Hair Cut and Paleo Lesson

I went and got my hair cut yesterday by a girl who goes to Crossfit with me. I haven't had my hair cut since Thanksgiving 2009 so it was well beyond time. I didn't have anything to exciting done, just a good trim, some layers and side bangs. I'm trying to keep it long and fought off the temptation to chop it off for now.

More important that getting my hair cut, the girl who cut it, Rachel, is so nice, super fit, and has been eating Paleo for awhile. It was great to talk to someone outside of the gym about the diet and be able to get some tips and write down her advice. She suggested going to Sprouts, trying spaghetti squash, coconut milk creamer, Think Thin protein bars, tuna fish salad on bell peppers, using Olive Oil Mayo and watching my calories via the iPhone App Lose It. All of which has proved to be great advice within the last 24 hours. Boys apparently can eat as much as they want on Paleo but girls still need to count their calories (awesome). The iPhone app has been great. So easy to use and it has a ton of brand name food calorie counts already programmed in. For breakfast I used my new Coconut Milk Vanilla Creamer (delish), lunch had my tuna fish salad on bell peppers (so yum), carrots and quac, blueberries (trying to cut down on other fruits and focus on berries) and lastly had my Brownie Crunch Think Thin bar for a snack and was happily surprised at how great it tasted. I might be going back for another haircut soon just to get more help on my eating.

The one suggestion she had, the spaghetti squash, I am skeptical about. My Paleo websites have mentioned it but I hadn't yet talked to anyone who had tried it. I picked one up at Sprouts and think I'll give it a try for dinner this weekend. It's a squash that you cook in the oven, after you have removed the seeds, then shred and use as pasta. Sounds crazy and gross but I am up for trying anything lately. I'll update you as soon as I have tried it but in the mean time here is a photo of the spaghetti squash, the sticker with directions on how to prepare it and my Think Thin bar.

Next Project

While my parents were in town we went to our favorite antique mall. It's not Adam's favorite because it doesn't have enough junk, but I love it! They have some of the most beautiful things and every time I go I add things to my list of what I'm going to make next. This time I saw some awesome burlap drapes that had fleur de lis lightly stenciled on them. I came home and googled how to make them and they look so easy and cheap (they have also been featured in Pottery Barn for who knows how much)! No sewing necessary, so they don't help my cause for wanting a sewing machine. I want to put them on every window, which I know will be over kill, so I'm debating on where to start. Here is a picture curtosey of a new blog I discovered http://lifetothet.com/ with out the stenciling. Maybe I will tackle the first set this weekend....

I also found out that my dad has a bunch of old windows at the farm. I am hoping to bring some back this summer and turn them into mirrors, frames and put chicken wire behind one to hang things on with clothespins. Endless possibilities with old windows! Who knows what else I will find at the farm.

Mom found some kid sized picnic tables that she is hoping to get or build for the farm. They were so sweet and I can just see all the little one's using them to eat lunch on the farm at Mimi's.

Adam is 26...

Last weekend was quite eventful. Not only did Adam celebrate his 26th birthday, but my parents were in town. Mom and Dad were in San Antonio helping Candace out. They found out sweet Walker has asthma so my parents came to watch him while all his new meds were getting sorted out.

I love when my parents are in town. I not only love my family (you have to love them) but I also really like them. They are all extremely funny and never a dull moment when we're together. The weekend consisted of lots of good eats (pizza, donuts, Babe's, Scotty P's, steak dinner courtesy of Bob Bob, and all the tailgate food you could imagine), antique mall shopping, shopping for Mere and the twins' bdays (Feb. 3rd and 17th) as well as quality time watching football, sitting by the fire pit, drinking fine wine and maybe a couple cigars.

For Adam's birthday we watched the Steelers earn a spot in the Super Bowl that will be played here in Dallas/Arlington. Don't know if there was any gift that could have made Adam happier. He opened presents and got three new work shirts (all Tall and iron-free of course) then we ate our Steeler colored cupcakes with some BlueBell ice-cream. We quickly learned what black icing will do to your teeth, mouth and anything else it came in contact with.

Great weekend and can't wait to see them again. Mom's headed to England for a few weeks to celebrate Meredith turning 29 and Nolan and Barrett turning 1.

Giveaway

another great give away from www.pitterpatterart.com and www.noondaycollection.com! love both of these sites, such great stuff and a wonderful cause.

