Endorsement #1: Neutrogena skiniD. Around the time that I turned 27 or 28, I suddenly had an acne [...]]]> As I mentioned to an exhaustive degree during the Sonoma Grille/Seviche giveaways, this blog is not heavily marketed. So you know that if I’m touting a product it’s purely because I bought it and had a good experience.

Endorsement #1: Neutrogena skiniD. Around the time that I turned 27 or 28, I suddenly had an acne problem. I had pimples fairly regularly as a teenager, but after I had kicked puberty to the curb, my skin was pretty normal with maybe a pimple or two here or there. The adult acne wasn’t severe, but it bothered me. I was especially not fond of the dozens of small pimples that covered my now greasy forehead.

I thought about trying Proactiv, but honestly something about their commercials was unsettling to me. I’m highly perturbed by the caliber of celebrities that endorse their products, though I did get to hear Puff Daddy utter the sentence, “It really moisturizes my situation.” skiniD seemed less…Amway-ish, so I did the online quiz and within, I think, a day and a half the products arrived on my doorstep.

Full disclaimer, I have been drinking more water and eating a little bit better, so that could contribute, but my skin is pretty effing clear now. The only downside is that something in one of the products that I use has some kind of mild reaction with my sunscreen that causes a stinging sensation in my face. Not fun.

About my sunscreen: also Neutrogena. Ultra Sheer Dry Touch, spf 85 (yes, 85). Expensive, but feels awesome and I don’t get all grumpy about having to reapply it. A few weeks ago I wrote to Neutrogena gushing about how much I loved it, hoping that they’d send me some coupons. A few days later, they emailed me back with a hearty, “Thanks, glad you like it.”

So…yeah.

Endorsement #2: Blueberry Boy Bait. I made this once last summer and the husband nearly died of ecstasy. It’s so delicious. It’s called “boy bait” for, I imagine, purely alliterative reasons but I’m fairly certain that it would work on either gender. All I’m saying is that I made this sucker again last night and, well, it’s a testament to restraint that I don’t have a hickey or twelve today.

Endorsement #3: Louie. I know I mention how much I adore Louis CK a lot, but the dude is seriously one of the best comedians ever. Please watch this show. His first series, Lucky Louie, which was brilliant, was canceled after just one season and I informed him of my great disappointment over this in a rather frightening manner. Don’t make me scare him again. Watch the show. Get his ratings high. Please.

It took me longer than 9 weeks to do the whole thing, there were a few times that I didn’t feel well and took a few days off [...]]]> Remember a few months ago, I wrote about how I was doing the Couch to 5K program? Well, I just finished the ninth week of the program yesterday.

It took me longer than 9 weeks to do the whole thing, there were a few times that I didn’t feel well and took a few days off and other times I just had trouble scheduling it into my day.

I’m also not yet able to run 5K. I’m somewhere around 2 and 1/4 to 2 and 1/2 miles in a 30-minute run. I would guess that I’m still about 2 or 3 weeks away from being able to run the full 5K.

But! I can now run for 30 minutes at a time, which is something I could NOT do back in March when I started. In fact, I could barely run for 1 minute at a time back then. I remember looking forward in the program and wondering how the hell I was ever going to run for several minutes at a time.

It’s still really hard. I don’t think it ever gets “easy” and I’m not sure that it’s supposed to, but I know that I’ve gotten much stronger and will continue to get stronger the longer I keep at it. And the pain that I was in at the beginning is gone now, which is a huge improvement.

I’m not going to lie and say that I love running now, but I like it a lot more than I thought I would. And I would really like for it to remain part of my life. I would also like to try running in a 5K at some point. Hopefully by the end of the summer I can attempt one.

I’ve also been throwing in a yoga class here and there, which I like because it’s similar to the muscle memory and flexibility that I already have from ballet. I’ve noticed that if I run the day after a yoga class, that run actually feels pretty good.

I’m able to devote more time to exercise right now because summer is less hectic at work, so I can be at the gym working out and then showering for an hour without things getting too out of hand in my absence. During the school year, I’ll have to figure something else out, which worries me.

Still not “dieting,” per se. Despite still battling with ballet-era demons, I have no interest in doing any kind of calorie restriction. Small changes that I’ve made include trying not to eat after 9 p.m. and just eating healthier (lots of veggies) overall.

