<–she wears snow shorts!

This winter, the DC area has escaped snow storms left and right. All of the snow that has hit the East Coast has somehow missed us by just a few miles. Sure, we’ve been getting 2-3 inches here and there (and even a 5 incher), but nothing unmanageable…

…until today!

I’m definitely more than ready for spring to come, but a crazy snow storm is always just so magical.

***

I had a snack of trail mix + chocolate chips before lugging my butt to the gym to catch Ellen’s Birthday Episode (Happy Birthday, Ellen!!). This could only brighten up my day!

And brightened it up it did…

Today’s episode may have been one of the funniest episodes of Ellen…ever. I was hysterically laughing while incline walking on the treadmill. I had to cover my mouth a few times as not to disturb the other gymmers.

My dream job would be to work for The Ellen Show. How awesome would that be?!

I incline walked for 55 min. and did arm weights during the commercials (~15 min). I went from feeling blah and lethargic with a migraine headache, to feeling energetic and lively.

Thank you Ellen, thank you endorphins!

***

While working out the weather went from hail –> freezing rain –> snow. The 0.7 mile drive home was a scary one! This isn’t a blurry photo. The snow was comin’ DOWN.

Not to mention I wore shorts to the gym, as I do everyday. Who wears snow shorts?

For a post workout snack, I had a perfectly fried egg on a piece of toast with avocado. On the side, I had some greens with pasta sauce.

Orange and Greek yogurt x2.

***

For dinner, Peter prepared eggplant, fish and some other dishes. There were 5 plates total…for 3 people.

Scrumpsh!

***

Before I go, check out the comparison shots I took throughout the day.

2 PM

5 PM

7:30 PM

…and it’s supposed to continue for a few more hours!

***

Off to gawk at the snow s’more and then watch some American Idol + Australian Open. Have a great night.

Tell me: One thing that brightened your day. And snow…love it? or over it?

Hello!! How are you? I’m having a blast in San Francisco (duh, are you surprised?). I’m blogging midday (are you surprised s’more?). I’m getting faster as we speak . I’ve got too much to show you and the festival hasn’t even officially begun yet. Eeps!

***

I had plans to go running this morning but I took one look out the window and said “uhh yeah…NO.” It was dreary and really windy. I had visions of myself blowing away and tumbling down the hills of SF. Ha! Just kidding, I just got lazy and wanted to get my day started.

For breakfast, I ate a strawberry Chobani w/ some Uncle Sam Honey Almond cereal and 1/2 an AllieBar from my host’s kitchen (thanks, Suki!).

I was feeling the need for some fruit so I ate a few bites of frozen mango chunks.

Then I took the BART downtown to meet up with some other blogger friends for Ashley’s photography sesh. It was fun to learn some new tricks, ask questions and exchange information.

I snacked on an AllieBar during the sesh and throughout the day. I’m so grateful I brought a couple extra bars to keep me going in between meals.

Then a big group of us walked over to Cafe Gratitude for lunch, a high raw vegan restaurant.

I was a little bit worried about ordering something raw since I had such a bad experience (tummy wise) in Chicago, but things are so far so good…as of now! Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Again, it took me forever and a half to decide on what to order. The theme of my life.

I shared an appetizer, I Am Insightful Spring Rolls: Avocado, seasonal fruit, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, sprouts & fresh herbs wrapped in blanched collard greens. Served with Thai coconut-almond butter dipping sauce and coleslaw

A. MAZE. ING. sauce!!

I just wish there had been more avocado!

For my entree, I ordered the special of the day: Raw Falafel w/ hummus, olive tapenade, salad with tzatziki dressing and buckwheat crackers.

The falafel was good–very nutty. I think I prefer traditional deep friend falafel though .

I loved the hummus and buckwheat crackers! I had never eaten raw beets before. I think I prefer them cooked.

I guess I’m not going raw anytime soon .

Then we trekked back a few miles to the hotel to check-in and get our swag bag!

SWAG BAG!

Here’s a sneak peak.

I’m currently blogging in Kath and Emily’s room while sipping on my delicious 1/5th caf coffee and munching on an Attune chocolate bar.

