One thing at a time.

Hello from the trap that is this apartment!
This would make day 5 of nothingness. Whew, it is exhausting. Classes were once again canceled, (who saw that one coming??) so in an effort to not actually waste away in this town, I woke up at 10 today not 11. Baby steps, baby steps. When I stepped into the kitchen, I knew exactly what was on tap for breakfast. GREEN MONSTER and coffee! Liquids galore!
This is weird, but I only took a picture of some of the ingredients. Clearly, I had not drank the coffee yet. Besides the pictured stuff, I also used 3 huge pieces of kale and the rest of my fresh blueberries :( I only used 1/2 of the yogurt in an effort to cut back on my expensive grocery bills. Today's green monster was the first I have ever made that I did not love. The taste was fine, but the consistency, well...let's just say I may have gone overboard with the apple sauce. :/ Yea...moving on...
I spent my morning uploading an enormous amount of pictures for my mom, hung out with the roomies and planned my workout. About an hour into this, I realized I was still a little hungry, so I grabbed this little guy which I tried for the first time last week and fell in love with. I am completely aware of how late I am to this obsession in the blogging community, but whateves I am just glad I know about this company now! I threw about half of a packet on a piece of Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread with 1/2 a banana. Perfect pre-work out snack. I waited about 45 mins for that to settle and then banged this out on the tredmill. Look at those stats! That was a great workout!
I don't know whats up with my body today, but by the time I got back, I was hungry again. Maybe it is because I am actually practicing portion control today? Anywho, I snacked on these little cuties while I cooked up some oats! Highlight of the day...I remembered to save my empty peanut butter jar! Score one for Jenn and my BAMF oatmeal today. Mmmm...melty goodness.... I threw in like 10 chocolate chips, some chia seeds, and a tiny handful of TJ's almond granola. This is by far my favorite meal of all time. I said it and I mean it! I also finished off this morning's greek yogurt. Post glorious meal, I showered, and spent 45 mins on the phone with Apple trying to figure out why my Iphone freaks out every time I try to listen to my Ipod while working out. I hope I fixed it because the lady had me restore it to factory settings and reload everything. Grr.... moving on. I got baby hunger pains around the end of this annoying process so I made up a veggie plate with (gasp!) measured portions of hummus and taziki sauce. I have no control around a tub of hummus btw... Post snack, my roomie and I had a little painful bonding time by getting our eyebrows done. We look like ladies again, but good Lord, that shit hurts.
I just ate my leftover veggie spaghetti and now I am just hanging out, blogging, and contemplating schoolwork. (eh, that is going to have to wait until tomorrow)
As for everything else, well today I am focused on listen to my body and treating it the right way. That means back to basics with portion control, measuring, and the whole 9 yards. One thing at a time...but I already feel so much better to be back under control. I realized yesterday after I posted that living with 3 other people has triggered some of my unhealthy habits. It becomes so easy to compare ourselves to others and think we are not good, pretty, hot, smart enough such that food becomes a way to blanket those uncomfortable feelings. I love my roommates, but I can not and will not eat like them. I can only control me, and I must remember that am good enough.
~Jenn

