WIAW: Postpartum Eats

July 6, 2016July 6, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

I’m back for What I Ate Wednesday! It has been a few weeks since I participated and I took off last Wednesday for good reason – I had just had a baby! That’s right, FW was born June 23 and I’m now a new mom. SO this week includes a random day in the life of a new mom on maternity leave, but with help. B was home this week so I had some help around the house, help with FW and time to prepare my own meals. It was great!

The reason I’ve been blogging less than usual

Breakfast was some yogurt, granola (my mom had made it and brought it when she came to visit) AND a huge fruit salad. I’m still on a fruit kick and my parents bought me a ton of fruit when they came and visited and we were given leftover fruit salad from our Fourth of July bbq, so of course I had to have some.

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I had a midmorning snack of some sushi. I ended up eating only 3 of these pieces that were leftover but they were good!

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B and I then went for a walk with FW. We’ve been taking daily walks with him and enjoying the sunny weather and being home during the day.

For lunch, I couldn’t decide what I wanted. Something sweet? Savory? Leftovers? So I had a bunch of random stuff in our fridge – veggies and hummus (B’s mom had made some hummus and brought it over for us), fruit and cheese, bread and peanut butter and a runny egg with toast. It is SO NICE to eat runny eggs again!

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For an afternoon snack I had a peach.

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For dinner, I decided to once again use some of the supplies we had in the fridge and made ginormous salads and flatbread pizza. We had pizza Friday night and still had some cheese, homemade sauce and cheese – AND still had some naan from when B’s mom brought it over (to go with aforementioned hummus), and it made for a really good homemade dinner. Oh, and while preparing dinner I snacked on some fresh super soft mozzarella and pepperoni. Only mozzarella is pictured – sorry it’s not super photogenic 🙂

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And for dessert? B and I shared some Mitchell’s ice cream – this is one of my favorite flavors!

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Some questions for you:

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Pregnant people and moms – did you have cravings during or post-pregnancy? Did they stay the same?

WIAW: Baseball Game!

June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

I almost forgot that it was Wednesday because I had Monday off – what a great feeling! Thank goodness I remembered, just in time to participate in What I Ate Wednesday and share with you my meals and see everyone else’s meals as well.

B and I slept in on this day and ended up starting our day with lunch. We hit up Bloom, one of my favorite local bakeries and lunch places and I got this great sandwich – it’s a light chicken salad on a baguette. It came with a beet salad and I also snagged a few of B’s salt & vinegar chips (not pictured). One of my favorite flavors! It was nice enough to eat outside, so we hit up a nearby public garden to eat in.

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That afternoon we were pretty busy and before I knew it it was time for our evening plans – the Indians game. I didn’t have time for my afternoon snack! Thankfully I bought some peanuts for us to enjoy while watching the game.

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For dinner at the game, I opted for a grilled cheese sandwich from Melt, which has a new stand at the baseball field. I got the mushroom melt, which hit the spot! Besides craving fruit during this pregnancy, I’m also craving panini-type melted sandwiches, even in the heat.

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And that was it! Not as balanced as my typical days (no fruit, VERY limited veggies, etc.), but that’s what What I Ate Wednesday is about – sharing it all, the good and the bad.

Some questions for you:

Do you have a ballpark eat that you typically go for?
Do you eat the shells on peanuts? Sometimes I do! Is that weird?

WIAW: Rhubarb Crisp and Ice Cream

May 25, 2016May 22, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

Happy What I Ate Wednesday party people! Hopefully you’re enjoying a great week and it’s feeling more and more like summer where you are (if you’re in one of those places that’s lucky enough to enjoy seasons and in North America … BIG if I know). It’s finally feeling warm again here and it’s only fitting that on this WIAW I had a rhubarb crisp dessert with ice cream. Because that just SCREAMS summer, doesn’t it?

Yes, I had other food too. The day started with a smoothie slash smoothie bowl.

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And a snack- a cut up apple. 20160519_135402

Lunch was breakfast! Or brunch I suppose? Egg whites, lentils, spinach and a veggie burger. VERY satisfying.

