I Like...Excuses

So Wednesday was the marker of my return to gymland after an impromptu, short little 1.5 MONTH vacation. I was doing SO well - going to the gym 5-6 times a week, swimming like that 40-year-old Olympian beast lady, eating delicious, yet healthy meals, and feeling so much better in general (and losing almost 10 pounds). But then I just...stopped. Woops. I know, I know, it's all about "self-control" and "perseverance" and "determination." WhatEVER. Here are some of my excuses:

- Scott was studying for boards like 26 hours a day, plus me working full time, plus getting ready to leave for 2 weeks = too much stuff to be done around the house, errands to be run, etc.

- We went to Dallas and then Mexico for almost 2 weeks. Dallas = Corner Bakery and i Fratelli, nuff said.

- While in Mexico, we stayed at an all-inclusive, amazing resort with gourmet food. Seriously, people, all-inclusive = you paid to eat anything, literally ANYTHING you want, and the food there was so good you just had to eat more than any human should ever eat in a day. We were just being responsible and getting our money's worth.

- Booze included. Micheladas (my favorite beer-related drink ever), rum punch, and dirty monkeys (they sound crazy but they are DELICIOUS so don't diss the name), delivered to your chair, forced into your hand, thrown at you in the pool, they literally POURED THE DRINKS DOWN MY THROAT PEOPLE, it wasn't my fault!!! Ok, that's a lie. But still.

- Being on this 2-week gorge-fest really erased any motivation I had to come back and hit it hard again. Really, I think it triggered some sort of switch in my frizzy head that made me go from "must eat healthy" to "I need spaghetti now" and "take me to eat Freddy's Frozen Custard or I will cut you." There is scientific evidence for this sort of phenomenon, I believe.

- Thennnn, summer school started, and I was literally gone from 7:30a.m. to 10p.m. I suppose I could have gotten up at 5:00 and gone to the gym before work, but that class was so brutal that I think that would have just been wacky.

- Summer school ended and we were bombarded with many dinner engagements, friends coming into town, parents taking us out to eat, and birthday parties. GEEZ, we're so popular, we just can't help it. (just kidding). I knowww, I have to learn to make wise choices in social situations, but when social situations include creamy artichoke dip, pork tenderloin, $3 burger night, cake, and all-around delicious yummy, it's harrrrd.

So here we are. I had to get those lame excuses out of my system, because when I got on the bike on Wednesday and tried to do my usual level 8, 45-minute hill workout, I died. The only time I wasn't groaning inwardly and thinking about how much pain I was in was when I got distracted by the dude a few machines down DROOLING all over his elliptical. Literally...But that's another story. The point is, I am getting back on the train. I have to. So if you see me running away from the gym or careening out of control towards Cuppies and Joe, please stop me. I am getting back on the train...After my friend's birthday dinner tonight at the Cheesecake Factory.

Much love.

I Like...Summer

This weekend Scott took a study break from boards and we decided to welcome summer by grilling a delicious meal (and yes, it was diet-appropriate!)

We grilled some delicious black bean burgers with avocado:

Along with some delicious fennel and a fresh salad with amazing veggies from the co-op we recently joined, refreshing passion fruit iced tea from Teavana, and Skinny Cow Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches for a wonderful dessert (and only 2 points a piece!):

It was a wonderful, relaxing break for both of us, and a great way to ring in Summer. Of course a new season led to me doing That Thing I Should Not Do, aka wishful online shopping. Our vacation that's coming up is making me think of summer dresses and such, and these two just scream summer to me:

Oh Anthropologie, how I miss you. But for now, YAY summer!

I Like...Arabic Rice

I was in charge of the main dish for our small group last week, and I've been wanting to embrace my Egyptianness and start learning how to make some of my favorite recipes that my mom and Teta (grandmother) make. I thought about making Moussaka, my all-time favorite, delicious Teta meal, but given that I am still working on my cooking skills (especially with meat) and that Teta's recipes usually go something like, "Put in some eggplant, the right amount of all spice, some more tomatoes, enough nutmeg, etc.," I was scared to subject my poor friends to an entirely new recipe. Sooo, I decided to make the much easier - but still delicious - Arabic rice, and it turned out wonderful! So dear readers, I decided to post this recipe in case anyone is feeling adventurous in cooking and wants to try something new. I used lean (93/7) ground beef, so it really is pretty healthy, too. The flavors are definitely different, and I love that Egyptian food often uses spices that we typically relegate to cookies and coffee cakes. Delish!

