february is almost over already.

Seriously... where has this year gone?  Our lives are pretty good here in NC, I hope your lives are going well too!  John and I are having a great 2012 so far, mentally & physically.  Happy and going strong, making future plans, loving life & each other.

Physically, we are improving in leaps and bounds.  We've done 6 weeks of P90X so far - I think the last time I talked about it we hadn't even finished week 1 yet?  It's safe to say now, after doing it for 42 days straight, that we LOVE this program.  All caps are necessary.  We have found a program that works for us and we are so in love with it.  I bought the DVDs (if you are interested in this program, ask me how I got it for a lot cheaper than the official website advertises) almost 3 years ago and quit after 2 weeks - the box has sat on various shelves since then.  There are many reasons I didn't succeed with my first attempt at this program, but I think the main reason I have succeeded this go-around is that I have a wonderful partner to do it with me everyday, to motivate me on days I don't want to do it (& I motivate him when he doesn't).  As soon as we are finished with the 90 days we are going to just start right over again - or splurge & buy P90X2!  When we are completely finished I'm sure we'll write a review together about it, so you can see what I liked specifically and what he likes.  But anyway, we are also pairing our exercise routine with healthy eating -- lots of produce, very little meat - mainly vegetarian meals, no (or little) caffeine, no alcohol, and cooking at home.  We've only been out to eat twice in 2012, once because John's mom was visiting, the other time for a fun date night.  We go to Trader Joe's every Saturday morning and get our groceries for the week -- we spend less there for healthy food for a week (or more!) than we would a night out for dinner & drinks.  All & all, we feel amazing, are a lot stronger, and are seeing great results while saving tons of money.

In other news, the two of us have decided to make a big commitment with our leisure time together -- we are rewatching every episode of Lost.  And making up words that describe our indescribable feelings for what happens in the show and debating until the wee hours of the night about life, death, karma, the afterlife, actions & consequences, etc, etc.  Lost makes your brain hurt, but in a good way.  I'm sure there will be spirited essay posts from both of us in the future after we watch more of this show.

I'll end up this catch-up with some pictures of life in February from my phone...

my favorite concrete square outside my favorite library // the monster dog giving the babycat a kiss //
John gave me one of my favorite albums on vinyl for Valentine's Day // 1st meal out of 2012 - veggie burger & sweet potato fries from our local brewery //
one night we drove through a new-to-us town & stopped at the cutest bar & I had my 1st drink (sangria) in a loooong time // we got Breaking Dawn the morning it came out (look at his sleepy & happy face) because we are really lame //
my mom sent us a Valentine's package that included cards & gifts for all the living things in this house -- our part was a spaghetti dinner, chocolates, & Lady and the Tramp on bluray // I painted something for John for Valentine's Day -- it's cheesy & he loves it //
when John's in the kitchen, I like for him to make this gnocchi dish that he has called Captain John's Mega Gnocchi Gumbo Mystery Meal Mystery Meal, which is NOT gumbo, nor are the ingredients a mystery... buuuuut that's what he calls it & it's amazing // I had a cold for a whole week which was not very fun at all, but hot lemon water every morning made me feel more human & able to face the day -- I'm hooked on this drink now, lots of vitamin C & other great health benefits //
when I'm in the kitchen, he likes it when I make my own version of sweet potato fries & here they are paired with a big salad // it actually snowed where we live! less than an inch & it was gone when the sun came up, but we made sure to take the dog outside late at night so we could all play in it while it was still there

... that's it!  I hope you have a wonderful Black History Month & enjoy your extra day!!!

experimenting. {groceries, lifestyle}

actual picture of the 2 of us outside!

The last time the two of us went out to eat was lunch on July 4th.  We decided that after that lunch we would go a month without eating out.  Make all of our meals at home.  Buy only healthy foods.  Drink only black coffee, tea, some fruit juices, or water.  Be active everyday.  I didn't blog about it before because I didn't want to jinx us.  Technically we still have til Friday before our month is over, but honestly, we'll probably continue a long time after that.  For the two of us, this seemed like a daunting task.  We loved going out to eat and exploring our new town via cafes and restaurants.  We were also addicted to gross over processed foods & sodas.  I thought it was going to be hard, it actually turned out to be super easy.  I don't know if we are just both in a different stage in our life or what but within days we felt better, we were sleeping better, and we were saving tons of money.

