A New Year Mix Up

Wow. It is 2013.  The holidays came and went. The New Year came and went.  I watched with bittersweetness as someone finally hauled off my Christmas tree yesterday. Now, it is diets and workout commercials. Everyone wants to lose weight that we gained last year, and the year before... and the year before.

Granted, I am definitely trying to eat better - but that is always a uphill battle.  And it always will be for me.

This year I will continue to work with my church's youth group - and we have planned out the first quarter for them over the past two weeks.  As I did this - it struck a cord with me... we always do the same thing the same way - and the kids are happy with this idea.  However, when we do something new, they love it and that becomes the new normal.

I feel like I am on the same ride now, on a repeat loop.  Why do we make the same resolutions every year?  Why do we do the same x y and z all the time?  Granted, the known is comfortable and usually easy.

As a child/teen/young adult - there was a striving to get better and push myself towards that next goal or milestone or to build up my resume or some new adult task (like buying a house!).  But once you are an adult - what is next?  Do we live from event to event, holiday to holiday, new years resolution to new years resolution? Do we look forward to the weekends when we don't have to do anything so we can sleep in?  Is this the "good life"?

I am content, which is perfectly acceptable (I guess).  How do we find new ways to push ourselves to be better than we were next year?  What real resolutions should we be making - or more importantly - should we be keeping?

Now, I am not sure of what I will do to make 2013 different.  I want to find a way to mix it up this year and push myself to be better.  I was to challenge myself and ensure that I make real goals that help me grow as a person.  Honestly, I think this may be more of a challenge than losing weight - maybe they are linked.

What are you doing this year?  How are you mixing it up for 2013?

Fear of Vacuuming

As a child - I was scared to vacuum.  I was scared that I would go over something that I shouldn't and the vacuum would blow up.  I was so motivated NOT to vacuum, I would try to trade chores with my brother to get out of my vacuuming duties.

As an adult, I do not have that fear - you suck up enough strings, bobby pins and other oops items and you get over the fear. Don't get me wrong - I still don't love it - hauling out the vacuum, unwrapping the cord, dancing around trying to get everything, wrapping the cord back up and putting it away. And for me - I don't have room where the vacuum fits anywhere - except the attic.  So it takes me longer getting ready and putting away than it took me to vacuum.

I have two cats that never stop shedding - so ideally, I would vacuum and sweep at least every other day.  (I mean I do hate a dirty house more than the hassle of vacuuming).  Or even worse, when I travel for work and am gone longer periods - I come home to tumble weeds of hair.  Coming home to a dirty house is horrible.

So I made a big purchase.  I bought an iRobot - which is a robotic vacuum.  This purchase has been a game changer in my house.  I can clean other stuff, watch TV, cook, or even leave to run errands or go to work - all while my little robot is busy sweeping and vacuuming my entire house! Rocked my world!

The first time that I ran this - I had to empty the bin 3 times (gross - and this was with me sweeping and vacuuming 2 days before!).  I now can just dump the bin once it is done - running it every 2 or so days.  I still can't believe how much stuff this thing finds every time.  Granted, it goes under tables, beds, couches - things I normally didn't hit with the broom or vacuum. 

My house just feels cleaner.  Now you still have some effort in this cleaning - dumping the bin and cleaning the brushes - but it is minimal compared to my old routine.  Is it perfect - no.  Is it better than my old methods - yes.

Now if I can just teach my cats to ride around on it... 

A Pause in the Happiest Time of Year

I consider myself a very positive and happy person - mainly because, I guess - I am happy.  I love my life.  I have wonderful friends, an amazing boyfriend, a job and career I love, and the best family that I could ever dream of. 

This year, I have started working with my hometowns youth group.  It has been beyond frustrating at times, but for the most part, beyond rewarding.  On top of working with the youth group - I have reconnected with friends from old - through the church's "Young Adult Ministries" group - although I am not sure how "young" I consider myself anymore - but I am okay with that.

All in all, it has been a wonderful year that has flown by too quickly.  I was driving into work today thinking about and running through my holidays lists... the few gifts I still need to get, the groceries I need to buy to make that mac'n'cheese dish for the holiday party tomorrow, and on and on.

But then I paused.  I thought of Pete.  Pete was my grandmother's boyfriend who pasted a few years ago.  I thought of how much I missed him and how, even though he was never "family" marriage - he was a grandfather to me for over ten years.  This naturally led me into remembering my Pop and Meme - I am getting choked up just trying to write about them now...

...

Christmas is suppose to be the happiest (and probably busiest) season of the year.  However, it is hard not to think back to everyone who can't be here with us during this wonderful time and feel a little sad because they are not here to spend it with us.  I try not to linger long on these sad thoughts - I know they would not want me to shed any tears over them.

At this stage in life, everyone has been touched by loss or some unhappy event in their life.  So, I wish for you this holiday season happiness and hope - and a peace within when you do pause to remember.

My Non-Politicial Political Rant

If you know me or notice my few postings on Facebook - you will have noticed that I do not make any political comments, whatsoever.  I do not post or claim any affiliation with any group.

