Leave the roads...take the trails

Recipes for this week

2012-01-29T16:00:00.001-05:00

1. Pumpkin Crunch - I made this today, but I'll save my verdict for next week. Probably a good thing since I probably wouldn't give it a very good review right now. Maybe it'll grow on me.

From family.go.com

2. Creole Black Beans with Sausage
This is in the crock pot right now and smells delicious!! One thing about my crock pot...I think it runs hot. It boils at the low setting. Is that normal? "Slow cooker" would not be how I would describe my crock pot.

From Duchess of Fork

3. Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
I need to use up the rest of the quinoa I made for the quinoa stuffed acorn squash, so this recipe seemed perfect. Plus, I probably won't get many more chances to make chili before I gets warm. I mean, we've been up in the 60s and my bulbs are starting to come up. Definitely not 'chili' weather. Haha...get it? Chilly? Chili?

From Two Peas & Their Pod

Happy cooking everyone!

Recipe Verdicts

2012-01-29T15:36:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, last week's recipes were a bust. Not through any fault of their own.

1. Almond Butter Cookies - 4 out of 5 These were good and I got to use my leftover almond paste, but my dogs enjoyed them more than we got to. We had about 14 left when we got home from work the day after I made them. And that was after I had moved them to the back of the stove and placed a 9x13 inch pan in front of them. I swear one of them must've lifted the other up. And I wouldn't be surprised if my cat was in on it too.

2. Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash - 3 out of 5 I'd call this one average. It was on the sweet side which threw me off a little. I'd probably bump it up to a 4 if I knew a better way of cooking the squash instead of in the oven for an hour. Too long for a weekday meal.

3. Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos - 3 out of 5 I flubbed this one...my sweet potatoes were taking to long to cook so I covered them, turned the heat up, & didn't check on them, which of course means...burnt!! It actually wasn't too bad though since I couldn't distinguish a burnt taste when it was all said and done. And either my spices are old or there just wasn't enough. Bottom line: I've had better. Oh, I didn't try the whole tortilla in oven to make taco shells...didn't have enough patience. :)

4. Salsa - 5 out of 5 My husband loved it (as did I) and it'll probably be my go-to salsa recipe from now on. I halved the recipe & did have some issues with roasting the garlic (they turned brown & got rock-hard) so I just added minced garlic I had on hand.

Note: Have you tried the Tostitos hint of Pepper Jack chips? I'm not a big fan off grocery store tortilla chips but I LOVE these. I broke them out for use with the salsa and ended up just eating them plain. They taste like Cool Ranch Doritos. Yum!

Recipes for this week

2012-01-22T19:28:00.002-05:00

I might not end up making all of these this week since we still have leftovers from last week.

Let's start with dessert! As I mentioned, I had a bunch of almond paste left so I decided I'd make Almond Butter Cookies. I have these babies in the oven right now. I still have a bunch of coarse sugar left over from 2 Christmases ago (yikes!) so I rolled the cookies in that for a special touch.

From Allrecipes

Savory dish #1: Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash
Not a cheap dish by any means considering the pound of quinoa I bought cost $6.18. I predict this will be a yummy vegetarian dish I can feel good about eating. And it looks like it's just enough for two!


From What's Gaby Cooking

Savory dish #2: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos
I love love love love love sweet potatoes and black beans together. I especially love them in burritos. I have a ton of corn tortillas that I need to use so I'm just going to make them tacos instead. I saw this neat thing on Pinterest where you can drape tortillas over the rungs of your oven (Is that what they're called? I can't think of it right now) & bake for hard taco shells so I think I'll try that out. And I think I'll make this salsa to go along with it. I love homemade salsa. It's 10 times better than store bought & oh so good!

From One Particular Kitchen

Recipe Results

2012-01-22T11:22:00.001-05:00

Hello there!

Just a quick recap on the recipes I made this week.

1. Cranberry Upside Down Cake - 4 out of 5 stars. The tartness of the cranberries paired really well with the almond cake. The issues I had:

I wouldn't use coarse cornmeal as it states. The grains tended to get stuck in my teeth.
Increase the amount of cranberries; once they cooked down, they didn't cover the entire bottom of the pan/top of the cake.
The recipe calls for almond paste...first time I've ever had to use this ingredient in my entire life. So now I'm stuck with 3/4 of a can of almond paste and have no idea how to use the rest of it!

2. Pumpkin Black Bean Soup - 5 out of 5 stars. My husband doesn't hold back with his opinion on recipes and he loved this one! I'd call this a healthy comfort food soup perfect for the winter. In the future, I won't use ham. I really think it detracted from the subtle flavors of the pumpkin, black beans, and tomatoes. I wonder if he'd love it as much without the ham? ;o)

3. Homemade Calzone - 3 out of 5 stars. Either it was maker error or the dough recipe on this site sucked. Considering I made the pull-apart bread dough without any problem, I'd say it was the recipe. I also purposely left these last two recipes for the weekend since the dough had to rise etc., but I probably won't ever make them together again. Just takes too much time. Also, I couldn't find anywhere on that site that said, 'Bake at blah blah for blah blah blah'...annoying. It tasted good though; but since when has a calzone ever tasted bad?

4. Garlic-Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread - 4 out of 5 stars. As my husband says, "It was good, but it didn't blow my socks off." And I concur. Given that it takes a while to make, I'll probably never make it again. Unless I want to impress my mother-in-law or I have a huge family to feed.

And I'll add one more recipe that I hadn't planned on making. I saw it on Pinterest (of course) saw that it was super simple and called for Bisquick (that I have and need to get rid of), so voila! Made it!

5. Mini Bisquick Quiche - 3 out of 5 stars. It didn't call for any seasoning and with eggs and "heart healthy" bisquick, it could use some. I put chopped ham and shredded cheddar cheese on the bottom and then chopped dried chives on top. Not bad but not amazing. Considering it's so easy, I really should bump that 3 to a 4.

From Care's Kitchen

On the Menu This Week

2012-01-15T09:27:00.000-05:00

I typically make two savory dishes and a dessert per week. It's generally enough to get my husband and I through the week. And yes, I go grocery shopping every week. How about you? I find that the food I purchase usually goes bad if I buy for two weeks.

Savory meal #1:
Pumpkin Black Bean Soup. This sounds sooooo yummy! You can find the recipe at my sister's blog: venetianblond.blogspot.com.

Savory meal #2:

Homemade Calzones & Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread.

I LOVE pizza. Very much. The Chew (I'll admit it, I love this show!) just did an episode about last meals and I decided that mine would be pizza. I thought, "Really Nicole?? Pizza?" And YES. Pizza. :) Aside: I say '...just did an episode...' but that's 'just' to me since I'm catching my episodes on Hulu. Another aside: I've made Carla's Eggs in Heaven (from The Chew) two weekends in a row...love it!! Except by the time the whites are done the yolks are overcooked--haven't quite figured out how to solve that problem. Any suggestions?

AT ANY RATE...back to what I was saying.

Dessert:

Cranberry Upside Down Cake.

I bought a huge bag of cranberries a while back and I need to make room in our freezer, so I figured this recipe would be a great one to try. For the life of me, I cannot remember why I even bought them in the first place. It's not like I was going to make cranberry sauce or anything. Oh, I remember...it was for an ice ring for a punch I made.

I bet it'll be a good week. Happy MLK day everyone!

My new love: my juicer

2012-01-02T12:37:00.002-05:00

My sister got me a Black and Decker juicer for my birthday back in November.

Partially because I was intimidated, partially because I misplaced the owner's manual and couldn't figure out how to disassemble to prewash the darn thing, & partially because I didn't have a juicing recipe book (I know, I'm lame), I didn't juice until this week.

So when Santa Claus brought me The Big Book of Juices, I was ready to try my hand at juicing.

This thing is insanely heavy...must be the type of paper they used. At any rate, I've made 3 or 4 juices from it and they've all been really good. Granted, I'm doing the beginner juicer's plan so it's been mostly fruit juices. Today I made one with 1/4 cucumber...interesting, but still tasty. Tomorrow calls for 1/2 of a pineapple (I'm just going to use some frozen chunks I have), 1 apple, 1 celery stalk, & 3 carrots. Definitely a little more adventurous.

The reasons I like this book: tons of recipes, breakdown of what the juices help with (digestion, skin, immunity etc.), information on different fruits/veggies and how they should be prepared (they recommend citrus be pressed rather than juiced), and in the back there's some plans...like the beginner's plan I mentioned, juicing plan if you've been sick a lot lately, weekend fasting plan, etc. They also list juices that help with lots of different ailments like acne, anemia, etc. Those are the only two I can think of right now. :)

The thing I've been leery about is upping my pesticide consumption. If I had all the money in the world & lived next to a whole foods grocery store, I'd buy organic. When I was buying the items for my juices this week I was confronted with my first dilemma: organic cucumber for $3-$4 or the non-organic for mere cents. I went non-organic.

Because of my fears, I decided I'd make a fruit & veggie wash I had heard of. 1 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon baking soda, & the juice of half a lemon. You spray it on, leave it for 5 minutes, and then wash your fruit or vegetable. I have NO IDEA if it actually works, but it certainly calms my mind a little.

I'll leave with this tip to keep in mind: If you decide to make this wash, remember that vinegar + baking soda = BIG MESS! I forgot until it was too late.

A Christmas Story

2011-11-29T21:07:00.001-05:00

Many many years ago in a land far far away (aka ~25 years ago and when I lived in Florida) I asked Santa for the Barbie & The Rockers Hot Rockin' Stage after I saw this commercial:

Did you see those moves?! Oh the colors! Oh the fun! My life would never be the same! I couldn't live and my barbies certainly would be crushed if I didn't get that toy from Santa!!

