2009 Food Challenge: Cantaloupe

I'm back after a long absence for the third installment of my 2009 Food Challenge.

What did I buy? A cantaloupe!

Any preconceived notions? My mom likes to eat them. The fruit always seemed a little slimy to me.

Have I tried it before? Yeah, a piece here and there over the years.

How was it prepared? Cut, duh.



The verdict? I was right about the sliminess! And the taste was kind of bland. And some of the pieces were hard to chew (my mom says because they are out of season).



Will I buy it again? What does this face tell you...

Roommate Reunion

We had a GREAT weekend.

In a nutshell: deep dish pizza, shopping the mag mile, dinner at a BYOB, drinking in wrigleyville, throwing up all night (my roommate, not me!), second city, mexican food, dancing downtown, 80's night, spanish television, cab ride, cab ride, cab ride.







It was SO nice to have Saturday off work. I hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did!

TGIF Photo Friday

(Theme courtesy Nikemom.)

I haven't seen my college roommates in almost a year.



We're going to paint the town red! (Thanks for the lovely cliche, Ted!)

Is it Spring Yet?

DTV Switch = stressful

My sleep = interrupted

My health = failing me

Today's workout = 15 minute run

(Yesterday's workout = cleaning my kitchen)

The upcoming weekend = roommate reunion

The upcoming week = Ryan visits

Last night's poker game = lose

Weight loss = hiatus

(Blink 182 = no more hiatus)

My food challenge = coming soon

My dream = spring

My reality = epic winter

EPIC.

Ease Your Minds

I know you've all been just itching to find out if I kept my word.

And you'll be pleased to hear that I DID in fact. At 11:35am, I rode my trainer for 30 minutes (because that's what my training schedule told me to do). I'm using a 2x balanced 5K to sprint plan. For all you non-athletes out there, that means it's a plan geared towards people who can already run a 5K, and have the time for 2 runs, 2 swims, and 2 bikes per week.

My ride was a little pathetic. I have come to understand that my trainer is a necessary evil. I don't like that I never know how fast I'm going, because then I don't know if I should speed up or slow down. I like that I can watch TV with it, but it's a little loud to hear the TV over the "whirring" sound, so I have the TV on mute with captions.

I can't wait til I can get outside and ride for real. I'm nervous I won't get much outdoor practice before the race (I hope it warms up in March!).

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Tonight at 11:59pm, we will have our DTV switch. I am SO sick of this thing, I can't wait for it to be over! There is so much more to it than I ever imagined. Not only are we switching to digital, but we are completely revamping our set and our graphics and changing to 16x9 (widescreen). This equals a LOT of work for us directors. One lucky jerk got today and tomorrow off (HOW did that slip through the cracks?!).

I'm just counting the days til the weekend. My college roommates are coming from Maryland and Ohio to Chicago and we are going to tear it up (do the kids still say "tear it up"? Is that still cool?).

Here Goes Nothing...

Sometimes baby steps just aren't enough.

I've only done 3 workouts this entire month. Jeez.

I look back at my logs from last summer and I'm in disbelief at how hard I worked. Back then, I would take a day off and feel like a slacker.

I'll admit that I don't exactly fit in with all you hardcore runners and triathletes. I don't ENJOY working out or running. I would much rather sit inside and do nothing. What keeps me going is my striving to be a little bit healthier... and my sense of accomplishment when I finish my training and a really hard race. I love those 5 minutes after the finishline.

Because I don't like to workout, it's really hard to get motivated. So I'm boiling my solution down to one thing... my training begins tomorrow.

That's right. Even though I'm not officially signed up for my first triathlon, I will start training for it. Tomorrow. No excuses. No being tired or hungry or more interested in my new season of "How I Met Your Mother" (thanks, Ryan!).

With the triathlon being only 10 weeks away, I really need to get my butt in gear. I expect you people to hold me accountable! (not really... but it couldn't hurt).

V-Day

I've received a lot of Valentine's Day cards. I think I've gotten more Valentine's Day cards than I got Christmas cards in December!