So what’s been going on with me? Eh, a lot and not much, know what I mean? I’ve been really busy at work, aside from being doubled over and groaning. The baby had his first [...]]]> That’s me at my desk. I’ve been in this position most of the day because I have this really annoying stomachache.

So what’s been going on with me? Eh, a lot and not much, know what I mean? I’ve been really busy at work, aside from being doubled over and groaning. The baby had his first Little League game last Saturday, which followed their annual parade down our main street to the ball field.

We went to Art All Night on Saturday because the baby had submitted a painting.

There he is with his masterpiece, an untitled work inspired by Nintendo.

Art All Night was at the old Iron City Brewery, which was a very cool space. On our way out, I spotted this door with a partially ripped Iron City Beer sign and wanted to take a picture of it. However, I was carrying my purse, a couple Vitamin Waters, and a serving of tiramisu, so the first few pictures look like this:

But eventually I got it.

If this was a good picture, I would muse about just how utterly post-industrial it is, what with another Pittsburgh industry having to vacate the city, leaving behind scraps of their brand and loyalty.

Instead it’s like, “Hey, look at this glaring flash that I took with my left hand on my point-and-shoot! Beer!”

We saw about 500 people that we know there

Couch to 5K has been going really well. I did my first 20 minute run the other day, which was a little over a mile and a half in distance.

The sister-in-law and her boyfriend were in town last week while she had her wisdom teeth removed. After her chewing abilities were back up to par, we went to Green Forest Cafe which was utterly ridiculous and delicious. Although I wonder if this stomachache is a delayed reaction to all that meat that I ate.

The husband is working on two big events this weekend: an all-night house party tonight and Rick Wade on Saturday. I don’t know if I’m going tonight because the baby has a baseball game at noon on Saturday and my staying-up-all-night allowance is running dangerously low since our whirlwind trip to D.C. a few weeks ago. But if you’re looking for some fun stuff to do in Pittsburgh this weekend, consider checking those out.

Just a few minutes ago, I went to random.org and drew the number 10. The tenth commenter on the Sonoma Grille post was Alaina! Congratulations, Alaina! [...]]]> I must say, I was nervous about this whole giveaway thing but it’s been a pretty fun and pleasant experience, especially now that I get to announce the first winner.

Just a few minutes ago, I went to random.org and drew the number 10. The tenth commenter on the Sonoma Grille post was Alaina! Congratulations, Alaina! I’ll be emailing you in a second.

To everyone that entered, thanks so much for trying! And, if you haven’t already, you can still enter to win a $50 gift certificate to Seviche over here.

I’m also giving away a $50 gift certificate to Seviche and you should enter that one, too.

This past Monday night, the husband and I headed back downtown to Seviche, Sonoma Grille’s sister restaurant. I have had seviche once before and thoroughly enjoyed it, while the [...]]]> So, here is the second awesome giveaway of the week. (If you’re wondering what this is all about, you can read this post for a little explanation.)

This past Monday night, the husband and I headed back downtown to Seviche, Sonoma Grille’s sister restaurant. I have had seviche once before and thoroughly enjoyed it, while the husband remained somewhat skeptical.

Backing up a bit, if you’re not familiar with seviche, I’ll give you a quick rundown. It’s fresh fish that is marinated in citrus juice and the acid from the marinade kind of cooks the fish, but not in a way that turns the fish into the flaky white texture that you get when you, say, bake it or grill it. It’s delicious.

The husband and I settled at our table and ordered drinks. I got one of their Strawberry Mimosa Champagne Mojito, which is a little more froufy than I would normally order, but it was delicious and refreshing and not too sweet at all. I had three. The husband had a Caipirinha, which is distilled sugar cane juice with fresh lime and sugar. The lime gives it a kind of tequila taste. He only had one of those because they’re strong, but very tasty.

The chef, Jeff, came out to talk to us for a few minutes about what we would be sampling that night. We would get to try some of their signature seviche and some tapas, both of which would feature some of their dishes that have a local emphasis. Jeff has been working to purchase ingredients from local farms to keep money in the area and to foster a sense of community in the culinary scene. I like Jeff.

Our lovely server, Jackie, brought out our appetizer dish, which was their Asian Tartare. It’s kind of like your basic sushi roll but with lots of yummy stuff like white truffle oil. I totally missed what kind of fish they gave us with those but the husband and I gobbled those up and nodded wordlessly. Delightful.

