Day 53: Preparing for a 1/2 Marathon

Last month I made a promise to myself that I would run a 1/2 marathon. It gave me a fitness goal to work towards over a long period of time and it is helping me drop weight along the way! BONUS! 

Anyways, for those of you who are not long distance runners or even a runners at all, do you know how many miles are in a half marathon? Well, if you do, you will now realize what I predicament I have put myself in. See, I could not run for more than two minutes at a time when I first made this promise.  Two minutes of running gets me about .2 miles(I have short legs). That now creates a gigantic issue because a half marathon is a little under 14 miles. Yes, you heard correctly, 14 miles.

I am in trouble.

I will not give up because

1. I am stubborn
2. I swore to myself I would do this. 

However, the road from .2 miles to 14 miles is a long one.

THE GOOD NEWS! 

Today was a huge accomplishment! For the past two weeks I have been running every other day. And with each run I swore to myself that I would go for an extra 2 minutes. Well, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my entire life, I ran for 30 minutes straight. That is 2.75 miles. I am so proud! I know I have a ridiculously long journey ahead but right now I am celebrating. If you would like to celebrate with me, please enjoy the link to my celebration song below. Beware, it does use curse words so all readers under the age of 13 please find yourselves a different celebration song. Thank you

Celebration Song 

One Day is Today!

X. 

Day 52: Empanada Mama

A skill that I am proud to say I learned through watching my Father, Mother and Sister is my ability to find good hole in the wall restaurants. Apparently, Ms. C. Lillis is ALSO very good at this task.

After a long day of auditioning and Ms. Cory's second day on the job, we decided to celebrate by having a nice dinner on 9th Ave. As most people who have walked 9th Ave, there are numerous places that one can dine at. Walk from 33 Street up through 56th Street and you will come across:

• At least 15 Thai Restaurants
• Restaurant Row
• A few Italian Restaurants
• Unlimited amount of margarita joints all claiming to have the best margarita. ( I swear by Ariba Ariba near 51 St and 9th)
• At least 30-40 Bars

Now, with such a selection how is one to choose? Thanks to Ms. Lillis's skills and the fantastic invention of www.yelp.com we came across Empanada Mama. One of the TINIEST, hole in the wall places where there are only enough table room to sit around 20 customers at once. Now, Do not fret, they have a take out menu! I tried 3 different empanadas for only $2.75 a pop! Insane! Also, their homemade guacamole with plantain chips is the best guacamole I have ever encountered.

Do not just take my word for it! Go try it out! Corner of 51st and 9th! 

One Day is Today!

X. 

Day 41-51: Lack of Adventures, HELP!

After watching Perks of Being a Wall Flower a few weeks ago I realized that in my haste to dedicate the time it takes to write every night I have started doing "Simple" adventures instead of ones that I truly wanted to do. 

And after so many weeks of only doing one huge adventure a week I have now run out of ADVENTURES! 

So here it is people, I am extending a hand. Please please please help! 

Comment/ text/ email me idea's for adventures. The less money I have to spend the better and all ideas are welcome. I will give you credit in the blog. 

What am I looking for? 

• Little money
• Push me physical or mental limits
• Fun
• Unusual

Please please help!

X. 

Day 41: MGR Scavenger Hunt in 24 Hours.

The title leaves little to the imagination. The Britt and myself EACH completed the scavenger hunt in twenty four hours.

What we completed:

1. Bake Cookies (5 pts)
2. Picking up your mail (5 pts)
3. Cooking Kraft Mac and Cheese (5 pts)
4. At a winery (10 pts)
5. In a MGR hoodie (10 pts)
6. Buying something at the dollar store (15 pts)
7. In front of the Utopia club (15 pts)
8. Recycle a glass bottle at Byrne and Dairy (15 pts)
9. In a corn field (25 pts)
10. Eating Sushi (30 pts) 
11. Carving a Pumpkin (30 pts)
12. A tombstone of someone who died before 1850 (35pts)

Total that up? We have 200 Points!  Here are some of the fun photos! ENJOY!

One Day is Today!

X. 

Day 40: Cooking with KMN

When you combine fun music, three ladies, delicious ingredients and some heat you will have a fun filled night cooking with the KMN. While dancing around to Maroon 5, we minced, stirred, and sauteed our way to a fantastic dinner. The menu: Herb Crusted Salmon with Cauliflower Cous-Cous. 

