I’m back in the ol’ South. The crickets are chirping, it’s humid , and things just seem so …..sloooow !
I was able to get on the earlier flight and made it home by 12:30!! On my second flight at about 11:30am, I had a tiny cup of orange juice (I usually order seltzer but decided on OJ for the vitamin C boost), my banana from earlier and the last bite of my PB LaraBar that I split with Larbs and Matt on Friday. I had to put my bag up in a special cabinet because I was on the front row, so I didn’t get a photo. I could have gotten up to get it out, but it was too much trouble!
I did snap this pretty photo of Boston from the sky. Now that I know the city much better, I could pick out landmarks, such as the Harvard Bridge.
I was thinking about getting a salad on the way home, but as soon as the husband announced he’d made bagels I knew that’s just what I wanted!! I had one with just a little Smart Balance so I could savor the bagely flavor –
I also made a big romaine salad with a carrot, cucumber, green pepper, some Annie’s Maple ginger dressing and some leftover feta –
Plus some Chobani with Blueberry Granola Plank!! I ordered 3 new boxes last week and they came while I was gone. Somebody had already eaten half of one!!
I was going to bring the husband a trinket from the trip, but nothing really seemed worth my tourist money – except a Mikes Pastry PB Crunch Cookie!! I knew he’d love it and it was easy to transport. He was nice enough to share a big bite with me
I also came home to a lovely care package from Melissa (The Little Runner That Could ) – filled with more PB LARABARS!!!!!!!!! I haven’t tried the Gnu PB bar either. THANK YOU MELISSA!!
The husband and I got started on our chores: a trip to Target and Office Max by bike . I got a few back-to-school items : a new pencil case for my binder and some colored pencils for Microbio!! Quote Homer Simpson: "Did you get a load of that nerd!? NERRRRRRRRRD!"
We biked straight from one shopping center to another to go to the grocery store . I made a meal plan this week because I’ll need to be organized on Tuesday for the first day of class! We have a bunch of vegetables already from the CSA delivery this week (we had back to back weeks because of our partner’s vacation schedule) but here’s what else we got.
I found MaraNatha Almond Butter on sale for $3.29! And her PB was on sale too. I’m eager to see what this kind is like. I also found Kashi crackers for $2.50 ea. so I got two boxes of those. And some Butterscotch jello because someone had some recently on a blog (I forgot who!) and it looked good 🙂 And Man Soap .
While at the grocery store, I tasted 6 wines (just a tiny bit each), had a granola sample and ate 2 cheese cubes . Guess I’m still in vacation mode. I find the day you travel is hard to adjust back, but the first day you wake up at home is easy to get back to routine.
Moving on to dinner, I put the husband in charge so I could try to navigate some of this incredibly confusing Microbiology – and I’m just talking about the online class format and assignments!!! I haven’t even started going over the material yet!!!
He made a modified Eggplant Parmesan. Basically my Mom’s Homemade Tomato Sauce over grilled eggplant , both cooked separately and then layered and topped with a little parmesan cheese .
I had another bagel half on the side –
Ahhhhhh!!! I’m already feeling the pressures of the never ending to-do list of school work and I haven’t even started 3 of my classes!! This Micro is going to be such a pain of busy work. Hopefully it will get easier once I get into a groove.
***
Edited to add a little snack – I got hungry. Kashi U Cereal with milk and PB. I like the cereal a lot – it reminds me of Post’s Cranberry Almond Crunch but with currants instead of cranberries. I’m not sure if it’s worth the higher calories per cup than most of the cereals I normally eat, but it’s certainly healthy!
betherann says
I just discovered your blog — and love it! I’m glad you got the butterscotch pudding. It’s one of my favorite additions to my bento lunches!
Rose says
Oh, so glad to see you got some more PB Larabars! They are so delicious…and glad to see you got some planks in the mail. I searched our Whole Foods for them today and couldn’t find them anywhere 🙁
Glad to see you’re back. As stressful as juggling schoolwork can be, you can definitely do it. From what I’ve read on your blog, you’ve done really well so far. Just take it a day at a time!
