B ‘n B

Yup, I’m fully blogging in bed right now — in my pjs, under the covers, teeth brushed, mouth guard in place, contacts out, glasses on, earplugs in, and ready to pass out as soon as I hit publish. Can’t wait 😀

But let’s do a little review of the day first, shall we? I walked into the office at 9:20, and the first thing Belkis said was, “Sarah, there’s bread in there.” [Gestures to conference room right next to my desk.] And bread there was!

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Belkis had brought in a whole loaf of bakery-fresh Dominican bread. The thought of saying no never crossed my mind. I cut off a big slab, about an inch thick, and dipped it in my milky earl grey tea. I think that might be a little weird. I dunk everything — cookies, crackers, bread. How do you feel about soggy carbs?

After my big slab o’ bread, I went back for the end pieces:

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I’m not crazy about the heels of regular sandwich loaves, but they’re always my favorite part of any kind of fresh bread or baked good … brownies from the edge of the pan, yum!

After that loaf-fest, I didn’t really get hungry again until about 2pm! As an appetizer, I had two of these little balls that Inginia (of the pumpkin kibbi fame) brought in. She slaved away all weekend making them for a party and wanted to share the wealth:

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This is also from some Middle-Eastern dish, and I’m not sure of the exact ingredients. I think Inginia is going to bring me the recipe, but in the meantime, they were basically fried bulgur dumplings with some ground meat and seasonings inside:

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Very tasty! Once I get the recipe, I’ll see how I can go about healthifying them — I think they’d also be delicious baked.

Lunch was a cup of spinach-chickpea dal:

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And a one-cup mix with 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 pumpkin gingerbread crockpot oats:

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(I sprinkled some of Jessica’s Honey Bunches of Oats on top for visual variety.)

Around 3:00 I had my packed cup of fresh pineapple (same deal with the cereal):

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And then I heard some paper rustling suspiciously. I followed the sound with my eyes and saw this:

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That’s Nydia and Jose bent in deep contemplation over a pile of Valentine’s chocolate!

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I took one of the pink hearts for later 😀

Around 3:45, I had three Kavli crispy thin crackers with 1/3 cup homemade guacamole (1/3 mashed avocado, 2 tbsp salsa, juice from 1/4 lime):

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And the guacamole necessitated a mint (my first of the day!):

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I went into a session a little after 4, and when I got back to my desk after, this sight greeted me:

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Yes, two potatoes mysteriously showed up on my desk. Apparently, I am now the designated recipient for anonymous food drops (but I’m not complaining!). Potato donor, reveal yourself!! Even though potatoes are the one food that I seriously dislike (this rule does not apply to sweet potatoes, obvi), I am clearly the best person to take on the task of finding them a new home. At this moment, I imagine the potatoes are journeying into the depths of Brooklyn with Gina … and I have full confidence in Gina’s ability to use them appropriately!

Because I was planning on running club at 6:30, I decided to have an early 5pm dinner at work. Especially since the club no longer gives free food after (grrrrrr!), I have found that this dinner-first arrangement works well (at least it has worked well all two times that I’ve done it, haha) to keep me energized through the run and not wanting to gnaw my arm off after. The dinner I packed for tonight was 1/3 wheat bagel with 1/4 cup pumpkin-pb spread (1 T peanut butter, 3 T pumpkin) and two black bean-salmon patties:

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I toasted the whole thing in the work toaster oven, and it was so delicious and saucy, mmm:

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Dessert was a given: the Dove chocolate heart from Nydia:

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I followed that advice and had another mint as I walked out the door :P.

Gina, Kate, and I met at 6:30 for running club and did 4 sort of stop-and-go miles in Central Park, including a loop around the reservoir, one of the most beautiful places to run in the city at night! But Kate and I were talking after about how these running club runs just seem to drag for ages. We ran over 9 miles on Saturday with minimal struggling, but 4 miles at running club always does us in! I wonder if it has to do with the time of day …. Anyway, stats for the run: 49 minutes, 357 calories, average heart rate 140, max 156.

In the subway station post-run, I broke out the breadstick and marinara sauce that Jessica and Nydia brought back for me from Pizza Hut because they couldn’t finish it at lunch. Kate, Gina, and I split the bounty between the three of us after Kate and Gina hand-modeled the goods for me:

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I had my final snack of the night when I got home: 1/4 of a broiled banana (the banana also came from Belkis today) topped with 1/4 cup chocolate mousse and a tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds:

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While I was washing dishes and before I was able to drag my mouth to the toothbrush, I may have also peeled off one whipped cream-soaked cookie from Brigitte’s remaining log of birthday cake and eaten one or two pieces of Lindt hazelnut chocolate …

News of the Day:

1. Heather, the queen of raw chocolate-avocado mousse herself, is definitely NOT giving away anything you’d want to try to win here.

2. Neither is Itzy here.

3. There’s a new BSI contest this week, and it’s a good one! Get more info here.

4. I was reading the January issue of Self while I was on the elliptical this morning, and I found a little blurb in there about the dangers of resting your laptop computer directly on your lap — I think it mentioned causing irritation to your thighs and emitting radiation that can lead to cancer (like everything does) and suggested using some sort of lap tray between your legs and the computer. (As I type this, of course, my laptop is directly on my lap.) Does this worry you? Where do you rest your laptop? Do you put something between your legs and the computer?

