Just dance
On Saturday, I introduced Vicki to the amazingness that is Zumba. I like to attend classes at a local Zumba studio. The instructors are awesome, and of the 4 or 5 different places I’ve taken classes at, Dancing Kats definitely has the best music. In class we danced to everything from Lady Gaga to Michael Jackson. After Zumba, we headed to the mall for the Victoria’s Secret semi-annual sale.
Vicki and I found a few things we liked 
I picked up this body wash. Funky looking but great smelling.
Vicki also got this adorable top from J Crew for her welcome back party next week.
Post zumba lunch of grilled cheese and minestrone soup
Later in the afternoon (after another trip to the apple store because of another small problem with Vicki’s computer) we started prepping for dinner.
We grilled chicken breasts and portobello mushrooms that had been marinated in balsamic vinegar.
I also started prepping for my favorite butternut squash bisque.
Onions
Carrots and squash
I used the low sodium chicken broth. Next time I think I’ll go back to full sodium. I’m not all that concerned with my salt intake and I ended up adding a ton of salt to flavor it anyway.
Cooking the soup
Blending the soup
The ingredient that adds the most to the bisque flavor. I only add 1/2 cup to the whole thing.
Portobello, chicken, tomato and cheese sandwich and greens.
Finished soup
After a wonderful weekend, Vicki had to head back on Sunday morning. I didn’t want to see her go because I love spending time with her. She’s one of my closest and oldest friends. It also meant I had to return to reality. Classes start tomorrow. Luckily they are easing us in with a 9:50 lecture as opposed to an 8:40. Unfortunately, I also have an afternoon lab. It’s going to be a long day and I have a ton of stuff in my planner. I’ve enjoyed the past 2 weeks, and I wish they could last a little longer.
One of these things is this week’s dance marathon. Anna and I braved the snow this afternoon to contact more local businesses about donating prizes for our raffle. We had some success, and it was good to get out of the apartment for a while. Armory square was actually really pretty covered in snow:)
Add comment January 3, 2010
He’s the one they call Dr. Feelgood
After an afternoon at the mall trying to get Vicki’s computer fixed, that’s exactly what we were calling the Mac whisperer! Vicki and I ran a bunch of errands on Friday morning (trip to Price Chopper and David’s Bridal) and then headed over to the Mac store. Not only did this guy put his ear up to her laptop and tell her what was wrong, he installed a new hard drive, transferred all of her files and had it all up and running in about 2 hours. Thanks to apple care, it was all free!
With a good as new computer, we went back to the apartment and each got on the treadmill for a while. I tested out a new workout that involved a lot of speed walking up hill. I didn’t think I would feel it as much as a run, but it was actually quite challenging.
Afterwards, I was pretty hungry, and we decided on pizza for dinner!
My new basil plant. It smells amazing.
Added some of Emeril’s Italian Essence to the sauce.
Along with lots of fresh basil and garlic.
We also decided to take the easy way out with the dough situation, and used a Boboli crust.
Hmmm pizza!
Needed some veggies…thus the salad.
Also added feta cheese, cranberries and sliced almonds.
I also whipped up some of my Brie Bites. Starting off with a package of Pillsbury Grands, I separated each of the biscuits into thirds and placed each one on a mini muffin pan.
Using a tart press, I pushed each piece of dough in forming a cup. A little flour helps with the stickiness.
Next, I filled the dough with a little brie cheese and some raspberry jam.
They went in the oven for 10 minutes and you have Brie Bites!
Vicki and I spent the rest of the night watching Glee and chatting. When a friend leaves the country for 9 months, there’s definitely a whole lot of necessary catching up and it often involves venn diagrams
1 comment January 3, 2010
Auld Lang Syne
Happy new year!!!! It’s so incredible that it’s already 2010. I remember watching Back to the Future 2 and seeing their prediction of what 2015 was going to be like. I also remember thinking that 2015 seemed so far off in the future, and now its pretty damn close. Luckily, I don’t think I’ll be getting around on a hover board within the next 5 years.
Anyway, I’ve made several resolutions for 2010:
1. Run in my first half marathon. I have about 6 months to kick my butt into shape. It’s going to involve a lot of getting up early to work out and a lot of healthy eating. Hopefully I’m up for the challenge.
