Saturday, March 28, 2009

Savor Slowly

I've been wanting to do more reading lately, and the other day, I ordered this book from Amazon. It's so nice to have a good book to fall into bed with. it's written by the creator of the wonderful food blog, Orangette. And, having had an extremely hard week involving getting a new job (more to come on that later) I treated myself this afteernoon to a nice cup of coffee and chocolate covered organic cherries.



It's important to make good use of our relaxation time, right? Starting a new job has certainly made me realize this.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Did You Say Tofu?

I'm trying not to eat much meat lately, which makes getting enough protein a little tricky sometimes. So, last night was tofu night. I threw this meal together, and it was more than delicious. All of the flavors fit so well together.. that's why I put it all on one plate!




Healthy And Easy Vegetarian Dinner

Menu:

-soft tofu with onions
-mashed sweet potatoes with feta
-herb salad with vinaigrette


I don't have an exact recipe for the tofu since I made it up based on the memory of a dish that I used to love from a Korean restaurant.

Basically, you slice up some onions and sautee them in oil (olive or sesame, or both). Add cubed tofu. Add some kind of tomato-y base. I actually used some organic ketchup, of all things. The sweetness worked well in this dish. I also added some rice vinegar and a little chili powder for spice. You could use hot sauce instead of the chili powder. Red pepper flakes would be great too.

Slice sweet potatoes, and steam them. Then mash. I leave the skin on for more vitamins and fiber. Add a generous amount of feta on the mashed potatoes (SO GOOD). You don't even need to use butter...

Add a nice little salad, and you have yourself a quick and very nutritious meal.

I'm definitely going to be eating this more often.

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Right Dress At The Right Time

I went to a 60's theme party on Saturday, for an old family friend's birthday.

There was a band at the party, and the tunes were very familiar to me since I grew up with parents from the hippie generation. The music of the Beatles, Carol King, Cat Stevens, and Bob Dylan, was frequently heard at my house. We lived in Oakland, CA- so close to Berkeley, the hippie epicenter of the Bay Area.



This party was one of those occasions when I needed something very particular to wear, and I happened to have just the right thing. Don't you love it when that happens so effortlessly?! The dress that I wore happened to be in my "give to Goodwill bag," but I snatched it right out, and it worked perfectly. This was actually the first time I wore it. I bought it at a second hand store years ago, but it has hung in my closet all this time. I just haven't found the motivation to add it to my daily outfit mix. It's a mini dress- very mod, 60's-ish.

For the party, I added tall black boots and white tights, a generous application of black liquid eyeliner on the upper lids, a small berry- red belt under the bust, and the look was complete.

Now I'm envisioning wearing this when the weather gets warmer, sans tights, with a strappy shoe.

I think my Goodwill bag will remain one dress lighter.










Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Balancing Act

I've been taking pilates twice a week for the last ten weeks. My mom also takes pilates at the same place that I do. I was talking to her on the phone last night. I said that it didn't seem that in this whole ten weeks the instructor has emphasized that we are doing abdominal strengthening exercises. It's been all about finding balance in our bodies, and sure, we've used our abs somewhat, but it hasn't been the emphasis. It seems that in other pilates classes I've taken, there's been much more focus on the abs. My mom said that in the next level class, it gets much more "abdominally challenging."

Today I went to class, and the instructor said that now we are really going to begin using our abs, as we might have expected to in pilates. All that we've been doing so far has prepared us for this. It's taught us how to engage our abs correctly, how to breathe correctly with the exercises, how to have proper form, etc. I'm just a little surprised at the pace of this class. Don't get me wrong... I'm all for knowing about correct form and alignment, especially since I'm going to be teaching pilates soon. It just seems that I've spent $400.00 dollars so far on these classes, and maybe a little too much time has been spent going over the same things for ten weeks. On the flip side of that, it's surprising how easy it is to have "bad" form, and how it does take quite a bit of repetition to make that brain to body connection on good form.

I talked to my supervisor about coming back to work (my three months off ends at the end of March). She offered me a positon teaching pilates in June. I deliberated over it for a day, but there really wasn't much to think about. I've been wanting to do this, and it's a great opportunity, so I'm in! It's really good timing for me. I'll be a little sad to give up my Monday step and sculpt class, but I think a change is needed. I'll still be teaching dance aerobics, which prompted me to listen to music and dance around the house yesterday.




I think I've had just a little too much time on my hands lately, too much time in the house, and not enough social interaction. That leads to thinking too much, and depression can set in. Getting back to a routine will be good. It's all about balance, isn't it- balance in our bodies, and balance in our lives. You can definitely feel when something is "outa whack."

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

I'm A List Maker

Can you believe it's March already?

I feel spring lurking right around the corner, and it feels really good.

Here's a list about what I did today:

- Went to an 8:00 dentist appt. (cleaning) and did some corresponding with an editor from Venus magazine this morning.

-Went to pilates at noon. We had a sub, and she was more chatty than our regular teacher (kind of fun). I embarrassed myself a little though. We were doing the "downhill ski" which works your legs and glutes 'till they scream at you. As we were all doing the exercise, I said to the instructor "I see why you have nice glutes." Then I turned a little red, I think.

-Cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry.

-Took Alex across town to the orthodontist to fix a loose wire.

- Made a quick trip to the grocery store.


I guess my day was a little mundane, but it's been productive. Tonight I'll indulge in my guilty pleasure, American Idol, and maybe I'll work on a couple of little projects.

I hope your list from today was a good one, filled mostly with positive things.