Sunday, September 30, 2012

Let's Hear it For the Weekend



 
This is the first weekend, Adam and I have got to spend together (that didn't involve unpacking and heavy furniture chunking) since he arrived here last week. So I spent the weekend showing Adam around our new home town, and we have had lots of R&R time around the new apartment (which I will be sharing pictures of soon). 
 
Highlights of the weekend included:
 
1. Trying Chicken & Waffles for the First Time (sooo yummy)
2. An Hour & a Half Night Walk Together around the Track at my Old Middle School
3. Building Adam's Old Lego Sets (He Collects Them)
4. And building the new Avenger's One
5. Watching the Packer's Beat the Saints (even though the Refs blew it TWO weeks in a row)
6. Adam cooking supper for me, always a nice treat.
7. Rewatching old Episodes of Community Together.
 
I'm so happy he is here, and I just can't wait to see what the Alabama chapter of our lives has in store for us.


Monday, September 24, 2012

An Online Link Love Book Vol. VI



I'm no Oprah fan, but this collection of six-word memoirs on her website is practically genius.

This blog has images of street art from all around the world. It is simple amazing what talented people can do to everyday objects.

Can't wait to try this recipe for homemade pretzel bites with cheese sauce! Yummy.

I got absorbed in the article about how fashion defined the reign of Marie Antoinette.

I don't know what is more funny, the fact that a market for a banana slicer exists or the satirical reviews for the product.

This website shows you how you can upload any picture you like and turn it into a FREE coloring page.

Sports that used to be in the Olympics that are no longer included. Individual Synchronized Swimming? I mean really!

Have you ever heard of the wedding tradition of bride napping? I hadn't, but it sounds fun!

I love this DIY project on how to make a scrabble board with magnetic pieces to hang in your home so you can have an ongoing game of Scrabble!

On this website, you can see the current wind patterns in the USA. I may just be a geek but that is pretty darn cool.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Long Distance Love, The Sequel

Brittany: Roar
Adam: okay
Brittany: I said Roar
Adam: go out and do something will ya?
Brittany: LOL Sundays are my get ready for the work week day.
Adam: gotcha
Brittany: so roar with me
Adam: howl
Brittany: Nice touch

These are the kind of conversations me and my husband have been having online for the last two months while he's been away. And I have to admit, that I've kind of been enjoying them. Because this is how our relationship started, online and long distance. And we would spend all night talking about stupid things just like this. But talking to him online is no match to being with him face-to-face. I can't wait till he finally gets here on Wednesday evening.

This being apart for two months has been an interesting experiment I guess. I spent the first six weeks sleeping on the floor at my mother's home, and feeling like I was back in high school. And then I moved into our new apartment, which didn't have Internet or TV hooked up for a week and a half, which was a little boring to say the least.

There has also been an issue with spiders. I am terrified of spiders. I'm terrified when I see them, terrified to get close enough to kill them, and I'm certainly terrified to leave them living because what if they crawled on my face in my sleep, bite me, and then I die. So in the past, when I would see a spider I would make Adam kill it. Even at 3 a.m., when he's dead asleep. Because that's just how I roll, and it's also a good way to live up to the women need men to kill bugs stereotype. But you know what? He never even complains because that's how he rolls.

When we were considering whether or not we should move at different times this summer, I never consider the fact that I might have to deal with spiders on my own. So what did I do when I first saw a spider in the new apartment? Well first of all, I lost my ever loving mind. Then, I had to figure out a way I could kill it without getting anywhere near it. But of course, I didn't have any insect spray in the apartment. Because I'm basically here with just the barest essentials, until Adam gets here with all the furniture. It's really just like camping with air-conditioning, or actually maybe it's more like glamping. But really it's not like glamping at all, because nothing about how I'm living right now is overly fancy.

So I grabbed the only thing I could think of, my Clinique happy perfume. And I sprayed that sucker until it no longer moved. And then I scooped it up and threw it away. I was actually pretty proud of myself for being able to handle the situation on my own. And now I know what to do in the future if I'm home alone with a spider. Plus, my apartment smelled so good after that. See two birds, one stone!

And while I've done a fairly good job at handling life without him, as made obvious by my spider killing skill sets, I know life will be better when he gets here. So I'm just thinking the gods that govern cross country moves that he will be here on Wednesday, and that this is the last weekend I will spend without him.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Streetcar 5k






Last weekend was the weekend of the streetcar 5K. Which I attended with one of my best friends (and jogging buddy, Jana), her boyfriend (and also one of my most favorite guys in the world), her sister, and my mother. And Last weekend was the weekend I finally got to cross complete a 5K off my bucket list. Because I did it. I didn't run as much as I'd hoped. I finished dead last at an hour and two minutes. I was slower than my friend running the race. And these were all the things I was so afraid of happening. But it didn't take away from my accomplishment. Not one bit.

At first, when all the other runners, including my best friend, ran off to what seemed like leagues ahead of me. I was mortified. The police car that follows the runners till the end of the race was tailing me. It was almost like I was about to get busted or arrested. I almost felt like crying. My social anxiety started talking to me. It told me that the cops were probably talking about the poor little fat girl who was slowing down the entire race, and how annoyed they were with me for slowing everything down since they had to follow me. But then I thought to myself, how do I know what they're thinking? Maybe they were impressed that this girl, who is obviously not the fitness person of the bunch, is out there running the race at all. So I thought about my goal, and let that outweigh my anxiety.

I started to believe that people were cheering for me. And not just thinking I was pathetic for being so slow. And I finished it, I finished it and hour and two minutes. And to me that's pretty darn impressive.

I was that girl who could hardly walk a mile in PE class. I was the girl who five months ago couldn't walk 1.7 miles with her husband without taking three or four breaks. And now I'm a girl who can finish a 3.1 mile track without so much as one break. Things can only get better from here. I want to keep it up. I want to do more 5ks. I want to do the Columbus, Mississippi, streetcar 5K again next year and beat my time. I want to do a 10k. I want to do a Disney World half marathon eventually.
It was seriously one of the proudest days of life. It is like for the first time I feel like I have some control over my body and my fitness. I may still struggle with food, and I may still struggle with my weight. But I can control my fitness. And that means the world.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

New Recipe Every Month of 2012: Shepherd's Pie with Roasted Potatoes

I am so behind on posting my recipes. It's pretty surprising how a cross country move & working a 40 hour a week job will take away from you blogging time. But I've been keeping up with my cooking and resolution to try a new recipe every month. So back in July, I decided I wanted some comfort food and shepherd's pie just seemed to fit the bill. I found this recipe, and just thought using roasted potatoes instead of mashed potatoes would be good. It was a delicious recipe and even better left over.  I think this meal would be even more perfect for winter.