I’m such a sucker for surveys and get to know you type of memes.  I did them all. the. time. when they were the rage on MySpace and Xanga (yep, you read that right. Did I just date myself because I haven’t heard anyone talk about Xanga in ages!).

Anyways, today Erin posted her answers to Fill in the Blank Friday, which is a series from Lauren at The Little Things We Do (aka a “how have I not been reading this blog all this time?!” blog).  I was all in!

1.  My favorite place i’ve ever traveled to is Santa Cruz, California.  I lived there during the summer of 2008 and fell in love.

2.  Australia/New Zeeland is somewhere I’d love to go someday.

5.  My favorite travel companion is are my friends, but I also love traveling solo.

6.  The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is holding/kissing a stingray in the Grand Cayman Islands.  One (not that I held) bit me and I had a hickey from a stingray on my arm.

7.  The most exotic food I’ve ever tried while traveling is fried alligator (or crocodile?) in New Orleans.

8.  If I could live anywhere else, I’d live in New York City or going back Santa Cruz.  London would be a cool experience, as well.

9.  I have been to twelve states in the U.S. 
Michigan (where I live), Indiana (many times), Illinois (many times), New York (5x), North Carolina (2x), California (2x), Louisiana (2x), Mississippi (2x), Florida (2x), Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee and, although it’s not actually a state, Washington DC (2x).  I’ve also driving through a bunch of other states like Kentucky and Georgia.

edited to add:  I’ve been to Wisconsin, too. Thanks for reminding me, Kayla!

So, there you have it, a little about my travel experiences!

As for the rest of the day, I was a hot mess this morning.  I had my usual peanut butter toast for breakfast and I had drizzled some honey on top.  When I got to work, I realized my phone had honey all over it.  A few hours later, I discovered honey in my hair.  I don’t know.  I just don’t know.

Fortunately it was Fancy Coffee Friday and they still had the seasonal red cups for the ventis!

You made my day, Starbucks.

I was productive member of society tonight and did my taxes.  Not necessarily a fun task, but it’s gotta be done and I was glad to get it off my plate!  Even more when I knew I was getting money back!!  More money for the “Mindy needs a new car” fund!

This is how my day started.  It makes for a promising day, eh?

I wish there were something stronger than H2O in my water bottle. It's going to be one of those days...and it's only 9am...

01.26.12 9:14 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@grmindyjean

Mindy N.

So clearly, not the greatest morning.  After awhile, I put aside the project that was stressing me out, hoping that would help.  I got other stuff done, but that particular project was still on my mind.

While trying to move on, I relied on a clearly healthy coping mechanism and made a good dent in my candy jar.  When all else fails, eat chocolate.

By the end of the day, I was still feeling more frustrated/stressed than I would have liked.  I really wanted to go home, curl up on the couch, and open up a bottle of wine.  Again, coping mechanisms.  Instead, I took my frustration out by getting my sweat on.

Dear self, You are NOT allowed to use today's stress as an excuse to go home & veg. Use it as motivation for a kick ass workout. Love, self

01.26.12 4:03 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@grmindyjean

Mindy N.

My run started out really solid.  I did my first mile at a 10:00 pace (!!!) and after that, it slowly went down hill.  I did another half mile at the same pace, but that was the extent of my longer intervals.  I never ran slower than the 10:00 pace, but my running/walking intervals got shorter and shorter as time went by.  My overall time for 3.0 miles was about the same as normal (33:24), but I felt really proud of myself for keeping a faster pace when I was running.  That’s progress, right?!  I think so!

I also did a repeat of Tuesday’s strength workout (via Tina‘s Carrots ‘N’ Weights series).  I added a 0:30 plank to each set and before the final set, I stopped and did 200 crunches/ab exercises.  My arms were crazy killing me by the end.  Nice work, Tina.

I got really distracted when I was making dinner and ended up with a blackened grilled cheese.  You know, Cajun style.

And wine (again, coping).  It’s the dangerous kind of wine in that it tastes more juice-like than wine.

