adventures of sister in blogland

sister's got a blog!

http://eatwiseanna.blogspot.com/

while my blog is about my life observations and/or the troubles i find myself in, her blog is more productive. she will be blogging about the paleo diet and exercise. to me, it (paleo, not the blog) sounds un-fun, but then i've never liked a diet, ever. no doritos, no deal. i gotta be me.

check her out!

p.s. sister, you may want to post again...

speaking of exercise, did i tell you i am running a half-marathon? becca, anna and i are all running the big d in dallas. i've never run more than 10 minutes straight on a treadmill in my life. currently, i'm up to 5 miles non-stop. i can't get over myself. i've made some other self-discoveries as well. i don't like to run indoors on a treadmill, and i'm getting really good at spitting. wish us luck april 15!

drowning in monotony

that title is not really true, but it feels that way. while i am on hold for MDES, thought i'd catch y'all up and explain my lackluster blogging in list form, because it makes me happy.

1. it's hot. and humid. it's mississippi.
2. i'm getting bogged down with life. work, working out, keeping up with life and the uncertainty that lays before us consume most of my time.
3. we started watching weeds. it's eating my life. i actually went on hiatus last week - it got that bad. plus, i'm a little upset with nancy at the moment, and felt i needed a break to regroup.
4. did i mention uncertainty? job uncertainty is not a good feeling. but it's allowing me to choose God over fear and stress every day, even though i must willingly turn my mind from the "what ifs" that abound hourly.
5. my summer schedule is jam-packed. i'll just give a quick rundown, in order of this weekend to august 13. hometown (shower for sister), hometown (party for sister), two free weekends, vegas (bach party for sister), nola (wedding), jackson (wedding), one free weekend and then sister's wedding here in smalltown. too bad we have to be out of our current home before august 1. yes, that is six events in the next nine weeks. in between that, we must move and find employment. did i mention my mother moved too? life is changing, and fast. i can barely keep up.

i hope i don't get pregnant anytime soon either. wouldn't that be awesome? then i'd be unemployed, homeless and knocked up at the end of the summer.

feelin' kinda funky

not in a good way, though. i'm stressed. there, i said it. so often i really try to be upbeat, optimistic, even if only to buck up my other half, who is also stressed. but i'm tired and kind of feel like just wallowing (anxiously, of course) in the stress.

stress affects everyone differently. the law student tends to neglect sleep and act like a zombie during the waking hours. incidentally, he's really been freaking me out lately with his excitement over the zombie apocalypse. there are reasons i don't watch scary movies - zombies are one of them.

as for me, i handle stress much differently. i want to do nothing but sleep all the time. i make half-hearted lists that are doomed to never be crossed off. i eat junk food and neglect exercise. therefore, i tend to feel crappy, fat, and groggy in addition to the stress, which only complicates things further.

it is a real effort for me to overcome stress, to do things that need to get done or make me feel better, because i just plain don't want to do anything. let's talk about yesterday, because it's a prime example of how stress makes me self-sabotage. i went home early yesterday from work. i felt stressed (you guessed right!) and really tired, plus i needed to look for jobs and wanted to take some time to do some stuff around the house. secretly i just wanted to read and nap, but i made a list: menu, grocery list, clean bathrooms, read Bible & pray, put up clothes, work out, walk roxy, call contact, job applications, vacuum, put up dishes, blog (look at me, crossing things off my list), fold clothes. know what i did? i walked roxy, made a grocery list and applied to three jobs. i had two hours off work and that's what i did, which means i have to do all the rest of that stuff today.

and the absolute worst consequence? i have not had any coffee today because we are out of coffee filters and i have not gone to get any. i feel like a zombie.

rox in box, aka friday post numero dos

ever try to do something good and have it turn out really wrong? me too. this wednesday. let me tell you how i managed to cause the maiming of my dog.

the law student and i had been bickering a bit this week, just generally getting on each other's nerves. or so i thought - he had no idea. men. so wednesday afternoon, i thought spending time together on a walk on our favorite trails would give us a good relationship re-charge. and it did, after he quit complaining about how he didn't want to go walking with me.

it is important to note that here in small town, i feel relatively safe leaving my keys in my car if i don't want to keep up with them. this only happens at the park and trails, mainly because i managed to lose a key in the grass once and here to the adage "trust in God but lock your car." you can see where this post is going.

