Category: Mental Health

Survival Mode

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Tuesday night: I overcame a slew of temptations at the basketball game, then my beau took down a #1 from McDonalds as I sipped veggie juice. No cheats.

Wednesday night: I abstained from indulging in a honey-baked ham sandwich and a taco bell run. Did anyone know that T-bell had the chicken ranchero soft taco on their “fresco” menu? 170 calories! I digress…

Today, Thursday: I’m feeling pretty good, despite the dismal weather. But, my car is fixed and I’m honestly not hungry. I did wake up around 4:30am with stomach pains (which I attribute to the “tea”). Last night I had a major scare! My friend Manny came over and proceeded to step on my scale ( which I’ve been avoiding), he proclaimed that it was way off. Then Robert (BF) hopped on to check it out. He felt like it was at least 10lbs over. When I got on this morning, after two WHOLE days without eating it told me I’d gained 5lbs. Imagine my despair if I’d been the first to realize the discrepancy!?! No worries, I weighed myself at work this morning and it was 10lbs off, I’ve lost 5!! Momentum. It’s all you need. Movement creates movement….my new mantra.

xx

Cleansing and craving

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G’day. I don’t remember it ever being -5 degrees in Fayetteville, Arkansas but apparently that is what it will be tomorrow. What is one to do with their time besides shuttling in and out of places like office buildings, grocery stores, basketball arenas and homes when the weather takes this sort of turn?

I have decided to go on a “cleanse”. Initially, I chose the master cleanse or lemonade diet. On Monday night, I mixed up a pitcher full of water, lemon juice, syrup and cayenne pepper (after a $50 trip to the co-op). On Tuesday, with my first sip of the concoction, I nearly gagged. I was quite depressed as I’d hoped to continue on this path to inner cleanliness and healthier lifestyle for 10 WHOLE DAYS. Supposedly, you should consume 10 servings of the drink. I barely got through 3. By 8pm I was starving, hungrier by far than any other time I’d accidentally gone without eating. I decided to switch to a juice cleanse, where you drink around 800 calories/day of organic and unadulterated fruits and vegetables.  Needless to say, I guzzled down some veggie juice and felt much better. Later I spoke with my friend Lydia, who is a master cleanse veteran. She explained that you cannot add the cayenne pepper to the batch if you make a day’s worth ahead of time. The longer the cayenne sits in the mixture, the more it seeps in and the more it seeps in, the spicier and albeit grosser the mixture becomes. You MUST add the cayenne on a per serving basis. Good to know.

For today, I am still on the juice cleanse. I feel fine and I actually slept really well last night. Hopefully, that will continue. The evenings are much harder for me when it comes to resisting food temptations. I am actually excited about ridding my body of toxins and spending 10 days w/o caffeine or alcohol. But, there really isn’t much to do besides eat & drink when it’s <10 degrees out!

Despite my new year’s resolution to save more money, I’ve been salivating over a few things…

Including http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=footwr&footwr_style=&footwr_size=&footwr_color=&footwr_price=&product_id=2065010850&Page=1#

Have a fabulous day!

Resolution

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I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions. I typically think of something in the moment like “be healthier” or “exercise more” but I never commit to anything and often forget what I resolved to do within a few weeks.

Come to think of it, I’ve never actually given anything up for lent or fast or anything.

New Year, New Decade, New Start. Here are my goals for the coming year.

  • Save money. Start a savings that I can’t touch. Invest in an IRA.
  • Build a budget (goes with above)
  • Develop healthy eating habits that can be maintained
  • Find an exercise/workout/ hobby that I enjoy
  • Spend more time with my family/friends/loved ones
  • Obtain reliable transportation (my car’s life ended with 2009)
  • Start building a home, even if a house is not purchased
  • Realize what I want out of my job

More TBD…

    Best books of 2009

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    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121058884

    Best books of 2009 from NPR

    Winter

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    Today, it is officially winter. Horrifyingly, it was 8 degrees when I awoke this morning. It took nearly an hour for the heat to begin working in my car and I am seemingly cemented in tights. I hate tights, but this time of year, pants make me feel wide and leggings are really not appropriate for work. I live in sack dresses with empire waists. Alas, I digress…

    I felt the need to post today because I’ve been thinking a lot about reading and needed to document what I want to read. Cold weather always makes me think of fires and cuddling up in some home that is not my own (because I do not have a fireplace) hunkering down and getting lost in a story. Hopefully we’ll be starting a book club soon…and most of these recommended reads are courtesy of NPR (actually all).

