A Case of the Runs

Lately, I've been hungry, and no looming wedding or anything has kept me from, um, indulging.   Through thick and thin, richer or poorer, etc. It started off innocently enough with these panko-crusted, baked zucchini fries.  I made these to get rid of some leftover zucchini I had after making zucchini bread.  I basically just cut these, dip them in egg wash and seasoned panko, and baked for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees.  I should have salted the zucchini itself, though! Next up, cornbread quiche.  I made a half-batch of vegan cornbread from Happy Herbivore and topped it with four eggs beaten with unsweetened almond milk, some vegan chorizo, and spinach that needed to be used up. The cast-iron pan is my newest kitchen friend.  It was an early wedding gift.  I can't believe they ship those things so early, by the way. My first trip to the local farmer's market finally took place!  I usually miss this because I'm usually up running or doing Insanity o

UPDATED 10/5/2012 This giveaway is now closed.  The winner is... lucky #7, Jen !  I e-mailed you... but if you miss it, please e-mail me at my G-mail address. ------ Do you ever find your lips chapped and burned after long runs or races?  After a long bout in the sun from my half-marathon last month , I certainly found my lips paying the price for a few weeks afterward. I am usually pretty good about protecting my lips.  I tend to develop random reactions to most lip products (balms, lipglosses, etc.), so I sometimes "go without" just because I can clear burned lips from the sun faster than I can burned lips from chemicals. But if you're not among the sensitive crowd, here are some new ChapStick products for you to try.  This gift pack also contains a cute cosmetics bag and a large ChapStick beach towel. ChapStick® Sport Ready Designed with the Active consumer in mind, ChapStick® Sport Ready offers advanced, on-the-go hydration fit for any

In some ways, I'm slightly embarrassed that anyone who might even casually know me "in real life" could stumble upon my blog.  In fact, it has already happened, several times, in spite of my reluctance to share the URL outright. My writing on here isn't perfect, the same way the e-mails I compose at work sometimes lack a word here and there -- or worse, I misuse a word or write choppy sentences.  However, it's a conscious choice for me to write and proofread as I am able, and everything that goes amiss is attributed to the casual nature of this blog.  (The work e-mails, on the other hand, can be attributed to "Blackberry thumb" or extreme volume??) I have been out of school now for close to a year and a half.  "The Ukrainian" is about half-way through with his second master's degree , and many of my friends are starting to turn down my invitations to "hang out" after work because they are studying for graduate exams.  Wow,

I've done this video now quite a few times, so I thought I'd finally give my review of it. Overall, I like it.  It's faster-paced than other yoga I've tried and isn't too long, even if you decide to do both workouts in a row.  Heck, after doing P90X yoga a few times that lasts 92 minutes a pop, anything is short.   Yoga Meltdown gets you stretched and gives you a feeling of a workout without impact. The video comes in two levels: Level 1 (approx 35 min): In this workout, you'll do a lot of sun salutations (a lot of standing, getting into a plank, and then arching your back for upward dog, then opposite for downward dog, etc.).  Also, you will get into some basic warrior poses and "rept it out" by pulsing in the pose, increasing your heart rate. Level 2 (approx 25 min): This workout incorporates some of the moves from Level 1 but adds on some actually pretty challenging poses like crow  and even wheel (basically a back-bend, which I haven

My dad, an immigrant, recently told "The Ukrainian's" parents, also immigrants, that being in America is great, because we can do basically do whatever we want. I wake up each day knowing this, but to me, it's so expected that I don't give it a second thought and yes, take it for granted.  I am infinitely thankful that my parents decided to continue their lives here, a foreign place where they felt/feel a bit out of their element.  On that same vein, I'm glad that others who have brought over the ideas that make this country what it is to have made that same decision. Grew up poor?  No problem... you can work your way up, to an extent.  Don't like our president?  Sure, go ahead and diss him.  Want to marry someone outside of your race (and maybe soon, inside your gender)?  Deal with the disappointment of your parents, but the paperwork is still yours for the filling. I have had SO much opportunity here.  I get paid without having to physically toil o

No, I'm not kidding... I am actually reviewing the Tummy Tuck Belt, the one "seen on TV." I remember the first time I saw this infomercial, I left it on and watched it -- mostly because I was doing some work and wanted some mindless background noise, and also because it seemed so ridiculous. The first time these were shipped to me, someone stole my package.  My sister said that whoever did it would be surprised to see chia seeds or something, but I'm sure this was even stranger to find than that.  When I saw the tracking information, UPS said it was left at the "front door."  I subsequently reported the incident to my landlord and have been wary of people in my secure apartment complex who suddenly appears skinnier.  Seriously, though, if the culprit is reading, I say to you... you're a scum bag, and it is my personal mission to find out which one of you noisy neighbors did it.  Who does that?! Anyway, you probably came here to read about whet

1) Looking back at old scrapbook photos, I'm starting to really feel the passage of time.  I used to have a really good memory of things that happened, to the point that I really thought I could never lose one of those "but you said..." arguments. But sometimes, I can barely remember when I've done things, who said what, or what obligations I have.  This is probably more a result of mental "clutter" rather than age, but it is somewhat unsettling.  On another note, I kind of can't believe that I ever used to be that small.  Back then, cow and some sort of soy milk and Asian food primarily ran through my veins, but now, it's an unidentifiable mix of frosting, bread from the 99-cent store, peanut butter, and a smorgasbord of ethnic foods. 2) I think I'm hitting some sort of low.  You know you have when you're munching on vegan chik'n nuggets in your cubicle during lunch time.  I blame this heat wave, as I normally use this time f

Here is what I looked like after seven hours at a photo studio and on-site shooting.  I showed this photo to my mom, and for a second, she thought it was someone else: Kind of scary-looking, actually. In comparison, here's regular ol' me (photo is a few years old, but basically I look the same... thank you, sunscreen ): When "The Ukrainian" and I decided we wanted to take formal engagement shots, I jokingly told him that we need to spend as much money as possible to work on this impossible case <-- i.e., me. It was kind of a no-brainer for us to invest more in an engagement photographer than a wedding one.  The plan for the ceremony/reception is to take simple photos with those who attend and forget about specific arrangements, poses, or whatnot.  So doing a pre-photo shoot was intended to be relaxed but still formal.  Plus, these Taiwanese-style formal shoots are pretty common in this neck of the woods (even if I'm not at all Taiwanese). I'