Austin Trip: Day 3 (+4: journey home)

February 15, 2010
Austin Trip: Day 3 (+4: journey home)

Friday in Austin!

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We woke and went to our continental breakfast, which was NOT as exciting as the first day… the fruit selection was WAY limited (only pineapple, and honey dew by the time I got there) and the main course was a ham and cheese croissant, which was yummy, but not “light” in anyway. Not to mention that ham is such an loaded choice, I mean, there are a lot of groups who won’t eat pig… just my thought.

Anyway, after breakfast, we did our session thing, I attended a particularly FASCINATING session by the FAB Paula Kluth, about Autism, and how to be more accommodating to individuals on the spectrum, in and out of the classroom. :) It was a TEN in my book.

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We hit up Fresh Choice for lunch for some much needed green. I really don’t like salads, and the veggies were all raw, and not what I was looking for, so a little salad, a 1/2 cup serving of lentil soup, most of a tiny ‘tato, and cornbread(!) was delish.

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After conference festivities were completed for the day, we decided to hit the pool again before getting ready for dinner. Lindsay and I were going to have dinner together, while Laura met up with an old friend, so we swam, showered, and got ready for the night.

Lindsay and I went to Baby A’s or Baby Acapulco’s, which was another great Mexican food spot. I got my usual, and it was very, very good, but my favorite was still el marcado’s. :D

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At this point, we’ve missed a history making 12”+ of snow in our home town, and were pretty darn grumpy. We really wanted to be home with our family, and morning and the ride home were looking pretty promising. :D

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We decided NOT to set the alarm in the  morning, but to wake when we woke, dress, pack, and hit the road. We checked out of the hotel at around 9:30-9:45, and made our way to 620 cafe and bakery in Round Rock. It was pretty adorable, but I have to admit. OUT OF CONTROL portions…

 

This is what my plate looked like before I ate:

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And this is what it looked like once I’d been STUFFED:

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Anyway, we drove through the snow as we headed north, but by the time we got home, so, so much of the record breaking snow was melted. :(

Sad.

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I was overwhelmingly glad to be home. I love traveling, but I missed Daron, and my cats, and I really hated to miss the snow. :(

All in all, only a meeting with MizFit would have made the trip better, it was a blast. :D

 

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Austin Trip: Day 2

Austin Trip: Day 2

Hey guys, I left you last after my continental breakfast at the hotel on Thursday morning… After that, my counterparts and I did our conference thing, but you don’t want to hear about that, you want to know about the fun, Austin stuff!

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We went to a place called Hot Boiled, which is a Cajun/Creole/Vietnamese fusion restaurant. It was very small, and in a shopping center, but we were pretty happy with the food, I’d say. We started with grilled chicken springrolls with a traditional peanut sauce.

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Cut into 6 pieces, we managed to have yummy noms while waiting for the rest of our food. :) I got a vegetarian rice noodle lo mein with broccoli and celery. It was SO much food, I felt like I ate, and ate, and ate, and there was still a whole plate left over.

After some more conferencing, we decided we needed to make an EMERGENCY BATHING SUIT RUN, and hit the pool. We soaked in the hot tub for a while and then, I realized I had an untapped resource with me!

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Laura was a swimmer and swim instructor in high school and college! And as someone who thinks a sprint distance tri might be fun to do at some point, I should learn how to properly swim.

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It did NOT go well. haha.

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Needless to say, swimming is an art, and one that I had NO idea how to do properly. We ended up at the side of the pool on the steps, because I need to back up THAT far. I mean, I can float and waggle my body parts to propel myself through the water, but a true freestyle stroke, with the right head turns, and actually BREATHING, is definitely hard. :)

I pretty much spent as much time LAUGHING as I did trying to swim. haha.

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After that, we went to the most AMAZING burger place I’ve ever been to, Elevation Burger in Austin on Arboretum BLVD was unreal. We had organic grassfed beef burgers, fries cooked in olive oil, (and most of a hand spun, to-die-for chocolate shake) :)

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One of those amazing chances to splurge while still making a few small choices that improve the experience. It isn’t health food, it isn’t even particularly healthy at all!! It could be worse, much worse… but it could NOT have TASTED better, I assure you. I had a burger with ketchup, mustard, cheese, caramelized onions, and pickle. HOLY YUM.

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(I also learned laura-in the center- is a fry dipper, who knew!!??)

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Not me, I like my fries doused in only ketchup, thankyouverymuch. :D

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Austin Road Trip: Day 1

February 11, 2010
Austin Road Trip: Day 1

Good morning, friends!