Funny. My little 4 or 5 year old brain didn't hear that very important phrase at the end...'Dolls each sold separately.' And this is what I received:

Which, I mean, ooooooookay, not bad...that's a bunch of stuff in a box. But I was expecting a PARTY IN A BOX! Does that look like a party? Not to me! Where were all the barbies? Where was the dancing?? Where was the music??? Where was the fun???? Oh, I'm supposed to supply that? Well phooey.

That said, I would give ~~my right arm~~ something important to be able to pull that out of a box right now, slip some barbie legs into those pink leg holders and then, with the slight movement of a nob, make those barbies turn first to the right and then to the left. And then to the right again and then to the left.

P.S. In doing research for this post I also found video of another very influential barbie I had. *Sigh* I so miss my friends.

To Brighten Your Week

2011-11-13T22:17:00.001-05:00

Please enjoy this video of my dog snoring. :)

The Power of Imagination

2011-11-13T21:02:00.001-05:00

My sister and I did this whole back and forth thing the other day about the purpose and usefulness of Pinterest. In a nutshell: I love Pinterest, she does not. For me, it sparks my creativity...even if that creativity is me copying someone else's pin/project.

Here are some pictures of recent projects I've done--their inspirations immediately follow.

This was pretty time consuming, but worth it...just this once. I probably wouldn't make it again. My cousin's son (3 years?) loved it. Though, he loved playing with it more than eating it.

(source)

I had this great idea to create more cabinet space by moving my spices to tins with magnets on my fridge. Slight problem...the containers I bought online are WAY to small. So now I have spices in two places. :( I will say, however, that doing it this way (diy) will save you TONS of money.

(source)

This also did not turn out as well as I had hoped, but all in all, I'm glad we did it. As you can see, the hubs didn't take into consideration the lips on the black measuring cups, but I'm not going to complain...he did what I didn't want to do. The woman who's website I visited mentioned in the post about her going out right away to buy plastic measuring cups and spoons because she couldn't handle the racket the metal ones made. I am here to testify...it is incredibly loud and scares the bejeezus outta me most every time I open that cabinet!! In that open space above her cups she put a really neat conversion graphic. I'm not that fancy.

(source)

Oddly enough, I could not find cinnamon sticks in bulk in our sleepy town to do this project. My sister was gracious enough to send me a bag and voila! I have these beauties to show off. So simple, festive, and CHEAP!

Source unknown

I might try twigs next.

This is something that I'd like to think I came up with on my own, but I probably saw it on tv or something. I had a bunch of glass frames (from a project I was going to do and never started) so I just picked leaves from the yard, pressed them, and then framed them. My husband was nice enough to hang them for me. *Round of applause!* Again, simple, festive, & cheap!!

This is one of the hurricanes we have left over from our wedding and I just poured hazelnuts from last year into it. I previously had candy corn in it for Halloween. (see below)

(source)

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this little walk through craftyland.

Cake Decorating

2011-11-06T18:15:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a cake decorating class at our local community college. There were some things I didn't like about the class...like that we didn't practice on cakes (or I would've been happy with a cake-like object), just a flat practice board and also that the teacher didn't really explain things well--at least, not to my satisfaction. But all-in-all I enjoyed the class. For our last class we brought in a cake we made and decorated it. I cheated a little bit and got my inspiration from a cake online.

This was the cake I found:

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1759/candy-corn-chocolate-cake

I made a vanilla cake since my husband doesn't like chocolate cake very much and also added a chocolate hazelnut filling. Yum! Unfortunately, I hadn't set my icing out that morning so my chocolate icing was rock hard and took forever to work to the right consistency. My teacher ended up helping me out with this. I think she realized if she didn't help we would be there all night! I also made my decorating icing too thin and it started to melt. But really, I'm pretty proud with how it came out!

This is mine:

Ace of Cakes, watch out, here I come!!

Cinnamon sticks anyone?

2011-10-09T18:14:00.000-04:00

My friends and coworkers all know I'm a huge Pinterest fan. While on Pinterest I saw a great idea to tie cinnamon sticks around candles (my hope is that it'd smell really yummy). View Exhibit A. Apparently no one in my town sells cinnamon sticks in bulk but I heard Dollar General might sell them. Which brings me to the point of this post.

I'm messing around on the Dollar General website and look under Household, then Home Decor, then Home Accents. Ya know what pops up?? I laughed. An ashtray!! And it's the only thing under Home Accents too. I guess that is one kind of home accent. I thought it was so funny. Almost as funny as this.

It's too much...just way too much

2011-09-15T21:15:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of Pinterest? Well, I'm warning you, don't sign up. It sucks you in and doesn't let you go. BUT I LOVE IT! You create boards for topics such as 'Recipes', 'Design', whatever you want and then you "pin" pictures or videos from the vast Interwebs. So basically I'm now spending WAY more time online looking at random stuff that really play no major role in my life.

And this is the outcome: I feel (yet again) that my house and fashion sense are inadequate. Although, the fashion thing is a new one...the house thing I've kinda always felt. I don't really feel like I can help the fashion part right now: 1. I have zero dollars left after paying bills. 2. We have 1 "real" clothing store in my town & they sell grandma clothes (no offense) at ridiculous prices. And by 'ridiculous' I mean >$10.

I stumbled across a blog (which shall remain nameless--mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to spend the time linking to it) where it seems like the woman either has or would like to start and organizing business. So she has all the pictures of her fabulous organizing skills she's put to use in her house...inside cabinets, closets, and yes, even the refrigerator.

The office closet

And I'm sitting in an office with stuff pouring yes, pouring out of the closet and stuff piled up against every wall. What brought me to this looooowly state?? *reference to A Christmas Story* I sit here and think, "What would need to happen for me to love my space? Do I need all of this stuff? Do I really have too much stuff or just not have any kind of storage system?" And what has now happened is that I am so totally overwhelmed and don't know how I'll ever get where I want to be or where I think I need to be to finally love my space. I now understand why people tackle in stages. If you think about organizing into bins from the get-go, I don't think you'll ever get anywhere. I think it'll have to become a bigger mess before it's a manageable mess.

*Disclaimer: I tend to obsess and focus my attention on things other than my thesis when my thesis stress gets high. I might be making a bigger deal about this than needs be. :) *

My other thought is, I don't remember ever having this much stuff before. What's the deal? Is it because I was in college before & only moved what I could fit in my car? Is it because before that we were moving every 3 years and had to get rid of stuff to fit everything into the moving truck? Or do I have the same amount of stuff, it's just not well organized, & my brain thinks it's bigger than it really is.

Honestly, this sucks to say because I love them so much, but I think a lot of it has to do with the animals. 960 square feet. That's how big my house is. Two people. 1 rottweiler, 1 medium mutt, 1 cat. Oh. My. Gosh. And for whatever reason my mutt (Capone) has decided he's going to stick by my side everywhere I go in the house (which isn't very far). From 1 room to the next. Constantly. And here's what he does...he walks in front of me and then stops to see if I'm still going in the direction he's going. So then I run into the back of him and/or have to walk over him. Think Leap Frog. Except not fun & way more annoying.

I think my other issue is my eco-friendly stance. I have tons of old t-shirts I'm holding onto. They're too ratty for a thrift store & I think maybe I'll use them to make a t-shirt quilt or something. Do I have a sewing machine? Yes. Do I sew? No. Toss 'em Nicole! Tons of jeans...have you seen these websites with '25 Things to Do with Old Jeans'? Have I done a single one? No. Toss 'em. Part of me thinks I'll be able to fit in them again one day. Mmhmm, right.

Let's look at the bright side: I will regain some closet space since our movies (previously in the coat closet) now fit in the new entertainment center we bought; I can move the coats back into the coat closet. I know without a shadow of a doubt that that woman's house did not transform overnight. It's going to take time. So I think I'll take one project at a time, celebrate the small victories, and cut myself some slack. Happy organizing everyone!

I had to watch this twice.

2011-09-15T07:22:00.001-04:00

Funny!

2011-09-13T20:12:00.003-04:00

This video is hilarious...if Mike Rowe did this nowadays he'd be off the air in a heartbeat! But if he did this nowadays, maybe I'd watch QVC.

A Dream Come True

2011-09-12T18:35:00.000-04:00

This 3D camera mapping stuff is insane. It would be my dream come true to be able to feel like I'm standing next to my great-grandfather on his farm.

ARCHIVE PHOTO INSERTS FROM MOTALKO from Miklós Falvay on Vimeo.

Inspiration

2011-09-03T08:50:00.004-04:00

I think these photos of landscapes with slow shutter speeds are great color palettes for decorating. Or am I just crazy?

Good news & bad news...

2011-08-30T17:46:00.005-04:00

Had a bone scan on Monday.

Nurse to Nicole: Now make sure you continue to drink lots of fluids & empty your bladder often. The radiation is excreted through your urine & we don't want the radiation sitting in your bladder next to your ovaries.
My thoughts: Greeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaat.

Remember my hip MRI? They had to take x-rays while they were sticking the needle into my hip joint to inject the dye.
Nurse to Nicole: Now, because of the nature of where this is, we're not going to be able to protect your ovaries. (by placing a lead thing on my belly)
Nurse proceeds to take 5 million xrays while they place the needle in my hip.
My thoughts: Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaat.

