Hayley: World Cup and Danish Candy

I’m having a great time!!!

Rebecca: Mixed Signs

Today, at The Cup, I learned that you can be more than one astrology sign.  Since I am on the cusp I am apparently Scorpio and Sagittarius.  I’ve never really thought about astrology until I meet the astrologer/nutritionist today.  We went on a coffee get together (I refuse to name it a date, because I don’t want it to be).

After he left, I took a picture of my coffee.

Organic Coffee with cream and cinnamon

I drank lots of it while we talked.  He won many points with me when he took out a bar of dark chocolate he brought to go with our coffees.  It was a chocolove bar.  I love chocolove, but I kept wondering if it was crazy some ploy to make me fall in (choco)love with him.

The astrologer/nutritionist was very interesting, funny, and nice.  I have no complaints, but I am feeling completely neutral about him.  Plus, his age is a mystery-he could be 30 for all I know.

Before I met with him I had a piece of toast with almond butter for breakfast.

Toast with Almond Butter

I also had tea and added this special honey they buy at my house sitting house.

Acai Mango Zinger Tea with Honey

Ichiban Honey

Yes, before you is a giant tub of honey.  This honey is local and comes from Longmont, Colorado.  There are five pounds of honey in this bad boy.  Literally, the best honey I’ve ever had.  I need to ask the homeowners where they buy it!

After my coffee outing I made a salad for lunch.

Mixed Greens with Tomato, Turkey, and Goat Cheese.

I topped it with rice vinegar for dressing.

Now, I am off to the gym for a run.  I really should run outside, but it is cold and I’ve been cold all day and I can’t seem to get warm.  I am super excited about this work out, because I downloaded new music onto my currently charging Ipod. Also, today has been a very lazy Sunday so I’m more than ready to run it out on the treadmill to my new tunes.

Rebecca: A New Dog Every Week

I happen to be the ultimate house sitter.  I move week to week from home to home taking care of different dogs.  Currently I am watching Ruby.

Ms. Ruby

She is pretty much the cutest dog ever.

Her only issue is her incessant need to literally “stop and smell the flowers.”  Taking Ruby for a walk is more like a “stop.” She is not very active and actually will stop breathing if over exercised.

Sometimes I feel shortness of breath on runs…but not as extreme as Ms. Ruby.

Speaking of running, I have found myself more at my gym lately than doing outside runs.  Colorado has been either too rainy or too hot for my liking. There is a lovely kinship forming between myself and my gym manager.  He has decided to track my workouts and gym attendance and comment on them everytime he sees me. Yesterday I got commended for finally coming to the gym enough.  Then he asked me my workout plan for the day and if I was planning on using the abdominal roller.  I put on a smile, but I actually don’t enjoy my workouts being critiqued!!!

My new thing is green tea.  At work, my boss buys this kind and I drink it iced almost everyday.

Celestial Seasonings Green Tea

I enjoy the sexy dragon on the front.  Also, it’s local!  The Celestial Seasonings factory is located in Boulder.  Their tours are my favorite ever.  You get to try all kinds of tea.

Anyways, I’m off to bed.  I got very little sleep last night and only made it through the evening with the help of a latte and a hot yoga class (with a hot instructor might I add).

Tomorrow I have a coffee get together with an astrologer/nutritionist that I met at the gym.  It should be interesting…

Hayley: Home Sweet Home

I am soaking in my last few moments in Colorado before I hop on a plane tomorrow morning- AAAHHH! Three weeks is a long time to be away from my beloved home state (and country).

I will miss my parents’ epic kitchen table that makes for intense pictures of chocolate:

Newman’s Own 70% Dark Chocolate

I will miss having free reign of the kitchen. I’m going to be sharing one with several Danes. I hope they’re ready to cook with me!! In my head all Danish people, college kids included, are semi-pro pastry chefs. I am going to chase this dream.

Kale and egg cooked in olive oil + lotsa pepper; tempeh “toast” with tomatoes, olives, Italian seasoning; Mary’s crackers

I will miss leisurely mornings. Rolling out of bed around 10:30, eating a snack and drinking coffee, then eventually going to the gym (maybe). Starting Monday I’ll be in class. Early morning class, too!

