Michael Bublé You Make My Day

I’m going through a Michael Bublé phase. I call it, every day with Michael Bublé. He makes for good cooking music, study music, commuting tunes, house cleaning tunes.. The only time I stray from my Bublé is with my running music. Sorry, but you just can’t mess with this girl’s rhythm. I need a beat that can carry me, push me, and keep up with me on a hard run. Today I really wasn’t feeling a long, or even average run. After yesterday’s 12-miler I really just wanted to keep the muscles from stiffening up. Plus its been said that you recover faster if you don’t take the day after a long run off. So I went to the gym for a light jog. It was nice. I brought my Runner’s World magazine along, but really I was just absorbed in my music. How did we ever get along before ipods? I remember taking my CD discman to the gym. It would skip every time my foot struck the belt. How annoying. Or how about the good old tape deck? Aaah, technology is spoiling me. However, the downer hit me when only 20 minutes into my exercise-coma my ipod froze.. again!! I want to be upset, but all I can think is “serves me right for buying a refurbished ipod off Amazon”. But seriously. Shouldn’t I get more than 4 months out of an ipod I spent $100(ish) on? I now own three and the one that almost works perfectly is my first generation ipod. Ggrr…

I’m debating whether I should get a new one or switch to something cheaper like a Shuffle. First I think I’ll take it to an Apple store and see if they can do anything for me. It’s beginning to look like an Apple graveyard in my glovebox.

I know how excited I get to run with a new playlist so I thought I’d share some of my top faves right now. Hopefully if they’re new to you they’ll  help you get excited about your next run.

Meet Me Halfway– Black Eyed Peas
Empire State of Mind– JayZ and Alicia Keys
Got Whatever It Is– Zac Brown Band
Happy– Natasha Bedingfield
Don’t Take It Personal– Monica
Enough Crying– Mary J. Blige
If I Never See Your Face Again– Maroon 5
Summer Love– Justin Timberlake

To name just a few.. What I’m about to say is almost too nerdy to admit, but I have playlists named: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday… all through the week. Isn’t that lame! lol. I have other playlists tooo..I just seem to forget which one I already played recently and then I get bored with the same mixes. SO, I also have running playlists titled: Rainy Day Jams, Beezy’s Old School (from burning my roommates CDs), Girly Hits. You get the idea

So in other news.. lunch was so good today! Mostly because I had a whole hour to eat after my quickie run. I came home from the gym (and yes I totally pampered myself my taking 10 minutes to unwind in the sauna). I assembled a sandwich on toasted whole-wheat bread. fixins included last nights salmon, spinach, tomato, onion and alvocado. Then I cut a sweet potato into strips, drizzled EVOO over them and broiled for 9 minutes. Tadaa: fries! All that with a side of crisp green beans and I was good to go.

Bread really isn’t a staple in my diet. I probably buy a loaf once every couple months. This week I really am craving sandwiches though so be prepared. I plan on jazzing up a few classics.. a twist on turkey perhaps. Only 4 days until its time to get creative with leftovers!

And a meal just isn’t complete without a little sweet so I grabbed a Honeycrisp apple to go.

(Sorry for the bright photo. My camera and I have been fighting today.)

After a full and satisfying meal, with plenty of time to relax at home for a bit, I headed off to my afternoon cooking lab. We made gluten balls, which I saw no need to photograph since they aren’t exactly edible. The idea was to mix flour and water into a dough, soak in cold water and watch it shrink as the gluten is lost in water. It was kinda cool to see the different flours and their varying gluten content, but you want to see the good stuff. That’s why I have pics from the popovers I made! I’ ve never even heard of popovers. They’re this nifty pastry that puffs up as it bakes. When they came out of the oven they were huge, and full of air. Perfect for honey, jam, fruit.

I know food isn’t “cute” but I just can’t help it, these are “cute” little puffs!!

All in all it was a really nice Monday. I was proud to check everything off on my study/school agenda, I got a workout in (which always makes me feel good), and I even had time left over to relax. That’s right, I’m currently blogging with a glass of cab while watching Anthony Bordain’s No Reservations. Don’t you love that show!? He is so…raw. Not to mention he gets to sample the best  of all food from around the world. It’s a tough job. What I wouldn’t do to trade him places. Alright, that’s enough already, goooooodnight!

Do you prefer to listen to music when you run?
What’s on your favorite playlist?
What do you do with turkey leftovers?