A new character, a rose, and a ton of soup

Although not the most bitter of Januarys (Januaries?), I cooked a lot of soup over the past week. Warm sustenance is so comforting as it fills my belly (no porn intended -- get it?! a pun of the word "pun"!! My obnoxious sense of humor creativity astounds me.)

hummus + carrot sticks = go-to snack these days. Sabra has been on sale lately. Their best flavor is definitely spinach and artichoke, it's new. Speaking of new, there's a Luna bar at my Kroger that I didn't even see on the company's website: blueberry bliss. It tastes exactly like one of those cafe muffins with the crumbly stuff on top. Luna bars are my after work, before working out snack on Tuesdays and Thursdays because they're decent on the calorie meter and good on the protein meter.

Today I made Vegetable Mafia Soup with veggie stock, onion, garlic, carrots, broccoli, lentils, cabbage, red pepper, green pepper, and some Italian spices like oregano and basil. It's pretty tasty, but also filling.

I've lost some weight since the beginning of the year by working out regularly and eating better. I feel way better about my body now that I'm more lean and I put my body to use. I'm also incorporating more steady protein into my diet by eating a soy yogurt + brown rice protein powder every day. I'll have to take a picture of my yogurt tomorrow -  it looks pretty unappetizing haha but I'd probably eat dirt if I heard it was good for me.

Guess who had a date Saturday night?!? Let me back up and say that I did not know S at all when he asked me out.  We had worked together like once, but he seemed nice enough so I agreed. I'm so glad I did because I had a great time with him. He started off very well by bringing me a rose and opening the door for me (I must say that he gave me the flower in an uncreepy way. Promise.)

Note my room mate Jane doing homework in the background. "You guys are the perfect amount of weird for each other." She had the pleasure of waiting with him while I grabbed a vase for the rose.

We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Athens, Salaam where I had the curried couscous (my favorite item on the menu, I think) and the Salaam salad minus the feta. He got some chicken thing. We chatted easily and I laughed a lot. After our late dinner we went back to my house and watched It's Always Sunny (The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation) and Contact.

I love having four roommates because someone is always around to diffuse odd situations. It would have felt rushed to have watched movies late at night on the first date, had I lived alone. But my roommates' presence in the other room set a tone of, shall we say...friendship.

I initiated a hug in place of a kiss goodbye. It's so refreshing to be treated well by a guy who's interested. I'm used to being invited to a party and having drunken make out sessions. They've gotten real old. He picked me up for dinner, we watched some movies, and have since planned to see each other again soon. Conveniently our schedules overlap for about an hour at work, so I'll see him tomorrow.

Usually when a guy comes around that I'm interested in I feel overly self-aware, but S made me feel comfortable. Maybe it's because he asked me out whilst we stairmastered. He's seen me at my worst. He's not my usual type, but I'm enjoying the change of pace and the casual dates.

I'll keep you updated ;)