Rice And Anything

Ever have one of those days you don’t feel particularly productive but in the end you realize that you actually have gotten a lot done and you’ve had some great conversations along the way?  Yea, today was one of those days.  It started out with a 6am plyometric cardio circuit courtesy of Insanity.  Day 10 done!  Felt good.  Very sweaty, but good.  I am cautiously optimistic that I am getting better.  I don’t know for sure though so we’ll see as the workouts progress.  To refuel after my shower I had a breakfast cake.  Chocolate base with walnut butter, syrup, chia, and flax on top.

I was hungry by 10 afterwards though, which is the downside to doing an intense workout in the morning.  I’m hungry wayyy before lunchtime.  Kelsey, a co-worker of mine, and I were over in the clinical building so we couldn’t just run to the break room for a snack.  We stuck it out instead, filling our time with discussions of Mr. Grey and the books.  We just can’t get enough of the story.  We sound like school girls talking about it, not mid-twenty-year-olds.  It’s hilarious.  By the time lunch rolled around we practically sprinted over to our lab for food.  I had a bowl of black truffle & cheese ravioli topped with rehydrated TVP, steamed spinach, and light alfredo sauce.  It was awesome and thankfully filling.

My afternoon was spent doing patient prep.  I got a hold of one family which was great and all but they were the less complicated of the two patients I’m seeing on Friday.  I didn’t need to speak to them nearly as much as I needed to speak to the other one.  But hey, I’ll take what I can get.  I read up on Treacher Collins syndrome as I have never seen an individual with TCS before.  I love adding to my list of syndromes I've encountered!  =D  By the time I had finished prepping everything it was delightfully only 3:30 so I stuck around the student room for a bit and did some other work but then realized that I didn’t have a lot there to keep my busy so I ducked out to catch the 4pm shuttle and I read my book.  Mmmm, awesomeness.

At home I started getting a tad hungry so I made myself a sensible snack of yogurt and fruit in a coffee mug (the dishes may all still be in the dishwasher…at least they’re clean).  Strawbs and bloobs were the stars.  I wish blueberries weren’t so expensive all the time.  I really do love them.  Fruit always makes a nice snack probably mostly because you can have a lot of it without feeling bad about it.  Plus it’s refreshing.

After my snack I read a little more and then started making some Scotch Shortbread from The Joy of Cooking.  I sprinkled the top of it with turbinado sugar for crunch and boy did it turn out well.  It was my first time making shortbread and I’m not usually a huge fan (I mean, let’s face it, it doesn’t have chocolate anywhere) but this was great.  Smelled wonderful too.  I then made some salted chocolate chocolate chip cookies too.  Why the baking, you ask?  Phillip, a co-worker, is in the baking/giving mood and he’s whipping up homemade chicken pot pies for tomorrow’s lunch.  I figured the least I could do in return is dessert.  My specialty, his specialty.  Perfection.

Once the cookies were done baking I headed to the car and to Havana Café for Supper Club this month.  We all met at a little hole in the wall for some chow straight from Honduras.  On my plate: Imperial Rice (yellow rice with chicken, cheese, and olives), black beans and rice, veggie lasagna, mojito pork with onions, braised beef and peppers, plantains (HOLY YUM!), and a piece of yucca.  So basically rice and anything else of the plate was every bite I had!

I wasn’t a fan of the yucca as it was incredibly plain flavored so I didn’t eat it but I went back for seconds on basically everything.  The plantains really made my night though.  I fell in love with them when I went to Costa Rica back in 2007 and I haven’t been able to have them a whole bunch since so when I do, I really cherish it.  I may have had six pieces…

Now, after a wonderful day, I’m off to bed to read my way to sleep.  This second book is intense and I’m loving every minute.  I’m debating doing Insanity at 6am or letting myself sleep in.  I would do the workout later in the day, like 4p, so it wouldn’t be like I would skip.  It’s recovery day so not as intense and I think I could use the extra sleep.  Hmmm, we shall see.  It might honestly depend on how late I read!

Questions: Have you ever had plantains?
What’s the nicest thing a co-worker has ever done for you?