Surf Sweets

How do you decide when to blog? Do you do it everyday? When the mood strikes? When you have something to post about? I've been trying to post two or three times a week, but this week I haven't a had a lot to post about, and I also wasn't really in the mood. Then I came home from yoga this morning and went straight to the computer to blog. Well, that's a lie, I fed the kitties first, THEN I went straight to the computer to blog.

Today, I have a little review for you. I was contacted recently by Surf Sweets, asking if I would like to do a review of their products. My response was a resounding yes yes yes!! I try to be healthy, I really do, but in my moments of weakness, I have a huge sweet tooth. And I LOVE candy. Now, I know we have a lot of chocolate lovers out there, and I'm not dissing chocolate, but I love CANDY. Fruity, sugary, jelly, crunchy, candy, in whatever colors of the rainbow I can get. When I was in high school I perpetually had a big bag of candy from the bulk section of the candy store in my backpack. Jelly beans were a favorite, but anything was fair game: lemonheads, raspberries, gummy bears, rock candy, sour patch kids, etc.

You get the point, right? I loved candy. Okay, I still love candy. The news that Skittles are now vegan was a very big deal for me.

So I was super excited to try out Surf Sweets Natural and Organic Candy. They are made with organic fruit juice, have no high fructose corn syrup, 100% RDA Vitamin C, gluten and casein free, non GMO, and made in the USA with natural flavors. Yummy! All that mattered to me was that they were vegan.

Vegan gummies? Sounds too good to be true, and be warned that for some of their products, it is. About half contain gelatin. But all the samples they sent me were animal product free, and I happily munched. And munched. And Munched (yes, I munched with a capital M that last time).

First up was the Sour Berry Bears. All a bright red raspberry color, these were super yummy. They were also in the smallest package, and were gobbled before any photo was taken. They're not super sour, but they have a bit of a twinge to them.

Next up was the Sour Worms. They came in a few flavors, maybe two or three, but they really had a strong flavor. In a good way. Like, the cherry really tasted like cherry not just some obscure "red" flavor.

Last, but most certainly not least, were the Fruity Bears. These were so cute, and kind of reminded me of a mix between gummy bears and fruit snacks.

Because they don't have gelatin in them (this goes for all the snacks), they don't have they chewiness that other gummies have. I don't miss that though, these were tender little bear shaped candies, in citrus and berry flavors that totally pop in your mouth and cover your teeth in sugary goodness.

The verdict? If I haven't made myself clear already, I love these! They're not an everyday thing, or even something I could keep in the house as I would eat them immediately. While they're made with better ingredients than other gummies, the first ingredient is still organic evaporated cane juice...and that is still sugar. I don't think they're trying to fool anyone with that though, these are clearly meant to be a treat. I especially love that you have the option to buy little treat size packages: the small package of Sour Berry Bears is only 80 calories.

If you are getting nostalgic candy cravings, as I did when I got the email from them, I saw these are Whole Foods yesterday, and they actually only had the vegan varieties, which was nice!

Have a good day people! My birthday is coming up, so I'll have some fun stuff to post about soon.

What I've Been Up To (In Pictures)

Well, first of all Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope whatever December holiday you celebrate treated you well, and that you had a great New Year's celebration! Ivan would personally like to wish you a belated Merry Christmas though.

I know I haven't been around much. Frankly, I don't have much time for cooking, let alone blogging, and I've been debating whether or not to even keep doing it. In fact, I told Nick yesterday that I was going to stop....but I don't think I can. Just expect me to be posting less frequently (although, I'm sure most of you have figured that one out by now). Anyway, this is just some pictures of what I've been up to.

Pignoli Almond Cookies from 'Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar'. Also my first experience with almond paste!

Isa shared the recipe for these!

This Purely Chocolate drink from Bolthouse Farms is really good. I reviewed the Vanilla Chai almost a year ago, but this might be even better: super creamy, fruit sweetened, high in protein.

Vegan Breakfast Sandwiches from Vegan Yum Yum. These took a good long time to make, since it was my first homemade biscuit experience, but they were really good. Definitely one of Nick's favorites.

Spelt Biscuits

'Egg'

Maple Tofu

After a long day out Christmas shopping, we didn't want to spend a lot of money on eating out, or spend a lot of time making dinner, but I really wanted some 'Italian food'. I've been wanting to try these for awhile, and at the time, it hit the spot.

