M.I.A.

Sorry guys to be missing in action.  May has been a very busy month with celebrations and holidays.  But the real reason I haven’t been able to post much is my insane work schedule.  My firm had a huge trial that started this past week that we have been working on for several years.  I also filed my very first Court of Appeals brief and am now finishing up the Reply.  I know most of you don’t care, but if you are an attorney, these moments are kind of a big deal.  Its also on piercing the corporate veil.  Whoever thought in law school you would actually come across this.  Its kind of like the rule against perpetuities, which was my first ever assignment as a rookie lawyer.  Ugh.

I’ll be back in June in full force.  See you then.

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“Caliparty” did not dominate trivia last night…

Good morning everyone! The picture above is sooo freaking cute.  I felt I needed to post it because its what my doggie looks like with his babies.

Last night was fun in some ways.  My friends and I have “game night” every week.  We usually get together at someone’s place and drink and eat and play games of course!  However, we have been known to go to River Bats games (Cincy Reds AAA team) or do trivia at one of the local pubs.  Last night, was trivia at Molly Malone’s. Normally, the questions are tough but pretty fun.  Not last night… It was the finals round for the regular teams involved and the questions were super hard.  For example, one round was South American capitals.  Now, had my friend Sioux been there, she would have dominated because she is a Latin American studies major.  But she wasn’t.  We sucked but still had fun.  Our team name was “Caliparty.”  For those that don’t get it, its a tribute to the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach!  Oh, and the fact that we signed John Wall this week.  Suck it “L” raisers (UL).

I tried to be good butI had two glasses of this little beut right here–

Oh well.  We all falter sometimes.  Busy day around here so I’m outta here for a bit.  Not much going on until tomorrow night.  The Hubby is supposed to be taking me to my favorite sushi restaurant.  (Well, one of them.  I have several.)

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My Personal “Fat” Journey

I have started typing this post and stopped several times now.  Although my blog won’t document every bite of food I eat, even though those blogs are my favorite!!, I do want to share my personal weight and body struggle.  I mean, come on, we have all been there.  Hating ourselves for some silly reason because, as a society, we have an unobtainable and unhealthy idea of what beauty really is.  However, Caitlin’s post about the negative impact of “fat talk” really got me motivated to write this.

I was born premature May 9th, weighing a little under 5 lbs.  And that was my story my entire life.  I was the smallest of all my classmates for most of my life.  In fourth grade, I was a little shrimp weighing 39 lbs.  I ate whatever I wanted my entire life, which for many years, wasn’t much of anything.  My hunger suddenly hit me in high school.  I probably consumed 3-4,000 calories a day back then and never broke 100.  I did study all the time, have a part time job, and do three varsity sports.  That will pretty much keep weight off of you.  Then my senior year my dream came true.  I was accepted early decision to Vanderbilt University!  For me, this was huge.  Growing up, my parents struggled to keep food on our table and if not for some very generous family members, I have no idea what would have happened to me.

But back to the happy part– I also tried out for Vandy’s varsity cheerleading squad and made it.  After a grueling five day try-out, I was officially a SEC varsity cheerleader.  For the first time in my life, weight was an issue.  Growing up, I had heard my mom talk about dieting, etc., but “fat talk” was not in my daily conversation.  Suddenly now, I was immersed in a land of  weigh ins, daily practices and workouts, bare midriff uniforms, and constant scrutiny of every bite I ate considering some guy had to hold my ass in the air for hours on end.  And I still managed to keep the weight off.  No freshman five, ten or fifteen for me.  In fact, except for one bad summer, weight was not an issue for me through college and most of law school.  The picture at the beginning of the post shows me doing what I do best, cheering!

My weight gain happened the last year of law school and the summer I studied for the bar exam.  I started eating because I was sad about everything else.  I didn’t have a job at that point.  I was dating the wrong guy, no need to say anything else.  One of my best friends moved away after graduation and there I was left to face the hardest exam I’ve ever taken.  An exam that many professors said lots of “us” would fail.  The weight slowly crept up.  I would only take breaks from studying to eat.  I was working out at one point but without fail, mid workout my mind would be racing with all the other things I needed to be doing, like studying.  Eating breaks turned from quick meals into hour long drawn out comfort food eating sessions.  The only great thing that came from bar review was the fact that I passed! Oh, and I met my future husband in bar review class!!

Anyhoo, it has taken nearly two years and one wedding later to get me closer to where I used to be.  I gained an estimated 17 or 18 pounds.  I’m in shock just typing that.  I can’t believe it.  I’ve never said it out loud.  I have lost nearly 10 pounds of that so I still have another 7 or 8 to go.  “Real life” is tough and I’m out of excuses.  I know that I love food and dream about food.  As a foodie, I still need to learn moderation and healthy eating.  I can have it all!

If you haven’t seen the “fat talk” video created by Tri-Delt sorority, go to youtube right now and watch it!

