A sampling.

First of all, I am really getting excited for the election. I'm so excited by the prospect that Obama might win this thing; I'm remaining only cautiously optimistic. I know these things can change overnight, for no discernable reason. My hope is that exactly what Colin Powell said in his controversial endorsement will come true - that we need a transitional figure, and a new generation, in the White House.

Lately it seems like all Kev and I watch on TV are political shows. I love Countdown with Keith Olberman which is, admittedly, very left-biased. But I think the guy is funny and I love hearing his spin. Then, of course, are the comedy central shows - The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I recently caught "Sarah Palin: Revealed," which is on MSNBC - it's a program they've done for all four of the nominees, just about their lives. It's a documentary, so of course it's meant to be neutral. But regardless, it's hard for me to watch the program because I dislike the woman so much. Learning about her as a young woman is even more off-putting.

Anyway, I hope he wins and I'm eager to find out what will happen.

We had a nice weekend - Friday night was just quiet time at home together. Kevin and I went to the grocery store after I was done with work and he was done with some meetings - had a nice time shopping and hangin out together. And then we went home and made the most delicious comfort-food, fall-weather supper.

We sampled an organic tomato-pepper soup at Trader Joe's and it was so delicious, we decided to buy it and make grilled cheese on rye bread (oh god yum), organic tomato soup, and a big spinach salad. It was seriously SUCH a yummy meal, I was obsessed with it. The flavors all mixed together so delightfully and the tastes stayed in my mouth for a good 30 minutes after I was done eating, reminding me of how flavorful and delicious it all was. I wanted to get up after the first bite to take a photo of my plate, but it was so delicious that I couldn't stop eating it!

Anyway, I think I found a new favorite-of-the-moment meal that I'm definitely going to have to make again. Seriously. YUM. The grilled cheese cost me about 10 points by itself. I didn't skimp on the butter. I used an organic vegan spread, but there's no calorie difference from regular butter or margarine. And I used two full pieces of rye bread so it was costly. But I smartly gave the BF a big tear off my sandwich because he gobbled his up so fast and I felt bad for him. (Plus I didn't want to eat the whole thing myself.;)

I had a glass of wine as we cooked, and he a beer. And we basically puttered around cutting up veggies for the week, doing dishes, tending to the cats, and making dinner. It was a really nice night. After eating, we caught up on some tivo and then turned in relatively early because we were going to see his family early the following morning.

I did, however, snack well beyond necessity before going to sleep. Not sure if it was the wine or the intense workout I'd had earlier in the day that left me feeling like I was "allowed," but I ended up eating handfuls of almost everything in our pantry. We bought a bunch of snacky stuff at the store and of course I had to sample every single thing.

It's just about self control, of course. And I decided to let mine go out the window on Friday night. Eh. No big deal.

Saturday morning we got up early to go see Kevin's family. We saw his sister for her birthday and then we all (sister Lisa, her hub, their baby, and Kevin's parents) went to New Jersey to go to his Lisa's in-law's house for an engagement party for their daughter. Kevin and I couldn't stay long because we had to catch a train back to the city for the HST show.

I definitely overate that day too. It was tough because I had two parties to attend and we were up early and out and about, surrounded by food, all day long. I did the best I could to keep it on the modest side, but it was tough. I was never stuffed but I still felt like I ate a lot that day.

Sunday was another lovely day. I had to get up early and go into the city for an HST meeting. I skipped breakfast (something I NEVER do), just had coffee and a bite of someone's eggs. Then Kevin and I met for lunch in Brooklyn where I had a mexican egg brunch dish, which was very filling and yummy and kept me satisifed for a good 6-7 hours! Seriously.

After that, we went shopping for fall jackets because we were both without them, then went home, cleaned the apartment, and prepared for our friends Faryn and David to come over for a casual dinner together.

The four of us whipped up a chicken sausage whole wheat pasta with peppers dish, a yummy salad, and garlic bread - it was so delicious and we all helped prepare it, which was cool. And then we had some nice conversation, a little beer (I had 1.5 beers), and a cookie for dessert.

Kevin and I stayed up for a while longer after they left, watching tv and chatting, and went to bed pretty late. I was exhausted when I woke up this morning.

One thing I did not do on Saturday or Sunday was exercise! Gah! I knew I was taking Saturday off and had intentionally exercised every other day during the week because I planned to take Saturday off, since we were going to be running around with family all day. I had big plans to go for a nice long run with my man on Sunday but we got to shopping, which is always tiring, and by the time we got home it was dark, and we got to cleaning, which is also tiring, and then it was way too late and Faryn and David were on their way over. I kept thinking - "I'll just put on my running clothes and GO!" I really wanted to. But it didn't workout. Alas. I'm sure I burned some calories with the shopping, walking, trying on a million fall jackets, and cleaning/vacuuming the apartment.

I am purposefully eating light today to offset another week of a little more food than I wanted to consume. I ordered a book today called "Fit from Within" which I read about on this blog. This is a blog that my friend Jess turned me onto, and I LOVE it. Anyway, I ordered this book because I really want to consciously transition from being someone who feels they have certain benchmarks to reach each day with food and exercise to someone who naturally behaves in that way without having to think about it.

I have a sense that I'm leaning more toward the latter than I give myself credit for, but there are certainly still times when I think a lot about food, obsess over what I should eat, and focus more on the details than on the big picture. So I'm eager to read this book.

I had a nice 30 minute hard cardio session at the gym today during my lunch break. Weigh-in is tomorrow morning and I will only have a small snack or a cookie when I get home tonight, but beyond that, I'm done eating for the day. I had lots of satisfying and delicious things to eat today, including a turkey, cheddar wrap, prepared lovingly by my boyfriend. So I think I should be fine to metaphorically close down the kitchen for the night.

I have improv practice and then I'm going to see a friend's show. I probably won't be home until closer to midnight when I will surely fall right into bed.

Mondays are always tough for me.

Separately - I love Trader Joe's more and more the longer I shop there.

Just had to note that. Thank you. Good night.