A Compendium of Thanks.

For the past two weeks, I've been posting little "What I'm Thankful For" memos on Facebook, and it's gotten a lot of great responses.  I decided to compile all my Thankful lists and put them here, for your amusement.  I'm just reposting them in the order I did them originally so I'll start with the one I put two weeks ago.


1.  I am thankful for my brother in law, Todd, for not only being an awesome guy but also for making my sister so happy. 


2.  I am thankful for my father's job. It has allowed me to see the Pope at the Vatican, meet an amazing President and First Lady, travel the world, and form lasting friendships with amazing, powerful, strong women. 


3.  I am thankful the Beatles catalogue is now available on iTunes. (What? My Two Weeks of Thanks didn't have to be profound every day.)

4.  I am thankful for yoga. Yoga, as well as transforming my physical body, has completely changed my emotional body. Because of yoga I have ended years of body dysmorphia, disordered eating, and compulsive over-exercising. I own my power. Thank you yoga, and thank you to the yogis/yoginis at Samadhi Yoga Studio for inspiring me every time I come to the mat.

5.  I am thankful for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I stood in line at midnight, bought the book, and then stayed up until 9 AM reading the entire thing and bawling my eyes out. So David Yates, if you mess this up, I will probably kill you.  (NOTE: He didn't)

6.  I am thankful for C.A.S.T. I am so lucky I get to work at such an awesome place. It introduced me to theater, and because of them I know what I want to do for the rest of my life: perform, teach, and learn with amazing kids. And there's nothing like getting to do it all beside your childhood mentor.

7.  I am thankful I went to Miss Porter's School.  I will never have that 'high school sucks' memory so many unfortunately do. Going to Porter's changed me forever, and I am so grateful to it and all the friends I made there, friends I will have for the rest of my life. BUT WE GIRLS WILL ALWAYSSAY, FARMINGTON'S OUR HOME.

8.  I am thankful for my Nonna. If you've never met my Nonna, you are missing out. My Nonna is the strongest, bravest woman I know and proves every day you don't need a formal education to be brilliant. If you disagree with me, I'd like you to hide from the SS in the Napoli mountains and see how strong YOU turn out. Yeah. That happened. Nonna is the best.

9.  I am thankful for my sister and brother. Jenna: I'm so thankful to have a big sister as helpful, supportive, wacky and fun as you. Mike, I'm so thankful you're doing great and that you and I are reconnecting after a crazy year. Life can turn in an instant and I am thankful every day.

10.  I am thankful for my mom and dad. My mom is the nicest person alive and I'm always so honored when people say I look like her because she is so beautiful. My dad pushes me every day to be the best I can be, and we are more alike than I ever realized after watching that Real Sports thing (which, if nothing else, was an amazing excuse to hear my parents curse on TV...by the way my dad is profoundly embarrassed that they caught him dropping an F-bomb.  Nothing I haven't heard from years of repeating lines from Wedding Crashers for hours on end...)

And today?

Today, on the day of ultimate thanks, I am thankful for...

Life, peace, my amazing beautiful friends, running in gorgeous weather, sweaty yoga that gets you zonked, iced coffee, hot chocolate, my unique religion, candid pictures, dancing in my room, magazine day at the post office, great books, music, surprise hugs out of nowhere, laughing so hard you cry, crying so hard you laugh, my mom's sweet potato pie, surprise birthday parties, whoever invented Nutella, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Twilight fans (for giving me hours of amusement), my AMAZING, wonderful, supportive readers who've made the past year and a half such a crazy and fantastic one, the jerks who've been mean to me over the years, my professors old and new who inspire me to be better than I ever thought I could be.  

But most of all, I'm thankful for a certain little bundle of love that landed on our doorstep and our hearts this past year.  I told Jenna he'd be last (and certainly not least) on my list of thanks.  She asked who I'd be thankful for today, and I pointed at a certain snoozing, drooling, fidgeting darling.  She smiled, and said, "The lovebug!"

So, I'm thankful for the lovebug.  I have so much to teach him (well, at least I hope I do).  I hope to instill in him a sense of play, fun, laughter, dedication, and Shakespeare (if it KILLS me, there will be one actor in that family).  

