Pffft – So Much For The Snow

All we’ve been hearing on the weather for the past week is that we are going to get a ton of snow, particularly Monday afternoon/evening. Well, consider me highly disappointed, as it’s pouring with rain out there. Boooo-urns! In fact, any of the snow we had is now pretty much gone. Le sigh. Maybe it will come back just in time for Christmas day?

Regardless of the lack of snow, I still managed to enjoy some delicious eats today.

I started my morning off right with a simple bowl of cereal – I had to break into the new stuff we picked up at Costco yesterday!

Just some Nature’s Path Pumpkin Raisin Crunch in a sea of milk.

With a glass of Oasis Pomegranate Berry juice.

As much as I like oatmeal, you can’t go wrong with a tasty breakfast that involves no effort.

After breakfast, I thought about studying. But instead I wrote all of my Christmas cards, had a shower, caught up on some emails – you know, important, pressing tasks! By then, it was time to have a snack/lunch and head out to my volunteer shift at the hospital.

As you are probably all aware by now, when I don’t have places to be early in the morning, I do not get out of bed. Therefore breakfast is often eaten late, and I would generally eat lunch late. But since I was off to the hospital, I made a quick little snack plate to tide me over – a sliced up ambrosia apple, sunflower seed butter, and pomegranate arils.

I can almost guarantee there was a cookie consumed on my way out the door

They actually had a big project for me to work on, so I was busy my whole shift. Then, silly me, I thought it would be a good idea to stop at the mall so I could get stamps to mail my Christmas cards. Let’s see – the post office 10 days before Christmas? Riiiight, that sounds like fun. I made it out relatively unscathed.

Of course, I was famished when I got home, and found my hands in the cookie jar tupperware. Oops! Whatever, they tasted good. Mom was serving lasagna for dinner, which is never high in my books of eats, so I went downstairs to do a little review of psych while I considered my dinner options.

Fortunately, inspiration hit, and I was creating away!

I totally polished off the rest of the scalloped potatoes from last night. Oh yeah.

Steamed up a lonely carrot – I’ve been neglecting my carrots lately.

And put half a bunch of kale to good use – kale chips!

Take that lasagna!

It’s entirely possible I ate another cookie for dessert. Just so you know.

I was then entertained by the hockey game (winners!), while taking practice biochemistry quizzes online (fail!). I figured once the game was over, it was time to really get down to business. And that required brain food.

Mixed roasted nuts (cashew, brazil, almond, macadamia, pecan) and pomegranate arils. You thought I was going to say cookies again, didn’t you

With a homemade matcha green tea latte, which would have been ever better tasting if it were actually snowing out.

Besides hurting my brain with biochemistry jargon and molecules, I finally received my midterm mark for my Land, Food, and Community class (written November 10th). So far I’m rocking the 90’s in the class, based on marks from work done only by me. Totally beat the class average on the exam by 20% as well. You better believe I was doing my best Homer impersonation: I am so smart, I am so smart. S-M-R-T. Oh Simpsons, you have quotes for every situtation.

Anyways….I’ve rambled on long enough. I should either a) do some more biochem review questions, b) player stupidly addictive games online, or c) sleep. Or d) eat more cookies. Just kidding…maybe. Night!

I’m Dreaming…

…of a White Christmas.

Okay, so it’s not really that much snow. But it still counts because it’s sticking! Too bad it’s stopped for now. They keep saying we’ll get a ton tomorrow, so here’s hoping

To back track a little – I ended up accompanying my study of the Krebs Cycle with a little snack plate – medjool dates with peanut butter & chocolate chips, dried figs, and pomegranate arils.

I was rudely awoken from my slumber late this morning, as mom was off to Costco, and knew I’d want to come along. So I threw together a quick breakfast.

Yogurt with Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola, coconut, and pomegranate arils.

Toasted Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread with peanut butter and apricot jam.

And a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party (last of the carton!)

We made the epic journey (15 min?) to Costco, and stocked up on all the good stuff – cereal, bread, hummus. I enjoyed a variety of samples, my favourite being the freeze dried pineapple. Yum! I even got a Christmas present out of the way. Score!

We ran a few more errands, then called it a day. Back at home, I whipped up a smoothie to fuel some studying.

