The Flight That Never Was
PIN IT!I hope everyone’s weekend was a little better than mine. Actually, I take that back, the whole weekend wasn’t horrible. The hubby and I had date night on Friday & I got to do some much needed retail therapy with one of my best friends on Sunday. So, allow me to rephrase that. Let’s hope everyone’s SATURDAY was better than mine. What happened to me on Saturday morning was awful. I wouldn’t even wish that on my greatest enemy. Not that I have one, but if I did, I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on them.
No, nothing violent or devastating happened (well, that’s subjective), I just spent 6 hours flying to Philly, waiting in lines in Philly, waiting for a plane in Philly and flying back to DC. Which, here’s a shocker, wasn’t done for the sheer fun of spending time in a scary, tin box death trap. My flight from Philly to Chicago was cancelled, as well as the flight before it. Plus, all of the flights on Friday night to Chicago were cancelled so all of those misplaced travelers were immediately put on the next available flights on Saturday morning. Yippee for me. I got to spend 30 minutes waiting in a line full of REALLY tired, REALLY angry people.
I didn’t take a picture of the woman in front of me, but her face resembled this one. Maybe a little angrier.
Normally, a cancelled flight isn’t a huge deal. You just hop on the next available one and spend your time before that flight sucking down cocktails at the nearest airport pub. But my situation wasn’t normal. I was going to Chicago for one night to celebrate one of my really good friends bachelorette party. I was planning to get in around 10:30am so I could make the Cubs game (that we planned for her), spend the day frolicking around the city then leave on Sunday at 7am to make an 8:30 flight out back home.
So when was the next available flight into the city? 5pm, which wouldn’t get me into Chicago until 7pm. Plus, I’d have to get a cab/take the metro which would take an additional 40-60 minutes, depending on traffic. So, at that point, I’d be in Chicago for less than 10 hours. So I called my friend and explained the situation. I told her that I’d go since I knew it was important to her. But she told me not to worry about it and to get a flight home. I was completely crushed, but it was out of my hands. So I had them re-route me back to DC, refund my $ (which they did, no problem) and I was back at Reagan around 3pm. Luckily, the U.S Airways rep I talked to on the phone was very, very nice and issued me a refund with no questions asked.
That, friends, was my Saturday morning. Oh and to add insult to injury, I HATE FLYING. Not just the normal hate, I loathe it. I absolutely, hands down, ABHOR flying. I have extreme flight anxiety. It’s so bad that even prior to boarding I start crying, choke up and can’t breathe. Luckily, I had some happy pills (read: Xanax) that made my flight anxiety dissipate for both flights. I highly, HIGHLY recommend anyone with severe flight anxiety like myself to see a dr. and ask for this prescription. It will change your life. Normally during take off, I would be sobbing, gasping for air and grasping the arm rests with my sweaty, sweaty palms. However, on Saturday, I was completely at ease. I think I even said “look at how pretty the sky is!” Without those happy pills, I would have been a blubbering, sobbing, hot mess of a human being. Oh and I would have drop kicked the US Air Reps into next week. I am, by no means, an advocate for drug use, but these happy pills are a life saver.
By the time I was in the car and on my way home, the happy pills had worn off and I was RAGING. I was exhausted, upset and starving. My husband took that as a sign to take me straight to Costco so that we could 1) buy me a hot dog 2) buy a bulk size of some sort of alcohol. Both were happily accomplished and I was a little less stabby. As soon as I got home, I laid on the couch (the gorgeous new couch!) and passed out drunk watching Lifetime movies.
So now you see why I hope your Saturday was infinitely better than mine.
Claire
Tags:anxiety, cancelled flight, flight, my real life, weather, weekend, Xanax
ESBS: Spicy Roasted Chick Peas
Hey, you!
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Yes, you! You tall & jovial legume with the top hat & monocle. I have some news and you aren’t going to like it. I have found a salty, sassy snack that tastes better than your peanuts. (Yep, that’s what she said). In addition to tasting better, they are better for you. So, I’m sorry Mr. Peanut, this snack may give you a run for your money.
These spicy roasted chick peas are the bomb.com. I owe this delicious snack to Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny. I saw the post on her blog yesterday and IMMEDIATELY knew I had to make it. When it comes to salty snacks, these knock peanuts, cashews and chex mix out of the water. They are spicy, crunchy and make the perfect on the go snack. But like any small snack, you need to be mindful of how many you eat. As in, you could easily eat 2 cups of these during a 20 minute car ride or during a rerun of Seinfeld. (The one where George buys the sweatsuit made entirely of velvet, remember that one?)
Which may or may not have happened to me this evening, I’ll never tell.
Spicy Roasted Chick Peas
What You’ll Need:
- 2 cups of chick peas
- 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon of Greek seasoning
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Pour 2 cups of chick peas into a medium saucepan. Add water and bring to a boil. Boil continually for about 5 more minutes. Take peas off heat and let sit in water for an hour.
- Once peas have sat in water, drain in a colander.