We tried to buy as locally and organic as possible (which is easy where we live, so we were super lucky) and found out that our taste for things had changed through that.  We actually LIKED milk now that we were getting it from a local farm - this is what is was supposed to taste like?  We both hated drinking milk before and avoided it, opting for almond milk in our cereal.  Now there are some things we will only get locally - milk, eggs, bread (my next task is to learn how to make my own bread instead of buying it at the co-op), produce.  Like I stated earlier, it was super easy for us to buy local, organic foods.  We have a wonderful co-op in our town where we get the essentials.  It's also really nice that you get to support your community.  One reason that is keeping us out in our country home is because our town has such a strong sense of community - it's extremely refreshing.

Another reason this experiment helped us -- money.  We have saved so much it's ridiculous and embarrassing.  After looking back at financial statements and seeing what we were spending on food & drinks before it was... well, it was sad - I can't even share the figures.  So not only are we getting healthier now, we have more money saved up by making all of our meals.

I definitely encourage anyone to try this experiment.  Make ALL of your meals & snacks at home for a week, two weeks, a month, etc. ... whatever you want to start with.  See how much money you save and how much better you feel.  It may seem hard, but once you get into a routine, it doesn't take much time at all.  We'd make lunches and snacks for the next day the night before, cut up produce & store in containers (we would freeze a lot of our fruit, too, and eat that for dessert - SO good) as soon as you get home from buying groceries, plan meals ahead of time.  Think about what you want to make for the week before procuring your meat, produce, & extras.  It's easy.  Trust me.  If I can do it, you can.

Now -- taking it one step further... This was not my idea, it was Mister's and he got this idea towards the end of our month experiment.  We also decided to not buy groceries until we had eaten EVERYTHING in our cupboards, refrigerator, & freezer.  So that means our staples (bread, eggs, fresh meat & produce, milk) were gone in a few days, we had to resort to the things stuck in the back of the freezer & cupboard.  A LOT of frozen veggies, eating up all the soup & oats, and finally eating the three things of frozen pork sausage that our neighbors gave us (I'm pretty sure I blogged about the scary hogs they had months ago, well they've been in our freezer for a while).  This experiment was interesting.  I'd be lying to you if I said it was the most fun thing I've ever done.  Mister definitely had a better attitude about it.  Luckily for me, the coffee ran out on exactly the last day of eatable food left in our house.  Had I had to go without coffee any days on that experiment, I would have done some damage to something (or someone ... you reading this Mr?!).  I discovered I absolutely loathe eating oat bran (no matter how much cinnamon, it just was bland), eating mixed veggies for all meals, & eating pasta for more than one meal a day (never realized how much pasta makes my stomach hurt & feel plain rotten).  Highlighted "meals" include:  eating a bowl of meat for breakfast (Ron Swanson Approved!) and a spoon of peanut butter & pickles.

Enlighten Mint - how I missed thee!

Anyway -- we did it!  We got down to frozen lima beans (which I refuse to eat, I hate them), some various oat products (no fun if there's no milk), and chicken stock & broth, and cream of mushroom soup.  Finally, we went grocery shopping last night.  I was drooling over all the apples & bananas we got, lovingly stroking the glass bottle of milk, singing to the eggs, dancing with the bread.  If you think I'm exaggerating, you clearly don't know me well.  Oh oh oh!  And best part!  A trip to the co-op meant I got to get a can of my most favorite cold drink (besides H2O) - Yerba Mate Enlighten Mint.  Mmmm SO good.  (If you don't drink Yerba Mate [original hot tea] you should!  Organic natural goodness! And Enlighten Mint is EVEN better than original Mate)

