Thanks - I needed that!

Every now & then I get totally surprised by blogging.  

When a blogger that I adore who has a gajillion followers comments on one of my posts - it totally makes my day!

Even better, when someone from Sweden (or some other land far-far away) starts following my blog & commenting on things.  I absolutely love hearing from people an ocean away that can relate to what I'm writing! 

The best, when you make a friend out of a fellow blogger.  That's just plain rad. 

Today though, I got a little piece of advice from someone who came across my blog - that made a big difference.  Not this blog, mind you, but this blog (that I started when I attempted a Total Body Transformation).  And I gotta say, it was just one of those things where you think... "Wow.  Why the heck didn't I think of that?"

Here's her note: 

"Hi there!!
I stumbled upon your blog... and just want to say this:

Don't let food run your life. Whether you're eating it or restricting yourself from it... Don't let it be on your mind all the time.
Don't feed the disease of disordered eating. Don't let diets be your only option.

Exercise because you want to, not because you need to. Eat until you're full. Don't cut out everything that you like.

I'm no expert, but I have lived a life of disordered eating and eating disorders... and I'd hate to see someone so beautiful (a stranger!) beating themselves up over a few pounds and some ice cream.

Get comfortable in your own skin... it's the only one you're ever going to get."

I hope she doesn't mind that I posted this (please tell me if you do and I'll take it down)!  I just felt like this was something worth sharing.  If you go and read my post that she's referring to, you'll see that I went on a helluva rant.  I beat myself up, and criticized myself, and really didn't get anywhere because of it. 

I gotta say, this note made me feel a lot better about everything, and better about me.  I don't know why I beat myself up about being a little overweight - it's the small changes that make the difference, not never eating ice cream again, or feeling depressed if I eat a slice of pizza. 

I want to feel good about myself, but in the long run.  Not just for a couple of months.  In order to do that I just need to make small changes (ex: not go for seconds, stop snacking late at night, choose fruit instead of ice cream, but if I really really want ice cream just have a small amount, etc).  

I always thought that I loved myself just the way I am.  But the truth is, I struggle with my body image just like every other girl does!  Sure, I can strut my stuff and love my curves, but there will always be a tiny part of me that wants to be thin.  But I love food way too much to get there.  And you know what?  That's totally okay.  I'm healthy, I workout regularly, and I'm working hard to make the right choices.  That's what matters. 

Thank you so much for helping me to remember that.  You know who you are! :) 

Dancing Doggie!

I've been back from New York for a couple of days now, and I'm still trying to get caught up!  (And yes, that includes blogging too). ;)

I had a wonderful time with my big sis - we spent a little bit of time outside of the city this time around which was great (and different)!  I will share pictures very soon.

For now, since I don't have much to say and should probably get back to work - here's a hilarious dancing doggie!  Hey, if you don't have a dancing partner... you may as well train the pup, right?  Hehe!

Salmon Dinner & Peaches and Cream Breakfast

I leave for NYC tomorrow to visit my sister, and I absolutely can't WAIT!  

Before the craziness of this past weekend (with Katy's wedding & everything - pics to come soon!), I got down to some cookin'. 

I wanted something with lots of yummy veggies, but then I found some salmon filets in the freezer, and I thought "Well, SHOOT - I gotta make those!!"  

I went totally nuts with all of the fixin's, but man, it was delicious. 

- I cooked some black eyed peas, and used that as my base (they were a little undercooked though, unfortunately!)
- I chopped up some leafy green lettuce and sprinkled it around the edges of the plate, then dressed it with some olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and seasonings.
- I steamed some broccoli, and caramelized some red onions.
- I roasted sliced tomatoes in the oven with some sliced garlic (ugh - that was AMAZING!)
- I made some mustard/horseradish aeoli (sp?) to drizzle over the broccoli
- I cooked the salmon in foil after squeezing some lemon over it and slathering it with some mayo.

It was a bit of a process, but MAN it turned out super good!!  

We also cracked open a bottle of Gewurztraminer that night - the sweetness went great with the light & flaky fish.  My old neighbor, Jess, gave me this wine topper as a "going away" present when I moved out earlier this month.  How hilarious is that?? :) 

  
Also, my new favorite breakfast is what I like to call Peaches & Cream.  

Just take some leftover quinoa, and simmer about a cup of it in a small pot with about 1/2 a cup of almond milk (or soymilk - vanilla flavored is a bonus).  I used a bit too much milk in this picture, but it was still really yummy. 

Add a pinch of your favorite sweetener (I like to use 1-2 tbsp of Brown Rice Syrup), mix well, then top with sliced peaches. 


Trust me.  It's a wonderful way to start the day!  


I probably won't be blogging while I'm in New York - I'll be too busy I'm sure! :)  
So have a great rest of your week, and there will be more to come when I get back! 
 

