Life Gets in The Way

Hello lovely blog readers (assuming I have any left),

I am sorry I have not written in so long.  My life has literally flipped itself upside down in the past couple of weeks (although that is not a valid excuse for not having written in over six months - sorries!).  I guess sometimes life just gets in the way of doing things you wish you had more time to do.

So update: the boy has graduated, commissioned into the Navy, and moved to Florida.  Two weeks from today I will go to Florida to move into the first house that will truly be "ours", over a thousand miles away from my family.  I am terrified.  I am also excited.  He has been gone for two weeks and I feel like I am missing part of myself.  I also feel like when I move to Florida to follow him (as I always knew I would), I will find that part of myself I have been missing.  In the same breathe, I will also start missing part of myself I have never had to miss before.  I understand that we all grow up and move away from our families, but I am not sure that, even at 25, I am ready for that.  I don't want to leave the comfort zone I have called my life.  I love these people more than they know and I am afraid of what it means to start a life more than a car ride away from them.  I know I can do it, and I know that the boy is worth it, but it is still terrifying.

Today would have been my grandmother's 86th birthday.  Would have been.  She died about a week ago.  I know she is having a better birthday where she is now then she ever would have had here, but it is still a terrible thing to know she is not in the world anymore.  The absolute terrible part? I didn't cry at her funeral.  I have cried so much since leaving PA and my extended family, but while I was there, I don't think I actually shed a single tear.  My eyes welled up, and I was sad, but I did not cry. And I honestly think Grandma would be angry with me for crying now.  She told me once: "When I'm gone, don't be sad.  I had a good life.  I loved every minute of it.  I love you.  I'm going to a better place.  I'll see you again."  I miss her.  I miss her more than I thought I would.  I didn't see her regularly because she lived so far away and I guess part of me assumed that it would be that kind of missing her when she died.  It's not.  It's nothing like that.  It's awful.  She was an amazing woman who left us with an awesome legacy of love.  I only hope that I can set the example for my children and grandchildren that she set for me.

Onto happier things (which is exactly what Grandma would have wanted) - I got a job.  A real live, honest to goodness, oh gracious I am working for a law firm, job.  I even get to take it with me to FL when I go in two weeks.  EXCITING!

I have managed to keep ONE of my new year's resolutions and not eat meat that I don't know where it came from.  I actually went almost completely vegetarian for a while because I couldn't get a hold of meat that I was willing to eat.  Then I realized I don't really need (read "like") meat.  The boy was not happy about this but I have managed to fix him a few meals that he did not realize did not include any type of animal protein.  Yay me!  We will have to find a happy balance in our relationship (since he is an avid meat eater and I am clearly not) but we can manage.  He is willing to respect how I feel about meat, and I am willing to prepare it for him, so I think we will be okay. 

I think that this has officially become a long enough update about my life.  I am sure no one has missed my rambling blog posts, and I can't promise there will be more of them, but I will try. 

Kisses and hugs!

Old Year/New Year

2011:

Fitness
Chocolate Milk
Beach
Garage Porn
Bahamas
Graduation
Taking the Bar
Proposal
Moving, moving, moving
Flight slot
Closure
First "official" Christmas together
Richmond
Job/Job Hunting
Attempt at vegetarianism
Beer Bread
Learning to be flexible
Finances
Passing the Bar
Wine/Game Nights
Football/Hockey/Basketball/Sports in general
The Italian
Dances
Halloween (Arrrr!)
Cookie Bake
Alcoholic Arnold Palmer's
Electronic Cigarettes
Hookah
Law School Friends Family
Visits from the Brother
Goodbyes
Lion King
Christmas Town
Gym membership
Bananagrams
Waffle House
Feb Club
Relationships
Six years
Nags Head
Car Accidents
Pampered Chef
Wedding Dress Shopping
Wedding Dress Buying
Audiobooks
First big purchase - Chevy Silverado
New friends
Old friends
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Chickens
Family
Barristers
Wedding Planning
Red Heads
Garden
Farmer's Markets
Puppy Playdates
Public Defense
Learning to Let Go
Slowing Down
Ride Along
Research Projects
Papers
And so much more!! There is so much that I just know I have forgotten, so I may be adding to this list.  Thank you to everyone who made this year better than the last! Love, love, love you all!! :)

