Christmas Party 08

Appetizer Hour:
My Glass #1 of Sonoma Merlot, Jeff's Glass of Bass

Oh My gosh... quite possible this was the best cheese I have ever had

Brie with Cranberries ( they were fresh softened deliciously cherry like), and Goat Cheese with Pesto

Here is mine: It was soooooooo satisfyingly delicious

I should have taken a picture of everyone at our table! I warned them when we sat down that I take pictures because I write a blog about food and nutrition. I was completely surprised that everyone was genuinely interested in knowing why and what it was like and they all want to get the link to the site- so whenever they stop by- Hi Michelle, Justin, Melissa,Woody, Christ, and Gretchen!

Glass #2 and Bread

I am not a huge bread person but I like to try things. I ripped off a hunk but it was too chewy

Salad: This was a very interesting way to do a Caesar Salad. A rib of romaine, anchovy slices on top, thin strips of parm cheese, that little wafer tasted like cardboard.

Entree:

Chicken on top of creamy mushroom risotto, zuchinni, steak. Last year they had a similar dish only with chicken and salmon. I mentioned everyone at our table being interested in my blog, well we had quite the discussion about this entree! My steak was medium-well. There was no pink at all. However, Melissa's was bright vibrant red, Justin's was a rose/blush, Jeff's was a mix of Melissa's and Justin's- It was incredibly odd how the same dish came to 8 people at the table but the steaks were cooked all different. Mine was so well-cooked that I could not even chew it. My chicken was very tasty, however, Michelle's chicken was very dry-

Congratulations Michelle ( she is having a baby girl!).


Dessert:

I ate the whip cream, the nuts, and that chocolate stick coming out towards you! I had a few bites ( again I like to try things) but I am not a huge fan of pudding AND I was full!

Overall Recap and Review:
I think the cheese was phenomenal and made my night! Everything was "tasty" otherwise so I hate to bring up the negative because it was "over-the-top"! It is definitely a fancy place and I love being able to attend. On top of that, to hang out with Jeff's co-workers because they are all about our age and really funny was fantastic! Last year, Jeff and a few others formed a secret band that played a great set of cover songs. They were outstanding, however, this year shortly after they began practice the drummer caught pneumonia. He had to be hospitalized and has some permanent damage but is overall fine now. Unfortunately, they couldn't do it without him. So we missed out on that but I got to spend more time with Jeff since he wasn't playing.

Jeff and I at the Tree

Initiation of the New Employees: Teams had to dress up one person like Frosty The snowman. We cheered for this guy because they were right next to our table- and one of the new employees sat with us. (They won, so they had to sing Frosty The Snowman)

I had so much fun chatting with Emily, Christy, Jennifer, Amy, Stacy, Michelle, and Melissa! Hi, Ladies if you stop in!!

Earlier Friday...
Lunch:
I know it is not as "spectacular" as the food above- Leftover pasta and chicken from the other night.

Mid-Afternoon Red-White-Green Snack( actually at about 4 because I did NOT want to go to the xmas party starving)
Red and Green Peppers, Mushrooms and a little blue cheese dressing (full fat deliciousness)
Chobani Strawberry with Pistachios

Body:
Cardio: A fantastic run. A wonderful run.

I "sprinted" 4 miles. I stretched for a few seconds at each mile but jogged in between all the sprinting so no walking for this lady!

My general treadmill pace: 6.5 mph (recovery/slow jog) 7.5-7.7 mph (usual, comfortable pace) 9.3-9.8 mph (sprint)

9.8 felt super sonic- I felt like I was going to fall off the treadmill, which made it even more exciting hahaha. I didn't keep track of much else aside from running for at least 2 minutes of each mile above 9 mph... So it was mostly at a 7.5 speed, I would sprint when a good song came on during each mile at 9.3 bump it up to 9.8 then recover at a 6.5 for no more than 2 minutes... back up to a 7 + then back up to a spring etc.

My goal was to run the entire time, sprint during each mile and I met my goal.

Mind:
I turned in my paper, I only studied a little. I felt a little burnt out from the three papers due total this week. I have this weekend to study so I wanted to pace myself.

Soul:

Fantastic evening. After the holiday party we went downtown to a bar - one of our friends' birthdays- so we danced with them and had a phenomenal evening!

single tear...

Dinner: I made a pizza!! I went to Trader Joes for some grocery shopping after class so that I would be stocked for next week! I made whole wheat crust ( refridgerated dough is only $1 at TJ!) and topped it with Brie and Smoked Salmon on one half, Tomato and Turkey Pepperoni and Mozzarella on the other... All sprinkled with Parm/Reggiano.
Yum Yum Yum! I had a quarter with the salmon and a quarter with the pepperoni/tomato.


Lunch:

Organic Gala Apple

Salad: Organic Spring Mix with tomato, onion, Herb Garlic Starkist Tuna, and some Annies Organic Mac n Cheese ... ( I did only a half of one serving but it looks like ALOT more in my picture!)

Body:

Run! It was absolutely GORGEOUS weather I couldn't resist ! 68 degrees, breezy, sunny!
I took the brown dog, Jack, with me on all the hills right around our neighborhood for a quick 20 minute run then we walked another 1 mile or so ( he needed to cool down!)

Strength Training: BBQ and Abs ( not too heavy though) and then Yoga !

Mind:
I have SOOO much work to do next week for classes- Big Nutrient Metabolism Exam Thursday-(glycolysis through the pentose phosphate pathway), Yogurt Presentation Tuesday, Presentation Wendesday on Increasing Childhood Obesity Rates in Northern Plains American Indian Children

I am a good way through my wednesday presentation- I need to finish that tomorrow and practice it over the weekend...

Soul:
I talked with my brother for 52 minutes!!! ( it was his birthday) I love him SOO much and miss him SOO much ( as I do my other brother and my sister too) and I wish he would move closer than 1,000 miles away. Anyhow, we talked about everything from classes, his life, my work, my running, nutrition, fitness, hurricanes, presents, holiday plans...

I haven't seen him in over 2 years ( at my sister's wedding!) We spent this amazing thanksgiving together when I was out of college.... I had just moved and he lived about 30 minutes from me. I drove to his new apartment and we spent hours chatting. We searched all over the city for this one restaurant that he was told was fabulous. We couldn't find it though! We tried going to this one building but it turned out to be apartments! We were walking back to the car when we both spotted the sign for the restaurant! So we finally got there and waited for a table. It was by far the most fantastic meal ever- they had this gigantic thanksgiving buffet, you know the kind with thirty different desserts ?! Five layered tiramisu cake, five layer red velvet, etc etc pumpkin pie galore, salmon, turkey, chicken, steak, all the veggies, four different salads, baked potatoes, potato gratin, sweet potato souffle, the list goes on. It was an amazing display and amazing in taste! The best part, over any food that night, was that I shared it with him. We laughed so much my stomach hurt. I know I will never forget it and wish I had more times like that with all my family, but I was so thankful to have that thanksgiving with family, with him...