Random December List.

Random thoughts and things.

1) I got back from my trip to India on Sunday morning. Amazing trip. I was in Hyderabad for work for ~8 days (it’s a city in the south of India – in the state of Andhra Pradesh). JFK–>DEL the previous Saturday (after a 5 hour delay at JFK due to plane malfunctions – thanks Air India – a 14 hour flight total), did sightseeing on Sunday in Delhi, and then took a short 2 hour flight DEL–>HYD. Worked with an incredible team all week long, and then began the journey back to JFK this past Saturday. Two unexpected things about this trip to India: 1) I didn’t get to do any yoga aside from sun salutations in my hotel room and 2) there are way fewer vegetarians than I expected. I was just about full VEG for the whole trip. (I think I had a chicken sandwich in the airport on the first day.)

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(A sign at Golconda Fort, in Hyderabad – ha! I thought it was funny.)

2) Home renovations are still in progress. I am still very excited about them, but at this point I am getting very anxious to get my kitchen and bathroom back. Showering at the gym is getting old, fast. It’s been over a month now! I think we started on 11/14.

3) More travel plans this week. Bobby and I are going to visit his family in Miami and we leave on Thursday. Construction will continue while we are gone – and hopefully be nearing completion by the time we return. ::Fingers crossed:: Cats are headed to New Jersey.

4) I have only gotten to 4 yoga classes this month so far. But then again, I have only been home for ~8 days of the month so far, so this is actually a good record: one class every other day. Hoping to get to one more before we go to Miami (Wednesday morning?), and 2 more after we return. Bobby has been going with me because he joined my same yoga studio. ::Happy dance::

5) After Miami, we are going to NJ the following weekend to visit my family. Hectic hectic month!

6) I am obsessed with candles. I recently bought this avocado mint candle and this frosted maple candle from Anthropologie (not only do they have beautiful clothes, but they have wonderfully aromatic candles). I also have 3 from this line (also at Anthro).

alexei-frosted-maple-candle-anthropologie

(^^frosted maple^^)

avocado-mint-candle-anthropologie

(^^avocado & mint^^)

whipped-cream-pear-candle-anthropologie

(^^whipped cream & pear^^)

7) My favorite breakfast as of late has been a sugarless berry scone from Butterfield Bakery (unsweetened – not with fake sugar). These things are gigantic but somehow I manage to finish them. On the days I don’t get a scone I get either a fresh croissant (also from Butterfield) or a whole wheat bagel with butter from the deli around the corner.

butterfield-sugarless-scone

8) My heart goes out to the families affected by the terrible school shooting in Connecticut.

I think that is all I have for now. I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season so far. Wish I could spend more of it in New York – NYC at Christmastime is one of my favorite things.

Five Things Friday & Fantabulous Friday Five – 09.23.2011

Five Things Friday:

  1. It’s Fall. Officially. My favorite season. I even got up early this morning to do a post 🙂
  2. My yoga teacher training starts tonight. So excited.
  3. Hopefully going out to dinner with my husband tonight.
  4. Can’t wait to spend time with friends this weekend (after my training).
  5. I’m loving on kabocha this week. Got a few perfectly ripe ones. Also introduced a friend to it and she loves it too 🙂

Fantabulous Friday Five comes in 3 parts…

Five things I want to buy

  1. … I’m gonna say nothing. I really don’t want anything right now! Hate clutter. Instead I will do…

Five things I want to get rid of

  1. Old clothes and shoes I never wear
  2. Too many books
  3. Canned / boxed foods in my kitchen that I will never eat
  4. Kitchen appliances I never use (juicer, I’m looking at you)
  5. Old cords that don’t seem to match up to anything

Five places I’ve visited

  1. Hawaii (honeymoon; my favorite vacation)
  2. France (this past summer; also when I was 7 in November of 1993)
  3. Italy (January 2008 – graduation gift to self)
  4. Miami (where my in-laws live)
  5. LA (Guster/John Mayer cruise)

dec 30 2009 006

(Key Largo, south of Miami)

Five jobs I’ve held

  1. Video store clerk (high school)
  2. Call center rep at ETS (one summer in college)
  3. Sales associate at Gap (I think I spent all my earnings at my place of work)
  4. Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve in SF
  5. Software Engineer! (current)

What are yours?

Healthy Eating In Miami

We are on day 2 of our Miami trip (we got here Tuesday night; we are in town for Bobby’s sister’s high school graduation). So far eats have been fantastic, but unfortunately I have a cold. I’m recovering, I think!

Wednesday

  • Breakfast: blueberry yogurt with blueberries, strawberries, and wheat germ
  • Snack: fresh papaya
  • Lunch: Japanese bento box from Matsuri – this was ordered off the special Japanese menu, thanks to my future MIL. She knows I love hijiki so she suggested it. It came with grilled saba (mackerel), hijiki salad, salad, miso soup, sukimono (pickled vegetables – in this case cucumber). (Picture source.)
  • Dinner: papaya salad (papaya, tomato, shrimp, calamari, mussels) and Thai basil chicken from Lan (with friends). (old pictures)
  • Dessert: a cookie that I made with my friend (chocolate chip and pecan! recipe coming soon maybe…) + a bite of the bagels we made (cinnamon raisin)
  • Late night snack: fresh fruit (grapes, cherries, papaya)

Today has been great so far too. We are headed off now, but I had oatmeal with blueberries, wheat germ, and honey for breakfast (Bobby’s mom had oatmeal too) and then we snacked on papaya.

We are having such an amazing time here. It’s so good to be with Bobby’s family (my family now too), who we don’t get to see very often.

How often do you see your family?

Miami: Pilot House (Key Largo) and Japanese Buffet (YUM)

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 relaxing.

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

salad honey mustard large florida shrimp

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.

dec 30 2009 005

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.

dec 30 2009 006

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??

japanese buffet kyojin

I am dangerous at buffets. I get a lot but I do 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 got 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!

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?