I don't know what to do with this blog!

Okay, friends, here's the deal:

My blog is going through an identity crisis. I love the idea of having a blog. I love writing. I love talking about myself (and clearly I'm not afraid to admit it!) But I seriously have NO idea what to do with this blog. I've seen food blogs, weight loss blogs, travel blogs, crafting blogs, book blogs, dog blogs, dating blogs...and the list goes on. I think there's probably a blog out there somewhere on any topic someone could dream up. Maybe I don't need a focus. Maybe I can just ramble (kind of like I am now) whenever I feel like. I don't know. One thing I do know is that I need a new name for this thing. I don't know what to call it, but it needs to reflect me and what I'm passionate about. Problem is, I'm passionate about quite a bit: politics, history, speech, teaching, crafting, my job(s), exercising, good food, good coffee, good wine, books, music...I could go on. Now you understand my frustration. As I said, I LOVE to write, and a blog seems like a great way to exercise and use my writing skills (as if I don't enough at work - did you know I'm writing a book??) I just...don't know what to write about or focus on. Okay, enough of this. If anyone has any suggestions about a title or where this thing could go, that would be great! Otherwise, I'll continue to write about random things...

When you dream, dream big...

It's been quite a while since I blogged and so I decided that tonight was perhaps a good night to write a new post. This one isn't going to be about weight loss or history or anything else I usually post about. This one is about a feeling I've over the past couple weeks. As of late, I've felt extremely blessed. I really can't put my finger on why because nothing overly wonderful or exciting has happened recently. My life certainly isn't perfect (who's is?), but I can't figure out why all of a sudden I have this almost overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything and everyone I have in my life.

If you didn't know, I started coaching high school girls soccer this season for my former high school. It's been such a fun experience so far; I have the opportunity to work with some seriously top-notch (in school, soccer, and life in general) young ladies. I'm also working with some excellent coaches (one of whom is a former coach of mine). I love coaching --I always knew I loved it when coaching forensics-- so I took this opportunity and am certainly glad I did.

Work is good - always busy and there's always far more to do than I will ever accomplish in my time with my current organization. We had a major fundraising event last night that was quite successful. Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary) gave a concert. I really didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did, but I melted when he played Puff, the Magic Dragon. My parents used to listen to it when I was a kid, so it was incredibly nostalgic for me. Everyone in attendance seemed to have a wonderful time at the concert.

I also recently stopped denying myself from having a particular dream. If you know me, it's no secret that museum education is truly my love in life. It also shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that my ultimate goal is to work at the Wisconsin State Historical Society, and once I'm there, I'm not leaving. For a long time, I told myself that I didn't want to be in museum education because it's hard, for many reasons. First, it's just hard work -- like anything. Second, it's often crazy hours --like my current job. The real issue I had with it was that museums, cultural institutions, and many nonprofits in general are significantly underfunded, so I told myself that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life justifying my job. I've grown to accept that fund development work is (and should be) part of EVERYONE's job description in a nonprofit. We have a very different economy now, and so it's going to continue to be difficult to raise money and ensure sustainability. Frankly, I told myself that the for-profit sector would be easier. But in looking at my friends and work acquaintances who are in the private sector, it's not any easier. Relationships with other organizations are just as important and the workload is similar (and sometimes even more). Plus, there's no point in denying yourself something that will make you happy. Even if I don't end up loving museum education like I think I will, there's no point in not trying and making up excuses. If we don't have dreams, I don't think we have much left. All of that said, I applied for two museum education positions (and I'm working on a third application). I'm anxiously awaiting closing dates (one of which is today!) I'm working my network to talk me up a little. And I'm hoping and praying.

I think the beautiful thing about dreams and goals is that our emotions run high and really kick in and make us feel human. Coasting and maintaining the status quo is just that - staying in neutral. When I do that, every aspect of my life gets stuck, and especially my emotions. Dreams and goals make me feel alive, and perhaps that's where the feeling of gratitude comes in. Even if I don't get any of the jobs I've applied for, I would rather have the dream, set the goal, and work toward it than stay stuck in neutral. Heartbreak is hard, but it's beats the hell out of never trying and denying yourself something you really want. And, at the end of the day, if you discover you made the wrong decision, you get two things: the knowledge that you made a decision (any decision) and a lesson learned. And in my book, that's a winning situation.

Over the Cliff...and into the New Year!

