Blog Every Day in January Day 5: Sundays

I was really tempted to skip today's blog entry because "Sunday is the day of rest". AKA I didn't have anything to write about. But it's only like...January 5th, and I don't want to start flaking out on my New Years Resolutions so early. So I guess I'll just talk about why I didn't feel like writing a blog post? Is this any better than not writing at all???

1.) I AM TIRED. It's like 11:45 and the day is over in fifteen minutes and the idea of having to come up with a blog topic and then actually write about it seems overwhelming to say the least.

2.) I feel overwhelmed. It's only January 5th and I suddenly feel like time is flying by, and I don't have enough hours in the day to do what I want to do. Which is not true, I literally do nothing during my winter break.

But that's the thing, I have all this free time that I get wrapped up in the fact that I have so much free time, and I never actually do the things I planned on doing. I've been spending a lot of time socializing and stuff, which is fine, but I have some other things that I planned to do and it just feels like the clock is ticking for some reason.

3.) I've been really hesitant to start working towards some of my goals for the new year, because a lot of my goals are things I've achieved before and then neglected and wound up back to square one. I forget how much effort it takes to maintain success once you reach it, and so I end up feeling like I've failed. And it's hard to feel motivated when you think you're just going to fail in the end. So I've been struggling with that.

4.) It's late and I'm tired and I'm irritated because it's late and I'm tired. I'm really not a nighttime person, ask anyone who has ever lived with me.


I don't know why I've been in such a funk lately, and I didn't really want to write a post about not feeling great. But I also didn't want to skip a day of blogging, because it would just be another thing to add to my list of "Things I Did Not Do". And I don't want that. Sooo yeah.

....I feel like I should promise to write like a YES THINGS ARE VERY GOOD I AM AN OPTIMIST post tomorrow, during the daytime. Because THIS IS ROUGH.

Blog Every Day in January Day 2: Things I Would Like to Do

Today I went to the movies and crossed off an item from my personal list of Things I Would Like to Do. The item being "Go to the movies by myself". It's a weird goal to have, but I've always wanted to go to the movies by myself because I'm always complaining to people that I never watch movies because I don't have anyone to watch movies with...which is stupid because watching a movie isn't really a social experience. It's just I get really self conscious when I go places by myself, and I know I'm not the only person that feels that way, but it really bothers me that I feel so awkward when I'm alone and I've been slowly trying to break out of that shell. Because I do actually enjoy doing some things on my own.

Anyways, the main point of me talking about going to the movies alone is that it was an item on my list of Things I Would Like to Do, which is not really an official list and is always a work in progress. It's kind of like a 30 by 30 list except the items on it aren't exciting or difficult to accomplish. Like "organize my makeup collection before February" isn't necessarily something that would make it onto a 30 by 30 list, but it is one of the more urgent items on my Things I Would Like to Do List. So here it is, the constantly changing and not-very-difficult-to-accomplish list of Things I Would Like to Do:

1.) Go to the movies by myself. 

2.) Organize my makeup collection before February

3.) Make croissants from scratch even though it will literally take three days.

4.) Try all of the products from my Birchboxes from the past 6 months.

5.) Perfect giving myself a blowout.

6.) Read the A Song of Fire and Ice series, preferably before I graduate.

7.) Live on my own without relying on my parents for financial support.

8.) Get over my fear of making caramel based sauces.

9.) Own more teacups.

10.) Take a trip to the West Coast. Or several trips. Who knows.

12.) Take a trip on the East Coast. Shouldn't be too tough.

13.) Chicago sounds cool too.

14.) If we're talking about traveling, then yes, I would very much like to see Paris/FranceTheCountry and London/EnglandTheCountry. And I also want to go back to Vienna and Germany and Hungary and okay just a big ol' trip to Europe whatever this is my list I get to decide what's on it.

15.) Travel to the Philippines again now that I'm old enough to remember the experience.

16.) Find a bread recipe that is not ridiculous to make but also doesn't taste like hot water in bread form.

17.) Paint the shelves on my TV stand coral.

18.) Buy a big candle from Bath and Body Works.

19.) Put up some wall art in my bedroom at home.

20.) Clean the shitshow that is my desk at school. And the rest of the room while I'm at it.

21.) Go shopping in Kennett Square, PA and eat duck flatbread at Byrsa Bistro again.

22.) Start a vlog with my sister.

23.) Bake and decorate a nice cake. You may be surprised to know that this is something I have never done.

24.) Finish reading the Divergent series even if it's going to make me super mad and hate everything and everyone.

25.) Listen to more music in general.

26.) Make risotto. 

27.) Find a better bronzer and blush. Like for my face.

28.) Perfect my Tortilla Española, which is currently a hot mess.

29.) Organize my wallet/receipts/cards. Yikes.

30.) Learn how to sew.

There is probably tons more where that came from, and things get crossed off and added all the time. I usually take winter break to accomplish some of the things on this list, but there are obviously a few things that will have to wait.

How about you? Do you have a 30 by 30 list or one like mine, or are you the type of person that just does things without putting them in list form? 

