Productivity vs. The Hunger Games

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Sometime the middle of last year, Travis “read” The Hunger Games series. I say “read,” because Travis doesn’t actually read, he does only books on tape.  Anyway, he read them, and loved them, but I was kind of indifferent to them.  Not that I was 100% not interested, but for the most part, post-apocalyptic literature isn’t my bag.  Then, my girlfriends started reading them, so I got in line for the book sharing and have now finished the first two books in the series. They have completely sucked me in.  Kate delivered the first two books on Thursday night and as of Saturday night I had finished them both.   I’ll be picking up the third book today, and will have to force myself to bed and not stay up late reading.  It will be difficult.  I basically lost the entire day Saturday to Catching Fire.

I found it interesting while reading to see some parallels between The Hunger Games and the Twilight saga.  I have a feeling there is a similar fan base, but also a divided fan base (as there tends to be with things that are similar but also different.)  One parallel I discovered, aside from the obvious love triangle featured in both series, is that both Katniss and Bella feel hugely responsible for the well being of the people they care about, and knowing that whichever person they choose, they will ultimately be leaving another hurt terribly. There is also insecurity in both characters, but this seems to be where the similarities end, and I have a strong feeling that Katniss Everdeen is what Stephenie Meyer wished Isabella Swan actually was.  Where Bella is so plain she is practically devoid of any personality, Katniss explodes with personality, with fervor, with a will to survive.  From the beginning we see both characters are willing to sacrifice everything to save the ones they love, but where Bella fumbles around and seems weak, Katniss is powerful in her resolve.  This is not to say I think Bella Swan is a terrible, irredeemable character, I just find her far less developed than Katniss.

They’ve just started casting for the movie versions of The Hunger Games, so that should be interesting to watch play out.  I keep hoping they have a larger budget than the Twilight films so they get a decent hair/makeup and costume department.

I wasn’t completely unproductive on Saturday actually.  Although the better part of the day and evening was spent reading, I managed to make my first green smoothie.

I followed the recipe Angela posted on Oh, She Glows  only I used chocolate soy milk instead of almond milk, in the hope that the chocolate would make it taste better.  I was pretty nervous it was going to taste like sludge.  I even bought some Chia Seeds for the first time ever at Whole Foods on Friday evening. Have you ever made green smoothies? I’m sure most of you have, I’m pretty tardy to the party 😉 See! I ‘m even late using that joke. Totally no longer culturally relevant.  Oh well.

Surprisingly enough, it tasted pretty good!

Even Peanut tried to get in on the action.  It kept me full for several hours which was great. Then I totally ruined my healthy green smoothie by ordering pizza for dinner.  Oops?  I figured it would be ok since I’ve got a 6 mile run planned for this morning. Sometimes a girl just needs some pizza.  Plus it was so hot in the apartment, the mere idea of turning on the stove or oven to cook anything made me feel gross.

Sleep Anxiety

When Travis travels, I don’t sleep well, mostly it’s the falling asleep that’s the most difficult.  I toss and turn, and listen to every creak and noise that occurs, and play worst case scenarios in my head.  Sometimes I plan the most effective escape route, and how to best wrangle the kittehs should something terrible happen. You know, the usual.

Add to this anxiety the fact that I have been reading the Millenium Series (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,) which has caused me to have really strange, scary dreams involving Swedish spies, lots of Ikea furniture and weaponry.  Needless to say, these dreams do not help my sleep situation, like, at all.

After work today, I decided against working out in favor of stopping at the grocery store so I could come home, make dinner, and get to bed extra early. Now that I’ve finished all my scary books, I’m hoping rest and an early bed time will help me be less sleepy tomorrow.

So, I hit up the grocery store on my way home, and then made this delicious recipe that I found in Shape Magazine.

Chicken With Fresh Tomato Sauce and Balsamic Broccoli. I swear there’s chicken under all those veggies 🙂

I made a few changes to the recipe, first, I only cooked two small chicken breasts, second I didn’t measure out specific amounts of tomatoes, garlic or olives. Also, I used fresh spinach instead of frozen broccoli. But, basically it’s the same recipe! I swear 😉 I also made some Trader Joe’s sweet potato fries.

The original recipe from this month’s Shape

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

4 4-ounce chicken breasts
1 tsp. paprika
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 12oz bag broccoli florets (microwaveable)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

– Preheat broiler to high and place an oven rack 8-10 inches from heat. Line a broiler pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with paprika and season with salt & pepper. Place on pan and cook for 5-7 minutes each side or until meat is no longer pink in center and internal temperature is 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

– Meanwhile, microwave broccoli according to directions. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, season with salt & pepper, cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and olives and cook for 2 minutes more or until tomatoes are soft.

