Greetings from FedEx/Kinkos TMobile Hot Spot in Columbia, SC!!
Thursday
We arrived at the lake just in time for cocktail hour yesterday. My PB&J surprisingly held me over all afternoon. I think it was the combo of a huge pile of veggies (fiber) along with it. I started to get hungry during the drive and had packed a handful of snacks but decided just to wait until I got there to eat.
Once we arrived I had a few mixed nuts…..
….And a glass of white wine leftover from our rehearsal dinner last summer!.
….And a second glass of white wine (both were small - maybe 3-4 oz?)
There are a bunch of cute dogs here!
Senora, the sweet rescue Chihuahua
Petey, the rescue Chinese Crested
Panda, the hilarious French bulldog
And Patches, the Jack Russell, who the boys’ have had since they were kids
Dinner
The dinner menu included grilled salmon and mixed veggies and rice.
The grillmaster (the husband’s dad) hard at work on the salmon -
Yum!
Salmon (with a lemon-mustard finish)
The most delicious grilled corn, which tasted like buttered popcorn
Zucchini strips and portabello mushrooms
Brown Rice -
My plate -
Conversing with the husband’s brother -
Dessert! I probably had 10-12 oz total, which was a little much for me but I love wine!
After dinner we watched the movie Sling Blade (the best line is when he walks up to the Frosty Queen and says “I kinda want somein’ nother ta eat.”!!) It was a favorite movie of mine back in the day but the boys had never seen it.
During the movie we passed around this jug of mixed nuts. Ummm…it’s all gone now! I had too many - probably 5-6 small handfuls - but there was something about those nuts that was filling a deep void in me and tasted SO good. Couldda been worse, right?
Friday
I woke up this morning not feeling that great because of my cold. My head was a balloon like on TV! The husband and I had plans for a run but we decided to take it easy and go for a long walk instead. 15 minutes in I felt much, much better and our walk turned into an easy jog. We ran for about 30 minutes, talking, and then ended with another 10-15 minutes of walking. I’d say we covered about 4-4.5 miles?
Brunch
The plan for today was to have a late brunch and then drive into Columbia to see Batman, do some shopping, and have BBQ for dinner. So after our run the boys wanted to go skiing before breakfast so I had a few plumble jumbles to hold me over until it was waffle time.
By the time they got back from skiing it was 11:00 and I was one starvin’ marvin’!
The husband and I split a blueberry waffle (I topped mine with mashed banana and a little lite syrup)
And had an egg on the side for some protein -
I ended with the best peach of the summer -
Lunch
I packed the husband and myself small turkey sandwiches with a half slice of pepperjack and avocado on english muffins to have as a snack around 2 or 3pm. I didn’t want to have to rely on popcorn at the movie if I got hungry. I asked the others if they wanted me to make them a sandwich and I got the smiling response “We’re rather have to eat unhealthy things 
“
I also packed some veggies that I didn’t eat yesterday and a LaraBar -
I plan to do some water skiing and swimming tomorrow (but I am also terrified of lakes and fish!). I think the boys have already pooped out -
I’ll be back on Sunday for a full weekend recap 
Tags: Salmon
July 25th, 2008
Meeting the dietitian this morning was fun - I learned all about the company and will be participating in a health fair, nutrition counseling and a nurses’ workshop three days next week. Her job is more wellness (writing newsletters + materials) than it is one-on-one with clients, but it’s still giving me a good taste of this side of the industry.
I got home around 12 and wanted to make something easy for lunch with minimal clean up - and to also use up what’s in our fridge because I’m headed out of town.
I decided on a PB&J - Eat Like Me-style open faced! I actually really enjoyed eating it this way, so it might be a new addition. We’ll see how long it holds me over because compared to a turkey or bean sandwich, PB&J isn’t that filling for me.
Plus an “everything but the gallon of milk” salad -
Spinach, romaine, zucchini, red pepper, green pepper, carrot + Annie’s Woodstock dressing. By the end I was gagging getting down the raw veggies. The salad needed more fluff but I was too lazy to go add something.
It’s like FALL here!!! Gorgeous out there and cool with no humidity. Couldn’t ask for more perfect weather. I ate out at the little table with a magazine.
I’m leaving for the lake in just a bit and will be home on Sunday. I have a few plans to try to upload my posts, including using the husband’s Blackberry as a modem. We may get to a Wi-Fi location on Saturday. So I hope to send a mid-vacation report, but otherwise will see you all on Sunday.
Tags: Salads, Sandwiches
July 24th, 2008
I was up at 6 this morning to hit the gym before I go to “work” where I am shadowing a dietitian for the morning. I am helping her 3 days next week as well - a health fair and a seminar for nurses and eating healthy. I’m excited to see the corporate wellness aspect of the field
At the gym I did 35 minutes on the ET at a lower resistance than normal. My cold is much better today, but I didn’t want to push it. I followed cardio with a set of upper body weights - biceps, shoulders, triceps, delts, pushups and some squats.