(First red holiday cup from Sbux!)

I can’t believe the view from their room!!!

Time to change and get ready for our first official Foodbuzz Festival event tonight. I hope there’s good food! (Who am I kidding? I’m sure it’ll be amazing!).

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you later tonight with my food baby in tow.

Hey y’all! (I’m watching Paula Deen on the Food Network right now…can’t help it!).

How was your Halloween? We only had a few groups of kiddos ring our doorbell last night so I’ve got plenty of Halloween pretzels left to eat. I thought we would get more kids now that we live in a neighborhood but NOPE. Good thing I didn’t get a big bag of candy to hand out like I had planned!

This morning, I munched on some Halloween pretzels and Honey Nut Cheerios as a pre-workout snack.

Workout:

• 45 min. elliptical
• 15 min. leg weights

Post Workout:

Pumpkin Pie Wheatgrass Smoothie

• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 banana
• 1 packet wheat grass
• 2/3 cup almond milk
• 1 scoop protein powder
• water, ice, stevia

Next up, a little something I dreamt up while working out.

2 min. Microwave Pumpkin Pie on Cinnaraisin Ezekiel toast ‘crust’, topped with Greek yogurt ‘whipped cream’ and raspberries

Bread ~ ‘crust’

Greek yogurt ~ whipped cream

I went back for a messy bowl of Greek yogurt, berries, banana, and Cheerios.

***

Then I ran some errands at 2 humongous stores: Super Target and Wegman’s.

At Weg, I picked up an organic Pumpkin Spice tea I’d never seen before and [on-sale] Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea. I plan on buying many many many more boxes of this crack tea as the season progresses.

(I actually have a box leftover from last winter. I hoard SCSR tea like it’s going out of fashion.)

I also got 5 Chunks of Energy and ate ‘em all. One day, I will figure out how to make these.

I got home in time to watch Taylor Swift on Ellen and Portia de Rossi on Oprah.

Taylor was adorable. I’ve only been belting her songs day and night for the past week .

Portia discussed her battle with anorexia and bulimia as well as coming out in the Hollywood spotlight. She had me in tears! What a well-spoken lady. I never knew about her story until today. I want to read her new book now, Unbearable Lightness.

While watching, I snacked on some medjool dates. The ones we got from Costco are great–very soft and moist.

…dipped in hazelnut cream cheese of course.

I also had a few handfuls of Kettle Chips. This is definitely something I only eat because it is in the house…PETER!!

For dinner, I put together a simple salad.

Avocado, herbed goat cheese, diced tomatoes, perfectly fried egg and a slice of Ezekiel Bread.

It was the last of the goat cheese .

I also had a few bites of Peter’s cooking.

Now I am trying to figure out how to satisfy my chocolate craving with no chocolate in the house!

***

Becoming a Faster Blogger: Step 1

I’ve mentioned that it takes me an inordinate amount of time to blog. Part of the reason is that I put a lot of thought into what I write and I proofread my posts at least a dozen times before I press publish. The other part is that my laptop is incredibly slow and it can’t handle a lot of activity at one time. Sometimes, if I drag too many photos into my blog post, I have to restart the computer just to load more. This makes it very difficult for me to blog when I am short on time such as when I am on FUN TRIPS. It’s also just really annoying.

Recently, I’ve been using my mom’s super powerful laptop to blog and I’ve been enjoying the speed with which I can upload photos. However, it’s not practical for me to hog her computer all day and when I go out of town, I need something to speed my ancient laptop along.

Enter, the SD Card Reader.

My mom’s laptop (and most newer laptops) has a card reader on the side where I can insert my memory card directly. My laptop, however, doesn’t have one and therefore I have to use a cord.

With the cord, I have to download the photos before I can drag them into my blog posts. With the SD card reader, I DON’T have to download the photos. Instead, I can drag them into my blog posts directly.

This allows me to sort through the 80,000 photos I take on a daily basis without taking up a lot of my precious and limited computer memory.

I found this at Target for $7.99. I’m sure you could find a similar one online for cheaper but I am leaving for San Fran this Thursday!