But I also had some toast and a peach. We had no more nectarines and I really wanted something juicy. 20160519_131642

Some Swedish Fish for a snack! When was the last time you had these bad boys? It had been YEARS and someone brought them in for a meeting we had in the office. They were so good! 20160519_134935

For dinner, I had plans to go out with a coworker who was celebrating her 20th anniversary at our office. We were also celebrating my future bebe 🙂

We went to Spice, one of my favorite local places. I had an amazing goal cheese tomato salad, flat brea and we split this rhubarb crisp. With ice cream. 20160519_183520 20160519_190556 20160519_194758

I got home around 8 and normally would have gotten ready for bed, but had to play catch up with some work things. I was up until around midnight, so it called for a midnight snack – some homemade granola!

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Don’t worry – I ate it before midnight so it still counts as my Thursday, right? And that was my What I Ate Wednesday eats.

Some questions for you:

Is it still called brunch if you already had breakfast? Or is it just breakfast for lunch then?
When was the last time you had Swedish Fish?

WIAW: Every Day Should End With Ice Cream

April 20, 2016April 19, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 9 Comments

It’s Wednesday, it’s Wednesday … woopwoop! Which means it is a day for sharing eats and seeing what other people eat. Yup, I love What I Ate Wednesday and all the foodporn that it results in!

Here are y eats from earlier in the week – a pretty boring weekday. But on a non-boring note, spoiler alert – the day DID end with some ice cream!

The day started with some of my favorite overnight oats. Same as last week but no yogurt this time – just oats, almond milk, banana, honey and some peanut butter. So delicious.

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I had an apple and some nuts as well for a mid-morning snack.

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Lunch was a mishmash of random things. I had plans to eat lunch out with coworkers at a new BBQ place (which would have made for a WAY more interesting WIAW post), but I ended up getting pulled into a few meetings and having to work through lunch. Luckily I had a random assortment of food at my desk – leftover tabbouleh and baba from Friday night, carrots, plus a sweet potato (half with honey and cinnamon) and half an avocado. YUM! It hit the spot.

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I had some assorted hard candy for snacks that afternoon. Per usual.

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And a pear. Because pregnant Melissa LOVES FRUIT.

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B and I had our hospital tour after work that night. We got a quick tour of where I’ll be giving birth – wow. Somewhat made things a little more real to us! Anyway, that meant a late but quick dinner was needed – so we stopped off and had dinner at The Soupermarket. I had their jambalaya soup, some amazing bread and B and I split the Market Greens salad.

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And I pulled the whole “I’m pregnant and want ice cream” and we stopped off at Sweet Moses on the way home. B got a root beer float and I got some salted caramel ice cream with toffee topping. SO GOOD. But I was stuffed!

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I tend to get VERY full during pregnancy – I’m well into the third trimester now and after some meals I just can’t get comfortable. That was the case after the ice cream. But so worth it! A perfect way to end my What I Ate Wednesday day.

Some questions for you:

Do you need dessert every night? What do you have?
How much fruit do you eat on a daily basis? I eat fruit at least 2x a day.

More Coffee Shops and Easter!

March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 13 Comments

Some blogkeeping: Stay tuned TOMORROW when I’ll be featuring a giveaway for free race entry to the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon! Because I’m this week’s Ambassador of the Week! (okay, I can’t completely wait until tomorrow – see the bottom of this post for how to enter early)

Easter came early this year! B and I celebrated with his family this year, which meant a big boozy brunch. But I’m getting ahead of myself. In addition to Easter, the weekend also included some more coffee shop hopping, runs and nice walks.

Friday night was super low key – just what I needed. Even though I had only stayed out late once, the week had tired me out. B and I caught up on old episodes of Veep and my meatless Friday dinner included plain yogurt, fruit and some peanut butter. Definitely hit the spot.

Saturday I was up early for a run, followed by work. I only had time for a short run, but I’m so glad B and I made it outside – it was seasonably cold in the morning, but it was my fastest run all week.

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After that, I spent most of the day at a few coffee shops catching up on work. We alternated between decaf lattes and smoothies.

