Monday morning started just like you might think a Monday morning would: slept poorly, felt bad, turned off my alarm, overslept, late to work, swollen eyes thanks to allergies, and all-over aura of "crap" in my demeanor/appearance. By the time the working day was over, I just wanted a re-do. So, I did something I hardly ever do. The minute I walked in the door, I didn't start straightening the house (we had company coming for dinner), I didn't start cooking, I didn't sit down and flip on the TV. Instead, I kissed my husband hello, then I headed straight for a glorious, hot shower. It wasn't a bubble bath, but it definitely did the trick. We had a dinner/business meeting that evening and I was able to approach it simultaneously rejuvenated and relaxed. Sometimes you just need to hit the reset button on your day, even if it's at 6:00 pm!
Highlights:
1) We grilled for dinner, from entree to sides, and it was delicious. To say that I'm ready for "grill season" is an understatement!
2) Another successful business meeting! I've said it before, I'll say it again, we are so blessed and I am so thankful that we continue to defy the odds on mixing business and friendship. Both just keep getting stronger!
3) Got a little further into "Sink Reflections", and I'm loving it so far. In fact, I think the chapter I read inspired my post-workday decompression session. Plowing through the rest of the book so I can start a new one when we take our roadtrip to New Mexico on Friday!
Love & Reset Buttons,
K
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Feb 5 - The Day We Watched That Football Thing
Athleticism is a fairly new game for me (no pun intended). While I now actually enjoy being physically active, my love of fitness has not yet translated into a love of sports, especially watching sports. And anyway, the "sports" I do like don't make for very exciting television (I don't care how much you love running, you can't seriously tell me you enjoy watching the entire Boston Marathon on TV. Save your lies.). All that to say, like 92% of American women, I watched more of the Superbowl commercials and the half-time show (Nicki!) than the game itself. Despite the main attraction of our gathering, I'm always down for party food, and it didn't disappoint. Plus there was Gramma, whom we love, especially when she only refers to the teams by their uniform colors and gets excited about instant replays. Oh, and I got to hang out with this PYT(sidenote: photo #1 is her original outfit. After a, ahem, leakage problem, we had to change her, but the only other outfit we could find was an elf suit (photo #2). BEST):
Highlights:
1) Went out to lunch with family, and friends that are family, to celebrate my Grandmother's 70th birthday. A celebratory lunch could never do this woman justice, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing any of us could do to explain just how influential, cared for, respected and loved she is to us. One of my 12 in '12 to-dos involves spending more time with her and taking in every bit of wisdom I can grab. Praying thanks over the days she's lived and blessings over the ones to come.
2) Stomach = garbage can. Let's see, there were girl scout cookies, taquitos, chips, black beans, hot dogs, pie, brownies, 2 kinds of dip, and potato skins. Oh, I totally paid for that later.
3) Husband and I did something called the 5-4-3-2-1 workout (check it out here). A) I totally kicked his butt, and B) It totally kicked MY butt. We'll be doing this again!
Love & Stereotypical Female Views of Organized Sports,
K
Highlights:
1) Went out to lunch with family, and friends that are family, to celebrate my Grandmother's 70th birthday. A celebratory lunch could never do this woman justice, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing any of us could do to explain just how influential, cared for, respected and loved she is to us. One of my 12 in '12 to-dos involves spending more time with her and taking in every bit of wisdom I can grab. Praying thanks over the days she's lived and blessings over the ones to come.
2) Stomach = garbage can. Let's see, there were girl scout cookies, taquitos, chips, black beans, hot dogs, pie, brownies, 2 kinds of dip, and potato skins. Oh, I totally paid for that later.
3) Husband and I did something called the 5-4-3-2-1 workout (check it out here). A) I totally kicked his butt, and B) It totally kicked MY butt. We'll be doing this again!
Love & Stereotypical Female Views of Organized Sports,
K
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Feb 4 - The Day I Raked Up 19 Bags of Leaves
My husband loves me because I get these really great ideas and then I force him he volunteers to help. Case in point: "Hey Hon, we have the afternoon off, know what we should do? Rake our yard! YES! Oh, there's a million leaves and we only have one rake? AND its a very blustery day? EVEN BETTER!" OK, first, I was only going to sweep the sidewalks, then I started just sweeping the edges of the yard, and then...things just got out of hand. And, in my defense, it wasn't that windy when we started. It only took a few hours before my shoulders were screaming and I was sweating, even with the wind gusts that were blowing my neat piles all over Burleon. Needless to say, I soon joined Husband in the "Whose idea was this?!" camp. That jerk. After hours of that I cleaned the house. I'm a glutton for punishment. (On the upside, my yard and house now look quite pleasant)
Highlights:
1) Garage sales! (This was before the leaf escapade) Best find: a box of VHS Disney Classics for a nickel a piece.
