This last week has been full of contemplation. I had some really good talks with friends and tried to figure out where I’m going.

Where do I want to be in a year? Two years? Three? I have no idea. But I’m okay with that.

I had my first acupuncture treatment this morning. So far I am very impressed with Nicholas Steadman, but I’ll probably write a more thorough review after I’ve gotten it again (I signed up for another session on Thursday night). I think I am very lucky to have found this.

I think this blog has been heavy enough recently, so here is so food! Bobby and I have been to this Japanese place called East 3 times now. We have definitely learned what to get. The menus have pictures for every dish:

I like to get tea (complimentary) with my meals.

The first time we went I got this grilled broccoli. Kind of a ripoff ($2.50 I think), but very good.

Bobby got this burdock noodle soup with tempura and fish cake things. He said it was delicious and finished it… I got to taste the broth though. Pretty yummy.

The first night he also got this salmon roll ($10?). I’m not that much of a sushi person, but I tried it and I thought it was alright.

I had to get a salad, and this one rocked. It was only $6 and it was huge.

And I got this grilled salmon (miso glazed, $9) and horseradish with some sort of roe. I actually chopped most of this up and put it in the salad – so awesome. If this were cheaper I would get it again (it was a fairly small portion).

The next time we went with my mom (she had been up to help me paint). I got the salad again ($6). It is gigantic and probably the best deal I’ve seen in New York.

My mom got a bento box which came with a small salad and miso soup.

That night I got the chicken teriyaki ($5 something?). Ahh, this was delicious. It came with a piece of broccoli and a piece of carrot.

This was the rest of my mom’s bento box – seaweed salads, rice, salmon teriyaki, tempura, and a roll. I helped her

Bobby got a soup again that night. I don’t remember which one. Or maybe this was the burdock one and the other one was something else. Anyway, this was delicious as well.

And that same salmon roll (I want to say it’s called salmon lover’s).

Then last night we went with Kate and Simon (who just got engaged, congratulations!). It was Salmon Thursday! Lots of salmon dishes were super-reduced, so Bobby and I went all out for salmon. Here are the happy couples:

I got the salad yet again. Bobby got that salmon roll yet again.

Then… I got something called “salmon neck” for just $4. This plate is twice the size of a normal dinner plate. So huge!! It wasn’t all meat though (bones, eyes – you know – the usual).

It came with some horseradish stuff. Bobby also got a natto roll (fermented soybeans – I do NOT like this).

And another ridiculously cheap salmon roll (normally $14 or something, but on Salmon Thursday I think it’s $8).

Wow, what a lot of delicious Japanese food. I would highly recommend East. They have a few other locations as well. Bobby was the mayor briefly at this one, but he was ousted just last night.

I have to go tend to my sweetie before he gets pissed at me for blogging when he came home specifically to hang out with me. Later, pies!

What are your weekend plans? I am going to IKEA!

I miss my old journaly-blog style. So I’m gonna give it another go, even though time is not something I have much of these days (and sometimes the journal thing takes time).

intenSati

This weekend has been wonderful. My mom came up on Thursday night and we hung out a bit after I got off work (after I did an intenSati class down at the 19th and Broadway Equinox). IntenSati was rockin’, as usual. The instructor was Natalia and the class was packed. The energy was incredibly high. Some of the affirmations were:

• Yes, I will raise my bar
• I’m getting happier
• I am worth it
• Every single day I say: “I deserve to feel amazing, starting today”
• I am disciplined and I am awesome
• My heart is compassionate

Damn. I should have written this on Thursday night because I can’t remember the rest and they were *really* good.

Earthrise Yoga

The next morning  (Friday) I woke up early and headed out to another Earthrise Yoga class at the Columbus Circle Equinox. It was another amazing amazing class, and I’m so glad I went (I had wanted to go on Thursday morning, but I decided sleep was more important… which is why I ended up at intenSati on Thursday evening). The flow was very similar to the flow on Wednesday morning (possibly the same?) so I was able to relax a bit more (I like knowing what’s coming).

Decorating

Friday night my mom and I didn’t do much, but this morning we got up and went to Home Depot to pick up paint. YES! We painted the living room today a gorgeous brown.

It really ties the room together.

Food

We ate dinner at a lovely Japanese restaurant that Bobby and I went to once before called East (on 44th between 2nd and 3rd aves). I do have pictures (from both times, actually) but I’ll post them later. I kinda like this writing thing I’ve got going right now.

More intenSati and a doctor

Oh! And I went to intenSati with Lindsay this afternoon while my mom was “cutting in” (painting the corners/trim so that rolling is easier). I really like Lindsay’s classes. They’re generally a bit smaller than the other ones I go to, but I think that’s because she’s still a relatively new instructor. Today’s was at the 63rd and Lex Equinox. The affirmations were the same as last time.

My Equinox was having an open house thing today and I got a free consultation with an acupuncturist… who could totally read me. I didn’t tell him anything – he just took my pulse and looked at my tongue (?) and knew exactly what I was having an issue with. Crazy. I’m going to him on Monday night after work.

What’s Next?

Mom and I are going to try to get to intenSati at 11am tomorrow morning. And later Bobby and I are going to hang out with Aunty Jo and Uncle Morris. We’re going to go get dinner with them (and maybe watch a football game?). And I should do some work.