So, here's to you, Lovebug.  May your first Thanksgiving be a beautiful and warm day, filled with laughter from your beautiful mommy and daddy and snuggles from your favorite (only!) aunt.  

(if you don't know who Lovebug is...google it.)

Now, I'm off to run the Manchester Road Race, then celebrate by swan-diving into my mom's sweet potato pie.  I think that's a great way to start any Thanksgiving off right...

ally

a new, old guest.

There is a special guest here in the Auriemma hizzouse this week.  And maybe for another few weeks.  With this particular house-guest, you're never sure how long she'll stay.

This guest will get up at 6:30 and rustle you awake as well, demanding she clean your room.  When she says hello, she'll squeeze your hand so tight you'll worry about the condition of your phalanx bones.  If you say you're having an argument with a friend, she'll call them a stupid bitch.  If you run out of milk in the morning, she'll put water on her cereal.

Yup.  My Nonna is here.

Now, you would think someone who's visiting their family would sit back, relax, and let the family do the work for them.  No way.  Nonna will force you to sit down and demand she clean the entire kitchen top to bottom, as well as do the dishes, wash the sink, clean the oven, and wash clothes.  If she had her druthers, she'd do all of this then go out in the back and gut a goat for our dinner.  I have no idea where she gets her energy; I think she goes outside when the sun is out and attains it through photosynthesis.

You've probably seen my Nonna at games.  She'll sit there, quietly panicked, digging her nails into my arm so deep I'm stunned I've never had tetanus.  She and I share the exact same tendencies for gametime panic.  We also share a deep and profound love for the kitchen.  I have a few recipes of hers that I will never share with anyone, because if I did, she would come to me in a dream and throttle me.

My Nonna is the reason why Dad pushes the team as hard as he does.  When they tell him it's too difficult, and too tough, he tells them a small story.  A tale of when my Nonna, at the age of ten, had to go away from her mother and hide in the mountains from an army of advancing German soldiers.  Her mother, my bisnonna, stayed behind in the basement of their house with her hand on the snout of the family pig.  If the pig made any noise, they'd both be shot, and Nonna would have starved that winter.  Without that pig, there would have been no food.

My Nonna jars and cans her own sauce every single year.  When people ask me 'Is this Geno's sauce, really?' down at the casino when I hand out pizza slices, I proudly state 'It's Geno's mother's sauce she makes herself every year.' They scoff at me sometimes, which makes me want to go all gangsta and shout 'You making fun of my Nonna, biznitch?'

My Nonna slaps my butt and forces food down my throat when she thinks I'm too thin.  Then the next time I see her she tells me I've gained weight.  This time she says I look wonderful.  I hope she'll still stuff my face with food...

My Nonna absolutely loves coming to games, but if you come to talk to her, she'll hide and say to me "Why do all these people want to talk to me, Lysa?" And I say, "You're a rock star, Nonna." And she'll say, "Shut up, you crazy girl."

My Nonna's favorite players are Svetlana and Shaq.  I have no idea how she landed on Shaq.  But she loves him.

My Nonna can sit in the sun for five minutes and come inside sporting a tan line.

My Nonna will probably clean my room without me knowing it today.

My Nonna cannot read or write yet if asked is able to deconstruct the twelve intersecting plotlines of The Young and the Restless.


My Nonna yells at you if you roll dough wrong.


My Nonna functions on ciabatta bread, peanut butter, red peppers, coffee, dry cereal, and meatballs.

My Nonna makes the world's best Christmas cookies.  Last year I think I ingested so many I started sweating powdered sugar.

My Nonna is the only person aside from me who can smack Dad across the face.  Come on...who among us hasn't wanted to bitchsmack Geno Auriemma and get away with it? I've done it at least five times.  I did it the other day.  He just laughs.  (that being said, don't try it in public.)

My Nonna is currently washing every single shelf in our pantry individually.  Nobody asked her to do this.  And if I try to stop her, she'll yell at me.

My Nonna is here for Thanksgiving.

So, if you don't mind, I'd like to go hang out with my Nonna.

ally

It just takes courage.

