Long time no blog

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Jordan

I am SO sorry for not being here.

I am gearing up for some big changes in my life and have neglected one of my favorite friends, my blog. I have been selfish, busy and lazy and have failed to share my ideas and adventures, which has left me feeling a bit empty. I love curling up on the couch, wrapping up in a blanket and spilling my day over the keyboard, so I promise this is my return.

Some of these big changes I cannot share at this time, but I promise if you continue reading over the next few weeks (and yes, I will be writing more) you will find out all about the new paths in my life.

I last posted right before I headed off for a lovely week-long spring break with my family and my boyfriend Dave!

Our time was filled with lots of family

food

and friendsand I can’t believe that time has come and gone already!

Leading up to this spring break I was praying for each hour to move faster so that I could finally be on vacation, but once that time was upon me I was grasping at every minute to try and slow time down.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times I attempt to manipulate time, that clock still ticks by at the same rate every minute. I am trying to appreciate every moment that I have, whether it is where I want to be or not, but of course that is easier said than done.

Because big changes are hovering in the not so distant future I have decided to practice patience and revel in the time I have now. And of course, what better way to appreciate the now than by posting on this very blog. So there you have it. I will be back soon with reflections on the present – happy Monday!

WIAW – some eats from the week

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Jordan

The past few days have been filled with delicious food – some prepared at the hands of others and some cooked chez moi.

The weekend was busy with good friends and adventures including,

some sushi

(Going out for sushi is never complete unless I get to enjoy a seaweed salad as well)

Some homemade cocktails

(a few beautiful views found their way into my weekend as well)

Views from the Land’s End Trail in San Francisco

A childhood indulgence to get me through Monday

some sun and a good read to nourish my body and soul on my lunch break

And a heartwarming Sunday dinner of wine, spaghetti squash and chicken

I marinated some chicken breasts in a plastic bag for a few hours with balsamic dressing and then cooked it in the oven. While the chicken was cooking I poked the squash with a knife several times over and then cooked it in the microwave until the outside became squishy to the touch. Then mixed the chicken, some broccoli and the shredded squash together with some pepper and a small bit of smart balance – yum!

What have you been eating?

A Day of Firsts

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Jordan

It’s not every day you find your core muscles again, relax in bubbles, conquer a kitchen appliance and bake the perfect holiday cookies. Saturday was that day.

I started my morning with a half hour core workout class at my YMCA. I’ve been building my core through swimming, spinning and planks, but yesterday was the first time since pilates that I truly focused on my abs with crunches and leg lifts. Let’s just say that I am feeling every inch of my core today and I am inspired to do some moves of my own every day – I’ll let you know how that goes…

After some more time at the gym and a long walk in the beautiful February Bay Area weather, I found myself with some time before my next weekend activity. I needed to shower off the lovely apres gym smell and decided to draw a bath instead of my run of the mill shower. I got the bubbles going, I set up my laptop so I could watch a little netflix and enjoyed the time to myself reclining in the tub. The tub might have to become a weekend ritual.

Once I was all clean I was off for an afternoon of kitchen adventures, including mastering a pressure cooker. Have you ever tried one of these? Well we had not and Mr. Pressure Cooker almost won.

But despite a slight malfunction the meal was saved.

After the intense pressurized experience we decided to move to more familiar kitchen tools and turned to baking Purim cookies – hamantaschen!

It was our first time and they came out beautifully and sooooo delicous!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

4 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 c sugar

Mix together.

1 cup margarine

4 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1/4-1/2 c pineapple juice

Cut in margarine into flour mix. add egg yolks and egg. add juice. Mix all together and then roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. Then use a glass or cookie cutter to cut out circles.

Place a teaspoon of filling (jam, preserves) or sprinkling of chocolate chips, nuts…

To shape into triangle, lift up right and left sides, leaving the bottom side down and bring both sides up to meet the center above the filling. Lift bottom side up to meet the other two sides.

Brush the tops of the cookies with egg and then bake for 20 minutes.

A successful day of firsts.

Traveling

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Jordan

While this little one was not thrilled to reside at the vets for over a week,

I at least got to shack up in these digs on my latest business trip working at the NYC Toy Fair:

No, I did not run away to a far away land, nor did I forget how to type. I was simply working 14 hour days at a trade show and did not have time to wash my face before bed let alone share my long days with all of you!

Traveling for work for over a week is exhausting! You are constantly on point, you cannot escape your coworkers and you don’t even get to eat at regular times (and those meals you do eat are far from nutritious).

For example, these muffin tops were lunch one day.

And this trip involved lots of heavy lifting – those are just a few of the boxes…

In addition to all day workouts of manual labor moving cardboard, I craved some cardio and tried to fit in a few mornings on the stationary bike in the hotel gym, along with some strength training exercises ripped from magazines.

Let’s just say I was thrilled to land yesterday back home with no tape gun, box or toy in sight! And my return was made even sweeter with a very special guest waiting for me at the gate:

There just happened to be a Valentine’s Day wine tour in my neighborhood that evening and what better way to reunite best buddies than over some sips of fermented grapes?

And finally, we enjoyed a healthy balanced meal (my first one in over a week!) together.

I am overjoyed to be back home and swing into my routine again. So stay tuned for more posts and updates as I detox from work overload and continue on my healthy living path.

Taking Advantage

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Jordan

Living in the Bay Area is something special. I have said it a lot: Here and Here and Here. But where can you enjoy the whirring liveliness of the city and then drive less than an hour and be surrounded by the serene beauty of nature.

With some out-of-towners in toe, we spent the day in Napa Valley enjoying the view, the tastes of aged grape juice and some laughs.

