Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Loooonnnnggg Lunch
Okay, so after I got my cube organized, I focused on knocking out some planning and task organization while no one is in the office. And then, it was noon and I had basically accomplished all I wanted for the day. Ugh!
So at 2:30 I went for an extended gym lunch in our office gym. I did the elliptical for 60 minutes with interval bursts while watching Oxygen’s Bad Girls’ Club (put guilty pleasure shows on and I can workout FOREVER!). I find it hard sometimes to get a good lunch workout in because you can really only do 30 minutes and then have to shower and get ready again. That is why I love these slower days when you can really get a good workout!
For an office gym, I must say, ours is top notch (and being in commercial real estate, I know what other buildings do and do not offer). Here are a few photos:
Do you guys have office gyms? What do you think about lunchtime workouts?
And for the FOOD! I shouldn’t say it like that because it’s really not that exciting. Around 10:30 I had a beautiful Golden Delicious Apple. Again, gotta love that FIBER!
Because I took my “lunch” at the gym, I dined at my desk. Today was a small Turkey Sandwich on a French Roll with leftover Spinach, Goat Cheese, Cranberry and Almond Salad and a Yoplait Whips Yogurt on the side.
And as a later afternoon treat I stole two Bliss Milk Chocolate candies from a candy bowl. Bad, I know. But, New Year’s is in two days so I figure I’m ok.
Now I’m waiting for the fiance to pick me up so we can go to a little high school reunion at Clyde’s Willow Creek. This is the most beautiful Clyde’s of the chain, and it’ll be a lot of fun to see some old faces! Have great nights!
Posted by Quinn at 4:30 PM 6 comments
Labels: Gym, Lunch, Snack
It Hurts to Sit
Ow, ow, OW! I went to a new teacher last night for Total Body Conditioning, and her class was packed! She must have been nearly 60, but man did she work some crazy muscles! We did way too many of these! But I LOVED this woman. She really incorporated a lot of muscle combinations which forced my body to work HARDER! I will definitely be going back for more PAIN!
Before I left for my 30 minute elliptical and 45 minute torture session, I noshed on some edamame. Perfect little protein snack before a workout. Note the newest US Weekly with the newest winner of Biggest Loser. Those contestants are so motivating!
When I got home the fiance was marinating our burgers for dinner in some teriyaki sauce.
While he was marinating, I prepared a side salad. Spinach, goat cheese, slivered almonds and dried cranberries. I love salads with goat cheese because you really don’t need any dressing – the goat cheese does it all!
And here’s my plate with a little spoonful of leftover macaroni. We served up the burgers on a Thomas’ Light English Muffin. I really love these English Muffins because they’re chalk full of FIBER!
As a kid I hated burgers on English Muffins, but now they’re my new favorite. The texture is better and you don’t feel like you’re eating air like you do on a typical hamburger bun.
And then the fiance and I watched a little tv before I ducked off for bed. Did anyone watch MTV’s The City? Thoughts? I’m on the fence. I like Whitney, but all those shows are so staged!
Breakfast this morning was a repeat of yesterday – English Muffin with Organic PB, but with a Woman’s Multivitamin on the side.
Another workday for me today! The nice part about having it be quiet in the office is that I can get ORGANIZED! How do you keep your workspace organized? In honor of New Year’s Resolutions and working to better ourselves, here are AsktheDecorator.com’s Meghan Carter’s tips to unclutter your desk.
Posted by Quinn at 9:04 AM 2 comments
Labels: Breakfast, Dinner, Organization, Snack
Monday, December 29, 2008
Mundane Monday
Happy Monday Everyone! Am I the ONLY one working today? It is like a Ghost Town in the office — think I might have to extend my afternoon rendezvous at the gym 
I slept in a little this morning as I knew there wouldn’t be much traffic. I leisurely dined on a Light English Muffin with some Crunchy Organic PB.
At around 10:30 I was getting hungry, so I snacked on this apple.
After the apple I submitted my year end review comments and asked for a raise. I’ve never asked for one before so we’ll see how it goes! Although, given the current economic climate, who knows?
After my higher salary demands, I mean requests, I had some lunch. A small French roll with turkey, tomato and salt and pepper with a Yoplait Whips yogurt on the side.
What is everyone doing for New Years? The fiance and I got engaged at the stroke of midnight last year so it’ll definitely be a fun memory. We’re just doing something low key at a friend’s apartment. Need to save that cash!
Here is a list of the Top 10 Quirkiest NYE “Drops” and no, it’s not a ball. Happy Reading!