 

I want to thank you for the outpouring of support I’ve received via comments, twitter, and forum discussions regarding my article, when they STOP mentioning it. (Click here to read) The topic is so important to me, and I”m glad to know that it is meaningful to others too. :)

 

On to the roadtrip! :D

 

I’m in Austin this morning, at a teacher’s conference, and yesterday was the big trip! We’ve already had quite a wonderful adventure. Lindsay and Laura got to my house at 11, and we hit the road.

 

Our first notable happening (if you don’t count the 1.5 hours of rapid-fire-get-to-know-you-better conversation, is a Texas GEM that almost everyone who has ever traveled from the Metroplex the ATX knows about.

 

CZECH STOP!

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The Czech stop is a haven for kolaches and other amazing pastries. :D It is a right of passage, of sorts. If you’re going to ATX, you stop at czech stop and get a yum yum. I picked up a strawberry and cream cheese danish, and ate about half of it. Best $.99 I’ve spent in a long while. :D

We kept on trucking down the road, through a little bit of sleet, (and getting out of the way of 2 HUGE hay trucks that were raining down rubbish on my precious ride) and got to Austin in Great TIME.

 

We checked in at the hotel, picked up our conference materials, and set out to have dinner with Laura’s Bro.

We stopped at a place called, El Marcado (South) and I fell in love with Austin all over again.

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This little menu disclaimer made me REALLY happy! They had a DELISH looking vegetarian selection, allowed for items to be prepared dairy free, and use no animal products (read: LARD) in their delicious sides!!

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I ordered my standard, and my FAVORITE thing ever… 2 Verde Enchiladas (Prepared Dairy Free – meaning not smothered in Sourcream sauce and cheese- cause anyone who knows tomatillo sauce like I do, knows that tomatillo needs no other accoutrements taining its glory!) which was served with their Tex-Mex beans and rice (both animal byproduct-free! yay!)

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I didn’t love the rice, and left that, but I positively DEVOURED the enchiladas and beans. The verde sauce was literally the BEST I’ve ever had… and I’ve had a lot! I wish I could eat there every day, because it was THAT good. :D YUM. YUM. YUM.  (sorry for the excessive CAPS-for EMPHASIS, but this is serious foodgasm business, people. )

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We were there for literally 3+ hours, talking about all sorts of things. Laura’s brother was a great conversationalist, and we had a great time. :D

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The prices were great too, my plate was under $8! Laura and her brother tried a beverage, that I didn’t try, called a Mexican Martini… 1 shaker yielded each of them, 4-5 drinks! All for four bucks! that’s a good deal!

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The waitstaff was so nice too. Our waiter even photobombed us, without shame… Austin is a great time. :)

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After saying goodbye to our host, the girls went and picked up a couple of emergency items,

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and after a few more HOURS of conversation, we finally hit the sack. :)

 

All in all, a fantastic first day in austin. :D

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Battle of the New Greek Yogurts

February 9, 2010
Battle of the New Greek Yogurts

Good evening people… Is anyone else COVETING the new Google BUZZ? I can’t wait for mine to be instated. YAY for technology! :D

Anyway, today was a GREAT day!

 

That’s a lie. It was an Okayyyy day, but I’m trying to be Positive! :D It is always hard to prepare for time away from the classroom. I’m always so anxious about leaving my babies. I’m so glad that I know they’re in good hands. :D

 

Today, I had my FAVORITE BREAKFAST OF ALL TIME!!! Yogurtoats, this time with the second new Greek yogurt candidate of the week, the Dannon Greek (strawberry). (Keep reading for my opinions of the NEW Greek yogurt candidates) Lunch was really, REALLY light, and I paid for it later, I had my very favorite green giant veggie steamer… but the whole serving is just 100 calories. Stupid. (I also had 4 cool ranch doritos, SCHWEET)

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**An ODE to Yogurtoats…

Heather asked me in my last post about yogurt oats. I’m pretty sure that what I know and love as, yogurtoats is just “overnight oats” to the rest of the blogging world, but I don’t care. Yogurtoats rules for several reasons.

1. I don’t like cooked oats.   I know! Everyone loves oatmeal! Oatmeal is the BEST thing EVER, but I can’t get past the gummy part, and I simply do not have the time/patience required to cook oats on the stove in the mornings (let alone wash out the pans)

2. More protein/FLAVA. Yogurt, especially Greek, adds a bunch of protein to the mix, and fats (assuming I’m not eating a 0% yogurt at the time) which keep me full and happy! :D Plus greek yogurt adds flavor which I love. :D

3. I’m not super into hot breakfasts. I dunno… hot breakfasts make me feel sleepy or something. The cool, brightness of tangy yogurt wakes me up (as do fresh cold berries/fruits) so, I like that a lot. :D

 

So, if you want to make yogurtoats the kelsnotchels way, here’s how I do it.

-Scoop 1/3 to 1/2 cups of thick rolled oats into a bowl (mine are almost always travel safe, cause I eat it at my desk)

-Top with yogurt of your choosing, I love Chobani 0%, Oikos, and the new Dannon Greek Yogurt best.

