In the spirit of spilling my thursday thoughts, let’s dive right in. (Thanks, Amanda for hosting!)

Thought1

I have officially found my new favorite workout. I mean it’s my favorite workout of the moment…because the second I hop off the bike at Flywheel I say the same thing. But hey, I’m spreading the love. As long as I get a killer sweat in I don’t really care what I’m doing. NOTHING beats that high.

Anyway, I know some people have been talking about Body Pump lately (I’m looking at you, Salt!) and it made me reminisce a little. I went at least twice a week my senior year in college, no exceptions. I love the combination of cardio and weights. The heart-pumping, music-thumping, weight-lifting made me feel like a total badass. So while I haven’t been able to find a good Body Pump class these days, I found the next best thing: Heated Power Yoga Sculpt, with weights.

Here’s the description:

• A total body workout, CorePower Yoga Sculpt classes are set to energizing music and designed to tone and sculpt every major muscle group. This class complements your regular yoga practice while boosting your metabolism and pushing your strength and flexibility to new heights. Free weights are added to the CorePower Yoga 2 (C2) sequence, creating resistance and intensifying each pose. Strength-training exercises such as squats, lunges, bicep and tricep curls are incorporated to build lean muscle mass.

Look at all that pre-class optimism. It also looks like I had a guardian angel next to me which, at some points during the class I definitely appreciated.

I’ve been once before and I needed about an hour to recover afterwards. I left feeling dizzy, lightheaded and totally dehydrated. I was so disoriented that I stumbled into Portillos and before I knew it I was shoveling down a chopped salad and extra bread and butter. Okay this may have been a choice but if Portillos is where my brain takes me when I’m feeling out of sorts, then I know I’m doing things right in the world. This time I came more prepared and happily forked over the $1 for a towel (best investment of my life thusfar). I just unpacked my gym bag nine hours later and that tank top was still soaked in sweat. I guess the combination of 100 degree air + yoga poses + bursts of cardio + weights will make you sweat a little. I was a hot mess at work afterwards, but it was worth it.

If you’re in Chicago and want to try out some CorePower classes with me, I’ve got some info on upcoming free classes that I’d be more than happy to share so just shoot me an email (ihadabiglunch) (@) (gmail) (.com). I’d be more than happy to meet up for a class and brunch. Because….well, brunch.

Thought2

When I say things like “because brunch” I really wonder if I could possibly get any whiter, more suburban, more “20-something”. I love Starbucks, brunch, bug-eyed sunglasses and throwing shade. I think the one thing that sets me apart is that I’ll never, ever, ever, ever be that girl talking on a bluetooth so you can’t tell she’s on the phone but she’s just walking around laughing like a total psycho. I’ll never get on board with that nonsense. But other than that I pretty much fit the stereotype. Eh, worse things have happened.

Thought3

There are coyotes howling in my backyard right now and it’s freaking terrifying. I’m also incredibly anxious about it because there’s an adorable poodle puppy that lives two doors down and I know that if the family takes their eye off of her for a second…….well, you know. And I’d cry if I found out that happened.

Thought4

There is so much good music in the world lately! I’ve been on a mission to hunt down this one song that I kept hearing on the radio at lululemon and I FINALLY found it so I have to spread the joy around 🙂 Play it once and I guarantee you’ll be humming it all day.

Thought5

Chris the Farmer is the new Bachelor. My Monday nights just got a little more occupied. Mainly I just want to see what kind of girls show up who legitimately want to live on a farm for the rest of their lives.

Thought5

Sometimes I look at my short friends and I feel so grateful that I get to eat sooooo much more food than them just because I exist in the world as a 5 ft 10 amazon. And then I cheers them with a glass of wine and some cheddar popcorn and I know there really must be a god because I am #blessed.

#kidding. Sorry sorry sorry I’m done with the schtick.

Speaking of being a bottomless pit, I went to an awesome Mexican restaurant last night and went with my usual, fish tacos. Then some froyo. And once I got home I was still hungry (how???) so I had some popcorn and cinnamon almonds. No clue where all that food went but hey I did what I had to do to settle the beast.

And to think when I sat down to write I thought I’d have nothing to say.

Oh, and one more thing, because this notion is oh-so-important:

 

Questions:

• What’s your favorite group fitness class?
• What’s one stereotype you definitely fall into?
• Favorite workout song right now? Favorite chill/study song right now?

