Yoga It Up

I take yoga at the Moore Norman Technology Center. 

It is my first yoga class.  I liked it because it is super cheap (I am trying to save money for a vacation in Canada with my boyfriend next summer!) and close to my work.  I am taking a Gentle Flow class.  It is really easy.  In fact, most of the time I peek my eyes open to make sure everyone isn’t falling asleep.  It’s all women and mostly older women.  We roll around on the floor and lay in corpse pose.  I think it’s more about meditation then anything else.  I am going to try Yoga I Class in November.  Maybe I will do more in that class then take a nap. 

Step 1: Read the Directions!

Here’s a picture of last night’s dinner.  We had some back mahi mahi with rosemary, parmesan rice and broccoli and squash.  It was quite yummy! 

This morning I actually got up early to take a walk.  This was a small miracle because I am not a morning person at all.  Louis and I went around the neighborhood.  I left Jack at home because it is really hard to walk them at the same time.  Apparently, Jack was going insane and whining because I left him.  Jacko went psycho! 

It was a pretty regular day at work, but this is what I come home too.  Two very excited puppies jumping all over the place!!

Well, I tried to make eggplant parmesan today.  I have never cooked with eggplant.  I didn’t read the directions to the recipes very well, and I didn’t peel the eggplant.  It wasn’t bad, but it would have been a lot better if I had done the peeling.  UGH!  Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! 

I found this HUGE eggplant.   

The messiest part is drenching the eggplant in the egg wash and the Italian breadcrumbs. 

Eggplant with peels….  :(

This is the finished product!  It looks good, but would have been so much better if I wasn’t such a dummy and peeled the eggplant.

Live and learn.

A Little Bit of This and That…

Here is my proof I went to the OU game.  It was crazy packed!  We were shoulder to shoulder with the people next to us.  Luckily, we were on the shady side because it was pretty hot that day.

We went to the Oklahoma State Fair this past Friday.  We just walked around and drank a couple of beers.  This is the entrance: 

  The petting zoo is always a bit sad.  Those poor animals had pretty small cages.

It was great that they actually had a hand washing station, but the kids kept butting in front of us.  Apparently, there are no manners at the fair. 

Of course, we had to stop and get some fried food.  I shared some curly fries.  They were pretty delish!  I was so excited we devoured them without snapping a pic!

I am surprised that my iPhone took such good pictures.  They never look that good on my phone.  It’s good to know because it’s hard to lug around the camera at all times!

Another Adventure with Tofu

We tried to eat tofu again.  I made a vegetable stir fry with tofu.  I included an onion, carrot, zucchini, green pepper, broccoli and an egg.  I bought some extra firm tofu to stir fry as well.  Everything was great except the tofu.  It was not extra firm.  In fact, it was kind of squishy.  I guess I need some tips on how to cook tofu.  Next time, the egg will be our protein, and I will leave out the tofu. 

Then, my boyfriend started playing with the puppies.  They get a little crazy!

Lobster Cookin’

Tonight was my first experience with whole lobsters.  They came in red netting.  I have no idea whether I was suppose to boil them in the netting or not, but I did anyways.  It was actually kind of gross.  They turned the water green.  The insides were all green too.  I did not know this.

When I googled this, I found this excerpt from the Lobster Institute:

What is the green stuff you find in the cooked lobsters? Can you eat it?

This is the tomalley or tamali, which functions like the liver, pancreas and intestines in the lobster. Many find it delicious to eat. Recently there have been concerns about finding dioxin in tomalley. The Maine Lobster Promotion Council offers this advice to consumers and concerned citizens: “(According to the Advanced Seafood Handbook,) ‘there are no known safety considerations when it comes to eating lobster meat. However, consumers are advised not to eat the tomalley, the light green substance found in the lobster's carapace. This is the liver and pancreas, which are thought to accumulate contaminants from the environment.’ Much like the liver of other animals, the lobster's tomalley is the natural filter for contaminants, like dioxins, from entering the system. Finding the dioxins in the lobster tomalley is regrettable, and certainly a sign of the times in which we live. However, it is also a reassuring indication of the lobster's natural defense system at work, keeping the lobster meat wholesome, nutritious and delicious.”

Since I have never dealt with a whole lobster, I had no idea what this gunk was.  I think I will just buy the lobster tail only from now on. 

I made some green beans with a white onion as a side dish.

I also tried out some garlic cheddar biscuits like Red Lobster’s.  I used Robbie’s Recipe.  They were a little more dense than Red Lobster’s, but they were still pretty good. 

Our Favorite Norman Restaurant

Tonight, we went to our favorite Norman Restaurant.

  It is always super busy.  We don’t like to wait at restaurants.  So, we usually order carry out here.  The great thing about Tarahumara’s is the speedy service.  We can order on our way to the restaurant, and it will be ready by the time we get there.  When we eat there, it’s just as speedy.  We barely have time to scarf down a few chips and salsa, and then our food appears.

The salsa is delish!  We also like to order the green salsa.  It is a bit more spicy!  Who doesn’t love spice?

I like to get the toreadas.  It is grilled onions and peppers.  It’s pretty much fajitas without the meat.  It looks pretty gross in the picture, but, trust me, it is so yummy.  Put some in a tortilla with some of that spicy salsa, and you will be SAT-IS-FIED!

My crazy boyfriend didn’t eat all day.  He was dying to eat.  Once we got home, he stuffed his face.  He ordered the tacos al berrago (3).  They overstuff them, and you can really make five or six tacos.