September in October: Getting Creative with Healthy Eating

So in the past month I've gotten a lot more serious about eating healthier and losing weight and all that good stuff, and I will be writing an update about that soon. But one of the things that I've really been focusing on in order to keep myself excited is trying out new recipes. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with pins, and also improvising out of my own fridge. I figured I'd share some of the things I've made in the past month (...these are all taken from instagram).

Standard tomato soup and grilled cheese, but I added some fresh basil and parmesan to the soup to get some more flavor. Not too impressive, and it's not something I would have considered to be "healthy"...but if you get a little crafty, it's really not bad for you at all (310 calories if we're talking specifics). Plus the meal itself is super filling! And I enjoyed the HECK out of it. HECK.

You may remember this recipe that I posted when it was actually September. Well..this counts. So I'm putting it in! You can find out what I did in this post. SO GOOD.

One of my improvised recipes: Buffalo chicken pizza! Omg I literally died over this pizza. I used a whole wheat Boboli brand pizza crust, shredded up some chicken breast with buffalo sauce and laid that on top of the crust, and then covered that with low fat blue cheese crumbles and part skim mozzarella. I cooked it according to the pizza crust package instructions, which worked out pretty well. I also drizzled on some low-fat ranch to cool down some of the spice. It was a big hit among my friends, and I'm pretty excited to try it again!

Yet another improvised recipe: Dumpling squash soup and baked cornflake chicken tenders. I bought this cute little dumpling squash on sale when I went apple picking with my friends, and I decided to make it into soup. It was very simple. I halved the squash and oven roasted it until tender, then scooped out the meat into a blender with some skim milk and pureed it until it was a smooth and creamy soup. Then I put it back into a pot and added some salt, pepper, and nutmeg. It was a little bit stuck between savory and sweet, so I might try to go more towards an extreme the next time I make it, but it was super delicious!

To make the chicken tenders, I mixed together a tablespoon of dijon mustard and a tablespoon of honey, then dipped the raw chicken breast pieces in it (instead of dredging in egg and flour) before dipping it into some crushed up corn flakes. I baked them in the oven for about 20 minutes (at 350? I don't even remember) and I flipped them halfway through. So crunchy!!

I had leftover ricotta from making baked ziti for a potluck, so I used it to make these ricotta and spinach stuffed portobello mushrooms from a recipe I found on Pinterest. These made my entire apartment smell amazing, and they tasted DE LI CIOUS. Plus, they were so low-cal that I didn't feel guilty about eating a side of pasta.

This one was actually 1.) not healthy and 2.) a failure, but I figured I would put it here anyways. I made this supposedly fool-proof bread recipe, and wound up with sad, flat, beige bread that only tasted good on the first day. I've been desperately trying to get good at making bread, but this recipe was just a no-go for me. In fact, I was so disappointed that I'm not even going to POST the recipe. SORRY THAT I AM NOT SORRY. Anyways, I tweaked the bread recipe by adding some rosemary to the dough, because I was making it to go with my roommate Nicole's delicious beef stew that has a ton of rosemary in it.

I don't think I ever talk about how much I love beef stew. I'm obsessed. The ratio of times when I am craving beef stew versus the number of times that it is socially appropriate to eat beef stew is seriously skewed. I want to try every beef stew recipe that exists. Nicole's is great because it uses squash (or sweet potatoes!) and vegetable broth, so it's a lighter spin. Plus I'm obsessed with all the rosemary and thyme and parsley that goes into it. HAVE I MENTIONED THAT I LOVE BEEF STEW??

...sorry. Anyways, I made this bread to go with the stew and it wound up being delicious straight out of the oven, but way too dense after it cooled down. It was a no-knead bread, but I think it probably could have used more kneading. And proofing. And...time. Basically, it was just a dud recipe. Also, I tried to make another recipe that following weekend (I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON MY DREAMS OF BREAD) which rose more, but was BLAND AS HELL. Seriously. I didn't know that bread and hot water could have the same flavor, but they did. It was HORRIBLE. Just HORRIBLE. I've decided to stop trying no-knead recipes and just put off all bread baking until I am back in a place that has a stand mixer with a dough hook, because no-knead means NO GOOD. #breadrage

The last recipe I want to talk about (...mainly to redeem myself for the horrible bread rant) is my current breakfast obsession, the breakfast burrito. I found these 80 calorie tortillas, and I've just been going nuts with them. I scramble up one egg with a chopped up colby cheese stick (Sargento makes low fat ones!) and then plop it onto the burrito with some salsa and plain greek yogurt (because my stomach can no longer handle sour cream in the morning..sad times). It's one of my favorite ways to start the day.

Part of my struggle with weight loss has always been that I'm basically obsessed with food. It's really easy to associate healthy eating with like...misery. But it definitely doesn't have to be that way. Getting creative with healthy recipes makes me really excited, and it gives me an outlet to express my love of food. I've got lots of recipes pinned, and tons more ideas to come so look out for those in the future!

