Pad Thai

I've had a love affair with pad thai for awhile now. I used to get take out from Zen Zero at least once a week when I was in college, but until Sunday I had never tried to make it myself, and you know what guys? It was super easy!

Pad Thai with Chicken

adapted from Sandra Lee's recipe

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
16-ounce package rice noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large eggs, beaten
1 T brown sugar
3 T soy sauce
1 T fish sauce
1 T chile sauce
1 T lime juice
1 T chopped garlic
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 carrot, grated
4 scallions, sliced thin
2 cups bean sprouts (I omitted these)
1/4 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

First things first - raw meat freaks me out. I don't like the look of it. I don't like the smell of it. I especially don't like the feel of it so anytime I make something that calls for meat, I start by delegating this task. Usually my dad is the lucky candidate, and Sunday was no different. While I did all the prep work in the kitchen, my dad tossed some chicken breasts on the grill because he's awesome like that.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, bring a large pot of water to a boil and then turn off the heat. Add the rice noodles, and let them soften for approximately 2-3 minutes. I know. They cook fast. I would also suggest maybe tossing a little olive oil into the water because I had some issues with my noodles sticking together. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet (if you are fancy and own a wok, use that. I obviously am not married yet so I don't have all the fun, fancy kitchen tools some of you own), add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once it's hot, add the beaten eggs and cook until they are firm. Remove from the pan and roughly chop. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, chile sauce, lime juice, garlic, and chicken broth. I ended up doubling the amounts called for above for all the previously mentioned ingredients because I didn't seem to have enough liquid to cover the noodles and the chicken later on so if you are having the same issue, try that. Set aside.

At this point hopefully your sous chef with have completed the chicken. :) Chop into quarter inch cubes, and set aside. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet along with the carrots, scallions, and bean sprouts (if you are using them. I personally can't stand them. Thank goodness Jimmy Johns got rid of them and replaced them with onions. Smart choice JJ. Smart choice).  Stir fry 1 minute. Add the eggs, chicken, and sauce you previously set aside, stirring to coat everything. Cook for another minute. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro, and enjoy!

One step closer to checking off another item on my list of 28 Things Before 28. Only 5 more recipes to go!

Weekend Confessions

Every weekend I always plan to be so productive. All week long I talk a big talk: I'm going to stay in Friday night so I can wake up early to workout, or finally finish weeding the side of the house, or paint the dining room, or do one of the 1,523,764 Pinterest projects I've accumulated. Does this ever actually happen? Of course not. This weekend was obviously no different.

My friends and I were having serious sushi cravings so Friday night we made reservations at Nara. The food and drinks and were great, but I am never full after eating sushi. Does anyone else feel this way?! I can't even believe I'm about to admit to this, but after I dropped my roommates off at the bar (I really did stay in Friday night), I went through the Taco Bell drive-thru...by myself...sober. Low point. Oh ya, and my diet challenge ends Thursday. You guys...whhhhhhhhy did I do that!? And more importantly, why did I just admit to it?! I could have taken that secret to the grave. Instead of throwing away the empty wrappers in the kitchen trashcan, I took the effort to go all the way outside (in the dark no less) to throw them away to ensure no one would know my dirty little secret...yet here I am confessing. I could never be a spy. I crack even when there isn't any pressure.

After my roomies' night out on Friday, and my Taco Bell incident, we agreed we would not be going out and spending money on Saturday. We were going to stay in and be productive. Then we woke up and it was 75 degrees and absolutely gorgeous IN JULY . It was too good to be true. The Westport patios were calling our names! How could we say no?! 

If I had the choice of having a few cocktails outside during the day or hitting the town at night I would absolutely, 100%, always choose day drinking. It really is a win-win. I get to be a little tipsy in the middle of the day while getting a tan, AND I can still be in bed before midnight. I am such a grandma. It's really quite fantastic. Kelly's rooftop patio proved to be quite successful in our ongoing husband hunting quests. Maybe it can be attributed to the semi-sheer top I was wearing, or the cute Daisy Dukes Mal had on, or Mere's sexy little mini skirt, but we had some mad game with the fellas. Oscar and Tyler couldn't keep their hands off us! Nevermind the fact they were 4 and 6 years old, and their parents brought them to a bar. They were having a grand ol' time slapping Star Wars stickers on our boobs and butts. We took being cougars to a whole new extreme. You gotta start 'em young! Just kidding. They were adorable though.

