(My post title is also a nod to Walt Disney because as of today’s count, there are 76 days until my Disney vacation!  77 days until the Wine & Dine Half Marathon!)

I made of oatmeal using the last of my Mad Hectic Oatmeal.  I added some strawberries and my obligatory spoonful of Barney Butter.

My oatmeal may not get voted “Most Photogenic” but it tasted great.  I love the AB/berry combo!

I created a healthy and colorful wrap for lunch at work.  I filled my wrap with grilled chicken, lettuce, cucumbers, avocados, tomatoes, and a drizzle of Ranch dressing.  I also snacked on some chocolate  during the long afternoon hours.

While helping out the housekeeping staff and tidying the locker room, I found an abandoned tabloid magazine.  Immediately, my workout became centered on some quality reading to catch up on “important” news.  I climbed onto the stair master for 22 minutes of quick stepping and celeb stalking.  I finished my workout with abs on a stability ball and lots of stretching.

Post-workout, I went to the grocery store (!!! Extreme excitement cuz this never ever happens) and visited the Urban Grape to grab a few bottles of wine.

Jared and I had a romantic dinner date at home on our own couch.  We ate random leftovers.  I had some pasta with chicken and slaw from Briggs Fest.

Extreme closeup of my dinner!

After dinner, our party of 3 relaxed on the couch and watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  For someone who spent his day lounging around the apartment, Miles was really in the mood to take it easy.

Jared and I shared a bottle of Piazzo Barbera.  This wine is made from grapes in northwestern Italy, specifically from grapes grown in the Piedmont region.  The wine had a great nose.  It smelled like berries, blackberry jam, and had hints of butter and vanilla.  It tasted amazing!  Very much like cherries.  Also, it was medium bodied, with very mild tannins!  Very pleasant to drink during the summer with a light dinner.

A great recommendation from the Urban Grape!

Miles bumped into my glass and I sloshed red wine all over his back.  He proceeded to shake himself dry while still on my tan couch.  Yuck!  But a manageable mess that was easily cleaned with a wet towel.

On Thursday night, I attended Meghan and Michelle‘s wine tasting event at Boston Wine Exchange.

Complete with cupcakes, Cabot cheese, wine, and bloggers, I think the event was a definite success!

We sampled 8 wines, 4 whites and 4 reds.  I liked everything that I tried, but had some definite favorites that needed to come home with me.

We learned a lot about Bell Wine Cellars and Clone 6, a successful clone from the Cabernet Sauvingnon Clone Trials in the 80s.

Boston Wine Exchange has a great selection of wine.  I love browsing: looking at the fun labels and reading the wine descriptions.

Jared and I spent some time chatting with BWX’s owner Eamon Keating.  He even told us what champagne rappers are drinking now that Cristal doesn’t want to be associated with them.

I enjoyed so many sips of delicious wine.

Rachel, a representative from Cabot Cheese, was on hand with a huge tray of cheese and crackers for us to enjoy in between glasses of wine.  She also gave everyone a goodie bag with a sample of Cabot Cheese, a magnet, seeds, a corkscrew, and a few other cute Cabot-themed goodies.

Wine snob!  Plus I was excited to be able to take a photo of my outfit.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been living in black yoga pants and a Healthworks t-shirt.  I was excited to wear jeans!  And to wear my new Bensimon slip on sneakers.

Meghan predicted I would flip out when the wine tasting ended and it was time to sample cupcakes from Mix Bakery.

She was right!

Rhubard cupcakes!  (My favorite sample of the evening)

Chocolate cupcake with heavenly peanut butter frosting.

Of course wine was still the focus of the evening.

I enjoyed a few pours from the wine machine.  I tried Cupcake’s Chardonnay (thumbs up) and a Malbec (also good).

I had a great time at the event.  It was nice to meet some new bloggers and try some delicious wine and cupcakes.  Thank you Meghan and Michlle! 

Last night Miles was acting like the King of Pride Rock.  He was perched on the deck, keeping an eye on what was going on in the house and in the yard.  He always has so many things to guard!

Jared was in charge of dinner last night.  So instead of putting leftovers aside right away, he served the biggest portions ever.  I ate until I was full and then put the remaining chicken and broccoli in the fridge.

