A Christmas Story

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

Please enjoy this video of my dog snoring.  :)

The Power of Imagination

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

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?

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

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.

Funny!

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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!

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

The Tuck

We live 1 row of houses up from The Tuck.

Lean On Me

I cannot get enough of this. Man!

1950

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

Career Path

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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?

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

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

Life's Been Good

Ch-ch-changes

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

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

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!

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...

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

Happy Valentine's Day!

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

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

No Facebook for a while

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!

"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

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

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

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

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

Path to 5k

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:

1. I ate at 11:30 and I started jogging around 2:15.  Is that enough time to digest?
2. There weren't as many people at the gym to keep my mind occupied.
3. 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

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

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

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.

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!

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.