Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I want to start off by congratulating everyone who ran in the NYC Marathon yesterday! It was really special to watch friends, fello bloggers, and athletes from all over the world run such an amazing and inspirational race. I went last year with Mari so we decided to continue with the tradition this year.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute…

My poor attempt to make a poster on the subway got me lots of attention and laughs.  I was quite pleased with the way my Dori poster turned out.

Mari and I arrived at the marathon and headed our separate ways. I found Dori’s boyfriend and roommate at mile 18 and we anxiously waited to see a cute girl wearing a Dori shirt with lots of hot pink run by!

We got plenty of updates on Twitter from other bloggers who were able to track her progress.

She ran by looking so happy and amazing after 18 miles! So proud of you Dori!! I spotted a few other familiar faces such as Melissa Z, Ashey, Theodora, and Rebecca. You all are amazing!

Eventually I found Mari again and we decided to head back to Queens for some food. We went to Corfu Grill, a Greek restaurant on Austin Street. I was freezing from standing outside so I decided to warm up with some tequila!

Skinny Margarita!

I ordered the Grilled Chicken Skewers plate which came with a Greek salad to start.

It also came with whole wheat pita and tzatziki sauce.

The chicken was delicious and was enough food for both lunch and dinner! It came with lima beans, rice and lemon potatoes.

I highly recommend going to Corfu Grill for happy hour if you are ever in Queens. They have 2-for-1 drinks and $2.00 appetizers! Can’t beat that.

I am off to go do some work! Have a great day and don’t forget to enter my Hydroxatone giveaway! I will be choosing a winner this Wednesday.

Related posts:

1. ING 2010 NYC Marathon Weekend!
2. Macaroni Grill Winner, Blogger Core Fusion Class, Gobo Dinner!
3. Blogger Housewarming Meetup!

Happy New Year to my fellow Jewish friends! On Wednesday I took the day off of work and went home to Philly to celebrate Rosh Hashana with my family. We had a delicious dinner so I thought I would share it with all of you.

My mom decided not to cook this year so instead we ordered from a Jewish deli called Ben & Irv’s. Now I know where I get my “never feel like cooking” attitude from! All of the food was amazing so I had no problem with this.

On the Menu:

Challah

Matzoh Ball Soup

 Turkey Meatballs

 Gefilte Fish

Spinach and Potato Latkes (excuse the presentation!)

Sweet Fruit Kugal (so good!)

Carrot Tzimmes with Sweet Potatoes

Kasha & Bowties

Ziggy was all ready for some chicken and matzoh balls! I started off with the matzoh ball soup mixed with mushroom barley, challah, and a pickle.

My next course was meatballs and gefilte fish. The meatballs were especially delicious.

I was already full before the chicken but still wanted to try a little bit of everything!

I barely made a dent in that plate but really loved the kugal and sweet potato side dish.

There is always room for dessert!

I tried some chocolate chip banana bread and chocolate cake! Best part of the meal! I think we are the only family that does not do the whole apples and honey thing. Woops! It was a great dinner with the family and nice to be home for the night. I went back to New York right after dinner since I had to work yesterday.

If you celebrate Rosh Hashana, what did you have at your dinner?

If you don’t celebrate, what food would you most like to try in this post?

 Have a great weekend!

Related posts:

1. V-Day Dinner!
2. Passover Eats
3. Dinner at Candle 79

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I was supposed to go to the Phillies game on Friday but it was cancelled because of the rain. Instead, I went out to dinner with my sister and her husband. We decided to check Groupon Now to see if there were any last minute deals before deciding where to eat. We ended up finding a deal for $20 off a $40 purchase to a restaurant called Tom & Toon. The menu looked good and the restaurant was very close to us for such a gross, rainy night.

The restaurant seemed to have mostly Thai food but also had American options such as fried chicken, burgers, and pizza. Usually places like that make me nervous but the environment was really nice and the restaurant had good reviews online. I started off with a Chang beer just because it sounded cool.

Very good choice. It was pretty similar to the taste of Sapporo beer.

We decided to split an appetizer and two entrees. We started off with the Shrimp Summer Rolls.

All three of us agreed that these were the best summer rolls we’ve ever had! They were very fresh and had the most amazing sauces for dipping.

We also split the Beef Pad Thai.

This dish was also amazing! The beef was lean and delicious and I loved that the dish was covered with bean sprouts.