 

 

I think there’s a very funny expectation that comes when you tell someone that you consider yourself “healthy.” It’s such a generic term and, truth be told, can mean a million different things. You can be spiritually healthy because you go to church every week and pray before bed. You can be mentally healthy because you meditate and journal once a day. You can be physically healthy because you include veggies at every meal and control your portions. Healthy healthy healthy, blah blah blah.

But when you put yourself out there with “a blog” and are caught carrying baggies of almonds around all the time (guilty as charged), I think people assume you are gung-ho for all the health food trends of the world.

I was doing some thinking today and realized just how many healthy foods I really don’t like. Some I can stand and some I absolutely abhor, but you’ll never find me touting a certain food when I don’t regularly eat them.

So what are a few healthy foods that I just can’t get on board with?

Beets

Abhor. Abhor. ABHOR. The smell of beets can ruin my appetite. If you put an eighth of a beet on an extra large deep dish cheese pizza I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. So there’s that.

Quinoa

So……crunchy rice? Tasteless gum? If it’s mixed into something I’ll eat it but I definitely won’t serve quinoa on the side of my chicken unless I’m desperate.

Kale

I know I just need someone to make kale properly for me. I get it. But I’ve tried kale chips. I’ve tried kale salads. And I just don’t get what all the fuss is about. Give me some arugula or romaine but keep the kale far away.

Granola

It makes me nauseous. No clue why because in theory it should be delicious!

Kombucha

GROSS. Just…gross.

Almond butter

Peanut butter is just too good. Why are we constantly trying to one-up it? I haven’t tried cashew butter yet so I’m not going to rule that out but for now I’m all pb, all the time.

Cottage Cheese

I’ve had it mixed into dishes before (usually of the hot, decadent, noodley variety) and it’s good but alone? BLECH.

So while I’m still a healthy weirdo who loves me some chia seeds, flax, frozen vegetables, stevia, almond milk, nuts, plain greek yogurt, eggs and sweet potatoes, I’ll never eat something just because it’s the newest vitamin-touting, health-inspiring, cure-for-all health food.

Okay now what are some “healthy foods” you just can’t stand? Be loud and proud!

Today’s the day I get back on track. Heck yes I’ve said this a couple dozen times over the past six months but today I’m putting my thoughts into action.

It means I’ll be posting more than twice a week (YOU’RE WELCOME), making more of my meals, working out five times a week, increasing my running mileage, going to bed at a decent hour, waking up early, weekly yoga, reading books, and finally diving into my personal training studies. 

My lack of writing hasn’t been due to a my lack of activity. Quite the opposite – I’ve had an absolute ball playing all around the city. So much great food, so much fitness, dinners with old friends, and making plans for the future. And the cherry on top of the sundae is that I’m still head over heels in love with my job at lululemon, so every day feels like an adventure (an adventure I get paid to have. whadddup!)

 

 

I knew I had a good week but, after putting it all out there on IHABL, I just really can’t believe how blessed my life has become. It’s funny…life can be so painful for awhile. But, it’s just like they say in Batman (bear with my terribly-placed quotes  here): “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” Now that I feel happy and confident with the direction my life is taking, I can’t wait to start this week, disciplined and dedicated to stay on track.

So, tell me about your weekends!

Questions:

• Favorite food to order when you go out to eat?
• Ever done beach yoga?
• What was the weirdest ice cream flavor you’ve ever tried?

I do my best when other people are watching.

I came to this realization the other day. I think it’s something I’ve always known, always had in the back of my brain, but who wants to come face to face with something shameful about themselves? Not me.

A few days ago my friend Monica (long-time reader and friend, hiiiiii) and I set out on a trail run in my local forest preserve. Now, I was pretty nervous because since my life turned upside-down this summer I have only been running a few times a week, usually about 3 miles filled with plenty of “quick breaks.” Monica, on the other hand, is a natural-born runner (sprinter, but runner nonetheless) so I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up.

First of all, it was one of the most fun runs I’ve ever had. I’ve never run without music, and I certainly never thought I could run and talk at the same time. Somehow we did it, as we ran through the beautiful forest preserve and admired all that nature had to offer (including some sickkkk-nasty bugs that I didn’t even know existed).

Ok there was a point to this story…

So the whole time I was worried I wouldn’t be able to a) keep up or b) run as far as she wanted. Well, before I knew it we had run about 4.5 miles (at 2:00 in the hot afternoon sun, mind you) and I felt great!

