Harping on Fitness

Remember Me??

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:03:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Remember me? The girl who got injured and reinjured and after months and months just got fed up and bitter. BUT, I finally have the first potential good news after 5 months!

So, quick background: the doctors think I either have a hip problem, like a torn labrum, or a sports hernia. Either of these problems prob need surgery, since therapy isn't working. These last few months have been completely awful. Sometimes the pain is so bad I can barely walk to class. I'm also starting to encounter insurance issues with new patient evals, so long story short I had to fly home to Michigan Monday night, miss Tuesday classes, get a intra-articular injection of steroid + anesthetic in my hip joint, try to elicit the pain before the anesthetic wears off 4 hours later, then hop back on the plane to Arizona Tuesday night, and go to class all day on Wednesday.

So the theory is that if the problem is the hip, the anesthetic will numb the area and I will have significantly reduced pain for 3 hours when I try and do the activities that make it hurt the most. It could also be a sports hernia/athletic pubalgia (basically a tear in the abdomen where it originates right at the pelvis, with a possible tear at the conjoined tendon of the adductor on the pelvic bone. That'd explain the high adductor/inner thigh pain). If it's the sports hernia, then there would be little to no effect on the pain.

So, I got the injection yesterday and it hurt like a bitch! They didn't wait until the skin lidocaine injection kicked in before inserting the needle straight into the hip joint. So, I was under the impression that the anesthetic would start working immediately. Mmmm, not s'much. It took a good 15 minutes, and before it kicked in it felt like I was trying to work on a semi-dislocated hip. I guess cause the joint capsule was filled with excess fluid or whatever, but it hurt so much! And it was so far outside my normal area of pain that I got so discouraged and was like, "this was a STUPID idea!" Haha, I actually started crying walking down the halls in the hospital back to the car.

My mom and I still went straight to the gym, and I started on the arc trainer. I have barely been able to do anything more than walk for 5 months, so I assumed that this would wreck me in about 5 minutes, 15 tops.

The pain started to creep up, but 5 minutes later it just kinda stopped. I was hella confused. I was so sure the pain would be there! So I decided that maybe impact activity would jar the rectus abdominis origin at the pelvis if it was the sports hernia. So I started running on the treadmill. I started at 5.0, which felt like 8.0 used to ;) Still, no pain.... I was getting pissed! Haha it's so counter-intuitive, but I was 90% sure this wasn't the hip! I ramped up the speed to 6.0 eventually and ran 1 mile total. Dude, this was insane.

So then I did a whole bunch of ab/hip/ physical therapy exercises that usually cause pain. Most everything was pain free, except for this tuck+reach exercise where I'd crunch my right knee into my chest. That was still only slight/moderate discomfort. And the whole short gym sesh just reminded me how much I love and miss working out!

Sooooo, my mom and I were like, flabbergasted. The lower abdominal/groin inflammation mostly stayed away during the workout and just started creeping back slightly several hours after the injection and workout. Still, the pain was minimal! Of course, that's when the soreness from the injection itself kicked in, but that wasn't too horrible.

So. Hip, huh? Geez. I'm seeing the surgeon/doctor on May 20 when I get back to MI after school gets out. We'll see, I guess! I'm just shocked something finally helped. NOTHING has worked for 5 months. Not chiropractic, acupuncture, meds, massage therapy ointments, rest, not rest, stretching, foam rolling, physical therapy, ASTYM... nothing. So this was totally out from left field, since I don't have the usual labral tear symptoms.

I'm pretty sore today, lol. It's to be expected, but at least I can still walk! The joint itself is still tight and irritated from the injection, so I have to be careful about rotating my hip.

Ummmm, food blog wise? Many of my meals have been the same. I did finally try kombucha, though! Janetha's blog post on it coupled with a $1.49/bottle deal at the store got me to try it.

Stock photo, sorry! Anyway, loved the citrus and gingerade but that multi-green one is NASTY!

I also really like the guava goddess, grape flavor, and cosmic cranberry. The trilogy one was pretty good, too. They're kinda vinegary, but it grows on you. I also like that they're effervescent and refreshing and they make me feel good! They have little culturey-strand things that still kinda squick me out, but I usually don't notice them when I drink it.

I tried the multi-green one and GAGGED, though! Probably cause of the spiralina. I can't stand that stuff in Amazing Grass, either. Seriously, no way I could choke that down! If you like that taste of the original amazing grass, you might dig it. No way you could pay me to drink it, though!

These kombucha drinks are pretty expensive when they're not on sale (like $3 a bottle depending where you are), but they're nice as an occasional treat. Or if your grocery store ever does a $1.49/bottle sale, definitely try it and/or stock up!

Anyway, just wanted to give you guys an update. I'm actual feeling slightly more hopeful than I've been in MONTHS about this whole thing. I've been injured for 7-8 months STRAIGHT and I am sooo ready to get back to activity and nix this pain!

Q: Have you ever tried kombucha? What are your thoughts?

Back for a Bit

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:49:00 +0000

Hey guys,

I know, I know, it's been forever, right? Well unfortunately, my injury is still holding on strong and there's been minimal (if any) progress. We're all still trying to figure out exactly what the damn thing is. I'm going back to Michigan for spring break next week and I've got a followup with the sports doc there, so hopefully that will be somewhat helpful.

Anyway, I'm still trying to tough it out. Chronic pain is no fun, and it pretty much sucks when you're a kinesiology major and in classes like "Psychosocial Aspects of Physical Activity," where you have to sit and listen about ALL the great things exercise can do for you--and you can barely walk. Awesome. Also, I haven't been able to participate in several Human Anatomy and Physiology labs where we test the effects of light and moderate exercise on the body--simply because I cannot lift my knees to bike for 1 minute.

It's some sort of adductor and groin issue that also extends up to the low, low abdomen. It's not a hip flexor/psoas issue cause I had that on my left leg and it's for sure not the same.

I've had multiple tests done and they haven't found anything (yet). I've also tried chiropractor + acupuncture treatments along with the physical therapy. Still nothing is working.

Enough about that, though. Just wanted to give you guys a quick update. I'm sorry I've been MIA from the blogworld, but I really can't deal with reading about exercise and fitness and all at this time. I know it sounds kinda bad, but it makes me ridiculously jealous and sad, and I can't really afford to be more bitter than I already am! Haha. It's hard cause I've been injured for 6 months so far, 2 of them with this current freaking debilitating groin injury. I've always been so active--before, running 10 miles was a breeze. Now, I can barely walk without pain.

So the other reason for this post was that I wanted to share a new veggie burger find. These fake turkey burgers from Morningstar:

They have avocado and they're really good! They remind me of a "heavier" Morningstar grilled chick'n pattiy crossed with a sundried tomato flavor/pizza burger. I'll definitely be buying them again. Here is mine on a salad with goat cheese and Annie's lite honey mustard dressing:

I've only recently been able to start eating salads and veggies again, which is another reason I've been absent from blogland. The pain has wreaked havoc with my appetite and what I can stomach--I've been eating a lot of yogurt and oatmeal. I wasn't able to eat salads/veggies for over 1 month cause I'd just feel way too sick!

Right now, I really like taking some fruit-flavored yogurt and adding a little cocoa powder + stevia, then freezing it. I did this with an orange creamsicle yogurt, which sounds a little strange. But it's basically just a chocolate orange flavor, which is really good!

That picture looks kinda gross, sorry. It was good though, I promise! I also like adding cocoa powder and freezing strawberry yogurts. The chocolate strawberry flavor makes it seem really gourmet. I like to let it freeze halfway so it's kinda like soft-serve.

Another product I found and really like is this Steaz no calorie sparkling green tea:

I usually shy away from energy drinks cause of the icky ingredients and MASSIVE amounts of stimulants, but this one is sweetened with stevia and only has 100mg of caffeine--enough for a boost but just a little more than a cup of coffee. So it doesn't make me shaky or anything. It's super tasty, too! It's slightly expensive, but nice to have on those long school days with an additional 3 hrs of bio lab!

And my chocolate apple oats have become a staple:

Oats, 1 chopped apple, spoon of cocoa powder, stevia, cinnamon, dash of salt, and a spoon of pb.
And then with a whole ton of unsweetened coconut:

Like the snow I'm sure will be awaiting me in Michigan on Saturday! Ha.

