Friday, February 28, 2014

Oscar predictions

Source: oscars.org


Happy Friday! I'm forgoing my usual High Five post this week, as I'm (hopefully) sitting on the beach, unaware of what day it is. :) But since the Oscars are rapidly approaching (they air on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST) and I'm a big movie-goer, I thought I'd offer you my predictions (who I think will win) and my preferences (who I think SHOULD win). I cut out categories I know nothing about (sound mixing, etc.) and categories where I'm not familiar with the nominees (best foreign film, best animated short, etc.), because one can only sound authoritative while spewing BS for so long.

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Should win: Her. I loved everything about this movie. It was awkward and charming, I thought the styling was terrific (using subtle changes to depict a not-so-distant future). It also really got me thinking about companionship and loneliness.
Will win: 12 Years a Slave. Which was great, just not the type of film I really love.


Best Actor in a Leading Role
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Should win: Matthew McConaughey. I haven't seen Nebraska, but I thought the rest of the nominees all did well. But McConaughey's performance really surprised me (after seeing him primarily in rom-coms and Dazed and Confused): his performance was suprisingly deep, and he disappeared into the role. I didn't think of him playing the bongos naked or saying "all right, all right, all right" even once.
Will win: Ol' Matty might pull this one out. Or Leo might finally get his Oscar.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Should win: Sandra Bullock. The fact that she was literally the only person on screen for most of the movie (and I didn't fall asleep) says something. Judi Dench was also great, and totally disappeared into that role (I tend to think of her as more of a bad-ass, silver-haired dame, personally). Meryl Streep gave a great performance, but her character was so unlikable, I don't want to give her my vote, lol.
Will win: Cate Blanchett. I haven't seen Blue Jasmine, but she's won a lot of the lead-up awards.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Should win: Jared Leto. He killed it as the transgender Rayon. I don't even have the words.
Will win: Jared Leto.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)

Should win: Unpopular opnion: I like Julia Roberts for this. Her yelling "Eat the fish, fucker!" at Meryl Streep was pretty priceless. And I thought it was a great portrayal of how complicated parent-child relationships can be. Or Lupita. I'm a big J. Law fan, but this role wasn't my favorite for her.
Will win: J. Law or Lupita.

Best Animated Feature
The Croods (Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco, Kristine Belson)
Despicable Me 2 (Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Chris Meledandri)
Ernest & Celestine (Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner)
Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)
The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki)

Should win: I haven't seen Ernest & Celestine or The Wind Rises, but I really liked both Frozen and The Croods. The Croods has the edge for me, because I thought it was a little more original. And I liked its message about taking chances and living life.
Will win: No clue. Maybe Frozen, as it seems to be pretty acclaimed.

Best Director
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)
Alexander Payne (Nebraska)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Should win: Imma give this one to Cuarón. He managed to make getting lost in space interesting to me, and that's commendable. Plus, I love all of his other movies (how's that for logic?)  
Will win: Cuarón. Or maybe Steve McQueen, because he has a cool name.

Best Original Song
"Happy" (Despicable Me 2)
"Let It Go" (Frozen)
"The Moon Song" (Her)
"Ordinary Love" (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Should win: While "The Moon Song" was pretty damn adorable, I'm going with "Let it Go." I had that song stuck in my head for a week after I saw the movie, and I'm not mad about it. But let's be clear: Idina Menzel sings it best, I have no idea why they had Demi Lovato sing it over the credits.
Will win: Frozen has this locked up.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke)
Captain Phillips (Billy Ray)
Philomena (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Terence Winter)

Should win: Before Midnight. I thought this was a really fresh take on a long-term relationship. Jesse and Celine don't hate each other, but they're not exactly in love, either. Good stuff.
Will win: 12 Years a Slave is a front-runner.

Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle (Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell)
Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
Dallas Buyers Club (Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack)
Her (Spike Jonze)
Nebraska (Bob Nelson)

Should win: Her. So creative. I love it.
Will win: Her could take it, although people are predicting it will go to American Hustle, since it likely won't win many other awards.

Will you watch the Oscars on Sunday? With Ellen as host, it's sure to be entertaining. We at least know they'll be a dance number ...

