I gotta dolla…or a hundred

Before I recap yesterday’s work, gym, food happenings, I have to share with you all the fabulous treat I found in my closet. You see, I was rummaging through my many bags of purchases I’ve made throughout the year (ok there aren’t THAAAAAT many, I swear), but I was looking for something in particular for my little giveaway (which ends today by the way, so leave a comment on that post, QUICK!). Anyway, in addition to my boatloads of toiletries, hanging scarves, massive suitcases, I also have a pile of bank books, travel docs, and oh, what’s this?!…

…a hundred dollars (well the Japanese equivalent). Yes please. Sometimes I’ve been known to hide money in my wallet to forget about and find later, but this fella was in the deep crevices of my closet, just waiting to greet me. It must have been from my travels when Megan, Britt, and Zach were here and I didn’t spend it (I’m actually sad I didn’t have more stashed away in there) but at any rate, I found $100 dollars today and that’s a reason to celebrate!….or buy your train ticket when you realize after arriving at the station that you’ve forgotten your wallet which carries your train pass. Rats…but thankfully saved by this guy! Don’t you just love when you find money!? Usually I’m pretty stoked by even a $1 bill in my pocket!

Back to yesterday. Work was work. Did a lil’ team teaching, a little omiyage snackin’, then headed off to the gym with Alesha. It was another H.I.I.T. day (2 in a row, wowie), and I nearly spewed again. Gross. I tend to push myself too hard in those last few minutes, legitimately reach my threshold, nearly fly off the treadmill, and then the 30 minutes are up. Done and done. I finish up my arms too, since I skimped the day before. Now they burn. But Muscles was doing pull ups so I had eye candy to motivate me. 😉

Then dinner. Yum X10. So good. Alesha and I hit up Nabe-Ramen in Hirosaki.

Not my pic (Source)

But the rest are. We had Miso Curry Ramen. I was sweating puddles. It was so good I couldn’t stop. I definitely hit and then surpassed comfortable-full about half-way through. And kept going. No regrets. Yum.

Look at these cool cauldron-like bowls! They were huge. I really should have stopped a little sooner than I did. Plus, they added, I swear, a whole can of corn to mine, on top of bean sprouts, some pork, bamboo-ey something, and lots of miso soupy-ness. Oh, delish. I’m salivating thinking about it again. Don’t mind the freaky yellow hue. That’d be the curry goodness.

And then they served us with a dollop of vanilla ice cream dessert. It hit the spot (or filled the last bit of room in my G.I. tract). Oh well. It was all worth it.

I had to roll myself out of the place, then proceed to bike home, and crawl into my floor bed. No time to make my breakfast or lunch for Friday. And by no time, I really mean no energy or motivation. Time for F.R.I.E.N.D.S., my friends.

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Ok I Lied

Well, it’s not technically the weekend yet, Friday here in Japan and how can I stay away from all of you 😛 I can’t. I just felt like summin’ up my day yesterday and giving you a little peak into weekend festivities. First up, I need to correct my attempt at that Chocananacado Pudding recipe, because I remember now that I added a little Chocolate Protein Powder too, Whey to be exact, 1/2 scoop to be even more precise. It’s not necessary, but just fyi.

Secondly, my workout yesterday was completely, 100% inspired by Ms. Janetha who has 1. An awesome blog, 2. Rockin’ bod, and 3. Really hard workout from BFL. I usually snoop around Meals & Moves for my daily inspiration, so thanks Janetha! It was a H.I.I.T. kinda day (I don’t know how to do the layout nice and neat like her though, so bear with me…oh and Japan measure in kilometers per hour) I did each for 1 minute and 2 % incline:

1. 8.0 kph
2. 8.8
3. 9.7
4. 12.9
5. 9.7
6. 12.9
7. 9.7
8. 12.9
9. 9.7
10. 12.9
11. 9.7
12. 13.7
13. 9.7
14. 13.7
15. 9.7
16. 13.7
17. 9.7
18. 13.7
19. 9.7
20. 14.4
21. 9.7
22. 14.4
23. 9.7
24. 14.4
25. 9.7
26. 14.4 @ 8% incline for 1min and 10 seconds
27. — 29. 8.0 @ 1% incline

30. 6.0

3 minute walk cool-down.

Rough stats (I need a Garmin. Wish list 😉 ) : 33 min/ 437 kcal/ 4.8 km (or 5.3….I forget!)

Alesha and I parted ways on the Dote (Dough-tay) and I made a mad rush for home to make a humungus salad that I was seriously craving. Here in Japan they have this out-of-this-world Sesame dressing. I found a bottle with half the cals and since I practically drink the stuff, I opted for the purchase. When it comes to food, a budget is non-existent in my world. It’s a sin that I spend $3 on 1 cup of cottage cheese per week, sometimes two. To pack in a protein punch, I had a side of cottage cheese with crab and tons of mustard. Before you gag, try it. Phenom. ‘Nuff said. I also had a Protein ‘shake’ to accompany my P90 Ab Ripper X attempt. It was brutal. Hopefully I get better over time!