(this isn't all of them)

However, my boyfriend is mostly to thank for that, because a whopping FIVE cards are from him! I also got one from a friend, one from my parents, and one from my grandparents (thanks, thanks, and thanks!).

This has always been a weird holiday for me. I've always been either single, in a long distance relationship, or dating someone who didn't care ("Vale-what?"). So while most couples are out to dinner with their valentine's right now, I'm working, and my boyfriend is at home in PA.

I hope you all do something special tonight (even if it's just drink an entire bottle of wine by yourself). Happy Valentine's Day!

TGIF Photo Friday

(Theme Courtesy Nikemom.)

It's a very important day today... it's Friday the 13th! This has always been a BIG holiday with my friends and I.

I have a friend who I've known since preschool. Friday the 13th was always celebrated with a campout in her backyard. We would buy a bunch of junk food and rent a bunch of scary movies and watch them on a portable TV.

As the years went on, the tradition grew to include more and more people. Here's us the summer before our senior year in High School...




(Yes, the blonde with the sunglasses is me. Yes, it's my natural hair color.)

So I hope everyone does something super spooky today! This is a HOLIDAY, people! And if you miss this one, there is another one next month!

First Swim of the Year

I finally just sucked it up and did it.

I had a work meeting yesterday at 1pm. I wore my bathing suit under my clothes and went straight from my station to the Y so that I couldn't give myself the opportunity to back out.

First thing when I got to the Y, I peeked into the pool area (which I always do to make sure there aren't any swim practices or anything going on). The pool was packed and all the lanes were full. For one bleak moment, I considered leaving and going home (I really don't like sharing lanes... I always end up feeling pressured to go faster or slower to accommodate the other swimmer). But I slapped myself out of it and decided that I would wait for an empty lane if I had to.

A few minutes later, I was suited up and in my own empty lane. It was surprisingly warm. One thing I'd like to point out is how GREAT I looked in my bathing suit! Last time I wore it, I was over 15 pounds heavier. What a difference it made.

Since I hadn't been in the pool since September, I decided to take it easy. I only swam for a quarter mile. I was shocked at how good I felt. I expected to be tired and slow, but my lap times were pretty consistent with last year's. The only real thing that stopped me from going further was an aching pain in my right ear. I guess my ears just weren't used to getting all that water stuck inside them. Towards my last few laps, I was stopped at every end of the pool to shake out my head.

Overall, I'm really glad my first swim went well. It was a good start to hopefully keep me motivated to get in the pool more often.

I AM considering all your suggestions to go ahead and sign up for the triathlon. Pay $53 to ensure a new job? Makes sense. I have applied for over 45 jobs since the beginning of December without a single station contacting me. That's just sad.

Biggest Loser Ironman

Did anyone else watch the Biggest Loser last night?

I was sad when Blaine got kicked off, but when they caught up with him later, he looked GREAT and said he was training to complete an Ironman before the finale! Go triathletes!

I'm curious to know which Ironman he'll be doing. I just thought I'd share with everyone how awesome our sport is.

Speaking of triathlons, I REALLY want to sign up for one. My race of choice is the J-Hawk Early Bird sprint triathlon in Whitewater, WI on April 26. It's the spring version of the Late Bird Tri that I completed last September. Problem is, I'm stupidly optimistic about my job search. It's been over 2 months now, and I keep thinking that someone will call me ANY day now for an interview. If I sign up for this race, and then move far away, I don't get my money back.

Taking Care of Business

This morning, I passed up working out for watching the "Bachelor" that I had DVRed. I'd like to go on the record saying that I am extremely happy with this decision.

The girls have been narrowed down to 3, and I love them all. Apparently he should have just come and asked ME who to marry, because I picked out these three girls as the top three within the first TWO hours of the show. He could have saved a lot of time and hassle.

I have the next two days off work. I'm excited.

My weight loss is officially back on track... 149. Woooo! I think I'm going to set my new goal to 140, but I'm realistic that it may take me a long time to reach.

I would like to take advantage of this week's warm and rainy weather by getting into the pool at some point.

On a different note, I have read your suggestions about an exotic food next time, and I will consider it. Although, "exotic" for me is really just "normal" for most people. We'll see what happens.