At any rate, I got the results today and I don't have a stress fracture, but it's on its way there. I'm to only do swimming or cycling type exercises for two weeks. After two weeks I can test it out slowly and if I feel any pain, stop. The doc said 1 month at first but then saw my reaction and switched to two weeks. I have another follow-up with him in a month. At least now you won't have to listen to me complain about my ankle all the time. :)

My Reason

2011-08-30T17:23:00.001-04:00

This is why I think not just twice, but MANY times about the words I use when expressing any kind of sympathy or condolences. Tricky thing that is.

You are beautiful

2011-07-20T21:07:00.003-04:00

Isn't it funny how one (me) feels they need to lose weight to wear workout clothes??

We struggle with this type of issue at work more often than expected...someone's working out in questionable attire (jeans, non athletic type shoes, etc.) but do we approach them? What if they really don't have workout attire? We definitely don't want to discourage fitness & wellness.

A welcome retreat

2011-06-27T21:16:00.000-04:00

Sunday afternoon I headed over to my coworker's house to do a little scrapbooking. I had so much fun! For one, it was the first time I'd ever sat down to scrapbook (I've had the stuff for years, just didn't know how to start) and second, it was absolutely wonderful to hang out with a peer and craft. It was incredibly relaxing and just really good to socialize in a way that didn't involve my husband, a bar, or alcohol. Sometimes it's just plain good to have some 'me' time.

I'm not sure I've said anything about this here but my advisor gave me some deadlines...June 30th for a completed Results section and July 31st for a completed Discussion section. *Side-note: I've been thinking about moving from blogspot for a while now. This might convince me--blogspot is saying I misspelled 'advisor'* So I didn't meet the June 30th deadline but I'm so much further along than I was originally that I'll be okay with that. As Dory would say, "Just keep swimming swimming swimming."

After a recommendation from a friend, I purchased Turbo Fire. Heard of Insanity or P90X? It's basically another one of those programs. It's killing me because I thought it would be here Saturday and it wasn't. Thought it would be here today and it wasn't. If it's not here tomorrow I'm going to rip my hair out. I was thinking about documenting my journey with Turbo Fire with pictures and my thoughts in a blog--seems like I'd stick with it and would be able to see my progress better. I'm tempted to create a new password protected one with just my bout with Turbo Fire, but I'm beginning to think I should just document it in this blog & password protect it here--I've been thinking about doing that for a while anyway.

At any rate, those are my three thoughts for today. Have a good one!

Yes please!

2011-06-26T12:23:00.000-04:00

Strawberry infused vodka?! Sign me up! My favorite drink is a Cape Cod (cran & vodka)...maybe now I could just drink straight vodka. Only kidding!

Love this song

2011-06-18T21:21:00.000-04:00

The Tuck

2011-06-14T20:55:00.002-04:00

We live 1 row of houses up from The Tuck.

Lean On Me

2011-06-12T21:05:00.002-04:00

I cannot get enough of this. Man!

1950

2011-06-12T17:57:00.003-04:00

This song was recorded by Ms. Patti Page the year my mama was born.

Career Path

2011-05-30T22:14:00.000-04:00

It's sad when you want to stay away from Facebook because all of your veterinarian friends are posting about animals. It makes me sad for what could have been. And then I think, 'could have been'?? It makes me wonder if I should still try. Yes? No? It's a big decision. I'd have to be 200% sure it's what I really want and worth all of the cons.

Empowerment

2011-05-26T22:27:00.000-04:00

Anybody read any good books about female empowerment/finding oneself?

C took over my running endeavor since my ankle injury and now I feel like I need to find a 'thing'. Right now my list consists of swimming and gardening. Ultimately I think it's probably that I'd just like to belong to a group outside of anything I do with my husband. Guess I'll need to do some networking.

Wipe on, Wipe off

2011-05-26T22:20:00.000-04:00

I know I've said this before, but I can't believe what some people do to keep their houses clean.

C bought me that to-do list app a while ago (Epic Win) and I've been using it religiously--oddly enough, it's helped me keep the house clean way more than I thought possible. Right now I just have mop on Mondays, laundry on Tuesdays, bathroom on Wednesdays, etc. But I had this bright idea today to expand my list to include weekly items like change linens, iron clothes and monthly items like wash/dust curtains, wash windows, wash fans.

So I decided to do a little googling to see what chores should be done daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. I was amazed at what I found. WAY more stuff than I'm willing to do. Replace your pillows every year?? Seems like a waste. I quickly became overwhelmed but amazingly I was able to pull back and decide for myself what I want to tackle in MY home and how often. Baby steps. I think I have a good list: change bed linens, wash curtains, wash windows, wash fans, clean fridge/freezer on a more regular basis, dust, clean oven, iron clothes, clean microwave, reconcile finances. These are all things that I want/need to do but haven't been.

I'm excited about my expanded list and I don't feel bad that I'm not replacing my pillows every year.

Biggest Loser Spoiler Alert

2011-05-25T21:40:00.000-04:00

Okay, so a lot can happen in tvland before next season airs, so whether or not Anna Kournikova is really taking Jillian's place (as well as the two new trainers introduced this season) is yet to be seen.

But come on...Anna Kournikova?? Geez. It's going to take a lot of convincing for me to see her as a valid trainer. I don't think they'll get the chance since I plan on this season being the last I watch of Biggest Loser. I was already on my way out, but this just sealed the deal.

Without getting too ugly about someone I admittedly know very little about, seems like they just lost a lot of their female viewership. I read in an article that by hiring her they're trying to shift focus from the measuring tape to all around wellness. It's already very difficult for people to believe they can accomplish their weight loss goals without going on Biggest Loser...you add someone who's stick thin and that feeling is multiplied tenfold.

Anyway, I shall now disembark my soapbox and find some other weight loss show to get sucked into. Maybe I'll create my own.

Bit the bullet

2011-05-18T22:08:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally succumbed and scheduled a visit to the doctor's office tomorrow to have my ankle checked out. I'm afraid she's going to tell me to stay off of it/don't work out and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that. I'll probably say, "What about swimming?" When deep down, I feel like swimming, with the repetitive kicking motion, is just as bad as anything else I'm doing right now. We shall see.

On a side note, our department (& university as a whole) is going through some major changes right now. I hope I enjoy it as much on the other side as I am now.

Side note: among many other things I put together the newsletter for our department and just recently began working on it in InDesign rather than Word. Mind you, I have no background in InDesign whatsoever. Today I did some gradient feathering to this sand bucket on a beach picture that made the gold background where our hours of operation were listed look like it was sand from the picture. I know, that probably made no sense, but it was so neat & I was super proud of myself. :)

Well, I'm off to clean the bathroom. Have I mentioned what a great app EpicWin is??

Blast from the Past

2011-05-15T22:04:00.000-04:00

The other commercial I'd really like to see again is Play-doh's Flower Making Basket. Oddly enough, I can't find it on youtube.

Great day!

2011-05-15T21:49:00.000-04:00

1. Tupelo Honey Cafe - eggs benedict with goat cheese grits :)
2. Biltmore Mansion with my honey
3. Farmer's Market
4. Tennis with my honey
5. Monk while playing Kings in the Corner & Battleship

I'm exhausted but I made an important discovery: weekend days feel longer when you do a bunch of stuff. Will be doing a bunch of stuff on weekends from now on in the hopes they'll feel like three day weekends instead of two.

Reality bites

2011-05-13T21:19:00.000-04:00

It is definitely easy to take the security of living in our small town for granted. We have homicides, but not often. Twice, maybe three times a year?

Today we received an email alert that the police were searching for a 23 year old white male who was suspected of shooting and killing two people right before 2:00pm today. Turned out it was his girlfriend (wife?) 20, and her friend (boyfriend) 25, that he killed. The restraining order she had taken out on him was dated today. The culminating reason: they got into an argument in the Wal-Mart parking lot where he bent her wrist so far back that it popped--in front of their child no less.

He is currently in custody having been arrested in South Carolina at 7:30 tonight.

The guy that was shot and killed listed he was 'In a Relationship' with the girl at 9:30 last night.

It's just so sad to me. So sad that emotions can run so high to where someone is either not thinking of the consequences of their actions or doesn't care about the consequences. I know first hand how real it is to have emotions all over the place and I am thankful everyday that I'm no longer in that type of situation. It's so sad that the four month old no longer has a mother. So sad that not everyone has had the opportunities and blessings I've had growing up. So incredible that a relationship change on Facebook could have sparked the whole thing--what would have happened had that not occurred? But it did.

Did anyone see warning signs? Did anyone try to help? Was there anything more that could have been done.

I'm thoroughly bummed so I'll go talk about my adventures in cooking on my other page.

Feeling Perturbed

2011-05-02T20:34:00.000-04:00

I'm a little annoyed right now. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be healthy. Part of being healthy is feeling good. Part of feeling good is eating well.

I began cooking from a low-fat cookbook I "stole" from our nutrition intern--it wasn't really hers, it was a cookbook left over from the registered dietician our university used to have. I've made three recipes from this book so far: broccoli shrimp linguine, fish stew, & beef burritos. The beef burritos are the best so far, but they all leave a lot of be desired.

I'm just peeved that I can't find healthy food I enjoy eating (that I make myself). I was asked this question on Saturday: since you've lived in so many different places, what's your favorite food? My response, "Well, I just enjoy all food in general." For someone who enjoys food and would like to eat healthy, it's painful to not be able to find a satisfying low-cal, low-fat cookbook. Do I need to retrain my taste buds? Does satisfying low-cal, low-fat exist?