Veggie Spaghetti and Accountability

Hello dolls!
Guess what's new here? That would be NADA! I am now on day 3 of no work and school. Kind of eerie coming from Syracuse where that is just plain unacceptable. So going with what is quickly becoming a new schedule (not something to be proud of) I woke up at 11 to make some brekkie. I woke up late because I went to hang out with some people in my apartment last night. Completely Sober. No alcohol touched my lips. For serious. BUT, that is not to say this boy did not consume his fair share. It was his 21st birthday after all. He was feeling patriotic since we live in the nations capitol now. :) God Bless America! It was interesting to watch from my perspective. Hilarious.
Onto food pictures! That's why y'all come right?! I knew I had plenty of time to plan my eats for today, because this is what it looks like outside my window.
In an effort to stay accountable I am about to blow up this blog with food pictures! Ready, Set, Go!
First up, a balanced breakfast of egg whites, shredded cheese, a banana, and a piece of toast with almond butter. Now that is filling. I also had 2 (yikes!) cups of coffee with skim organic milk to warm me up!
The meal held me until around three. My eating times are completely out of whack. I am aware, but I am working on it. (Maybe) For the next little while, I hung around and waited for the repair man to come and fix our living room heater and dishwasher. Score, because it is freezing here.
After some serious blog reading yesterday, I was in the mood to cook. I decided on vegetable spaghetti since I have a plethora of both and it would warm my tummy. It went something like this...
Big plate of chopped veggies of which I ended up just eating the carrots while sauteing the rest. I used a green and red pepper, onion, and a BUNCH of zucchini. After chopping for a little while, I minced some fresh garlic because I care like that. Then, I put both together in a pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and got to work. It smelled AMAZING! It makes me wish my blog was scratch and sniff. Yum. While my pasta was boiling (which was just boring enough to not take a picture of) I added my tomato sauce to the pan of veggies along with a can of chickpeas. I am not a big olive fan, but this stuff is pretty good. All together, my beauty came out something like this... I quickly set the table for some roomie linner (that is lunch and dinner combined) and we all sat down and had a cute little meal! Everyone seemed to really like it! I also have leftovers (SCORE) so I do not have to worry about a couple of meals later on.
Now, onto something slightly more serious. (w/ pictures) I do not know what has been wrong with me lately, but it seems like everytime I take a couple of steps forward in my health journey, I sabotage myself and leap right back. Exhibit A, my late night binges have resurfaced. I am not proud, and I know that people I know are reading this, so it is not something I really want to share, but this is the place where I hold myself accountable so I am putting it out there. Today, when I woke up, I promised myself that I would be in control. But I have not been. Following a healthy portion of my spaghetti, I ate a large amount of these dunked in this It's like I just lose it. Then, I ate three of these and of course NOW, after the fact, I feel gross and guilty.
I can't decide if I am doing this to compensate for another area of my life where I feel like something is missing or whatever or if it is something completely different. All I know is that being open about it is the best way for me to get my shit under control. So if you actually read this, welcome to my stream of consciousness where I try to get my act together.
I am going to do my best to eat light the rest of the day and not let one meal slip up ruin everything. I still plan to do my power yoga series in a minute and maintain as much control over my body as I can.
I'll let y'all know how it goes, one day at a time.
~Jenn
P.S. If y'all know me personally and are reading this, please do not talk to me about it. It is something very personal that I do not like to share with the people I see on a daily basis. Thanks

Snowpocolypse Part Deux

Alright, enough is enough. I do love snow days, I mean no work, no school...it is not a rough life. But now I am starting to just feel bleh. I found out around 9 last night that I did not have work today. So what did I do? Oh, I jumped in the shower, threw on a cute outfit, and hit up the bars! It was a very entertaining night that includes plently of Marines and snowed in motorcycle rides! Vroom Vroom! I also took the time to actually hang out with some fellow interns and branch out of my little Syracuse bubble. It was interesting. We will just leave it at that.
Apparently my poor body was tired, (wonder why!) so I slept until almost noon again! :) Yes, we could look at this as a waste of a perfectly good morning, but with no work, no classes, and me trying to not damage my back account too significantly this early in the semester, sleeping just seemed the like best option. When I finally got around to getting out of bed, I made some PB&J oats. I never do this, but I should more often! Oh, and if you look closely at my photography skillz, I ate it right out of the pot to save on dishes. College style.
Somehow I found the willpower to go to the gym today, and I am so glad I did. I ended up having a very intense weight lifting session followed by 15 minutes on the dredmill. I know I will be sore tomorrow, but that is the price you pay for slacking. After I hit the showers, my craving for something green hit. I whipped up a small salad with 2 clementines and some poppy seed dressing. It looks deceiving, as there was something off about the flavors. Oh well. Unsatisfied, I rummaged around the kitchen and came up with some organic tomato soup (love) and a piece of whole wheat toast with vegan butter spread. Now that is more like it. Classically delish.
I guess I am off to clear out my google reader for the rest of the afternoon because the snow has started to fall again. I am going stir crazy! I am not good at being this unproductive for such long periods of time. BUT, I will embrace it because I am sure I will be whining about having too much to do oh so soon.
Tata!
~Jenn

The Day I Grocery Shopped All Day....