Monday, February 24, 2014

Life on a Budget

My checkbook and budget spreadsheet - vital tools for staying on track.


Hola from Mexico! With any luck, I am sitting on the beach right now, book in hand and not a care in the world. But for those of you back in the real world, I thought I'd craft a few posts to give y'all something to think about while I'm gone. Let's start off with a nice, nerdy subject: budgeting!

I've been living on a budget since 2011. It was definitely an adjustment, and at first it felt like I was having to sacrifice/miss out on things, but now I feel like it's absolutely worth it. Budgeting is a great tool that can help you pay off debt, save up for a big purchase, build a nest egg, or just live within your means. By adhering to a strict budget, we were able to pay off two cars, two student loans and a motorcycle in about a year. We've since loosened our belts a bit, but I still follow my monthly budget religiously to keep us on track to meet our financial goals.  The budgeting process can seem kind of daunting, but the peace of mind it's brought me has been worth the time investment for sure.  Here are some tips for getting started:

- Make a monthly budget: Total up your sources of income. Then, observe your spending habits for a month (write a log, keep receipts, or pull your bank statements for what you would consider a typical month, spending-wise – e.g., not the month you bought a refrigerator AND a new work wardrobe). Categorize your spending (groceries, clothing, entertainment, etc.) and note how much you've spent in each category. The goal here is to make sure your income total is more than (or at least equal to) your spending total. In some categories, like your rent/mortgage or groceries, there's not going to be much wiggle room. But other categories, like going out to eat or buying clothes, are more discretionary. To save money, cut down your budget on any of flexible categories, but be realistic. For example, if you currently go out to eat five nights a week, don't plan to quit eating out entirely. Cut your budget by limiting yourself to 1-2 times a week, or opting for fast-casual places instead of fancier fare. You can also prioritize certain discretionary categories over others. I love going to the movies, so I will allow money for that each month by cutting back on my clothing allowance.

- Add your annual expenses: Make a list of non-monthly bills or expenses and their amounts. Examples of this could be: vehicle expenses (oil changes, registration, tires, and insurance), gym membership, Christmas/birthday gifts, vacations, home repairs, etc. Total these expenses and divide by 12, and tuck that amount into savings each month. For example, let’s say my car insurance is $500 twice a year, and I usually spend around $600 on gifts, and my gym membership is $300. That adds up to $1900, so I would need to save about $158 per month to cover these expenses. You may have to adjust your budgeting categories to make room for extra savings every month, but for me it’s absolutely worth it. The holidays are a lot less stressful when you get to December and find you've already saved enough money to buy gifts for everyone on your list. :)

- Make an emergency fund: Nothing will blow your budget like an unexpected expense. If your car breaks down or you have a medical issue, having extra money available to you can alleviate some of the stress in an unpleasant situation. The amount you should save can vary: Dave Ramsey (a personal finance author/radio host) recommends $1,000 for a family (or $500 for an individual) to start, then up to 3-6 months of expenses once you pay off debt (he’s a big proponent of living debt-free). I have a friend who has a $5000 deductible on her health insurance, so she keeps that amount in her emergency fund. Personally, I would start with $1000, then add to it as circumstances allow (and you settle in to budgeting). If you don’t have that kind of money stashed away, cut your discretionary expenses as much as possible until you’ve come up with it. Or sell some unneeded items or Craigslist. But make it a priority to have some cash saved up. And only use it for true emergencies! Your furnace breaking in December: emergency. A major sale at Lululemon: not an emergency.

- Keep it up, month after month: The easiest way for me to keep track of my budget is to use cash for most things. My wallet has small envelopes for groceries, eating out, clothing, entertainment, and discretionary (my husband and I each get a little bit of “mad money” to use for whatever we want each month). Other envelopes for things like haircuts, buying cosmetics, etc. are kept at home, since I don’t use them on a regular basis. It’s easier to stay on track with cash, because if you want to order a pizza but there’s no money in the envelope, you’re out of luck! To keep track of the various annual expenses, I use a spreadsheet. That way, I can keep it all on the same savings account, but I have a breakdown of how much is in each category at any given time.