My beauty routine took me longer than normal this morning because I have the new Bare Minerals to try! I went back yesterday to try it on myself and was again very impressed with the results. I absolultely LOVE the warmth stuff. It gives such a natural glow.
I’ve been wanting to try this for a while:
Coconutty Oats
- 1/3 cup dry oats
- 1/3 cup light coconut milk
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 medium banana
- 1 tbsp flax
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- About 4 crumbled walnut halves
- Spoonful almond butter
- Sprinkle coconut
It’s good, but I can’t really taste the coconut milk 
See you for lunch!
Tags: Coconut, Oatmeal
July 24th, 2008
I got some good walking in this afternoon - and felt LOADS better afterwards. I walked to the grocery store to pick up some chicken for dinner (I was craving chicken for some reason and not much else sounded appealing!) It was about 40 minutes round trip. I took Rachel Ray Magazine with me to chat I started to get hungry on my way home and decided on an early dinner rather than having a snack and a later dinner.
I made a chicken stir-fry with bell peppers and leftover cilantro pesto.
And made Mystery Recipe #2 for a side. So sorry I can’t tell you what it is!!
After dinner I went out for a walk with my mom - via cell phone! We chatted for about 30 minutes. Walks fly by when you have someone to talk to.
I made it home just in time for this to hit:
A little later I decided on a BlueBerry Cloud for a snack: some Breyers Natural Vanilla with a crumbled Trader Joe’s Meringue and some blueberries -
It tasted like……guess!?!? …………..Marshmallows!
Normally I wouldn’t share academic info because it’s kind of personal, but I have to share this news: I got A’s in all three of my summer school courses!! I can’t believe I made it through those 5 weeks sane, much less with good grades. The 3-day study session weekends paid off
Tomorrow morning I am starting the first of a few shadowing sessions with a Registered Dietitian in the area who works in corporate wellness. I’m excited!!! It’s going to mean an early morning though so I better get to reading in bed soon.
Tomorrow afternoon I am heading to the husband’s dad’s lake house for the weekend. The bad news: there is no internet, but I may be able to upload on Friday or Saturday somewhere in Columbia (the closest city). I’m still trying to figure it out. I feel bad because I was just on vacation with a crazy posting schedule, but I can’t not go because there’s no internet. But I’ll be here for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.
Tags: Chicken
July 23rd, 2008
Where oh where has my appetite gone ? My friend had to cancel lunch so I ate at home instead. It was 1:30 before I started getting hungry, but I still didn’t really want to eat food, and nothing was really that appealing. I decided on a salad (not sure why of all things that was appealing?) and enjoyed it as much as I could:
- Spinach
- A carrot
- Leftover balsamic broccoli
- Raw zucchini
- Single serving cottage cheese
- Blueberries
- Toasted almonds
- Annie’s Maple Ginger dressing
On the side: two itsy bitsy plums from the farmer’s market
And the last five Kashi crackers in a box:
Just as I sat down the sun decided to come out
I’m going to run a few errands at the mall and am hoping to go for a long walk with a new magazine this afternoon as my exercise. I agree I probably shouldn’t go to the gym to spread my germs.
Calling All Boston Readers!
I’m coming up to your city August 21-24 and hope to organize a blog dinner for Friday, August 22 .
Send me an email to KathEats at Gmail dot com if you’re interested in joining my sister and me for a get together!
Tags: Salads
July 23rd, 2008
Fabulous bowl of fruity oats today! Those farmer’s market blackberries might be worth a trip back for more!
- 1/3 cup oats
- 1/3 cup skim
- 1/3 cup water
- Pinch salt
- Splash vanilla
- 1/2 medium banana
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup blackberries
- 2 tbsp homemade granola
- Spoonful almond butter
With hot tea made with skim milk -
Despite another long night of sleeping, I slept horribly. I definitely have a cold, but DayQuil seems to be helping. It’s also cloudy outside and there’s thunder in the distance :( I am having lunch with a friend today so I decided to move my workout to the afternoon because otherwise breakfast and lunch would have been back to back. I’m going to take it easy this morning and upgrade my computer to Vista! Hopefully I won’t have any upgrade complications….
Tags: Oatmeal
July 23rd, 2008
The roach is gone. You guys should have seen how brave I was. I got the killer spay and got REALLY close - like 3 feet! - and sprayed and sprayed. But he just kept twitching and running in circles. I hate to see anything suffer, but he should know better than to come inside my house. When he was finally dead (about 30 minutes later) was was too scared to suck him up in the vacuum because he would still technically be in the house. So I used the broom to maneuver him into the dust pan and then pushed the pan with the broom out the door. Whew! One down, ??? to go. We had a major roach problem last summer that started in June and I was hoping we might have found the right outdoor spray this year, but that’s 3 that we’ve found indoors in almost 2 months.
