Amore Squirrel

Hello sneaky readers of mine- here is a recap of the last week for those of you who read this for some reason...

I went on for Amorous Quarrel for the last for performances and had an absolute blast. It was such a small part, but it was honestly the most fun I've had all summer and I was so grateful to get to do it. Check out my awesome costumes....

Channeling Amy Adams a bit perhaps?

Sassy servant goodness.

And then- just like that my 4 performances flew by and it was closing night. And what better way to celebrate than with brownies...

I made these from a recipe by Angela at www.ohsheglows.com they use avocado instead of butter (sadly my avocados were not super ripe and so you can see chunks of them in the brownie batter. I was assured, however, that they were still delicious.) they were awesome- super fudgy and still pretty healthy, for a brownie... I gave them out to the cast and crew of AQ and they seemed to go over quite well- definitely making them again (perhaps for Daddy when I head home since I was awful and forgot to call him on his birthday like the terrible daughter that I am)

I was on a bit of an ohsheglows kick after making the brownies and decided to also make her breakfast cobbler while the brownies cooled just because I had all the ingredients and way too much energy.


This was also lovely- go to her blog- make her food- you can thank me later.

And this week I also experimented with some eggplant because it was at the farmers market this week and looked yummy. I wasn't sure quite what to do with it and ended up making this...

I also made some eggplant bruschetta with it which was super good but I forgot to take a pic of that- I'll probably make it again sometime though. Good stuff.

Ok enough about cooking... for now. So besides Quarrel I've been resting, doing a bit of office work, running. Today was the day off and I decided to do something a bit different. I've barely ridden my bike at all this summer and thought this might be one of our last really beautiful days- so I decided to ride my bike to Club June. That's about a 16 mile ride- ambitious for someone who hasn't been riding (but I have been taking spin class which is kinda similar and we usually do at least 12 miles in that class.) So this morning I made myself a big ole brunch of tomato omelet and ohsheglows Healthy Spelt Pancakes for one (I know I'm totally boring you here, but they were sooooo good and super easy to make- 1/2 cup spelt flour, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon- make them!) Belly full I set off- I was in no particular hurry so I just went slow and enjoyed the sun and my ipod- it took me about and hour and a half to get there. And when I did I went out in the kayak for about a half hour (don't know where all this energy has been coming from lately) then I swam and read my book (100 Years of Solitude) but no one else was really there so I decided to set off again for Great Barrington- that was about another 7 miles of biking so I decided to throw in the towel after that and not bike back home and called Andre and Michelle to come pick me up. But hey- 23 miles in one day... not too shabby for a day off. Then we got some groceries, made some dinner (I made parchment packet cooked salmon... I'll take a picture next time- it wasn't quite right this time I'm afraid, but a good experiment nonetheless).

And now I am officially exhausted and in need of sleep. Still it was a lovely way to spend a summer day- one more full week of work (only 4 more shows to wardrobe- yessssssss) and then it'll be time to pack up and head home! Plans must be made friends.

Goodnight all.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake Recipes

I also sent this out as a facebook message but I thought I'd put it up here too.
The recipes are from http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/page/2/ and http://fitnessista.com/2010/08/i-had-to-do-it/ (I cannot figure out how to do links on this thing- blogger fail- but I want to credit them)

Here is the recipe for the 5 minute chocolate cake in a mug that everyone has been asking me for. When I did it I cut down on some of the calories (since the original way it adds up to about 1000) by using almond milk, half the sugar, 1/3 the oil and it still tasted awesome. I will also include another version of the recipe that is from one of my favorite health food blogs and is only about 275 calories. Not that anyone cares- but I think the substitutions are interesting. Either way... it's chocolate cake in 5 minutes... what could be better?

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (Microwave Safe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly before pouring in the milk and oil in. Keep mixing. Add the optional chocolate chips next (who makes that an option!) and vanilla extract, and mix again…
Put your mug in the micro wave and cook for three minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow it to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients:

-2 T flour of choice (I used spelt, but whole wheat or gluten-free would be lovely)

-1 T protein powder (chocolate or Vanilla; I rolled with vanilla Nutribiotic brown rice protein)

-1 T raw cacao powder (1/2 T of cooked cacao powder, since the flavor is stronger)

-1/4 t baking soda

-pinch of sea salt

-1 flax egg (1 T milled flax seed mixed with 3 T water)