Last year, I wrote the new year's post just before Christmas, but this year, I didn't get around to it until tonight (New Year's Eve).  The title of the post reflects a few different things, but mainly that the country is tumbling over the fiscal cliff in a few short hours.  Hooray, higher taxes.  I know we'll only be over the cliff  for less than a day most likely, but I'm still angered by it.  I'm also angry because the newest proposal reflects the band-aid approach (let's just push back those cuts for another year and deal with it later) once again.  I get that it's a big decision and worth much discussion, but how long can this go on?

Okay - enough about politics.  The title also reflects some things missed "deadlines" in my personal life as well.  First, I managed to maintain my weight all year, but didn't lose any, so I'm not too happy about that.  Second, I really wanted to be out of my parents house by this time, but with my job potentially ending in September, it really isn't practical for me to move out.  So, that's what didn't happen.  Now, let's talk about what did because that's much more fun and exciting!

Highlights of 2012 include:
-Reconnecting with old friends and meeting many new ones
-Being a bridesmaid for the first time in my best friend's wedding
-Celebrating the birth of many babies, including children of cousins and friends, and my sister-in law's new niece
-Taking a fabulous trip to Chicago with my family
-Learning more about and being able to appreciate the history of my mother's family
-Finishing up my year in AmeriCorps and being hired by my host site
-Visiting another best friend in North Carolina
-Running my first 5K just before my first trip to the ocean
-Celebrating Christmas with my wonderful family

Of course, there were some sad times and challenges as well, but that's part of what makes life interesting.

I'm sure you can probably guess what my new year's resolution is: lose weight.  For real.  I don't know what's different about this time, but for some reason, it feels different.  The deadline is June 1 - 135 pounds.

I think part of the difference might come from the fact that I actually feel like I can do it this time.  I've never felt that way before.  I always felt it was this giant, looming, scary goal - but this time it feels like I have the power to make the changes I need to make.  I think the other reason it feels different is because I want to have control over something.  With many things that happened this year, I felt as though I had no control over any of them, which is mostly true.  When life is difficult for me, I need to regain some sense of control, and I know I have control over what, when, and where I eat.  Perhaps that's not a great reason for losing weight, but I think it will work for me.

Okay, I need to wrap up because I'm off to an NYE party shortly!  Happy New Year all!

Peace.

Falling into Fall, part 2

Woah...it's been while!  I happened to be looking at my cousin's blog when I realized that I hadn't posted in a long, long time!  So long in fact, that I fell right through fall and into winter (or at least what feels like winter, since it's not officially winter according to the calendar).  Warm day-time high of 20 degrees today.  On Wisconsin!

In my last post I talked about how I was going to cook more and eat less, and thus lose weight.  Still working on all of that.  I'm REALLY, REALLY terrible at the accountability and willpower business of weight loss, so if anyone has any advice for that, please let me know!  However, I have been cooking a little more.  I made an awesome Taco Soup that isn't very conducive to weight loss, but is really delicious!  I also made pumpkin muffins (that whole can of pumpkin, box of vanilla cake mix recipe).  They were also delicious.  The pumpkin oatmeal was a total flop, so I had to do something with the left over pumpkin.  I made another batch of Asian Coleslaw as well for Thanksgiving last week!  It was a big hit!

I also said in my last post that I was getting a new job...and I did.  You're reading the blog of the new Projects and Programs Coordinator at the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service.  It's a solid gig - I'm nearly full-time and make significantly more than I did in AmeriCorps.  It's a project position, though, so it's possible that come September 2013 I'll be looking for a job once again.  In fact, it's not just possible, but highly likely.  But alas...this job will provide some great project management (leading project meetings, budgeting, event planning, etc.) experience.  I do enjoy the job, but I discovered it's a little too much desk-work and not enough face-time with people!  Major problem.  I am still working at the historical society, which gives me my time to talk to people and share with them my passion for history.  Hooray.