Must. Drink. Slow.

It is only Thursday after all.  In retrospect, it probably wasn’t that stressful, but the combination of the stress and the hormones out of whack and still fighting the tail end of my cold, it was a lot of little things adding up to one big thing.

Here’s to a better day tomorrow!

I love, love, love awards show season and I look so forward to not only the show itself, but finding out the nominees.  I was on pins and needles this morning waiting for the Academy Awards nominees!  Best Picture is obviously the pinnacle of the show and I think they’ve got a good mix this year:

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Moneyball
War Horse
The Tree of Life

Thus far, I’ve only seen The Descendants, The Help, and Moneyball.  I loved all three, although wouldn’t have pegged the latter two as Best Picture contenders.  I’ve heard rave reviews about The Artist and Midnight in Paris.  I want to see as many of the other six as I can before the show, but as of now my money is on The Artist or Hugo.  I’m also leaning towards George Clooney and Viola Davis for Best Actor and Actress.

I will say though, Jonah Hill, Oscar nominee?  Who ever saw that coming?!  Good for him though!  I was also surprised to see Melissa McCarthy nominated for Bridesmaids.  It’s nice to see a comedy get recognition, particularly one that funny!

Breakfast was my usual toast and lunch was leftover polenta bake.  Nothing exciting (but all delicious!) on that front.

Since I’ve been sick, I wasn’t sure how running was going to work out today.  Saturday’s long run was miserable.  Today was so much better!  I ran 3.0 miles in 32:28 – all of my running stints were at at 10 min/mile pace, but I took a few more walking breaks so it worked out to pretty close to my usual pace.  I was really pleased overall!  With having been sick for over a week, I was okay with walking a bit more, but I loved going faster than normal when I ran!  Feelin’ good.

I went to a new yoga class after my run – upbeat yoga!  Awesome music like Beyonce and Michael Jackson during my downward dogs?  Yes, please!  I will definitely be going to that class again!

I threw together an easy (read: lazy) dinner tonight.  A Morningstar chick’n patty on a sandwich thin with some steamed (not quite long enough) broccoli.

I’m watching The Biggest Loser right now and there is drama-rama on this episode!  Conda on the red team has been driving me batty since the first week and tonight is no better.  I’m frustrated with the contestants that quit/want to quit (Joe last week, Chris this week).  I can’t imagine how hard it is being on the Ranch, but you’re not there forever!  Yet, the lessons they’ll learn and the changes they’ll make have the potential for a lifetime of good.  Not to mention, there are so many people who would love to be in their shoes, and they just walk away?!  Come ON!  Make the most of this gift!  Thus far in the season, I think Emily is the one I’m rooting for to win!  She seems very drama free, focused on what she’s there for, working hard…plus, I think it’s awesome she’s an Olympian!

Who do you think will win the Best Picture this year?

I remembered to bring lunch today, but I forgot my cold medicine.  I thought I would be okay, but I started paying for it by about 10am.  I’m okay as long as I’m up and moving, but once I sit too long, I get crazy congested again.  The joys of a desk job.

Even though I brought lunch, I really wanted something warm and spicy.  Zoup! had vegan chili today which was just what the doctor ordered.

I don’t know what “soy protein” they used in the chili, but it was ridiculously similar to ground beef.  So much so that I had a few moments of really questioning what I was eating.  Whatever it was, it’s in my belly now.

For some strength training today, I did Week 1, Day 1 of Tina’s Carrots ‘N’ Weights series.  I took notes before I left work on a handy dandy post-it note.  I am awesome at drawing stick figures.  Clearly.

I used a pair of 5 pound weights this time around and by the end of the third set, I was definitely feeling it!  I headed to Zumba afterwards (and Andi joined me!).  I had to stop after about 45 minutes when my knee started hurting a bit more than I’m okay with.  My instructor generally mixes between Latin and hip-hop dances, but tonight was almost entirely Latin.  It was just a little too much twisting for my knee.