First of all, before I get into a practical analysis on my life at the moment, I would just like to make the following claim: Tiffany Hayes is not human.  There.  I said it.  She is clearly a cyborg from another planet who drops 30 points in 20 minutes.  I mean, everyone else played well, too.  But Tiffany is our secret, alien weapon.  Tiffany and I bonded last season over our mutual obsession with Criminal Minds (I blame late night Twitter sessions and episode marathons on A&E), so I'm thinking her insanity yesterday could be investigated by Aaron Hotchner and his knitted brow.

[[Sidebar: I first got into Criminal Minds because my dad said I reminded him of one of the characters on the show.  I thought he meant Agent Prentiss, because at the time I had that blunt, black haircut with bangs.  Plus, Agent Prentiss is strong, confident, and kind of a badass, so my dream was that he compared me to her.  Well...a crazy, zaftig blonde with cats-eye glasses, red lipstick, and troll doll tchotchkes appears on the TV.  Dad points.  "Her!" Yup.  My dad sees Garcia and thinks of me.]]

Okay.  Back to the point of this post, which I'm writing under a continuing red velvet cake haze from last night.  We celebrated my brother-in-law's 30th birthday (Happy birthday Todd!).  The cake was evil in its deliciousness.  You couldn't keep your fork out of it.  At one point, my sister turned the cake towards herself so we couldn't see it.  Todd went to pick it up to package for his coworkers, and immediately burst out laughing.  I went to see what caused this outburst.  Jenna had practically stabbed the cake to death with her fork, leaving a goughed-out hole.  Her sheepish face had us rolling.

Anyway.  This post is about courage.

I left New York with a very limited reserve of courage in my arsenal.  A lot of things happened over the course of this year to further deplete my reserves.  All of it had to do with my own fear.  And I will not sugarcoat facts because you, my dear readers, deserve to know what's been up.

In a nutshell 2010, while still full of pretty wonderful experiences, really sucked.  A big one.    Just for me.  It was great for a lot of other people, but when you're dealing with a lot of internal emotional issues, it can be hard for you to enjoy anything outside of yourself.  I was called selfish numerous times, but I didn't want to be that way.  It just became very difficult to run away from the whirling panic button in my mind that filled me with terror every time I woke up.  Was I depressed? Maybe.  I had completely restarted my entire life's path.  I oscillated between the world of Euphoria and the world of Delirium and a few side benders into Totally Crazy.  There was so much to celebrate this year and I just...felt like I was viewing the world through blurred bifocals.

And then school started.  I had a few new things to worry about.  Mostly, my grades.  With the exception of the year my mom put me on Ritalin, I have never been a straight A student.  Ever.  Not even when I majored in theater in college and was CONVINCED it was my duty as a human to bring my acting talents to the world at large.  We know how that turned out.  So to go from the career I thought I was made for to another one where I hadn't really proved myself was intimidating and challenging.  But I worked the system.

On Thursday, I got my first graded grad analysis paper back from my professor.  It was the last thing I needed to see my overall midsemester GPA.  It was an A-.  On the front, he wrote You possess an astute ear.


I looked at it, several times.  Then, I looked at my other grades from my other classes.  A-.  A-.  A+.

Straight A's.  For the first time in my life without the benefit of medication, I had a GPA of over 3.5.  The last three months of coffee-fueled study sessions, overconsumption of UCONN sandwiches, and mental breakdowns in the car were worth it.

So what else took courage? A simple matter of balancing on my hands.

In some of my yoga classes, teachers like to introduce handstand.  I have never participated.  In my head, my wrists were too weak, my upper body not strong enough, my abs not flat enough, I'd break every bone in my neck, yada yada yada.  Plus, total body inversions freak me out.  I can do shoulder stand with the best of them, but a full out handstand scared me to death.  Regardless, I would watch my teachers effortlessly flip upside down (while continuing to instruct, no less) and wonder what it felt like.   Would it change my body chemistry? Would I get more confidence and inner peace? Would Chris Evans magically show up at my door with his shirt off and a dozen roses? I had no idea.

The other day I took my weekly 90 minute class with my best friend.  If you see me out in public, chances are Connie is with me.  We're kind of a matched set; well, as matched as an Italian and Asian can be (which is pretty matched in my opinion.  We stole their cuisine unabashedly!).  If there is anyone I know outside of the studio who can be called a yogini, it's her.