So, why am I telling you this?

Because I know that if I had been running by myself I wouldn’t have lasted two miles. I would have come up with a million excuses to start walking. “It’s sooooo hot out I need to grab some water” “That tree is beautiful I need to stop and take a picture of it” “Ok three miles? That’s what I am capable of so it’s time to stop”. I know exactly what thoughts would have run through my head if I were by myself.

I have lost the ability to push myself, for me. I am a showoff. I wanted to run far because I was with someone else. When another runner or biker approached I could feel myself making sure I was standing up straight and not breathing heavily (going so far as to hold my breath until they passed). I behave this way all the time when I’m running. I can think of a million times that I start to walk because I am tired but I see a car coming so I run again because heaven forbid someone else see me “failing.” 

The best part is, I’m sure this translates to the rest of my life. I perform best when I am showing off for others. When I hear someone coming into the room, whether it’s at home or work, I tense up and make sure I am doing something or that I look okay (i.e. sit up, redo my ponytail, etc.) I also have a weird tendancy to think that people are always watching me in social situations. In the grocery store I will catch myself scowling in a reflection (I have a bitchy resting face 🙂 ) or slouching and I will automatically make myself look better. I’m not sure what has possessed my mind to thinking that the world revolves around me, or that people in public give two flying F’s about what I’m doing when I’m hovering over the veggies at my supermarket, but I am always “on.” 

In the past few years I’ve made decisions for my life based on what other people want. I adopt the personality of the people I’m with, or at least try my very best to complement theirs. It’s exhausting. For those of you who have read Gone Girl, I feel like the girl that Amy talked about a lot, the girl who is always trying to look “cool.” Whether it be through running, writing, speaking, partying, joking, cooking, baking, existing…I want everyone to like me and to leave the room impressed with me. I like to make impressions. I think this is the main reason why I have this nagging feeling that I don’t know who I really am.

My running realization is a metaphor for one of my weaknesses in life. I’m hoping that accepting this weakness, admitting it, writing it will help me overcome it. I really want to adopt a confident personality that doesn’t change when I’m not standing out or making an impression. I can push myself to run 4.5 miles when no one else is watching. I can have a bitchy resting face in the grocery store and not care because, let’s be honest, no one is looking, no one cares. I can go to yoga and not force myself into poses that I’m not ready for, just because I don’t want to fail. I can have a strong, confident personality and not adjust it just because the people I’m with might not think it’s the “coolest.”

I am a work-in-progress. But at the end of the day, I am enough. I might be on a journey, but the person I am now is enough.

Questions:

• Do you care what other people think about you?
• Do you do your best when other people are watching?
• What did you do to get over this and just do things for you?

Woof. The past few weeks have been a doozy. But I woke up this morning and realized I’m getting way too comfortable not writing every single day, and I really need to quit it!

So because we’ve been strangers lately let’s have a random round-up of all things marvelous on this beautiful Monday.

Shout out to Katie for hosting every week!

Always practice safe snacks

I haven’t exactly been killing it in the healthy food department when it comes to mealtime. I’m still getting used to having a schedule that isn’t the same every day so usually by the time I get home from work at night dinner is thrown together with the first few things I see. This usually involves some kind of bread and cheese. However, working at lululemon has really motivated me to snack well during my shifts and I always pack my own healthy snacks for the train so I (hopefully) don’t dive headfirst into the tortilla chips the minute I walk in the door.

Green juice from a health foods store across the street. It was pretty good! It had tons of celery in it, which is my biggest beef with juices (makes them taste like dirt IMHO) but there’s a green apple in there that provided a little sweetness which was nice. Plus it made my insides feel all kinds of nice so there’s that.

I also tried these new-to-me lentil chips and they were out of this world delicious! They actually tasted like pizza (I mean obviously they weren’t pizza but you catch my drift).

Also, I’m in a bit of an “ants on a log” phase – ten year old me is very proud.

Wine Night and Book Club

My group of girlfriends and I aren’t technically in a book club yet but we are well on our way to starting one. We all just finished reading Gone Girl so we got together for wine and snacks last week and we couldn’t stop talking about the book! If any of you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. I’ll be reading Gillian Flynn’s other two books next, Sharp Objects and Dark Places.

