Weekend, embrace me with your all-enveloping magic: Or, in which I wax poetic about Oasis soups.

Morning! Kind of got a late start — I think it’s all the snow. It just makes me want to snuggle in bed all morning. Don’t you agree, C.L.? I have tons of stuff I want to share with you. I guess I’ll post the most pertinent link first, something I found via Jezebel when they posted about Oprah “apologizing” for “falling off the diet wagon” and hitting the “Dreaded 2-0-0” again. To that I say, fuck you Oprah. Don’t apologize for shit. You are the most powerful woman in the entire world and we think you look great. Someone posted this link to a good essay about fat acceptance. It’s a good reminder to not get too caught up in all this body image bullshit, you know?

Moving along. After my post earlier this week about all teh hotties in teh world, I went on a mini-Leo bender. Let’s admire this photo gallery, shall we? And for good measure, a beautiful interview with Leo and Kate (who, side note, I think has one of the most perfect bodies in the world) — could I love these two more? I say, let’s see Revolutionary Road when it comes out, C.L.! It looks soooo good.

Also, C.L., I have a feeling that you will love this blog, Fuck You, Penguin. It’s so good and weird and hilarious. Check it!

Oh, have you seen this new Ithaca magazine floating around town? It’s free and pretty decent. It’s called Ithaha and run by two former New Yorker editors and cartoonists! Pretty impressive.

Now. Back to me! This has been a big shoe week, as yesterday I received a pair of heavily discounter Rachel Comey heels that I’ve been lusting after all fall. They are simply gorgeous and JUST the motivation I need to look good for the holidays. Aren’t they stunning? The red color makes me so happy.

Hold on. I’m not done being happy about these. Let’s take another view, shall we?

:Sighs: I’ve never really been a “shoe girl” but these legitimately make me happy. I can see them being cute with skirts, dresses, jeans, tights, no tights, pretty much everything. And they’re really comfortable. Win-win.

I think I had a pretty good week, eating-wise. I drank WAY too much though, which I realize negates all the good effects of a healthy diet. Fuck. Whatever, I had a good week. But I just would like to take a second to applaud the fine folks at Oasis Groceries in downtown Ithaca for their fine, fine soups. It’s pretty much a given that I’ll adore any soup they put out. I personally love their black bean chili and curried yam and zucchini, but I tried their Ethiopian peanut and spinach soup yesterday and loved it. I enjoyed it with a huge coffee and no sugar added cranberry juice (the king of all juices, duh). Mmmmm:

This soup was so delicious. Flecked with bits of onion and plenty of chopped spinach, it was still meaty and so satisfying thanks to the salty broth, chunks of buttery potato and peanuts that were floating around. It was a little oily, but absolutely lip-smacking good. Let’s zoom in:

Wow. I think it’s time for lunch now — my stomach is grumbling after staring at this photo.

Happy eating,

M.Mama.

P.S. ONE. MORE. THING. PLEASE tell me you happened to read the GREATEST ARTICLE EVER POSTED ON JEZEBEL. I was DYING yesterday at work. Absolutely brilliant post on top 15 favorite ridiculous women. It’s so unbelieveable and on-point. Read and watch all the videos for a good laugh. Funnily enough, this list also happens to be most of the same women who I would love to hang out with and have a beer with (Liza, Kathleen, Liz, CELINE, Whitney, Mariah). Classic. I adore these women so much (and have a newfound appreciation for Kathy Lee Gifford). The Liza Minelli clip is, in itself, one of the greatest things of all time. Okay, I’m done now. [Jezebel]

Tuesday Toss-up. Who won: Me or My Food?

Breakfast:  Cheddar Chap and I both enjoyed a cup of plain, lowfat, probiotic yogurt and one cup of granola with cashews and raisins.

I enjoyed two cups of English Breakfast tea with skim milk.

