My Guide to 2016

The start of a new year is always exciting.  It’s a time to begin fresh and look forward to what the next 12 months have in store.  There are a few things I like to do to start the year off right.

Get a planner or calendar that makes you happy and then actually use it!  When I’m without a planner I feel like things are jumbled in my brain.  Even if I remember dates, I have to see them written down to really understand how they fit into the week.  You can ask my carpool buddy about this – I’ve texted her many times the night before an appointment because I knew my dentist appointment was on the 3^rd but just realized the 3^rd was the next day and I definitely can’t carpool.  Each year I treat myself to an Erin Condren planner as well as a Quotables calendar for work.  If I’m going to stare at something for a year I certainly want it to be something that makes me happy.

Set some concrete goals.  New Year’s resolutions get a bad wrap, somewhat for good reasons.  People are frequently super ambitious and decide to lose 100 pounds in a year with no plan of how they will healthily achieve that, or set a goal of being happier without identifying what that would look like.  Goals are always important, but it’s necessary that they be realistic and thought out.  Committing to being happier in 2016 is a great goal, but being happier to me involves different things than it would for Mr. C, so it’s important to identify those things.  I tend to think of setting goals as an ongoing thing, but something that deserves some thought as we begin a new year.

Commit to a healthy change.  This can be something major, maybe as part of a yearly goal like getting an extra 30 minutes of sleep a night or something minor like setting aside time everyday to just relax.  A better you means everything will fall into place easier.

Get organized. After I put away the Christmas stuff I’m always in an organizing mood.  I’m a firm believer that having an organized space leads to more productivity, creativity, peacefulness, and just not feeling like a crazy person.  I’m not talking about a major overhaul here, but just spending some time to tidy up those messy drawers or the closet that has an avalanche each time it’s opened.

What are your must-do’s for a new year?

Looking Back: 2015

I’m not sure how it’s the end of the year already, but 2016 is almost here.  Each year I take some time to reflect about the events of the year and my goals for the future year.  2015 had some big changes.

In February I said good-bye to my Alero of 12 years and bought a crossover.  My Alero had seen its better days but I’m a VERY sentimental person and may have cried a bit as I bid my car goodbye.  I love Betsy though (my crossover), I’m a bit obsessive with her being clean ALL the time.  I’m still excited that I get to drive her and haven’t quite got over the shock.

To celebrate our anniversary we took a much needed long weekend in Santa Barbara.  I’m not sure how long it had been since our last vacation, but it was far too long.  The trip ranks in my top 5 of all times and I quickly fell in love with everything about Santa Barbara.  We were able to walk everywhere and felt like locals by the time we left.

In June we committed to going completely added sugar/sweetener and refined-grain free for a couple months.  We’ve continued this and are super selective now, but I can’t imagine going back to the way it was before.  I don’t miss sugar/sweeteners, I have more energy, feel much healthier, and I’ve lost 30 pounds which I’m pretty darn happy about, especially since it was in a healthy, sustainable way, something I’m very passionate about.

This is the year I become obsessive about my tea.  Water, tea, and wine are my jams now.  I’m not joking about this tea thing; a day without tea is no day at all.

I turned 30 this year and am still moving along.  It was a really big birthday to me; I guess it was the age where I thought I should feel like I had my life together.  I don’t have all the answers but I certainly feel much more like an authentic grown up than I did last year.

We finally decided to officially put down some roots and bought a house in September.  It had been our home for a bit, but it’s a pretty great feeling knowing that it’s really ours, or will be after our next 278,987 payments (it feels that way anyhow).  That being said, the process was long and one of the most stressful things I’ve dealt with in awhile.  I’ve said that we will be living in that house for the rest of our lives so we never have to go through that process again.

The home buying process was so stressful that we decided to go back to Santa Barbara for my b-day to celebrate, but the closing date changed weekly and it was hard to plan.  In my mind we would recreate the wonderful trip we had taken in February, but by the time we knew what was going on we weren’t able to book reservations early enough and there was literally nowhere in Santa Barbara to stay unless we wanted to pay $800 a night.  Contrary to popular belief, working in public service doesn’t really pay well enough for that.  We decided to still go to Cali but stay somewhere else.  Almost everything for the entire trip was a mess and it didn’t turn out AT ALL like we had planned, but it reminded us that even when things are messy we still have each other and needed to make the best of it.  I think I would have been okay having missed out on that lesson and having things just work out.

Mr. C and I took on quite a few big projects around the house after our house closed.   I was very happy with the house before, but I love the changes and I feel like it really reflects our personalities.  I wouldn’t have said we were the handiest people, so I’m very proud of what we’ve done.  I’ll be blogging about the updates and posting pics so I won’t say too much, but we spent hours at Home Depot (literally HOURS), got our hands dirty, bought a lot of new tools, and somehow made our house even more of a home than it was.

