I'm having a difficult time these days trying to figure out what to cook that is healthy and cheap. I'm not really the best cook and I can be lazy. So I need things that take minimal time and effort. Soups can be easy (throw it all in the food processor or crock pot!) but this isn't a very soup-y time of year. Since I get home relatively earlier (although exhausted nonetheless many days) from work, I need to start cooking more. I fall into the "I'm exhausted...let's go out to eat" trap more times than not. We got out of our cooking routine and need to get back into it! We also haven't had a chance to hit up the farmers market yet :(. I need to find some quick and easy go-to recipes...that aren't Mexican. All I ever want to eat/make is Mexican. Tacos, burittos, quesadillas. They're easy and quick (and cheesy...and I LOVE cheese). I'm in a cooking/eating rut!!
So when I threw out the idea to D, he was monumentally opposed. I am the. worst. at defending myself. I had nothing to back up myself really with the program. I wanted to give it a try anyway. I've done two days of it. It is definitely easier to get through a day with no food. I get a couple hunger pangs but not much. My only problem is that I've been trying it on days when D is out of town. I can't stick to it long enough to hold off eating until 9:00 or 9:30 at night. I contribute it to already unhealthy boredom eating. I also can not resist from overindulging. It's weird because my brain says, "Eat only a sandwich or salad." My stomach and self ends up eating a plate of nachos and half a box of Cheez-Its.
So I am contemplating that this may not actually work for me since I don't have the self-control to resist overindulging. But it HAS got me thinking that I really need to get back to what I know actually works for me. Watching and tracking what I eat and working out consistently. Obviously maintaining a healthy weight is an ongoing struggle for me. Any suggestions as to things, tips, motivators that work for you??
I indulged. I've been stressed. I've been exhausted. My brain is fried and I have nothing good to blog about. You know...just been watching some emotional Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood eps. School is wearing on me a bit. I'm starting to get really stressed about how the hell I am going to make it through two months (plus a new car payment and more school) with no pay. But...my goal of this blog was to keep updated on my goings on and not be negative. I really haven't been fully documenting our new Raleigh experience. Anyhow...figured I'd leave you with some of my fav wedding celebration pictures. I promise I'll have something more substantial later...
My side of the fam
Wedding cake toppers
D's dad tapping our special cask (specially conceptualized by D)
First dance...people made us do it. I did not want to have a first dance...apparently that's how you get people on the dance floor...I don't think it worked.
D and I have been thinking, talking, etc. a lot more about buying a house. Since myself, as well as many of my other friends, are growing up, getting married, and making major life decisions, I've been having all kinds of adult conversations. D and I bought our first car together at the beginning of this month. Now neither of us have stellar or "important" credit that agencies look at when approving you. We're pretty excited about having our payments on the car boost our credit and get us in better shape for a mortgage. Whoa. I mean we are REALLY adults...buying cars, rationalizing our credit scores, thinking about mortgages, etc. I never thought I would be thinking so much about buying a house.
Now I think boys have a different mentality on house buying that girls (or maybe just girls like me who are super afraid of such a HUGE financial commitment). For D, he is anxious to buy a house because he despises the idea of "throwing away" money on rent. My mind is more worried about the money it would cost us, and not a landlord, to fix anything that went wrong around the house, buying a washer and dryer, etc. etc. Once I made THE big commitment of marriage, maybe I started thinking a little more about long term plans like owning a house. The move to Raleigh really started getting me excited about exploring a figuring out areas in town where we may like to live in the future. So....I've jumped on board with the house search (not that we are seriously searching or even close to buying a house). We still know absolutely nothing about buying a house.
