I’m going to get right to the point: I’m not athletic or coordinated. When I was a kid, I definitely tried to be athletic. I loved playing baseball and soccer, but I wasn’t good at it. I could run very fast for very short distances (before my asthma kicked in). I liked to Rollerblade and ride my bike, but that’s about it. I was never strong, I never had good balance, and I just didn’t have the coordination to be the athletic type. Fortunately, I had speedy metabolism and I was able to keep a healthy weight through my very early twenties.
Then I turned 23.
I don’t know what triggered it, but it definitely started at 23. My metabolism basically packed up and left town, and things started to get squishy where they weren’t squishy before. Every year my weight increased. I was 125 pounds at age 20, and now at age 31 I hover between 168 and 172 (yes, I’m publicly stating this information). Yes, I’m overweight, and yes, it bothers me a lot.
My self-image has never been good — even when I was a skinny thing back in my teens — but the weight gain has been a huge blow to my self-esteem. I don’t know if anyone looks at me and thinks, “God, she’s a lard-ass,” but I definitely feel like one because I know I’m much bigger than I used to be. It’s frustrating, and it’s sad, and it’s been a thorn in my side for years. I changed my diet a lot, but it doesn’t seem to do a thing. I do a lot of walking, but that doesn’t seem to do anything for my weight loss, either.
Believe me, I know exercise is the key to keeping fit. But, I also know I get discouraged and bored very easily, and the thought of going to the gym by myself terrifies me on many levels. Luckily, my roommate expressed interest in getting a gym membership. We made a trip to the YMCA at the end of April to get our memberships, and scoured the schedules for any classes that looked interesting.
We’ve been trying out a variety of classes, and have been working out about three days a week to start. We’ve incorporated Hatha Yoga into our weekly workout schedule (which I absolutely love) and BodyPump has become a regular class for us as well. It’s been about three weeks since I started working out, and I feel a lot better. I don’t know if I’ve lost weight (I’m avoiding stepping on a scale for the time being) but I feel healthier. It’s nice to have something to look forward to a few days a week, and I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment when I finish a class. I’d love to lose several pounds, but right now I’m just happy that I’m feeling healthier in general and that I’m working to improve my balance, strength, posture and endurance.
Just like everyone else in the world, I’m really liking Draw Something. It’s basically Pictionary for smart phones. It’s really fun, although it’s incredibly difficult to draw things accurately with just my finger. I might actually invest in a stylus just so I can draw better pictures. In the meantime, my drawings will just look like a four year old drew everything.
I’m what my sister calls a “cyclical eater.” There are certain foods I like a lot for a short period of time, and then I get sick of them and don’t eat them again for a while. Right now, my cyclical snack food of choice is Reduced Fat Cheez-It crackers. I’ve been having a handful of these when I get the munchies. Yum.
I don’t know what category of nerdiness this falls under, but I love Consumer Reports. I have a subscription sent to my Nook. I have no idea why I find comparison testing amongst peanut butter brands so interesting, but I do. Tell me, Consumer Reports, which toilet paper brand is the softest and has the best value? What are the best wines for under $20.00 a bottle? Knowledge is power.
Speaking of my Nook, I’m still totally head-over-heels in love with my Nook Color. I carry it with me everywhere like some sort of nerdy security blanket.
If the name “Kimbra” sounds familiar, it’s probably because you recognize her name from Gotye‘s song, “Somebody That I Used to Know.” I decided to check out her album after hearing her part in that song, and I have to say I’m really, really enjoying it. I don’t know how to describe her style…maybe a bit like Bjork with a little Florence and the Machine added in? She’s very hard to describe, but I love her album from beginning to end. I think she’s got a really cool musical style, and her voice is really interesting. Definitely check out Vows when it hits stores in the U.S. on May 22nd.