I am notorious for buying jars of pasta sauce and not using it all before it goes moldy.  Gross.  I had a jar from the polenta bake I made last week, so I used the  rest (plus the veggies on their last leg) for a pasta bake.

I’m running low on pasta so there’s like three different types of noodles in there.  It works, they all taste the same!

Although I’m nowhere near 100% healthy, I’m definitely starting to feel like my cold might be on its last legs.  Hallelujah!  I think after another solid night or two of sleep and a few more doses of knock-off Airborne, I’ll be as good as new!

Monday, Monday, Monday…you’re a sneaky little bugger aren’t you?

How was everyone’s weekend?  I have the cold that won’t go away (and flares up just in time for the weekend apparently…I was miserable last weekend and again this one!).  I’m in that state of “I don’t feel so terrible I need to stay in bed all day but not great enough that I have all my normal energy”.  It’s a funny place.

I tried to still get out and moving a bit all weekend.  I even made it to the gym a couple times.  I attempted my long run on Saturday (4 miles), but cut it way short (2.5 miles) – even at that, I walked most of it.  Yesterday, I got in 9.0 miles on the bike.  It was so much easier on the lungs than the running.  You know, less of the “I  can’t get any oxygen to my vital organs” feeling.  It’s a good thing.

If you haven’t seen The Descendants yet, I highly recommend it.

George Clooney was fantastic, but the girls who played his daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) were also wonderful. Bring tissues though. It’s a tear jerker for sure.  I’m banking on it getting some Academy Award nominations (which are announced tomorrow!! So excited!).

At church yesterday, there was a flash mob as part of the sermon. I have the coolest church ever.

I woke up to a middle of the night thunderstorm.  In case I had slept through it, everyone and their brother was posting on Facebook this morning.  I was ahead of the game and tweeted about it in the midst of the storm.  Trend setter.

Ridiculously loud thunderstorm in the middle of January? Weirdest winter ever.

01.23.12 2:14 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@grmindyjean

Mindy N.

But seriously, so random for January…at least when you live in Michigan.

I woke up this morning feeling a bit better, but I forgot my cold meds at home, so hopefully I’m not completely miserable by the end of the day.  So far, so good.  Not great, but not terrible…which I can deal with.  I bought some Airborne yesterday (well, the knock off CVS chewable version) so I’m hoping that works miracles ASAP.  I’m sick of being sick.

If you haven’t figured it out, I took zero pictures of my weekend.  I’m sure my witty banter is enough to keep your attention, right?!

I did break out the camera for the overnight oats in a jar this morning.  Two consecutive Mondays for OOIAJ?  Awesomesauce.

Happy Monday!  Make it a great day!

I had planned on doing this when Janetha originally posted…but I forgot.  Fortunately, Jocelyn and Tina posted their answers and it was a kick in the pants reminder to me!

Without further ado…

1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?

Sleep in, go on a run, farmer’s market in the summer or a movie in the winter, going to a coffee shop to read…basically just relaxing and enjoying life!

2) List your top three favorite TV shows.

• Glee
• Big Bang Theory
• Parenthood
• Runner up: New Girl

Note that I’m only including shows that are still in production. Otherwise, it would be Friends, Friends, and more Friends.

3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them?

Take them, for sure – unless I’m traveling and then I want pictures of myself in front of every seemingly important/touristy spot in that city.

4) Why do you blog?

Because I love it.  I love writing, I love the community, I love the friends I’ve made because of my blog, I love the accountability it gives me.  My life has changed for the better in so many ways since I started blogging.

5) Share five websites that you visit regularly.

• Google – for Gmail, Calendar, Reader, etc.
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• My credit union

6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list, who would it be?

@taylorswift13 – because I’m cool like that…

…and also because there’s too many amazing blends and real life friends to choose from.

7) List a few of your favorite snacks.

• Lara/Luna/Clif bars
• Chobani
• Ice cream

8 ) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind?

No, but one of my roommates has a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix, Dexter.  It’s the fun of having a pet without the responsibility and bills.  Best of both worlds.

