I have decided to try and cook something new every Tuesday.

Tonight’s adventure was Quinoa Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms.

AMAZING! HUGE thanks to Kate who tweeted about her mom making this.

My take on the recipe:

-preheat oven to 350

-cook quinoa. I used this which is delicious all by itself!

-microwave sweet potato and cut up into cubes.

-Hollow out your mushrooms. Put the mushroom meat aside for the stuffing.

-Sauté diced red onion, mushroom meat, diced red peppers and minced garlic in olive oil. (Other ideas include carrots, finely diced broccoli, zucchini, and squash.)

-Add sweet potato, 1/4 cup of crumbled goat cheese, and quinoa to the sautéed vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste

-Fill mushrooms with the quinoa/vegetable mix, and top with more goat cheese.

-Place in a pan and put in the oven. Bake for 25 min or until cheese starts to brown.

The different flavors were awesome together. Every bite was a little different and equally delicious as the last.

Suggestions for other recipes to try?

Posted in cooking/baking | 1 Comment »

3 for 3!!!!!

….ok you can stop your applause.

Well I had plans to wake up for 5:30 am spin class but my body had other plans. I woke up at 3 and barfed twice. Let me just says, throwing up kale…is freaking disgusting. Needless to say I was NOT in the mood to go torture myself two and half hours later. I let the ol’ belly settle and decided to do yoga on my comcast on demand instead (it’s pretty much all ashtanga Yoga which I like much more than hatha or bikram) HOLY GUACAMOLE…that was no joke. At times in certain poses, my heartrate was in the 140 and 150s. I tried to do some of the level 2 moves but stuck mostly with the easier ones since I am no yogi. I will definitely be doing this one again! Doing it made me see how unflexible and unbalanced I am.

At least I can pretend to look like a yogi standing up. Any kind of pose with leg lifting and I look like cripple…

My day was looooong and boring.

It consisted of this:

sitting outside of work trying to freckle my legs.

It was a very dull day with only one client. Wednesdays are always slow…today was no exception.

I like wearing my hair like this…no muss no fuss.

After work, I was bored and decided to bake!

How cute are these measuring cups my mom got me for xmas???!?!?!

SO SO SO CUTE! I looooved russian dolls as a little kid!

These were NOT the meringues I dreamed they would be. The vanilla was way too strong in my opinion. Perhaps its for the best because if they tasted like these I would eat all of them. The grocery store doesnt have anymore of those meringues and I am trying to just accept it…but my addiction is strong.

After trying my meringues and being annoyed by their non-deliciousness, I watered the garden since today is the first day it hasn’t rained and being in direct sunlight, a lot of them get pissy very easily.

Any ideas what kind of annuals I should plant for the summer once my  spring annuals go RIP on me????

After we tended to the garden, Roxy and I went for a walk.

I run by these honeysuckle a lot and I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing they smell. The smells of summer always floor me. This morning I went outside and it was the perfect mix of cut grass and flowers and warm weather. Its hard to describe but Im sure you get the idea.

Dinner was easy: Poblano, Black Bean, and  Mango Quesdillas.

YUM!

Grateful 5:

1. Not being busy at work makes me appreciate the days I am busy. My slow days are getting fewer and fewer but it always reminds me that when I am crazy-ass busy with no time for lunch…at least I am busy!

2. Having an awesome chiropractor. He’s so positive, so sweet, and always giving me great advice about any number of things. We had a discussion about me using soymilk in my green smoothies…and as usual, I will be following his advice and switching to just hemp milk with whey powder.