Hello Snowbunnies!
How are y'all? I am lovely because I had no work today! Wahoo!! I found out late last night that I didn't have to go in today and I promptly started celebrating with this. A woodchuck in my most southern coozie. Cute, right? Let me tell y'all, the life of a college kid is hard.
Exhibit A, when I woke up at 11 (eek!) and ate this bowl of cereal and a bigass glass of water. I mixed Trader Joe's oatmeal clusters with TJ's fruit granola and organic skim milk. NOM. Then, my roommate and I decided to go grocery shopping. She knows my obsession with Trader Joe's, but insisted we go to a regular grocery store first to get staple foods. Bleh. But I went anyways because I am a good sport. This is what I had to trek through to get there. It took forever and a day. Seriously y'all, the walk was a workout in itself. So we get to the grocery store and I am all mentally prepared to stock up on my fruits and veggies and this is what I find. Epic fail. The apocalypse has hit DC. No food to be found. I knew my Trader Joe's would not let me down like the regular grocery stores. They care too much and love food like I love food.
So we get on the metro, spend double the amount of time we should have to get there, and trudge through copious amounts of slush. But I will do ANYTHING for TJ's. Low and behold, the store was STOCKED! I was sooo happy! It made all the travel worth it. Post shopppinggasm, I schlepped my precious groceries home and realized I was starrrvvving. Cue a wrap made with all TJ's fare. I used a veggie patty, whole wheat wrap, salsa, hummus, spinach, and a little cheese. All melted together accordingly, it looked like this. I scarfed it down, and then had an unpictured bowl of spinach with balsamic vinaigrette.
Since I am at a Bachelor watching party, I knew I could not attend empty handed. After I ate my healthy fare, I baked up some Funfetti cake for the girls tonight. It turned out really well! (surprise, since it has all of 3 ingredients!) but nonetheless, I got to bake in my kitchen! Instead of the boxed goodies, I ate a yogurt mess with Oiko's strawberry greek yogurt, some TJ's granola, a banana, and chia seeds. So good. I chose the title today because it literally took me 5 hours to go to 2 grocery stores today. I started when it was light out and when I got back it was pretty much dark. Luckily, I really can't think of a better way to spend a day. I love grocery shopping.
I'm off to go rip on some bachelorettes. Hope y'all have a good night!
~Jenn

Snowed In!

