Wednesdays At The Teller Lot

Ah the Teller Lot Food Truck gathering! It's been awhile. Months! But I was lured by a good truck lineup today. I stopped coming here for lunch on Wednesdays because I reasoned that there was a lack of healthy eats provided by food trucks but today Seabirds and the Lime Truck were there so I figured that at least I would get something vegan or organic. No such luck, the lines to both these trucks were long and moving slower than molasses in the winter. On a positive note, the trees have grown out nicely in that lot so it provided some much needed shade in the middle of an otherwise hot parking lot. Bring a folding chair, seating is at a premium here. Bring a wide brimmed hat and water while you are at it. Especially if you decide to stand in one of those long lines because it will literally take an hour or more to get your food in hand. They are here almost every Wednesday from 11:30-2pm. Trucks may vary.

The Rolling Sushi Van did not have a line. Sometimes that is all I'm looking for. I wanted something light since I ate so terribly last night. Making up for my inability to practice self-restraint is never good but better than no effort at all.

So I ordered the Sashimi Salad for $7.00. It looked colorful when I opened up the box. I took a bite and immediately noticed the delicious lime(y) dressing. I don't know why there was not a line at this truck because this salad was amazing! I almost drank the dressing after I finished the salad but once again I practiced self-restraint. Oooo I hate that self-restraint.

M ordered some Spicy Shrimp Tacos from the Flavor Rush Truck. I've never seen them before but the tacos smelled good. I didn't get a taste. :(

He also got some cupcakes from Oh For Sweets Sake! Red Velvet and Lemon Drop cupcakes. This will surely derail my self-restraint.

In addition, he also got a brat from Brats Berlin. Yes, this is how he rolls. Eating two lunches plus cupcakes. He definitely has no self-restraint.

Sade/John Legend Concert

Oh man, I woke up this morning and did not feel like going to the gym to work out but I did anyways. I think it may be time for me to swear off sugar. That stuff just makes me feel awful the next day. I probably should have cooled it after that first piece of brownie but nooo!

So last night after work, I went home to change into this outfit to go see Sade and John Legend. I have no fashion sense and mainly just wanted to wear my new boots. They are from Old Navy! I'm telling you that place has some neat stuff these days. Ignore the outfit, focus on the boots.

My co-worker and I decided to carpool to this event since parking is $20 at the lot across from the Honda Center. That's just highway robbery. Whatever! By the time we arrived, John Legend was already on stage performing. I don't really know much about John Legend but he has an amazing voice. He was down with all the ladies in attendance. ;)

Then Sade took the stage after a brief intermission. What? You say you don't see her.

Okay, how about now? No? 

Lucky for you my camera has some decent zooming capabilities. The company I work for has a suite at the Honda Center so I was up high but the view was pretty cool!

I left before Sade sang "Smooth Operator"...but it was worth it to miss it to avoid the flood of cars leaving the the parking lot. It was a breeze to get out of there while everyone was still inside being serenaded by Sade. No need to ask [she's] a smooth operator.

I got home around 11pm and was really really tired. Fast forward to this morning to find me in a sluggish state after too much eating and staying up late. I did not want to get out of bed. I went to the gym anyways, thinking that I would only do some light cardio and some stretching to get the blood going. Then my running buddy (who I had not seen in awhile), let's call him "R" comes into the gym. He asked if I had wanted to come with on a supposed easy 5 mile run. It turned out to be a tempo 6 mile run and now I feel beat up. Good but beat up! There is no moral to this story. Except that today I'm eating healthy meals and going to bed early. The End!

Smooth Operator

This morning I went out for my first run in more than a week. I cannot believe that it has been that long since I last ran. Plus, I had to pick a hilly route to add insults to injuries. I struggle with this route normally but on a day like this when I haven't ran in a while, it was tough. Luckily, it was overcast and not too warm. I survived! I get to do it again tomorrow morning. Boo!

Then at lunch I taught a spin class. I can safely say that I earned my lunch today.

