Reasons to Celebrate

I feel so incredibly lucky.  I spent Mother's Day weekend with my mom and sister in Chicago for some serious girl time.

After a long trip of planes,  trains,  and automobiles,  I met up with the pair of them at the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago.

We arrived just in time to see my girl Jillian Michaels. What better way to hear her message of "Maximize Your Life" than with two of my biggest supporters!

We learned about food and food quality (preaching to the choir on that one); exercise (I heard the phrase 'move your ass FASTER' in my head this morning; and probably the most impactful, the self-exploration session. As in, figure out your Why.  What is standing in your way. What destructive pattern are you playing out over and over. And why. A bit of light discussion :/ 

Saturday morning brought a leisurely brunch and then Spa Day!!!!! I have not had a massage since we went to Vegas and let me tell you - this did not disappoint. I think I need to go again because man was my lower back on the right side tender. Ever since I injured it a few years ago, it still flares up from time to time but I was really surprised how sore it was as she started working on it. Even after 70 lbs gone...I guess I just better keep going and strengthening the core and back! 

Saturday afternoon was a late lunch at Gage with Amy's friend Elizabeth, where apparently I ordered like a Korean because I chose five dishes...oops... Back to the hotel to drop of some stuff, then cabbed our way over to the Magnificent Mile Bloomingdale's to shop for a dress and shoes for Amy, and a new purse for Mom. 

We freshened up again to get ready for dinner at Trencherman...which also happens to be the first time Mom met Amy's new boyfriend. I think it went extremely well - the conversation flowed all evening!

Many hugs upon awakening on Sunday morning - it's Amy's birthday AND Mother's Day!!!  After an early rise to get to the airport on time, I was back in ATL for the afternoon.

Whirlwind but so worth it :)...love my family!

What to do when it's your birthday weekend

And you're determined to go camping but it's pouring rain.

1) Sleep in till 8:30AM
2) Take a long time to get dressed
3) Head to the bathroom but hang out with your honey under the overhang and watch it rain
4) Suit up with a poncho, head scarf, and umbrella to take a walk around the campground

5) Make lunch and eat by 11AM

6) Invent new names for the pop-up lake accumulating outside the door

7) Reject Lake Eloise (too ghostlike) and Lake Raven (too spooky) and settle on Lake Blackchair

8) Close eyes while waiting for birthday surprise

9) Woohoo!  Eat cake!!!

10) Open gifts - geocache swag doubling as a representative horse I am gping to learn to ride this year

11) Go for another walk while it's misting, not pouring

12) Try to rearrange outside chairs in hope of not floating away

13) Naptime...for one of us

14) Load up crockpot with chicken and veggies

15) Clean up a bit and read magazines

16) Go into town because you are a bit stir crazy and shop at the only place we could find...the Dollar Store

17) Have a Pizza Hut birthday pizza because it's STILL raining

18) Back to the campsite and tuck in for the night

32 looks good on me YALL!

An Amazing Rekindling

What an amazing vacation.

People use that term all of the time - but in this case, the Alumni Weekend was truly magical.

Starting off, Jeff and I flew in on Wednesday, April 17th to snow flurries on the ground.  We thought about upgrading our rental to a Tahoe or something like that, but decided we could get around just fine in the snow and ice in a Maxima.

After a super quick lunch at Taco Bell (YES CHURROS!!!!), we headed over to the SDSMT campus to take a look at the new ChE building(s) and talk to a few professors.  Man, oh man...that place has really changed since we went to school.  As Jeff said on way more than one occasion, "It looks legit."  Multiple labs, no scary White Elephant, air conditioning...it was really startling.  We had a really nice chat with a few professors as well, who gave us the skinny on happenings within the department and what other alumnae were up to.

Then we headed over to Old Gym...er new Music Building...to say HELLO to Dr. Feiszli and Michelle - who just happened to be some of the most influential people in my college life.  We got the GRAND TOUR of the new facility, practice rooms, offices, stage.  I think I said on more than one occasion, "It looks legit."  Truly impressive.