Perhaps not authentic Italian, but I had the lasagna, and it was pretty yummy, made with a soy ricotta filling.

My pride and joy of the holidays was definitely the Peppermint Patties I had intentions of making for many friends and family. However, after a day FULL of candy making (there were chocolate caramels too), I really didn't want to see chocolate again for awhile. So, this tin went to my best friend, and once I got over my chocolate overload, my husband and I finished the rest because they were incredibly delicious. They are NOT healthy, but really awesome, and you can find the recipe here. I used brown rice syrup and doubled the mint extract.

Not pictured, I also made some peanut brittle and pecan clusters for my grandparents. I was in Christmas overload at that point, and forgot to snap a quick picture before they were gifted.

I end with the candy for a very specific reason. One of the reasons I was considering quitting the blogging was because since I started, I have gained a significant amount of weight. I don't look incredibly different, but despite working out consistently, my clothes don't fit. I feel like I have to focus more on my health than on trying to make 'blog-worthy' food. So, in the New Year, expect things to be a little healthier.

Also, expect things to be spiralized.

One of the gifts I was lucky to get this year was a spiralizer. Ivan likes the box, and I'm already loving the thing.

So, that is where I have been, and I hope to not completely drop off the radar for so long anytime soon. Enjoy the new year, eat some black eyed peas!!

Pear Berry-Jam Muffins

I know that fall is synonymous with apples, but pears are really the fruit that has always done it for me. Since they aren't grown locally, their season is sort of muddled, but now is when they're on sale, and now is when Trader Joe's sells a 1/2 peck of them for a few dollars. That, in my pear-loving book, is a deal.

I mostly like my pears unadulterated. Yes, a baked pear is nice, and they could be a nice addition to a salad, but for the most part, I just bite right in.

For this particular 1/2 peck of pears, I made an exception, and modified the Jam-Filled Oat Bran Muffins in Joy of Vegan Baking to include some of these perfectly ripened pieces of fruit.

Pear Berry-Jam Muffins (modified from JoVB)

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

6 Tbsp water

2 cups oat bran

1 cup spelt flour (could sub any other flour, AP or WW, etc)

1/2 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup unsweetened soymilk

1/3 cup sunflower oil (use any light oil)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups chopped pears

1/2 cup blackberry preserves

I've been on a Trader Joe's 'kick' recently (I love the Chili-Lime cashews), and have been buying more and more stuff from them. One of my recent purchases was of my most favorite kind of jelly/jam/preserve, blackberry.

The fact that its low(er) in sugar makes it even better. The lack of sugar is definitely noticeable, but it actually lets the taste of the blackberry peek through a little more. I felt this would pair with my pears perfectly; the deep purple next to the light green is a beautiful contrast, plus...it tastes good.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Whip the flaxseed and water to make your "flax egg" (I like to use a mini-food processor or my Magic Bullet for this job)

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients (even the sugar!): flour, oat bran, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt.

In a small bowl combine the wet: milk, vanilla, oil, flax "egg" mixture.

Stir the pears into the wet mixture, then combine wet with dry, stirring until just combined.

Take out your muffin tins and either grease or apply muffin cups.

Fill cups halfway with muffin batter.

Using a 1/2 tsp, scoop out a dollop of jam (about 1 tsp).

Nestle the jam in the batter, then cover the jam with another spoonful of batter.

Bake 15-20 minutes. I took mine out around 18 minutes.

These came out completely perfectly. Little chunks of pear in a muffin that is warm with whole grain nuttiness from the oat bran, and then the jam...who doesn't like something filled with jam?

If you want to get crazy, these probably wouldn't mind being highlighted with some walnuts too, nuts in muffins just aren't my thing.

I made a half batch of these, and I came out with about 9 muffins. So plan for 16-18.

Nutrition Information: 158.7 Calories; 5.5g Total Fat; 0.5g Saturated Fat; 0.0mg Cholesterol; 24.2g Carbohydrates; 3.5g Fiber; 3.4g Protein.

If anyone is wondering about the sporadic-ness of the nutrition information, that is because while I don't count calories, I liked to calculate in the past to highlight how healthy vegan food is. I don't necessarily have the time for that now, but if I do have time, or if I'm curious myself (as I was for these), I'll post it! And if there is anything where I don't post it, and YOU are curious, let me know, I'd be more than happy to calculate for you!