OH! Also, with this gadget, I can drag my photos onto a blank CD and burn them there so I can back up my photos without having to take up computer memory space.

I can’t believe I didn’t buy this gadget a year ago!! I could have saved so much time. So long, farewell camera cord!

***

Have a great night and US peeps, don’t forget to vote tomorrow!

Tell me: Got a strategy to help me (and others) blog faster? Do tell!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I’ve got some fun flashback photos for you tonight.

Here I am on my very first Halloween wearing my brother’s Peter Pan hat. Major sweet tooth and super flexible…some things never change.

***

A couple years later, I was a pumpkin witch/custodian…?

I was quite the candy monster!

I think I was a witch for about 7 years in a row. In fact, I can’t remember not dressing up as a witch. Boo (as in thumbs down not the scary boo!). My mom always said costumes were too expensive for just one occasion and I could never convince her to make me a costume.

I did, however, get her to paint my nails BLACK!

…not sure why my face is blue and not green.

Confession: When I was in elementary school, I would eat my entire humongous stash of Halloween candy within a month! I ate several pieces a day, without my parents finding out (uhh hi, Mom).

I was and always will be a sugar lover!

***

Y’all have seen this photo already…Minnie Mouse!

Halloween 2008 in London.

Fast forward to today.

Workout:

• 47 min. elliptical
• 15 min. upper body strength training

Post workout:

To celebrate Halloween, I made a bowl of Orange and Black oatmeal!

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup orange pumpkin
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp black chia seeds
• 1 black Newman’s O’s cookie

With the pumpkin from my pumpkin-picking adventures yesterday!

Then it was time for some father-daughter bonding at Costco.

We participated in some trick-or-treating of our own with a multitude of samples.

From top to bottom: chips, pub mix, cheese quesadilla, queso blanco + salsa, pita chips + hummus, sushi + edamame, shrimp tempura, cheese + balsamic glaze, granola, peppermint bark, and pumpkin pie.

WHEW!

***

I picked up some medjool dates, Greek yogurt and raspberries.

Back home, I made a spinach salad with tuna (mixed with mustard), avocado and goat cheese. This bowl x2.

Then I broke into the beautiful [um no longer in season] raspberries.

Greek yogurt with chocolate pearls, pretzels, and raspberries. This bowl x2.

Now I’m eating candy and watching Titanic while waiting for trick-or-treaters to show up!

***

Tell me: What’s your favorite kind of candy? Did you gobble up your candy or make it last?

I used to love Skittles but now I am all about chocolate + caramel.

Last night I went to sleep excited to wake up this morning so I could eat, photograph and share all the ideas flowin’ through my head. I even cut off my workout a little early today because I just couldn’t wait to create. Talk about life before/after blogging .

Today, I recreated the 2 min. Microwave Pumpkin Pie I’ve been making for years. I topped it with some pecans and a delicious ‘icing’ made with Greek yogurt and hazelnut cream cheese.

I ate this several times a week when I studied abroad in London. Perhaps it stemmed from my disappointment about not being able to celebrate my favorite holiday that year (Thanksgiving). Not only did I miss out on green bean casserole and cranberry sauce, I worked from 5 AM to 9 PM that day!!

Although, celebrating Thanksgiving in the UK would be a little awkward, no?

I first came across this quick snack/dessert on Kath’s blog, almost 3 years ago. Did you catch that? 3 years ago! I have been following KERF for what feels like a lifetime….well about 1/7th of my life to be exact .

2 min. Microwave Pumpkin Pie

Mix together:

• 1/2 pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup egg whites (from an egg or carton)
• sweetener
• cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Microwave for 2 min. and voila! you’ve got pumpkin pie.

Note: If you add more pumpkin, it’s more like flan. If you add more egg whites, it’s more like cake. The recipe is pretty flexible.

For the icing, I used a mix of Greek yogurt, hazelnut cream cheese, and pumpkin pie spice. Topped with toasted pecans.

Mmmm!!

As for the hazelnut cream cheese (HCC)? I’ve been putting that sh*t on everything!!

(Catch that from the Frank’s Red Hot commercials? Ha!)

