friday, funday

Haha, please. Make it stop. That was probably the cheesiest title I've ever come up with :). Still, I have to admit it's fitting because today's post starts with a little game I like to call... blog tag. I swear I'm on a roll today, everyone calls it that. Okay, ANYWAY, Erin tagged me it a couple of days ago so even though I'm a tad bit delayed with my response I thought I'd be a good sport and share some quirks. Please don't judge me. I've got a lot, they're all kind of weird and probably related so some type of OCD, so this was tough. 

--

1. I don't like odd numbers. Seems reasonable enough, everyone has their preferences but no, I really don't like odd numbers. And as a result, I count, pretty much everything. I'll adjust the television volume just to make it even. When I snack I always take an even amount of it, M&Ms, carrot sticks, pretzels, etc. I prefer my number of Facebook pictures to be even and have been known to alter an album so that it ends up being so. And so on and so forth... which leads me to the second one...

2. I wear 136 swipes of mascara every day and have done so ever since high school. How do I know? Well, I have a system. The first few times I had to count the strokes, base to tip, but now it's just become a habit and no matter how excessive it is, I've never changed it. Wow, I'm so completely and utterly strange. Are you sure you want to keep reading?

3. I'm overly critical. I don't mean it in a negative way, although it very well could be, but I just notice things, miniscule things in an unnaturally quick manner. Half the time I even point whatever it is out and the person I'm with would've have never payed such close attention otherwise. I think this was a "gift" from my mother, it gets annoying.

4. I love changing my bed sheets. Not the process, of course, but having the clean, fresh sheets tucked in tightly. I don't move when I'm sleeping and I like the (slightly constricting) coziness of it all. On that same note, if I happened to have made my bed badly one day aka all messy, un-tucked sheets and covers, I usually cannot fall asleep until I fix everything. Oh gosh, just so you know, I'm shaking my head at myself right now.

5. I enjoy washing dishes. Why, it's such a pain?! Well, you're right, it is, and I definitely have had too much of my share this past year when I was living in an apartment without a dishwasher, but I still find it therapeutic. Something about the running water and the continuous motion of scrubbing and placing on the drying rack relaxes me. I feel like it's one of the few times I can let my mind wander... And yet I still manage to be disappointed when it's my turn at the kitchen sink at home. Hm.

6. Red is my favorite color. It hardly seems like a quirk but bear with me. I remember when I first got my Elmo stuffed animal, furry and red, and decided that it would be my favorite color. Sixteen years later I have never once gone back on my decision. I didn't got through that stage when you change your favorite color every day and/or the phases of hot pink and baby blue. Nope, it's always just been red. I guess you could say that I'm loyal in that sense. Loyal to a color, ha.

--

Okay, so now that I feel like I've completely embarrassed myself it would be my turn to tag others so that they could do the same. Lucky for them ;) at this point it seems that every one of my blogging friends has already been tagged so I think I'm just going to give the game a rest. Oh breaking the rules, I'm so bad ass. 


Now... I was planning on posting my food pictures but I've run out of time, I still have to finish getting ready! Here's the daily schedule: group meeting to discuss plans for the"Día de Niños," a special South American holiday to celebrate children. The other students from my study abroad program and I are putting together an activity for underprivileged children living on the outskirts of the city; pizza party with U.Chile students that will are going to be exchange students at my university next year; my first film class that I mentioned yesterday; another fun adventure at the Entel store. I've been to this cell phone provider a couple of times and my phone still isn't working >:o. I'm hoping I get lucky today; picking up the package from my Mommy at the post office. Ah, I'm so excited, all I asked for was my vest but she said she packed all kinds of other goodies too! Alright, that's all folks. I'll be back with more yummy Chilean  f-o-o-d :) as soon as I can, TGIF!

all in moderation

When it comes to healthy eating and exercise habits, being a perfectionist can be a huge downfall. Oftentimes I find myself feeling proud for keeping my self-promise to be active each day but then guilty when I indulge in rich "bad" foods because deep down it's not a part of the plan. I can't help but feel like I take one step forward and two steps backward so I'm currently re-reading Eat, Live, and Be Healthy. Aside from re-focusing my mindset, it also has a ton of solid healthful information that it wouldn't hurt to brush up on. Honestly, I think I'm afraid of gaining weight since I know it's so easy and common for college students that spend a semester abroad. A combination of adapting to a 6-month vacation food choices, paired with a lazy approach to exercise, even if they were a gym rat at home. But this is obviously dependent on an individual's basis, right?, and thankfully doesn't describe me, so... what am I so worried about?! Ugh, trying to find that perfect balance is so frustrating, I'm never quite there.

Alrighty then, sorry about the rant! Last night for dinner we had Fried Zucchini, Mashed Potatoes, and an Iceberg lettuce salad. I also had a couple of cookies that my host-sister told me I needed to try. This was a slight "splurge" of a meal amongst a million ideally nutritious ones, so, it's really not a big deal at all. It definitely could have been a million times worse. If only I could convince myself that and get over it! For now, I really am going to stop complaining about this, I promise :).

