Happy Groundhog Day!

Hello All,
I hope everyone's week is going swimmingly! Mine has been chugging along in a very low gear...I actually, seriously though yesterday was Wednesday, all. day. long. Imagine my shock and horror then when after going for a hot afternoon run, partaking in a nice cold shower and scarfing down some leftover black bean and sweet potato salad (you'll get to see the original mess in a min...hang on kiddies!) to settle in for some bonding time with my faves on SYTYCD only to realize (finally!) that it was only Tuesday. ahhhh, no! haha, well. Now does my title make sense?

Everything is rather par for the course this week thus far though (well, current and temporary course that is...) I got a bit of organizing/packing done this weekend, but still have loads more to do of course. I've been purging everything though, clothes, books, dishes, etc since I'll be moving into a 650ish sqft studio come December and back into what was my bedroom in my parents house (they had converted into an office this year) but I'm not going into the details on that in this post. I'm actually going to make a miniseries of sorts on my blog that will be all about building the barn studio-or "abarnment" as we have named it! Stay tuned for the "prologue" coming soon....

My parents did get back from Mexico on Monday evening and it sounds like they had a great time. Mom said it was a real fantasy vacation and considering they stayed here, it's no wonder! I'm drooling like whoa and for sure want to check this place out myself one day! Mom said that it was mostly young people-aka, 20's and 30's so that is pretty much our crowd right? Yup! Best of all Mom has agreed to do a guest post about all the food, since she took a lot of pictures of their meals for my benefit. She wants my help, since she's not used to doing hyperlinks and such, but keep your eyes pealed for that post too! Don't you just love it when your blog inspires others to think or act in a new way! I love it!

Ok, a quick update on some wonderful yoga and running days and then we will get back to your normally scheduled programing...food of course! I guess I don't really have that much to report in the way of exercise that is new or exciting: As I mentioned I am actually following the C25k plan for the Miracle Miles 5k I've chosen as my first 5k! I'm working on week 1 this week which consists of 60seconds of jogging followed by a 90 second recovery period. They recommend to do this for 20 mins, but I did it around my usual loop which is about 35 mins including a 5 min warm up and cool down...so I did an extra 5 mins of the run/walk cycle. I was relieved that I could do the 60 second runs and found the 90 second recovery to be a bit longer than I really needed, but it wasn't quite a easy as I had hopped...I think I have been essentially doing this part of my plan most of the time. Granted I do run with my dog, and he makes it a bit more challenging as we often have different agendas while on a run. He doesn't understand why I don't want to smell EVERY blade of grass or chase the squirrels, I know I'm crazy right? I know that I run a bit faster and for a longer periods of time when I run at crescent lake sans 100lbs of distracted doggie. So while I love taking the Chubbster with me I am looking forward to living back in the country where he can run free and so can I. haha.
Yoga has been wonderful as always. I have been trying to glean as much from Denise as I can so I can do some home sessions my Mom and I. I am so in love with the inversion class on Monday night. I shake so hard in handstand (walked in against the wall for support-I'm not strong enough to do it free standing yet) but it's amazing. We did headstand though and I can't do it. It freaks me out, I feel like I'm rolling on to my neck, even though I'm not. Hopefully as my shoulders and arms get stronger though I'll be more comfortable. Asana means 'comfortable joyous place where you rest' after all!

Ok, on to food, oh yum have I enjoyed myself the past few days:
This mess is another batch of my homemade babaganoosh. Roasted eggplant (drizzled with EVOO and S&P before hitting the oven) and whole garlic cloves then mushed together. Oh yum! This was originally going to be my lazy man's eggplant parm and I usually saute the eggplant chunks on the stove top, but they tend to absorb a lot of extra oil that way, so I tried it this way, but I think the oven temp was maybe too high since it all cooked down a little too much to turn into parm. I'll make that sometime soon though, so you guys can see my fave lazy man!

Spread on whole grain toast makes for a great post yoga meal! Especially since I don't get home until 9:30ish on Mondays after my 3hrs yoga session! So I've been pulling a Caitlin and doing a 2 part dinner. Pre yoga fuel consisted of trying a new (to me!) Kind Bar:

I really enjoyed this bar. It was really crunchy, but I found the more I ate it the more I liked it. Peanuts and sesame seeds drizzled with chocolate? I mean come on! It was a little high in fat for what is really a "snack" bar clocking in at 15g but I think that comes from the chocolate and sesame. Totally worth it. I also have a Almond and Apricot one waiting in my Bar Jar so I'll let you know my thoughts on that one too. FYI though they are a little pricey: $2.29ea from Publix. Maybe they are cheaper else where? (Part of their proceeds go's to charity though, so it's all good I guess.) I was just excited to see them after a few other bloggers had been talking about them recently. Paired with a cup of CS Peppermint Tea was the perfect pick me up after a long day of work and what would be a long, but wonderful night of yoga. Yum, for real!

This was my "brunch" on Sunday. It really could have been just breakfast since I ate around 10:30am but I figured by siding up some green beans that took it out of the traditional bfast realm. Scrambled eggs-1 whole egg and 1 part egg whites, I've been really digging this combo. Makes for super fluffy eggs- with ham and Catbot 1.5% Jalapeno Cheddar. Really yummy. The ham and beans were leftovers my grandparents sent home with me after I had dinner with them on Friday night. A variation of one of my favorite meals-quesadilla with black beans, but I did this dinner a bit more deconstructed. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad and with romiane lettle and yogurt, marinated (garlic, lime juice, EVOO, sea salt and Cayenne pepper) and pan grilled pork-oh so tender. Side of toasted WW tortillas for scooping everything up with. It was a mexican-indian style meals! (eating with the hands and all)Side of not so pretty quac. This avocado was on it's way out unfortunately. And don't worry kids, I didn't finish any of the above plating. My eye's were wayyyy to big for my stomach.

The funny thing is I realized this was a pretty meaty post. Especially if you consider the ham dinner I ate on Friday (unphotographed) as well as the also unphotoed graphed leftovers of pork tacos too. Everytime I start thinking I could really go veggie-I would still eat seafood and eggs of course- I end up having meat and remembering why I do enjoy the extra varitey it brings to my diet. You will be seeing more meat in my meals the next few weeks too, as I clean out my freezer before the move on Aug 7th. I have quite a bit stocked up in there that I just haven't been interested in eating the past few months. I got though phases with my eating, just like anything else in life, and while it's been more convenient to go meatless as of late, I don't feel bad for indulging in some now and then.

Happy Groundhogs, I mean Hump Day, Everyone!
Love to all,
~A dazed and apparently confused, Jess