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Saturday night, B and I prepped for Easter. This year, we were bringing additional drinks, and we B made some cocktails called The Long Faced Dove and The Great Gatsby. I’m obviously not drinking right now, but they sure looked pretty!

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I have a glucose test next week, so I decided to play it healthy for dinner. At least it was colorful, right?

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Sunday morning started early with a 5.25 mile run with B. It was a lot slower than Saturday, plus some hills. Still managed to squeak just under 10 min/miles so I was happy with that.

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And it was gorgeous out. Definitely overdressed, but we stopped for a few photos and I had to walk for a second on one hill, so it was okay.

After Easter Mass, it was time for Easter brunch with B’s family.

The feast included the aforementioned cocktails and mimosas, bloody marys and other cocktails plus:

Scrambled eggs
Toast
Sausage
French toast casserole
Pickled hard boiled eggs
Beet relish
Fruit
Sticky buns: with and without nuts
Pull-apart apricot bread
Pull-apart raspberry bread
Of course, Easter candy (including jelly beans!)

I was trying to keep my sugar and carb count relatively low because of some blood work I’m having done, so I stayed away from the breads/buns/toast. Again, another colorful plate!

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After brunch, we opted to take a walk since it was finally in the 60s and so sunny. We walked around the park where B’s aunt and uncle live and also got in some great views of downtown from the lake.

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And a photo opp for us. Lakewood Park has some great views!

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I managed to stay away from all the candy somehow – but we did leave with a goodie bag.

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And that was about it. How was your Easter?

Some questions for you:

Did you get out and enjoy some nice weather this weekend? Yes, and it was great!
What’s your favorite Easter candy? JELLY BEANS! And anything white chocolate 🙂
Are you going to enter the giveaway? see below how!

I’m linking up today with Erin, Katie and the weekly wraps.

AND as I said, I’m starting my giveaway early! I get to give away FREE entry into any of the race distances the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon is offering during race weekend. While the giveaway won’t officially launch until tomorrow’s post, you can earn an extra entry here. How? Follow me and the Cleveland Marathon Twitter (@koskim and @clevemarathon) and leave a comment saying you’ve done so! The giveaway runs through 12 p.m. ET, Friday, April 1 (no, not an April Fools trick!) and will be notified via email. Stay tuned tomorrow for 2 more ways to enter!

WIAW: Two Workouts, No Sleep

March 16, 2016March 14, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

Do you ever get insomnia? I don’t typically have trouble sleeping, but Sunday evening I woke up at 3 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. I tossed and turned for quite some time, until I gave up. I got up, clean (somewhat) the kitchen, finished some laundry, cleaned up my closet a little, did some work and then decided to get in a little workout. It’s amazing how much you can get done between 3:30 and 8 a.m.! (And I hope I never have that again. It’s also amazing how tired you can be during the day when you get stuff done for those 5 hours instead of sleeping)

Anyway, onto my Monday. I hadn’t originally planned to work out in the morning because I had a short run after work planned for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, but I ended up getting in a short run before work and a walk. And then was hungry most of the day.

I had an early meeting on the road and didn’t end up have time for my usual breakfast at my desk. So, I had a chocolate protein shake.

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And when I got to the office I had some snacks. Apple and cashews.

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Lunchtime was some meal prep I had made over the weekend. Roasted veggies – cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, turnips, carrots and a veggie burger. I seriously can’t get enough of this lunch.

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And snacks included a pear, some fruit salad and my favorite Siggi’s. 20160314_173350 20160314_144116

Oh yeah – and a cup of peanut M&Ms a few hours before my run. For fuel….right? 20160314_152148

Then it was time for the run! 3.8 miles before a t-storm hit. They had free beer after the run, but I obviously did not partake.

it may look like I have a beer belly – but it’s just a nearly 7 month pregger baby bump!

We grabbed some soup from Soupermarket for dinner – I got their special – Thai Peanut Chicken. And that hunk of bread. LOOK AT THAT BREAD. 20160314_195141

AND for dessert? B and I shared this almond croissant from a new bakery that just opened downtown, Bloom. Not only was the pastry fabulous, but Bloom has a great business model – per their website, it’s a “business with a heart. We bake to provide jobs for low-income and disadvantaged adults in Greater Cleveland.”

