Chocolate

I love chocolate. Friends consider me an addict so maybe love is a wee bit of an understatement. And not just any chocolate, DARK chocolate, the real stuff. And preferably fair trade (linky!). So needless to say, as an athlete, when it comes time to drop a weight class it's nearly impossible for me to cut out chocolate. In fact I usually just keep it in the diet, which is probably OK considering I usually eat 85% deliciousness.

Recently, I was reading up on some diets that figure/ fitness competitors use because those ladies are crazy lean and I came upon an interesting breakfast idea. And being a chocoholic, I decided to give it an antioxidant boost with my beloved treat. I present to you.... Supercharged Oatmeal!!

Photo Courtesy of Chuck @ sundaynightdinner.com 

Super Charged Chocolate Oatmeal
1/2 cup Rolled/ Steel Cut Oats
2 Egg Whites
1 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Big dash of Cinnamon

1. Cook the oats in 1 cup of water with a pinch of Kosher salt until all of the water has been boiled out. No soupy oatmeal.
2. As soon as the oats are done transfer them to a big cereal bowl and immediately begin to add and whip in the egg whites. Stir until fully incorporated. Please take the word immediately seriously, I don't want anyone getting sick, the heat in the oatmeal cooks the egg whites as you stir.
3. Add cocoa powder and cinnamon. Stir until fully incorporated.
4. Sweeten as desired, I use a bit of honey but agave syrup and other sweeteners work just as well. For extra boost of vitamins and antioxidants add fruit of your choice.

Ta-da! Like magic you have the protein of eggs without having to eat scrambled eggs with veggies (like every other morning), and you get all the health benefits of chocolate without the guilt. The cinnamon will kick your metabolism into gear too, it's like the cayenne of sweet food spices, I love it. This is a low GI food too so it should keep you full for a long period of time. I promise you that you cannot even taste or feel or see any trace of eggs in the final product, they get cooked right into the oatmeal. Pretty awesome.

OK, confession time, the figure athlete that I got the recipe from uses 5 egg whites(!), but I couldn't bring myself to sacrifice that many egg yolks/ eggs in general so I modified it. But feel free to add as many egg whites as your heart and pocketbook desire.

So that's just a little gift from me to you athletes and anyone else that wants to try a healthy and delicious breakfast. I'm pretty sure this would go over well with the little ones as well because it's chocolate for breakfast!! Minus all the sugar they pack into processed chocolate products.

Back to sports!
NEW ZEALAND ALL BLACKS WON THE RUGBY WORLD CUP!!!! 2011 CHAMPIONS! I am super happy, they deserved it and fought valiantly for the prize. Love my All Blacks. Thank you for the awesome RWC. It was an intense game too, poor France lost by 1 point! That's extremely rare in a final match. The predicted spread was muuuch more than 1 point. Well done France and NZ.

In football news... what the heck Lions and Bills?! I am rooting for you guys! The ultimate underdogs! I want a crazy, out-of-left-field Super Bowl match up. Please pull yourselves together and deliver. Also I would like for everyone to stop bashing King Ndamukong Suh. That man is a beast, every player talks crap on the field, and he shouldn't be singled out just because he takes his job maybe much more seriously than others. I don't think he's an exceptionally dirty player, he's just intense and makes mistakes at times. I like him. He is like the Burfict of the NFL, except they have no relation in terms of field position haha. But Mr. Suh, please pull your D line together and get the Big W next game. Thanks.
The Pats had the weekend off which was good because I was not prepared to handle an NFL game that I actually cared about this weekend. And even though I am a Pats fan, and therefor the mortal enemy of the Jets by default, I am very happy that they beat the Chargers, because that team (and it's fan base) annoys me to no end. Thanks Sanchez.