These tips really just scratch the surface of budgeting, so feel free to ask me any questions you have. Again, I'm not a finance professional by any means and these ideas are just what works for me, but hopefully you'll find something you can apply to your own life. 

Note: This post originally appeared on Running Mom to 3 when I was a guest blogger, but I thought it held some pretty good tips, so I decided to share it here as well.

Friday, February 21, 2014

High Five for Friday


Valentine's Day dessert from Blue Sushi   I can't remember all the details, but it involved melted chocolate and homemade raspberry ice cream. Amazingly good.

Well, it's official: I no longer fall into the category of "twenty-something blogger," as today is my 30th birthday. I can't say that I really feel any different, but maybe that will come in the next 12 months. Here are some highlights from the last week of my 20s:

1. Valentine's date: On Saturday, T. Bob and I celebrated by getting massages and then went to a late lunch downtown at Blue Sushi. They have great happy hour specials, tons of veggie sushi rolls and a pretty amazing dessert menu (see drool-worthy photo above).

2. Great weather: It has been sunny and warm (well, 50s and lower 60s) this week, and I loved it. We got a dusting of snow on Wednesday night, but it didn't affect traffic on Thursday morning at all, so I'm counting that as a win.

3. Four-day workweek: Since I had Presidents' Day off, I used Monday to get a mani-pedi and start packing for our trip. We leave for Isla Mujeres tomorrow morning, and I am beyond excited.

Empty shelves at Trader Joe's. Apparently, Coloradans are a little excited to have them here.

4. Trader Joe's has come to Colorado! We stopped by the Boulder one and it was insanely busy, so we didn't buy anything. But I'm looking forward to shopping there on the regular once the excitement dies down a bit.



5. T. Bob got me the sweetest birthday gift: a book compiling the first few months of this blog. So thoughtful and totally cute.

What were some highlights from your week? As usual, linking up with the ladies below.


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Thursday, February 20, 2014

Things I Used to Love: Good Will Hunting

My VHS shelf. I'm not sure why I still have a shelf full of VHS tapes, as my only VCR is attached to a 13-inch TV that's currently taking up space in storage, but I guess I'm just not ready to part with them yet.


Continuing with this month's theme, today I'd like to talk about another movie that really shaped my romantic views: Good Will Hunting. On its surface, it doesn't really seem like a love story, but it gave me some ideas of what love could look like.

Good Will Hunting follows Will (Matt Damon at his all-time cutest, IMO), a 20-year-old who spent his youth bouncing around the foster-care system and now leads a rough-and-tumble life in South Boston while working as a janitor at MIT. He meets Skylar (Minnie Driver) while out and about one night, and the two begin dating. Other than that, he hangs out with his boys (Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck and Cole Hauser) and occasionally causes some trouble. After getting into a fight, part of his sentence includes meeting with a therapist (Robin Williams) to work on his emotional state. Oh, also, he's a genius with a photographic memory and he can solve crazy-hard math problems, which impresses an MIT professor.

Will and Skylar were kind of my ideal couple: their rapport seems so natural and effortless. They enjoy each other and make jokes, but it doesn't feel overly cutesy. They fight, but they seem like equals, not like rom-coms where the girl is a bitch so the guy gets mad, or the guy looks at another girl so the girl gets mad. And Skylar seems classy, but not stuffy. When Will says, "I was hoping to get good-night laid," she takes it in stride and doesn't huff off like he's offended her delicate sensibilities. This was the kind of girl I wanted to be: smart and classy, but able to hang with the boys and be crude right along with them. In some ways, I think I've accomplished this, but I don't think I'm as classy. Having a British accent like Minnie Driver would probably help.

Good Will Hunting came out in 1997, and I think my first viewing was a year or two after that. I loved it from the get-go, although I now realize how much of it went over my head as a naive teen (example: Skylar tells Will's friends a seriously filthy joke that I totally did not get until later in life). This was also the first time I saw Robin Williams in a serious role, which was quite a switch from Jack and Hook, but I think he knocked it out of the park. The film even won a few Oscars –  Best Supporting Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Damon and Affleck (at the ripe old ages of 27 and 25!) and was nominated for several more.