2. Refocus at school. Even though I spend most of my time studying, I really want to make better use of that time. When I’m working, I want to be 100% into what I’m reading and reviewing. I don’t want to get distracted. By being a little more efficient, hopefully I’ll save more time overall.
3. Blog. I blog for family and friends, but I have a little secret. I also do this whole blogging thing for me. It’s the best study break out there! I can sit down, do something completely unrelated to school, and still feel productive.
4. Stay in better contact with friends. I sometimes feel like med school sucks up all my time, and I’m in my own little med school bubble. I don’t want to let myself get totally wrapped up in all of this craziness and let the rest of my life pass me by.
In other exciting news, I had a wonderful new year’s eve and day. Vicki came up to rock in the new year for the whole weekend, and Mike also stopped by for drinks a little later on in the evening.
Vicki on my mac (her’s was not working 
)
We started our end of 2009 feast with some bread and oil.
We mixed fresh basil with garlic, olive oil, and an italian blend of spices.
Yum!
I also mixed a ton of basil and garlic into the sauce we were making…
…for our pasta bake.
Finished product!
Sugar cookies for dessert.
We also used Emily’s recipe for “Melting Snowman Punch” and I got to use my new punch bowl!
Rum, gingerale, and Italian ice.
Cheers!
Besides punch, we also had some wine throughout the evening!
Even though it was one of my more low key new year celebrations, I still had an amazing time. What’s better than fuzzy pants, friends, and wine!?!
Happy 2010 everyone!!!
1 comment January 3, 2010
Baby it’s cold outside (part 2):
After a 40 minute workout on the treadmill, I had two realizations:
- I have a lot of training to do before I can finish the half marathon in June
- I was HUNGRY
I busted out my other cali bowl and starting cutting up veggies to make my chunky guacamole.
Finishing up mashing the guac.
For dinner I mixed a few tortilla chips, with romaine lettuce, leftover veggie chili, and some extra sharp cheddar cheese.
Super filling. Just wished I heated up the chili before I put it on the salad. It was a little too cold
And now I’m settling in for an excellent night watching the newest Real World taking place in DC. I realize I’m now too old to participate in the show, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t enjoy all the craziness. The cast seems interesting, and hopefully it will be another entertaining season!
Add comment December 30, 2009
Baby its cold outside
Brrr! I’m back in Syracuse, and I’m feeling it! It was snowing as I drove into the city and it snowed through most of the night. I decided today would be the perfect day to lock myself in the apartment, and have some quality Sarah time.
Excellent opportunity to enjoy the new TV. 21 inch upgrade from my last one! I officially caught up on my DVR.
“Santa” (aka Mom and Dad) also made sure my wine rack was fully stocked. Haven’t had a glass yet, but I plan on opening up a bottle with dinner.
When it’s cold outside, I always crave hot foods. I was super hungry for lunch and didn’t feel like cooking something that would take a long time. Veggie chili it was.
I had a seasoning packet from Whole Foods in the pantry.
Although the recipe didn’t call for onions, I tend to put them in everything.
Mixing up the sauce in one of my new Cali bowls.
Added a 28 oz of diced tomatoes, a can of chickpeas, and a can of kidney beans. The recipe suggested 2 cans of kidney beans but I LOVE chickpeas.
Finished product. The chickpeas and onions totally made the chili. It gave it a little different taste, texture and color.
Yum!
Balanced the hot and spicy with a mini whole wheat pita.
For dessert, I had my last pomegran plus waffle.
Instead of syrup, flavored the waffle with cashew butter and strawberry jam. Best decision all afternoon!
Add comment December 30, 2009
Another one bites the dust
One exciting bit of news from Christmas that I didn’t mention in my last post, was a phone call I got from Kelly at 8 am. SHE’S ENGAGED!!! It’s so exciting!!! I kind of had an idea, so my cell phone didn’t leave my side from the moment I woke up 
For those of you who are counting, that brings the 2010 friend wedding count up to 6 and I’ll be a bridesmaid in 3. It’s going to be a busy year Kelly, Jason, Emily, Vicki and I got together for a celebratory breakfast the Sunday after Christmas.
The happy couple
Jackie’s on Rt 29. Excellent place for brunch.