Q: Alright, lets hear your injury success stories! I want happy endings, haha ;) What injury/injuries have you had and recovered from?

I've had knee issues before that I treated with strengthening exercises, foam rolling, and joint supplements for good measure. What about you?

So I hope things are going well with all of you, and I'll try to check in on your blogs when I can. I haven't forgotten you <3

A Little Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:09:00 +0000

Hi guys,

I'm sorry for abandoning the blog. I'm going through some really frustrating health issues right now. My adductor strain has manifested into a horrible trifecta of right groin/adductor/lower abdominal pain. I've been to multiple doctors and the ER, but so far no major causes have been detected. The only thing we're mostly sure about now is that it's muscular in nature.

I'm back to physical therapy and I hope that somehow this is going to be figured out. We're treating it as an adductor and abdominal strain, but who knows where that ab strain even came from. Walking aggravates it, and so does sitting and standing for long periods, playing the harp and driving. Other times, it just aches with varying degrees of pain.

I've lost a big part of my appetite, and along with that I can't stomach much more than oatmeal, yogurt, and vitatops. And yep, I finally got vitatops--my mom shipped me some as a gift :) The ab strain-y thing has also activated flares of heartburn pain and an acidy tummy.

I'm going to be taking a little blogging hiatus. I'm not sure for how long, but hopefully not too long. After I'm not in constant pain, can stomach a salad or veggies again, and on the mend, I'm sure I'll be back. I'm still reading your blogs when I have the time--and when looking at food doesn't make me feel sick, haha. I'll try to pop up in the comments from time to time :)

I hope everything is going well in your world. Take care, everyone!

All Washed Up

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:07:00 +0000

Hey guys!

It is freaking MONSOONING in Arizona! The streets, sidewalks, everything is flooded. Since we usually don't get rain, the city doesn't have very good drainage systems in place. I was walking to the lightrail to get to school this morning when a car drove past. It kicked up this HUGE sheet of water and completely soaked my right side. It was totally like on tv, just not as funny ;)

This morning I made some classic apple oats:

I also roasted a TON of veggies today. Alas, this is what happens when 1) you forget to set the oven timer and 2) forget about the veggies!

Mmmm, carcinogens ;) Don't worry, I picked the burned ones off at the top and still had MORE than enough vegs. I piled that tray high!

I continued my quest to find vitatops in Arizona by going to Fry's. Unfortunately, there were no vitatops to be found but I did find goat cheese crumbles! Another previously MIA item :) I got some grapes too, since I was really craving them:

And I made my own chocolate greek yogurt since I wasn't a huge fan of the ready-made chocolate oikos:

Dagoba cocoa powder, cinnamon, and stevia. All added to taste :) With chocolate pb, of course!

My classes are going well. I like my forensic anthropology class--it makes me feel like I'm on a crime show, haha! The annoying thing is that I'm probably going to have to fill out a petition for a course overload so I can register for harp lessons. This means I'll have 20 credits this semester. Awesome.

Q: What's your favorite sport to watch?

I looove watching figure skating and gymnastics. Mostly skating! I've been following Nationals this past week, and the Ladies short program is on tonight :) What do you like to watch?

Back in the Valley of the... Sun?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:05:00 +0000

Hey guys!

I'm back in Arizona and it's warm! Well, it was yesterday. Today it's rainy! I always seem to bring rain to AZ whenever I come back here, haha. It's actually supposed to rain all week though... fun, fun.

I got in around Sunday at noon. I took the lightrail from the airport to my apartment, which was chock full of PF Chang's half and full marathon runners. Cue MAJOR jealously, ha. One of the many races crossed out in my calendar! But I just told myself that when my injuries get better, I'll go do some super awesome destination half or marathon. I mean, if you're not in the gorgeous mountains of AZ, the scenery is insanely dirty and dull. So forget Rock N' Roll AZ, I think Big Sur in Cali would be fun ;)

So I had to do a MAJOR grocery shop yesterday since I had nothing in my apartment. I got a lot of good stuff, but I did get mad at Whole Foods for not having parsnips ;) But in their favor, the checkout lady noticed my WF reusable bag had a rip in it from all the grocery cartage, so she got me a new one for free! :D

Also at WF, I saw they had the new Chocolate Oikos greek yogurt and thought I'd give it a shot. I LOVE mixing cocoa powder + stevia into plain greek yogurt, and I've been wondering when the yogurt companies were gonna come out with a ready-made one.

Verdict? Eh. It was pretty good, but I guess my hopes were sky high. I much prefer just adding the cocoa powder + stevia myself (this one had sugar). I bought em to take to school though, cause it's MUCH more convenient to have a sealed ready-made package. These were the snack size, and there also wasn't much greek yogurt in there. Still, they'll be nice to take to school and the chocolate flavor was really rich--like dark chocolate. But as for me, I'll just keep making my own chocolate greek yogurt.

I had my physical therapy session today for my hip adductor injury. We're starting off with a lot of core exercises that don't aggravate the psoas muscle, and we'll go from there. I'm hopeful!

I ended the night with 2 big bowls of roasted veggies:

None of my beloved parsnips, but this bowl did have green beans, carrots, sweet onion, and brussels sprouts.

Alright, I've got my first day of school tomorrow. Tuesdays aren't so bad--I've got Forensic Anthropology, Human Anatomy/Physiology lecture and a harp lesson. I also only have class from 9-2:30, which isn't too bad compared to last year!

Q: What time do you normally eat dinner?

I'm curious! I normally eat around 6 or 6:30. I don't like eating before 5:30 or after 7:30 or so. Does it matter to you?

The Results are In

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:59:00 +0000

Hey guys,

So I got my MRI results this morning-- no stress fractures! I've been diagnosed with a right adductor strain, which is basically a groin strain. I got a prescription for physical therapy and I've already called my PT place in Arizona. Thankfully, they'll accept the prescription from Michigan and I have my first appointment Monday. I was worried that I'd have to wait til the University opened, make an appointment at the health center there, and have to wait even longer before I could start PT.

The bad part is that I still can't do any activity--even walking too much aggravates the injury. However, I am really relieved that I have an action plan set in place to treat this. Funny--give me an injury diagnosis and physical therapy prescription and I'm happier than I've been in weeks. I am so damaged ;)

So, our oven AND stove are still out of commission. The new oven won't be delivered until I'm back in Arizona, so meals have been mostly been microwaved or assembled raw. I am sorely missing my roasted veggies, but I did microwave some green beans and carrots as a substitute:

Topped with goat cheese and Emeril's original seasoning.

I had a salad with a Gardenburger sundried tomato basil veggie burger, topped with Annie's Island Marinade:

The veggie burger kind of reminded me of a slice of pizza. It was a nice change!

Then, despite my vigilant stance by the microwave this morning, my pumpkin oats still overflowed. They ended up looking so unappetizing I just didn't take a picture. You just can't beat stovetop oats for taste and beauty ;)

Q: Do you microwave your oatmeal or cook it on the stovetop?

If I have access to a stovetop, I always make the oats on the stove. If I have to, I'll make oats in a microwave (like in a hotel room), but they're never quite as good. What about you?

The Demise of My Oven

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:30:00 +0000

Hey guys!

I know pretty much all you college kids have gone back to school now, and I'm feeling weird that I'm still on break. My right hip/groin injury was flaring up today, so I pretty much just chilled at the house. I spent some time practicing harp, but the pain worsened a bit when I had to do lots of pedals. It also flares when I have to drive a lot and use my right foot to work the pedals. Weird.

So I spent a good amount of time prepping veggies to be roasted for tonight's dinner. I love roasted veggies, but the time it takes to prepare them is SO disproportionate to the time it takes to eat them. I can finish off a pan in no time! ;)

Carrots
Brussels Sprouts
Turnips
Parsnips
Green + Yellow Beans
Onions

Seasoned with salt + pepper, Emeril's original blend, dried oregano + basil, and dried garlic. Roasted at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Alright, so just as I was typing up this post, we finally got a little excitement in the household! My mom was making my dad a salmon burger in the oven when she noticed there was a light in the oven and thought something light on fire. After baking soda didn't extinguish it, she realized it was on the coil. So she tried water, but then the ball of light started sparking! We yelled for my dad to get down here and he busted out the fire extinguisher.

