Going back to Indy, Indy, Indy

After breakfast with Kelly on Friday, it was time to get back to Indiana. Yes, I’m a lady of leisure at the moment but a few reasons I wanted to get back:

*See my baby angel

*Get back on track with my eating and working out

*Go back to Eastern standard time, central time zone was just trippin me out

*Um, have some clean undies. I only brought enough with me to last for the number of days I’m here and was in desperate need of doing laundry

I stopped in gorgeous Lake County, Indiana AKA my old stomping grounds. Ok, not really. I was born in Munster and we lived there then up and left to Florida when I was seven but even so, I always considered it home. While driving through Hammond (if someone actually knows these towns, I will be quite impressed), I got a good look at the locals there. One word comes to mind: scuzzy. I always thought Indiana was so great and in a way resented my parents for moving us to Florida all of a sudden. We were in a place that was a complete 180 with people of different background, nationalities, etc. along with hot weather. Apparently, I’ve never been a fan of hot weather because I loathed it then but have gotten a little better about it. But then seeing these people who looked like life had not been kind to them made me wonder what would have happened if I stayed there. Would I have gotten involved with the wrong crowd, went to college, get married and have kids or what? So many questions, I tell you.

But my eye was on the prize. Literally. I was trying to win some dough at the Horseshoe Casino.

I just wanted to stop in for a few minutes to see if this place would actually be nice or not. There was a ridiculous amount of people there for Friday at noon, which kind of made me sad. In Vegas, it’s one thing for a casino to be packed but for Hammond, IN, is this all that people do? Do they just get their paycheck and gamble it away in hopes of winning big?

Good thing I know when to walk away from the slots

Or not. I started out with $20 and played the nickel slots and luck not be a lady at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.

While making my way back to the car, I caught this gorgeous view of the marina. If you look closely, you can see the Chicago skyline faintly in the background.

I stopped in West Lafayette for lunch at the Parthenon Grill. I went into the city looking for something local and non-chain. I was getting a bit discouraged since all I saw were chain restaurants. I finally started to make my way back to the highway when I saw this which was perfect since I didn’t have any Greek food while in Chicago.

Annnnnnd, I was the only person in there. I guess that’s what happens when you go into a restaurant in a college town during the summer time. It was kinda nice though, I felt like I ruled the roost! They have standard Greek food on the menu and I went with old faithful of a gyro, fries and a drink for under $10.

I hate when I go to a new restaurant and not sure what the protocol is. I ordered then they gave me a tray where I got napkins and condiments. I wasn’t sure if I just waited there or go to one of the many open tables. After a few awkward seconds of me just standing there looking at the cashier, he finally told me I can go to a table and he will bring me my food. Thanks dude. And look, they had toothpicks aplenty, perfect for my next stuffed chicken adventure!

The meal came out and I was overwhelmed with the amount of meat.

I could barely fold the gyro over because there was so much meat. That’s what I’m talking about!

I ended up taking a good chunk of the meat off and putting in a to go box for my pup and went on my way with wolfing down the sandwich. The meat wasn’t seasoned too much but it was cooked just right. The tzatziki lacked flavor as well so that was a bit of a let down. The fries were piping hot though so I’m happy everything was made fresh. All in all a good spot to stop if you’re ever in West Lafayette, Indiana.

By the time I got back on the road, I was spent. I woke up at 5am that morning and was around 4pm. I just wanted to get back to my sister’s house and crash. When I got there I saw this nice surprise……

Linky has a girlfriend!

So many questions, I tell you.

Do you go to casinos in your area? We don’t have any in Charlotte but I used to go to the ones in the Phoenix area all the time.

Holding Out For a Gyro Til The End Of The Night

I went to the Yiasou Greek Festival on Saturday night.

This is an annual festival here in Charlotte that is supposed to be one of the best in the country and I never miss it. It’s only $2 admission, they have great food with lines that move fast (they also have wine and beer-along with Greek beer and American), tours of the church, entertainment such as traditional Greek dancing along with little stands of jewelry, art and little trinkets. If you don’t feel like fighting the masses, you can drive up and get a meat-o-licious gyro to go or other goodies such as baklava, spanokopita and more. I have to get a gyro each time I go and get my gyro I did.