I am headed to the Honda Center this evening for a Sade/John Legend concert. This is the second time in two weeks that I am here. It's a work related thing this time around. I don't really know much about Sade or John Legend. I hope I have the energy to make it through the evening.

Monday Again?

After an eventful weekend I was ready to get some exercise in. I had meant to get in some running last Friday and yesterday morning but being on my feet all day and staying up too late prevented any running from taking place. Let's not forget about the heat wave! Poor Teddy was panting all weekend long. I did get up early-ish on Sunday morning but it was already really warm so that pretty much decided the fate of my run for me.

Photo credit to Sister K.

I did use these yellow paper pom poms to do a cheer-leading routine. That was the extent of my weekend workout. :(

Photo credit to Sister K.

This morning I hesitantly dragged myself out of bed at 6am to get ready to head to the gym. I thought about running but decided to practice my spin class routine for tomorrow's class instead. Tomorrow will be my third class. I'm still nervous.

I felt sluggish going through the routine on the spin bike this morning. Probably from all the baby shower cake and decadent treats from the weekend. Ugh! I need to mind what I eat on the weekends more because I always feel awful come Monday.  What, where did this come from?!

I also need to get some running in. I am running the Disneyland Half Marathon in a couple of days! I'm pretty excited. This is going to be my first Disney race. I think I might wear one of my tutus. I'm still trying to decide if I want to run this race for fun or for time. I should know more as this weekend gets closer. I need to find some wings so that I can PR!

Honey Bee Baby Shower

I had a busy week at work and waited until Friday to pick up the last of the materials needed to make the diaper cake for Sister S's baby shower. I was worried that I would not have time to put it together...

 ...but slowly and surely.

Photo credit to Sister K.

Party rental company came to set up the tents, table and chairs for the party amid diaper cake construction, so we went outside to watch the construction process in 96 degree heat. It was a scorcher of a day. As we sat there in the heat, we worried that tomorrow would be just as hot.  

We took a little break from party set-up to get some Taiwanese shaved ice. We thought about going to Yogurtland but this was a much better idea. 

After our little snack, we got back to work and somehow project diaper cake was completed!

We woke up early this morning to put the finishing touches on the party set-up.

Sister K was on balloon duties. I was running around everywhere. 

Diaper cake!

Real cake! 

So many chairs, so little time!

Photo credit to Sister K.

Everyone was working hard to get everything ready in time. 

It was a lovely baby shower aside from the 98 degree heat wave!

The beautiful mom-to-be! Congratulations!

Photo credit to Sister K.

Slightly Less Bad Is Still Not Good

I try hard not to eat packaged food too often. For me, packaged food often means overly processed. I don't have a problem with processed food, I just try not consume too much of it. It's a personal preference as I know lots of people including friends and family that love it. I love it too unfortunately sometimes.

One of my worst food weaknesses is ramen. Yes, ramen! My love for ramen stems from fond childhood memories. Doesn't many of our food obsession start that way? Anyhow, I try really hard not to eat it too often because it is not that good for you. The noodles are deep fried before packaging and the powdered soup base is loaded with sodium. Loaded! There is honestly nothing healthy about ramen. I eat it in the closet! Okay, not really but I do feel bad when I eat it because I feel like I am doing my body a disservice. When I can get my hands on it, I try to find fresh ramen, as in from a restaurant where the noodles are fresh and the soup is not from powder. That in itself isn't a health food either but a little better than the packaged kind.

Recently, while I was shopping at H-mart (a local Korean supermarket) I found packaged fresh ramen made by Pulmuone. I *love* Korean ramen (yes there are different kinds) so I threw one in my basket to try.

The sodium content is still off the charts but the rest looks much better than your average packaged dry ramen. 

Inside the bag was a package of noodles, dried seaweed flakes and a powdered soup base. 

The noodles were soft since they were fresh. 

