Super Yums while Mama's in town...

This has been an awesome weekend.  My Mama came to town and ever since it's been a feast of delicious food, treats, "Amma" fun (the girls call Grandma, "Am-Maw"), and exciting outings.  I picked her up on Thursday night and didn't have to work Friday.  We woke up to an awesome breakfast of sweet potato

"fritters" (recipe to follow this week because it was SO GOOD we're having it for dinner on Halloween), poached eggs, and bacon.  We lazed around a bit and then we did some brief Nordstrom Rack shopping (where I scored some great jeans and a couple tops).  After that, we picked up Anna and went to buy some crafting supplies.  Anna and "Amma" must have made 149 necklaces together with beads and elastic.  Anna was LOVING it.  That night, we had some stuffed squash and salad.  The stuffed squash was very "eh," but the salad was AWESOME.  I don't know exactly what it was, but it was super good... greens, carrots, cucumber, pomegranate seeds, pecans, and some balsamic vinaigrette.  Saturday was the MOTHER LOAD day because I actually got in another long-ish run (which was good because later on I ate a shitload of bread and cheese), then we did a massive errand day (back to Michaels for more bead supplies) and then went to... wait for it... DISNEY ON ICE!!!  Holy Moses... I wasn't sure when this phase of my life as a parent was going to begin.  But I knew that as a Mother of two girls it was only a matter of time.  Well, it all started today.  The girls were COMPLETELY excited and LOVED every second.  Lucy was the funniest of both.  She was completely captivated and entranced by the ENTIRE show.  She stared and didn't take her eyes off it the entire time.  When the princesses skating on ice started waving at the crowd, Lucy started waving back at them.  Then... when Rapunzel emerged her face lit up like the sky on the fourth of July.  She was ELATED and the joy on her face made me actually get a little teary-eyed.  It was almost too much.

THEN... the good part for me started.  I mean, it was good to watch the girls enjoy the show, but we went to this AWESOME little restaurant here in Portland called Ned Ludd.  It was AMAZE-BALLS.  It was super small (only 11 or so tables with a couple bar seats) and the atmosphere was so cozy and rustic, I guess.  It was very seasonal with a rotating menu based on availability.  I had never been there before, but with my Mom in town I asked a friend for recs and she told me about this place.  Well it did NOT disappoint.  We started with a charcuterie plate of meats and cheeses and seeded bread.  Oh my god, and there was this mustard that was grainy and sweet and so good.  All of it made me smile inside. I love meats and cheeses... and bread, of course.  Sooooo... paleo?  Not so much.  But delicious?  Yes.  Worth it?  Absolutely.  For dinner I  had wood-fired trout with a carrot and radish salad with charred spring onions.  OH. MY. LORD.  I know, I know... trout?  Yes. Trout.  I loved every scrumptious bite and it was SO AMAZING!!!!  I highly recommend this place and thanks for the recommendation, Taiger!

So that brings me to today.  I actually woke up and went to work out again!  (YAY ME!)  Speaking of, if you haven't already discovered it, there's this free app called "Nike Training Club" that is really pretty awesome.  It gives you SO MANY OPTIONS for workouts and you can even do targeted workouts for certain body areas, or you can do cardio workouts (that I did today).  It's nice because it's like a trainer in your ear buds that keeps you moving and makes the time pass a hell of a lot faster than if you were sitting on a treadmill or an elliptical machine for the same amount of time.  Let me tell ya'... I was sweating buckets and my bum is a wee bit tender today.  When I got home, I got my clothes changed to do our weekly shopping.  I did the meal planning last night and Amma went shopping with Anna and I!  It was pretty exciting for her, I do believe.

