Furniture Fiasco of 2011

So, I do not like to do marathon shopping days. I'll last a while if I am fed occasionally. So on February 13th, the Hubbs and I went TV stand hunting.

It all started at Target, the furniture quality did not seem to match the higher price ($250-ish) and the low price stuff was going to fall apart if we sneezed too hard. We liked how it looked, but we knew we could do better.

Then we decided to head up the Pike, hitting several stores:
Pier One - awesome store, but didn't have the furniture we were looking for.
Haverty's - beautiful store, awesome customer service, I was not about to pay $700 for a flippin' TV stand. 
Room Store - kinda dingy, sales people were too busy talking about their weekend to help us, prices and selection were not that great anyway.

At this point I was done, but being a good wife I agreed to Marlo. There we hunted for a TV stand and found one we liked! It was pricey at $400, but it was solid and would last us. So it took the (not to be ageist or racist) older, foreign guy about an hour to process our order. I was frustrated but we left with a TV stand ordered and a painting in hand (buying the painting got us free delivery).

Two weeks later our delivery Saturday came, the guys showed up and dropped off a big box. They asked me to sign, I asked them to assemble it. They said that wasn't part of the deal, I guess I misheard the sales guy. Hubbs and I go to set the thing up and its a coffee table. WTH?

I call the customer service line who says my TV stand is on the truck still and the guys are in Gaithersburg and she'll call me back with an update. I get no call, so I call and of course the customer service line is closed. I call the store and am not allowed to speak with a manager, I have to speak with the little old sales guy who tells me he can set up a swap on Tuesday because they do not deliver on Sunday or Monday, and I tell him I need the earliest time slot because its my day off. He says some one will call me Monday to confirm a time frame.

I call them Monday to find out my pick-up (NOT delivery or swap) is scheduled for Wednesday (a day that I work 7am-7pm) and I have to set up a separate delivery time, but there are no more of what I ordered in stock. UGG! They can sense my frustration and just tell me they will refund me my money.

The workers come to pick-up the box on Saturday and instantly say "That's a coffee table, not a TV stand." Where were you a week ago?

I call the store to confirm the pick-up and they inform me I have to come back to the store to get the refund. OMG. I am about to... no, I lost it!!

I contacted the BBB and told them my story. Two days later, I get a call from a corporate manager pouring apologies all over me. She offered me a $100 gift certificate, which I declined and stated "Lady, I don't even want anything for free from your company." She apologized more. Then she offered to have me fax directly to her office my credit card info so she could refund me with out me returning to Marlo. I added she can also apply that gift certificate to the painting we have hanging so I don't have to return that either. She did. I was happy.

A week later, I found something I liked at World Market.com. I went to World Market on Friday and bought it. The Hubbs is currently assembling it. <3

The end... almost... I'll post a pic of the awesome, stylish Hako TV Stand when it's done.

MyFitnessPal = my fitness friend

Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

I started MyFitnessPal about a week ago and, even with its quirks, I really like it. Its format is very similar to LiveStrong (count calories and exercise), but is more of a community forum. The calorie counter is almost as nice as Daily Plate's, but the food selection is just not quite as good. MFP is all about people encouraging people. There are tons of blogs and an endless sea of advice.

You have your own news feed, kind of like Facebook, where people can comment on your progress and workouts. I think having people keep tabs on you keeps you motivated and is encouraging.

I only have a few friends on MFP by-choice - and only one is someone I met on site. The news feeds can get a little out of control and distracting with strangers, so having people I actually know on it is nice.

If anyone wants to be my "Pal", lemme know! :)

Good luck and stay healthy!

Me = Not Lame

This is why I am lame:
 So, I kinda let my diet fall by the wayside... weigh side... more like waist-side... I have eaten horribly for the past week or so... I still worked out a little, but I did not get hardcore into workout #3 of The Shred. I got a little sick, work started kicking my butt... Excuses, excuses...

This is why I am not lame:
No more excuses! I'm getting back into it. I have been using LiveStrong, but I think I may switch to MyFitnessPal just for a little bit of a change and kind of a 'reset'. I'll let you know which I like better.