Posted by Quinn at 12:41 PM 6 comments
Labels: Breakfast, Lunch
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Rockin’ Good Weekend
The fiance got Rock Band for Christmas from his brother, and we spent some time experimenting with it over the weekend. Between the pooches stuffed toys, and this plastic drum and guitar set guests of our apartment might think we have a small child around here!
Here’s me on the phone with my mother whilst drumming:
Saturday morning I waited so long to have breakfast that it was already time for lunch. My mom had given us some chili to take back. This was my dad’s recipe and always wins over the crowd!
Unlike normal chili, this type of chili is so thick that it is best served “burrito style” wrapped up in a flour tortilla.
My sister and I tried on my top pick for bridesmaid dresses and then stopped at Blue Tulip in Falls Church. It’s going out of business so everything was 50 – 75% off. I stocked up on wedding presents for the coming year – Kate Spade vases, frames, etc. Such a bargain!
Later in the evening, the fiance and I headed into VA to Ireland’s Four Courts to meet old friends who were in town from San Francisco for the holiday. They’re newlyweds, so it was really fun to be around them — they are sooo happy!
I indulged in one too many of these delicious Blue Moons.
As a result of the Blue Moons and the two shots (yes, shots, plural) I took I was feeling the need for something bad for me. The fiance and I started our day early at IKEA and I was begging for a burger or pizza. Thank God for the fiance because he knew the leftover booze was talking. We settled on Chipotle, where I partly indulged in a Burrito Bowl. Rice, pinto beans, tomato salsa, corn salsa, cheese and lettuce.
And a few chips and guac…
***Did you know that California is having a shortage on avocados this season? I saw it on the news the other day and you might just have a hard time finding your favorite healthy fat in stores. Holy Guacamole!***
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fi-avocado26-2008dec26,0,4578344.story
We ended up getting a new chair and ottoman today for the living room. It’s really feeling home-y!
I did our grocery shopping at Safeway – we had gotten coupons in the mail as a “Welcome to the Neighborhood” campaign, and one of them was $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. Another was for $2 off a roasted chicken — which was already on sale for $5.99 – total $3.99! I love these because you can have a meal, make sandwiches, and even chicken noodle soup. You get a lot of bang for your buck! Our total grocery bill was just $59!
On the side we tried a new recipe from Rachael Ray. It was a Macaroni Cheddar Bake (well, I didn’t have enough cheddar, so I mixed swiss, mozzarella, cheddar and parm). The best part was that you layer the bottom with broccoli. Don’t forget those veggies!
And my plate:
Did everyone here the Eagles beat the Cowboys? I hate both, but I definitely can’t stand those Cowboys, so it was a victory for me! Hope everyone had great weekends!
Posted by Quinn at 7:38 PM 6 comments
Labels: Bargain, Dinner, Friends, Lunch, Recipes
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Almost Back to Reality
What a great holiday! I love this season — the smells, the joy, the family — I love all of it! This was definitely one of those seasons that I just enjoyed being with those that I love the most.
Tuesday afternoon I packed up the pooch and the presents and headed westward to my mom’s. My mom’s house felt like a revolving door because right after I arrived I headed back out to Magnolia’s for my friend Erin’s 27th birthday. We had drinks at the bar and then we went into a private room for dinner. Here’s the birthday girl:
In attempts to save some holiday cash, and also because I just wasn’t that hungry and I often find ordering appetizers to be just what the doctor ordered, I got the Chilled Seared Rare Ahi Tuna. It was served with a corn and avocado relish. It was perfect! Others ordered apps and then full steak dinners, but I just knew that holiday eats were upon me, so this was the way to go.
After dinner I went back to my mom’s and fell right to sleep. Christmas Eve morning I came down to this gorgeous tree my mom had been working on all night (and we agreed to have a low key Christmas).
My sister and I ran holiday errands throughout the morning — note to everyone. If you have time to shop on Christmas Eve, do it. The stores offer the same deals that happen the day after Christmas, but it is much less crowded!
On our way back we stopped at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe and split half a Thai Chicken Wrap. The peanut sesame dressing on this wrap really made the sandwich.
In my mom’s family, it’s been tradition as the grandchildren (there are 19 of us) have gotten older that we go out to dinner on Christmas Eve. This year, we went to the Idylwood Grill. It was so nice to be amongst all my family! Here is my mom, sister and me.