2012
These are the big things that will happen in 2012 and my resolutions.
Marriage
Flight School
Moving
Tons of Weddings
Reunions
Graduation
Vegetarianism (and not just when it is convenient)
Going to the gym
Running again
Biking again
Reading more
Job Hunting
Writing Letters (like real letters)
Post Secret project
Be more crafty
Recycle
Less TV
Less Facebook, more face time
Savings
Seven Years
Sandals
Honeymoon
Getting a puppy(?)
Dancing Lessons
Cooking classes
And who knows what else?

Happy New Years everyone! It has been one hell of a year.  2012 is shaping up to be a year of change, happiness, and beauty.  No matter what happens to you this coming year I hope that you remember that you can control only one thing: your attitude.  Stay positive, stay healthy, and above all, love and let yourself be loved.

Christmas Cards and NYE

My craft project was a success! Yay! (Although taking pictures of the cards was an abysmal failure).  I actually managed to make Christmas cards for everyone! :) They were cute (and I had help).  I feel super accomplished.  Haha.  I am now working on creating my wedding invitations.  I doubt I will be making them though; I think I will just order them.

I am working on a New Years post.  I want to sum up my year and write up my resolutions. We'll see how long it actually takes me get it done. :)

Happy New Years everyone!! Love, love, love.

Crafts

I am not a terribly crafty person but I think the Christmas card selection this year is abysmal. As a result, I think I am going to make Christmas cards this year. And if that goes well, I am going to make our wedding invitations (although, to be honest, I think that is putting the cart before the horse). I'll let you know how it goes.

Terrible Blogger

Merry Christmas everyone!!

So I was terrible about posting what I was grateful for. It's not because I don't have a ton of things to be grateful for, it's just because I don't blog often enough.  To be honest I am blogging right now because I am sitting in the waiting room of a dealership waiting for the boys truck to get detailed. I am writing this post on my phone. Ahhh technology.

Anyways, I am currently unemployed and enjoying my time with my fiance and family. I am praying I have a job by January so I can get back onto the sacking track. I would like to be making money but I am very grateful for my time with my family. I am not going to have a lot once I move to Florida.

Speaking of which, the boy got a flight spot so we will be moving to Florida next summer after our wedding. I am super excited about this next chapter. I think it is going to be awesome. Feel free to come visit us! I am sure during his training/deployments I am going to need the company!!

Alright, I think that is enough for now. Again, Merry Christmas everyone!! Cherish the time you have with your families and remember what this season is all about (and no, it's not the gifts...haha.)

Days Off

I am grateful for my impromptu day off.  I managed to get most of my errands run, the floor of my apartment swept, two hours of cardio in at the gym.  It was nice.  And tomorrow morning, if all goes well, I will get to sleep in and then go to work around 10.  And if things don't get well, I will have another day off. :)

Missed a day

Oops!

I am grateful for my mom.  Today she came up to visit me and to go dress shopping with me.  She paid for my wedding dress!! It will be here on February 20, 2012.  I am so flipping excited.  I am grateful for her for so many more reasons than just this one.  It is just a perfect example of how lucky I am to have my mother.  She is an amazing, beautiful, strong, loving, intelligent person who has molded me into everything I am.  No matter how bad her day has been she will listen to me whine about the insignificant things happening in my life.  She is willing to do whatever I need, with no question of the cost to herself.  She is an epic woman and I am blessed to call her mommy.  I love you!!

I am also grateful for late night talks.  They always make things seem less terrible.  Tomorrow is always a new day, and no matter what, I know that I never have to face the challenges that are waiting for me alone.  There is also someone there who is willing to reach out and take my hand.  I am so blessed to have my life filled with such wonderful and caring people.  I wouldn't be able to survive without them.

