The Coughing Chorus

As I mentioned yesterday, December is filled with many happy things. Decorated houses, sales all over the place, the spirit of giving in the air, holiday potlucks at work, etc. But with that also comes people getting sick. And when I say that I mean co-workers. I walked into work today and was surprised to see one of my co-worker sitting at his desk. He sounded like hell yesterday and left  mid-morning to go home and rest. Bye bye sickie pants!  But then I walked in today, there he was hacking away like there was no tomorrow. I went near his cube and said hi but would not come within a 5 foot radius of his cube in case his ill germs were floating around. Come lunch time, my stomach was killing me, my throat started to tickle and and I had a humongous headache hit me right when I started eating and I couldn’t finish my lunch. That almost never happens. Turns out my tummy was hurting for another reason but then I came back to our work area and didn’t even need to put on the Pandora because there was a chorus of coughing, sneezing, throat clearing and other odd man noises. It’s like there was rounds of it going on and once someone finished coughing, another person would start sneezing, when they stopped sneezing another person would blow their nose and so on and so on. Ugh.

The reason this is driving me crazy is because  I’m going on vacation next week and am notorious for getting sick right before a trip so I am  staying away from anyone who is clearing their throat, coughing, sneezing, looking wheezy or just looks ill (super pale people included). I have sanitizer at my desk and feel like I have been using it a bit too much compared to my normal use and am trying to load up on vitamin C and water as much as I can. Why do people come into work if they are sick? That’s why we get eight sick days a year so if one isn’t feeling well, they can stay home, go to the doctor instead of coming in, not working at your normal speed and not infecting the troops.  When I am sick, the last place I want to be is at work and if I am really ill, just sleep the day away and try to rest as much as possible. I just don’t get it. Is it a man thing like they can’t admit they’re sick? Do some people feel like they can’t call in because they feel like they will get reprimanded or behind in work? I am just trying to understand this logic.

I had happy hour plans but was still feeling meh so I ran errands instead then was on the search for Thai food. They are a few Thai places in my neighborhood but they are either cheap and nasty or more expensive than what I would like to pay for so I drove around looking for one and no dice. I saw a newer Chinese place that I’ve passed a few times and was curious about so I stopped in to order some dinner.  

In my four years in Charlotte I haven’t found a go to spot for quick, Chinese food which is sad. They are all around but none live up to expectations which c’mon for Chinese food isn’t too high. I had my spot in Tempe, AZ I would go to all the time (Golden Eggroll for those of you out there, near AZ Mills). They had the best sweet and sour chicken EVER and if I try really hard I could still taste it. But one thing I noticed when living in AZ was that none of the Chinese places offered General Tso’s Chicken. I never found out and was always curious as to why they wouldn’t offer it.

I ordered the Sesame Chicken Dinner and it was under $10 and came with fried rice, an eggroll AND soup. I never see Chinese places offering that amount of food for so cheap for dinner–love it! I got the Hot and Sour soup since that’s ole faithful and when they handed me the bag, felt like I could start doing bicep curls with it since it was so heavy. I tried not to speed home since the aroma of Chinese takeout was floating around in my car. Plus when I was driving home, it was smack dab in the middle of rush hour and wasn’t feeling the whole-let’s-wait-in-traffic thing. I took a few side streets until I had no clue where I was but it’s all gravy since it put me a couple of blocks away from my house. I love when I find a convenient short cut back home on accident!

I walked in, changed into my comfy clothes and opened up the back with much excitement and checked out the view

Hello my long lost love of Chinese take out, it’s been awhile. They only gave me a couple of pieces of broccoli but look how pretty and fresh they look. They were gorgeous and not drenched in sauce, it was lovely.

It was a lot of food and I could only finish half—say whaaaaa?? That never happens to me! With Chinese food, I’m in it to win it and always clean my plate

So some leftovers for another day and a snazzy, new container to use. Win-win for me.

The soup was off the hook hot and loved every sip of it.

I equally loved my fortune.

I will definitely be going back to Bei Jing!!

PS—-OPI Burlesque giveaway over at Fashion Meets Food!!!

Access denied on the egg white bagel thin panini

Oh Wednesday. It felt like Thursday to me since I planned on having Friday off because one of my friends from college was coming into town. But then I found out my friend won’t be able to make it here this weekend so I am contemplating taking Friday off or saving the day off for another day. Decisions, decisions……

Glad to see you all like the diner I went to the other night! I had so much fun and looking forward to my next visit. I won’t lie, I’m looking forward to the food more than the ambiance but oh well, the food is the appeal of a diner right? Give me bacon wrapped hot dogs and peanut butter french toast any day!