– Divide chicken among four places; top with tomato mixture. Place 1/4 of the broccoli on each plate, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and serve.

I really liked this recipe. It was quick, really easy to make, and tasty. This recipe will definitely be going into the regular rotation. I’m glad I went with fresh spinach instead of frozen broccoli. What are your favorite recipe swaps? It also felt great to eat a plate full of colorful veggies.  Another thing that happens when Travis travels is I get lazy with cooking =X

Off to get ready for bed for me! I’ve got some Z’s to catch 😉

Ago

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This weekend wasn’t quite as busy as originally planned, but that’s ok, it’s nice to have some quiet time.

On Friday after work, I ran 4 miles in a little over an hour, which made me a little sad.  In just a few weeks my endurance has dropped.  I got a stitch in my side after mile one and walked a good portion of the remaining 3 miles.  When I had finished my run and stretched for a good twenty minutes, I headed over to the Aero Theater in Santa Monica for a 7:30pm showing of The Big Lebowski.  I came prepared, with a bathrobe to wear during the film, and had such a great time.  I’d never seen the movie all the way through, or on the big screen.  Saturday I slept in and snuggled with the kittehs which was just what I needed, did some light cleaning around the apartment and met some friends for a much needed pedicure.  It had been since last September since I’d had one, and while it wasn’t the best pedicure I’d ever had, it was really nice to have pretty feet again.  Even if it will only last about a week 😉

Saturday evening was a birthday dinner at Ago in West Hollywood, followed by a drink at The Abbey, also in West Hollywood. Before dinner though, I ended up purchasing some new shoes!

Here’s the image from the Cathy Jean website. I’m pretty much in love with them.

Sparkly black, peep toe, sling back pumps.  They were surprisingly comfortable, and my feet didn’t bother me until I’d walked about two blocks from my car to The Abbey after dinner, stood for an hour, and then walked back again.

I wasn’t able to get a picture of our food other than the cupcakes for dessert.  The table shared some wine, as well as a Caprese salad, a mixed seafood salad, and a crab cake special appetizer. For dinner I had the lasagna which was delicious.  Each bite just melted in my mouth and the sauce was the perfect sweet tomato flavor with just enough richness.  I was definitely full by the end of the evening, but not in a really uncomfortable way.

This morning, I slept in again, with the kittehs, and then did a pretty big clean of the apartment because my best friend was coming out to see the place for the first time.  I also gave the kittehs a quick bath.  When my friend arrived, we walked to The Grove where we had lunch at Johnny Rocket’s and then enjoyed walking home in the sunshine.  Since being home I’ve planned my meals for the week and have been quietly reading.  It’s been a great mostly relaxing weekend which was much needed. What did you do this weekend?

Breakfastish for Dinner

I had to be at work at 7:10am this morning to set up for a meeting.  This was rough because I haven’t been sleeping well while Travis is gone. I also knew I was going to have a long day since I went immediately out to Northridge for dance after work.  I did get to squeeze in a 20 minute 1.47 mile run and a good stretch.

When I got home, I was starving, and had a pile of dishes to do because I made Pumpkin Curry soup for the girls last night, and all I had the energy to make was spinach, a poached egg, tomato and some goat cheese.  It was delicious but not enough food. I am still really, really hungry.

I’m contemplating making another bowl of this. However, it’s 9:40pm, and I’ve got The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest waiting next to my nightstand.

Villas and WalMart

Sunday, we had planned to go to the Getty Villa.  Mikela is moving at the end of the month and it was one of the places on her checklist, so we made our reservation and headed out to Malibu.

Luckily the weather was perfect!

Before the museum, a few of us met up at a gas station in Malibu, where I found FloJos!  These are my favorite kind of flip flop, and probably the most comfortable pair I’ve ever found.  I bought a pair like five years ago, and they had worn down to nearly nothing, but I kept putting off replacing them, because I couldn’t find the FloJos.  Today, I found them IN the gas station. Obviously, I bought a pair.

I seriously considered buying two pair but thought that might be a bit much. I went with basic black to replace my old pair.

I’ve only been to the Getty Museum the Brentwood area, but I’d never been to the Villa before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Getty Villa has free entrance, but $15 parking. If you go in a group, splitting the parking, it’s totally worth it.  The grounds were beautiful, and there were lots of gorgeous marble statues, as well as a really interesting exhibit about the restoration of a bronze statue of Apollo.  They also had an exhibit that showed photography of Jerusalem from the 1800s that was fascinating.   We couldn’t take photos inside, so all my pictures are from the grounds.