One last thing...Bianca posted about this the other day, and while I assume I must be the last to know, maybe this will light up someone else's life as it did mine...

Skittles are vegan! This makes me incredibly happy, as they were always one of my favorites (back in high school, I logged onto their website everyday at work to vote to keep the green lime, and not apple). If you buy a pack now, you'll see under the ingredients that they are Gluten Free and Gelatin Free. Pretty cool. Healthy? No. Fake fruit flavored sugary goodness? Yes. Granted, they're a "once in awhile" food, but its nice to know they're there, and they're animal-free.

Enjoy the rest of your Columbus Day weekend! Hopefully you have some festivals to go to, fall is in full swing!

Where in the world...

Where in the world have I been? I actually have a good answer. Last week my family decided to invite me on vacation with them. Since they called on Tuesday night and were leaving early Thursday morning, this didn't leave me a lot of time for anything, let alone blogging. Such is life though, right? We spent a few days in Bar Harbor, Maine, then a few in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and now we're back in Portland, Maine, and should be heading home today. But we're finally in a hotel with free internet that works, and its early and I can't sleep so...hello!

While we were in Bar Harbor, we went whale watching:

We had breakfast at this little place called the 2 Cats Cafe almost every day:

We went for a bike ride/hiked/drove around Acadia National Park:

Even found a little place called CJ's that served some really good vegan ice cream!:

All in all, Bar Harbor ended up being a very veg friendly town. I don't really have any pictures from Halifax, but we did a lot of historical stuff (visited the Citadel, the Maritime museum, saw Harry Potter...what, you don't consider that historical?), and it was also extremely veg friendly. We didn't actually go anywhere that was solely a vegetarian establishment, but most of the places we went to had really good veg options, or were more than willing to make substitutions or some odd sounding concoction for me (one night I just felt like steamed veggies in marinara sauce..."No, no pasta thank you. Yes, I'm sure.")

Just in case you ever find yourself in Bar Harbor, here is my list of places to visit: A&B Naturals, CJ's Big Dipper (the soy ice cream is in the gelato case), Gringo's Mexican Cafe, Siam Orchid Thai, 2 Cats Cafe.

As for Halifax, we weren't there as long, but we had great success at Mexicali Rosa's, Hamachi House (the location on Barrington), Ray's Lebanese Cuisine, and Sugah!. As far as food options go, I wish we could have stayed in Halifax longer, they had a huge variety of different ethnicities that I don't normally see.

It has been kind of a crazy summer, but in a good way! I'll be back home on Monday and will get all caught up on everyone's blogs, I hope you all are enjoying your summers too!!

Monster Hash

So the color makes this more appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day, the title more appropriate for Halloween, but I figure it is irrelevant since I didn’t get to post this on Valentine’s Day anyway, right?  

My brother loves anything with potatoes, and I’ve had some pretty Austrian Fingerlings sitting in the crisper for the past few weeks, so I decided to make him some hash browns for breakfast, since it was Valentine’s Day, and I was being nice.  Of course, I couldn’t just make hash browns.  I mean...just pure potatoes?  Not healthy enough.  So I made Broccoli-Potato Hash Browns, using my food processor to grate the potatoes and broccoli, which worked so incredibly well, it made my day.

We had it with my Tempeh Bacon Hash, which I posted a loose recipe for a few weeks ago, but I figured I would post it more officially here, since it has become one of my favorites.  

Double Hash for 2

Broccoli-Potato Hash Browns

2 cups potatoes, grated

2 cups broccoli, cooked until slightly crisp, and grated 

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Press it an oiled pan and cook until browned on one side, and flip (I do this in pieces, I don’t flip the whole thing).  

2.  Cook on the other side.  I tend to flip it a few times until it is cooked through.  

Tempeh Bacon Hash

1 package tempeh (8oz), crumbled

4 tsp Bragg’s/tamari/soy sauce

4 tsp agave nectar (honey can sub for this if you aren’t vegan)

4 tbsp ketchup

4 tbsp water

liquid smoke to taste, about 1/8 tsp

1. Mix together the crumbled tempeh with all the other ingredients, let marinate while you do something else (like cook the broccoli-potato hash, or whatever else you might be making with it).