It's funny how things change though. When the idea of buying a house in Raleigh was thrown out (before we even moved here), I was thinking we'd probably want to look in a surrounding county of Raleigh. Why? I work in a surrounding county so my commute would be lessened. Cheaper houses. Better schooling system (if kids were ever in the picture). You get the idea. This was before we moved here. We decided to rent a house really close to downtown Raleigh, which is where we are living now. I absolutely adore the location of our house. As far as we can tell, the neighborhood is pretty safe, and we haven't had any problems thus far. This is what I am talking about with things changing. After we moved here and I've lived in this area, I would never want to live anywhere different. Now, I will note that I think we are at a unique point in our lives. We're married, but we are still young. Kids are no where near the forefront of our minds. D works for a beer company, and we go out a lot. That being said, I could not imagine having to drive 20 minutes to get to some of our fav downtown bars and restaurants. I wouldn't exchange a lessened commute for living farther from the downtown area. For me, I learned the importance of living somewhere first before making a commitment to buying a house. This is not to say that in three years I wouldn't change my mind since we may be in a different place in our lives. If that is the case, we may very likely be shit out of luck if the housing market still hasn't picked up and we own a house near downtown.
Another conflict though is our small budget. Now we have obviously driven around some of the areas near downtown. Let me tell you...most of the houses are fucking huge! I mean we obviously have not started pricing houses, but I'm not sure that it's even likely that we could afford a decent house near downtown. Find a foreclosure? Eh...this post is getting too adult for me. But my two cents is that I'm glad we have six months or more (our lease is six months and we'll renew every two months) to check out the area and decide what our best house options are.
*Oh, and it should be a given that this is MY two cents...it doesn't mean it applies to everyone. Opinions and advice are welcome :)
A while back I was inspired by Kathy Griffin* to write a Bucket List. In a wonderfully hilarious episode of "My Life on the D List" in which Kathy gets her mom to write a Bucket List, I figured I should make my own. Through all of our moving, I have of course misplaced my written Bucket List. I figured I'd publish what I remember and chronicle along the way as I mark things off.
BUCKET LIST UPDATED 04/2010
Return to Cambodia with MPK: My sister, MPK, is adopted from Cambodia. My entire family ventured there the summer before my senior year in high school. It was a life changing experience and I can't wait for the day that I get to take MPK back there and share that experience with her.
This is an older pic of MPK, she's now 9 years old!
Visit Columbia with MGK: My other sister, MGK is adopted from Columbia. She was adopted while I was in college and I didn't get to venture down for that two month trip. I want to do the same for MGK and see where she was born.
MGK in 2008; she is now about to be 7.
Visit California wine country: D and I have never been to California at all. We've heard wonderful things about wine country and are dying to go. I mean what could be better than drinking wine all day?
Eat in one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants: That's right. D and I are big fans of Kicthen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen, and other mildly entertaining Ramsay shows. I have to eat at one of his restaurants before I die.
Travel to New Zealand
Travel to NYC (I obviously have lots of places I want to travel)
Meet Lady Gaga: I'm trying to put things on my list that are mostly attainable. This may never happen, but I at least have to try. I think about the influence Gaga has had on me over the past year, and I know she is someone I want to meet in person. Hmm...how to make this happen?
One of my favorite Gaga pictures; Elle January 2010 photo spread
Own a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes: Just so I can sort of feel like I was once a character from Sex and the City. Yes, they cost probably more than half of my wonderfully small teachers salary. One day I will have a fabulous pair of heels that I will have nowhere to wear them to...
Buy a house: Where? Who knows. When? Who knows (except all I know is that I can't wait to upgrade from this little house). We will though.
See a Broadway show
Travel to every continent: Well...I've marked off Europe, South America, and Asia. I'd love to go back to South America and Asia with D. So maybe I should amend this bullet to include "with D."
Volunteer in an orphanage
Run a half marathon: Maybe I can eventually amend this to whole marathon...but let's don't get too far ahead of myself.
Become a teacher: Working on this one. I'm not technically going to cross it off until I am officially certified as a REAL teacher
Backpack Europe: Check. June/July 2009. And got engaged :)
Move out of Georgia: Check. March 2010. ABOUT TIME.
...To be continued.
