The other day I was contacted by a new reader who had a bunch of questions for me re: IGE. As I was typing the answers to a few questions out, I decided, hey, why not share with everyone?
And so…20 questions with IGE:
1. What type of work do you do? I work in the marketing department at a history museum. I design collateral pieces, event posters, update our website, oversee social media efforts and do pretty anything else that needs done. “Marketing” is code for “we do it all!”
2. Do you have any children or pets? No, and no.
3. What are the kitchen gadgets, tools, or appliances that you couldn’t live without? Here is a list of my must have kitchen items.
4. Where did you get your tofu press? I have a TofuXPress tofu press. You can order one online here.
5. Were you raised on healthy eating & exercise or did you develop this as an adult? Absolutely. Growing up, my Mom had a healthy, home-cooked meal on the table every night at 5:30pm, and if I wasn’t sleeping, eating, or in school I was usually dancing, which kept me very active!
6. Are you the saver and bill-payer in your house or is your husband on board, too? I run the finances as far as paying bills, etc., but Ben and I have the same views on saving for our future, as we’d both like to retire young and move to the Amalfi Coast.
7. How long have you been married? 3 years last April, and counting. Here’s my #1 secret to a happy marriage.
8. How old are you? 27. Soon to be 28. Sickening.
9. What brand of pots and pans do you use? I use Calphalon pots and pans, although I have a small skillet from Target that I use for eggs. It’s cheap and thin which makes it heat up quickly and seems to cook them perfectly!
10. Do you count calories? Sometimes. I like Livestrong’s Daily Plate tool for tracking calories in and exercise calories out.
11. Do you ever drink soda? …yes… Efforts at kicking my love for Diet Mt. Dew were well-intended, but futile.
12. What kind of tea do you buy? Blech, I hate tea! I will make an exception for Trader Joe’s Vanilla Cinnamon Black Tea, though. It’s delightful!
13. Do you hate washing dishes? Absolutely. In fact, I was banned from washing dishes when I was growing up. Between my two brothers and I, we each had to pick from either clearing the table, washing the dishes or loading the dishwasher after dinner every night. I backed up the sink trying to stuff too much food down the disposal one too many times, and was only allowed to clear the table or load the dishwasher after that. MUCH easier tasks, if you ask me! 
14. Do you hate the clean-up after cooking? I am a very messy cook, so yes, yes I do.
15. Are you a Type A, B, C, or D personality or a combination of? Total control/clean freak, anal Type A personality here. I’m fun. 
16. What are your thoughts on wasting food? (Are you a member of the Clean Your Plate Club?) Card-carrying member of the clean your plate club here! However I don’t think there’s any point in cleaning your plate if you took too much food and are full before your plate is clear. I use salad-sized plates to avoid this problem!
17. What do you keep on your kitchen counters? Keurig, utensil holder, toaster, knife block, microwave, paper-towel dispenser, banana hanger/fruit basket, TV, food scale!
18. Do you favor a certain brand of spices? Do you have a large assortment of spices? I usually buy Tone’s spices, and have near insane amounts of them.
19. Do you have dessert every day? Oh yes. Every day.
20. Do you have certain skin care and hair care products that you swear by? I usually buy whatever shampoo/conditioner is on sale at the store – making sure to get the volumizing formula of whatever it is.
Here’s my skin routine. Although now that it’s summer, and my skin isn’t as dry aka I breakout less, I’ve swapped the salicylic acid based Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturizer for Oil of Olay Total Effects Fragrance-Free Daily Moisturizer in the morning. It feels like silk.
I also now use Oil of Olay Total Effects Eye Transforming Cream twice a day. Three cheers for anti-aging!
So there you have it – 20 things you now know about me! Want to know anything else? Just ask.
In other news, the theme of the day has been strange encounters of the rabbit kind. As I poured my morning bowl of Total Raisin Bran (aka rabbit food,)
I noticed that nearly the entire bag was gone! Huh?! Strange, I thought to myself, as I’ve only had one bowl each morning this week…
Turns out Ben has formed somewhat of a nibbling habit and now loves TRB as much as I do! Guess I’ll have have to start buying two boxes a week, ’cause running out of this cereal is not an option. I am hooked!
Later, as I was sitting down for an early lunch of a Veggie Sausage Scramble, toasted Thin Bun and chopped mango on my back deck…
Peter Cottontail made an appearance 10 feet away from me! I actually hate rabbits (I’m still holding a grudge from when they ate ALL the tiger lillies I planted the first summer after buying our house) but it was still kind of cute.
Let’s talk about this scramble real quick. That’d be 1 egg + 1 egg white, 1 cooked chicken veggie sausage link, chopped broccoli and cheddar cheese, all cooked up together. I’m telling you – LOVE that sausage!
Enjoyed with a with a toasted, buttered bun,
and tropical mango chunks.