This lovely contained a banana, vanilla whey protein powder, cocoa powder, flax seed, coconut extract, coconut butter, and milk.

Just because there’s snow outside doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good smoothie

I worked through some biochemistry fun all the way through to dinner. This Sunday night featured baked pork chops with stuffing.

Greenery in the form of steamed broccoli.

And my favourite part of the meal – the scalloped potatoes.

I should have passed on the rest of the meal and just had the potatoes!

Not only did mom make a delightful Sunday night dinner, she also got some baking done.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, with coconut and craisins as well.

I had two…or so

She says we need to save some for the guests she’s having over on Tuesday. I make no promises either way.

Alas, I hear a psychology textbook calling my name. I have one last chapter to review, and I’m done! I have a set of final review questions to do the day before my exam of course, just to make sure the info is fresh in my mind, but after I tackle “Thinking and Language”, I’ll be all biochemistry for the rest of the week. The end is so close!

Time to go be studious. Night!

Missing The Ice

Today I took a lengthy time out from studying to go out to the annual synchronized skating Christmas show that my old club puts on every year. Since none of the major competitions are in the Lower Mainland this year, it was my only chance to see any of the teams, so I figured it was worth the time & gas money to drive on out there.

Of course, watching all the people I used to skate with out there on the ice made me miss synchro so much. I always thought last year, when I took the year off, that once I moved back home, I would go back to skating, but some monetary issues are still pending, and I was forced to again sit on the sidelines. Oh how I would give anything to get back on the ice next season. I’m really trying to figure out a way to do so – presuming I’ll have the time at school once I’m in the dietetics program.

But enough of my skating sadness – shall we see some food?

I was feeling lazy this morning, and opted out of oatmeal. Instead, I set out to eat up the ends of some cereal.

Just a simple mix of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest (end of the box), and Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise. I didn’t pour the milk on pre-photo, because I didn’t want all the cereal dust to turn to mush before I dug in.

Of course, there was the usual glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party.

A little boring, but it tasted good, and really, that’s all that counts.

Insert a little study time, then I was off for an afternoon of synchro watching. I packed along one of the Vega bar samples I received this week – the Wholesome Original.

I’ll admit it – it’s an old picture. Recycling is good for the planet! Plus I was trying to gnaw on the bar while video taping and photographing skating. Multitasking at it’s finest.

I’d say this bar is pretty similar in taste, texture, and looks to the Green Synergy bar. It’s just lacking the addition of Vega Green Food Blend. With that in mind, I guess I’d choose the Green Synergy, because hey, why not get that shot of green goodness in?

The bar managed to keep me from eating my own arm before I got home, where I found out it was “fend for yourself night” for dinner. I decided to make use of the plethora of leftovers taking up space in our fridge.

I created my own rice bowl with leftover brown basmati rice, broccoli, corn, and BBQ chicken.

I mixed in a little soy sauce to keep it from being too dry, then topped it with a little cheddar, because well, I like cheese.

Turned out to be a rather tasty and satisfying meal.

After dinner it was time for some hockey watching, accompanied by unpictured date squares and Kahlua-spiked hot chocolate.

Not enough Kahlua to feel it mind you – it was all about the flavour.

I’ve been spending some quality time uploading videos to YouTube which is taking FOREVER, and I’ve actually officially started on some biochemistry studying. Yay! I’m off to do a few more minutes, then this student is hitting the sack. Did you know sufficient sleep is one of the best ways to help your memory (and therefore studying)? I’m putting what I’ve learned in psych into practice. Night!

61 Years Young

Happy Birthday to my dad!

How’s that for an oldy? That would be me and my dad when I was a chubby little baby (and kinda looked like a boy?). Keep in mind it was either late 1979 or early 1980, so that perm was in stylin’!

Not only was it my dad’s birthday, but we had out first touch of snow for the season. Mind you, it was the lightest dusting of snow ever, but it still counts. Hopefully we’ll actually get some accumulation this weekend. Fingers crossed!

I started my Friday off with a nice bowl of oatmeal.

• 1/3 cup oats, water, milk
• 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness
• 1/2 banana, thinly sliced
• splash of vanilla
• pomegranate arils
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

Happy Planet Mango Peach Party for the accompanying beverage.

