A night in Rhode Island and Providence Flea

Hey everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! After a lazy Saturday day, I ended up heading to Rhode Island yesterday for a quick night home with my mom.  I had a random urge to go bowling and convinced my mom to hit up the local lanes with me.  Bowling is kinda fun, guys!  I am so on and off with my bowling skills though, it can be very frustrating.  But it was still a good time, and pretty groovy once it hit 9:00 p.m. and Cosmic Bowling began.  Oooohhh!

And of course, when you're bowling you have to have beer.  The alley actually had a beer called Blue Hills Watermelon Wheat on tap and since I love fruit beer and love wheat beer, I thought I would give it a shot.  It actually wasn't my favorite though.  It actually tasted a bit too artificial to me.  But I did get a recommendation via Twitter to try Hell or High Watermelon Beer.  Apparently that's better so I'll have to keep a look out!

Saturday ended up not being a very good food day for me.  My mom and I split some quesadillas at the bowling alley as well.

And where it gets really terrible is when I admit to you that I not only stopped and got a McDonalds ice cream cone on my drive from Albany to Rhode Island, but I also went out for ice cream with my mom.  I got a kiddie frozen yogurt from my favorite ice cream place at home (also where I used to work!) the Ice Cream Machine and I finished mine AND my moms.  I think it was a bit of stress eating on my part, but I counted all the points and am currently still in range for the week with Weight Watchers so hoping it's not too damaging.

This morning we got up and did a killer spin class and I really pushed myself hard thinking of that ice cream from the night before. It was a tough workout!

After we got cleaned up we went into Providence to check out the new Sunday addition to Water Street, Providence Flea.  The flea market is inspired off of Brooklyn Flea, that I've never been to, but heard a lot about.  It was (I'm assuming) much smaller, but still very cool.

One vendor my mom and I both loved was Olive Spoon Studio.  They had really pretty bracelets and rings all made from vintage spoons and also some engraved spoons, cheese knives, etc.  Some of they were so cute and cool, I thought it would be a great idea for a wedding gift for someone.  I got a cute spoon that says "Tea for Me" and my mom got a bracelet.  I grabbed their card because I think I will be definitely hitting up their Etsy store.  You can get things custom made!

There was also a cute jewelry shop called Vintage Infused Accessories, where I bought a cute ring.  I love how feminine it is and the soft pink color.

And finally, there were some awesome food trucks.  I bought a bag of roasted chick peas for $1.25 that were delicious and I munched on it throughout the rest of the day.  I am definitely going to have to try to make this myself!

If you live in the Providence area, I definitely recommend you check out Providence Flea sometime!  The rest of my weekend was pretty uneventful and I'm back in Albany now ready for the week.  Hope you enjoyed the sun while it was shining today.

And don't forget to find me on Facebook and Twitter!

Random 10 things for Saturday

So, random things...

1.)  One of my colleagues in Atlanta told me that she had met her husband in the airport.  She jokingly said, "Look cute and keep your eyes open!"  I sort of forgot about it and wasn't really thinking about guys until a really cute one got on the plane and sat down in the seat next to me.  I thought, hmm... maybe the Atlanta airport isn't so bad?  We struck up a conversation and I asked him what he was going to Albany for.  He answered, "I'm getting married on Saturday in Vermont."  Oh, cool.  Excuse me while I put in my headphones for the rest of the flight.

2.)  When I was a little kid I saw a nightly news clip about a woman who found a black widow spider in the bunch of grapes she bought from a local grocery store.  To this day, I think about that every time I get grapes and am cleaning them up.  I double check every single time to make sure there are no spiders.

3.)  Yesterday I had to send KO her forgotten iPod from when she visited last weekend.  I wanted to get a card to put in with the iPod in the envelope, and there was a limited selection to choose from at the Post Office.  Is it weird that none of the "Friends" cards seemed to be appropriate but I had a hard time choosing between a card from the "Anniversary" section and "Love" section? Let me remind you that this was a card for my female BFF.

4.)  I played in my first soccer game of the season on Thursday.  Hey, wouldn't ya know it?  It rained.  Apparently rain is just the way it goes when I do things for the first time.  Example A.  Example B.

5.)  Afterwards was my bi-weekly happy hour.  The mayor of Schenectady didn't show up but we tried out a new restaurant/bar on State Street called Zen.  I didn't think that the atmosphere was all that fun, to be honest, and the drinks weren't stellar.  BUT they were 2-for-1 mojitos, so that's cool, right?  You know I like 2-for-1.  The food wasn't too bad though.  I had the papaya mango salad (which I learned about and tried for the first time in NYC with Dani recently... very good!) and steamed shrimp dumplings.