We have to practice on different days most of the week, but Tuesdays and Saturdays are the days we work at the studio so we try to practice together.  Now, Connie is one tough yogini, but we feel kind of the same way about handstand pose.  We usually just giggle and try to do it anyway without falling on our butts.  So when our instructor, Anne, invited us to work our way into the pose (against the wall for added support), we looked at each other, shrugged, giggled, and tried to do it anyway, as we normally do.  I felt good for at least trying.  My instructor told me the previous pose we had done in the practice proved our strength.  "You all have the strength.  This posture takes courage."  My head nodded but my brain responded with weak arms.  Weak wrists.  Underfueled.  Scaredy-cat.  La la la la laaa la.

Then I heard Anne walk over to Connie and ask, "Do you want me to spot you into it?" I immediately snapped my head over to see what Connie would say.  I believe I nodded enthusiastically as she said "Yes."  Anne stood behind her, kicked her legs into position, then walked away.  My face was pretty similar to the ones kids make on those commercials about Disney World.  Jaw on the floor, hands to my face.  I was so happy for her.  I may have clapped.  Not sure.

Then Anne turned and saw my expression.


"You want in?"

Forty thousand reasons to say "NO" popped into my head at one time.  I wanted to say no.  Every single fiber of my being screamed at me to say no.  Everything I've experienced in my brain over the course of the last year-every panic attack and crying jag-collapsed in a symphony of clanging discord in front of my eyes.  They all said Say No, You Crazy Freak.

And then one little voice at the back of my head piped up.  That voice overtook all of the others.

I said yes.

I put my hands and feet into downward facing dog, towards the wall.  Anne stood behind me, waiting patiently.  I felt the energy of the room go towards me in a positive, crashing wave of support.   I closed my eyes, breathed.  And I kicked.

I felt a few emotions when Anne locked my legs into position, then stepped away.  First, overwhelming panic, because holy shit, I'm upside down.  Then, a kind of blank dizziness.  Finally, pure joy when I realized I was strong enough to slightly tilt my legs away from the wall, leaving me unsupported and free.

I didn't hold it for very long.  Not even ten seconds, if I were to gauge it.  Once my brain caught up to the fact that I was upside down, my arms began to shake and I had to come out of it.  Even thinking about it gives me vertigo.  But when I came out of it, and flipped my head up, a wave of euphoria came over me unlike any I'd ever known.  I've never smoked marijuana a day in my life but I knew I was high regardless. Anne said full body inversions can cause a feeling like that.  True.  But I think it also came from my feeling of accomplishment.  I had done what I previously thought impossible.  At least for me.  And I know for a fact that whenever any teacher invites us to practice handstand, I'll be there, kicking with the best of them.

This winter, I am applying to the grad program at my school of choice.  A few of my teachers have suggested I go on to the level beyond that.   After hearing my proposal for a final essay, one of my professors joked it was perfect for a 200 page dissertation but much too broad for an 8 page college-level paper.  It got me thinking.  A dissertation? Why not? Say yes.

After I obtain my Master's, I will be going on to earn my PHD.  I intend to become a mythologist as well as an author.  And hopefully sometime soon, I will be taking yoga teacher training with my best friend and fellow yogini at my side.

I never thought I'd do any of that.  Never thought I'd get into handstand, either

It just takes some courage, that's all.  Nothing a little courage can't fix.

And seriously strong coffee.

With a shot of gingerbread syrup.  In the special Starbucks red cup.

Because when everything else fails, happiness is in a Starbucks holiday cup...

ally

What I'm Eating Lately

If I had a picture for every delicious thing I've eaten over the last month, this entry would probably go on for about five pages.  There have been many, many good things.  But unfortunately some of them got saved on my mom's laptop, and when I tried to apply the pictures to Blogger (GRRR), it wouldn't let me.  So, here are just a few samplings.

This looks ugly, but trust me, it's absolutely delicious.  It's one of my favorite pre-workout snacks (I know, I have a ton of granola bars, but sometimes I don't feel like having one of those).  This is about a serving of Peanut Butter Puffins, together with a tablespoon or so of granola and 1/2 cup applesauce.  It gives me carbs and sugar in a hurry.

