Back to school

I'm glad that school is starting again even though it means a return to casebooks. I need to be on a schedule again; I respond well to order and to do lists!

I weighed myself after breakfast yesterday (smart, yes?) and was at 153.4 lbs. At least I didn't do too much damage in Vegas!

I'm off to study, study some more, then back here to work out and make dinner.

I'm Baaaaaaaaack

And BUSY. But I will say this: I didn't eat a lot in Vegas, but what I did eat was BAD. Gelato! TWICE. It was so good, it totally hit the spot both times.

Anyway, vacation is coming to a close so I have to get things all set for new classes (boo). Later gators!

VIVA LAS VEGAS

I'm going out of town for a few days. Spring break is here at last!! It actually arrived yesterday afternoon, but I've been so busy cleaning, seeing friends, and running errands that this is the first chance I've had to update here!
Phew!

Anyway, I don't think anyone actually reads this, so it's not like it matters, right? But my "bloglines" are going to be CHOCKFULL of things to read when I get back. That does my heart good.

What also does my heart (and stomach) good: spicy black beans and zucchini I made as found on GreenLiteBites! The top is before I added the beans and spices. I love this: I had it for dinner two day in a row with a bit of veggie refried beans in a quesadilla and a teeny bit of cheese to seal it up. So. Good.

Have fun everyone!

Tired.

My plan: get up early, study, workout, study some more...

It didn't come to fruition. Apparently I was exhausted because I slept in until 8:30am! Of course, that means I lost an hour and a half of studying time.

I just ate some oatmeal (standard fare) and I'm going to get back to work on trust law. And I'm still going to work out later!

Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!

Topic of the day: classic blunders. The above is pretty well known, as is "never get involved in a land war in Asia." Also a blunder: me, sitting here, writing a post instead of studying!

I don't have a lot of time for introspection today, but I am very obviously doing something wrong with my diet lately. I'm trying to return to how I ate when I was ten pounds lighter, but it haasn't seemed to make a difference. Sigh. Obviously, I need to be better about logging my calories and staying away from nibbles.

But first, I need to STUDY! I have one final left before spring break begins. After I finish my last final (on Thursday) I can refocus on my diet. And then I'm off on vacation!

Today's breakfast: oatmeal (1/2 water, 1/2 skim milk), pear, 1 tablespoon sliced almonds, 1 tsp almond butter, 1 tablespoon honey
Today's lunch: 1 cup turkey quinoa stew, 1/2 sourdough english muffin with pear jam
For dinner, I'm thinking about having sweet potato "fries" with a chicken-chile burger.

What happened? I blacked out.

Test #1, finished. I thought the quotation from Old School was appropriate; I looked up and 2 1/2 hours had passed during the exam! Panic, panic. I have this weird whole-body reaction to stress before an exam. I had to choke down my oatmeal this morning. I didn't even finish it! And I always feel ill right before my first exam. It usually lessens as the week goes on. I don't remember being that nervous before the LSAT, and I had a lot more riding on my score from that exam.

After I finish a day of studying, I usually let myself unwind a little while reviewing the main topics of a class. While going over joinder rules last night, I watched part of I Can Make You Thin on TLC. I'm iffy on it; while I applaud making people more conscious of what they're eating, I think telling them to eat "whatever they want" sends the wrong message, too. We're so far out of touch with what we should eat that I don't think our bodies will necessarily be able to bust through years of eating processed foods to say, "Roast some beets! Mmmm."

On the other hand, the tips are basic, appealing and not intimidating. The host--some British self-help guru--breaks everything down in concrete rules. He is introducing them slowly, week by week. That's particularly useful for people who have a hard time reinforcing habits on their own. I particularly liked his tip about eating consciously, which is something that I forget to do when I'm eating "healthy" food. Instead of savoring, I speed through meals. I'm almost always studying while I eat, and I'm shocked that I've finished my food already! I tried out his tip of chewing more and setting my fork down between bites at lunch. I still finished my (small) plate of quinoa, sliced apple and a bit of Greek yogurt, but I felt satisfied.

I have another early morning exam tomorrow. Time to get back to studying! I've barely made a dent in the caselaw, and a lot of it is crazy and somewhat contradictory.

Four days...