Such a pretty bowl of oats.

I followed this stellar breakfast with psychology studying. I know, is that all I do these days? I need to get onto some biochem soon though, as that exam is only two days after my psych exam. I’m shooting for some major biochemistry learning tomorrow.

Somewhere in there I nibbled on a date square (see the snow in the background?)

I had a doctor’s appointment right around lunch time, so I passed on lunch before I went, figuring I’d be back soon afterwards. Too bad I waited 40 min just to get called into the exam room, then another 15 min to see the doctor. Grrr. I hate when that happens. Talk about a waste of my afternoon. So I did a little shopping on my way home, with the aid of many coupons. I spent maybe $2.00 in total – check out what I got!

POMx Antioxidant Super Tea (free (excluding tax/deposit) – coupons courtesy of the lovely people at POM to review their products). I got one of each flavour available: Peach Passion White Tea, Blackberry Tea, Lychee Green Tea, and Wildberry White Tea Light.

 

POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice – Au Natural and Pom-Mango (free, see above).

Kashi Peanut Peanut Butter Chewy Granola Bars (free (excluding tax) – coupon that I signed up for on the Kashi website).

So what prompted the mass coupon shopping excursion? I realized they all expire on Dec 31st! I couldn’t let them go to waste, so I stocked up.

By the time I got home, it was really too late for lunch, but I was starving, so I went with toast + pb + j.

And it was so damn good, I had another.

Mom and dad went out for dinner with their friends for my dad’s birthday, and left me and my sister some cash to get our own dinner. We decided on a family favourite – burgers from White Spot.

I decided to mix it up and try out one of their feature burgers, John Bishop’s Burger – Inspired by John Bishop, owner of award-winning Bishop’s restaurant in Vancouver. Our 6 oz. 100% fresh Canadian beef burger with grilled and marinated sweet golden bell peppers and red onions, basil goat cheese, lettuce and mayo.

Of course, it came with their delicious fries.

And a side of coleslaw.

I even had a side of Triple “O” sauce for dipping (the sauce that MAKES their burgers).

I liked the flavours of the burger, but I found the goat cheese to be a bit overpowering as I continued to eat the burger. I ended up scraping it off the last third or so. I was definitely full after this meal.

Then I should of gone back to studying, but instead decided to start in on some Christmas baking. Well, not so much baking as food processing, melting, and heavy duty mixing. The kind that turns into an upper body work out. My secret project isn’t quite finished yet, so you’ll just have to wait and see what I was up to

But now…now I’m really going back to the studying. Time to go memorize all there is to know about Memory. Irony? I think so. Night!

Ch-Ch-Chilly

And our deep freeze continues!

I know that the temperatures we have here on the West Coast aren’t exactly the lows that many others across the country would consider cold, but trust me, it’s cold for us! I just wish it would bring along some snow. We did finally have some clouds move in though, so it looks pretty promising for the weekend. C’mon snow!

What’s the perfect breakfast for a chilly morning?

Oatmeal of course! Was there any doubt?

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 3 dried figs, chopped
• 1/2 banana, thinly sliced
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• peanut butter swirl
• sprinkle of brown sugar

Of course I paired it with a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party.

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Once properly fuelled and warm, I got down to business with some psych studying. Definitely made some headway this morning, so I’m feeling a bit better about accomplishing enough studying before my exams.

Lunch time came around, and again, keeping warm was the goal. I perused my options in the cupboard, and came up with this.

 

Knorr Spring Pea Soup with Real Cream – fancy!

I went with the classic soup and sandwich combo.

I heated up one portion of the soup, adding some extra frozen peas for fun.

The sandwich portion was toasted Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread with herb & garlic cream cheese and cucumber slices.

Lots of green goodness going on.

After a little digestion and time wasting, I decided to get off my butt and leave the house for a bit. I went down to the inlet for a walk, with intentions of going all the way around per usual, but man, it was COLD out there. My toes were freezing, so I only got half way and decided to turn around. It was a really nice walk though – tons of birds in the estuary to watch. Plus the thin layer of ice across the inlet looked so pretty

Once I was back in my warm house, I made a cup of tea and decided to try out something new for snack. Earlier this week, I had received a package from Kelly at Sequel Naturals containing some samples of their Vega Whole Food Vibrancy Bars, and another one of their awesome totes (love the brown & green!). I’m always up for trying out Sequel’s products, as they are not only a BC based company, but practically located in my backyard

First, we have the Wholesome Original.