I enjoyed a nice cool glass of 2008 Chateau La Rame Bordeaux Blanc.  I live for chilled white wines during the hot summer months.  So refreshing! :O

This wine reminded me of a Sauvingnon Blac, but it seemed to have more of an tangy apple flavor, rather than the typical Sav Blanc citrus.  It was also less acidic.  I liked it as a change of pace from my usual!  A good wine, but it didn’t replace Sauvignon Blanc as my summer favorite.

Close up of the chicken, broccoli, and angel hair pasta very lightly tossed in pesto sauce.

I ate a bowl of Peanut Butter Puffins for breakfast.  Nothing fancy.

I took my first (and most likely only) Iyengar yoga class this morning.  I’m not a fan!

I was a few minutes late and the instructor forced me to take a spot right up front.  Then he corrected me during the entire 90 minute class.  I like pointers when I’m doing things wrong, but I felt like I was constantly being called out in front of the entire class.  Grrr.

I also didn’t like the Iyengar style of yoga.  I prefer yoga with flowing poses.  This class featured too many separate poses.  We took lots of break to watch the instructor demonstrate.  Sometimes I think he went overboard trying to show us what to do.  I was hoping to relax and get a good stretch.  Instead, I was nervous I was going to get yelled at and was constantly stopping to watch and pose over and over.

I wasn’t able to try a headstand  (not sure what it’s called in sanskrit. I was getting so confused by the difficult names) because the instructor claimed it would take too much time to explain how to do it.  So those who already knew how to do the pose were allowed and the rest of us just chilled out in bridge pose for a few minutes.  Mehhh.

I considered trying to use last night’s leftovers to make a slightly different meal for today’s lunch.  But hunger got the best of me.  I just microwaved everything and then chowed down.  Same stuff as yesterday so it tasted the same.

I sat outside in the sunshine for 10 minutes to soak up the sunshine.  Yay for Vitamin D!  I also enjoyed a homemade Ice Coffee.  So relaxing!  Plus the caffeine boost will keep me going through the late afternoon hours without feeling like I need a nap.

After the HW event at BWX on Tuesday night, Jared and I stomped over to Matt and Natalie’s house.  Our visit was a little unexpected, but Matt and Nat were gracious hosts and welcomed us with WINE and food.

Homemade pizza with ricotta cheese and eggplant.

Natalie attempted to bake cookies with marzipan.

We should’ve read the ominous sign: The eggs were long past the sell-by date.

But Natalie decided to try the baking experiment anyway.  I helped out, mainly by commenting and taking photos.

And I finally learned how to separate the egg white from the yolk!

Natalie worked hard to make the cookies.  It was a lengthy process.  We had to take a break to watch Real Housewives on DVR.

Fete entertained himself while we hung out in the kitchen.

I thought the recipe was supposed to yield 60 cookies.  Ooops!

Red, red wine…

The finished product!

The cookies tasted ok, though a little bit sticky.  The chocolate sauce was kinda weird.  I’m not sure it was completely cooked.  ???  I hope no one ate raw eggs.

Never the less, everyone willingly tried a cookie.  I’m not sure if anyone went back for seconds though.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how good the food turns out.  It’s more important to have fun with friends!

Muddy boots!  Yesterday I did a bit of work outside in the garden.

Even though there weren’t any plants to actually take care of!  My yard is still full of hay, mulch, sticks and rocks.  It will look pretty someday in the near future! 

I had cereal for breakfast, but didn’t take a picture.

I had a repeat of Monday’s lunch:  turkey sandwich with guac and chips.

Early evening, I hopped on the T and headed to Downtown Crossing.

Last night HealthWorks hosted an event at the Boston Wine Exchange.

BWX had a sign out front to welcome everyone to the party.  “Welcome HealthWorks!”

We sampled springtime wines, including a special tasting featuring 3 wines from Liberty School Winery: a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvingnon, and a special Austin Hope Syrah.

I loved all 3 wines, but the non-oaky Chardonnay was probably my favorite.  Mainly because I always skip Chards, assuming they’ll be too sweet.  I thought this one was perfect; a nice citrus taste with just a slight hint of oak.

I learned some new things about wine.

And got to try more samples from the Wine Machine.

