October 29, 2011

It's Snowing!

And that means chili and apple crisp!  

4 - 5 Apples
Slice apples, grease pan and arrange accordingly.
Crisp
Crisp
1/2 flour
1/2 - 3/4 packed brown sugar
1/2 oats
1/3 margarine softened
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until crisp is golden brown.

October 27, 2011

A Week ... In Food

To say that I fell off the wagon this week would be an understatement - but I had an excuse, sort of.  The past three days were spent at a conference in New Rochelle, New York (about 20 minutes outside of NYC); the conference was only OK but the food and access to a Trader Joe's was fabulous!

Some fabulous chili before for Saturday.



Peanut Butter Brownies for a co-worker's birthday.
Farmer's Market grub - plantains & beans and rice!
Dinner of fabulousness!
Complementary breakfast!
And back home Wednesday night and back on the wagon - quinoa with vegetables and a balsamic vinegar reduction!

October 16, 2011

Odds & Ends (Part II)

In my book Sundays are usually reserved for sleeping in (and/or possible hangover recovery), coffee, couponing, political shows, church, grocery shopping, working out, cooking a fabulous dinner and possibly doing some homework.  I must admit though that one of my favorite parts of any given Sunday is couponing; clipping then comparing the coupons from that and previous weeks to the circular and heading to the grocery store to find the deals!  So here are some of today's deals!

Large laundry detergent - $5.99 per bottle - BOGO - plus $1 off two coupon - essentially $2.50 a bottle!

Suave Professionals Shampoo/Conditioner - 2/$3 - $0.50 off 2 coupon - coupon doubles - $1 a bottle!
Campbell's Soup - 1/$1 - $0.75 off 4 cans - coupon doubles to $1.50 off 4 cans - $0.62 a can!
I have been working on putting together a large donation for the Schenectady Food Pantry for their Thanksgiving food baskets and I found great deals on some needed items!  $0.50/1 can - $0.50 off four cans - coupon doubles to $1 - $0.25 a can!

Continuing from yesterday's post...

The now filled 'bean jar' from the Good Will!
And if you can believe it, my bathroom has gotten worse!

Yesterday
Today!
  
And lastly, I ran across this article in the paper this morning (warning - it is very sad and disturbing), but it goes to one of the points that I have always stated... certain people should be required to take a test before they become parents!  (And if you don't believe me or think my idea is crazy, I encourage you to come sit in the lobby of NPCS for a day.)


October 15, 2011

Odds & Ends

Since fall is pretty much here and I will be gone the next couple of weekends I took a good portion of the day to clean out my closet, kitchen and pack a bin to give to Good Will.  

Donations!
I always love going to the Albany Good Will and browsing to see if I can find anything.  I wasn't looking for anything in particular but I did manage to find two things for a grand total of $3!  I had been 'looking' for a jar to use for my dried beans and I found one!  I also found a cute small plate.

Good Will finds
So after the Good Will and an intense workout I headed to the grocery store where I ran across this...


Strategically placed next to the beer - I thought it was both funny and interesting, and I wonder if it actually works!


I then headed home, made two vegetable lasagnas to be frozen for later consumption, made tonight's dinner, cleaned my bathroom and please explain to me how this happens...



So needless to say, there may need to be some reconstruction done to my bathroom in the near future!

Happy Saturday! 

October 12, 2011

Playing Hooky!

Yesterday was a great day!  My boss told me Saturday that I could have off Tuesday and despite initially declining the offer I decided Monday night that it would be a good idea; so my three day weekend was extended to four!  It was a gorgeous day and probably one of the last really nice days before winter begins to loom upon us.  After sleeping in, enjoying some coffee and going for a run I headed to Troy to spend the day with my good friend Rebecca who I don't get to see nearly enough because she is living the bohemian lifestyle in NYC.  Instead of working I spent the afternoon either laying around in her backyard or drinking pumpkin beer on the pourch at Brown's Brewing Company.  Hooky from work should be played much more often! 

October 10, 2011

Bio-Individuality

Lately I have been researching the concept of 'bio-individuality; it is an interesting concept which basically states that everyone is different and that no one 'diet' or 'health plan' will work for everyone.  Men eat differently than women, athletes require different nutrition than non-athletes and what works for one person will rarely work perfectly for another.  Bio-individuality encourages a person to stop calorie counting and fab-diet obsessing and take a holistic approach to nutrition, fitness and your lifestyle.  

I found this 'pyramid' to be very interesting and is something that I am trying to accomplish, a holistic and balanced approach to life and nutrition.

Food Adventure

I decided to try something new today, guacamole!  Guacamole has grown on me over the years so I decided to try and make some of my own - delicious!

2 - 3 avocados
1 medium onion
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 - 1/2 cup salsa (or a small diced tomatoes)
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
Salt and Cracked Red Pepper to taste



 

October 8, 2011

Three Day Weekend! (Sorta)

Most three day weekends do not normally include waking up at 6 AM on a Saturday to meet your boss and co-worker at a diner for breakfast before heading off to the 'hood' of Schenectady to throw an 'Energy Fair' where you give away a free brand new G.E. Whirlpool Energy Efficient refrigerator, however that is exactly what my day included!  

It's sad to say that in the past two weeks (we have had to postpone this event twice due to weather) we have cleaned up Jerry Burrell Park in Hamilton Hill three times and each time we have done so it has been completely trashed the next day, and today was no exception.  I cannot even begin to tell you how many dime bags I have cleaned up over the past two weeks, thousands!!  

Jerry Burrell Park
New playground equipment donated from Albany about a year ago
Cleaning up the park yet again


Jerry Burrell Park has become famous (especially over the past couple of years) for drugs, dealing, crime and even murder.  Today our goal was to bring knowledge of energy efficiency to the neighborhood and we were a little successful.  Not as many people attended as we would have hoped despite free food and ice cream and raffling off a brand new refrigerator but apparently a somewhat famous rapper was in town last night and lets face it, no one in 'The Hill' comes out before 2 PM on a Saturday.  We did get a lot of PR as several news stations and the acting mayor attended.
My boss being interviewed for Albany ABC news 10

Representing!
The program I run!

So needless to say it was an interesting day, somewhat successful and overall exhausting.  Hopefully the rest of the weekend I will be able to relax, workout and cook/bake something delicious!

Crazy Idea

So I have this crazy idea... I want to run a half marathon.  There, I said it!  Now that means I have to actually do it right?  I am thinking Washington D.C. or New York City in mid-March.  I have found a great program that I could follow but I am still in the (later) stage of convincing myself that 'yes, you can actually do this.'  I will keep you posted!