 

We aren’t really a dinner table couple.   In fact, our kitchen is pretty small.  There’s really no room to eat at the table.  It’s more like a big shelf for all our extra stuff that doesn’t fit in the pantry and for the mail and for making drinks and extra counter space.  It’s pretty much used for everything besides eating.

So, we decided to put in a movie.

My boyfriend really liked it.  He liked how they were referred to as the Jedi, and Ewan McGreger was in it.  (He played Obi Won.) 

I’m always freezing.  So, I covered up with the throw blanket like an old lady. 

Hope you are having an exciting Friday!

Tomorrow I’m going to my first OU Sooners game.  I guess it is inevitable after you live in Norman for so long.

A Late Night Snack

My Beau came home from work a little hungry.  We don’t have a lot in the house.  Our pantry and fridge are getting down to the bare minimum.   We did have a leftover whole wheat pizza crust.  We found a pizza crust at the grocery store that included a small packet of pizza sauce.  We always have some shredded cheese.  But a pizza is not a pizza to my Beau without a whole bunch of these:

 

Always happy to make a snack!

 

I am never good at cutting a pizza, but he got quite a big slice! YUM-O!

Gettin’ Used to the Bloggin’

I’m still gettin’ used to all this bloggin’.  Tonight was boring.  My boyfriend had to work late.  So, it was just me and the dogs.  I ate some leftover seafood pasta, and a couple of animal crackers for dessert.  

Last night, my boyfriend and I ate some Quizno’s.  I love Quizno’s.  I used to work there for a couple of summers.  It wasn’t a bad job.  I really like the sammies.  My boyfriend got a large turkey bacon guacamole.  He almost ate the whole thing.  Of course, I had to have a couple of bites. 

We were running low on food at work.  I usually have some lean cuisines at work for an easy lunch.

I also usually keeps some apples and carrots there for a snack.  While we were at the grocery store, I was sooo hungry!  I know… I know… NEVER go to the grocery store hungry or else you come back with a bucket of ice cream, hot dogs and a lunchable… haha… maybe that’s just me, but I found a great snack.  I love love love cheetos for snacking every once in a while.  They take me back to my slumber party days.  I found these Natural Cheetos.  They were actually pretty tasty!

I really need to get a new memory card so I can take some more pics.  I have been using my boyfriend really nice, professional camera, but I don’t want to carry that everywhere.  Captain Jack Sparrow ate my old memory card.  Lame, but look forward to some great picture takin’.  :)

Seafood Melody Alfredo

Last night was a quick and easy dinner. I made whole wheat pasta with a seafood melody. It had shrimp, scallops and calamari. I made it with alfredo sauce. Alfredo is several "bad for you" ingredients in a sauce... butter, heavy cream, cheese... BUT... oh... so... gooooood! Be sure to add fresh freshly ground black pepper to any alfredo sauce. It just isn't the same without it.


For recipes, I usually look at several on allrecipes.com (love that site!) or other web pages. I use those to make it my own. Plus, I like to use the ingredients I have on hand. The grocery store is such a hassle.

Spaghetti Squash Ain't So Bad

I made my first spaghetti squash. I usually like quick and easy meals. (Love Rachael Ray!) By quick, I mean 15-20 minutes, 30 max. But we are trying to eat better and new things. So... we tried it out. I put my squash in the oven for an hour. It is reeeeeeeeeeeeeally hard to cut an uncooked spaghetti squash. So, I just poked holes in it with a fork. Ok... I didn't even do the fork poking. I tried and got the fork stuck. So I made Ryan poke the squash.... lol. Once it was cooked, it is much easier to cut.


It is actually a lot harder to get the core and seeds out than I thought it would be. I had to use a knife, spoon and cooking shears. It is easiest to cut it out with a knife and then spoon it out. Then, I used a fork to get the squash out. Again, it was a lot harder to get out then I thought it would be. You have to dig it out. Plus, it was flying all over the place. I am NOT a neat cook.


I cooked some zucchini and broccoli and put it in the marina sauce. We got four veggies (squash, broccoli, zucchini, tomato) in one side dish! YAY!

In our quest to eat more fish, I made some baked catfish.


This is my boyfriend's plate. He loves croissant rolls.


I was actually surprised by the spaghetti squash. I really liked it. It is crunchy, and I was not expecting that. I really recommend trying it! YUM! My boyfriend liked it, but he said he wouldn't want it as a substitute for pasta every time. I don't think I would want to make it every time because it took me an hour and a half from start to finish, but it is definitely worth a try.

Cutest Baby Blog

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My First Tractor Pull

We went to the Cleveland County Fair today! Before we left, we ran into the mailman. He told us it would be "interesting" and it was reeeeally small. So we grabbed our camera and headed out. It was small, but there was no trouble parking. The first thing we saw was a cute tractor pull train for the kiddies!

Then, we went through the farm animal section.

Of course, we had to have some fried fair food. I know... I know... Sooooo not healthy, but I'm human... aaaand it sounded good... aaaand I hadn't eaten all day. Again, soooo bad for me. I had a corn dog.

We also had some homemade root beer, which my boyfriend loved.

We tried some of the fried catfish with fries. The catfish was pretty good, but the fries were a little bland and cold. Eh...

The best thing at the little fair was the tractor pull. Although I am from the South, I have never been to a tractor pull. I can honestly say it was not terrible. In fact, it was sort of fun to watch for 5-10 minutes.