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Anyway, those were my What I Ate Wednesday eats. Another delicious day.

With the two short runs (honestly the two short runs equaled a normal pre-pregnancy run for me), I ended up with 20,000+ steps, more than I typically get on the average Monday.

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Some questions for you:

Do you ever get insomnia? What do you do?
Do you prefer morning or afternoon workouts? Morning all the day! The only way I got out there that evening was because it was a group run.

Foods Not In My Routine

March 2, 2016February 27, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

For today’s What I Ate Wednesday post, I’m bringing you something NEW. That’s right – not a normal, typical routine day (egg whites for breakfast, lunch in the office and then dinner likely at home); instead, this is a non-routine eating day. It included both lunch and dinner out, due to dr’s appointments and travel. Aren’t you so excited? (yes that may be sarcasm…unless you really are excited? Then good for you!)

In the morning I started my day with a pretty good run. I haven’t had many of those lately but I was able to get in 5.75 miles pretty much nonstop on the treadmill.

After the run, for breakfast I was craving some fruit. And nut butter (as I mentioned last week, I have a rotation of around 4-5 nut butters in my pantry right now). I’ve eaten more fruit and nut butter during my pregnancy than I typically eat and this day was no different. As I was making breakfast and some tea, I enjoyed a hard boiled egg white. I made myself a fruit salad and had some nut butter on it and on the side. A spoonful of natural peanut butter and natural sunflower seed butter was perfect.

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In the afternoon, I had a doctor’s appointment, (I’ve come to realize that I now have a lot of these!) so I grabbed some food while I was out. Aladdin’s V9 soup (their amazing vegetable soup) with feta on top, plus some pita and hummus. SO good. I love Aladdin’s hummus!

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I had some snacks in the afternoon back at the office – an apple, a sweet/salty bar and some unsalted cashews throughout the afternoon. I knew we’d be eating a late dinner – likely at the airport, as I had a flight to Philly for a conference that evening.

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Welp, plans changed. My flight to Philly was cancelled and then as I was at the airport, the next flight out got put on a delay and would ultimately mean I’d miss my connecting flight and be stuck in Charlotte overnight. Since my conference was the next day, I didn’t want to chance getting stuck in Charlotte and not making it, so I made the ultimate decision to drive. It was already pretty late by the time I got on the road (7:30ish), so dinner wasn’t until around 8:30 and at a rest stop on the high way. The rest stop had McDonald’s and a pizza place. I was craving something warm, sweet and comforting – and ultimately I ended up with a fruit/yogurt parfait and an oatmeal from McDonald’s. Surprisingly, both hit the spot.

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That was it! Not a typically eating day for me, that’s for sure, but it did the job. And I made it to Philly safe and sound, around 3:30 a.m. I may have had a few bites of an apple and a chocolate covered peanutty bar sometime after midnight, but let’s say those count for the next day … right?

Some questions for you:

Are you a lucky traveler? Or do you typically have travel woes/issues?
Do you have a typical rest stop/on-the-road meal?

WIAW: Typical Eats

February 3, 2016February 2, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

Well, after last week’s WIAW featuring some meals in Mexico, I feel like this week is a little weak. And I should apologize to you in advance. But you know what? This week’s entry is pretty typical. It’s a typical day of eats for me. So here you go – a pretty typical day:

Breakfast – egg whites, veggies. Always love this. And typically have some salsa or hot peppers with or in my eggs 🙂 And lately been loving some citrus with my breakfast – so I had a cutie.

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For lunch I had a pretty awesome homemade salad. It was spinach, chicken, sweet potatoes, artichoke hearts, avocado, feta cheese and olives. SO good!

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And a pear. This pear was pretty awesome. 20160201_153240

For a snack later in the day I had some carrots and mixed nuts. Love the combo of the salty/nutty and carrots.

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And some tea in the afternoon. I bought this tea in Mexico City and the mandarin lichi tea was great!