We ended up having to unplug the entire oven to get the spark to go out, even though we had turned the oven off. Annnnd during this whole ordeal, of course I was standing back with the camera ;)

At the beginning:

After being doused with the fire extinguisher:

You can see the oven's kinda sooty now.

My parents moving the oven to turn it off, while you can see the light getting bigger in the oven:

I didn't get any awesome pictures of it sparking or the fire extinguisher in use. I suggested a reenactment, but my parents weren't too gung-ho about that... ;)

So now we need a new oven, BUT it wasn't my fault or the roasted veggies. My mom's salmon patty was what took it down ;) This incident kinda reminded me of my kitchen almost-fire back in AZ. Thankfully, neither cases were worse than they could have been!

Now, back to roasted veggies. My family has mixed opinions on parsnips. I LOVE them. I think they have a delicious woodsy, full-bodied flavor. My mom doesn't like them and declares they have a bitter taste. My dad and sister think they taste "earthy," and my sis thinks they're okay while my dad doesn't like them. My mom wants me to find out if there is anyone else out there other than me who likes parsnips... so here we go:

Q1: Have you ever tried parsnips? If so, what do you think?

I love em, but I guess they're pretty hit-or-miss with people's tastebuds.

Q2: What is your favorite roasted veggie?

I really love a good mix of roasted root vegetables, but if I had to single one out I guess I'd say sweet potatoes or parsnips. What about you?

Murphy's Law = My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 01:09:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Apologies for being MIA lately. Some of you might remember that I've been struggling with a left hip flexor injury since September. It was finally getting better and I was starting to return to exercise.

But of course, then something has to go wrong. My right hip started hurting, and then I developed a lot of pain in the right hip/groin. It's constantly aching and gets worse with activity--even walking too much aggravates it.

So I pretty much had a mini-breakdown--I mean, I haven't been able to do much of anything for 4 months, then the hip was FINALLY getting better and I get slammed with another injury. Awesome.

I was just gonna wait and schedule an appointment back in AZ since I'm only in MI for one more week. Then the pain just got too bad, and I bit the bullet and managed to squeeze in a doctor visit.

I went to the doctor today and now have an appointment for an MRI on Wednesday. Thank goodness they were able to fit me in! They're looking for a stress fracture, but I think it could be osteitis pubis or something.

One of the reasons I didn't post is that I like my blog to be somewhat positive, and I was not feeling any optimism whatsoever this past week. And I confess, the other reason I disappeared from the blogworld was because I couldn't stand to read about everyone's active lives with workouts, races, training, etc. I was jealous and I couldn't push back the thoughts of how it was so unfair. All I want to do is a 45 minute elliptical workout, bike ride, swim, run, anything! Fitness is/was such a big part of my life, and for 4 months everything has been on hold. And I was able to just get a taste of that life again before this new injury. Now it's like I can't even move or I'll break. I'm sick of feeling so fragile! I'm supposed to be 20, not 80!

Now that the MRI is scheduled and I've seen a doc, I feel more in control of the situation. Like, I've set the ball in motion to get this taken care of. But the past week I've just felt like damaged goods. Not a good mindset to be in! The constant ache and pain doesn't help either.

Sooo good or bad, there's my excuse for my absence. I'm still not happy about the injury sitch, but I'm no longer wallowing in self-pity ;) Maybe it's not fair, but I just have to suck it up and try to deal with it gracefully. Being miserable certainly isn't going to make it heal faster!

I had a little healthy eating slip for a couple of days with all the injury drama, but now I'm back on the wagon :) Here are some yummy eats:

Sweet Butternut squash fries:

I made a batch of plain ones with ketchup, and then these sweet ones with cinnamon, spray butter, and a dash of stevia.

Roasted veggies with goat cheese:

Sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips, onion, and carrots.

Chocolate greek yogurt with a TJ's apple cranberry muffin and chocolate pb:

And a huge, delicious salad with a morningstar chick'n patty:

I also tried this new "natural" Steaz sparkling green tea that I bought at Whole Foods:

(click the picture to make it bigger)

It's sweetened with stevia and erythritol, like the Zevia soda. This was good--it reminded me of the Izze drinks. It wasn't super fizzy/bubbly like regular soft drinks, just a slight carbonation. I didn't notice any bitterness or weird aftertaste, but it was very sweet. I happen to have a big sweet tooth, so I liked that ;)

It was good but it didn't completely wow me, so for price reasons I won't be buying this a lot. But I'd give it a try if you see it. Especially if it's on sale like it was here-- 8 bottles (which is 2 packs) for $5.99. I tried both the blueberry pomegranate and raspberry flavors, and I'd recommend both :)

Q: What was your most frustrating injury?

For me? See the beginning of the post ;) I am an injury magnet--it's like Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong. What about you?

Have a great weekend, guys!

And The New Years Resolution Crowd Hits the Gym...

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:04:00 +0000

Hey guys!

Hope you've had a wonderful start to your New Year. I've pretty much been the chief breakfast-maker lately for my family. The current special: Apple Oats

1/3 cup oats
1 chopped apple
Cinnamon
Cocoa powder
Stevia
Spoon of chocolate pb

For my mom and myself, I do the above combo. My dad likes simpler combos, so for him I just have the apple, cinnamon, and a dash of stevia.

We went to the gym before lunch. The New Year's Resolution crowd was already starting to crop up--it was so busy! January and February are my least favorite gym months because of the mass amount of people vying for machines.

This YMCA has a sign-up sheet and a 45 minute time limit. My sister and I signed up for 2 ellipticals after waiting 10 minutes, and when we were about to get on, this one woman came up and told my sister that she had signed up for her machine. My sister went over to the sign up board with her and pointed out that those were her initials in the time slot. My sis said that it looked like she had tried to alter the initials, too. The woman tried to BS her way out of it by being all like, "ohh I must have signed up for #1..." but there were only 2 of these Matrix ellipticals and I was signed up for #1! So there was no way she was signed up for either of those machines in the whole column. Thankfully she just wandered off to the other side of the gym and didn't try to put up a fight. Some gym-goers can get so ridiculous over machines! I mean, I know some people can make an honest mistake (I have to repeat the machine # over in my head til I get there!), but she definitely wasn't acting like it.

After a good workout, I came back and had the leftover acorn squash with sweet potato and black bean stuffing:

Topped with goat cheese. Such a delicious recipe!

Salad too, of course:

I needed some new jeans but since I despise jean shopping, I've been putting it off. I finally went to The Buckle today and got TWO pairs of jeans in record time! Of course, they had to be hemmed, but at least The Buckle does that for free. When you're barely 5'0 tall, even the "short" sizes are too long ;)

Q: Do you notice an increase in the number of people at your gym right after New Years?

I sure do, and it bugs the heck out of me when people aren't courteous about machines. I mean, it's awesome if people want to make healthy changes in their life. I'm all for that! It just annoys me when people are rude about using the gym equipment, and then also "mysteriously" stop coming to the gym after 3 weeks. It's like, what's the point?

Anyway, hope you guys staying warm wherever you are. It's freezing here!

Waitin' For the Ball to Drop

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:23:00 +0000

Happy New Year, everyone! Or New Year's Eve, depending on when you read this ;)

I still can't believe 2009 is over. Where did time go?

My New Year's Eve was pretty chill and spent with the fam. We made a nice dinner, and now we're about to put on a movie and stay up to watch the ball drop.

I was looking for good vegetarian main dishes and I came across Holly's delicious-looking black bean and sweet potato stuffed squash recipe. I pretty much followed the recipe, but I left out the cilantro, subbed EVOO for coconut oil, and used less coconut since we ran out. But it was delicious:

Black bean + sweet potato is such an amazing combo, and the spices were delicious! Thanks Holly! I thought the top of the squash looked really pretty when I cut it off, so of course I had to take a pic ;)

Like a flower or something! And speaking of flowers... I've been drinking a lot of tea lately, so I thought I'd highlight a new favorite. This is the Tulsi Sweet Rose tea:

(Click on the pic to make it larger)

Nice segue, huh? ;) First off, this tea smells amazing! Like stepping into a flower garden. Even though it has a strong rose smell, the taste isn't overpowering. It does have a little stevia already in there, but I like to add a little extra to make a perfect sweet drink. There isn't any weird aftertaste I get from some teas--just floral goodness. And since it's caffeine-free, it's a perfect soothing cap to your night. If you see this, try it out!