 I was going to try the Greek beer but after Friday night’s events, I wasn’t up to drinking. Their pastries looked amazing as well but nothing was really singing to me. Then I saw the Loukoumades stand.

$3 for a small order? Bring it. I was done after a few of these but I enjoyed every last bite that I could handle. I added some powdered sugar and cinnamon to mine to make them extra sweet along with the touch of honey in them. Sadness that I couldn’t finish them all but I didn’t want to carry the box around toting only three.

I felt back to my old self on Sunday and got a little kettlebell/weight session in

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Halos (13 reps, 2 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 2 sets)

Squats (15 reps, 2 sets)

Pliq Squats  (15 reps, 2 sets)

Upright Deltoid Row (13 reps, 2 sets)

Swings (13 reps, 3 sets)

Side Bends (20 reps, 3 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Concentration Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Shoulder Press (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell -10 lbs

Tricep Extension (13 reps, 2 sets)

Tricep Kickback (13 reps, 2 sets)

Afterwards, I made a ham and cheese sandwich with a bowl of kiwi. I’ll be sad to see you go, summer fruits

 I went to Harris Teeter and found a bag of four bell peppers for $2 since they would be going bad soon. I had no clue what I was going to make with them but when I got home thought of Stuffed Peppers I put a bag of boil a bag brown rice to cooking and while that was going on, I took a can of black beans and rinsed them.

I chopped up ½ white onion and chopped about ¼ cup of jalapenos and ½ cup shredded cheese and mixed together. I added chile powder, garlic and black pepper and El Pato salsa for flavor.

I cleaned and gutted the peppers once that was set and saved the tops. I chopped up so I can add to a meal this wk. Once the rice was done, I added that to my mixture.  I stuffed the four bell peppers with the mixture then let cook for 30 mins at 400 degrees and voila-a filling meal in a pepper.

 You can’t beat nature’s dishware.

 I have a confession—I’m addicted to the Yelp. I go on there all the time to read reviews of places I want to check out and love the lists that different users create. I’ve been writing some of my own reviews for the past few months and recently got invited to join their Elite squad for this year.

On Sunday night, I took a break from football and attended an event sponsored by Yelp Elite via Yelp.com at the Custom Shop . 

There was free beer from Olde Mecklenberg Brewery and wine courtesy of Planeta Wines along with an array of appetizers—even vegetarian ones!

 I would be lying if I said I remembered what everything was but it was all F—fantastic, fresh and flavorful. I want to go have a real meal here soon! And they even gave us some swag

Since everything was free, I felt compelled to try every drink available-beer or wine. I am 30 years old and should really know not to mix my liquors. Suffice to say, I was feeling ill today.

 Some of you all were asking for my turkey burger recipe—I didn’t measure anything but I would say it was about ½ lb ground turkey, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, one egg, chopped jalapenos (I like my stuff spicy so I loaded them on) and about ¼ chopped onion with pepper, garlic and chile powder and formed into patties. They were breaking about while they were cooking so I would add more breadcrumbs next time around but I let them cook on the stovetop until cooked well throughout the pattie. I added Laughing Cow cheese on top of mine right when they were done so it would spread easily and added salsa. Another easy one and two thumbs up. The nice thing is that you vary this up quite a bit with making them Mexican style how I did or even Italian style with oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes and marinara.Ohhhhh or do an Asian influence and add soy or wasabi to it on a bed of slaw with vinaigrette.

On a final note (because I am Jerry Springer) thanks all for understanding my lack of blogging, I’m happy to hear that there are others that can sympathize. I’m still around…..even if I’m not saying much, I’m still here and reading your blogs 🙂

And today is my 30th and 3/4 birthday-wtf? Where did time go? How the hell am I going to be 31 in three months? When did that happen?

So many questions…..

PS—-Check out April’s blog for a wonderful giveaway-you can win a Healthy Food Snacker!

Oink Oink

Yep, that pretty much sums up the past two days for me. My eating has been a tad off course with work getting busier which equals me being tired and cranky along with some family drama going on. I am not going to get into the drama because I spent last night dealing with it, crying for hours which resulted in puffy eyes today and just feeling drained. I am sure I am overreacting about this situation but last night, I cried for two hours last night and wrote in my journal about everything I was feeling–frustration, sadness, etc. and afterwards, that made me feel a tad better. But again, enough of that.