I also want to throw it out there that I'm contemplating the idea of going vegetarian again. My husband will wring my neck when he reads this. I've just started feeling really guilty again about eating meat. We drove past a truck full of featherless chickens on the road when it was cold outside and I thought: that chicken is probably on it's way to a plant right now where it will be prepared for my consumption. Note: I'm not against meat eating altogether. If I did decide to go vege again, I would be okay with consuming organic, free-range etc. animals--or meat from a deer my cousin shot. And then I saw a commercial about over fishing. Icing on the cake.

Anyway, that's where I am with food right now. Gotta love the inner conflict! P.S. Little known fact about me: I love tofu when it is cooked correctly.

Live Clean, Live Well

2011-04-13T20:45:00.000-04:00

Today was our Earth & Wellness Day. I don't know precisely why we combined Wellness in with Earth, but it certainly makes sense.

I got to hang out at our table playing cornhole & ladder golf and also got to visit the different tables to be schooled on either 'earth' or 'wellness' and converse with lots of interesting people.

I was most impressed with the guy who turns beer bottles into glasses. So cool. I also started to entertain the idea of being a staff leader for the Service Learning trips that are taken by students in the fall and spring--essentially they're alternative fall/spring breaks. I'm definitely at a point in my life where I feel I need to take more trips, do new things, and be more adventurous. Hence the running endeavor. There was one CSA there and I'm trying to get C excited about it. I understand his concern. It's $250 to receive a box of veggies every two weeks during the summer. It sounds steep, but in my opinion, well worth it--local, organic food while supporting local farmers. I promised him I'd try to find something cheaper, but if not, I'm sorry, but I'm going for it.

What else? We went for a two mile run today. I didn't run the whole time but I definitely felt stronger than I've felt in a while. The race is on Saturday. EEK! I'm excited though. So once we get through that and get through the end of the year party for all our staff on Sunday, we're home free and I can enjoy some time off to relax. Until May 10th when we start our 10k training. Oh yeah...you heard me.

Wishlist

2011-04-11T20:39:00.000-04:00

If we ever moved to a place that could house more than what we already have, I'd love to have one of these. Such a great way to display books!

Migrating Rays

2011-04-11T20:36:00.000-04:00

Take a look at this post...the pictures are incredible. I would die if I got to see something like that firsthand.

O'dark Thirty

2011-04-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

C and I were up before the crack of dawn to help out with the Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon today. For all you trivia junkies out there, "Cullowhee", the town where our beautiful WCU campus is located, means "Valley of the Lilies".

I recorded the placing of the male finishers and C recorded everyone's times with the fancy timer do-hicky as they ran across the finish line. We had tons of fun and I hope I get to do it all again next year.

First overall homeboy was bookin' it! Check out a blurb here.

C is convinced we're going to do the Asheville half in September. Mainly because it's on his birthday. If I can let my ankle heal & fit a 10K in before training would begin for a half, then I'm all for it. Here's to new hobbies!

On your mark, get set, GO!

2011-03-31T20:19:00.000-04:00

My place of work is going bonkers right now. There's a half marathon scheduled for Sunday that we're co-directing and everyone's running around like crazy trying to get everything ready.

I'm super excited because C and I are volunteering. He'll be marking people's times as they finish and I'll be helping enter times into the database.

I'm really just so thankful that I get to be a part of something like this. This is the first half marathon held in our area and with 189 registrants (way more than we expected, btw), it's sure to be a successful one.

I can't say enough how much I love working where I work. It stinks because no, I don't want to be an Administrative Assistant my entire life but I love the attitudes people have there (one of the few places people actually choose to go on campus) and the general feeling people have toward wellness. I always feel like striving for more and if I've had a bad day (be it physically or mentally) there's always another one with loads of promise around the corner.

As my boss would say: Make it a great day!

My Calling?

2011-03-20T21:10:00.001-04:00

My husband and I went on a hike with a friend this weekend. It was absolutely awesome to be back outside again. I couldn't tell you the last time I went on a hike it's been so long.

After my field research was complete I shipped my hiking boots back to the manufacturer because the seams were coming undone and I only had them a couple of months. I never did get new boots, however, because they're just so blame expensive. I feel like once I get a new pair I'll feel whole again.

I went looking back through my pictures of Belize and the river work I did. Such great times. I miss it so much and really look forward to doing field work again. A GREAT feeling to have considering I went through a long period of time when I didn't want to think about hiking or going into a forest or anything.

I love love love love love the work I'm doing in the rec center right now and the people with whom I'm working. Everyone is very mindful of their "wellness" and generally upbeat. I can't imagine my life without fitness and positive people now.

I'll have to try to find some way to meld the two together.

P.S. My friend over at Wandering Thoughts wrote about having a glass of wine while working on her prospectus. I tried that tonight and it didn't work so well. My written words have a certain slant and letters keep getting transposed. Perhaps I should work up to a full glass? :)

My new favorite

2011-03-14T20:43:00.001-04:00

This is actually quite good. Cover of Hey Ya by Outkast done by Obadiah Parker.

Life's Been Good

2011-02-27T07:57:00.000-05:00

Ch-ch-changes

2011-02-26T16:37:00.000-05:00

Change is exciting. At least for this Air Force brat it is.

C & I had an impromptu personal training session the other day and I'm stoked about this new total body strength training program he set us up with. I'm now a true believer that even one session with a trainer can be beneficial. It was with the head personal trainer dude at our facility and was on his own time, so I didn't have to pay anything. Yay! He was super nice about it and just really loves helping people so we're going to get him a gift certificate. I was getting bored with doing the weight machines, so I'm excited about this new workout.

My ankle still hurts (it's been almost 2 weeks now) so I decided not to run yesterday or do any physical activity this weekend. I hope that helps, but I seriously doubt it. I think I'll push through until the 5k race and then go to the doctor if it still hurts.

I contacted a friend of ours to see about him putting in laminate floors for us. I think he'll probably come out this week to take measurements and talk about what is best for us. Can't wait!

There's 1 other definite change and another possible change that I can't yet talk about. Bummer. Then why bring it up, right? I know, I know, I'm terrible.

I've been brainstorming about our house and what we can do to fix it up. Of course I am. I'm always doing that. Must be the scent of spring. I'd like to knock out our closet to open up the room a little more, then move our current dresser & armoir to the guest room, and then install an Ikea closet system along one wall like this one:

Seems doable. Laying tile in the kitchen, laundry room, & bathroom is on our list for summer projects too. We shall see.

Okay, enough scooter pootin' around...on to my thesis edits!!

Feeling Productive

2011-02-19T14:12:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you're all tired of reading about it, but it's a major part of my life. I'm making major progress on my thesis. Really, all it is is baby steps, but the baby steps are huge to me right now. And right now, I'm seeing the light at the end of the thesis tunnel.

C had an Open House to work today, so I got the house to myself from 7:00 this morning and he'll probably be back in an hour. In that time I was able to complete my sixth Methods edit. A major feat considering most of what I had to edit was my "Data Analysis" section. You want me to explain my data analysis to you?? Can you please give me an easier task? How about describe what the squirrels look like? I can do that.

I am happy because I can know focus on doing fun things today like hanging out with C when he gets home. Going to dinner with my fam. Going to see Harry Potter at the University Center ($2 entry w/ free popcorn & drink). I had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch--always makes me happy. I'm happy I've been successful with my 5k training. I'm happy I'm lifting weights on my off days. I've apparently gotten to a running length where I see differences in the fit of my clothes and on the scale. Yay!

It has been a good day. Tomorrow I will spend the afternoon (& evening maybe) at the library to complete my fifth Results edit. Have a great weekend everyone!

Grey's Anatomy

2011-02-19T08:48:00.000-05:00

I am a die-hard Grey's Anatomy fan. I've never missed an episode. There are several reasons for my love, one of which is they introduce me to music to which I otherwise might not be introduced. My current favorite: Mumford & Sons. My wonderful husband just burned me a cd of theirs. Love it!

Check out Thistle & Weeds:

Visit my Pages!

2011-02-19T08:43:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to check out my other Pages I post to:

All Things Food where I blog about recipes I make whether or not I ultimately like them
Books, Books, & More Books where my "expert" opinion on books I read are jotted down
Crafty Things where my current & finished projects are outlined
Playing in the Soil will be seasonal due to my lack of fall/winter gardening skills
Run Like Hell where I am documenting my progress in my hobby: running

Only in a perfect world...

2011-02-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

Check out this Mario Kart video (best one I've seen yet) & then check out the making of below that.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

How we celebrate at our household: C plays World of Warcraft and me? Well, I'm working on my thesis. Right? Right after this post. I need to take a look at the thesis guidelines & formatting requirements. Probably should've done that first thing, but whatever--I like a challenge.

I spent part of last Saturday at the library working on my Methods section. Actually got a fair amount completed. I had to because: 1. I have a meeting with my advisor tomorrow and 2. I'm to submit a "final" draft of my thesis to my advisor by March 7th if I want to graduate this semester.

As I sat there in the library checking Facebook for the umpteenth time sitting open in a window right next to my draft, I realized I needed to nix that distraction. So guess what? I deactivated my account. YESIREEBOB I surely did! I may reactivate once this whole thesis thing is over unless I find I like my life better without it. So far I haven't missed anything except posting status updates and checking others' statuses and pictures when really bored. That came out wrong. Correction: I miss having something to mess with on my phone when I'm bored.

End Post.

I'm turning into a geek

2011-02-07T20:48:00.000-05:00

First my husband gets me into Battlestar Galactica then he gets me to work my Hunter up to Level 40 in World of Warcraft.

He had no idea what a catch he was marrying.