I boiled some water to make the soup, then I added some water spinach and cracked an egg right into the broth, followed a couple minutes later with the noodles. They don't need to be cooked too long since it is fresh. I have to say that I really liked the final product! The noodles had a nice chewy texture and the soup wasn't half bad. I didn't think I would like this much because I've tried other fresh packaged ramen before but I never repurchased so I'm guessing I didn't like them. I would definitely buy this again.  

Another not-as-bad for you packaged find was this box of WhoNu? That's the name of these nutrient rich cookies that resembles Oreos. I was picking up a couple of things from Albertson's the other day when a lady at a sample table beckoned me over to try one of these cookies. Don't have to ask me twice to sample a cookie. I have to preface my next sentence with this little fact, I am not an avid Oreo cookie eater. Something about crunchy cookies that turns me off. I actually cannot remember the last time I had one. So I tried one of these and it tasted good to me, just like an Oreo. So I purchased a box since she gave me a couple for $1 off. I take the box to share with my loved ones and they tell me that it tastes nothing like Oreos! They said something like, "yes...these do taste like Oreos, if Oreos were healthy." Hmm. I don't know, I think they taste just like Oreos. More for me I guess.

This is impressive for a cookie! It's like the little cookie that could. 

So I started eating bagels again recently since I've been doing so much cardio. I find that I have more energy to work in the early morning hours if I eat a little something. That something has been half an Orowheat cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter. I was at Trader Joe's the other day and realized that I was about to run out of bagels so I picked up a bag of Whole Wheat Raisin Cinnamon Rolls. Okay, so these are not technically bagels but the bagel selection at Trader Joe's is slim pickin'. Seriously, they only carry healthy bagels with terms like sprouted and flax seed this and whole grain that. Man, sometimes I don't want all that fiber before I go on a run. These are okay. Obviously not chewy like a bagel because they are not bagels but it was the only cinnamon raisin anything in that section. It tastes good when you toast it up though.

I guess not all packaged food is bad. Yesterday, I forgot to pack lunch and it was already too late in the day to go and eat lunch at my work cafe so I picked up a single serve container of Sabra hummus with pretzels and ate it with 2 hard boiled egg whites. It wasn't much but it was lunch and it was good!

Random Wednesday Post

So I have a couple of random photos that I had meant to talk about in some earlier postings but somehow they never made it on the blog. So here they are all together in this misfit post. 

1) Sister K recently came back from a business trip to Orlando and she got me this Alice in Wonderland tea brewer from Disney World as a souvenir. You know because I love tea. Plus some coconut patties because I heart anything coconut. Thank you Sister K!

I haven't put it to use yet but I love the details. Such as this teacup lid ornament. Love!

And the cutouts in the shape of the the characters. If you look closely, you can see the White Rabbit.

2) I started shopping at Old Navy recently and I really like their clothes all of a sudden. I have seen them around my entire life and my sisters shop there frequently, not sure how I missed the boat. Maybe they just recently got better. Anyhow, I got this outfit for around $17, the shorts were on sale for $10 and the top was $7. That top is so soft and I love those shorts.

3) Boiling eggs! I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs. I never knew how to make them. I would wait for M to make them and then steal them for snacks. One day he told me it was time that I learn to make it myself. That was the best day ever. Now I supply my own hard boiled eggs. :)

All you have to do is bring a pot of water to a rolling boil (make sure you have enough water in there so that all the eggs will be submerged). Then gently put the eggs in (I use a soup ladle to make sure I don't drop the eggs in and crack them). Turn the heat down a bit so it doesn't boil over. Boil for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully dump out the water (it's okay if you don't get all the water out). Run cold water over the eggs and just let them sit until cool. Put in storage container and refrigerate if you are not eating them right away. Now you have hard boiled eggs for the rest of the week.

4) Yep, I'm shopping for decor for a baby shower. This was a few weekends ago I think.

We didn't pick this one but I thought it was so cute!

5) Packed up Cabbage Patch dolls the other night and headed to see my favorite triplets. These bags were large! I had missed their birthday party this past weekend so this was a "redo".

Happy 2nd Birthday Girls! <3

Random enough for ya? It was for me!