The Green Synergy.

And the Chocolate Decadence.

In keeping with the green theme from lunch, I went with the Green Synergy. Here’s a peek inside the wrapper.

Does it look like potting soil to anyone else? I’m not trying to be mean…I’m just saying.

Anyways…

Here are my thoughts. Let’s be honest – this is a green whole foods bar. You can’t go into it expecting a sweet treat like a Larabar or something. And I’m fine with that. It still has a date base, as well as some agave nectar, so it actually had a pleasant level of sweetness going on. I was glad it didn’t have any bitter “green” taste like some green foods have. There was some sort of floral note, which I think may be from some of the fruit seed oils in the bar? I’m not sure. It was hard to put my finger on exactly what I was tasting, other than it was a little floral, and a little bit tangy on the tongue. Nothing unpleasant though. It wouldn’t be something I’d pick up if I was looking for a sweet snack, but it is a pretty decent bar if you are looking to up your intake of all the great ingredients contained here. Plus it’s Canadian – bonus points!

Instead of getting back to studying, I wasted time, watched some news, and got ready for dinner.

It was a sausage, smashed potatoes and gravy kinda night.

With a little asparagus on the side.

Mom makes the best dinners.

Not only does mom make the best dinners, but she does some mighty fine baking as well.

It’s my dad’s birthday tomorrow, so mom made some date squares (one of his faves). They were still warm when we cut them up for dessert.

You better believe I totally had two. There’s just something about old fashioned date squares I can’t resist. Good thing mom made a double batch. She thinks they’ll last through Christmas, but I think she’s mistaken

I was a good girl after dinner, and ploughed through the chapter on Learning in my psych text. I’m glad that the stuff we have for this test is so much more interesting than the last one – it makes studying at least somewhat bearable. I also made time for a little tv watching in the way of Survivor and CSI.

It’s time for me to curl up under the covers, but I shall leave you with a link to this story:

Police seize ecstasy pills stamped with Olympic rings

You gotta give them props for tapping into a niche market! Night!

Studying? What’s That?

I am the worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) procrastinator ever, I swear. I think I’ve read maybe half a chapter today. Of course, I have big plans to do some practice questions once I post this, but chances are I’ll just fall asleep. Oops!

In my defense though – I had some things to do today. Things that were definitely more interesting that my psychology textbook anyways.

I was up bright and early (what? I thought that was over!), and threw together a quick breakfast.

Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal with craisins and shredded coconut.

And a glass of my favourite – Happy Planet Mango Peach Party.

Yay! Cereal!

Why was I up before the sun when I have no classes? Well, I had my first Nutrikids workshops to do at an elementary school, almost all the way out at the university. Our group had two classes to present to this morning. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I think it went pretty well. Our second classes was better, maybe because we were better with our presentation, but they had tons of questions and fostered alot of discussion. Plus they ate all of the veggies we brought with us, and I think we turned some of them onto the wonder that is hummus, so I figure it’s a win!

I noshed on a Coconut Cream Pia Larabar on my transit ride home, but took no picture. I’m sure it’s something you are all very familiar with by now.

Once home, I threw open the fridge to grab something to eat while I figured out what should be for lunch. Hello pepperoni!

I was starting to feel the first signs of a sore throat coming on. All I wanted was something a) warm (as it’s still frigid here), b) easy to swallow (that’s what she said?), and c) relatively bland. I looked around, and came up with this.

Deliciously simple potato & cheese perogies, with the requisite sour cream and wee bit of butter.

It met all of my lunch criteria. Too bad it just doesn’t play nice with the camera.

I also broke out the first mug of tea for the day.

Then I considered studying, but realized I was too tired for that. I should have had a nap then and there, but I puttered around, doing nothing until I fell asleep during the evening news, missing out on dinner. Doh! But no worries, mom had it all waiting for me when I woke up (gotta love moms).

Creamy tomato soup.

Grilled cheese on whole wheat. I’m still not 100% sure why mine was cut into quarters.

A couple of dill pickles.

Warm, comforting, and easy on the throat. Two thumbs up!

