I'm coming to you from the end of week twelve. That means, friends, that this is the end of the summer (luckily for you, I'm throwing in a couple extra weeks because my schedule changed. I know you're thrilled.) But back to the end of the summer. Can you believe it? I can't. That's why I keep italicizing it. My mind is blown, as I sit here, exactly twelve weeks after I packed up my dorm and brought it home, today's date seeming impossibly far away, a landmark that I'd never, ever get reach. And somehow, as the weeks passed, they began to fly, and here I am, unsure exactly where they went. On Sunday, I'll take the washer and dryer and the lamps and the cutlery out of storage and put them into my very first apartment. (I've contacted HGTV so that My First Place can come check us out. We'll be a big hit, I'm sure.) I have plans to go back next Monday for keeps. Crazy, no? Are you falling off your chair? Deep breaths!
But this week, that's what I'm supposed to be telling you about, right? I'm sure next week will be filled with the magic of move-in day. So this week. It was pretty typical, I'd say, as far as the kids go. It was so, so, so hot outside that I really couldn't insist they go sweat and dehydrate out there. So we played Play-Doh and had friends over and watched The Princess and the Frog about 73 times. They really love The Princess and the Frog. Carson and I went to see Ramona and Beezus and it was downright splendid. My love for it might have something to do with the fact that I've read all of the Ramona books at least six times, which Carson hasn't done, but she liked it, too.
The healthy brownies weren't the biggest hit, although Aunt Jane really liked them. She pointed out that if I'd called them chocolate cake squares, we'd all have liked them better, but they just didn't have a brownie texture and you could really taste the yogurt. But then again, I had to bake a double batch to fit in the pan, so that means a lot of yogurt. They weren't bad, just not what i was expecting- and I wanted brownies! So I don't think I'll be making them again (at least as brownies) but I'll definitely try more recipes.
I packed up things on Wednesday afternoon and headed home. The drive was filled with lots of good things: phone calls, amazing skies, iced coffee, and the like. (Honestly, I kept getting distracted by those beautiful clouds in my last post. Aren't they gorgeous?) And now, I'm hanging out at home, trying to get some motivation to pack and clean and oh yeah, exercise or something. I suppose it's time to turn off TLC and get going. Happy Week Thirteen- I'll be back with pictures and updates and a great big smile, with only a fleeting glimmer of bittersweetness because, well, summer is over.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
I go back
Things That Will Always Remind me of This Summer (at Least Until I'm 96 and Have Dementia):
- Cocoa Krispies
- Summer Bridge Books
- Interstate 85
- Cake Boss
- My medium leopard suitcase
- Chopping apples (I did this SO much, for some reason)
- Almond butter
- Jillian Michaels
- The Princess and the Frog
- J93.3
- Spaghettios (well, making them)
- Toy Story ANYTHING
- Lagrange, GA (the Starbucks there is mine, all mine.)
- Weight Watchers lemonade stir-ins
- The name Sascha (This is the cat, and really often, someone walks into the kitchen, sees her on the counter/table/floating midair and yells, "SASCHA, NO!")
I'm sure there are loads of other things that will make my breath catch and transport me back here to these months, these weeks that have been so different and wonderful and challenging all in their own ways. I am very, very excited for the year ahead, but let me say, this last week of summer will be bittersweet. It flew.
It honestly flew.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Go
I like to go. I like to be busy, to have plans, to do. I mean, I enjoy sitting around and reading books or watching Cake Boss as much as the next girl (actually, probably more. My love for Cake Boss has reached epic proportions.), but I'd take fast-paced over slow and easy most days. I'm am also a control freak, and the only people who have ever described me as easygoing were the nice old ladies at church. Ha, here are my confessions, huh?
Anyway, because of all of that, I am starting to get stressed out about the inevitably stressful move that is waiting for me five days from now. With my crazy-obsessive tendencies (which are not too extreme to be considered abnormal yet, I hope), I keep thinking about the things that could go wrong and might go wrong and how I just want everything to go smoothly. YOU HEAR ME, SUNDAY? PROGRESS SMOOTHLY. Something about gathering three sets of very different parents and adding in three girls (not even matching the sets of parents, mind you!) plus 100+ degree temperatures, heavy lifting,and two flights of stairs makes me nervous. You'd be nervous, too, right? I'm not insane? Okay. Good. I keep reminding myself that as long as I'm cheerful, patient, and doing my best to work hard, I've done my best. And let me point out that the stress doesn't go unaccompanied: Excitement is flying high in these parts. OUR OWN HOUSE? WITH MY BEST FRIENDS? WHILE LEARNING TO SPEAK FRENCH? Welcome to my idea of perfect, people.