Oh, and cause of those new blogging rules about companies and product reviews, here's a note: I wasn't asked to write this review and I'm not getting paid by the company--I just bought the tea and love it ;)

So, hope you guys are having a great holiday. Take care!

Q: Do you make New Year's resolutions?

I think most drastic resolutions get broken, but I do believe in goal-setting. Some of my goals are to get my hip healed, run a half-marathon, and do well in school next semester. Nothing unique to the new year, though. What about you?

Holiday Highlights

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:06:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the delay in posting this! My dad lost his camera cord, and this would have been SUPER boring without pics. But now here's a holiday highlights for ya:

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent cleaning, wrapping gifts, running last-minute errands--and cooking, of course! On Christmas Eve, we celebrate with my Dad's side of the family. Christmas day is spent mostly with my mom's side :) So we had my grandmother over for a nice home-cooked dinner. We had manicotti stuffed with a cottage cheese and spinach mixture:

Of course, any nice dinner of mine has to include roasted veggies ;)

Brussels sprouts
Parsnips
Turnips
Green beans
Onion
Sweet potato
Carrots

Seasoned with dried basil, oregano, Emeril's original spice blend, and salt + pepper. Roasted in the oven at 350 for about 35 minutes.

And for dessert, my sister made some gingerbread with this Cooking Light recipe, with applesauce subbed for the butter and sans frosting.

My piece, with whipped cream:

It was really good! The blackstrap molasses made it really rich, and it was a nice and moist cake.

After dinner, we had an impromptu concert. I played Christmas carols on the harp while my sister sung along:

We sang/played for about an hour! It was fun :)

Christmas

Christmas was nice! We opened presents in the morning, visited my grandfather on my dad's side in the nursing home, then spent the day with extended fam on my mom's side. I left the camera at home, since the relatives on my mom's side don't know about the blog.

Christmas Church Gig

On the Sunday after Christmas, we drove up to my grandparent's church so I could play in the service. Here are some before pictures:
Tuning:

You've got to tune all 47 strings individually, so tuning takes a while! It's one of my least fave parts about playing the harp--other than the whole transportation thing ;)

The service went well. I played "Mary Did You Know," "Carol of the Bells," and "In the Bleak Midwinter." It was a little church and a long drive, but everyone seemed to enjoy my playing. So that was nice :)

Sorry to get this recap up so late! Both my parents don't have to go back to work til after New Years, so I've been getting in a lot of family time. This ended up being a lame recap cause I can't remember all the christmas eve/christmas details anymore ;)

Q: Has your blogging time changed during the holidays?

I've definitely been taking a reading/blogging break in lieu of spending time with my family. Hope you guys understand! Have you been spending more/less time blogging or reading this holiday season?

Holiday Whirlwind

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:03:00 +0000

Hey guys!

I haven't abandoned the blog, I swear. I've just been caught up in the holiday festivities! I'm working on a big recap with lots of fun pictures and food :) Tomorrow I've got a harp gig for a church service, but I hope to post after I get back from that.

In the meantime, here's my cat Alfred in the holiday spirit:

Just a big bundle of Christmas joy, huh? ;) In his defense, he dealt with those reindeer ears for about 5 minutes before we took em off.

He thought that meant he was entitled to a place at the dinner table:

Unfortunately for him, he got booted off. Is it just me, or does this pic totally remind you of Garfield and his lasagna? Big fat (funny) orange cat... in this case the lasagna is actually stuffed manicotti, but close enough ;)

Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season, and check back soon for a holiday recap with lots of pics and recipes!

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, do they get presents for Christmas/the holidays?

We've got 2 cats: Alfred and Bruce. Alfred is the awesome one ;) We did get em a few cat toys and catnip for Christmas, but I think we actually forgot to give it to them. Ha! What about you? Do you spoil your pets?

Let it Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:26:00 +0000

Hey guys!

When I was talking about favorite Christmas movies, K reminded me that I left one of my absolute faves off the list-- A Christmas Story! We watch it every year. I think it's on the schedule for tonight :)

I had some pumpkin oats this morning, topped with coconut:

It kind of matched the scenery outside:

A little different from my part of Arizona ;) They do get snow up in the mountains, though!

And my chocolate greek yogurt + vitatop parfait, only a lazier version without the parfait glass ;)

Perfection!

I made my own version of Chex Muddy Buddies/Puppy Chow, just without the powdered sugar on top:

I used:
Chex
Spray butter
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Powdered stevia
Cinnamon
Pb2

I didn't really measure anything--I just filled a bowl with chex and spritzed it with spray butter so the toppings would stick. Then I mixed the cocoa powder, pb2, stevia, and cinnamon to taste in another bowl. I combined it with the chex, and voila! A great holiday treat :)

I've been trying to balance holiday treats with nutritious meals, including lots of salads.

Morningstar grilled chick'n and goat cheese salad:

Roasted veggie + goat cheese salad:

Hope you guys are having a wonderful week!

Q: Do you have your holiday shopping done?

I've got everyone done, but I know my sister still has to buy all her presents today ;) Good luck with that, sis! What about you?

It's A Wonderful Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:41:00 +0000

Hey guys!

I loved reading your feedback about the shuttle story. The sad thing is, I don't even know this guy's name! This is why I can't thank him personally. I do have the van number and franchise number on my receipt, but his name isn't on there. I'm emailing the company today with that info to say how kind he was. I wish I had gotten his name, but I didn't know it'd be anything more than a pleasant but routine shuttle ride until he was long gone. I'm hoping the shuttle company can give me his name so I can thank him myself. That'd be ideal!

It's nice to be home! So far I've been catching up on my sleep, playing harp, shopping, relaxing, and hitting up the gym a bit. And I've been enjoying delicious eats, like my coveted vitatop parfaits:

Fage greek yogurt mixed with cocoa powder, cinnamon, and stevia
Chocolate vitatop
Chocolate pb (unpictured)

I could never get sick of these, I swear.

I also had some delicious roasted veggies:

Brussels sprouts
Beets
Carrots
Sweet Potato
Onions
Handful of raisins
Seasoned with garlic, Emeril's original spice mix, salt, basil, and oregano.
Roasted at 425 for about 20 minutes :)

Salad:

For some reason, I can't find goat cheese crumbles where I am in Arizona. I forgot how much flavor they add! Delicious :)

And a take on an apple crumble:

Microwaved apple slices with cinnamon, a sprinkle of stevia powder, a spritz of spray butter, and topped with pumpkin granola.

I've also been drinking this Ginger Snappish tea a lot:

AKA "The Best Tea EVER." I even brought a box back from Arizona cause they don't have it here in Michigan. With some stevia, it reminds me of ginger ale! Like, warm ginger ale... ha, that might not sound so appetizing, but trust me--this tea is delicious! It's better than other ginger teas I've tried, and I think it's because of the lemon. Whatever it is, I'm totally hooked on it. I'll probably be ordering it in bulk from Amazon ;)

Well, I've gotta jet-- we're about to go watch It's A Wonderful Life. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Q: What's your favorite holiday movie?

It's a family tradition to watch Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol ever year since I can remember. So, that's high up on my list! I also love Elf :) What about you?

Super Special Super Shuttle Shuttler

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Hey guys!

I'm blogging from Michigan again :) I finished up my finals and flew in late last night/early morning. I had a scare at the airport, though. First, a backstory:

I take a service called Super Shuttle to the airport. They pick you up at your house/wherever and take you to your terminal. I've had generally good experiences with them, some drivers better than others. Well, the young guy who picked me up yesterday was awesome! I was the only one in the van since no one else reserved it for that time block, so we talked the whole time. We talked about the sucky Arizona drivers, Michigan, and he thought it was incredible that I played the harp--like it was akin to being an angel or something, haha. Seriously, I thought he was gonna explode when we were talking about the harp. He was like, "Really??? Really?? NO WAY!! That is-- that is SO COOL!! WOW!!" Haha, he was so excited. Anyway, we got to the airport and he wished me a blessed flight and a Merry Christmas.