On a completely different note - my trip to North Carolina was AMAZING!  We had so much fun.  I flew in on a Thursday night.  That night we got dinner at a Mexican restaurant (including margaritas) and just chatted to catch up.  Friday we went for breakfast and then went out to Old Salem Museums and Gardens.  It was a Moravian settlement in the 1800s.  At one point, the (white) Moravians and African-Americans lived peacefully together, but the Moravians eventually started practicing slavery, so that was the end of that.  As a result, the African-American Moravians built their own church within the settlement.  The church was by far my favorite part of the whole historic site.  The African-American Moravians built a log church originally, but the congregation grew too large and they had to built a second, much larger, brick church.  They also had a cemetery near their church.  I want to explain a little bit about that.  Moravians bury their dead according to choir, as opposed to with their family.  For example, all single white men were buried next to one another.  They also buried people outside of the Moravian church if they died while in Salem.  These people had a separate part of the cemetery, called the "Strangers Graveyard."  Eventually, the congregation of the church grew so large that they had to expand the brick church, and they built on top of the graveyard!  This fact totally creeped out Anya.  When we first got to the church, I couldn't figure out why it seemed so familiar to me.  Then I realized that I had heard a presentation about the restoration of the church at the history conference I went to back in April.  Small world.

This is the Moravian brick church.  You can see some headstones to the left of the brick path.

 Another highlight of Old Salem was having some really good dessert at their operating restaurant/tavern.  

This was my (half-eaten) bourbon chocolate pecan pie with whipped cream :)

Anya's homemade lemon ice cream with ginger cake :)

After Old Salem, we went to a neat restaurant in Salem called Sweet Potatoes.  Neither of us had very exciting southern entrees because it was kind of expensive, but I did try fried okra for the first time.  It was pretty good, but I still found it a little slimy.  Then we went back to Greensboro to this awesome coffeehouse/hang out called the Green Bean.  (They also have REALLY excellent hot chocolate).  We saw three great live bands that night: Luke Mitchem, The Rough and Tumble, and...I forgot the name of the last one!  I would definitely recommend the music of the first two.  On Saturday, we made our trek to N. Myrtle Beach/Ocean Isle Beach to run our 5K on Sunday!  On our way, we made a few stops.  First, we went to the Greensboro Historical Museum.  If you're ever in Greensboro, definitely stop there!  Their first gallery on the first floor is a little confusing, but it only gets better from there.  They do an EXCELLENT job of interpreting.  Next, we went to the historic site of Charlotte Hawkins Brown.  She started a college preparatory school called the Palmer Institute.  Many of the buildings are still standing, but the only one that is open for interpretation is her home.  It was pretty cool.  Finally, we made a stop at a FANTASTIC winery called Duplin Winery.  Our first attempt to stop at a winery was a total bust, so we were very happy to find Duplin.  They gave tastings for free and have some DELICIOUS muscadine wine.  I'm hoping for a bottle for Christmas ;)  

Then we drove the rest of the way to N. Myrtle beach.  After driving all day, we were pretty tired, so we just ordered some pizza and watched a movie.  We also had to be up early Sunday to drive to Ocean Isle Beach and run!!!!

Sunday was finally the day of the 5K.  It was so INCREDIBLE.  I've decided that running near the ocean is significantly better than running in central Wisconsin.  The smell of the ocean just provides more motivation :)  Anyway, I loved every second of the 5K and had a pretty decent time.  After the 5K, we went to the beach (my first time ever).  I love, love, love, love the beach!  We then went to the Oyster Festival in Ocean Isle Beach, had some awesome seafood, and looked around at the little booths.  After that we drove to Wilmington, got some frozen yogurt, and hit the beach at Wrightsville.  Then, it was time to make the drive back to Greensboro.  On Monday, Anya had a meeting on campus for work, so I had some time to enjoy the campus of UNC-G.  It was beautiful.  I read outside - it was 65 to 75 degrees the whole time I was in North Carolina.  I flew out Monday afternoon, and returned home to rain and cold weather.  

Since North Carolina...it's been a whirl-wind of work, running, and crafting.  I've kept up on my running 3 times a week (for the most part).  Lately I have been feeling less motivated, but I think it's the combination of the cold weather coming (though I will be running on the treadmill from here on out) and the Thanksgiving holiday.  Now, it's back to work after a 4-day weekend and prepping for Christmas - my favorite time of year!  

I think that's all for now.  Expect more frequent posts as the weight loss starts to be successful...because it will.  

Peace.    

    

Falling into Fall!

If you know me well, you know that my favorite season (by far) is fall!  I love the fresh air, the autumn chill, sweaters, jeans, boots, scarves (both knitted and otherwise), and the upcoming holidays!  This year, I'm particularly excited about fall because I'll be in a new job (I'll post more when I'm officially on the payroll), losing weight to fit into numerous pairs of jeans that fill my dresser drawers because I REFUSE to throw them away, and continuing my new-found passion for cooking!  That said, I'm falling into fall!