We started at Target (heavens do I love that place).  Amma completely outfitted Anna for the winter season (she's beyond generous) and I filled in the gaps to fulfill this month's installment of my cookie-of-the-month-club for my new brother-in-law.  (Sidenote: I would have probably lost approximately 23 more pounds over the course of the last 11 months had I NOT given him this as a gift.  I have realized that when I make cookies, there is NO WAY I can't eat at least two heaping spoonfuls of dough and at least two cookies. I have made him a different variety of cookie every month since last Christmas. Oh well.)  Then after Target we hit Costco.  That's leads me to what I believe could be the most useful section of tonight's blog installment.  Costco Courtesies.  I believe it's my responsibility to make a brief list of common courtesies to use when one goes to Costco.  We ran in to some pretty stupid-ass people at Costco today whom did NOT have a knowledge of these, what I thought were, very widely accepted protocols at the mega-box super-store.

Parking

1. When you're playing chicken with 34 other house-wives and elderly people for ONE spot that isn't even really close... keep looking, it's not worth it. There are some people that feel exceptionally entitled in that parking lot and you don't want to mess with them... seriously... they're like a whole different breed. Chances are good something else will open up in a minute.
2. If you're waiting for a spot, make sure you put on your blinker and don't get angry or perturbed when someone else is inching... simply do a respectful smile and point to the spot you're waiting for.  On the flip side, if someone else is waiting and they extend the courtesy of the smile and point... give them a quick smile back and a little wave or a steering wheel acknowledgment (you know when you're holding the steering wheel and hold up a couple fingers... not one finger... be careful about that... it could send a very different message than you intended).
3. Once parked, proceed with caution because same said entitled crazy people are still going to be vying for spots and dodging other entitled folks.  
4. Inside Costco... PLEASE DEAR LORD KEEP MOVING PAST THE SAMPLES ONCE YOU'VE TAKEN YOUR ONE ALLOTTED SELECTION.  People are INSANE about the samples.  If you don't want samples... stay away from the meat and cheese section because that's where the good stuff is and people will get really pissy if you get in their way to try some potato dumplings, pot roast, or au gratin potatoes.  
5. Once leaving Costco... be on the lookout for someone who looks like they DESERVE your highly sought-after spot and then give them a point to where you're headed... then they can get your spot.  They will inevitably give you an appreciative smile and nod or wave.  Then they SHOULD throw on the blinker and wait politely while others go FLYING beside and around them pissed off that they weren't worthy of my desired spot.  
6. When you're driving away... feel good about knowing you've made this shopping experience as friendly as possible for yourself and everyone else around you.  Costco is a jungle... a little heads up on how to survive can't hurt.  Above all else, DON'T BE GRUMPY AND PISSY.  It won't do anybody any good.  Your blood pressure will thank you.

After the Costco experience, we moved on to lunch... I'm not going to say much because it won't do it justice.  I will include a picture and just tell you that it included:  brussel sprouts, mushrooms, , butternut squash puree, potatoes (that Anna ate), a BEAUTIFUL slab of pork belly, and a duck egg.  Seriously... it was special.  Real special.  It made my day.  It was paleo at it's finest.  Delicious fresh ingredients with some magical, fatty pig meat.  Sweet lord... so good.

Then I came home, ate cookie dough, then assisted my hubby making a steak dinner for Amma's farewell dinner.  

It was an eventful and beautiful weekend with lots of fun and family.  I miss my family.  With my family comes good food and this weekend we had lots of it.  I stayed pretty solid with the whole paleo-front minus the bread and cheese on Saturday night and the cookie dough today.  I realize it's not perfect, but compared to how I would normally eat, I feel pretty good about it.  Plus, I worked out pretty hard both days, so I'm satisfied.  My body doesn't hate me and I feel pretty good even after my splurges.  This hasn't been terribly hard to maintain.  We'll see how things go as we head into hard-core holiday season... but so far so good!  

I DEVOURED:

Breakfast:  A couple raisins and walnuts (before working out) and banana with almond butter (after I worked out).

Lunch:  Afore-mentioned magic pork belly creation from a cute little place called Toast

Snacks:  TOO MUCH cookie dough.

Dinner:  Steak (from our quarter cow in the freezer), roasted cauliflower, green beans, and salad.