We had preselected what we wanted before we arrived. We had the option of shrimp/scallop fettucini, steak, tilapia, roasted chicken and salmon. I chose the steak, thinking it would be a plain filet with mixed veggies and mashed potatoes. This was a steak covered with a brown creamy sauce and oniony potatoes. It was like something you got in a cafeteria line. What a disappointment because I typically love everything at this restaurant! I ate about 1/4 of that photo. Sorry for the quality — had to do it quickly with loads of uncles questioning around me
After dinner we went to Christmas Eve mass and came home to wrap some presents. Christmas morning I woke up with a little fruit salad and coffee whilst waiting for my college-aged sister to wake up.
When she woke up, we opened stockings and had some slices of this German bread. Yum!
It is also tradition for us to have Eggs Benedict for brunch on Christmas Day. Go figure that all the groceries were out of Hollandaise Sauce. So we had half an english muffin with Canadian Bacon and a Poached Egg. Not as exciting without the Hollandaise, but definitely fewer the calories.
After all the presents and eats, these two were tuckered out:
Later that afternoon we headed to my dad’s for a visit, and then to my uncle’s for an open house dinner. I unfortunately didn’t get any shots, but I had lots of Spinach Dip and Veggies, a little ham, some hash brown potatoes and some shrimp cocktail. Yum!
Around 9:00, the fiance came back home from NY and we exchanged gifts. We had set a $50 cap as we’re about to have this wedding in a few months and will be soon buying one another wedding bands, but he did not listen. He got me a BRAND NEW CAMERA for BLOGGING! I love it! The picture quality is amazing! What a good gift giver he is!
After many sessions of Rock Band — the fiance’s brother gave it to him — we hit the hay.
We slept in yesterday and headed to Starbuck’s for coffee and breakfast. I got a Spinach Feta Wrap.
The fiance’s parents gave us money toward a new living room chair for Christmas, so we checked out a few furniture places in the area, but nothing was the right thing. We have loads of time to look though.
We then headed out to my mom’s for our real Christmas dinner. Look at her beautiful holiday dining table.
And the salad. Strawberries, Oranges, Onions, Tomatoes, Lettuce and a Strawberry Vinagrette Dressing.
And a beautiful London Broil that had marinated in an Onion/Red Pepper Marinade. So good!
And here’s my plate, but the lighting was off as we ate by candlelight, so forgive the blur. I also had some au gratin potatoes on the side. Such a filling, yet light meal.
And for dessert everyone else had flan, but I had a Christmas Sugar Cookie and a Strawberry. Perfect ending!
My sister is coming to look at bridesmaid dresses with me today and then we have friends in town from San Francisco tonight. Gotta love spending time with friends and family! I hope you all have had a wonderful season!
Posted by Quinn at 9:45 AM 2 comments
Labels: Bargain, Breakfast, Dinner, Family, Friends, Lunch
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
And the Best Fiance Award Goes To….
I have the best fiance ever. He played the best housewife yesterday, and did loads of cleaning and laundry. When I came home, he had a movie ready, a drink, some crackers and cheese, and ROSES. For no reason. That’s when I love flowers. Not on my birthday, not on Valentine’s Day, just because!
He also made dinner. We had whole wheat rotini pasta with vodka sauce whilst watching our favorite holiday flick: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. “Russ!” “Right here Dad.” Love it.
We also watched Intervention, which was CRAZY last night. A woman had not swallowed a morsel of food or drink in 14 years! She fed herself from a feeding tube. Definitely shows how psychological eating disorders truly are.
I didn’t get to finish the episode because I fell asleep on the couch. This is a routine occurrence. The fiance was nice enough to snap a photo of my slumber. Notice the roses on the left!
This morning I had another bowl of Apples & Cinnamon Instant Oats with a Hard Boiled Egg. The egg, however, did not get photographed.
The fiance and I said our goodbyes as we are spending our last single holidays apart. He left around 10:00 for NYC, and is taking the back way through PA. He should get in around 3:00 or 4:00.
Me, on the other hand, I had to work. It is DEAD today. But, an added bonus was that one of my internal clients gave me a $100 gift card to Nordstrom. Score! It is nice to feel appreciated!
Over my lunch I did a little Christmas shopping for my mom at Talbot’s and Ann Taylor. FYI: GREAT deals at both. I knew I was officially feeling old when things at Talbot’s appealed to me. I bought a sweater for myself that was $49 with an additional 40% off. Bargain.
After my shopping excursion, I grabbed a sandwich from our deli in our office building. Turkey on Multigrain with Avocado and Tomato and Sprouts. Yum!
Now it’s back to work, then off to pick up the pooch and my luggage and go over the river and through the woods to my mom’s house for the next few days. My friend Erin from high school’s birthday is today so a bunch of us are going out to dinner at Mags in Purcellville. I’m thinking about soup. Suggestions?
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