Eats
Darned if I didn't make up another batch of the chickpea salad that I raved about last week. I couldn't find any ciabatta rolls so I "made do" with some excellent sourdough loaf instead. Hubba hubba.
Also darned if I didn't make up more Thai coconut curry ramen from Damn Delicious as well. My version skips the pork and egg and adds a handful of Costco frozen stir fry veggies, and two things that I got from the Asian market: plain Ramen and frozen fried tofu. Special shoutout to the frozen fried tofu. I'm just not going to take the trouble to deep fry anything and this tastes amazing. It isn't too much of a calorie or a wallet hog, so I'll be stocking up the next time that I go.
Finally, for Sunday dinner this week the hubs had a hankering for Beef Stroganoff. Now I know that it doesn't look pleasant in our Dead of Winter dinnertime lighting, but it was delicious. My only quibbles with the recipe is that pan frying the beef and then cooking down a full pound of mushrooms took forever, and the ratio of noodles to "stuff" seemed way too high. We ate all of the Stronganoff and only half the noodles (no worries, we'll figure out something else to do with them this week). But otherwise 10/10 would recommend.
Workouts
I'm finally done with Epic III!!! I don't have much more to say about it then I've said before: weeks 1-3 were excellent, week 4 was oddly easy, weeks 5-8 kind of dragged, and there were some good workouts but nothing earth shattering in the final weeks. I didn't do any of the HIIT workouts and skipped the no-equipment full body workout and the 40 minute All Pushups All The Time Workout. I also found myself skipping sections of the workouts that were just too repetitive: example I'm not big on ab exercises so I only did the exercises for as long as I felt them in my abs and bailed at the point where they were hitting my neck and lower back. I also freely cut pushups sets short because I'm in that weird place where pushups on my knees don't take any effort (read: feel pointless) but I can't do more than a few on my toes.
Next up: the Advent series, which is 24 short workouts that are designed to be done when you don't have a lot of time to workout, such as the Christmas season, which is why it's called Advent. The idea is that they're so short that you can do a workout everyday. I'm not a workout everyday kinda gal, so my tentative plan is to do the everyday part as long as I feel like it and take days off as needed. For sure I'll stick to my current cardio regimen of 5 days a week so that I only have the short 15-20 minute strength workout on my normal "rest" days. But in return since the workouts are so short I won't skip anything. I'm fully in for everything, including the HIIT and cardio workouts. The word on the street is that the workouts are short but NOT easy which is exactly what I'm looking for.
After that? I kinda want to check out Heat and Endgame at some point but also I'm in no hurry to get there. As of right now I think I'll go back to what brought me here and revisit Iron and Beast Mode. I'm also interested in checking out the "no series" workouts, which are the first videos that she did when she was just getting started on Youtube. They're generally short and I've heard some raves about them on her Facebook page. She still hasn't come out with anything new so I don't have to worry about falling behind.
The final workout update that I have is TFW Your Treadmill Has a Three Year Warranty and a Problem Pops up at 2 Years and 11 Months. If the belt on our treadmill had to start fraying, it picked the perfect time to start. Sole is sending us a new one on their dime - thanks Sole!
Watching
One from the "so bad that's it's delightful" category. We got our 007 on with Diamonds are Forever.
Reading
I'm on the fence with Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. It's about a family reunion at an isolated ski resort where every member of a large family has [see title of book]. The reunion starts the same way that all fictional meetups at a ski resorts start: with a death and a storm that's going to snow them in and cut them off from the rest of the world for the duration of the book.
I'm 50% of the way in. The negatives are that I feel like the characters are on the caricature-ish side and the "let's have a group of people who don't like each other meet up in an isolated place" premise feels forced. Look, I'm looking forward to our big family vacation this summer BECAUSE I LIKE MY FAMILY. Idk how much PTO people in Australia get (where the book is set) but it would have to be A LOT of days before I'd put the time, effort, and money into traveling to meet with folks that I don't like. The positive is that I'm still reading it. If I had another book on the docket I'd probably DNF but I don't and it's pleasant enough to read a few chapters a night so for now I'll sticking with it.
Werk
The first week of the latest iteration of my never-ending job search went as well as can be expected. I found a few jobs out there to apply to and a handful more that were close-but-not-quite matches or ones that were matches but had Glassdoor reviews that made me feel like I needed to take a shower so I didn't apply. Also a recruiter contacted me about a job which hasn't happened in a while. It was totally the wrong job but even so my ego can always use the boost. Meantime I just need to figure out how to keep my current gig from driving me crazy and dragging down the rest of my life. Which is exactly what's happening.
Peace out!
I'm trying to get a bit more protein in my lunches so I might give the chickpea egg salad a go. Beef stroganof never photographs well, but it does taste good.
ReplyDeleteFYI most full time workers in Australia get 4 weeks annual holiday leave plus public holidays (13 days), but still, paying to go away with people you odn't like does seem to be a waste of time and money.
The chickpea salad is so good and so easy - I hope you try it.
Delete33 days of time off work = yikes definitely not enough time off to spend at a dysfunctional family reunion!