3. I get to run tomorrow…Im excited!

4.  Getting back some $$$ from my taxes.

5. Finding  balance/moderation in my food journaling and how seriously I take it.

Posted in Uncategorized, cooking/baking | 11 Comments »

Can it be….two posts in a row! Girl, thats crazy !!!!!!!(I am well known for saying this at work. Its my phrase)

Today was a good day. I woke up thanks to my trusty 4-legged alarm, fiddled around online for awhile (and posted this!), and got down to business…doing an easy 3 miler. This of course turned out to be NOT easy at all. Im not sure what my deal was but it was a struggle.  I’m going to blame the humidity, it takes a lot out of you. Luckily I still had enough energy to bust out 3/4 of Jackie Warner’s Power Circuit Training (legs/booty/chest/arms/back)

My goal is to do something active for at least 30 minutes (running 3x/doing a dvd, spinning, cardio 3x) 6 days a week. I am DETERMINED to actually feel decent in my bathing suit this year. I’ve made the decision to also keep a food diary and track my caloric intake.  Im simply just trying to get in my 5-9 servings of veggies, at least 6 glasses of water, at least 60 grams of protein, and trying to watch my fats (minus things like avocado, olive oil, nuts) plus hopefully burn more calories than I consume. So far so good. I know it starts to go in a direction I don’t like…I’ll quit. Simple as that.

Awesome busy work day (waxing/facial/makeup/makeup/waxing….go gen go!) followed by an even more awesome dinner.

Black bean burger with half an avocado and sweet potato fries with greek yogurt garlic-basil dipping sauce.

Get in my belly!

I can’t believe its almost June…where did May go?

What did YOU eat for dinner?

Grateful 5:

1. Warm weather. It was so cold last week and now its great (albeit a little humid)

2. Being busy at work..and having wonderful clients. I truly enjoy seeing them every month.

3. Having curly hair. I HATED my curls when they suddenly appeared in 6th grade. Its been a longggg process…but I love that I can wear my hair so many ways. Its so nice to shower, scrunch in some gel, and goooooo! The result is really pretty spiral curls.

4. athletic tape. My arch of my right foot and ankle feel wonky today… taping it  immediately made a difference.

5. Making good choices that make my body happy.

Posted in Uncategorized, cooking/baking | 2 Comments »

They said it would snow…and boy, did it!

This weekend we got ROCKED by a snowstorm like no other. I havent seen snow like this since I was in 5th grade or 6th grade! They told us it would hit Friday morning with heavier snow later in the day anddd it pretty much didn’t stop until maybe 3 or 4 Saturday. Unfortunately we are supposed to get MORE snow tomorrow…like 10 inches possibly. UGH.

I am so sick of the snow.

Without further adieu I present to you the adventures of Snowpocalypse 2010:

Friday the snow started almost exactly at 9. I went to work and had one client for two services. I quickly high-tailed it out of there around noon as I wanted to get home before the real fun began (plus Virginia drivers can’t drive in snow…myself included) At home I fed the cat three million scoops of food and grabbed Roxy plus a packed bag in order to get to Matts.

Roxy and I made a pit stop at Sonic for lunch for Matt& I. Roxy looks so thrilled in her Where’s Waldo sweater…

She sneezed. I captured the fabulous face.

Sonic was fabulous…I expected nothing less.
We took the dogs out later in the afternoon to play outside.

Kodak in his jacket which actually was an awesome buy at Walmart. It kept him dry all weekend whenever he went out in the snow. Plus he looks killer in it.

Trudge trudge trudge.

Roxy was not a fan of this snow from the very beginning.

This is Kodak’s ball i.e. his crack.

He will do just about anything for a ball. He seriously will play fetch until he is almost falling asleep standing up. Even cuter, is that he doesn’t just play ball like a normal dog…he plays soccer. You throw the ball, he runs at lightening speed to get it, and after fetching it then drops it, and either noses the ball and/or kicks the ball BACK TO YOU. Inside he will actually grab things (blankets, socks, pant legs) and hold said item while he kicks the ball up and down the hallway. Matt needs to make a video because it’s the funniest thing I have ever seen. It’s kind of insane and I don’t know how he decided this was the way to play ball but it’s how he does it.

I like him.

Most of the time…I think he likes me too

Also I know you are jealous of my fancy houndstooth elmer fudd hat….

and my shitty rainboots which make for the WORST snowboots ever. My feet were FREEZING this weekend!

The snow really got going a little later on Friday afternoon and that was the end of that…by the 9 or 10 the news said we were in full-force blizzard conditions. GROSS.

We zonked out on the couch until 6 am the dogs decided it was time to WAKE UP and Matt went out to begin shoveling. The snow was still going with no signs of stopping.