Drowned in Sesame goodness.

And some crabby goodness. Downed in 2.2. So yummy!!

I took a little break to watch House, and then moseyed downstairs to prepare lunch for the next day. Granny yelling at me yet again for leaving the light on in the side room (yet she’s always leaving the light on in the bathroom!)

Oh, remember how I got two books from the library? I started reading the second one, the title I had previously forgotten, but now remember: “Why Men Don’t Listen, And Women Can’t Read Maps.” It is a fascinating read so far. Yes, I’m reading both books at once. Probably why I never finish what I start! Always got too much goin’ on at once. But I just love this book. It’s by Barbara and Allan Pease and it actually reminds me a lot of my Evolutionary Psychology class in college. The one and ONLY textbook I read cover to cover. It was that good!

*My computer camera only takes ‘mirror image’ pics. So everything is backwards. 😛

Taken from “Why Men Don’t Listen, And Women Can’t Read Maps”:

When a man goes to a rest room, he usually goes for one reason and one reason only. Women use rest rooms as social lounges and therapy rooms. Women who go to a rest room as strangers can come out best friends and lifelong buddies…Men dominate TV remote controls and flick through the channels; women don’t mind watching the commercials. Under pressure, men drink alcohol and invade other countries; women eat chocolate and go shopping…Women criticize men for being insensitive, uncaring, not listening, not being warm and compassionate, not talking, not giving enough love, not being committed to relationships, wanting to have sex rather than make love, and leaving the toilet seat up…Men criticize women about their driving, for not being able to read street directories, for turning maps upside down, for their lack of a sense of direction, for talking too much without getting to the point, for not initiating sex often enough, and for leaving the toilet seat down…Men can never find a pair of socks, but their CDs are in alphabetical order…Women can always find the missing set of car keys but rarely the most direct route to their destination…Men think they’re the more sensible sex…Women know they are.

I’m excited to find out more reasons why men are so confusing. 😉

~~~

In store for the weekend is first and foremost: Sleep. I wake up EVERY freakin’ day at the crack of life (thank ‘Lesh for the phrase, ha), and run of course. Got an 8-miler to tackle, the gym to hit up (hoping Muscles* will be there 😉 ) biking to Apple Park for a picnic, Don Don’s consignment shop, groceries, lunch prepping, and Sunday FUNDAY spent with Tomo shopping on the west coast (Goshogawara) and dinner with her fam. Rumor has it, I’m makin’ Sloppy Joes! Can’t wait.

I hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend where ever you are! P.S. ANNOUNCEMENT on Monday (your Sunday U.S.A.) Stay tuned!

XO,

Molly

*Muscles~ In college, my roomie Jamie and I would name our secret ‘library & or gym crushes’ by something they did or how they looked. It was our code name for the “McSteamy’s and McDreamy’s of Minnesota” if you will. We were weird. A few that I remember (Muscles– obvious reasons, Chile– this one kid who studied abroad there, Prancer– this kid on a treadmill, what a sight…) Oh the good ol’ days. 😀

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Quick Recipe + Break time

Hi Bloggie friends.

Thursday here, but a quick recap from yesterday. I ran. I wanted to cry (dang shins), then I stretched, and dumb dumb, ran again (with Tomo). No pain second time around (this is my idiot self thinking, op, guess everything’s fine)…yet I better scale back on training a bit….after tonight’s H.I.I.T. run. 😛

I was about to catch the train, when Tomo’s mom called me back inside, “Molly I made pasta for you!” What?! Wow, thanks *Mom. She is the sweetest lady ever. I sat down and thought I’d be eating with the fam, but since I had the next train to catch, she insisted I ate while everyone else sat there and waited for her to finish cooking (that was awkward). She brought out plate after plate and yet another plate. I love the Japanese. Small portions of about 10 different things. It was a nice treat to have American (more like Italian) pasta too. It’s been a looooooong time since I’ve indulged in that! I usually use soba (buckwheat) noodles here for my pasta. Anyway, dinner was scrumptious, and I made the walk home afterward, only to be greeted by the kitchen and many-a-tasks that lie ahead. I really wish I would prepare it all over the weekend. Since I eat 5 or 6 small meals a day, it makes for long nights prepping in the kitch. Meh.

Chocananacado Pudding (my quick, lazy, SCRUMPTIOUS, version)

• 1/2 avacado
• small banana
• 1/2-1 TBS cacao powder
• 1 TBS All Natural Peanut Butter
• 1/2 scoop or so of Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
• A few sprinklets of water (if you have a ghetto blender like me that needs all the help it can get)

Add ingredients and blend. Refrigerate OR freeze in ice tray for bite-size fudgecicles.

Totally appetizing to look at, I know. Serve in a small dish with a side of floral printed granny panties. Oh wait, that’s just me (and my panties, not granny’s. Easy mistake).