And then there are the days before/the days after! There's furniture to be gathered and cleaned, necessities to buy, headboards to be covered, maintenance to be performed on cars that belong to me, clothes to be packed, children to be watched, drives to be driven, runs to be ran, and brownies to be eaten. That's right. I decided I just couldn't do it all without a brownie, so I tried this "Healthy" Brownie recipe. More to come on that later.
Still, I have an awful lot of excitement for today. I think today might be the day that Carson and I go see Beezus and Ramona, I just started Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and I've run five miles in the past two days (plus walked another two). Last night I got to catch up with my best friend and eat Cocoa Krispies and go school supplies shopping for the munchkins (thought not all at the same time, mind you.) So many great, great things to be really, really pumped about! And who am I trying to kid, there are brownies on the counter.
I also saved this coffee tin because, well, I just couldn't throw it away and I figured we could use it for something, right? My room isn't exactly vintage-y, but even so, it would make a cool vase or pencil cup or banana holder, no? Do you have any off-the-beaten-path ideas for what I could do with it (or perhaps how I could get through the weekend/move without eating at least five pans of brownies?) C'mon guys, I need your advice. Hit me.
Anyway, because of all of that, I am starting to get stressed out about the inevitably stressful move that is waiting for me five days from now. With my crazy-obsessive tendencies (which are not too extreme to be considered abnormal yet, I hope), I keep thinking about the things that could go wrong and might go wrong and how I just want everything to go smoothly. YOU HEAR ME, SUNDAY? PROGRESS SMOOTHLY. Something about gathering three sets of very different parents and adding in three girls (not even matching the sets of parents, mind you!) plus 100+ degree temperatures, heavy lifting,and two flights of stairs makes me nervous. You'd be nervous, too, right? I'm not insane? Okay. Good. I keep reminding myself that as long as I'm cheerful, patient, and doing my best to work hard, I've done my best. And let me point out that the stress doesn't go unaccompanied: Excitement is flying high in these parts. OUR OWN HOUSE? WITH MY BEST FRIENDS? WHILE LEARNING TO SPEAK FRENCH? Welcome to my idea of perfect, people.
And then there are the days before/the days after! There's furniture to be gathered and cleaned, necessities to buy, headboards to be covered, maintenance to be performed on cars that belong to me, clothes to be packed, children to be watched, drives to be driven, runs to be ran, and brownies to be eaten. That's right. I decided I just couldn't do it all without a brownie, so I tried this "Healthy" Brownie recipe. More to come on that later.
Still, I have an awful lot of excitement for today. I think today might be the day that Carson and I go see Beezus and Ramona, I just started Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and I've run five miles in the past two days (plus walked another two). Last night I got to catch up with my best friend and eat Cocoa Krispies and go school supplies shopping for the munchkins (thought not all at the same time, mind you.) So many great, great things to be really, really pumped about! And who am I trying to kid, there are brownies on the counter.
I also saved this coffee tin because, well, I just couldn't throw it away and I figured we could use it for something, right? My room isn't exactly vintage-y, but even so, it would make a cool vase or pencil cup or banana holder, no? Do you have any off-the-beaten-path ideas for what I could do with it (or perhaps how I could get through the weekend/move without eating at least five pans of brownies?) C'mon guys, I need your advice. Hit me.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Transformation
It's no secret here that I started the summer wanting to lose 10 pounds, which is not a big goal or a massive undertaking, or even worthy of before-and-after photos. But I'll tell you, I had no clue what kind of transformation was going to take place. I'm a changed girl, and it has a lot less to do with weight than you'd think (though, for the record, I did lose 10 pounds.) I'm so excited to share everything here so I can continue reaching goals with healthy living.
See, I lost weight a couple years ago- about 25 pounds- rather unhealthily. I was having some health issues and basically, I just stopped eating. I'd have half a 100 calorie brownie and a small bowl of blueberries for lunch and then skip out on dinner. There was definitely not much exercise. And after awhile, my friends and family got worried, sat me down, and threatened to send me to a clinic in South Carolina for people with eating disorders, which scared me into eating again. After that, I ate sort of healthily. I generally had salad for lunch at school, but there were other times when I, well...didn't. And I ate cookies! And brownies! And lots of other things that don't scream "healthy." When I went to college, I made lots and lots of good decisions (I ate a salad with almost every meal!)- but also lots of bad ones. Basically, I just skipped the idea of moderation and ate a salad- plus four brownies and three slices of pizza at 3 a.m. Not the best plan. I gained around 7 pounds away at college and I wanted that off, but I really wanted to do it in a healthy way. That meant actually eating- and exercising.