Outdoor Concerts in the Summer

Is there anything that screams summer more than live music? I’ve been lucky enough to go to a few outdoor concerts this summer, and can’t wait to go see Luke Bryan in a few weeks at Soldier Field. Talk about a show! My friends and I are all about the cover bands lately and some really great ones have been to the suburbs in the past few weeks so we’ve taken full advantage.

Apparently it’s Halloween season??

I turned a corner at the grocery store yesterday and was stunned at what I saw. Halloween candy is already on the shelves! Is it just me or is it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early for that? I mean I’m always a proponent of a big bag of candy but seeing pumpkins and cartoon ghosts on all the packaging just didn’t feel right. Considering I’ve worn short sleeves a total of ten times this summer I can see why. Summer didn’t happen!

Let’s Be Cops

As a huge New Girl fan, I love love love Jake Johnson. Nick and Coach in the same movie? I knew I had to see it. It was so funny!! I did get carded to see the R-rated film, however, which was hilarious. Here’s to hoping my baby face looks continue well into my 50s.

I also sneaked in my new favorite dessert, aka Raisinets on crack.

What a weekend. Between a ton of hours spent at lululemon and not one but two wine nights in the past week, I’ve realized just how blessed I am to have a job I LOVE and friends who are my safety net no matter what happens. I’m starting this week absolutely full of joy, which feels amazing.

Questions:

• Favorite movie snack?
• Favorite white wine? I need suggestions!
• Is it too soon for Halloween-themed treats?

I’ve spared my blog the embarrassment of posting how many times a week I go to Starbucks for their Spinach-Feta wrap on my way to work. It’s healthy and all but it’s killing my wallet and I’m sure there are tons of preservatives in there, making it possible to sell tons and tons throughout the morning (which I appreciate – they were sold out once and it ruined my day).

In an effort to save some money and know exactly what I’m putting into my body, I decided to make my own version of this breakfast favorite! It took a few tries to get it just right, which I find is often the case when spinach is involved. It’s really easy to put too much spinach in there and then you’ve got a wrap that tastes solely like the green, which isn’t great.

Shout-out, as usual, to my BFF Trader Joe’s for their amazing ingredients!

Spinach-Tomato and Feta Breakfast Wrap

Makes 2 wraps

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, 3 egg whites
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 4 tablespoons feta cheese
• 2 quinoa flour wraps

Directions

• Sautee spinach in some olive oil or cooking spray until it is wilted. Add a good amount of salt/pepper. Remove from pan and chop.
• Sautee chopped tomatoes for a minute or two on medium-low in the same pan until soft. Remove from pan.
• Prepare eggs/egg whites in a bowl. Once they are whisked together, add the vegetables and whisk some more.
• Spray the pan with cooking spray and turn to medium heat. Once the pan is heated, add the veggie/egg mixture and scramble.
• Once the scramble is almost set, add in the feta cheese. Add in a few shakes of salt as well at this point.
• Microwave the quinoa wraps in the microwave for 15 seconds each.
• Spread the scrambled eggs into each wrap and wrap it up!
• Voila!

Questions:

• What’s your go-to fast food breakfast?
• Does Starbucks steal your paycheck each week too?

Have a great Saturday!

I have a few very vivid memories of three ages in my life.

1. My family is driving in New Buffalo Michigan during our annual summer vacation, and we’re playing one of my favorite songs, “I Think About You” by Collin Raye. I start bawling because I just turned nine, and so my favorite part of the song “I think about you, eight years old, big blue eyes and a heart of gold” no longer applied to me. It was devastating in the way you can only be devastated at nine years old.

2. I’m twelve years old and it’s 11:50 PM – I’m writing furiously in my journal about how terrified I am about turning thirteen, officially a “teenager.” I was terrified in the way only a twelve year old can be.

3. I’m fourteen years old. It’s around midnight and my best friend Kaitlin and I are in the middle of yet another summer sleepover. We always make funny videos when we’re together, and tonight is no exception. This particular night we stage a commercial where Kait is advertising Neutrogena face wash and I am pretending to jump out of a hot air balloon decoration that we take down from the ceiling and pretend is true-to-size. I think in this same night we are filming a dance to Britney Spears’ “Toxic” or something by Jesse McCartney. A lot of dances were filmed on a lot of nights, so it’s hard to remember. We eat a lot of puffy Cheetos and Twizzlers. I was carefree in the way that only a fourteen year old can be.

One thing that I never, ever, ever, ever, ever worried about when I was this age was being fat.

