It was a chilly start to the day – 37 degrees – but a gorgeous one!

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I don’t know what it is about the brisk air, but it just makes me feel alive.  I heated up the other half of Tony’s breakfast from Sunday, and had strawberries and bananas on the side.

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I had strength and cardio on tap yesterday, but now that the strength portion has more exercises and 30 minutes of cardio, I didn’t think I’d have time to do the whole routine, so I ended up doing 40 minutes on the stairmaster – 35 minutes, and then 5 minutes of cooldown.  In 35 minutes I went 2.02 miles and 99 floors!

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I love how sweaty the stair master gets me Open-mouthed smile  And I love that Chobani shirt – I got it in a gift pack from them a couple years ago, and its been washed so many times its super soft.

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I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup over the weekend.  There is just something so comforting about a good bowl of chicken soup.  I gave a small bowl to my boss and she said “I don’t know how you get so much flavor in your soups!”  It’s because I use the whole chicken carcass, skin and all to make a rich stock.

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On the side I was so excited to try this hummus.  When I was cleaning out the pantry, I found a bag of pitas – not exactly stale, but definitely not fresh.  So I made pita chips out of them – so easy – I mixed minced garlic and olive oil together, brushed that over the pita (each one was cut into 6 pieces) then sprinkled with Italian seasoning and coarse sea salt – baked at 350 for 10 minutes.

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Until I opened the package – fucking onions!!

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I scooped out about a tablespoon from the middle, but ended up giving it to my co-worker – it just stank of onions.  Lesson learned!

Before I knew it, it was time to meet up blog reader Randi and her wife Julie.  We met here:

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Randi had read some good yelp reviews of this place – but it turned out it was more of a take out place, but there were a couple tables so we were fine.  They are headed back to California today.

They are wonderful people – I think Randi felt like it was meeting a neighbor because she’s read me for so long she feels like she knows me – I love that.  They are down to earth and I am so happy that they found love and happiness together. 

I think I’ve said it before, but Tony was sure that I was a lesbian – I played field hockey, softball, threw the shot put in track and was on a bowling team!  Of course playing college field hockey we had a few lesbians on the team, sexual orientation has never bothered me.  One of my best friends from college was a gay man – he used to fix my hair and if I saw an outfit on a girl on campus, he’d track her down and ask to borrow it!

The sign of a good Chinese restaurant is traffic.  The phone rang a lot, there were a lot of take out orders.  I ended up getting the szechwan green beans and the beef and broccoli.  Yes, you are correct – the fucking onion rears its ugly head again – I’ve never heard of onions being with green beans before!

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The broccoli was crisp tender, the beef was tender.  I only had a couple of the green beans because when I got home, I put them in a colander and rinsed off the oil (which it looked like) and scooped out all the onions.  I used some of the leftover green beans and broccoli for a stir fry lunch today.

Randi even brought me a gift!  How did she know I loved granola?

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And a package of dry rub – can’t wait to try this later this week – I have steak on the menu.

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I love meeting new people, and I am so happy that we had a chance to get together – thanks Randi!

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Since it was Monday night football, I had plenty of time to get my sweat on – I did 40 minutes of the Cardio Power & Resistance.  Um, I think someone needs their bangs cut!

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I am in a confidence pool with Tony and my step-son.  I have absolutely no idea about football.  I guess at who’s going to win, sometimes just based on which town I’d rather vacation to.  I guess on the points too – which is driving them nuts because so far I am 63-29 on the season – better than the experts on Yahoo!  Lori, you would appreciate my winning streak – I should make it a bet for dinner out like you and John do!  Last night I got 108 points out of a possible 120!  (Hi Joe if you are reading this – you didn’t seem to answer my texts about who’s won more games!).

Sadly, my streak will be short lived like it normally does – but I like to gloat when I get the chance!

Stats for the Day:

  • 1561 calories, 202 carbs, 81 protein, 53 fat, 31 fiber
  • A- grade from CalorieCount
  • 29% of calories from fat, 20% from protein and 50% from carbs
  • 40 minute Stairmaster – 2.02 miles
  • 40 minute Insanity after dinner

I got up extra early this morning because I got the pre-authorization from my insurance company for my EKG and echocardiogram and am stopping by the outpatient building on my way to work.  I may pick up some coffee at the hospital – it’s actually pretty good – I’ve had a cup or two over the years with Tony’s various hospital stays.

Make it a great day!