Daddies

I am grateful for my daddy.  I know that I already made a post about being grateful for my family, but odds are I am going to give each of them their own post.  Today I am grateful for my daddy because he has taught me so much about how to take care of myself.  Prior to letting me drive my car alone he forced me to change both a front and a back tire on the car.  It took me almost forty five minutes but I have never once been stranded with a flat tire.  He has also taught me how to fix a toilet, build things, keep my finances in order, and many other things.  Today I am especially grateful for him because I have to fix my closet.  The shelving thing in my closet broke, and when it did it ripped a hole in the wall.  I am in the process of patching the hole and then I am going to re-install the shelves in the closet.

I have an awesome daddy.  He truly is the best.  I cannot wait for him to walk me down the aisle at my wedding or to see him with my children (in a completely figurative way - I am waiting a real long time to have children!). :)

Day 4 (but really Day 2)

I am grateful for the e-mail that I received on Wednesday morning at 12:06 a.m.  See, as those of you who have read my blog know, I just graduated from law school.  During the summer I took the NY bar.  On Wednesday I found out that I had PASSED the NY bar.  YES! I have been clinging to that happy feeling for three days (since the rest of my life seems to want to go to sideways).

I have been repeating this prayer to myself for about a week now.

It has become my mantra.  I just wish I could put it to better use.

I am grateful for...

I have been seeing people write things they are grateful for.  It is something to do with November, and Thanksgiving.  You are supposed to list one a day.  I am three days late, but after the way my life has looked for the past weeks, I figure I should start counting my blessings.  So today I am going to list three things.  Then I am going to post one thing I am grateful for every day.

1. I am grateful for my family.  I have a wonderful mother, father, brother, and fiance.  They are amazing, loving, kind, supportive, awesome people.  I don't know where I would be, or who I would be, without them.  I love you guys.
2. I am grateful for my job and co-workers.  In this economy I know having a job is a big deal and I am grateful that I get to go to work every day and earn a steady pay check.  I am able to save up for after the boy and I are married.  To make it even better, my co-workers are awesome.  They make me laugh every day and that is important.
3.  I am grateful for my puppy.  She is soo super sweet and loves me unconditionally.  Everyday when I come home she is super excited to see me.  She barks, jumps up and down and licks my face.  She is incredibly well behaved and wonderful. She makes my life better.

So that is a good start.  This challenge is also helpful because it will help me blog more often.  I told myself I would start doing it, but then never did.  So now, hopefully, I will. :)

MASSIVE UPDATE

Some of this information is new, some of it is new to those who don't me know, and some of it is just old. But here goes!

I have the arthritis of an 80-year old in my right knee.  It is between the knee and the knee cap.  The rest of  the joint is perfectly healthy.  No surgery required.  I do, however, have to have a needle stuck into my knee once a week for five weeks about every two years.  I have gone through my first round of treatments, and they seemed to help a bit.  The biggest problem is that my knee still clicks and pops and locks and just plain hurts.  That is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.

I got engaged this summer!! Woohoo!! That's old news though.  The new news about that is that I picked my resort.  I have permission for the groom's little sister to come and we are now off to the races with planning.  I do not have a wedding date, cause I can't pick one until the Navy decides what the boy is going to be doing, but planning is about to go into full swing! Yay!

I moved.  Not to NY but to Richmond.  I love my apartment and my roommate is pretty awesome!

I got a job.  I work for a legal placement agency that places me with law firms to do document review.  I love the flexibility, the pay, and the hours.  It is pretty much the perfect job for where I am in life right now.

I should find out what the next few years of my life will look like on Tuesday.  That's crazy!!

I am going to join a gym, pack my lunch, and start cooking dinner every night.  I want a routine.  <---This is pretty random, but true, so I thought I would share.

I will start updating more frequently now.  I have a whole post related to the wedding and it's drama coming soon, but I need to make sure it is written exactly the way I want it written before it goes up!