we walked about 5 miles total, in a uncharacteristically chilly may evening. we arrive back at the car, only to find the doors locked, with the keys & phone (per usual) locked inside. it was getting darker, colder, and we were woefully underdressed. ben's comment: "i told you i didn't want to go walking with you." after waiting for someone to come off the trails, i found a kind bearded child (aka frat boy) with a bike and a pt cruiser (just seems like a funny combo to me) who let me use his phone to contact our landlord, who came to pick us up, take us home and unlock our house. we finally made it home around 9 pm, and i began making dinner. we rarely eat before 8 pm as it is, so it was pretty late even for us. wife of the year, right here.

i noticed roxy was acting strangely - walking in circles, sitting down & immediately standing up, laying down & tossing & turning, tucking her tail between her legs while staring up at me and just generally acting uncomfortable. we discovered some inflammation in her tail, but since it was so late at night, there was nothing we could do. poor roxy was so pitiful and obviously in pain and just couldn't get comfortable. so we put her in her box in our room and hoped for the best through the night. i just hated it for her.

yesterday she felt better, but still not good. i called the vet (whom we had just seen on monday and given $100) about it, and the law student brought her in. official diagnosis: dead tail. it's kind of like a sprain, or can happen after prolonged exercise or extreme temperature exposure. since we live in the south, roxy doesn't swim and is kind of a couch potato, we are pretty sure she injured in on our ride home in an unfamiliar car.

so, for the next 3 days, she has been prescribed complete rest and no excitement, otherwise she could lose the use of her tail. this means she must be confined to her roxbox and given pain medication (doggy aleve or something) twice a day. thank goodness it makes her sleepy. on monday we can let her out of the box, but no exercise for 2 more weeks. she is pretty pissed that her life sucks right now. she likes to sleep in her box, but prefers to spend daytime hours lounging on the couch or her pillow palace* on the floor. poor roxyface.

rox + box = frowny face.



*this reference is for brooke and rebecca. i miss being a kid.

i feel a wussy wednesday coming on...

wednesday wussy, budget edition. please take the following post with a hunk of cheese, 'cause it's a whiner.

i do not like being on a budget. i do not like not being able to spend money without thinking about its very real impact on other areas of my life. oh, to be single again, and in a time not of economic recession, and saving all my dollahz for fun and frolic while living off daddy's charge accounts. all i'd have to do is not eat much for a while and save up and then purchase away, guilt-free, and worry about it later. the only reason i even got a job in college was for dating purposes. plane tickets to see the law student cost money, and i'm pretty sure the parents would not have footed that bill.

enter marriage (or heck, even just adulthood). budgeting is hard. it's hard for two people living on one paycheck, even with some familial assistance. it's hard to cancel travel plans because of rising gas prices, or choose to cook at home instead of going out for dinner. it's hard when you're having a wardrobe crisis and you can't really afford to revamp it, only mix pieces differently. thankfully, my weight has not drastically changed since college, or i'd really be in the hole! of course, even if i didn't have a budget, i probably still would be a bad shopper and just as indecisive to boot. but that's a separate problem.

but a budget is necessary. my paycheck only contains x amount of money, and we have to make it work, and we have to do it together. fighting about money is not an option in our marriage - we flat-out refuse to do it. we reached this decision before marriage, thankfully, and not after an issue arose. our personal budget is pretty simple. i bring home a paycheck (yes, ben adds whatever he makes too), the law student faithfully designs our budget, and i trust his judgment. even though i work for a CPA, i could not make or stick to a budget on my own. i can barely work my calculator, and have never balanced my checkbook! this way, we control our finances instead of them controlling us and plan for expenses ahead of time. we work to balance wants and needs, the fun things and the necessary ones, so that we're not crying at the end of every month and/or up to our ears in credit card debt. budgeting is a great discipline and though uncomfortable at times, it is good for us and keeps us making smart choices in how we use our money.

unfortunately, insurance, groceries and bills take precedence over fancy nights out, wardrobe updates and gifts. and that's about where i am right now. sigh.


in other news: i'm working out in the mornings (i'm as surprised as you are), the law student is semi-employed and in an office of his own, entertainment icon elizabeth taylor has died, and i found out roseanne barr lives on a nut farm.

blog vomit

i feel like i've been holding back all the things i really would like to blog about, but can't because of the effort i'm putting into this blog challenge. have you seen the pictures i've put up on here?? time. consuming.

i've got to get this stuff off my chest.
so, in no particular order, general musings/rants about life incidents.


i've joined a gym, in addition to the pilates studio. here's to getting my skinny on.