1.5 lbs ground beef
3 tbsp garlic powder (yes, 3 tbsp is correct!)
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground all spice
2 cups of long grain rice
4 cups beef broth (~3 cans)
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
2 chopped green onions
Rice Wine Vinegar or Lemons

Combine first four ingredients in large skillet. Cook over medium heat til meat is browned, stirring til it crumbles. Stir in rice, beef broth. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 25 minutes or until rice is tender/liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and green onions and serve with lemon wedges. Note: I lovvve tons of lemon on mine, it's a great contrast with the toastiness of the almonds and all of the spices.

Happy eating!

I like...swimming!

Growing up in the tropics, the coolest thing to do was join the swim team...partly because of the abundance of beautiful pools and bored kids, and partly because swimming was the sport that offered the least possibility of heat stroke. I lovvvved swim team, and continued to swim through high school, then stopped when I got to college, mostly because I got lazy. Hence the Time of Working Out Sporadically and Eating 4 or 5 Meals a Day began (strangely, I LOST 15 pounds when I went to college, but those habits have caught up with me now)! Add in the Time of Being Married to a Person Whose Favorite Channel is Food Network, and we have a recipe for disaster (pun not intended).

Fast forward to last month, which I like to call the Time of Banishing the Flab. I have spent so many five-day periods slugging away on the treadmill for an hour at a time, trying to motivate myself and convince SOMEONE that it's worth it. Five days after my must-get-fit obsession began, it would end because I wanted to take an ax to that darn treadmill or kick it til it wouldn't make me run on it for another horrifically painful minute. Finally, after months (okay, years) of this battle with the Dreaded Treadmill of Doom, I in all of my genius observance have discovered that my key to getting fit in a way that is sustainable and lifestyle-changing is finding something that I actually ENJOY. I know, it's not rocket science, but for some reason I had myself convinced that running was the only mechanism for banishing the flab, even though I detest it and want it to die and would rather jump in a pool of purple pond sludge than do it.

I discovered that working out CAN be enjoyable again, and I really found this out by going to Zumba class for the first time. I got to shake my booty to awesome Latin music and get a CRAZY workout out of it! This salsafied inspiration got me thinking about other ways that I could work out yet enjoy myself and end my workout like those crazy weirdo runner people who say running helps them think better. For the record, all running does for me is help me think about how much I HURT and how much I just want to stop running and walk straight to Freddy's Frozen Custard to make myself feel better.

Sooo, all of this thinking about exercise, along with the discovery that I can get an awesome discount at the Health Sciences Center health club, made me remember how much I loved being an Aquadragon (the Jakarta International School mascot is the Komodo Dragon, so swim team = Aquadragons), and I decided I'd take up swimming again. So I drove myself to Academy, bought a sweet Nike swimsuit, and drove myself to the pool. I tried to swim my first lap at the pace I was used to going at, before the Time of Fourth Meal at Taco Cabana caught up with me, and let's just suffice it to say that did NOT work. Yikes. So I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to start out slow, but at least I'm not as slow as the 30 year old dude with a mohawk who believes with all his heart that wearing a Speedo will make him the next Mark Spitz...it will not, FYI. I feel pretty good about my ability to get back into form, swim at a fairly respectable pace, and not half to turn over halfway across the pool to float on my back so I can breathe...but then Michael Phelps version 2.0 comes into the pool - no matter what time of day I am there, he is there - and I decide I have a long way to go and decide to get out of the pool for fear of looking like the weird speedo dude who thinks he knows what he's doing.

The point of all this is to say, I have been swimming at least 3-5 times a week for the past month, and I love it! It clears my head, it's a fantastic full-body workout, it's relaxing, and it doesn't make me cry or yell in pain or give dirty looks to anyone who passes me because they should be suffering with me in my running, darn it! I'm not quite back to my Aquadragon days, but I'm getting there. Yay for getting fit!