So I was in a pretty good mood. Then when I got to security, I realized I couldn't find my phone--it must have fallen out in the Super Shuttle, which would be long gone by now. And I know I'm hooked on technology, but this was a sitch where I DEFINITELY needed to be able to get in contact with my mom, who was picking me up!

I got to my gate and turned on my computer. Thankfully, Sky Harbor has free wifi! So I yahoo chatted with my mom and she turned off the service to my phone. I mean, what are the chances that I'd actually get it back before someone else finds it and starts using it? We decided she'd check the flight status with my dad at home, and we'd meet by a certain door at the baggage claim. I'd call her cell from a payphone if there was a problem. A little stressful, but at least we were on the same page.

So after that, I go to Starbucks to get a grande decaf coffee before the flight. When I'm coming back to my gate, I hear them call my name to come up to the service desk. I'm like, "aw hell no, they need to bump me to a later flight??" But the woman hands me my phone with a tag on it and asks if it's mine! She said the shuttle guy found it and tracked them down to make sure they'd give it to me. And he had it sent all the way to my gate, not just the lost and found or something. I was astounded--he must have gone out of his way to get it back to me before the flight! Plus, he didn't even have my flight number--just my name, and he knew I was going to Detroit.

Right before we boarded, I emailed my mom saying I had my phone but the service was still off. I didn't know how long it'd take to call Verizon and get it back on. So I take my for-plane-rides-only Xanax to ward off stupid in-flight panic attacks, am pretty much knocked out for the duration of the flight, and then we land. I tried my phone, and apparently my mom got Verizon to turn my service back on! Perfect! So it all worked out :)

I'm definitely emailing Super Shuttle and telling them how unbelievably thankful I am for what that guy did. It's nice to see such an act of kindness, and it definitely kicked my holiday spirit up a notch ;)

And now, since this is a food blog, I'll show you some highlights since I've abandoned it ;) Well, it's supposed to be a fitness blog too, but that's a little MIA at the moment. Apparently I injured my right hip flexor as well as my left one, so I'm gonna need more physical therapy. It's not too serious though, but more on that later.

I kicked off my vacation in Michigan with a fabulous vitatop parfait:

Greek yogurt + Cocoa Powder + Stevia + a dash of water to thin the yogurt mixture out, cause the cocoa powder makes it insanely thick.
Chocolate vitatop
Unpictured spoon of dark chocolate dreams pb

I swear I'd never get tired of that combo! Though it does make it special that I can only have it in Michigan-- no stores by me in Arizona carry vitatops, and there's no way I'm paying for them to ship em to my door with a freakin' glacier ;)

In AZ, I had the chocolate yogurt mix without the vitatop:

Still amazing, but it doesn't have the same mind-numbingly delicious quality that comes with the vitatop addition ;)

Here is a take on a mock apple crisp:

I sliced and microwaved an apple, then sprinkled it with cinnamon, stevia powder, a spritz of spray butter for the savory factor, and some raspberry Galaxy Granola. Delicious!

And salads, of course. Morningstar chick'n salads:

I like adding a dash of Liquid Smoke to the chick'n patties and also roasted veggies:

It adds a bit more of that "grilled" quality. I'm sure actually grilling it would be better, but I'm sans grill and also sans time. Ha!

And one with TJ's beefless strips:

Haha, those look kinda messed up. They tasted great though!

Here are some wintery oats:

1/3 cup oats with probably 3/4 cup canned butternut squash, several spoons of cocoa powder + stevia, and cinnamon. Topped with coconut flakes and a spoon of chocolate pb.

Alright guys, I am FINALLY relaxed. Haha! It's totally been about a month since I've actually been fully relaxed. I hope you are all having a wonderful week :)

I've got 2 questions today! You can answer both, either, or none ;)

Q1: What's your favorite sweetener of choice?

I used to be a complete splenda addict. All artificial sweeteners, actually--I was a Diet Coke/Crack junkie, too. Now, I think everything-in-moderation is just peachy, but I was drinking about 5 cans a day. Moderation? Not s'much. After a several tries, I kicked both the diet coke and splenda addictions. Now I'm a fan of stevia. My favorite brands are Now Foods stevia and NuNaturals stevia. I also like the liquid Sweet Leaf stevia, but not their powder packets.

I avoid all artificial sweeteners now, and I also carry a few stevia packets in my bag or purse. That way I have my own sweetener if I decide to go out for coffee :)

Q2: When was the last time someone went out of their way to help you? Or the other way around?

My story is right up there at the beginning of the post, but I'd love to hear yours!

Bad Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:12:00 +0000

Hey guys!

I wanted to do a quick post cause I know I have been the worst blogger lately. Tomorrow is a killer of a day, but at least I'll be done! I've got a Kinesiology 101 final at 7 am, and a Kinesiology 194 final at 10. Then I have physical therapy at 1, then I have to prep for the airport. I'll be gone for a month and I so do not want to come back to any moldy surprises! My flight leaves around 7:30 at night, and I should get to Michigan about 2am their time. Then... vacation!

I had my psychology and biology finals today and yesterday, which both went well. I also got the go-ahead from PT to resume working out. I've been elliptical-izing cautiously, and things are mostly going alright. I can't believe I've had this hip thing for about 3.5 months now.

Sorry no pictures--I've gotta wake up in 5 hours in order to make it to my final, so I've definitely gotta get to bed. Just wanted to give you all an update and let ya know that I'll resume regular posting shortly. To my college peeps out there--if this is your finals week, good luck! And if you're already done, congrats :)

Q: How is your week going?

Chocolate Coconut Drops

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Been a while, I know. I crashed a little bit after classes were done and I'm trying to recover for finals. I finally feel pretty good today, just in time to start studying for my tests. ha!

I made this really yummy chocolates I wanted to share with you:

Chocolate Coconut Drops

Before freezing:

After:

Ingredients:
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Cinnamon
Stevia
Water (or any kind of milk)
Coconut for topping

It was super simple to make em. I just took cocoa powder, cinnamon, and stevia and mixed it with water to taste. I aimed for a consistency of chocolate pudding. Then I spooned little circles onto a sheet of parchment paper and topped em with coconut. Then I stuck it in the freezer.

After a couple hours (or a night, if you don't have an overzealous freezer like mine), they'll be frozen and you can pick em up with your fingers! I wouldn't let them thaw, since I assume they'd just go back to chocolate pudding, but it's a great treat to have! I'm sure you could use milk instead of water, too. And if not stevia, your sweetener of choice :)

Alright I've gotta spend today breaking out the psych notes and commenting on blogs. Google reader says 440, but I'm thinking maybe 100 til I press the "mark all as read" button ;) I'll read all your guys' last posts, how about that?

Q: If you celebrate Christmas, do you have a real tree or an artificial tree?

We always have an artificial tree. One time we got a real tree when I was little, and my sister and I were playing around it. I ended up scratching my eye with a branch and had to go to the doctor and wear an eyepatch for a while. After that, no more real trees ;) What about you?

Greens and Jeans is having a V8 giveaway!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Sorry for going MIA. Yesterday was completely crazy--I had both my History of Science final and also my last Human Anatomy exam before the final. The history of science exam was soooo stressful--our whole grade in the class is made of 3 papers, the midterm, and the final. Each question on the final was worth 1% of our final grade AND there were only 35 questions. Considering the fact that the study guide I filled out was 28 pages in size 10 font, you really have to know it well! The difference between answer choice A and C is 1% of your grade.

I think that final went well. The bio exam probably not so much, but we get to drop our lowest test. So I have until Tuesday to study for that. But I had to prioritize, and that History test was WAAYYY more important.

So with all that happening, I haven't had much time to blog or comment. Even the whole taking-pictures thing got pushed to the backburner a lil bit. Now I'm done with classes and don't have anything until my Psych final monday!

My mom sent me a cute flower arrangement as a good luck token for finals. Isn't it adorable??

