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.
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