Forty Six Days

So, I'm gonna blame part of the reason for my lack of posts lately on Lent..  

For some, Lent is a period of going on a diet; for others, it is when Catholic co-workers show up to work with ashes on their heads, and fast food restaurants start selling fish sandwiches. Many Christians, who don't necessarily find their way to mass except on Easter and Christmas, find they are attracted to Lent.

I fall into the final category, Lent is a time of year that I enjoy challenging myself to 46 (yes, it's not 40, it's 46) days withholding something from myself. This year I decided to give up TWO things. Chocolate* and Technology on school nights*.  

Chocolate*: I'm allowed to have Chocolate Shakeology. I think that God would agree that it's too wonderful of a product to withhold from myself.
The chocolate has, thus far, been a breeze. Mainly because for Mardi Gras I seriously ate more chocolate than I have in the past three months, so by the time I weighted in on Wednesday at the gym (great timing, I know) I was ready to take a hiatus from Kringle, Reese's and beyond. 

Technology*: I turn off technology at 10:30 on school nights. Weekends and Spring Break are fair game.
The technology has been a challenge. Most days I work from 7:30-3:30, come home and cook dinner before going to yoga (5:30-7). By the time I get home, shower, and eat it's usually around 8:30. Now, one would imagine that two hours of technology SHOULD be enough for a person. Perhaps they haven't met me.
1. I am VERY well-versed at wasting time on the internet (facebook, twitter, blogs, ebay, gchat, etc) as well as doing research and collaborating on chapters for my Masters Research Paper.
2. Then there's texting! I usually do a good deal of my texting when I am laying in bed, ready to fall asleep. It's the only time when I don't have a ton of distractions, but this 10:30 rule cuts down on that (and especially my nightly 11:11 text to Lindsey Minor)
3. Television has surprisingly been the easiest thing to say goodnight too. I'm sure having the DVR helps, because most nights there are a few hours of programming that my roommate and I indulge in.

So far, so good. What did you give up/promise to do for Lent?

Passion: The Defining Difference

Struggle is much less painful than regret -Craig Holiday

Who was that strange blue creature?

Sometimes me think what is love, and then me think love is what last cookie is for. Me give up the last cookie for you. -Cookie Monster

I decided that I am going to give up chocolate for Lent, so in preparation I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies to celebrate it's temporary (46 day) departure from my life. So, I kinda fell off the bandwagon. But at least I attempted to do it in a calorie-concious way. 

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! 

The Ingredients (yes, that's applesauce)

The Process

The Result (om nom nom)

This recipe substituted applesauce for the oil to be more "health-conscious" However I feel like that doesn't really matter when I eat 3 per serving. They were more cake-y than crispy but they received warm reception from those who tried them. So, I'd probably make them again.

Wallet vs Waist

My first frustration set in today with my Make Me Mini March campaign.. 

Now, don't get me wrong... I had a BLAST planning my meals for the week this afternoon. I used myrecipes.com to browse online, select Cooking Light recipes, and generate a shopping list. I was off to the store, excited to do my shopping for the week- one of the highlights of my Sunday.. 

The frustration set in when I saw my total, $101.96. I was once again reminded that it's not cheap to eat healthy. I DID get a lot of food and it will feed me (and my roommate) for an entire week. But when you consider the price of fast food, it is definitely a cheaper option. For the price I paid for groceries I could have purchased the following amounts of fast food:
115 Crunch Wrap Supremes (Taco Bell)
19 Mandarin Chicken Salads (Wendy's)
20 Footlong Meatball Sandwiches (Subway)
25 Big Macs (McDonalds)
22 Personal Pepperoni Pizzas (Pizza Hut)
46 Medium French Fries (Mc Donalds)



Clearly, the tradeoff of cost vs. nutritional value isn't enough to change my mind about Make Me Mini March... but it is something that I'd like to complain about.

On a brighter note, this week's menu looks amazing!!

Tuesday (Mardi Gras): Jambalaya with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage
Wednesday: Roasted-Vegetable Lasagna
Thursday: Dinner with Brett Hoebel :)
Friday: Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili
Saturday:Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles
Sunday: Sausage and Bean Casserole

Beauty School Haircut

Last weekend, well let's be honest, the last few weeks.. I've noticed that my hair was beginning to look like a lion's mane (not in a good way). My ends were fried and in the past I've been pretty picky (cheap) about who I let cut my hair because I want to keep the length while still getting an affordable (paid for my mom) haircut. With a trip to SCV nowhere in the foreseeable future, I decided that it was time for me to bite the bullet and get myself a damn haircut.

So, I did what any thrifty (cheap) twenty-something would do. I typed "Cheap Haircut" into Yelp! and out came 154 reviews for the Academy for Salon Professionals. I've heard of people getting their hair done at beauty schools before, with no glaring reviews one way or the other.. after reading some of the reviews, realizing that the haircut would set me back $10, the decision was made. I called and was able to get a 7:30 appointment that night.

When I arrived they made me sign a contract of sorts saying that I realize that I'm basically putting my hair in the hands of students (under supervision of a teacher). I had a consultation with my hairdresser Sandra who couldn't have been sweeter. She explained to me that it would take a while because her teacher had to come check in at three different times during the appointment - not like I cared, all I would've been doing was watching more Dexter on my couch. We discussed my cut, she drew some pictures, we got the sign-off and we went for the shampoo. Throughout the cut, her teacher checked in and even came and did a few cuts herself to even it out. When all was said and done I was very pleased with the end result. $10 well spent.

 

 The Academy of Salon Professionals is located at 2238 East El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Appointments can be made by calling (408) 261-9201 and is open Tue,Fri-Sat 9am-5pm; Wed 10am-9pm; Thu 9am-9pm