Happy and Thankful - Tis the Season

Hello my lovelies and happy hump day! Wait… that’s not right. It’s really Monday… and just FEELS like hump day since it’s a three day week WOOP WOOP! So TECHNICALLY it’s Wednesday… right? Sure – we’ll go with that. Whatever gets you through the week. And then Thursday is TURKEY DAY! The day where you hang out with family, eat four times as much as you normally would, and then shop till you drop the following day. Or that night – because now the malls are open on Thanksgiving night. How ridiculous is that? Ridiculous enough that I will be at the mall at 7:30 pm to work until 12:30 am. That’s how ridiculous. I’m not super impressed – except for the fact that I get paid time and a half. So that part isn’t too bad. And I have all day Friday to do whatever I want – until I go back to work at 5:30 that night. Someday I’ll learn that it’s OKAY not to be crazy. Someday. I feel like my mom when we were growing up. She always had a sit down with us around this time to say it’s “mom’s crazy hours.” Basically – that meant she was working through the ice show, state drill team, state basketball, state wrestling… etc. (Did I miss anything?) And that also meant dad was in charge so we had to be on our BEST behavior.

Wednesday was the first night I didn’t have to work – so I decided to steal a recipe from Iowa Girl Eats and make some Baked Popcorn Chicken, Asparagus and Cajun Style Rice. I am TOTALLY making that again. Especially because of the homemade Maple Honey Mustard dipping sauce. NOMS. It’s been kindly suggested that the next time I need to put MORE HONEY in it… noted. Because seriously – you can’t go wrong with too much honey. It’s a natural, delicious sweetener – and tastes AWESOME with peanut butter. Check out how DELISH this looks! Pretty proud of myself. Took a little longer to actually make my own popcorn chicken – but it tastes WAY mo’ betta than the frozen stuff. Again – noted.

 

Thursday I tried my hand at crockpot potato soup. BIG FAIL. I mean it tasted okay… but not what I expected. It ended up kind of being a “garbage soup” – a little of this, a little of that, mix it all together and BAM – delicious. Wrong. I have another recipe I want to try, more work – but still is supposed to be amazing. Next time.

Friday night was a mutual consensus to skip yoga (there was a guest teacher in town so I really SHOULD HAVE gone… but I was having a fat day and didn’t want to put on yoga pants) and go see Catching Fire instead. I know I know, I was going to reread Catching Fire before I saw it in theaters, but when propositioned with Bordenaro’s Pizza and beer, I really can’t say no. (Except that the pizza had goobers on it… mushrooms and olives… it was still yummy.) And the movie – HOLY CRAP IT WAS SO GOOD! I totally want to go see it again. I can’t wait till the next book is made into a movie… I love it! And I started reading Catching Fire today while on my ellipticalling lunch – so before I see it AGAIN… I’ll make sure I’ve read the book, again. The books are ALWAYS better than the movie – but these movies are hella good. And Katniss – damn. I need to wear my Katniss braid some more just to remember how awesome she is.

Saturday was a LONG day. A four hour shift at the yoga studio, an hour of sweating it out with 30 of my closest yogi friends, and then another 4 hour shift at the mall. I needed to relax a little bit after that – but then met up with the newly graduated yogis from the completion of their teacher training. CONGRATS NEW YOGIS! I can’t wait to take your classes J We started the night at Exile – drinking some Rauchbier and Gigi and INHALING their dunk-dunk sauce. After leaving, we continued on to the Locust Tap (sensory OVERLOAD) and finished the night at The Saddle. More sensory overload. Those yogis sure know how to have fun.

Yesterday I was WORTHLESS. Well – except for dress shopping for yet another wedding. It was good to see all the girls and try on some pretty dresses – and we found the dress! We said yes to the dress! (That’s a direct quote from last Monday’s blog.) And now again, onto the fun stuff of shoes and jewels. I’m really excited to see how these wedding pictures turn out – they’re going to be so pretty! Yay for friends getting married! After dress shopping, I picked up some Taco Johns, came home and crashed. I watched a couple episodes of Hoarders, crawled in bed and slept for an hour. I lazed around the rest of the day and it was AWESOME. I watched Love, Actually (one of my FAVORITE movies), more Hoarders, and then decided I should be a grown up and make some dinner. I saw a recipe for Bacon Mac and Cheese, so I thought I’d just whip that up real quick. On that note – I baked my bacon again and that is seriously the BEST way to cook bacon. It’s crispy, tasty, and the clean up is SO EASY. Anyway – if you haven’t tried baking your bacon – try it sometime. Just put it in the oven unheated, turn it on to 375 and it cooks as it warms up. I LOVE that way of doing it. Back to the mac – it was also AWESOME. I have a ton leftover, which is fine because I’ll definitely eat it all week. Or at least for the next two days. Plus I threw in some dried peppers all crushed up so it had a little bite to it. Check out the yumminess!!