 

 

 

 

After we left the museum, we headed north on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and went to Neptune’s Net for some early dinner.  I had also never been there, and got a giant basket of fried fish, shrimp and a crab cake with fries.

I wish I had gotten steamed food. Sadly, a large amount of my food went to waste as I couldn’t really stomach all the greasy food.  The views however, were beautiful and well worth the trip.

 

We decided to go further north on PCH and connect to the 101 freeway to go home, thinking it would save time, but instead it was a longer way around.  However, we did stop in the Agoura Hills area to go to WalMart where I picked up things like windshield wiper fluid, toilet paper, baby wipes (for the kittehs,) a book, some frames (I’ll show you the project once it’s all hung,) and razors.  I hadn’t bought razors in like… almost a year.  They were one of the items I kept putting off buying because they’re kind of expensive.  So, maybe a year ago I bought two four packs, and just used each razor until I couldn’t anymore, then I moved on to Travis’ razors because he has a beard, and doesn’t shave on a regular basis.  I know it sounds gross, but you’d be surprised how long eight razors last!

What household item do you scrimp or put off purchasing?

 

Oats Plantation

Look what came in the mail yesterday:

My prize from Kaitlin’s Coach’s Oats giveaway! I haven’t tried them yet, because this morning, I was glued to CNN watching all the footage from Japan.  I was so distracted by the television that I didn’t have time to make myself lunch, or eat anything more than some Rice Krispies for breakfast.

I’m really excited to try my Coach’s Oats in the very near future!

Today, after work, Travis and I decided to use our Souplantation coupon.

Salad beast! Bed of romaine lettuce, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, corn, carrots and mushrooms. I did add some homemade ranch dressing, because it is delicious.  Mmmmm. salad. Not pictured was the bit of mac and cheese and pizza bread I shared with Travis.

Then, for dessert:

fro-yo with sprinkles and a bit of caramel sauce.  Yummy!

I’ve got a dance rehearsal at 9:30pm so in the meantime, Travis and I are watching this week’s Glee. I have to admit, I’m getting kind of tired of Glee.  It’s started to get preachy.

Mars Needs 6 Miles and Kitchen 24

Last night, I set my alarm for 5am.  I planned on joining my running buddies for part of their 14 miler, and was actually pretty excited about it.  It had been a while since I’d run outdoors, so I checked my alarm twice before going to bed, and crashed around 9:30pm.  I woke up at 5:50am, my alarm never went off.  I still can’t determine what it is I did wrong in setting this alarm as it is the same one I use during the week for work, but whatever.

I hauled ass to Griffith Park to meet Janna, and we set out.  I had to meet friends at the Arclight at 9:40ish for a MARS NEEDS MOMS screening, so I knew I’d only be able to cover about 6 miles, which was disappointing.  I had been hoping to get in closer to 10.  Janna and I started out, and did about a mile warm up walking, and then started running, but about 2.5 miles in Janna’s knee was really bothering her, so we just walked the rest of the loop.  One thing that was kind of exciting to discover: we took a different path than usual to try and stay on paved road as long as possible, and they’ve paved over a huge portion of what used to be dirt path.  This makes running so much easier because normally there’s so much dirt that it’s like running on really soft beach sand.  It makes both of us nervous that we’re going to twist an ankle.  So, it wasn’t what we had planned, but we at least got some mileage covered!  In my haste to get to the park, I skipped breakfast (I know,) and then didn’t end up leaving the park until about 8:30 which made me nervous timewise.  I realized I now didn’t have time to shower (which wasn’t as gross as it sounds since we walked the whole way basically.)  I rushed home, changed, grabbed a cereal bar and hit the road for the Arclight.

I have to say, that MARS NEEDS MOMS was terrible. It was disjointed, upsetting, and actually pretty racist and sexist in ways I was shocked by.  I am really kind of surprised this is a kids movie, and know that if I were a kid, and watched this movie, I would be really upset by it.  I actually said, out loud, during a particularly upsetting moment “THIS IS WORSE THAN BAMBI!!”  It’s in 3-D and doesn’t even really look cool, there wasn’t anything special about the movie that made it necessary to be in 3-D. So glad I didn’t pay to see this movie.  I wasn’t, however, disappointed by my small popcorn and Coke.  I only drank about a quarter of the soda, but man, that popcorn was good.

