This is about me, a Girl, who is on an adventure with her Boy, who just happens to have a PhD (whoo-hoo!). We are from Pennsylvania but are currently living in Rhode Island.
This is Chase. Chase loves water. The second he heard me turning on the faucet for my bath, he came running in. He loves to watch the water. He also has a bad habit of wanting to watch the water swirl down when you flush the toilet too, sometimes trying to paw-paw the water as it flows out (yuck).
John and I made dinner tonight. It's kind of nice cooking simple meals together. We had pasta (again...but that's ok) with his new favorite sauce (see previous post). Tonight, we decided to try something a little different. It looks like a normal meal, but those aren't mashed potatoes. They're mashed cauliflower. They're not as disgusting as you might think. Although, after eating most of it, it started to become too much. Kind of like when you eat something for the first time and it's good but your body isn't used to it and says ENOUGH after a while. Kind of like when I eat too much French food (too rich?), or authentic Asian food (too...authentic? I don't know with that one).
I still give it a thumbs up although I don't know when the next time I'll make mashed cauliflower again. Maybe I'll try this roasted garlic cauliflower recipe next time we buy some.
Way back in March, my mom and I decided to take a trip to the Mall of America. When I first told John where I was going, he asked me why I would travel somewhere to visit a mall. Trying to tell him that it was Mall of America (duh) and the largest mall in the country meant nothing to him. He was definitely glad he was staying at home for this trip.
When we first arrived, I wasn't expecting it to be snowing. Sure, it was only March but living in Arizona you get used to the 364 days of sun and the lack of the white stuff. While most of the snow wouldn't stick to the roads, they stuck to the sidewalks and turned to ice mostly. That was fine because I brought a fleece jacket for the short amount of time I knew we would (or wouldn't) be spending outdoors.
The mall itself is four stories high (with a gross area of 4,200,000 sq ft (390,000 m2) or 96.4 acres) with over 500 stores, an amusement park in the middle that has 25 rides and attractions, a 14 screen theatre, and an aquarium in the basement. That's a lot.
Woody made out of Lego's
Next to the rides and attractions is Lego Land. They really go all out when they put in stores at this mall. It was cool to look at and if I was younger, I probably would have bugged my mom to buy me some (what kid doesn't like Lego's??).
There was also another attraction next to the center called the Human Doing. For a month starting in March, a man named Scott lived in a glass apartment in the middle of the mall. The project was created by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota to promote healthier lifestyles and every day he asked people to choose what activities he would do for that day. The day that I saw him, he was playing some figure skating game (which is why his arms are out, he was landing a spin I think). He was allowed to leave his box and did other events at some of the stores in the mall. Apparently, he lost 27 pounds afterwards.
This was outside the Mexican restaurant located in the mall. There were others at the other entrance.
We also went to the Aquarium. It wasn't as big as I was hoping, but it was still pretty amazing considering the location. We took a behind-the-scenes tour and got to see a turtle they had quarantined. I remember he kept snapping at us because he thought we would feed him.
All in all, it was a fun trip. Will I ever go back to MOA? Probably not, but not because I disliked it. It's just that it has pretty much the same stuff as you have anywhere else. It was fun to see and experience though.
I went to the gym tonight. I know, big news, right? A lot of people go to the gym every week. I'm only doing the free two-week pass and I hate how the second I sat down the gentleman (who was really nice) asked if I was ready to sign up. Umm...can I look around first? Maybe try a class or two? I know they're sales reps, but relax a little. I don't like people who push or bug me too much. I won't buy whatever it is they're trying to sell me that way. I might end up joi- I MEAN...I'm still looking into if it's the "right place" for me (I hope LA Fitness reps don't use google).
Some friends and I went to the kickbox cardio class and despite my doubt, it kicked my butt. Which is the point. The lady running the class was intense. She had so much energy and was super buff. I was a little jealous. Halfway through the class though, I started lagging and it started to get a little hard to follow. I give myself some slack since it was only my first class. I'll probably go back again on Wednesday with my friends to do some more work outs. I've never done weight training, so we'll see how that goes!
Sometimes you forget how good food can taste when you're always eating out and stocking your fridge to the brim with pre-made, processed foods. So John and I have decided to start eating a little simpler and have been going to the store pretty much every day to pick up only a handful of food. We keep it simple with a loaf of bread (like a baguette, French bread, etc.), some meat and veggies and/or fruit (the kind you find in the produce section, not the frozen or canned vegetable section). We're not really trying to be one of those people who ONLY eat pure foods (although I'm sure that's 10 times more healthier), as we'll still eat out every once in a while and will probably fall prone to laziness at some point. We just want to live healthier lives.
John has found a pasta sauce that he actually likes. And he even enjoys making it. It's a simple tomato sauce with minced garlic and basil, but it's good. And simple. We topped it off with some fresh bread we bought at a French bakery called La Baguette Bakery. According to Yelp, it's not the "best" bakery in town, but for my unsophisticated palate it's pretty good. We got a loaf of French bread and an apricot and almond bread. I would have liked it if there had been a little more fruit in it, but it wasn't bad.
I also made some home-made French toast the other day. I'm hardly a chef and I had never made French toast before, so the results were pretty satisfying considering. I sliced up the remaining French bread and I used some fresh eggs John had bought at a farmer's market (along with the cherries). The recipe I used didn't have enough mix for the four slices, but all in all it was a success.
I had to add that last photo. Chase is always so nosy. He had to come and see what was going on and sniff the new "objects". He didn't seem to understand why I'd want to photograph them. Silly cats.