We checked into our hotel, then met Jason and Bobbie (Jeff's brother and wife) for dinner at - where else - Qdoba!  It was redecorated from the days when Jeff and I had puppy love, but the food still basically tastes the same :).

On Thursday morning woke up, hit the gym (WHOOP), headed over to campus for a late lunch at Grubby's, and more walking around before rehearsal started.  As folks starting trickling in for the Alumni Choir rehearsal there were many SCREECHES,  HUGS, HAIR FLUFFING, HANDSHAKES, HIGH FIVES, and general EXCITEMENT to see people for the first time in...5 years? 8 years? 10 years?  Then we all got on stage to make some pretty dang good music for old fogies...I think there were about 70 people that made it back, but from our little group back in the day, we probably had 10-15 and truly some of our bestest bestest best friends in attendance.  (Nikki, Jaaron and Megan, Jenny, Steve, Marci E, Marci M, Amanda, plus others listed later...)

Thursday night was a really cool after-hours event at Speakeasy, which is an underground bar of an establishment in Rapid City.  We had the whole place rented out, with drinks and apps, and spent some good time catching up.  Then the party moved to Paddy O'Neils where of course everyone drank a LEETLE too much...with overtones reminiscent of being 21 but with the bodies of 30-somethings (the recovery in the morning was tough).

Speaking of mornings, Angela, Aaron, Jeff, and I all decided to go to Perkins on Friday morning to help our aging, dehydrated bones recover with pancakes, eggs, toast, coffee...it was perfect.  We had a great time laughing about our lives, tearing up at some memories, and reconnecting.

Friday afternoon held more rehearsal time, and then THE BIG EVENT!  Four choirs, over 100 singers...and in case you missed it, here's the encore:

Friday evening was an after hours black tie event at the Vertex bar, atop the Alex Johnson hotel.  (More chatting, drinking, eating, and laughing!).

Saturday events began to wind down and after a nice breakfast, several of our group went over to our friends house to hang out: Tad, Kelli, and Olive; Isaac, Alison, and Brooke, Aaron; Angela, Abram, and Asher...it was a full house but so fun.  Almost like college days, but with a few more little feet running around.

Sunday we had brunch with Jason and Bobbie again before heading home for Atlanta.  Our flights went great - no issues - but we were mentally and physically exhausted.

It's overwhelming the deep love and respect I have for my friends from college.  Even now, I look back at the weekend with a sense of longing, and also gratitude for the events and experiences that brought us all together.  I miss you guys.

Support, Fitness Competition Style

A couple weeks ago, I headed to Chi-town (Chicago) to support my friend Morven compete in a fitness competition. 

We have a little "group" that talks about fitness, workouts, nutrition, trends, and is one of the BEST support systems around!!!!!!!!!!!  So it was so exciting for me to see her hard work pay off (finally).  (She's been signed up and then moved dates for like, 6 months.)

I have to be honest, it was one of the coolest, and also a bit weird, things I have witnessed. 

We started out at the morning competition, where all of the judging occurs.  There were thousands (not literally) different categories - fitness, figure, men's, women's, by age, by height...lots and lots of categories!  And the folks came on stage only in groups of 4-5 people.

Which meant tons of different bodies, shapes, sizes - all BUFF though.  Here's an example of one of the men's categories:

Although extremely lean, fit, and strong, these guys do not look too crazy huge to me.  This was a "Natural" bodybuilding federation - meaning no drugs and limited supplements.  My friend even had to take a lie detector test!  (The weirdest question: "Have you ever lied to the police to get a friend in trouble?".  Hm.)

After lots of watching and waiting, and giggling at some of these things with my sissy, and seeing some WAY too dark of spray tans and sweat, it was SHOWTIME!  (she's on the left)

Unfortunately, my phone's camera sucks.  And I wanted to scream and cheer more than I wanted to take photos.  So that's all I have.  Except for this one, post-morning judging:

What an awesome cheering section - most of us all the way from ATL!!! 