-2 T almond milk (or milk of choice)

-1 T chocolate chips

-1/2 T oil, yogurt or applesauce (optional: will make the cake more moist, but I made mine without)

-1/2 t vanilla extract

-cinnamon and Stevia, to taste

1. Spray the inside of a microwave-safe coffee mug with nonstick spray
2. Add the dry ingredients (flour, protein, cacao, baking soda and salt), and stir well to combine
3. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a spoon until mixture resembles a thin cake batter –make sure there are no flour chunks in there
4. Taste the mixture and add Stevia and cinnamon to your liking – I used about 6 drops of liquid Stevia and a hefty shake of cinnamon. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Microwave on high for 2 1/2 – 3 minutes, until the cake is cooked on top and around the edges.

Ready for Fall

My STI recovery period is now complete and the time has come to just sit back and enjoy the rest of my summer. I'm still working of course. Getting everything ready in the office for Conservatory and for my replacement, and wardrobing More Words, More Play (only 6 more performances... Thank. God.)and wardrobing and performing (!!!!) in Amorous Quarrel (only 2 more of those left sadly). So I'm still busy, but I have been taking a bit more time to chill out, read, get some sleep, and go running just whenever I feel like it. The weather has been so cool here for the last week that I no longer have to be up by 5:30am to beat the heat for my run.

So what have I been doing with this new found free time you ask? Well for starters I finally made a trip to The Mount, which is right down the road and the former home of Shakespeare and Company, but I'd just never had time to get out their until now. It was beautiful and we listened to some music and explored the gardens. Pictures of that are up on Facebook if you're curious.

And then Lexi and Laura came for their visit which was AMAZING! I loved spending some time with them. Sadly I still had to work a lot of the time they were here- but they did get to see me in my S&Co stage debut in Amorous Quarrel, and we also saw Richard III, and The Winter's Tale. We went to Baba Louie's (yes AGAIN but it's sooooo good) and we visited the new Pittsfeild location which is so much bigger and easier to get into and also just as good. WE went to see Eat, Pray, Love (the book was better) and while I was working the girls explored Great Barrington. I was woefully remiss in taking pictures during their visit- but I did make some whole-wheat oatmeal pancakes, and a 5 minute chocolate mug cake for them. Hopefully I'll get back to cooking a bit more now that I have some more time. My current obsession? Pumpkin Oatmeal. It is Fall in a bowl.

In other news I'll be home in just over 2 weeks for my mini-vaca before Conservatory. I'm hoping to do some visiting while I'm home (possibly Laura in Columbus, Lauren in Cinci, and Dennis, Kendra, and Allison in Illinois) that's a lot of driving, but it will be my only chance until Thanksgiving. I have a lot to pack into those 10 days- like going to see various doctors since I haven't been to one in like a year. Thanks American Health Care system. But I am looking forward to being home and getting all my lovely Fall clothes and whatnot.

And by time I get back it will be time to concentrate on my acting again, which I am incredibly excited about. Getting back to what I love doing instead of watching EVERYONE I know do what I love doing. It will be quite refreshing. Doing that tiny part in Amorous Quarrel has been a God send. It's so small and silly, but it reminds me of what I've been doing all this for, for the last 5 months. And seeing Lexi and Laura helped a lot too- a reminder that there is a world outside and that who I've been all summer and what I've been doing aren't who I am. My sense of humore was vastly improved just by them BEING HERE. It's so easy to be around them- effortless, and it shows me that all summer I've been trying too hard- exhausting myself- not being myself at all.

So Fall is on its way- rather quickly too... and it's time to change again.

Yay... Boo

YAY! I survived the month of STI without having a nervous breakdown. BOO! I had to spend my first STI free day moving back on campus (luckily I had Andre to help me this time which really moved things along), and running all around campus cleaning up the training supplies and putting things away. It turned out to be a really exhausting day of heavy lifting which culminated in the beginnings of a nasty cold. YAY! Yesterday was the official day off! BOO! I was sick most of the day, slept a lot. Got up to go the grocery store and see a movie with Michelle and Andre. We saw "The Kids Are Alright" it was alright, but I'd really like to see "Eat, Pray, Love" when Lexi and Laura are here LATER THIS WEEK!!!