Other than our underage suitors, our only other man-candy for the afternoon was Neil, a friend of a friend who had at least six visible tattoos, was most definitely wearing tighter pants than any of us girls, and could learn a thing or two about dental hygiene. His teeth and nails screamed chain smoker. No way could we pretend to be cool enough for a hipster like that. He was super nice though. Mal and I (fat kids for life), requested ice cream after dinner (which happened to be the two biggest pizzas I've ever seen), and he happily went and bought us two HALF-GALLON tubs from Baskin-Robbins...which we devoured straight from the carton...in her bed. This is why I'm fat..

#pathetic

Does anyone else have any weekend confessions they'd like to share? Please make me feel a little bit better about myself :)

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 5

Is it just me, or is this the longest week everrrrrrrrrrrr? If it seems like this batch of Thursday Thoughts are random and discombobulated it's because my life is random and discombobulated right now. Also, I just had to sound out the word dis-com-bob-u-lated three times before I spelled it correctly. I need the weekend. Now.

1. Seriously you guys, am I the only one on this entire planet that could care less about this royal baby mumbo jumbo?? It's a baby. Yes he is a prince, but so what? No need to camp outside a hospital for hours on end. Breaking news! He looks exactly like every other two day old infant - tiny and kind of like an alien. If you are in your mid-twenties I'm 99.99% sure you can see plenty of other babies who look exactly the same on Facebook. Every. Single. Day. Can we please all agree any one of these things are way more exciting and get back to our normal lives? Okay good. Moving on.
2. Do you know what today is?? July 25th...which can only mean one thing. Only 5 more months until Christmas! The aisles at Hobby Lobby have been decorated with cheer. In hopes you might buy a tree ridiculously early this year. Remind me never to become a songwriter...or a poet. Anyways, you better believe I will be celebrating today by listening to a few of my favorite festive tunes. Greatest Christmas song of all time? I think so.
3. Someone fill me in. Are there 40-something year old women everywhere running around with their hair in pigtails while they work out, or is my gym just that special? I'm sorry, but unless you are (a) under the age of 12 or (b) dressed up as Pippi Longstocking for a super fun Halloween party, you need to stick with a high ponytail, low ponytail, french braid...literally anything but pigtails. You don't look cute. You just look pathetic.
4. After seeing this tweet from Derek Blasberg last week, it really got me thinking...what did happen to America's most obnoxious reality duo?!?
   
   Seriously. They have fallen off the face of the earth...not that I'm complaining. A good five minutes of Internet research revealed this, this, and this. Let me get you up to speed. Post Hills, they had to move in with Spencer's parents in Santa Barbara because they're broke. They spent all their money before the Mayan Apocalypse like every other normal, respectable human being. The world was supposed to end. Duh. They've since been on a few reality shows (none worth mentioning), and they were most recently spotted in England trying to get another TV show so they could live in a castle. Oh, and they're also thinking about procreating. Now that's a scary thought.
5. Speaking of tweets, I get severe anxiety when I get behind on my Twitter and Instagram news feeds during the day. I was just talking about this with one of my co-workers the other day. Please tell me we aren't alone. I had a particularly busy day at work yesterday and didn't get to check it once. I'm talking 10 straight hours without a single update. I felt so behind in the happenings of the world. I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom when I got home until I was caught up. She just didn't understand. Obviously there were very important pictures of people's fro-yo toppings to review and bathroom selfies to judge before I could even attempt to hold an actual conversation. Don't get me wrong. I love social media, but trying to keep up can be exhausting.
6. If my tweet above didn't clue you in, I crave donuts constantly. Is it totally pathetic I've been talking about planning a trip to Portland for the sole purpose of going to Voodoo Doughnut?!? I must try them all! They look so amazing.

   

   Homemade baked donuts just aren't the same. I need the real deal.