HCC Slathered on medjool dates.

I’ve been scraping off the cream in my Newman’s O’s and replacing it with HCC. Much better if you ask me!

That rhymed.

***

I also got the idea from Tina last night to make a quick pumpkin soup.

2 min. Microwave Pumpkin Soup

• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup veggie stock
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• Salt and Pepper

Stir together and microwave for, you guessed it…2 minutes!

Paired with my new favorite way to eat [cinnaraisin Ezekiel] bread…topped with buttery avocado!

Just chop, mash and spread around.

Healthy meals and snax do not have to take more than 2 minutes!

Photographing and blogging about them is a WHOLE ‘nother story .

Alrighty peeps, I hope you have a fabulous [Halloween] weekend. Peace out Girl/Boy Scout!

Tell me: What is one super quick meal/snack you enjoy making and eating?

Guess where I ended up today? Yep, DC…again! It’s funny, now that we live farther away from DC, I find myself going back more often. I’m making up for lost time, I suppose. There are actually quite a few things I have yet to see [in my own backyard] including the inside of the White House and Julia Child’s kitchen.

Anywho, today I ventured into the city to meet up with my brother and the ‘in laws’ for lunch. They are all getting together with my parents tomorrow night but I’ll be in Charlottesville. Since they are only in town for a few days, this was my one opportunity to meet up with them!

We ate lunch at Met Cafe, a charge-by-the-pound deli.

I was delighted to find that they had sushi! The best part was that since it was charge-by-the-pound I could get as little or as much as I wanted. I didn’t have to commit to a full roll and I could mix and match.

They also had a large salad + hot food bar.

I got a little bit of everything that appealed to me. Salad with avocado and other veggies.

A triangle of tofu.

Plus some sushi: a piece of the tuna avocado roll, a piece of the sweet potato noodle and rapini roll, and eel nigiri (my favorite!).

Then it was time to explore DC by foot! It was the perfect day for strolling around–sunny yet cool and breezy.

Amos, the native Wisconsin, was informing me about the buildings I’ve grown up seeing for all of my life .

The leaves were practically changing colors before our eyes!

Amos had his heart set on visiting The Supreme Court. I was eager to go as well because I had NEVER been! I probably wouldn’t have been able to find it on a map before today. I know I KNOW.

Check out this spiral staircase–there is nothing supporting it from the underside. It’s just jammed into the wall…really well . They are held in place by fit and pressure.

I was impressed.

There was an option to hear a lecture inside the courtroom but we passed.

Here’s a model of the courtroom.

***

So I go into DC by driving 1/3 of the way, taking a bus another 1/3 of the way and riding the metro the last 1/3 of the way. On the way back before I hopped into my car, I stopped by a brand new cupcake shop (2 blocks from my old house!!) just to take a peek.

Red Velvet Cupcakery. I’ve seen their listings on Craigslist so I knew they were opening up but I didn’t know today was the grand opening…

SCORE!!!!

I got a FREE carrot cupcake. I probably should have gotten the red velvet flavor considering the name of the bakery but you know I can’t ever ever ever pass up carrot.

I tried to save half for my mom but the whole thing got gobbled up! I was hungry .

***

Finally, I made it home and whipped up dinner in 5 min. flat for me and my mom.

I picked up this TJ’s Organic Vegetarian Chili the other day to try out.

SO GOOD!! Thick ‘n’ hearty.The texture of the tofu was very similar to beef—I could hardly tell it was vegetarian. I am definitely picking up a few more cans next time I visit TJ’s.

I ate it with Ezekiel bread.

Plus a salad.

Then it was time to give my oven some lovin’.

Enough AllieBars to feed an army and Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Blondies, but made with sweet potato puree this time.

Since I won’t be there with everyone tomorrow, I made them dessert. You know, so they’ll think of me .

My mom loved these blondies from my Project Food Blog dinner party and suggested I bake them for tomorrow.

As you can see above, there was plenty of taste testing for quality control purposes. I think I like the sweet potato better than the pumpkin in this recipe!

***

Alright, I gotta go pack for tomorrow and then sleep! See you from Charlottesville .