Tongue, Cheeks + Fingers
I had an appointment uptown at 3pm so while I wasn’t terribly hungry at 2pm, I knew I had to eat then or wait until 4 or 4:30. I didn’t want to risk being starving, so I decided to eat.
I heated a MorningStar Original Griller (which I decided I hate and will never buy again - thank goodness this was the last in the box) and had it on a potato bun with ketchup , mustard , and pickles . Doesn’t it look like he’s sticking his tongue out!?
I also had a cheeky nectarine (which turned out to be half rotten)
And some fingerling carrots from the CSA
Plus seltzer -
Trapped By Books
After my appointment I stopped by the good-but-small farmer’s market for a few things for dinner.
I got a handful of local things - broccoli, peppers, a peach , a pint of tiny plums , and the best blackberries ever! I ate about 1/3 of the pint berry by berry for a snack , so I have no photo.
And after that, I went to the library to look for some good books (1,000 Splendid Suns was great but sad!). I had the list of about 25 books and authors you guys recommended last week and NONE of them were checked in! How annoying. But I did come away with a Jennifer Weiner and one that just kind of looked interesting. But the library sucked my afternoon away from me - I was there for over an hour!
Something Fishy
I’m on my own for dinner tonight so I decided to try one of my recipes for development. Mystery Sauce Salmon . The fish turned out excellent, but I need to work on the sauce. Wish I could share it with you! I finally nailed cooking salmon - in a very hot skillet with a 1/2 tsp of canola oil for only 2 minutes or less per side.
I also made some Balsamic Baked Broccoli , which is just broccoli doused in Wiliams-Sonoma balsamic vinegar and baked for 10 minutes at 375*. I love broccoli this way - it’s still crunchy but very tender too.
Lastly, I cooked a serving of orzo , which I covered with the mystery sauce as well.
Reading date by candlelight -
We’re experiencing a horrible thunderstorm right now so I better get away from the computer. It’s hailing money out there!
(PS. My throat is not better - and I can tell my nose is starting to stuff. Argh!)
Tags: Broccoli, Orzo, Salmon, seafood
July 22nd, 2008
I can’t post because THIS is in the computer room and I can’t turn my back on him until he’s all the way dead. I sprayed him with the killer spray but he won’t stop moving. ‘ll be back with lunch when he is!
July 22nd, 2008
I caught up on sleep last night - almost 12 hours - which brought me to a 9:00 awakening. But I woke up with a horrible sore throat!! I sure hope I’m not getting sick.
After hydrating and checking emails, I went on a 5+ mile run. Wow, the Carolina Heat welcomed me back strong! It was a good run, but I was slower from the heat (and missing my chilly Golden Gate run with BethT!)
So once I was home showered, stretched, and watered, it was time for breakfast at 11:30!! I debated eating lightly and having lunch on time, but I decided to just have breakfast and then eat lunch when I get hungry again.
So I made a fabulous bowl of oats!
Coconut Pomegranate Granola Plank Oats
- 1/3 cup oats
- 1/3 cup hemp milk
- 1/3 cup water
- Pinch salt
- 1 medium banana
- 2 tbsp crumbled granola plank
- 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut
- Spoonful PB
Sorry for my posting time inconsistency but I can’t wait to get back to a normal schedule!
Tags: Oatmeal
July 22nd, 2008
Geez, I’ve been moving around nonstop since I got home - unpacking, organizing, unpacking, cleaning, unpacking, helping with dinner, cleaning, unpacking! My tiredness went away mid-afternoon but I have a feeling its about to catch up with me.
I paused for a snack around 4:30 - Fage (~1/2 c), cantaloupe (~1/2 c) and leftover homemade granola (2-3 tbsp) -
Andrew and Karen joined us for a dinner of scallops + shrimp stir-fry.
In one pan we seared 8 jumbo scallops and about 12 shrimp in a blend of canola oil and Smart Balance.
In another pan, we sauteed bell peppers, mushrooms, sugar snap peas and a jalapeno in a bit more canola oil. Once the veggies were getting tender, we added the following:
- Tamari (1 tbsp?)
- Rice wine vinegar (1 tbsp?)
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- Garlic clove, pressed
Lastly, we splashed on lemon and orange juice to finish them (and used the same combo to de-glaze the seafood pan and get up all the brown bits!). We tossed the shrimp + veggies together and kept the scallops on the side. Along with a piece of sourdough -
In addition to flowers and clean house, I came home to find a HUGE homemade chocolate zucchini cake (with a bourbon glaze!) in the fridge that the husband and Karen had made while I was gone.
There were so many complex flavors - zucchini, bourbon, cinnamon, and of course chocolate. The buttercream icing was fabulous!
I requested a small sliver since I had a lot of sweets on my trip (that’s a 4" appetizer plate and a tiny appetizer fork for perspective!)
But it was good. So I had another sliver. Just call it a total of one small piece
Off to beddddddddddd……….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Tags: Scallops, seafood, Shrimp
July 21st, 2008
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