Preview: One Month in Seven Days

*rubs sleep out of eyes*
*stretches*
*yawns*
*falls asleep again*
*wakes up in panic realizing that I forgot something*

OH MY GOD IT'S BEEN ALMOST A MONTH SINCE MY LAST BLOG POST.

I'm so ashamed. I don't even know how this happened.

Except I do know. I forgot to do one of my Thursday posts and somehow that gave me permission to miss my Sunday post and suddenly my blog no longer existed.

WELL IT ALL ENDS HERE. THE HIATUS IS OVER.

I will be posting over the next seven days (starting tomorrow, as in Monday October 14th) recapping all of the things I meant to post about in the past month but never did.

GET READY TOOO PAAARRRRTYYYYY

Startingggg TOMORROW.

Health and Fitness Goal Update

So after my post on Monday, I received a ton of supportive comments on Facebook and in person and via text message:

I always feel really nervous when I share these posts that people are going to judge me or think I'm lame or too cheesy or something like that. But honestly...it's super motivating to see comments like these. It definitely gives me an extra boost of accountability.

ANYWAYS

At the end of July, I set some health and fitness goals for myself through the end of September. I wanted to do a little update and share my progress:

1.) Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day.

Long term: By the end of September and onwards, I should be getting at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day more than half of which are vegetables
I am currently eating five servings of fruits and vegetables daily (as of last week...), even though most of those servings are of fruit. I'm halfway there...pacing myself.

2.) Work on eating six times a day, with three main meal times and three healthy snacks.

Long term: By the end of September I should be eating three meals a day each consisting of 1-2 servings of vegetables, lean protein, and a complex carbohydrate while also eating three snacks between meals consisting mainly of protein dense foods or fruits/veggies.

This one is kind of rough. My large meals vary in content, and I eat a lot of bread to satisfy the carb component of my meal. Right now, my nutritionist is having me focus on staying within a certain calorie limit rather than fixating on bread vs. whole grains or fruits vs. veggies and all that good stuff. But I have been trying to keep my snacks within the limit I set. So this one is a work in progress

3.) Drink lots of water.

Long term: By the end of the third week of August I should be drinking at least eight 8 oz glasses of water a day, limiting myself to no more than one non-water beverage (coffee or tea) and eliminating all soft drinks or juices.

I actually haven't been keeping track of my water intake...but it's been higher lately because my schedule is more structured. I'm way past the due date for this one...but I have been limiting myself to one or less non-water beverage every day. Maybe I will make a water checklist...

4.) Get into the habit of meal planning.

Long term: By the end of September, have time set aside every Friday morning to plan out meals and snacks for each day of the upcoming week and writing up a grocery list for the weekend.

I actually did a bit of meal planning at the end of August, but found myself not following it. What really works for me right now is coming up with options for the week that have the same ingredients, and buying those ingredients so I have a variety of things to eat. But I do need to keep planning ahead, so I'm going to stick with this goal for now.

5.) Cut back on eating out.

Long term: By the end of September, cut down the number of times eating out to twice a week, including both fast food or eat-in restaurants.  Wawa is not an exception.  Neither is Saxbys.

This goal was actually reached out of necessity. For like the past two weeks I have been a little bit broke. So going out to eat wasn't really an option. I think I went out like an average of three times a week over the past two weeks, so we're getting there. It's already Wednesday and I haven't gone out to eat yet..although I am meeting Maggie for dinner tomorrow at Peace a Pizza. So I'm still down to one this week! Hopefully I will keep it up...my wallet depends on it!!


6.) Get used to counting calories.

Long Term: By the end of September, be tracking the calories consumed each day as well as physical activity done.

It's been a week since I started counting calories! It's been working really well for me, as a way to both keep track of what I'm eating as well as how much of my daily intake each of those things represents. I had originally done a servings checklist, which I still think is a great tool...but this is working for me so far! I don't use any specific app, I've just been writing stuff down on a page in notepad because it is more convenient to me.

I also skipped tracking on Friday and Saturday, but it's okay!! I'm working on it!!

7.) Work out more often.
Since I'm actually more available to work out during the summer, my long term goal is to be going to the gym or using a workout DVD at least four times a week by the end of September, and tohave time scheduled out for working out.  I also need to find an accountabilibuddy by the middle (15th) of September.

The new gym on campus opened this semester, and it's BEAUTIFUL. I went twice last week, and I've already been there twice this week--I took a Zumba class yesterday and used the machines today. And I've already made plans for Zumba tomorrow night as well. As far as accountabilibuddies go, I've been finding it really effective to find someone who will either go with me to the gym or tell me that they will meet me there. Because if they bail, it's usually at the last minute and then I'm already at the gym so I might as well work out. So far, just knowing that someone might be there to hold me accountable has been enough to get me there. Let's hope it stays that way!


I'll probably do another check in with new goals after September is over. There are some challenges that this month will bring, and I'm a little bit nervous but also pretty confident in myself. I've tried and tried for so long that I'm almost sick of trying, and the only option left is to just get it done. So I'm gonna get it done.