Gourmet 4 course meal for one!

I had an incredibly busy weekend:

• an out-of-town show (5 hour drive each way). It went really well. We sold several CDs and had a great response! :)
• drove half way home and spent the night
• drove all the way home in the early morning
• got gas (yay!)
• 3 hour recording session with a rock band backed by string quartet (drove straight to the studio, but ended up being there about 30 minutes early, which was OK. I paid my cell phone bill and did a couple other work related things in my car.)
• drove home, taught a violin lesson
• went to the gym for a super quick 20 minute run--I felt so much better after this!
• came home, showered (for the first time today--eww!)
• Josh Ritter concert in town!
  

I got some great foodie pictures of this weekend, which was surprising because I was with my band and I didn't expect to be able to get pictures. However, the room/venue was pretty empty when I was eating and my band mates went next door to another restaurant. So after a 5+ hour drive, and the sound check, I was excited to order. I swear, it was the most delicious 4 course solo-dining meal!

I started with this skim milk, sugar free caramel latte: (it was free to the band members, plus I got 25% off my order, which is definitely a perk of playing so many shows. I get to try delicious food at almost every venue we play at! And many times, it's completely free!)



Then they brought me some sort of grainy bread (with butter, but I don't like butter and never use it!):



And this delicious salad with a house made miso dressing. Probably not lowfat, but I only had a little of it and it was delicious:



And finally my meal, which was incredible and I'm glad I ordered it, but originally I ordered it because it was the only meatless item on the menu. I had butternut squash ravioli in a white wine cream sauce:



AMAZING! I can't say enough about it! Heavenly! This whole meal only cost me $15 including tip. Yeah, awesome! :)

We got home around 2am and I slept from 2:30 until 8:30am. I was starving upon waking (Oh, forgot to say that I had a chocolate chip walnut cookie that they sent with us (free!) in the car on the way home!) so in the morning I had this protein bar:


And a bit later this:


Then I stopped for gas and bought a large (unpictured) coffee, a cheese sandwich

and a large thing of Chex mix. OK, I know that Chex mix isn't exactly healthy, but I really like it, especially the cheddar flavored one that I bought! As far as junk food goes, I could do a lot worse. It has SOME whole grains, and is low-ish in fat. I KNOW it's not healthy, I'm just trying to justify it. What are your favorite totally NOT HEALTHY snacks/treats?


I also had a bagel at the recording session.

I started this book on the trip yesterday:



It's really good. It is a super fast read, but also incredibly interesting. Seth Godin's premise is that people are almost looking to be brought together into what he terms "Tribes" and that *we* need to be the leaders. It made me smile to think of the food blog world: like-minded people getting together and following "leaders" (hello, KathEats anyone? Hers was the first blog I read and I still look up to her so much!) Basically he talks about how we can find something we are passionate about and lead the followers, without mandating or dictating. And that will lead to more effective results, because we are motivated to do it. Whether it's people who love their iPhones, or people who enjoy racquetball, or people who like working on their cars. All of these targets could potentially form a "tribe" that could collaborate and communicate within itself as a group. I'd definitely recommend this book; 4 out of 5 stars. :)

Then way late tonight I went out for a beer with friends. I also had some French fries. I obviously don't eat healthy stuff 100% of the time. I thinkI crave veggies often enough, and I know that I have gotten better about balanced eating, without obsessing over healthy food as I have done in the past. I'm really OK with it. I even had a FiberPlus bar plus some wine here at home tonight. It was good and I was hungry. So now I'm getting tired so I'll leave you with one giveaway to enter:

Strawberry Shortstuff is having a giveaway to celebrate her (approximately) 100th post.

Goodnight. My eyes are literally closing as I type! See you in the morning for breakfast!