I love the little santa pot! Thanks, Mom :)

I also set up my little Christmas tree:

It's a prelit, 4 ft tall one I got from Michaels on sale. I only have one ornament my mom gave me since I'm waiting for the after-christmas sale to get my own. It's a mitten with a reindeer on it, symbolizing Michigan (ya know, cause it's the mitten state?) Haha. It's so cheery! I also made a little arrangement on the wall with 2 plastic flower branches and a decorative bird from Michaels:

Now I've got the decorating done, I just need to clean my apartment. Haha! The funny thing is, I was at the grocery store and they started playing "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas." Now in Michigan, I never thought much about it. I mean, duh, it starts snowing and it DOES look like Christmas. But in the desert of Arizona? Not so much ;) It looks like--well, a desert. It feels a little cooler, but that doesn't make it look like Christmas. I just thought it'd be funny to grow up here hearing that song ;)

Alright, here are the few food pictures I have:

Oats topped with coconut:

Now that looks more like Christmas than Arizona does! The coconut reminds me of snow ;)

Mock apple crisp:

One sliced apple heated in the microwave, topped with oats + cinnamon + stevia + a touch of water mixed and heated just a touch in the microwave, too. Like my recipe here but without the molasses.

Veggie-rific salad with a Dr. Praeger's california burger:

It's so pretty and colorful! I used fresh mushrooms and tomatoes, then I heated up some of a frozen thai stirfry veggie mix. Topped with Annie's light honey mustard dressing :)

Q: Does it "look" like the holidays wherever you are?

Like I said, my part of Arizona looks the same as it always does. There also aren't very many christmas lights up or anything. I hear it started snowing back in Michigan, though! What about you--do you have snow?

Volunteering and Trader Joe's

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Hey guys!

I hope you had a good weekend. I got way too lazy/busy to post, so here's a weekend recap. I woke up bright and early at 6 am Saturday to get ready to go help clean up the Mountain Park. I made oats:

Apple oats with cinnamon, cocoa powder, stevia, and an addition of 1/2 cup canned bnut squash.

I had to leave around 7:15 for the 30 minute driver. After a little worrying, I managed to find the right place. There were about 15 other volunteers and we set out on an old-fashioned trash pickup. I don't know if any of you guys watched the awesome tv show Arthur when you were younger, but it totally reminded me of the one where he has to pick up trash in the park. We had this pinchy clippy stick thing and everything!

We actually found a LOT of trash--someone had even dumped their microwave or something out there, and it was totally shattered. We had to pick up the microchips, plastic, batteries, glass, copper wire.... there were also lots of beer cans + bottles and coffee cups out there. We also saw a broken printer and the frame of a dishwasher that people had dumped. We filled up the Ranger's truck with garbage bags!

Also, it was freezing out there! It was from 8-10 in the morning, and the sun just didn't want to come out. My weather thingie said it was 40 degrees, but with a real feel of 34. Yikes! It was totally gorgeous, though. I wish ASU was out in the mountains--and I also wish I brought my camera ;) The area we cleaned looked pretty much exactly like this picture I got here from google:

I had to stop on the way back to get gas, and when I was getting back to the expressway I was thinking about how I really needed to go to Trader Joes soon. 3 minutes later I saw a strip mall with a TJ's sign, and I totally peeled in there! I got my favorite TJ's essentials:

Along with some other things. But I thought I'd show you my TJ's staples :)

For lunch I made a grilled chick'n salad, but I added some grapes I got from TJ's:

I had this combo back in the summer and loved it! It sounds a little weird to add grapes to salad, but it tastes amazing.

Then I buckled down and did some studying. For hours and hours! I took a break and roasted some green beans and a sliced portobello mushroom cap:

I made some chocolate greek yogurt:

The cocoa powder makes it have a SUPER thick consistency. You can see by how that spoon is standing straight up. If you want, a little water stirred in will thin it out.

Sunday was entirely non-blogworthy. I studied, watched tv, studied some more, watched more tv, did my laundry (FINALLY), and that's it. Here are a few meals though:

Chocolate pumpkin oats with coconut:

I also had a salad with TJ's beefless strips:

Grapes:

Q: Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Or Holiday shopping?

I started looking for gift ideas yesterday, but I'm way behind. What about you?

Helping the Community

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:10:00 +0000

Hey guys!

TGIF, huh? I started this morning with some chocolate pumpkin oats:

Topped with coconut--it looks like snow! Which we're definitely not getting in Arizona ;)

I picked up a couple cans of pumpkin at the grocery store last night, opened one in the morning... and finished it off by 1 pm today. Ha! Told ya there's a reason I don't stock up. I'll seriously just finish the can by adding a lil cinnamon and stevia to the pumpkin and eating it like pumpkin pie filling. In my defense, it was just a little 15 oz. can, but I could easily finish those monster Libby's cans too ;)

It was freezing this morning! Windy and in the low 40's. My hands were freezing--especially my right hand. It was weird. I went to my 2 classes and got to go home early since my 3rd was canceled.

I had this amazing combo:

x2 or 3 throughout the day. Soooo good!
Chocolate greek yogurt aka chocolate mousse aka the best freaking thing EVER. It's just greek yogurt, cocoa powder, stevia, and cinnamon mixed to taste, but it is SO good. If you aren't a vegan or lactose intolerant, you have to try it. And if you're just a little lactose intolerant, you should still try it-- it's so worth it ;) Plus, I heard that greek yogurt is lower in lactose or something. Don't quote me on that though--quote Chobani.

I went to PT, then came back to have this delicious salad:

Morningstar grilled chick'n patty with mushrooms, grape tomatoes, the last of the roasted brussels sprouts and green beans, topped with Annie's light honey mustard dressing.

Also a frozen yogurt:

It's been a long week so I'm just taking this night to relax. I hope you all had a great Friday, and enjoy your weekend :)

Q: Any plans this weekend?

Tomorrow I'm doing volunteer work in the morning by helping clean up this mountain park. It's from 8-10 am, and it's a half an hour away... so it'll be an early morning! I seriously have to start doing lots of volunteer work cause I'm behind. When you're a music student, grad schools don't really care if you help the community a lot. As a harpist, you're pretty much an angel already. You've just got to be able to play your instrument well and look good doing it. Your resume consists of the ensembles you've played with, concerts you've done, competition results, repertoire, and instructors.

But in the real world, that doesn't really fly. Physical Therapy programs aren't going to care that I can play the harp part to Britten's Symphony Fantastique, even if that does take about 20 hours to learn. They're not gonna care I spent my life in a practice room learning La Boheme and hundreds of hours in a dark hole under stage playing in the pit orchestra for Lyra Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. They might it's cool I play the harp, but all those details don't matter anymore.

What matters now is GPA, interviews, volunteer work, and internships. I do like volunteering and feeling like I'm making a difference, but in music school there is just no time. All "extra" time is supposed to be spent practicing, anyway. So I've practically done nothing these past 2 years in terms of volunteering!

Kay, to sum up that monologue, I'm cleaning up a park tomorrow morning ;) Then I'm studying my butt off for BOTH my biology exam and History of Science final. They're both on Tuesday... ick. Do you have any fun plans?

Roast Me Some Veggies!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:26:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Hope you had a great Thursday. Last night I ended up staying up til the eye, ear, + brain lab practical results were posted around 10:30 pm. I got an 85%, which is pretty good for those things! It's 50 questions, all fill in the blank with no word bank, so you really have to know your stuff. I'm pretty sure I don't want to be an Eye, Ear (and nose + throat) doctor, and I'm content with my sister being the brain expert of the family ;) She's going into neuroscience--isn't that cool? The funny thing is, she probably would have aced that brain portion of the lab if I teleported her there. Ha! Anyway, enough about brains. How about breakfast? ;)

Buuuuut first the backstory: While waiting for the practical results to be posted, I caught up on blogs. So many of you guys had pumpkin oats, and I started craving them like crazy! You know how ice cream addicts don't keep ice cream in the house? Well, being a pumpkin addict, I don't keep pumpkin in the house either. I buy it when I need it and don't stock up--or else I'll eat it all! So I had no pumpkin, but I did have canned butternut squash. It's not a weakness like pumpkin, but it's pretty darn good! So I went to bed planning squash oats :) And after 9.5 hours of sleep (finally!), here they are:

1/3 cup oats
1 cup canned pureed butternut squash
Cinnamon
Vanilla extract
Stevia
Cacao powder
Spoon of dark chocolate pb

These were so good! They definitely had that creamy and smooth texture I was looking for. Though I like my apple oats syrupy, I like squash oats thicker. You can see that matte consistency!