A special shout-out to the sisters in the group - my sister Amy for attending (I think her feminist butt puckered often throughout the day) and Morven's sister Sho for hosting all of us at her house during the afternoon!

What is the white space for?

I have been busy.

Like, really busy.  At work.  (Not complaining though.  Seriously.  It's tough, but manageable.  Sort of.)

Let me explain...

I was asked to participate on a special project - which turned out to be manning a colleague's desk and daily responsbilities while they are working on the special project.

I am truly not complaining.  It's actually kind of fun (I really like learning new things).  It's tough, but manageable.  Sort of.  Let me explain the situation further...

Last year I volunteered for a role that has expanded into a 2-year stint.  Originally the scope of the role was a bit o' reporting and some trade shows.  This year a different vision has been set forth, which includes acting as a conduit of a bunch of activity (ie, lots more work that I had first signed up for).

Again, not complaining. It's tough, but manageable. Sort of.

It's all good stuff. 

The problem is the white space.  Or lack of it.

The white space is the "negative space" on a written page.  It exists so our eye doesn't get overwhelmed, so we can communicate clearly, so people pay attention.

All of this "other stuff" crowds out the margins on the page.  Makes the font size smaller.  Eliminates the photos.  Creeps into the white space.

And now I have no room in the margins to scribble my notes, to put things in ALL CAPS when required, and turn memories into photos.

That's good stuff too.

My Trip to LA

LA in this case means...Lower Alabama (sort of).  Our 2nd trip of the year was at Florence Marina State Park, about 2 hours south of us, west of Fort Benning, right on the Georgia-Alabama state line, bumped up against the Chattahoochee River.  Still don't know where we were?  That's ok.  It was literally the middle of NO-WHERE.

No problem, though, because...

Of course, we forgot a couple things...and surely there was a town nearby to pick them up.  NOPE!  Jeff coined it, "Lumpkin: Where hope goes to die."  There was barely gas in the nearby town, let alone some last minute meds and creams we needed (ugh, don't ask).

ANYWHO, we had a great site, off of the water.  Not super shady, though, and definitely can see how HOT and HUMID it probably gets during the summer.  The gators don't mind the weather, and that means it's a fishing and boating (not swimming) kind of place if you ask me!

On Saturday, we headed just a few miles down the road to Providence Canyon State Park.  It was magnificent.

You could hike around the rim, or down into the canyone and squish through the sandy, running water of any of 6 canyon hikes.  So cool!  Unfortunately, "someone" (me) forgot the camera so this is the only photo we have.  This is definitely a must-do-again trip.

Finally, on Sunday we picked up THREE geocache logs hiking the nature trail by the water - and also set a new Travel Bug out into the wild.  Travel well good buddy!

Camping Meals

Eating healthy and going camping do not have to be mutually exclusive.  I know it seems counter intuitive (hot dogs, smores, chips) but you can still remain committed to eating healthfully while roughing it. Combine that with my two favorite activities (hiking and swimming, not napping and watching Homeland) and your weekend will be perfectly on plan!

Here are some easy camping weekend meals to get you started.  Oh, and seriously, just buy a Coleman stove and a nonstick pan.  And white gas and a lighter.

Friday night arrival - it's late and you're hungry. Whip these up super fast!

Egg salad sandwiches plus Cheetos (Jeff) and crudites (Jess)
- make with light wheat bread and light Miracle Whip, and boil the eggs on Thursday night with your awesome microwave egg cooker

Shredded pork sandwich plus chips or canned baked beans
- cook a pork loin in the crock pot while you're at work on Friday (1 tsp oil in the bottom plus Rendevous seasoning, dump and cook on low 6-8 hrs), then pack it in a container to heat and shred in a pan with bbq sauce upon arrival!