2.  Spread in an oiled pan, cooking until it gets kind of golden-brown, and then you want to keep turning it until it is slightly crispy and golden all over.

Totally easy; minimal, simple ingredients, and best eaten all mixed together. 

Meal Totals

Serves 2*

Nutrition Information:  465.4 Calories;  12.7g Total Protein;  2.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  66.4g Carbohydrates;  7.8g Fiber;  29.9g Protein.  

*This could probably serve 3 or 4 people, but for my brother and I it was appropriate, I like a big breakfast.   

Besides breakfast, I did spend the rest of my Valentine’s Day with my brother.  We went on a little road trip to good old Pennsylvania.  He wanted to go to Sonic.  I was not thrilled with this idea, but I did a Happy Cow search for stuff nearby, and found that Vegan Treats Bakery was only a few short miles away.  So off we went.  

Two hours later, we had our very first Sonic experience.  Of course, there wasn’t really anything for me to eat there, but I did get a limeade!  Their drinks were always what intrigued me anyway.  My brother got some kind of bacon burger on texas toast, which he said was good.  My limeade (diet limeade, actually) was really good.  And, we went during “Happy Hour”, so it was only $0.90. 

 

(Yes, that is the actually scenery, we were in the middle of NOWHERE)

Next, we headed over to Vegan Treats, who have been featured in VegNews a number of times.  My brother was already stuffed, but he was a good sport and had a giant cookie.  I also got a giant cookie for my dad, a cupcake for my mom, and some carrot cake and a mini vegan Oreo cheesecake for myself.  

Yes, two cakes for me.  I ate the carrot cake right in the car, haha.  I forgot a fork, so...hands it was, right out of the box.  No, it was not a pretty sight (ask my brother)...but it was delicious.  Actually, the cake was delicious, the frosting wasn’t cream cheesey enough for me.  I could tell just by looking at it that it was too white, but the cake part was worth it.  

The only problem with this little adventure is that I haven’t been eating a lot of sugar lately.  By cutting out eating sugar after 8, I haven’t really been eating any sugar besides some carob raisins here and there.  So, this carrot cake went straight to me head and I had a headache in about 20 minutes.  

I still had to taste the Oreo cheesecake when I got home though.  You can see it has a kind of Oreo mousse on top...that was fantastic.  The cheesecake itself didn’t really taste like much, which was disappointing.  I actually liked the cheesecake we made for Thanksgiving more than this one.  Maybe they have yet to discover Tofutti?  I mean, I don’t think it is hard to mimic the cream cheese flavor, which I clearly love since both things I bought were (or should have been) cream cheesey.  Oh, and I can tell you that the cookies my dad and brother had were delicious, because I had a taste of my brother’s, and my mom said the cupcake was good.  So, my suggestion is to just avoid the cheesecake.  Not that it is bad, it just isn’t worth the calories, in my opinion.  They have soft serve soy ice cream and doughnuts too.

I was greeted with a nice surprise when I got home too.  Up until now, it was looking like my brother was going to my Valentine this year, and...not that I don’t love him but...well that’s kind of weird.  But I came home to find a Valentine’s Day surprise.  

This pictures isn’t very good, but on the bottom right is an orange and red rose.  I’m sure you’ve seen them, its kind of mixed, and it is my favorite.  There were a few of them, but you can only see one in this picture.  

I also got a turtle in a can.  I mentioned in my posts about my trip to Hawaii that my husband and I are really fond of the turtles, and we would go and visit them often.  So, he sent me a turtle in a can.  Like, I used a can opener to open it, and this little guy popped out.  

He is so cute, although Zoe is a little wary.  

Oh, I also wanted to follow up on the Chilies & Cherries ChocoLove bar.  It was possibly the best piece of chocolate I have ever had.  I’m not really a huge chocolate person, but I ate the whole thing.  I will usually only have a piece or two at a time (I mean like, a square at a time), but I happily ate the whole thing.  Yes, before the 8 PM sugar cutoff (not hard when you go to bed at 9:30).        

Speaking of 9:30, it is rapidly approaching bedtime.  I did want to mention quickly that we went to see Coraline today, and it was...weird.  The 3D was cool, although you kind of forgot about it after a few minutes.  But the movie was just...weird.  I can't really recommend or NOT recommend it, it was just...weird.  Although, I went into it having no clue what it was about, so that may have affected my opinion.  I think I may have liked it more if I had an idea of what it was about beforehand...so check it out before you see it!

