Eating out to Make Friends

So living in Austin, I have been going out a lot more, often times hardly ever eating home made lunches. I think it is generally because I want to go out with friends. Also because I do not want to eat at my desk and also because It hasn't been warm enough in general to go eat at the picnic benches outside. This excuse alone justifies in my head to go out and eat lunch with friends. Sometimes I go home, but it is too far of a drive to do often (10.9 miles each way). With warmer weather approaching on a more regular basis I am going to try to eat outside more often at the picnic benches with my own from home lunch. Not only will this be healthier, but it will reduce money spent as well.

I guess I just need to convince co-workers to make their lunches and eat with me. But I am pretty sure that is probably not happening as often as I would hope. Unless one of my friends who is currently an intern (mba student) ends up working with my company full time.

Do you have any tips on convincing people to bring their lunches with you and eat outside? If you bring your lunch, do you normally just eat it at your desk?

Other interesting news, yesterday on Woot.com, they had a refurbished ipod video 30g for only $99. I definitely bought that and am so excited. Now I can listen to movies/tv shows at work without having to stream anything and feel guitly about it. Even though, it honestly is the reason why I have been getting SOOO much more done. It reduces all distractions and for some reasons just makes me work. It also keeps me so focused that I even often times forget to eat a snack. Perfect right? :-)

Right now I am ripping the Six Feet Under dvds I have, and converting them to ipod format. Really not that hard to do. Now if only I had my new ipod with me right now!

I know a few of my readers like to read, so I wanted to let you in on a book I just read for the book club I am in . It was "A Spy in the House of Love" by Anais Nin. Not my favorite one of the books for book club, but it was interesting. It was a bit too poetic for me. Meaning it had too much fluff and the character, although interesting in a feminist way, was pretty much a terrible person. And not in the intuiging way as much as the irritating way. Oh well. I do not regret reading it though, and do find some of the concepts in it pretty interesting.

Have you ready any good books recently? Are you in a book club?

Food Eaten Today:
B: dry frosted shredded wheat, coffee w/ soy milk
S: trail mix (half a serving maybe?)
L: tomato soup, vegetarian cheese sandwich from le madeline
S: 2 oreos w/ strawberries
D: veggie lasagna, garlic bread, glass of wine (book club night)
Grade: C-

Exercise Today:
None

Exercise Tomorrow:
Run at town lake!

And I met........

I hope you all had a great weekend. I sure did.

On Friday I went to my friend Kim's house and had a wii party with a few friends. It was a lot of fun. Now I want a Wii, even though Kim said her Wii fit was mean to her, and she is tiny. Maybe it was mean to her because she was tiny? I forget.

On Saturday I ended up meeting Danny Devito! How crazy is that? A place in Austin was hosting an event where if you buy his Limoncello drink, then he will sign it. I went with Teddy and actually talked to him for a bit. Well okay he talked to me and I didn't know what to say. I had him sign Mike's Batman Return's dvd, yea know the one where he is the penguin, and then he started to talk in his penguin voice and start grabbing at me with his "fins". It was hilarious and awesome, and I think totally worth the wait.

Later that night I went and watched "I Love you, Man" with Kim and Teddy. We had a great time, and even got a free beer at the Alamo from it. After that we just went back to my place and have a few more drinks and chatted. It was quite a girl night, and a lot of fun!

On Sunday I finished my book for book club "A spy in the house of love" by Anais Nin. I do not reccomend this book to anyone. Basically a woman who is super anxiety and paranoid, who cheats on her husband constantly with a new man every week pretty much it seems and is depressed bc she feels bad for doing it, yet continues to do it. Lame. I also ended up doing lots of laundry and did some grocery shopping. I only got veggies and a few items that I need. No dinner items though. That is off limits.

I made stuffed pasta shells for dinner with a tasty sauce. And also made hummus, which I will be eating today. I will also be eating leftovers from dinner. Yea!