Next was a chorizo-wrapped diver scallop on top of a bed of polenta, spinach and a Peruvian barbecue sauce. The husband has told me several times that he doesn’t like scallops and I keep telling him that he just hasn’t had a good scallop. This was a very, very good scallop. More wordless nodding.

Next was some of the Hamachi (Yellow Tail Snapper) in the Fire & Ice preparation. This seviche comes in those big spoons that you get at pho restaurants. The Hamachi sits on habanero peppers and onions and then is topped with a cool, prickly pear granita. You scoop the whole thing into your mouth, like a shot, so that you get the hot and then the cool. Amazing.

Then there was wild shrimp with avocado and corn salsa and milanga chips and THEN there was seared filet mignon with mushrooms (again, we devoured them even though neither of us likes mushrooms), tomatoes, and saffron aioli. Sometimes, I think of it and it makes me shiver.

Finally, we had a pulled chicken tostada. By this point, we were no longer speaking and I was no longer taking notes, because all we were doing was nodding, moaning in delight, and letting our eyes glaze over. It was sincerely some of the best food that either of us had ever had.

The atmosphere is cool but cheery and is more casual than Sonoma Grille, but would be really fun for a date or a night out and I hear that they have good happy hours and events like Salsa Night.

Just like with the Sonoma Grille giveaway, all you have to do to enter to win a $50 gift certificate is be in or around Pittsburgh and leave a comment on this post. You can enter both giveaways, but I won’t award the certificates to the same person. I’ll use random.org to select a winner on Friday, April 23rd. Good luck!

And, like any good mother, I blame my son for this.

He’s a picky eater, though much MUCH better than he used to be. But at any given time, the list of things that he will eat for lunch is pretty short. So, I’m always trying [...]]]> This morning, I admitted something to myself: I’m neurotic about lunch.

And, like any good mother, I blame my son for this.

He’s a picky eater, though much MUCH better than he used to be. But at any given time, the list of things that he will eat for lunch is pretty short. So, I’m always trying to find some balance of actual calorie input and health for him. Currently, he will eat half of a sandwich, consisting of bread (wheat or rye) and lunch meat (we’re on a chicken breast kick right now), a cup of applesauce (no sugar added or high fructose corn syrup), sometimes a cheese stick (I go totally mainstream here and give him Kraft), sometimes a few baby carrots and/or some other fruit or veggie.

His old lunch box was one of those canvassy, zipper joints that was kind of small and useless. A few times, I let him use my Laptop Lunch and recently that company came out with some new bento lunch systems.
When our tax return came, I took a few bucks and ordered him one, along with some extra containers. Today was his second day using it. He had a sandwich, some carrots, some graham crackers, and some strawberries. He seemed a little indifferent about it yesterday. I hope he gets more enthusiastic about it.

I had a Laptop Lunch because I have been on a quest for the perfect lunch vessel for some years. I liked the Laptop Lunch, but I felt that it was just too small for me. I like to bring a pretty big salad, a “main” dish, dressing and croutons on the side, a snack, and my breakfast. And if I don’t have what I consider a good lunch, I get all anxious about it. I was explaining this to someone the other day as they eyed my tote bag of containers of various sizes. I needed a change.

Around the same time that I bought the baby his Laptop Lunch, I bought a tiffin from Happy Tiffin. I heard about tiffins last summer in my business class when we watched a movie about dabbawalas.

My tiffin arrived yesterday and I was so excited to pack it up today.

Here we have my salad and my bagel for breakfast…

This is my wrap sandwich that contains a layer of fresh spinach and a helping of my tweaked version this Curried Tofu Salad. (I need to take a little more time preparing that salad the next time that I make it. It’s too watery this time from the veggies and tofu. But very tasty.) The other container holds my croutons and dressing, plus a snack of sunflower seeds and dried cranberries in one of those silicone cupcake baking cups, which is a trick that I learned from watching blogs about bento-style lunches.

And here it is, all stacked up, latched, and ready to go. The only problem that I’ve had so far is finding a fork that will fit. Also, obviously, this isn’t microwave-safe, so I’m not sure what I’ll do if I ever want to bring leftovers to heat up. And if I were to bring something that was already warm, I would need to keep it away from things like my salad.

Like I said, I’m neurotic about lunch.

But so far, I’m pretty happy with it.

Speaking of food, I’m going to have some pretty big posts on the matter coming up in the next few days, so be sure to check back, especially if you’re in the Pittsburgh area.

