No, but seriously — it was the best meal I’ve ever eaten.

Have you ever sat down with a homemade meal in front of you and just felt really thankful? Thankful for all of the flavors in this world, the abundance of food in America, or the fact that you just spent an hour cooking a healthy meal in the kitchen, and loved every minute of it?

I have. These past few weeks have turned me into more of a foodie than I thought could be humanly possible. I feel joy when I peel potatoes or discover a new spice Watching veggie broth and all-purpose flour go from a liquid state to a thick gravy makes me feel warm inside. How this came about, I do not know!

When I used to work 40+ hours a week at my old job, I would come home and cook up a meal for my guy and I…be it a “fast” meal like chili, or a “slow” meal like lasagna. I claimed that I “liked” to cook, but didn’t mean it. What I meant was that I liked to eat the things I cook. Because, to be completely honest – I dreaded the thought of driving 45 minutes home, standing on my feet for another hour in the kitchen, and having to clean the kitchen afterwards.

I would sit down with a hot plate of whatever in front of me, scarf it down quickly, claim it was “delicious” and head back to the kitchen for the dreaded clean-up.

That is not enjoyable eating.

I like food. I like cooking. It is one of the things in my life that I have total control over. At the end of a stressful day, cooking a delicious, healthy meal is something I look forward to. These past few weeks have been spent with me in the kitchen, making recipes that I would never have come up with on my own. Discovering new uses for vegetable broth, and how to make cookies without using animal products.

Tonight – we had Vegan Shepherd(less?) Pie.

It brought me to tears….This delicious meal came at a critical time in my life. A time when everything else is so bland and unforgiving.

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As you know (or may not know!) I am unemployed at the moment. I’ve been unemployed since August 2010.

When August rolled around, I had to leave my job as a nanny just so I could finish up school and graduate. My internship schedule would not allow me to be a full-time nanny and work at the YMCA.

At first I was extremely excited to be working in a wellness facility, and to be able to use my nutrition skills as well! But as the six months progressed, I found that I hated it. No one was interested in Nutrition…they didn’t care about eating healthy, they just wanted to workout and leave. No one signed up for my cooking classes, not one person. The whole time I was there, I completed a total of 2 nutrition consultations.

I tried getting members to sign up for a grocery store walk-thru, where I could show them the healthier products to choose. No one signed up for that either.

It got to the point where I didn’t want to go anymore. I filled in my internship hours by volunteering for events that didn’t even relate to my field..

My heart was broken. Not only did I feel like a failure, I felt defeated….like perhaps the career path I had chosen wasn’t for me. When December finally came around, I was happy to get out of there. Finally, I could start my own career adventure and help people who actually wanted to learn more about nutrition. Or so I thought….

Since my internship and graduating, I have yet to find a job.

Maybe part of it is the economy, but I think most of it has to do with the fact that I went to school for a profession that is not in high demand in the state I live in.

People around here do not hire “Dietetic Technicians”. The closest job I’ve found is over 3 hours away. I feel angry at myself for not researching this more. It feels like I’ve wasted 3 years going to college to learn a skill that I can’t even use around here.

I spend my days applying to jobs that I don’t really want – and applying to some that I really do want, but am not qualified for. It sucks. I haven’t been this financially dependent on someone else since I was a teenager living at home. It’s not my style.

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But guess what?

I can’t keep feeling sorry for myself. Do you know that I’ve spent the past three days moping around the house in my pj’s? 

This afternoon, as I sat on the couch eating cookies and watching Grey’s Anatomy, I had a breakthrough.

I have not been living my life. I’ve been waiting on things to happen to me, or for me…and that is no way to live.

Yes, yes…I get up and apply to jobs that have nothing to do with what I specialize in (any money is good money, right?? Wrong.)..I clean the house, walk Trixie, watch TV and feel sorry for myself the remainder of the day. And then I cook…and when I cook, I’m happy. The wonderful smells help me relax and snap out of my funk.

I spend my time:

..working for hours on a puzzle..

..reading my “Veganomicon” cookbook (for the fifth time??) in front of the space heater..

So I realised that I’m not going to do it anymore. There is no reason I should feel sorry for myself for not having a job. Does it suck? Yes, completely. But it’s no reason to get depressed and spend three days straight in my pjs with unkempt hair!

Get off of it already, Stacey! Snap out of it. Do things that make YOU happy. Find ways to feel alive again!  Do things that make you feel like you have a purpose! <—is the pep talk that I gave myself when I realised that life is still happening whether I have a job or not.

We only get one life here, and then it’s gone. It can be gone in the wink of an eye, and when that time comes for me, I want to know that I’ve lived. Fully, happily and to the greatest of my ability.

My time here is what I make it. I can get up and choose to be sad all day, or I can get up and find something to do that makes me feel important or happy. I can start applying to jobs that I really want, and not settle for one’s that I know I would hate.

I can wake up and go run 6 miles if I wanted…or spend more time snuggling with Trixie.

This time could be spent training for a marathon, or blogging about my cooking adventures. Possibly volunteering at a shelter or being more of an animal right’s activist. Who knows??!!!

All I know is that I chose to not be sad anymore. I know that I will find a job I love, but in the meantime, I want to live my life. I want to wake up every morning and feel grateful that I’ve lived another day…that I get to cook and eat great food, take hot showers and spend time doing things I love.

Maybe if I focus on other things, the job situation will just sort of “fall into place”?

There is no telling!

I feel as if I’ve outgrown the “I’d Rather Be Running” title…be prepared for a new name and look for my blog! Something to work on tomorrow

Thanks for listening

Hey friends

Happy Fridayyyyy!! Hope your week has been well. I’m so glad it’s the weekend, Jason and I have hardly time together this week! It’s back to school on Monday, so we are planning on making most of these last 3 school-free days

Lordy, Lordy…. I have been eating my way through Veganomicon, and loving every minute (or bite??) of it! Vegan cooking has opened my taste buds up to a whole new world of flavor. It’s amazing how a dish changes once you get rid of the dairy in it! The other night I made cheeseless veggie lasagna, ohhh myyy gahhhh..the vegetables an sauce were so much more flavorful and satisfying.