World's First Stuntman

2011-02-07T19:47:00.002-05:00

No Facebook for a while

2011-02-06T20:53:00.000-05:00

Because C & I skipped out on the parties to sit at home and be miserable with colds. It's gone to my ears so hopefully I can come through without having to go to the doctor because of an ear infection. I imagine they're interrelated (colds & ear infections) but I really have no idea.

In case you're wondering, I'm staying off Facebook because of the inevitable Super Bowl comments. It's like rubbing salt into a wound.

It wasn't all bad though. We got through a bunch of Battlestar Galactica episodes. I've officially become a fan. Starbuck just "died"--I put it in quotes because I don't believe it--we have yet to see who the Final Five are, and I'm about to go crazy with the suspense.

P.S. I wish my dogs were cylons so they could live forever.

High Cholesterol Be Gone!

2011-02-01T18:25:00.000-05:00

"Dear Nicole,

----- has reviewed your lab results and they are considered to be within normal limits. If you have any questions or concerns in regards to these results, please contact our office for an appointment to discuss them.

Sincerely,
-----"

At the breaking point

2011-01-29T08:04:00.000-05:00

I love my animals, but I am at my breaking point.

We purchased trash cans with lids to keep the dogs from getting in them & eating things. Capone has figured out how to nudge the lid up with his nose.

This morning, Callie decides she's going to compete in the Indy 500/50m hurdles (we have a baby gate set up at our door so she can go in & out). Not only that, apparently they've added a Wild Card portion to it where she's prepared to climb up door frames.

We must have ghosts in the house because last night Capone barked his head off at nothing. In a dead sleep & this dog barks LOUDLY. He makes my heart skip a beat even when I'm prepared for it.

He is also now grabbing things off the counters and anything you leave on the coffee table is fair game. Athena actually licked the enchilada on my plate THAT I WAS HOLDING when I wasn't paying attention.

Personally, I think they're bored & have cabin fever. These are old dogs but they better learn some new, more polite tricks. It's supposed to be warm this weekend, so these puppies are staying outside!!

Portion Control

2011-01-26T21:12:00.003-05:00

I work at a gym and one of the things you may be shocked to learn about us is that when it comes to nutrition, we're not the premier authority on the subject.

When people sign up for personal training, a lot of times part of their issue stems from poor knowledge of nutrition, and unfortunately, we are only really equipped to handle the physical part.

That being said, we've finally been able to hire Nutrition and Dietetics student interns and it has helped our facility tremendously.

Today at our staff meeting, our current intern presented a topic to us: Portion Control...Never Diet Again!

Such a novel idea. I'll be honest, at the beginning I thought to myself, "Yeah, yeah, what is she going to say that I don't already know." But by a couple of slides in, I changed my tune.

She had some really good attention grabbers: 70% of all American women are either overweight or obese, Queen size beds are actually bigger now than in the 60s(?), clothes sizes are bigger now (I may wear a size 12 now but back in the day it would've been a 14 or 16), bagels nowadays are 3" bigger in size than what they used to be, etc.

I know what I'm supposed to eat or at least I thought I did. She had some really good correctly portioned fake food as visual aids. Really. My salad should be that size?! I should only have 5-6 oz of meat and that's what 3 oz looks like??

It was pretty amazing. She also had dinnerware that was correctly portioned. Holy moly...that's an 8 oz. cup of milk...and how big are the Taco Bell drinks that aren't even "supersized"??

I admit I was intrigued, so I went to the interwebs searching for "portion plates". I found this one that I was about to buy on the spot:

Then my husband says, "Check out that typo." Of course he did. I wouldn't expect anything less. And then I find these that would definitely do the trick:

I just would really like to consume the nutrients I should be consuming while limiting those I shouldn't. I hate that I hardly eat any fruits or vegetables. Cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, some cheesy pasta concoction for dinner. I'd like to be a well-rounded nutritionista (not in the literal sense).

BUT THEN *angels sing and the heavens part* I found this:

How cool is that?! Portion control plates that aren't intuitively portion control. Plus they're porcelain, plus they're dishwasher & microwave safe. Haha! I just think it's the best idea ever and I'm sorry I didn't come up with it. It's called LIFE-style Portion Control Dinnerware System by Precise Portions. Too bad it's $120 for a set of 4. Perhaps I will be sticking to a cartoony melamine plate.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you all (y'all for you southerners).

In other news: today marks day 2 of 1.5 miles. I'm starting to feel stronger, but my time is still a lot longer than I'd like it to be. I have 1 mile to do on Friday, so I'm hoping to get my husband to run with me to keep my pace up. I hate to put him through that torture though. Was that in his vows? I think it was.

P.S. The other thing I'm going to do is switch from soymilk to almond milk. She was raving about almond milk and I'm getting pretty sick of soymilk. Yay for almonds!

Another addition: Check out this video on the plates...it's pretty cheesy, but oh well. They also have a website: www.preciseportions.com

Why Precise Portions? from Rob Collins on Vimeo.

1.5 miles done

2011-01-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

Today was my first day of 1.5 miles. I'm finding it hard to be positive right now. Like my coworker said, "It's the journey, not the destination." Yeah, but!

It's hard not to get discouraged when your knees are aching from a measly 1.5 miles. It's hard not to get discouraged when everyone else around you is running 2+ miles like it's a stroll in the park. It's hard not to get discouraged when the only people you pass on the track are walkers. It's hard not to feel discouraged when your husband calculates your estimated mile time and it's around 14 minutes. Whaaaa?!

I feel like I could go faster, but I'm afraid of burning out and not being able to complete the length I'm supposed to do. What's more important, running the entire thing at a pace I can handle? Or doing a walk/run at a good clip? No se.

I'm hoping my 1.5 miles on Wednesday will be much easier like my second 1 mile run. I'm also hoping my 1 mile on Friday will seem like cake so I can work on building up my speed.

On a side note: my homemade smoothies always make me feel like I'm eating well. Juice, greek yogurt, & frozen fruit. Yum!

Please excuse the mess

2011-01-23T11:27:00.002-05:00

I made the fatal mistake of changing my blog layout...no telling when I'll get it back to my liking.

Path to 5k

2011-01-23T10:04:00.001-05:00

Got through another mile yesterday. Met up with my coworker at the gym and she did two while I did one. I can't wait til I'm there with her. The plan for the next two weeks is to get up to 1.5 miles. I don't see that as all that daunting, so that's cool. I really hope I'll be able to boost my speed some too.

The mile I ran yesterday was a little harder than Friday's mile. I got a stitch in my side which sucked. Anyone know how to prevent or work through that?

My thoughts on why it felt harder:

I ate at 11:30 and I started jogging around 2:15. Is that enough time to digest?
There weren't as many people at the gym to keep my mind occupied.
The air at one side of the track was much warmer than the other.

I need a super awesome playlist too. Anyone have any suggestions?

I downloaded the active.com iPhone app and went through and 'favorited' a bunch of races. I hope C will be down for some...I know I won't do it unless he goes with me. Or maybe my coworker would go with me. At any rate, I'm excited about it. I think this could be a really fun (and healthy) new hobby. It would be neat to work my way up to 10ks and half marathons. We shall see.

Books

2011-01-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

I finished reading Watchers by Dean Koontz. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit...a bit odd, but definitely better than what I'm reading now. I've heard great things about Nelson DeMille, but I'm struggling to get through Wild Fire. It's about an American plan to nuke two cities in the U.S. so that we can nuke Islamic countries. So far it's just been a bunch of talking about the plan and not much action. I hope it picks up soon. And even if it doesn't, I'll still trudge through it because I'm the type to read a book start to finish no matter how much I hate it.

Shockingly, (because I typically read only one book at a time) I'm also reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I really hope I find some spark of genius in there. I didn't know it at the time I bought it, but it seems this book is more about coming out of credit card debt. Which doesn't really help us because my husband is about to pay off his last credit card. So the only debt we'll have is our mortgage and student loans. I'm only three chapters in, so maybe later on I'll be more happy with it. So far it's just been three chapters of him touting his plan. I suppose that's what you sign up for when you buy a book based on a plan.

Run #2 Not So Complete

2011-01-19T17:49:00.001-05:00

So I promised my coworker & friend (she's super cool, so I'll consider her a friend) a while ago that I would go to Zumba with her today. I didn't think about this until this morning when it dawned on me that today is supposed to be a mile run. Had I prepared accordingly I could've run this morning. This evening is out of the question since I'm working on my thesis. Let's just let that set in...working on my thesis.

Back to my story. I go in to work this morning and I tell her sorry, gotta bail on you today. And she says oh no no, I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. So she tells me, do Zumba today, run tomorrow, walk Friday, and then run Saturday. The original plan was to run today, rest Thursday, run Friday, then walk Saturday. She was pretty convincing, so I did Zumba today.

And the reason for this post. It is so much fun. I know you probably hear that over and over, but really, it is. Although, I could see it not being very much fun if you don't have a good group that likes to be silly. And I'm not so sure it would be as much fun doing it in your living room either.

Moral of the story: try Zumba at your local wellness facility.

Day 1 Complete

2011-01-17T12:50:00.000-05:00

I am going to run a 5k. Always wanted to, never have. My wonderful brother created a training plan for me. I started this plan today. Run 1 mile.

I am not a runner. I have not run since...since...more than a year ago.

I "ran" a mile today. I don't know what my pace was, but I did it. I almost passed out after I finished my final lap, but I did it.

I am proud.

I shall run 1 mile again on Wednesday.

I wish headaches didn't exist.

2011-01-02T19:35:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted to make every recipe in a cookbook, so watching Julie & Julia 'inspired' me. I just looked through my cookbooks & realized I don't really have a cookbook that's conducive to that. I have a Paula Deen cookbook (signed by her btw), but my first thought (& why ultimately decided against using that one) was that my husband and I would surely gain 50 lbs by the time I was half way through it.