That's the vegan cornbread I made a few weeks ago.  There's still some left, so I froze it and enjoyed some last week with three eggs over medium and a few roasted brussels sprouts.  After I took this picture I covered the eggs with peach salsa and the brussels sprouts with ketchup.

And this is what I've been having for breakfast every. Single. Day.  Oat bran, 1/2 apple or pear, granola, raisins, Skippy's Natural Peanut Butter, and jam (or caramel apple butter, in this case).  Absolutely amazing and filling!

 And I was quite proud of myself for this one...this spaghetti squash was about the size of my upper body.  I heated it through in the microwave and very slowly (and very carefully) sliced it open.  I then roasted it for about 40 minutes, then scraped out the 'noodles' and made a vegan cream sauce with mushrooms and broccoli.  I found the recipe via The Front Burner.  Absolutely delicious.

It's kind of gross, what I did with this sandwich.  On one slice: Pumpkin Butter and peanut butter.  On the other side? Pumpkin Cream Cheese from TJ's.  Yeah.  It was absolutely delicious, though I did seriously crave broccoli afterwards.  Or a shot of insulin.

 And another go at the spaghetti squash, this time with asparagus, broccoli, spicy fra diavolo sauce and I believe tofu.

 Using up the rest of the tofu...I roasted a cup of butternut squash, red onion, brussels sprouts, and the tofu in the oven for about 30 minutes, then added some chopped dried figs on a bed of romaine and spinach.  A great, filling salad.

 This was pretty incredible.  Fig and turkey and arugula on a tortilla with canned pumpkin and goat cheese.  I know, it sounds disgusting.  DON'T BE AFRAID.

Other than that? Lots of oatmeal.  And broccoli.  And fruit.  And pineapple quince.

Now off to get a workout in, and off to work!!!

The Bucket List.

No, not the movie with Jack Nicholson and God.  (What, you didn't know? Morgan Freeman is God.  Go look it up.)


The past few weeks have been a tornado.  I've gone from merely being busy reading my books, to staring down three final presentations, four final papers (two exceeding 15 pages), and two final exams.  I told a friend of mine at work about all my happenings and she looked at me with an exclamation of "How are you alive?"


Surprisingly I'm in a good mood.  A great mood, even.  All of those presentations above? I managed to finagle it into our weeks where we discuss American and Irish plays.  I'll be in my element.  Although I gotta be honest, The Beauty Queen of Leenane made me so happy I have a mother who is A) not insane and B) not corpulent.


A few people on Facebook have alluded to their own 'bucket list'.  A friend of mine just ran her first marathon in Chicago on 10-10-10 and posted a picture of her with ice on her knees and her little completion medal.  Underneath she wrote "Cross that one off the bucket list!"


I realized while looking at that picture that I lack my own bucket list.  A compilation of outlandish things I wish to accomplish before I die.  A few short years ago, there were only two things on my bucket list: Get married, and win a Tony.  Well, I'd like to think my list has expanded exponentially.


The interesting thing about this list is I know I will accomplish a few of these within the next two years.  That thrills me to no end.

Without much ado, I'd like to present to you all...


The Alysa Auriemma Bucket List


Learn another language.  Write the next great fantasy series.  Bake a perfect chocolate souffle.  Laugh so hard a liquid I am drinking comes out of my nose.  Read every single book in the '1000 Books To Read Before You Die' manual.  Do a yoga headstand.  Watch every Shakespeare adaptation ever put on film.  Complete 200 hours of yoga teacher training.  Set aside an entire day and watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy once a year.    Run a marathon.  See the Grand Canyon in person and not just from a plane.  Publish a book of poems.  Stand below Christ The Redeemer in Brazil.  Take ballet lessons.  Visit and pay respects in Auschwitz-Birkenau.  Lay a flower in Strawberry Fields.  Wear those Eskimo snowshoes that look like tennis rackets.  Earn my Master's Degree in English.  Walk the hills of Ireland.  Visit where my father's family came from in Montella.  Go to an Olympic Opening Ceremony.  Visit where my mother's family came from in Scotland.  Teach my nephew to appreciate great works of literature, and also how to ice skate.  Play every single Shakespearean heroine.  Teach a class for an entire semester without having a heart attack.  Visit every continent.  Learn to sing "Glitter and Be Gay" without sounding like a dying cat being beaten to death with a banjo.  Wear an original Alexander McQueen dress. Meet Oprah. Get married in my parents' backyard.  Grow my hair down to my butt.  Shave my head.  See Lady GaGa in concert again.  Watch the bullrunners in Pamplona.  Go on a cruise.  Stay overnight in every state in the union and Puerto Rico.  Fall in a crazy love as deeply as my sister and mom did with my brother-in-law and my dad.  