Simple recipes that Nikki took out of her magazines. Unfortunately, since these recipes came out of a magazine I feel just terrible about sharing them. However, I am sure you could find them in online if you searched!

Now, not only did we make a delicious dinner but we made TWO different desserts as well.

Combining

• Cinnamon
• Sugar
• Flour
• Apples

We made the same inside for our dessert. However, half of it we rolled into pastry dough to bake and the other half we wrapped into pie crust to make a crostini.  Delicious! What is better then baking? Oh! Sharing. SO we brought both desserts to the theatre and let me tell you they did not last past the 5 minute call. Hysterical!

What better way to learn/try new recipes then with friends! Go have an adventure! 

One Day is Today.

X. 

Day 39: Welcome to The Island of Misfit Toys

On my day off I adventured with some cast mates to Syracuse to catch the matinee showing of "Perks of Being a Wall Flower" What a wonderful movie but not typically my cup of tea. I rarely go out of my way to pick movies that evoke much emotion. I would rather the "happily ever after" romantic comedies that make winding down at the end of the days simpler. Actually, I am not sure I would rather  have that simplicity but that is the type of movie common when I was growing up. I think it is a default setting. I rather enjoy thought provoking scripts and stunning cinematography. However, at the end of a long day in which you find your mind is burnt out sometimes the best solution is "Madagascar".

Anyways, returning to the beautiful film that is "Perks of Being a Wall Flower". What a roller coaster of emotion that was. Depression. Medication. Coming of Age. Becoming Enlightened. Finding Your True Self. Friendship. Love. High School students who seemed to have meaningful life moments every second of the day. Dedicated Soul Searchers. Professional Life Livers. Charlie is our narrator through this exploration of his childhood and transition into adulthood. We find his easiest form of survival is by living. A beautiful film that especially spoke to this time in my life. I do not want to ruin even one word of this beautiful script for you. Nor do I want to describe the brilliant visual shots. Instead I will say, I highly recommend you all see it and remember your tissues.

One Day is Today.
X.

Day 38: Tofu Scramble

I was reading the latest issue of Women's Health Magazine and came across their recipe for Tofu Scramble. A simple and delicious dish that they recommend to jump start your day. However, I wanted to change the recipe just slightly and have it as my lunch.

Simple by changing the bread type and decreasing the amount of tofu to fit into a wrap, my version of the Tofu Scramble came to only 253 calories!

I used the following ingredients:

• 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of Firm Tofu cut into small blocks
• 2 Baby Mushrooms cut into slices
• 1/4 of a Green Pepper
• 1 tsp of Spicy Mustard
• 1/4 cup of baby spinach leaves
• 1 Flat Out Light Spinach Flatbread

1. Sauté up those mushrooms, peppers and tofu until nice and golden!
2. Spread spicy mustard on the flatbread and place spinach leaves on top. 
3. Scoop sauteed goodies on top (Leave the extra oil      in the pan!)
4. Roll and Wrap! Bon Appetite! 

Any other fun recipes I should try? I love very spicy food! E-mail me at leafturned@gmail.com 

One Day is Today!

X. 

Day 37: A Familiar Place Thru New Eyes. Ithaca, N.Y.

Today I had the pleasure of having the entire day off and after two full days, totaling in eleven hours of performing/ rehearsal, it was a much anticipated event in my week.  What better way to spend a day off then visiting a good friend?

My friend Roger, currently enrolled at Ithaca, invited me to come visit and see his campus. My previous experience's in Ithaca typically resulted in me driving directly to The Commons and walking straight to the used book store. I do not pass Go. I do not Collet $200. Although, they should return some of the money I spend at the that store.

However, today Roger wanted to introduce me to Taste of Thai, (a completely brilliant suggestion since I have not experienced Thai food or any other of my favorite ethnic cuisines since I was last in NYC). I chose a scrumptious Green Curry with Beef that included ginger root, eggplant and cashews and had a side of jasmine rice. The perfect serving size, it came in a small bowl and was ONLY $7.50. Incredible! Another fun fact about Taste of Thai in Ithaca, NY is that you can choose how hot your dish is made.( Rating 1-5) I took my Green Curry at a 3 and it was the perfect balance between flavor and just enough heat to clear out my sinus'.