After careful thought & consideration, I decided on "Blondes Have More Fun...Cooking" that I purchased for pennies at our local bookstore. I flipped open to the first recipe under "Main Dishes" and find: Jack's Fat Hen & Yellow Rice. "Boil cut up hen in salted water with chopped onion, celery, garlic, and bay leaf. Cook until chicken is tender." At this point I conclude this won't be happening because: HOW THE HECK DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE CHICKEN IS TENDER?! Maybe it's just me, but I need time frames people! I need rules! Regulations! Temperatures! I think I'm going to reconsider this every recipe thing.

Just in case you were wondering, my New Year's resolution is to floss every night. I missed last night, so I guess I'll have to floss twice tonight. ;oD

On sad news, I go back to work tomorrow. Actually, it's not that sad now that I think about it. It means I can work out again & get some much needed socialization. I have been in such a funk lately!

On really sad (& weird) news I was reading an article this morning on the front page of the Asheville Citizen Times about a guy who shot himself in Georgia after being confronted by police after he shot and killed his (ex?)wife & hurt her sister outside of a motel in Cherokee. I quickly realized this guy was the same guy I worked with at a different hotel in Cherokee. He didn't seem like a terrible guy but I definitely wasn't surprised with this news. Makes me cringe with the thought that I went out to his truck once to see his cat. I know, that's weird, but it made perfect sense at the time.

Alright, this headache has gotten to be more than I can bear. Talk atcha later--and good luck with those resolutions!!

Hello 2011!

2011-01-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

I've been MIA for a while...not sure whether I just haven't had much to say or I'm burnt out on technological life. Both perhaps?

My sister had to yell at me to play my turn on Words with Friends. Not sure what my deal with that was...I think it was because I was consumed with playing the best words possible & winning. Needless to say, it took tons of time & therefore became not very much fun. Now I'm just playing whatever word comes to mind (most of the time) and I'm enjoying it again. Yay!

My husband bought me a to-do list app for my phone the other day. It's call Epic Win & I think it was designed with me in mind. They describe it as a role-playing game where you level up, collect loot, etc. as you complete the tasks on your to-do list. Totally cheesy & totally me.

The house is pristine right now. Bed made, dishes done, office clean, chili cooking, rolls rising...is it because of my new app? I'm placing my bet on the thesis I don't want to face. Moving on.

We watched Julie & Julia on our Netflix Instant Queue today. I have to admit, I'd love to do that (just the working through a cookbook bit--not the blogging about it bit) but it'd have to be from a cupcake cookbook or something like that. :o)

Two people asked me over break if I'd consider becoming a veterinarian. I used to think I wanted to go that direction but after working at a vet clinic and hearing over and over how difficult it is to get into vet school, I decided against it. Recently I've struggled with "my path". As I've grown older I've come to realize, I'm smart, I can do it. I haven't had much confidence in my capabilities up until now. I'm contemplating looking into the programs at NCSU after I graduate. I glanced at their website a couple of days ago & was surprised at how many options they provide. My thoughts on this are: What's the harm in trying? I don't want to go through life thinking, "What if...?" I'd also love the prestige...I'm sorry, but I don't want to be doing the grunt work of an administrative assistant my whole life. I've spend the majority of my life in school, why not take a break? If I've truly found where I need to/should be, it'll be fine.

What am I passionate about? What makes me happy? My dogs. Animals. Doing wonderful things for all creatures, great and small.

Hello world!

2010-12-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

Not quite sure what's going on with me right now. I hardly ever go online when I'm at home now. Is it because my desk is a mess and I can barely find my laptop let alone turn it on? Is it because it gets dark so early now that I eat dinner & immediately feel like it's time to go to bed?

I have 301 unread blog posts in my feed.

I go onto Words with Friends once every few days.

I check my emails, ABCNews, & facebook religiously on my phone & that's about the extent of my Interwebs perusal. After a month (at least) of telling me to look for flights, I'm finally taking my dad's suggestion & will book it tonight. I better go do that before I get online exhaustion & shut down before it actually gets booked.

Now as far as finding my credit card goes...not sure how long that will take...

Needing some inspiration

2010-11-22T19:36:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge fan of Google Reader but lately, the blogs I subscribe to have been falling flat. I find myself scrolling through my feeds and realizing at the end that I didn't read a single one. Is it because I'm entering a new phase in my life? Is it because the majority of what I subscribe to are written by people I don't know & possibly find uninteresting??

What are some of your favorite blogs? I need a change of pace!

So good you can catch us in the Rose Parade

2010-11-10T19:53:00.001-05:00

2010-11-10T19:28:00.001-05:00

Scrapbooking

2010-11-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

I've wanted to "learn" how to scrapbook for a while now. Years I'd say. I subscribed to a couple of scrapbooking blogs, but quickly removed them from my feed when I was inundated with posts. Luck of the draw I guess.

I also subscribed to a series of 24(?) scrapbooking lesson emails. I've received 9 so far and haven't read a single one.

I've made progress though...I picked out pictures from our vacation in Florida and even saved them on a flash drive so they can be printed. Let me tell you...that's a huge step. I haven't had pictures printed out since my trip to Belize...at least five years ago.

I even pulled out a scrapbooking kit I purchased years ago. And much to my surprise & excitement, I have also apparently acquired several more scrapbooking supplies--enough that I feel I have the resources I need to create an acceptable first scrapbook.

So I say to my husband, "You need to ask *a certain coworker* if she belongs to any scrapbooking groups." And his reply is: Why would we ask her? It's not like someone can teach you how to scrapbook.

What?! Which led me to this epiphany: with everything I do, there are steps. There are certain things that precede other things and a certain way things are done. Scrapbooking is no different in my eyes. And I need to learn those steps before I can conquer that which is scrapbooking. My husband politely & kindly informed me I'm crazy.

So maybe I can muster up enough creativity to make a scrapbook. Wish me luck!

Our trip to Universal Studios Orlando

2010-11-03T21:01:00.000-04:00

To celebrate our 1 year anniversary, C & I drove down to Florida and spent 3 days riding rides, eating junk, & having an overall jolly good time.

I was actually quite pleased at how much fun we had. We probably wouldn't have had as much fun had the Wizarding World of Harry Potter not been there, but then again, we wouldn't have gone had it not. We stayed at one of the U.S. hotels, so we got early park entry, breakfast at the 3 Broomsticks, Express Passes (to go to the front of the line), & we upgraded our room so we got access to the "Club Lounge" with free drinks & food. And yes, I think all of that was WELL worth the money. Well worth it.

The most popular ride by far was Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey, so of course, first day, we head straight there. Multiple motion sickness signs later, I was on the ride and you guessed it, not...lets just say I was not handling it well. It was not until after the Spiderman ride (which was SO cool--I'm upset I couldn't keep my eyes open) that I realized, "Hey, maybe I get a little motion sick on these rides." It was after the Simpsons ride that I knew for sure I wouldn't be going on any more simulator rides. I'd say we were 10, 15 seconds into that ride and I put my eyes on my lap and kept them there. At that point I had a pretty good handle on what would make me sick and what wouldn't. Any kind of simulator...sick. Which really kind of confused me because I went on a roller coaster simulator when I was younger and didn't have any problems. Perhaps it was a crappy one. Although, I did get sick at a fair once...and I've been told my bro and sis fought over who had to sit next to me in the car...oh, and there was the time I got sick on a flight to Seattle...so maybe I've just been in denial all these years. :o)

At any rate, I was lame and C ended up going on a few of the rides by himself. Including the Forbidden Journey which he rode again on our last day. I followed him through Hogwarts until the loading area where I veered off to make my exit. I was planning on hanging around to watch him get on the ride, but as I was waiting, a group was making their exit from the ride & this woman, wide eyed & holding a hand over her mouth bolted to a corner and started gagging. At which point I thought, "Thank you! I'm not the only one!!"

Moral of the story: heed to warning signs on amusement park rides.

Oh, and we had butterbeer which was so good, but none of the recipes I've made since returning home have lived up to what we had at the park. Universal, if you're listening, please start selling it to us muggles...I will buy.

Athena's Day at the Beach

2010-10-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

Really? I had no idea!

2010-10-13T20:09:00.000-04:00

C & I went grocery shopping after work today; he had the list, I had the coupons. After three years I thought I knew my husband, but apparently not.

I was plumb shocked that he had not a clue where anything was! Lasagna, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, candied yams, canned pumpkin...no clue.

I kept ~~trying to tell him~~ offering to switch duties with him, but he was having none of it. Which is just as well I guess since I suppose he should learn at some point.

I will say this: it was very endearing.

Faith

2010-10-12T21:16:00.000-04:00

Another year

2010-10-07T22:29:00.000-04:00

C's anniversary/early bday present to me. This could possibly replace all of my cookbooks. BUUUUUT...I can't & won't part with them. :) He also got me (us) a filter thingy for our Keurig so we can use "real" coffee instead of those cups all the time (NOT eco-friendly!!).

He has six fingers on his right hand

2010-10-05T21:56:00.000-04:00

see more dog and puppy pictures

Xyron vs. Cricut

2010-10-03T20:58:00.000-04:00

Sadly, my favorite thing to do right now is update my Amazon wishlist. I use it as a reminder of what I'd like if I ever decide to buy anything for myself. Particularly books. If I don't write a title down (or in my case, add it to my Amazon wishlist) I don't remember it. And then I have things on there like Vibram shoes. Realistic? Not so much.