MLK Day

So after a great weekend I had the bonus of today off. First of all, thank you MLK for all you did for this country, you are quite the inspiration to us all. Today I slept in, went to the gym with my other teacher friend Melissa (where I dropped a 35 lb bar on my big toe, ouch!), headed to the grocery store (which was empty!) then came home and did some cooking and cleaning. Before I left for the gym I decided to put our new slowcooker to use. My parents have been raving about a roast recipe from Meredith and so I gave it a try. I stole tons of recipes from Meredith and they have all be awesome. Haven't tried it yet but it smells amazing. Here's a photo of the Costco investment!

The recipe for the roast (I added mushrooms):
While the roast was cooking I also tried a new Paleo recipe for Pumpkin Muffins. They turned out so good and I can't wait to eat them for breakfast this week.
The Pumpkin Muffins consisted of:
1.5 cups Almond Flour
3/4 cup canned Pumpkin
3 whole eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes.


I miss read the recipe and put 3/4 a can of pumpkin in...it doesn't seem to have mattered thankfully! If they had powdered sugar on them I would have thought I was at Panera.When my parents were here for Halloween they left a bottle of wine they didn't end up drinking. Since they have moved around the world they have become wine snobs and I have enjoyed tasting the wines they carefully select when they are around. The wine they left was a red wine, and I have never enjoyed red. However, I knew Brittnay likes red so when she came over I decided to open it up since it would not go unappreciated. To my surprise I really liked it. The bottle was made at a winery near where my mom and dad live in Australia that we visited, an added reason to like it. I would get it again (not that I would pay that much for wine), but I am feeling rather grown up now that I can drink red.

Another wine I have come to love we discovered at Market Street when they were doing a wine tasting event. It's nothing fancy but a mix of wines that are my favorite (Reisling particularly).








Today I started taking vitamin D and fish oil. Paleo suggest you add these to your diet so I am giving it a try. Vitamin D comes from the sun (and dairy) so I figured it had to be good. It's also the vitamin that can help make you happy, so I am in! All I remember about fish oil is that my grandpa took it and kept in the freezer. So do you know where my fish oil is kept? Yep, in the freezer. Not sure why but why not? I made sure to get the fish oil that is odorless and it says "No Fishy Burps" on the bottle, a must ha! Walgreens was having a sale, BOGO, I now have enough Vitamin D to last me the year and enough fish oil for half the year. Let's hope I keep this up.

Another purchase I am excited about is this tupperware type container I found on clearance at Market Street. You put your salad in the bottom and the lid has a place for the dressing that you push and it squirts in onto the salad. Love it!


And to close this blog I'm going to leave for with pictures of two things in the yard that just crack me up. Atleast they are in the back yard now, they started in the front.
Doesn't everyone need a gator and a Penn State gnome in the yard? Thank you Mr. Bonner for the PSU gnome. The yard wasn't complete without it!

The weekend...

Thank the Lord for a day off! I don't logically understand why single days off are so wonderful, especially since they are followed by a weekend, but today was so good. Really this weekend was really good and today was just a special bonus.

Friday I went to a happy hour with the math team at work and it was nice to spend time with them outside of the school. We met at Chuy's, a mexican restaurant, and I stuffed myself miserably. They had a free nacho bar which had taco meat, queso, beans, and chips. I have been trying really hard to eat well and the unlimited trips to the nacho bar was not good for me. I felt horrible when I left and had to go straight to the gym. I just new I was going to puke up everything I ate (and secretly kind of hoped I would since I was feeling so bad), but alas, it all stayed in my belly and bounced around the whole work out.

Saturday I woke up and went to the gym where they were doing a special WOD (Workout of the Day), it was burtal. The rest of the day was spend preparing for poker night that Adam was hosting for his JCP guys. I was so thankful Brittnay came and I had a girl to hang out with. We drank wine, caught up and went to see "The Kings Speech". Loved it! Highly recommend it to anyone, Colin Firth was amazing, he deserves any award coming his way! Brittnay is from Georgia and a nurse, I know Adam has good guy friends based on the fact that I like all their girlfriends/wives. Hopefully next poker night more of the ladies can come. Adam ended the poker night up $150 so I have no complaints!