We shared one more delicious dish: Miso Glazed Ahi Tuna.

The tuna was seared to perfection and there was a great corn and bean mix under the fish. Loved it!

The service at Tom and Toon was really great and there was even live music!

We had several glasses of wine before dinner which made the experience that much better…

Excuse the random pear on the table that was found in my purse. We ended up having drunken push up contests. I lost! 

On Saturday, I went to two Phillies games and the Mets won both times. Booo. I also got hit in the shoulder with a foul ball. It really hurt and I didn’t even get a ball out of it. I did get an ice pack. Exciting stuff.

Momma Engel

Hellooooo.

Yesterday I went to Pop Burger and watched football all day. I saw Kelly from the Real Housewives of New York. Pretty cool.

What exciting things did you do this weekend?

On Wednesday, I will be attending a Naturalizer shoes event.  If you have any questions about the brand, let me know below and I will have them answered. Thank you!

Have a good one!

Related posts:

1. Sushi Date and College Memories
2. Macaroni Grill Winner, Blogger Core Fusion Class, Gobo Dinner!
3. Hike and Wine Tasting

Today was a perfect and relaxing summer Sunday. I started off my day with a great intenSati class taught by my girl Darbi. I was not even planning on going because I was super tired this morning and just wanted to stay in bed. I happened to wake up ten minutes before I would have had to leave and saw a text message from my fellow Sati friend asking me if I was going. I told her I was laying there debating with myself but her text was enough for me to get my butt up and go. I am so happy I did and felt like a new person afterwards. Class was really fun and I even forgot about the fact that I did not have my usual espresso before the class. I also loved that I seemed to know every single person in the room. After class, I found out that they were giving free chair massages at Equinox! Yes please!

I walk by the massage chairs before leaving the gym all of the time but always assumed that they cost money. Amazing discovery! The massage only lasted about five minutes but felt great! I must admit that it was nice having a guy give me a massage because I usually go to the woman who paints my nails! I was very glad I shaved since he definitely rubbed down my legs. Anyway….a bunch of us grabbed lunch and headed to The High Line for a relaxing afternoon.

I love that I had absolutely nothing planned for Sunday but just going to intenSati kept me occupied for the whole day. While I essentially go for the amazing workout, it is also a huge part of my social life. I would definitely only have about two friends if it weren’t for intenSati!

I am now enjoying fruity wine and an Amy’s burrito!

I had another super relaxing day on Saturday. I thought about going to the gym or to Core Fusion but I knew my body needed a day off. I only went to Core Fusion four times this week even though I had hoped for five. I could do a Core Fusion DVD right now but I know I need to listen to my body and give it the rest it needs. I will get back there tomorrow morning now that my muscles have had some time to recover. I did work out a little bit by cleaning my bedroom and learning a new intenSati series! I am teaching again in two weeks so now is the time to prepare! I had a fun time dancing around in my kitchen and yelling out positive affirmations!

Since my oven is unplugged and my apartment is super hot, I decided to pick up breakfast from a local cafe. I got an egg white mushroom and feta cheese omelet with whole wheat toast. I also got a big iced coffee and chocolate Zico coconut water. Let’s just say I was a little hungover from the night before!

Lunch was a veggie burger sandwich with frozen broccoli (heated up in the microwave).

I watched several Netfix Instant movies including Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (I need to start juicing again), Twelve, and Happy Accident. Loved them all! I also treated myself to some sushi and wine!

I enjoyed some salad and edamame to start.

I also got an Eel Avocado roll and Dragon roll with brown rice.

Delicious! I don’t know why but I also had some cereal before bed. Same old story.

Back to Friday night….

I went to one of my favorite classes of the week- intenSati with Erin Stutland. I was miserable walking in but happy and energized walking out. A few of us went out for some drinks after class at a cute bar in Union Square called Lillie’s.

I always get drunk so fast after working out. I guess dehydration and not eating dinner till after drinking will do that to you. We went to a club afterwards called SOBS for some salsa dancing.

I do not salsa dance which meant standing at the bar and consuming several Cosmopolitans while watching my friends dance. Eventually I gave in and let the Latino boys spin me around which is not too smart after so much vodka. I did know the basic steps so it was not a total disaster. It was a super fun night, especially since it ended with Magnolia Pistachio cupcakes!

I will be spending the rest of my Sunday evening with my wine and kitty!