I did finally channel my studious inner student and broke into the readings, while going through a couple of mugs of tea, and taking a break to dissect a pomegranate. Hey, somebody had to do it.

And really…that’s about the extent of my day. I’m hoping to avoid getting whatever cold this sore throat is signalling, so I think I’m going to do a few practice questions, then hit the sack. Night!

It’s That Time Of Year

Where the life of a university student goes crazy with papers, exams, and end of the semester fun

Sorry I went MIA on you all for so long! Life, then paper writing that needed attention got in the way. But I’m happy to say I am back and ready to blog, although I will put in the disclaimer that if I go MIA again during the next 2 weeks, you can blame my upcoming exams. Consider yourself warned.

So what have you missed? Here’s the speed recap:

• Olympic Volunteer Training
• Surprise birthday party for my friend at the Boathouse. And I’m sure you are all wondering – I went with the blackened scallops, wasabi mashed potatoes, and green beans. There was also homemade chocolate cake for dessert.
• Group paper writing/editing – I got it done though, with time to spare
• Journal writing – same class as the group paper, and I had this one done with time to spare as well. It was the last thing I needed to complete for that class.
• Volunteering at the hospital
• Picked up a jar of sunflower seed butter on sale, tried it for the first time, and I like it
• English muffins have been consumed in vast quantities
• Christmas decorations are up, and I made my Christmas wish list
• Windows 7 has arrived…I just need to install it
• Some sample products to try out….you’ll have to wait for those.
• Copious amounts of tea has been drank

I’ve also enjoyed mass quantities of sleeping in, sunshine, and freezing temperatures – I now have 4 blankets on my bed. Other than that, it’s been pretty standard around here.

And yes, I have plenty of photos to share with you. Here they are en masse – if you want to know what something is, just ask.

And to think, that’s not even half of the photos I took (although, it is most of the food I’ve eaten).

Now that we’re all caught up, I’m off to get in some psychology reading before bed. Fittingly, I’m reading the chapter on dreams. I’ll be back tomorrow – I promise! Night

From One Extreme To Another

Not only was today the LAST DAY OF CLASSES (woo!), but I went from being a charity case to having a job offer in the span of 2 hours. Crazy I tell ya!

But how did my day begin? Why with an early wake up and breakfast of course!

I went the simple route, and toasted up some whole wheat bread, then topped it with the classic peanut butter + banana + honey combination.

A glass of Happy Planet Tropical Tango to accompany, of course.

Another breakfast, ready in less than 5 minutes. I didn’t want to be late for my last biochem lecture of the year.

Transit was uneventful, biochem was as interesting as it could be, and then I was back on the bus to head home. Of course, it was still freezing out there (and will be all weekend), so I was chilled by the time I made my way in the door. So what did I do? Get back in my pj’s and hop into bed for a nice nap under the blankets with my kitty.

I woke up to a still freezing house, so I set out making something warm for lunch.

 

Tuna melt! Tuna mixed with mayo and dill pickles, on a toasted english muffin, and put under the broiler with some shredded cheddar cheese.

I heated up some applesauce with cinnamon and craisins, then topped it with a little granola for a tasty, warm side dish.

Posing with the parsley we brought inside so it wouldn’t freeze.

I cleaned up, then made myself presentable so I could drop off a resume at the new Kin’s Farm Market that’s opening up this month. Mom had so kindly cut the add out of the paper for me – she obviously wants me employed as well. But before I went, my dad told me to take all of the empty bottles and cans, and to keep the money from them. Yes, that’s how broke I am – I get the bottle return money as an allowance. HA!

I found my way down to the store, and filled out an application (outside, in the cold!). Once I gave that and my resume to the guy, he looked through it, and asked me some questions – specifically about what sort of wage I expected working here. See, they ask you to fill in what you made at your previous jobs, and well, my last job was one of those salaried, career deals, so I guess that scared him, thinking I was going to ask for some huge amount of money. I explained to him that no, I’m looking for a part time job because I’ve gone back to school, and I understand that isn’t going to pay what I was earning before. So he went inside, got the store manager, and brought out some more forms for me to fill out – so I think I was basically hired on the spot. They want me to memorize some produce codes before I start training though, which I told them wouldn’t really be possible until after my exams (I need all that brain space for biochem). So I think I’m going back down there after my exams to start. The pay is crap, but it’s more than the $0/hour I’m currently raking in.