*I used to be a hater of Kathy. After watching "My Life on the D List, I seriously could not get enough of her. She is a lover of the GLBT community, her mother, Maggie, and all things related to being an attention whore. Love her.
D really wants a mountain bike. I want a cruiser type bike to cycle around the city. We live so close to downtown, it would be awesome to bike downtown on summer nights...enjoy a couple beers...and bike back home. I adore these bicycles by Abici:
I'm so inspired by GLBT teens standing up for their equal rights. Even in situations, like that of Derrick Martin from Georgia, the GLBT community is staying strong. I'm am continually inspired by teens coming out and being themselves. I am sickened by the ongoing bigotry and discrimination being seen by schools and other teens. I hope that GLBT teens and those who support them will not be brought down by others who continue to be ignorant. I know it is tough growing up as a teenager...I would have never been strong enough in high school to do what teens are doing now.
I've been following Ex Hot Girl for a while now. I would definitely recommend you check her out. She is a fabulous photographer who is completely open and honest about her struggles with weight loss. I promise her blog is not just about weight loss. She's worth checking out for sure.
One thing she recently blogged about is the Eat. Stop. Eat. program. Now I've been on and off working on weight loss for years now (pretty much once I started dating D almost 5 years ago and gained a significant amount of weight). Throughout 5 years, I have not had much success. In all honesty, I haven't worked all THAT hard. I've done plenty of research and read books. I'm no dummy...I know that you have to take in so many calories and burn more. I've inconsistently counted calories and worked out for 5 years. I'll go through a point where I get in a GREAT routine and am losing weight. It doesn't take much for me to get right back off track. Most recently, I was doing awesome and then we took a month long trip to Europe. I never did fully recover and get back on my healthy eating track. I don't like to refer to "diets" because they just don't work. I had implemented a healthy eating and active lifestyle that worked for me. As most people, I gained back everything I lost (not in Europe but within about 6-9 months after).
The eating styles that Ex Hot Girl mentions are not really plans that would work for me. I could never deny myself of bread (she did a low carb diet for a while). The fact is, I adore food (hmm....subconcious food issues??). I love going out to restaurants and trying delicious foods. Another issue, obviously D and I are immersed in the beer industry. There's no getting around that. We go out a lot, and I'm certainly not one to deny myself a delicious Wake N Bake. Since we don't drink the typical "lite" beers, those can add up in the calories. Anyhow...point being that counting calories can be tough for me. I've been feeling quite down and out after hopping back on the scale recently. Ex Hot Girl mentioned that she is going to try out the Eat. Stop. Eat. program. Ex Hot Girl admits that the website looks like a gimmick, and I totally agree. Here are a couple of other websites I found that helped convince me a bit more:
A review: This is a review of the program. Apparently they have done a variety of reviews of dieting and health lifestyles.
Brad Pilon's blog: Yes, I understand that since he is the creator, this may be biased. For me, it was a good way to learn a little more about the details (without yet purchasing the e-book).
After Ex Hot Girl wrote her initial post about trying out the Eat Stop Eat program, she got plenty of negative comments regarding the plan and her choice. She decided to write a follow-up post responding to readers comments and concerns. I'm considering trying it. On Friday, I tried a mini-fasting session. I agree that the fasting will be a bit difficult to get used to. I had multiple hunger pangs throughout the day, but they definitely subsided with water. And you don't go any day without eating. My only problem with this plan (assuming my body adjusted to the fasting periods) would ensuring that I don't overindulge and that I make smart, healthy decisions with food most of the time.