My rabbit encounters continued this afternoon as Eloise and I were biking up to the gym on a trail by my house. One minute I’m cruisin’ along, the next minute I am dodging right. A big, fat rabbit was sitting smack in the middle of the trail and refused to move! Really, rabbit? Luckily I quickly recovered, dodged left, made it to the gym and ran through this crazy 45 Minute Treadmill Routine:
| Time | Speed | Incline |
| 0-2 | 4 | 1% |
| 2-4 | 6.5 | 1% |
| 4-7 | 7 | 1% |
| 7-9 | 7.5 | 1% |
| 9-10 | 8 | 1% |
| 10-13 | 7 | 1% |
| 13-15 | 7.5 | 1% |
| 15-16 | 8 | 1% |
| 16-19 | 4 | 1% |
| 19-22 | 7 | 1% |
| 22-24 | 7.5 | 1% |
| 24-25 | 8 | 1% |
| 25-28 | 4 | 1% |
| 28-34 | 7 | 1% |
| 34-38 | 7.5 | 1% |
| 38-40 | 8 | 1% |
| 40-43 | 4 | 0% |
| 43-45 | 3.5 | 0% |
| Total | 4.5 miles (ish) |
This started out as a classic 3-2-1 Routine (3 minutes at a manageable pace, 2 minutes at a more challenging pace and 1 minute at a highly challenging pace) but since I decided I was bringin’ inclines back (a la Justin Timberlake) to my treadmill routines, I had to pepper in a few walking breaks in order to survive. Even adding a tiny 1% incline to the routine makes everything SO much more challenging!
Oh, I also say 4.5 miles (ish) because I had to hop off the treadmill to use the restroom about 5 minutes in and forgot to check how far I had gone before leaving. Rabbits Rats!
I hungrily dug into this 18 Rabbits Funky Figs & Cherries Granola Bar after biking home. What did I tell you, rabbits all ovah the place today!
The ingredients list on this bar are AWESOME.
The texture is really cool too. Like a cross between a thick fruit roll up and a chewy granola bar. Plus it’s really seedy, which I love.
This rabbit is much better than the others.
18 Rabbits actually sent me a whole variety package of their products to try. The granola bars and baby “bunny bar” granola bars have been great grab-and-go items to supplement lunches or to split for a pre & post workout snack.
Not only are their ingredient lists top notch, but their products are made with sustainably grown ingredients and sourced from local producers and artisans. Plus they have really yummy flavors like Bananas Foster, Mango Strawberry and Cherry Apricot. Mmm!
18 Rabbits wants to share the yumminess with you too, and is going to send a variety pack of their granola bars to 1 IGE reader! All you have to do is pick out one of my 20 questions above and answer it by 5pm tomorrow, Saturday, June 18th.
Ready? Set. Share! 
How old are you? 23 years old
I am 25. Haha, I hope the fact that I chose the easiest question doesn’t hurt my chances of winning.
i was so excited when i saw that you spell your name just like mine (so rare, but it really is the prettiest way to spell the name)! question: do you have any pets or kids. i have no children, but i do have a border collie pup that someone had abandoned and dumped in my parent’s neighborhood. my husband and i found her on christmas day while on a post-christmas dinner walk. the last 3 letters of christmas is “mas”, but if you flip them around it spells “sam” so that is what we named her.
Been happily married for almost five years and have lovely three-year-old twins (who love granola bars!) to show for it!
Pets or kids? No kids, yet. But I have a big bulldog that is plenty of work for me now!
I use the Simply Organic brand of spices as much as possible. Their factory is in the small town near us and I have 2 family members who work there. The spices are spook rich. Their cinnamon is my favorite.
What type of work do I do?
I am a middle school band director in a very small, rural county in SC. I am also a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. =)
19. Do you have dessert every day?
Never…and by that I mean not very often…and by that I mean usually…and by that I mean HECK YES!
How long have you been married?
I have been married for 10 months. It will be ONE year August 6th!
I am definitely Type A — I like to control everything, oops!
How long have you been married?
Three years last month!
I’m obsessed with the Celestial Seasonings holiday teas, so much that I stock up for the year every December. The gingerbread spice tastes like a cookie still warm from the oven. (http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/holiday-teas)
I am 28 but only for a few more days. My birthday is Wednesday!
Number 16: I despise wasting food and also belong to the clean plate club. I love my food!
I am 23.. but I’ll be 24 in 24 days!
What kind of tea? I’m a fan of Lipton iced tea (sweet!). I also occasionally get in the mood for Good Earth tea, also iced.
11. Do you ever drink soda? I LOVE Diet Mt. Dew.
I’m a registered dietitian.
Hope I made it in the nick of time!
I loved reading these! I’ll answer the dessert question… I eat it everyday too!
Dessert? Everyday!
Dessert? bowl of ice cream every night!
[...] Comments « 20 Questions with IGE + Yummy Granola Bar Giveaway! [...]
18. I love, love, love spices! I have way too many! I have lots of interesting international spices as well: my love of spices is well known & my friends & family who travel usually bring me back interesting spice mixes. My mom recently brought me back a delicious curry blend from South Africa!
17. What do you keep on your kitchen counters?
a bunch of clear oxo containers (for coffee, rice, flour, oatmeal, etc.), knife block, rice cooker, toaster, cookbooks, coffeemaker, fruit bowl, a monkey figurine that usually holds a wine bottle (but it’s currently holding a vodka bottle), salt & pepper shakers, paper towel dispenser, hand soap and dish soap, cookie jar (for dog treats)
[...] mason jar. The mason jar I used to tote my Total Raisin Bran cereal breakfast in to work this morning, then had to use as my glass all day since I forgot a [...]