I love how I’m not grounded down after eating a big meal. Usually after eating 2 servings of veggie lasagna, I would be popping the button on my jeans and claiming “I’m too stuffed to move”..but take the cheese away, and it fills me up perfectly.

I thought I’d hop on here and share some of my favorite vegan recipes so far! These are three (out of six) that I’ve chosen because they are dishes you must make. Seriously, I would feel bad about not posting and sharing these recipes! They are vegan, but I swear you will not miss the dairy! Trust me

First up – BANANA CORN PANCAKES

(Derived from Veganomicon’s “Blueberry Corn Pancakes”)

*I will never make pancakes without using cornmeal again!! The crunch and crispiness it adds  is amazing*

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 1/4 cup plain soy milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest (or you can substitute lemon extract)
• 2 ripe bananas
• cooking spray

Directions–

Preheat nonstick skillet over medium heat. In one bowl, mix together all wet ingredients. In a seperate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Mix wet and dry together, adding sliced banana into the mix. Spray pan with cooking spray, pour 1/4 cup of batter on the pan. Pancakes are ready to flip when they start to bubble on the outside. Keep going until all batter is used (made about 10-11 pancakes for me!), spraying cooking spray when necessary.

Serve with hot maple syrup on the side! Nomnomnom

Second up – SWEET POTATO AND LENTIL STEW

*Your house will smell amazing as this stew simmers! The spices bring it to life, no cheese necessary * The photos don’t do it justice. Period.

Ingredients

(Derived from “The Kind Diet”)

• 1/4 cup safflower oil (I substituted olive oil)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 small tomatoes, diced (Roma tomatoes are great!)
• 1 tsp fresh minced ginger (you can substitute 1/2 tsp. ground ginger)
• 1 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander (common spice used in Indian foods, found it at Wal-Mart for $4)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• dash of salt
• 2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 7 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup dried lentils

Directions —

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, stirring frequently until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the tomatoes and giner – cook for 3 minutes. Stir in turmeric, cayenne, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and dash of salt. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, broth and lentils. Stir well, bring to a boil over high heat. When mixture comes to a  boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes (until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft)

Serve hot! Chewy sourdough bread would be a great side for this, or toasted pita bread for dipping! Yummy!! Please don’t tell the library I eat stew on top of their books

Ohmygah my mouth is watering just thinking of all this food! Time to get to dessert, a.k.a – the best cookies I’ve ever made or eaten…hands down.

Finally, we come to the best dessert cookie ever – CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE CHIP WALNUT COOKIES

*These cookies only took 10 minutes to bake! They are, without a doubt, the best cookies I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. So chewy, so chocolaty, so delicious. Nuff said.*

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocao powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp. ground flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (or just use regular if you are not vegan! semi-sweet would be best, not milk chocolate)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions –

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, cocao, baking soda and salt. In a seperate bowl, mix together the oil and sugar. Add flaxseeds, soy milk, vanilla and almond extract. Mix well. Mix together wet with dry, using a fork to stir when batter becomes too stiff to whisk. Using your hands, fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (you don’t need this! cooking spray is also another option)…roll dough into 1-inch balls and flatten with the palm of your hand. Bake for 10 minutes, once finished baking – let cookies cool for about 5 minutes. This recipe is supposed to make 36 cookies, but I made mine a little bigger

Ohhhhhh sooooo gooodddddd…heavin in cookie form. And a chocolate-lover’s dream

That should keep you busy in the kitchen You’re welcome!

This morning I woke up in a great mood, perhaps it was because of my new running tights??? Hmmmmmm?

I love these things. I could practically live in them <– still wearing them from my run this morning! My workout was awesome, here is what I did

1. 3 mile run (in under 30 minutes!!)
2. 3 x 10 chest press with 45 lbs.
3. 3 x 10 lateral pull downs with 55 lbs.
4. 100 crunches
5. 40 side planks, each side

That workout powered me up for the rest of the day! I came home to clean and bake (such a house wife over here!). Today I made more homemade hummus (Jason eats it like there’s no tomorrow) and chocolate-raspberry cookies. Recipe to come!

We have a funeral to go to tonight Funerals make me sad, but it’s good to pay our respects. Hopefully you guys are starting your weekend off with happier commitments!

Be back (<–I just typed “bake”) later this week! Happy weekend!

I listened to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch while running this morning

“Come on, come on! Feel it, feet it. Feel the vibration-ohoh oh oh oh”

Okay, I’m finished singing to you now

Let’s get back to the reason why I’m here – to recap my week of veganism.

There are many topics I want to touch on but first things first.

In the beginning, I wasn’t really sure why I was going vegan. If someone were to ask me, I probably would’ve blushed and muttered something about animals rights and changed the subject of conversation. Now, after researching the benfits of veganism and the impact it has on the environment (you guys know how I am about research!), there is no doubt in my mind that this is the right lifestyle for me

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The beginning of the week was a bit rocky, but exciting none-the-less! As I went through all of my favorite items in our cabinets and refridgerator (cheese crackers, dark chocolate, ice cream, multi-grain waffles), the enormity of my decision hit me. Most of these things have dairy in them! What am I going to eat? I took a step back and thought: It’s just food. I’m sure there are vegan options out there that are just as yummy

During this process, I gave Jason the go-ahead to eat my favorite snacks and desserts. It felt freeing. As I said “No” to these products, I pictured a happy cow in a meadow somewhere, silently thanking me

The second night I had a meltdown. Jason and I were sitting down and eating dinner, when I asked him what he thought of me going vegan. His response: “It seems a bit extreme. Like torture. I don’t really understand why you are doing it, but if it makes you happy.”

 He also brought up a few points of how I may be “alienated” at family get togethers where food is present, or how he thinks veganism is just a fad becuase celebrities have made it popular.