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Pints for pups

On Sunday night, we attended Pints for Pups at O’Sheas with our friend Lindsay and her dog Jackson.  It was a fundraiser for the KY Humane Society.  So much of every pint sold was donated.  Since everyone loves pub food, it was a delicious and fun way to spend a Sunday.  I had one of my favorite sandwiches ever- The Dublin.  I usually get it with sweet potato fries but they recently took them off the menu.  *tear*  I settled for regular fries but didn’t eat many.  Taylor got the burger of course, and Lindsay had the grilled cheese.

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Painting the town….

Just thought I would start this post with a cute picture of my doggie.  His tear stains are kind of gross, but the rest of him is adorable.  This weekend I feel like I painted the town red.  Not sure where that phrase comes from, but I’m sure it ain’t good.

Saturday afternoon, my friend Jessica and her husband Dick finally arrived.  I was counting down the seconds.  We had planned on lunch and ‘ritas at El Mundo (yes, another Louisville tradition).  It was fantastic.  I started with a pear margarita, Dick had the pomegranate, and Taylor and Jess got the originals.  We also started with their famous queso- baked cheese with roasted garlic and spinach.  Sorry, again no photos.  For my entree, I had the spicy bean tacos.  Its four corn tacos with guacamole, sour cream and rice and beans.  I could only manage to take down two of the tacos, but boy, were they awesome!  I  have been there several times but this is my first encounter with the spicy bean tacos.

After our fun lunch, it was time to get ready for our friend’s wedding, which is why Jess was in town.  The wedding was beautiful and the appetizers were stellar.  However, we skipped out before the main buffet was served and after getting to chat with the bride and groom.  The wedding was quite far away from our house (30 minutes) and we didn’t want to get too buzzed and attempt to make it back home.  Once back in our ‘hood, we decided on one of our “near home” favorites, Varanese.  Again, sorry for the lack of food photos.  The girls split an awesome bottle of white wine while the boys sipped on bourbon.  We all started out with the fried green tomato salad, split between couples.  It is always amazing every single time.  For dinner, the hubs and I split the special sea bass over cream cheese grits.  Like I said before, I’m a sucker for grits.  I can’t help myself!  Jess and her hubs split the special Kobe beef filet.  Also amazing.  We had such a fun night but were worn out.  The girls went home and to bed and the boys went to our local bar, Dark Star.  Below are some fun pics to illustrate the level of buzzed to tipsy.  🙂  Enjoy!

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Lack O’Pics

Sorry guys.  I will try and be better about taking pictures of my food and the places I go.  I’m sure that is the hardest part about being a novice blogger.  I’ll definitely get pictures of the track the next time we go.

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Belated Bday Celebration & Ponies

I left work a little early yesterday for a belated birthday celebration (May 9th) with fellow co-workers and my very cool boss.  Our choice– Churchill Downs for a little racing and happy hour.  For those of you who don’t know, I live in Louisville and although I’m not a native Loo-a-vill-ian, I think Churchill Downs and Keeneland are pretty bad ass.  Kentucky has a long tradition of vices– bourbon and mountaineer’s moonshine, tobacco, and horse racing.  That being said, I enjoy only one of those.  Yes, the moonshine :).  I like to go to the track, but for personal reasons, I don’t gamble most times.  Yesterday, I placed a few stupid $2 bets based upon the horses’ name and color of silks or even one horse that last worked out on my birthday.  It sounds silly but sometimes you might win.  I normally bet based on the jockeys but all the famous ones were up in Maryland prepping for the Preakness, which is today!  I did something totally stupid and bet $20 on Rachel Alexandra.  I know– too much money!  But I didn’t bet on that beauty at the Kentucky Oaks this year.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  Her win was one of the best in Oaks history.  She could have probably won the Derby for that matter.  I also really love the Kentucky Oaks because it was the day after I got engaged to my sweetie last year.  *Kissy face*

Anyhoo, since I skipped lunch, I ended up eating a hot dog at the track.  I know, so sue me!  At least it was an Old Folks frank.  You probably don’t know this (or don’t care) but my hubby is from the Purnell’s Old Folks Sausage Family.  I think its very neat.  Plus, his family is incredibly close and generous and have accepted me as a fellow family member, even though I rarely eat sausage.  I can definitely appreciate a home grown company who is still owned by family members.  So moral of this story- go out and buy some sausage and support our family! I also had a few Bud Lights at the track.

Post track dinner was at Baxter Station, another Louisville tradition.  Again, I had another buzz induced bad eating choice.  I got the blackened burger with cheddar.  I ate the entire thing and a few fries.  Guys, this place has one of the best burgers in town!  I don’t dig red meat often, but when I’m feeling it, I go for it.  I have very low iron genetically so my doctor actually encourages me to try and eat red meat once a week.  However, I probably only eat it maybe once a month or two.