:)

9/11/01

I remember where I was on that day; do you?

NEVER FORGET. And teach those who do not know, who do not remember, the strength a nation.

And We're Back...

So my life has been absolutely insane!  I have taken the NY bar (I wont find out if I passed until sometime in late October, early November).  I am looking at moving to NY, looking for a job, and trying to catch up on all the things I failed to do while studying for the bar.

The truth is that my life has been pretty boring.  I have been doing work that got neglected while I was studying and I have been spending as much time with the boy as possible.  He leaves to go back to school here soon and I don't want to have to say goodbye.  It will mean that I wont see him again for a couple of months.  Just the thought makes me want to cry.  But we will make it.  We always have.

I am working on getting better (I fell down some stairs yesterday) so that I can get my exercise back on track.  During bar studying I ate like crap, didn't exercise, and barely slept.  So I am trying to remedy two of those three things (the eating and sleeping) so that I can get back on the exercise routines starting on Monday.  I was doing pretty good with my physical therapy (which was sort of a "mini-exercise" everyday) until about two weeks before the bar.  Then I put that on hold to study.  I went back yesterday to start again and then immediately preceded to fall down a flight of stairs.  So now my PT is on hold until the swelling in my knee goes down.  No worries, I was not seriously injured, only bruised.  This is not like the last time I fell UP the stairs and ended up in the hospital.  I am the biggest klutz ever.  :)

So, sorry that my first new post is super short, but I really have nothing else of interest to say.

Changes

The boy came home a little over a week ago.  I have been on a hiatus because of hanging out with him.  I just wanted to absorb as much of him as I could.  We had a fantastic time!  My life is at the best point it has been in a really really long time. :)

I am doing bar prep now.  Serious bar prep time is here.  So, for all the millions of readers I have out there, I know this is going to depress you to no end, but I wont be writing again until after the bar.  But after the bar, I will definitely be back.  Try not to miss me too much.

Love love love.

I Cheated

That's right.  I am a cheater.  I couldn't help myself.  My craving was just soooo bad.

Bet you can't guess what I cheated with.

Nope...you're wrong...I didn't cheat with that.

I cheated with carbs.

And creamy, delicious goodness (a.k.a. fat).

I bet you are still wrong in what you think I cheated with...

Yesterday was crazy.  I had a doctor's appointment for my knee that was scheduled for 11.  I arrived at the doctor's office to check in at 10:50.  I sat in the waiting room until 12:10.  That's right, an hour and twenty minutes in the waiting room.  The doctor then told me nothing new, but he did schedule me for physical therapy, gave me a brace, and some medication so that my knee will hurt me less when I exercise.

Then I had to catch up.  So much work, so little time.  I got a good deal accomplished yesterday. By the time the day was over, however, I had eaten nearly enough, was tired and cranky, and my cravings were out of control.  So I cheated with one of my favorite things in the whole world.  Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Butter and a Bagel Thin.  250 calories of pure goodness. 

I toasted the bagel thin, put a carefully measured tablespoon of organic peanut butter on one of the slices and a heaping tablespoon of organic, all natural, Trader Joe's pumpkin butter on the other.  Can you say yum? Cause I can. Yum.

Did you guess it? I bet not! :)

OHHHHH, I almost forgot.  My weight loss is at 4 pounds! Four pounds in four days! Woohoo.

Yesterday's Menu
Breakfast: Forgot (oops)
Lunch: Salad with spinach, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, mango (which I think is also cheating) and a low-fat raspberry vinaigrette
Dinner: Chicken with asparagus (I don't know what my mom did to the chicken but it was DELICIOUS) dipped in organic, plain, low-fat yogurt; green tea
Snack: Glorious delicious goodness (a.k.a. my cheat)
Water Intake: 48 oz.

Basically - yesterday was a bad day for my diet...KS's *wah wah* noise.
 