2) Stayed veeery late at work this evening. Here's a tip: when you go to a restaurant, any restaurant but particularly smaller places, please please please pay attention to the hours sign. Save the poor, non-confrontational owners/workers from having to kick you out AN HOUR AFTER CLOSING. *end soapbox*
3) Its been an exhausting day, but there is something so completely rewarding about heading to bed knowing you've used every ounce of energy you've had, and every minute of your day was invested in some way. The satisfaction of hard work is universal, I suppose, no matter the field. Need to end more days feeling like this!
Love & Lots of Leaves,
K
Highlights:
1) Garage sales! (This was before the leaf escapade) Best find: a box of VHS Disney Classics for a nickel a piece.
2) Stayed veeery late at work this evening. Here's a tip: when you go to a restaurant, any restaurant but particularly smaller places, please please please pay attention to the hours sign. Save the poor, non-confrontational owners/workers from having to kick you out AN HOUR AFTER CLOSING. *end soapbox*
3) Its been an exhausting day, but there is something so completely rewarding about heading to bed knowing you've used every ounce of energy you've had, and every minute of your day was invested in some way. The satisfaction of hard work is universal, I suppose, no matter the field. Need to end more days feeling like this!
Love & Lots of Leaves,
K
Feb 3 - The Day I Ate Fish
When I was a kid, I ate fish (read: fishsticks) and subsequently threw-up my toenails. This happened 2 or 3 times, which was enough to convince myself that I am/was allergic. Also the perfect out for an extremely picky eater who didn't want to try anything new. In my adult years, with my now dramatically different palate, I've often wondered if I could in fact handle fish. It was on my to-do list for 2011, but I didn't remember this until like Dec 31st, so oh well. Fast forward to yesterday, Husband was eating some tilapia and offered me some. Three amazing things happened: 1) I TRIED IT, 2) I liked it, and 3) I didn't get sick! Now, that could be because I only ate about two bites, but its going down as a success in my book!
Highlights:
1) Bought the newest issue of Bon Appetit magazine yesterday, which was focused on Southern food. I now have a renewed desire to food-tour the Deep South, and to make my husband eat pork.
2) Went to a Yoga class. I did yoga in college, but it was really more like "I bought a yoga mat, I'm earthy, check me out". So when I actually DID Yoga, I think I fell in love. Challenging and relaxing! I'm hooked.
3) We got our first Veggie Co-Op box today! I'm a little skeptical because of some non-seasonal items that ended up in my box, but I'm not out on the whole thing yet. Stay tuned for updates as I inquire more about my box's contents and learn to cook sugar snap peas.
Love & Tilapia,
K
Friday, February 3, 2012
Feb 2 – The Day I Ran Without Fuel
This is one of those days that just doesn’t feel like it warrants a post. But, I’m committed, so let’s do this:
Started the day with a run with a work friend, and to my great dismay, we were out of coffee at my house. That meant running, before the sun was up, with not a drop of caffeine in my system. That post-run coffee at work was like my carrot motivating me to finish. I’m an addict and I know it, don’t judge me!! And, if you’re wondering, it was GLORIOUS (the coffee, not the run, duh).
Highlights:
1) Chips and Salsa Thursday! Am I going to write this every other Thursday that I eat chips & salsa? Maybe. It really is that exciting to me, people.
2) Made more of that delicious broccoli for dinner, and ate it all to myself because Husband started the Flat Belly Diet for Men and he’s only on day 2 of the jumpstart (no broccoli allowed!). I later regretted the decision to inhale all those little green trees as I burped garlic/broccoli for the next 3 hours. Just saying.
3) Went to work on invites for my nephew Roston’s welcome party. You know what happens when you put two incredibly indecisive, mediator personalities in one room to start a project? Nothing. Nothing happens. We went round and round on wording, design, paper size, and “for the love of cheese, should we use ‘of’ or ‘for’?!” Despite all that stood against us, we actually DID manage to make a little traction, and we had fun along the way! Roston, you will have a glorious party! Even if it takes us a reeeally long time to decide what we’re doing! :)
Love & Indecisiveness,
K
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Feb 1 - The Day I Zumba'd
I've got rhythm. I've got what were at one point referred to as "child-bearin' hips" (thank you, stupid high school boy). You'd think a fitness routine based on shaking said hips to latin beats would come naturally. Before I mess this experience up with my words, let me show it with a picture:
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That about sums it up. In case you were wondering, having a beautiful, curvacious Latina woman as your instructor does not help your I'm-a-skinny-little-white-girl-with-nothin'-to-shimmy complex. Don't get me wrong, it was FUN. But fun and letting someone ever see me do this in a public forum? Two totally different things. If nothing else, these classes (which I'll be attending through February) will be a lesson in humility and just plain getting over myself. Maybe that's the point...that and amazing abs.