I plan on going to a bootcamp class tonight. I can't wait.

What are you doing today to keep in shape?

Planned Food
B: dry shredded wheat, coffee w/ soymilk
L: stuffed pasta shell
S: carrots & hummus, strawberries
D: something quick bc i will be starving after bootcamp

workout
Boot camp

Posting Another

In case I do not have time to write tomorrow, I wanted to write now because this is something I would like to blog about and not forgot about.

A co-worker of mine have been talking about going on runs together at Town Lake in Austin over the weeks. And today at lunch we decided to do it today. Although I ended up being sockless for the run, it was still an amazing run. We ran 3 miles and went at a really great pace. Faster for me than usual, but I was just so excited to be in the gorgeous town lake area and in good company that I couldnt help myself. We are planning on doing this at least 3 times a week. I am super excited and think we will be great running partners. Woo hoooooooooooo. She is also really great at keeping her commitments, which is fantastic. :-)

Also, I only have a small cut on my foot from running without socks. Not a big deal.

Teddy and I talked today about trying to eat more of our food we have at home and not going grocery shopping. This is really not as possible for her like it is for me though. I end up buying a lot of groceries and then forgetting about them and they just take up room in the freezer/fridge/pantry. I think I could probably go at least a month on buying just veggies, fruit and eggs/milk. I'm not kidding. So I decided to finally put up my "cooking menu calendar" I bought a few weeks ago, and wrote out a list of everything we currently had in the house right now that we could make into meals. So next time Mike or I says, "there's nothing to eat" we will look at the list and see we have a ton to eat and not go grocery shopping. I did this before and it worked out pretty well. Plus I end up eating all of my favorite meals more often. :-)

What are your tips for buying as little as possible at the grocery store?

Happy

I am very happy I live in Austin. Today is one of those days I feel like I just have to pinch myself because I am so happy here. Good friends, good job, amazing boy, cute pups, and an amazing place to do things. I feel much younger here than I ever have. Like I should actually be living my life, as opposed to just going home and watching tv and being boring. I really like this. I think I will go back to being boring in a few years, but right now, I am appreciating every moment of my life in Austin. :-)

In other news, I am losing some fo the sxsw weight already. But I did not check this morning because 1) you arent supposed to everyday and 2) i ate more than I should have last night, including more wine than I should have. oops.

Also I bought the new book by Heather Armstrong from Dooce.com and it is amazing. I am only 20 pages in, but I just want to consume all of it RIGHT NOW, but have not had time. Plus I need to finish a book for my book club on Tuesday. That should be first priority. Either way, check it out, it is called "It sucked and then I cried". It is about her pregnancy and experience with her daughter and husband and dog. She has one of my favorite styles of writing ever. Okay, it sounds like I am getting paid for this now, which I am not, so I will stop. It is just my new obsession (the book that is, her blog has been my obsession for years).

I am broke right now. But I have to go out to lunch today with a friend, and this weekend I have plans to do things as well. Can I just get paid right now? Please. Oh well. I will figure something out.

Oh, so I bought the chocolate weight watchers muffins the other day. For the past 2 days I have been eating one for breakfast with a bit of almond butter on it, and it is divine. like I am being "bad" even though it isnt that "bad". At least it has a lot of fiber right? Which is truly the best kept diet secret. heh.

Okay, I need to head out. I hope you are all doing well.

What are your extra special diet secrets that help you along your way?

Planned Food for the Day:
B: weight watchers muffin w/ almond butter, non fat iced latte
S: nutri grain bar
L: salad
S: fruit, veggies
D: leftover thai food

Planned Workout of the Day
Run at town lake if it is not raining.

Back in the swing of things

wow last week was ridiculous and amazing.

let me give a brief overview, and sorry if some is repeat.

