I just wanna...

What is it about being sick in bed for days that is such a strong motivator for strange new urges in life? Today, it's been running. For the record, I despise running! Quite a bit! But being cooped up is making me want to do all sorts of things. In particular I want to cook - of course not good things that would help me recover, like soup (thank GOD I made some last week!). Instead I want to bake layer cakes and crunchy, gooey cookies with caramel and coconut.

This is one helluva cold I've got on my hands! I'm feeling better today, but I'm still taking it easy. Thanks to my sweet, sweet boyfriend, I'm staying at his place while I recover so at least I'm not bored. The only thing worse than being sick is being sick with no cable or internet. One of his roommates was so so sweet yesterday and brought me a new box of tissues along with zinc lozenges and vitamin c and motrin PM to help me sleep at night. I have to remember to do something nice to thank him when I'm better!

On an entirely unrelated note, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what I want to do with my life. It's a little tough for me because the only thing I've ever said I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom, and a teacher. My mom was a teacher growing up and I remember her telling me that I didn't want to be a teacher because they don't make much money, which is true! And the reality is that if I followed that dream, I probably would have been laid off by now. It seems that I am always hearing about teacher lay offs and that it is damn near impossible to get a job as a teacher.

And the reality is that when you say that you want to be a mom when you grow up, people are taken aback, as if you've just announced that you want to be a bank robber. It makes it tough to just announce it and let people judge as they will. But I can't help it if I love running a household, and arts and crafts are fun for me, and that the thought of being responsible for raising someone to be a responsible, caring productive member of society fills me with unimaginable joy. Sorry, not sorry!

Okay, Okay I get it already!!

I should have stuck with what was working and continued avoiding gluten forever! So far, I have gotten sick at least once a month - how nuts is that?? This time, I have been struck down with a cold, and boooooy am I miserable.

I'm combating it with rest, Apple Cider Vinegar in water, soup, vitamin C, and did I mention water, because I'm drinking a tonnnnn. Sadly, I haven't been able to nap much today, not for lack of trying or opportunity! I simply wasn't sleepy. Odd for me - usually I sleep a bunch when sick, so in all of this free time, I've just been enjoying junky TV & puppy snuggles. When I can wrangle him for snuggles, anyway!

So, lesson learned! If you want to stay healthy, stick with what you know works for you. Otherwise, you will find yourself with a pounding head, sore throat and at least one whole day spent shivering in bed! If you are truly lucky, you will have an adorable pup to keep you company.

It's happening, you guys!

Boo-yaaaaaaaaah what's up SQUAT CHALLENGE?! I am going to dominate you! SO I have been utterly failing at working out, writing regularly... basically anything that required me to do something at a prescribed time or regular interval! I was chatting with my friend Aly and discovered we both want to get back in shape but haven't been doing so well, and we decided to take on this 30-day squat challenge together. This is something that she has completed before (props to her!), and something that I tried, but stopped after 8 days... because I forgot to continue!

I also want to work on my arms, so we decided we will incorporate shoulder presses with weights, as well as another weighted arm movement for the kick-involving squats, since we feel the least steady during those.


I can't wait to start this with her tonight and successfully finish out the month! This means I need to stop by my place on my way to B's house & pick up weights and a few other things.

We decided that we also want to keep this up and start a new challenge when this one is completed! Anyone want to join (Candice, I'm looking at youuuu!)?? The more accountability, the better!

I had the best night last night. B was out of town for the first half of this week and I didn't realize just how much of a grump I was being all week till he came home! It was so great to catch up. We went to dinner at PB Alehouse & had a drink after and talked about all kinds of things! He recently read an article about a couple that built a small, but functional home & one of the quotes that really resonated with both of us was about how this couple really spent a lot of time going out and having fun because they weren't tied down to typical household chores and maintenance. This is something that I LOVE. My place is so perfect for things like that because when it comes down to it, even a deep cleaning takes an hour - tops! That's a high priority for me because I would rather be out spending time with the people that I love.

Oh the joys of growing up!