My co-worker Katie has been using this stuff for a while, and I kept smelling this wonderful scent wafting over the cubicle walls and finally asked her what it was. She had a little tin of Nivea Creme at her desk and asked if I wanted to try it. Of course, I did — I like to smell pretty. Anyway, aside from smelling wonderful, it really helped my dry hands. It soaks in quickly so there’s not a greasy residue. The little tins are a perfect size for stashing away in my purse and my pencil drawer at my desk at work.
May 7, 2012
Little G’s Mobile Pizzeria
Various Locations
Downtown Minneapolis
For a double dose of Monday Lunch Adventures, we went to Little G’s Mobile Pizzeria. For $8.00, you get your own little wood-fired pizza. I had the prosciutto pizza (prosciutto, feta cheese, onions) and it was delicious! And don’t let your eyes fool you — those “little” pizzas are incredibly filling. I gave my last piece to Jonathan. I was really happy with the taste of the prosciutto pizza, but we all agreed that the sauce was just a little too sweet. It worked well on my pizza, though. I loved the crust — just enough crunch, but still chewy. Yum!
And if we weren’t already stuffed, John brought along donuts…
Angel Food Bakery & Coffee Bar
86 South 9th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Above Hell’s Kitchen is Angel Food Bakery & Coffee Bar, which opened very recently. I’m excited about this because not only is there finally a place downtown that sells donuts, but this place is right across the street from my work. This is both dangerous and wonderful. If there is a heaven, I hope it’s filled with delicious pastries.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. John stopped there before meeting up with us for lunch, and he bought four different donuts. We decided to sample each one instead of having to decide on just one to eat. We tried an old-fashioned glazed donut, an orange pistachio donut, a chocolate old-fashioned donut and a frosted coconut donut. I liked the glazed donuts best. The glaze was really yummy. I even liked the orange pistachio, and I’m not typically a fan of citrus-flavoured baked goods. It wasn’t so citrus-y that I felt like I was eating a bottle of lemon Pledge.
My plan is to venture over there before work sometime this week and try another pastry of some kind. I hear they have awesome cupcakes, and that alone is dangerous because I effing LOVE cupcakes. I’d marry one if it was legal. No lie.
Photos by Jonathan “No Donut Left Behind” Ford.
April 30, 2012
World Street Kitchen
5th Street & Nicollet Avenue
Downtown Minneapolis
We really do try to eat somewhere different every week, but sometimes the really tasty food beckons to us. World Street Kitchen has tasty food. Bottom line. I ordered the Yum Yum Rice Bowl again, only this time I got it with “O.G. Chicken” (yep, that’s “original gangster”) and without the spicy mayonnaise. It was just as delicious as last time, except not spicy at all (which is always good for my stomach). I was definitely full for the rest of the day.
Photo taken by Jonathan.
The newest member of the family is a tiny little corn snake named Kaylee. She’s less than a foot long, and no wider than a Crayola marker at her widest part. Of course, she’s going to get much bigger eventually, but in the meantime she’s my little pocket-sized companion.
Kaylee is sweet but spunky, and she’s named after Kaylee from Firefly. I have no idea if she’s got the ability to fix spaceships, but I guess time will tell.
I think she’s a Reverse Okeetee, but it’s difficult to tell when snakes are babies because their colouring can change quite a bit as they grow. If I’m correct, then her dark reddish-orange spots will become a bit more vivid, her peach areas will become a yellow-orange, and the light pink/almost transparent areas will become white.
Kaylee even won over the heart of my mum, who is terrified of snakes. Apparently being cute and little gets you everywhere.
Another snake adopted me. I couldn’t resist his wily charm and his gorgeous colouring. He also tried to get into my purse, which is usually the animal equivalent to, “Okay, let’s go home!” I’m such a sucker.