In a recent TED talk, Jess Baker talked to the audience about Complete and Total Body Love. I’m not going to sit here and act like what she said was revolutionary or full of new information, because it wasn’t. I’ve heard it all before. Only 4% of women will openly label themselves as beautiful. I don’t think that means 96% of women think they’re ugly, but if I had to pick a better word I would guess it’d “inferior” in some way. Inferior, therefore not beautiful, not enough. Just uncomfortable simply declaring themselves as beautiful.

There was, however, something that stuck with me.

• 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat. It’s their biggest fear. They’re more afraid of this than cancer or losing their both parents. 40% are trying to lose weight.

In high school I remember babysitting an adorable four year old girl and her brothers. The boys were throwing a football around and I was pushing her on a swing. She loved swinging high and then jumping off, just like I did when I was that age. It felt like flying. But as soon as her feet hit the ground, she lifted up her shirt, turned around and said “I’m fat” and proceeded to cry. I was stunned silent.

What kind of world do we live in where a four year old even knows what fat is?

I am a healthy person. Most people in this community are healthy or are recovering from previously unhealthy habits and are here for support to find peace with their bodies and health. I don’t talk much about it on the blog but I struggled with body acceptance for four years at the end of high school and into college. It wasn’t until my late teens that I really started to be afraid of becoming fat. I won’t patronize those of you who had very, very serious EDs but for years I thrived on a set of eating rules that, if I didn’t follow, the anxiety would build up and I would find myself in the bathroom getting rid of the “mistake” as soon as possible for fear that one bad meal would derail everything I was working towards (Side note: I followed my rules very, very well so I wasn’t doing this often, but only when I broke my rules). In college I could have the huuuuge brownie sundae after dinner but only if dinner was broccoli. I tried diet pills, laxatives and other scams. I even had one summer where I made sure to eat the exact same foods every day and follow the same workout regimen, and when it started working and I lost a ton of weight, I was terrified to change up any of the foods I ate. So there it was: 5 mile run at 5am, Kashi cereal at 7am, Supersize Diet Coke at 7:30am, Fiber One Bar at 10:00am, PB&banana sandwich + yogurt and a Diet Coke at 1:00pm, 14 animal crackers at 4:00, and a piece of fish and veggies at 7:00 after a full day as a summer school gym teacher, camp counselor, and part-time waitress. Every day for almost three months. I loved rules and I love love loved schedules. And yes, I lost weight, looked great and had a killer tan. But the anxiety that came when food was mentioned or present was downright insane. When I look back and think about how scary food was, it’s crazy and, even more so, sad.

So what changed me? Reading these blogs. I started out with KERF the next summer during a particularly boring day at my internship and the love of food blogs just spun out from there. Food was photographed, celebrated, shared, discussed, tweaked, perfected and LOVED. It wasn’t feared but it also wasn’t abused. It was simply loved. The bloggers all filled their plates with whole foods, with everything from vegetables and hormone-free chicken to chocolate and butter-laden croissants with full fat lattes. Food was food. It wasn’t a weapon or something that needed constant control. I slowly but surely got rid of the rules and ate what I wanted, when I wanted, but made sure it was mostly whole, real food, not a science experiment, something my body quickly started to appreciate. The month after I gave up Diet Coke the stomach issues that I had been dealing with for years vanished. I quit sugar-free lattes soon after and saw an even bigger improvement in how I felt. I started to realize that the improvement of my overall health was like a domino effect. I ate better, I worked out harder, I gained muscle (AND weight), and I never felt better. And it all came because I started to treat my body well because I loved it, not because I wanted to change it.

Okay so why the personal story?

This struggle, this irrational fear, happened when I was relatively old enough to understand what was happening. That’s not to say I wasn’t young and naive and had that “why aren’t I skinnier than her?” mentality, but I always knew what I was doing was wrong and I think I was just waiting for something to come along and help me get better. Bottom line, I wasn’t ten years old. When I was ten years old I was sprinting to my stereo when I heard Radio Disney play a song I loved so I could hit “record” on a cassette tape and save it forever. I was scootering past my cute neighbor’s house non-nonchalantly because I wanted to. I chased my first crush around my living room and pinned him to a chair just so I could kiss him on the cheek. I recorded videos with my best friend in my basement not because I wanted to see how many likes it would get on Instagram but because we were goofy and young and happy. I did all this, all these happy things, and was the most confident of my life, and I looked like this:

I snagged all the boys in junior high, let me tell you. Ok, I know it’s not THAT bad, but come on, it’s without a doubt an awkward phase. But I had no idea I was anything but me. I would have never called myself awkward, chunky, chubby, or any of the words that might pop into my head now, because I didn’t even know those words were an option to call myself.

