Back @ Work... and the Longest Trader Joes line in History!

Hey all!

So today should probably declared as "back to reality day" for the majority of us. Back to the work routine. I can def get used to the good life of not having to work for weeks at the time but until that day becomes a reality for me off to work I went!.My alarm went off at the set time but I woke up nearly 30 mins later (insert: PANIC). I got ready as quickly as I possibly could and ran out of my apartment like a bat out of hell. Here is today's work ensemble:

(Sweater is from H&M and was a xmass gift from my sister. Bracelet I already had but matched the sweater perfectly. Sorry about the somewhat blurry pic!)

My breakfast consisted of PB&J on an English muffin, cafe with soy milk (no sugar) and a side of pineapple:

During my lunch I walked to a local Barnes and noble (about 1 mile away from my office) to work on some new years resolutions (if you are committed to something you will find the time!). I got a decaf w/ vanilla soy milk (which I asked for AFTER my order because is cheaper that way) and got to work for about 30-40 minutes before it was time to head back to the office. Mid afternoon I still had some of the decaf leftover and was feeling a tad hungry (had a turkey sandwich and some chips for lunch that held me over for a couple of hours) so I had a snack:

**That Kashi flavor is delicious, btw!

After work I immediately made my way to trader Joes. The place was PACKED (as usual). Trader Joes and I def have a love/hate relationship. I LOVE the food but HATE the crowds and the lines. ugh! Anyways, I managed to do my quick shopping and get out of there on time to find this chaos going on outside:

One of the longest TJ lines I have ever seen!!! I guess people are serious about their new years resolutions! ha! Hope this lasts more than a week for most of those people. The line was seriously long as heck! I apologize for the blurriness but I was feeling a little crazy taking a random pic in the middle of the chaos. I suddenly felt lucky (and glad) that I was able to make it in and out of there before this craziness started. (If this was TJs I can online imagine how packed most gyms were today!).

And this was what I got:

So anyways, managed to get home despite the FREEZING NYC temperatures. Turned on ALL my heaters immediately and then proceeded to make a quick dinner because I was starving!

Baked sweet potato w/ chicken on the side (chicken was made by my mother for new years and I brought some leftovers back to my apartment. Is regular chicken breast with some sauce--everything was delish!).

Now I am lounging here (banana bread in hand lol) ready to get back to reading my book which is getting interesting. Hope you all had a great first work day of 2013!! (Or second day if you worked yesterday).

PS: Random non-health related note---I was super happy today that the fiscal cliff issue (most of it) was resolved last night and now the markets can get back to normal. If you read my blog you know I am into finance and I follow the markets so I was super happy to see the s&p500 and other indexes soar! 

QUESTION: Do you shop at TJs? Does your local trader joes ever get super crowded? (the one I go to is in downtown Manhattan and is ALWAYS insanely packed!)

Adriana Lima is Hot and a Awesome Quote

So this post is a little late. Meant to post this morning but ran out of time. Lets start with the food part. Yesterday my lunch was simple yet amazing. I am running out of groceries so couldn’t bring food from home so I decided to go to one of my favorite lunch spots: Hale and Hearty. I went for a chicken avocado salad over mixed greens. Asked for EVOO and vinaigrette on the side (I rarely ever have any other kind of dressing). It was so good. I was a little scared I wouldn’t be fully satisfied but surprisingly I was! I also completed yesterdays Elf4Health challenge by having the salad so: done and done!

Later on during the day I snacked on an apple and a granola bar before my finance exam at 7:30.

I don’t want to go over the exam too much. I am glad is over. Let’s just say the professor told us one thing and the exam was the complete opposite. In other words, he claimed there wouldn’t be too many calculations (mostly conceptual) but guess what, most of the exam was calculations. I knew better so I did have all my formulas ready on the sheet he allows us to bring to the exams. The challenging part was figuring out which formula to use for what and my head was spinning at one point. Most of the class needed an extra 30 minutes to finish—so you can imagine how we all fell!. The professor was nice enough to stay extra time but I think we were all wondering WTH throughout the test. When I walked out of the exam one of my classmates approached me and asked me whether I thought it was difficult. That made me feel a gazillion times better because I knew I wasn’t the only one that felt that way! So, we’ll see what happens. Praying for a major curve and 100% on my final—is not over till is over.

In other news...Today’s Elf4Health challenge is sharing one of your favorite snacks. Here is one of mine:

 

I love the kashi dark chocolate coconut bar. I pair it up with tea and its so good and satisfying—specially in mid-afternoon when most of us needs a recharge.

Sometimes during the day I also snack on apples which I bring from home. I add lemon so that they don’t turn brown and munching on them during the day helps me control cravings.

So, if you are a girl you are probably well aware that last night was the Victoria Secret fashion show. I got home about 30 minutes in to it so I couldn’t see much besides a little bit of Rhianna’s performance. I was specially intrigued by Adriana Lima’s body after having a baby. She is my favorite VS Angel and I think she is absolutely gorgeous. Her body looks like a normal human being with curves and it was a breath of fresh air to see someone looking normal and not skeletical in that runway. Go Adriana!

I stole this pic from a Self or Shape magazine facebook post :) Hence the caption.

Finally, I want to share a quote I saw today on facebook by Clare @ Fitting it All in which I loved and just had to share with you guys:

I love Brian Tracy and I actually have one of his books. He is so inspirational with his words! Quite the motivator!

This is all for now. Have a good evening everyone!

Tell me, Did you see the Victoria Secret fashion show last night? What are your thoughts?