Peanut Butter Runner

Customer Service Win + The Best Grilled Cheese Ever

by Jen on May 18, 2013

This was a working Saturday for me which I was prepared for. Unfortunately, it also ended up being stressful on the life front for a couple of reasons including my car going crazy. Car trouble is always no bueno but I am so lucky with how my situation turned out.

Let’s start with breakfast.

I made a smoothie with banana, strawberries, mango, pomegranate juice, almond milk and ice. I wanted to add greens to it but my grocery situation is SAD and the kale I had left was not even worthy of going into the blender.

I spent the morning working at our CrossFit gym. I took a quick break to do a 15 minute AMRAP with two others…

5 pull ups
5 strict press
5 ring rows
5 slam balls
5 sumo deadlift high pull
5 ring push ups

I think I finished 6 or 7 rounds. I’m glad I got a quick workout in because I ended up having no time later this afternoon!

Given the sad state of my fridge I stopped by Earth Fare for lunch on my way to teach yoga. I had a cup of lentil mushroom soup, kombucha and a vegan oatmeal raisin cookie.

I spent my afternoon teaching a hot yoga class and then stayed at the studio for a private with some of my friends. We meet once a month to work on more advanced postures like arm balances, inversions, backbends, etc. It’s so much fun for me and hopefully them too!

Then I got in my car to drive home after my long day…and my check engine light came on. I thought to myself that it was a bit concerning but didn’t give it much thought until a few minutes later when I stopped at a light and my car would hardly accelarate even with pedal to the metal. I freaked out and called my dad who told me to get home safely ASAP. I then called the local Honda dealership Hendrick Honda and explained to the service receptionist what was going on.

My expectations were BLOWN. It was 3:45 and service closed at 5. After walking me through a few questions, she told me she was sending someone to my house to check my car. 15 minutes later her service foreman arrived with one of the handheld devices that checks why your engine light is on. Long story short, the sensor between my pedal and the computer in the car was malfunctioning. He said it was probably a glitch and I’d be okay to keep driving and see if it happened again but that didn’t feel like a good solution to me.

The next thing I knew he had called the dealership, arranged a loaner car and followed me there. Within five minutes I left my car with them and drove off in a brand new Honda Civic. They told me they would give my car a thorough check on Monday. My car is out of warranty and has over 100,000 miles on it. There was no reason for them to do all of this for me. I am so grateful.

My dad said it was excellent marketing in addition to customer service on their part because I now want this car permanently parked in my driveway.

I was so ready for some relaxation after that long day. One of my yoga friends was having a belated Cinco de Mayo party and brought in The Herban Legend food truck to feed us.

The menu looked amazing and I wanted everything on it. I ended up going with the grilled cheese and it was the best food choice I’ve made in a long time!

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Havarti, provolone and fried green tomatoes topped with roasted red pepper and basil aioli on grilled sour dough. I’m not even kidding when I say this is the best sandwich I have ever eaten. Just what I needed to end the day!

When is the last time you received really amazing customer service?

{ 4 comments }

The Week In Fitness And Food

by Jen on May 17, 2013

Annnddd let’s return to regularly scheduled programming. Well, I don’t know that any posts have been “regular” around here lately but today we’ll get back to food and fitness which I guess is the “heart” of the blog. Although lately I feel it’s kind of been a steady rotation of yoga, what I’m eating, workout, recipe and life discussion posts.

This was my favorite breakfast of the week. Fage strawberry with banana, mango, strawberry, granola and coconut peanut butter. Muy tropical.

Egg scramble lunch with two eggs, white beans, spinach, basil, tomatoes and goat gouda.

Going away party for some friends on Wednesday where I made my dinner out of wine, cheese, meats and crackers and cheesy potato flat bread…AKA the best kind of dinner there is.

Workouts this week ended up being THREE CrossFit WODs (woo!), three hot yoga practices, one run and one walk. It felt like a nice balance of strength and stretch. And for the record…my butt was sore for three days after those pistols on Tuesday.

This dinner creation was so delicious. I seasoned chicken breasts with Jane’s Crazy Mixed Up Basil and Salt seasonings and then finished it in the oven with some Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki Sauce. I sauteed eggplant, bok choy and mushrooms with vegetable broth and the Island Soyaki Sauce. The eggplant and bok choy really soaked up all the flavor of the broth and sauce and went so well with the chicken. I will definitely be recreating this dish, maybe with fish.

Breakfast at my desk this morning was overnight oats and coffee. I’ve been off overnight oats lately and these didn’t do much to change my mind on that.

And one salad featuring more toppings than greens. So good! My favorite salad toppings lately have been beets, artichokes, glazed pecans and feta. I’m usually more of a goat cheese girl but the salty feta has been good with the sweet beets and nuts.

What are your favorite salad toppings?

{ 9 comments }

30 to 30

by Jen on May 16, 2013

One month from today I will turn 30. I have mixed emotions about this. It’s not being 30 that freaks me out…it’s more all of the evaluation that comes with entering a new decade of your life that freaks me out. The true struggle is letting go of the picture of what I thought my life would be like at 30. And dropping all of the comparison that comes with my path being a lot different than many friends who are also entering their 30s. How many times have I talked about giving up the illusion of perfect? Yes, the illusion. No one has a perfect life but I still work every day to allow myself to be real and flawed and not act like a perfect robot. Because that’s just exhausting to maintain.

Last night I was having a conversation with a friend about her career and overall life balance challenges. She’s wondering whether to give up on some dreams or keep pushing. I told her to push. She is an incredibly strong and talented woman who has worked so hard to get to where she is today. Worst case it that doesn’t work out in the end (which I don’t think will be the case) but at least she can say she tried. If we all did what was easy and avoided being challenged, we would have absolutely no story to tell. Let me be clear that I am not advocating creating drama in order to create stories but I am advocating stepping outside of comfortable, seeking growth and staying true to what lights you up.

I thought maybe I should do something challenging for the 30 days leading up to my birthday…I considered 30 days of yoga with a focus on my neglected ashtanga practice, I thought about doing Whole 30 for the 30 days and I even had the idea of creating a list of 30 things I would do before 30.

Then I realized that was stupid and the opposite of what I need right now. The last thing I need is more stress to complete more tasks. My plate is pretty damn full. What I do need is evaluation. I need to take a step back instead of stepping closer to the fire and adding fuel to it. I need to stop ignoring my current situation and take control of the direction of my life. This involves dealing with things I have been ignoring…

Friendships and relationships.

Taking control of my finances.

Re-evaluating my personal and career goals for the next year, 5 years, 10 years.

It’s easy to focus on surface things like yoga challenges and diet plans. It’s not easy to pay attention to the things that stir up anxiety, doubt and fear.

I am full of questions right now. Which I think is a good thing. I just need to actually face the questions instead of pushing them to the back of my mind and figure out what rings true for me. And then do something about it.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that this month and this birthday didn’t scare the crap out of me but it’s coming whether I ignore it or not. Here we go.