Now, how did I look when I was following my rules, regulations, and worshiping the mental anxiety of food control?

The best part is, I still thought I wasn’t skinny enough! It still took me an hour to pick out an outfit because I thought I looked too wide in most of my clothes and ended up wearing something dark and slightly baggy to hide my flaws.

I’m not sharing this to talk about me. What I can’t believe after watching that TED video is that 10 year olds around the world are going through the same pain and confusion that I went through an entire decade later, at a time when I was too busy being a kid to even know what “enough” was. I don’t know when the memo went around that we have to start “being” something or that our everyday existence just wasn’t enough anymore, but 10 year olds being more afraid of getting fat than getting cancer is TERRIFYING.

I don’t think the solution is to allow children to gain weight as much as they want and tell them that it’s all okay as long as they have beautiful personalities. Because while the inside is what’s more important, how you view your body can really affect the way you participate in the world. But the message HAS to stop being so simple. Do this, lose weight, ta-da, happiness! No. A good relationship with real, true, healthy food (butter and cheese included) will lead to a healthy relationship with our internal hunger cues, which will then lead us to have more energy to participate in active exercises, which will then require more healthy/whole foods, which will result in the best weight for our individual body (not necessarily stick thin but perfect for us as an individual), which will boost confidence and help us make healthier, more active lifestyle choices, and the whole cycle will continue into adulthood and beyond. Not everyone has to agree with me but that’s just my two cents. I can’t wait to get started on my journey into a health and fitness profession so I can start to make a difference in how people view food and fitness and then they can pass that knowledge onto their kids so this ridiculous, heinous, irrational fear can evaporate, especially in such young children.

I did some exploring around Chicago over the past few days (perks of having odd hours now and having a few days free to spend quality time with me, myself and I) and was lucky enough to attend the wedding of a high school friend. We met in choir and she asked all of us to sing in her wedding, including our old choir teacher! It was a serious blast from the past, and was just one of the reasons that this was such a beautiful weekend! I’ve never participated in Marvelous in my Monday via Healthy Diva Eats, but today I knew would be a great week to start.

Questions:

• What was the best part of your weekend?
• Do you ever wander around where you live just to explore?
• Best thing you ate this weekend?

It’s been decades since I’ve posted on a Thursday I think (exaggeration of course) but it’s one of those days when I legitimately feel like “thinking out loud” so I decided to join the party that Amanda hosts week after week.

The Practice

Yesterday I devoted 50 minutes of my day to a personal yoga practice. Just me, my mat, and a YouTube video. I can’t even begin to say how hard it is for me to slow down and choose yoga when I have an hour for exercise – I’d much rather be pounding the pavement or lifting. But, as expected, I finished up and felt amazing. Not only physically, but I felt proud of myself for doing something that I know I needed, not something I wanted to do. Yoga can be so challenging to complete by yourself, so for me this was a great start to (hopefully) a weekly routine.

Gone Girl

Anyone else read this? I’ve been reading more (another miracle) and I’m officially hooked on the book!! For those of you that have read it, I just made it to Part 2, so you can understand why I can’t put it down now! It’s SO good that instead of checking Instagram on my break yesterday I read. That’s when you know it’s serious.

If you were a food, what would you be?

Last night Zain and I got into an interesting conversation. Interesting isn’t even a good word for it…I guess “random” is better. I asked him, “If you had to label me as any food, what would it be?” He immediately thought this was a trap, I’m sure. Women, always trying to make mountains out of food metaphors. Jk it wasn’t a trap it legitimately popped into my head. He asked what I thought he was (smart man, figuring out the amount of detail that was required to satisfy the question). I responded with “Bacon cheeseburger with pickles, extra buttery bun.” His response about me. “A salad.” I laughed out loud and couldn’t believe that was his final answer. “Well I was going to think of the most complicated, intricate thing I could think of, but I couldn’t come up with anything.” That’s more like it. I will not be a salad, damnit. 

Bravo or Brav-No?