I started to cry. I’m sure it does seem extreme to others to not eat animal products. I mean, come on. We were practically raised on them, it’s all that we know. But did you know that we are the only mammals that drink another mammals milk? No other animal in nature does that. I find that a little strange.

Did you know that in order to get a cow to produce milk, she has to be pregnant? A cow in nature would normally become pregnant once a year…a cow in a factory farm is kept pregnant continuously. And when her milk production decreases or isn’t the same, she is shipped off to be slaughtered for her “parts”. 90 percent of the male calfs that are born are used to make veal.

Do you know how veal is made? I’m not going to tell you, you can look it up if you like. It’s horrible.

And I’m now jumping down from my soapbox.

Anywho, Jason is right and wrong in a sense. Time to bring in the topics that I’d like to cover.

Alienation

Yes…I will probably be a little alienated (food-wise) at family gatherings and holidays.  That is ok with me though, I suggested to Jason that I make a couple of vegan dishes to share with everybody…that way, I’ll have a little something that I can eat, and I can also share a delicious, healthy meal with everyone else

Defending Myself

I know for a fact that I will be doing a lot of this. In the beginning of this journey, I was scared to defend myself because I wasn’t really sure why I was doing this..how in the world would I explain it to someone else?? Which brings me to my next topic:

Why I Am Becoming Vegan?

Because I love animals. I don’t want to eat them or their products. I don’t want to have any part in the mistreatment of them at all. This week, I’ve learned that our bodies can live without animal products. There are so many other, natural foods that give our bodies the same vitamins and minerals that eggs, dairy and meat do. And guess what? Those alternatives are better for us.

Also, I now realize that becoming a vegetarian was only the first step in my animal-free journey. You guys know that I never liked buying eggs, but buying cheese and occasionally milk (to bake with) didn’t faze me in the least. I have learned so much about factory farming this past week. After reading some of the articles that I have, I don’t know how I couldn’t make a change. Some of the things that go on are just…heartbreaking. How we have gotten to this point as a society is totally incomprehensible to me.

Changes

You may be wondering if I’ve noticed any changes in my body since going vegan. The answer is yes! I feel lighter (my weight has stayed the same) after eating meals. Usually, I would stuff myself full and feel heavy and bloated for the rest of the night. Now after eating, I feel just right. Not too full but perfectly satisfied

My skin is glowing a little more (My rekindled love of Green Monsters may have something to do with that as well)

There are times when I have felt a little weak, but I’ve read that this feeling is natural. While my body detoxified from animal products, is natural to experience headaches, feelings of weakness and excessive thirst the first week or two. *I’ve only had the feeling of weakness two times this week*

Other Changes

I’ve stopped drinking coffee! I have been coffee-free for 7 days Yay! I used to think this would be so hard..practically the end of the world…but one night I was sitting on the couch and my heart started beating irregularly. And it kept on! My heart rate was increasing and I could sense a full-blown panic attack coming. After that little episode, I thought to myself  “That’s it. I’m done with coffee.”

It had gotten to the point where I would wake up and drink two cups without even thinking of it. There wasn’t even an urge, just a habit. I’ve replaced those two cups of coffee with one mug of green tea. And that’s my caffeine for the day (No more unsweet tea for me either, because it produces similar results) I think I’m more proud of quitting my coffee habit than I am becoming a vegan! Haha

I did have a major headache the first day I stopped drinking coffee, but after that- it was smooth sailing. I’ve been sleeping better and have been nightmare free as well

Cravings

You may be wondering if I have been craving cheese since I became a vegan. The answer is……..no. I don’t even miss it. When I first began this journey, I thought it would extremely hard to give up cheese. Do cheese-free meals even exist? But they do And I don’t think “Oh this would be great with some sharp cheddar” when I’m eating them either. Not eating cheese has caused my senses to open up to a whole new world (cue Aladdin music) of flavor. It makes me get creative with spices and mixes so that my meals taste just as great as a meal that is loaded with cheese I love the challenge.

Holier Than Thou

The people who know me well, know that I am not the type to push my beliefs or lifestyle on others. Nor do I think that I am better than anyone else just because I do not eat animal products. This is a personal decision for me. It was based on research, love and compassion. Is this lifestyle for everyone? Definitely not. If anyone has questions or wants to talk about veganism, I will gladly discuss it with you in a friendly, non-preachy manner

Exploring Food

…is exactly what I have been doing all week. I’ve read my Veganomicon book front to back twice. Along with “The Kind Diet” by Alicia Silverstone (twice as well). Some of the foods in the  books are hard to find in my area, so I’m trying to figure out a way around that. My recipes this week have been simple as I am a baby vegan and just learning which foods are vegan and which are not.

This is a growing/learning process for me. In time, I am sure that I will have another notebook full of vegan-friendly recipes to go alongside my notebook of vegetarian recipes that is sitting in my kitchen :)

Summing this up-  I am very happy  with my decision to go vegan. Wait, not only am I happy but I am excited as well! It feels very liberating I can’t wait to experiment with vegan recipes and find some favorites!

This topic is now open for discussion. What do you think about what I’ve said? Thank you for reading this far! And supporting me as well

I will be back on here later this week! Hopefully with a few recipe updates

I made it!

There have been a lot of emotional ups and downs today, but I made it and I think at the end of the day, I have a better understanding of myself and why I am making this change I’ll tell you about all of that later in the post! First-let’s get to breakfast!

A vegan breakfast was pretty easy for me to come up with. I scanned my cinnamon raisin toast ingredient list for egg or dairy product only to find that there is none of that in there, so viola! A breakfast was born. (You should also know that I take a multi-vitamin with breakfast everyday.)

Topped with natural chunky pb and raspberry jam, with two clementines on the side  Cup O Joe fo’ sho’. I missed my morning banana I usually have a banana every day with breakfast, but we seriously running low on groceries (a trip is in store for tomorrow!).

The rest of the morning was spent walking Trixie and straightening up the house. My tummy started to growl after all of that moving, so I had a mid-morning snack of bran cereal with almond milk. (I heart almond milk).

