A Work Blog Post

Whew, 4 meeting in a row this morning and then 1 in the afternoon.  It's been a busy day!

At work today, after a staff meeting, I went over to one of the new staff members and introduced myself.  I came to find out that she already knew who I was, "Oh, I was told to contact you to learn more about getting an MPH. I'm interested in UMD. I read your staff blog post."  Ah, she had read a blog post I wrote for work regarding this University of Maryland MPH event that I went to last fall. It's nice to hear that a) people at work actually read the blog post and that b) it perked someone's interest in getting an MPH!

Recipe #4 of 2015

Ok, so I didn't make it to both spin classes today, but I did make it to the 1-hour one and then walked a mile on the treadmill afterwards.  Then I went to get some ingredients for this spinach lasagna roll recipe that I found online.  The directions say to chop the spinach.  Yeahumno.  I did that for a little bit and then decided to take out my food processor.  A few pushes of a button and everything's chopped!  This dish was very easy and simple to put together.  I didn't have any Asiago cheese, so I omitted that in mine, and I also added baby bella mushrooms because they were on sale.  I ate 2 rolls when it came out of the oven and they were delicious!  I would totally make this again.

I sent Julie this picture and asked if she was interested in some.  She said that it looked like a pile of tomato sauce.  :P  Ok, ok.  I promise it tastes much better than what the picture is showing.  Sheesh, everyone's a critic.  She came over to eat some for dinner and then took 2 rolls with her, so I guess it was a hit! :)

Running Day and FitnessBlender

Today was shaping up to be a lazy day, but I turned it around at 5 PM when I looked at my Fitbit step numbers. I was doing so good this week by hitting at least 10,000 steps every day that it would have been a shame to slack off today. I told myself that all I needed to do was go to the gym for 30 minutes. 30 minutes. That's not bad. It'll be over before I know it. So, I went to the gym and cranked out 2.12 miles on the treadmill and I was able to hit 10,000 by the time I wrote this blog post

In an effort to try something new while incorporating some weight training into my exercise routine, I went to YouTube for some inspiration. I had heard about FitnessBlender (FREE fitness videos!) from another YouTuber and didn't feel motivated to try anything until today (read: I was intimidated). I chose a 30 minute-ish video "Bodyweight Only Fat Burning HIIT Cardio Workout + Total Body Toning" because I thought I could multi-task with doing this workout and laundry at the same time. OMG. I got through about 15 minutes and had to stop because, whew, it was tough! 

For starting the day as lazy as RJ, I was a sweaty mess by the end of today. YAY!

By the way, I got an email about my 10 year college reunion in October. It makes me excited, but anxious at the same time. Nothing like a class reunion to motivate me to kick my workouts up a notch. And true to my 30 Day Shred journey in 2013, I took a starting picture to hold me accountable. Ithinkicanithinkicanithinkican.

Next goal: make it to both spin classes tomorrow morning.

Next adventure: Meg is going to San Diego at the end of the month for work and asked Robyn and me if we wanted to tag along if she tacked on a few extra days.  In true Katniss Everdeen form: I VOLUNTEER! Robyn will already be in CA during this time, piggybacking on another friend's work trip.  I booked my ticket on Thursday, so the countdown begins.  Mom is excited to have RJ visit again. Everybody wins.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

I made it to 4 spin classes this week, which is better than the twice a week routine in recent previous weeks.  I went to the mall this afternoon to get in the rest of my steps (Costco for some fruit, Giant for additional groceries, and Victoria's Secret to use a birthday month coupon).

I was tempted to buy some limited edition Red Velvet Oreos at Giant, but I knew my self control would have been limited.  Robyn texted me and Meg last night to give them a thumbs up.  I went by the bakery section and almost bought some pie.  No no no.  I'm trying to be good.  Maybe there's something I could make at home that I wouldn't be tempted to eat a large quantity of.  I've been searching for a good chocolate mug cake, and I've tried 2 recipes already (first one, second one). However, I would say that the one that I tried today surpassed those two. I liked that the serving size was large and it was less dry than the other recipes. Good thing I went to spin class this morning!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Kang!

We celebrated my aunt's birthday tonight, complete with a sushi dinner and Mom's carrot cake.  :)

My office card order design got approved, so after dinner, I went home to crank out 13 cards. 11 more to go!

New Office Order

Well, I'm glad that the Human Resources department didn't count me out completely for cards that are given out to staff for their birthdays and anniversaries (like they did for Employee Appreciation Week...).  I got an email this morning asking for 24 anniversary cards, and here's the sample that I created.

Recipe #3 of 2015

After a 1-hour spin class this morning, I did some grocery shopping to ingredients for aloo matar (Recipe #3 of 2015), an Indian pea and potato stew, so that I'd have something to eat for this upcoming week. I liked that people added some extra tips in the reviews: use 3 potatoes instead of 4 and use 2 cups of peas instead of 1. I also used tomato paste instead of tomato puree and 1 tablespoon of garam masala instead of 1.5 teaspoons. I'm currently eating some over rice as I watch the Super Bowl.  It's good, but I'm not sure that this will be a frequent repeat recipe.

P.S. People boo-ing during the national anthem- shame on you.  I don't think they were boo-ing Idina Menzel...I think it was when the New England Patriots coach showed up on the Jumbotron, but couldn't you have put that whole deflategate scandal aside for the duration of the song?  Sheesh.