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For dinner we had spaghetti squash marinara with cheese and meatballs. B made meatballs and they were so so so good. I may have had some mozzarella cheese on the side (not pictured).

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And I like to end the day with something sweet – a few spoonfuls of this ice cream was SO good and hit the spot! And that was the full day. 20160201_190325

Some questions for you:

Do you typically end the day with something sweet?
What’s something you like to put on salads that may not be typical? I’ve been told sweet potatoes are not typical but I love them!

What I Ate in Mexico City (Comida en la Ciudad de México)

January 27, 2016January 25, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 9 Comments

Have you read either of my previous posts about our trip to Mexico City last week during my birthday? If not, you should stop and read Part One now (or at least look at the pictures) because I guarantee that seeing the food will make you want to stop everything and go. Okay? (Part two is coming!) Bueno. Now that that’s over with, for this week’s What I Ate Wednesday, here are some food highlights from our week in Mexico City.

Breakfasts/Desayunos

Most days, B and I just walked to a local coffee shop and enjoyed something quick before a full day ahead of us. My favorite breakfast was the guava bread and fresh mango B and I shared on my birthday. B’s favorite breakfast was probably Huevos Divorciados – fried eggs with green salsa on one side, red on the other.

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Lunches/Almuerzos

We stuck to the local typical food and enjoyed tacos, guacamole, enchiladas, molcajete and other Mexican local cuisine for lunch and dinner most days. Some of my favorites included the guacamole with grasshoppers we made in the cooking class, the molcajete (look at all that food in that mortar/pestle style bowl) and the tacos we sampled at Tacos Califa on my birthday.

amazing tacos and guacamole and cactus.

cactus leaves!

tamal!

guacamole with grasshoppers.

grasshoppers up close.

Dinners/Cenas

Depending on what we had for lunch, dinner varied. We enjoyed seafood, more tacos and guacamole and even local soup. I enjoyed it all!

me with the tacos al pastor meat in the background

a mescal mixed drink. how gorgeous is it?!

more guacamole. without grasshoppers but with cheese and pomegranate seeds. And look – DP – the name of our restaurant (Dulce Patria!)

fish fish fish!

local tortilla soup. so good!

Desserts/Postres

Mexico City has a ton of bakeries and we definitely enjoyed our fair share of treats. Some of my favorites included their Conchas (the cookies below the heart-shaped cookie) and the pastel de elote (this super moist corn cake).

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pastel de elote. YUM.

so many baked goods!

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YUM. I want to go back now and eat it all again!

Some questions for you:

Do you like Mexican food? What’s your favorite?
Ever eaten grasshoppers? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten?

WIAW #43: Home for the Holidays

December 23, 2015December 22, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 12 Comments

I’m home for the holidays! While it’s not quite yet Christmas, and I still haven’t finished all my gift wrapping (fingers crossed my last package from Fedex arrives today as planned!), I’m back home in New York and enjoying some rest, relaxation, lots of reading (finished two books, onto the next!) AND home-cooked meals. So for this week’s WIAW, instead of one day of eats, here is a glimpse at a few of the meals I’ve enjoyed since I’ve been home.

Breakfasts have been pretty standard while I’ve been home. Some cereal (my parents’ cereal collect rivals that of Seinfeld) and fruit. Pretty standard AND delicious. Oh, and I love my mom’s homemade granola.

Granola! (no, not frozen yogurt)

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Lunches have varied somewhat, typically including some sort of bread with cheese, fruit and a type of soup.

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For dinner, I’ve eaten all meals home (and homemade by my mom!) but one. We went out to dinner one night in the beautiful Saratoga Springs and hit up Ravenous, a place known for their crepes and frites. They did not disappoint. Otherwise, we had some roasted turkey breast, pesto pasta and cornish hens. All hit the spot. So. Much.

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And desserts. How can I forget about these? I’ve been baking up a storm for the holidays and of course sampling some of the treats, including chocolate covered pretzels, lemon bars, chocolate fudge cookies and jam cookies. ‘Tis the season!

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