Monthly Archives: May 2012

Low Cal Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cup

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16

Ack! I’m such a delinquent! I tweeted and instagrammed this all over the place the other night and then left you all hanging! 

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#rude

Yeah, that would be a homemade dark chocolate almond butter cup. Did I mention it’s rich and decadent?

Almond butter cup

And low cal? 

I wouldn’t toy with you about something like this . . . ;)

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cup

Serves one

For the chocolate shell:

2 T. Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder

1 T. unsweetened vanilla almond milk (any milk would probably work)

1 T. sugar free maple syrup (or agave or regular syrup would probably work, too!)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until very smooth–no cocoa lumps allowed!!!

Spray a small ramekin with non-stick cooking spray and spoon about half of the chocolate mixture on top. Top with a tablespoon of almond butter, then the rest of the chocolate mixture. Freeze for at least one hour until set. <–I get that this instruction is incredibly challenging and unfair. Do yourself a favor and make this when you’re cooking dinner so it’s ready for you when that 8:30 PM sweet tooth kicks in. Don’t look at me like that. You know exactly what I mean. 

That’ll set you back about 120 calories. 

Go forth and make almond butter cups, my friends!!!

life.

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12

Oh dear. It’s been almost a week since my last post. I know you’ve all spent a considerable amount of time sitting around and refreshing your browsers, chomping at the bit for a little somethin’ somethin’. ;)  

So, what’s been happening??? Life! It’s funny how much busier I am now that I live in DC even though, in theory, I’m new in town and don’t know as many people here as I do back in Michigan. The thing about being in a city is that there is always something going on. I have had so many invitations to do things that I’m constantly running here or there, much to the detriment of my apartment’s cleanliness and to the chagrin of one little girl. 

Roobear

I happen to see this WTF face quite frequently lately . . . but we have been going on lots of walks and a handful of trips to the dog park, so we’re making the most of the time I’m not busy doing 50 gazillion other things. 

Over the holiday weekend, I was busy practically every single second. For reals. I don’t think that has happened since college. Sadly, I took very few pictures, but I’ll do the best I can to make this somewhat entertaining. 

Friday night, I went out with my co-worker and a bunch of his friends to a couple of bars before landing at a DJ show featuring Lady Gaga and Madonna vs. Katy Perry and Britney Spears. It was exactly as fun as it sounds–and then some. 

Bffls

Me and my work BFFL Brian 

Several Ruby Red Absolut and soda’s were consumed . . . 

Which set me up perfectly to drink a whole lot of water and sit by the pool with my friend, Matt, from Michigan on Saturday. Even though I’m making lots of new friends and everyone I spend time with is really nice, it was good to see a familiar face and just relax. Plus, I got to wear my new bikini! 

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Mine is a lighter shade of blue, but you get the idea. I obviously look exactly the same as this chick in it.

Then, we grabbed subs at a place in Arlington named Earls that totally rocked my socks. I had some kind of grilled veggie concoction, and it was phenomenal. Next stop? A BBQ at Matt’s friends’ house where Roo was in her glory–a huge group of guys to play with and a big, fenced yard? What’s not to love? They even gave her a little swag.

Festive roo

Matt’s friend also made some amazing pulled pork that he slow-cooked all day. Bacon-wrapped dates were involved, too. Oh, and ice cream sandwiches. Yeah, I look exactly like that girl in my bikini. ;)

I made it an early night and got up on Sunday for a steamy 11-miler around the city. There was some kind of motorcycling event going on, which I didn’t realize. So to all the Veterans who got to see me running by in my sports bra and running shorts, I am mortified/that’s my way of giving back to my country???? Either way, it was a great run, and somehow I managed to bust out a 7:57 pace despite the humidity. 

Sunday afternoon, I had a very fun brunch date, then headed over to Capitol Hill for dinner with some girls, which included a white sangria filled with peaches and basil. 

Peach basil sangria

MUST get that recipe! 

Then, it started thunder storming. And I needed a cab. But if you know anything about cities, rain=no cabs. So I used a service called Uber, which, for the cost of your firstborn child, will send a town car to take you anywhere you like within about 10 minutes. My driver had absolutely no idea where he was going and I ended up using my phone to give him directions. Ahem. 

Then, I met up again with the aforementioned brunch date for a drink and late-night face-stuffing in Chinatown. General Tsao’s chicken at 2 AM? Don’t mind if I do! Like I said–haven’t done that since college! 

Most of Monday was spent recovering, thinking about cleaning my apartment, and grocery shopping, followed by a quick dinner with a friend on a cute little outdoor patio a few blocks from my building. 

Busy? YES. Worth it? YES. 

I’m finding that life somehow still goes on if I don’t do my laundry or clean my kitchen or run or blog . . . and the extra clutter in my life feels worth it because instead of obsessing, I’m actually living. And as it turns out, living makes me ridiculously happy. 

life. Who knew?

Stealthy

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26

Today, we must discuss my most recent controversial behavior. Now, to some (namely men), they probably aren’t even aware of this issue, but it’s time it was brought to light and discussed. Openly. Here. So.

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Ladies, I need to know. When it’s that time of the month and you’re in your office or classroom or wherever you live the majority of your life, how do you handle the tampon issue? 

You know what I mean. You’re at your desk. You need to use the restroom. And a certain feminine product needs to come with you. But you wouldn’t normally drag your purse along. But you don’t necessarily want to carry a tampon out in the open, effectively announcing to the world, “Hey, I’ve got my period!!!” So what do you do? 

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The way I see it, there are a few options:

1. Take your purse with you.

In the interest of discretion, I suppose this is a viable option. But I find it annoying to haul all that with me when I’m just making a quick trip to the bathroom. Plus, if you never take your purse with you, but then you suddenly do, isn’t that a pretty obvious indication that you’ve got your period? Then again, something in me suspects the dudes of the world are completely oblivious to this behavior.

2. Tuck the tampon somewhere in your clothing.

I perfected this in middle school. When it was that time of the month, I would keep my stash of hygiene products in a special pencil case in my locker. Then, I would kind of stick my hip into the locker and sneak a tampon into my pocket or up my sleeve, then scurry to the bathroom hoping no one would see it. I have continued to do this into adulthood. In the name of discretion, of course. I feel like I’m smuggling something illicit when really all I’m doing is taking care of my lady business. Again, I feel the dudes of the world are oblivious to this sneaky type of behavior. 

Hiding tampon h5283. Carry the damn tampon right in your hand.

Instead of trying to be all stealthy or burdening yourself with the whole handbag scenario, you could just carry the tampon. I mean, would most men even know what it was if they saw it in your hand? And chicks clearly don’t care. Plus, it’s not like you’re waving the thing around. You grab it. You walk to the bathroom. You return to your desk. Not quite the mortifying scenario I’ve made it out to be in my head. Not discreet, but if we think men are paying this much attention to us, I’m pretty sure we’re mistaken. 

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So. Because I’m just over the whole “I’ve got to be discreet about my goddamn tampon” situation, I’ve just been carrying it along with me out in the open. I decided to do this the other day after I realized I was wearing a dress and had no real place to hide the tampon. I didn’t want to bring my purse along, so I just carried the stupid thing. I mean, is it that big a deal? Does anyone really care? Is anyone really paying attention? I decided the answer to these questions is a big, fat NO. So I did the damn thing. And the world did not implode. 

What do we think, ladies? How do you handle your hygiene products when it’s that time of the month? Are you a 1, 2, 3 or something else???

And dudes, do you have any idea this is going on? Would you even care? 

I’m desperate to know.