After our lunch (One of my top five meals in the past month), Roger wanted to show me around Ithaca's Campus. I was unaware that Ithaca was not located in the town, but rather a 15 minute drive from The Commons. What a beautiful campus, from the simple flower araganmets to the incredible Black Box, I could not have been more astounded! Below are some photo's from the day. Enjoy!

One Day is Today!

X. 

Day 36: The Mysterious Kale Chips

I have learned many things during this contract from all of the wonderful people I have worked with. One of the more interesting things I came to discover was my love of Kale Chips. Travis made a batch for the cast during "My Fair Lady" and all it took was one bite and the sparks were flying!

Now, he described in great detail how to make these delicious treats. However, trying to recall all that very important information a month and a half later was not as easy as I had hoped. This lead to many discussions with my current cast about what would be the best way to go about baking these. The solution:

• Wash kale leaves
• Tear them off into bite size pieces
• Dry 
• Place on baking sheets
• Spray with Pam
• Salt
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. *It may be less time, please keep an eye so that they do not burn* 

Then let the kale chips cool off and BON APPETITE! 

One Day is Today!

X.

P.S.-If you have any adventure's, please e-mail me! I would love to share what everyone else is doing! Spread the excitement! 

Day 35: Learning to be Okay on Your Own!

Each day can be a daunting task for the (relatively) newly single girl. I find myself surrounded by woman who gush about their significant others and such. Now, why shouldn't they? They are happy, their significant others are healthy, and they deserve to gush about finding such bliss.

This blog has been a way for me to restart my life through positivity and find out more about myself. Today's adventure was talking myself thru a rough day and finding a positive way to decompress alone. Daunting...trust me, I am aware. I will be the first person to run straight to their phone to text a friend when disaster strikes. However, I refused to let myself completely emerge in negativity and get lost in my cellular device.  I took necessary steps through out the day to keep my sanity. I hope you will find this beneficial in guiding you thru your own future obstacles.

1. Separate Yourself from the Physical Space Where the Negativity Occurred: Do you know, I used to witness/experience negativity in a certain room and then, on break, STAY in that room instead of leaving. By staying in that atmosphere and not allowing a mental break, you are increasing your agitation and allowing more negative feelings to fester. Today, I took my lunch and my iPod and listened to my NPR playlist as I looked over the lake. The cool breeze and calming sites  helped to cool of my blood. 
2. Use up That Extra Energy on Exercise: Don't allow all of that extra energy to go to waste. As it is so brilliantly put in the movie Legally Blonde: "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands...they just don't." I spent the middle of Act 1 (When I was not singing) busting a gut doing Insanity. I tell you, I was in a much better mood after just 38 minutes of being screamed at by the beautiful Shaun T. 
3. Take a Moment or Two to Yourself: At the point in the day when I thought I was going to lose my cool, I stepped into the bathroom and let the hot shower run for 10 minutes. Breathing nice and slow I kept repeating "Find your strength, Find your power, Find your stability". 10 minutes of simple chanting in my own personal sauna really renewed my sense of strength.
4. Pamper Yourself: When my day was finally done, I turned off my cellphone, poured myself a glass of red wine and sat in bed. I gave myself a facial. I shaped my eyebrows. I even cleaned my makeup brushes and gave myself a manicure. Why? Because you need to spend time taking care of the one "temple" you were given full responsibility of. No matter how tough the day is, you still have to take care of you. 

I hope this helped! Much Love to All!

One Day is Today!

X. 

Day 34: A Moment In Time...At The Green Shutters

5 Generations. 6 Intelligent Women. 2 hours of discussion over diner food...

On a cool October evening, a group of ladies sat down to have a nice dinner at The Green Shutters.  Four of the ladies were performers and two were cousins who had come to see the show.

Once the basic introductions had started the conversation just poured out. Stories about NYC after 9-11 and how Equity allowed their members to perform on the street for free to try and lure the tourists back. Or when Bill Clinton admitted to having relations with Monica. One of the lovely ladies was trying to return from Canada. She and her companions had missed the last ferry from Wolfe Island to the United States. Clearly upset, with tears in their eyes, because they had no where to sleep that night. The group walked into a local restaurant just as Bill Clinton was on the news admitting he lied. The Owner came up to them and said "Would you Americans like some ice cream on the house?".

I mean, story after story about which presidents they liked. Which presidents were "horn dogs" (as the wisest and eldest lady so eloquently described it). We discussed anything from the loss of the arts funding to Obama's Book (which I have not read yet, but it is now on my list!)