- Pour 1/2 tablespoon of oil onto a baking sheet, spread around to grease. Mix peas with remaining olive oil and herbs.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes (shorter for soften peas, longer for crunchier). After the first 2o minutes, shake the pan or move peas around with a spoon to mix them up.
- Let cool completely and enjoy!
My only piece of advice is to not let Mr. Peanut see you eating them. I hear he can be a d*ck when he’s angry.
Dessert Makeover: Skinny Banana Cheesecake
I’ve never met a person who doesn’t like cheesecake, probably because such a person doesn’t exist. How could anyone hate a dessert that is creamy, cheesy, decadent and sweet? Although I never hated it, I used to avoid cheesecake like the plague for one, big reason.
- A piece of full fat, original cheesecake can have up to 800 calories and 20 grams of fat in ONE SLICE.
In order to burn off that many calories, you would need to do 2 hours of high impact aerobics, which isn’t easy. Heck, I can barely make it through one hour of body pump or Zumba and I’m in fairy good shape. I believe in indulgences and having splurges every once in a while, but an 800 calorie splurge is too much for me because I know the whole time I’d be thinking of how I was going to burn it off. Not really an indulgence then when it comes with such a hefty side of guilt, right? So instead of feeling bad with every bite, I concocted a low fat, low calorie cheesecake that knocks the socks off any regular cheesecake anyway. Meet my new favorite dessert, low fat banana cheesecake with caramelized bananas.
Seriously ya’ll, I probably tell you this everyday, but this is INCREDIBLE, amazing, SUPER FREAKIN’ FANTASTIC. Each bite is creamy with a hint of banana and cinnamon, and the crunch of the graham cracker crust offers just the right amount of contrasting texture. Plus, the brown sugar caramelized bananas on top are sinfully delicious and give you more of a banana flavor with every morsel. Oh, and um, guess how many calories and grams of fat are in one piece? Just guess…
Drull roll please….
220 calories and 11 grams of fat PER SERVING. Yep, per each decadently creamy and satisfying slice you get a fourth of the calories found in the original. Talk about the win-win. Oh, and I’m not sure if I mentioned this but it’s OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious. I mean, I used caps lock like 100 times already, that should be a big enough indicator that you need to make it now. Like yesterday this needed to be made and on your dessert table.
Side note: I cheated and used a store bought graham cracker crust. But before you call me lazy or a cheater, here’s my reasoning. Last week, I made a gorgeous homemade crust to go with another low fat cheesecake. I don’t know what happened or why, but the cheesecake was a TOTAL FLOP. The batter never hardened, it got all goopey and the flavor was bland and gross. I didn’t want to waste the rest of my graham crackers if this one failed too. I know, I know. Going forward, I’ll just stick with this recipe because I know it won’t go crazy on me.
- 1 graham cracker crust (either store bought or made)
- 2 8 ounce packages of low fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup of low fat sour cream
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 ripe banana, sliced
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoons of butter, softened
- Sprinkle of cinnamon & nutmeg
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. If your making your own crust, make it now. (Here’s a good recipe!)
- Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and mix until completely blended. I found this an oppurtune time to whip out the sexy Kitchen Aid mixer we got as a wedding gift.
- Add the sour cream, egg and egg whites and mix well.
- Add mashed bananas, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Mix well, careful not to over-mix. Mixture should be creamy, not bubbly.
- Pour batter carefully into the crust. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and nutmeg and bake for one hour or until cake is firm to the touch.
- While cheesecake is baking, prepare the caramelized bananas. Heat up 1 tablespoon of butter in a sauce pan. Add brown sugar and heat until melted. Mix bananas and brown sugar mixture in a bowl and set aside.
- Once cheesecake is done, let cool completely before you remove foil (if you used store bought). Once cheesecake is cooled, serve with caramelized bananas & a dollop of whipped cream!
It’s going to be impossible for me to not eat the rest of this cheesecake today, it’s THAT good.
Please excuse me while I have a piece for lunch.
Nutritional information per slice: 220 calories, 11 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of protein.
Weekend Recap: Harry Potter, Dave Foley and a New Couch!
Happy Monday ya’ll! How was everyone’s weekend?
Mine was INCREDIBLE. On Friday, we saw HP7 part 2 which was fantastic. The only downfall? I was sitting next to a certifiable woman who would not SHUT THE F UP. At all. She literally would not stop talking to the screen and freaking out. “HARRY, NO DON’T DIE. NO NO. HARRY!” She clearly did not read the book.
On Saturday, my good friend Lindsay came over for brunch! I served baked french toast casserole, bacon, watermelon, caramelized bananas, avocado, tomato and cucumber salsa, blueberry and lemon loaf and mimosas, of course!
I didn’t get a picture of the french toast because as soon as it was out of the oven, it was gobbled up! After brunch, we went to get mani-pedi’s and do a bit of shopping! Like I anticipated, my mani is already chipped. I literally can not keep a manicure to save my life. I’m utterly shocked that my nails didn’t chip on my wedding! After shopping, E and I went to a comedy show, Dave Foley to be exact, at the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse.