I started yesterday with a green monster with chocolate protein, coffee, baby spinach, almond milk and splenda. But I forgot the ice so it was a tad on the warm side….but still good!

After reading about April’s smoothie, I am absolutely convinced I need to buy Caramel Toffee Fudge Whey. There is no way that cannot taste good!

I had oats with peanut butter, raisins and unsweetened coconut flakes for breakfast

Lunch was a chicken salad pita with french fries from Showmars

Yum, I could eat this everyday.

I got home and didn’t have a plan for dinner but had some chicken defrosting in the fridge. I decided to make chicken cakes.

Chicken Cakes

8 to 10 oz boneless skinless chicken breast

1 egg

1/4 panko or breadcrumbs

1 tbsp mayo

1/4 cup onions

Salt, pepper (whatever seasonings you like, I also add garlic and chopped cilantro)

Throw onions and cilantro in food processor than add chicken

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl

Form into patties (I made three with these), heat 1 to 2 tbsp vegetable oil, place cakes on the pan and cook

I also had some sliced zucchini and mushrooms cooking on the stovetop with extra virgin olive oil, paprika, garlic salt, red pepper flakes and pepper

I was starving when this was cooking and was trying to hold off on snacking until it was done then I remembered reading Diana’s post yesterday about eating what you want and said eff it, I’m grabbing a small bowl of chips.

Soon enough, the patties were done and dinner time was here!

I grabbed some wing sauce and light ranch dressing to make it buffalo-eque on placed on a kaiser roll

Breakfast this morning was a Kashi Cookies and Cream Bar…..eaten on the bus so no pic, sorry! But this day was horrible, the puffy eyes were out and all the crying last night left my eyes so dry so my contacts were not working so well. I never wear my glasses outside the house so contacts it was and I was rubbing my eyes all day and felt like I couldn’t see. Talk about annoying. And we had three people out of the office…..on a team of six people so yeah. Not a fun day at all. I was even cussing like a truck driver when I was talking to people who I deal with….note…..I rarely cuss at work unless I am very pissed off or very very very very stressed. I had one guy email me telling me to take it easy this wk and not jump off a bridge. Eek! I am not that frustrated!

Lunch was another take out one from Showmars—-gyro and fries

That’s what I’m talking about! Next wk I will be planning better so I am not eating out yet again, this madness has got to stop ASAP. I hate spending money on lunch when I can eat it at home and have just been lazy in that field.

After I got off work (at a reasonable hour to boot), there was only one thing that could make me feel better. And his name is Trader Joe.

There once was a girl named Tiffany who lived in the land of North Carolina with her fur baby Lincoln. Tiffany had been trying to create new health goals for herself each month and one of Tiffany’s goals for the month of June was to cut back on cheese and dairy products.

Well, that goal is clearly out the window.

The first thing I did when I got home was cuddle with Lincoln who was absolutely psycho today. He was scratching at me, kissing me and just happy. It made me feel better. We went for a nice walk then I switched into my comfy clothes and glasses. Anyone else do this? I hate lounging around in business casual wear and when I am home for the evening, usually slip on some yoga pants and a tank top. But I always leave my ghetto baby girl big ass earrings on, go figure.

I made a meal I haven’t made in forever—pizza rolls!

Pizza Rolls

Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough ( I use about half of the package)

4 slices provolone

4 slices salami

Turkey Pepperoni

Ok, that’s the main ingredients so it is super easy to make and you can modify as you like. I cut the provolone and salami in half and then roll out the dough into thin strips. Top with provolone, salami and pepperoni then roll from one corner to the other and place on a greased cookie sheet. I then mix extra virgin olive oil, crushed red peppers, oregano and parmesan in a bowl and brush onto rolls before placing in the oven. Bake at 375 for 13 to 15 mins or until golden brown.

And a cold one to wash it down with!

The fur baby was watching the rolls very closely

I absolutely loved the World Cup Concert tonight–Shakira was my favorite performance and I need to catch some cames! Hope everyone’s having a fabulous start to the wknd!