Without going into detail, I think the film ties everything up nicely without being too cheesy or over-the-top dramatic. It's definitely worth a watch, even if you're not into the rom-com aspect of it. It's a little hard to find in terms of streaming content, but you can buy the DVD on Amazon for $5. And since it's something you'll watch over and over, that's a pretty sound investment.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Chocolate + Caramel = Awesome, Part II

Chocolate on chocolate, with caramel hiding underneath. Yum.

As you may remember from this post, chocolate and caramel is one of my favorite flavor combinations. You really can't go wrong with gooey caramel and rich chocolate in any form. It's just the best.

Last month was my co-worker Michelle's birthday. Michelle is super sweet and a great baker, so I wanted to make something that would definitely be delicious. Since I wouldn't be able to sample the goods (due to the "no treats" part of my Going HAM rules), I knew chocolate and caramel would be a safe bet.

I liked the idea of making a poke cake, to allow for caramel filling, and I'd never made one before, so I thought it would be a new challenge. I couldn't find a recipe that was exactly what I wanted, so I read about 3,000 of them on Pinterest and pulled parts from my favorites to come up with this.

First, bake your cake as per usual. I used a chocolate cake mix, but you could make one from scratch if you're into that sort of thing.

Right after you remove the cake from the oven, use a spoon handle or other cylindrical object to poke holes in the cake. Here is where I went wrong: none of the recipes I read mentioned the fact that you should only poke about halfway down. Maybe I should've inferred that, from the photos I saw of the finished product, but I did not. So I poked holes all the way through the cake, and the filling all flowed to the bottom. Learn from my mistake and only go about halfway down.

Pokin' holes. Straight lines are not my forte.


Once you have all your holes, add your filling. I used a jar of caramel sauce (like for ice cream) mixed with a can of sweetened condensed milk.

Yeah, that looks pretty dang good. 


Refrigerate your cake for a couple of hours, and then it should be ready to frost. I took the easy way out and bought a can of chocolate fudge frosting, but again, choose whatever you like.

Warning: the top of the cake will be hideously sticky. To work around this, I globbed on the frosting and spread it out slowly. So I ended up with an extra-thick layer to avoid tearing the cake.

Once frosted, I added some chocolate sprinkles (this particular mix was cookie pieces, chocolate chips and sprinkles, found in the ice cream toppings section) and voilà, you're done.

The finished product. Don't worry, we ate some fruit for breakfast before the ladies tore into the cake.


As I said, I didn't try this cake, but T. Bob and the ladies at work loved it, so you'll have to take their word for it.


Chocolate-Caramel Poke Cake
1 chocolate cake mix
1 jar caramel sauce (I used a 12.25-oz. Smuckers jar)
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 can chocolate frosting
toppings of your choice (I went for more chocolate, but nuts or a chopped-up Snickers would also be yummy)

Prepare cake according to package instructions. Remove from oven and poke holes (using a spoon handle or similar) about halfway through the cake. Mix caramel sauce and sweetened condensed milk, and drizzle over cake. Let cool completely, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Frost and add any desired toppings.


Friday, February 14, 2014

High Five for Friday


This will soon be my view. Not a flake of snow in sight!

Well, another week is coming to a close, and I couldn't be much happier. Especially since I'm off for Presidents' Day on Monday, so I have three days of relaxation approaching. Here are some highlights from my week:

1. Eight days until Mexico! I am super excited. I've been gathering up my beachwear (buying flip-flops while it's snowing will get you some strange looks, FYI) and I'm planning to pack this weekend. I cannot wait!

2. I finally took the plunge and hired a cleaning service to come clean my house, and IT. IS. GLORIOUS. My house looks great, it was relatively affordable, and I no longer feel guilty/stressed that my house is a mess when I have no time/desire to clean it. Totally worth it.

Source: EW

3. I've started re-watching Veronica Mars in anticipation of the movie, and I am in love. Every time I watch this show, my affection for it grows. It's so witty and smart.

4. After some major slip-ups last week, I've stayed on track with my food and workouts all week. It's been hard to resist the treats, but I'm trying to stay strong for another week.

5. Our tax refund came on Tuesday! The upside of being a nerd and filing your taxes in January is that you get your refund pretty dang quickly.

Have a wonderful long weekend, y'all! Linking up with the lovely ladies below.