 

Headed to NYC next week!

I'm so excited to be going to New York next week to see my big sister, Amber! 

I haven't seen her in a crazy long time, and I miss her like a fat kid on a diet misses mac & cheese. 
I have SO MUCH to get done at work before I go too, and it's SO darn hard to focus!  Katy's wedding is this weekend too - so it has kind of been a whirlwind lately.   The good kind though!

I can't wait to be reunited with my sis!  LOVE HER!! :)

Film on the Rocks - JURASSIC PARK

I think every single one of my friends has a story from the first time they saw "Jurassic Park".  It really was a pretty epic movie - and way ahead of it's time as far as special effects go.  



I remember I was about 12 or 13 years old when the movie first came out.  My family and I were on vacation somewhere (maybe South Carolina?), and we decided to go see it one night.  Mind you, I hadn't EVER seen a scary movie in my life at this point in time - and yet seeing Jurassic Park seemed like a brilliant idea.  


It was a tiny little theater in a mall, and we took up 5 of the 20 seats that were in there.  The movie began.  We laughed with the little jokes, we were confused with all of the science-ey "adult" talk... then the T-Rex got out of it's cage.  

HOLY. SHIT. 

My sisters and I were speechless the rest of the film.  Our eyes were glued open wide, and we clapped our hands over our mouths to stop from screaming.  We were frozen in terror but could not stop watching.  

All I could remember thinking was "DAMN those dinosaurs look SO REAL!!"  I'd never seen effects like that before in my life, and I was stunned.  Did they make REAL dinosaurs just for this movie??  I couldn't tell! 

Last week they screened this classic movie of my childhood at Red Rocks for their summer series "Film on the Rocks".  It was a perfectly gorgeous night, and a bunch of my friends came out!  

 Meredith getting her goodies unpacked & ready to go! 

Yeah, I'm pretty happy to be here too. 

Awww - I love these guys! 

Ryan is one of my favoritest people ever!!  We got to party at his wedding late last month - it was such a blast.  Love this guy! 

 Far, far in the distance you can see downtown Denver.  Red Rocks is such an amazing venue! 

This show was totally sold out (can you tell?) - I guess a lot of people share the same feelings as I do about this movie! 

I had to get a during-the-movie shot, and this was the best I could do.  The rest of the movie I wanted to pay attention! :)  

How do YOU feel about this film?  What's your story??

Money Struggles.... GIFTS

Today I realized that one of my biggest struggles with not spending money, is stopping myself from buying gifts.  In this post I told you guys about how I'm doing a really strict Spending Diet right now, so that I can work towards paying off my debt.  

So far, things have been going pretty well.  Even with an unexpected deposit screw-up by my old landlord, I'm still doing OK - I'm actually tracking everything I spend money on, using my allowance every month on anything that's not on my "NEED" list, and I am saying "no" to extracurricular activities (or at least not spending money when I attend them).  

However, on my "WHAT I WILL NOT SPEND MONEY ON" list is something that I'm already having trouble with.  GIFTS.

I don't know why this one is so hard for me to avoid, but I've already slipped a few times by using my debit card for gifts when I'm only supposed to be using my "fun" cash for them (if I even give them at all).   


I just love seeing someone's expression when they get something wonderful.  I love feeling like I made them happy.  I love showing them that I care!  When I take the time to make handmade gifts I love that the best - because I really put my heart into it, and I know that my friend or family member knows that too.  (PS - if you ever need great handmade gift ideas, check out Design*Sponge.  I love it!)


The problem though, is that even handmade gifts cost a little money.  I came up with a creative gift idea for my friend's wedding (I can't say who or what b/c she may be reading this), but it still cost me about $20 for the supplies alone!  I know it'll be more meaningful because I'm making it personal, but still, it cost me money.  And I said I wouldn't spend money on gifts until I paid off my debt.  *DOH!*

I'm not really sure how I can get around this.  I hate the idea of showing up to a close friend / family member's birthday with nothing to give.  I can already feel the guilt and disappointment in my heart!  So sad!  I probably just need to get over it, as I know that these people will love me no matter what - and that's what's important.  I guess part of my problem is that I want them to know that I love THEM and that's why I feel as though gifts are so necessary...

...but in the scheme of things, I guess they're not necessary at all.  These people know I love them.  I tell them all the time.  I show them that I love them with my actions, and my support.  That's a kind of a gift, right?  Honestly, if my friends & family couldn't give me gifts for Christmas or my birthday or something, I'd be A-OK with it.  I have everything a girl could ever ask for.  Sure there are things that I might "WANT", but it's all material stuff anyway.  It doesn't matter in the long run!  What DOES matter is spending time with people you love... not money.  

Man, I hope reminding myself of that will make me better at this!  