Cravings

Day three has come and almost gone.  And all I can think about is sugar. Cookies.  Cake.  S'mores.  Hmmmmm s'mores.  It is literally driving me crazy.  I was going to cheat tonight but a certain someone talked me out of it.  I don't know if I want to hug them or murder them in their sleep.

I keep telling myself that if I could drink a homemade lemonade concoction, and nothing else, for five straight days, I can do this.  I don't know though. For whatever reason this is so. much. harder.

Maybe it is stress from bar studying that is creating the overwhelming desire to eat something sweet and gooey. Who knows? All I know is that at some point between now and the end of this diet my self control is going to give and I am going to eat a s'more or a cookie or something.  It will be a glorious day.  It may be tomorrow.

Anyways, back to studying.

Today's Menu
Breakfast: two eggs, spinach; green tea
Lunch: salad with a hard boiled egg, carrots, celery, mushrooms and spinach, an apple; green tea
Dinner: Chicken breast with tomato sauce, vegetable medley; green tea
Snack: yogurt and grapes
Water Intake: 96 oz. (and counting)

2 Days In...

And all I can think about is s'mores.  Specifically these s'mores.  Yum.  But I can't eat them.  I just can't.  I have to stick to it and lose weight.  So no s'mores for me.

Anyways, my parents are cheating today.  It's Tuesday and my Dad has his friends over tonight.  So they are having a few alcoholic beverages.  They keep telling me to have a s'more or eat ice cream.  But I am trying so hard to be good.  It is only day two, this is not boding well for the future.

The boy comes home in THREE DAYS! OMG I cannot tell you how excited I am about that.  I cannot wait to see him.  One sad thing? I can't pick him up from the airport.  I have to do a 1/2 day simulated exam for my bar review.  It is at the same time as picking him up from the airport.  I could pick him up and then do it, but he didn't like the idea of seeing me and then having to let me go do work.  So, I am going to see him when I finish the practice exam.  Which means I have to wait three whole hours after he lands to see him.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but is the rough equivalent of ... FOREVER! Oh well.

Anyways, back to the diet.  I am going to report my weight loss roughly every four days.  Hopefully the number I am telling you continually gets larger and larger! :)

Today's Menu
Breakfast: two eggs, tomatoes, spinach and a peach; green tea
Lunch: Salad with tuna, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery; green tea
Dinner: Chicken in a balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper marinade and a broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot vegetable medley; green tea
Snack: yogurt and grapes
Water Intake: 72 oz.

Family Plan

Hey everyone!

So, with bar prep and everything else, I do not have the energy to work out for an hour and a half everyday.  Knowing that, but still wanting to lose weight, I decided to try this diet that my future mom-in-law has been doing.  It's called the 17 day diet.  It is basically Atkins with more of a focus on the healthy part, rather than the just not eating carbs part.  You eat lots of greens, which help cleanse your system, and lean protein.  For the first 17 day cycle there are no carbs.  That makes me sad.

This entry is entitled "family plan" because my family agreed to do it with me.  So far today, my mom has fully participated.  I am not sure about my dad because he went into the office.  But I am going to go grill him for a bit.  Hopefully he didn't eat anything he wasn't supposed to.

Dinner is in the oven.  Mom and I have to work out for our 20 minutes tonight before we go to bed.  And I have to do a bunch more Barbri.  I will let you know what my dad says tomorrow.

Todays Menu:

Breakfast: one egg with tomatoes and spinach, and 1/2 a grapefruit

Lunch: Salad with tomatoes, spinach, carrots, celery, tuna, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette; green tea

Dinner: Tilapia with a vegetable medley; green tea

Snack: Yogurt with grapes

Water intake: 72 oz.

Fun fact

The boy told me this today.  I have not researched it to prove it, but he usually tends to be right about these things.  This is in relation to my Jamie Oliver post.

L-cysteine is an amino acid chain that is CONTAINED in human hair and duck feathers. The protein is extracted through hydrogenation and added to almost anything that needs to stay soft including breads and hamburger buns. There is no actual hair or feathers and the process actually makes L-cysteine an "all natural product."