5. And remember the most important question of all: How do you feel about soggy carbs?

6. There’s a 99.999% chance I’m sleeping as you read this.

Narrative of Increase

Just kidding — still Tales of Expansion here. (That probably makes no sense unless you read last night’s post, so go read it!). Maybe I should come up with a different synonym title for every post this week …

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I switched the exercise routine this morning since I’m planning on running club tonight. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical at the gym and then came home for 20 minutes of Yoga for Runners #1. This class was MUCH more manageable than the last time I attempted it! I still got confused in a couple of spots — especially since I couldn’t find the pose guide that came with the download — but I stuck it out until the end. I guess all the Gentle Hatha #1 is paying off … and there I was thinking all I was doing was stretching! Stats for jog to and from gym, elliptical, and yoga: 1 hour and 21 minutes, 341 calories, average heart rate 106, max 155.

Breakfast was another cup of my exciting new Almond-Infused Rosemary-Lemonade crockpot oats with 1/2 cup yogurt, unsweetened coconut, 2 crumbled basil-spice meringue kisses, 1 tsp homemade almond butter, and 1 tbsp vanilla-almond granola:

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And more chocolate tea (black tea, unsweeteed cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne, splash unsweetened silk) on the side:

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Back to blog title synonyms, Janet from Pretty Green Girl left a comment last night with a few synonyms for her own blog: “Based on a quick scan of thesaurus.com, I’m thinking… Fairly Naive Damsel. Or Foxy Jade Lassie. Or Somewhat Youthful Lady. Ok, that one totally depresses me. ;)” Her comment got me laughing and thinking that this would be a fun activity. So, what’s YOUR blog title synonym?

Also, have you joined the 350 Challenge? Here’s the scoop:

By displaying our badge, your blog will help us offset 122,500 lbs of CO2 — that’s like turning off 38,000 light bulbs for a day! With your support, we’re putting more clean energy on the national energy grid, and together, we can help fight global warming, one blog at a time.

I’ve got my badge — it’s over to the right, below all the Foodbuzz stuff.  It’s quick and free, so go get the badge and fight global warming, too!

And, because we all love free things, go enter this crazy-extensive giveaway at Missy Maintains!

Dark and dreary

Well, it’s back to pitch-black mornings, thanks to daylight savings! I was so excited last week that the sunlight had finally started to peek through at 6:30 am when I was leaving the gym, but those days are over. No sun until 7:15 now! Despite the darkness, I had a great arms and steps workout this morning. Stats: 1 hour and 6 minutes, 459 calories, 136 average heart rate, 168 max.

Breakfast was a cup of my latest oatmeal concoction: Almond-Infused Rosemary-Lemonade crockpot oats!

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Yum, they tasted just like summer!

With the oats, I had 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut, 1 tbsp vanilla-almond granola, and this gorgeous tsp of homemade almond butter:

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And two crumbled basil-spice meringue kisses:

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My beverage of the morning was “chocolate tea“:

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The tea included 1 black tea bag, 1 sugar cookie sleigh ride tea bag, 1 scant tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, a splash of unsweetened soymilk, liberal cinnamon, and a hefty sprinkle of cayenne. Nothing like spicy and bitter chocolate to zap some light into the day!

Did daylight savings time affect your morning?

A good excuse

Ohhhhh my goodness, this morning feels like 10 years ago. Thanks for sending so much running energy my way. I really felt it while I was out there!!

Before the run, I had to make sure I was sufficiently fueled of course 😀

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Breakfast was 2/3 toasted sun-dried tomato bagel topped with the 2 tbsp peanut-butter-pumpkin-roasted-red-pepper hummus and 1.5 black bean-salmon patties that I have been carrying around and trying to eat for lunch since Wednesday. On the side, I had 2/3 chopped apple (rescued from work yesterday!) with cinnamon and soymilky almond tea from last night. I actually got two more decently strong pots out of that one tea bag!

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And ok, ok, I couldn’t resist having one more little bite of Brigitte’s no-bake cookies and cream birthday cake log:

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And then it was time for the run!! (Well, it was time for the run about 75 minutes later — digestion is key.)

Kate and I had lunch plans pretty soon after the run, so I worked out a route for us that would streamline the process, allowing her to run the 2 miles from her apartment to mine to pick me up and avoid any subway drama. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I can’t believe we went from snow to tank-top weather in under a week!

From my place, we did a loop of the park and ran through industrial Brooklyn (breathtaking) to Red Hook. Kate tried to stop and walk after the park loop (to be fair, she had already run nearly 6 miles by this point), but I told her she wasn’t allowed and we would be beginning our downward slope any minute. She powered through like a champ, and her feeling of death became a distant memory.

Kate split off around my mile 6 to run home, and I continued on through the projects and exhaust-filled highways to more charming neighborhoods (including my own) to complete my own 9 . .. or 9.4 to be exact :-D. Yay, I’m so proud that I did it all!! Things got so much easier after the first 4 miles, and mile 7 was actually the easiest of the bunch. I remember thinking that I felt like I could run the whole things three times over and that the half marathon in May would be no biggie! That feeling only lasted for a mile 7, though. The last 2 miles were tough, but I ran by a lot of smiley babies (welcome to Saturday morning in the Slope) that kept me going. Stats: 1 hour and 36 minutes, 848 calories, average heart rate 157, max 178.

When I got home, I settled in for some Gentle Hatha #1 from yogadownload. Wow, yoga never felt so good! I’ve done this class several times, and this is the first time I wasn’t watching the clock and waiting for it to end. And then I ran around like a mad woman trying to get ready and ended up 40 minutes late for the lunch (details to come), whoops!! I used to be so prompt, but at least I had a semi-decent excuse.

What makes you late?

Eeeeeeeek!

I’m heading out for the 9 miles this second, so I’m just dropping in for a quick moment to say that last night’s delicious dinner is now posted under the Reviews tab right here.

Ahhhh, I’m so scared of this run! Deep breath, deep breath, deep breath …

What kind of exercise scares you?