7. You know what else is amazing? SkyMall. Check out this list of the Most Insane Things for Sale in SkyMall. I'm highly contemplating purchasing the enormous wine glass, putting back a bottle, and then attempting to train Evie to use a cat toilet. Who wants to come over for a good time Saturday night?
8. Do you all know the difference between a BBQ and a cookout? Because apparently there is a distinct difference between the two. I was recently informed I could not call my little backyard get-togethers barbecues unless I was all professional and owned a smoker and prepared fancy meats. It appears that some people get their panties in a twist over the distinction between these two. Whatever. It's all the same to me. Friends. Food. Beer. Mosquitoes. Call it what you will.
9. You guys..how did I not know about this before now? Snake repellent is a real thing?! I can hardly stand to look at the website because all the snake pictures give me the heebie jeebies, but I seriously need to buy this. Even though I've only seen one snake in my yard (and it was months ago), it was one too many! Snakes be gone!

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 4

Hey friends! Time for your Thursday Thoughts with Jen. Enjoy!

1. If you want to be my favorite person in the whole wide world then you should probably bring me this right this second. I must try Golden Oreo Cookies & Cream ice cream immediately. I almost started hyperventilating when I found out about it...AND it really isn't that bad for you with only 140 calories per half cup serving...if I can cut myself off after a 1/2 cup serving. Who am I kidding? That will never happen. 
2. While we're speaking of gifts, if any of you are feeling particularly generous, and you are lucky enough to have a cat lady in your life then you should probably buy her all of these things. These 16 crazy cat lady gifts are fantastic. Kissing cat salt and pepper shakers? I die. 
3. Guys - this one's for you. If a girl isn't even responding to your text messages, she sure as heck isn't going to respond to your Snapchats. I think it's time to give up. Got it? Okay good. Also, am I the only one who thinks Snapchat is a little creepy? No? Okay. Maybe I really am an old lady.
4. Cab drivers are the worst...and creepy too. Being the responsible adults that we are (what a joke), my roommate and I decided to take a cab to an event we attended last week because let's be honest, we're both lightweights and after a beer we probably shouldn't be behind the wheel. Why is it cab drivers never know how to get anywhere? What did they do before everyone had smart phones and Google maps?! Anyways this cab driver was particularly creepy. He looked almost identical to Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones. I was seriously questioning whether or not we would get out of there alive. Mal and I were frantically texting each other the entire ride about the likelihood of being murdered and/or vomiting all over ourselves due to his horrible, stop and go driving. At one point he asked about the dinging noises he kept hearing. After replying that it was my cell phone text notification he quietly mumbled under his breath, "a cute little ring for a cute little girl." Yep. I was certain I would not live to see another day. Terrifying. Needless to say we found an alternate ride home. Now I'm just paranoid he knows where we live. Maybe I should invest in an alarm system...
5. Don't get me wrong, I love my cat but she absolutely scares the living daylights out of me when we're home alone at night. Yes I live in an extremely old house, and yes I know old houses make a lot of weird noises, but when Evie suddenly whips her head around and stares intently into the darkness my mind starts going into overdrive. I'm pretty sure I left the garage door unlocked when I took out the recycling this afternoon. There's obviously someone hiding in the dining room behind the curtains. This house was built over 70 years ago. There are at least 16 angry spirits  just waiting to seek their revenge. WHAT DOES SHE SEE/HEAR THAT I CANT?!? I think in the 4 months I've lived in my house I've maybe spent the night by myself a grand total of three nights, but that was enough to know I want to try to avoid doing it again at all costs. I can't believe I was actually planning on living there by myself. Thank goodness for Mal and Maggie and for the poor, unfortunate soul who has to talk me down off a cliff every time I'm alone.
6. Is everyone on this planet pregnant?!? On the 7 minute drive to get fro-yo the other night, Mal and I saw THREE different pregnant ladies out run/walking. Yes, three very prego ladies were out exercising while Mal and I were driving our fat butts to TCBY. After fro-yo we had to run into Target and what do you know? Another pregnant lady. This time we narrowly avoided a physical collision. Next stop - Walgreen's. Another one! Kansas City is swarming. Let's hope there's not something in the water. Lord knows I couldn't handle a baby right now. I can't even keep a house plant alive. Confession - I've already killed three.
7. Mosquitoes love me. If I spend the evening outside with 137 people I can say with absolute certainty I will be covered in bug bites from head to toe the next day while the other 136 people will remain unscathed. Apparently mosquitoes love me more than most. True story - one night in Florence my friend Megan and I slept with our window open. The next day on one arm alone I had SEVENTY (yes you read that right 7-0) mosquito bites. I counted. Megan? She didn't even have one! I had to walk around the remainder of our trip looking like a chicken pox ridden kindergartner. Apparently I've got a scent those nasty little creatures love. Now if only I could figure out what scent attracts men. Bacon? Barbecue? I must find out. Jk...sort of...
8. Am I the only one who thinks this season of the Bachelorette is a total snooze fest?!? Not only are all of Des's guys boring with a capital B, but there isn't much going on with her either. I was over her rags to riches story after the first episode, and can we talk about how effeminate these guys are? They are way more girly than me, and that's saying something. Poems? A love song you wrote that you made your brother and sister perform on your hometown date? I'm embarrassed for you.
9. The first time I heard We Can't Stop I hated it. After the second, third, fourth and fifth time? I'm hooked. Dang you Miley. Although the video is beyond weird. 