This is definitely going to be added to as I find more things to try and accomplish.  One thing you will never, ever see on my bucket list? Skydiving.  I'm sorry, but I find publishing a book of poetry just as thrilling as falling ass backwards out of a plane, hurtling toward the unforgiving solid ground and praying to any deity listening that my ripcord opens.  I can think of better ways to spend my Saturdays...

ally

Wow

It's been really a long time, hasn't it?

I've been eating, working out, studying, living, and overall having fun.  My eats have been great if a bit repetitive...once I like a certain food, I don't stop eating it until I get sick of it.

I've gotten into a workout routine I really like.  I've decided that I HATE the treadmill, so I stopped using it full stop.  Pounding the pavement works for me.  Treadmills are so utterly boring, so I choose to only run outside when I can.  Today, I ran outside in the pouring rain just because it seemed like a good idea.  I was freezing and a soaked rat when I returned, but it was still an awesome run!

I've also been cooking! A few nights ago I made Ina Garten's Curried Butternut Squash Soup, as well as a side of Vegan Pumpkin Cornbread (recipe to come!).

Another thing I've done? Made a long-overdue trip to Trader Joe's.  Oh, the choirs of angels were singing for me.  Among my swag:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese.  As good as it sounds.
Pumpkin Butter.  It had to be done.  I'm drowning in pumpkin lately.
Five HUGE Jonagold Apples.  These things are the size of my baby nephew's head.  I'm pretty sure eating a whole one would keep me full for about three days.
Peanut Flour.  Oh, I am loving this stuff.  Basically this consists of defatted squeezed peanuts, so you get the flavor and none of the oil.  1/4 cup is only 110 calories, and it adds an amazing flavor to yogurt and oatmeal.  Plus, the protein content is ridiculous-16 grams!  I'm adding it to everything lately.  I want to try doing a veggie and noodle stirfry with it!
Laughing Cow Blue Cheese Light wedges.  Now all I gotta do is find the other new flavors!
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.  The regular sized ones, not the minis.
And two vacuum packed precooked chicken patties.  I enjoyed one today in a quesadilla with the blue cheese wedges and pumpkin butter (don't knock it until you try it...it's surprisingly amazing).

So what else have I been eating? Well, a lot of veggies, soups, sandwiches, fruit, and pineapple quince.  Yes, that's right.  There's a fruit called a pineapple quince.  It looks like a granny smith apple, but warped.  And when you heat it up, it tastes like warm pineapple cobbler.  It is like nothing I've ever had before, and it is seriously one of the best fruits I've ever had.  I can't wait to go buy more!

Your regularly scheduled photos will resume soon, I promise.  For now, thanks for being patient.  I swear, I'll have stuff of note soon! I'm going to attempt one new recipe a week, if I have time.  Check ya later!

ally

Chocolate, Pumpkin, Pears, Goat Cheese

Triple Chocolate Gingerbread Overnight Oats

Overnight, combine the following:

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup oat bran (or any oats you like!)

1 tbsp ground flax

Ginger, cinnamon, stevia to taste

1 tbsp cocoa powder

 The next morning, combine 1 frozen banana, 1 tsp cocoa powder, and ginger to taste in a food processor.

 Layer in a glass or bowl.  Top with whatever you fancy! I topped mine with dried cranberries and a scoop of Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter.

 Soup is quickly turning into my go-to, even when I'm not having a flareup! I am seriously loving that Baxter's French Onion Soup.  On the side: asparagus, kale, and an English Muffin Pizza! These are one of my favorite things to eat.  However, I used a lactose-free 'cheeze' i hadn't used before and oh boy.  It became a solid mess on top and creamy on the bottom.  It tasted good, but the top reminded me of processed maple syrup at a diner: all right in a pinch, but nothing like the real thing.