Tuesday night, I made Lo Mein Noodles with chicken, broccoli, bamboo shoots and water chesnuts. I’m trying to go this week without buying groceries and used all of this from stuff that’s been either sitting in my cupboard or freezer for a while. While shroomies and onions would have made this even better, it was a great meal. I packed a separate portion for lunch later this week and can’t wait for my co-workers to have food envy. They always ohh and ahh all over my food since I have a home cooked meal while most of them nosh on sandwiches or measly looking salads. And knowing they want my food makes me happy 🙂

After that settled in my tummy, I knocked out a 30 minute kettlebell session

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (20 reps, 2 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 3 sets)

Lateral Bench Press (13 reps, 3 sets)

Swings (13 reps, 3 sets)

Squats (13 reps, 3 sets)

Upright Deltoid Rows (13 reps, 2 sets)

Straight Leg Deadlifts (20 reps, 2 sets)

One Legged Deadlifts (10 reps, 2 sets)

I did sets of  jumping jacks, crunches and leg lifts in between sets. I’ve never done one-legged deadlifts before and boy, I am aching today! They really worked my hamstrings good and I can definitely feel it today. I will definitely be adding more of these to my kettlebell routine.

This morning, I walked over to Einstein’s to get breakfast since I got some coupons in the mail yesterday. One of the coupons was for a $1.99 Eggwhite Bagel Thin Panini and I was stoked to try it. The wait was long, the cashier unfriendly and then I had to wait some more for my food. So I waited….and waited….and waited some more. About 10 minutes later, they finally called my name and I skipped back to my office since I was a little late for a call. I got to my desk and opened up my bag and saw this

Ummm, that does not look like an eggwhite bagel thin panini. That looks like some apple bagel of sorts and if they messed up my order, couldn’t they have had the courtesy to at least give me some schmear?

My cashier, Orio, can go suck it. I know I should have looked at my bag before I left but then again, they should have gotten my order right. I think the thing I am most pissed off about is that I no longer have the $1.99 coupon to use. I wrote Einstein’s today to see if I could get it back, let’s cross our fingers because I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

I met up with one of my girlfriends for lunch and we went to Picasso’s Uptown. Our server mentioned they had a lunch special-fried chicken sandwich topped with bacon and cheese with fries for only $6.99. Being a girl on a budget and really wanting some fried, fatty goodness, I sprung for this. Chicky topped with not only cheese but bacon also? Go big or go home bitches!

I got a bucket of the hot wing sauce on the side and it had my sweating….loves it! Speaking of sweating, has anyone ever experienced meat sweats? Some of the guys on my team were talking about it today and I’ve never heard of meat sweats (sweats that you get from eating too much meat) so I wasn’t sure if it’s just me? And another note, there are 10 people on my team and 7 of them are dudes. I’m starting to notice that the dudes talk more throughout the day, ignoring their work while  us girls are actually at our desks working. I always thought it was the opposite? I had an issue with one of the deals in my portfolio so I had to stay a little late and by the time everything was done, I was ready to go home. Basically, I have to make a call to a customer I’m not wanting to make at all and it is going to be difficult.  I am very personable and outgoing with customers but this time I have to be hard-core and no holds barred which is not me at all so this is going to be an interesting experience.Ugh.

When I got home, I remembered I put the last of my Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat pizza dough in the fridge to defrost along with a link and a half of spicy Italian sausage so pizza it was! Pizza was the perfect meal since I was mentally spent and it was cold and nasty out.

Mmmmm, I love pizza porn. I topped with oregano and parmesan cheese and it was a perfect end to the day. Feeling all warm and fuzzy from the pizza, I decided to do a good deed. For the past three years, I’ve made a donation to a non-profit organization whether it be a food bank, Salvation Army, etc. My company matches all donations and I knew that if I didn’t do it now, I would forget. I made a donation to Toys For Tots tonight and feel like I can rest a little easier knowing that my donation plus the banks donation will help a few kids get a gift for Christmas.

Does your company match charitable donations?

More importantly, after watching Modern Family tonight, does anyone else want to partake in a flash mob dance??

Literally

Soooooo……lots of Jersey Shore fans out there huh? I think I am going to have to suck it up and watch it. I let ya’ll know if I regret it or not.I woke up this morning and was out of eggs. Boo to that. The only thing that would’ve been worse was being out of eggs and cheese.  That being said, I had a different breakfast.