It's not that hard, not when lunch looked like this- Salmon, Scrambled Zucchini, Steamed Spinach, and a tomato. It looks like a ton, and it probably was, lol, but I ate lunch late yesterday (around 3) because I was out running errands with a friend after our morning class and lost track of time. So yes, I was starving and ate, basically, everything, minus about half of the zucchini and egg mixture. Thankfully I didn't feel uncomfortably stuffed, it was the perfect amount of good-for-me food that my body had so desperately been craving, yum! As for today, I'm off to the gym now, meeting friends for coffee and a little shopping, and catching up on homework before my evening class. After that, it's the big weekend! My "mom" just told me how I've been living here for a month as of a few days ago, that's insanity. And as much as I love it, a few days away are going to be just amazing! Happy Thursday everyone!

a chilean spin, on the german version, of an italian specialty...

What?! Haha, don't worry we'll get to it. Let's start from the beginning, school has been... hm, don't know. First of all, I've only had 2 of my 5 classes since the others start next week so I can't really get a feel for things overall, and secondly, as much as I think I'm going to enjoy these 2 and the others, they are still classes, which means work, which means I have to get back into the going to school mindset, which means while the rest of my friends are free to savor the last few weeks of summer I have to buckle down. Poor me ;) studying abroad is tough. 

Monday morning began with my new favorite PB Banana APPLE Flax Oatmeal. I've tried apples in oatmeal before, as a substitute for banana when I've run out, but never as an addition and I don't know why not, it's so obvious! The creaminess of the banana and yogurt was a perfect compliment to the sweet and softened apple chunks. Just add some hearty flax, make it nice and cinnamony, and you've got yourself the best thing to happen to Danielle's boring oatmeal yet!

Oh and it gets even better! Following my new favorite bowl of oatmeal I helped my host-mom prepare "Minestrone" soup. This is not like any bowl of minestrone I've ever had but according to her it's as I described in the title. The key ingredient in my mind is the pumpkin, it definitely seems to give the soup that little special something that I adore oh so much! Here's the recipe. I suggest you try it as soon as possible, on the first day of fall, por ejemplo, it pairs nicely with crisp weather- 

Sopa Minestrone (serves 6)

Ingredientes

2 cups of dry Spanish white beans

1/4 kg of pumpkin

5 medium potatoes

8 large leaves of kale or spinach

1 medium yellow onion

1 clove of garlic

Condimentos la gusto

Direcciones

1. Leave beans soaking in cold water over-night.

2. The next morning add the water and beans to a pressure cooker and leave alone to cook.

3. During this time, cut the pumpkin and potatoes into small cubes and chop the kale/spinach.

4. After 15-20 minutes, turn off the heat on the pressure cooker and add the vegetables. Allow the pot to sit.

5. Chop the onions, mince the garlic, and chop the fresh/dried herbs/spices you prefer (we used oregano and pepper). 

6. Mix these with a little EVOO and salt and add to the pot.

7. Let the soup cook for as long as it takes to soften the pumpkin and potatoes. It should mimic a stew more so than a brothy soup.

8. ¡Buen provecho!

Later in the day I met my friend downtown to get our passes for one of my upcoming classes. Sounds easy enough but, alas, it was not and it took us to hours of running around to different buildings on different campuses to finally get it authorized. Finally, on our way back to the metro, the heavens opened up and there it was, a massive Starbucks welcoming us with open arms. I'm exaggerating, but still :). We both got a much-needed lattes (mine's the tall one with the jacket) and enjoyed them to the fullest in a plaza nearby. Esta es la vida.

The soup ended up becoming a staple in my diet for the next 2 days, sans breakfast of course, insert new oatmeal there, until last night when I was devastated to find that we finished it already :( oh well, it was incredible while it lasted, better with each and every meal! All times it was eaten with a plate of Ensalada on the side, tomatoes and avocado in this case. I'm loving how easy it is to get in all of my veggies.

Last night I had a little less than a cup of rice with carrots mixed in, Zucchini Frittata, and 2 servings of the Celery salad, yum! And this morning's breakfast was nothing short of repetitive with another delectable bowl of oats. Today's agenda includes a big list of things to do! I've noticed that when I'm unhappy I tend to be lie around with no motivation for anything so some of these things have been waiting for a while, let's take a look... go out for a long walk/run (I've been doing this for the past few days and hoping to make it a habit), fax Foodbuzz, um, surprise :), print absentee ballot, register Chilean cell phone and add friend's numbers, pick up hummus ingredients (they don't sell it pre-made here, my family had no idea what I was talking about!), make it ASAP, organize field seminar materials, fold clothes, so on and so forth. Better get a move on, have a spectacular Wednesday everyone!