This was my first full year in my current position and I’ve finally settled in.  I feel like I’m where I belong and I only wish I would have made the change earlier, although I still believe it happened at the perfect time.  I have more work but I wouldn’t change it for anything.  I am really thankful to work in an amazing organization I believe is truly changing the climate of post-secondary education.

This year we were fortunate enough to have some visitors this year.  One of my best friends and his boyfriend came to visit earlier in the year.  They’re the kind of people who are perfectly content playing games, checking out our favorite restaurants, and shopping, so it was a great, low-key time. 

My parents recently decided this was the year they were going to try to become some sort of snowbirds and will be a walk away from our home.  To commemorate this, they hosted Thanksgiving in AZ and for the first time in 12 years I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my cousins, aunt, uncle, parents, and Mr. C’s parents, brother, and uncle.  It was truly amazing to have everyone together in one place and amazing to have a home full of people we love.  My parents will now be spending part of the year down the street for us and I’m so thankful to have them close. 

What were your highlights of 2015?  I’m excited to see what 2016 has in store for us!

Falling for Fall Again

Last week I was fortunate enough to spend a week in NE while my mom began recuperating from knee surgery.  Here are some of my thoughts from the week.

I haven’t experienced real fall for more than a one day period in years.  If I was single and didn’t love my job I just may have stayed there permanently.  I forgot how beautiful the trees are with the warm glow of the sun peeking through the clouds and the feel of the crisp autumn air.  If I win the lottery someday my goal is to somehow live year-round in a fall setting.  For Mr. C’s sake I guess we can have 2 weeks of summer thrown in there as well and a bit of winter for Christmas.  I LOVE Christmas, but driving around looking at fall trees in red, yellow, and orange is even more exciting than looking at Christmas lights.

My hometown has a population of 20.000ish people.  It’s big enough that everyone doesn’t know everyone, but there’s definitely a sense of community.  People are friendly and a complete stranger will easily strike up a conversation.  People decorate their porches with pumpkins and scarecrows.  Yards are green and filled with beautiful flowers.  There’s a sense of pride in everything and Christian, family values.  The baggers at the local grocery store my mom frequents even carry the bags to your car automatically.   At lunch one day the server asked how my mom was doing because she remembered she had upcoming surgery.  I can’t say I’ve ever had that happen in Phoenix.

I’m used to a 40 minute drive to work so I’m still surprised when I can drive across town in 10 minutes when I’m home.  One day I went to lunch, Target, the mall for some clothes shopping, Target again, and two grocery stores, all in the span of 2 hours.  It was amazing. 

The longer I’m gone the more I appreciate the charming town where I was fortunate to be raised.  I appreciate the values, the slower pace, the hospitality and sense of community, and the beauty I was surrounded by for so long.

My parents live by a beautiful lake with a walking path.  I began most days with a morning walk.  Everyone says “good morning” and one morning an older woman stopped to have a conversation with me about the morning.  Those walks were amazing.  Everyday was different and I noticed a change in the colors of the trees during the week I was there.  I looked like a crazy person snapping pictures on my phone every 5 minutes.  One day I took 40 pictures (it’s only a 40 minute walk)!  The last day I begun my walk about 8am, the earliest I had started.  It was very cool and as I approached the perfectly still water I broke into a smile as I saw steam rising off the water.  It was one of the most peaceful moments I’ve had in awhile.  I stood there for a few minutes, thanked God, and continued on my walk. 

Although it’s hard to narrow down my pictures, here are a few of my favorites.

I truly was blessed to spend some time home.  I was able to spend time with a couple amazing friends, enjoy a much-needed break, see family and still be taller than my youngest niece for one more time, and watch my mom make some major progress!  My mom is always doing a lot for us when she visits whether it’s cleaning our windows because she feels like it or having dinner waiting for us, so it was nice being able to run errands, take her to PT, cook, and just be there to keep her company.  I’m glad to get back into my routine but I’ll miss my morning walks around the lake, the cool air, the fall leaves, watching TV and playing games with my mom, and dinner with NE friends.  I definitely will NOT miss the spiders that seemed to stalk me in the basement.

For now I’ll enjoy the cool-down in Phoenix and try to patiently wait for scarf weather.

The Big 3-0

I turned the big three-oh a couple weeks ago.  I’ve celebrated my 27^th birthday three times now, but this year I think it’s a little harder to deny that I am in fact moving from one age bracket to another.  The “2” candle I have no longer is applicable at the front portion of my age.  This is new territory.  This birthday has been a big one because last year the big 3-0 was looming and I felt like I was in the same place I had been at 24.