With me trying desperately to get out of the emotional k-hole that I had been in, the [...]]]> I don’t know what I think about fate and powers greater than us and whatnot. I know that the universe is not something that I can comprehend but that sometimes it seems to work for a minute or two.

With me trying desperately to get out of the emotional k-hole that I had been in, the husband suggested last week that we take a quick trip down to D.C. There were a number of things that made it the perfect time to go: I had already planned to take a day off on Friday, two DJs that we like were playing there on Friday and Saturday, and the sister-in-law’s birthday was on Sunday. Unable to come up with a decent excuse not to (and believe me, I tried, because it’s too hard to wallow in unfamiliar environments), we set off on Friday afternoon after a stop at the baby’s school for a quick good-bye and supplies for his weekend with various grandmas.

We were there for less than 48 hours, but I haven’t had that good of a weekend in awhile. All we did was stay up all night, eat amazing food, and take naps.

Friday night, not long after finally arriving at my sister-in-law’s apartment, we headed to the Warehouse Loft to see Ron Trent. The space was really cool: dark, low-key, open, and an amazing view of the city. I had had to employ the tried-and-true vodka and Red Bull elixir since I had been up since 6:30 and the event was supposed to go until 4 a.m. I was a little rowdy, but mostly just danced and goofed off and tweeted things like

and

At the bar, the SIL and I met a guy named Ezra who hadn’t purchased enough drinks to close out his tab and offered to buy us some. I immediately invited him to come to Detroit with us in May. (Note: I am easy.) This round of drinks…if I were somehow in the position of instructing a blindfolded person how to pour it, I would probably tell them, “Okay, VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODKA redbull.” The sister-in-law provided much needed commentary on my reaction to this concoction.

Classy. However, we both agreed that this was still a better performance on our part than the time we went to some art thing downtown and I exited the bathroom proudly holding a drink that I had found on the sink, which we then shared while looking at a Blackberry that the SIL had found on a chair and intended to keep.

The husband and I were somewhat dismayed to realize that D.C. isn’t really a late-night kind of town. 24-hour eateries and ATMs were kind of scarce, but we did end up at Georgetown Cafe, where we had really REALLY good food, including the best chicken shawarma on the planet.

I spent part of the next day recovering but we headed out to Ray’s Hell-Burger in Arlington upon the insistence of the sister-in-law and her boyfriend. I’ve been thinking about the burger that I had there ever since and both the husband I resolved to never eat another burger ever again unless it’s at Ray’s. Or Five Guys. This is a good resolution, I think. We don’t eat burgers often, but this should keep us down to a strict allowance.

We had a really ridiculous encounter with one of DC’s notorious motorists. Some jackhole in an SUV attempted to merge/cut us off by just basically driving into the side of our car. We yelled and when the jackhole had an opportunity later to pull up beside us, he started screaming at us and then called us white trash because we had a donut on our wheel. We were actually on our way to the AAA to get our flat tire repaired. But, that guy was probably right. That nail found its way into our tire because we’re white trash. Nice attempt at insulting us without stopping to see if it would even be offensive. The husband sometimes seems to exist in between episodes of road rage, so the situation escalated and soon other motorists were cheering us on. I begged the husband to stop, noting that we were in DC and chances were good that the dude was a gun or finance lobbyist or something and could very well shoot us and/or manufacture some kind of foreclosure on our house.

Anyway, we went out to see Theo Parrish that night at…some place…that was like an ethnic club or something? It was near a lot of Dominican hair salons. It was fun and the space was also very cool. The crowd was weird. They seemed somewhat taken aback by the stuff Theo was playing, then a bunch of people left around 4:30 a.m., leaving the grimy devotees.

Sunday we went to Lebanese Taverna. My god. Also so amazingly good.

We managed to avoid any chaos that might have been present in the city because of the looming health care reform vote. It was weird to think of us just chilling on the sidelines while this big fucking deal went down (tip o’ the hat: Biden). Health care is a sensitive issue for me. I was on Medicaid when I had the baby because that was my only option. If we hadn’t had that…I can’t even begin to think how utterly ruined we would have been. I know that it’s complicated and it goes far beyond my anecdotes. Just…let’s try not to be assholes about something that people NEED, alright?

Anyway, the trip made me feel better. And spring is helping, too. Anytime that the husband and I get a chance to be on our own, I always feel super re-connected to the dude. I’m lucky. I know.

Me and the husband, who may or may not be from Pittsburgh. I can’t tell.