Lazy weekend

This weekend was all about relaxation and being lazy. I was supposed to clean up the 2nd guest room, which has pretty much been a war zone since the wedding - first housing wedding stuff, then gifts, then boxes from the gifts, and now it's just become this deep, dark pit of a room where all our JUNK goes to die.

Um...yeah...I didn't clean the room.

I did, however, pull some stuff out of the closet to donate to Goodwill, and I also found our snow clothes to take to BFF Chandra for her upcoming ski trip, AND I did the dishes.

I call that progress.

We were invited to a couples baby shower on Saturday, which we made an appearance at ONLY because a "couples shower" implies booze. I mean, really - you're not going to expect dudes to show up at a baby shower without beer, right?

**Personally, I wouldn't expect ANYONE to show up at a shower without beer, but that's just me.

Anyway, the shower wasn't too painful, considering we stuck with the 3 other people we knew and hung out in a corner and ate the amaaaaazing potatoes and pork loin they had set out. Holy crap, that food was awesome.

After the shower - which was on the other side of town, wtf - Saul and I headed to Brix Wine Cellars for a drink and dessert.




The place was nice, but so so so loud. I don't know if the all-brick interior was just bouncing the sounds off all over the place, or if people were just super hammered and yelling, but Saul and I only stayed for 1 drink each and got the hell out of there.

Mmmm...Prosecco. Like biting into a juicy green apple!

Not before eating this, though...

White pizza with cheddar cream, Chipotle pesto, shrimp, mozzarella, bacon, arugula, fried egg & truffle oil

Oh my dear Jesus, I would eat this every day if it wouldn't cause me to gain 700 lbs. I was in the mood for something more dessert-like until Saul pointed this out on the menu. It was INSANE. Definitely going back for that bad boy.

It's Monday (boo) and the weather is supposed to get freeze-yer-tits-off-cold in this part of the country within the next 48 hours (super boo). Stay warm, wherever you are!

Just 6 days til the Superbowl!


**I just got an iPhone, so the photos are courtesy of that guy. How the hell do I make them bigger??

Inspired

I have a good friend who, in a weirdly fortunate turn of events with her employer, is now going into business for herself. She's terrified and overwhelmed, but determined and hopeful. I know she will be successful (she doesn't really know how to fail), because she is awesome and dur - I'm not friends with losers.

Watching her take a hobby and turn it into a business is totally inspiring and I am so thrilled for her that she gets to do something she truly, truly loves each day. It makes me want to turn my little hobby into a full-time job...maybe someday ;)

Taking the steps to announce on my blog that I was actively trying to get in shape was a bit scary for me. As anyone who browses my site can see, I don't have a ton of traffic over here, but I do know that a few people each day read, and to make the declaration that I would lose weight is kind of a big deal to me. I don't often try things I think I am going to suck at, because a) why? and b) clearly I am just not too adventurous. As I mentioned above, I do have a project I am quietly working on, on the side, but it hasn't gained much ground and I am hesitant to make a big bold statement about it because what if it flops? I'll get over that fear eventually, I am sure, but I am not there yet. So in the wings, there I'll be, until I am brave enough or inspired enough to do big things with my little hobby.

If you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true
~ Cinderella ~

Listen with your heart, you will understand
~ Pocahontas ~

Nothing's impossible
~ Alice in Wonderland ~

Even miracles take a little time
~ Fairy Godmother ~

Always let your conscience be your guide
~ Jiminy Cricket ~

They say if you dream a thing more than once, it's bound to come true
~ Briar Rose ~

Reach for the sky!
~ Woody ~

photos via

Think Thin Thursday

Grab the button!
**If I keep thinking that this will catch on and spread to other blogs beside my own, surely it will, right? RIGHT!**

There have been 2 factors that have been really instrumental in keeping me motivated this time around - music and the internet.

Music is kind of a no-brainer, right? I mean, really, who runs without music? I have done it before, but I thought I was going to go insane with only my footfalls on the concrete to listen to. I generally prefer to listen to stuff that's got a fast beat, but I put my iPod on shuffle the other day and found that running to Ben Harper or Gomez was just as awesome.

