Isn't it ironic

"...don't ya think...a little toooo ironic, yah I really do think."

Alanis Morissette's 1996 hit lyrics ran true this past Sunday. I finished praising Dos Amigos burritos only to be let down mere hours later! Two pulled pork burritos were ordered sans sour cream, mild salsa, on wheat tortillas. Two pulled pork burritos with sour cream were unwrapped. I find sour cream to be a very odd condiment and unnecessary in my burritos especially when used in excess. In the moment there was anger and frustration. Let's face it, I'm a diva when I am hungry. It was after 8, tummy's were rumbling hungry, I wanted my pulled pork and I wanted it done right! But after some thought, this is a first time fail for Dos, we are all guilty of making mistakes at work, and Dos did correct the issue. Dos Amigos, consider your 'get out of jail free' card served.



The sour creamless burrito was a wee bit watery and the pulled pork had little bbq flavor, but whatever, we're letting this whole burrito experience go. June 27th was just an off night for Dos Amigos.

Onward!

I'm sore. Sore to the point that I am hoping and praying I will be able to blow dry my hair tomorrow. Monday's yoga class combined with tonight's body pump class has me massaging my shoulders and biceps as we speak, well, as I take mini pauses from typing. The humidity will be gone in New England tomorrow for the first time in for-ev-er and I want to dry my hair. There is that diva again. I must be hungry.

Yep I am.

Insert dinner minus that dollop but plus avocado. Avocado > sour cream. (same dinner, different day, new toppings)


With fourth of July just around the corner, there is no doubting the fact that it.is.summer. So today, I popped in the soundtrack to summer 09: The Gaslight Anthem's album The '59 Sound. I saw The Gaslight Anthem twice last summer. Once at the FNX music festival in Boston and then again at Lollapalooza last August. I got into them because of Lolla but after listening to these guys while playing lawn games all summer long and seeing them perform in person I fell in love with this rock band from Jersey!


These guys made it rain at Lolla! (cheeeeese)

In it's entirety, The '59 Sound, is a remarkable album. With a NJ childhood on my resume, I can hear the Jersey shore sound and Bruce Springsteen influence. If I close my eyes, I swear I am BBQ'ing down the shore and my dad has Bruce coming from the windows. These boys do not pose, they celebrate the NJ legend.

Honestly, I don't even think I can pick a favorite track off of The '59 Sound. That's not something I say on the reg. There are very few albums that I can listen to from beginning to end.

Great Expectations, The '59 Sound, The Patient Ferris Wheel, Casanova Baby...

I guess if I have to pick...Casanova Baby


Their newest album, American Slang was released on June 15th. Besides the title song, American Slang, I haven't listened to it much. I am still hooked on The '59 Sound.

Ironic, since this blog is about living in the present and not last summer. Ha! Oh well, does music really count?

The finer things club

Hello lovelies!

One more bedtime before it is Frideeee! Big weekend plans?

I kinda, sorta took a work out break this week. I say sorta because a 4 mile run on Tuesday did happen, and I might run tomorrow morning, but gosh, since the 10k, these legs have been tired and sore. I'm thinking the four miles on Tuesday killed it for the rest of the week. Oh well, I am putting the foam roller, yogadownload and my domestic skills to good use. Also, my finer things club membership was about to run out, so I had to remedy the situation! What you don't collectively call activities like reading, sipping vino, baking, cooking, making cd's, and yoga, etc., your finer things club? Welllll, these non-running and anti-strength and conditioning hobbies and domesticissities are some of the fiiiiner things in life.

Last night I made a veggielicious pizza and a classy frass cd featuring janelle monae, k'naan, katy perry (who doesn't want to be a california girl?) b.o.b, rogue wave, frightened rabbit, neon trees, the hood internet....ok. Check these out or stay tuned because they will be featured again on tuesday's tunes if they have not already appeared. And yes, I still make cds over listening to my ipod in the car. Call it old fashioned, but I like grouping 20 or so songs together rather than hundreds and naming the cd is the best part and my ipod stinks. ha.

Wednesday's pizza (and tonight's, love me some leftovers) was a jubilee of roasted broccoli, summer squash, red and orange peppers, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, a thin layer of classico sauce and a loving sprinkle of basil. So good. I heart pizza! Thank you boboli for making it that much easier to make.

Tonight, I sat in my kitchen smelling sweet banana air. In other words, made Emeril's banana bread with dashes of extra tlc in the form of 3/4 cup oats, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1tsp cinnamon and 1/2 cup blueberries. Oh, and last minute the "bread" turned into muffins.

Oh boy, I was nervous to see how these would turn out! I definitely just added the tlc without scientifically (pff) thinking how it would all react in the oven. Would the oatmeal and chia seeds soak up every last bit of liquid, creating a dry, gross muffin? Is the batter too thick?? It sure didn't pour nicely into the cute pink baking cups.

My oh my, these are good! Hearty and yummy! Yay. Success!

One tip: If you make the bread to muffin switch as I did, you must reduce the baking time. Emeril's recipe calls for baking the bread for an hour and 10 minutes. My first batch was done at 45 and I checked and removed the second batch around 40!

Now, it is time to watch big baby and the Ceeeeeeeeeeeeee's conquer Game 7! Beat LA!

Yoga Pose May

Be here. Be NOW.

Take three deep conscious breaths. Feel your chest expand and shrink as you inhale and exhale. Close your eyes if you feel the need (I do), silence your mind, let it go…

Did you do it?

