Last July Weekend

Unlike the other weekend which was packed and I had to sacrifice sleep, this weekend was more balanced. I like how refreshed I am on a Monday morning after a great weekend. I hope yours was great, too!

Food. My weekend eats were great. I made double serving of curried veggies on Saturday because curry tastes even better the day after methinks. The food spread at Aki and Jo's Saturday Socials consisted of organic tortillas, salsa, chocolate chip banana bread, and gyouza (pot stickers). I love it that Aki is a healthy foodie so we totally clicked! She shared the banana bread recipe she used which is from a young Japanese lady's blog. Looks like I'll be baking me some banana goodness this week. What is your favorite pastry to bake? In my family, I'm the least talented baker but banana bread is something I can manage. :D

{Chocolate Chip Banana Bread}

On Sunday, I heated the leftover curry with cheese before heading out biking and shopping. Dinner was at friends' party where I also had ice cream. While I don't cook with meat now (and have also stopped cooking fish a few weeks ago), I have a bit of meat/fish at social situations. I'd still prefer meatless options but if there's none available, I do eat a bit like that single piece of gyouza at Aki's and spaghetti with meat sauce at the party. Whatever eater you are (raw, vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, omnivore, etc.), moderation is key. I say, eat healthy. Period. :D

Sleep. I'm not done yet with "The Omnivore's Dilemma" but have started Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina". Cross reading the two very different books is interesting. I'm enjoying reading and it's a great way to make me sleepy when my brain won't just shut down. I got my ideal 7 hours of sleep during the weekend and now feel so much better compared to last Monday. Did you sleep well over the weekend?

Move. Ran 4 miles on Saturday and biked on Sunday. It was my first time running at 3PM and was it hot and humid! :S The heat must have helped because I just wanted to get the run done with quickly. That meant a faster run and therefore faster pace. Score for turning a negative thing to my advantage! Haha. Also, thank you very much for all your encouragement and tips on my first ever 10 miler. It's amazing how much support we receive from people we haven't met in real life, right?

It will be August this coming Saturday! :D Let's rock the last days of July! Have a great week ahead.

You are beautiful. Smile!

Today could not have been more beautiful.

I had healthy delicious meals. Udon, mizuna, sprouts, tofu, with loads of sesame seeds for breakfast. Sweet potato (with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon) and fish for lunch. Avocado, banana, yogurt, and raisins on a soy milk bread roll for dinner. Dark chocolate and mixed nuts for snack. At the grocery, I got kabocha and over a dozen bananas! Even if I knew I still had 6 more in the freezer, I always feel like I need to buy more when I see them. Tell me this also happens to you. :P What single fruit/veg/food do you always NEED to have in your pantry? The evening was hot and humid but I managed to knock off my long run for the week. I missed my marker so my scheduled 4.5 miler ended up being a 5 miler. Ooops!

All of those things mentioned above made my day lovely. But today was not only about ME. What made my day more special was that I was (hopefully) able to make someone else smile. I was on an operation to spread positive body image by posting random notes in public places today. I decided on cutting pictures from an old magazine because recycling always ups the coolness factor of anything, right? :P

{"You are beautiful. Smile!" in Nihongo.}

The first one was posted at the washroom of the grocery I went to today. I was afraid it would be taken down immediately since Japanese toilets are always kept clean and spotless. When I went back later in the afternoon (and bought additional bananas!), the post was still there! :P Hopefully, the note made a Wednesday shopper's day brighter.

{Pretty Pictures; Beautiful Message}

At this book store/arcade I went to, a bunch of grade school girls would always drop by and hang around after school. They would usually buy water/tea/fruit juice from the vendo while they chat and laugh. When they grab a drink from the vendo, I hope the post makes them smile.

{A drink: 120 Yen. A smile: Priceless.}

If you were to write and post a note for yourself, what would it say? What would your message to other women be?