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Confession time, I literally had no idea who Dave Foley was until I saw his picture. I’ve never seen Kids in the Hall or News Radio, despite E’s “yes you have, are you sure? You’ve seen it.” But a few minutes into his act, he mentioned Bugs Life and I had an a’ha moment. I knew his voice sounded familiar, he was Flick on A Bugs Life! I didn’t’ say that out loud though since I’m pretty sure I was the only one there who had never seen his actual shows. All in all, the show was hilarious. He was VERY crude, but it was still really funny. I’m absolutely in love with the guy who went before him, Andy Haynes. OMG. This guy was HILARIOUS. I was in tears laughing. You need to check out a show of his, you’ll die.
After the show, we grabbed some Subway and came home. I was so tired from the day’s festivities (and day drinking, which surely wipes you out) so I went straight to bed. I woke up to this face on Sunday morning. He loves to stick his face in mine and SNEEZE on me until I wake up.
I know, he needs a DESPERATE hair cut. He’s getting one next week, don’t worry. Regardless of his shaggy appearance, he’s still my favorite model 🙂
I know, he’s like the cutest thing ever. After I had my Oscar photo shoot, I got E up and ready so we could go shopping for him (always a nightmare) and couch shopping! Let me give you a little preface as to why I was SO EXCITED to get a new couch. For starters, we have a lot of space now. Going from a one bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom home means we need more furniture. Our living room needed a couch. Oh, and the couch we’ve had for 2+ years is evil, I’m sure of it. Meet our current couch, Old Blue Bertha.
Yeah, I know. It’s offensive. As soon as we moved to DC and inherited the couch, I bought a chocolate brown couch cover. Although it slightly improved the appearance of Old Bertha, it was CONSTANTLY falling off. So every 20 minutes I had to refit the cover to hide the blue pattern. I’ve been begging E for a new couch for about 2 years and I think he got tired of all the nagging because he agreed to buy one yesterday! Meet our dashing new couch. I haven’t found a name for him yet, but don’t worry, he’ll get one.
I love the modern shape & the color! The pillows are not my favorite, but I have some cute Vera Wang ones I got from the wedding. I think E is happier than I am because that means he has his man cave back. And he can play video games all day long and not be forced to watch Lifetime anymore.
Claire
Tags:andy haynes, comedy shows, dave foley, DC comedy, my realistic life, value city furntiure, weekend update
ESBS: Italian Seasoned Spaghetti Squash
My body works in VERY mysterious ways.
As in, I gain weight during the summertime and lose it during the winter. I know, makes complete sense, right? No. When most everyone else is hoarding weight during the holiday season, I’m dropping it like a bad habit. Then when the sun comes out and the temperatures rise, the weight piles back on faster than an ice cream cone melts in July. (I’m on FIRE with these metaphors today, aren’t I?) Regardless, it’s a bad problem to have. When I need a hot body for my bathing suit, I’m left with ripples, bumps and massive extra poundage. Then, when it’s completely normal and acceptable to hide behind sweaters and hoodies, I have a tight, toned body to flaunt. I wish I understood this ridiculous cycle, but it makes as much sense to me as an algebra equation. HIGH FIVE, HIGH FIVE. Okay, I’m done with those. I promise. But in all reality, I have got to find a way to make these extra pounds leave so I can walk around in my two piece without any tears (from myself and onlookers). So in addition to stepping up my workout, I’m completely re-evaluating my diet. Which means… veggies > carbs. However, if you know me well enough, that’s not a hard thing to accomplish 🙂
With all of that said, I’ve been trying to substitute vegetables wherever I can in my everyday diet, which brings me to dinner a few nights ago. I wanted pasta but instead decided to switch it with spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is one interesting vegetable. On the outside, it looks like a regular vegetable.
Then on the inside (once you manage to cut through this beast), you see that it’s made up of hundreds of small, string like “noodles”, hence the name spaghetti squash.
This vegetable, which is harvested between September – October, is most often served in stir fries or with marinara sauce. Like it’s name, it’s a perfect substitution for the real noodle if you are watching your carb intake. Since I’m trying to watch my carbs, this has become a staple for me when I’m craving pasta, pad thai or stir fry. Like the title says, my favorite way to eat it is mixed with Italian spices and served like the original. You get the texture of real noodles without the calories and carbohydrates! A win win in my book!
Italian Seasoned Spaghetti Squash
What You’ll Need:
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
- 4 fresh chives, chopped
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Parmesan cheese, to taste
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds.
- Place cut side down on a jelly roll pan. Add enough water to come 1/2-inch up the sides of the dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, until the squash is easily pierced with a paring knife. Turn squash over and cover with foil again and continue to cook another 15 minutes, until the squash is very tender.
- Remove from pan and allow to cool for a minute. Then, using a fork, gently remove the spaghetti squash and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat butter. Add chives, squash and herbs, heat slightly.
- Add tomatoes. Heat for about 5 minutes until mixture is warmed and thoroughly mixed together.
- Serve immediately with a few sprinkles of Parmesan cheese!