As far as how I feel about The Shred:
Its pretty good. After about 2 1/2 weeks, I went for a run and ran 20 minutes straight without cramping up or anything. I even sprinted the last minute. Before the Shred, I was so out of shape I could barely run ten minutes without getting a stitch in my side.  I also noticed that my clothes fit better, and I felt better about myself. The number on the scale did not change much, despite counting calories. I got a little discouraged, but have found that this happens to several women regardless of the type of exercise and diet. The point is, don't let one measurement throw off your psyche. Stick to it and you will earn your results.

It does not have enough cardio for a sustainable workout routine though. The best workout for your heart is 30 minutes of sustained cardiovascular exercise (running, swimming, dancing) at least 3 times a week. You do not start burning fat until after 15-20 minutes of rigorous, sustained cardio. In the first ten minutes, you are burning calories/carbs, but your body's increased oxygen demand is what burns fat. The best way to track this is the keep up your target heart rate. Most exercise machines have heart rate monitors, or you can count your heart rate for 6 seconds and multiply by 10 (i.e. 12 beats in 6 seconds is 120 beats per minute). The Shred does, however, provide good strength training/circuit training to build up muscle to boost your metabolism even when at rest. 

The warms-ups in The Shred are pretty decent, especially in workout #2 &3. However, there is definitely not enough stretching at the end of the workouts - I think there is only 90 seconds dedicated to "cool down". No stretch should be held for less than 20-30 seconds!

So the best workout is really one of variety. Sustained cardio mixed with strength training. And don't forget to stretch!

Good luck ladies and gents.

Workout No. 2 = death

Seriously. The second work out is no joke. I was cruising through the first one by day ten, I thought I'd be totally fine with the second workout.

I am a sweaty mess. It was probably quite comical to watch me do all that. Maybe day 12 will be more successful.

Day 10 of The Shred

I think I may have injured a muscle in my thigh. It really only hurts when I do a low squat or lunge. I have tried to stretch it, but no full relief. Today I suppose I will rest from the Shred. I may do a little elliptical just to get my heart rate up, though.

I have really noticed a change in my body and my strength already. The number on the scale isn't changing much, but I feel good about myself, so I am not real disappointed. This has been about a healthy lifestyle for me and not really for getting a bangin' bod... but that would be nice too. ;)

I am also using www.livestrong.com to track my calories and workouts. It's a great tool because I can use the website or I can use the app on my phone. Super easy.

Shredding

Ok. So post holidays and after about 6 months of just being plain lazy, the hubbs and I decided we needed to make a change to not be so "fluffly". We decided to go veggie for a little while to explore new foods and sort of jump start a healthy lifestyle.

In addition, yesterday we started the Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred Challenge. Its only 20 minutes a day. I can totally do that. We took some before pictures today, which I will reveal when I have after pictures... The "befores" are not pretty. The first level is really quad and hamstring intense with a little bit of arms and abs too. Today is day 2 and my tush hurts, for real. I'll have a bikini butt in to time.

Doing it with the hubbs makes things a lot easier. We can motivate each other, and the workout seems to go by quicker when someone is suffering with you.

Anniversary: The First of Many!

We had an awesome anniversary weekend. We got to spend time just the two of us all weekend long. We never get to do that because we are always hanging out with our families or friends or the Redskins (bye week!).

Friday night we went to La Paneterria in Bethesda. It was amazing. The best pesto I have ever had in my life. It was a cute little Italian hole in the wall restaurant.

 

We decided to do a night of "stay-cation." We rented a cute hotel room at The Henley Park Hotel. It has beautiful architecture and an old-timey feel. Even the elevators had nice tapestry! We grabbed some lunch at the Cozy Corner Cafe - I had a veggie pannini and a root beer made with cane sugar (not syrup). Yum! 

 

Saturday night we went to The Kennedy Center and saw Hair. It was a fun show. Sort of a 1970s music review with a little bit of plot mixed in. It was fun to get all dressed up and do something we hadn't done before. Prior to the show (for dinner, bomb diggity crabcakes) and afterwards (for dessert and drinks) we went to The Old Ebbitt Grill (an old stompin' ground of ours). It has a really nice atmosphere and the bar tenders are always nice. We usually sit at the oyster bar since its tucked away a little from the crowd.




