What's In A Name and Cell Phone Madness

You might wonder where the name "Tuesday@Eleven" comes from. For one thing, I have a slight fascination with people who are named after days of the week. It just seems cool. Although, recently I met a "Sunday" who completely rubs me the wrong way. We'll just overlook that one. Also, when I can, I like to make appts. on Tuesday at eleven. It feels like a comfortable day and time to me. Do you have a day or time of day when you like to do things? If you think about it, you might see a pattern there.

Today at eleven I was at a Vorizon store waiting to speak with a customer service person. It was really busy, and I had to wait about a half hour. I had just come from the gym and was tired and hungry. I stood stiffly against the wall, watching the other disgruntled customers who were also waiting. I HATE dealing with cell phone issues.. what a long, dreadful, painful process. We got new cell phones about five weeks ago, and my son has had problems with his ever since. He used his own money to buy a fancy $155.00 touch screen phone. The first one he got went wonky for no apparent reason. The screen was flashing and spazzing out. So, they replaced it for free. The second one did something similar, and then the third one got water damaged in some mysterious, unknown way. He swears that he didn't get water on it. I have no idea. I just know that I wish I had bought the five dollar a month insurance so that we'd only have to pay fifty dollars for the phone I got him today, instead of 140 something dollars.

The woman who helped me at Vorizon explained that there was really nothing they could do but offer me a one year special deal, with a rebate. Water damage isn't something they take lightly. Originally the phone was 400, but marked down to 289, plus the 50 rebate, plus 40 off because my partner gets a government employee discount. I still have to send in my rebates for the first phones we got.. I should get 50 back per phone, and I have to send in the rebate for his new phone. Who can keep track of it all?? Yeah, cell phones are supposed to make our lives easier, but they've made mine way too complicated.

I hope your Tuesday was a good one.

Better Spaghetti

Helloooo,

It's been a while since my last blog post. New job+ adjusting to working more hours is still in effect, and has me running around a bit ragged lately. I'll be posting more soon, but for today, I want to talk again about food (one of my favorite subjects, if you haven't already figured that out). When I'm under stress, I tend to not be able to eat much. I've lost a few pounds since I started this new job. It often feels like my stomach is in knots. But when I get hungry, I'm starving! I also don't have as much time lately to think about/shop for/and prepare meals. So, I'm trying to find easy and healthy things to make quickly at the end of the day when I'm tired and hungry. Recently, I came up with this for dinner, and it was so good. It's like spaghetti, but made with the grain quinoa instead of noodles. It's really healthy (quinoa has good protein in it). If you haven't tried quinoa yet, I highly recommend it. It's light, has a nice texture, goes with a lot of other foods nicely, and is packed with good nutrients.


QUINOA SPAGHETTI:



This dinner should take under a half hour to prepare. Quinoa cooks really quickly. I make it like rice.. about one part quinoa to two parts water. Let it boil, then reduce to simmer with a lid on it. Takes about 10-15 minutes to cook. Make any kind of pasta sauce that you like. I used organic sauce and added ground turkey meat. Steam some asparagus, or any other kind of veggie that you like... oh, and don't forget to add some cheese on top of your spaghetti. I like fresh grated parmesean or even feta.
Enjoy.

You've Got To Make Room

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind.

I left my old job that I had been at for nine years, and started my new job. Getting this new job was truly a case of projecting what I wanted, moving towards it, and getting it. I'm kind of amazed how it all happened.

As you may know, I took three months off from my previous job to take a break from teaching aerobics, and also to "make space" for something else to happen with my career. I knew that I wanted to stay in the fitness field, but I needed a change. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to have happen, though pilates interested me. I just knew that I felt ready for something else, and if I continued doing what I had been doing, I wasn't going to find something else.

My previous supervisor then offered me a job teaching pilates in June, which I accepted. It would mean training with the woman who teaches it, and maybe getting more training on my own ( very expensive, out of town training). But I was willing to do it. It seemed like a move in the right direction for me, even though I'd still be working for them, and I kind of wanted to change that.

But then the owners of the pilates studio that I've been taking classes at asked me if I'd come in for an interview with them. They were interested in hiring me. I went to the interview, and the next day they offered me a job. I took it, and have been in training since. The great thing is that these people are truly experts in the field, and are going to train me and two other new employees for free. In addition to teaching pilates, I'll also be doing personal training/wellness coaching. My first client is tomorrow afternoon. I've been doing personal training for about six years, so that part is falling into place easily for me, with just a little training that I had this morning.

I'm grappling somewhat with the fact that this new place is a for profit, whereas my previous job was a non-profit. There's a big difference in the clientele. There's a big difference in the price. But I really like the philosophy and approach that is at the heart of where I work now, and that's so important to me.

I need some new gym clothes, since most of what I have right now is older, and some of it doesn't even fit very well. I ordered four tops and one pair of leggings to get me started, including these.... though the first one I got in black, not blue.





Off to relax the rest of the evening away... maybe I'll take a walk- it helps me to unwind.

I hope your week is off to a good start.

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.

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.

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.

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."