Very happy that my USC boys took care of the Irish. Sports people give my team some credit though!!! For goodness' sake. There was some improvement in defense and offense this last game, don't just say that ND choked. Completely not fair. I am still all for a coaching change though, can we get Kiffin out of there? He has too much under-utilized talent to have games like that. CHANGE IT UP BUDDY! I am nervous for the Stanford game but have faith that we will pull off a good performance. Also I'm pretty bummed that I missed the extra epic ending to the Wisconsin game this weekend. I am sad for you Wisconsin, but you can come back! Believe in yourselves. Also I must state how thankful I am to have girlfriends that I can go grab a drink or lunch with and discuss sports, specifically football. Thanks mujeres ♥

Baseball World Series is going pretty well! It's tough to rally a viewing party together when all your football watching friends think baseball is the most boring sport ever, but every now and then I can pull it off, or I just watch with my dad. I'm hoping the Rangers pull of their first WS championship ever. That would be really awesome. Guess we'll just have to wait until tonight or tomorrow to find out! I can tell you are all on the edge of your seat.

Basketball, thank you for not coming back. I know it sucks for everyone that plays basketball, and their wives, and gold-diggers, and the sports arenas, but it's nice to not have it on my ESPN. With two of my sports ending though I'm going to have to find a new channel to watch.

Alright I'm off to train but have an excellent rest of the week! Enjoy some yummy oatmeal, chat with people about sports and enjoy the little flashes of sunshine that we have left for the winter/fall. Be blessed.

-Educated & Unemployed

Angst & Apathy

Ususally angst is defined as a feeling of deep anxiety, dread, fear, depression, misery, despair, hopelessness... (the list goes on and on) "typically an unfocused one [feeling] about the human condition or the state of the world in general." Thanks Miriam & Webster and MAC dictionaries for the gloom. Most of the world ascribes angst to teens because they have so much fun being melodramas about life. It's a hormone thing I'm sure. But I much prefer the Urban Dictionary definition of angst which is:

Angst, often confused with anxiety, is a transcendent emotion in that it combines the unbearable anguish of life with the hopes of overcoming this seemingly impossible situation.

Granted, my angst is not this serious, but it does exist. Yes, young adults have angst too. There comes a point in your unemployment journey where you begin to think there is no end to the road; no one will ever call you for an interview or to inquire about your references; there is no point to looking anymore; You are DOOMED to forever be the awkward hybrid of a couch-potato/ gym-rat. But then someone does call you back, or is impressed with how you can hold a conversation, or sends out your resume for you, and that little annoying fuzz ball, Hope, starts to bounce around again. So I guess you could say that I fall into the angst category because, surprisingly, I still have hope.


But then again there is the extreme apathy that accompanies unemployment. Sometimes you just don't care anymore. You give up, throw in the towel, and would much rather sit on your couch watching SportsCenter and How I Met Your Mother then even give the futile résumé send out another chance. Spasmodically, you are completely incapable of being the competitive go-getter that your normal employed-self is. At times I also fall into this category.

Much like the many other famous word pairings, such as Crime & Punishment, Pride & Prejudice, War & Peace, etc., Angst & Apathy is temperamental, long winded, has it's highs and lows, some moments of hope or love or beauty or laughs, and most importantly, an ending. How soon that ending will come is unknown, but with prayer and petition it will eventually happen. So here's to staying hopeful. And don't worry, true to form, the next blog will be fully dedicated to sports.


-Educated & Unemployed


"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29: 11-13

Soul... Tasting?

Hellur interwebs.

Been a long time. OK not really. Buuuuuut I had an interesting weekend! And I didn't do too much soul searching but I did a lot of tasting. So I shall report.

Friday night I went to a friend's "Dirty Thirty" birthday party, which wasn't very dirty but was very much an "I'm 30 now" party. It was in her parents' huge backyard with delicious gumbo, too-sweet desserts and (drumroll please) a karaoke machine! Now my girlfriends and I did not go up to the front of the party to sing on this machine, but we were definitely having way too much fun in the corner belting out every song and making up dances. Going up to the stage would just put (almost) everyone prior to our performance to shame. Nonetheless we stole the show because most people didn't know the songs that they picked, and so everyone watched us execute a perfect performance. We had a blast.