So if any of my loyal readers would like to SUGGEST a food for me to try (if it's not bread, pasta, or cereal, it's safe to assume I've never had it), leave me a comment and I'll look into it!

2009 Food Challenge: Whole Grains

For those of you who didn't know, and for those of you who forgot, I am working on my very own 2009 Food Challenge this year.

When I started this, I said, "every time I go grocery shopping, I will buy ONE item that I have either never tried, or tried once and disliked."

Last time, it was eggs. They were so-so.

This week, I present you with: Whole Grain! I decided to just lump whole grain foods into one big category instead of reviewing them all seperately.

What did I buy? I bought Whole Grain Wheat Bread, Whole Grain Mac and Cheese, and Whole Grain Rotini Pasta.

Any preconceived notions? I have to admit, I wasn't particularly looking forward to this challenge. I don't like breads with little things in them (grains? seeds? I dunno). And I'm a HUGE fan of regular pasta, so I'm pretty convinced it can't be improved upon.

Have I tried it before? I've tried whole grain bread before (I think), and didn't HATE it... I just like white bread so much better. I've been buying white for years now. However, I have never tried whole grain pasta. The color of it scares me.

How was it prepared? The bread was used in a peanut butter sandwich. The mac and cheese was prepared via instructions on the box. The pasta has yet to be made (I'm a busy girl).

The verdict? The bread wasn't bad. It DID have little things (grains? seeds? I dunno) in it, but they weren't huge, and after a while, I hardly noticed.



However, I didn't enjoy the crusts... they seem thicker than normal bread and had a funny almost burnt taste to them.



But, I DID eat a second sandwich later in the week, so that's a good sign.

The mac and cheese was just okay. The dark noodles had a distinctively different flavor to them than what I'm used to.




I think I will have to try the mac and cheese one more time to fully make up my mind. After all, it may just be this specific brand that I didn't enjoy (although, who DOESN'T like Annie's?).

Will I buy it again? The bread, definitely. The mac and cheese, not sure.

Tune in next time for another episode of the 2009 Food Challenge (DUN DUN DUNNNNN).

First Outdoor Run of 2009

And it was a good one!

It was a gorgeous 40 degrees outside (shut up, people who live in warm states). The sun was out and the 10 inch snowpack was melting... the perfect day for a run.

I did a basic out-and-back run that ended up being 3.07 miles long (I'm really happy with that... I havn't run that far since November).

Two things I didn't really think about before leaving the apartment: the wind, and the puddles. The wind was brutal and cut my run back to a snail's pace. The puddles were frequent and more like small creeks than puddles. I was secretly crying over how wet my brand new shoes were getting...

How did I feel mentally? Great. It was a beautiful day, a lot of fellow runners were out taking advantage, and I was wearing my recently restocked IPod.

How did I feel physically? Meh. My stomach was cramping a little bit, my ears were stinging because of the wind, and my right hip was trying to break my spirit.

Speaking of my hip... does anyone else have hip issues when they run? Both of them hurt, but the right one is far worse. It usually starts up after 2 or 3 miles. This was the ONLY thing preventing me from breaking the 5 mile mark last summer during my training. I can't imagine I'll EVER complete a marathon or Ironman if it continues feeling this way. Any tips?

I hope everyone else is experiencing such nice temperatures (and are out enjoying them!). I'll be stuck working in master control for the rest of the day and night.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I've lost a whole 4 1/2 pounds since last Saturday (when I got back from my cruise). Talk about MELTING off!

Happy weekend!

Shocking

I'm gonna go run.

... OUTSIDE.

Yeah. you heard me right.

TGIF Photo Friday

(Theme Courtesy Nikemom.)

I just got my snorkeling photos developed. Here's a taste...





I'm gonna try this new (old) thing today where I workout before I eat breakfast. I used to do it back when I was training for my Tri, but somehow that habit fell by the wayside. I think it'll help me get into a better routine, and hopefully not eat so much (however, I'm STILL losing weight in a miraculous fashion... down to 151 this morning).

Happy almost weekend, everyone!

A Busy Little Beaver

Here's what's going on...