And I will have completed this quarter. The light at the end of the tunnel is a beautiful thing to behold. Let's just hope I make it through the damn tunnel. It is looking a little treacherous.

Yesterday, my back hurt so much that I didn't work out. I think being hunched over books and my laptop has finally taken its toll. I have started taking breaks to stretch. Too bad I won't have time to do that when I'm in my marathon exam-typing sessions this week!

This morning, I was going to try putting the banana in my oatmeal (really, I swear!) but the banana was rotten in the middle. Gross! I ended up doing my normal pear & honey oatmeal breakfast, and it was delicious like usual.

I think I'm going to take a break from the thrilling world of issue and claim preclusion in order to work out. Don't worry, I'll be studying on the cardio machines!

Maybe coffee will save me?

Ack. I slept in. My body apparently heard my brain saying, "You have a lot to do! Many rules of civil procedure to cram! HELLO, do you have ANY idea of the difference between issue and claim preclusion??" and said, "Hey. Chill. I am trying to sleep here."

Yeah, I'm a little crazy right now.

I was going to try cooking a banana in my oatmeal this morning but I chickened out. Also, I didn't really have time to make a second bowl if my taste buds detested the banana flavoring.

Anyway, I don't have time to post much as I need to go to the law library, study, come back, work out, shower, and then drive to my friend's birthday party tonight. Sigh. I'm glad that I said I would go as I always miss their parties, but I am in serious need of some studying.

Supplemental jurisdiction...and groceries

Wow. I worked out a LOT more today than I had originally planned. Fortunately for me, it felt GREAT! I did Self's legs dvd--the whole thing this time, even the floorwork--for fifty minutes, then followed up with a really intense 35 minutes on the elliptical. I was in endorphin heaven at the end of that! I took some notes with me onto the elliptical and worked on them. It actually worked out rather well.

Of course, since then I have been eating like a crazy person! But with the wonderful addition of a glass and a half of wine, I'm okay with it.

Cheers!

Per stirpes

Doesn't the post title sound like some crazy sort of disease? You might wonder what on earth it means!! Basically, it refers to a manner of distributing someone's estate after they die without a will (or how to distribute the portion that wasn't covered by the will). But of course every state has a different scheme for where the $$ goes first! Lesson: leave a will or another estate plan, especially you don't have a large family. Or all your money will escheat (that means the state gets it!).

Parceling out fictional wealth has me thinking about meal planning. I was doing alright at the beginning of the week but a few setbacks had me a little lost! I have to run to the store today in between studying, studying, exercising, studying and MORE studying. I'm planning to pick up some different oatmeal mix-ins for a round of experiments. I'm definitely going to try a banana and a Rome apple. I tried Bosc pears this week, and they turned out well! Ripe Bartletts definitely get a little softer, though. I haven't decided what else to make even though I still have Ellie Krieger's cookbook here, and I also picked up Kathleen Daelemans' Getting Thing and Loving Food. I just haven't had time!

Anyway, I desperately need to review trusts. When my brain is leaking out my ears later, maybe I'll hop back online to update about my lunch, etc.

Panic at the disco...scratch that, panic at the law school

Finals are upon us, rather like the plague.

I had a very random lunch today: spaghetti squash with pasta sauce, string cheese and a FiberOne caramel bar. I was going to make veggie delight for last night's dinner (and for today's lunch), but my remaining zucchini from last week was no longer in good shape. Sigh...the best laid plans.

Tonight is my last kickboxing class. Strangely enough, I'm not worried about working out during study period/finals week. I usually work out a lot during that time, otherwise my stress tries to strangle me in my sleep. I'm already planning to do a DVD followed by a cardiofest tomorrow, and I'll definitely work out before my friend's birthday party on Saturday. Since I have to keep a clear head, I won't be too hung over to work out on Sunday, either! The only questionable day is Monday: I have a VERY early final, and then have to immediately study for the next morning's final.

Yesterday, I had a cupcake as a bribe for 2 hours of studying. Yes, I was bribing myself with food. Yes, I know that was a bad idea. Yes, I am evil for putting a photo of said cupcake on the blog (and yes, I stole this photo from someone else's flickr site. I apologize and bow to your superior photo-taking skillz, unknown person.).