After my snacky-snack,  I tried to go to the library but it was closed for the holiday until tomorrow Boo! Oh well, you better believe I will be the first one there in the morning when they open

Instead of driving all the way back home, I called a friend to see if she wanted some company (plus, I wanted to see her cute newborn baby! He’s so precious and I just looooveeee him)

While chit-chatting in the kitchen, I realized that I was getting pretty hungry. I dug in my purse for some emergency blue corn tortilla chips (along with a unsweet tea from Dunkin’ Donuts’. Seriously Dunkin’ Donuts, why aren’t we working together yet?)

My friend-o offered up some salsa after the pic was taken

**The rest of the afternoon was poor planning on my part** Like always, I stayed at my friend’s house a lot longer than I anticipated (do you always lose track of time when you are having fun too?!) so when 2:30 rolled around without lunch anywhere in between, my tummy was pretty mad at me! Hunger hit me like a truck! After arriving back home around 3, shaky and feeling weak, I quickly looked for a vegan lunch to throw together while snacking on grapes to bring my blood sugar back up.

Veggie dogs! Of course!! Those have to be vegan. I threw a pot of water on the stove and set it to high so that the water would boil. While waiting, I grabbed the veggie dogs out of the freezer just to “make sure” that they were vegan. Guess what? They’re not! Surprise. Surprise.

Dang it! Keep in mind that we are almost grocery-less and other than a veggie dog, I hadn’t really thought of a back up plan for a vegan lunch. Oh, and the simple fact that I’m very close to eating the furniture at this point. I need FOOD and I need it NOW. The water was already boiling, so I threw some spaghetti in there and heated up some leftover broccoli in the microwave. In less than ten minutes, another vegan meal was born

There was some thinking that went into the pasta sauce. I almost grabbed one with parmesan cheese, but quickly noticed my mistake and chose a simple tomato/basil sauce instead Problem solved. I pretty much inhaled this plate. And like usual, my sweet tooth kicked in right after!

Our cabinets are full of sweets! We received a ton of candy and chocolate this Christmas, but none that is vegan…except Junior Mints.

*Jason later pointed out that these contain gelatin, which is made from animal parts that have been melted down to create a gel-like consistency* Oops. A minor mistake, I’m not going to beat myself up about it I’m still new to this vegan thing

Once Jason came home from work, we decided to hit up the gym together. Feeling as if lunch would probably be burned off, I reached for a last-minute snack before heading out of the door. Grapes and a handful of walnuts. (I promise more variety after the grocery shopping trip!)

At the gym:

• 100 crunches using exercise ball
• 40 side planks (each side)
• 3 sets of 15 incline push-ups
• 3 mile run (in under 30 minutes!!) <–Had terrible indigestion during this run. Blegh.

Besides the my tummy hurting during the run (I blame the fast eating at lunch time!), it ’twas a pretty good gym trip Once home, I threw some lentils into a huge pot for our Indian-inspired dinner! Fragrant red lentils with rice (and naan for Jason ).  Recipe link: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000222715  — simply take out the butter to make it vegan, but even if you aren’t vegan this is a great, filling vegetarian recipe!

My plate (accompanied with veggies):

Side note: Your house will smell amazing after cooking this! All of the spices used are so warm and enticing!

Dessert: There was none. Unless you count a cup of sleepy-time tea – flavored with candy cane – as dessert

So how was my first day as a vegan?

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This morning I didn’t really know why I wanted to become a vegan. I knew that it would, in some way, be more humane to animals. I also knew that, in some way, it would be better for the environment. I just didn’t know why or how. I’ve done research since then and though this is going to be a learning process for me (until I get the hang of it), I do not feel regret for choosing to live this way. After reading numerous articles on the effects that factory farming has on animals and our planet, I have never been more sure of my decision.

I know that some people may see this as strange, extreme or ridiculously restrictive, but it isn’t to me. For me, it will be a lifestyle. Do I think veganism is for everyone? Absolutely not.

Do I think the world would be a better place if we consumed less meat than we do now? Yes, I do. But I will never, ever push my beliefs on another person. I think that if someone is interested in making a lifestyle change like this, the best thing they can do is research, research, RESEARCH. Make an educated decision.

This kind of reminds me of the talk I had with Jason while we were eating dinner. Though he supports me, he admits that he doesn’t really understand why I’m going vegan. That it seems like “torture” not to eat cheese. Or that it seems like a “pain” to have to check every ingredient in our everyday foods just to see if they contain animal products. But after sitting down with him on the couch and showing him some of the articles I read that explain veganism and why people go vegan, he understood a little better.

I don’t ask that you adopt my lifestyle. I ask that you have an open-mind and try not to judge me for the decisions I make. The fact that I am probably the only vegan in a 30 mile radius is kind of hard, especially in the city I live in. I know people won’t understand it and that I may have to do a lot of explaining and defending, but that is alright with me.

All in all, I’m happy that I’ve started this journey. It feels freeing, and  I feel like more wholesome person. And I can’t wait to share the rest of the week with you! Thanks for being so supportive guys! I need all of the support I can get right now!

If you’ve ever made a major lifestyle change, please share! How did it affect you and those around you?

Hi BLOG!  I’ve missed you, have you missed me?

I never realise how much writing is a stress-reliever for me until I stop writing! (Or until I start grinding my teeth during my sleep…NOT a good thing.) I get in the mood every few months or so when I just need to take a bloggie break. Well, now I’m done I’m sure there are no readers left on this thing, but that’s ok. I kind of like to think that I’m writing to myself because it keeps me honest!

A quick update from the world of Stacey:

• My internship at the YMCA is finished
• I have 2 more days of Chemistry before I am completely done and ready to graduate!!!!!
• I’ve made A’s on all 4 of my chem exams (I’m also starting to wonder if Chemistry is  just “my thing”…because -dork alert!- I love it.)
• I spend almost half of my day looking for a job (still no luck, not even a phone call)
• Trixie keeps getting sick but she is on medicine and is acting fine as of right now

Um, I think that’s pretty much it!