I finished off my lazy Sunday with James and the Giant Peach on Netflix. I forgot just how bad that movie is… but I still watched it anyway. Sometimes you just need to get back to your childhood. Speaking of childhood, I just found out that it has been 20 YEARS since Mrs. Doubtfire came out. How crazy is that?! I still love that movie – even when I watch it now. Robin Williams and Sally Field – how can you really go wrong there?! But that totally makes me feel old. 20 years?! Gah.

Next week I’ll be reflecting on the past year – my 26^th year – and what I accomplished. I made my official LIST for 2013 of what I wanted to accomplish, so we can see how exactly I did. I know there are a lot I didn’t do – mostly because I ran out of time and got busy. There was still plenty I did take care of, and then ideas for more. I like that I’ve got goals. Some are monthly, weekly, and yearly. I mean the “goals” I had when I was 16 are SO MUCH DIFFERENT than when I turned 26. And that’s okay. People grow and change and your ideals grow and change. And that’s okay. And people grow and change at different rates. When I was 16 I always thought I’d meet my future husband in college, and get married by 25. Well – as I turn 27 one week from today, that didn’t quite happen. And I’m fine with that. I also thought I’d have my shit together by now – but I’m not actually sure if I’ll ever have my shit together. Maybe never COMPLETELY together, I don’t think anyone ever knows exactly what they’re doing.

Coming into my birthday month, Thanksgiving, and the upcoming new year – I am thankful and happy. I’m thankful for my awesome friends and family, I’m happy I found such a great place to work, and I’m both happy AND thankful for the passion, love and helpfulness I’m surrounded by. I’ve got a pretty kick ass life – and I love that I’m living it to the fullest.

What are you thankful for? I urge you to ask yourself this question. REALLY think about it. What makes YOUR world go round?

Be thankful,

S

BIG News Inside... Not that big... Only like 10k worth...

I’ve got goals, goals and goals galore! Great words for a Monday, am I right? After a bad decision last week of stepping on the scale post-workout (those things should be BANNED) it pretty much ruined my day. I mean I know I’ve been eating a lot of delicious food and drinking delicious beer, BUT I’ve also been working out pretty consistently. Apparently – not consistently enough. I grouched through the rest of the day and sent whiney texts to some friends to make me feel better – but it didn’t help. It’s all my own fault for being unhappy with the number I saw (devil machine) so I knew that I was the only one who could truly make a change. After apologizing for sending those whiny texts, I set out to make a change. It’s not about the number on the scale, it’s about how you feel. After a workout, I feel like I’m dying, but then I feel better. I have more energy and I’m in a better mood – why wouldn’t I want that to continue? And from there – I set some goals. And for your entertainment… here they are:

DRINK MORE WATER. More Cardio. Cut carbs (not COMPLETELY because carbs are my favorite food and I would HATE LIFE if I had zero carbs in my life). More fruits and veggies. Eat when you’re hungry, not when you’re bored. And last but not least – I HAVE TO BE IN A BIKINI IN JANUARY.

Gah. That last one is killer. Usually “bikini season” isn’t till summer… nope. Hawaii in January makes me push through the holidays without missing workouts and eating like a cow. It will be tough – but so worth it. Not that it REALLY matters because I won’t know ANYONE there – but still. There will be pictures and I want to look semi-decent in a bikini. But carbs… noms. That will be tough. Like I said – not cutting them out COMPLETELY – but maybe don’t eat a giant bowl of pasta at 11 pm. Makes sense.

And since last week… I don’t have much for you. Other than I’m clearly a relative of Picasso. Friday night I headed to Glazed Expressions with my mama for some wine and painting. I think the last time I painted anything was middle school – so that’s always fun. I mean it wasn’t hard – they walk you through each step and it’s just up to you to make it YOUR’S. It was actually really fun, and kind of relaxing. I’d for sure do it again – especially now that I have a punch card. Only four more classes and I get one FO FREE!! Check out the awesomeness of the eggs we painted. (Also when I look at mine all I want to do is sing “Colors of the Wind” because it makes me think of Pocahontas. You’re welcome for that being in your head now.)