9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without?

• iPhone
• Computer
• Car
• Runner up:  Books

10) What’s your favorite drink?

Coffee.

Water, too…but coffee comes first.

11) Do you enjoy cooking?

Yes, but I love baking a lot more!

12) Do you have children?

Nope.  I do have 3 nieces and 2 nephews, and they are the light of my world.  I love being Aunt Mindy more than words can express.

13) What are your favorite hobbies?

• Reading
• Running
• Blogging
• Sleeping

14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?

Outgoing…but quiet.  Does that makes sense?  I love hearing what other people have to say.  I think listening has a lot more value than talking.

15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?

My eyesight.  I’ve had glasses since I was five and I’d love to not need them anymore!

16) Who is your favorite actor/actress?

Ryan Reynolds.

(source)

God did good when He created that man.  He’s gorgeous.  I realize that has nothing to do with his acting, so my favorite actor based on their acting is Morgan Freeman.

Actress?  Probably Meryl Streep.

17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week?

Hmm…this week hasn’t been too out of the ordinary.  Hanging out with my Anthem people on Wednesday nights is always pretty awesome though, so I’ll go with that.

18) Do you live near your family or far from them?

Pretty close – my sister, Nicki, and her family are the furthest and they’re only about an hour away.  My other sister, Kris, is the closest at about 30 minutes away.

19) List three of your talents.

• I can sing pretty well
• I’m good with computers (one of my coworkers calls me “Goog” – short for Google – because I can always answer her questions)
• I read really fast

20) What is your greatest attribute?

I have no idea.  That’s an awkward question to answer.  If I had to say something though…I like to think I have a heart for caring for others.

Your turn!  Answer one (or more!) of the questions! 

It’s (almost) the freakin’ weekend!  Hallelujah!  This week has felt endless in a I haven’t worked a full week in about a month kind of way.  Poor me, I know.  Bring out the violins.

I had my usual peanut butter toast this morning for breakfast.  Even though it wasn’t Fancy Coffee Friday, I had been saving a Biggby gift card I had gotten as a Secret Santa gift for just the right day.  I had stopped once, so there was enough for one more drink on the card.

Or so I thought.  I have no idea what happened, but the card had nothing left on it!  I swear it should have.  By the time they realized that, my drink was almost done, so I had to pay cash.  But, it was a just one of those kinds of days where I needed it, so it was well worth it.

It was also a “dress up a lululemon shirt and call it work appropriate” kind of day.  Throw a scarf on and it can dress up a lot of things, in my opinion.  I think I made it work!  At the very least, I was super comfortable all day.  I wish I could wear lulu all the time.

I had some leftover polenta bake for lunch and a tea with a Gnu bar for a snack later on.  Orange cranberry FTW!  It was so yummy!

I had a meeting after work and so I got to the gym way later than usual.  Which meant dinner was also way later than usual.  I munched on some Pretzel Crisps in the car to tide me over.  Those things are addicting!

I ran 3.0 miles tonight, my first run in over a week.  The first couple miles were solid, but I was losing steam at the end.  Plus, I just wanted to go home and have dinner.  I finished strong though!  My speed is still not that great, but I’m cool with that.  Right now my focus is more on mileage.  The speed will come.

I’ve been craving Jet’s Pizza for awhile now, so when my roommate suggested it, I was all in.  Pizza and a beer?  Perfect.

Too bad my long run isn’t tomorrow.  I’m all carb loaded and ready now!  So amazingly delicious.

I’m off to bed – the NyQuil is kicking in!  I’ve been congested and sneezing all day – it’s gotten so much worse in the past couple hours!

I shouldn’t have used the weather as an excuse not to head to the gym last night.  I’m quite certain the roads didn’t get as bad as predicted and I felt like a lazy bum.  But I’m not going to beat myself up for it.  Yesterday is gone and what’s done is done!

So rather than dwelling on yesterday, I looked ahead.  As of this morning, I am officially registered for the River Bank Run 25K!

