Health, In the Kitchen, Photos

Strange cravings

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At lunch today I had a strange craving for some tea and … bacon. I don’t buy bacon ever, and I drink tea about twice a year as an indulgence since I sweeten it with 4 or 5 sugars (I know). I gave into my craving for one of the two, and headed off to Tim Hortons. Again, very rare — I used to work there for three months a while back, and didn’t like any of the things they had to offer so I never went in to buy anything. I bought myself a chicken salad sandwich which hit the spot, and half a dozen cookies for my co-workers. I had a chocolate chunk/pecan/caramel cookie which I’m sure had trans-fat in there, and it definitely gave me gut rot. A good reminder why I never go to that coffee shop. Anyway, I had a cup of homemade tea at work to go with it.

Mmm mmm…can you see the sugar rimmed mug? Ha!!

I’m not exactly craving bacon anymore, but ever since I got back from Christmas vacation … obviously eon’s ago, I have been wanting to eat some Chinese food. I think I need to give in.

Have you had any weird cravings lately?

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Daily, In the Kitchen

Quick and painless cleaning tips (#2)

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View “Quick and painless cleaning tips (#1)” which talks about sinks, toilets, bathrooms and stainless steel appliances.

If you’re anything like my boyf and bring a lunch to work each day, you’ve probably got a couple of stained plastic containers from tomato stains. If you end up heating your food in the plastic container when it had this tomato based product in it, chances are your plastic is probably stained beyond repair.

  • Spray your containers with a non-stick cooking spray before each use to keep them from getting stained.
  • Fill the bowl with hot water and drop in a couple of denture tablets. Leave for a couple of hours and when you come back the stains will hopefully be removed. (lol I love how it says “hopefully)

Yes, I do have denture cleaning tablets in my home. I wear my retainers nightly and they get pretty nasty when you don’t deep clean them often, so instead of using an abrasive toothbrush which can cause minuscule scratches and probably form bacteria, I soak them in denture tablets while I’m at work.

Stained Clothes:

  • Deodorant and Perspiration Stain Removal: Soak in dissolved powdered aspirin (5 tablets per liter of water) for 1-2 days.
  • Grease stain removal: Saturate the stain with rubbing alcohol, then blot with a clean white cloth. If the stain persists, try using a grease cutting dish detergent, such as Dawn, and rub with a soft toothbrush. Another option, although it seems crazy, is to soak the soiled area overnight in a solution of detergent, Coca-Cola and water. Launder as usual.
  • Grass stain removal: Dab the area with rubbing alcohol or diluted hydrogen peroxide before washing. Or, try putting liquid dish washing detergent (original green Palmolive!) on the stain, let sit for ten minutes then wash.
  • Makeup: Rub shampoo or dish detergent (preferably a grease cutting formula), or shampoo into the stain. You could also try spraying with hairspray or using a non-oily makeup remover to remove the stain. Then, launder as usual.
  • Fruit: Sprinkle some salt on the garment, and then rinse in cold water. Wash it in warm water with liquid detergent. If the stain persists, try applying a little hydrogen peroxide.
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Daily, Fashion, Health, In the Kitchen, Photos, Running, Triathlons / Duathlons

So much Saturday news!

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I will be missing another soccer game tomorrow as we’re waking up and an ungodly hour tomorrow morning and driving up north for the Boyf to compete in a half ironman. Let’s hope our puppy will be on his best behavior and not frighten anyone. My running buddy described Alfie as “ferocious” — completely true.

Speaking of Soccer, I looked up the scoring results for the whole Women’s Conference and I’m tied for second place on being the top scorer! How sweet is that? I totally had to tell someone.

While I sit here and type away while my laundry is doing 4 loads down in the apartment’s basement and one left to be put in — I noticed that people really don’t know how to work the washers in our complex. I ended up getting a free load of laundry because there was a sticky note on one of the washers that said “doesn’t work”. I put my clothes in, and got a free wash. The other washer said it doesn’t rinse properly. I’ve had that happen to me before, but it was because I only put in Alfie’s bed cover and it was uneven and didn’t rinse correctly. Yay for ignoring the notes!

Yesterday was so wonderful. I had my mind set out that I was going for a run immediately after I got home from work. My heart was pounding and my stomach was turning. I never went on a run alone before — and my iPod’s battery was dead. I decided to just go for it anyway and conquer 4.41kms in 24:47!! This is the watch I bought off Ebay and blogged about earlier.

The watch says 25:32, because I walked for the first 45 seconds ;)

I talked about my 10 and 1’s before, and I did that yesterday. The first 1 minute walk was fine, and then I started to run again. 2 or 3 minutes in, is when I start to panic and my breathing goes to complete crap, and I can’t seem to “calm” my breathing down sometimes. So, I decided to walk again! I wasn’t really angry with myself this time, but I only needed another minute or so and I was off on my run again. Started slow, and finished fast. I ended up jogging fast (not sprinting, because I was done), and nearly collapsed (okay not really) when I reached the fence of the apartment building.

I felt SO good.

Even with my veins popping out of my head.

Time to refuel with water (x3)

Then I had to prepare supper for the both of us but have it ready for 9PM when the boyf got back from his endur-ride on his road bike. Superstar.

It was as good as it looked.

Lululemon was adding Loot to their sale section on their website the whole night last night. I ended up scoring some more Run: Zoom crops (the ones I’m wearing in the photo above) for 50% off! They’re still avail, but going quickly. I have decided I like the Zoom’s better than my Run: Empower crops for running, primarily because Zoom’s have a tiny pocket in the back for keys, and the Zoom’s aren’t as compressioney on my stomach.

Anyway, this entry is long enough – even though I have much more to babble on about, I’m sure that’s enough reading for one day! :)

Will be back tomorrow with a race re-cap of the Half Ironman (if I get around to it that night) and don’t forget to enter my DownEast Basics (clothing) giveaway. It ends on July 5!

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