-Based on the “looseness” of the yogurt I’ll add some milk, just a splash (I prefer almond breeze or skim)

-Top with berries or fruit, (or nut butter, or agave, or any other crazy thing)

 

Now, I have a 10 minute commute (go ahead and hate) and that’s the perfect amount of time for mine to have the perfect consistency… the oats are still VERY MUCH RAW, and not soggy, but chewy. I’ve left it overnight before, but I prefer it this way.

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On the subject of yogurt, I wanted to weigh in on the two newest contenders in our local stores. Yoplait and Dannon have jumped on the greek yogurt bandwagons and have greek yogurt stocked in our regular market! I bought one of each, both in strawberry and have sampled them in my yogurt oats today and yesterday (with the same recipe).

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Yoplait

I thought the yoplait tasted “okay”… it wasn’t the worst yogurt I’ve tried, but it wasn’t my favorite. It was pretty stiff, and I thought it tasted a little fake. There were no pieces of fruit, it was just flavored. It wasn’t terribly smooth either. The nutrition facts were pretty good, 12g of protein, and more potassium than the Dannon… not to mention .7 more ounces of the stuff. It was okay, but if there is another kind on the shelf, I wouldn’t buy this kind again.

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Dannon

The Dannon was a “fruit on the bottom” kind, it was a strawberry, syrupy, chunky layer under the yogurt, and I liked it quite a lot! It was pretty sweet, I’m not going to lie, but the pieces of actual strawberries kept it from feeling too artificial. It was VERY creamy, almost mousse like, and was very smooth. It was a little bit of a smaller portion, came in at 10 calories less, though, and still the same 12g of protein. I would definitely buy this one again.

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Anyway, that’s enough yogurt talk for one night! I may actually write another post before bed, and set it to publish tomorrow while we’re on the road! My roadmates and I are excited and we’ll be driving to the ATX tomorrow before I know it! :D

 

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back in the (bike) saddle

February 8, 2010
back in the (bike) saddle

Hey friends,

So, if I’m being honest… (and I am) I’ve been allowing my foot injury to keep me from doing any major calorie burning for about 2 months. Here is the timeline, as I figure it.

 

December 13th, I went for a 4 mile run. On the 14th, I woke up and could barely walk.

 

On January 1, I started practicing yoga at an amazing studio in my town, and I could NOT be more happy with the progress I’ve experienced in my yoga practice.

 

On January 21st, I went to the podiatrist for the first time, and learned that I have a textbook case of plantar fasciitis. I was prescribed NO weight bearing activity, but was told I could swim, use the recumbent bike, and do some yoga (careful with poses that cause me to be on my toes or apply great pressure to my feet (plank on toes, some lunging)

 

So… while I’ve done some walking, one jazzercise class (before I saw the doc), and yoga a couple times most weeks… I’ve not had a good hard sweat in a while.

 

Sad, isn’t it? I’ve wanted to run so bad, that I’ve let it sour my opinion of other activities and foster feelings of laziness!

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So, today, I went to the school weight/equipment room, and went to town on the recumbent bike. It was pretty okay, made my knees feel a little weird… but it made me sweat, and I REALLY missed that! :D

 

As far as today’s eats, I started with yogurtoats, my favorite breakfast… I made it with the new yoplait greek (I’m testing the new yoplait and dannon varieties) topped with some fresh raspberries. As always, this always looks awful, but tastes YUM

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Yogurtoats included-

-Strawberry Yoplait Greek yogurt

-bottom of the Bob’s Red Mill thick rolled oats, probably 1/2 cup

-8 or 9 raspberries

 

For lunch, we had a local dinner company bring some eats, I had about a 1/2 to 3/4 c serving of a mexican casserole, 2 slices of honeydew, and a few bites of a chicken tortilla soup broth, that was tomato based, (and totally chock full of cilantro, AKA DEVIL HERB so I hated it and didn’t eat more than a couple slurps)Untitled

In the afternoon, there was a giant bowl of banana pudding, and I had one teaspoon full. When I went back later to grab a pic… it was licked clean. haha. It was good. :D Untitled

I also had most of an apple later in the afternoon, and about 5 bites of a mushroom risotto that was going to be lunch, before I found it was catered.

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Dinner, we decided fast food was on the agenda, as we’ve not stocked up on dinners at the store, so I had 5 nuggets from wendy’s most of a plain baked potato (with some newman’s ranch) and grapes.  (I may have had a few bites of Daron’s frosty too. :) )

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I’m sleepy, so I’m going to go to bed early tonight! I’ve got to get ready for my trip, 2 coworkers and I are going to Austin for a conference and we leave on wednesday! :D woot!

 

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