Things I Want to Do

I had every intention of starting my week off on a high note. But life doesn't necessarily go the way you hope it to all the time.

With a couple of mini-breakdowns, an argument with my sister, and in general feeling deflated and confused about where my life is at the moment turns out to be a pretty crappy (and overwhelming) way to spend your day.

I had intentions of sharing my weekend cooking creations with you and some funny pictures, but I think that will have to wait until tomorrow, as I'm not feeling all that joyous / quippy / clever at the moment.

I want to get to the bottom of this funk and squash it's beginnings with the heel of my Etnies skate shoe, so in an effort to do so, I made a little list of "goals". Well, I titled it "Things I Want to Do", but close enough. Here goes (in no particular order):

Travel more.
Learn to play the piano again.
Get a job that means something to me / that I can be passionate about.
Meet the love of my life.
Get in better shape / have a regular exercise regimen.
Not drink as much alcohol.
Sleep better.
Feel confident and strong.
Be more compassionate.
Not feel angry anymore.
Let things go.
Pay off my debt.
Make the world a better place (even if it’s just a small contribution).
Learn another language.
Do yoga every day.

Some are inevitably going to take longer than others, but hey, it's a start. And it made me feel better in a small way, just laying it all out there in writing.

Tomorrow is a new day - a time to start fresh. What are some of the things you'd like to do?

Shoppin' treasures...

I went shopping last weekend.

NO - I didn't need any of it! But, man - I was itchin' for some new stuff. I tend to keep on the cheap side of things, so I don't really feel all that bad when I go on a "shopping spree" - especially since my "sprees" usually don't end up costing me more than $80-$100. Not too shabby!

I got these FABULOUS feather earrings from Forever 21 ($4), that I thought would look totally fun in contrast to my uber pink hair. Turns out, they do!

This photo (below) is a little bit overexposed, but I still think it's cute. :)

I got these rockin' pink kitten-heels at True Love - my favorite local non-corporate shoe store in Denver. Not only are the shoes adorable, but ridiculously affordable - they don't sell anything that will cost you more than $48 (even the boots)!! These pretty pink lovelies were about $30, and I can't stop wearing them. Dress shoes that don't hurt my feet? Yes, please!
I just love the way the light worked in this photo - totally rockin'!! :)


Hope you all have a fantastic weekend - I sure as heckfire know I'm looking forward to mine!

And just for fun (it IS Friday, mind you), here are some hilarious illustrations by the very talented Alex Noriega. You should definitely check out the rest of them on his blog, Stuff No One Told Me (but I learned anyway). Trust me, you'll love them.

All art property of Alex Noriega - stuffnoonetoldme.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing your art with the world, Alex!

Goonies in the Park

A couple of weeks ago my friends and I headed to Cheesman Park to watch "Goonies" for FREE! How can anything be free these days, you ask? I have no idea, but doggone it, I was thrilled. What made me even more thrilled was that they had FREE POPCORN! I thought I would explode from excitement!

I decided to bring some of my own grub though, and enjoy a delicious Superfood Salad from Whole Foods (it's awesome - Kale, sunflower seeds, acai dressing, edamame - best combo of healthy + yummy), and some smoked gouda cheese spread with gluten-free crackers. Who finished the WHOLE thing? I finished the whole thing!

I love this photo because although I didn't mean for the 2 photos to fit together so perfectly, they accidentally did. I love when stuff like that happens!


It turned out to be a really beautiful evening with a perfectly clear sky. Perfect for one of my favorite childhood movies ever: "The Goonies". Everyone applauded during the Truffle Shuffle, and recited lines along with it ("Goonies NEVER say die!" - "Heyyy youuuu guyyyys!"), and basked in the warm summer air.


A perfect summer evening, really!

Figured it out!

Man, the past couple of weeks I've been exhausted, moody, had trouble getting out of bed EVERY morning - no matter how much sleep I get. What the heck has been wrong with me?

I've been eating super healthfully - TONS of fruits & veggies, not much alcohol, barely any caffeine, drinking tons of water. I've been working out like crazy too (derby 3x a week will do that to you). So what could possibly be wrong?

DER - CARBS!!! For the past couple of weeks, the only carbohydrates I've been getting are from the natural sugars in fruit. Sure, that's all good & well, but I haven't been getting it anywhere else!! In an effort to drop a few pounds before vacation at the end of the summer, I cut them out completely. Um, and I'm surprised that I'm exhausted all the time? DUH!

After nearly nodding off at my desk this morning (which I usually don't do), I realized I had to remedy the problem and quickly. I hightailed it to a sandwich shop and grabbed a veggie sandwich on a whole wheat bun, which I am happily scarfing down now. I'm already feeling better!

So everyone - learn from my mistake! We NEED carbs for energy! Especially if we're working out a lot. It's important - I swear. Science stuff - look it up.

I was uber bummed today too because of the overwhelmed stuff I was talking about here, and on top of all of that I had to take my car into the shop AGAIN (the 2nd time in a month)! I was wishing I could be like Poppy in "Happy Go Lucky" (pictured below). If you haven't seen the movie I would definitely recommend it - it's really super cute! Anyway, she is just happy. In life - in everything. She deals with the hard knocks, then keeps moving right along being happy.

Maybe part of me feels like it's been a little while since I've been truly blissfully happy, and really, I'm the only one who can change that. Moping around ain't gonna help (I'm not big on moping anyway), and whining to you guys ain't either (although encouraging words are always welcome)!