I mean, two hours flew by and I could not have been more invested and intrigued. I always associated political discussions with full on arguments. Why? I can not tell you. It is certainly not from my household because we all have similar views and would rather talk about family morals then politics. However, what I learned about life and about myself in these short two hours is that so often I shut out people or situations because it may not be pleasant. What I realize is that I am shutting out life and beauty. People have rough days and inconsequentially will get upset. Why run from problems or discussions which, as I now understand it, lead to solutions and compromise. Let yourself become intellectually invested into a conversation and, whether or not the outcome is agreeable , you will feel emotionally rewarded.

Just my coffee talk for the day!

I hope you are all out their having daily adventures.

One Day is Today!

X.  

Day 33: My Own Little Corner...

Even though I do not own this apartment and even though it technically will not be my home much longer, it is  the first place that I had all to myself. I never thought it would be such a large difference from living with a few roommates, but it truly is. How nice it is to be able to sing at the top of your lungs(respecting the residents below, of course) and taking over the kitchen to cook delicious dishes while you blast ACDC and such. 

Anyways, I spent my first day off,  where I did not have a million and one things to get done, decorating my house. You heard correctly, I decorated my house. Oh! I will give you one better! I first cleaned and than decorated my house! For those of you who know me, I find peace in chaos when it comes. It may be messy but I can tell you exactly where everything is! And if I can't, I can give you the top 5 places it would most likely be. Trust me, I have a system. 

I may only be here for a little over two weeks but I found a few things out about myself while I decorated. 

1. I love flowers. I put them in wine glasses or I hang them upside down in the windows. I just love having them around. 
2. I love candles. I lit three once I had finished cleaning.
3. I like taking my time to cook and enjoying it. Guess I can thank my wonderful parents for that one. Anyone want a chef? 

Anyways, I will be home soon and then there will be a whole new set of adventures to be had. Ms. Lillis and Mr. Daly, I am referring to you! Get ready for shenanigans! It's funny though, just when you start to get settled it is time to move again. I believe thats life's way of saying find more adventures. 

I hope you all are spending each day trying something you have never done before, even if it is as little as spending 2 hours attempting to build a lego space ship. 

One Day is Today!

X. 

Day 32: Awareness

I have always wished that I was more aware of what was going on in World News. My family has been very aware of what is going on in the news. However, I was less inclined to follow in their media practices.

Recently, within the past year, dear friends have hooked my attention on to NPR. I spent the majority of my senior year of college listening to the live stream off my laptop while I stitched costumes in the shop. Unfortunately, my currently schedule does not allow me to have access to my laptop or wifi for the majority of my day, resulting in a feeling of blindness.

Now, you may be asking why I am blogging about NPR since I have been a listener for about a year. Well, did you  know there was a NPR App? (If you did know about it, pretend to share my excitement. Thank you) Well, it is a wonderful app that you can download right to your iPhone and it works like the CNN app and the Pandora App jumbled together. What I love about this app is that you can set up a playlist of their podcasts and listen to it throughout the day. This allows me to catch up on local and international news throughout my breaks.

I would highly recommend it! Check it out!

One Day is Today!
X.

Day 31: How To Cook an Illness Away!

If you frequently visit this blog then you would have read my 29th post about my visit to Urgent Care. Well, it has been almost 2 weeks of this lovely "thing" that I have and it still hasn't been resolved. Going to see the Doctor on Thursday and hopefully it all will be figured out.

Anyways, the great thing about feeling a little under the weather is you crave home cooking or comfort food. So, I took the initiative to create a new soup! My Black bean and Corn Spicy Soup. 

Ingredients:

• Can of Sweet Corn
• Can of Black Beans
• 3 types of onions (Red, White, Green) 
• Hot pepper
• Garlic clove
• Basil
• Vegetable Broth

Directions:

• Chop about 1 cup of onions up and toss into a large soup pot.
• Drain cans of sweet corn and black beans and put in the pot
• Cut 1 Hot Pepper, garlic and basil and put in pot
• Put two cups of water in.
• Generous amounts of pepper and garlic powder. 
• 1 cup of vegetable broth. 
• Place cover and let soup simmer on low for an hour.
• SERVE!

Its delicious and nutritious! Plus, because the soup is super spicy it clears my sinus's right out! 

ENJOY! 

One Day is Today!

X.