6.)  Does anybody else talk to the timer (i.e. "I'm coming, calm down!") when it goes off?  Sometimes I'm on my way but it is just beeping so annoyingly.  Is it just me?  It is?  Okay, then.

7.)  June 9th will be my 5-year anniversary of my start date with my company.  I have a blog post planned because there is a lot I want to say about that, but my coworkers were so incredibly sweet on Friday and took me out to lunch to celebrate!  We went to The Lighthouse in Schenectady and it was delicious as always.

As were the Villa Italia cupcakes that we had.  Yum.  Per usual, I started eating the cupcakes before I took a picture.  There were a number of different kinds and I was a big pain in the butt and made us cut them all up so I could try them all.  I'm a dork.  A dork that loves cupcakes.  Don't judge.  And don't hate either, because I counted the points for them!  Yay!  And yay for having such amazing co-workers!  Can't believe it's been 5 years.

8.)  I've had such a lazy Saturday but it's been kind of nice.  I did do a couple productive things though... clean my kitchen, set up a Facebook page for the blog (find me here!) and eat some delicious foods.

Salted caramel tea, eggs with mushroom and onion and tomato, with a side of berries and of course, come water.

A mishmash plate of food for lunch that included some Shirazi salad (tomato, cucumber, red onion and lime juice), roasted sweet potato, roasted Vidalia onion, a chicken sausage, and a carrot stick.

9.)  Yesterday was free donut day at Dunkin Donuts, which I didn't realize until the lady at the drive thru said, "Would you like a free donut?" after I ordered my coffee.  And guess what, y'all?  I said NO!

10.)  I saw the Great Gatsby last night with my friends who are married.  The movie wasn't that great in my opinion, although those parties looked fun.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Semi-successful in Atlanta

Hey guys, how is everyone?  I am back in Albany today after spending the past two nights in Atlanta for work.  I actually published my ode to Albany from miles and miles away.  Go figure.

I was a little nervous about how I would fare eating and exercise wise while on my trip because traveling is always hard for me.  I had indulged over the weekend and was hoping to get back on track. I will say that I did pretty well, but I could have done better.  I tried to remind myself that the meals were just meals... not a celebration or special occasion and tried to just stick to eating what I needed to.  I didn't take any food pictures, purposefully, because I didn't want the trip to be about the food.  But rather, about the people I was with and the conversation.  That was why I was traveling.  Not food.  I'm hoping it will help me to make this distinction in the future.  Sometimes I am going out to eat for the food or traveling and looking forward to great meals.  But this trip was for work and not food.  I did my best to remember that.

So, what went well?

• I didn't have alcohol at dinner either night
• I didn't have pre-dinner bread either night
• I exercised both days while I was in Atlanta and today, after flying back (5 miles!)
• I ate a lot of fruit as snacks
• I didn't eat the delicious Biscoff cookies on my Delta flight
• In fact, I didn't do any flight-related anxiety eating at all
• I stayed in control for breakfast, lunch, and snacks both days
• The first night I didn't have dessert

I can be a pretty anxious flyer at times and one of the things that makes me feel better when I am feeling anxious is... you guessed it, eating.  I have at times binge eaten on planes or in the airports to just feel better about the whole flight process, so it was good for me to get through it without any bad eating!

Something kind of interesting that helped me get through it was that sitting in the aisle next to me was a woman who got really anxious right before we took off.  She actually asked the flight attendant if there was any way she could get off the plane easily because she was feeling really anxious.  The flight attendant said it would delay everything, and the woman seemed uneasy about making everyone else wait. She was actually really sweet and I could tell just a bit skiddish.  So I started talking to her.  I told her that I have anxiety problems as well and knew what she was feeling.  I asked if she just wanted to talk because that usually helped me to distract myself.  She said sure.  During takeoff and then again when we landed I just talked to her the whole time.  Asked her questions about where she was from, what she did, her travels, and essentially anything in life besides the airplane :)

I know how terrible anxiety can be and it was nice to be able to hopefully help her out just a little bit.  She did have a connecting flight, so I hope she made it there safely!  She doesn't know it, but talking to her helped me to feel more comfortable as well and kept me on track.  That feeling of being needed and that you are helping is sort of addicting to me.  Is that weird?

Anyways, back to travel eating... where could I have improved?