I didn’t think it was possible but Bravo has gotten tackier and more classeless than when I was in college. And I think I was drunk 60% of the time I was watching those shows so that’s really saying something. Those Housewives in Atlanta need to get their act together (Kenya – are you a real person?) and I got about three minutes into “Below Deck” before I started losing faith in humanity. What’s even more strange is my choice of TV is usually CNN, Food Network, E or Bravo, so I dare someone to pinpoint my personality. I don’t even know.

“Eat Mor Chikin”

I can’t believe I went over a year without eating chicken. WTF was wrong with me?? I’ve always been a red meat vegetarian, but chicken and fish were always in the picture. Then, for some reason senior year of college, I just couldn’t bite into a piece of chicken. I hate that my mind and my stomach are so interconnected sometimes, because nothing in particular happened that made me stop eating it or start again (which I did about six months ago). So there’s always the chance it’s going to happen again. I reallllllly hope not, though, because so much of my diet lately has consisted of the bird. It’s also helped me to stop depending so much on soy protein products, which are delicious but not too great for you. Not to mention those Chik Fil A commercials get me every time – so, so funny.

Personal Intentions

At Flywheel this morning the instructor asked us all to create and reflect on our own personal intentions for the day. That is, what we want out of the day, what we are looking for in our lives currently. Ever since I started at lululemon I get this question asked of me a lot…what is my intention? It seems so “lala land” but it’s actually a VERY smart question to ponder every day.

My intention as of late has been to quantify the good parts of my life in the same way that I do the bad parts. I’m one of those people who let’s one bad thing label an entire situation. I can notice a million little beautiful things about a person, place or thing but then the second something bad shows its face, those good qualities are forgotten. If a teenage girl bumps me on the sidewalk because she’s too busy texting to scoot the F over (happens all. the. time.) that shouldn’t be what I talk about at the end of the day. Complaints become my narrative too often. I should come home and remember the good things – “I saw a man on the bus give up his seat to an elderly woman.” THAT should be how I reflect on the day. I’m the most guilty of this with Zain. He could do a million little things right but the second I say something and he doesn’t hear it because he’s on his phone, I blow it way out of proportion. It’s become an addiction…something bad happens, someone has to hear about it otherwise I can’t forget it. But can you imagine what would happen if instead of acknowledging the negative energy we just let it disappear instead of passing it around? This is so much easier said than done but it’s been my personal intention for almost a week now and I actually notice little improvements.

Pugs

Still want one. Still need one. One day will have one.

Questions:

• What are your personal intentions?
• Are you a “phase” eater, where you can’t eat something for long periods of time?
• Who has read Gone Girl? Don’t spoil it for me!

Catchy title, ain’t it?

I wish I had the time to think of something more creative but hey, it’s Wednesday, and it’s time to share some recent eats, so I it will suffice as I rush off to work for the afternoon.

Breakfast

After a quick 45 minute run, I came home and scarfed down the first thing I could find. I was so happy to have these puppies already in the fridge and waiting to go. 30 seconds in the microwave and I had breakfast!

Unpictured was, of course, two cups of coffee. That goes without saying…

Lunch

I think I single-handedly keep our local TJ’s in business. Their balsamic glaze is killer! I could drink the stuff.

On the side I enjoyed some awesome blueberries – it’s times like these that I remember it’s summer! Things like fruit and corn haven’t been so great this year but this batch was sweet and delicious, so I’m thankful for that.

 Dinner

I went to see one of my oldest and best friends, Kaitlin, while she was in town. Kait lives in my neighborhood so ever since I was in seventh grade I’ve always walked or scootered (moreso in my preteen years haha) to her house. She’s only back for a few days before heading back to Mississippi to teach so it was so nice to spend time with her and her family! They prepared an awesome dinner on the grill.

Dessert

Since it was Kait’s Mom’s birthday, we celebrated with pie. Cherry pie a la mode from Door County, to be exact, so it was an epic dessert.

Plus more wine because, why not?

It was such a nice night spent with her family. We even took a walk around the neighborhood like old times – friends like that are so special! I could go a year without seeing her and then the minute we’re together it’s like no time has passed. Love that girl!

Plus, full disclosure: I ate some chips and salsa before bed that I wasn’t even hungry for. That late night snacking will be the death of me!

Questions:

• What was the best thing you ate yesterday?
• What’s your favorite type of wine?
• Do you have a friend who you can go without seeing for awhile and then when you do it’s like no time has passed?