 For dessert, I baked a Honeycrisp apple for about 20 minutes.  Inside? Some Smart Balance, a bit of apple butter, and a ton of cinnamon and stevia.  It came out delicious, if a bit hard still.  Nothing a little bit of frozen yogurt can't fix.

 I used a Crispin apple for my next adventure in sandwich-making...this is a Flatout wrap stuffed with 1/2 a Crispin, 1 tablespoon Trader Joe's Flaxseed Peanut Butter, 1 tbsp raisins, and 1 tbsp glazed walnuts.  That was the finishing touch that put this thing over the edge.

 On the side, the rest of the Crispin dipped with a Fage yogurt smothered in cinnamon.

 Post-run, pre-yoga snack was an AWESOME protein shake.  I mixed a cup of coconut milk with 1 scoop protein powder, 1 tsp Hershey syrup, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, stevia, and pumpkin pie spice.  Absolutely awesome, although I wish I'd put it in the blender.

 After yoga I was STARVING.  My mom had made a huge batch of her truly amazing Pasta e Fagiole.  (I cannot give out the recipe, she would murder me)

 I enjoyed a big bowl (with several re-dips of my spoon into the pot) along with an endpiece of Pepperidge Farms Honey Oat bread, toasted and slathered with Marmite and Smart Balance.

 I am addicted to the Swiss Miss Diet Cocoa packs.  I use two.  Shh.

 This morning I used some more of that fabulous TJ's peanut butter in my oatmeal.  I combined half a Crispin with Scottish oats, an egg white, and flax meal and stirred it all up until it got hot and puffy.  I then topped it with raisins, the PB, apple cinnamon jelly, and a bit of maple syrup.

 It was FREEZING today in CT, so soup once again was on my mind.  This is my old fave: V8 Butternut Squash.  Absolutely awesome, and made even better with cinnamon and curry powder thrown in!

 The main event? A goat cheese and pear sandwich.  With the rest of the pear on the side.  Waste not.

 This afternoon I ate several handfuls of grapes while I studied, and I also made Mama Pea's Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte, but decaf and with only 1/2 cup of almond milk as I didn't want to use up the rest of it.  SO GOOD.  Too good.  I scarfed it down before taking a pic.

All of that coffee did not bode well for me at the gym.  I was sucking down water like a fiend! I couldn't get it into my system fast enough.  I did manage to get about 40 minutes on the elliptical, along with about 20 minutes of strength training.  I usually just leave it up to yoga to keep me toned, but I could tell I was missing something.  I was glad I did it, as I've missed my weights!

After a quick stop at Best Buy to stock up on some DVDs (I've fallen in love with Community!), it was time for dinner! My mom threw a baked potato in the microwave while I chopped up tofu that had been pressing on my counter for a few hours.  I baked it in the oven along with asparagus and brussels sprouts, then topped the whole mess with marinara.  When the potato came out, I topped that with Smart Balance.  Then....NOM.

 I think I've unintentionally eaten vegetarian for the last three days.  Crazy!  And it's shocking, but a few times I've seen turkey slices sitting in my fridge and bypassed them for another sandwich.  Maybe I'm more vegan than I realized?

I can't go totally vegan.  I wouldn't be able to eat this.

 Oh yes I did.

I first heard about this Limited Batch a few weeks ago, when trolling Ben and Jerry's for holiday flavors.  I was stunned when I thought they didn't make any pumpkin flavors, overjoyed when I discovered they DID, but saddened when I realized they probably wouldn't sell it in my grocery store.  Lo and behold!

Let's just say I will be hiding this from my Dad.  He's a Ben and Jerry's freak, too.

Sadly, I can't eat a lot of this at a time...full fat dairy wreaks havoc on my gut.  However, I did manage to have two tablespoons alongside a normal serving of frozen yogurt, and a crumbled amaretti cookie on top.  This was actually a really smart move, as this stuff is AMAZING but really sweet.  A little bite was more than enough! It even flavored the yogurt as it started to melt.

Now, off to bed I go! Got a busy day of studying and teaching ahead!