Having a different breakfast apparently threw me way off of my A game coffee wise, I didn’t even hit up the Bucks today! And you know what, I lived to tell you all about so maybe going a day without the Buckies is possible?

I was pretty busy this morning bit it left me time for surfing the web and catching up on news. I found two interesting articles about rivals Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods:
 
*Trader Joe’s how they are the store on the rise and changing shopping in our culture:
 
 
I love how they say “It’s an offbeat, fun discovery zone that elevates food shopping from a chore to a cultural experience.” Because I couldn’t agree more
 
*Whole Foods on how they are an affordable necessity 
 
 
When asked about the nickname “Whole Paycheck” Co-Founder John Mackey says “On like items, Whole Foods is very competitive. … We have 30,000 items, and you can probably find 30 on which we’re more expensive”  Really? Are we talking about the same Whole Foods because when I go there I only buy a few items since the prices are so inflated compared to my beloved, Trader Joe’s. I found it really interesting that he says their best-selling item are bananas out of everything in the store.
 
Today is Tuesday which means it’s Hippie Day. I got another batch of great produce including red pepper, sweet potato, apple, cucumber, zucchini. 

 
I had leftover taco casserole for lunch today with a side of chips, I keep it healthy what can I say?
 
 
I got out of work a bit early so I could go to zumba class. The class was at 615P , I didn’t have time to make dinner but snuck a snack in before I headed out for it.

Can we say kicked my butt? I haven’t been in a few weeks and it was great to be back but tonight was a tough one.

Dinner was General Tso’s Chicken with quinoa and veggies

Red pepper, zucchini, red onion and string beans cooked in fish sauce and soy sauce with red pepper flakes, garlic and pepper

I was drying my bra in the kitchen since there is a hook right above the oven…..I never said I was classy. And now I have to re-wash my bra.

I used Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken (frozen) but didn’t have any sauce leftover and used Kikoman General Tso’s sauce. I love making take out Chinese at home, tastes just like the real thing!

See, there is actually quinoa under there!

I walked over to Harris Teeter afterwards to fix this whole no egg business in my house. I always have eggs or egg whites so I’m confused how this happened. I found a beautiful deal while perusing the aisles at the Teet though.

Laughing Cow for only $2.50!!! I started chanting “Ahhhhh aaaaaahhhhhh ahhhhhhh” like a Benedictine monk but then switched it up to “Holllllllllllaaaaaaaaa” since it was a frickin sweet deal. I was only going to get one but I had to be a smart consumer and stock up.

Along the line of articles, did anyone see this article about the girl who lost 118 lbs and credits that to Weight Watchers, applied for a job with them and was told her her body mass index was too high? According to the article, her interview was going great and she had tons of experience teaching but then a question regarding her BMI came into play. She provided her weight and height and then the interviewer told her she  couldn’t complete the interview process any further. Anywho, I saw the article and thought that it was  absolutely ridiculous and hypocritical. Thoughts?

This day has left me exhausted, both mentally and physically. I think I am going to follow this boys lead …..except I won’t be passed out in front of my wine rack…..I will be in front of the wine cooler.

Can’t Hardly Wait

 I didn’t have time to make a hearty first meal so it was breakfast on the go with a Kashi Bar and a banana

The interview went well. I knew the person interviewing me so it was a bit informal compared to interviews I had and more like a normal conversation which made me less nervous. To be honest, I don’t think I will get it since I knew some other people who are applying and have more experience than me. Also, I got some more information on the job and I’m not sure if I would want it or not if I was to be offered the position. It would be longer hours, more stress but on the flip side more money, more vacation and a better direction for my career. Basically, I would have to think long and hard about it if I would want to take on the role or not. But I rocked my dress with a cute, chunky green beaded necklace and I think I looked cute. Oh–I didn’t mention how the dress was one  size smaller than I wear huh? I am happy about that alone. Regardless, thanks everyone for your warm wishes 🙂

For lunch, I had Quizno’s Choose Two with the Honey Mustard Chicken Salad and Steak Melt Sammie

I was jonesing for some take out when I got home and couldn’t make up my mind between the two usual suspects: Pizza or Chinese Food so I decided to save some money and calories by making home-made Chinese food

Chinese Noodles with zucchini, mushrooms, sweet pepper, green onions with Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken (no sauce) with a few tbsp General Tso’s Sauce. Just like the real thing!

I had a sweet workout session afterwards. I got my workout clothes on while  the food was cooking so I wouldn’t have any reason not to work out (except pure laziness of course!)

