Hey –

Question: will this week ever end!? Gosh. lt is freezing outside, and it is officially SNOWING in Connecticut, just one state away from me!! What on earth!? It is only the middle of October! I cannot believe it. I got home from work today (looking like a ski bum in my fleece, wool ski hat and sunglasses!) and changed into my flannel pjs, wrapped up in a blanket, and I still have my ski hat on… I made a huge cup of tea and settled in for the night with my book. I didn’t go to the gym. 😦 It is now raining, and I hope it does not start to snow!

This morning I had a great commute from Jenn’s. I walked to Starbucks and ordered a grande pumpkin spice latte with skim milk, and just two pumps of flavor. It really hit the spot and made my commute on the T really enjoyable.

Breakfast was a Clif bar… I packed it Tuesday night, so I would not be tempted by a pastry or a bagel at work!

I had half of the bar at 8 o’clock when I got to work and the other half at 10:15 as a mid morning snack. At noon Kate and I went for a great walk. It was cloudy (rather gray, it reminded me of those afternoons in the middle of winter, when you feel like you never actually have a chance to see the sun… meh!) but there was no wind off the water, so it felt warmer than it did the day before.

Lunch was an Amy’s burrito. I feel like I was eating a lot of “processed” food today. 😦 Spending the night at a friends house is the best but sometimes it can compromise my food for the next day at work. (Oh well, I think it’s worth it for a fun night!)

What a pretty picture:

Anyhow… I love my iPhone for many reasons… but one of my favorite “apps” is Lose It. It lets you record the food you eat during the day, gives you the approximate caloric value and nutritional information along with your exercise of the day and lets you know how many calories you are consuming, burning, etc. It is a really fun way to keep track of your day!

Really cool! This shows yesterday’s food… If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend downloading this App. Also, if you are a runner, iPhone now has a Map My Run app. It is super cool, using GPS to map your run, etc. So sweet!

Tonight my mom made an amazing pumpkin soup. I was exhausted when I got home from a super busy day at work (and feeling a little bit like I was coming down with a cold…. oh I hope not! I’m going to say something that so many people say, “I don’t have time to get sick!!”)

It was such a treat to have my mom make dinner! This was the end result:

Pumpkin soup, garnished with a spoon of sour cream, nutmeg and a great bread stick! This soup was amazing. I love it, and I think I will have some for lunch or dinner again tomorrow!

Here is the recipe:

1 8 ounce package fresh mushrooms, sliced (this makes the soup, seriously!)

3 tablespoons butter (unsalted)

1/4 cup flour

2 14 ounce cans vegetable broth (low sodium will be healthiest!)

1 15 ounces can cooked pumpkin

1 pint half and half cream (we used a cup of 1% milk instead!)

2 tablespoons of honey

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (and we added more to garnish)

Instructions:

1. Saute mushrooms in butter in large saucepan. Add flour, stir well and gradually add broth. Boil and cook for two minutes or until mixture thickens (do not be afraid to wait until it thickens, it took us more than two minutes)

2. Stir in pumpkin, cream (or milk!), honey, curry powder and nutmeg. Stir constantly until soup is thoroughly hot.

3. Enjoy!