After dinner, we came home to a very mad “baby dog.”  We also had my friend Lindsay over to hang out and bring her cocker spaniel, Jackson, over.  I was asleep by 11 p.m.  It was an incredibly long but fun day.  Now I’m paying for it.  I’m sitting at work getting ready to start the mound of work I have neglected over these very fun last few weeks.  I’m excited because my friend Jessica and her hubby are coming into town today to go to a wedding with us!!  More fun posts to come about that.  She also just started her blog this past week.  We were inspired by all the great healthy eating and fitness blogs we have been reading for months.  Several bloggers are getting a blogger summit together for August and we are definitely going!!  We are soooooooooooo excited for it.  You don’t have to be a blogger to go, but we have been wanting to do our own for a while now so we figured this week was a good time to start.

Have a great weekend!! Oh, and watch the racing of the 134th Preakness today.  Go Rachel Alexandra!!

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Yumm-O

I love bagels.  No, I really love, love, love bagels.  They are a total weakness.  Cream cheese, turkey, or the horrible-for-you ones at McDs (with the special butter sauce).  To curb this weakness, I picked up some mini whole wheat bagels at dirty Kroger and had one of those this morning with light chive & herb cream cheese.  Yumm-O.  I also had a 60 cal Dannon Light & Fit yogurt.  I’ve tried all the fancy yogurts that other people are eating on their blogs.  I just can’t seem to get into them.  I also picked up the new less sugar Dannon Light & Fit so I will let you know how those are.  I have my banana saved for my mid-morning snack.  See ya.

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Goat Cheese Grits & Tok-Cel Lima Beans

Ok. I know it sounds like a strange combination. Tonight’s meal has been on my mind for a few days now. I have loved grits my entire life. Probably because the world’s best grits are made right here in Kentucky. Weisenberger Mill is the leader in grits. And even though they are the pinnacle of grits, they are still dirt cheap for a bag, which lasts forever. Made in Midway, Kentucky (my mom’s alma mater), Weisenberger yellow grits are by far my grit of choice. I decided earlier this week to make goat cheese grits.

If you want to try these out, you can use quick cooking or long cooking grits- just follow the directions on the package. I use milk instead of water so if it says use two cups water, you can use two cups milk instead. When the grits are ready, I added 4 oz. of goat cheese or about one cup on any other kind of cheese. I also added salt and pepper to taste and one egg to make the grits fluffy. If adding egg, make sure the grits are on low heat.

I made a spicy tomato fish recipe that I found in an old bon appetit.  I put it atop the goat cheese grits. However, the recipe turned out more like fish soup so I didn’t take a picture of it. (It wasn’t pretty and the recipe wasn’t all that great, which is why I didn’t post it)

Now, on to the good part. The Mayan Cafe is an amazing restaurant here in Louisville and serves the most amazing lima bean dish called Tok-Cel. The chef, Bruce Ucan, grew up in a small village in the Yucatan in Mexico and the dish is his mother’s recipe. Check out the NPR article on fostering your love of lima beans here. I followed the recipe except I used an entire pound of frozen Fordhook lima beans. I roasted way too many pumpkin seeds, see below, so I have some for the future.

I finished the meal off with a vodka, club soda and splash of cranberry juice. Its just been one of those days. Plus, I ran a few miles before cooking 🙂

Nightie Night all.

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Fifty dollar bill, yo.

So, funny story or not so funny story.  Two nights ago, I was at what Crescent Hill/Cliftonites call “dirty kroger” shopping for some groceries.  At the check out, I pulled out the fifty dollar bill my mom had given me for my birthday (May 9th) to pay for the groceries.  I noticed that the young girl seemed puzzled at the bill and immediately held it up to the light and marked the pin thing through it to prove it was not a fake.  I didn’t think much about it because she was obviously doing her job.  And yes, it was an old school fifty dollar bill.  My mom thinks its funny to give us old school cash that hasn’t been taken out of circulation yet because she has worked at the same bank for 38 years.

Anyhoo, the cashier then calls over another young lady to examine the bill.  The second employee took the bill and exclaimed loudly, “this is about the fakest looking fifty dollar bill I have ever seen.”  I couldn’t believe my ears.  I immediately went into “Julia Sugarbaker” mode and threw my groceries in the car and stomped back into dirty kroger to give them a piece of my mind.  I asked for a manager and told him what had happened and that it was obviously a rude and unacceptable comment by the cashier.  While I’m giving the girl down the road, she walked up to see what the commotion was about.  I turned to her and said she was rude and that comment was out of line.  I then proceeded to tell everyone standing there that maybe they “should teach the young people about the money that existed before the new designs so this doesn’t happen again.”

I left dirty Kroger in a mix of rage and humor.  Whatev.  Not sure if I’m going back or not.  I wish I could afford to buy all of our groceries at Whole Foods or Whole Paycheck.  That kroger isn’t too bad.  They always have Kashi on super sale too.

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