Alas, I didn’t get my bottle money, because by the time I left the market and had to wait in rush hour traffic for a train to pass, they were closed. BOOOO. So I just went home to share my news.

We celebrated with mom’s classic homemade mac & cheese. This time with whole wheat noodles (finally!).

She even made homemade baking powder biscuits. Carbs require more carbs, obviously.

Plus a little steamed broccoli to balance out the plate.

Since I napped during the day, I spent the rest of the evening working on my journal assignment due on Monday. I think I have all my notes down, so I can just sit down and write sometime this weekend – not quite sure when that will be though, as I have quite a few things on my plate.

My sister bought some fancy caramel corn today, so I had a little snack bowl.

Along with some Stash Mangosteen Green Tea – I found this one in a sampler pack my mom had.

Me likey this tea! I’ll have to keep my eye out for it, I can’t say I’ve ever seen it in the store.

As much as I would love to stay up late, since I’m done with early mornings, I know it will just cause me to sleep in way later than I want to. And I have my Olympic Volunteer Training tomorrow morning, followed by a surprise birthday party for a friend out at the Boathouse Restaurant (check out the menu – help me pick something delicious to eat). I’d like to fit in some gym time and homework in there somewhere, but we’ll see how it goes.

Off to get my beauty sleep. Night!

Oh So Close

Only more day to go, and classes are over for the semester. I’m so looking forward to sleeping past 6 am during the week!

But let’s start at the beginning this morning. I woke up, and was in the mood for the most basic of breakfasts – cereal and milk.

I had planned on going the single flavour route, but once I opened the draw, I decided to combine a couple.

I combine some Kashi Cinnamon Harvest and Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal, then poured on the moo.

You better believe there was a glass of Happy Planet to go along with it.

Mom changed the tablecloth in the dining room. Time for the Christmas one!

I packed up my bag, put on a face, and was out the door into the chilly air. I make my way to school (completely uneventful, thankfully), and arrive at my last Psychology lecture for the semester on time. Then we sit…and wait….and wait. No prof. 5 min go by, 10 min go by, still no prof. Around 15 min go by, people start leaving. I take out my laptop to entertain myself, but after 30 min, I give up and leave. I have no clue if he ever showed up, but the class was never cancelled, so I can only assume something happened this morning that kept him from class. Of course, I wish I would have known – I could have used the sleep in!

Instead I made my way over to the SUB, the over to my faculty building to prepare for my presentation in my afternoon class. I also started in on lunch.

A simple peanut butter & grape jelly sandwich on Silver Hills Squirrelly Bread.

Carrot and cucumber, with the usual hummus.

Some extra fancy mixed nuts – cashews, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, and brazil nuts.

An ambrosia apple.

And for some reason, I had a weak moment, and picked up this gargantuan chocolate dipped peanut butter cookie. Yeah, I know…what was I thinking?

I pulled everything out for photos, but put most of it away, since I wasn’t actually hungry then. LOL.

So let’s see…I had the sandwich, then ate the veggies & hummus a couple hours later. A few nuts were munched on here and there. And yeah, I ate half the cookie before my class. The apple came home with me though.

We had our very last class for my Land, Food, and Community class, where all of our groups gave our presentations on our Food Security in Vancouver Schools projects. We were the 2nd to last group (out of 6) to present in our section, so it was a loooong session. I feel alright about it – it could have gone better, but it wasn’t horrible. The good thing is, we are allowed to make changes/corrections to our PowerPoint presentations before we actually submit them on Monday, so we can fix up the things that aren’t perfect.

After all of that, I was on my way home in the dark and cold. Good thing I had the other half of my cookie to entertain me on the bus

Even though it was Thursday, pizza ended up on the menu tonight. A crappy, frozen pizza. Booo.

I think this was a Delissio Pizza. It was made on a garlic bread crust.

The toppings appeared to be pretty standard – pepperoni, green pepper, onion, and mushrooms.

I was hungry, so I gave in and grabbed a few slices.

