WIAW Archives -

If we were having coffee, I’d share with you…

The Christmas tree is still up and there are no plans to take it down until after Feb. 14th. It’s now been dubbed the “holiday” tree.
Global warming seems real right now; it’s 55 degrees in Seattle in the middle of January. But, I’m not mad about it at all…look at this afternoon sun lighting up our plates!

The first full week back at work is rough, I’m not the only one feeling this, right?
I’m plowing through my Self Care Bingo and I’m getting down to the items that will take more time than a couple hours. I think I’ll have to start planning these a bit further in advance.
The Annual Cookie Exchange lives on and the 4th annual party was held a bit late this year, Jan 7th. I’m glad it was thrown together last minute, our friends brought their A-Game. Surprisingly, not a single cookie was repeated! Here’s a before and after picture.

The book High Performance Habits is still on my bookshelf and I’m still loving it and having “ah-ha” moments every chapter.
Just listened to the RD Real Talk podcast and learned a little bit more about one of my favorite bloggers.
I’m attending a career workshop this Saturday that came highly recommend from a friend. I’m eager to learn more about resume tips and always having a prepped Linkedin website. We’ll see how it goes!

Are you looking forward to anything this weekend?

WTF Does Ethiopian

Where’s The Food Club (WTF) is back for round 2!

This week the winning cuisine vote went to Ethiopian, we threw a dart and Yelp suggested Ras Dashen. 57 reviews, one $ out of five, and a solid 4.5 stars provided the group confidence that this restaurant would meet our “high” expectations. Not two minutes into our reservation a friend asks the general group, “So, this is like Indian food, right?” (We obviously do our research beforehand). This guide, by the Houston Press, provides great background information for your first Ethiopian dining experience. I wish prior to dining I’d known what the Injera (bread) was and why we used it as our utensil.

The Injera is made from Teff flour, it’s naturally gluten free and provides high levels of iron, , fiber, and calcium, and it’s almost a complete protein. The Ethiopian culture is onto something, health benefits from your utensil AND no silverware to wash after dinner. I was wary beforehand, but count me as an injera convert.

To make things easy on our dining staff we ordered 3 large combination platters that included meat and vegetables and a round of appetizers. Our platters included cuts of lean beef or chicken cooked in Ethiopian butter, with onions, peppers, jalapeños, and herbs, and a variety of sautéed greens We also sampled all of the lentils that were seasoned in garlic, ginger, and herbs. I wish I could tell you in detail what was spicy or had great texture, but the beauty of family style is the fact you have NO idea, and you’ve just gotta go for it.

We tried to fit our leftovers in a single to-go box with little success the first try.

10/10. Would go back. Much like. Staff be fun.

Day in the Life #1

Everyday is different, but this is a glimpse into last Wednesday.

7:00 Alarm #1. Roll over, turn on light, turn on coffee, scroll through email and instagram.

7:30 Make lunch, “bake” Shakeology protein pancake for breakfast, fill water bottle, and turn off lights in the apartment.

7:40 Slip on shoes and out the door with breakfast, work clothing, and lunch packed.

8:00 Arrive at office gym and tuck my ~~life~~ backpack into a locker. It’s a “sunny” Seattle day and I head out for 3 miles along the waterfront.

8:45 Shower and head upstairs to my desk by 9:01. I always make it to my desk in a more timely fashion when I workout in the morning. I say hello to the only other 2 currently at work.

9-11 Eat breakfast, answer emails, prep devices to ship to our next conference.

11:00 Snack on almonds and visit our upstairs helpdesk to unlock my account.

12:30-1:45 Head out for a rare lunch outing with co-workers. I hit my step count before 1pm (And for the first time in a week!)

2-5 Work, work work

5:20 Start walking home in a hurry to buy last minute supplies for my painting class. Snack on an Oreo filled donut and jerky (weird, yes).

5:50-6:40 Drive, sit in traffic, take wrong turn, park, and arrive to painting class ~~ontime~~ 10 min late. Thankfully, the parking attendant was precise with directions and I found the building fast.

6:40-9:00 Join two friends as we learn to blend landscapes and colors this week. One of my friends is incredibly talented and may as well be a pro, we joke we’ll pay for lessons in glasses of vino.

9:30 Eat dinner using my free Chipotle coupon! Burrito bowl FTW! I went the sofrita/carnita route with lettuce, rice, veggies, salsa and no guac because they had already sold out.

9:45 Pick up stuff from my boyfriend’s and then head home to pack for a weekend in Whistler with friends. I’ve only snowboarded once in my life, so I’m opting for 1 of 3 days boarding.

11pm Pack and eat chocolate leftover from my Hawaii trip. Swap out clothes from the suitcase that I’m repacking for Whistler.

12:30 Go to bed FAR later than usual. Lights out!

Currently: Typing this in front of the fireplace in Whistler.

Cheers!
Michelle