One step closer towards knocking one of my goals for the year (finishing in under 3 hours) out of the park!

I truly feel like being registered (and having spent the money) for a race is such a huge motivating factor in training.  It’s for REAL now, my friends.  Time to do some magic.

I am not a fan of winter.  But, my least favorite part is absolutely, hands down, driving in the snow.  Add ice in there and I turn into a big fat baby.  Snow and ice for the drive home?  No thank you.

I had the deep down in my gut feeling to just head straight home after work.  It was already getting slippery by 5pm, so I think I made the right choice in not delaying it a couple hours for a trip to the gym.  Sometimes, better safe than sorry, ya know?  I made a quick stop at the store to pick up a couple things and headed home to hole up for the night.

Backing up, breakfast was some sunflower seed butter and apple butter on rice cakes (aka what happens when I run out of bread).

Not a sustaining breakfast.  Mid-morning I had a Clif bar while working on a massive pile of work.  I’m a tree killer at the office and I don’t like it one bit.

Just enough to tide me over!  For lunch, I had the other half of last night’s sub and grabbed another bag of chips out of the vending machine.  It was a bit soggy, but getting the honey mustard on the side makes it less so.

When I got home, I was excited that my produce box arrived!  I had a LivingSocial deal for Door to Door Organics that I immediately put to use!

The deal was good for the “bitty box” which is regularly valued at $23 (plus a $2 delivery fee).  This week came with romaine lettuce, 5 apples, 3 tomatoes, 2 bananas, 2 green peppers, 2 heads of broccoli, an avocado, and a grapefruit.  Since it’s all organic, I thought it was a pretty good deal!  I don’t think it’s something I’d regularly have delivered all the time, but it’s awesome to know stuff like that is out there.  Organic produce delivered to my door?  Yes, please!  I’m actually much more leaning towards a CSA share, but have to research my options on that.

Since I wasn’t going to the gym, I had time to make a legit dinner.  I was inspired by Jenna’s baked polenta recipe and needing to use up a tube of polenta sitting in my fridge, I made my own version.  I really had no idea what to do with polenta.  I’ve never had it and had no idea what to expect.

In a 9×9″ pan, I layered the polenta with some portabella mushrooms, zucchini, an extra chunky/veggie filled pasta sauce, and mozzarella cheese; I sprinkled garlic powder and an Italian blend seasoning on top of each layer.

Bake it at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, and voila!

I loved this!  Definitely a dish I’ll make again!

New Glee tonight!  I’m also doing the online test for Jeopardy! tonight – it’s the first step in the audition process to be a contestant on the show!  Wish me luck!

I know I said “no free food” around the office.  I allow exceptions to my rule and today I made exceptions for Arnie’s carrot cake.  Red velvet is my favorite ever, but carrot cake isn’t too far behind.  Just as long as it doesn’t have raisins in it.

Yum!  Times two.

I did say no to the cookies later that afternoon, so there’s progress!  Needless to say, between the heaping jar of overnight oats and the cake, I wasn’t all that come lunch!  I had some leftover pasta and called it a day.

I love my Zumba class, but it starts at such an awkward time.  I get out of work at 4:30 and it starts at 5:45.  Not enough time to go home, but too much time to linger.  I really just wanted to get home at a decent time tonight, so I did an hour on the elliptical instead.  I didn’t plan on an hour, but I got sucked into an episode of Law and Order!  5.0 miles total.

There’s a little group of people from my office that are committing to going through Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred – I said I’d join in, but just doing it 2 or 3 times a week.  From past experience, my knees can’t handle much more than that!  The house was empty tonight, so I did my first day of level 1.  I forgot how intense that DVD is!  It’s still hard on the knees, so I don’t know how long it’s going to last.

I grabbed Subway on my way home – a footlong sub equals dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow!  BOOM!

Adios!  I’m off to make some progress in my latest read – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  Have y’all read that yet?  I’m only 30 or so pages in, but absolutely fascinated thus far!  I’ll keep ya posted!