the law student is still cleaning like cinderella as we wait on job leads to ripen. i'm not complaining, but i still feel kind of usurped.

i made 160 dream cookies last night. i'm going to have to frost those suckers tonight. find the recipe on my blog by clicking on the label "dream cookies."

i'm already getting excited/anxious about the upcoming travel schedule and workload for the next week, with our last home football game and thanksgiving, then back home for one more football game. we are road warriors!

i'm a little pissed at small town and its recent dog leash law incidents. just because someone fell over and broke their wrist doesn't mean my little roxyface is in any way capable of malicious, unprovoked bloodlust or general rowdiness. and who are all these people that think the park is a dangerous place because of dogs? where did y'all come from? i've been going to this park daily for over 3 years - you must be talking about some other place. they're dogs, not hellhounds from the seventh circle. they like to run. i'm pretty sure i can manage my own dog, without a police officer in a golf cart riding around to see if roxy's off her leash or not, thankyouverymuch.

i've always been sort of a closet sci-fi fan, but chose instead to tease the law student about his extensive fantasy book collections. until i started reading one series. consider me out.

whew, i feel better.

youth in revolt

getting old sucks. and as daddy always says, when i complain about it, "hang on, it'll get worse."

awesome.

complaint #1: wonky hip. i do not remember this being a problem until college, when i realized it felt weird to sit indian style. my right leg does not turn out all the way and sometimes feels like it's going to pop out of place when i run more than half a mile. but i hate running, so this sometimes works in my hip's favor.

complaint #2: mybackaches. mybackaches when i stand up washing dishes. mybackaches when i do pilates too much. mybackaches when i lean over to bathe the roxy. mybackaches when i stay in one position too long and then move to another. i am in constant need of a chiropractor and/or a good massage.

complaint #3: my inability to stop inexplicably saving glass jars. i'm turning into my mother.

complaint #4: gray. hair. s. they're multiplying. oh, and random other hairs in socially inappropriate places, like the end of my chin. oddly enough, my hair is getting darker, on its own. everyone keeps asking me if i've colored it - not since july 4th. think it may have to do with the vitamins? does iron turn your hair darker? i have no idea.

complaint #5: adult acne. this sucks. at this moment, i not only have multiple small pimples on my face, but also a big mean monster zit inside my ear. it hurts. a lot. it hurts to smile. and i have to grit my teeth every time i try to pop it because 1) it is impossible and 2) it will throb for 30 minutes afterwards. an ear pimple reduces me to tears, and i'm supposed to be able to give birth?

also, what are these light brown spots on my face?

complaint #6: metabolism = FAIL. i can still fit in my clothes, but don't always feel great in them. it's like russian roulette every morning. ice cream is my biggest enemy, and i really hate running. it seems like working out is set on devouring what little personal time i have every day. and you'd think at this point, i'd have learned that eating like crap all weekend and not working out doesn't make a happy monday.

complaint #7: i can have informed conversations with my grandmother about the efficacy of different laxatives.

complaint #8: i can no longer drink whiskey. not sure that this really counts as a complaint, per se, but i don't like being told what to do.

facelift and a recipe

a new look for my blog! you like?

i still need a cute header that matches, maybe with a photo. and for the life of me, i cannot figure out how to add a photo under the "about me" section. help, please. thanks!

let's do a diet and exercise update, shall we? where did i leave off? saturday? boy, do we have some catching up to do! i did not work out at all saturday and ate leftovers for lunch, followed by dinner out with dad at boure. sunday, after church, we had salad and macaroni and cheese, then i taught pilates, went to the gym for over an hour (yay me!), and cooked steaks with veggies for dinner while the law student slept through most of the super bowl. we're miami dolphins fans.

monday, i blew it. yogurt, coffee, and peanut butter crackers at work, and then--kaboom. no exercise. for dinner: raisins, fritos and french onion dip, and a bowl of cereal. after a nap, i had fritos and french onion dip again, followed by a bunch of raisins. yesterday was better. an apple, 2 fun size candy bars at work, then dinner: beef, cheddar and potato pie (and a twix ice cream bar. shut up). i walked roxy in the freezing cold and went to the gym too. i have high hopes for today too. i'm down one pound already. i know it could be anything--water retention, scale, empty stomach vs. full--but i'll take it.

