call me a freaper.. but...

I can't help but take snapshots of my friends!!! We are so tiredddddd and wanna sleeeeep.

***Btw, I just looked at Gmaps Pedometer again and I totally read it wrong. I only ran around 2.7 miles, NOT 5 miles. I'm retarded.... So just kidding, I only ran 2.7 miles... erf.

5.524 miles baby!!

MY RUN

Whooooo!!! I feel badass because I just completed a 5.524 mile run baby! I looped around the Stuytown complex twice, and it didn't feel even that difficult for me. Bring it on, 5k run! I'm totally ready to kick this thing in the butt. Definitely the key for a good run for me is to have enough energy, which means I have to eat mad carbs at least 8 hours beforehand. Otherwise, it's a no-go. I still definitely struggle with how much I have to eat and the diet I should have for my body, but at least I get to experiment. I know for sure though that when I eat less throughout the days (aka small meals), then I tend to binge-eat later at night. So no more small portions, but I'll try to find that right meal size for my body.

Time for my classes, eek!

Why customers need to learn some manners

Like my angry face?? %$%#$!@#@#!!

This entry's dedicated to all those customers at work who decided that the store is their personal closet and that it's okay to just throw all the clothes around and not put them back in the right places or even on the hangers. I'd totally just shout out a million censored phrases right now, but I'm wayyyy too polite and nice to do such a thing... riight.

Geez though, seriously, work today sucked because of three reasons: we're really understaffed, it's the week before halloween (aka everyone is searching for costumes), and customers decided to be really rude with all the clothes they touched! It's like there's no such thing as common courtesy anymore!!! Things were all over the place. At one point, I had to take over fitting room because the girl who was there went off on break, and at that moment, stock decides to bombard us with all these clothes. And I had to do all this myself. Because there was no one else on the floor besides the cashier. Me plus a gazillion clothes... and five more hours before my shift was done. Talk about a whammer.

My shift ended nicely though because Monica and Hannah surprised me with a visit at the store! Yup, my roommates are way better than yours. They visited ME at WORK. I was so shocked, and the whole store definitely knew because I yelled out, "Oh my God" as soon as I realized it was them. Way for me to be subtle... It was unfortunate though because I was busy edging, so I couldn't talk to them much.

So my workout for today, I just went for a run twice around the inner parts of Stuytown, but tomorrow morning, I believe I'll try running the perimeter of the whole neighborhood. I mapped it out on gmaps ped, and it says it's around 2.6 miles. Perfect for my 5K training! I can't wait to sign up and run in the race!!! Future goal... half marathon. But it sounds way too daunting right now.

This one's dedicated to the big G

Huge, huge change in attitude from yesterday. Yesterday, I was all like, "I hate life, everything is overwhelming me" but today, I felt kickass. And really blessed. God is seriously like da man. I really really started this day off in prayer, and needless to say, it helped. A lot. Made me wonder why I don't dedicate my days to Him more. Silly me.

Got some homework done, before I headed off to work, but yeah, first off, I ain't the new girl at work anymore!! We got two more hirees, so now I'm like, legit, naw what I'm sayin'? No more fitting room duty, I can be a floater baby. Joyce (the assistant manager) also asked me to train Steph, the new girl, a little, ha! Empowerment, people, empowerment. That is totally the key to making you feel all important, when it's not that big of a deal. Steph's pretty chill; she's from Australia and speaks with an accent so obviously that boosts her cool factor up by a gazillion points. I find myself responding back in an accent frequently, so I have to catch myself...

I had my yummy fire-roasted peppers and onions, chicken quinoa today for lunch. Delicious! I didn't post the recipe last time, so here it is:

My kickass quinoa

1. Pour a cup of quinoa into a pot with 2 cups of water. Wait for water to boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover.

2. In another pot, boil water for the chicken breasts. Once water is boiling, drop those babies in.

3. Prepare all vegetables (you can substitute for any). Cut, slice, do what you gotta do to get those veggies ready! Steam them.

4. Once chicken is ready, cool and shred into bite-size pieces.

5. Combine veggies with the cooked quinoa (you know it's done if you can see the clear bran outline). Add chicken.

6. Add couple of dashes of basil and cumin.

7. Add a splash of vinegar and olive oil.

8. Add 2 spoonfuls of ketchup and mustard each.

9. Mix and enjoy!

It's seriously the bomb diggity. And it keeps you full, I swear, because it has your grain, protein, and veggies for fiber.