• I didn't have to go to the dessert station on the 2nd night
• I could have worked out a little harder (2 mile run & some weights on Monday, some weights on Tuesday)
• I made good choices at dinners but didn't stop when I was no longer hungry, I continued to eat because the food was good
• I broke my soda-ban and had a can of Diet Coke ( my 3rd soda since the beginning of April)

I had a bad moment last night when post-dinner, our group decided to take team photo.  I ended up on the end, which, as my close friends know, is NOT my ideal group photo location.  I did my best to skinny-arm it up and try and use some of the tricks I know to look as lean as possible.  But it just ended up being totally awkward.  I knew it was going to be a bad photo as soon as it was taken and I was pretty depressed seeing what I looked like.  Even though I knew I'd gone over with points, I had been feeling okay about how I did eating wise on the trip.  After I saw the photo was when I started going through the, "Ugh, I should have done better," mental spiral and got pretty bummed.

But, I'm back in Albany and back to counting points in my lovely little (mostly) controlled environment.   I stocked up on fruits and veggies today, and stayed on track with points.  Plus, got in a 5 mile run!

Some of my eats today included some whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana, along with some tea and carrots.

And, later on I had this ginormous bowl of berries.  I am totally going to be going overboard on berries over the next week and I'm kind of excited about it.

And although I didn't take any pictures of the food in Atlanta, I did take a few pictures of one of the restaurants.  We ate at Murphy's the first night and Canoe the second night.  Both were great, but Canoe had this gorgeous outdoor area right along the Chattahoochie River (that's fun to say!)  Totally gorgeous!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Happy 5 year anniversary Albany!

Hey guys, I've been wanting to write this post for a while now and figured now was a good a time as any to post it.  I mentioned this a couple times but this May marks the 5 year anniversary of me graduating from college and moving to Albany, NY.  When I moved to Albany I didn't know anybody living here.  I started a job that I really didn't know much about and I moved in with two random guys I found off of Craigslist.  I figured I would be here for 2 years max and wasn't sure what else to expect.  Well, it's been 5 years, 4 apartments, 11 roommates, 3 jobs, and although it hasn't all been perfect, I'm still smiling :)

I moved here thinking I would be here for 2 years while a part of a rotational program at work.  I figured I'd have no friends for those 2 years, travel every weekend to visit friends in either Boston, Rhode Island, New York, or Syracuse every weekend.  Well, what I got out of my move to Albany was so much more than that.  I never would have guessed I'd be here for 5 years and frankly, it boggles my mind a little bit that it's been that long.

There have been days, weeks, and months where I've wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of here, but in the end, I really am happy here.  I won't be here forever, but Albany is now officially one of the places I call home.

Albany is where I got into my first car accident.  Where I purchased my first car on my own.  Albany is where, from scratch, I made friends who have since become family.  Albany is where I started my career, learned how to run, furnished my first apartment, and started this blog.

I was living in Albany when I had my first trip to the emergency room for a kidney infection a few years ago.  It was my friends, now family, who brought me to urgent care, and then directly to the emergency room and stayed with me through the night.  It was here in Albany when I fell in true, real, never-be-the-same-again love for the first time, had my heart crushed for the first time, and had to rebuild myself from nothing.

I've really embraced living here and gone to see concerts and plays and comedians.  I've cheered for the local sports team in the Albany River Rats, the Tri City Valley Cats, and Union College.  I've made friends who have lived here their entire lives and friends from all over the world.  I've drank in the street at the St. Patrick's Day parade, put money on the horses at the race track in Saratoga, taken pictures with the flowers at Tulipfest, and rode the rides at the Altamont Fair in addition to attending Larkfest, Oktoberfest, Victorian Stoll.  I've skiied at local mountain Jiminy Peak and swam at Grafton Park.

I've gone to a neighborhood bar so regularly that the bouncers stopped IDing me.  I've gone to a restaurant so regularly that the waiters know my name and order.  I made friends, lost touch with them for years, and then run into them again, all in Albany.  I have friends here I have known since before they had kids.  Friends I've made and watched as they met, fell in love, and married.

As much as you grow when you first move away from home and head to college, I've grown up so much more in my 5 years in Albany.  I guess it's natural and it doesn't necessarily have to do with where you live, but I really feel thankful to where I've lived these years.  Albany given me a nice combination of independence and self sufficiency.  It's close by to friends and family, affordable to live, and has lots of new things to explore and try.

Who knows where I will be writing from 5 years from now.  But I do know that I will always look at at these five years as such an incredible time in my life.  Someday I'll take my kids back to Albany and point out where Mommy first lived and where all these special times in life took place.  It's been such a fun ride and there is still more to come!

So the count is 5 years, 4 apartments, 11 roommates, and 3 jobs... but many, many friends and countless memories.  Thank you Albany :)

Park Playhouse, Albany.

Racetrack, Saratoga.

Victorian Stroll, Saratoga.

Tulipfest, Albany.

Phish concert, SPAC.