I am doing a raw day tomorrow, plus more running and more yoga, and I'm so excited for it.  I hope everyone is having a good weekend!     

A Story of Amalgamation

There once was a girl named Gina.  One day, her life got a little busy.  Then it got busier.  Then, when things started to calm down, her internet went out.  With blogging never far from her mind, what was Gina to do with so many pictures and intended posts backed up in her mind?  

She makes one big wrap up post for the week, obviously.  And this is it.  

For your convenience, I have provided you with a table of contents.  Feel free to go make fun of me behind my back.  

Part 1 -  Buffalo Popcorn

Part 2 -  Stuff I Bought

Part 3 -  Chili Bites

Part 4 -  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookies

Part 5 -  Sweet and Spicy Scramble

Part 6 -  Working out and Yoga

Part 7 -  Student Teaching Update

Part 8 -  Leftovers

Part 1 -  Buffalo Popcorn

I mentioned that while I was in Hawaii last weekend, my husband and I visited Borders a few times.  We both had gift certificates, and I walked away with a book called Popcorn.  If you are thinking “a whole book on popcorn??”...well that is what my mom thought too.  But it is very cool.  On Tuesday I made the Spicy Buffalo Popcorn recipe (using Earth Balance instead of butter).  

It was very cool, but I think I need some higher quality popcorn, because a lot of mine just melted away.  There was a whole into about popcorn, its history and the different kinds, and I think mine is just cheap.  No matter though, it was still really really yummy.  Some of the other recipes are Matcha Green Tea Popcorn, Chai Spiced Popcorn, Tequila Lime Popcorn, Candy Cane Popcorn, and a whole lot more.  There are also popcorn bars, and popcorn balls, and some very not-vegan entree recipes.  But all in all, it is such a cool little book.  

Part 2 -  Stuff I Bought

I have been making a weekly trip to Nature’s Pantry (my own personal heaven), because it is pretty close to where I am teaching.  I’ve also been having a Live Pumpkin GoRaw bar every day, and that is the only place I know that sells them.  Anyway, I made a really quick trip this week, but I came away with

Okara Burgers

You can make them in a toaster!!  I don’t know if I am behind the times and this is a common thing, but I don’t usually see that.  Each patty, made by SoyBoy (which are individually wrapped) has 130 calories and 13g of protein.  I have been eating lunch on my way home from school, so I made one of these (in the toaster) before I left in the morning and topped it with this awesome hummus I also bought at Nature’s Pantry this week.  

Moshe’s Original Hummus

I have to say that this is some of the best hummus I have ever had.  I’m also glad that I got the original instead of the flavored, because you can really taste all the different components, especially the lemon and garlic.  So delicious!  It has a little more calories than other hummus that I have bought, but it is so worth it.  It also has more protein.  I serving (2 Tbsp) is 100 calories and 5g protein.

Part 3 -  Chili Bites

Okay, I debated posting this at all, but I decided that my ultimate conclusion was worth mentioning.  

A few weeks ago I had a coupon for any LightLife product.  Actually, two coupons.  I used the first to buy Smart Bacon, which I really liked.  I also bought their Gimmie Lean "Beef" product and was waiting for a good opportunity to use it.  Well, I’m all about making my food portable lately, so I figured little “meat”loaf muffins would work well.  Even better...chili “meat”loaf muffins.

Everything *worked*.  I just couldn’t get over the taste of the Gimmie Lean.  I thought it was icky.  And I added A LOT of spices in there, as well as corn and whole wheat saltine crumbs.  They’re edible.  I’ll probably have a few more, but I doubt I’ll be able to eat the whole batch.  I still like the idea though, and I have some thoughts on how to change it rolling around in my head, so we’ll see what happens.  

Part 4 -  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookies

If you are skimming or scrolling down to the section you want to read, I hope that this is one of them.  I have been having some kind of variation of my Breakfast Cookie for breakfast every day that I go to work.  I have a few fun ideas for variations, and this one worked out so very well. 

Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookies

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup vanilla protein powder

1 banana

6 tbsp agave nectar

2 tbsp water

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp coconut oil, liquified

 In a large bowl combine the oats, flax meal, chopped walnuts, salt, and protein powder

 In a blender, combine the banana, agave nectar, water, and coconut oil, blending until combined, but not completely smooth...I like being able to taste small chunks of banana.

