caitieofohio in dc

i resolve

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:28:00 -0500

this year, rather than make one over-arching new years resolution, i’m going to improve myself in small bursts with monthly resolutions.

they say it takes 28 days to make a new habit, so hopefully these will stick!

i kick things off with jumpin’ january:

cardio 4x a week
yoga/stretching 1x a week

i’ve racked up a number of livingsocial deals to different yoga and spinning studios in my neighborhood which should make it easier when i don’t want to venture out into the freezing january weather.

the remaining monthly resolutions of 2013 are yet to come, so stay tuned!

Q4 gets pretty nuts where I work. It’s when we do most of...

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 09:17:00 -0400

Q4 gets pretty nuts where I work. It’s when we do most of our business, and there’s a huge push for performance. This leads to what many of us call the “Q4-15” - weight gain that comes from eating due to stress, less time to work out, and more time sitting at our desks. Not to mention the fact that they cater food for breakfast/lunch some days, and often it’s not the healthiest.

One of my coworkers came up with an idea to do a “Biggest Loser” competition for the next 6 weeks (until Thanksgiving… because, let’s be real) to encourage us to find time to work out.

So last night, I decided to make something really decadent.

What we ended up with is what I’ll call “Shrimp Taco Mac and Cheese”. The name wouldn’t generally catch my eye, but what we ended up with was delicious! And not super unhealthy, actually.

The cheese sauce I mostly took from a lobster mac and cheese I’d made a few weeks before, but I added a few things to really bump it up a notch:

1 lb shrimp

a bunch of green onion, chopped

1 tomato

1 box of pasta (I like the shape of conchiglie because it really collects the cheese)

1 cup grated parmasean

3 wedges laughing cow cheese

1/4 cup goat cheese

a splash of almond milk (add more or less depending on how watery you want it)

sriracha

1 tbsp butter

lemon juice

chili powder

salt

Cook pasta until al dente. While that’s going, peel and then bake the shrimp at 400 degrees after sprinkling with salt, chili powder, olive oil and lemon juice.

When the pasta is done, drain and then put in a bowl and coat with the melted butter. While it’s still warm, add all the cheese so it melts into the pasta and mix it together with your hands. Pour in almond milk until you get the consistency you want. Add sriracha until you get the spiciness that suits you.

Add chopped green onions, tomato, and shrimp and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes so it all settles together. Try not to inhale all at once.

Olives are my fav. For those of you who are also HIMYM addicts, the “olive rule” is one...

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 21:37:58 -0400

Olives are my fav. For those of you who are also HIMYM addicts, the “olive rule” is one of the cutest story lines ever:

On Lily and Marshall’s first date, Marshall got olives in his salad. Lily asked if he likes olives and Marshall said he didn’t, and let Lily have them. Marshall says The Olive Rule says that makes them a perfect couple, because he can let Lily have all his olives.

Turns out Marshall actually loves olives, and just pretended he didn’t to make Lily happy.

Olive tapenade:

1 jar Spanish olives
A few capers
A dash of garlic (powder), salt, and pepper
A splash of olive oil
A bit of ground mustard

Combine in food processor. Eat with pita chips (or spoon).

"My own" marinade

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 21:22:26 -0400

I’ve been working on going off recipe more when cooking. Mainly, I’ve been glancing an a recipe and then flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to ingredients and measurements.

So tonight, I tackled a homemade chicken marinade. I couldn’t find the recipe I went off of, so apologies to the original chef. But here’s what I came up with, and it turned out pretty awesome:

3 splashes of apple vinegar
A few squirts sriracha
3 spoons mustard
A bunch of salt (I love salt)
Black pepper
Garlic (I used powder, but fresh would be good)
Lemon pepper powder
A squeeze of lime
3 splashes olive oil

Whisk together and pour over chicken breasts. Marinade for as long as you want (the longer the better, I’ve heard).

Broil chicken breasts, 10 minutes on each side

Taken with Instagram

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:13:36 -0400

Taken with Instagram

Taken with Instagram at Nationals Park

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:19:48 -0400

Taken with Instagram at Nationals Park

Thanks mom! (Taken with Instagram)

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:19:47 -0400

Thanks mom! (Taken with Instagram)

Finisher! (Taken with Instagram)

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:55:18 -0400

Finisher! (Taken with Instagram)

Sunrise over Virginia Beach (Taken with Instagram)

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:53:43 -0400

Sunrise over Virginia Beach (Taken with Instagram)

Taken with Instagram

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 15:45:57 -0400

Taken with Instagram

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 13:06:05 -0400

Taken with Instagram

Getting our swag for the Virginia Beach Rock ‘n’...

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 13:03:11 -0400

Getting our swag for the Virginia Beach Rock ‘n’ Roll Half! (Taken with Instagram)

Taken with Instagram

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:44:09 -0400

Taken with Instagram

:) (Taken with Instagram)

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:20:55 -0400

:) (Taken with Instagram)

A Rainbow in the Desert: 26 Miles to Emancipation

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:44:43 -0400

A Rainbow in the Desert: 26 Miles to Emancipation:

Brian, a Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Namibia at the same time as me, is running a marathon and bringing awareness to LGBT discrimination in Africa (and America, for that matter!) Read his incredible story here, and if you’re so inclined, donate to his cause.

An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:32:41 -0400

An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America

GOP Platform Says ‘Impeachment’ Is A Solution To Judicial Decisions The GOP Opposes

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:32:29 -0400

GOP Platform Says ‘Impeachment’ Is A Solution To Judicial Decisions The GOP Opposes

GOP adds anti-abortion language to platform, even in cases of rape and incest

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:27:58 -0400

GOP adds anti-abortion language to platform, even in cases of rape and incest:

“Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.”

do you feel safe here?

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:43:29 -0400

do you feel safe here?:

Inspired by a Post article about MPD using data to predict where crime might occur, Shaw resident Caitlin Dewey created a survey (the data from which she will use to create an interactive map) to judge the perceived safety of 14 DC neighborhoods.

Found on New Columbia Heights

Obama more pro-life than Romney

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:08:29 -0400

Obama more pro-life than Romney:

“There is no doubt Obama is pro-choice. He has said so many times. There is also no doubt Romney is running on what he calls a pro-life platform. But any honest analysis of the facts shows the situation is much more complicated than that.

For example, Obama’s Affordable Care Act does not pay for abortions. In Massachusetts, Romney’s health care law does. Obama favors, and included in the Affordable Care Act, $250 million of support for vulnerable pregnant women and alternatives to abortion. This support will make abortions much less likely, since most abortions are economic. Romney, on the other hand, has endorsed Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan’s budget, which will cut hundreds of millions of dollars out of the federal plans that support poor women. The undoubted effect: The number of abortions in the United States will increase. On these facts, Obama is much more pro-life than Romney.”