Ugh, I know how it feels like when a job seems to infiltrate the rest of your life negatively. I hope that it will either get better soon or this round of interviews will result in something more fun. After all, we spend a lot of time at work and it shouldn't suck (too much).
ReplyDeleteNice job with the workouts! I know what you mean with the pushups on knees. However, yesterday at Crossfit I learned that they can be painfully hard: 25 pushups on knees, followed by 50 wallballs and then another 25 pushups. And then another round of that. My arms were shaking!
I've said before that I don't just read blogs, I take notes. You are making me want to try crossfit!!!
DeleteStill laughing at glassdoor reviews that made you want to take a shower. Bahahaha.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I really appreciate about you is how in tune you are with yourself! I love how you say "I'll do them every day until I don't feel like doing them every day" and I love how you know your worth in the workplace. I always feel so good after reading your posts! Also, avocado toast. And what is this frozen fried tofu! I wonder if we have that here?
I'm positive that I've seen your neighbor Cheap Lazy Vegan using frozen tofu. Do you have an H mart nearby? That or any Asian market should have it. It's one of those things that I've kept seeing and been like "yes but it only takes a few minutes to pan fry tofu so I don't need it" but the last time that I was there I picked it up on a whim.
DeleteI think you need to explain this frozen fried tofu! It kind of sounds like it would be a little weird reheated, like not crispy. But is it? I am a huge fan of Agadashi tofu but am not going to heat up a pot of oil or even use a S-ton of oil in my own kitchen; it is just not happening.
ReplyDeleteI found frozen avocado at Costco and wondered why the heck people would buy that as I am sure it does not thaw well. However, it is so great for smoothies and it has been a game changer! Sometimes those odd frozen items can come in handy!
The best explanation that I can give is that it tastes like I went to my local Thai restaurant, marched into their kitchen, grabbed up a bunch of their fried tofu, and came home and put it in my Ramen. It's a winner!
DeleteI am just about halfway through Fuel and I should have listened to you. The burpee situation is dire. Did she just learn about burpees before she released this series? *sigh* I have learned my lesson and will probably avoid Epic. Maybe Beast Mode will be next for me.
ReplyDeleteI think she was making up for zero burpees in Iron;-) I've got good memories of Beast Mode apart from not liking one of the HIIT workouts.
DeleteOh wow, do I love beef stroganoff. But you are so right about the effort required. I feel that way about pretty much anything that requires meat browning and/or mushrooms, even though I adore mushrooms and like browned meat. That book is on my TBR, but perhaps I won't have terribly high expectations. I am listening to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and that is all I want to do until it is over, so if you haven't read that one yet maybe give it a go? I don't know what it is, but I love it.
ReplyDeleteOoh thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out.
DeleteI never know what to think about Glassdoor reviews. My husband applied for a job where the reviews were pretty crummy. Take the job or no? Hard to know, I wonder if people who are happy there bother to post reviews. It's a dilemma to be sure.
ReplyDeleteHere's my experience with Glassdoor at my previous company. Back when things were really good, people would leave very detailed positive reviews and once in a while there would be a troll negative review. When the company changed, there were a horde of very detailed, very accurate negative reviews and a lot of very short positive reviews like "best place to work ever!" with no details. Later on it came out that the company was having people post fake positive reviews which is why there were no details in them.
DeleteAnyway that's why I take GD seriously. It's not my only criteria but if there's a lot of "meat" on the negative reviews or a ton of "this place is amazing" reviews with no other details then I stay away.
Well, now I want to rush out to the Asian market for frozen fried tofu! My son will be home next week which means I need LOTS of food, and I know he would like that. I'm also going to make the chickpea salad- thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteSo I'll be interested to hear about those Advent workouts. I love the concept- sometimes you have time for a long workout and sometimes you don't.
I'm curious about that book! I like the premise but I don't like caricature-ish characters. But sometimes if the story is good I can overlook that.
He would love the fried tofu! It really tastes like takeout.
DeleteThe chickpea salad and frozen tofu SPEAK to me! I need to try them both!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are getting the belt replaced before the warranty is up. That timing!
And I am sorry work is making you feel that way. That's the worst :( I hope you hear back from the jobs you found to apply for!
Yes please please please give them a try! I think this is my 3rd week in a row now of making the chickpea salad.
DeleteSorry for the continued job stress. My job isn't really stressful, but there are a couple sales reps who seem to forget there are nine OTHER sales reps who are just as important and want their pricing back just as quickly. I realize probably every other job has similar dynamics, but geesh! The chickpea salad sounds yummy, as does the stroganoff!
ReplyDeleteOh for sure, no job is perfect. There are some perks to this job, but it's really stressful and draining. I've got to see if I can get something better - or maybe I'll see what else is out there and decide that where I am isn't so bad. But I can't sit around and do nothing.
DeleteOK, marking the chickpea salad. Again. :) Also, beef stroganoff was my favorite meal growing up. Now that I don't eat meat, I want to try a mushroom version but haven't worked up the nerve yet. Maybe in a few months. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've never looked at Glassdoor - I always assumed it's not for academia but who knows? I'm curious now.