People keep asking me if I’m excited about graduating…and the answer is……well, the answer is “YES”. But am I screaming from the rooftops? No, not yet. In my mind, I’ve already graduated. Now, if I get into University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, then HELL YEAH I’ll be screamin’ from the rooftops! I want into that school SO BAD it’s not even funny.

They only accept about 30 Registered Dietician students, and I am hoping to be one of them. Fingers, toes and eyes are crossed!

Moving on: Thanksgiving was pretty great. My family and Jason’s family got together (for the first time!). We ate a ton of food, rode on donkeys and laughed to our hearts content It was so nice to see my family. I consider our time together precious because we don’t really see each other that often.

In the past few weeks, Jason and I have grown even closer. What with me being jobless, money is a little tight and it has caused us to work together in saving and budgeting. Mushy moment ahead: I am so grateful to have him in my life. Not only has he been supporting me financially (when need be), he has also been my cheerleader while  I look for a job. And I need that right now.

So thanks babe

Okay! Mushy moment is over. Sorry for that

Moving on (once again): These past few weeks have provided me with ample amounts of thinking time. My main thoughts: “Where do I want my career to go?” And these are some of the options I am tossing around in my noggin:

• start my own business
• become a personal trainer while going to school to be an RD
• become a yoga teacher <–I’ve actually had like 3 dreams where I was a yoga instructor! Crazy, huh?
• write a book (it would have nothing to do with fitness or healthy lifestyle, by the way)

That’s where I’m at right now. I’m kind of leaning towards starting my own business (home-based) but I have no idea how to go about doing that! So if any of you are entrepreneurs and have some advice, please give it!!

My lifestyle hasn’t changed that much in the past few weeks. Jason and I went to Maryland for a few days for business and lookie at what I found!

A Dunkin’ Donuts of course! I went there 3 times during our 3-Day stay in MD This trip was truly a health challenge. The room we were staying in only had a refrigerator and a microwave. We lived off of Trader Joes frozen dinners and instant oatmeal cooked in disposable cups. By the time we left, my stomach was in knots from all of the processed food I’d been eating. Get this girl some fresh greens and ripe fruit, stat!

As for my fitness, I kept it up!

Using the hotel furniture as my equipment, I was able to do step-ups, chair dips and planks.

I was also able to squeeze in a few jumping squats (much to the dismay of the person in the room below us), push-ups and bicycle crunches. Oh, and tons of Food Network and HGTV watching as well .

I guess you could say that I’ve done a lot of soul-searching these past few weeks. I’ve spent time creating new goals for myself, and pondering the goals that I am about to achieve (school).

A few of my new goals are:

• To run a marathon this year (just like the yoga dreams, I also have been having marathon dreams!)
• To expand my knowledge in fitness
• To pass my DTR exam in Feb, and then apply to UMDNJ in March
• To get a job I am mostly happy with, and not settle for Burger King
• To keep up my dog’s health as much as I can
• To find creative outlets and set fewer boundaries on what I think I can’t do
• To be happy

What do you think? Too long? Nahhhhhhh. It’s the perfect size for me!

You know what’s weird? The dreams!

Three times I’ve gone to bed only to have a dream where I am in a yoga studio wearing cute yoga clothes, my students in down dog all around me. I’m walking through and correcting their poses while telling them to “relax” and “let the stress of your day roll from your back, down to your arms and melt onto your mat”. I’m starting to wonder if it’s a sign. The dream is the same every.single.time.

(source)

Yoga has become a big part of my life. I’m shocked by how much I love it. It’s spiritual for me. Just like running, only in a different way. I finish a run craving the athleticism of it; with yoga, I finish craving the calm and peacefulness feeling of the practice. Yoga let’s me forget about not having a job.

It lets me forget about Trixie’s recurring illness. I focus on the postures and breathing, and not what is going wrong in my life.

Every week Jason gives me $5 so that I can attend a hot vinyasa power class at Y2Yoga. I anticipate that class as much as I anticipate my runs It’s an hour of sweaty, good-for-the-heart exercise that I look forward to all week long.

My side crows pose still needs a bit of perfecting but I’m working on it. Thank you YouTube videos for showing me the move step-by-step! My non-fractured chin thanks you

Anywho, time to jump off of here and clean up a bit! I’ll be back soon…perhaps with a giveaway??? Stay tuned!

P.S. I finished “Same Kind of Different as Me”  and it was a tear-jerker!! I cried pretty much throughout the whole book! Twas very inspiring and I’m glad that I read it, it changed my views on a lot of things. Go read it!

Next, I will be reading this:

Have you read it? If so, tell me what you think!

See ya later bloggies, and if you are in an area where it’s freezing: Stay warm!

I haven’t written in forever! I should probably take that last post down, but I’m not gonna. It helps me to write about things and that’s how I was feeling at the time, so it shall stay posted

Oh- I’m feeling a lot better about the whole situation (by the way). Jason and I had a long talk the other night, and afterward I felt truly lucky to have someone support me as much as he does. He supports everything I do without question, he is my personal cheerleader and believes in me 100%, that’s why I love him I know that there are opportunities out there that are just waiting for me, so I’m not going to give up!

And that’s that.

Last weekend, I took a much-needed vacation so that I could go see my best friend in GA! The drive down there was full of beautiful fall trees….

Yummy food and the best coffee on Earth..

*Seriously Dunkin Donuts- let’s get together and make some great things happen..mkay? Mkay!*

(So I stopped twice! What of it?? )

I spy with my little eye…

A giant butt-crack! Oh wait. It’s just the SC peach tower

There were hugs to be had once I arrived!

Heather and I have been friends since we were 9 years old and now we’re all grown up! She is now married with 2 adorable little boys. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were playing out dramatic scenes with our Barbie dolls on her bedroom floor

The weekend away was just what I needed. Her little boy is such a charmer….

and her husband? Well he is certainly…interesting…to say the least Haha!

We went shopping, out to dinner and had some girl talk late in the night (just like old times!) and on Sunday it was time for me to go back home. I hit the road (passed the giant butt-crack once again) and arrived home 3.5 hours later to find a small package awaiting me in the mailbox!