I used one of these at a wine bar in Winter Park, Florida and loved it.  It made it easy to try a small, inexpensive sip of a new wine to make sure I liked it.  If it was successful, I’d push a button for a larger sized pour and enjoy my glass.  Massachusetts can’t sell wine in various sized pours as they do in Florida, stupid Blue Laws.  But we were allowed to hit the button multiple times and sample as many sips of these 8 wines as we wanted.

I tried a Rose, Malbec, and Cab Sauv.

Tina, I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed a few of your photos.

Wine lover in action!  I loved making my selection and letting the machine do the pouring.

Mixing and mingling.  I’m so glad Meghan and Tina were at the event.  It was great to talk with them.  After several glasses of wine, there was no loss for words.  I think Meghan even convinced Tina and me to enter next year’s Boston Marathon.

But seriously, I’m going to look into foundations and fundraising and think about Boston 2011…

Group shot!  HealthWorks members know how to have a good time.

Thank you Boston Wine Exchange for such a great event!

And thank you to the HealthWorks for organizing such a fun gathering!  I had a great time and went home with a bottle of Liberty School wine and a bottle of Pretty Things beer.

I enjoyed a glass of San Pellegrino while I spent the afternoon/early evening studying nutrition.

San Pellegrino is basically Italian lemonade.

When my running partner got home from work, he declared it was too windy to run.  Do I smell a lousy excuse for skipping a workout?!?!  I sent him outside to bring the trash to the curb while I did a yoga On Demand workout.  It felt good to stretch!

Then today, for the first time in 26 years years, I made mashed potatoes.

From scratch!

I LOVE mashed potatoes in a pouch.  So I was skeptical about making the real deal.  But after peeling and boiling potatoes, there was no turning back.  I added several splashes of milk, a bit of butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Mmmm, garlic mashed potato perfection!  I’m SO proud of my cooking accomplishment.

I also cooked asparagus in olive oil.

We paired a bottle of Cote du Rhone with dinner.  Excellent choice!

The 2007 Perrin & Fils Cotes du Rhone Villages had a strong berry nose.  Yum!  It was a nice fruity taste too, with hints of licorice and spices.  I especially loved the silky smooth finish.  I hate wines that are too tannic.  The wine was said to pair well with meat dishes.  Perfect for what was on the menu!

My mashed potatoes and asparagus were served with a mini meatloaf.

Seriously guys: I made an entire meal from scratch.

No frozen vegetables in the microwave.  No potatoes in a pouch.  I created the entire thing on my own!  The only “cheating” was when I used a mix of meatloaf spices in the meatloaf instead of adding spices on my own.  No big deal.  I still did most of the work!

Amazing meal.  At first I thought it tasted so good because my blood, sweat, tears, and several profanities went into the production.  But Jared, my official taste tester, also thought it was pretty damn good.

Does this mean that I need to cook equally delicious meals every night of the week?  Uh oh…

Yesterday went by really slowly.  I felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace.

I ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast without taking a photo, watched TV, and started cleaning the apartment.  I even spent time photographing the snails that were out and about in my back yard.

When the rain let up, Jared decided to go out in the yard and continue working on our slow moving landscaping project.  Miles was right there to help him.

I ate lunch and then helped out with the yard work too.

I made a sandwich with hummus, grape tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce.  I was so desperate to have a side of chips that I crumbled leftover taco shells and ate them with salsa.  A little ridiculous, but it hit the spot.

There were tons of bricks buried under the dirt in the yard.

We decided to plant grass so Jared turned the soil and I figured out what to do with all of the treasures trash he uncovered.

We don’t have a hose so I had to water the grass seed by hand. Countless trips to the bath tub to fill up the watering can!

I do NOT feel guilty for skipping my workout.  Three hours of yard work was exhausting.

After all of that work, I needed something simple and easy for dinner.  Something that would cook quickly cuz I was starving.

I boiled water for penne and worked on creating my own sauce.  I dumped a can of pasta sauce into my pan, added tomatoes, spinach, ground pepper, basil, olive oil, and garlic salt.  Even though I didn’t create the base of the sauce from scratch, it had a much stronger flavor with all of my add-ins.

All I can say is, “Mmmmm!”

Jared got creative and grabbed a bottle of Spanish white to have with our dinner.  I’m not sure how well the wine paired with the pasta, but it was still good.

