ExciteMINT!

Hi guys,

I had a rough start today.

I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I took a melatonin in the wee hours of morning. I wound up waking up at 8:00 AM-- the time I usually arrive at work. Curses. My day quickly turned around after good chats with Jake and my coworkers, and REALLY took a turn for the delightful when we had frozen yogurt delivered to work! I shared vanilla brownie with Coworker K.

Lunch today included last night's leftovers, which was some kinda quinoa-veggie mishmash. It's quite similar to Rebecca and Roni's recipes; now Rhea has a quinoa baby, too.

To do:

1. Throw 1 cup of red quinoa and 2 cups water in pot. Crumble part of a veggie boullion cube into the mix. Bring to a boil, simmer gently.
2. While the quinoa is coming to a boil, chop some veg. I used 2 carrots, some shucked CSA peas and half a zucchini. Throw them into the pot with the quinoa.
3. When the quinoa is approaching done-ness, toss some arugula in to wilt.
4. Once the mix is done, throw some in a bowl, and top with feta and balsamic.

I would have loved to throw some tofu in this batch-- it gets really succulent and juicy from the broth-- but alas, my leftover block was a bit off.

For lunch, I enjoyed the mix over crispy CSA lettuce and under a handful of blueberries. It was berry, berry good.
I also ate a homemade pickle.  Twas delicious.

My snacks were an apple and a Larabar: cherry pie, my favorite.

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Workout:  Sweatier than usual and no cardio.

After my rough morning, I felt like my whole day was off track!  I had to really psych myself up for the gym.  When I finally got changed and gathered my belongings from the office, I realized that I had neglected to bring a hair elastic!  In my rush to leave the house I also forgot to pack a headband.  Grrrrr.  My mane is quite long now, so I can't run without a ponytail- I HATE having sweaty hair on my neck and in my face.  So it was a weight-only kinda day.  I tried to spike the strength moves with some aerobic exercise to make up for the lack of official cardio.

• Dumbell bench press, 8 x 3 x 35
• Bent over row, 8 x 1 x 25 (a flop done on the floor, since the gym was busy and there were no benches.  It didn't work, so I tried...)
• Upright row, 8 x 1 x 15 (wasn't feeling that one, either.)
• Shoulder press, 8 x 3 x 30
• Mountain climbers, 20 x 3
• Standing cable twist, 15 x 3 x 30
• Burpees, 15 x 3
• Overhead tricep pull, 15 x 2 x 25
• Bicep curl, 10 x 2 x 30
• Bicycle crunches, 20 x 3

I'm looking forward to trying a new running route tomorrow, executed to a new playlist, which I will debut here tomorrow.

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Review: Tom's of Maine Fennel Toothpaste

I grew up in Maine, so I'm all about supporting a (sort-of) local company. Why only sort-of? I now reside in Massachusetts, although my dad still lives in the Motherland. Also, Tom's was recently bought out by Colgate Palmolive. Apparently, since Tom's still owns 16% of the company, they have maintained their production facilities, recipes and ethical standards. However, if you are concerned about animal testing or the like, I wouldn't buy their products- at the end of the day, the profits are largely going to CP, who (as far as I know) uses animal testing.

Off of the soapbox.  On to the 'paste.

I like it!
It looks very handsome in my bathroom. It comes in a retro-chic aluminum tube with a purple design all over.
It tastes like the fennel seeds you scoop from a silver dish at an Indian restaurant.  In my brief "research" (read: internet browsing) on natural toothpaste, I learned that customers who brush with a natural product tend to brush longer and, thus, have healthier teeth. Why? The in-your-face minty taste of most conventional pastes give users a false sense of cleanliness. Interesting.  It kinda makes sense, right?
The one freakish and coincidental downside to the fennel flavor is that it tasted a bit... pickley to me. During my pickle experiment last night, I brainstormed herbs I could add to the jar. I was out of dill, but recently came to inherit a gorgeous specimen of fennel from the CSA box. I crushed some of the fronts between my fingers while pickle-making, but didn't end up putting it in the jar. Nevertheless, my olfactory sense and tastebuds are a wee bit traumatized from the pickle proximity.

Would I buy it again? Definitely!  I'm crazy about the flavor, the packaging is very sweet, and it works.  I do tend to get stir-crazy with toothpaste, so I won't use this one for the rest of my days, but it will stay in my rotation.
Would I recommend it?  Yes, unless you are one of those crazy people who doesn't like the taste of black licorice.
Bottom line? Hooray! 

 
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Question of the Day:  Have you ever tried an all-natural toothpaste?  Why or why not?  When I was little, we had a tube of Tom's Silly Strawberry toothpaste that was reserved for camping trips.  Don't ask me why, but it probably had something to do with my dad's affinity for all things travel-sized.  Needless to say, I never liked that toothpaste.  The fennel flavor is great because you still get that tingly feeling.