Just a few songs on my "Running" playlist...

Raise Your Glass - P!nk
Only Girl - Rihanna
Like I Love You - Justin Timberlake
Best of You - Foo Fighters
Seven Nation Army - White Stripes
For the Girl - The Fratellis
All Mixed Up - 311
Walk this Way - Aerosmith
Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas
Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss - Built to Spill

I have one of the classic iPods - normal size, fits in one of the arm bands, etc. etc. Turns out, I hate the arm band. My solution? Well since you asked...

I have to wear 2 sports bras, being that I have been...um...blessed? in the upper torso region. Instead of velcro-ing the annoying arm band on and heading out, I would just shove my iPod in between the 2 bras. TMI? Oh well. It stayed safe and was out of my way. The only time anyone else could ever tell there was an iPod lodged down in there was when I would want to skip a song, so I would poke at my chest for a few seconds before finally locating the right place on the iPod wheel, and then I would look like Iron Man for a minute or so, until the light in my chest went out.

It was awesome!

Saul took pity on me and bought me a cute little green iPod Shuffle last week. Its so amazing! Its so light I forget I have it on, and it just clips to my jacket. No embarrassing boob-light shows anymore!

As for the internet helping to get me off my butt, I found a website called MapMyRun. It lets me chart out different paths through my neighborhood, without having to drive them in my car to find out the mileage. It helps keep track of my workouts and tracks overall miles run, and even gives an estimate of calories burned. I love it! I highly recommend it for people who need a little push to get going, and who want to be able to have a record of their progress.

It's raining here today, but should be done by this evening. The pain in my shins is subsiding and I was able to run 2 miles last night with minimal pain. Here's to a productive week!

Happy Thursday, friends!

The time I finally cooked a successful meal for Saul's family

**Not to be confused with the time I unsuccessfully cooked spaghetti and almost ruined Mother's Day dinner for Saul's family**

Monday was Sue's (Saul's mom) birthday, so the family got together on Sunday for lunch. Usually when we do Sunday lunches or dinners, we grill something - brisket, hamburgers, brats. Also, I use the term "we" veeeeery loosely.

Meaning, usually I do nothing to help.

Actually, that's not true. Sometimes Saul and I go buy potato salad and bring it over in all of it's plastic-tub glory.

I'd like to make it known that I ALWAYS help with the dishes, though.

Anyway... I talked to both my sisters-in-law and we decided that we'd like to try something different for Sunday lunch. Something not grilled. So I suggested enchiladas. I'd made some pretty bomb-ass enchiladas the week before and I thought they'd be super easy to recreate and a definite crowd-pleaser. I mean, who DOESN'T like enchiladas??

Aside from the fact that I had a dream that I only made 8 enchiladas (there are 8 adults in the family, 10 people all day, but the little girls prefer pb&j to chilis and beans), everything went great and the food was awesome. I didn't take any pictures because I NEVER TAKE ANY PICTURES - fml - but just imagine, if you will, 30 enchiladas with all their cheesy goodness, and a big ass batch of refried black beans with bacon and onions.

YUM.

Just in case you'd like to try them...


Turkey and Black Bean Enchiladas

Corn tortillas
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 can of diced tomatoes w/chilis
1 can of black beans (drained)
Cumin (to taste)
Chili powder (to taste)
Enchilada sauce
Shredded cheese

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the turkey. Drain off any excess fat, and then add the onions and garlic to the same pan. Once the onions are translucent, add in the cumin and chili powder and mix.
Pour in the tomatoes and chilis, and the black beans.
Let that all cook down a bit to get rid of some of the liquid from the tomatoes, and re-season, if necessary.
Heat the tortillas so they are pliable.
Spoon a bit of the turkey mixture into a tortilla and roll it up.
Place it in a baking dish, seam side down.
Repeat until dish is full.
Cover all the filled tortillas with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove foil at 20 minute mark, and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and avocado!