I’m running along the Mt. Vernon Trail with a poop bag dangling from my left hand and two leashes wrapped around my right hand. My right bicep is completely flexed as I try to keep up with two speeeeedy dogs. I look down at Garmy–I’m running at a 7:40 min/mi pace!? Woah. My butt cheeks flex as I try to slow down the dogs. All of a sudden they stop to sniff something. I turn my head and there’s a dead raccoon lying on the side of the trail…

EEEEEK!!! I scream bloody murder and quickly pull them away before they can even get close. I’m pretty sure every one on the trail thinks I’m psycho but that was NOT expected at all.

Whew!

We continue along as the following thoughts enter my head:

Please please please don’t poop….again.

Slow down, Pups! I can’t run as fast as your parents! Holy Olympic sprinters.

If I ever train for a marathon, I’m gonna find a dog to be my training buddy.

The people passing us are smiling. Probably because I look like a complete fool being pulled by two dogs.

I need a wagon!

***

The pups and I went on a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood at around 9 AM. They woke up at the crack of dawn (again) but I squeezed another couple hours of sleep out of them. Alas, they started sniffing my face and I had no choice but to get up.

Huey doing some morning yoga. Down dog…literally.

An hour later after some coffee + biscotti, they started barking and jumping uncontrollably. They wanted to go outside…again!!

We just got back from our walk!

Can you believe it?

I felt significantly better than yesterday (health-wise) so I figured a short run/walk would be okay.

Alrighty…let’s get these leashes on! This was my creative way to carry the house key and poop bags while running. Rubber bands are awesome.

We ran/walked ~2.5 miles in 35 minutes on the Mt. Vernon Trail. I should say we sprinted-at-light-speed and then walked back home huffing and puffing. I couldn’t get into a running groove at all because the dogs were running so darn fast and I had to make sure they stayed away from other people, dogs, and roadkill.

I came back and refueled with a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, this time made with 1 banana, 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1/2 cup almond milk, cinnamon, stevia.

Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel toast with 1/4 avocado spread on top–like butter!!

Pumpkin Greek yogurt and another slice of Ezekiel bread.

I’ve been using TJ’s Organic Pumpkin <–not good! It tastes way different than Libby’s. It’s alright in smoothies but it has a funky taste when eaten straight up or with yogurt. Meh.

I also got a can of the 365 brand from Whole Foods. I haven’t opened it yet but I’ll let you know how it measures up. Something tells me it won’t compare to Libby’s.

I think I successfully wore these two goobers out. No more crazy jumping and barking…for now at least.

..

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.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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Ahhh some peace and quiet, finally .

***

I’m going out to dinner with my brother tonight and checking out his new apartment. I’ll be back with a recap of yesterday and tonight when I get a chance. I have a feeling I’ll be busy entertaining these guys later.

I hope you’ve had a great weekend thus far!

Tell me: Do you exercise with your pet?

As I mentioned in NYC Part II, my dad and I trekked from Central Park to Chinatown on Monday. After Times Square, we headed towards Union Square in search of food.

Along the way, we stumbled upon Bryant Park.

We also found this sketch of Manhattan sitting outside a gift shop. A pencil drawing (!!!). It took Krikko, the artist, 4 years and 2496 pencils to complete this drawing.

I was completely blown away. I mean, is this not the coolest thing ever?

And then a few blocks later, we saw the actual Empire State Building.

We also walked through Eataly, a new Italian marketplace opened by Iron Chef Mario Batali and other restauranteurs, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Oscar Farinetti.

The place reminded me of a museum! There were different sections based on the type of food (seafood, meat, vegetables, pasta, gelato, etc.). We didn’t stay long because we were hungry. While there was plenty of food in Eataly, we were going for something a little more casual.

Two blocks before Union Square (where Whole Foods is located), we stopped by Garden of Eden and for some odd reason, I decided to get their salad bar to eat for lunch.

I’m still unsure why I didn’t just walk 2 more blocks to eat at the amazing WFs hot bar. We later walked through WFs to see what we missed out on and there were many many more delicious options in their prepared foods section. Oh well.