Sunday we slept all stinkin' day. It was awesome and glorious. Nick woke up at 5:30p and I started to make us dinner. In a casserole dish, I baked rice, fish and veggies with a little Italian spice and chicken broth. It was literally that simple and yummy. We also opened a bottle of wine that we got at our wedding shower. Can you believe we held onto a bottle of wine for over a year? Yea, me either. It was delicious. We also cracked open the top tier of our wedding cake. Can you believe we didn't open some delicious cake for over a year? Yea, me either. The cake was actually awesome. I had kept it wrapped in cling wrap and then aluminum foil in our freezer.

 

Our gifts to each other: I got him a tie clip (he has actually been dying to have one) and a business card holder (a stretch on the "paper" anniversary). He got me some awesome drawing pencils and sketching paper. :)

Dreamt I was Pregnant... oh my.

Don't get me wrong. I'd be so very excited if I found out I was really pregnant. But its a scary scary thought. Life would be so different. I can barely take care of myself, my husband, and my apartment. To throw a baby in the mix would be crazy, right?

Well, in reality, probably not. Thank goodness God gives us 9 months to prepare for this life change.

Eventually, I will become pregnant (God willing). So maybe its time to start taking care of myself a little more.

Maybe some healthy habits are in store...

Apple Bread

I had some apples that were a little too ripe to just chomp on, so I went for it.

Its my mini-loaf stone pan's debut performance, and it surpassed expectations. The stoneware really cooks things evenly and nicely. My favorite stoneware piece is my pizza stone. Whether you are making pizza from scratch or cooking a frozen store-bought one, it cooks the dough so evenly with out any burnt/raw spots.

Here is the apple bread recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com (such a great site).

I switched things up a little... used 1 egg + 1 egg white, only 2.5 cups of flour then 1/3 cup flax seed, 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar (you could probably cut the sugar a little more too), 1/2 cup of apple sauce instead of veggie oil (I topped off the half cup of apple sauce with a little oil, maybe 1/2 Tbs). This adds protein and fiber while cutting carbs and calories, as well as skimming off some cholesterol and fat.

I peeled the apples with a standard veggie peeler.



I cored them with my apple corer/slicer. Then I used a cheese grater to grate them instead of chopping them.



Delicious! And pretty easy. :)

Dust is for suckers...

Ug. Talk about sneezefest! Not only is it ragweed season, but I decided to dust my apartment today.

It felt good to dust though. I feel like the apartment is cleaner. I even vacuumed the vents to get the dust off them. I never really was a believer in dusting, but then again, I never lived in my own place before.

The mister did the dishes... and I did pretty much everything else (bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting, folding, laundry). It all kind of balanced out though, because it takes him a long time to do things sometimes, so he stayed out of my way on a day when I was in one of 'those' moods.

Year One: Green Living

The hubbs and I have been in our apartment for a year (already?). Since we moved in we implemented a few easy peasy eco-friendly practices:

1. Instead of paper towels we use cloth towels. The ones I have are crocheted cotton ones that my grandmother's friend made. If I spill something in the kitchen, I wait until I am done cooking then clean the whole counter-top with one. If there is a big spill, I use an older bath towel we keep around for such a purpose.

Result: We have bought a grand total of two paper towel rolls in the past year and are not even halfway through the second roll. (We do realize there are somethings that just need a paper towel)


2. No plastic baggies! have some reusable plastic containers for sandwiches (the black, round Chinese food containers are perfect for sandwiches, we also have some square ones). For other snacks for our lunches, we use other reusable containers and we save the plastic containers we buy butter, sour cream etc in.

Result: We moved in with a 3/4 of a box of freezer bags and we have used them for traveling mostly.


3. Recycling! We have a container for trash, plastics/aluminum/glass, and papers. We line the recycling ones with a plastic bag, but don't throw it away (essentially it doesn't get dirty if you rinse the items).