So here's the cliff notes for Eat Stop Eat:
Eat what you want, within reason and still maintaining primarily healthy eating standards
Implement intermittent fasting 1-2 days per week (ie. stop eating at 7pm Wednesday and begin eating again at Thursday at 7pm)
The plan does recommend including strength training as well
Since I can not be consistent with working out or counting calories, I want to see if Eat Stop Eat will work for me. D and I typically eat later dinners with his work schedule...so I think it's doable. It doesn't mean I have to miss out on eating and drinking at beer events (within reason). I know what I need to eat to eat healthily as well. If I can still make those good decisions the majority of the time, this could be a winner. I think I'm starting this week. I'll let you know how it goes. If you're interested, read Ex Hot Girl's posts. They are straight and to the point and breaks down lots of critiques about the program (as does Brad Pilon's blog). Oh, and the plan isn't guaranteed to help you lose magic numbers of weight. Just 1-2 pounds per week like any other normal weight loss plan.
Oh and I'm definitely hoping that next month I can afford a membership to the Y. I miss my yoga, pilates, and spin classes. I can't wait to get back into it!
This quote from Sesh really got me thinking. Well not so much thinking...but it totally embodies my mentality on life. I mean to get all deep here...I'm definitely of the opinion that I don't regret the "mistakes" I've made. They have made me who I am today. I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that not everyone will accept and like that person that I am today. I can't appeal to or please everyone. What I can do is be happy with me and keep learning from those mistakes AND successes. I'll always keep evolving, learning, and growing.
It's got me thinking about the person that I was at 18, 19, 20. Now at almost 25, I'm still discovering myself. At 18 and 19, I thought I had everything in order. I knew what career path I want, I graduated with my Masters degree in 5 years. I was "passionate" about things. I wanted nothing more than to get away from the town and state in which I grew up. Yet today, I am not following that career path that I "knew" I wanted (which is in turn resulting in my return to school...which I said I'd never do). I am married to someone who grew up in the same town as me. I actually am passionate about things that I believe in and feel deeply about. I'm still learning about myself. I'm learning to love myself and be confident in my beliefs, my body, my knowledge. I'm learning to love activities that I never thought I would. I'm learning that it's a lot harder to move to a new place that I thought, but I'm grateful to have my best friend to do it with.
My choices from my early college years has certainly made me who I am. And I am happy with who I am. I am happy knowing that I will keep changing and growing.
In a move hailed as a step toward fairness for same-sex couples, President Barack Obama is ordering that nearly all hospitals allow patients to say who has visitation rights and who can help make medical decisions, including gay and lesbian partners.
The White House on Thursday released a statement by Obama instructing his Health and Human Services secretary to draft rules requiring hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments to grant all patients the right to designate people who can visit and consult with them at crucial moments.
The designated visitors should have the same rights that immediate family members now enjoy, Obama’s instructions said. It said Medicare-Medicaid hospitals, which include most of the nation’s facilities, may not deny visitation and consultation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
The move was called a major step toward fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
"This is a critical step in ending discrimination against LGBT families and ensuring that, in the event of a hospital stay, all Americans have the right to see their loved ones," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The new rules, Obama said, should "guarantee that all patients’ advance directives, such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies, are respected," and that patients’ designees be able to "make informed decisions regarding patients’ care."
Some gay advocacy groups say Obama has moved too slowly to fulfill campaign promises to expand their civil rights. The nation’s top military leaders recently said it is time to end the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy that has kept gays from serving openly in the armed services.
The Human Rights Campaign, which backs gay rights, called Obama’s decision an "important action" that was inspired in part by a New York Times article about a lesbian couple in Miami. They were kept apart while one lay dying in a hospital despite having an "advanced health care directive" asking for full visitation rights for each other.
"Discrimination touches every facet of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including at times of crisis and illness," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "The president’s action today will help ensure that the indignities" suffered by the Miami patient and her children will not happen to others.
In his statement, Obama said: "Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides - whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay. Often, a widow or widower with no children is denied the support and comfort of a good friend."
He added: "Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives - unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated."
Without the expanded visitor-designation rights, Obama said, "all too often, people are made to suffer or even to pass away alone, denied the comfort of companionship in their final moments while a loved one is left worrying and pacing down the hall."