It was still good though! I got a little bit of everything: tofu crunch salad, sweet potato, turnips, shrimp, a brussels sprout, avocado salad, hearts of palm, Greek yogurt, berries, granola, and a lentil ball.

1 pound of food!

It may have been this lentil ball that convinced me to eat at Garden of Eden instead of Whole Foods. I was so intrigued by this thing. It tasted exactly like it looks–beany, hearty and a little bit mushy. I liked it a lot!

I also split a huge grapefruit with my dad.

We ate in Union Square Park right by this statue.

After fueling up, we walked through the Union Square Farmer’s Market and continued to explore until it was time for us to go our separate ways.

I went to a small blogger meet up while my dad walked to Chinatown.

I met up with Sharon and Rachel at Babycakes Bakery. Babycakes has been on my Bakery Bucket List for awhile now and I finally got to go!

I knew exactly what I wanted and I’m sure you can guess which cupcake I chose .

Spelt Flour Carrot Cake Cupcake!

Mmm!! It was one of the moistest cupcakes I’ve eaten.

Yeah, I said it…moistest.

Moistest. Moistest. Moistest.

My lovely company. Thanks girls for coming out to chat with me! Next time I’ll choose a less obscure time to meet up so more people can come!

Sharon brought me a few of her Pumpkin Oat Choco Chip Muffins that were delicious. They made great traveling snacks.

Then I walked to Chinatown to meet up with my dad.

We window shopped a bit and then bought some pastries/desserts at Canal Cafe Bakery Inc. to take back with us.

Afterwards, we walked ALLLL the way back up to our hotel by Central Park (!!!).

Ha! Just kidding. We took the Subway. My legs surely would have slapped me in the face if I walked anymore that day.

***

Can you believe this and part II ALL happened in ONE day?! Needless to say I was exhausted.

Up next: The last segment of my trip! Then we’ll be back to regular posting.

***

Tell me: What is one restaurant/bakery on your bucket list?

Three days ago, I broke out Honeycomb the space heater. Today, it was in the mid 70s and I think I may have gotten sunburned! I don’t know what’s going on but I’m really enjoying it! This flip-flopping weather is perfect for a grass-is-always-greener girl like me. When it’s warm, I want it to be cooler. When it’s cool, I want it to be warmer….and the weather is listening to me .

I ran a steamy 6 miles today. It was so so so windy! It seemed liked I was always running against the wind and never with it. At times, I felt like I was running in place with the wind pushing me back. It turned out to be a good run though, despite the crazy wind.

***

Post workout, I had a giant Pumpkin Pie Smoothie sans banana (we were out). I discovered that bananas are a key ingredient! I added more almond milk but it didn’t have the same creaminess to it.

Then it was time for this….

Oatmeal patty topped with pumpkin Greek yogurt, cinnamon apples and pecans.

I made a bowl of oats and pan fried it to form a patty. Of course, not without a mini-explosion in the microwave first.

Guff. This has happened to me more times than I can count. I had the power level at 4 too. Apparently, our new microwave is much more powerful than our old one.

***

New Ginger Snax

Last night, I picked up a bag of Ginger Chews from Trader Joe’s. I’m not really sure why. I’m not a huge straight up ginger fan. I love gingersnaps. I like eating ginger at sushi restaurants. I like gingerbread. But straight up ginger doesn’t do much for me.

I like these though…in a weird sorta way. Although, I can only eat 1/2 a piece at a time or else my mouth starts to burn! These are h-o-t-t.

Ginger-O’s

These are not nearly as gingery as the chews. They are like a Ginger flavored Oreo, but with a better ingredients list. I want to make a pumpkin ‘n’ cream smoothie with these. Like cookies ‘n’ cream with Oreos but using pumpkin and Ginger O’s instead.

Oh. My. Goodness.

***

Dinner involved this crazy looking creature.

Romaine salad with pan-roasted salmon, brussels sprouts, onions, green peppers, and avocado.

Plus a side of potato bread. We used to buy potato bread all the time when I was little. It’s not exactly whole grain bread but you don’t always have to eat whole grain bread. Sometimes you just wanna have white fluffy bread.