Then we decided that Saturday we should head to Taste of Soul in downtown LA, mainly for Tyrese but also because it sounded like a great idea. We get there, I waste about 1/4 tank of gas just looking for parking, we walk a good mile or so to the event and through the other side for the correct venue, then we get to the stage Tyrese is supposed to perform on, wait an hour, and find out he won't be performing for a while. The lines for food were way too long and if it weren't for Jas's dad being a chef at the event we never would've eaten. We did run into a good amount of people that we knew and hadn't seen in a while so it was great in that sense. But man alive, never would we ever consider going back. Too many people, too unorganized, and not enough to do. And we never got to see Tyrese!! I didn't get to propose -.-
So in the end we the four delirious women went to The Counter in Pasadena and had some super delicious burgers with a side of hilarious conversation.

Photo: The Counter®

I got my burger without a bun (they put it in a bowl of mixed greens instead) and a side of sweet potato fries. Let me tell you, I LOVE burgers, and this was one of the best I've ever had. Red, White & Bluez makes a pretty mean kobe beef burger; I never thought I could find a rival burger in the Pasadena area, but alas, it has been discovered. At The Counter. Go. Now!

Sunday, I stayed pretty low key. I watched the Pat's game, which was very painful at certain points. Luckily my commercial break workout routine (yes I have one, if you would like it, drop a comment or an e-mail) kept me sane and my temper down. Ultimately that B-E-A-Utiful catch by Hernandez made my day and won the game. Suck it Cowboys!!! I apologize for the immaturity. But seriously we have some things to work on. Pats were not looking their best. I have full confidence that Belichick will handle it. Then I was ready to watch the recorded semi final game between the All Blacks and the Wallabies, only to find that it had to be PPV. Thanks for telling me that Direct TV before I recorded it. But anyways, THEY WON!!! So now the All Blacks are headed to the World Cup Final and I am stuck with the task of finding a venue in the greater Los Angeles area that shows the Final Game on Sunday because I don't want to watch another game on my computer. So instead of the game I watched For Colored Girls, which is really a tragic movie. It is a bit too much of a play in terms of dialogue and scene disconnectedness, but heart wrenching nonetheless. I have been swayed to just never date again.

So yeah, that was my weekend. Not that you much care. But this is my only platform to share so I might as well spill errythang. Hope you are starting off your week with a bang! Do something awesome. Don't forget to smile. And remember that Wednesday is tomorrow, so the week is almost over! Be blessed. Until next time,

-Educated & Unemployed

Off Fence

So my last post was all bubbles and rainbows and nice about children. And it was sincere and genuine, I really am inspired by little kids throughout my week. Buuuuuuut figured I'd throw in something less... positive? Because at heart I really am a (loving) sarcastic skeptic.

But this isn't really about skepticism, though I could go into an entire rant about the depressing international economy right now (yes, the pun was intended) or political ineptness or pending doom! No it's much more shallow and self absorbed, because much like everyone else in the world I am fallen short and have my human flaws and human moments.

Photo: Los Angeles Times (yay Brandon!)

These human moments are most pronounced during sports viewing events, especially when my team is playing. I know, I know, sports again. If you can survive, keep reading. There's always that one person trying to personally annoy you in a passive aggressive manner and you ignore it because you are trying to be a civil and decent being but all you really want to do is take them out, literally. Tonight that person was someone that I had never met in my life, but somehow decided to passive-agressively be a... jerk. Now I don't know if this is an insecurity thing, or if the new form of flirting is meant to be demeaning and anger provoking, but it's not cool buddy nor are you anywhere near contention for being flirted back with. So I just glued my eyes to the screen and watched my USC Trojans finish out the second half (fairly successfully) exchanging words with everyone else in the room that I actually knew. Now this random new-guy knew that I had just come back from a sparring session, went to USC, and loved sports because I clearly got to my friends' house and sat down in front of the TV to wolf down whatever food I was given; so why the provocation? WHY?! I can't just enjoy a game? You have to be excessively irritating when you know I have just come back from an adrenaline-inducing/ skills-honing activity? I would have tried to get to know this individual better had he not been so, dare I say, obnoxious. Yes everyone else in the room was joking with me about rooting for Cal not SC, which is fine, I take it in stride, laugh it off, and they know when to stop. But this guy had no way of picking up social cues I guess. So all that being said... I just wanted to kick his butt. Mature, I know.