 

I got to participate in some shopping for bridesmaid dresses this weekend too – tis the season! Well not yet anyway – but it will be come 2014! Three weddings in three months – two that I’m a part of. Better pick up some extra shifts EVERYWHERE to make sure I’ve got some extra cash moneys rolling in. After a quick try-on sesh with the lovely bridesmaids and bride-to-be, we headed to Mi Mexico for shaker margaritas and lunch. And since we had time to kill after lunch, we hit up Mickey’s for a couple drinks before heading to try on more dresses. And in the finale – we found a dress! We said yes to the dress! Now we can start shopping for the shoes and accessories… the funner part. And yet another reason for these goals – fitting into a dress 6 months from now. Being a girl is hard work.

So after all this positivity, I’m going to turn into a real Grinch. For those of you who know me well, I am ADAMENT about not putting up Christmas decorations until after my birthday (December 2 – for those of you who forgot. My wishlist is on Amazon in case you’re interested…) and I get super Scrooge-esque when November 1^st comes and BAM – Christmas shit everywhere. On the radio, in the malls, online. It’s terrible. I hate it. At least wait until after Thanksgiving. Don’t celebrate one holiday until the one prior is finished. At work I received an invite on my Outlook calendar to set up the Christmas tree and I responded with “this goes against everything I believe in.” I just got laughed at. But seriously. So the fact that I work at the mall and it’s nearing holiday, just makes me even more Grinch/Scrooge-like. HOWEVER. This is probably the first year where I’ve already started my Christmas shopping. I usually wait till like – the week OF Christmas to start my shopping. I’ve actually got shopping DONE for a few people… which is so weird to me. Plus I’ve got a list going of what I want to get for other people, and even some decorations I want to get. Don’t get me wrong – I will NOT put the decorations up until AFTER the big 2-7 (and the one year anniversary of this blog – yikes) – but I can start prepping.

Now I need all of you to go back into your minds, read back through my past blog posts and remember the line “I will never run again.” And then think about this next line – I will be running the Drake 10K come April. Are you rolling your eyes yet? I did a little bit. But – a 10K is my MAX… it’s only 6.2 miles… and I’ll be aiming for an hour. If I get it done in less than an hour – bomb diggity. Looks like training will commence after the first of the year. And after I get back from beaching it for a week. God I hate running. What am I thinking? It’s good for me? Absolutely not. I’m going to hurt so bad it won’t be funny. But at least it’s running for an hour and not two and a half. Or five. God that would suck. But an hour – why not? What do I really have to lose?

“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.” – Paulo Coelho

So seriously – what do I have to lose? It’s only 6 miles. It’s only an hour of my life. Plus – it gets me in shape. It’s a good way to clear your head. Much like yoga. Someday I’ll learn to love to run – maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll forever be the type of workout person who does EBR (Everything But Run – I just made that up right now… tell your friends) and is fine with it. Maybe I’ll have an epiphany and running will be awesome. You just never know.

Now if you’ll excuse me… I’m going to see what I can do about getting a copy of Catching Fire so I can read it this week and go see the movie this weekend. Katniss is my girl. And so is J. Law – let’s be real though… she’s EVERYONE’S girl. I want to be friends with her.

Get out there and take a risk. Be brave. Experience is key.

Experiment for Experience,

S

First Snowfall and No Socks

I’d hoped today that by wearing flats without socks and a ¾ sleeve blazer that Mother Nature would think it was still gorgeous fall weather and we would miss out on the pre-winter blues. Sadly though – it didn’t work. I ended up being cold all day while I looked out the windows watching the snow fall. It would have been much more enjoyable had I been at home snuggled up under a blanket with sweats on and a hot cup of coffee in my hand, but we can’t always have everything we want. Sad day.

Once again I’ve been a terrible blogger. No posts since before Halloween?? For shame. And so much has happened since then! Yuck. I need to write more. Since starting my new job two and a half months ago, I’ve learned a lot and gotten to do a lot of fun things. I’ve set travel arrangements for managers, become a master at setting up Friday lunch menus, and to add to my list of awesome things I get to do at work – I get to play with puppies at work. A few weeks ago, we had Dog Day at work. Anyone who had a dog could bring them in for the day and then we went to Three Dog Bakery to get them some treats. That was one of the best days ever. I got ZERO things done that day. It was awesome. We had around 20 dogs there that day – anywhere from a Lassie dog to a Great Dane puppy AND full grown monster. There was a fat bulldog that had the face only a mother could love – and the softest little Australian Sheepdog with the biggest feet ever. I love dogs. So much. That day was fantastic and I cannot WAIT for next year.