Hi everyone!
Surprised that I am posting two days in a row?? Me too (a little) BUT I have some ulterior motives, I can't lie. Because of my rough day yesterday, today's blog is devoted to every little thing I ate today. It is an easy way for me to hold myself accountable, while providing (hopefully!) y'all with some entertainment.
So, remember how I wrote yesterday about Beer Olympics? Well, round one went off without a hitch (except my lack of skill!) and everyone seemed to have a very good time. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it looks like this outside my window? Beautiful? yes, but it is cramping my social life ;)
Onto today, get ready because I was a picture taking machine. I woke up late and knew that I needed to start my day differently. Cue a banana and small portion of PB (I didn't use everything on the plate) with a sprinkle of cinnamon. I then immediately got out my yoga mat and did a 45 min hot fusion class courtesy of yogadownload.com (I am a huge fan!) It was the perfect way to start off today, clear and levelheaded. Then I grabbed my roomie and made her build a snowman on the balcony with me! It has been way to long since I just did something stupid because it is fun!
Here I am with the finished product!
By that time I was hungry again. Go figure. I was also freezing, so I went with some Amy's organic veggie soup (low sodium of course) and a TJ's wrap with hummus, a sprinkle of cheese, and some spinach.
It hit the spot and left me alllll warm and toasty. I went and did some party planning for this evenings festivities and waited for lunch to settle and then I was off to the gym! The facility in my apmt is about 1000 degrees every time I go, so there was no lack of sweat to be had. I did a great 45 min hill interval workout, and by the end I was pooped.
I got home and was starving, so I whipped up a yogurt mess with 1/2 a TJ's blueberry greek yogurt, 1/2 a banana, a small handful of blueberries, and 1/2 cup of granola. NOM. I tried to eat slow and let myself feel full, but it wasn't happening, so I grabbed a couple cinnamon covered almonds (also TJ's, notice a trend?) To keep with the productivity of the day, some cleaning and shower action happened before I collapsed into bed and read blogs for about an hour. I still eat dinner at Old People Hour (5:30ish) so I cooked up (i.e microwaved a veggie patty with some cheeeeze) while I my real course was roasting in the oven. I used up my broccili, cauliflower, some carrots, and then chopped and roasted a small sweet potato. I officially title this dish my Happy Plate because it is all of my favorite veggies in one sitting. So good! I have also been guzzling water today in an effort to undo whatever damage was done yesterday, but now I am off for some fun (college appropriate) activities this evening!
Here's a question for those of you who love me enough to read all the way to the end of this monster post. What kind of creative activities do you like to do when you get snowed in? Planning beer olympics is a new one for me, but it has definitely passed the time!
~Jenn

Getting it Together

Is anyone still there?
I have been the worst blogger ever. So shady. Sorry.
But I am here now, so that counts for something right?
D.C. has been full of ups and downs since I arrived. The classes are fine, but definitely long after a full day of work. It is A LOT of politics talk, which I find very interesting, but sometimes I wonder why I did not just major in health and nutrition or something along those lines. The internship is an internship. It is a small organization, so I find myself a little bored sometimes, but I am getting my foot in the door and that is what matters. And sometimes, I get to go see cool speakers, like the Vice President of Kenya! Smile you're on candid camera!

Okay, so now to the fun stuff! This place is fullllll of fun bars to explore. And since I have a built in bar-buddy roommate, we have been hitting up the town! Lots of fun, like way to much, and it has taken its toll on my poor body! To counter those activities, I have been eating very very clean. Here's a little sneak peak at my cabinet goodies... You are welcome Trader Joe's for all my money! I also take up about 3/4 of our shared fridge space. I gotta have my greens. Speaking of which, because of some damage I may or may have not done last night (I am only 21 once!) I woke up this morning and knew exactly how to fix that gross feeling...GREEN MONSTER. And this one was MONSTEROUS! I used almond milk, 1 ripe banana, 1/2 cup TJ blueberry greek yogurt, 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, flax seeds, 2 huge handfuls of spinich, and 2 leaves of kale! I needed greens, I wasn't kidding around. That is the definition of hitting the spot.
So DC is in for 16-24 inches of snow this weekend apparently. I mean, I come from Syracuse so I will survive, but everyone else is FREAKING THE F OUT! To make sure I can stay warm this weekend, I got the raspberry version of my favorite tea at Whole Foods yesterday.
It was my first time since going leaving Little Rock, and OMGEE I miss it. I didn't even need groceries and I spent $40 bucks. Go figure. Ugh I really need to start budgeting better. Okay, but that is not the point.
I am excited for the snow this weekend because some friends of mine that live in our apartment building are holding a beer olympics tournament to keep ourselves entertained! I am competitive by nature so obviously IT IS ON! I will let y'all know what happens I promise!
Off to do some yoga and then laundry. Ahh I love Friday's off!
~Jenn