But really, why is there always that ONE person? Always. If you're not serious about the game you can leave or just be quiet. I could really care less. But stop aggravating the people that are fans, it really doesn't benefit anyone.

In other news, I may start applying for a short-term part-time job because I would be going insane if it weren't for my gym, the kids that I tutor, and Jesus. Hope it's fun. Oh and possibly getting PT certification. And may have to rejoin the Big Facey. And I am really happy that my team won. So, I guess I'll sign off for the night. If I don't talk to you before the weekend, be sure to enjoy it! Stay safe and be blessed.

-Educated & Unemployed

Little Blessings

This past week/ weekend I was just reminded of how much a blessing children are. First off, let me just say that it seems like the population exploded with babies in the past 5 years. I see them EVERYWHERE! Though, with weird people pushing their dogs in strollers (yes you are weird, it's a DOG, it is meant to walk), my counting accuracy may be slightly off.

But as I was going about my daily business in the past few days, at least one random child seemed to always make my day or crack me up. I got to chat with my niece on the phone, feel the future nephew kick (or punch, we don't really know) my hand, laugh at my coach's kids attempting to play jump rope, and hear some pretty classic little kid conversations while running errands.
It reminded me of the blessing

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

'And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.' - Mark  10:14-16

Just a good reminder of the attitude I need to have and the kind of faith I need to get back to. Also made me think of the little kids I miss dearly in a very different part of the world.

Guess I just needed to write this post to reflect a bit, be thankful, and remind whoever reads this thing that little children really are bundles of joy and people that we can learn a lot from... surprisingly.

Don't forget to smile today.

-Educated & Unemployed.

Epiphanies

I have decided that:

• I love football. I love cancer awareness. I hate football cancer awareness uniform tweaks.
• Usher needs to make a Bachata album. Period, end of story.
• I need to make a more conscious effort of reducing my slavery footprint 

• People need to be more conscious of their volunteer and short term mission actions. I decided this a while ago but, you know, cool people remind me of things to share.
• Rumba and ChaCha are highly underrated dances.
• Being sick is not awesome. But watching Barney Stinson be awesome on How I Met Your Mother, is legen- wait for it... DARY!
• The website I worked on is pretty cool and you should go check it out. Right hurr
• Facebook is not cool. I want to go back on but can't because... it's beyond stalkerish. I fear it.
• The new iPhone4S is G. 
• I have the best Mom in the Universe. Today is her birthday and we already have a quote. "Some people are such haters." I love her. She's "hip with my lingo" as she likes to say.
• I need to not be burnt out, fatigued, or disappointed with the so-far-failed job search but need to start a networking hustle asap.
• This post is long enough so I'll stop listing my thoughts

Everyone be blessed! Have a wonderful day in spite of the rain and gloom. And don't forget to be awesome.

-Educated & Unemployed

Exhausted

More like annoyed actually. I am fatigued with people asking me about how my job search is going. I get that you want to help, and are concerned, and have ideas. That is all awesome and great. Seriously. I get the concern. I appreciate it, honestly. But when I am at a point where I am sending cover letters and CVs to organizations that are not even posting jobs and have received absolutely no calls/ e-mails back for interviews or just to let me know that I DIDN'T make it to the interview round, I don't want people asking me how it's going because I have to lie to them and say it's going well when all I really want to do is punch somebody in the face. That was a rant-y and rude run-on sentence but it's true. And I'm not apologizing about it.

Happy Sunday.

-Educated & Unemployed