This week I will also be getting ready for my Shakes and Co debut in Amorous Quarrel. We have our final put-in on Saturday and then I go on that evening as Toinette. I have four lines, but I really can't tell you how excited I am about it. I LOVED doing the put-in rehearsals so far and I love the show and cast so much that I am so grateful to get to do it with them now. It's going to be really fun and a great end to the summer season for me I think. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

And in more YAY! news my boss has decided to give me some time off before I start Conservatory. So now I will be home from September 10th through the 20th to regroup for the Fall- I'm pretty excited about it too- I've been away a very long time.

Before then though I have to train my replacement, clean out the training storage closet (thats a BOO trust me), and get through wardrobing 15 more shows, and get everything ready for Conservatory. But this is still less work than I have been doing the last few weeks.

As for my runnning- I'm afraid it fell by the wayside last week since I was working like crazy, exhausted, and then got sick. I'm hoping to pick it back up this week though once I'm feeling better and can breathe through my nose again.

23 years of wisdom?

Well here I am- another year older. Another year wiser? Well I guess so. The last year has certainly been... interesting. Things were learned, growth was had. But now I would prefer to look to the future and make my 23rd year my best one.

So for my birthday this year I was in tech most of the day for More Words, More Play... and as for that... I don't wanna talk about it. But on the plus side Momma was here and we had a lovely couple of days together (at least between my rigorous work schedule- oy).

Isn't she lovely?

We ate a lot of good food and did a lot of quality shopping yesterday on my day off. I got a bunch of new exercise toys including: An ipod touch!, some under-armor stuff for running once it starts getting cold over here, a jump rope, some hand weights, and a Jillian Michaels book and work-out DVD. I also bot some new clothes. It was a bit trying buying clothes on this trip for me. I bought new jeans- jeans that actually fit. It hurt to go up a size- I cannot tell a lie, but at least I can be comfortable.

I don't feel super comfortable admitting how much weight I've gained this year. It sucks, but I understand why its happening. I've been really emotional and lonely and I haven't been acting. So really its not surprising. But I know I don't feel comfortable at this weight most of the time and would like to loose a few before I start Conservatory next month. I just need to get a handle on my emotional eating. Maintaining my weight in college was easy- but I was also studying what I love, doing shows, in a happy relationship, had tons of amazing friends around, etc... and I've found the real world to be just a tad different, so its difficult at times. But hey- my 5 months in work-study purgatory will soon be over and I'll be spending 3 months studying Shakespeare- then who knows what I'll be up to but I'm praying it will be ACTING!

22 was a rebuilding year I think- but I'm hoping 23 will be something else entirely. A real start to living the life I really want to have. Doing what I love and spending time with those who add to my life in a positive way.

And in other good news STI is almost over- only 4 (hopefully very short) days to complete. I have to say the participants (in general) have been really great- I'm just burnt out and ready to have a little time off during the day. Especially since starting this week I'm dressing 6 shows a week instead of just 3.

So perhaps I ought to set a few goals for my 23rd year of life. Here goes:
1) Run in a road race (at least a Half-Marathon, maybe a full)
2) Get paid acting work OR get into Grad School
3) Keep in better touch with my friends and family
4) Be healthy

And goals for this week:
1) Run 14 miles (4 down this morning- 10 to go!)
2) Do 2 morning spinning classes!
3) jump rope and try my new workout DVD
4) Stop whining and finish STI strong

New Toy!
And a special thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes!

True Friends show me my True Self

Around the "healthy living" blog world everyone is talking about the release of a book by Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point called Operation Beautiful as part of the book release celebration she is inviting people to write guest posts about body image and linking them to Operationbeautiful.com. The idea with Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes for other women to find telling them they are beautiful in the hopes of helping women everywhere see themselves in a more positive light. I think this is a truly awesome idea and so I wanted to write a guest post too about body image.


Over the past year my body and I have not been great friends sometimes. Thanks to all the emotional crap I've been dealing with since graduation, in the past year I have fluctuated from being almost underweight (based on BMI) to being the heaviest I have been since freshman year of college. Finding a balance has been a struggle, but now I'm making strides to eat better and exercise. And I have had some great success with it so far. I eat about 50 times more fruits and veggies than I EVER used to and I exercise 6 days a week. I am the healthiest I have probably ever been in my life right now and I know it. But still I have issues seeing myself that way. Sometimes I still despair that I can't fit into the size 2's I foolishly bought in the winter when the very sight of food disgusted me. Sometimes I can't see how healthy I am. Sometimes all I can see is that my 4's just don't fit the way they did in college. Sometimes I see myself as a number and not a person. And because of those feelings I sometimes have I thought maybe I shouldn't write a post for this thing- since my body image isn't necessarily great right now on anything resembling a consistent basis. So what would I write about that anyone could benefit from really?