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Thursday, February 13, 2014

Things I Used to Love: Valentine's Day


A small sample of the Valentine's Day provisions at my local Target.

Since it's February 13, I figured there was only one appropriate topic for this week's Thing I Used to Love: Valentine's Day. My love for this holiday has prompted several displays of affection over the years, ranging from sweet to downright ridiculous.

To be clear, I embraced Valentine's Day with the objective of celebrating love. Not romantic love, necessarily, but love for my family, friends, and important people in my life. As Julie from The Real World: New Orleans (the one from 2000) once said, "You don't need a lover on Valentine's Day, you just gotta have love!" I couldn't agree more.

In high school, I wanted to show appreciation for the special people in my life, and take some of the focus away from being part of a couple on this day. If the world can assign one day a year to make people feel particularly bad about being single, I wanted to do the opposite: to make sure people felt loved, regardless of whether they were in a relationship. So I sent roses to my girlfriends and baked cookies to hand out to all of my pals. I was also a tad, uh, snarky in high school, so I would often give cookies to people I felt I had wronged. My senior year, I gave some to a younger boy I'd been arguing with a lot as a token of apology. I'm not sure he took it that way, as he avoided me for the rest of the semester as if I had confessed my undying love for him, but oh well. Better he felt love than hate, I guess.

In college, I had a huge crush on someone we'll call Movie Theater Boy. He seemed like kind of a lone wolf, and  at a small college where everyone eats together and has specific areas of the cafeteria where they always sit  I admired his ability to be content alone. I enlisted my friend Mo, who worked in the mailroom, to send him a anonymous valentine: a box of candy (generic in nature; a heart-shaped box would've revealed too much) with a note that simply said "Happy Valentine's Day!" I don't think he ever knew it was me  and no relationship ever developed  but I'm glad I sent it, just in case he wasn't as content with being alone as he seemed.

Once I transferred to CU, I left Movie Theater Boy behind and focused on building friendships. So in the days leading up to February 14, I made lots of goodies and shipped them to about a dozen friends, topped with a note with my favorite quote from Love Actually:

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion that you'll find love actually is all around."

Fast-forward to 2007: T. Bob and I had been together for nearly a year, and I knew I wanted to do something special. As a broke 22-year-old, a traditional romantic gesture like a trip to Paris or even a fancy night on the town wasn't really in the cards. So I focused on something smaller that I knew he would like.

T. Bob with his truckload of grape juice.

I waited until he left for work one day, then went to his house and filled the bed of his Blazer with grape juice, his drink of choice. He loved the surprise and enjoyed that grape juice for a solid six months.

Now that I'm more mature (or just old and married?), the societal pressure around Valentine's Day seems to have faded. I still try to find special little ways to let my friends and family know that I care about them, I just don't feel compelled to do it on February 14. But if you are feeling particularly lovey-dovey tomorrow, consider doing something special for someone to show them that you care. I promise you won't regret it.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes



I don't know if I've really mentioned it much on the blog, but I am obsessed with Oreos. It all started about five years ago when I decided to go vegan, as they are one the few readily available vegan desserts. So I ate them on the regular, when I was too lazy to bake something to indulge in. I've tried most of the flavors (peanut butter Fudge Cremes might be my favorite, but it's a tough call), and I can easily eat a container of them in a day or two. It's basically an addiction.

So when my mom asked me to make dessert for Mal's graduation party last December, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to make: cookies and cream cupcakes. Mal's vegan, and she loves chocolate cake, so I thought they would be a perfect fit.

When making cupcakes, it's only appropriate to wear your cupcake apron.
Side note: I seem to put my hands on my hips in all photos, ever. Must work on that.

To make the cupcakes, I used my go-to chocolate cake recipe, and added in 1 cup of Oreo pieces. Pay careful attention here, because there's a big difference between Oreo pieces and Oreo crumbs (which we will use later). Pieces are much larger chunks.

My favorite way to smash Oreos is with a meat tenderizer. Since I don't eat meat, I had to find another use for it!

Fold the pieces into your prepared batter and bake as directed.

Chocolate cupcakes with Oreo pieces -- look at that chunk of cream filling!