I love surprise packages

Remember my Deodorant 101 post? No? Well, I’ll do a small recap:

I have yet to find a deodorant that can hold up during a tough, sweaty workout. I’ve tried every women’s deodorant out there, none of them have been able to pass my no-stink, no-sweat test. In the post, I expressed my desire to find a deodorant that will not stain my shirt, will not leave me stinking and will not leave me with sweaty pit stains after an intense cardio session. Trips to the gym have been skipped because I’ve been so embarrassed about all of these things!

The folks over at Secret deodorant saw the post and offered me a chance to try one of their Clinical Strength products. This is one of the deodorants I have never tried, and I figure: What have I got to lose? What I’m using right now is not working, so why not give it a shot?

I opened up the package and not only found a sample of the deodorant but a ITunes gift card too! How nice

Also with it was a nice letter that said: “….these two things used together, and we think you will have the perfect run!” Awww, they are so sweet. And yes, I am hoping to have a great run!

Jason and I have scheduled a trip to the gym once he comes home from work. Will Secret keep me sweat/stink-free during my 5 mile run tonight? We shall see! (I’ve already stuck my nose up to the top of the deodorant and it smells amazing! (It’s the “Marathon Fresh” scent <–love that name!)

As for right now – my insomnia has been a little bad this week ( 10 hours of sleep total for the past three days) so I think I may try to take a cat nap before Jason gets home in an hour! Check back Friday if you want to know whether Secret is a winner…or if I ran out of the gym because everyone was yelling “Stinky Stacey!” at me

Hope you guys are having a great week, it’s almost the weekend! Hang in there! See ya later taters

Happy Halloween!

I’m not usually a “Halloween” person. It’s not one of the holidays that I look forward to the most…not like Thanksgiving or July 4th! But this year, I was feeling the urge to dress up, go dancing and just have fun. I had no idea what I wanted to dress up as or where I wanted to go, but I know that I wanted to do something.

All of my initial costume ideas involved fruits or vegetables At first I wanted to be mashed potatoes and have Jason be gravy. Then he expressed concerns about looking like a turd, so that went out the window. My next idea? Peas and carrots. Then Jason said “How come everything you want to be has to do with food??”

Ummmm…. ? Because I love it?? I didn’t realise that I was only mentioning food items, so I asked him “What do YOU wanna be?” His answer: Zombies!

And so it was.

Whitney sent me an invite for a Halloween party at a restaurant/lounge in Charlotte that very same day! We now had costumes and somewhere to go! Hooray!

Jason got off of work and we set out to get makeup for our zombie faces…Party City was crazy yo. It was packed with kids and parents all over the place!

After that stressful trip, we headed home to get ready!

Zombie makeup is hard to do I watched two YouTube videos on how to do it, but the makeup kept caking up and drying too fast. I had to start over twice! (We don’t really have any pics before we got ready because we both had makeup all over our hands!) Jason was in charge of making our clothes bloody, so I gave him my white shirt and he took it out into the yard to work his magic on it.

Two hours later, and after a fast dinner (where I ate standing up at the kitchen counter) we were finally done! The end result:

Rawrrr…I wanna eat your flesh. (My makeup is done like I have a black eye, but oh well..maybe that’s how I died and became a zombie? )

Zombie pose:

Leave it to a guy to put blood on a shirt and he will always find the perfect spot (Hence the bloody handprints on my boobs)

Time to go! We made the 45 minute drive into Charlotte for a Halloween party at Andrew Blair’s. I was a little nervous when we got there because the people who were going into and coming out of the place weren’t in costume, but inside it was a different story

After getting through the door, we got a beer and looked around for Whitney. Found her!

Can you guess who she is? I’ll give you a hint:

“Blah, blah blah. Zazazaza talkin’bout.”

She did a pretty great job, no?! Can you believe that it didn’t cost her any money?! Cute, very cute. And I LOVED the braid. As the night went on it sort of became a weapon (she kept slinging it around HAHA)

After my second beer (says the girl who can hardly finish one drink on a normal night) it was time to hit the dance flo’ fo’ sho’.

Jason and I danced for a good hour before taking a break. All of the costumes were amazing! It was fun to try to guess who people were. My two favs:

This guy was a one-night stand, haha! And this next one was just plain hilarious:

Tiger Woods! Oh, and I also liked the Semi-Pro dudes…

Hehe

Jason and I were the only people there that were bloody/creepy looking! All of the girls were dressed sort of sexily (not sure if that’s even a word) and most of the guys picked a character to be. There were a surprising amount of Star Trek people there! I didn’t mind that I was the only bloody girl I had fun doing the make up and ripping up an old shirt!

 There was a girl in the bathroom that said: “I can’t believe you wore blood. Blood is never sexy!”

Hmmmmm..my first reaction: HO-BAG! DID ASK YOU?! You won’t be sexy either once I shove your face in the toilet! But I just kind of let it roll off of me and went back to the dance floor where MY BOYFRIEND (that always thinks I’m sexy) was waiting for me

Jason and I grooved on the dance floor some more, while I had my third beer and a mixed drink…I never ever go out drinking or dancing so instead of feeling guilty about all the calories (or money) that was being consumed, I just went along with it and had fun We danced to “Teenage Dream” and “Push It” by Salt-n-Peppa Have I mentioned how much I love music??

Around 1:30 a.m. we decided it would be smart of us to head back home…because after all, I DID have a 5k to be at at 7 in the morning!! Yikes!

And you guessed it: I was feeling totally unreal when my 6 a.m. alarm clock went off….

My head hurt, my body hurt, my mouth tasted disgusting, but there was no way I was going to miss the race! The director of Girls on the Run paid for my registration so that I could be a running buddy for my old team so I HAD to be there, and I wanted to be too! I couldn’t wait to see them!

I drove back to Charlotte, got stuck in traffic near the race and after 30 minutes of bumper-to-bumper traffic, I was finally told to park in a field. The sun was coming up and it was beautiful

The CLT runway 5k race was held at the Charlotte-Douglas airport. The course was mapped out along the runway and it was really neat because as you were running, you could watch planes land and take off on nearby runways!