I graduated at a horrible economic time and I stayed in a low paying job for far too long (not that I’m quite raking it in now).  My car was readily falling apart, and although it wasn’t something we had ever wanted here before, we didn’t really have roots.  I’m shocked when I think about everything that’s happened this past year. 

I’m so grateful everytime I get into my grown-up car and still shocked that I get to drive it everyday.  I’ve now been at my “new” job for a year and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.  We officially have roots and it’s a terrifying and great thing.  I know there’s a lot I don’t have, but mostly there’s a lot that I do.  I have what I need, some of what I want, and some of the best people in my life.  I feel like have some semblance of having at least part of my crap together, or poop in a group, as my dad likes to say.

I love lists and I really, really, really wanted to make a list of the 30 things I’ve learned in my 30 years, or the 30 things everyone should know, or something else related that would allow me to write another list.  One of the things I’ve learned in my 30 years is that you don’t always need a list though.

However, I have learned a few things that I’m going to share because, well, this is my blog and I can.

It’s important to take care of yourself.  I try to work out 4-5 times a week because it makes me feel better. It’s an added bonus if I lose a couple pounds, but that’s no longer my focus.  I get crazy excited when my average resting heart rate is lower than the typical average.  We’re probably spending too much money on food but it’s real, healthy food, and it was totally worth trading in our froyo budget for legit food.  What goes into your body has a direct impact on so many aspects of your life.  Sleep is also a part of that, but I haven’t quite caught onto the sleep thing yet.  I’ll work on that during the next 10 years so I have something to write about when I hit 40 (that sentence almost gave me a panic attack btw – just realizing that 40 is only a short 10 years away). 

To add to that, I also think it’s important to be just as critical of the products going on my body as the food going in it.  I look for products that are natural if possible or at least void of parabens, sulfates, and some other nasty chemicals.  I think it’s important to support companies that offer products that aren’t polluting our world and treating it as disposable.

Next lesson - Toxic people are simply not worth it.  It’s hard and it hurts cutting off some relationships, but sometimes it has to be done.  There’s a point where it’s no longer possible to stick around being a good friend when it’s tearing you apart.  It’s hard to make that decision though to let go.   There are other relationships that just fall apart due to time, distance, or growing apart, and sometimes they’re worth fighting for with everything you have.    I’ve learned to tell the difference and grieve the friendships that just weren’t meant to be. 

There are things that have to be done because that’s just how life goes, but there’s a lot that doesn’t.  Don’t feel like going out?  Then don’t!  Don’t feel like calling the car saleslady back?  Block her number (possibly not the best decision, but it was effective)!.  Don’t feel like going to bed at a reasonable hour?  Then stay up and continue watching youtube videos of Jimmy Fallon and his lip syncing battles or those cute little ducks.  Don’t feel like cleaning the kitchen or even the house for a week?  It’s cool – the house will still be standing and the kitchen will not be invaded by roaches, not even one.

Don’t apologize for who you are (unless you have legit issues that need attending to).  I’m at a point where I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have (my hair is much better too!).  I know what I like and I love that I finally do.  I’m an alt music loving girl who watches too much TV, has never met a cardigan she didn’t want, is an obsessive organizer, takes her own grocery bags everywhere, gets more excited about a new washer than the Kate Spade purse that was crazy on sale at the outlet, loves Jesus, bright colors, her family, her grumpy cat, the little dog that she’ll always call a puppy, and the boy she fell in love with when she was 17.  I don’t have everything all figured out but what I have is enough and that’s what I’m focusing on as I enter this new frontier of the thirties. 

I’m still in a bit of denial that I’m really 30, however when I look at how far I’ve come from my ideas, opinions, beliefs, and dreams at 20, I think that it must be true.  Maybe by the time I’m 40 I’ll have really figured everything out, but I won’t hold my breath!

Summer 2015

I seem to fall off the face of the earth each summer and this year was no different.  I’m excited to be returning to blogging and have some exciting posts planned including some new recipes.  I hope you had a great summer filled with friends, family, and making lots of great memories.  I have always hated summers in AZ.  I’m still a bit unsure of why I ever thought that moving to the desert was a good idea for someone who hated the heat with an intense passion.   This summer I decided to just embrace the heat and it ended up being one of my favorite summers.  For my first post back I’m sharing some highlights of my summer.

Almost every weekend we spent at the in-law’s house swimming.  While the pool was of course great, we really enjoyed just hanging out and spending time together with family. 

This was my fist summer at the new job and in addition to being able to wear jeans all summer (my most favorite thing EVER!!), I also had an altered work schedule for 2 months that allowed me one more day each week to spend with Mr. C.  That in itself was amazing and it allowed me to spend one day swimming and still get everything done during the weekend I needed.  It was like having an actual summer break every week.