 Pour the wet into the dry and mix until well combined.

 Form into 8 cookies, and let chill overnight.

Someone asked me last time if you could use something besides coconut oil.  I haven’t tried it, but I can’t see why not.  I would suggest another quality oil, like walnut, or apricot, but canola or vegetable would be fine too.  Hopefully it goes without saying, but just in case, don’t use olive oil.

Serves 4

Nutrition Information:  471.0 Calories;  23.5g Total Fat;  7.3g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  46.5g Carbohydrates;  8.7g Fiber;  25.9g Protein.

These are stickier than the last Breakfast Cookies I posted about, so you really can’t eat them immediately, they need the chilling time to set up.  They are also considerably softer, but are still hard enough to stick in your pocket because you are carrying too much stuff as you walk out to your car in the morning.  Also, same as the last ones, they aren’t going to crumble all over you while you are driving.  But, they are definitely very filling.  I thought the last two batches were filling, but either I wasn’t very hungry yesterday morning, or these were even MORE filling.  I seriously get excited for breakfast every morning, even though it is these same darn cookies.  They’re awesome.

Part 5 -  Sweet and Spicy Scramble

As much as I love my Breakfast Cookies, I was excited to be able to sit down to a warm breakfast this morning.  I had plenty of time before yoga at 10, since I am so used to getting up early, I was up at 6:30.  I really like it too, gives me plenty of stuff to do the stuff I fall behind on during the week...like laundry.  

Anyway, I had this Sweet and Spicy Tofu Scramble this morning.  I still wanted a big breakfast since I needed it to last through yoga, and this definitely fit the bill.

  

7oz extra-firm tofu

1/2 green pepper, roughly chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, sliced, diced, however you want it

1/2 Tbsp tamari (or soy sauce, or Bragg’s)

1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste, I used more, just being safe)

1 Tbsp vegan cream cheese

1/2 Tbsp agave nectar

salt & pepper to taste (optional, I didn’t use any)

Know how to make tofu scramble already?  Then just do your thing, saving the toffuti for after you add the spices, and then drizzle with the agave nectar.  

If you want some more specific directions:

 Heat a pan over medium heat, add the vegetables, the tamari, and 2 Tbps of water.  Cook until softened.

 Squeeze the tofu to get some of the water out (you don’t have to go crazy, you don’t need to press it, but you don’t want it dripping either), and crumble it into the pan.  

 Quickly add the spices, and mix until the tofu is consistently a bright yellow.

 Add the vegan cream cheese to the scramble, and combine until melted.  It should look creamy and yummy at this point.  

 Remove from the heat, and drizzle with the agave nectar, and mix to combine.  

 Check for spices and seasoning.  

Serves 1

Nutrition Information:  353.9 Calories;  13.4g Total Fat;  2.4g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  32.7g Carbohydrates;  8.9g Fiber;  25.9g Protein.

This was totally what I needed this morning.  I added some Ezekiel bread with the last of my pear butter, and a big cup of Lipton Pyramid Tea that I got a sample of in the mail.  It was really good.  I’m not as big a fan of white tea, because I don’t think it tastes like much, but this was pretty good. 

Part 6 -  Working Out and Yoga

So, remember the workout that I said I hated?  Guess what?  I hated it.  Well, not that I hated it, but it wasn’t motivating for me.  So on the fly yesterday, I completely changed it and went back to a version of a 5x5.  Instead of posting it all at once, I am going to post it progressively.  

5x5 Day 1

Squats 5 sets or 5 reps (~80lbs)

Bench Press (barbell) 5 sets of 5 reps (~60lbs)

Rows (dumbbell) 5 sets of 5 reps (~35lbs)

--

Pullups (assisted pullup machine) 3 sets of 10 reps (~55lbs)

Hyperextensions 3 sets of 10 reps (~25lbs)

--

Bicep Curls 3 sets of 10 reps (~15lbs)

Rear Delt Lat Raise 3 sets of 10 reps (~10lbs)

The first group, the 5 sets of 5, are done individually, while the second two groups and supersets.  The weights are just a general idea of where I started...which doesn’t really give a great representation of where I am right now, because I have used a lot more recently, but its always less when I first start a program.  I’ll try to remember to let you guys know how it is at the end.  If I am feeling good on this one, I might stick with it for 8 weeks this time.  