Andrea says
i bet the hubby was glad to see you back in the dirtyyy south 😉 the eggplant looks great – so voluminous!!! i’m so impressed with your meals. i don’t think i’ve seen the same meal twice!!!
Steph says
glad you made it back safely! because of your blog i picked up some chobani at the store today, much better than fage in my opinion! do you like any other kashi cracker flavors? i’ve only ever had honey sesame and am specifically interested in the roasted vegetable.
hk says
welcome home 🙂
yum, I LOVE homemade tomato sauce- dinner sounds awesome!
Maureen says
Welcome back! The eggplant dish looks very, very tasty 🙂 Your husband has mad cooking skillz. Good luck in Microbio, I was lucky enough to avoid that during my science degree!
Brittany says
Home sweet home! What a nice surprise to have the blueberry granola planks waiting for you. I love that flavor.
Hila says
Good luck with your classes and don’t stop posting those beautiful pics 🙂
sarah says
– i love the slowness of the south! and the niceness. (and the non-freezing winters).
– school supply shopping rocks!
– the bagels look amazing as usual
– i found both pb cookie and coconut cream pie larabars at the chapel hill whole foods!
welcome back 🙂
Sami says
If the Martha AB is anything like the PB, it’s amazing!
The PB is the smoothest of the natural varieties I can find.
It’s my favorite and I’ve tried sooo many kinds.
Let us know about the AB.
Sami says
MaraNatha. . .my bad. 🙂
Fig says
Steph: I love the roasted vegetable Kashi crackers, I actually like them all except the chedder, but Im not one for cheese flavored things
Meghan says
MaraNatha almond butter is delicious, especially on kashi crackers….hmmm good thing you got some!
Christie says
Kath I just did a post about powdered milk to add to smoothies and I use to make it with the JELLO PUDDING and its like thick and creamy… I woudl eat it for dessert, and the powdered milk boost the protein content! Def try it!
rhodeygirl says
yummmm. i am having girls’ night at my house tonight, and I think I will be making this eggplant to complement the rest of the menu. LOVE your ideas of upping the voluming while lowering the cals.
Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food) says
What an awesome care package!
Mmmm, I love eggplant parmesan!
HangryPants says
The crickets are chirping … LOL
Oh I am very jealous of your GNU bars. I had them when I lived in NYC all the time, but can’t find them anywhere in R.I. Let us know what you think!
Heather
Katie says
i LOVE the idea of that eggplant parm. I am so making that for dinner this week. Thanks! 🙂
VeggieGirl says
Welcome back home!! 🙂
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE LARABARS!!!!!!!!!! **swoons**
haya says
A few questions
1) what is larbs short for?
2) i get how putting in a spoonful of nut butter into a bowl of oatmeal would work well with the heat of the oatmeal melting the PB so you could swirl it around, but i would imagine that in a bowl of cold cereal, you’d just have a glob of PB stuck on the spoon which would make eating the cereal hard until the PB is gone, no? enlighten me please!
Jenn says
is your sister engaged ? if so, thats so cool sisters are marrying/ied to matts!
ModelBehavior says
Welcome home! Now get fired up for classes tomorrow! I just love the back to school season, I love seeing school supplies in every store and just the whole back to school vibe is amazing, even though I’ve been ins school all summer so it’s not really me 🙂
If anyone has seen you’ve got mail, I love that line where Meg Ryan says she wants to buy a whole bouquet of pencils in the fall. That’s about how I feel!
Kath says
Steph ,
I’m picking about flavors being stuck in my mouth and so I don’t think I’d like the veggie ones very much (I think there is onion/garlic powder involved?). But if you don’t mind that, I bet they taste good in the moment.
betherann ,
Welcome to KERF 🙂
Sami ,
You’re right, it’s REALLY creamy!
Christie ,
Smoothies – brilliant idea!!!
haya ,
Larbs is short for Laura. And you’re right about the PB in cold – I just ate it off the spoon and then ate the cereal.
Jenn ,
Not yetttttt!!! It’s funny because we’re a lot alike and have done many of the same things growing up – playing soccer, both went to Davidson, similar taste – and now we both have Matt’s!
Kath
Natalie says
PB Larabars?! Yum! I can’t believe I’ve never seen them. I’m gonna hunt those things down Asap.