Sunday: Cupcake Social 2.0, basketball
Monday: Food & Wine blogger bash, purevole
Tuesday: St Patty's day at the Tavern
Wednesday: Datapop
Thursday: Hulu Hut, Shopping
Friday: Downtown SXSW stuff, including The Bird and the Bee
Saturday: Downtown SXSW stuff, some hip hop stuff
Sunday: RESSSSSSSSSSSTTTT and getting things done.

I have never done that much stuff in a week. wow. That was a week of gluttony for sure. Starting Sunday I am back to the health kick.

I ate pretty well yesterday, bought healthy groceries and even went on a 2 mile run with the pups. I think I will stay back on track now. Need to relax after the SXSW madness.

This was my first SXSW experience. SXSW, from my experience, is essentially Austin opening up every single venue, restuarant and bar to music. Some you have to pay for, some you can get into for free. Drinks are super cheap at some places and super expensive at others. Everyone in Austin and tons of people not from Austin come together and listen to music, participate in the interactive show (which I wish I didn't miss), and watch movies at the film festival. It was pure madness, and amazingness.

Now that it is lighter later, I know I will want to go on more runs during the week, and actually can go (if my previous injury doesn't prevent me). I am pretty excited about lighter nights, it makes my evenings seem soo much longer than in the winter. Woo hoo!

Oh I got a calendar too for home where I am going to mark off every day I worked out and perhaps my weight on occasion. Right now I am at a very high point and feel whale-ish, but ehhhhhh. I am sure I can lose a few lbs in the next few weeks. Now if only the rest of the stubborn weight. Ehhhhhhhhhhhh.

Planned Food for the Day
B: dry shredded wheat, coffee w/ soy milk & raw sugar
S: nutri grain bar
L: avocado soup (i made it last night and it is amazing!!) with some bits of steak in it
S: carrots, salad
D: Healthy fried rice, or just a small portion of it... hmmm.

Planned Workout
Bikini bootcamp class or a run at home

Funny Thoughts

So last night, while drinking guiness in celebration of St Patty's day, I was talking with Mike and Teddy about how being skinny is so much less costly. You need less food to fill you up (in general) and less beer to get drunk. hahaha. I am saying this all in jest by the way. So anyway, I thought maybe I could just lose weight to save money instead of just feel better about myself. haha.

But for real, after this week of madness, i am stopping all beer consumption during the week, limiting it to only 1 day a week, max. And am getting serious. I have made decent choices food wise over the past few days for the most part, just not in the caloric beverage front. Makes a big difference.

Also will continue working out again a lot more.

I went to the park with Mike yesterday and the pups. I saw all kinds of runners, and people doing pull ups. I wanted to be out there running too, except I was also too tired to think from the night before. But still, the motivation has planted.

Today I am planning to go to a Datapop party, where people will be playing bitpop, which is according to wikipedia "Bitpop is a type of electronic music, where at least part of the music is made using old 8-bit computers, game consoles and little toy instruments. Popular choices are the Commodore 64, Game Boy, Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System." It should be pretty hilarious. If you are interested in what it sounds like check t his out: http://www.last.fm/listen/globaltags/bitpop

Should be a lot of dancing, and I am totally counting it as my workout. hahaha. jk.

Alright I need to head out. I will try to update as much as possible.

Good Times

I have been having a lot of good times in the last few days.

On Sunday I went to a cupcake social, where we got free cupcakes from all the local cupcake places (there are a ton, it is HUGE here for some delicious reason). After that I went with our group to go play basketball at a park. We ended up going to Phill's Ice house later where I got a mini burger, some sweet potato fries and of course a shiner. :-)

Yesterday I left work a bit early to go to a Food & Wine Blogger Bash with Teddy. Essentially a ton of food bloggers were there, we got free tasty food from whole foods, had two pretty austin famous chefs demo for us, and got a ton of blind wine tasting challenges. It was a whole lot of fun. I actually tried fish that I liked, as in thoroughly enjoyed. that is strange for me. but of course it was fish done by the uchi executive chef who is world renowned (he has been on iron chef, etc).