After the movie, we walked to Kitchen 24, where I bravely resisted the lure of the amazing Disco Fries.  Disco Fries are seasoned fries, with cheese, and gravy.  They are incredible, and probably even life changing. However, I figured, since I’d just stuffed my face full of popcorn, that I should probably go with something healthier.

I ordered the Tree Hugger which is their homemade granola (delicious!) with yogurt and strawberries.  It was perfect, refreshing and just enough food.  I am totally in love with their homemade granola. I wish I’d thought to ask if they sold it.

When I got home, Travis and I finished up our menu and grocery planning for the week and headed out to the stores.  We usually do Trader Joe’s and then Ralph’s.  Let me tell you, today must be asshole day because everyone out and about at the grocery stores was a total jerk.  People taking up whole sections of food areas while leaning on their baskets and talking on their phones.  People letting their children run amok around the stores screaming and pulling things off of shelves, people who decided to leave their carts completely blocking aisle ways and walk away.  It was exhausting.

Right now, I have four things planned for the next hour and half: kitteh bath time, brief clean up of the office, nap, shower.  This evening we’re heading out to meet friends at Father’s Office in Santa Monica for a bit of some goodbye Mikela and Happy Birthday to another friend.  Travis and I will be picking up some cupcakes at Frosted Cupcakery, which I am really excited about.  I’ve never had their cupcakes before, but I’ve heard good things.

Full weekend, but definitely worth it. Did you have a full weekend?

Rough

We ran out of bananas and berries, so I haven’t been eating the best breakfasts.  Adding the chocolate to my oatmeal this morning didn’t make for the best fuel even though it was super tasty.  By the time work was over, I was still hungry, with nothing left in my lunch to eat, and exhausted.  I had a speed workout on the agenda, and decided I was going to at last attempt it.

What I actually did, was 2.14 miles in 25 minutes.  My legs felt so heavy, and tired.  I was a little sore this morning after spin last night.  Even after a mile at a 12 minute pace, which on Tuesday had me raring to go, today had me feeling spent.  I tried picking up the pace to 10:20 but only made it .45 of a mile, and then slowed down and walked/jogged the rest. I don’t know what was wrong with me today, but I was just super tired. After a good stretch, I met Travis and Allison to watch them play tennis, and then Travis and I came home and had grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.

Now we’re catching up on Being Human, and then it’s going to be early to bed for me!  I’m zonked. Definitely ready for bed.

Of Note

Last night, I took a spin class, with my favorite teacher, and she played not only Led Zeppelin, but an Enya song (that I still can not find,) that nearly brought me to tears it was so powerful.  The Enya song was a 5 minute climb, and after a stressful February, and being hormonal the mere act of closing my eyes, digging deep and pushing to the top of the “hill,” made me nearly weep with joy.

Then, for dinner, we realized we were missing key ingredients for any meals we planned to make, so Travis ordered us Louise’s and I had to send my whole wheat fettuchini back, because it was completely undercooked.  It took them another hour to run me out a new dish (with regular pasta,) and it was still gross.  Lesson learned.

This morning, because I’m a grown up, and my mother always told me, “when you’re an adult and have our own kitchen, you can eat whatever you want for breakfast,” I put the last two pieces of my dark chocolate with orange into my oatmeal.  It was the best decision I’ve made in a while, food wise.

I’m deciding to make today a truly awesome one, how will your Thursday be?

Nacho Taco Bowl

The week has been really busy at work, even though it’s only Wednesday, so I was definitely ready for my run yesterday.  My training plan called for an easy 2 miler, and even though the suggested pace was somewhere around 12:30 I needed to run, so I cranked up the speed, and ended up averaging a 10:58 pace.  I was pretty pleased.  I finished my workout with some ab work in the locker room and then headed home.

Last night for dinner we made tacos, and by we I mean the girls, Travis and myself, and by tacos I mean I made a nacho bowl.

Tortilla chips, ground beef, black beans, tomatoes, avocado and some sour cream.  It was delicious, but even more delicious was dessert, which I recognized from inside the grocery bag. Seriously, I have a sixth sense with desserts.

Snickers Ice Cream Bar, I love you. While we were eating our desserts, we discussed which actors are aging well, and which aren’t.  This is a fun game when you are eating nachos and Snickers Ice Cream bars, and can easily look up various actors IMDB pages.  Which actors do you think are aging well? 😉  Some of our votes went to:

Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Olyphant, Mark Ruffalo, and of course, George Clooney.  Sadly we did not feel the same about Leonard DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.  =X

I also had a glass and a half of wine, and then we all watched Glee.  Happy Hump Day, everyone, hope you’re making it through the week!