8 Weeks: Week Four - Loving Yourself

Okay, so I missed last week.  Here's my excuse... I was packing up the last of stuff in Kentucky, partying with 30+ family members in celebration of my Gramps being 90, getting home late Sunday night and spending the rest of the week unpacking/organizing, and then going to Mister's old apartment and packing up the last of his things.   We finally FINALLY have all of our things here (BOTH OF US), and I'm slowly getting the rest of his things unpacked and organized, while staying on top of laundry and meals.  I will be so happy once I've unpacked the very last box.  I might have a celebration just for that box.  I should also note here, that with every item we've packed, moved, hauled, whatever our decision to stay put for a while was made stronger.  While we aren't 100% sure right now, we are very strongly leaning towards staying in this little rental house until the end of the year -- originally we were going to try and find something by the end of summer and move again, but we are both just so physically and mentally exhausted from moving every single day for the past month. 
Annnnnnnnnnnd... back on track!
The topic last week was Healthy Eating.  Something I used to be not so great at, but honestly I've been doing so well with it in the past month.  I've said in previous posts that our location alone makes healthy eating not only super easy but eating UNhealthy really really hard.  What I mean by this is there are no fast food restaurants conveniently near by, the town is super "crunchy" (aka "buy local!" and catering to organic foods), and so as long as the two of us make our major shopping trip a smart one, we try to only buy good-for-us foods.  I've been cooking A LOT.  Which was one of my own personal summer goals and it's been pretty awesome.   Aside from our road trip food stops that weren't always as healthy as they could be, we've eaten really decent colorful meals and haven't had too many gross things.  We've been taking our vitamins, drinking our smoothies (remember how I told you the Mcakes Way of the Smoothie a couple months ago), laying off the soda a bit (I'd be lying if I said completely - ha!  maybe someday), eating lots of greens, etc.  So yay!

And noooooooow --- this week is Loving Yourself.  Probably will be one of the harder ones for me.  I have a lot of insecurities, especially where my looks are concerned.  I've gained bit of weight on my small frame in the past year (at first it was extremely depressed weight, and then it 180∘turned to being so stupidly happy and going on unhealthy eating dates weight), but whatever the reason, the extra pounds add extra insecurities.  I usually don't talk about my personal body-image insecurities online so it might seem like I don't have them, but I do.  Coming up with goals was hard for me.  But, here goes:

1. Make a list of 5 things I like about my body.  Either write them down or speak them out loud to myself.  Go over this list every day for the week.
2. Put on "real" clothes everyday.  Some days I don't leave the house, and I'm doing household chores and unpacking so I like to stay in my sweats.  I need to make the effort every day to put on clothes even when I don't leave.  When I look decent and presentable, I feel 100 times better about myself.
3. Stop with the negative comments (thinking and saying them) about myself.  I think a lot of people are familiar with this, I know I get on people when I hear them say things about themselves, but I never do it for me.  I need to not be so hard on myself.  Odds are, whatever I'm criticizing about my body isn't actually as bad as I think it is.

8 Weeks: Week Two - Fitness

I'm a little late with this because I was traveling all Sunday evening and then running on very little sleep yesterday while unloading my truck, another truck, and a small trailer full of things from Kentucky.  I've been a whirlwind of steam cleaning everything that is stationary, washing every pot, pan, & dish, and organizing all our stuff.  I really did give away, donate, or throw out so many clothes and other miscellaneous items but it feels like I still have entirely too many things.

But anyway -- this week the goals are related to FITNESS!  Oi vey!  Oh how fitness and I loathe each other most days.  I suppose it is a good thing that I must make some fitness goals this week!  I accomplished all my goals last week, too -- look at me go.

So here goes:

1.  Walk Rory outside everyday.  There are some interesting roads around our house and I need to get out and explore.  Exercise while I learn my way around, plus the pup could use some exercise too!
2. Buy a new yoga mat and look into yoga classes in my new town!  Someone told me there was an excellent instructor in town so I definitely want to check that out so I can get back into yoga and incorporate it into my life again.
3. Stop drinking Diet Coke/Pepsi at least for the week and definitely before noon.  It's so gross when I think about it.  I need to stick to water, coffee, yerba mate, and green tea.  Hopefully this goal will translate to stop drinking soda all together, but I'll tackle that longterm goal as it comes.

****

In other news--  I've had a most fortunate experience moving thus far.  The universe has been very good to Mister and me to say the least.  Nothing but good signs everywhere letting us know that we are definitely making the right decision.  I hope we continue to be this fortunate -- we have been so grateful for our luck so far!

smooth criminal.

Smoothies are the greatest thing in existence.  I've been a fan for a long time.  Up until the beginning of the past December I rarely made my own.  What changed you may ask? (or you didn't but you're getting an answer anyway.  in 3... 2... 1...) My Housewife.  Obvs.  In the post before this I talked about the changes I've made.  The most consistent one since December has been - smoothies for breakfast!  Let me tell ya, smoothies rule because they are yummy, nutritious, and filling!

Okay - so here's the BASIC smoothie recipe I use everyday.  I've tweaked it very little because I've not been bored with it yet the past two months I've been consuming it.  But I'm sure you can tweak it to your liking.  That's the amazeballs thing about smoothies - just put a bunch of yummy stuff in a blender and you're bound to get something that tastes good!