So I was not incorrect.  Human hair is used to make cookie dough ice cream soft.  It just isn't the actual hair.  It's still kinda gross, although I guess less so.  Also, it worries that me that it is used in ANYTHING that needs to be kept soft.  Ewww.  Although, I guess when you think about it, we probably all ingest a decent amount of human hair during the course of our lifetimes, without any processing at all!  

The goal of this blog is to learn as much as I can about health, and to teach others what I know.  So if you have any other fun facts like this one, please feel free to share them.  It would make my day! :)

Jamie Oliver

Viva la Revolution!

So I am an episode behind.  But on the episode before last, entitled "Is it just me or have we just been pushed into the corner?", Jamie had his cooking class make lunch for the entire school.  Then the school put him the corner by the dumpster.  Crazy.  So Jamie decided to go into the classroom and find out what kinds know about their food.  He did a test with them, where he showed them pictures and asked them where food came from.  Most kids didn't know that a cow produces milk, or that cheese comes from milk.  It was sad.  It is a sad statement of our education system when seventeen year olds do not know the basics of food.

Then he went into science class.  And this is where I become most interested in the episode.  He taught the kids what is in their favorite ice cream sundaes.  For starters, he taught them, and me, that the thing that makes candy shiny is shellack.  That's right, the stuff that is used to seal floors is what makes candy shiny.  Shellack is the secretion of a female lac bug.  EWWW. The next thing he taught them made me soooo sad. Chocolate chip cookie dough is one of my favorite things ever.  The stuff they use to keep cookie dough soft in ice cream is FEATHERS and HUMAN HAIR.  I cannot believe that.  HUMAN HAIR.  I will never eat cookie dough ice cream again.  Not unless the ingredients are all whole foods.  If I don't know what the ingredient is or where it comes from, NOT EATING it.  It was so gross.

The other thing that got me the most was the fast food restaurant Jamie is working with.  He doesn't want to change to a better product, even though it is not any more expensive, and exceptionally better for his customers.  He met with one of Jamie's students and just kept telling that it was not his fault that America is overweight, that they have a choice, and they can choose to eat at his restaurant.  That's right, and they can also choose not to eat at your restaurant.  But when you are a single, working mom who is just trying to get by, no matter how sad or bad it is, sometimes it is just easier to go through the drive through.  And if the drive through, for the same price, could offer that mother something healthy, why don't they? Pointing the finger does nothing more than pass the blame.  At some point, someone has to stand up and accept responsibility.  Just imagine what this world would look like if EVERYONE took responsibility. 

So that was the week before last's episode.  This past week's episode was super upsetting.  At first it looked like Jamie was winning.  The school he is at got permission for him to teach a class that involved him cooking for the entire school.  "Experiential learning."  He also had a family that he taught how to cook so that they could avoid eating so much fast food.  The amount of fast food consumed by that family was upsetting.  But the dad, who was a single father, was doing his best and he just needed better tools to take care of his family with.  Hopefully he keeps the ones that Jamie gave him and uses them regularly.

The episode was so upsetting because right at the very end Jamie got the news that his permits had been revoked.  He went to speak to the school board and this is what they said to him. (Click the this in that last sentence to see it).  They say that "Excellence has nothing to fear from observation."  So why are you so afraid of observation?! I am glad that the school and Jamie are going to fight them.  Although, the very fact that the show got moved to Friday nights just goes to show you that even though the show is already taped, he is still fighting that battle.

So here is my plug.  Go to abc.com and click on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  Then sign the petitions.  Educate yourself.  We deserve better as a county, and our children definitely deserve better.  We have no idea what the long term effects of the foods we feed them are going to be.  But if we do feed them all natural, good, wholesome food, then they will be healthier, and happier, for the rest of their lives.  They can also teach their children those habits.  And suddenly, you have generations of happy, healthy people.  So go, sign the petition, educate yourself, and take care of your future.