Anyways, I got good news today... My professor who I thought left the school replied back to his email address and agreed to write a good recommendation for me!! Yay!!! I just got to get all my junk ready for him... That's the hard part now. Thank you God though, because that was one of my overwhelming problems.

Let me just cry myself a river...

To explain my pathetic title... I hate those days when you feel like you're not in control of anything. Everything is just overwhelming me right now. Literally. Just with school, work, internship. I have so much on my plate, and I can't think properly or manage things well. I think this is when God really reminds me again that I am not in control of my life. Darn it! Why you gotta be humbling me God?

So, I'm trying to regain some sense of organization in my life... And I know I'm being organized, but I still feel so messy in terms of how I handle things. Ahhh, life, 1, HM, 0. KO.

Plus, I went out for a run today, but today is definitely just a no-good day for me. The kind of day when life just kicks you in the butt. I probably ran less than a mile, but it was still a killer. I was so tired and didn't want to push myself. Yesterday I ran, and I was like, "Fresh air! Birds! The smell of fall! I love it!" Today, I was like, "Ugh, it's cold. Ugh, my knee hurts. Ugh, those damn birds." Talk about a total attitude change lol.

Okay, besides all this self-pitying though, I have to say, these are the days I really understand the meaning of dependence on the Lord. Kinda. A little bit. I mean... God has to humble me somehow right????

Cooking for the week

I'm back home in Jersey again, as I always am on Sunday nights. Since last week, I started to make my meals ahead of time, so that during the week, I wouldn't have to worry about food at all. It worked out so well last week, that this week I'm doing it again. My recipes for this week? Hot steel-cut oatmeal for the harsh cold days and fire-roasted peppers, onions, and chicken quinoa. Can you say "mhmmmmmmm"?

So I've been having some self-revolutions for the past two years, learning more about myself and trying to understand myself better. I know, some of you guys might be thinking, "Shouldn't you have figured that out already? Being 21 and all?" Hell no! Don't be a-judgin' but the city is rough and just rips your soul apart. Okay, I definitely exaggerated, but living in the city has definitely worn down my spirit, soul, and identity, so I am slowly building myself up again, and in Christ of course. Duh.

I am quite unmotivated, unless I have specific goals in my life. When I have things that I want to accomplish, then I will put my heart into them. I can't just be happy, just living by the moment style. Maybe temporarily, but in the long run, I feel lazy, unproductive, and useless.

That's why... (drumroll please), I am signing up for a 5K RUN!!! Okay, 5K isn't much, but seriously, it's something I can train for, and I'm doing it not only to discipline my body but my mind as well. I also don't like the fat accumulation on my body, so training will help me to lose some fat too! Then, I want to try running a 10K and eventually a half-marathon. Eeks! The idea of a half-marathon right now is a bit daunting and disgusting. Thank God I have awhile to go heeheehee.

I'll keep you posted on my training. Today I ran 2 miles though. And it was a quite satisfactory run: not too rough, not too long... justtttt right.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

After a long day at our annual Sports Day, I finally came home to chow on some food and BAKE with the roomies. We decided to make oatmeal cookies, because we lurveeee the texture of oats in cookies. I wanted to bake the oatmeal cookies I made before last year, but I couldn't find the recipe. What a shame, because let me tell you, they were D-E-LICIOUS!!

This is the recipe for the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, adapted from blogger Baking Bite's oatmeal cookie recipe.

Ingredients:
-1 cup whole wheat flour

-2 cups instant oatmeal
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 tbsp butter, room temperature
-1/2 cup white sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 large egg
-1 egg white
-2/3 cup vanilla yogurt
-1 cup chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking poweder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.
4. Beat in the egg and egg white, followed by the yogurt and vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture and the oats so that no streaks of flour remain.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Drop batches onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on the level of crispiness).

Check out these babies!!

My roomie Hannah suggested that next time, we should try this recipe with less flour (1/2 cup less) so that the texture of oatmeal would be more apparent, and I couldn't agree more. The cookies are quite yummy and chewy, but adding less flour would probably make them less "bread-like."