The Best Blueberry Muffins EVER

I'm on a quest to check a few more things off my 28 Things Before 28 list since I've been majorly slacking. I figured a good place to start would be in the kitchen because let's get real - no way am I getting cozy with a snake anytime in the near future...especially not after my friend showed me this. I'm also so ridiculously sick of eating the same thing day in and day out. If I have to look at another protein bar, plate of eggs or fruit smoothie I might go insane. Plus, I need to teach myself to be domestic if I have any chance at all of ever landing myself a husband. Obviously. 

I seriously have enough recipes on my Pinterest boards to last a lifetime. On my breakfast/brunch board alone I have 173 pins. Have I ever made even one of them? Of course not. I think this is a good place to start. I need to be certain I can whip up a solid breakfast should I ever have any overnight house guests. ;) First up - THE best blueberry muffins ever...at least according to the recipe. Hopefully these live up to their high, high expectations. Let's get cookin'!

Blueberry Muffins

Streusel Topping
3 T sugar
3 T brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
5 T melted butter

Muffins
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/8 cups plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 T water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat over to 425 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray or liners. Bring 1 cup blueberries, water, and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Cook (mashing berries with a fork) and stir frequently until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened. It should be reduced by about half. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk remaining sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick. Slowly mix in butter and oil. Next add buttermilk and vanilla. Fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. Yuck. Hate that word. Batter should be very lumpy with a few spots of dry flour.

Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. It should completely fill the cups and mound slightly. Add a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into the center of each mound of batter. Swirl berry filling into batter. The recipe said to use a chopstick. I didn't have any chopsticks laying around so I used a toothpick and it worked just fine. Sprinkle streusal over muffins and bake until muffin tops are golden. It should be around 15-17 minutes. Cool, then enjoy...or if you are impatient like me, eat right away and burn your tongue. Totally worth it.

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 3

Time for Thursday Thoughts with Jen. Hopefully these will get you through this extremely long post-holiday 5 day work week. Whyyyyyy isn't it Friday yet?!

1. I have a love/hate relationship with Mexican food. It is seriously impossible for me to eat a normal amount of food at a Mexican restaurant. You know that feeling you get when you're full? It's the point where normal people push their plate of half eaten chicken enchiladas towards the center of the table, throw their hands in the air, and surrender. But me? No. I'm no quitter. I push past that point until I absolutely loathe myself. I don't stop until I'm physically uncomfortable. It never fails. You'd think I would've learned by now, but I just keep shoveling chips dripping with white queso into my mouth at rapid fire speed. I barely stop to breathe. Then when it's time to go I have to wobble my way out of the restaurant looking like I'm 6 months pregnant. Hellooooo food baby. Somebody needs to teach me some self control.
2. Why is it always the old ladies who choose to get ready buck naked in the gym locker room? Even if I hadn't eaten my weight in Mexican food the night before and had only been nibbling on spinach leaves for the last 8 days, you wouldn't find me blow drying my hair and applying mascara in my birthday suit. No way. No how. No one wants to see that. At least put on your skivvies. Is that really too much to ask?!  I don't want to start my day with saggy boobs and butt wrinkles. It's an all-too-familiar reminder that I too am getting older and will in fact look like that some day. Ignorance is bliss people.
3. I need to plan a trip to Paris NOW. You guys!! As if I didn't love Paris enough, there is a cat cafe opening there now!! Drinking coffee and playing with cats? Magical! Apparently these things are in Vienna, London, and now Paris. Just another reason to go back to Europe immediately!
   