~~~

Break-time. I may or may not have access to internet for the weekend, so my apologies in advance if you don’t hear from me. I need a little check-out time from the blog anyway. Full recap Monday. Promise.

XOXO,

Molly

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Couldn’t if I Tried

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be

Courtesy of the Mamas and the Papas.

If it wasn’t for my mother blasting K108 in our 1980-something red Astro van, I don’t think I would be so lucky to have the cultural knowledge of our fair friends from the 60’s, 70’s, and today. That and the lovely Ms. Aretha, whom I thought was singing and I would belt out: “Chain, chain, chain…chain of FOODS” (Maybe this was the foreshadowing for my love of food blogs, hmmm I think so.)

Now, where was I? Oh yes, Monday. Always a good day when following an epic weekend. The sun was shining, low humidity (for the time being), oh and what’s this…

Is this what I think it is!? OMG, yes, goodbye oldies, Hanson’s MmmBop and Ashanti’s Christmas CD (don’t ask me why these are still on shuffle on my workout play list). Maybe, because I was in dire need of an update?! Hmm, I think so. And the FABULOUS Jenny sent me not one, but two CD mixes for my listening and pounding (the pavement) pleasure. Jenny, you rock. Not just musically, but this girl has a killer fashion sense. 365 different ones. Thanks again Jenny for sending love all the way to freakin’ Japan!

Following a day of no teaching leads me to be even more lazy than when I walk the halls and aisles for 6+ hours. So, I really had to wrack my brain and body to muster up the energy to hit the gym. But first, had to swing by the old abode to get that pesty modem that YahooBB is making me send back in order to cancel my internet, from March. That’s annoying. I made a jog outta the route and probably went about 1.5-2 miles. I tried to take it easy since my shins are crying. 😮 (I think it’s time for new shooooooes. Too bad that’s not at the top of my budgeting priorities). At any rate, I failed to keep my shirt dry. Bust sweat anyone? No shame. Sorry for the visual, but I can’t seem to stop this incessant sweat, and it’s not even in the 80’s yet. I wonder what the teachers think when I return to the office with patterns of my wet shirt in odd places?

It didn’t stop there of course. Alesha and I made it to Budokan before our planned Curry date (yes, the same place I ventured to alone last week).

But before the lovely treat of curry fulfilled my palates needs, we *H.I.I.T.* up a quick speed workout and brief lifting sesh.

It went something like this:

• 5 minute warm up at 6.5 (2% incline)
• 1: 11.3 kph: 60 sec/7.0: 60sec (adds up to 2 minutes, clearly)
• 2: 12.0 kph: 55 sec/7.0: 65 secs (adds up to 2 min)
• 3: 12.9 kph: 50 sec/7.0: 70 secs (2 min)
• 4: 13.7 kph: 45 sec/7.0: 75 secs (2 min)
• 5: 14.4 kph: 40 sec/7.0: 80 secs (2 min)
• 6: 14.4 kph: 40 sec/7.0: 80 secs (2 min)
• 7: 13.7 kph: 45 sec/7.0: 75 secs (2 min)
• 8: 12.9 kph: 50 sec/7.0: 70 secs (2 min)
• 9: 12.0 kph: 55 sec/7.0: 65 secs (2 min)
• 10: 14.4 @ 5% incline for 60 sec/ 7.0: 60 secs (2 min)
• 5 minute cool down: 6.0 @5% incline

Rough stats: 30 minutes/376 kcal/ 4.30 km.

If my new tunes weren’t motivation enough, the 6 year old boy running at a 12% incline on the tread next to me sure was. Is that legal? No joke, he was under 10 years old.

We wrapped up the workout with a quick upper body lifting and headed out to feast. There was not one spec of my shirt that wasn’t soaked. Ok, lie, there was a one inch splotch on either of my sides, at the very bottom near the seams. I swear, I couldn’t prevent it even if I tried. The same goes for my walk to the station + backpack = soaked back, lunchtime walk to the bank = perspiring face, and the worst: soccer at recess = sweaty panties, shirt, face, feet, everywhere.

It was clearly dinner time. At this point, I could have chewed off my right arm, but staved my hunger with a lil’ protein powder + water until our final destination. Perfection in a bowl + in a basket + the lassi in my cup =  completely.satisfied.

Dinner + laundry + shower + lunch leftovers all done by 10p.m. In bed and out before I could even turn off the lights. Hope granny doesn’t mosey on upstairs and announce my error while I’m in a deep slumber. I may actually get 7 hours of sleep! 😯

~Molly

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