Rules

I have rules on my mind: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP!), personal rules...


I broke a few last night. I like having a plan, and I was going to eat the Roommate's black bean soup (healthy!) with a mini-panini. I returned from kickboxing high on endorphins, showered, and headed downstairs to find little dots of blue all over my mini panini rolls! So I ate my soup and felt vaguely unsatisfied. I then proceeded to eat some greek yogurt with FiberOne, chocolate chips, Kashi crackers...it was bad. Then I had a glass of wine. Stress eating at its finest, ladies and gents!

For the first time ever, I read the comments on a post at KathEats.com . I was a little taken aback! People were rude. I was shocked! I think of personal blogs as being a part of a person's home, and to me it seemed a lot like walking into someone's house and mocking their furniture and possibly even their children. The complaints seemed to come from a few people who were either upset about 1) Kath's focus on food 2) Kath's devotion to exercise or 3) her posting ONLY about her own life.

Well...it's a blog about her lifestyle of healthy eating and activity. DUH. There were many layers to what was going on--some of the comments were made by people in recovery from eating disorders, and that's a sensitive topic--but eating disorders or not, people were just mean. If that ever happened here, I would immediately make this blog private. But since I'm an attorney-to-be, I'm sure that no one would ever mess with me! I love litigation, and I'm not afraid to beat the crap out of someone in a courtroom.

Today's breakfast: more pear oatmeal! I am going to grab a banana this weekend to see if I like it with oatmeal. If not, I think I might try some frozen berries just to mix things up. Or maybe a Rome apple since they end up being so soft when cooked.

Anyway, I have to get back to studying. We're going over stuff from the beginning of the quarter in Civ Pro II today, and I only have a vague memory of what is going on...

Standards of Review

I am reviewing some stuff for this morning's civil procedure class, hence the post's title. I am trying to outline all of my classes--it is going to be a close one!

Tonight, I think I'll end up eating some leftovers or I'll have the Roommate make some black bean soup. For lunch, I have some leftover baked shrimp from Sunday night and a teeny little container of leftover roasted cauliflower from last night's dinner. I also have a sliced apple for my afternoon snack.

This morning, I weighed in at 152.4. Fortunately I won't have time to bake in the next 2 weeks so I think I'll probably drop at least another pound or two before I leave for Vegas. I can't resist delicious homebaked goods!

Last night, I squeezed in 18 minutes on the elliptical, then I did some run/walk intervals on the treadmill for 22 minutes. My first interval was 5 minutes--it felt so good to be running! But I made myself stop because I was worried about my knees. Tonight, I have the first of my last two kickboxing classes. We already signed up for next quarter's evening class--yay!

The trusty tan

Yesterday, I ate good food. I think that I ate too much of it, and I can't verify that because I didn't have time to weigh myself. Yes, "springing ahead" threw me off so much that I slept in and had to shower, put on makeup, dress, cook oatmeal, throw my backpack together, and pack a lunch in 30 minutes.

I actually look alright today, as long as you don't look at my face or hair. Har. Lost in the shuffle: my mug of coffee. It is sitting at home right now, wondering where I am...

Today's lunch: leftover shrimp with whole wheat couscous and half a HUGE apple. I will hopefully fit in some light cardio this evening.

The good thing about finals? It means that vacation is right around the corner! And that means I will be fake tanning soon. I really think that Mystic Tan is worth the price before wearing a swimsuit. It takes a few pounds off, visually. :)

Daylight savings: good in theory, pain in the ass in practice

Losing an hour a week before finals is about to begin? It is NOT GOOD.

What is good? Whole Foods. I try not to go there too often because I get wrapped up in how amazing all their stuff is. Everything is so pretty; the salad bar is amazing, and the cheese selection? Good lord. The only way it could be better is if the U.S. didn't have those unreasonable rules about raw-milk cheeses. I bought mini-whole wheat bagels and some pear jam.

I haven't worked out yet today. I did make a brand new dinner: baked shrimp with feta! That's my bowl, along with the whole wheat couscous I decided to add at the last minute. The recipe is from Ellie Krieger's newest book, The Food You Crave. I love cookbooks with photos; it really helps me visualize the finished product.