I went to my History of Science class, where I thankfully didn't start dozing off this time ;) Our final is apparently on tuesday during class, instead of the regular finals week. Sooo, there goes my weekend. Ugh!

After classes, I got to come home and thank my lucky stars harp studio was canceled this week. I chilled and messed around with the lil digital handheld tv I got at Kohls during black friday. It actually gets a lot of channels here, and in really good quality! I previously didn't even have a tv in my apartment, so it was pretty cool :) I also had a moringstar grilled chick'n salad:

I was out of regular mushrooms so I broke up a portobello cap mushroom to use instead. It worked well!

I took a much needed trip to the grocery store and picked up a ton of produce. I roasted some green beans and brussels sprouts in my lil toaster oven to use for dinner:

Seasoned with salt + pepper, dried basil, oregano, onion, garlic, and also jamaican jerk spice mix. Roasted for 20 minutes at 415 degrees :)

Roasted veggie salad:

And as a side:

With spray butter of course ;) Yea, I pretty much ate 3/4 of that pan already. Haha!

The mock apple crisp made a repeat appearance:

So yummy! I posted the recipe here

I'm currently drinking this 1.25 liter bottle of sparkling orange water:

It was on sale for 99 cents at the store. I really like sparkling water but I usually drink La Croix. Oh, and I'm totally drinking it straight out of the hugh jass bottle. Hey, I live alone so there's no one to get pissed at me ;) Haha, no shame!

Q: How often do you go to the grocery store?

I go about twice a week or so. Sometimes 3x/week. I eat a lot of produce, so I like to go often to make sure it's fresh. I also rarely eat out, so almost all my meals and snacks are coming from home. What about you?

Easy Peasy Mock Apple Crisp

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:12:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. I pretty much spent the afternoon and night procrastinating, then freaking and studying my ass off ;) I know I'm a day late, but I can't believe it's already December!! Where the heck does time go?

Classic apple oats:

It's got so much liquid it kinda looks like soup, huh? I like to make it with extra water and then add a TON of cocoa powder, cinnamon, and stevia so it's syrupy, though. So good!

I got my hip ASTYMed again on Monday, which totally renewed the bruising:

At least it's currently purple and not black again. I'm just ready for this sucker to heal already. I'm so jealous of all the people running and doing races--even just the elliptical!

I had my lab practical on eyes, ears, and the brain today so I had some MAJOR studying to do last night. And also this morning until I took it at 2:00! I think it went alright, but he'll have the scores posted by tonight so I'll just have to see. I feel like I have a fighting chance to do well--you never know with these lab practicals, but I felt like I at least got the gist of it. There weren't many questions with the models, so I was happy about that! Anyway, I'm just glad to have gotten it done. It's been a major stressor this week!

I have also been soooo sleep deprived lately! I've only been getting about 5 hours/night since I got back, and I definitely didn't sleep all that much when I was on break! There was too much to do. I was falling asleep in my history lecture yesterday--the kind where you literally cannot keep your eyes open. Not cool! I've pretty much been relying on a constant supply of coffee to stay awake. Now that the crazy scary lab practical is out of the way, I'm planning on having a relaxing night and getting a good night's rest. After all, I don't have to wake up til 8 tomorrow :) And now I'm like, ridiculously excited to go to sleep. How sad is that?? I lead an exciting life I guess ;)

To celebrate getting through that last lab practical, I made a little healthy dessert. Honestly, I also wanted to have something new to post, too. Please ignore the fact that it's kind of like my apple oatmeal, just with apples as the feature instead of the other way around ;) I present:

The Lazy Person's Mock Molasses Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
1 apple, sliced
Cinnamon
Stevia
Oats for topping (about 1/4 cup or less)
Drizzle of molasses

Super, super easy and fast! All I did was slice up an apple, dash it with cinnamon, and microwave it for a minute until it was soft. Then in a separate little bowl, I mixed some oats, a dash of water, cinnamon, stevia, and a dash of molasses. I didn't really measure anything, I just eyeballed it and taste-tested. I mixed that all together and popped it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. I spooned the oat mixture over the apple slices, and voila! A healthy apple crisp-like dessert or snack :)

And here are some monster salads, cause ya know I can't go without em!

The last of the veggies:

And frozen chocolate yogurt:

So, I had a really good question and I was gonna jot it down so I didn't forget. But then I was like, "oh I'll remember it!" Guess what? I can't remember it. So here's a lamer question:

Q: How often do you go out to eat?

I don't go out very often, and neither does my family back in Michigan. We go out for birthdays and other special occasions, but it's not a regular thing. However, I do sometimes buy prepared salads or fruit cups at my school's little market. Usually they're just garden salads and I bring my own dressing, but I only do that about once a week on Wednesdays when I'm there forEVER with lab. I'm curious, though--do you eat out often or do you always prepare your own food?

From Dessert to Desert

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Hey guys!

Sorry for going MIA, but I was so busy at home with the family :) I'm currently back in Arizona, and I can tell--I'm not cold all the time! ;)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did! It was fun to see all the extended fam again. The highlight of the meal was definitely my uncle's trademark cheesecake. I promise it is the BEST cheesecake you will ever eat! Even people who supposedly hate cheesecake (inconceivable) love this cheesecake. We took some home, so here's a picture of it:

Mmm! It's definitely the main treat I look forward to during the holidays :) Not to mention the best dessert EVER.

On Black Friday, my mom and I woke up insanely early to go shopping this morning. I got up at 3:20 am coffeed up, and made this greek yogurt mess:

1 cup Fage
2 spoons of cocoa powder
Stevia
Cinnamon
1/2 sliced banana
Deep chocolate vitatop
Spoon of dark chocolate dreams

It was so good! The yogurt tasted exactly like chocolate mousse. Being home has reminded me how much I love yogurt combos and parfaits! Too bad I can't find vitatops here. And I can't really ship em to AZ-- I'd need a freaking glacier to keep those things frozen!

We went to Kohls when it opened at 4am. I got a wafflemaker for 9.99, a little portable tv since I don't have one at my apartment, and a few other things--earrings, socks. We also took advantage of the $3.99 fleece blankets and picked up some extras to donate for the less fortunate. We also got an little girl's outfit and some hot wheels toy cars to donate :) And that was it with the shopping, haha. We were back by 5:30!

I also went to my grandpa's retirement home and watched him do his physical therapy. He's working hard, and it was interesting to see the PT environment in the retirement home.

My grandma came over for dinner. We had tuna steak, roasted veggies, and salad. The roasted veggies were so good! We had brussels sprouts, green beans, spiral beets, and yellow turnips:

When I was home, I had the chance to play some christmas songs on the harp. It was fun, and I actually didn't sound bad even though I hadn't played in forever ;) I really like playing without the pressure of learning new repertoire I don't love in the first place. My fingers are definitely sore from all the playing! They had gone soft ;)

We set up the Christmas tree on Saturday night:

Apologies, but I couldn't get a good pic for the life of me. Maybe cause it was like, 12:30 at night ;)

Oh, and crazy kitties:

Bruce looking somewhat normal.
And then Bruce acting like his usual self:

Haha! And here's Alfred, my fave kitty:

He's about as chill as Bruce is insane. So that means he's hella chill ;)

Today it was back to classes. I also had a doctor's appointment I had to go to in order to get more physical therapy. I got another month, and so I called the PT office to schedule an appointment. In less than 2 hours, I was at the PT place. Haha! They gave me a shirt, too. Valued customer, maybe? ;)

Anyway, PT went as well as it usually does. I got ASTYMed again, which re-purpleified my bruise. It was fading, too! Ha. Guess they don't allow that ;)

Mmmkay, so here's some more food:

Super Triple Chocolate Parfait:

Pretty much the same combo as my greek yogurt mess, sans banana. Greek yogurt, cocoa powder, stevia, deep choco vita, and also an unpictured spoon of dark chocolate dreams. I tried to get it in the pic, but it messed up the prettiness. I swear, these things taste EXACTLY like a gourmet dessert. If you served em to people at a dinner party, they would NEVER know it was actually healthy. Promise!

I roasted a whole ton of veggies last night. Here are some:

Green beans, some random squash thing, brussels sprouts, eggplant, and onions.