I mean it's about the small successes, right? It'll take a bunch of small steps until we get to our final goal. I won't even attempt to begin my rant about not understanding how others don't see that unequal rights is discrimination.
As we have positive steps in the right direction, we have people like this influencing and warping peoples' minds and hindering the mission for EQUAL rights. This absolutely makes me sick.
So I am finally getting some time to sit down and do a bit of blogging. I don't have as much access to a computer these days, so the few posts I've written recently are either from my phone or about our elopement. There have been so many changes in my life, I want to escape a bit. It's no secret that I love Gaga, and I've been meaning to mention the amazing, wonderful video that is Telephone.
The video premiered on March 11, 2010; however I was in Aruba and missed it. When I was finally able to watch it, I was in awe. I mean...my jaw dropped to the floor. I was later catching up on my blogs and found Blackberries to Apples', who is also a lover and fan of Gaga (and even has a tattoo inspired by her), review of the video as well. I'm not here to critique that review, but I do disagree in some senses (but I am a person who knows little to nothing about art, media, or music).
Videos rarely have anything to do with the actual song in my opinion, and this was no different. Every single thing about this video is why I love Gaga. She thinks outside the box. She is who she is. I won't copy Blackberries' review, but it points out all the most wonderful parts and scenes of the video. Including...
Natali Gemranotta, Gaga's sister. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. At 1:54, Gaga's makes out with another prison inmate with the cigarette sunglasses. I feel like the video is just flicking a finger at all those who criticize her. She is who she is, like it or not. And of course, I adore it.
How could we forget the fabulous Diet Coke hair curlers (and note, we are only 2 minutes into the 9 minute video!)
The video seriously gives me chills! At 3:19, Gaga goes into the dance scene. My friend, KD, is always attempting to learn Gaga's dances. Trust me, I couldn't even attempt. I am always awestruck by her moves though. The studded bikini and caution tape. Adore.
At 6:20, begins Gaga's sandwich and diner portion. Love gay men dancing, the phones on her head, sandwiches, american flag outfits :)
I wasn't the biggest fan of this song until the video came out. I have never seen anything like it. I absolutely can't wait for her next video :) Long live Gaga!
That's right...my peppers and tomatoes are starting to grow! I'm
excited! It's crazy the thrill you get from seeing your first plants
grow! I can't wait to watch them progress. I seriously hope I get
some tomatoes out of this! It definitely makes me excited to have my
own garden one day :)
So we haven't quite gotten to the point that we can afford the "joining fee" and membership at the YMCA, but I desperately want to start working out again. Since our house is TINY, I really don't have room to break out my work out equipment. Luckily, pollen doesn't affect my sinuses and it's not sweltering hot here yet.
Pullen Park is the park that is literally down the street from my house. I've started a nice little running trail that goes from my house and then two loops around the part of Pullen that is actually open. It's unfortunate because Pullen is a REALLY COOL park that normally has a carousel, train, lake, etc. etc, but those parts are closed for renovation. It won't open again until 2011! Sad :( But I like the trail I have routed out. I run about a mile (although somehow I have drastically increased my speed even without running in a few weeks) and then walk about half a mile back after my Pullen Park loops. I want to easily make it a week or two with a quick and easy one mile pace. Next week, I hope to increase my length.
Hopefully next month, D and I will be able to join the Y by our house. I'm excited about that! I need to implement some strength training into my regimen. I'd love to incorporate some sessions with a personal trainer, but I don't think that will financially be in our cards until after the summer.
As far as eating goes, I haven't been doing great. During the wedding stuff, Aruba, moving, etc., I was in a whirlwind. I was out of my no meat January and only fish February, so I went a little crazy. I'm trying really hard to get back on the healthy eating wagon. D and I hit up Harris Teeter last weekend and stocked up on food here. I didn't buy any meat from there, although we didn't get as many fruits and veggies as I would have preferred. My goals:
Eat a fruit or veggie with every single meal (breakfast included)
Start keeping track of my calories vigilantly again
Run at least 3x/week
Three simple goals. They can be done! I know I've been slacking on the postings. Now that things are a little settled here, I hope to get back into a routine. Check in with me about my getting healthy goals!
http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/04/teabagger-arrested-for-making-death.html
I thought that our country had made more progress than this. What the
hell is wrong with people? I can't begin to tell you all the things I
though were wrong with the previous administration but I certainly
wasn't making death threats...