What I liked About Today

It’s Friday! But au contraire Chris Tucker, I DO have a job and DO have shit to do! Can’t believe that movie is 15 years old, oh how time flies……and who would’ve thought Ice Cube went and pulled a Eddie Murphy and started doing all these family movies?  I guess no more f*** the police huh?

My Kashi Crunchy Bar that surprisingly kept me full throughout the morning

A gyro that was actually a gyro-as opposed to the crappy gyro wannabee I had last wk. And crinkle cut fries with it all for under $6? Sounds good.

A slow afternoon-it was nice and slow. I got to take a 20 minute coffee break and flipped through recipes a good part of the afternoon, nothing wrong with that.

Giving to the homeless-I was walking to catch my bus and this homeless man approached me and asked if I had cash or something to eat. I really don’t give anything to homeless people on the streets b.c I just don’t trust them. I know that sounds bad but I don’t. Instead, I donate to the Salvation Army and local food banks where I know it will be used. Anywho, this homeless guy was younger and hot (this right here is why I have problems with my love life, don’t worry I won’t date a homeless man. Men with jobs who I’ve dated have had issues with my job, pay and success, I can’t imagine how a homeless man would feel) I told him I had an apple and he graciously accepted. When I’ve offered food in the past, they just walk away (example A why I don’t trust the homeless) but it felt good knowing he took the apple. And he didn’t hurl it at me which is nice. Now if I could give them some of my half empty bottles of body splash from B&BW……

Arnold Palmer Lite-I never see this stuff on sale anymore and I went to CVS in hopes of getting a soda but nothing appealed to me…..and a 20 oz bottle being $1.69 may have had something to do with that. When the eff did it get that expensive?? That will definitely keep me from buying the soda.

Random Dinner-yet again, I had nothing planned for dinner. I had a pork chop defrosting in the fridge while I was at home but didn’t plan what to make. I usually plan out a few meals during the weekend for the upcoming week and have just sucked at this lately. I really need to look through my recipes and get on the ball. I cut up half a pork chop and cooked on the stove top along with zucchini, onions and peppers with extra virgin olive oil, pepper and garlic salt. While that was cooking, I found some pierogies in the freezer and fried those babies (not to be confused with Lincoln’s babies) up.

Nap time with Lincoln-after dinner I was exhausted. I hate commuting 2 hours a day and am over it. Luckily, one more month in ghetto apartment and then I will be 10 minutes from work. I didn’t take any pictures of nap time (because….um…I was sleeping) but Lincoln decided to revive nap time as I type. When I am typing and I am not paying attention to him, he pouts because I’m not rubbing his belly. I think he got the whole “It’s all about me” state of mine from me though 🙂

Caffeine drinking in the pm-without having to worry about work or waking up at 6A. I love it.

The wedding I’m going to tomorrow-I haven’t been to a wedding in almost two years. I don’t even know the people getting married but weddings are just exciting and fun….. except the bouquet toss, I absolutely hate that. I don’t like being called out because I am single and attention on me (but I pout like Lincoln when attention isn’t on me..hmmm) and I have a competitive side of me and am no holds barred so I really want to throw elbows and trip the other girls but don’t want to be that girl at the wedding. I have my outfit all ready (there will be pics)  and my fake name in place (Gina) in case I come across any creepers (given my track record, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I do).

With my caffeine high in place, I need to do laundry, wash dishes, take a shower (hello water consumption) and clean my place before I leave tomorrow morning. We are doing pool time at the hotel I’m staying at with my friend who’s in town and then wedding time is on. I also have to pack Lincoln’s stuff to go since he will be crashing with my friend and her dog.

Hope everyone has a fabulous wknd!!

Dial 1-900-MIXALOT

Fridays are always my day “off” per se. Where as I track food on Livestrong.com every day, I tend not to on Fridays. I do this mostly for my mental sanity. I could be good all the time but that just isn’t my nature. I need to have a day off where I can go eat something I am craving, whether it be good or bad and simply not care, beat up myself or obsess about my meals. And what a foodie frenzy Friday it has been!