What did you do this weekend?

Do you know how to salsa dance?

Related posts:

1. Michael Season’s Winner, Wine, Run, and Sushi!
2. Massages, Beers, Sushi…..
3. Equinox Classes and Pre-Passover Sushi

Hello! How are you doing? I am doing great with my Core Fusion Challenge so far! In case you missed my last post, I am participating in the ”Stay on CORE-Se” challenge at Exhale Spa this month. This means that I have to attend class three times a week and, as a reward, I will receive special perks and discounts to the spa.  I changed the challenge to five classes per week just because I want to take full advantage of this opportunity and really want to see some results by the end of the month. I started off the challenge with a Core Fusion Cardio class on Monday. I did not go on Tuesday just because I refuse to miss Patricia Moreno’s intenSati class. On Wednesday, I went to a very challenging Core Fusion Open class. I was practically in tears but it felt oh, so good. I also went to Core Fusion Sport after work yesterday when I found out that my colorist was out sick! Since I could not get my hair done, I had no other choice but to work out again! It is not really an option for me to go home right after work because it just leads to lots and lots of eating for no reason. While some people cannot wait to go home and relax after a long day at work, I do everything in my power to avoid being home for long periods of time at night. I would rather stay in the city for a couple of extra hours while getting a nice workout instead of mindlessly snacking. I know I do not talk about it much on here anymore but I am still a work in progress.

While I was kind of dreading Core Fusion Sport last night, I felt amazing afterwards.  I did not really want to go since I was pretty sore from the morning class and am really trying to be careful about not overdoing it and then getting an injury. I also tried Sport a couple of years ago and was not a huge fan. I knew I would feel better if I worked out so I sucked it up and gave it another chance. I also need to mention that Exhale Spa is literally right across the street from my work so I have no excuse not to go! The class ended up being really great! The instructor, Adina (also my Cardio teacher on Monday) had a ton of energy and was very challenging at the same time. We did all kind of exercises using a weighted ball like jumpbacks, lunges, tricep dips, push ups, etc. We used an exercise band at the end for leg, butt and ab exercises. I will definitely try to take Sport at least once a week during this challenge!

I am happy to say that I also woke up this morning and went to Core Fusion again! It’s now Thursday and I’ve gone to Core Fusion four times this week! I will probably take a break tomorrow and go maybe one or two more times this weekend. I am a little nervous about seeing results though because, so far, my eating has been…hmm…out of control the last three days! Let’s just say I can’t have English muffins and crunchy peanut butter in the house. Now that the jar is gone, I am ready to get back on track. If I don’t start eating a little better at night, I will not lose any inches and will be pretty disappointed come August. I am going to try to start taking some more pictures of my food and posting them on here to hold myself accountable. Here are some eats from yesterday:

Before Core Fusion, I made an espresso and protein powder mix with Stevia and almond milk in my Magic Bullet. I make this every single time I exercise in the morning. It wakes me up right away and tastes delicious at the same time.

Breakfast was out for grabs when I arrived at work. It was interesting but I like free food so I ate it.

I had some sort of egg, black bean, and corn scramble, a mini bagel, and some potatoes that tasted like bacon. MMM, bacon.

Lunch was from a fruit store in Chelsea Market. They have awesome homemade guacamole and the salads are super cheap!

Between lunch and Core Fusion, I had my last English muffin with peanut butter and jelly. It was supposed to be my actual lunch but I was craving my greens and wanted something a little more substantial.

After Core Fusion Sport, I had one of these since dinner would not be for another couple of hours:

Yes, it tasted like Cookies N’ Cream ice cream!

I got home and made my own little version of Sangria: Trader Joe’s $2.00 red wine and frozen fruit. No need for soda!

The fruit makes the wine taste sweet and also gets me drunk. I picked up a salad on my way home which had carrots, broccoli, squash, and pesto chicken. Good stuff.

And then…9:00 p.m. rolled around and I just wanted to eat. I had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios because in my mind, the salad was not enough. Luckily I stopped at one bowl which is very rare for me. Baby steps! I will continue to post my food a couple of times a week and try to kick this habit in the butt. Let’s see some results!

Do you snack more at night than during the day?

What is your favorite night time snack?

Related posts:

1. Core Fusion Challenge: The Results
2. The Stay on CORE-Se Challenge
3. Core Fusion Sale & New Challenge!