Matt asked for breakfast so I made blueberry pancakes with eggs. One of the few easy things I can make…haha.

The world outside.

Matt is awesome and shoveled 9 times from Friday to Sunday. This was smart because a) it kept him from going stir-crazy and gave him some exercise since he couldn’t run and b) meant there wasn’t 2 feet of snow to have to shovel once the snow stopped.

Matt also dug tunnels for the dogs!!!! Kodak OBVIOUSLY played with his ball in them.

While Matt shoveled every other hour, me and the puppies did a lot of this:

Roxy makes a good pillow apparently.

I love these two little dogs more than I could possibly describe.

After some good napping Matt shoveled some more and we measured the snow. We used Matt’s car since the ground wasn’t very accurate due to snow we had previously gotten Tuesday (seriously we have had so much snow this winter)

That, my friends, is A LOT of snow.

Mr. Lofton’s Opus.

Roxy trying to swim through the snow (which I may or may not have plopped her in….)

The snow FINALLY ended later than afternoon and we even got a bit of sun as well.

Sunday was all about waiting for the snow plow. Matt left for a 10 mile run and I sat around, played online, dreamed of leaving the house, and fed my new addiction that I discovered during the snow storm…Toddlers and Tiarras. Pure TV GOLD!

I also discovered that in a pinch, fake vanilla lattes are ALMOST as good as real coffee. Almost.

Around 4 the snowplow finally came and Matt and I left the snowy confines of his house to venture out into the real world.

Now for the most embarrassing part of the weekend…Around 7 I started to worry about my cat who was at my apartment still. I decided to jump in my car, drive the 2 miles over, check on her, and then come back to watch the Superbowl with Matt. I got back to my place fine, enjoyed the angry death glare of the cat while I fed her, and then got back in my car to go back. Because one of the main roads was blocked off I INGENIOUSLY decided to take a side road UP A HILL to take a back route I go sometimes.  I might mention that this back route takes you through a pretty yucky part of town. While driving up the one way hill, a girl was walking along and I turned my wheel slightly to make sure she had enough room. BAD BAD BAD IDEA.

I got stuck.

I tried going forward while turning the wheel. I tried reversing while turning the wheel. I tried going straight. I tried everything. Meanwhile people are trudging by with their 40s and giving me weird looks and cars are starting to wait behind me.

I call Matt slightly panicking and hoping he will have some magic recipe to tell me how to get unstuck FAST. Unfortnately there is no recipe and with a sigh he told me to wait and he would be there. Being the brilliant driver that I am, I decided to turn off the car (I cannot tell you why I decided to do this). When I tried to turn in back on to once again try to move the car a single inch….

THE BATTERY DIED.

WTF!?!?!?!!?!?!!

Of all the days and times to die, my battery chooses this time? Of course it would…

because it’s me and stuff like this ALWAYS happens to me.

I was in full-on freakout mode by now.

Matt came and was obviously exasperated by the turn of events. Luckily thanks to his car knowledge, some cables I kept in the back of my car, and some fine young gentlemen who decided to stop watching from the porches and help…my car got restarted and moved out of the snow I was stuck in.

I would like to use this space to thank Matt who left the warm couch to help me and ate it hard on the ice while doing so. Thank you baby!

The rest of the evening was THANKFULLY uneventful. We made some nachos and watched the superbowl (I read and snuggled Kodak…and then fell asleep.)

This morning I came back home with Roxy and began the song and dance called “I dont wanna run but I know I have to”. My 4 miler should have happened on Sunday but I didn’t feel safe running on porrly plowed roads and decided to give it a day. The half marathon is 2 months away and every day I skip a run is a day wasted. So despite my EXTREME reluctance to go out and do it…I went out and did it.

To feel more hardcore, I busted out my “miss new booty” running tights.

It was a joyless 4.2 miles…but the feeling of accomplishment once I got to the end was awesome. I started the day thinking I wouldn’t even run at all…and yet somehow found it in myself to run longer than I have in over half a year IN THE SNOW which sucks in my opinion.

Andddd just to reiterate how much FREAKING snow we got…here’s a shot of the porch of my bedroom:

Theres so much snow Roxy cant even see over it all. Its just this massive snow wall as soon as you open the door!