Yoga has been going really well.  On Thursday, our instructor spent a good half hour (of a 90 minute class) working on partner yoga.  I was his guinea pig, which was fun, because I got to do everything, instead of having a partner who was scared of some stuff (which happened a few weeks ago).  Don’t get me wrong, I like teaching and helping people, but I don’t go to this class to help other people, I go so that the teachers can help ME...if that makes sense.  He is planning on doing a partner class one week, which would be fun...if I can get my friend to go...she knows who she is, haha.  She came with me this morning, but we don’t do a lot of partner stuff on the weekends because the class is so much larger.  Thursday there were seven people.  Today there were about twenty.  

In other news, I mentioned in my last program that I was going to start running more.  This became difficult when my knee started to hurt.  Which can only mean one thing...time for a new pair of running shoes.  

I ended up with a new pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 5, and I am very excited to start running in them.  It is supposed to be in the 50s tomorrow, so maybe I’ll get to try them outside!  

Part 7 - Student Teaching Update

When I first started student teaching, Heather kept commenting that she couldn’t wait to hear stories.  And I kept thinking “Oh no, what if I don’t have any stories?”

So, Heather, this story is for you.

We have been doing acids and bases, and one of the teachers who shares our room has been doing the same unit (hers is a higher level class though).  Well, in our lab yesterday, we were using sodium hydroxide pellets (NaOH).  Mini Chem lesson time:  NaOH is a base.  A strong base.  Bases react with water, so if you get a strong base (or acid for that matter) on your hand, it will react with your sweat, and the water in your hand, and burn you.  Well, in order to impress the importance of lab safety, I told them what happened when the other teacher’s class used sodium hydroxide the day before.  

One of the students ended up in the emergency room later that day, with second degrees burns....down her pants.  It is most important to mention at this point that this particular student...was wearing leggings.  Leggings.  How does one get pellets of base down one’s skin tight pants?

You can’t make this stuff up, I swear.  

Really though, working at this school has been fantastic so far.  For the most part, kids and kids, and they will come and go, but the people that work there, are so great.  Not to mention the fact that my mentor teacher is awesome.  I have taken over all of his classes now, and he’s been nice enough to just leave the room and let me do my thing.  I can tell you right now that I will cry when I leave this place.  I’m already sad thinking that it is almost half over.    

Part 8 - The Leftovers

We have three leftovers today.  

1.  This was the dinner I had from Down to Earth, on the place, on my way home.  

I know it is from awhile ago, but it was really good and I wanted to share.  Try to picture it with cucumbers and green peppers...if you remember, I made sure to eat them before I got on the plane.  

2.  These are the sweet & sara marshmallows that are made in NY, but I finally found in HI.  I already talked about them, and I think they’re okay.  

I guess they call them marshmallow meltaways for a reason.  In a weird way, it is a more accurate description of what they are.  They’re okay, but not something I’m going crazy over.  

3.  I saved the best for last.  During one of our many trips to Borders while I was in Hawaii, I found this shea butter based chap stick.  It is totally and completely so awesome.  

If you aren’t aware, most chap sticks are made with beeswax and therefore aren’t vegan.  I got the grapefruit flavor and it smells so good.  If you ever find this stuff, whether you are vegan or not, I highly suggest it, it is so good.  Smooth, easy to apply, smells great, a little shiny, etc.  Okay, so the shiny part may be offputting if you are a guy, but my brother used it today and didn’t complain.  I would LOVE to link to them for you, but I can't find anything about them.  If you are looking for a good vegan lip balm, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has a recommendation (that she made on her last podcast) and a coupon code if you visit her website.    

Part 9 - ...Just Kidding

So, I will try my best to not go this long again...the Geek Squad is coming on Tuesday, so hopefully posting will be smoother after that.  Oh, and if you are wondering how I am posting now, it is because we can plug in directly, but it is in the basement and I rarely go down there.  I made a special trip for you guys!  

I will be catching up on blogs as much as possible, but please excuse my being horribly behind.  Please? 

I hope everyone had a fabulous week, has a fabulous (and if you are in the northeast, warm!) weekend, and has a fabulous upcoming week!