Sunday we ran a bunch of errands. We went to Rooms-2-Go, JCP, Ashley Furniture, Academy, Costco and Market Street. Adam really needs a new couch so we were checking the options. He didn't find anything he loved but found two or three he liked. I had a gift card from a student to Academy and wanted to check out their sales. I ended up buying two Nike workout tanks in the clearance section. One was only $1.88. I was pumped and I love the shirt. Working out 5+ days a week has made me realize what clothes I like to work out in and what I do not. I wore my new $1.88 shirt to the gym today and it was a winner. Costco runs are never a quick thing. We hadn't been in awhile and Saturdays are sample day so we took our time. We walked out with a new slow cooker/rice cooker/steamer for $29.99. We have a slow cooker but wanted one that we could program so we could cook while at work and it would turn to keep warm when the food was done. Adam also found Matt (his brother) a Blue-Ray DVD player. It is his Christmas gift and he got a pretty good deal. It has an app that you can download to make your iPhone a remote for it. And lastly we purchased and whole rotisserie chicken for $4.99! What a deal and it was delicious. (Okay I also bought 6 romaine hearts but that is all). Our last stop was Market Street, my new fav grocery store. I like it way better than Whole Foods, and here is why. They have a great selection of all the Whole Foods type stuff but also have the normal stuff you need at the grocery store. I like Whole Foods but then had to go to Kroger to get the stuff they didn't have or I could get cheaper. It was also sample day there so we filled up. They give our stickers for every $10 you spend and you can earn free cookware, another reason I like Market Street.

DO.SOMETHING.CREATIVE. EVERYDAY.

I have always really enjoyed being creative. Taking pictures, sewing, crocheting, painting, scrapbooking, drawing, etc., while I am not overly talented in any of these areas, they have be the source of much pleasure in my life. I love learning to make things and finding ways to use my creativity to change things up. My goal for this website/blog is to showcase things I make. I am hoping, through Discipline 2011, to purchase a sewing machine and use the next few months to teach myself to sew. I have lots of ideas in my head of things I want to make and I hope that with a sewing machine and some practice I can bring them to life.

One of my favorite stores is Paper Source. They have such pretty things and their slogan is "Do something creative everyday". I LOVE THAT. I think that should be everyone's goal for 2011. I know it is one of mine. Being creative is so good for us and it can come out in so many ways. I like making artsy crafty things but you could be creative through cooking, organizing, writing, planning, dressing, communicating, ANYTHING! Just be creative. A great thing about being creative, that goes right along with discipline 2011, is that it doesn't need to be expensive. Actually being creative with what you have, not what you buy is awesome. Reinventing things that have been sitting around and you have gotten sick of looking at can be so refreshing.

Anyways, my goal is to be more creative. I know I don't have to buy a sewing machine to do that, but I really want one. HA! Once my money is more disciplined, I will make that happen. Here is a photo of what Adam and I did this weekend to be creative. I think it (the two floral arrangements, both will not be staying on the mantel) turned out great. Can you tell which one is mine and which is his? We have had an ongoing debate about who did better. What do you think?

Discipline 2011

My friend LB from Atlanta and her husband have a theme for each year. As a new year approaches they decide on a theme and it is the focus of their year. I really like this idea and have decided to give it a try myself. One of LB's themes was DISCIPLINE, and I have chosen to take that theme on for my 2011. I am hoping to work on discipline in the following areas of my life:

1. Money
2. Organization/Cleaning
3. Eating
4. Exercising
5. Documenting the year

Here is my action plan so far:

1. Take a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class and stick with it
2. Get rid of the junk, do a little everyday
3. Paleo Diet
4. Keep going to CrossFit 5 days a week
5. Take more pictures and keep a blog

I'll keep you updated on how things are going. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Why Hello 2011...

And it's 2011...how/when did that happen? 2010 was quite a year and has a lot to live up to, but I am optimistic about this year. Here is a run down of what my 2010 was made of:

• Had a great 2nd year working at Trinity School
• My dad retired and my parents moved home from Seoul.
• Meredith had twins (Nolan and Barrett)

• I went to Seattle for Spring Break
• Received my Master's Degree in Education from Georgia State University!

• KIMBER AND I WENT TO AFRICA. By far the high of my year and life thus far. We volunteered at Cradle of Love and were forever changed. www.fromtanzaniawithlove.blogspot.com

• I took my first photography class. One of my best investments (along with my camera).

• Made the decision to join Adam in Texas and moved.

• Left Atlanta where I had lived since 2003, the longest I have lived anywhere.
  
• Prayed, searched and finally found at teaching job in Texas.
• Steven and Megan came to visit.

• Dyed my hair brown.
• Got a Texas drivers license.
  
• Continued to pray and search and was moved to a better teaching job.
• Adam bought a house in Little Elm, Texas.
• Passed my Math and Generalist 4th-8th Grade Certification Exams for Texas.
• Made the decision to get healthy by starting CrossFit and work towards a Paleo Diet.
  
• Went to Atlanta for Thanksgiving at the farm.
• Spent Christmas in Banbury, England with the Pa'u family and experienced a blizzard.

• Rang in 2011 with some old and new Michigan friends skiing at Shanty Creek Resort.