Part of me thought derby would change everything, but I guess there's more to it than that. I still have a lot to learn about myself, and a lot I want to work on. But I guess first thing's first.... eat carbs again! ;)

Avocado "Cream" Pasta with Egg

I don't think I ever ended up sharing this recipe, and I totally wanted to!

I was craving something really rich & creamy one night, but wanted to keep it dairy-free. How the heck do you do that? Why, with avocados of course!

First I cooked up some twirly rice pasta (yes, that's the technical term), to keep things gluten-free. I sauteed some minced onions & garlic in a pan, then tossed everything in with the pasta.

Next I scooped everything out of a ripe avocado & mixed & mashed it until it was creamy. I added some salt & pepper at this point too.

After that, I fried up an egg in spray-oil (over easy, my favorite way to have 'em). I also think this would be lovely with a poached egg, but for the sake of ease I went for the over easy version.
I mixed the avocado with the pasta, topped it with the egg, then sprinkled everything with fresh farmer's market diced tomatoes, and grated mozzarella rice cheese! YUM!

A refreshing glass of chardonnay balanced out the richness of this meal really well. And BOY is it rich! If your craving somethin' savory, this is a good way to do it slightly healthier than the heavy cream stuff. Avocados have good fats. Delicious, delicious good fats.

Overwhelmed....

Ugh, I feel like I have so much going on right now that I haven't had a minute to breathe!

Yesterday I finally had some time to myself, but I still feel overwhelmed. Here's what's going on with me:

- My derby practices got bumped to 3 days a week which is going to be awesome for me for training, but sucky for my social life. So Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays I will leave my apartment at 9am and not get back until after 8pm.... I love my derby, but that's a lot to shoulder!

- My job has been busy lately, and I'm realizing more & more that I need to figure out a new career path and try to understand what I really want to do. I want to be passionate about something!

- My apartment is a mess, and I desperately need to clean everything, scrub the floors, dust, and do laundry.

- The boy is being unresponsive, and it just ain't workin' for me. I deserve to be adored as much as I adore someone else, and I can't accept less than that. It's time to end it in a mature and adult manner... I hope...

- I am still trying to fit workouts between everything so that I can cross-train and build up muscle!

- It's still summer, and I feel like I've been missing out on a lot of time with friends because of my hectic schedule. I can't believe that it's August after this weekend!

- I desperately need a vacation away from all of this....

WHEW - glad I got that all out! Sorry if it seemed a bit whiney, but I really need to figure out how to organize my life, not feel stressed, and find some kind of balance. I had it sorta figured out before, but now I feel as though a wrench has been thrown in again.... I just need to get my head on straight!

Hope your life is a little less crazy than mine right now.... ;)

Getting rid of Gnats - the Environmentally Friendly way!

I hate gnats.

They fly around my face, get into everything, and drive me insane.

I wanted to find another solution other than dumping BLEACH or AMMONIA down the drain, as that seems to be the most common way to solve the problem. Really? Does that solve anything but continue to pollute our beautiful planet? GEEZ!

Well luckily I discovered an easier (and more planet-friendly) way to get rid of the pests after much internet searching. Here goes....

Fill a small cup or bowl with a little bit of vinegar (I only had Apple Cider vinegar, but that seemed to work fine!). Cover the bowl with cling wrap, and secure in place with a rubber band. Poke little holes near the center of the cling wrap with a toothpick or pen. Leave it beside whatever sink seems to be infested.

The amazing thing? It WORKS! I left one by my sink yesterday morning, and when I got home from work, there were DOZENS of gnats trapped in there! I couldn't believe it. It seems as though the buggers can get inside, but can't get out. Brilliant!

INCEPTION is AMAZING!

Holy cow - how did I forget about this?? I saw "Inception" over the weekend, and it was AMAZING!! I get goosebumps just from the trailer alone, but the movie is off the charts. It was so refreshing to finally FINALLY see a new concept full of new ideas & imagery. It was SO nice to see a movie that wasn't the same regurgitated crap that we see so much these days (re-makes, sequels, books-made-movies).

It totally blew me away.

Oh, and I'm officially in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt now. You would be too. :)

Photos from Newbie Bout

Here are just a few of the amazing photos that our friend Dave Wood (and derby girl husband) took at the Newbie Bout on Sunday. He does a great job of catching the action! I'm the one in the legwarmers.... of course. ;)

Who has been slacking on posts?

Uhhhmmmm..... yeah, that'd be me!

Sorry for the lack of posts - I've been crazy busy lately!
In no particular order:

1.) My big sis and her boyfriend have been in town all weekend so I've been hangin' with them.
2.) I've been a bit boy-distracted lately... (yes, that means I've been dating somebody! Whoooot!)
3.) I had my first ROLLER DERBY bout on Sunday! It was amazing and SO much fun. I will have pics of me in action up very soon.
4.) I just found out I've been bumped up to Monday night practices with the big girls for derby! It's a big deal for me - it means I'm a step closer to being on an actual team within the RMRG league. I couldn't be more excited.

Since I took yesterday off work, I'm gonna be really busy for a little while, but please stay tuned!! I will have more fun stuff posted very soon! :)


UPDATE!
My dad made this awesome video that I just got up on YouTube - it's so silly, I love it! My sister does a little dance that's really funny, and you get to see me sittin' in the penalty box. ;) I'm the one in the neon yellow leg warmers.... enjoy!