But, such is life. It’s a sacrifice I’m more than willing to make to be in Europe. And please, breathe easy– I’m not going to study at all much. I think that would be silly.

Sprouted sourdough bread with avocado and banana; coffee

Fun Colorado fact: Ride the Rockies, a 532-mile, week long bike ride, starts Monday. The coffee cup above is my dad’s and has the names of the towns from a previous year’s route on it. He’s a biking monster!

During my trip, I will be staying in touch with him via skype. My mom and brother, too. And Rebecca. And hopefully this man:

So dignified.

Depending on how bored I get while traveling, I may update in the airport. Otherwise, expect three weeks of nonstop Danish fun! READY GO.

Hayley: Everyone Poops

If you’ve read this classic, you know that since everyone eats, everyone poops. If only I had remembered this in time…..

Last night, I went to an evening hot yoga class, so in lieu of a real dinner I just ate lightly to ensure that I could still bend and stretch.

Upon returning home, I decided that my muscles would appreciate some protein.

Please notice that the package says raw shrimp. These were on sale at Whole Foods, and were about half the price of the peeled and cooked shrimp. Thinking that there was no possible way there could even be a difference, I went with raw. So I’ll have to make sure I cook them for long enough and not just defrost them– so what?

Surprise #1:

Legs? Tentacles? Whiskers? This doesn’t look like a normal shrimp. It seriously looks like an alien.

I’m a huge baby, so I decided I would take a deep breath and simply remove the offensive appendages like any normal person would.

I got more and more grossed out as the pile of “legs” grew and grew. I kept going anyway.

And then?

When Taro Gomi says everyone, he means everyone. I could have washed it off, but by this time, I was completely out of mental strength.

I did not end up eating shrimp last night.

Moral of the story? There are several.

1. Peeled shrimp don’t have “legs”.

2. De-veined shrimp come without the poop.

3. Sometimes things are on sale for a reason.

4. If I were responsible for preparing my food through its every stage–from the very start to the very finish–I would definitely be a vegetarian.

Hayley: Target is my Boyfriend

While Rebecca has been out hooking up with her guy, Target and I have been getting serious, fast.

On Friday, I am leaving to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark and I’m forcing myself to not wait until the last minute to pack like I might typically do. I’d rather take the last few days before I leave to relax, flip through a guide book, and plan all the fun things I’m going to do when I get there.

I almost uploaded a picture of what my room looks like right now, but that would make my situation way too real. I’d rather keep pretending I don’t see the mess. Picture dirty clothes and lots of Target bags.

I have managed to feed myself:

• sweet potato
• black beans
• corn
• broccoli
• salsa
• tahini thinned w/ water
• lots of cumin for a Mexican flava

• Honey Rice Puffins
• granola
• blueberries
• rice milk

Sometimes, internet must be obtained from sources that may not be entirely legitimate, like unsuspecting neighbors. I don’t feel bad because their connection sucks. Gotta post before it goes out again!

Back to this…

Rebecca: Long Walks on the Campus

Last night’s 2 am walk on campus turned into me sleeping in the ex Man’s bed. How does this happen you ask?  I do not know.

Anyways, I’m hopelessly addicted.  Not only to sex, but also to these.

Dried Figs

Does anything get better than dried figs?  I think not.

Summer means fruit and I’ve also been consuming lots and lots of fruit.  I love fruit, because it is an instant snack that needs no preparation.

Strawberries

Peach

Both of the above pictures turned out to be extremely satisfying.

If I could survive off fruit I probably would.  It is easy and delicious.  But, since I can’t, occasionally I force myself to create something for me to eat.  The other day my roommates came in and were surprised that the house smelled like food.  I told them yes, I had been cooking.  I made…A breakfast sandwich.  Really, it was more of a sandwich for breakfast rather than a breakfast sandwich.

The Breakfast Sandwich

I toasted the bread and then layered it with feta cheese, mixed greens, avocado, and dijon mustard.  There was nothing breakfast about it, except for the fact that this sandwich was my 12pm breakfast for the day.

I’ve never really been a morning person.