Step 1:  Gather your ingredients!

  

Ingrediants for Mcakes' Breakfast Smoothie:

 1.  1/2 cup orange juice

2.  a heaping handful of baby spinach

3.  a tablespoon of flax seed (omega 3s! hello!)

4.  one (1) individual yogurt - preferably a "berry"ish flavor (Mcakes recommends Carb Master)

5.  one (1) cup of frozen mixed berries

6.  one (1) banana*

You will need a blender, a spoon, and a cup!

Step 2:  Put all the ingredients in the blender, set it to "smoothie" or "iced drink" and blend!  (Note:  About halfway through the blending I stop it and use the spoon to mash things down and more towards the center then start blending again)

*it is VERY important that you give a small end piece of your banana to your puppy dog.  Rory & Stella (the dogs of the house) LOVE their morning pieces of banana.  don't have a dog?  take a bite of that banana and enjoy it yourself!  (Note: this is not necessary unless you live in our apartment)

aaaaaaannnnnnnd then you get:  a delicious and nutrious smoothie!

sorry this pic is SO lame, it was early & before I had my coffee

Step 3:  DRINK YO SMOOTHIEEEEE, GIRRRRRRL (BOIIIII?)

Do y'all consume smoothies? 
What do you put in your smoothie???

habits. the good, the bad, and the falafel.

The good.  So, I'm going to brag on myself a bit (don't worry - before I get a big head, I'm going to say some not so nice things, too!).  I've been doing better with what I put into my body!  Mainly due to my new housewife.  Mcakes, workout-barbie-princess-fitness-guru, is way into being HEALTHY.  She rubs off on me, whether she means to or not, and whether I realize it or not.  Since we've been living together in sin {side note, we're JUUUUUST besties}I've been having smoothies for breakfast most days.  This is awesome because on these days I feel good knowing I've gotten a good amount of fruits, veggies, and omega 3s {what those exactly do, I'm not sure - but Mcakes assures me they are needed}.  I can't remember if I've shared the smoothie recipe on here, maybe that'll be another post.  Anyways --- back on track.  Mcakes, like every good housewife, makes dinner a lot - so we eat healthy {&cheap} throughout the week.  When she isn't being my personal chef in the kitchen, I opt for lean cuisines or something healthy-ish of the like.  Also, too, (redundant redundant) - I've been drinking a TON more water and kicking the evil Diet Soda Habit and instead opting for tea.  The main liquids that go in my body now are coffee, water, and tea.  Water being the most.  I haven't regularly drank this much water since I was swimming competitively {& I ain't just talkin bout chlorine water - I was super healthy back then!}.  This new Thousand Glasses of Water a Day Habit is good and bad.  My body thanks me, it's hydrated, the cramps are lessened, the headaches less severe.  But it's horrible too because I pee SO EFFIN MUCH.  Sigh.  The downside to being healthy.

Now let's talk about the bad.  Exercise.  With our uncharacteristically harsh winter so far, I've not been walking as much because I hate being so cold {side note - on our sunny warm days, I HAVE been getting out of the house and walking for miles, literally}.  I used to walk my dog every morning, at least around the block, but usually longer.  I've not been to a gym in Lord knows how long.  The most I've done with exercise is Just Dance 2.  If you're not familiar with my love of Just Dance 2 or haven't been MADE to dance with me - you're lucky.  I need to start dancing everyday.  I need to start putting forth effort into my exercise routine while I'm stuck in my house with the ice/snow (Clumsy Girls hate going out in ice & snow - just this icy morning I almost completely fell once {a brick wall nearby saved me} and slipped about 4 times).  My friend, Kara, who is inspiring with her honesty & motivation to start becoming healthy, has tried zumba.  I'm going to try this because I've wanted to do it forever.  I spontaneously dance a lot - so a workout dedicated solely to dance is where I wanna be.  The problem with this is money - classes cost money.  Sigh.  Someday I will not be living paycheck to paycheck in my ghetto apartment and will attend zumba regularly!  Enough about this - this whole paragraph boils down to - I'm plain lazy.  And love to dance.  The end.

falafel of dreams

Now the third part of our post - the falafel.  Sometimes a girl just needs one.  This girl needs one at least weekly.  Let's take a minute and pause to thank the food gods that Babylon (local Greek restaurant) does not deliver and is not open on Sundays - because this is the only thing that prevents me from eating there for every meal.  No really, I'd eat there for EVERY MEAL.