At any rate, I somehow got routed around to the Xyron ($380) and Cricut ($103) "personal cutting machines". Somebody should of thought twice before using that phrase.


Xyron Wishblade


Cricut

At any rate, here are the main differences I've been able to learn in a short time:

Xyron - initially more expensive, connects to your computer for designs, not all that portable
Cricut - less expensive initially, uses cartridges at $80-$90 a pop (yowza!), very portable

So I'm thinking, "Well darnit! Which one am I going to put on my wishlist?!"

My decision?? Perhaps I should start scrapbooking or paper crafting first. ;oD

Can't believe my husband didn't show me this video earlier

2010-10-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

String of thoughts

2010-09-24T19:43:00.000-04:00

I got a guy kicked out of my place of work today. Pretty stoked about it. I knew he had been coming in without a membership or guest pass, but was finally able to catch him today. I'm a stickler for rules.

Have lots planned tomorrow including shopping for fridge part 2.

My friend posted pics of her baby nursery she just finished. Looks straight out of a magazine. Pretty cool!

I used to really want an awesome kitchen...now I think I'd be satisfied with a craft room. Maybe it's time to do some Fall organizing. I'm to the point where I'm even saving old clothes with the idea that I'll tear them up and crochet a rag rug. Hm. Wonder if that'll ever happen!!

Watched the season premieres of Biggest Loser yesterday & Grey's this evening. I'm still amazed I get a kick out of BL because I know it's a crap show. Grey's, however, I still love. The season finale was cah-ray-zy! I think I might actually go & rewatch it.

On to the thesis...my deadline for "something" is today.

Life's Been Good

2010-09-23T21:37:00.000-04:00

My happiness

2010-09-07T20:27:00.000-04:00

This is usually how they spend their time...together, right under my feet.

Sign me up for a piece of that!

2010-09-07T20:19:00.000-04:00

Heaven in a glass & on a plate

2010-09-06T21:26:00.000-04:00

I made some really good food this weekend. I keep saying I'm a really good cook, as long as I have a really good recipe to follow.

Made the chocolate mousse cake. C says I have to post a picture so you guys can check it out. Hopefully I'll remember to do that before it's all gone. There were a couple of hiccups along the way...I don't have an heat proof bowls to do the whole double boiler thing. I know, I was shocked too. I improvised (I almost sent the husband out to buy one) and used my stand mixer bowl. Which sucked because then I had to wash it out to do the mixing part. So let's see, I washed it out 6 times for the entire recipe. But man was it worth it. The other thing that went wrong was that for some reason the first "cake" layer pulled away from the sides of the spring form pan so the second layer settled around the first. Not a huge deal. Especially when it tastes so good.

The second thing I made was baked ziti. I've never loved baked ziti more in my life. I've made it before & it always comes out kind of dry & hard. This version was...well, heaven on a plate. C ate his in about 2 minutes.

The other thing I made was a 'frappuchino' of sorts. Milk, sugar, coffee, ice = yum.

I definitely think I'm 10 pounds heavier after this weekend, but I really don't care.

As for what we did on our Labor Day weekend, we mostly watched movies & tv shows, but we did drive down & watch the Clemson game with my aunt and cous. Nothing fancy, but it was definitely good to get out of town.

Back to the grind. Excited for the weekend!

Chocolate? Yes please!

2010-08-30T21:41:00.000-04:00

This is what I plan on making next. You can find this recipe for Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake on my current favorite website: www.americastestkitchen.com

I highly doubt mine will come out that pretty, but I definitely do my best.

The times they are a-changin'

2010-08-29T09:52:00.000-04:00

It's finally starting to get cooler around here. It still gets warm during the day, but the mornings & nights are quite pleasant. Which is welcome relief to this incredible heat we've had around here.

We still don't have the refrigerator we ordered back in July. We purchased this thing FROM SEARS & we kept getting phone calls pushing the delivery date back. The day of delivery arrives, we make all the preparations to receive the refrigerator (pull the broken one out, transfer food from the old (not broken one) one to the cooler) and we receive another phone call saying that the fridge would not be delivered & we'd receive a phone call in a couple of days with details. The details?? THE FRIDGE HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED AND WE'D HAVE TO RESELECT. What?! You've got to be kidding me. It wouldn't be as big of a deal as it is if we didn't live and hour away from the store & if you had told us this the first time you pushed the delivery date back. The people at the Sears store, once they found out what was going on, have tried to be helpful, but substituting the new model refrigerator (that replaces the discontinued version) that's coming out in October as an equal trade, doesn't quite seem enough to me. Throw in the warranty package at no cost & we have a deal. It's definitely aggravating & I never once thought we'd have this much trouble with Sears.

BUT, we did finally get our wedding album. He threw in some pictures that we wouldn't have necessarily picked, but all in all, I'm really pleased.

I suppose that's it for today...time to go mow. Later Taters

I am loving...

2010-08-20T22:56:00.000-04:00

1. This week being over. Today we helped with freshman move-in. I can't tell you how much I dreaded hearing the words, "ninth floor". I sweated so much my jeans were soaked. My fault for wearing jeans during a heat wave.

2. America's Test Kitchen. I love the Equipment Corner & the taste testing. Love it.

3. Our anniversary that approaches. Can't wait to delve into that top layer.

4. Sleeping. TTFN

Where is that you say??

2010-08-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

It took lots of pestering & mallets, but I beat it out of C. It was supposed to remain a secret, but I don't do very well with that. I know it was in the U.S. & in the south. Then I got the clues "british" & "category 5". I'm really not sure how I finally ended up guessing Harry Potter, but I did.

We're going to Universal Studios Orlando for our anniversary!

So excited. Can't wait to visit the Harry Potter part. I'm gonna drink a butterbeer & then be sorely disappointed when it tastes nothing like how I imagine. Haha!

Speaking of which, we're SUPPOSED to get our wedding album this week (grrrrr if it's not here tomorrow) & I'll be sorely disappointed if it's nothing like how I imagine.

Our new fridge is being delivered on Sunday. I know what it is, so I won't be sorely disappointed.

Just thought I'd leave on a high note. ;o)

Introvert?

2010-08-19T21:12:00.001-04:00

I've never thought of myself as an introvert before because I equate introverts with being recluses.

I'm beginning to think more and more that perhaps I am one--an introvert, not a recluse. I don't shy away from people, but I know I'd be perfectly content having my weekends to myself for the rest of my life.

There are 4 weddings coming up...only 1 of which I feel comfortable going to.

We've had student staff training all this week & I find myself shutting down and looking for the nearest exit when everyone is together.

But there are other get-togethers I'm perfectly fine with. I wonder if there's a secret mixture of # of people to # of people I know well.

I think I've always been this way but just didn't know it for sure until recently. I think my sister said they didn't expect me to last in the dorms at college. I did, I just didn't romp around in big groups.

Not really sure what the point of this story is. Just that I'm exhausted from staff training, I have to help with freshman move-in tomorrow (which puts me in more big groups of people), & I can't wait for training to end (which just means the beginning of more craziness when everyone is back in classes & signing up for memberships and/or Group eXercise classes).

This isn't an uplifting post. Don't read it--just skip to the next one. OH! Too late! :o)

Pocket emailing?

2010-08-14T19:52:00.000-04:00

Never thought I'd ever pocket email someone, but it has happened.

I apparently sent an email to a friend of mind with 'R' as the subject. And what did she send back?

Arrrrrrr!

Hilarious.

Darn you gravity!

2010-08-04T20:19:00.000-04:00

For the Good of the Group

2010-07-28T19:50:00.000-04:00

At the end of all of our staff meetings, we do a "For the Good of the Group" thing where everyone tells the group something positive that's going on in their life.

At our last meeting two weeks ago mine was: I'm happy it rained. Really. That's all I could think of...pretty sad.

I'm already thinking about what I'll say tomorrow & I'm happy to report that not only do I have something better than rain to talk about, but I'll need to whittle it down.

1. I'm a crocheter, not a knitter. This weekend I decided I was going to become a knitter. So I started on a dishcloth & can't seem to put it down. I'm having so much fun--and I'm so impressed I was able to pick it up fairly easily. I even contemplated getting up earlier in the morning so I'd have more time to knit before having to leave for work. If only it were like that with my thesis...

2. Speaking of my thesis, I finished a very rough draft of my Results section. I still have many edits to do, but the only section I have left is the Discussion. Yes!

3. My bro got engaged! Woo! So excited for a sister-in-law & niece!

4. I started selling AVON. It's been so much fun. I had four sales for Campaign 16...which I thought was pretty good until I heard someone at the erepresentative meeting I went to last night talk about having 50 sales. I don't care...I'm pretty proud of my four sales. :o)

5. My friend finds out the sex of her baby on Friday...SUPER excited! I live vicariously through others.

Until next time...

Can't Get Enough!

2010-07-25T21:09:00.001-04:00

Well, I'ma workin' on it!

2010-07-25T10:36:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine blogged a while ago about how she divides chores between her & her husband and does them during the week so that she can have the weekends to herself.

Wonderful idea so I thought I'd try it out! I even went so far as to create a "Home Organizer" binder with all kinds of sections and worksheets and stuff. Bleh. Useless if you don't keep up with it--kind of like budgeting. It definitely did help to write down the chores & days & who is to do what.

It really did help for a while...that is, until I fell off the wagon. I need to post the duties somewhere where I can see them & be reminded of what I need to do.

The only thing I'd say is a bummer with this system is that we never have the whole house clean at the same time. One thing gets clean but then it's dirty by the next week while something else is still clean.