We gave up sugar and severely limited our refined grains at the beginning of the summer as a lifestyle change and we've both never felt better.  The other day I had a small bite of a truffle and was satisfied with just that bite sized amount.  Never before would I have not inhaled the truffle and wanted another.  We were conscious about what we ate before but when I look in our cart at Sprouts each week I’m so proud of the food we’re putting into our bodies.  We’re still discovering new foods and I’m enjoying trying new recipes and revising old ones.

We finally made it back to the Phoenix Art Museum for the Warhol exhibit.  There was also an amazing firefly exhibit but pictures didn’t do it justice.  A church burnt down and this picture is an exhibit created with the pieces that were left.  This was one of my favorites. 

We didn’t spend the 4^th of  July in NE as we traditionally have, but we still made it back for a summer visit.  It was wonderful spending time with my nieces, seeing my sweet grandma, catching up with some friends, and being surrounded by so much green again.

I continued to take tons of pictures of our animals because they are so darn cute.

This summer was pretty great, even amongst the 117 degree, record breaking days and other life frustrations that tested our patience.  I’m still counting down the days until fall but I’d put this in the books as one of the best summers yet.  I can only hope next year will be even better!

What was the best part of your summer?

My Breakup With Sugar

For the past couple of months Mr. C and I have been avoiding all added sugars and refined grains.  We both had done some research about going sugar free, were concerned with the large amount of sugar in the typical American diet, and we were excited to try living sugar free as an experiment. 

The beginning wasn’t easy but it wasn’t a horrible as I thought it would be.  The hardest part was learning where added sugar/sweeteners were lurking.   We both went through sugar withdrawal symptoms.  The worst were the headaches that hit us every single morning for over a week and the fatigue that made me want to sleep as soon as I got home.  This quickly subsided though and after that we’d instead be hit each week with new benefits.  Over the past couple years we’ve strayed away from eating too many processed foods and we were choosing better grains such as sprouted bread over regular wheat.  That was so helpful because we were just adding onto the changes we’d already made. 

Over the past couple of months we’ve seen so many benefits from our choices.  We’re sleeping better and less moody.  I don’t experience that mid-afternoon slump I’d experienced so often.  We’ve seen a slight improvement in our skin.  We’ve both lost inches and pounds although that was never our reason for doing this.  We’ve tried new foods and unrefined grains I’ve never heard of and our cravings for refined sweets have mostly disappeared.  We can both turn down a doughnut or a slice of cake without thinking about it too much; the truth is that it doesn’t even sound good anymore.

In this process we’ve discovered new recipes we love and continued with some we’ve been making for quite awhile.  Below are a few of my favorite snack things to eat since we’ve made the changes.

• Sprouted whole grain bread with mashed avocado and a sprinkle of salt and pepper
•  Roasted, unsalted nuts, especially cashews.
• The Dark Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Bar from Trader Joe’s.
• Iced Blushberry Black Tazo Tea
• Air popped popcorn with a bit of butter and salt.  You may think that popcorn is popcorn, but we recently bought organic white popcorn from Sprouts and it’s the best popcorn I’ve ever had.  It’s super light and fluffy. 

Going added sugar and refined grain free probably isn’t for everyone but I’m so happy that we committed.  We decided to join an online class we’d read rave reviews about and I’m so glad we did; it provided us with a community of supporters, access to hundreds of recipes (my favorite part!), and a daily lesson that was invaluable.  I struggled with the idea of paying for the course in the beginning, but after I had signed up for the course I got an email that compared the price of the course to other typical things people spend money on and that really stuck with me.  Looking back now, I have no regrets and it was money well spent to not have to dedicate my own time to finding recipes and researching everything that was shared during the course.  Throughout the course there are check-ins and Jacqueline herself responded to each and every single one.   If you’re interested yourself, I’d love to talk to you – just reach out to me – or you can find more info online here. 

Portabella Pizza Caps

This summer has been flying by!  I’m not a summer fan but this one has actually been my favorite so far.  We’ve spent lots of time with family and even had a couple of friends visit.  I’ve been cooking lots of new recipes this summer and these mushroom pizzas have made quite a few appearances.  They’re so easy to throw together, don’t require time slaving over the stove, and they’re full of fresh veggies! 

This barely even requires a recipe but here you go.

1-1.5 large portabella mushrooms per person

1 Tb. pizza sauce per mushroom

Pizza toppings – I use chopped pepperoni, red onions, bell pepper, green and black olives, and banana peppers.

Shredded Cheese – I gravitate towards a combo of a smoked cheese and mozzarella

Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes to taste.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a cooking sheet or casserole dish.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and scrape out the dark gills using a spoon or melon baller (you could keep the stems and gills for future use in soups).

Spread about 1 Tb. of sauce in each mushroom.  Add desired toppings and cheese.  Top with a few sprinkles of Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!