4. I can live without a man in my life...until I have to put on a bracelet. I can handle changing light bulbs, hanging pictures, assembling furniture...the usually honey-dos, but putting on a bracelet by myself? I swear it's the hardest thing to do...like ever. Yesterday morning I struggled for at least 3 minutes before I finally said screw it and gave up. Oh well. It wasn't that cute anyways.
5. Speaking of men, I have extreme road rage towards men who drive huge pickup trucks. Do all these guys have to drive like such a-holes? I'm sorry if I'm not going fast enough for you, but I'm already 10 mph over the speed limit, and as soon as I get past this semi I'll get my little Camry back in the right lane so you, your giant truck, and those heinous plastic balls you have dangling from your tow hitch can zoom by me. Clearly your huge truck is overcompensating for your shortcoming in another area.
6. Guess I really am a Millennial girl because I absolutely love 99.9% of the things on this list. Heck yes to boozy brunches, guacamole, and crossing things off a list!
7. What is with this heat?! Yesterday when I got into my car after work the thermometer said 106. Miserable. On my way home I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things, and I swear to you by the time I carried my spinach from the car into my house it had already wilted. What a waste of $4. The only plus side to this heat? I don't have to drive all the way to the gym to sweat since a few minutes in my car without the air conditioning is just like owning my own personal, portable sauna.
8. Fro-yo with rainbow sprinkles is amazing. It's a fact. It is also a fact that fro-yo from TCBY is exponentially greater than any other fro-yo (except for Yagoot but you can only get that in Cincy). You can't even argue with me on this one. Simply amazing. 
   
9. I'm sure my roommates hate me in the morning. First of all let me just say that I get up really early....like super early. Let me also say that I am a huge klutz. I drop things, run into things, trip, fall down, etc. at least 3 times a day. It's an absolute miracle I've made it an entire year without breaking my iPhone screen. Watch, I probably just jinxed myself. This clumsiness is magnified x 1,000,000 in the morning. I swear no matter how careful I am in the bathroom, I always knock at least 3 items off the shelf in the medicine cabinet. The kitchen is even worse. If there are cups in the sink, they will tip over, and it will be loud. Sorry girls. I'll try to be quieter. Please forgive me.

Checking In - Week 6 or is it 7?!

If any of you actually care, you may have noticed it's been quite awhile since my last update on my little weight loss/fitness challenge. The reason? I totally fell of the bandwagon. I could give you 101 excuses why it happened - I had one zillion weddings and baby showers. Literally one zillion. At least it sure felt that way. I went on a family vacation. I had friends in town. I had twenty-seven Fourth of July parties because I'm just that popular. Need I go on? In actuality, I really have no one to blame but myself. I could have exercised a little bit of self control. I could have resisted the urge to pile my plate sky high with chips and guac for a second time at every get together, but after a few Summer Shandy's who am I to say no to guacamole? Instead of tearing myself down and complaining about looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy, there's only one thing to do - move forward!

This week I will have healthier eating habits. I must. I will eat spinach salads for lunch, and I will be excited about it. I will NOT eat Mexican food. I mean...I will not eat Mexican food a second time. I may or may not have gone to Salsa Grill with one of my roomies tonight and ate my weight in white queso. Hey, Monday's are rough.

I'm also vowing to get in some good workouts. I already had a nice little sweat session yesterday morning (a 3 mile run followed by Strictly Strength), and a quick 3 mile run over lunch today so I'm on the right track there even if my eating habits have resembled that of a 400 pound man.