Inhaled twice? OK, that’s a start. Do you feel better?

Want to regain that sense of calm awareness again? Well you could take another three deep breaths or learn eagle pose.

In an effort to bring yoga back into my life and yours I signed up to participate in Yoga Pose May, a blog wide (122 bloggers!) yoga sensation hosted by Tina and Kate.


For eagle pose you need strength, flexibility, endurance and unwavering concentration. But do not fear, I promise to help. If you can successfully take three deep breaths and quiet your mind, you CAN accomplish eagle pose. Unless you have knee injuries because YogaJournal advises anyone with knee injuries to refrain from this pose.

*First stand in tadasana aka stand up straight. Bend your knees slightly. Lift your left foot up and balancing on your right foot cross your left thigh over the right. Point your toes toward the floor, press the foot back, and then hook the top of the foot behind the lower right calf. (Beginners tip: cross the legs but instead of hooking the raised foot and calf, press the big toe of the raised leg foot against the floor to help maintain balance!)

*Next stretch your arms straight forward, parallel to the floor. Cross the arms in front of your torso so that the right arm is above the left, then bend your elbows. Make sure the right elbow is snug in the crook of the left. Raise your forearms so they are perpendicular to the floor. The backs of your hands should be facing each other.

*Press the right hand to the right and the left hand to the left, so that the palms are now facing each other. Now press the palms together as much as possible. Lift your elbows up and stretch the fingers toward the ceiling!

*Breathe, focus, breath, focus, concentrate. Pick a spot ahead of you and stare. Remember to breathe like we did earlier. Try to stay in this position for 15-30 seconds, then unwind the legs and arms and stand up straight (in tadasana) again. If you are having trouble mastering the balance, you can use a wall or a tree to brace and support your back!

*Repeat for the same length of time with the opposite arm and leg.
Source

I’m so proud, you did it! It’s hard huh? If you fell out of the pose, it’s cool I did too. Try it again, or try with the modifications. You’ll get there…just keep the focus on your breath and the stability and pure concentration will come.

The benefits of eagle pose are absolutely phenomenal. This pose alone will strengthen and stretch the ankles and calves, stretch the thighs, hips, shoulders and upper back, and improve concentration and sense of balance! Eagle pose will also improve asthma, low backaches and sciatica.

I love yoga for its ability to quiet and center the mind. One cannot hold a balance pose, like eagle, if the mind is not quiet. Concentrate on your breath, feel your body balancing, slow your racing thoughts, let it go…

Be sure to check out Beth, Morgan and Claire’s blogs as they too balanced in eagle pose for yoga pose May!

Out with the bad, in with the good

For some reason whenever I do yoga, I always think of a silly quote from Dumb and Dumber: "...out with the bad, in with the good, out with the bad, in with the good..." hehe

Ya know concentrating on your breath...exhale, inhale, aka out with the bad, in with the good!

Tonight I caved and bought yoga for runners off YogaDownload. It was 4 bucks and I have unlimited use until July 13th! My tight, sore muscles and hips were relieved, however, the woman's voice was very robotic. Trying to balance in half moon was just a tad difficult with Jane Jetson narrating the flow!

source

Don't know about you but after yoga, I always feel pretty cleansed and do not like putting anything unhealthy into my body. Dinner was whole wheat/whole grain Hodgson Mill pasta over a few handfuls of spinach, with steamed broccoli, cherry tomatoes and a little Buitoni pesto with basil. Apologies for blanking on taking a photo but take my word, it was very pretty and very satisfying. The camera just would not have done it justice. wink wink. Lately, I have been eating pasta over a bed of raw spinach and the warm pasta is a nice contrast to the crisp greens. New go to!

Flash Forward is all new tonight! It is turning out to be quite another Lost ie. confusing twist after confusing twist. At least there isn't a white polar bear. But the show is very thought provoking! Would you want to KNOW what is going to happen on a certain day a few weeks, months or years in your future? GAH! I just don't know! I feel as though knowing this information would make anyone live for the future and not for today. Each character's actions is either to prohibit or allow their flash forward to become true.

Too much pressure.

They should do yoga and relax.

Good night!

Finally...

Finally, the grocery story had brussel sprouts! Boom roasted. Craving satisfied.

(That is a savory turkey burger on an Ezekiel english muffin with some cheddah cheese right there. The turk burg is made with Shadybrook Farms lean ground turkey, black beans, a small amount of chopped onions, a little bit of soy sauce, a little bit of ketchup and a lot of love all mushed up and cooked on my handy dandy collegiate George Foreman grill. Oh yeah and off to the side, a few slices of roasted sweet potato)

Finally, YogaDownload was experienced! Yoga. 20 minutes. For free. At last. Thank you Kristin at IowaGirlEats.



And last but not least... I feel sheepish admitting to this but I think it is best to have full disclosure especially after my last post was called “Nature Goulet”.... Until this evening I have never seen Will Ferrell’s SNL Nature skit in its entirety.

Finally, I errupted with laughter watching Robert Goulet's affinity for nature and bomb a$$ rapping. For anyone else that might have missed the boat growing up I present to you, in all its glory, Nature (GOULET!)


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Sorry guys, I am not blogger savvy yet and couldn't figure out how to post the actual VIDEO to my site, so you will have to follow the link! (Anyone care to spare a few minutes to help a girl out?)