Highlights:
1) Started walking with a new buddy at work today. Striking out for new friendships isn't a particularly strong suit of mine, but I'm working on it, and this is helping! Looking forward to fostering friendship and fitness.
2) My brother won the science fair! He's on a smarty-pants roll this year, winning the spelling bee, math olympics, and now the first place position out of all the 5th and 6th graders in his school for the fair. He was one proud pup, but he's at that stage where even though he calls to tell you about this victory, when you congratulate him, he just says "yeah, thanks, I guess" in that "no biggie" fashion. Go on brush yo' shoulders off, boy.
3) We went out for a celebratory dinner at the restaurant of Landon's choice. Never one to try something new, we of course went to Chili's. Upside: I split the Margarita Chicken with my mom - really good, and a perfect size (and not too unhealthy) meal! Downside: they saw his medal, they gave him chocolate cake. I resisted at first, but then there was just a little piece that sat there, uneaten...it begged me to save it from its loneliness. Just tryin to help a cake out, ya'll.
Love & Latin Rythms,
K
Highlights:
1) Started walking with a new buddy at work today. Striking out for new friendships isn't a particularly strong suit of mine, but I'm working on it, and this is helping! Looking forward to fostering friendship and fitness.
2) My brother won the science fair! He's on a smarty-pants roll this year, winning the spelling bee, math olympics, and now the first place position out of all the 5th and 6th graders in his school for the fair. He was one proud pup, but he's at that stage where even though he calls to tell you about this victory, when you congratulate him, he just says "yeah, thanks, I guess" in that "no biggie" fashion. Go on brush yo' shoulders off, boy.
3) We went out for a celebratory dinner at the restaurant of Landon's choice. Never one to try something new, we of course went to Chili's. Upside: I split the Margarita Chicken with my mom - really good, and a perfect size (and not too unhealthy) meal! Downside: they saw his medal, they gave him chocolate cake. I resisted at first, but then there was just a little piece that sat there, uneaten...it begged me to save it from its loneliness. Just tryin to help a cake out, ya'll.
Love & Latin Rythms,
K
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Jan 31 - The Day I Made It One Whole Month
1/12th of the way there! Some posts were long, some posts were short. Some sentimental, some sarcastic, some exciting and some quite dull, but all were honest, and I'm proud of myself for making it through the month of January with a blog for each day. I've gotten into the habit of making notes of what's going on as I go throughout my day, something which keeps me alert in the present - always a good thing.Now to brace myself for the continuation of this online adventure. The original rules still hold: I give myself permission to be imperfect, not on time, not thrilling, so long as it gets there and its honest. Let's roll, February!
Highlights:
1) Mexican feast with my favorite small group! We had a few who weren't able to come, and the result was a regular shmorgishborg of Tex-Mex deliciousness. I made taquitos and flautas, which brings me to my next point...
2) The thought descended (or rather crashed) down on me today that I am a full-blown overcommitter. This came to me as I'm standing in the middle of my now grease-splashed kitchen wondering why I, a working woman whose spouse works on Tues. nights, would commit to making not one, but two types of fried food on said Tues. night. Not enough fun for one? Let's throw in cornbread and dip, too! I got it done, but I had to leave my kitchen in a wreck, I was late and I (and my house) smelled like a greasy diner. Gotta work on this one...
3) Read an email from my father to our church family which contained a story on his experience with one of my neighbors. He told of his interaction with her, learning her story, taking a moment to be a part of her life. The story had nothing to do with me but as I was reading, I realized it has everything to do with me. Thought #1: I'm a terrible neighbor. I'm selfish. Thought #2: Fix this. ASAP. So...I'm going to throw a block party. Stay tuned for the actualization of this bright idea.
Love & Successful Blogging,
K
Highlights:
1) Mexican feast with my favorite small group! We had a few who weren't able to come, and the result was a regular shmorgishborg of Tex-Mex deliciousness. I made taquitos and flautas, which brings me to my next point...
2) The thought descended (or rather crashed) down on me today that I am a full-blown overcommitter. This came to me as I'm standing in the middle of my now grease-splashed kitchen wondering why I, a working woman whose spouse works on Tues. nights, would commit to making not one, but two types of fried food on said Tues. night. Not enough fun for one? Let's throw in cornbread and dip, too! I got it done, but I had to leave my kitchen in a wreck, I was late and I (and my house) smelled like a greasy diner. Gotta work on this one...
3) Read an email from my father to our church family which contained a story on his experience with one of my neighbors. He told of his interaction with her, learning her story, taking a moment to be a part of her life. The story had nothing to do with me but as I was reading, I realized it has everything to do with me. Thought #1: I'm a terrible neighbor. I'm selfish. Thought #2: Fix this. ASAP. So...I'm going to throw a block party. Stay tuned for the actualization of this bright idea.
Love & Successful Blogging,
K
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