Growing up, I went through a phase when I wanted to be the first female president of the United States.  I have gone from wanting to run for president to someone who refuses to vote for president.  Yes, I will NOT be voting on Tuesday. 

When people ask me who I will be voting for they are shocked to hear my response - my vote is not voting.  I have many reason for this stance - but it is thought out and carefully decided.  I don't take voting lightly - and I think many people do.

While I am proud to live in a country where (essentially) everyone can vote, I am very jaded when it comes to the process, the outcome and most importantly how we vote.

One of the main reasons I do not vote is because I do not feel informed enough to make a sound and educated decision for whom to vote.  I refuse to vote based on any political ad campaign or Facebook postings (or because my parents raised me one way so I will always vote for that party) - as I have often found them to be based on little fact and mostly spin.  I consider myself a well-educated person - so I could educate myself on the topic - but I have decided against it.

As I just put up my antenna to get my free digital television this week (previously only having Netflix and Hulu), I saw my first political commercials this morning.  I was blown away.  Do people actually base their decisions on these commercials?  Are they swayed by the mud throwing?  My biggest fear is that people do - they don't research and check the facts (which are much harder to verify than it should be).  They vote based on commercials and hearsay. 

And to think that the leadership of our country can be swayed by a vote based on an excellent PR campaign... does it not scare you?

I have a Masters in Economics.  It is enough education to let me know that I don't know anything about economics and that I was not smart enough to go on to get a PhD in it.  So to hear people talk about how to "fix" the economy like they actually have a solution that would "fix" it blows my mind.  Most people have never even had a basic course in MacroEconomics. 

An economy is closer to a living breathing organism than a machine.  The economy is not a car that as been in a crash that we can take to get fixed at a body shop this month.  The economy is like a morbidly obese American - we have been abusing our body for years and thinking that if we lay off sodas and walk for 10 minutes a day for 4 years that we are going to be in Olympic condition.  We can make changes now that will show improvement - but it has to be a lifelong commitment to health. 

If we support a system that calls for our leaders to always keep an eye on 4 years down the road so they can get re-elected - are we going to see that commitment to long-term health?  I would argue probably not.  We are going to see crash diets and fads that end up with us yo-yoing in health.  Please do not see this as an argument for longer terms - it is not.

I am just ready for someone to stand up and say, yeah, I am not going to be popular - but I am going to get us back on track.  So what if you don't get elected again - isn't public service more about doing what is best for the public anyway even if it means losing your job after one term?

I am not sure how that person would be elected.  They would have unpopular policies that I am assuming the majority would not like for their immediate happiness - so they would probably not get the support from one of the Major Two.

So if you took anything away from this - it is to please educate yourself with verified facts before making your mark on Tuesday.

Okay - I think I have reached my maximum for political discussion for the month, maybe year.

Happy Voting (or Not Voting)!

Honestly Fat.

America is Fat.  And getting fatter.  Sadly, I am no exception.

As a child, I grew fast.  By my early teenage years, I reached my adult height of 6 feet.  When you are growing that fast, you can't keep weight on - but you are eating house and home.  I am not sure how I turned into a picky eater - but I definitely had a limited color palate for food.  If it wasn't in the white/yellow realm, I probably wasn't going to eat it (read, I loved starches, and not so much the vegetables).

As my father so kindly pointed out, "Once you stop growing up, you start growing out!"  And out I did.  My own family called me Two Tons of Fun.  I was obese by no means, and I slowly leaned out as I didn't have to eat to keep up with growth spurts.  As a high schooler, I ate like a teenager - fast foods, sodas, junk food, heavily processed foods.  Still limited to a small food palate.

Now something special happened in college.  Add alcohol to buffet style unlimited eating for every meal - you have a recipe for weight gain.  I put on the Freshman 40 (or so I said).  I maxed out at about 199 pounds.  Yes, I just admitted my weight publicly.

There is this magical point were you realize you have to change something.  It has to be  met by a desire and determination to change.  I found it with the help of my family the summer after my freshman year of college.  I don't remember the details of how I got to that point and mindset, but I just remember thinking that I was fat and hating it.

So I started paying attention to what I was eating for the first time in my life.  I learned how to eat salads with broccoli and less cheese/dressings and more vegetables (don't get too excited, I am still a picky eater).  I drank less and cut out the sugary mixed drinks.  I started working out, mainly cardio for about an hour a day, 5 times a week.

My eating wasn't great but my workout dedication was.  In less than year, I was in better shape and health than when I entered college.  I dropped down to around 165 lbs.  Life was good.

I kept most of the weight off.  I found kickboxing as my main source of cardio - and once again I couldn't eat enough!  It was like being a kid again.  As with life, things changed again.  I changed jobs and thereby changed lifestyles.

Traveling 100% for my job left me living out of hotels and on 3 restaurant meals a day.  I would come home on the weekends, not to go to the grocery store or cook, but to eat out more.  An uncertain schedule on the road left me kept me from workingout - in reality only I kept myself from working out.

So, I watched the weight go back up.  I remember last Lent seeing someone post on Facebook a comment that Lent was not about dieting or losing weight - and it dawned on me - people so often just need a good 30 or so days of removing bad habits to get them back on track.