Another pic of Jason and Kelly
I somehow managed to get through the entire meal without taking a single picture of my food. Oops! Must have been all the excitement
Emily got a little misty with all the wedding talk
Congratulations Kelly! I’m so happy for you and Jason. Love you guys!!!
Add comment December 30, 2009
Merry little Christmas
Merry (late) christmas everyone! I haven’t had a chance to write about christmas and the days following until now. I’m back in Syracuse. Back in my apartment. Almost back to reality. Luckily I have a few days of freedom left
Christmas day in the Fryc house was a little different from usual. We held off on having the big Christmas celebration with the grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins until the following Sunday. Instead we had a small celebration at home, and then went to my cousin Wendy’s house for some tasty food and drinks at night.
For Christmas lunch we started things off with a salad chuck full of chickpeas (my fave bean).
I also had a piece of dad’s lasagna. Mmmm… He even made an extra one for me to take back to Syracuse
Look who decided to get friendly during lunch. Bella is quite the little chow hound
Jeff taking a post-meal nap with Bella.
Bella napping with my dad.
God, she can be so cute!
My mom enjoying her new snuggie. Bella got one too!
My mom got Bella a new Christmas t-shirt, and I got her the elf ears. She wasn’t a big fan of that hat. It only lasted for about 5 minutes.
Didn’t get many pictures over at Wendy’s (battery went dead), but here’s one of my brother in his new hat. The boy sure loves his eggnog.
All and all, we had an excellent Christmas day. It’s always great to spend time with the family, and even if I’m 25 years old, I still love presents
_________________________________________________
The day after Christmas has become some what of an annual shopping trip for Emily and I. Emily is always super organized (she had her Christmas 2010 spreadsheet done weeks before Christmas and she’s just about done with NEXT year’s shopping). I, on the other hand, was not quite as prepared as years past. This year Emily’s mom and Merilee joined us for shopping at Hallmark, Walmart and Joanne’s to stock up on holiday cards and wrapping materials. I did very well at the Hallmark store (as you’ll see in future posts) . We finished the day off with a lovely lunch at the Recovery Room. I love shopping, and I love friends!
Mer and I. I was looking pretty sleepy after all the shopping.
Emily and Mer
Add comment December 30, 2009
O holy night
Merry Christmas eve everyone! Tonight we had the traditional Polish Wigilia dinner at the Fryc house with Mom, Dad, Jeff, Grandma Fryc, Uncle Tom, and I. What’s Wigilia you ask? I’ll let wikipedia tell you:
“Wigilia (pronounced: vee-GHEE-lee-uh) is the traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper in Poland, held on December 24. The term is also often extended to the whole day of the Christmas Eve, extending further into the midnight Mass held at Roman Catholic churches all over Poland and large Polish comunities worldwide at midnight preceding the Christmas Day.”
Jeff having a beer before dinner.
Grandma Fryc relaxing in the living room.
First we exchanged opaltek. According to wikipedia:
“Family members begin the celebration with a prayer and breaking of the Christmas wafer (opłatek – symbolizing the bread eaten daily — our day-to-day common life) and wishing each other good fortune in the upcoming new year. (After the prayer, usually done by the man of the house, the opłatek is broken and pieces are given to everyone attending the table. From there, everyone breaks off a piece of their opłatek, and shares it with everyone else, wishing luck and joy in the upcoming year, for Christ has been born. This wish is usually finalized by a kiss on the cheek.)”
Some of the details on one of the wafers.
Mom and Jeff.
Jeff and I. Turns out, its hard to break off the oplatek and and take a picture.
The best part of the the night (besides presents) is always the food! Dad did an amazing job and made the entire meal. I don’t think Poland is known for it’s fantastic cuisine, but you would be surprised. I’m a big fan of all the traditional dishes served on Christmas eve.
The first course was a mushroom soup.
The mushroom soup is always my second favorite part of dinner…
…because the pierogi is always my favorite! None of that Mrs. T’s fake stuff. Only homemade pockets of awesome are served on Christmas eve
Serving fish is also part of Wigilia dinner (no meat because of Catholic tradition). Dad made Pacific cod. I’m not a huge fish lover, but this actually tasted pretty good.
Kapusta (or cabbage).
