ch-ch-ch-chia!

So after a full week of being cold and bored and a little bit stir-crazy, I'm glad to have my power back. Of course the internet and cable have yet to find their way back home, so I'm blogging from the library (surrounded by ESL books because I guess the idea to come here for wifi is pretty popular and all the other tables are being used).

I'm pretty lucky my house was not damaged from the storm; only one tree fell in my backyard but didn't touch anything. It only took up the fence a bit but no worries there.

So with no power, no heat, and no internet all week, I tried to keep myself as occupied as I could. I took endless SAT practice sections and completed a few dozen sudoku puzzles, but after a while I just wanted to move. So to exercise I decided to run stairs for half an hour with Danza Kuduro on repeat (an idea for those of you who still don't have power?). It was really hard, so every two songs I had a zumba or jog interval with some Taylor Swift to pump me up (spoiler alert - she's still never getting back together with Jake after listening to the song until my iPod was nearly dead).

In addition to the stair-running, my dad and I raked just about every leaf in sight to pass the time, and it turned out to be great exercise and it kept us occupied for a few hours.

But I'm getting off topic. I really started this post to blog about a new-found source of protein, fiber, and Omega-3's that my mom and I are into lately. Do you remember those commercials for Chia pets? (If not, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzY7qQFij_M) Well instead of watering those seeds to make the coat for your pet, putting those seeds in smoothies or yogurt is actually super healthy!

I was at Trader Joe's last week with my parents (pre-storm shopping) and I saw the Chia seeds and we decided to buy them. Although we had a generator so our refrigerator wouldn't spoil, I was left oven-less all week and I found it hard to last a week without baking or making myself some sort of snack. 

But my strawberry Greek yogurt and a few spoonfuls of Chia seeds served as a great snack all week, and in the process I didn't feel so bad about how I was eating while I was stuck at home with no creations of my own. 

And now that supermarkets are reopening and restocking, I'm excited to put these seeds in smoothies too! (I think I'm just excited to get fruit again.) Once I find a good smoothie recipe I'll be sure to fill everyone in on it!

Hope you're all safe and warm with power, heat, and internet and you fared the storm with little or no damage! (If not, try running up and down your stairs a few times, that'll warm you up for sure.)