Snowing in New York!

today we finally got some snow in new york. a real-real snow, that covered up streets, cars, benches, trees.  not that i am particularly happy with that weather , but it started feeling a little bit more like a winter here. messy streets are inevitable though, snow already is turning into grey water-ish substance under the action of  ice- melting particles that are generously thrown on the streets and waterproof rain-boots are the best option for roaming around the city.

 it was really fun to watch how our little shiba-inu akina got all excited  about the snow as we walked outside.  

akina was jumping all around- so it was really hard to capture her, unless you hold her tight.

and who does not like a run in the snow?

streets  already started to look messy...

but park looked amazing... covered in the snow

akina always behaves like a truly hunting dog...ready to run after squirrels and birds...

Salad a day...

Today is the day off for me and it started of a very energizing run in central park. i ran the  whole outer loop- as usual.
surprisingly i don't get bored with the same route over and over again. i think it's because i quite often change the time i go for a run (morning vs evening)- and central park scenery never seize to amaze me, especially in the daytime.
also good music on the playlist is crucial!!!!
it was freezing outside today, i came back with rosy cheeks, feeling really good and...hungry.

i love salads for lunch and sometimes for dinner. you can get creative with your salad as you wish- mix, add and substitute ingredients, play with the dressings.
salads, you know, never get boring. you can make them light, you can make them savory and protein- packed, low-fat, no-fat, yes- (healthy) fat,  make it completely raw. i can continue on and on, singing my  ode to salad.

so today i  tossed together cabbage, carrots, spinach, avocado, sprouts, bell pepper, tomatoes, radishes, and raw pumpkin seeds dressed with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice for a healthy meal. 

 Here is my "Healthy and Energizing Cabbage'n Avocado Salad"

Cabbage and carrot slaw first 

 then add up  sprouted red lentils and carbanzo beans (can be easily substituted with canned or cooked garbanzo beans)

of, course- avocado- always present in my salads (great source of healthy fat)

tomatoes- yes please!

 radishes to add some vitamins and pretty colors

red bell peppers

 and tons of spinach or any other green leaves you wish to substitute

add some pumpkin seeds to garnish

mix it up! add salt, pepper according to your taste buds,
as well as a bit of olive oil and may be lemon juice-all  as 
you wish 

and  enjoy your vitamin-packed salad!

what you will need for the " Healthy and Energizing Salad":
-  spinach (or any other green leaves) one-three cups
-  one small white cabbage or half of medium
-  two medium carrots
- one bell pepper
-  one avocado
- garbanzo beans (chickpeas- canned or sprouted) 1/3 -1/2 cups
- one-two medium tomatoes
- one bunch of radishes
- salt, pepper to taste
- a bit of olive oil with a bit of lemon juice for dressing (if desired)
- pumpkin or sunflower seeds to garnish

Metropolitan museum date

it was quite a cold and windy day yesterday in new york.

so instead of skating in the park we decided to spent some quality time in museum. we have not been in metropolitan since summer (our last check was alexander mcqueen exhibition)

metropolitan, no doubt, amazing museum, boasting great collections of art but for me hermitage in sankt-petersburg still remains the most breathtaking  and beautiful museum in the world , i felt almost  homesick when i made comparison between two of them.

we headed to the new exhibition featuring the renaissance portrait from donatello to bellini, unfortunately photography was prohibited there so we couldn't take any pictures.

source- wikipedia
i was completely mesmerized by the  portrait of a young woman by boticelli. 

we also checked the collection of islamic art- metropolitan museum of art houses one of the largest and comprehensive collections in the world.

for a man that's a masterpiece of art



just a small glimpse on amazing collection....

we stayed until museum started to close for the evening - which is pretty late- 9pm. twice a week museum stays open until 9 pm - fridays and saturdays making it a perfect place for a date

it occurs to me that we should make museum night outs more frequently -especially when the weather  is against long walks outside. 

Over the last couple of days.

 we are so lucky to live in such a nice neighborhood- the merge of hell's kitchen and upper west side.
 my beloved central park,  gorgeous lincoln center, hudson river, whole foods market, trader joe's, amazing stores and restaurants are all in the walking distance from our house, so is my hospital which i can see right from the windows of our apartment.

roosevelt hospital

metropolitan opera

akina is a one lucky dog to have her daily walks in such a nice place

our the evening was spent listening to a nice jazz music  in the  dizzy's club coca-cola

Weekend in New York

weekend off, what could be better? only weekend with a loved one spent wandering around new york.  much needed walk.  warm weather only makes it even more enjoyable. 

Beatles...

cute rose cups in the windows....

lazy saturday streets

pigeon, enjoying crepes...

Soho street views...

and our day ended at magnolia bakery which is on upper west side

 (i really-really like this lilac petite skirt)

a+e.

Cold-weather proof?

me and askhad headed out for a run on  a monday evening after half an hour debate whether we should do it  or not. it was freeeeezing outside and windy, -6 C and it felt like -11C.   i wore tons of layers, cap and gloves and in addition cotton scarf to close half of my face in case i need it. we ran in  central park as usual, with a goal to run the whole outer circle.
gosh, it was beyond refreshing. i was sweating but at the same time my fingers were freezing off.  i thought i would choke on frozen air, but breathing was not that bad.
we were surprised by how many people were running that night!  i thought only we were absolutely nuts to leave cozy sofa  for chilly air and opportunity to freeze off noses and fingers. seeing people around- solo or in groups made the run quite cheerful.  it was tough, but ultimately fun. we finished our usual circle proud of ourselves. cold-weather proof?-definitely.
i went to yoga class right away to warm up and stretch those muscle, my body still "frozen" took a while to adjust to asanas, i felt tired and all i wanted is child pose and shavasana.

yesterday after work and tour around the hospital for future internal medicine residents i went to my yoga studio to take one of my fav's teachers class. it was a good one- dedicated to "fire" practice- all i remember we were doing a lot of chair poses and chataranga push ups, "firing" arms, legs and core. it was amazing class, and felt like a real workout.

 today i  really feel my arms and back.

Happy New Year!

happy new year everyone!

i have some news to share-  i am accepted to run new york city's half-marathon on march 18th and really excited. it  will be my first ever race to run and i will make every effort to incorporate as many runs at central park as my schedule allows to get ready.

i also had a blast at my last in 2011 yoga class at sonicyoga on friday led by challenging instructor ariel karass, love-love-love his classes, they always feel like a great workout. so finished my  2011 year in a healthy way.

the last day of the year was  a bit hectic for us with askhad. i ran  6 miles around central park and he took our little shiba-inu for a very long walk . then we went to nearby stores to buy some  presents for our friends that we are going to visit for new year's party.

we had a great beginning of the year, celebrating it in pocono in pennsylvania  with our friends. it became our tradition to go there for the past three years. the family we visit have a huge house and invite all their friends from across the country. 

we arrived past 9 pm, exact time to get dressed up and ready to say our good byes to the old year .

i've got an ipad from askhad as my new year's present. thank you my dear!