A Weekend Walk

Happy Monday!

 

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I had a great and relaxing weekend.

 

Friday Joe was out of town so I was home alone. I was actually looking forward to a nice quiet evening, so it worked out well.

 

Around 6:30 I had an overwhelming craving for wonton soup which HAD to be fulfilled. It was then I realized how ridiculous it is that there is no local Chinese food delivery in my immediate area.

 

Hence why some of you probably saw this tweet go up:

 

I ended up driving about 15 minutes to the town over to pick up some wonton soup, steamed dumplings, and Hunan chicken (spicy chicken in a brown sauce with veggies). The food was awesome, and made fabulous leftovers on Saturday.

 

The highlight of my weekend however, was probably the 5 mile hilly walk I took on Saturday afternoon. The weather was cool and sunny, and I just couldn’t wait to get outside.

 

I packed up some of my old running buddies:

and hit the trail

5 miles later I was tired, but I felt great! I was so happy that the workout bug seems to be back!

 

Saturday concluded with a trip to the movie theatre to see Horrible Bosses.

It was okay- pretty funny, but not great. A little too long. The best part was probably the huge box of Jujyfruits that I snuck into the theatre. Yes, I even like the black licorice flavored ones. (Actually, those are my favorite)

 

Sunday was rainy and lazy. We pretty much just sat around, except for a short 25 minute kickboxing on-demand workout. (woohoo!)

Seen any good movies lately? I saw Bridesmaids at the beginning of the summer and LOVED it.

What is your favorite movie theatre treat?

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Restaurant Recreation

A few months ago, Joe and I went out to an Italian restaurant locally.

 

I ended up getting some chicken dish and Joe got a seasonal gnocchi dish that had long hot peppers, shrimp, and arugula.

 

My dish was so-so, and we both agreed that the restaurant was way overpriced. But we did keep talking about the dish that Joe had, and thought it might be a good one to try making at home.

 

Tonight was that night!

 

I nabbed a box of whole wheat gnocchi at the store (blurry pic, sorry). It is made with mostly sweet potatoes.

 

The rest of the ingredients were easy to figure out too. I love recreating a simple dish!

Baby arugula, shrimp, Rao’s sauce (it’s so good), and some long hot peppers

 

Joe pretty much took over from here- he cleaned the shrimp, de-seeded the peppers, and let them cook in the sauce. He added the shrimp about 5 minutes before he served it.

 

Meanwhile, I prepped some asparagus for roasting

Salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil, roasted at 400 for about 10 minutes.

I topped them with shaved parmesan. YUM!

 

When the gnocchi was ready (only 2-3 min), I piled up a bed of arugula and then put everything on top. I loved making this dish at home because I used a lot of arugula to make a serving of pasta go a long way.

Topped the whole thing with grated cheese, and voila!

 

Restaurant meal at home, easy peasy!

 

We’re going to spend the rest of the night relaxing, and watching Black Swan. 

I’m also making a Brownie Batter smoothie for dessert in a little bit.

 

Do you like to recreate restaurant meals at home?

Have you seen Black Swan? Thoughts?

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Chinese Food and a Movie

Happy Sunday!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Yesterday I took a break from the computer and got a bunch of errands and cleaning done. By the time the evening came I was ready to relax.

 

Joe and I made things easy and ordered some Chinese food for dinner.

We shared wonton soup

He had Szechuan chicken

I had tofu and eggplant in garlic sauce with brown rice

Purple and delicious!

We also watched the French movie, A Prophet.

It is a prison/mobster movie. Really good!

Today I started out the day with an omelet and bagel thin and two leisurely cups of coffee. And a clementine! They’re back!

In a little bit we’re going to look at some new dining room tables and then I’m going to head out for a run.

Speaking of running, I got an email with my corral and bib number for the Philly Half! I’m excited but now I’m NERVOUS!

Not nervous about the running as much as getting there on time, being in the right place, etc. I’ve never run in a big race before, so it’s all new to me.

Eek!

 

Alright I’m going to get movin.

 

Have you run in a big city race before? Any tips for me?

Do you like foreign films?

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Cleaning- the 80′s edition

When I clean the house, I like to think of myself in an 80′s movie montage.

I put my hair in a super high bun,

image source

put on some tunes, and run around the house like a maniac cleaning until..boom, it’s done. Like magic.

image source

Lunch came together pretty quickly too. I made my Cheesy Roasted Vegetable Pasta and I also added some of these:

 

Not the prettiest plate of pasta ever, but it was very tasty.

And I totally overcooked the pasta because I was really enjoying my 80′s Google image search.

 

What’s your favorite 80′s movie?

I think mine is Troop Beverly Hills. But who can pick just one?

image source

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"Do you want that in the can?"

"No, I’ll have it right here"

 

National Lampoons European Vacation anyone? Great movie.

Well today’s lunch came from a can.

I mixed the tuna with a combo of greek yogurt, diced celery, salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried dill

Once it’s all mixed, I add a little light mayo (for taste, because the yogurt already makes the consistency the same as if there were a lot of mayo in there)

And a dash of red wine vinegar.

Place on top of a toasted everything bagel thin, top with tomatoes if you like. I put a few of those cucumbers on top too.

$Money Saving Tip$- if you live near a Costco, buy tuna there. It’s a great deal. The cans are bigger and you get a lot more for your money. Plus it lasts for a really long time, so it’s a great thing to buy in bulk.

 

image source

 

Look kids! Big Ben! Parliament!

(seriously, if you don’t know what I’m talking about you must see this movie)

 

Are you a National Lampoon’s Vacation fan?

How do you make your tuna?

Have you ever been asked those two questions at the same time before?

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Living United

Wow what a day!

Sorry for the lack of posts, we had a lot of the agenda today. We were up and at ‘em starting at 7:30 this morning. I did a little cleaning, made some coffee, and then we headed about 40 minutes away to do some volunteering.

Joe’s company has a partnership with the United Way and every year they take part in the United Way "Day of Caring". This year, we went to a nursing home to spend time with the residents.

Breakfast was a quick bagel thin and cream cheese, and some greek yogurt with kashi and kamut puffs.

Oh and of course, I packed some snacks. Because, well, that’s what I do. If you don’t know if there will be food, be prepared.

Grapes, Carrot Sticks, and a Fiber One bar I got free at my 5K.

And of course, the obvious

Here are some pictures I took at the event

Playing bingo with my new buddy Anne

 

The whole group of volunteers, including two friendly pups who the residents really liked visiting.

Following the volunteering, I had to drive about an hour away to a baby shower for the rest of the afternoon. And then another hour home. I just got here and I am so happy!

We’re ordering a pizza, and then probably catching a movie.

Have a great evening!

What were you up to today? Any plans for Sunday?

Do you do any volunteer work?

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