After that Teddy and I went to this bar that was featuring free drinks and a band teddy likes. We ended up actually running into some people we met last Halloween. It was pretty funny. I am always surprised when I see someone I know in Austin since I am so new here. (I feel).

Today I am either supposed to watch a film at the SXSW festival (if we can get in) or just hang out and celebrate St. Patty's day. :-)

I have determined that this week I will get absolutely no sleep, but will have a great time.

So far, so good. :-)

What have you been up to?

Bogged Down

I feel bogged down by food, when I really didn't eat THAT much today. I also know I gained back a few pounds I lost recently and am not happy about it. Clothes feel tighter, blah blah blah. Apparently when you workout once or not at all during the week and make some lame choices with food, you gain weight. Weird right? hehe. Just kidding.

I have however been getting better at eating salads. I went to this drive thru salad place in Austin, called Baby Greens. It was fabulous. I could eat it everyday. I also tried this goat cheese salad at Alamo Drafthouse and it was to die for. Prob not that good for you bc the goat cheese, but it makes it so you dont need any dressing at all, so maybe it balances it out? hehe.

Next week is SXSW, so everything in Austin is going to be crazy. Some shennanigens have already started this weekend, but I have yet to partake. Tomorrow I am going with Teddy and Mike to a cupcake social, where they are supposed to have free cupcakes. Mmmm. And on Monday I am going to a Food & Wine Magazine Food Blogger thing (Teddy got inivted and generously invited me as her plus one! score!!). I am super excited about it. There will be some celebrity chefs, some lessons on wine tasting, some free wine and food, all arranged at whole foods, etc. AMAZING.

I am pretty bummed about one thing though. My new friend Claire, who I had plans to go on walks with during lunch hours etc, just quit, her last day is Wednesday. BOO. I am going to try to convince another co-worker to go with walks with me. Hopefully it will work out. I can go alone though too, but it is nice to have a buddy with you. Plus less awkward if a co-worker is driving by and sees you. Not sure why that weirds me out, but it does for some reason. Ehhhhh. I am lame.

Tomorrow I need to spend time making some meals for the week so that I eat out less. I have been eating out a lot recently so that I can be more social and what not. But I need to just eat at home or at work and then go for walks or something. I will figure it out. I just hate eating at my desk, even if I use up my lunch hour some other way. People always ask about your food, and expect you to work while you are trying to eat. It is so irritating. I have complained about this before on here, but that is because it bugs me a lot. hehe. Oh well.

I am going into hardcore eating less, and working out starting tomorrow. Please keep me motivated as best as possible. haha.

Whew

I have some good news. I might have mentioned it yesterday in the short post. But it is really exciting, to me. I am still not feeling abnormal pain from my run the other day. I am however feeling sore in the inner thighs, back of the thighs, and my back and abs. It is like I am starting all over again. hahaha. Oh well. not a big deal to me.

My friend from work and I are starting the Couch to 5k thing, and are planning on actually doing on in a few months in the summer. That makes me nervous but if I have a friend or two, it will be amazing.

We are also going for a walk today during lunch. The place around here is pretty hilly, so it should be nice. Plus to be outside in weather that is nearing the 80s is always good. Too bad it is going to start getting cold in the next few days. BOO.

Last night I went to Green Pastures for Austin Restaurant week. It was a super fancy place with amazing food for only $25 each, plus wine. :-) Although I feel like miss chubby pants, it was worth it. I can work this off, but will never get the chance to eat that amazing food again for that price. hehe.

Work is going well. I am just super busy and super overwhelmed at times. Once I can figure out a way to make it all a little less overwhelming everything should calm down. Not sure how I can do that, but I am making plans to figure out how to get there soon.

Alright, I need head out for the day. Have a great day!

Planned Food for the Day:
B: dry cereal (kashi heart to heart, healthy capn crunch type cereal mix) about a serving
S: greek yogurt
L: thai fried rice leftovers
S: carrots, apples
D: Not sure...