I haven't stepped on a scale since my last check in which was a little over three weeks ago. I cannot believe it has been that long. Sheesh. How about this...I don't want to weigh myself right now because it's 9:30 pm, and I will send myself into cardiac arrest when I see the number on the scale after gorging on Mexican, but I promise I'll have a full post with updated stats by Sunday. Cross my heart. Hope to die. Stick five donuts to my thighs. No? That doesn't work? Whatever. I never claimed to be a poet. Thanks for keeping me motivated! You guys are the best!

Linking up with Ashley at The Domestic Wannabe for Move it Monday!

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 2

Happy Fourth of July friends! Time for your second installment of Thursday Thoughts with Jen.

1. Fourth of July's in Kansas are exponentially better than Fourth of July's in Ohio. My last year in Ohio I was in bed by 8:00 p.m. and I didn't see a single firework. I'm sure I could have found something to do, but I like torturing myself. Wahhh I'm all alone in Cincinnati. My boyfriend dumped me. I just kicked my rebound boy to the curb. My family is halfway across the country. I'm SO alone. Someone. Anyone. Everyone. Feel sorry for me. It was really quite depressing. Thank goodness that's the distant past. Fourth of July's in Kansas are one billion times better. Family, Friends. Food...and lots and lots of Harry Potter themed sparkler pictures with my sisters.
2. Now that I've got Ohio on the brain, on one of my first dates with my previously mentioned "rebound" boy, he wouldn't let me walk closest to the curb for fear a car would drive by and splash me. No joke. It. was. amazing. He was amazing. What was I thinking?! This brings me to my next thought - all mothers need to teach their sons the art of chivalry. I won't go so far as to say chivalry is dead, but for the most part men these days are just plain oblivious. They are certainly not courteous. I was walking into work Monday morning carrying my gym bag, purse, lunchbox, water bottle, and coffee cup. I realize I looked like a homeless bag lady, but this particular man let the door slam in my face. I'm afraid I can't say it was the first time it happened. Chivalry is on life support. Let's revive it peeps.
3. Since when do guys use Linkedin to try to pick up girls?! Insanity. I received a message from someone this week that said, "Just wanted to say you adorable." Hmmm interesting. Almost immediately I received a second message saying, "Your adorable not you lol silly me." Silly you indeed. I believe what you should have said is you're adorable...as in you are adorable. Please. If you are going to attempt to pick me up via Linkedin at least learn some grammar.
4. Someone brought their kids into work this week, and can I just say I can't stand screaming children. Whenever I hear one, I can't help but think this is why I have a cat. Is it different when it's your own child?! I hope so. Wailing kiddos seriously make me want to hurt someone. Please pray I have a change of heart should I ever have any of my own. I don't think an orange jump suit would look good with my skin tone.
5. This. Video. Is. Fantastic. I may or may not be guilty of photographing 99.9% of the things in this parody. Sorry I'm not sorry. Day made. 
6. Sleeping on an air mattress with another person could be used as a form of torture. Sleeping on an air mattress by myself? Fine. I can handle that...maybe even enjoy it. Sleeping on one with another person? Absolutely freakin' miserable. It doesn't matter how well you blow it up the night before. Two hours in, the mattress will have all but lost half it's air, and you'll find yourself smashed like a sardine against the other person sweating like Kim Kardashian in labor. Not cute. Not cute at all. Give me a sleeping bag and the hard floor any day.
7. Calorie counts on menus rock. Although they were a bit behind Panera, Starbucks finally joined the party and started posting calorie counts on their in-store menus this week. Such fantastic news! If you didn't before, I'm guessing you will really think twice about that 400 calorie Frappuccino. I'd prefer to eat my calories and not drink them thank you very much...unless of course we are talking vino. That's a different story. Bring on the wine!
8. After college, so I could continue drinking my beloved wine and indulging in the occasional treat...ok fine daily...sometimes twice daily sweet I picked up running. It was THE best decision ever. Running communities are so welcoming and encouraging.  I ran a 10K with my friend Ashley this morning, and it was so great to see everyone out there cheering each other on. Runners are second to none in my book.
9. You know what isn't so great? Being forced to go back to work on Friday after having a day off. It's the worst. Yes I could have used a vacation day, but who wants to do that. Not me...especially not when I might be needing those precious days for weekend getaways. Cat lady no longer? We shall see...