Cafe Orlin

So my favorite meal of the day is breakfast/ brunch. Nothing beats eating after a good night sleep!! Not that I slept very long... I did come back home from watching Where the Wild Things Are around 2:30 AM. Still, waking up early is usually no biggie for me. I know, I've been so graciously blessed by God- to be given the talent to wake up and go to sleep easily hehehe.

Today I had a brunch date with the lovely Grace Han at Cafe Orlin, located on St. Marks Pl, between 1st and 2nd Ave. I was super duper excited because first of all, I haven't eaten out in the longest time (I've been so good eating at home or brownbagging it!) and secondly, it's BRUNCH, only my favorite meal of the day!!!

Because I was so excited for this brunch date (and plus so hungry last night after I came back from the movies), I had already studied the menu and figured out what I was going to get. Sigh, the power that food has over me...

Anyways, back to BRUNCH at CAFE ORLIN. Cafe Orlin is this cute restaurant that I always walked by whenever I went to campus. I always saw a lot of people in there, so naturally, being the follower that I am, it piqued my interest. A lot of people? It must be good. The reviews on menupages were quite good for Cafe Orlin too, which only made me want to try its food even more. So when Grace and I decided to get brunch, I obviously suggested this place!

I got the salmon omelette with dill, cucumber, onion, and cream cheese. Grace ordered the fontina cheese omelette with tomato and spinach. And all omelette dishes came with homefries, rye toast, and salad. Talk about a hearty meal :P

My delicious omelette!!

My salmon omelette was exactly what I wanted to eat. It really tastes like lox: yummy, scrumptious, delicious, creamy lox! Mhmm, writing about it is just making me want it all over again. The only complaint I would have is that there definitely was not enough filling within the omelette. Towards the edges, it was only egg. The homefries, rye toast, and salad added a nice accompaniment to the meal. The portion size of the omelette wasn't ridiculous, but just perfect.

I think you have to be careful about what you order though, because Grace's omelette was good, but in my opinion, I would want something with more flavor. Maybe the cheese should have been stronger to make the omelette stand out more. All I know is, my dish was good, and I definitely am coming back!

MIA? NOPE

Noo... I am not MIA. I haven't updated because I haven't made anything since I made those 2 yummy meals for the week! I've been really good this year in terms of going out to eat too; I haven't done much of that. So unfortunately, there is less to discuss on this food blog. But have no fear! Next update will be about a food review! Hurray! :D

Quick meals for the week

Okay, I love to cook/ bake, but I often fall into the following categories: a. I get lazy; b. I get too tired to cook; or c. all of the above.

SO- in order to make this whole blog thing work, I decided to make my meals for the week all at once. Yup, that's right. In bulk. I'm genius, I know.

I made two staple dishes that would hopefully last me until Saturday, along with some other staples like yogurt and granola bars.

My first recipe is... tuna veggie tabbouleh. Alright, so the name doesn't make the dish sound so appetizing, but I swear it's a yummy and nutritious dish. Why? Tabbouleh is a popular Middle Eastern dish, whose ingredients include chopped parsley, bulgur, mint, tomato, onion, and other herbs. The bulgur in the dish adds a nutty flavor, and it is more nutritious than other grains like rice or couscous because it has more fiber and a lower glycemic index (how quickly glucose enters your bloodstream). I added tuna and lots of vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, baby corn, carrots, and snow peas) into my version of tabbouleh to boost up the fiber and protein content even more. Talk about being healthy!

For my second dish, I kept it relatively simple. I made chicken and cabbage stirfry. This is really easy to make. Super duper simple. It's just chicken and cabbage stirfried in soysauce and cumin. I added cumin to kick up the flavor a bit more. I got my protein and simple carbs and fiber in this dish. Yum, yum, yum!

Now I'm all set for meals this week. I'm happy!

Back from my hiatus

This is it. I'm back. No more breaks, no more huge gaps in between entries. I'm going to be consistent and steady.

I took a mini-break because I just got lazy. I didn't want to upload pictures, write, or experiment with baking and/or cooking. Especially because I gained some weight, so I wanted to lose that first. But if I wait to be "perfectly" satisfied with my body, then I think I'll never be back.

So I'm back and ready to rumble.

I didn't make anything today. But I will. Don't you worry.

See you tomorrow.