Result: Less "trash", fewer trash bags used. We are on our third box of trash bags.


4. Use cloth grocery bags. I started with using backpacks and whatever other cloth bags I have around the house. At my bridal shower, several people gave me gifts in a reusable grocery bag and I started using those. I try to keep some in my car, in case I go to the store on a whim. And you can use them for other kinds of shopping too! i.e. clothes shopping. When I grocery shop, I try to bag stuff myself at the self-checkout. Baggers tend to put one thing per bag and end up using the plastic bags for the over flow.

Result: I rarely use plastic or paper grocery bags, when I do I return them to the recycling bin at the store. I know some people need plastic bags for their pets, but I suggest using mostly cloth bags, and a few plastic bags.

Its Almost Pumpkin Season!

I love fall.
The colors are so rich (orange leaves bring out my eyes).
The air is crisp (goodbye humidity, and goodbye frizzy hair)!
And PUMPKINS are everywhere... time for pumpkin bread (traditionally, not so good for the hips...)!



Here's is my famous pumpkin bread recipe (well, famous to me because I love to eat it). I've tweeked some basic recipes to make it a little healthier. NO taste was compromised in the making of this bread!

* 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
* 2 eggs
* 2 egg whites
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 2/3 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two loaf pans.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves.

3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugar, oil and eggs. Stir in pumpkin. Slowly blend the flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. While blending the mixture add water incrementally. Pour the batter into the two loaf pans.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 80-90 minutes - do the fork test to be sure they are done. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans.

Makes 2 loaves. This recipe is easily halved, but the pumpkin comes in a can of 16 oz. so I just covered it with plastic wrap and popped the rest in the fridge.

Cellulite Wooooaaaahs?

Found this interesting article about how coffee can help you get rid of cellulite. Maybe worth a shot? Some say drinking it helps enough because of its antioxidants, but others say grinding it up, adding olive oil, and rubbing it on is more effective. Any takers?

Totaled

Bah. So my 1996 Acura Integra with 160K+ miles on it was in an accident (everybody is fine!). A lady ran a red light and I hit her, low speed for me, but not her. She drove away, we got her plate numbers, filed a report and called Geico right away.

She called Geico a day or two later with no plate numbers (couldn't even describe my car), didn't know what the intersection was, nor could she tell them the time of day it happened. So, we win! Kind of... My car is totaled so the insurance company won't fix it. They are giving us a little money (blue book) though which is good.

I offered to Nick to get the car he has been pining over and I'll drive his. But since he is an adorable loving and amazing hubbs, he said I should get a new car since I have never had one. Yay! Kinda...

Great, now I have to make a decision. Essentially, I feel like I am wedding planning all over again. I mean, its pretty much the same amount of money and its something exciting and fun and great but important and thus a little stressful (just like marriage).

I want a hybrid. I have compared the Prius and the Insight. The Prius is the nicer car with the better hybrid system and better mileage (although the cost of the car does not make up for its fuel economy compared to the cost of the Insight in 10 years). The Insight is more of a car. Its drives like a regular car and has a clutch based engine like a regular car. The Prius is quiet and you do not feel it shift or convert from gas to electric the same as in the Insight.

Another cool feature about the Prius is that you can use electric only for short trips. You can use Power mode (more gas) for highway, i.e. when you need to merge. And Eco mode for when you want to use more battery than gas.

Nick wants me to look at other cars too to compare them too, but I want to make a socially responsible and ecologically responsible decision and even if I can get a slightly less expensive car, I feel that being ecoconscious is important to me. (Its funny b/c I said the same thing over wedding details).

More details to come.

Turkey Burger Heaven

Ok, so I made these amazing turkey burgers, but we ate them too fast and I was not able to get pictures. I regret this because they looked good and tasted better.

So I had a pound of ground turkey, threw it in a bowl. Sprinkled some salt-n-peppa, a little oregano and a bunch of rosemary. I crushed two garlic cloves and tossed those in too. Took my wedding ring off then dug in and mixed it all up.