i know you're still interested in that beef, cheddar and potato pie--it's the law student's new favorite dish. i came home one afternoon to find it already placed in the cookbook stand next to the stove. so here's the recipe! you can look it up on rachelraymag.com, but i had adjust the amounts because i use a small pie pan or something. it's super, super easy and very tasty.

you'll need: 1 lb. ground beef, 1 carrot or a few baby carrots, 1 stalk of celery, 1 clove of garlic, a few small new or red potatoes, cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces, give or take), salt & pepper, 1 egg beaten with water, 1 dark beer (like samuel adams winter lager) and 2 cold puff pastry sheets (i used pepperidge farm--2 sheets to a pack) and a little flour.

first, preheat your oven to 375. heat a pan or skillet on medium high heat. chop your veggies and garlic and toss in. add the beef, breaking it up, and cook for about 10 minutes. lower the heat just a bit and add about half a cup of your beer (and drink the rest). add the cheddar cheese and stir. meanwhile, flour a surface and roll out one puff pastry sheet to a 12-inch round. i personally can never get mine round, but it still tastes the same. place this in a pie pan. roll out the other sheet in flour to an 11-inch round. toss your beef mixture into the pie pan. brush the egg wash onto the edges of the first pastry sheet. place the second sheet on top and crimp the edges together to seal. brush egg wash all over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil if the pastry crust darkens quickly.

day 2

the law student just came home with not one, but two twix ice cream bars. how mean is that?????

as promised....

diet: leftover crazy mexican chicken, only one serving of box mac & cheese, no twix ice cream bar (yet), zapp's cajun crawtators chips (love those things), turkey and cheese sandwich with mayo, one half a can of ginger ale and a pack of peanut butter crackers.

exercise: 1.1 hours cardio, ab work and some weights. not much though.

if the bulldogs don't win tonight, that twix bar may have to console me. if they do win, it might celebrate with me! i'm getting hungry just thinking about it. i am very upset with the law student right now.

me and my big mouth

my mouth keeps getting me into trouble. the scale has never consistently stayed above 115 for weeks (okay, months. shut up.) on end. i absolutely hate it. i have never really had to deal with weight issues--it's always been relatively easy for me to use mostly minimal or moderate effort to stay in shape. i've NEVER had to restrict my diet. or if i have, i don't remember and it must have been way easier, probably because i was too busy partying or working out to notice. i know my exercise quota is lower now, and my eating is up (part of being married is a hungry husband!), but man! i do pilates, walk the dog, have started to incorporate cardio--i'm hitting a wall here! and since all this extra is settling right onto my belly, it all comes back to my mouth. so, diet restrictions it is. and to keep me accountable, i'm going to blog what i eat. every day. i know you are about to pass out from all the excitement. here goes.

monday: coffee with cream and sugar (from now on, cwc&s), one slice roast pork with carrots and potatoes, spaghetti with meat sauce, 1 chik-fil-a chicken nugget dipped in polynesian sauce, and most of a chik-fil-a cookies and cream shake. it was not as good as regular cookies and cream ice cream. exercise: walked the rox 1.5 miles on the track.

tuesday: cwc&s, greek yogurt with strawberries, 1 pack peanut butter crackers, 1 slice american cheese and some raisins while waiting on dinner, spinach salad with carrots, tomatoes, croutons and ranch; rice; sauteed zucchini and some crazy mexican chicken dish i made: 1/2 chicken breast and a sauce made up of cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, roasted tomatoes and black beans. i tried to make fisherman's bake cod, but the fish was slimy after its defrost and stunk up the whole house, so we threw it out. i made this chicken dish up on the fly, and it turned out ok. i must remember it and improve upon it. exercise: walked roxy mostly 1.5 miles at the track, taught pilates for 1 hour, then 30 minutes on an elliptical.

not only does my mouth getting me in trouble by taking in too much, it also gets me in trouble by speaking too much. i am haunted by this passage in matthew 12.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

jesus is talking to the pharisees here, but i think it applies. i've heard the phrase, "you will be held accountable for everything you say, not necessarily in a court of law." and i believe it to be true. our words are a direct reflection of the condition and contents of our hearts. jesus speaks harshly of a sharp tongue, and also clearly spells out there is no room for neutrality or fence-flopping in Him. words have power. it's truly terrifying to me to think that every word i have uttered, every curse, every shred of gossip and untruth and meanness, with or without thinking, will be used to judge me in the end. and it should be enough to scare the impulse out of me. i have struggled with this recently and am now recommitting to speak truth and kindness, even when i deem it undeserved, because i am undeserving.