Underground World

This afternoon I had one thing on my agenda – to explore the Subway System here in Daejeon and see if I could figure out how to buy a ticket and catch a train.

Little did I know that when I walked down the stairs, I was coming into a whole new world!

There were stores everywhere, selling everything.

Cellphones, clothes, shoes, food…

You name it, you could find it down there. And you could also find a lot of people!

After I did some exploring, I actually ventured down to the tracks in one location and figured out how to buy a single ride ticket to another station. I didn’t actually take the subway anywhere but I was confident enough that I could have hopped on and been fine with knowing where I was going or at least figuring it out along the way.

I walked through the underground world until I came to the Galleria, and knew exactly where I would come up on street level. Now I also know that I can go down into this area and cross over to come up on the other side of the street since there aren’t many crosswalks in the area around Daejeon Station. On my walks to and from the station, I’ve had to go up and down side streets to cross safely and now I know I can just go underground and cross!! Woohoo!

When I came back up to street level, I was very close by to a cupcake store that I’ve seen a few times before but this time it was actually open!

I obviously had to go inside to check out the selection.

And, of course, came out with a little afternoon snack.

Yum!

Once my cupcake was safely consumed, I continued walking around in the gorgeous weather. I ended up walking for almost two hours and came across a nice park area that will be perfect for studying and relaxing in the warm weather.

There was a mini walking track around the grassy area and also another “exercise area” like by the river.

Dinner

After my walk and my last round of phase 2, cardio 2 I was ready for dinner and thanks to preheating the oven before I started my workout, I was able to pop the leftover pizza from last night’s dinner in the oven to heat while I was showering.

I added more of the cooked chicken for some extra protein.

Don’t let those two pieces fool you, the other two were keeping warm in the oven! 😉

I also had some boiled some green beans to get some veggies into my diet.

We found a huge bag of frozen beans at Costco last night and since they are one of the few veggies that Brian eats, we had to pick them up. I won’t lie, I’m excited to have them in the freezer so that I can add veggies to my meals in an instant now.

Since dinner, I’ve been comfy on the couch watching the Eagles take on the Doosan Bears!

Pure Simple Excitement

Who would have thought that the simple sight of cereal and oats could cause such excitement in two grown adults?! Because last night Brian and I both just about peed ourselves when we came across them.

After my Mr. Pizza dinner, Brian and I decided to make a spur of the moment trip to Costco. We got there and filled out an English form to join the club and received our Gold Star Member card within ten minutes of arriving there.

Keep in mind, seven of those minutes were spent trying to figure out how to list our address on the form before having to get the specifics from Phil. 🙂

Once we were official members, we grabbed a cart and headed into the main level of the warehouse to see what exactly Costco had to offer us here in Korea. After browsing through the electronics, bedding, clothing, etc., we headed to the escalator downstairs to the food area.

Look, no hands! I love how these escalators secure your cart while you ride up and down!

As soon as the lower warehouse area was visible, I started getting extremely excited.

I saw a lot of products that I recognized starting with American Special K Red Berries cereal and candy!

And just aisles and aisles of products!

We were walking down one aisle when I saw cereal in the next aisle through the shelves and that’s when Brian pointed it out.

QUAKER OATMEAL! It’s individual packs and only five of them are original but it’s oatmeal and I’ll take it! I usually steer clear of the flavored oats because of the sugar in them but beggers can’t be choosers, right?!

As we turned at the end of the aisle to make our way to the oatmeal, Brian had his moment of pure excitement too.

I honestly have never seen two people jumping for joy at the sight of cereal and oats before but last night in the middle of Daejeon Costco, it happened. Believe it, my friends.

We ended up picking up some other things that we came across but have plans to go back and get meat to freeze and some other products when we have more cash on us (they only take one certain credit card – the Samsung Costco Am Ex – which we obviously don’t have).

My second favorite find on the night?

I have been looking in every store we step into for pretzels so this 6 lb. bag definitely made its way home with us!

Lunch

After last night’s game was cancelled and the decision was made that Brian wouldn’t be pitching during this homestand but instead this weekend in Incheon, we decided that it was easier for me to not go to Cheongju for one night tonight and to just head straight to Incheon tomorrow.

Therefore, my food packing from yesterday was totally unnecessary. However, to keep from wasting perfectly good, already prepared foods, I used the chicken in today’s lunch.

Rice cakes topped with Sonoma Jacks cheese wedges (also a Costco find!) and chicken.

And a hearty handful of pretzels on the side.

Gotta make a dent in those 6 lbs. somehow!

Question:

What would be the one thing you would get extremely excited about finding in a bulk store abroad?

Sending the Wrong Message?

A couple of days ago, articles popped up on the internet discussing actress Anne Hathaway and the “extreme deprivation diet” she was on in order to lose 16 lbs. in three weeks for her role in the upcoming film version of the musical Les Miserables.

(click image for source)

The articles, posted on Yahoo!’s celebrity gossip site omg! and another on Hindustrin Times’s Hollywood page, report that Hathaway is living off of a 500 calorie-a-day diet and has been working out for two hours a day, five days a week.

Of course, Anne’s publists has refuted the statements about her dieting and, although admitting to her having to shed some pounds, insists that the numbers are exaggerated in both the case of how many pounds she is looking to lose and how many calories she is consuming per day.

According to sources, this isn’t the first time that Anne has had to drop weight for a movie and she was quoted to say that she lived on “kale and dust”, while prepping for and filming The Dark Knight Rises, which she appears in as Catwomen.

(click image for source)

Regardless of the truth of the weight loss, the calorie consumption and the healthy or not healthy habits being discussed here, isn’t just having these messages in the media for young girls to see an unhealthy, potentially disastrous thing?

Whether Anne is actually eating only two apples and a protein shake a day, girls are going to think it is okay for them to do so in order to drop a quick 15 lbs. Some things really should just be left out of the media but then, of course, what ever would they have to gossip about?!

Breakfast

For breakfast this morning, I wanted to make something that would go with the protein syrup I made yesterday so that I could share the proper recipe with measurements, like I promised.  Therefore, one very large chocolate protein pancake came to be and was topped with chocolate peanut butter protein syrup.

Oh the things I do for my blog readers…

Protein Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp. protein powder (flavor of choice)
• 1/2 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1/2 tbsp. agave nectar
• 1 tsp. soy milk (or milk of choice)

Directions:

1.  Add protein powder, peanut butter and agave nectar to microwave safe bowl.

2.  Microwave for 15 seconds before removing and stirring.

3.  Add milk and microwave for another 10 seconds.

4.  Stir until mixture thickens and is well combined.

Pour over pancakes or french toast or dip and lick your fingers, ya know, whatever works. 😉

Question:

Do you think that the articles about Anne Hathaway are detrimental to young girls in today’s society?