Prana Bar

Continuing on my bar-noshing odyssey, I tried this mostly raw, organic vegan bar called Prana Bar. It claims that only the nuts are slightly cooked to ensure easy digestion. The actual texture of the bar is slightly reminiscent of LaraBar, slightly moist, date-y, with some random nuts mashed into a dense bar.

Prana Bars are a little less dense, with around 220 calories each. There are smaller nut bits in this than LaraBars, and this one (Coconut Acai) had bits of coconut in it. I could not taste the acai. Overall, I think this bar had a weird flavor, so I really could not finish the thing in spite of costing over $2. The things I do for my blog!

I know it appears I've been eating a lot of bars lately, but over a two-month fitness challenge at my work, I lost over a pound. Whoop-dee-do. Yes, my sarcasm is boiling, but it's really hard for me to lose any weight (very little success in that direction for what seems like years), so I should applaud myself for... doing what I've been doing... which I'm not sure what that is. I'm sure the result would have been better had it not been for me not feeling well and eating extra much this weekend (fried Fair food, tea party treats, health food store oversampling).

As a post-script to this entry, I am running a half-marathon this weekend, although you wouldn't know it based on the residuals of a cold that I don't know if I caught from someone at home or what. Also, I have been sleepy since the afternoon and cannot wait to go to sleep tonight. I was working on a group project (again) yesterday evening after work and the gym. Today, I was falling asleep mid-afternoon while driving from work to meet with my dissertation chair, managed to run 6.2 miles at the gym, eat dinner with the family, do some homework, and am now just aching everywhere because I am craving rest more than anyone can crave anything (I think). Don't I get more dramatic when I'm tired?

With this sort of pattern, how will I ever make progress on my dissertation? I can honestly say that work is the main obstacle... not only the amount of time I spend there but the commute and strange hours that force me to sleep at odd times. I hate to say this publicly, but I wake up each day hoping that one of the jobs I've applied to calls me and "saves" me from what I'm going to call a mistake, transferring from my cushy, close-to-home job for an annoying, far-away one. I apologize if any of my current work team sees this, but honestly, we all know it's true! Alas, I guess it hasn't been a mistake. In my impressionable youth, I left so I could learn new things, and I have. Plus, they had lured me with opportunity that they never fulfilled. No hard feelings, just the facts, ma'am.

At this point, I think I might take another few days of blogging hiatus, as things are just crazy right now. I'm noticing a trend with many of the runner/bloggers out there... we are all overachievers/overdoers!!! At any rate, my blog-i-versary (3 years) is coming up next week, so I will have a reason to come back. The weird hand-drawn banner I have at the top of the page was actually done for that purpose. It depicts first-aid and porta-potties. =)

Added note: The weather has been fabulous this week -- sunny yet cool. I wish I could spend these Fall days just walking around with "my Ukrainian," but alas, we both have to work so that the lights will stay on... just kidding!