All I wanted last night was a good night’s sleep to start my Friday on a good note. But apparently that is too much to ask! I was in a peaceful slumber until a little before 4AM. My dog woke up (he has a bad yet cute habit of burrowing under the covers and sleeping right by my side–literally!) and kept jumping on and off the bed then couldn’ t decide if he wanted on or off the bed! I kept tossing and turning afterwards and just decided to give in to the day. 

I figured if I was up so early, I may as well to go to the gym. But then it was raining cats and dogs (who coined that term anyways?) and just decided to have some coffee and breakfast instead. I usually wait until 8 or 9A to eat breakfast but wanted to make something out of the ordinary for a weekday breakfast.

I put some chopped spinach on the stove top and seasoned with garlic and pepper and let cook. Then I threw in some liquid eggs and spread on a tortilla with Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb Cheese and sprinkled Tabasco sauce on top.

It was wonderful! I really only use spinach in lasagna and an occasional smoothie so I am trying to incorporate it more.

I caught the early bus and rolled into work super-duper early. I love being there before anyone else gets there because it is actually peaceful and I can catch up on my emails and work before the phone starts ringing and the emailing flying in. It turned out great though because my stinky co-worker wasn’t there! YAY-Life is good 🙂 Background: I have a stinky co-worker. I am not talking funk, I am talking bleu cheese and butt (or hot trash and baby diapers) but they stink. Really bad. And I have tried in the past to hint around but have no clue why they smell so bad and apparently it doesn’t bother anyone else on my team. When they come over to my desk, I have to take a deep breath and breathe through my mouth. It sucks. Maybe I am just really sensitive to smell? 

Work was alright though, since Stinky wasn’t there I covered their workload and it kept me busy the entire day which helped the day go by quickly.  I perused online in between doing stuff and looked up some heart rate monitors and for my price range, think I am gonna go with the  Polar F7 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor. It’s one of the gifts to myself with my tax refund and I have wanted one for a while.

Snack was Chobani 0% Strawberry Greek Yogurt with some flax and strawberries.

Since it was still miserable outside  i.e. raining and 30 something the entire day! I mean, if it is going to be cold and nasty out, I want snow! I decided to get lunch at Showmars inside our building. I love convenience! On Fridays, they have my favorite item on special for five bones—-Gyro with Fries

 

 Also know as heaven

I would love to eat this all the time but try to limit it to once or twice a month. For a quality food served fast kind of place, awesome gyros. Now if only they had some Greek, hairy men making them, it really would be heaven (I am weird, I know)

After work I went to the grocery store (one of two this wknd) to use my coupons and hit the big sales. With my coupons here are some of the deals I got:

*Daisy Sour Cream $.10

*Tabasco Sauce $.35

*Huge Spaghetti Squash (so excited to use, never cooked with one before!) $2

*Thomas’ Whole Wheat Bagel Thins $1.20

and so on and so on……….

I had some of my Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough that I had to use up so I made some pizza…..again. I can’t help it, I love it.

I grilled up some spinach, artichokes, roasted red pepper and mushrooms and threw turkey pepperoni on there and this was the beauty in which it  evolved 🙂

Seeing all these colors make me happy–and they are the colors of the Italian flag! Hey mambo….mambo italiano…….

 

 

 

I wish I would have never discovered TJ’s pizza dough, if you can’t tell I kinda like it.

I love lazy Friday nights. By the end of the week, I am either ready to go out and have some drinks or veg and tonight is the latter. I have no plans really for this wknd except go out on Sunday afternoon/night and find somewhere to watch the SuperBowl. Go Colts!

Speaking of the SuperBowl, I saw this list on-line and had to read through it!

The 10 Best Butts in the NFL

I definitely agree with Miles Austin but my second pick would be Troy Polamalu. Tom Brady has the perfect life (well except last season with the whole knee thing) so he really doesn’t need the boost of #2. And Peanut Tillman? Whoever voted for him needs to put down the crackpipe. Personally, I prefer my pancakes with syrup, not on a man. I don’t like a small waist and a big butt on a guy (because, I am cursed with that) but it’s nice to have something to gran onto and now just flat.  All in all, I dig a man with some bubble. A man red beans and rice didn’t miss! And now I have E.U.’s “Da Butt” song in my head!