What's ensued has been somewhat of an eye-opening experience. Slowly, I've come around to the idea that healthy eating doesn't have to be "dieting." I can eat healthily, enjoy eating, and also eat "bad" food in moderation without gaining weight (and actually while losing it.) I can also exercise for just 30 minutes a day and receive major health benefits from it. Um, yes please! That said, I've definitely been in "dieting" mode this summer- no sweets, fried foods, etc.- but as I move in maintaining my weight, I'll start enjoying those again- in moderation! I am so, so excited to finally have my own kitchen, which means I'm finally in control of what I eat as much as I want to be, no matter what, for the first time in my life. When I'm living at home, I'm sort of at the mercy of whatever we're having for dinner which is healthy sometimes, and sometimes it's not. I'm also really pumped to try out lots of healthier recipes for sweets- they're out there, that's for sure.
As far as exercising goes, I've discovered something simple: it feels good to exercise. I've never been athletic, and so exercise has always sort of scared me. But I've been realizing that I'm quite capable of doing lots of things that aren't sporty at all, and actually require little to no coordination. It's amazing how much better I feel after doing something as simple as power walking instead of, say, watching television for just a half hour. I've also completed the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels and while I didn't notice a huge drop in weight or anything, I definitely got stronger, which was all I was really after.
I'd love to start posting some of the (hopefully) great things we cook this year, as well as awesome exercising we'll take part in. The gym at the University of Alabama is to die for! Kickboxing, here I come. Look out for lots of new installments about healthy living, and if you're interested in it, check out these really splendid blogs/ sites that I've been following:
Carrots 'n Cake
Health
Weelicious
Danica's Daily
Trading Up Downtown
See, I lost weight a couple years ago- about 25 pounds- rather unhealthily. I was having some health issues and basically, I just stopped eating. I'd have half a 100 calorie brownie and a small bowl of blueberries for lunch and then skip out on dinner. There was definitely not much exercise. And after awhile, my friends and family got worried, sat me down, and threatened to send me to a clinic in South Carolina for people with eating disorders, which scared me into eating again. After that, I ate sort of healthily. I generally had salad for lunch at school, but there were other times when I, well...didn't. And I ate cookies! And brownies! And lots of other things that don't scream "healthy." When I went to college, I made lots and lots of good decisions (I ate a salad with almost every meal!)- but also lots of bad ones. Basically, I just skipped the idea of moderation and ate a salad- plus four brownies and three slices of pizza at 3 a.m. Not the best plan. I gained around 7 pounds away at college and I wanted that off, but I really wanted to do it in a healthy way. That meant actually eating- and exercising.
What's ensued has been somewhat of an eye-opening experience. Slowly, I've come around to the idea that healthy eating doesn't have to be "dieting." I can eat healthily, enjoy eating, and also eat "bad" food in moderation without gaining weight (and actually while losing it.) I can also exercise for just 30 minutes a day and receive major health benefits from it. Um, yes please! That said, I've definitely been in "dieting" mode this summer- no sweets, fried foods, etc.- but as I move in maintaining my weight, I'll start enjoying those again- in moderation! I am so, so excited to finally have my own kitchen, which means I'm finally in control of what I eat as much as I want to be, no matter what, for the first time in my life. When I'm living at home, I'm sort of at the mercy of whatever we're having for dinner which is healthy sometimes, and sometimes it's not. I'm also really pumped to try out lots of healthier recipes for sweets- they're out there, that's for sure.
As far as exercising goes, I've discovered something simple: it feels good to exercise. I've never been athletic, and so exercise has always sort of scared me. But I've been realizing that I'm quite capable of doing lots of things that aren't sporty at all, and actually require little to no coordination. It's amazing how much better I feel after doing something as simple as power walking instead of, say, watching television for just a half hour. I've also completed the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels and while I didn't notice a huge drop in weight or anything, I definitely got stronger, which was all I was really after.
I'd love to start posting some of the (hopefully) great things we cook this year, as well as awesome exercising we'll take part in. The gym at the University of Alabama is to die for! Kickboxing, here I come. Look out for lots of new installments about healthy living, and if you're interested in it, check out these really splendid blogs/ sites that I've been following:
Carrots 'n Cake
Health
Weelicious
Danica's Daily
Trading Up Downtown
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