I suppose it's better than having a whole house that's dirty!!

"In Italy..." Part 3

2010-07-25T10:27:00.000-04:00

"There were several B24 parts that could not be ordered from the supply house. One that I remember was an arm about 4 inches long that operated a light which indicated landing gear position. I bet I made at least several hundred of these. Each plane only had three, but I think all of the mechanics carried them in their pockets.

Another often made part was a short cable with turnbuckles that the crew chiefs wanted. They could use these to splice a cable in midair (after being shot up), so the plane could make it home.

Many ideas were thought of and developed that would help get the job done. One of the most important was an electric bomb hoist used to load bombs, rather than having to crank them by hand.

After we were there about a year, one of the officers down at the bomb group was walking guard and came upon an Italian in the process of stealing clothes. He yelled, "Halt", twice and then shot over the Italian's head--or said he tried to shoot over his head--but he hit him square in the back of the head. After this happened, there came an order down that anyone who shot a native Italian had to leave and be shipped to another outfit. That was all right with us. Most of us had enough time in to get rotated home anyway.

One night while walking guard, I noticed the guard before me had been walking around the camp to the left. I reversed it and went around to the right. Sure enough, here came about four Italians out of the supply tent. I yelled, "Halt", then I yelled again and cocked the gun. Next I shot as near correct as possible--then again and again--each time the one I had aimed at would fall, then at the next shot, the one that fell would get up again. This continued until all shells were gone. Then came all our officers to see what I was doing. One officer still had his pistol wrapped up. He couldn't have shot it, if his life depended on it. I asked him to explain its usefulness, which he couldn't.

It was soon breakfast time. They relieved me from guard duty so I could eat. By the time I got to the mess hall, the story had already beat me there. Everybody was warned not to mess with those guys from the Blue Ridge Mountains! I did shoot the bags of clothes out of their hands without hitting any of them, but I didn't get to go home because of it. Anyway the whole outfit knew that I would shoot if needed. They did not have to announce it. My commanding officer came around and said, "he would not change a thing. We put the fear in the Italians without killing anyone, and the C.O. does not have to write a report."

To be continued...

Mystery of the Painful Hip

2010-07-25T10:15:00.000-04:00

I had my follow-up appointment on Friday for my hip MRI. Turns out I have a labral tear.

www.hiplabraltear.net/

Solution: surgery. I have decided, however, not to get surgery and instead deal with the pain until it's no longer bearable. Really, at this point, it's not impacting my day to day activities anyway. Well, as long as you don't count adjusting how I sit on the couch or how I sleep a day to day activity.

Conclusion: I will never snowboard again. :oD

Go Kate!

2010-07-24T20:46:00.003-04:00

So exciting

2010-07-20T21:00:00.000-04:00

It's my morning ritual to check my email before I get out of bed (what has the world come to?!) and I was greeted with such a wonderful surprise...my first AVON sale!

So exciting!

Just a little shameless plug: please click here to visit my website. Free shipping with a $30 order and a free gift courtesy of my crafty hands! What more can one ask for?? And a lot of times the prices are cheaper than what's listed depending on what you pick out...I added some things that were listed as $6 & $7 but in my cart were actually $4. I can go for that.

Don't forget that AVON sells more than just makeup...I'm loving the Summer section (Campaign 16, pg 134-137)!

Until next time friends.

"In Italy..." Part 2

2010-07-18T16:28:00.000-04:00

"They shipped us to three different outfits before we found one that had room to keep us. I ended up at the 58th Service Squadron at Grottaglie, making parts for B-24s. Our job was to repair combat damage when it was greater than could be repaired by Bomb Group routine maintenance.

We ended up on the hill with only on tent available. It was an empty tent, except the women who were grazing their sheep on that hill used the tent to get out of the hot sun, so we ended up in their resting place. Now there was no latrine anywhere near, but on top of that hill they had dug a hole, buried a barrel, and put boards on top of the barrel--that was our latrine. You would sit there with a braced sheet, and there you were with your coveralls pulled down when you went to the latrine. Now that was during a snow storm! And it's kinda cold on top of a hill with your coveralls pulled down, but that was the only latrine we had when we first arrived. So some of my first memories of being at Grottaglie, was being at the top of a hill in the middle of a snow storm with my coveralls down around my ankles!

Now the women grazing sheep on the hill had eating habits that would turn your stomach. They would pick greens for their meal in the same area that the sheep were grazing. I didn't want any of their greens!

When we were in this camp there were 8 men to a tent. After a while, we learned of space available in another tent elsewhere in the camp, so we moved off the hill. Now while in Grottaglie, there was a 10 year old Italian boy named Louigie who would come through the camp each day with fresh eggs. We didn't know where he got them. He would trade these fresh eggs for candy. We were rationed one bar of candy and one beer a day, and I didn't need the beer, so I would trade the beer for candy. The other guys in the camp were glad to trade their candy for my beer. Well, I would then trade the candy for fresh eggs, so I always had eggs, at least one a day. But I didn't have a frying pan, so I would go down to the mess hall and get a cook to fry the eggs for me. I had eggs when nobody else in camp had any.

In 1998 during a trip to Italy, I located where the base had been. At a bar nearby, I spoke to a man who said he was 10 years old when we were there. It turns out that he was Louigie--I had found him again."

To be continued...

Jello shots all around!

2010-07-18T15:59:00.000-04:00

Image from amazon.com

Is it sad that a 28 year old is excited to receive the shot cups she just ordered in the mail?

What a day!

2010-07-15T20:34:00.000-04:00

I finally had an appointment with a doctor about my hip today. I have a hard time because I think, "Is all of this really necessary? I can walk around without any pain...can't I just live with it? I can just be sure to avoid rotating my leg for the rest of my life." But then when I talk to the "professionals" every one of them has said, "Since January? Yeah, that's a pretty long time, we should see what's going on."

At any rate, I had xrays done today that showed...absolutely nothing. So now I have an appointment for an MRI next week. Apparently they'll inject dye into my hip. Boy does that sound like fun! I hope something is shown & there's some sort of treatment. I'd hate to do all of this for a, "We don't know what's going on, just hope it'll heal on its own." It was really cool to see my bones though.

In interesting medical news, they're doing hip arthroscopies now. That may be the next step if the MRI doesn't show anything. Cross your fingers that it's not.

Image from http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_13_2_3.htm

.

In interesting makeup news, I met with the Avon lady today & got all of my stuff to get started. Pretty excited...should be fun!

Until next time...

I've discovered my problem!

2010-07-15T20:05:00.002-04:00

Study: Body shape affects memory in older women

By the CNN Wire Staff

July 15, 2010 7:16 a.m. EDT

Memory loss in later life is more pronounced in women who carry excess weight around their hips, a study says.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

It's better to be an apple than a pear, study says
Extra weight affects memory in everyone, but where fat is located is important
Study includes more than 8,000 women ages 65 to 79

(CNN) -- A woman's body shape may play a role in how good her memory is, according to a new study.
The more an older woman weighs, the worse her memory, according to research released this week from Northwestern Medicine at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
The effect is more pronounced in women who carry excess weight around their hips, known as pear shapes, than women who carry it around their waists, called apple shapes.
The reason pear-shaped women experienced more memory and brain function deterioration than apple-shaped women is likely related to the type of fat deposited around the hips versus the waist.
Scientists know that different kinds of fat release different cytokines -- the hormones that can cause inflammation and affect cognition.
"We need to find out if one kind of fat is more detrimental than the other, and how it affects brain function," said Dr. Diana Kerwin, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine and a physician at Northwestern Medicine. "The fat may contribute to the formation of plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease or a restricted blood flow to the brain."
The study published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Geriatric Society said, on average, there is a one-point drop in the memory score for every one-point increase in body-mass index -- a ratio of a person's height and weight. The study included 8,745 cognitively normal, post-menopausal women ages 65 to 79.
"Obesity is bad, but its effects are worse depending on where the fat is located," Kerwin said.

"The study tells us if we have a woman in our office, and we know from her waist-to-hip ratio that she's carrying excess fat on her hips, we might be more aggressive with weight loss," Kerwin said. "We can't change where your fat is located, but having less of it is better."

Time flies

2010-07-11T21:34:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it's the middle of July already. Or at least pretty close to it. Pretty soon all the kids will be back on campus & annoying the heck out of me. I take that back...I welcome it...I welcome the new cds the new Recreation Assistants will create so that something new will go through the speakers for once.

I lost over 6 pounds in two weeks. I like to think I'm becoming healthier, but really, I think I'm probably just losing muscle mass from not working out & losing weight from not eating much due to fear my stomach will lash out against me. I feel like I've had gastric bypass & can only eat portions the size of peas.

I have a renewed love of books now that we have no satellite tv. I just finished Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. Good! And am now working on Knitting Under the Influence by Claire Lazebnik. I stopped by our local bookstore this weekend & bought a book about lowering one's cholesterol, a cookbook for blondes (hilarious!), and two romance novels (I know, I know) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I took one of her books with me on my honeymoon & finished it in two days, so I figured I'd try some more out. I'm looking forward to getting credit for books I trade in & hopefully finding some new ones on my list. My aunt got a nook for her bday...maybe C & I can split one for his bday. :o)

I'm getting antsy...I think it's the military brat in me itching to move. School is blah, the job is blah, all I want is to get out of Sylva. I was hoping to do something this past weekend, but nothing got planned. Maybe this weekend.

My book calleth.

My Sister's Blog

2010-07-11T19:57:00.002-04:00

http://venetianblond.blogspot.com/2010/07/poem-for-grandaddy.html