But, I’m getting ahead of myself:

I felt like pooh:

No reason in wallowing in agony! I put my best attitude forward and proceeded to the registration pick-up table.

After putting on my number, I started to look around for my school.

Nothing.

I checked with the registration table and the woman said that no one from that school had shown up yet.

Okay, so maybe they are all stuck in traffic? The traffic was pretty bad, I heard that a lot of folks missed the race because they didn’t get to park until it was too late.

I waited and waited. I checked back at the table. Nothing. :/

Pretty soon it was time to line up at the starting line. I stayed toward the back so I could keep watch for my school’s sign, but it never showed. I decided to just run the race so the money wouldn’t go to waste, and as I ran, I encouraged any GOTR members that I thought might need it I’d find someone with GOTR shirts and run up beside them and say “You’re doing great! Keep it up!” or if I found some girls that were struggling, I’d say “You can DO this! You’ve got this!”  I’d like to think I encouraged them at least a little!

When the race was over, I tried to wait around so I could find out my finishing time. As soon as I saw how swarmed the results table was, I decided to leave. I needed a shower and my bed.

I drank some Gatorade and a bran muffin, but everything tasted disgusting! During the race I kept burping and acid would come up in my throat (gross!). There were a couple of times when I thought I’d puke up every drink I had the night before, but I managed to keep it down.

The drive back home was fast. I hopped in the shower, threw on some pj’s and went back to bed for 3 hours. Jason came in and woke me up for lunch. He was nice enough to treat me to a greasy, late breakfast (and much-needed coffee!!!!!) at Waffle House

Then we went to the store for milk and he surprised me with a pint of ice cream He sure knows the way to a girl’s heart

It’s been a fun weekend! I think that I’m off of beer for at least a week though, haha. Today I woke up, did Chemistry homework while sitting in my pj’s and watching Spongebob (no judging!). It’s been a good morning, but I think I want to run! Or strength-train at the gym? Who knows!

I’ll post my results as soon as they are online!

See ya!

Did you see any cool costumes this weekend?? I thought the Tiger Woods one was great! Haha

PS. I did end up getting my pumpkin iced coffee on Friday, in case you were wondering! Coffee and me photo:

Cheeeeseeeeee!

Thank goodness it’s finally here! My week has been a little boring, but I still have some random thoughts brewing in my brain, so why not blog about’em??

The most exciting things I’ve done this week include:

Riding the bike while watching “Friday”… (my favorite part is when Smokey gets set up on a blind date with that girl’s friend that supposedly looks like “Janet Jackson”)

..And giving my stinky dog a bath. Does washing a 55 lb. dog count as exercise? No? Well it should. It’s been 2 months since her last bath (I know! I know! I feel terrible..no hate mail please Sometimes things like that just get pushed to the side, but now she is clean and happy)

I think she was ready for one too, she practically jumped into the tub…and she even gave me a few kisses on the face while I was washing her

The worst, most cumbersome part? Grooming her afterwards!

“Rawwwrrrrrrrrrr”

That’s the Hair Monster. He comes around all the time, hiding in sneaky places like under the couch and in corners of the kitchen. And he stays for days. Especially after Trixie-bear has just had a bath. I have to brush and brush and brush her to get all of the fur off! She’s a golden retriever/chow mix…does that give you an idea of the amount of fuzz we have around here??

That’s pretty much all of I’ve done this week except for Chemistry, my internship and working out. I update my Activity Log on a regular basis, be sure to check there if you’re wondering what my workouts have been like!

Exciting things that haven’t happened yet:

• Today is my iced coffee day! I allow myself to get one iced coffee a week, and today is the day! I think I may even add a shot of pumpkin to it
• This afternoon I get to hang out with my preggo friend (she’s due next week!). We are going to the bookstore to look at trashy celebrity gossip magazines!
• Tomorrow (at 7 a.m.) I get to run a 5k with my old Girls on the Run team Can’t wait to see them again!
• I have 2 product reviews coming up for the blog, and one involves a “How-To” tutorial
• My first Vlog is coming soon! You guys will get to hear my sweet southern accent along with my terrible grammar, haha

The other day when I was working the fitness floor at my internship, I had a random thought pop into my head:

What makes a person a runner, and not a jogger? Is there a difference in the two? Is a runner a person that runs at a faster speed on every run? Do you think any person that gets out there and runs is a runner? Should there be a difference in the two?

I’m wondering this because the other day I was on a run (or jog?) and someone asked me “How did your jogging go?” Ummm…my what? I’m a runner, darn it! Just because I run 10:30 minute miles, am I now classified as a jogger? Do “joggers” run two half-marathons in one year? What’s your input?

Anywho, I better get off of here and get to cleaning my house. I have to get ready for school in a little bit…..though, I kind of wish that I was on a boat. With my swim-trunks and my flippie-floppies.

“This boat is REAL!” “F*@# oak trees, I climb buoys motherf***er” Bwhahahahahaha Now that should start your Friday off right!

This past week has just been so……off. You ever have one of those weeks when you don’t feel like exercising at all? For some reason, my appetite has been nonexistent as well. :/ Weird.

I think the stair-climbing that took place last Sunday was a bad idea. Well, let me rephrase that: I should have picked a different work out. My legs and butt muscles hurt all week..it really did a number on me. The yoga session we did on Wednesday at the Blend party was very much-needed, but my muscles were still sore the next day. The soreness didn’t go away until Friday

So, in a nutshell: I’m just now getting back on track with my exercising! It’s really weird though because I haven’t felt hungry in 2 days. Of course I’ve been eating and what-not, but my stomach hasn’t growled or anything.

Today I did a 4.5 mile run with some muzzzzaaaacccc :D It was a slow run, and kind of mentally challenging because Jason wasn’t there with me and I had a billion things to do today and that’s pretty much all I thought about during my workout. Don’t ya hate that? Luckily, I had my handy dandy running playlist to accompany me! (Loving some Rhianna lately!)