Side of leftover beets.

Dessert: more Ginger O’s and Ginger Chews.

***

I’m still waiting (im)patiently for the Geniuses at the Apple Store to call me. I hope my Macbook made it out alive! I apologize if my email responses are delayed. All my flagged emails got lost with the hard drive. If I don’t respond soon, please resend the email!

Alright, time to twiddle my thumbs and wait by my phone.

***

Tell me: Are you a ginger fan? What is your favorite ginger food/snack?

Oh hello.

When I turn on the oven, Peter’s blood pressure skyrockets. Neon dollar signs appear out of nowhere and cloud his vision. $$$$$

Peter is a not a big fan of the oven. He sees it as an energy bomb, which translates to an increased electric bill.

To save money and prevent my dad from getting a heart attack, I use the toaster oven to do a lot of my baking (and roasting). I actually find that my baked goods come out pretty well. I just have to lower the temperature by 20-30 degrees and pay a little more attention to the time.

Unfortunately our muffin tin doesn’t fit in the toaster oven, which makes it hard to bake muffins or cupcakes.

However, last night I found these jumbo foil baking cups that stand up without a muffin tin!

Cha-ching.

I found these hanging around the house but I’m sure they sell them at most grocery stores.

At around 11pm, I decided our very ripe avocado and bananas needed to become bread.

Avocado Banana Bread to be exact.

I changed up the amounts of flour based on what I had on hand (I used 1 cup oat flour, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/3 cup spelt flour). I didn’t notice a difference with the slightly different amounts.

I was able to fit a loaf pan and 3 jumbo muffins in the toaster oven. Success!

I ended up eating a muffin at around 12 midnight. They smelled too good to resist despite the late hour. Ironically I ate my muffin while watching Jillian Michaels on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Heh.

***

This morning, I made a muffin-cake by topping my muffin with pumpkin Greek yogurt.

…kinda like a cupcake.

Throughout the afternoon, I ate a couple slices warm, slathered in almond butter.

The super ripe avocado in this bread was simply fab.

***

The solution to all of life’s problems…

…or just the solution to staying warm while drinking smoothies even when it’s cold out.

I’ve had a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie everyday since last Friday. When I get back from my workout all I want is an ice cold smoothie. However, they leave me shivering cold now that it’s not steamy hot outside.

I found a solution though. Drink the smoothie before taking a hot shower. The hot shower cancels out the goosebumps caused by the smoothie.

Rocket science .

***

And then my hard drive died.

It crashed ‘n’ burned.

Oh frick.

I’ve actually been waiting for this to happen so I was kinda, somewhat, a little bit (not really) prepared for it’s death. Not for any real reason other than that it’s been 4 looooong years of daily use.

I tried saving it myself and then decided it would be best to take it to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store. Luckily, they had 1 appointment available. The incredibly friendly Genius informed me my poor little hard drive was fried and I needed a new one.

Oh double frick.

I think she saw the neon dollar signs flash before my eyes $$$$ because she immediately waived the labor costs for me. That way I only had to pay for the hard drive itself.

The thing is, my old hard drive was 60GB (super tiny!!!). They don’t even make them that small anymore. The minimum now is around 150GB so I am essentially getting an upgrade at the same time. At least something good is coming from the unfortunate situation, right?

Yes, I have my stuff backed up (I learned my lesson 2 years ago when my unbacked up laptop came very very close to dying). However, I haven’t backed up my computer in about 2 months so I think I lost a little bit of stuff. Nothing major though.

PSA: Back up your computer. NOW. If you don’t have an external hard drive go get one…

NOW! I am not joking around.

I left with a dead laptop and came home with this.

The Apple Store was right by Trader Joe’s so I soothed my soul by making a pit stop there.

***

Tell me: Has your hard drive ever crashed?

Reminders:

1) NYC Readers–email me if you want to meet up next Monday.

2) Last day to vote for me to advance to round 4 of the Project Food Blog contest. If you haven’t voted yet, please do! The competition is getting stiff and I need ALL the votes I can get.