What have you done this weekend?

Trying to get caught up on all my pictures… here is the Christmas spread from Miami (Bobby and I spent it with his family and family friends in Miami). On Christmas afternoon (around 1?) we headed over to their family friends’ house – it’s a gorgeous house in Coconut Grove. I think that if I could have any house in the world it would be that one!

This guy decided to watch us out the door (I still think lizards are cool – I did not grow up with them everywhere):

Bobby’s mom (she’s an amazing cook) made a “chirashi”. Chirashi literally means “scattering” or “leaflets”. It’s a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of sushi rice with various toppings scattered on top. I think Mom uses a slightly sweet rice (I could be wrong!) with some vinegar and sugar (maybe? sorry for the ambiguity!).

In the US we usually think of chirashi as rice with raw fish on top, but there are actually many more types. The raw fish type is scattered with Edomae chirashizushi (the raw topping). Toppings are always left up to the chef. This time Mom put shrimp and some veggies on top (lotus root, scallions, carrots, seaweed, and sliced fried egg).

She also made handmade mochi filled with red bean paste. These are made with sweet rice flour… I didn’t get a chance to help out but I definitely want to learn how to make these. These were wrapped individually with saran wrap.

Once we got to the beautiful house, we helped set the table with all the goodies…

There were mashed potatoes, green beans, turkey, Caesar salad (I think Mom brought this too), stuffing with chestnuts, cranberry sauce, wrapped up olives (always forget what these are called), gravy, and probably a bunch of other things that I’m forgetting!

This was my first plate. I honestly don’t remember how many more I had… I definitely ate too much It had Caesar salad, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts (these were AWESOME – I will definitely try to recreate), beans, turkey, and gravy.

There was also a table of snacks (crackers, cookies, grapes, cheese, etc…) that I forgot to snap a picture of. And then there was dessert…

Handmade marshmallows (!). Topped with powdered sugar.

Cupcakes!

Panettone straight from Italy. A family member lives in Italy for work, and they were here for Christmas.

It reminded me of our trip to Italy (back in 2008 – exactly 2 years ago now).

• Cibo in Italia (food in Italy)
• Ratatouille in Italia
• Italia – giorno quattro
• Italia – giorno tre
• Italia – giorno due
• Tea alla pesca (peach tea)
• Italia – giorno uno

Back to now… it was a really wonderful day, and I’m so glad that Bobby and I were able to spend it with his family and the very accommodating and kind family friends.

One of my resolutions this year was to travel more – and I definitely want to fulfill it.

Where do you want to travel this year?

P.S. Coming up – IntenSati (Sati Life) review, eating out in New York yums, and more!

I just realized that I never posted about our trip to Miami. I was only there for about 4 days, so I wanted to spend as much time as I could being social and getting away from the computer.

On Christmas Eve (Thursday the 24th of December) we drove down to Key Largo to do some sightseeing. Mid-afternoon we stopped at a restaurant called Pilot House for lunch. Key Largo is nice – it has a very relaxed feel and I could definitely see myself enjoying life down in the keys. It’s a great place for people who need to relax.

I ordered a salad (honey mustard dressing on the side) as well as large peel & eat shrimp (1/2 pound just for me!).

I adore shrimp. These had old bay seasoning sprinkled on them and I ate them with lots of cocktail sauce. Oh, cocktail sauce – everything is better with horseradish and ketchup.

We sat out on the deck next to the water and imagined what it would be like to live on a boat – pretty awesome, I think.

I could get used to this weather! I can’t wait to go back…

That night we went out to a great Japanese buffet in Miami called Kyojin Japanese Seafood Buffet. Oh. My. Gosh. Sushi buffet?? Unlimited amazing Japanese food?? Unlimited salads??

I am dangerous at buffets. The price was about $20 per person. At buffets I *always* get my money’s worth. Not by eating lots of unhealthy stuff of course – I go for tons of veggies and expensive or complicated dishes that I wouldn’t make at home.

The plate above was #1 of 3… and then I attacked the fruit for dessert. I really do have a lot of fun at buffets. Not only can I eat as many veggies as I want, but I don’t ever feel guilty about not finishing something that I don’t like! Some things that I remember having were…

• eel sushi (unagi)
• roe shot (the red/green/yellow stripe thing – eggs on rice in a cup)
• green beans
• seafood salad (octopus, squid, veggies, etc…)
• noodley dish (lo mein-ish)
• various seaweed salads
• seared tuna
• mussels! shrimps!
• mushroom thing
• pineapple! melons!

It was so yummy. I want to go back.

I’m feeling a little better (I mentioned I was sick in my last post), but still haven’t worked out since Tuesday. I guess I can count the 1-2 miles I walk each day as my workout though – living in New York definitely has its (walking) perks.

My new thing is drinking lots of water – go get a glass! It’ll keep you hydrated and healthy in the cold winter months (and if you’re somewhere warm, drink up anyway! I’m jealous of you).

Off to hang out with Bobby (well, watch him play video games). Tomorrow I think we’re going to NJ for a party and on Sunday I have a kickoff for an exciting challenge that I haven’t mentioned yet. I got accepted into the Sati Life Warrior Challenge, and I’ll give details soon.

What are you doing this weekend?