Salads:

Like the new bowl? I got it at Kohls in the Black Friday sale for like, $4.

Roasted veggie salad with a grilled chick'n patty:

That's with leftover tuna steak and goat cheese. So good!

Dr. Praeger's bombay veggie burger. I liked it! I do have some difficulty telling a ton of differences between the varieties. I mean, tex mex is more spicy and california is more veggies and less kick. But italian and bombay? No huge preference. They're all good.

Ok, the absolute best yogurt combo ever:

It's exactly like chocolate mousse, and the basis for those parfaits. Greek yogurt + cocoa powder + stevia. It has to be greek yogurt for it to taste like mousse, though. Regular yogurt is good, but it has that tang. But greek yogurt + cocoa powder? Perfection. This right here is why I couldn't go vegan.

Another nice dinner was soup and cornbread. Here's the soup:

We had this Trader Joe's cornbread, and my mom subbed applesauce for the oil:

It was delicious! Very moist and flavorful, and I liked the little pieces of actual corn.

And fun coffee:

Regular coffee kicked up with whipped cream and topped with a dash of cinnamon :)

Alright, that was a crazy post. I know it hopped, skipped, and jumped everywhere. Hopefully you were able to get the gist! Basically I had an awesome time at home and had some great food. Christmas break countdown, here we come! I've just got to get to the end of the semester and rock my finals. The first trial is Wednesday when I have my lab practical. I spent some quality time at the airport studying and having people look over my shoulder at my powerpoints. Maybe they could tell you where the medulla oblongata is now, who knows ;)

I'm totally copping out on this Q and asking: How was your holiday?

Hope it rocked! I'll catch ya guys later :)

Enter quick--Danica's Daily is giving away a soda stream!

2000 Miles Later...

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Hey guys!

Happy Thanksgiving from MICHIGAN!!! It's chilly here for my Arizonian body:

Apologies for the blur, but this pic my sis snapped kinda sums it all up ;)

I honestly didn't have much to pack for my trip home. Just the necessities--laptop, camera, ipod, contacts, and hair straightener ;) Trust me, the hair straightener IS a necessity! Unfortunately, everyone else packed their life's possessions, so the flight dudes ended up having to check my carry-on anyway. Oh well, at least they didn't lose it.

The flight was alright--I was way out of it for the first few hours, where I just slept. I spent the last hour resting and listening to my iPod. The one bad thing was that when we landed, the gate opener person wasn't there. So we were all standing there for about 20 minutes waiting for the guy to come. The plane was really stuffy and uncomfortable by then!

After freezing my booty off waiting for my mom to drive up, we got home and had a delicious dinner! Since my sis and I are vegetarian, we won't be eating turkey tonight. We're all going to my uncle's house, so we just eat all the sides. We had our own little Thanksgiving dinner with this:

I used to laugh at the whole "tofurkey" thing, but it actually tastes pretty good! I had the tofurkey with stuffing:

AMAZING roasted veggies:

And a cranberry-apple dumpling thing my mom covered in cinnamon:

This was really good, too! Doughy and I love how the cranberries added a hint of sweetness.

After staying up WAY late talking, I woke up to The Best Breakfast Ever. Long-term readers, this may look familiar ;)

A vitatop parfait!!! I haven't had one of these in like, 3 months. They don't have vitatops in AZ stores, which is terribly sad. Anyway, this parfait was the best parfait in the history of parfaits--it's true! You can ask my family and they'll tell you I was singing that during the entire parfait making and consuming process ;)

So basically it was just a deep chocolate vitatop in a greek yogurt mixture of cocoa powder, cinnamon, and stevia. I also had a spoon of dark chocolate dreams pb with it. But it was AWESOME!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Q: What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for my family and our good healthcare-- really, without it I don't know what I'd do. I'm also thankful for the opportunity to finally pursue an education in a field I'm passionate about. Being a kinesiology major this year has really made it clear how unhappy I was as a music major last year. I'm thankful I took a chance and changed my major. I finally love what I'm learning about!

I'm also thankful I have a comfortable level of living. I mean, I definitely have to watch my spending but I do have enough that I don't need to worry about how I'm going to pay the bills. Lately it's really hit me how lucky I am--there are so many people out there that are really struggling. I'm planning on doing a lot of volunteer work, both for the holiday season and also throughout the rest of the year. I've started a list of organizations/events I want to participate in, like gift-wrapping for charities and helping in toy drives. I'm also planning on volunteering at a soup kitchen. I want to do this for the holidays, but then I also want to get involved with a hunger organization for the rest of the year.

Another new thing is that I'm considering doing something like a medical mission in a year or so. I'm planning on joining our Global Health club next semester. My friend in kinesiology is going on one to Nicaragua over spring break where she'll be trained to give vaccines and check vitals, etc. for the people who desperately need them. I think it's an amazing opportunity and cause, and I feel like I have the potential to really make a difference.

Thankfully my class are really close together next semester, so I'll have more hours available in which to do all this. Over the past month, my eyes have really been opened to see how many people have it really badly off, and I feel like I have a duty to do what I can to help. So this was WAY long, but I felt like Thanksgiving would be a pretty good time to bring this up.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, everyone! :)

Purple Patches, Persimmons, + Planes

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:05:00 +0000

How's that title for alliteration?

Phew! These past 2 days have felt like an entire week. I'm leaving for the airport tomorrow at 9:30 in the morning and my flight is at 12. Due to the time difference and the 4 hour plane ride, I won't be getting in until past 6 pm Michigan time! So weird to lose an entire day like that.

So you know the physical therapy bruise on my hip? That would be the aforementioned "purple patch." It's been transforming itself and now currently looks like this:

Cute, huh? Yea maybe not s'much. And now it does kind of hurt, but I guess in this case my pain tolerance of steel actually comes in handy. And judging from the color of my leg, it looks as if they were successful in tearing the muscle tissue that grew back wrong ;)

My physical therapy prescription "ran out" today, so I had to make an appointment with the ASU sports doc to get it extended. That'll be Monday-- and since it's almost Thanksgiving, I should note that I am SO thankful for health insurance. The insurance company probably isn't thankful for me, though ;)

Oh, and this comment from Naomi made me remember the other thing about persimmons:
"I think I am the only one who had a really strange reaction to a persimmon. It made my mouth so waxy and numb feeling! it was beyond wierd, i couldn't take another bite!"

So the huge thing is, if you bite into a persimmon that isn't ripe, it's HORRIBLY bitter and terrible. I've read that's because cause of the tannin that's in it. Apparently, it puts a lot of people off of persimmons cause it really tastes that bad. There are 2 types of persimmons: Fuyu and Hachiya.

I had a fuyu persimmon, which can be eaten out of your hand. They're an orangey-red color, and apparently can be eaten right from the store.

Hachiya persimmons should be deep orange without any green spots! When they're ripe, they should be squishy, kind of like a water balloon. Once they're ripe, store em in the refrigerator and use em quickly!

I got this information from here. Check it out for more facts about persimmons!

Ok here are the few lame pictures I have for today. Tomorrow should feature a nice homemade dinner, though! I'm excited :)

Classic apple oats:

And though I do love pumpkin oats, I have to admit--my hands are considerably less orange now ;)
Salad:

With a veggie burger and some frozen veggies, since I had no fresh ones left in the fridge.

Chocolate yogurt:

Oh, and that kinesiology test I took on 4 hours of sleep following a flu-fun-filled weekend? 93% baby! And I'm super proud of that, cause it's a total filter class. They make the tests HARD to get all the slackers and well, ill-fitted people out of the kinesiology major. I knew the answers, but I could spot all those little tricks and twists in the questions. Now I've just got the final left to ace ;)

Q: Do you like flying?

I definitely don't!! I mean if I had a superpower and I could fly, I'm sure that'd be awesome. I do not like planes, though! It doesn't help that I've probably seen every episode of Air Crash Investigation. And with the may-juh temperature change from AZ to MI, we do get a lot of turbulence. Thankfully now I do have anti-anxiety meds for when I fly so I don't get panic attacks anymore. Take it from me, panic attacks + planes do NOT mix well. Ha! But I know there are a ton of people who love to fly-- are you one of em? :)