    • Mrs. Bridge
    • Spooner by Pete Dexter
    • When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler’s Journal of Staying Put, by Vivian Swift
    • Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile, by Sara Wheeler
    • The Photographer: Into War-Torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefevre
    • The Color of Lightning, by Paulette Jiles
    • The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
    • What Happened to Anna K, by Irina Reyn ( This is a re-make of sorts of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, one of my faves)

    More from NPR…

    Mystery books http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111743357

    Carry-On books http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91364064

    Even more books on my radar

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    The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Polan

    The Help by Kathryn Stockett

    American Pastoral by Philip Roth

    Pros: It’s Friday, I got paid today, Greenhouse Grille tonight, a whole week off for Thanksgiving

    Cons: My iPhone has imploded, my dog’s valium isn’t exacly working, my dryer is broken

    Pros win. Bon weekend!

    Engrossingly funny

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    French women don’t get fat?

    Being in France has made me realize that I hold some incredibly naïve assumptions about French women and weight that can probably be traced to too much exposure to Vogue Paris, Garance Doré, the GOOP newsletter, and the career of Juliette Binoche. In my mind, French women eat Camembert and Nutella and still look cute in leather leggings

    I dig this. http://jezebel.com/5376114/french-women-do-get-fat-food-fitness–fad-diets

    Action words I love

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    Swiftly
    Lovingly
    Ecstaticly
    Emphatically
    Slowly
    With fervor
    Swoon

    Addition: Peruse

    Journal Entry

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    Today is Monday and that is always a bit disheartening. However, there is nothing to complain about today.

    I had a really fun weekend with my friends. Thursday, Wiggles got on doggy-prozac and I think this has helped him tremendously with his attitude. I was quite productive in the early afternoon, cleaned my car, went to the grocery store, cleaned my room (it is already back to a mess, but oh well). Then I went over to Lydia’s house and we split a bottle of wine.

    Friday, I met my mom at lunch at our favorite thrift shop, The Samaritan Shop, I donated about 4 trash bags full of clothing and of course purchased a few things. I am continually impressed with the quality of shopping at thrift shops. BTW – shoulder pads are back. That night, we met at Bordino’s and continued to 21st Amendment, went home early to ensure early wake-up for the Razorback game.

     

    @ 21st Amendment

    Serious Face

    Saturday started early with cheese grits at Lydia’s house. We walked all over town to get to the stadium but the weather couldn’t have been more perfect and we won the game! It was the longest day but there was fun had by all at Lydia’s house later in the evening. The night ended with karaoke, obv.

    Sunday included lots of napping, Monte Ne Inn and Galactic.

    This week: hot yoga continues, Robert’s bday/Pretty Lights on Thursday

     

     

    Powerpointing, etc.

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    Yesterday, I was telling my mother about a presentation I gave and she asked me if I did my powerpoint by myself. After I explained that I had, she went on to inquire where I learned to do a powerpoint? I later learned she did not know how to create one and considered  them to have some sort of mystique. I wonder if she knows I can do excel and access too, oh my?!

    This week, my beau and I have turned over a proverbial “new leaf”. My friend from work’s husband was giving free bikram yoga classes to garner interest in his new yogi venture. I’d gone to my fair share in college and knew that while hot yoga is difficult, the results are inexplicably incredible. After 90 minutes of sweating it out in 104 degree temps, you leave slightly nauseas, soaking wet, starving and better than ever! I brought Robert along on Monday night and seemed to have forgotten how freaking HOT it was! I was, however, impressed with my black-belt-boyfriend’s flexibility ;). We went back last night for more and I must say that it was much easier and enjoyable and I think I’m already hooked again!

    On another note, I recently listened to this Adele cover of  “To make you feel my love”. Hold your loved ones close to your heart… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jpzBEiARaE