Sent from my iPhone
D and I had a $25 gift card to Lowe's. Unfortunately, it is hard to
get very far at Lowe's on 25 bucks. We opted to get a little garden
starter kit. D and I have been wanting to grow some stuff for some
time now, so we're pretty excited about it. It's a salsa starter
kit. That's right...I'm going to be growing tomatoes, cilantro, and
cayenne peppers. If all goes well, I hope to branch out to some other
veggies or fruits. The photo is our windowsill garden :)
For real. I am now a teacher. It's surreal. It's crazy. And I love it. Not sure if I mentioned that I have never worked with middle schoolers before. I haven't, so I was quite apprehensive of working with multiple groups of them throughout the day. And I won't lie...they test me. I test them right back. They seriously make my day. I've never been more happy in a job. I adore planning out fun things to help them remember lesson concepts. I love the way they make me laugh sometimes when I have to hide my face because I shouldn't be laughing. I love how they get mad at me and then are over it the next day. I love seeing the great things...poems in my language arts class, chemical reactions in science...that they come up with. They're so smart. Smarter than people give them credit for. I am so unbelievably happy with my career change that it's ridiculous. I'm extremely grateful for my now hubby's allowing me to pursue my dreams even when it seemed I may never be happy with any career. I promised him that I knew this just felt different, right. I know I was right. Expect many more excerpts about funny teaching experiences. I'll try to remember to write about my Anne Frank play experience with my all male language arts class :)
Well I've been unusually busy in the past week. I showed you guys a picture of our unpacked house last week. As of Wednesday our plan was to return our Budget truck after school and do some organization shopping. Well I monumentally fucked up the remainder of that evening and week by getting in a car accident. Fast forward to time being spent remeding that situation and getting a new car (since my previous was a hand me down that wasn't worth much anymore). That took a whole day (which I admit was probably exponentially made harder by us not having been in Raleigh very long). I got a little Kia, which was by no means the car I had been holding out for. It's growing on me though ;). Gets good mileage, we'll boost our credit, and hopefully be closer to buying a house. We felt like we were finally "real, married" adults. So as you can imagine, we've had quite the expensive start to marriage...paying for elopement, wedding party, moving out of state, then purchasing a car.
Well then my cat, Bailey, got hurt jumping off the counter. We noticed he was limping on Friday night but held off taking him to an emergency clinic. One, we couldn't afford that; and two, he wasn't yelping when we touched his leg or when he limped around. I took him to a new vet on Saturday and came out of there with a ridic $240 bill including x-rays. He's ok....probably just a sprain but he got some awesome meds and up to date immunizations. Yet again, when it rains it pours. Can I please also note, I am supposed to be saving money since I don't get paid for the two months I have off for summer break.
On a positive note, we did some hardcore unpacking and have gotten things arranged. I do realize that the "unpacked" picture above looks a bit cluttered. Bear in mind, we are fitting items from a 3 bedroom house w a large living room, dining room, and kitchen into a tiny 2 bedroom living room/dining room/kitchen combo house. It's tough. We feel TONS better having things in their places. I still have to work on the guest bedroom. We'll get there.
Oh and we have been drinking beer and discovering Raleigh ;)
Just wanted to share some of the professional pictures from the wedding since I don't have the time or energy to add a substantial post...
I didn't put near as many on here as I uploaded. I thought Blogger could rotate them for me and it couldn't. It's unforunate because some of the verticals are some of my favs. Well most are posted on my FB. Pictures of the party are to come. Seriously...everything turned out perfect. I would never change the way we did it!