Indian Ladder Farm

My first Christmas tree, Albany.

Lights in the Park, Albany.

My very first 5K I completed.

My first apartment I truly loved.

Weekend recap with 2 of my best friends!

Hey guys, haven't talked to you all in a while, but I was busy having a really great few days.  The fun started on Thursday when after a hot 3-mile run outside I added a long walk on top of it and went down  to the Riverfront Barge for dinner with a friend.  I had a delicious salad with lots of chicken and fruit and discovered a new favorite drink that I think will be a staple for me this summer.  Firefly Sweet Tea vokda with water and lots of lemon.  On a hot night, it totally hit the spot!

And it was a nice walk back, taking in some of the Albany hot spots!

I managed to stick to my Weight Watchers points.  The salad and drink fit into my daily points and I felt good going into Friday.  I had plans to run both on Friday and on Saturday and knew I would definitely be indulging a bit more on the food side, I thought I would be okay.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep that pact to myself, which leaves me at the end of the weekend feeling a bit disappointed in myself.  However, I had such a great weekend, I am trying to not let my disappointment damper the fun and am vowing to do better tomorrow.  I know it will be tough as I am traveling but I know I need to.  One of the things that I try to remember when I sit down for each meal is, "Is this a special meal or not?" and most of the time it's not.  However, this weekend -- it was!  And why?  Because I had some of my favorite people in town visiting :)

Friday after work, I made a brief stop at a work party that was so fun... catered by Putnam Market in Saratoga... I was a goner.  The food was really delicious, so varied, and everywhere that you look.  I left there feeling totally stuffed, way over on points, but smiling because my next stop was the bus station to pick up one of my best friends, Ms. KO, who was coming to visit for the weekend!

It was so great to see her and we headed right back to my place to sit on my porch, catch up, and indulge in a glass of wine or two.  We were both wiped and went to bed pretty early though, waking up early to run one of my favorite races of the year: the Freihofer's 5K Run for Women!  This race is so well organized, so inspiring with thousands of women, and so fun because of the number of people that come out to cheer the runners on.  Plus, you get cookies!  Freihofer's actually was the first race that I actually completed running, which also means it will always have a special place in my heart.  My time wasn't my best ever, but my best for this race, which makes me happy as well.  And even better since I enjoyed it with KO!

We came back from the race and had a quick lunch that I threw together based on things I had in the fridge.  A salad of mixed greens, turkey, fruit, chili lime spiced almonds, and a side of some hummus and carrots.

After lunch, which was enjoyed on the porch, we headed back into the sun in the form of some relaxing pool time at my friend's apartment complex.  KO and I were lifeguards together back in the day and have spent many a summers out by the pool.  Laying in lounge chairs was a bit nostalgic and seriously the perfect way to relax after the race and take in a bit of Vitamin D.  It was a hot, hot day!

Right from the pool we stopped by the airport.  I'd made up a story about having to pick up lost luggage for a co-worker, which KO totally bought, and when we walked into the airport, Teenie was right there waiting to surprise her!  Teenie and I had planned this a couple weeks ago and wanted to surprise KO for no real reason beyond the fact that surprises are fun.  And boy was it :)  I was SO nervous going into the surprise and nervous that I'd somehow mess it up, but it worked out perfectly.  Here is a few pictures of how it went down:

I love the look on KO's face.  It's so happy!  After the surprise went down, we cleaned up from the pool at my apartment and then headed to one of my favorite local Mexican restaurants for a feast sitting outside.  This is where the night got bad for me.

Margaritas.

Chips, salsa, and guacamole.

And some delicious meals to follow.  YUM.

Dinner was so, so good!  It was probably a hundred million points, but it was delicious and even better to be shared with best friends.  We laughed and chatted and prolonged the dinner as long as we could.  Only ending to come back to my place, hang on my porch some more and indulge in a bit of this.

And I ate a few too many of these.  The darn Freihofer's run for cookies...

But, putting the calories out of my mind and thinking more about this fun...

So much fun with these girls, always.  We had a delicious breakfast in the morning, prepared together, as we usually do.  Scrambled eggs, cheese, bell peppers, fresh basil along side some Freihofer's toast and fruit.

I can't say enough how happy I am that it is porch weather again.  We definitely made use of it this weekend eating almost every one of our meals out there.

Well, not this one :)

After a long walk around the park in Albany we got some frozen yogurt before heading to both the train station and the airport to say goodbye to the girls.

It was a fantastic weekend and my apartment feels too lonely already.  I'm not sure what the damage will be on the scale tomorrow, but I made up for it with happiness and smiles this weekend with my best friends.

Hope you had just as great a weekend!