However, before the days of jackets and turning on the heat return, I have to wrap up the summer.  My last post talked about the refocus of this blog to reflect my old love of food and my new passion for cooking.  While I would love to say that I cooked a lot recently, I haven't had much time.  I was busy wrapping up my position as an AmeriCorps member and prepping for my new job (so many cryptic references...).  I also seriously refocused my weight loss strategy to reflect what I know I should be doing.  I hate to say that I'm still working on it, but I developed a reward system today of all the things I've wanted to buy recently but haven't (much of which includes crafting stuff).

However, I did do some cooking and baking, and plan to do more in my time off while I wait for the paperwork regarding exiting AmeriCorps and coming into my new job to catch up with me!  My brother turned 30 (are we that old already?) in July, but we officially celebrated his birthday just yesterday.  I made two FANTASTIC dishes, both of which I received numerous compliments on.  First, I tried my hand at an amazing, yet high-calorie, high-sugar, dessert.  Pictured below is the Raspberry Pretzel Salad and the recipe for it!  It's absolutely delicious, but I would avoid it if you're trying to lose a few pounds.  However, I had one piece at my brother's party.

Yummy!

And a close-up of those delicious, albeit frozen, raspberries.

The recipe for the above delicious-ness :)

I also made Asian Coleslaw, which I have made before.  It's probably one of the easiest salads to whip up quickly.  Here are some pictures (because I like to record my creations, much like I photograph crafts and cards I make), and the recipe.  

Yum!

:)

The recipe for Asian colelsaw:

16 oz. pre-packaged Cole Slaw
1 pkg. Chicken flavored Ramen noodles, uncooked
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 c. slivered almonds
1 c. sunflower seeds

Dressing:
1 c. light olive or vegetable oil (I usually only use 1/2 c. vegetable oil to cut calories).
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. vinegar (I use white vinegar)

The seasoning packet from the Ramen noodles

Finally, two more exciting bits of news.  The first is...I'm going to North Carolina in October!  One of my best friends from college is doing AmeriCorps there, so I am going to visit her.  I'm so looking forward to seeing her (it will be over a year by October), and doing all kinds of fun things.  We're doing some history tours (since we're both history geeks), going to a winery, going shopping, and...running a 5K in Ocean Isle Beach!  That's my second bit of news...I'm running a 5K!  I'm training for it now with a friend/colleague.  The program we are using maintains that we will be able to run 3 miles in 9 weeks, and we are one week into training.  It feels good to be running again and getting back in shape.  

I guess that's it for now.  I will update again soon after I make this week's recipes: Pumpkin Oatmeal, a pumpkin smoothie, and Autumn Bean Soup!  

Peace, love, and cooking :)

    

Food Love

It's been quite a while since I last posted. That's partly because I didn't meet any of the goals I set for myself about weight loss, and I didn't want to admit it. However, I did attend (and participate in!) my best friend's wedding this past weekend and my bridesmaid dress fit! I consider that in and of itself a total win. Aside from not meeting my weight loss goals, I did recently accomplish a few other things (both related and unrelated) that were definite wins as well. I am eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking less soda, doing some cardio, and lifting weights significantly more. All good things. Something also happened recently that I am not yet allowed to say (at least not here on the interwebs), so that will remain a mystery until it's official. Let's just say it's a darn good thing. The reason for this post (and the re-focus of the blog in general), is to toss out a realization I had within the past few days. I love food. Obviously. But I don't just mean eating food. I mean I love everything about food. Researching it, preparing it, eating it (of course), enjoying it, and writing about it. I like knowing what's in my food and how it was prepared. I love the ritual of preparing a meal, and the nostalgic feeling of some food (like elephant ears at summer fairs and good lattes during fall). In short, I'm becoming a foodie, and for someone like me, I think that's a much healthier way of approaching food than my current approach to it (read as: I eat it because I'm fulfilling an emotional need, as opposed to a physical one). Perhaps I can turn my love of food into productive (and not totally screwed up) ways of thinking about it. We'll see. We'll start with today. I did some good research on Chai Tea Lattes (which I LOVE) and shared a fantastic recipe for a DIY Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte on Facebook, which you can also find here: http://sumptuousspoonfuls.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/make-your-own-pumpkin-spice-chai-latte. I also discovered that I was running low on Chai tea (gasp!) and quickly purchased more. Yahoo! In addition to exploring recipes, I also made some delicious (and mostly nutritious) meals and snacks today. I had a totally awesome fruit salad when I came home from work today, with an English Breakfast Tea Latte (which I do not recommend, at least not the way I made it). I should point out that I typically don't use any sweetener in my tea, but that particular latte definitely needed it. Yikes. Anyway, my awesome fruit salad is pictured here:

Not only did my fruit salad taste fabulous, it also looked beautiful! I also made a totally great salad for dinner, which consisted of carrots, red pepper, romaine, and a bit of onion. I used this weird but very delicious buffalo ranch dressing made by WishBone - the light version. No pictures of that salad, but I can tell you that it tasted great and looked great, too. When I got home I discovered that my mother had requested I bake some cookies - from the package. That was fine because I'm not great at baking from scratch and had I made a sweet treat, I would have made something fruity and frozen, since fruit is better for you and it's pretty darn hot this week.

For the 4th of July, my family is heading up to my aunt and uncle's cabin, and I am bringing some amazing pineapple salsa that I've made before. I decided this year that instead of buying tortilla chips, I would try my hand at making pita chips to go with the pineapple salsa. I made a small batch tonight and they turned out pretty good. They taste good, but the bread on most of them ended up being a little too thick to brown them correctly. I'll work on that for the actual chip-baking day prior to the 4th. Here is my first attempt at pita chips:

So there you have it - today's baking and cooking adventures. As I said, hopefully this is a more productive use of my love of food than overeating. I couldn't imagine why it wouldn't be! More to come as I continue to cook, bake, eat (albeit less and healthier), savor, and LOVE!

Developing Good Habits

Well, I figure it's about time to update again, and I have plenty to talk about regarding my weight loss and fitness goals.

First, and most importantly, Weight Watchers didn't work for me. However, I can't say I'm surprised by that. Because I spent my days counting points (and cheating points), all I thought about was food, which (go figure) wasn't very effective in controlling my emotional attachment to food. So...I got to thinking last weekend. I thought about how when I was at my heaviest weight (163 pounds during my junior year of college), I managed to take it down by 10 pounds that summer. I remembered what I did during that summer to lose the weight, and I discovered that it was all about developing good habits. (Coincidentally, I'm reading a book right now called "Rediscover Catholicism," and in it, the author discusses good spiritual habits). Okay, back to weight loss. I realized that I had excellent habits that summer, so starting this past Monday, I went back to some of them. Here they are:

Eat a bowl of cereal with milk or yogurt for breakfast EVERY DAY. (Okay, this gets really, really, old but it works because it creates a natural rhythm for your body).
Eat a banana between breakfast and lunch. (Bananas are yummy, so I usually eat one every day. But it also keeps your metabolism up so your body doesn't go into starvation mode and start storing more fat. That's bad.)
Have soup and crackers, or a sandwich, with a piece of fruit and a vegetable for lunch. (Just keep eating those fruits and veggies, and look! by lunch you're already up to 3 servings a day!)
Have something sweet (or salty), but small, for an afternoon snack. It curbs the urge to eat a larger sweet or salty snack later.
Eat a lean cuisine, soup, or a salad for dinner. If you have soup, eat another serving of vegetables. (Self-explanatory - eat something healthy with more veggies to finish out your servings of fruits and veggies for the day).
Drink lots of water and less soda. (This is a big one because of the real sugar (or fake sugar in diet soda) and the caffeine. Caffeine increases your appetite. Water helps naturally flush out the toxins in your body.
Walk 30 minutes during lunch at work every day. (It helps you maintain a steady weight).
Exercise for at least 30 minutes after work. (This is where you should actually lose weight).
Get enough sleep! (Duh - if you're tired you will be munching all day to keep your energy up, and you'll munch on processed sugar and processed carbs, which are always bad ideas).

That's it. That's all I did to lose those 10 pounds that summer. Aside from the 30 minutes of walking at work each day (this week was super wonky in terms of my schedule), I have started all those habits once again! And so far, it's been effective! Huzzah!

I should mention that I did have one major success in the month of March. I set a goal to bike/run/walk 40 miles, and I did it! This month's goal: 60 miles. Because of my crazy busy week this week, I have 0 miles so far, but this weekend and next week should serve me well.

Alright folks, enjoy your Easter, and look forward to another post next month filled with success stories!