Hayley: The Perks of Being a Nanny

Chipotle salad on the job. It was prettier before I attacked it, but this is all that remains (not to be confused with the metal band by the same name of which one of my ex-boyfriends was a fan. Not too upset that that relationship didn’t work.)

Coconut sorbet from Glacier, also on the job. It tasted like straight-up frozen, creamy coconut milk. Obviously, I was a huge fan. Don’t let the lack of color fool you into thinking it wasn’t delicious.

The hours and hours of back-to-back episodes of iCarly are worth it! (The money I make doesn’t hurt either, but food is more important).

Happy weekend!

Hayley: Going Bananas

This morning I woke up much later than I had anticipated I would, which I attribute to working my brain cells extra hard at trivia night last night, which happens every Wednesday at a local bar.

I’m in the middle and Rebecca is on the right. We each enjoyed one beer while answering questions about sports, TV show theme songs, and art. I was pretty excited about the art round, having taken Art History this past semester. Learning pays off.

Realizing my time crunch but wanting a 12pm yoga class, I needed to get some food in my stomach fast.

Toast with peanut butter and banana with a lemon, ginger, and raspberry flavored kombucha. I can count on bananas to sit well in my stomach before any activity.

As my food digested, I had to do some serious thinking about the remaining bananas in the bunch.

They were browning much too fast for me and me alone to be able to consume them in time. Banana bread came to mind, but I went a different route.

Sliced bananas, ready to go in the freezer. Having frozen bananas around is my favorite. Think of all the possibilities:

• Green Monsters: Putting a frozen banana in a green smoothie perfectly masks the taste of spinach.
• Coconut Milk Popsicles: I haven’t tried these, but desperately want to.
• Banana Soft Serve: Frozen bananas in the food processor make instant ice cream.

Pleased with myself and the limitless options before me, I walked to yoga. Some days, I see people I know at the yoga studio and it makes it feel like a little home away from home. Today I got to catch up with a friend and with my favorite instructor, and it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day!

Yoga and bananas… life is really about the little things.

Hayley: Dessert for Breakfast

Blueberries in oats = Blueberry muffin.

I made these last night with 1/2 cup oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, lots of cinnamon, ricemilk, and 1/2 scoop protein powder. This morning, I added blueberries and 1 tbsp peanut butter.

I owe a lot of the muffin taste to this genius of a creation:

Vanilla LifeTime Life’s Basics protein powder made with pea, hemp, and rice protein combined with stevia and vanilla. Nutritional stats if you’re interested: 22g of protein per scoop, 120 calories or so, and only 3g of sugar. If you think you’ve found the best-tasting protein powder, you’re wrong until you try this. Please trust me– you won’t regret it. (That’s what he said.)

The muffin oats were served with some tiramisu.

My nostrils, which sometimes flare when I get angry, smelled this tea while I was shopping one day and made me purchase it. It’s a loose-leaf blend of yerba mate. Mate is supposed to have even more health benefits than green, black, or white tea: it has lots of antioxidants, boosts energy, and improves digestion (source). I like it because it tastes like dessert!

Afterwards, I went to campus to return some library books. School ended a month ago. It was time.

While I walked, I did a walking meditation. Five steps as I breathed in, five steps as I breathed out. Sometimes I also add words (in my head) like “let” on the inhale and “go” on the exhale. If you want to try meditation but aren’t the type who likes to sit still, walking could be a good way to get started.

I came home to this:

This secret admirer is good- while stalking me, they were even able to pick up on my food allergies! (people with lactose intolerance can sometimes tolerate goat cheese/milk/yogurt). I knew that this “anonymous” gift would make a great topping for my salad.

The pasta salad had whole wheat noodles, sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, goat feta, and what tasted like olive oil, garlic, and an herb I couldn’t identify. I put it on some spinach and arugula and added a fresh tomato and a piece of tempeh with blackberry jam on the side.

While I’m in Denmark, I plan on having real desserts for breakfast. I Googled “traditional Danish food” (No– I Googled it up) and felt pretty neutral about beef, pork, potatoes, and egg yolks, but so, so good about this:

Secret admirer, you’ve found your next project.