Creamy Black Refried Beans

1 can of black beans
1 small onion
Bacon strips
1/4 cup of plain greek yogurt

Dice the onion and cook until translucent.
Cut up a few strips of bacon and cook the pieces until crisp.
Set bacon and onion to the side.
Pour beans (undrained) into a food processor.
Add greek yogurt and blend, until smooth.
Pour beans back into pan used to cook onions and bacon, and cook over medium heat.
Once beans are warmed through, add in cooked onion and bacon bits.
Sprinkle with cojita cheese and enjoy!

Think Thin Thursday

Um, more like Think SHIN Thursday.

Shin splints can kiss my ass.

How do I get rid of them? They are painful as shit.

Advice needed, STAT.

Think Thin Thursday...it's back!!

Is it just me, or does looking at your workout plan for the week on Monday just exhaust the hell out of you? Checking in on Thursday to see how I've done and look back on the last 3 days and see the progress I've made and the goals I've stuck to is much more satisfying, and actually helps me keep up the good habits through the weekend (sometimes).

Think Thin Thursday went away for a while...my bad. Saul and I had really specific goals to reach by November of 2010, and when we reached them (well, almost...but I was super happy with what I had achieved), we fell off the wagon. Like, hard.

Basically, I LEAPED the fuck off that bad boy, gave it the finger and then scarfed down 35 Twinkies.

So I am picking back up on the running, going for at least 2 miles per day, which might not sound like a lot, but to go from nothing for a few months to 2 miles everyday is kind of a big deal for me. Also, I am focusing more on bringing my mile time down - my immediate goal is a 10-minute mile. Baby steps, guys. Baby steps.

Y'all, I am NOT a runner. I am a person who runs. Primarily, so I don't end up weighing 372 lbs. I don't particularly like it, although I don't hate it (like I hate Spinning...I loathe that shit). I think I could grow to really enjoy it, but I haven't really stuck with it long enough to make it a consistent part of my life. I run a few times a week, then get bored with it and throw in some 30-Day Shred action, and then sometimes don't do anything for weeks at a time. I'm working on running correctly - I lean forward like WOAH - and breathing right. Mostly though, I am working on just MAKING IT HAPPEN daily.

I am the Queen of Excuses. Seriously - if ever you need to justify why you shouldn't do something, come to me. I can come up with an excuse for anything. It's hot. It's cold. It's kind of foggy. It's scary in the dark. It's too humid. My ear hurts. I really should catch up on my correspondence. I need to research Bali in case I ever want to go there someday.

I am a machine.

To curb this annoying tendency, I have found that writing down how much I plan to run in my planner (all hail the planner!) before I run makes me more motivated to actually do it. Saul and I have a calendar in our room that we use to chart what we did for the day. We would each write on it before we went to sleep - "S: P90X Shoulders/Back...C: 30-Day Shred" - so that we could keep track of what we'd done for the month. It was easy to skip a day if he skipped a day. It was really easy to skip a day and just leave it blank, and then tell myself I would make it up later. Writing down "Run 2.13 miles," which is the length of the course I run in the neighborhood, at 9am causes me to think about it and prepare for it all day. It's always on my mind, and I get kind of psyched up, sometimes even writing down new songs I want to download when I get home to run to that night. Also, it makes it feel super shameful to cross out that little note in my planner when I don't follow through. There are no lies in the planner, people. It tells the truth!

I think I am on the right track, for now. I am focused and have been feeling good. I am confident that I can keep it up, and while this isn't a New Year Resolution per se, having a solid fitness goal for myself is really motivating.

Excuses, exshmuses!

Maybe just a little OCD about planning

Ahhhh....a new year. New goals, new travels, new experiences. I'm excited about it all, but what I am most thrilled about every single January is one very simple thing. One very simple, but one VERY necessary thing...

...a new planner!!!

Um, no...I'm not kidding.

Seriously, you guys, I would be lost without my planner. I keep EVERYTHING in it and it's how I stay (semi) organized.

I know, I know...there are a bunch of way more high-tech ways to stay organized and keep dates in check, but really, this is what works for me and I love it! I love filling it up with our fun plans, keeping track of birthdays and anniversaries, and being able to look at my life, a month or a week at a time.

I am a freak like that, and I'm ok with it.