My roommate and I went to Leaping Lizards Reptile Shop in Burnsville, MN. It’s a tiny shop, but they have a lot of snakes, reptiles and arachnids. They had a lot of different colour variations of corn snakes of all ages, and I was immediately drawn to the only sunglow corn snake at the shop. I asked to hold him, and I ended up walking around the shop with him for almost an hour. He was frisky at first, but settled down quickly and made himself comfortable in my arms. I knew I had just been adopted by a snake. I couldn’t leave him behind.
I named him Jarvis, after Edwin Jarvis (the Avengers’ butler) to kind of continue the whole naming-snakes-after-fictional-butlers theme. I’m not completely sure of his age, but my guess is somewhere between one and two years. He’s about a foot shorter than Alfred. His colouring is absolutely gorgeous, and no photos can do it justice. He’s really sweet, and his wee bit of shyness means he likes to stay as close to me as possible by wrapping himself around my wrist. He’s adorable.
April 23, 2012
Vellee Deli
Various Locations
Downtown Minneapolis
John was out of town, so our trio was down to a duo. No worries, though! It was a lovely day and the food trucks were all around. We stopped at Vellee Deli, and Jonathan ordered a crunchy tofu curry burrito, and I ordered BBQ pork tacos. Deeeee-licious! It’s definitely interesting to eat something that’s like a Mexican/Chinese cuisine combination. It was awesome, though. Jonathan was able to enjoy a good level of burnination, and I enjoyed not burning or upsetting my digestive tract. I love options.
Photo by Jonathan “Dapper Hat” Ford.
It’s not an official holiday, but it should be. Record Store Day is officially my favourite day of the year. Last year I ventured out alone, but this year I was joined by Jonathan. It was his first RSD. Hooray!
We went to two record stores — Electric Fetus and Roadrunner Records. Neither of us scored any RSD-exclusive releases, but we did find quite a few gems on the cheap, which is always a good thing.
The above photo was taken at Roadrunner Records. You can see me in the front (grey jacket, red hair) and Jonathan a bit further back (dapper hat).
CDs Acquired:
Split Enz True Colours
Modest Mouse Building Nothing Out Of Something
Electronic Electronic
Adele 21
45s Acquired:
Howard Jones Life In One Day
Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind
Madness Our House
The Police King Of Pain
Interpol The Heinrich Maneuver
LPs Acquired:
Cheap Trick In Color
Madness Keep Moving
The Kinks State Of Confusion
Billy Joel The Nylon Curtain
Billy Joel 52nd Street
Billy Joel Turnstiles
12″ Singles/EPs Acquired:
VHS Or Beta On & On
Prince Raspberry Beret
Duran Duran Notorious (Latin Rascals Mix)
Duran Duran The Wild Boys
April 16, 2012
Trieste Cafe
10 South 5th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
True to Minnesota weather, it was a mix of rain and snow, so the food trucks went into hiding for the day. Nobody likes eating food truck food out in the sleet. We headed to Trieste Cafe for Round 2, because lamb makes everything better.
John and I had the same thing we had last time — gyros plate with rice — but Jonathan went a different direction and got the gyros combo with tabouli salad and a spinach pie. I’m not gonna lie…I kind of wish I had ordered that, too. Well, there’s always next time!
Photo by Jonathan, Tabouli King.
April 9, 2012
World Street Kitchen
5th Street & Nicollet Avenue
Downtown Minneapolis
As summer approaches, more and more food trucks are popping up around the streets of downtown. World Street Kitchen’s food truck opened for the season last week, so we decided to stop there this week. After having a “duh” moment and realized I was waiting for John and Jonathan on 5th Street and Marquette Avenue (shut up — it’s Monday and my brain doesn’t fully kick in until Tuesday), we met up at the WSK truck for a tasty lunch. I ordered the Yum Yum Rice Bowl, which is basically a box full of deliciousness. Rice, barbequed beef, mushrooms, onions, cilantro, egg, peanuts, and a spicy mayonnaise (I think?) tickled my taste buds. Every bite seemed to have a different flavour combination, so it was a really cool food experience.
Photo taken by yours truly this time!