Lunch:  Green leaf lettuce, green apple, onion, broccoli, green bell pepper, pepperocini, shredded cheddar cheese, hard-boiled egg, and black olives topped with 2 (maybe 3 : ) !) tbs of tarragon vinagrette.  The deliciousness on the left … 3 oh so good vegetarian corn dogs!  The box said only about 100 calories!

small strawberry shake:  360 calories!

large fries:  540!

mcdouble:  570!

grand total:  1470!

okay, but fo’ realz now.  let’s look at what else i consumed…  sensible and satisfying breakfast.  yes, i know granola is high in fat.  homemade salad with a ton of veggies and sensible amount of low calorie dressing.  my beverage intake:  2 mugs of tea, a half can of diet coke and water.    QUICK!  somebody add up my calories!

it was my blunder with the dinner choice.  i was away from home and had gone too long without eating.  i should have packed a snack to hold me over until i returned home – where i could have enjoyed more delicious veggies or substituted a veggie burger for that disgusting 555555555555555555555555555555555555 – haha – kitty just stepped on the keyboard!  anyway, for that disgusting (but somehow satisfying ) meat heap.  i thought i was going to pass out from not eating.  it’s times like those that i have to remind myself of the unfortunate people of the world who struggle for days without food, not pathetic hours.

monday monday

m.m.  – alcohol is the catalyst for the vicious cycle of calorie consumption.  i felt it yesterday, too!

actually, my posts may be a little sparse this week as all of my attention will be focused on John Keats.  i have a 20 page paper due Thursday evening.  i’m not stressed, but i have to focus.  i’ve done all my research, but now it’s time to write.  ooo!  ooo!  what do you think of my title?  The Ladies and the Legends: Keats’ Troubled Mortal Dreamers…??  that’s all the writing i’ve accomplished.  so, this is relevant because i worked long and hard through the daylight hours on my paper because i knew i would have to wait tables that evening.  turns out the restaurant wasn’t expecting much business so, i had the night off!  i headed down to where cheddar chap was feverishly working on a model for his final review so that we could do a little vehicle exchange.  (carpool – shrink your carbon footprint)  anyway, it was in fact dinner time, and he immediately suggested Uncle Joe’s.  i knew i was taking the night off so, 32 oz. beers were exactly what i wanted.  i ordered a buffalo chicken salad – better than ordering a plate of wings, right?  but i also had two 32 oz. coors lights.  thank goodness ched was driving!  upon my return home i consumed 2 miller high lifes.  this stirred my hunger for 6 or 7 oreos, a handful of tortilla chips and a couple yogurt covered pretzels.  not horrible, but not good.  earlier that day i had a turkey sandwich with spinach and berry chutney and a few cups of tea.  food consumption wasn’t terrible for the day, but i did eat too late.  and to top it all off, i’m experiencing a little bit of lady problem that prohibits me from going to the gym today.  on the plus side, i drunkenly painted my toe nails and got 10 hours of solid sleep!

ttys.

cheeselouise xoxo

weekend recap: successes and …. not-so-successes.

so, eating-wise, i feel pretty good about this weekend. i’m beginning to see a pattern, though, with my weight gain: i think it’s almost entirely alcohol-related.

this is going to be tougher than i thought.

saturday afternoon, i had a great lunch at oasis. crazy healthy lentil soup with veggies. 1/2  a whole-wheat bagel. (not pictured. i ate it.) small cup of coffee with skim milk. enjoyed it for a while over a great book. afterwards, i felt great.

dinner was great, too. went to ABC and had a fantastic greek salad (feta, lettuce, olives, tomato, cucumber, red onion, and scallions, light vinaigrette) with some whole wheat pita and a little hummus. also had one glass of red wine. moderation, moderation, moderation. felt great about that, too. not too full, also not hungry. perfect!

then, drinking. went to a holiday party (champagne), chapter house (rich, hoppy beers), back to ABC (more beers), and then crashed, late. don’t want to think about all the calories.

and then, on sunday, i got my period.

all bets are off when i’m on my period. i get nauseous, irritable, tired, and i happen to only crave salty, deep fried foods and/or pizza. i was feeling pretty sorry for myself (i also happened to be a wee bit hungover, as it were), so instead of fixing myself lunch, i ordered out. i called lost dog and ordered my “usual” — the aye chihuahua salad with blackened chicken and the vinaigrette on the side. it was great.

but i also ordered these. i ate them all. and you know what? i don’t regret a single bite. they were awesome and greasy and crunchy and made me feel better.

i was too tired/nauseous/bloated/achy to do anything for the rest of the day/night, so that ended up being the only meal of the day. i was so tired i skipped dinner and went to bed at 9:45. woke up at 9am, which brings me to a grand total of 12 hours of sleep in a single night. i still have cramps, but i feel great otherwise!

love,

m.m.