And that’s my playlist What’s on your playlist?

I usually like classic rock when I’m running, but I like rap and girly songs when I am strength training! Anywho, moving forwards….

This weekend was a pretty busy one (aren’t they all?! ) but guess what???? I slept for 11 hours on Friday night!!!! My body’s war with insomnia was full-fledged last week, most nights I only slept for about 4-5 hours. (That could explain why I didn’t feel like exercising!) On Friday night I was exhausted. Jason and I did some quick strength-training at the gym, but my heart wasn’t into it. We watched a movie later that night and I crashed. Out like a light. I woke up the next morning at 10:30 a.m.!! Can you believe it?! I haven’t slept in that late since high school!

It was pretty cool Saturday was devoted to us. No homework, no chores, no work. Just “us” time.

We decided to go to our favorite deli for lunch: H&M Deli in Cramerton! –Seriously guys, if you are ever in my neck of the woods, go here.–

I took pics of the decor while we waited for our order to be called out

I ordered my usual: the Mediterranean salad (mixed greens, artichokes, roasted red peppers, egg, cucumber, feta cheese, onion, minus the black olives) with raspberry vinaigrette dressing on the side.

Nomnomnom. It was yummy (as always!). Annnndddd Jason and I also shared our usual dessert: Carrot cake!

Guess what, carrot cake? You’re goin’ down. Haha

After eating lunch we decided to go look at laptops (since we’ll be needing one when I start the R.D. program this summer!!), but what seemed like a normal laptop-looking afternoon suddenly took a turn for the worse….dundundundunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!! <–insert scary music here

WTH? I turn around from the computers to find my boyfriend squatting on the floor looking under a washing machine. Oh dear God, it’s happening. We are going to be in here for hours! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Jason is butt-face crazy about appliances. It’s his job to work with appliances (and he is quite good at it, if I say so myself ) so anytime we go somewhere that has any sort of appliance…it’s over. The man can spend hours looking at them as if they were pieces of art.

Before I could start whining about how I’m tired though not really and my feet hurt though not really and about how I think I’m coming down with something, like malaria or typhoid fever, I see my obsession peeking at me from behind a refrigerator.

Is…Is that a cabinet?

And…and a stainless steel stove?

Oh myyyy…and…and a stainless steel fridge??

And a whole play kitchen just for me?!

Yipppeeeeee! Honey, take as long as you want. I’m gonna play pretend while you look at washers and dryers

*Sigh* One day…one day I will have a great kitchen (not that I don’t already, but one day I’ll be able to have it my way! Just like Burger King)

We finally picked out a laptop! Since both of us are going to be online students this summer, it’s definitely a must-have.

It’s 11:30 p.m. right now.

A book and my cozy bed are calling!

A-ble-ble-ble, that’s all folks!

Ugh. I’ve had a pretty cool weekend, but my stupid camera is doing weird things! So no pics of any of it Every time I would try to snap a picture it would cut off! So then I would charge the batteries, but they refuse to charge. So…RAWR. Maybe it’s because we’ve had them for the past 5 years and they are finally just dying on us…never to be brought back to life again *Sniff Sniff* Boo hoo!

Anywho, guess what?!

I got me some glasses <–I’m meaning to use bad grammar by the way

Whatcha think?? You like? Don’t worry. The sticker on the left lens is temporary! Hehe

It took me over an hour to find a pair that I thought were semi-cute. And these were it. So there you have it

Oh and I was also able to take a picture of the most fantastic dinner I’ve ever made. Friday night was deemed Southern Dinner Night for two reasons:

1. I wanted southern comfort food.
2. I wanted southern comfort food.

But the “healthy” version of course!

On the menu for our southern fare (said in a southern drawl):

Cajun Black-Eyed Peas and Greens (source)

• 1 (14 oz.) can black-eyed peas
• 2  teaspoons  canola oil
• 2/3  cup  chopped onion (1 medium)
• 1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper (1/2 medium)
• 10  garlic cloves, pressed
• 1  (1-pound) package chopped fresh collard greens
• 2  teaspoons  Cajun seasoning
• 1  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  (32-ounce) carton fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  bay leaf

Boil potatoes in a large pot of water, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender and break easily. Drain. Using potato masher, mash potatoes. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper. Stir and serve.

Vegetarian Brown Gravy

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 can vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Preparation

Add all ingredients into a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir, cook until mixture thickens, stirring frequently.

And last but not least: The cornbread!

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. melted butter
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together wet ingredients into a bowl, dry ingredients into another. Combine all ingredients together. Spray 8 inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Pour ingredients into pan, baking for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Let cool. Serve hot with butter.

Oh. my. fanny.

This meal was the most delicious southern meal I think I’ve ever eaten. Not to toot my own horn or anything but………………TOOT TOOT! And there wasn’t any meat! Even without meat, the meal was very filling. All of the flavors went together so perfectly. Here is my plate!

Times this plate by 2 please Making the cornbread with honey really gives it a sweet and savory taste. I will definitely be making this meal again soon!

That’s all I was able to capture with the camera :/

If you must know, I spent Saturday volunteering a YMCA fundraiser and then went on a 3.5 mile run with Jason. He and Trixie had a snuggle session in the kitchen this morning:

I’m not really sure what is with our dog. This morning we wanted to eat outside so we took her out there with us. There is a tree over our house (resulting in bad lighting!) and the acorns fall onto the roof making a loud popping noise. Trixie is scared to death of loud noises. This morning she jumped when it happened and at first I thought it was a little funny because she’s such a scaredy dog, but then I saw that she was trembling uncontrollably from it Poor dog! She then started to hide under our chairs and table, almost knocking us and the table over! So we took her back in and ate in peace

That’s pretty much it for my weekend! I’m off to go buy batteries for the camera! And next time you see me, I’ll be inviting you in to take a look at my dojo!

Hope you guys had have (it’s not over yet!) a wonderful weekend! Thanks for all of the kind words on the last post