For the frosting, I used the Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting recipe for Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and added 1 cup of Oreo crumbs.

My cup of crumbs. I used my Ninja (mini food processor-type appliance) to get them to a coffee-grounds consistency.

Even if you're not vegan, I cannot recommend this buttercream recipe enough. It's my go-to cupcake frosting, and everyone raves about it whenever I use it.

I piped the frosting on top of each cupcake and topped it with a mini Oreo, just to make it extra cute.




Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
(adapted from this recipe)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk (I used soy)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup Oreo pieces 
Frosting:
1 recipe Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting (or buttercream of your choice)
1 cup Oreo crumbs 
Add apple cider vinegar to milk and allow to curdle at least 5 minutes. Mix all ingredients but Oreos together until moist and well-combined. Fold in Oreos. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely.
Prepare frosting as directed, mixing in 1 cup of Oreo crumbs. Frost and top with Mini Oreos. If you don't want to buy the minis, you can also put half of a full-sized Oreo on top, like so.


I hope you enjoy my attempt at food photography from 2008.  So artistic! 







Monday, February 10, 2014

Going HAM: Off the Wagon

My weekend, in a nutshell. 

Well, it happened. After staying treat-free and keeping up with my workouts for all of January, February has not been going so well. Last week was ... terrible. Not terrible in an overall life sense, but terrible in terms of my following my Going HAM rules and trying to get healthier.

It started with the workouts. I had scheduled a LASIK consultation for Thursday, and they told me not to wear my contacts for as long as possible beforehand. I planned to work out while wearing my glasses (or, like, wear them to the treadmill and then run blind), but in reality, I just didn't work out. I met with my trainer on Wednesday, but that was it. For the whole week.

Then came the food choices. I was doing OK until Thursday night, when I broke into the rest of the Oreos. Then on Friday, I really wanted doughnuts while I was at work. After that, I went crazy. There were Girl Scout cookies, pancakes, peanut butter cups, pizza, and garlic bread. I couldn't stop (or I didn't want to). If I was going to ignore the rules, I was going to ignore them in a big way.

Sunday rolled around, and I felt pretty awful (both physically and psychologically). The junk may have tasted good in the moment, but now I was a bloated mess who felt bad about my utter lack of self-control. I'm not even sure what caused the bender; I wasn't particularly stressed or upset about anything (my usual triggers for overeating), and I didn't have a lot of temptation in my environment. But it happened.

Now, there's nothing to do but move forward. I spent Sunday afternoon meal planning, shopping and prepping my food for the week. I have a little less than two weeks left 'till my birthday, and I'm rededicating myself to stick to the plan until then. I scheduled my workouts, and bought some healthy "treats" (e.g., Greek yogurt with berries) to have in case my sweet tooth flares up. Onward and upward!


Friday, February 7, 2014

High Five for Friday

View of the Strip from my 2009 trip. I go to Vegas fairly often, especially for a non-gambler.


1. Plans are coming together for my friend's bachelorette party  eight of us are heading to Vegas next month, and I'm really excited. If anyone has tips for fun things for a group of ladies to do, let me know!

2. After some seriously long commutes earlier this week, I made it in less than an hour on Thursday morning! This doesn't sound like something to celebrate, but it totally is. Sitting on the highway is one of my least-favorite activities.

3. I've been thinking about getting LASIK because I'm pretty over wearing contacts and glasses (and being blind without them). I finally made a consultation appointment this week, so we'll see what happens.




4. I found some of the new flavored Oreos (Marshmallow Crispy and Cookie Dough) at Safeway and broke my Going HAM rules by trying one of each. I thought I would prefer Cookie Dough, but I actually like Marshmallow Crispy more. The Cookie Dough tastes more like mocha than cookies, but they're both pretty good.

5. The two episodes of New Girl this week (there was a bonus ep on after the Super Bowl) were both hilarious. That show might be my favorite.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Linking up with Lauren and Jennie this week!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Things I Used to Love: 10 Things I Hate About You




Since it's February, and Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought I'd do some topical Things I Used to Love. So this month, I'll be focusing on movies, books, etc. that shaped my romantic ideals or otherwise influenced my thoughts on love and relationships. First up: 10 Things I Hate About You.

