OK maybe not 20, but who’s counting?? (There’s Question 1…)

Hi friends!  It’s Friday EVE!!  My schedule is so wonky this week.  Normally I prefer to post first thing in the morning but this week has me all out of whack.  I’m dying for Friday night to get here (for no reason other than it will be the weekend and I can grab a blanket and my book and RELAX!)

Remember when I was lamenting the other day about the LOOONG wait till May for another holiday weekend? (There’s Question 2…) I found out today that our office is closed on MLK, Jr. Day AND President’s Day!  SCORE!!! So I have one more full week before I get another SHORT holiday week – how cool is that?? (Question 3) And during MLK week I also have jury duty one day (please please don’t let me get picked to be a juror).  You don’t even want to get me started on that.  I’ve lived in 3 counties over the last 10 years.  This will be the 4th time I’ve been called to jury duty (twice in one county, once each in the other).  Of the 3 times prior that I’ve been called, I was selected as a juror for 2.

MSP on the other hand, has NEVER received a summons.  I swear their selection process is not random.  Big Brother seriously keeps track of our satellite dishes and targets those who have watched law shows like Ally McBeal or Boston Legal.  I’m on to them.

So I have to get a little girly on you for a moment:  Do you ever have a zit that feels THIS BIG?  (#4)

Dramatization =)

I feel like I’m walking around with a big target on my face!  I know I can’t complain, because I’m very fortunate to have good skin that is clear 90% of the time.  But this one is a doozy!

Did I totally gross you out?   TMI? (Q’s 5 and 6!)

On to less nasty things, here’s another question:  Do you ever open your fridge and wonder how the heck you ended up with way too much food for the week? (there’s # 7)

I’m not sure exactly how it happened to be that my fridge is bursting at its seams.  I think Costco is partly to blame – I ended up with a bag of avocados, a HUGE tub of hummus, an extra tub of salad greens, etc.  Costco is dangerous like that!  You walk by and think “hmm I could us an avocado” but the bag has 6 and you don’t really need 6 but WOW is it a really good price for 6 avocados so now you have a bunch of ‘cados that ripened all at once and no time to eat them all!

So in an effort to use up at least some of my veggies, I made an ‘on-the-fly‘  dinner:

A portabella mushroom “burger” with a Veggie Slice (soy cheese) and salsa on a bed of salad greens:

And some “mish-mash” miso soup:

I am loving making my own miso soups at home.  It’s fun to use it as a base and throw things in.  This time I started with organic vegetable stock and some dried shitake mushrooms (soaked for 15 min prior to adding to soup).  I brought that to a very light boil and let it bubble for about 6 or 7 minutes while I was working on the portabella.  Then I added a handful of fresh spinach, about 3 shakes of the nama shoyu bottle and about 1/2 cup of leftover quinoa.  Then I removed from the heat and added the miso.   As I type this I realize I should have added some sea veggies too!  Oops!  But still, it was GOOD!

I’ll be sharing more about miso in my review of The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.  I’m almost done writing my comments about it.

Here’s a tip for you: If you are trying to cut back on portions or calories, a good way to keep your intake in check is to have a light broth ‘soup’ as your first course.  When I first met with my acupuncturist he had me just heat up chicken broth and add a little spinach.  This wasn’t for the purpose of losing weight – it was more for digestion.  But it works GREAT to fill you up a little bit before you eat your ‘actual’ meal which will go a long way to help you out if you are working on a weight loss goal.

***

Wednesday Exercise:

I did the Physique 57 DVD for my strength workout again yesterday.  I’m starting to get a little more coordinated, but not much.  I feel it though.  Of all places, I feel it in my left toe.  Yep, that’s right.  57  minutes of ouch to have a sore TOE.  Not booty, not arms..  TOE. You spend a LOT of time with your heels lifted off the floor without shoes.

It’s funny to hear one of the testimonials that always plays at the beginning of the DVD about how ‘this workout lifted her butt 2 inches’.  What I’d like to know is, how does one measure that?   Do you measure how far it is from the floor to your ‘cheek’ along the backside of your leg? (8 and 9) Hmmm, I’m not sure that’s very scientific!    I can tell you that I did not take THAT particular measurement BEFORE I started doing this workout.   I don’t care how high or low it is as long as it doesn’t have a lot of ‘hail damage’.  That’ll be my litmus test.

Well friends do you think I have bounced around to too many topics yet? Did I count right?  ( 10 and 11) Which of the 12 questions will you comment on in the comments section? (12) You have plenty to choose from!

Have a great day everyone!

– Shari B.  =)

Tags: miso, Physique 57, portabella mushroom, The Kind Diet