Ravioli with sauce
- Boil water, add ravioli and cook, strain, add jarred sauce

Beef Tacos
Cook beef and add seasoning...make tacos with all the fixins or just cheese (however you like)

Saturday lunch...trail lunch of nuts and/or protein bar, or one of the below ideas

Saturday dinner...presumably you have some time but who wants to spend more than 30 minutes cooking?

Salmon and couscous - pan fry plus boxed mix and a salad
Jambalaya with brussel sprouts - use frozen already cooked chicken and sausage to speed things up
Spaghetti - see ravioli description
Chili and fritos - the 4 can dump method
Pizza pie irons - advanced technique!  Uses campfire to cook
Bring your own grill or make sure your campsite has one (and don't forget briquettes and lighter fluid)
Hamburgers and hot dogs with popchips (Hebrew National 97% fat free dogs and light buns)
Bone in chicken breasts with wild rice and green beans
Pork chops with couscous and broccoli
Steak and baked potatoes with sugar snap peas

Breakfast is dependant on what the rest of the activities will be...mix and match as you please.
Pancakes, Bacon - use the add water and shake mix
Scrambled eggs and Bacon
Yogurt and fruit
Oatmeal / granola
Bagel with cream cheese

Other snacks!  Be careful with these...
Cheese sticks
Popcorn
Smores
Clif bars / Larabars
Oreos
Nuts
Skinny cow snacks
Apples or dried / frozen fruit

Inaugural 2013 Camping Trip

Well, well, well.  What do we have here?  SPRINGTIME!  (Pine Pollen time.)

We took our camper out for the FIRST trip of 2013 a few weekends back, over President's Day.  Hello FLORIDA!!!  We went to Torreya State Park, just over the Florida Georgia Line (anyone else love that band, BTW) and it was beautiful!

We had a great spot, super secluded, and had fun with each other and the outdoors - we went hiking and geocaching (of course), drove about an hour Wakulla Springs State Park to see a super deep spring and a boat tour.  GATORS!  OSPREY!  HUSINGA?  OTHER STUFF!  SO COOL!

We also met up with our friends Jed, Anna, and little Owen and hiked some more, then headed into Tallahassee for dinner with them.

Most importantly - we did not freeze our butts off at night, got to sleep in a real bed, and had a wonderful time.  More camping trips are coming...it's SPRINGTIME!

I Deserve It.

Do you get to the end of a long day or a long week and look at wine / pizza / cookies / brownies / cheese / crackers / etc and think, "Yep, I worked my ass off. I deserve this"? 

I do. 

But I'm working on this.

Because I also deserve to go up a flight of stairs while chatting with a coworker and not huff n puff.

I deserve the chance to carry a baby.

I deserve to shop at Macy's.

I deserve to learn to ride a horse without worrying I will hurt it.

I deserve to provide emotional support to my family and friends without being physically exhausted at the end of the day.

I deserve to buy sexy stuff at Victoria's Secret.

I deserve to breathe better, even with stupid ass-mar.

I deserve to be the person I see in my head.

And hopefully all of that outweighs deserving to have cookies. 

(Like I said, I'm working on this...)

Smoky Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

We are NOT snowed in here in Atlanta - hahahaha Mom & Dad - but even so, Sundays are my favorite days to put something in the crock pot regardless of the weather.

Last weekend I made a version of Weight Watchers veggie soup - chicken broth plus all my leftover, soon-to-go-bad veggies in the fridge.

This weekend I'm trying a recipe from Fitness magazine...it smells sooooo good....can't wait to eat it for lunch this week!

Smoky Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

Makes 6-8 servings...7 servings is 7 Points Plus Values

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 15-oz cans low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
maybe a little water if everything looks too dry

Coat the inside of the crock pot with olive oil.  Combine everything, stir, and cook on low for 8 hours.

You can top it with cheese and fresh cilantro (1PPV) if you want.  YUM!