We all come across adversity at one point or another, and how you handle that adversity in the workplace will set the tone for quite a bit of your life! Well – at least if you’re anything like me. I spend a considerable amount of time at work every weekday, like most adults, and the kind of day I have at work has a significant effect on my mood for the rest of my day.

I work really hard to leave work at work & not stress about things when I have left the office. To be entirely honest, I don’t make enough to worry about that shit after work! However, we all have circumstances that override even the best of habits.

I have had one of these circumstances popping up more and more frequently lately, and something changed between last night and this morning that turned my attitude around. I realized that I really need to learn to let go of expectations more.

I am a very nice person, and tend to expect everyone to be as nice as I am to me. Well, the reality is that everyone is different! Some people are distracted, which can come across as rude. Some people are standoffish and uncomfortable around other people. I mean, I could sit here all night listing out reasons why people might not appear to be nice right off the bat, but I would never leave this couch!

So my new plan of action is to lower my expectations – and stop assuming that just because someone behaves differently than I might, doesn’t mean that they don’t like me.

And can I just say that with all of this in mind, I had a great day at work! Amazing what a change in perspective can do for you.

Change of course!

I think I've been (not on purpose!) avoiding gluten a bit, partly out of habit, and partly due to the gnarly food poisoning/stomach bug I caught. This experiment of mine has been weighing heavily on my mind. I've been debating if I chose to do this because I truly doubted myself and also just missed gluten, or if I chose to do this because I'm caving to societal pressure. 

I guess it was both. But I think it's time for a reevaluation. The first thing that I noticed is that I do feel worse eating gluten. Sometimes it's really bad, sometimes it just makes me want to nap like it's going out of style, and sometimes it doesn't affect me. Sounds an awful lot like how I handle dairy! I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner - to approach gluten like I do dairy. I will avoid it in most circumstances, and happily indulge when it's a special occasion, like a really delicious fresh-baked specialty bread. Or a cookie on a tough day. But hopefully those tough days will be few and far between!

Because the number one psychological change that came about was that I stopped stressing out about what my next meal was going to be. If it was a provided, unspecified meal, I would terrorize myself imagining all of the terrible possibilities. I need to adjust my reactions to it & just accept that if I don't know what I'll be eating that it will either be something I can and want to eat, or I will go get something that I can and want to eat. 

Ahem, so perhaps my six months of eating whatever goal was a little lofty but I have no qualms about swallowing my pride for the sake of feeling better. No more experiment! Back to healthy mostly Paleo eating & hopefully, much less time at my desk resisting the urge to nap. 

A pup that won't stop barking

Okay y'all, I am officially MIS-ER-A-BLE! (I hope you read super drawn out and whiny because that is exactly how it sounded in my head!) I caught some sort of stomach bug or food poisoning two days ago which also coincided with every ladies favorite time of the month to create an absolute miserable experience for yours truly. The one bright spot has been that my boss allowed me to work from home for the first time, so at least I've been miserable from the comfort of my boyfriend's couch! And with the sweetest company!

Well, when he isn't barking our ears off after putting him in his crate! We started crate training him a few months ago after he started chewing things in our absence, and until a few weeks ago he really enjoyed it. We took the crate training really slow - just as everyone should - and worked our way up to leaving the pup in the crate alone for small periods of time when we weren't home. He has never acted afraid of the crate or had to be forced in, but a few weeks ago began barking very loudly when we would leave him in there, and I am at a loss as to how to fix it!

In an effort to find a solution, I researched some dog training options and whooooo boy there are tons in this beautiful city! Because I'm an ultra-nerd, I compiled everything into a Google Spreadsheet and shared it with the man so we can figure out what the best option will be.

Here's to hoping we will soon have a well-trained, happy pup!

Yearning

I can't shake this unmistakeable urge to grow and seek something new today! I want to create something successful and wonderful, that enables me to be independent. 

I just don't know what it should be! *sigh* 

Okay, I have a general idea, but I'm afraid I won't be any good. And I also feel limited because photography is something my sister has always been passionate about. Any other little sibs know what I'm talking about??

So, I'm putting it out there. I would love to look into photography & figure out what kind of camera is a good beginner camera!