on the road again

I made a pretty important decision this morning - I'm not tracking my food or exercise intake all weekend. I tend to get a little obsessive, and I'm trying to eat like a normal person, and normal people to obsess over or record every bite and step. Don't worry - I'm not going to take this as an excuse to shovel down everything in sight! I will pay attention to what I eat, and enjoy every bite, meaning if I don't enjoy the first taste, there will be no second. We'll see how this works; if nothing else, it's an interesting experiment!

We headed down the road pretty late yesterday, and kept waiting and waiting until we were finally both so hungry we couldn't stand it. We headed over to a Burger King, where I had a pretty mediocre grilled chicken sandwich. Other than it not being the best of condiment choices, I really dislike mayo on most things, so I just got mustard instead.

Thankfully, I'd made my favorite fruit salad earlier in the day, so E and I munched on that for a little while - it definitely made up for the earlier sandwich! Apple, pear, walnuts and cinnamon mixed together with a small container of vanilla Oikos - super simple and delicious!

Side note: Oikos has got to be my favorite yogurt of all time. It's thick. tangy, high in protein, fat free and low in carbs, and is a great substitute for sour cream or mayo. Love it!

An hour or so later, we got pretty munchy, and broke into the Krinkle Sticks. OMG, these were amazing, and were like a thicker Pringle! Light, crisp and totally yummy, they're also gluten-free, cholesterol free, dairy free and vegetarian, which means pretty much everyone can enjoy them. E and I were totally fighting over the bag, and it fulfilled both of our snacking needs. It really is Snacident Prevention!


After all that driving it felt really nice to have a room.


Especially one with a view!

We got a corner room on one of the top floors, and the views of downtown are amazing, especially at night. Too bad the internet's ridiculously expensive! As soon as we checked in, we headed down to the convention, picked up our passes, and headed to the food court to get some dinner. Sushi and Thai? Yes please!

I had an order of salmon and avocado sushi, which was really fresh and tasty.

E and I also shared a plate of veggie Pad Thai - really flavorful, but didn't taste the same without lime juice, crushed peanuts and tofu.


Tattoo conventions are some of my favorite places on Earth - great people, amazing artists and a heck of a lot of fun. We spent a fair amount of our time at Innerstate, a new live painting exhibition. 40 of the world's best tattoo artists paint live for 5 days straight from morning to midnight, with convention attendees streaming in and out and a DJ spinning tunes. I honestly could've stood there and watched for hours, and we'll probably be back today and tomorrow. This painting by Muriel Zao had me entranced:



Finished off the night with a trip to the bar, which is always the most popular part of the convention! Started off with some bar mix and a Pearl Harbor Punch - Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, pineapple juice, sweet and sour , a grenadine float and a cherry. Fruity and tangy, this went down like nothing at all! At 92 proof, one was enough for this lightweight!

We needed sustenance to even out all the booze, so E and I split an order of veggie nachos, which were the cheesiest nachos I've ever had! I ate a little less than half.


We're heading to a tea house today for brunch, but expect a recap tonight! If you know of anywhere totally awesome in Columbus, OH that we should check out, leave a comment or e-mail me at livelaughgrow AT gmail DOT COM.