Who wouldn’t want to end the day with some glasses of bubbly!?

Another thing that I have learned to appreciate and take more advantage of are the exercise classes offered at my YMCA. I have been trying to do as many spin classes as I can get to during the week, and this weekend I went to a spin class on Saturday and Sunday. Without long runs in my mix of workouts I find that I need to really be guided to get a good workout in and what better way to build up that cardio then with shouting instructors and spinning pedals?

After an hour in the saddle I leave knowing that I have worked hard, burned some calories and strengthened my muscles. It’s also a great way to practice my posture and use my core to control my body and leg movements.

Unfortunately I will be traveling for work soon and I will not have access to a spin bike, let alone a spin class, but to maintain my exercise routines I will be taking advantage of the wonders of the internet and printing out some at-home workouts.

It always pays off to take a moment and look around at the resources that you have right at your finger tips.

What will you take advantage of today?

Compliments can go a long way

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Jordan

When I used to run with the San Francisco Road Runners I was complimented by a fellow runner on my running form. Following his flattering observation I ran with more confidence and pride. I even ran a little faster with an extra hop in my step. It felt great to be recognized for something I was doing well, especially when it was something I had assumed no one else noticed.

The other day I was complimented on my posture in my spinning class by my instructor. She didn’t have to approach me before class and talk about how well I held myself, but she took a moment and gave me the compliment. And to be honest, it felt really good! Because I can’t run at the moment I am working hard to excel in the things that I can do, and knowing that I look like a biker affirms that I am reaching my fitness goals.

Compliments can come in many forms: A stranger stopping you on the street to tell you they like your shoes, a friend telling you they really enjoyed the cookies you baked or a coworker acknowledging that you did a great job on that presentation. In whatever form they take, compliments feel good. So my challenge to you today is to go out there and give two people compliments. It’s Friday and everyone deserves to end their week on a good note.

Happy Friday and Happy Complimenting!

Hello Friends

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Jordan

First, let me apologize for my absence. Last year when I started this blog I was dedicated to posting something every day, and I did. This year I am still very adamant about keeping up with my writing, however with all of the things going on in my life I have decided to only post when I have time to write informative and substantial posts. This might be posts a few days in a row or posts every few days, but either way I will continue to share on Almondjay as long as you enjoy reading.

And with that, let’s start here – howdy there.

This weekend has been full of friends, near and far.

My best friend in Chicago (you can check out what she is up to over here) sent me these very delicious, but rare, biscotti.

I used to eat them all of the time when I lived on the east coast, but over here my Wholefoods, while full of Cali grade produce, lacks these gems. NOTE: fabulous card not included with purchase. Thanks Erika for satisfying my craving!

And on the home front, there was a birthday celebration for my dear friend, the lovely Elisette – Happy Birthday!

I also invested in my health this weekend, laying down some cash on these beauties.

Since spinning has found its way into 2-3 days of my week I decided to get some kicks that will motivate me to pedal stronger and faster. I can’t wait to use them on Wednesday’s spin class!

And to end my full weekend on a high note (unfortunately I do not have MLK Day off) I enjoyed a tasty brew and made these easy, baked turkey burgers.

Extra lean meat, green onions, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder and a tablespoon of tomato paste. Mix together and bake for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

I ate mine with plenty of ketchup – Yum!

I hope you all enjoy your long weekend!

What have you been up to lately?

Good for the Soul

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Jordan

Friends, good food and crocheting.

Grab your friends, a ball of yarn (yes mine is sparkly) and this recipe and you will be sure to have a heartwarming evening.

These burgers are delicious and easy, but of course everything tastes good out of Eli and Jacob’s kitchen, so next time I’ll make sure to invite all of you!

Things that make me smile

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Jordan

Trying to pull out of a parking spot with a “not-so-cute” red car pinned behind me does NOT make me smile.

But being physically able to walk all over the city for 3 hours certainly makes me smile

Trying to reconnect my DVD player with possibly the wrong wires, leaves me with a frown. (and no, I have not figured out how to make it work yet.)

But making a delicious meal of veggies, shrimp, taco seasoning, avocado and brown rice turns my frown upside down

And living very far away from some of my most favorite people in this world makes me sad, but planning trips and scheduling dates to see these people puts the biggest smile on my face
What makes you smile?

The Grass is Always Greener…well maybe not, but it sure looks like it

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Jordan

It’s hard not to walk down the street and look at a person running by and think, gee, they are so lucky they can run, and compete in races and jog with friends.

Or see someone with a flat stomach and assume that they get to eat whatever they want and still look good in an ab hugging shirt.

Even looking at a couple on the street it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that they are happy and in love and everything in their lives must be hunky dory.

Of course life does not work like this. The person running might have just come off of an injury and is easing back into running by only going as far as down the street before he or she has to turn around. And the person with the tight tummy might have to wake up early every day and workout for an hour in order to keep in shape. And the happy couple may fight 99% of the time and only smile when they are walking down the street in public.

Sometimes when you’re life doesn’t feel all put together you assume that everyone else has everything you don’t. The reality is that no one has everything and you probably have a lot more than most.

At the start of this New Year there are many things in my life that I am still lining up to fall into place and I am trying my hardest to appreciate what I do have until then.

So far in 2013 I have spent time with loved ones, taken a step (or spin class) in the right direction of recovery, and I am starting to make better eating habits part of my routine.

What have you accomplished so far this year?

Do you sometimes think about “greener pastures” and then appreciate your own?

Almond Jay

I don't cry over spilled milk – almond milk is a whole other story

Category Archives: Friends