Well inspiration came to me, as it often does, in the form of my amazing friends. I am all in a tizzy anticipating Lexi and Laura's visit at the end of the month, and I started thinking about how I see them and how they see me. Lexi and Laura are two of the most beautiful women in the world to me. And I started thinking how sad it would make me if they felt about their bodies the way I've been feeling about mine. Because for me if they didn't see themselves as beautiful and amazing people that would just seem absurd- because to me they are so much more than sizes or numbers- they are the foundation of the life I'm living and have made me stronger just by existing in the world. A number on a scale could never ever define one damn thing about who they are to me. And I know they feel exactly the same way about me. Size 2 or size 22- to them I would be exactly the same. They see me for who I really am and have decided that person is beautiful. I need to remember that more often. That the people in your life that are worth keeping are the ones who can see your whole self without ever needing to look at you.

And of course they aren't the only ones that feel that way about me. This goes for my family and many more of my amazing friends. I think it probably upsets them all more that I'm not feeling good about myself than it ever would if I gained 50 pounds, as long as I was happy. So my goal from now on should merely be to see myself the way that those who love me see me. Not to run another mile, or eat another salad. But to see the beauty in myself that goes deeper than a dress size, the beauty that I can see in those I love best. The beauty that is so absurdly obvious in them to me, and in me to them- I will try every day to see it too.

Black and White Cookies

Tuesday again. That means I'm now going into week 4 of STI. But luckily this is the last full week and by the end of it... MOMMA WILL BE HERE! For, as yet, unplanned birthday festivities. Around here for birthdays people just tend to go out to one of the two bars in town- but I have very little interest in that as bars really aren't my thing. So I may end up just having a quiet evening with Momma and a few of my buddies here instead. There is no Coldstone Creamery around here for me to get my annual ice cream cake, so I'll have to think of some alternative.

Other birthday plans include: Being awesome, eating Mac and Cheese/ Fruity Pebbles/ other crap I never let myself eat anymore.

Now to recap the from yesterdays day-off. It was the annual company party at the Lohbauer's and we were all asked to bring something! I was super excited to have an excuse to bake again and so I got a little ambitious with my choice. I decided to make one of my favorite things of all time- Black and White Cookies.

Black and White Cookies are a tad more complicated than your average cookie I think- just because the icing means there are a few more steps involved. But I can say that they turned out to be a success.

The cookie part of these cookies is a bit more like a cake than a cookie. Mine ended up being a little denser than the ones I've had in the past- mostly because I couldn't find cake flour and I decided to use up what was left of my whole wheat flour which made the batter kinda heavy. I also used almond milk instead of regular milk which I think made some sort of texture difference as well.

Still they turned out fine. I have to say that it was a bit of a challenge though to find the stuff I needed in the kitchen of Greater Grace. I'm kinda starting to long for a kitchen of my own where I have all the stuff I need, know where everything is, and don't have to share with SO MANY PEOPLE. Dare to dream.

With these cookies you turn them over and frost the flat side of the cookie. You make the white frosting first and do one half of all the cookies.

Then you melt in chocolate, corn syrup, and cocoa powder to make the black frosting. This was a bit tricky for me as I had to make a double boiler of sorts with really old and crappy supplies. I think I succeeded, however, in at least not burning the chocolate and frosted the other halves.

And they turned out lovely.


So after I finished the cookies I was left with a huge bowl of chocolate frosting in front of me. I partially lost the battle with said bowl of frosting before I destroyed it and so decided to work off my sugar high at the gym. Then it was time to head off to the party with Andre and Michelle.

The party was very nice- lots of delicious food was had- and my black and white cookies were soon gone.

Oh! and did I mention that this blog post comes to you from my newly resurrected laptop? So glad not to have to do this in the office anymore!

There we are reunited!

So... goals for this week? Well I completed the ones from last week- ran 12 miles and went to both spin classes. This morning I did not get up and run like I normally do because I'm still all sore from going to the gym yesterday loaded with sugar! So I'm thinking I'll run this evening instead and set my goal for this week at 13 miles. We'll see if I can stick with that with birthday fun rolling around. What do YOU think I should do for my birthday?