I suppose I better learn to like it because they’re calling for 1-3 inches tomorrow with 5-8 inches tomorrow night…and more damn snow Wednesday. FML.

Thank goodness for netflix and the ability to watch every criminal intent known to man on my instant queue while I hole up in my apartment during the snowpocalypse part 2!

My 5 gratefuls for the past few days:

1. Having power.  A lot of people lost it and I cannot imagine how much that sucked.

2. Matt and his ability to put up with my antics.

3. Puppy snuggles.

4. That my car actually started back up and didn’t have to get towed.

5. Enjoying today with my friend Kate.

Posted in cooking/baking, matthew, pets, running, winter 2010 | 2 Comments »

So yes…I ,Genevieve, am a complete slacker and havent written in here at all.

I really have no excuse other than I haven’t felt motivated to write. Money is REALLY tight lately and its set a cloud of perma-funk over my life. Its all I think about but the last thing I want to do is sit around and just complain about how little money I have. Yet here I am…doing so. I know I am far from the only person dealing with this but this is my first foray into the world of  ”I just bounced my rent check and god am I ashamed”. It is far scarier than I could have ever imagined. I just keep saying to myself over and over and over “it will get better” and “this is good and teaches you things you didn’t know before” I know for a fact that money does not bring happiness but I am also learning that being stretched SO thin can be an ugly awful feeling and leaves you lying awake at night wondering if you will be able to pay all your bills, let alone have money to get the dog some food.

Maybe I need to pay more attention to the things I tell myself in my art journal?

One good thing about being tight on $$ is that I have been cooking A LOT more! I actually like cooking…who knew?

Among some of the things I have cooked:

Poblano, Black Bean, and  Mango Quesdillas

My friends Ellen, Lauren, and I made these one night and they were DELICIOUS.

Spaghetti Squash with Avocado Pesto

First off let me say spaghetti squash is just weird! I wanted very much to like it but it really is just odd.

It really just in no shape or form will EVER replace spaghetti for me. Sorry squash. Its fun ripping it all up after you cook it though…just not really fun eating it.

BUT

the avocado pesto sauce was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Mmmmmmmmm.

And last but not least,

(image by skinnychef.com)

rosemary sweet potato fries.

So amazingly delicious. Add in a garlic basil dipping sauce and you are in HEAVEN. I changed the dipping sauce recipe and instead of mayo used greek yogurt. EVEN MORE AWESOME!

In case you didn’t get the memo, greek yogurt is my new downfall and I will never go back to regular yogurt again.

Lucky for me Costco sells it (not my favorite brand boo-hoo) so I dont go even more broke by buying copious amounts of yogurt. If you want to really go hardcore buy the 0% Fage and just add some honey. It’s so simple, so yummy, and 120 calories with 20 grams of PROTEIN and NO FAT!

Side note: since I have been spending so much more time in my kitchen, I realized the other day that my FAVORITE PART of my kitchen is all damaged from a leak

This is very sad.

On the running front, I am on week 4 of my training for my half. All systems go! This Sunday I will conquer 4 miles! The race is 80 days away. I have so far to go and I know I am going to really be hating myself for even doing this the closer the race gets…but I want it so bad.

All the animals are wonderful and make me happy when nothing else does.

It was VERY cold here for awhile so the puppies bundled up outside.

GOOOOOOOOOOO!

A very dashing Kodak.

Roxy braving some icy winds.

HELLO!

anddd Stubbs, who never fails to be weirder and weirder each week.

This is where she now hangs out during the day…halfway under the couch with her legs sticking out.

Oh hai.

One last Roxy photo because she is teenytinytinytiny and cute!

I am so proud of her. She has bounced back from her surgery so well and been so brave and every day I am so happy she is still here being her barky huffly burrowy snuggley self.

I’ll end this entry with two photos that make my ovaries explode…

Matt and his adorable nephew jamming out with some chopsticks.

G-Money out!

Posted in cooking/baking, life, matthew, pets, running | 2 Comments »

I am in general a rather bad cook.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted in cooking/baking | 1 Comment »