I made three burgers out of a pound, but I probably could have made four. I put them on a skillet, but on the grill might even be better.

I sauteed some red and yellow peppers with spinach and artichokes in a chili pepper infused olive oil. For those of you not fortunate enough to own this amazing olive oil, you can use the plain Jane kind. (and no I did not pay that price for mine, got it on a Woot deal)

When the burgers were ready I put some provolone on top. I piled the veggies, the burger and some thick cut tomatoes on whole wheat buns and then enhaled. It was colorful and easy on the eyes, while definitely drool worthy.

Not Coach, Not Louis Vitton... But way cuter!

My first project of something substantial made from scratch: purses! The pattern came from a Simply Made Easy packet. I switched things up a little and changed some of the patterns to give them more of a modern design.

I got some cute buttons from Joann's to top them off for a finishing touch. Also, I improvised and gave them both a little cell phone pocket inside.

Snuggle Blankies and Designer Burp Diapers

Finally my computer has enough memory to down and up load some pics! Blogs aren't much fun with out pics so I refrained from posting for awhile.

Who'd have thought styling up some burp rags would be such a hit. Even if babies are just going to drool on them, they are totally cute and worth it. I used yellows, browns, and greens, trying to keep things gender neutral (its for my brother's kid (due August) and they aren't going to find out the gender - or at least not tell us).

Pretty easy to do. I bought some organic diapers from Target and then some fabric scraps and fat quarters from Joann's. I ironed the fabric and aligned it on the diaper and let Bessy (the sewing machine) stitch away!

The blankie was super easy - I have Carlos the tiger cub here modeling one for us. The design on the blankie is Hey Diddle Diddle. Really cute (has a slight bit of blue in it, but I'm hoping my brother's kid is a girl). ;)

Sew Sew Sew

I need a name for my sewing machine. Something awesome, because it is awesome. I mean seriously, the thing doesn't even need me, it just makes stuff.

It has the coolest stitches! And it threads itself!



I need to get an iron so I can finally get started on my first project - baby blankie for new niece/nephew. Any iron suggestions?

Fabric world, here I come

So after some deliberation, I have finally ordered my first sewing machine. I did a little research and reviews-review and decided on the Brother CE5000 Project Runway edition. Maybe I'll be fierce like Christian

Projects to come.

Love fest!

Last year, before we were engaged, I told Nick that we were not going to fall into the lazy-Valentine's-day-couple trap. We were going to celebrate Valentine's day one way or another (not necessarily with fancy gifts etc., but in some romantical form) each year.

We've actually never gone out on Valentine's day. We've always made a special dinner at one of our homes together. It was always extra special b/c we did not live together, and somehow it always worked out that we got privacy on that night so we got to play house for a few hours.

This year we do live together and I was worried that it would not be as special as years before. So, I decided to make something I have never made before and have only really eaten once before: steak.

I saw Rachel Ray make it once, years ago and thought it looked easy enough. I tried to find her recipe, or one like it, to no avail. I decided to just wing it based on my occasionally reliable photographic memory.

I headed to Whole Foods - if I was going to make or eat steak it was going to be fresh and as organic as possible. I also stocked up on white asparagus, spaghetti squash, and fresh rosemary. All super fresh, yummy smelling, and organic.

I roasted the asparagus with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. The spaghetti squash I cut in half, deseeded, and drizzled with a little olive oil. I threw both in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I pulled out the electric griddle for the steak and put it at 350 degrees also. I seasoned the steak with a little salt and pepper and put a sprig of rosemary on each side. Then, I slapped those bad boys on the griddle and waited. They took a bit longer to cook than I expected (maybe I should have made the griddle hotter). Maybe took 20-30 minutes total - after cutting and checking a few times, but then they turned out great.

I guess if I were to do it again, I would cook them until they started to "bleed", that seemed like a good indicator they were getting to the right consistency.

Dessert? Well I dropped the ball this year, but the hubby was content with the Peanut Butter Incredibar from World Market (I think it came from Cali). A little later I realized I had some red velvet batter left over so I made a few cupcakes complete with cream cheese frosting.

All in all - success!