The Xarmant Txakoli seemed like the middle ground between champagne and Savignon Blanc.  It had a citrus flavor plus a bubbly zing.

After a loooong day, Saturday night was dedicated to relaxing.  I even attempted to study nutrition for a little while.  Sometimes slow moving days at home are great for chilling out and getting stuff done around the house.

Yesterday’s outfit was green to show my support for the Celtics.  Then when I got chilly I added my Red Sox hoodie.  The Bruins were the only team missing from my clothing.

All 3 Boston teams played yesterday, but unfortunately all 3 lost.

I made a taco salad with Wednesday’s leftovers.  Still delicious!

For an afternoon snack, I mixed Barney Butter with vanilla Chobani.  And then added a 2nd tablespoon of BB because it was THAT good.

Miles was waiting to go for a walk.  So we went to Back Bay to meet Jared when he took the T home from work.

We went to our friend Matt’s house for homemade Sangria.

Mmm, delicious!

But then someone (cough cough  Jared) commented that the wine to fruit ratio was a little off.

And so started the genius plan to separate the wine from the fruit.

Which made a HUGE mess.

I just photographed.  And rolled my eyes.

Fete also watched the scene unfold.  And was also unamused.

Look at all of that wasted Sangria!

We ordered pizza for dinner.  It was lousy!  Very bland and one of the worst I’ve had in a while. 

After spilled Sangria and crappy pizza, I went home to a dog who was clearly thrilled to see me. 

Always an enjoyable Friday night!

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen…

May is Mediterranean Month.  I love Oldways and the concepts behind the Med Diet.  I was looking forward to writing a major post about the diet, and about my experience olive oil tasting on Newbury Street.

But when we got to O&Co. tonight, they were already closed.

Notice the nice dark windows?  I almost took a closeup of the store hours and the CLOSED sign in the window.

Happy Mediterranean Month anyway!  The celebration will take place tomorrow. 

I decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo after all.

We stopped at Best Cellars for a free wine tasting.

And bought a red and a white wine from Spain.

Then I made tacos for dinner, with ground turkey instead of ground beef.

I enjoyed mine in massive salad form.

Lettuce, 1/3 of an orange pepper, 1/2 of a cucumber, grape tomatoes, 1 crumbled taco shell, ground turkey, cheddar cheese, Ranch dressing, and salsa.

Plus I had a glass of 2006 Sipacha Garnacha (Grenache) from Vino de La Tierra Castilla.

This chewy red is from northern Spain.  It pairs well with hearty meals like stews or grilled meats.  I noticed the wine’s deep red color, fruitiness, and acidic finish.

After the Sports and Fitness Expo, Becky and I got ready for Wine Riot.

We headed to the Cyclorama for some tasty sips.

Plus Cabot cheese to go with the wine.  Mmmm!

I even tried Malbec in a Box.

Riesling, the ultimate girly girl wine!

Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by Wine Riot.  I would’ve preferred tastings from more vineyards, rather than just wine distributors.  Many wine-related questions that I asked went unanswered because the exhibitors did not have the knowledge.

I had fun at Wine Riot, but I’m glad I didn’t have to pay for my tickets.  Winning was a great way in because it would not have been worth $45 per ticket!

We went to Francesca’s to grab sandwiches.  Mine was called the “Love Me Tender” which was a Cuban sandwich with pork, melted Swiss cheese, mayo, and pickles.

Cousin bonding time!

And bloggers in action.  Beck has a lot of blog work to do.  Big changes coming to Beck on the Run.  And I have some Crunches for Cupcakes tasks to tend to.

I brought Becky along to a group dinner at the Middle East.  We ordered several pitchers of Harpoon UFO for the table.  I didn’t drink very much.  Beer is very filling!

Appetizer for the table: Hummus, tabouli, and baba ganoush. 

I knew I wouldn’t be hungry after housing the delicious appetizer platter.  Becky and I shared the Middle Eastern Couscous: Middle eastern vegetarian cassarole with chickpeas, spices, and caramelized onions.

We headed to the Middle East’s downstairs music venue to listen to An Horse and Kaki King.  Not my type of music and not an overly fun crowd, but my friends made the best of things.  The highlight of the evening was when we found 2 clothespins on the bar and tried to clip them to Jared’s hood without getting caught.  Not a funny story, but it was so amusing in person!