Back in June, I decided that I had had enough with gaining weight again.  I took a "Lent" approach and decided to try to give up "bad stuff" one month at a time.  You can do anything for a month, right?  I only had to do it for a month, and then when I allow it back into my diet, hopefully I won't be craving it, but rather have it in limited quantities.

Here is what I have tried out so far:

June - Nothing fried - this was hard - but it made me realize how much stuff was fried.  Chips - I wouldn't even go out to eat Mexican because I couldn't resist the chips/salsa!

July - No sodas - I found that I switched to drinking more sweet tea - so this month was a wash for me.  I probably need to do it again only without sweetened drinks.

August - No meat - I actually am sticking with a vegetarian diet - I loved this and found that I ate healthier, less fried, and virtually no fast food when I do this.  I like the taste and the options for vegetarians.  I found it to be cheaper (with the higher costs of meat) and that I get more protein as I am conscious of what I am eating.

September - No alcohol - I hated this month.  I enjoy my glass of wine with dinner or with a group of friends.  I found that I substituted desserts or snacks for a glass of wine.  The good news - well, bad news for my gas bill, I was able to be the DD for all of our events this month.

Next month - I am thinking about requiring myself to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.  Who knows - I just try to think of what I should be doing, but not a great job of doing and that is my goal.

So while I am not my college weight and I will never be a size 2 - I am exercising more and eating healthier.  I will never be the girl that doesn't eat cake or survives on rabbit food (salads only).  I am going to enjoy chocolate and good wine. 

What I have realized through all of this... weight management and health is a life long process - I don't think that you can "diet" and reach an end goal.  My 30 day challenges make me stronger and help me focus on my health - it really takes will power.  Life is about balance and learning about yourself - and being happy with it!

A Thousand Words

I love to read.  I always have.  My parents used to yell at me to stop reading at night to go to bed.  Granted, mandated reading during grad school stopped me from leisure reading for even a year after I graduated!  Now especially that house work has calmed down - I have been enjoying my porch swing and good books again.

I do not have a standard MO for acquiring reading materials - I use the Kindle (both bought books and using the lending library), the public library, and buying used books from Amazon.  Reading over a book a week, I prefer free and cheap is a second best. 

With Amazon Prime, you get a free Prime book every month - while the selection is not great, they now have the full Harry Potter series as Prime. 

For Atlanta-Fulton County Library systems, you can "check-out" electronic library books for a period of up to 14 days - they have a growing collection (downside - they also have a growing population of readers so the wait times can be lengthy).

Next, I turn to used books on Amazon - for older books, I can usually find them about $4-$5 a piece. 

For the new books, I generally turn to the Kindle.  I am not known for my patience, so when I am in the middle of a series, waiting for the next installation, I have to get in on my Kindle the day it comes out. 

I resisted buying a Kindle or any type of tablet/e-reader for a long time.  However, a mix weekly travel with the need to take at least 2 books with you for the week - need for space won me over.  I now actually prefer the Kindle to actual paperbacks.  I can use one hand and you can see it well in most lights (no glare).  I prefer it over my iPad - for reading. 

So what have I read this month? 
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azaban
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades Freed
Shadow of Night
Harvest Moon (Virgin River Series)
Dead Reckoning: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel

What is upcoming on the reading list?
More Harry Potter
Divergent
Insurgent (if I like Divergent)

Check out my Library Page for my reviews and fav reads. 
Let me know if you have any suggestions for must reads!

Cork It.

Hi. My name is Suzanne. And I have a Pinterest problem.  Pinterest makes me feel as though I can build, cook, or create anything cheaper and just as cute (or tasty) as something that I could buy.

Sometimes it costs just as much.  Sometimes it is WAY cheaper.  Sometimes it tastes awesome.  Sometimes we get Chinese takeout.  Sometimes it is cute.  Sometimes it goes in the trash.

Even though I have had a few failures along the way - I love trying.  I like the satisfaction of making something, maybe I get that from being raised on a farm.

So when I needed a cork board to pin up things that didn't need to be filed away immediately in my office, and the cheaply framed cork boards were not an option, but neither were the super expensive ones - I turned to Amazon and Pinterest.

I originally planned on just buying cork squares and spacing 4 of them out (without frames or anything).  I ordered a pack from Amazon (I love Amazon).  After getting them and starting to place them, I didn't like the idea.  Now I have all these cork squares, no plan and still no cork board.


Then, I remembers that I had this old piece of art - I was going to donate it or sell it, but I decided to re-purpose it.  I mean if I messed it up - I wouldn't really be out anything, right?

I unscrewed and pulled out all of the nails/backing for the frame.  I removed the print and the glass.  I replaced the print section with the cork squares (I had to cut them down).  I put the backing back down and went to town on it with my staple gun (every girl should own one).

Project: Success!  I love the frame plus matting look around the cork board.  I put post-it notes on the matting part.  I now have a really cute cork board that looks nice enough to have it in front of me all day while I work.  And, the best part, it was under $10 and only took about 30 minutes to make!