And to follow up with the cuteness of dogs, was the awkwardness of an office Halloween party. Our theme at the office was Saturday Night Live. There was plenty of creativity – mostly the Ambiguously Gay Duo (so inappropriate and so awesome all at once) and some not so creative – like myself. I decided on being Tina Fey during Weekend Update – which basically involved me putting a black blazer on and wearing my glasses. I didn’t win any prizes for that one. Oh well – it was fun seeing everyone take the stuff so seriously. Definitely a fun environment.

One more fun thing at work – was a volunteering day. Each year we get 8 hours of volunteer time where we can go with some of our coworkers and volunteer somewhere. I hadn’t had any accrued yet so I went over to Animal Lifeline to play with kittens for the afternoon. It put me in such a good mood. Playing with 6 week old kittens is one of the best things EVER. They’re so cute and cuddly and playful and their claws don’t hurt yet. And then I got to see some of the older cats who were special need animals. Those made me SO SAD and I wanted to take each one home with me. However I don’t think Toby would have appreciated that so much. He was already mad at me when I came home smelling like dogs, I’m sure he would have just FLIPPED if I brought home a baby kitten for him to play with.

Other fun things since November started… let’s see. More yoga – and lots of it. More lunchtime sculpt classes where I can die in 45 minutes – but such a good workout I just can’t stop going. Such a great way to detoxify your body – I love the way I feel when I’m done, even if during the class I feel like crying and throwing up (not necessarily in that order.) Since I’m taking a hiatus from Kosama for a few months (save some money and utilize my free gym and yoga memberships) I’m taking some time to explore some fitness classes and do lots of yoga. I really want to better my practice so going multiple times a week is really helpful. Plus I have an undercover yogi giving me tips whenever he can. And for that – I thank you J

October’s book club was a little different than normal. Rather than having a Wednesday night meeting (per usual) we decided to have it on a Friday night. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about getting home at a decent time for work in the morning – even though the small group of us that went out all had to be up early the next day. We started out with dinner and drinks at Zimm’s and discussed the book – a little bit, mostly it was just chatter – and then headed to Vaudeville Mews for a show. Which was AWESOME. I love live bands – especially bands of friends. These shows were FANTASTIC and I’ll totally go back and see them again. November/December’s book club will be back to normal – with a little something extra. First off – we’ll be reading Orange is the New Black, which I’m SUPER excited about. It’s a true story made into a series on Netflix and I love EVERYTHING about it. The characters, the premise – everything. So if you haven’t watched it yet, DO IT. You won’t regret it. But then on top of the awesome book choice, we’ll also be doing a White Elephant book exchange type thing. It will be fun to see what everyone’s favorite book is – and why they decided to share it with everyone. Hooray for book club fun! And actually – I think this will be the one year anniversary of book club. SO FUN! I love it.

I got to help celebrate some love this weekend – my cousin married his awesome wife on Saturday. Everything about it was perfect – especially the 11 minute ceremony. People were gorgous, the food was wonderful, and the scenery was fantastic. I hadn’t seen a true “first look” before, but seeing my cousin lock eyes with his soon-to-be-wife for the first time as she walked down the aisle made me nearly burst into tears. I LOVE love like that. It’s gorgeous. It was a family filled weekend too – it’s nice to see family more often than just at holidays. A surprisingly fun, exhausting weekend with family was something I needed.

While strengthening my practice, I’ve learned a lot during all this yoga. I feel setting an intention is important and I’m glad we do that at the beginning of each practice. It helps clear your mind of all the miniscule, unimportant details and gets you out of your own head. Sometimes I’ll have a bad day or I won’t be feeling well, but then once I get into class and get concentrating and bettering myself – I feel a million times better. Per my undercover yogi, he says “the things that don’t serve you should not capture your attention.” Basically – don’t waste your moments worrying about those things, instead focus your attention to those that do.

“Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.”

As I grow my practice, this is my mantra. Not only in yoga, but I life as well. Don’t worry about what other people are doing, just worry about yourself. If you’re not happy – change something. Don’t dwell, don’t meddle. Be happy. Do what you need to do to ensure you are happy.

In other happiness notes – I found a list of nice sounds. And to go along with these nice sounds, I made my own list of nice smells.

Nice Sounds: turning book pages, keys of a type writer, skate blades on ice, sleepy voices, crackling fire, train whistles, when you hear a smile in someone’s voice.

Nice Smells: new book smell, a freshly blown out candle, fall, winter, sleep, someone’s scent mixed with a shower, freshly washed laundry.

There’s some happy thoughts for your senses – enjoy the rest of your Monday night!

Love love,

Me.