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (20 reps, 2 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 2 sets)

Swings (13 reps, 4 sets)

Squats (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Close Grip Dumbbell Bench Press (13 reps, 1 set)

Dumbbell Bench Press  (13 reps, 2 sets)

Shoulder press (12 reps, 2 sets)

Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell 10 lbs

Tricep Dumbbell Kickbacks  (13 reps, 3 sets)

Reverse Fly (12 reps, 2 sets)

Front Lateral Raise (13 reps, 2 sets)

I didn’t get my heart rate up the way I thought I did but all in all, it was a good workout. On a unrelated note, I think I pulled my butt muscle and it hurts!

I had a post workout snack -green monster bowl with NutriBiotic Chocolate Rice Protein, almond milk, baby spinach, xanthan gum, a drizzle of mint chocolate syrup and chocolate peppermint shavings

Hope everyone is having a Happy Thursday! Is it wrong if I don’t really have plans any night this weekend and kind of excited for that? I just want to snuggle up with Lincoln, watch my Netflix and veg. I can’t wait.

Just call me Ferris Bueller

Because it’s my day off!

 Unfortunately no joy riding in a Ferrari while wearing a beret (more like a Toyota sans hat)

Or singing on a float in a St Patricks Day Parade (more like singing to the Killers while driving in said Toyota a week before St Patricks Day)

But a day off nonetheless!

Speaking of 80’s movies, there is a Karate Kid remake coming out??

WTF? Sorry Jaden and Jackie, you are no Ralph and Pat and never will be.

Some things should just not me remade. And don’t get me started on the Footloose remake…….

Anyways, I called into work since I am in serious need of a mental health day 🙂 I slept in until 9A, took a nice shower (before they turned the water off) and made a big breakfast. I wish I could lounge around with my Turby Twist, pajamas and robe on every morning and take my time eating and drinking my coffee.

Breakfast was egg scramble with two eggs, Morningstar Veggie crumbles and shredded cheese with a side of toast with Trader Joe’s Superfruit spread.

And of course, coffee (from one of my favorite mugs)

Wonderful way to start the day!

If you like Dunkin Donuts coffee, click here for a free sample of their Dunkin Turbo—don’t know what it is but any caffeinated product with “Turbo” in it is good in my book!!

Also, click here to win a fun package of goodies such as tea, dates, udon and other fun stuff!

I had this while watching Kelly and Regis with Ludacris hosting andperforming and I thought of this song–which I completely forgot about it.

This was my jam in college! Must download today, great workout song!

Then I got a text from one of my friends telling me Corey Haim passed away 😦

RIP Corey-Lucas will always be one of my favorite movies.

I ran some errands, first stop was the Verizon Store to see if they could fix my blackberry. Whenever I get a text, the person’s contact information isn’t coming up which is getting really annoying. Instead of fixing that, they decided to clear out my ENTIRE contact list. Grrrrrr. So I am going through all my texts and calls to see if I can figure out who those contacts were but it just sucks since I have contacts from college, living in Arizona and here on my phone. Thankfully I keep in touch with a majority of people on Facebook but still-annoying.

While I was waiting for my phone to be “fixed”, I decided to check out a new frozen yogurt place in my neighborhood—Tasty Yo.

Their stuff is all natural, they take many green initiatives and  the stats aren’t bad at all 4 oz=

*90 Calories

*20 g Carbs

*3 g Protein

*13 g Sugar

*60 mg sodium

I got the flavor of the day-Peach Mango with shredded coconut and kiwi drzzled with honey and got a complimentary green tea wafer stick

They have a cute sitting area with couches and magazines so I decided to stay and catch up on some reading

 I’m so happy I checked this place out–it was fantastic! The yogurt didn’t leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth how some places do. And they offer a punch card which I am all about! I will definitely be visiting Tasty-Yo again 🙂

I stopped by Trader Joe’s to pick up a few things yet oddly enough ended up with more than a few things. I was amazed at how many people who were there at 1P on a Wednesday afternoon. Who are all these people and why aren’t they working?? But then again, they may be asking that about me lol

I don’t know what I’m more excited about:

New Product—Greek Style Feta Dressing

Or the bag of avocados for $2.99

Who cares–I’m excited for both!!

I stopped by the library and they had a good sales on old books and magazines–I got this Cooking Light from this past December for $.25—score!

I’ve been craving greasy chinese take out lately so I finally gave in to it.

I got Spicy Beef and Broccoli from the local chinese take out place–they have killer lunch specials.

Hello lover………….

I was a good girl and put half of it in a container to save for another time because I could seriously down this whole meal but didn’t need that much food.

Just what I needed—talking about the chinese food and this day. I heart not working!!