Post Writer's Block

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday, I was just having major writer's block. Well, not exactly block, more like I had a million things to say and I couldn't figure out how to put them into one cohesive blog entry. Not sure why I decided they needed to be all organized all of a sudden. So anyway:

Happy Friday!!!

Last night Eric and I went into Boston to meet up with our friends Katie and Adam for some din din. Ever since discovering the glory of fast lane, we are able to shoot into Boston must quicker than we were before, even during high traffic times. We tried out a adorable Italian restaurant right across from Katie's apartment called Porto Bello. It was so tiny but they managed to make it feel not cramped at all, amazing.

The whole atmosphere was actually a lot like eating at your crazy Italian grandmother's house. When the lady came over to take our order she was basically yelling at us, not in a mean way, just in a crazy Italian way :)

I managed to having only one piece of bread, even though the olive oil was delicious and I could've eaten it all night. I definitely have a problem going overboard with bread at restaurants so I tried the strategy of eating a small snack before we left- a half of an Arnold's Sandwich Thin with a tiny bit of peanut butter. I've never had any lucky with this strategy, but last night it really worked, go figure.

I ordered pasta, and it was good. If you are a big pasta with tomato sauce person, and have also been to Italy you will know what I mean. But basically there is Italy pasta, and American pasta. I've had Italy pasta here, but it's rare. Porto Bello had good American pasta, but not on the Italy level. I still consider this a step up from Eric and my frequent trips to Bertuccis. I love their rolls, but their pasta REALLY leaves something to be desired. Anyone with me on this?

Backing up to yesterday afternoon I busted out 45 minutes on the elliptical before leaving for dinner. Eric and I are going to the Cape this weekend to meet with the coordinator at our wedding ceremony and reception place. I knew we had dinner reservations both nights AND I was going out last night so I was starting to think I was going to be 10 pounds heavier by Sunday. Instead of freaking out, I decided to put all my energy into the elliptical and see how many calories I could burn.

45 Minute Elliptical Intervals/Sprint Mix Up
Elliptical Challenge Workout #5

0-5, Resistance 5, Warm Up
5-10, Resistance 10, Forward
10-11, Resistance 8, Sprint
11-13, Resistance 8, Recover
13-15, Resistance 8, Backwards
15-20, Resistance 11, Forward
20-21, Resistance 8, Sprint
21-23, Resistance 8, Recover
23-25, Resistance 8, Backwards
25-30, Resistance 11, Forward
30-31, Resistance 9, Sprint
31-33, Resistance 9, Recover
33-35, Resistance 9, Backwards
35-40, Resistance 11, Forwards
40-45, Resistance 6, Cool Down

I definitely pushed myself during this workout, but it kept me entertained along with the Dr. Phil show that happened to be on TV. They were talking about mistakes parents make with kids, and let me tell you I've seen a lot of them. But, I don't want to get too cocky, I know I'll make a million mistakes when I have kids too. I'm sure Dr. Phil himself made a few :)
This morning I started my day with some oatmeal...

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/4 cup pumpkin
4 tablespoons of egg whites
a handful of blueberries
sliced apple on the top

I covered my oatmeal and pumpkin in water and put it in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds. Then, I added the egg whites and blueberries and cooked for about 45 seconds. I find the cooking time on the egg whites depends on the microwave. When I first cooked the egg whites on my home microwave I did a minute and it was like a fried an egg on my oatmeal haha. You don't want the egg to cook so much that you can actually see white chunks, you just want it to change the texture of your oatmeal a bit.

It's funny I thought I was done with pumpkin in my oatmeal because the taste was starting to bug me, but today with the apple it was the perfect combination. I had been using bananas before but I do not think that alone they are sweet enough to go against the vegetable taste of the pumpkin and make the dish a bit sweet. The apple and pumpkin combination was perfect for me. Just something to think about if you plan to make some pumpkin oats. Another thing to think about: I used to hate oatmeal because it was so mushy and soggy. Turns out, the recommended amount of water is too much for me. I just cover my oatmeal in water and that's it. It makes it much thicker and delicious in my opinion.

Do you like oatmeal? What is your favorite mix in or topping for your oatmeal?