Potatoes served with onions. YUM.
My full plate. Let’s just say I was a very full Sarah afterwards.
For dessert, I had a slice of babka bread (sweet yeast cake).
After a lovely carbolicious meal, I am so full I can barely move! Time to watch a movie with mom
1 comment December 24, 2009
C is for cookie
Although I love to cook and bake, I don’t always have the spare time to test out new recipes. Unfortunately, school tends to take up a lot of my time. My goal for the two weeks I have off for winter break is to test out at least 3 recipes that I’ve seen on some of my favorite blogs. One recipe that I’ve read about on both Carrots ‘N’ Cake and We are not Martha is for Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies. Yum! They looked super tasty in the pictures on both blogs, and I was just looking for an excuse to give the recipe a try. Luckily, I planned on spending the day with Richard today, and it seemed like the perfect holiday treat to bring over to his house. Click on Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies to see the recipe I used based on the We are not Martha post.
Candy Canes
Jeff helping me out with the chopping and crushing.
Almost finished…
Still working…
Whisking flour and salt
Mixing the butter. I love my mom’s Kitchen Aid Mixer!
I spooned out the dough before spreading it. Actually worked out quite well.
Chocolate in the melting stage…
Almost finished…
YUM. I LOVE white chocolate.
Finished and all packaged to head over to Richard’s!
The cookies took a little longer than expected to cool, and I got a late start heading over to Richard’s. When I finally got to Rome (1.5 hours later than I originally thought), I was so so so excited to finally see him. We spent the day catching up and eating super tasty food. I completely forgot to take pictures of just about everything I ate, but Richard’s mom made some of the best Pepperoni bread I’ve ever head for lunch. She even prepared some without pepperoni for me which was excellent. I’m not a big fan of beef (haven’t had it since I was 16), and I always appreciate when people are awesome about the whole not adding meat thing. For dinner we headed over to one of my favorite central NY restaurants, Teddy’s. I may or may not have had one of the GIANT onion rings and then a tasty “Vermont Country” salad with chicken fresh lettuce, grilled asparagus, beets, goat cheese and candied pecans, topped with balsamic dressing.
I missed Richard!
The one, the only, THE AMERICAN FLAG BLANKET!!! One of my favorite parts of the old apartment at 58 Perry.
Richard and I spent part of the afternoon playing with his old school NES and having a glass or two of wine. The perfect combo! We both were HUGE SMB fans back in the day. Although we disagree on our favorites (he’s a #2 guy and I prefer #3), we both have a special spot in our heart devoted to the memories of playing this system way back in the early 90’s. I was so surprised how easily it all came back to me. Maybe the wine helped jog my memory:)
All and all, it was an amazing day. Richard’s family was so welcoming, and Richard was an excellent host. Although it’s not nearly as fun as living with him, our Richard-Sarah reunions are always awesome. I miss you already Beau Beau
Add comment December 24, 2009
Everybody hurts sometimes…
Holy moly I’m one hurting Sarah! After three days of pretty intense work outs focusing on my legs, I’m in P-A-I-N. I was pretty sore yesterday, but I pushed through and did just under an hour on the treadmill and about 10 minutes of lunges, squats, and leg raises. BAD IDEA. I could barely walk today without doing that silly cowboy strut. Needless to say, I decided today needed to be a rest day.
And what better way to spend a rest day then doing some last minute shopping at the mall! If you can’t tell, there was a whole lot of sarcasm behind that statement. I know the mall 4 days before Christmas actually sounds pretty terrible. I’m not a big fan of getting my shopping done at the last minute. I hate the crowds and dealing with the super long lines, but over the past few weeks, I haven’t had much time to be thinking about presents. To make the trip to the mall much more bearable, I invited some friends along
Merilee and Josh joined me for the hectic day. We started off with lunch at P.F. Chang’s before getting our shop on.
). I haven’t seen Richard since Nicola’s wedding…far too long! Richard and I used to be roommates at Colgate and during my first two post college years in Boston. He has since moved to LA to pursue a doctorate at UCLA, and therefore I don’t get to see him as much as I would like. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, which should be a fun filled day of snuggling, gossiping and snacking…3 of my favorite things to do with my Beau Beau 
Add comment December 23, 2009