I am such a plan-maker. It used to blow Saul's mind that when asked in March, I could rattle off plans I'd already made for September. Seriously - his eyes used to bug out of his head. Now, he just rolls his eyes and laughs when someone asks him what our plans are for any given weekend, and then he directs them to me ;).

Right now the planner has birthdays, some anniversaries, and a few weddings, but that's it! So many open weekends to fill. So many vacations to chart out. So many possibilities.

Bring it on 2011...I'm ready!

Auld lang syne...

It's funny, the cycles of blog posts throughout the internet. There are the obligatory holiday posts, showing off decor and food while listing favorite things about the particular season. These are followed by the "favorite moments of the year" posts, which are then followed by New Year's Resolutions posts.

If I blogged more consistently and didn't feel such pressure to cram entire MONTHS into one freaking post, I might do that too.

But, since I don't post but once every great while, it's a little overwhelming to try and recap everything that's happened in the last 2 weeks, much less try and compile a list of my "favorite posts of 2010." The archives are there for ya, if you're that interested, I suppose.

2010 was a good year. I got married, which was awesome (partly because it was something I really thought I would never be interested in doing), we got a new niece, my brother was deployed and came home safely, and my epic love affair with wine continued on.

We also took a ton of vacations. We started the year in Jamaica, then went to Cancun twice, as well as California, Alabama (which doesn't SOUND like an awesome vacation locale, but trust me, it was a blast) and a bunch of weekend trips to Austin and Dallas. I feel so fortunate to be able to travel the way we do and 2011 has a whole bunch of new destinations in store for us.

To me, that's what makes a successful year - counting how many times we got out of the state or country. There are still so many places we want to see, and the more we get to travel, the happier I am.

Next year starts on Saturday (holy shit). I've got no resolutions to try and keep because I always break them almost immediately - if you don't and are able to keep them, what the hell is your secret?? We're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate the greatest day of Saul's life - he asked me to marry him one year ago tonight and I said yes, lucky sucker (bahahahaha!) - and then will spend tomorrow night celebrating the end of the decade with great friends at our house.

What are your New Year's Eve plans?

Hope 2011 brings you all much happiness and fun travels!! See you folks again in the new year.

xoxo

Deck 'em

And finally, since I know you've all been anxiously awaiting this post (heh)... how I decked the shit out of the house.

Otherwise titled:
"Welcome to our crib. Don't knock my decor, bitches."

Le cafe table
(that's Francois for coffee table, dur)

The mantle.
Also, our giant TV.

Fireplace.
Hello, Knight. Aren't we festive!

A random corner.
The green stuff smells FAB.

Other side of the fireplace.
SANTA!

Entry way table.
Look - it's the picture I painted while drunk!

Yeah, I totally embroidered our names on our stockings last year.
I got mad skills with a big ass needle and thick thread!

Sparkly dudes hanging from the kitchen chandelier.
SANTA!!

Last, since I don't have a picture of the living room tree, here is our tree in the front room. It fits perfectly in the bay window. It's fake and colorful and I love it. It's the first tree Saul and I bought together and I am fairly certain it is going to go out any day now, considering we leave it on all day and night. Fire hazard, what?

OMG 3 days!

It wouldn't be the Christmas shopping season if the stores were any less hooter than they - HOTTER than they are...

I know it's like 4 days 'til Christmas (HOLY BALLS - 4 days!!!), but even though it's late and the tree's been up for like 3 weeks, wanna see it now anyway?

Thought so ;)

Be warned...our tree doesn't match.

THE HORROR!

My family has never had a matchy tree. Nothing against them, we've just always had colored lights and a mish-mash of all kinds of weird and sentimental ornaments, most of which my brother and I made. Now, me and Saul's tree has a buttload of ornaments our parents saved for us, combined with ornaments we've purchased together from various vacations, and yes...some ornaments that I made. Like, last year.

Shut up - I was feeling crafty.

Without further adieu (and also without a full picture of the thing because I am soooo smart sometimes), I give you our Christmas tree...


I feel as though the voo-doo doll at the top of the tree, blasphemous as it might be, is canceled out by the angelic little Winnie the Pooh, hanging just below it.

Also, the voo-doo doll looks pretty awesome up there, no?

4 days!