All photos from We Heart It.

My Mom's Bourbon Slush Recipe!

Remember how I told you in this post about my mom's famous Bourbon Slush?  Well, guess what!  I feel that we know each other well enough.  I'm going to share it with you.

Mom's Bourbon Slush
2 tea bags (black tea)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup of sugar
1 - 6 oz. container of Frozen Orange Juice
1/2 cup of Bourbon
3 oz. of lemonade (frozen)
 
Steep the tea bags in the boiling water for 5 minutes, then remove them from the water.  Mix all of the ingredients in a dish or bowl, and place in the freezer 1 ½ hours before serving.  

The mixture will not freeze completely due to the Bourbon, it will become a “slush”.  To serve, scrape the top with a large spoon, and put the shavings into a short glass.  Serve with a spoon.  Best enjoyed while on a porch swing with friends. 

Enjoy!! :)

GROW

I absolutely adore this!!  A young couple living in Boston decided they didn't like the way their lives were going.  So they packed their bags, moved to Austin, and decided to become farmers.





I love bravery and determination like this!!  I hope to find it in myself too... how wonderful to go out and do something that you're passionate about with such ambition.  <3

The new pad! (teaser)

I couldn't take photos of the WHOLE house, as we don't have everything set up yet, and I want it to be ready before showing it off! :) 

John and I were hard at work last night though: hanging pictures, rearranging, and in general just getting the place in order.  We managed to get a decent amount done, but I'm hoping to be fully ready to go after this weekend!  I guess we'll see how motivated I can be in one week!  

This is part of the living room area (by the front door).  We have the couches in place too, but I just like how this corner looks.  The windowsill between my two plants is Fudge the Cat's favorite place to sit.  

I'm hoping to get started on my dream front porch soon!  When it's done, this little window will look out onto the loveliness.  And Fudge can meow at us while we're out there. 

This is the wall facing the living room.  I was super excited to get all of these hung up!  I'm hoping to just keep adding too, and making it a big hodge-podge of awesome photos.  John and I just started hanging all of these up randomly together - it was some pretty rad teamwork. 

I didn't actually change much to the kitchen, but isn't it pretty?  Look at all that counter space - AND the new appliances!  There's a big counter to the left too, but you just can't see it in this photo.  Last night (when we were taking a break), John made homemade salsa, and I cooked us up a couple of quesadillas.  It was really fun cooking in tandem with somebody! 

My little desk area!  This is the room where John has his desk set up.  Basically we're back-to-back.  He works from home, so I think it's nice that he has a lot of space.  I really like my little set up here, and to be honest, I'm not really at my desk all that often!  Maybe sometime when I become a full-time blogger?  Oh wouldn't that be nice!! 

The hallway.  This is where ALL of my purses will go!  I may have to downgrade a bit... otherwise people will probably have trouble passing through this area.  I LOVE this painting too - I bought it off an artist selling his work on the street during the First Friday Art Walk that they do all year round here in Denver.  It's one of my most favorite things!

My "Beth" room.  It's a 3-bedroom house, but the rooms are pretty small.  We're using 1 room as our office, 1 room as our bedroom, and this room I got all to myself!  I have some of my things in there, but in general I'll use it as my little sanctuary when I need some me-time.  We set up a small twin bed, and John is going to hook up my old TV and VCR (yes I still own a VCR and VHS tapes).  We'll use it as a guest room too! 

And this is Fudge.  He seems pretty OK with me staying, so that's nice!  He made a little bed for himself behind my head on the couch when we were watching a movie a couple of nights ago.  He's so cute.  Even with the cat-boogers, and the 5am meow-ing, and the laying on the kitchen table... 

He must be really cute to make up for all of that! :) 

More pics to come!

All moved in! Finally!

Sorry about the lack of posts - it was one helluva weekend! 

I got all moved into John's place in record time - it was amazing.  I have the most wonderful friends on the planet, I swear.  About 15 people showed up to lend a helping hand, and we had all of my stuff into John's in an hour and a half.  It was probably the easiest move I've ever done! 

The hard part has been actually figuring out where to put stuff!  It's been a long time since I've combined my stuff with someone else's, so it has been interesting trying to figure that all out.  I think the hardest part was the KITCHEN!  Two foodies converging in one small kitchen - wowza.  That's a lot of equipment!  The good news is that we now have about 2-3 of everything.  So if one is dirty, we can always grab a back-up!  

John has been so great and helpful and easygoing about the whole thing too.  I've never lived with a boy before, and he's made the transition really easy for me.  Part of the reason why I love him so much!! 

Anyway, I hope to have pics of the new place up soon - I just gotta get everything put away first.  

To make up for my lack of posts, here are some pictures of puppies. 

All images from www.weheartit.com.