On Monday, I walked outside to find the construction men taking apart their scaffolding and loading it onto their truck. Hurray! Yet for some reason, I was woken up by hammering sounds at 7:15 this morning.

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After TWO dysfunctional DVD players, I finally gave in yesterday and bought a new one.



The one on the bottom is one of my old ones, and the adorable sleek little black thing on top is my new DVD player! I'm currently watching the first season of How I Met Your Mother (great show).

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I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought something new. So expect a blog post about whole grain foods later this week!

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I'm going to go to the Y today. If I say it on my blog, it means it must be true. My weight has dropped a couple pounds since my cruise (I guess that's what happens when you stop eating 24/7), but it's still hard. It's taking me a while to get back into the habit of calorie counting. Bleh.

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I will also be picking up photos today that I took during Ryan and I's snorkeling excursion. I haven't used an underwater camera since high school, so I hope they turn out well.

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Blogger just informed me that I've been spelling the word "haven't" wrong for my entire life. I had NO idea it had an E in it! Havn't havn't havn't havn't havn't. Boooo me.

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PS: if you're on Facebook, join Marci's group, Triathlon Bloggers.

Woohoo Questions!

I know I'm a little behind in jumping on the bandwagon. These questions come from Tri Dave:

1. If you were forced to give up one of your favorite TV shows which one would you give up? Oh boy... that is a MEAN question! After much thought, I suppose I would give up The Biggest Loser. I do love that show, but it's always SO long, and I end up fast-forwarding through all the drama anyway.

2. What is the best & worst thing about living in Illinois? Best: Chicago. It is definitely one of my top 2 of all U.S. cities. I love how friendly people are in Chicago, how clean the city is, and I love the lake (which is so big, it feels like you're standing next to the ocean). Worst: The state is pretty cold... and boring. The land is flat and covered in farm land, and annoying to drive through.

3. Name one thing you want to accomplish within the next 3 years. Well for starters, I'd like to make more than $25,000 a year! But realistically (ha... a joke), and related to my blog, I'd like to complete an olympic distance triathlon.

4. What is your favorite month of the year? June... a) It's the month of my birthday, b) It's warm, c) It's just the beginning of summer... so much excitement lays ahead.

5. How is your 2009 food challenge going? Hahaha... it's funny you asked that. Because of my vacation, I have NO food (the food I do have is moldy). My number one priority today was to go grocery shopping. However, my job had other plans... like having me work. So groceries shall have to wait until tomorrow. BUT! When we were on our cruise, I ate some Cheese and Spinach Puffs... which is technically something new. They were surprisingly good. I'll keep everyone updated. Hopefully I can get back on track over the next few days.

To play along (for the 2 of you on Earth who havn't done this yet):
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by sending you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

A Whirlwind Vacation

I don't want to bore you with a bazillion photos (I took 251) or stupid stories, so here is a quick overview of last week...

Our ship, the Norwegian sky...

The world's smallest room...



Our first meal on board. I'm unsure about the Goat Cheese Ravioli I ordered...



Safety training...



Pool deck...



Kayaking through the mangroves on Grand Bahama Island...




Beautiful beach...



Adorable racoon (rabies doesn't exist in the Bahamas)...



Underground caves...



Sunburnt nose...



The Atlantis Hotel in Nassau...



Exploring the town...



The Queen's Staircase...



Cold after snorkeling...



Enjoying the free food...



Enjoying the drinks...



Private beach on Great Stirrup Cay...

Relaxing on the beach...

Our ship out at sea...



Dinner with Ryan...

The packed theater...

Our last night, waiting for the show...



Ryan is sad to leave...

It was a great trip. We would definitely cruise again. Concerning my workouts, I ran once (was going to be twice, but I suddenly didn't feel well the second time... allergic to working out? Perhaps). As for my weight? The offical gain is 4 lbs. Woops. Oh well... the calorie-counting starts again today. The working out starts again tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a good week. As many of you can see, I did a lot of blog reading and commenting yesterday (75 posts!). It sounds like I missed a GREAT week of weather (ice storms) and work (Blagojevich gone). Yessssss.