The teen rom-com was released in 1999, during my freshman year of high school. It's loosely based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and focuses on two sisters who aren't allowed to date. The younger sister, Bianca (played by Larisa Oleynik, aka Alex Mack), wants to date, while older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) couldn't be less interested. Seeing this, their father decides that Bianca will be allowed to date when Kat does. So she hatches a plan with Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to find someone who will take Kat out. They settle on Patrick (Heath Ledger), but he needs some convincing, so Joey (Andrew Keegan, remember him?), who is also interested in Bianca, agrees to pay him on a per-date basis.

In case you weren't a teenage girl at the turn of the century and thus haven't seen it, I won't spoil the ending for you. But let's just say that Kat and Patrick develop an interesting love/hate relationship. As a teen, I pretty much thought that was the hottest thing ever. The idea that you could be screaming in someone's face and making out with them a minute later? So sexy. As a result, I developed a crush on a boy I constantly argued with, and fantasized that he would one day press me against the lockers and initiate a steamy make-out session. Sadly, said make-out sesh never occurred.

The movie shaped my life in other ways, too. I knew I wanted to go out of state for college, and one I considered was the University of Washington, where the movie was filmed (the campus looks gorgeous!). I also really identified with Kat, as I fancied myself an alterna-girl with some pent-up rage. I admired her ballsy-ness, even if I rarely imitated it in my own life. She was always true to herself, and that was something I struggled with when I was younger.

This movie was also my introduction to the late, great Heath Ledger and a short-haired JGL (after he rocked the shoulder-length locks on 3rd Rock from the Sun), and they were both adorable in completely different ways. The supporting cast is great, as well: Alison Janney is the kooky guidance counselor, and David Krumholtz is Cameron's dorky friend Michael. Also, QUOTES! The movie is full of random tidbits I say to this day, like:

"The shit hath hitteth the fan ... ith." - Michael (a nod to its Shakespearean roots)
"Remove head from sphincter, then drive!" - Kat 
"Bogey's party is just a lame excuse for all the idiots at our school to drink beer and rub up against each other in hopes of distracting themselves from the pathetic emptiness of their meaningless, consumer-driven lives." - Kat
 "And I'm back in the game!" - Cameron (also the title of my very first post on this blog)


10 Things I Hate About You was made into a short-lived TV series on ABC Family in 2009. I watched it (as I am compelled to watch all of their original shows at least once; it's a sickness), and it wasn't bad, but it didn't really have the same tone as the movie. Or maybe it just didn't resonate with me since I wasn't 14 (and their target audience) anymore. But the movie will always have a special place in my heart.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Guess who's back ... back again ...

Hello, blogland!

I'm very excited to be back, and I hope to get back to posting on a regular basis. In my mind, I thought January was going to be totally chill, and a nice break after the holiday craziness, but ... not so much. But now it's February (aka my favorite month), so I'm just going to forge ahead. Some highlights from my month:

Chelsea (left) and me with our sisters last St. Patrick's Day.

- I proofread a friend's book! Chelsea just finished her second novel, and I really enjoyed her first one, so I was pumped when she asked me if I would edit her draft. She is a really talented writer and the series she's working on is creative and fun. Y'all should check her out!


Group shot I stole from my sister's Instagram (hence the graininess).

- I had a girls' weekend with my mom and sister and my mom's good friend and her daughters. We drank mimosas, went to see Evita at the Denver Center, had a delicious dinner at Blue Sushi, and spent the night downtown at the Curtis. I grew up with these girls, but we don't see each other much now that we're adults, so it was really fun to spend time with them and get to know them a little better.

Whitney and Lin re-enact their attempt to scare people by hiding in the armoire.
Pretty sure this was the best reaction anyone had.

- The Broncos made it the Super Bowl! And then lost in a spectacular fashion. That was not a fun game to watch. I'm not a big sports fan in general, but the playoff games leading up to it were really exciting, and the whole city/state really came together to support the team, which was fun. I even bought my first article of sports-related clothing:

My Broncos shirt. I got one with the old-school logo because it's better.
Side note: There is a photo of Denver growing out of my head. Oops.


I think that's all I've got for now. But you'll be hearing from me again soon, I promise.