Planned Workout:
1st session of couch to 5k.

Short

yes I am alive. Will update soon. Not staying on track in the food arena but am working out a bit more. Have a schedule with Claire to work out. Also I went on a run yesterday and my achilies tendon never ended up hurting. Woo hoo. I am going to start out slow and hopefully it remains fine!

Work is overwhelming right now, as well as my social life right now. Will get it all together soon and write more often.

Just Eat Less Already.

Okay, I decided to eat slower, and wait. I know this from tips I got on blogs and what not and how amazing it is, but also my friend and co-worker Claire was talking about how it was amazing for her. And I have done it before, but I am not the best at it. Claire suggested just give myself half of what I would normally eat, and then eat it and then wait. Still hungry, then eat, if not, do not.

Also, Claire and I decided today that on Monday and Thursdays we will pack our lunch on Monday and Thursday and go on a walk around the neighborhood for an hour. The neighborhood has a lot of hills, so should be good. Plus it will be nice to get out of the office. Especially since the weather seems to be getting warmer. Today it will be a nice 80 degrees.

Obviously I am eating outside today. How can you not with this weather? It is going to be amazing. Plus I get free lunch today. Woo hoo.

Any tips on how to eat slower?

Planned Food for the Day
B: kashi/some other healthy cereal mix, grande non fat latte
L: some pad tha firebowl (1/2 maybe), 1 ragoon
S: carrots, strawberries
D: sweet potatoes w/ maple syrup and walnuts

Planned Workout
Apartment gym (if mike leaves me the key, if not on demand)

Whew

The last week or so have been a blur. Seriously. I was shocked how fast the weekend came and how fast it was over. I can say that about every week I suppose, but this time everything was in fast forward or something. Weird.

The weekend turned out well overall. To review, on Friday I met up with Mike and a few of his work friends and his friend from out of town at this place called the Spiderhouse by the UT campus. After that we met up downtown and ended up hanging out (with Teddy as well at this point) until 2am ish. I did not end up getting to bed until 3am. On Saturday I did some errands and went to lunch with Mike and Phill's Ice House (which was amazing!!). Later that night we watched this movie called Chocolate, a muy thai bruce lee style movie. It was a lot more fun than I had anticipated. On Sunday I did a lot of errands and trying to do whatever I could to make the work week easier.

Today I worked all day. I got a lot done, but at the same time, I feel like the day ran away with me. I accomplished my goals, but felt like I should have had more done for some reason. But I feel like that all the time at work recently. So nothing new I suppose.

I also talked with my allergy doctor (well really the office manager there) about my outrageous bill from them that my insurance company refuses to cover bc of pre-existing condition lameness. I was able to work out a payment plan with her. She seemed extremely understanding and pretty much said just pay what you can when you can but keep her updated on everything. So even though it is a crappy situation, and I can think of MUCH better things to spend $554 on, at least she made it a little less crappy.

Even though I did not feel like going to the gym today I did convince myself to go to my favorite class. I went to "Bikini Bootcamp" with my favorite teacher. She kicked my ass there, and I will be cursing her name tomorrow (just kididng), but it has already lifted my spirits.

Tomorrow I am going to need to work out from home. I have a book club meeting I said I would go to, but I don't think I will be able to make it. I have not finished the book and I need to go home to rescue my dogs, etc. Blah blah blah. I hate to cancel like that, but I gotta do what I gotta do.

Plus this week I need to work some extra hours because I am taking a half day on Friday. On Friday I am going to go to Houston and watch the Suns vs Rockets game! Woo hoo. I will also be hanging out with Mike's family over the weekend, which is pretty exciting too.

I am going to try to fit in as many workouts as possible, as well as eating better. Always trying to do my best.

The scale for some reason was happy with me this morning, although I have not been doing my best. But maybe I have? Who knows.