The planned meals for the rest of the week:
roasted nutmeg cauliflower (another Ellie Krieger recipe)
pre-marinated halibut (from Whole Foods)
Veggie Delight w/tortilla (recipe on GreenLiteBites)
Black bean soup

This is our last week of kickboxing before the quarter ends. Actually, registration for next quarter starts tomorrow so we have to get our checks ready!

******************* evening update ***********************

I tried a new workout dvd tonight. I wanted to do something, but my back was a little sore. I thought, "OH! Pilates will be perfect!" Netflix sent me Shape's Pilates workout so I thought, BINGO.

Here's the thing: I love that they have you use an exercise band (woohoo resistance). I love that the DVD's profits go to breast cancer awareness.

I also HATE that they have you use an exercise band: 1) when you rent the dvd, you do not get the nifty pink band, 2) when you substitute your own, you realize that either you are a wimp or your band isn't as long because there's NO WAY your band will stretch out that far, and 3) I am simply not coordinated enough to do pilates AND keep track of where my band is. There were these leg lifts when I was on all fours, and I couldn't figure out how the lovely instructor-people were not getting all tangled up in their bands. It was a comedy of errors, people. I still finished the damn thing, but I will not be buying the dvd.

Finals crunch!

This morning, I woke up in a panic. I *hate* finals time.

So far today, I've had oatmeal made with 1/2 milk, 1/2 water, a pear and cinnamon. I threw a little brown sugar in and stirred in a teaspoon of almond butter. I love the little bits of crunch that the almond butter gives the oatmeal. Fitday.com puts this breakfast at about 320 calories. I'm going to round up and say it was 350 calories.

I've been outlining in my pajamas, drinking coffee. I had a biscotti a little while ago because I LOVE dunking them in coffee. These biscotti are from Trader Joe's, but I love making them from scratch. You get EXACTLY the kind you want that way.

I haven't decided what I'm going to have for lunch. There is still quinoa left in the fridge, chicken burgers I picked up from TJ's yesterday, and mini panini rolls I could use to make a mini-sandwich.

I need to work out, shower, and get back to outlining. I'm thinking about making a baked shrimp recipe from Ellie Krieger's latest cookbook tonight, so that means going to the grocery store, too. Last night, I focused on my lower body so today I'm going to do upper back, arms, and abs.

************* afternoon update ***************
I had a great workout! I did the upper body workouts from Self's Trim & Tone Fast dvd (about 25 minutes), then I hit the treadmill for some walk/run intervals. That was 40 minutes, and I went about 3.25 miles. (I "run" really slowly. :) ) I threw in some more bicep curls and some triceps while I was at the mini-gym since they have much heavier weights available than I have in my apartment.

I'm thinking about doing a really light lunch today. The pub crawl tonight begins early, so that means an early dinner with my friends. With the anticipated alcohol consumption, I *really* want to keep it light! I wish I had the ingredients to make this chickpea & roasted red pepper salad I saw in an old issue of Shape (or was it Self?), but c'est la vie. On fera ce qu'on peut. (I think that's right...my French is rusty.)

Time to grab a shower, call my friend about tonight's plans, and run to the bank for some cash!

Hangover Oatmeal

Ok, so I don't really have a hangover today. I did drink too much champagne last night. But I am really suffering from a sweets hangover! I made treats for our Project Runway finale night, and then a friend brought more. I had been well-behaved up 'til that point, and everything went downhill. I am helpless to resist cream cheese frosting. I generally avoid it because I will end up eating anything that comes covered with it, and I don't want to find out how far my love for the stuff will push me. I.e., "Why yes I'll have the cream cheese frosting-covered monkey brains!"

Morning weigh-in: 153.4 lbs.

This morning I was a little pinched for time. Staying up past midnight had me ignoring my alarm clock--actually, I tossed my watch across the room and found it when I woke up the second time--and then bolting downstairs to make my oatmeal, then upstairs to put on makeup while it cooled, then back downstairs to assemble my lunch and eat the oatmeal.

I brought more leftover quinoa, a Yo-Plus yogurt, and a HUGE sliced apple for lunch/snack today. The more I think about it, the more I'm annoyed that 1) Safeway doesn't carry Greek yogurt and 2) one cannot seem to find small portion-sized containers of non-fat Greek yogurt anywhere. Yes, I have seen the Fage containers. But they don't count, because they are expensive!