Wow, I’m hoping this never ends up on the menu again. Now, we all know I’m all for the garlic bread. I could eat that all day long and be happy. But not as a pizza crust. Something about all the garlic, and grease and whatever else was going on there did not make for a happy tummy. I retired to the couch after that to digest and watch Survivor & CSI.

I was feeling guilty about shunning my apple from earlier, so it made an appearance with some sharp cheddar and a mug of tea.

I could have done without the pizza, and just had this and been happy. C’est la vie.

Now I must find my way to bed. I still have one more early wake up call before I can officially deem classes over. There’s rumour we might even get a flake or two of snow tonight! Yay!

Oh, and I missed this yesterday, but I need to wish a happy belated 37th wedding anniversary to my parents. Do you know what they did yesterday to celebrate? Went to IHOP for breakfast. Ah, the life of the retired. Too cute.

Alrighty, I’m out. Night!

Frost Is The Enemy

…when you are trying to get to class on time.

My transit ride into school today was ridiculous. I should have sauntered into my lecture right when it was beginning, but no…I was 30 min late. And when your class is only 50 min, it hardly seems like it was worth the effort to even go out there!

But before we get to that, let’s check out breakfast on the run.

It started with a glass of Happy Planet Tropical Tango.

I downed that while I gathered items for my “to-go” breakfast.

I packed up some yogurt, topped with peanut butter and homemade pumpkin butter into my handy dandy thermos, and brought along the granola and muffin because I couldn’t decide which I actually wanted in the yogurt!

I also grabbed a Cashew Cookie Larabar, as I wasn’t sure how long I’d be out of the house today (never consumed).

So back to the transit debacle. The train was normal, but when I got off to get the express bus to campus, the line up was insane. This bus comes every few minutes in the morning, and I waited at the station for 25 min, during which two busses came (the first was too full before I could get on). Then we get onto the school endowment lands, and it is a parking lot. Turns out all of the trolley bus wires were covered in frost, and the trolley buses lost power and couldn’t go any further onto campus (the bus I take isn’t a trolley bus). So it was a complete mess. Someone failed and de-icing those lines – here’s hoping they get it figured out tomorrow, since it’s going to be another cold one tonight.

Instead of taking notes in class (our prof puts them all online afterwards anyways), I just enjoyed my breakfast. I went with the granola – I’m sure my crunching was annoying to those sitting around me, but meh, not my problem

After class I went on another bus adventure (this time it went smoothly), to BC Children’s Hospital. I have finally scored a volunteer opportunity with a dietitian! I have a friend who just completed her RD, and she got me in contact with some senior dietitians at her hospital who had projects I could potentially work on. I’m doing some work with one of the Renal Dialysis Unit RD’s, putting together 72-hour emergency disaster kits for their dialysis patients. They are like the emergency kit we should all have, but designed to have foods the kids can eat in case they can’t get to dialysis due to an emergency/disaster (like an earthquake). It was really interesting, learning about the aspects of an acute renal failure diet, plus I was able to meet up with my friend at the Starbucks for coffee. And by coffee, you know I mean a green tea latte

I left the hospital around 1 pm, and because it was such a beautiful, crisp, sunny day, I decided to walk the 20+ blocks back to the street where I needed to catch my bus. Strangely, lunch hunger crept up on me just as I was walking towards Whole Foods. I know, crazy how those things happen I took it as a sign I should grab a bite to eat.

Although the hot/salad bar was soooo tempting, I’m saving that monetary splurge for after my last winter exam. Instead, I grabbed a sandwich and a spritzer.

This is the Sea To Sky Sandwich (named after the highway between Vancouver and Whistler) – chicken, brie, greenery (can’t remember what it was), and basil pesto on foccacia bread. I had it grilled up, because sandwiches are always better grilled.

Once my belly was happy and full, I hopped back on the bus and made my way home.

I watched the hockey game (win!), and waited around until I was actually hungry for dinner.

Mom made a roast beef pot pie. Homemade pastry crust is one million times better than store bought, hands down.

With some corn.

And a scoop of apple/craisin/pecan salad.

Enjoyed while watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with my sister

And someone brought home this box of Timbits.

I may have consumed a few this evening.

And now it’s that time where I say goodbye and head off to sleep. Or at least read a bit. Big group presentation tomorrow – once that’s done, I’m so close to being free! Night.