even without, this was the best GM to date! Must be all the extra blueberries. Yay antioxidants!
I finally hopped on my bike and spent about 50 minutes going 7.5 miles. Is that a good time? I have no concept as to what qualifies as good timing on a bike. This road route I took was uphill the first 5 miles, then downhill for the rest, excepting the insane hill I have to ride up to get back home. I didn’t stop once, so I’m happy for that! I love having my heart race so much that I can feel my pulse in my teeth, and flying through a cloud of misty marine layer that makes my hair damp. Love it!
After I got back I had a scrambled egg for protein, chugged a crapload of water and stretched my insanely tight quads. I had an hour of relaxing time in the backyard enjoying a hot cup of coffee and a view before I had to head to work.
I worked for a half hour before my stomach started rumbling. I swear, my metabolism is insane! Must. Eat. Constantly. I brought some freshly sliced bell peppers and the remains of my homemade hummus (picture omitted because I thought I’d look like a crazy person taking pictures of my food). Then I had to plow through work with visions of my potential lunch options dancing in my head.
For lunch I went to Lazy Dog Cafe. A wee bit extravagant, but sometimes a girl just needs a good gourmet burger. And maybe a shared beer 🙂
I split a guacamole and green chile burger, as well as the signature Lazy Dog Amber with my awesome lunch date ;). I’m always on the search for that new brew that makes the day seem bright and exciting – this Wednesday I’ll be heading up to the Islands Brewery in Carpinteria with some friends to have some tastings and take a tour. You don’t even need to ask: of course there will be pictures!
I got home after what seemed like the LONGEST day on the planet and was too tired and too out of ingredients to make the Channa Masala I wanted to, so I ordered pizza instead. Oops. I had three (oops again!) slices of thin-crust ham and pineapple, as well as a Fat Tire. I wasn’t even hungry, but three pieces of pizza went into my stomach! I’ll have to work on that… Eating when I’m not hungry is definitely an issue with me.
We just finished watching a family friend, Jenn Karlman, on the season premiere of “Grill It with Bobby Flay!” She and Bobby made different versions of grilled wild wahoo. Very cool to see her looking all pro with her amazing chef skills. You can check Jenn out here. She’s an amazing improvisational cook and makes delicious, healthy meals!
I’m so sorry for the lack of pictures, but I’ll charge the camera battery so I can keep up. I hope everyone had a great weekend! Keep your chins up for the week – just because we have to get back to the drone of work doesn’t mean we can’t have the best droned-out week ever!
Cheers!

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Filed under Amber, bike, Fat Tire, green monster, hills, Lazy Dog Cafe, mountain bike, pain, spinach, ugh, work