I <3 Oatmeal

I have truly rediscovered my love for oatmeal. Last year, I was making this oatmeal that involved butter, apples, brown sugar and cinnamon; I think my new version is a little healthier. It is also a near carbon copy of Kath's oatmeal on KERF, but hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

With my normal habit of getting stuck on a recipe, I made the taco turkey stew with quinoa again last night. It was so easy to chop everything up, stick on the stove and shower after kickboxing while it simmered away. Note: I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have a nice roommate who is willing to give it a stir once or twice while you run off to the shower.

We had leftover pizza in the fridge but I have managed to avoid gorging myself on it. I did eat far too many Girl Scout trefoils last night but hopefully still managed to preserve my calorie deficit.

Today's meals:
Breakfast: old-fashioned oatmeal prepared with skim milk, water, cinnamon and a diced pear; topped with almond butter and honey
Lunch: leftover quinoa stew, half a VERY large apple
afternoon snack: the rest of the apple
Dinner: undecided

Thinking about ditching the crutch

When I first lost 30 pounds, I didn't use Weight Watchers. I used a free calorie counter online. And I'm frankly thinking that I shouldn't be spending all this money each month for something that I only use to log points. I could easily switch over to putting all my food on here, or maybe on PeerTrainer again.

What do you think, Internet? Or do you think I'll go crazy without WW?

Like my mom says, sometimes you have to get rid of something before you find out that you really need it. I just cancelled it. We'll see how things go...

Only two more hours until I'm off to kickboxing class. There's a Wednesday night bootcamp class I'm tempted to try, but I think that 3 days in a row of such high intensity stuff might be too much for me.

Second time's the charm!

I bought some old-fashioned oatmeal this weekend to try out the KERF version of oats. I made it yesterday using half skim milk, half water and it just didn't look quite the ways hers does! Maybe it was the lack of a banana? (I have a weird relationship with bananas; I have progressed to eating them dried in cereals and raw as long as they are in small chunks with other fruit, but they're just not my favorite thing.)

Anyway, I tried again this morning and this time followed Kath's instructions instead of the Quaker box's. It worked! The oats were creamier. I also peeled most the skin off a pear, diced it, and threw it in with the oats and milk. The pear softened and absorbed some of the cinnamon I threw in. Absolutely delish! The only problem was that it took me so long to eat the bowl--in the healthy eating world this was great--but in the carpool world, VERY annoying to my fellow carpoolers!

Today's lunch is a slice of the Safeway pizza The Roommate made last night along with the remaining Veggie Delight from Sunday. I also brought a sliced apple for a pre-kickboxing snack.

Girl Scout Cookies show up at the wrong time...

and my willpower comes to a shuddering stop.

Let's focus on what I did right today:
- I stayed away from the free lunch and ate my "Veggie Delight" (recipe from GreenLiteBites)
- I picked up Ellie Krieger's new cookbook from the library and devoured it like a 13-year-old boy with Daddy's Playboy
- I pre-measured my oatmeal for tomorrow morning, have set the coffee pot up for an automatic start, and packed my gym bag

Ah. Today wasn't a *total* loss. And tomorrow will be even better!

I found a number of intriguing recipes today while playing around on the internet, and many of them involve sweet potatoes (mmmmm). I'll be trying some of those later this week. And I think I'll likely be buying Ellie Krieger's cookbook for myself. There are far too many recipes I like for me to copy down!

Group classes are great

Don't get me wrong, I think that exercise is great "me time." I love to walk by myself, listen to music, and puzzle through all the things that are on my plate.

BUT I also LOVE group classes! I push myself harder, try new things, and meet new people. It's truly one of those simple pleasures in my life. Today, I tried a body toning class at a new group fitness place in Seattle called Community Fitness. The class was good--it went by incredibly quickly. If classes at the university gym don't fit into my schedule next quarter, I will likely start using this more and more!

I think that my arms and legs will be sore tomorrow. I might try the Zumba or NIA class at CF tomorrow unless I'm so sore that I can barely move!

This morning's weigh-in put me at 153.0 lbs. We'll see if this little bump on the graph evens out by Monday...