I’m a survivor.

I rode the damn stationary bike again. It was either that or try a Bosu class, and, honestly, if I tripped and almost broke my toe just putting shorts on, I’m pretty sure it’s not in the cards for me to bounce around on half a stability ball in front of a bunch of 20 year olds in small clothing.

Anyway, I’m trying to be positive, because I got a lot done at work today, I had a halfway decent hair day (literally – the left side looked great, the right not so much), I made it through 40 minutes on the bike, and I polished off an issue of Self while I did it. I’m not a big Self fan, because it’s all about which eyeshadow is in season and women working out in bikinis and such. But, I bought it in the airport a few weeks ago because, when I travel, I really want to buy things I usually don’t like so much: weird women’s magazines and drinks from Starbucks. Anyway, so I had this magazine laying around and I feel like I learned so much about Anne Hathaway and I didn’t cry on the bike. Score one for me. No, score 80 billion for me (I need a lot of affirmation today).

Then, I did an abs class where I think I may have actually died a little bit, and came home not interested in cooking anything at all, but very much in the mood for beans. So, I had a big salad. With a lot of beans. And some tomatoes, spinach, chips, cheese, and a heaping helping of salsa that made me sneeze:

I hope you like that artistic diagonal shot. I did that for you.

I also had some more chips with cheese. Known in some cultures as “nachos.” But, these chips have flaxseed in them, so these were healthy “nachos.”

I’m still hungry, so I might go for some cereal.

Okay, I have to stop here because we’re being energy efficient and the laptop is dying.

I am very healthy.

I started today assuming that it was going to be horrible, which, if you’re wondering, is not the best strategy for getting through. For once, though, I was completely wrong and my day was very affirming. This happens sometimes.

I did cardio this morning and was pretty hungry for most of the day, and then I went to yoga after work (my crane pose is up to .000006 seconds off the floor!) and that killed my appetite but I knew I needed something in me, so I thought “What can I force myself to eat?” And then, “How can I work in some cheese?” I was planning a bean salad so I mixed that up and then hit upon my best idea of the day: nachos. So I layered my bean salad (chickpeas, pinto, black, and kidney beans, corn, a diced tomato, cumin, lime juice, S + P, and cilantro) with some cheese and those blue corn flaxseed Target chips I love, and microwaved it. Here they are with some avocado and sour cream for garnish.

I used to eat loaded nachos every single week during grad school. And when I say loaded, I mean, literally cups of cheese. With a side of jumbo margarita. And I still lost weight during that period of time. HOW DID I DO THAT?

Last night, I was really efficient, and I had much lunch packed, the coffee pot timer set, and my gym bag ready before I went to bed. This is likely directly related to my day going well.

Tonight, I’ll probably eat some ice cream and look at the dishes and say stuff to myself like, “We should really make room in the refrigerator for the cake” and then fall asleep on my book before I do anything about any of it.

Wait, I’m trying to be positive.

I will eat ice cream! The end.

Cinco de Mayo

I know it’s not really Mexico’s Independence Day, but isn’t it nice to have a fake holiday in early May?

It was a nice day today, not that I would know. I am not allowing myself to be outside until we are safely into June and the pollen has all been burned to death by the scorching Kansas sun. And then I will only go out long enough to complain about how hot it is.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I made something new –

from Dreena Burton’s Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, which finally came through via interlibrary loan for me (for “research”).

There’s the veggie-sizzle part. It’s basically a big stir fry with zucchini, green peppers, mushrooms, spices, and some beans. Then you shove it into tortillas.

Since the burritos were vegan, I made some nachos. For extra protein. And a salad. For extra virtue.

These were really good, but I think I need more beans next time, or a bigger burrito, because I was still starving after I finished this one. I was halfway through another one when I happened to look at the tortilla package and see that they trans fat. Gross. I went all over the world to find stupid tortillas without hydrogenated oils and then I get ones with trans fats. Will I ever learn? Anyway, I scooped out the filling from the rest of the second one and ate that. And some ice cream. And some almond butter. I think I’m full now. Maybe.

Of course, we do have five trans fat burritos left. I guess I’ll toss them into our mysteriously smelly refrigerator and see what happens.

Nacho salad

I threw two of the best foods in the world together in a big bowl and called it dinner:

It’s a massive amount of lettuce, some leftover black bean salsa from taco night heated up with a little cheese, and a few blue corn and flaxseed chips (Target) thrown in. Mostly because I really like when chips absorb things and get all soggy. Also, I heard flax makes you really happy and has other health benefits. Clearly, I could use some health benefits.

This was kind of light for dinner, probably because I spent the afternoon eating candy and almond butter from the jar. Halfway through, I got inspired and added a third component to nacho salad: bulgur!

Sometimes, you just have to throw caution to the wind.

Note that this salad was so massive that my normal bowls couldn’t accommodate it, so I had to serve myself in a small mixing bowl.

I had all kinds of good intentions to make a delicious soup for dinner tonight, but I still don’t feel well, and after working for most of the day, including standing for two hours while talking to disinterested high school students, I really wasn’t up for it. So, I took the easy way out. I’ll get to the soup sometime. Hopefully before the pears go bad.

Tonight, we did something pretty exciting: we left the house on a Friday night, and it wasn’t even to go to Target. We went to Donna’s, where we contributed to a tray of pretty skewers for a baby shower:

We made the ones on the left. In exchange for some fancy homemade hot chocolate. Did you know that some people don’t use the packets? I know. Weird.

The excitement of “going out” on a Friday night has taken its toll on my 108 year old inner self, and I’m going to bed. I skipped all exercise today, as per my doctor’s strong suggestion, and it just made me feel nervous. I’ll have to work something in tomorrow. Maybe a heavy session of Wii Sports.