I’m heading to the gym after this because work and traffic irritated me today and I need to run it off, but I figured I may as well throw down some lines, because, as mentioned, work and traffic irritated me, and I’d like to write it off too…
Weighty Suggestions: A lot of people ask me how I stay skinny. Or, rather they yell at me, “You are too damn skinny!” So, I gained a tiny bit of weight over the summer to quiet everyone up (though some are still waiting for more weight), and I did it pretty easily. So instead of giving the obvious suggestions on how to stay lean, here are the key ways to gain some weight instead:
1) Amp up the weights and resistance during workouts. My leg muscles are still lean and fit in the same jeans, but they have a lot more definition right now. So, apparently something worked.
2) Try every Hefeweizen and Sake in Portland. This summer was all about trying every kind of those (mostly in moderation, I swear). My favorites were definitely Algauer Hef at Sapphire Hotel on Hawthorne in Portland and a Sake I had at Masu last weekend. Sapphire Hotel also has great food, couches, board games, no smoke, and a quiet atmosphere. I would live there, but it doesn’t really have hotel rooms. Darn. Masu has a super cheap and amazing happy hour for food too. Too bad the summer and football season are coming to an end…I will probably be ‘too skinny’ again in a couple months.
3) Eat at restaurants all the time. So expensive and bad for you, but I’ve tried a ton of great restaurants and gotten a lot of quality time in with a ton of friends through breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Okay, so real ways to stay skinny: Don’t do numbers 2 or 3 from above (obviously), workout and be active as much as possible…challenge yourself to do new things that get you out of the house or off your feet, stop watching TV all the time, get off your computer, drink a lot of water, have water with every meal and drink more if you are still hungry…then wait and see if that fills you up before eating again, do not drink soda or alcohol…both are high in calories and pretty bad for you anyway, don’t stock your house with processed, fatty, or white flour foods…aka CAREFULLY shop the perimeter at the grocery store…this really works and you will feel a lot better too, get up and take walks at work if you have to sit all day, park far away in parking lots so you have to walk, find excuses to fidget, dance in your car, dance at work, dance in your house…yes, I like to dance, drink nonfat milk, eat food high in protein and fiber, eat random things like that for breakfast too instead of crap (you need to fill yourself up at breakfast…maybe people will make fun of you for eating organic spinach and feta pockets, edamame, or turkey wraps, but, you will feel fuller and have more energy). And lastly, be lucky and have a good metabolism like me…as my dad says…if he misses a meal he loses six pounds (okay, sorry this last one will probably only work for those related to me).
Does that help? Pretty much, being healthy requires adopting that you will live your life a certain way, that you will amp up your workout or activities if you are feeling out of shape, etc, etc. You need to realize that diets and quick fixes are temporary and that committing to changing your lifestyle is probably the only way you will achieve permanent results.
Let’s Gump this and say, “That’s all I have to say about that,” and I realize it’s not always easy. But start by making little changes and then you will just see and crave living and eating healthy as a way of life.
The Perfect Date: I had the most perfect date on Friday night. There was smiling and laughter the whole time. Okay, so who cares if it was with my two and a half month old niece Taylor? My God, not since Cedar’s birth seven years ago had I realized how crazy in love you become with these little precious things. I got five hours of mostly alone time with her while Lexy and Ben ran their church Halloween party. And I figured out she really likes to be carried sideways, facing out, on my arm, swinging back and forth (it‘s a good workout). I’ve also determined that she is probably going to get her way with me for the rest of her life. Anyway, we had fun and I highly recommend getting a date in with this one if you are in any way related to her (as some of my readers are).
Happy Anniversary: To my stuff. Yep, a year ago this week, all my belongings except what I could fit in my car came back to Portland. As all know, I arrived two months later, though maybe I truly only arrived as all of me late this summer. So, while I always thank everyone else for being there for me in 2008 and helping me to figure myself out again, I will thank myself and say…thanks for finally arriving, Real Me. I missed me, ha.
Alright, song of the moment is Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits. It’s kind of a magical little tune that makes me think that may I actually want a boyfriend again one day soon, and I like it better than the new Killers remake.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Guest Post From My Smart Little Brother
I didn't write this, but was pretty proud of my smart, and clearly wise, 21 year old brother who did write it, so I am reposting it with his permission. He also included this video at the top, but I am not techie enough to figure out how to embed it, so here is the link instead: (Late addition...people in the sun left me some lessons on how to embed, so now the video is present!)
Anyway, read Scott's opinion on the upcoming election and remember that you have the chance to make a truly informed decision come election day. In the meantime, his mom (my stepmom) is out canvassing neighborhoods for Obama and I am pretty sure we are all voting for Obama. So, pretty much, my whole family rocks. Here you go...
Being Politically Minded...
For those of you that are able to vote on November 4th, stand for something more then a single point and take the whole picture and what the candidates stand for into account.
I'm sorry but if you are basing who you are voting on in this election on one single point (lets say abortion for instance, as I know many ignorant republicans are...), you need to do your research and not assume first of all that all democrats are pro abortion. Obamas stance is to promote contraceptives and have them be avaliable to all that need them. He is against late term abortion and partial birth.
Now lets take into account that when Bush came into office, Clinton had left us with a surplus (and despite the fact that the only thing you can remember about him is that he cheated with an intern, so did JFK and many other presidents, he did great things for America). Our deficit has gone from 6 trillion to 10 trillion in the past eight years under Bush's regime. (Fact)
So now it comes down to the real boiling point, and one of the main hot topics today, our economy. For those of you that would like to elect a president who completely opposes abortion, but will only send our economy into a further down spiraling twist with tax cuts (that benefit the rich 10 fold then the middle and working class, which consists of 90% of America by the way) and ridiculous international spending then sure, go ahead and elect Mccain. Now for what I would hope is the more intelligient of the people reading this, consider voting for someone who really does stand a chance at pulling America out of the slump that we are in now. (Check republican/democrat economic track records)
PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR SELFISH REASONS.
If Mccain is elected then abortion will be safe this is true, but as more and more mortgages fail and poverty rates increase, people can no longer pay to go to school, or to support their children and families, but HEY IT'S OK AS LONG AS ABORTION DOESN'T EVER HAPPEN.
God help our country, because obviously for how close Bush has claimed he is to him has helped us a whole lot. US being oil tycoons and millionaires.
Any millionaires or oil tycoons reading this?
Anyway, read Scott's opinion on the upcoming election and remember that you have the chance to make a truly informed decision come election day. In the meantime, his mom (my stepmom) is out canvassing neighborhoods for Obama and I am pretty sure we are all voting for Obama. So, pretty much, my whole family rocks. Here you go...
Being Politically Minded...
For those of you that are able to vote on November 4th, stand for something more then a single point and take the whole picture and what the candidates stand for into account.
I'm sorry but if you are basing who you are voting on in this election on one single point (lets say abortion for instance, as I know many ignorant republicans are...), you need to do your research and not assume first of all that all democrats are pro abortion. Obamas stance is to promote contraceptives and have them be avaliable to all that need them. He is against late term abortion and partial birth.
Now lets take into account that when Bush came into office, Clinton had left us with a surplus (and despite the fact that the only thing you can remember about him is that he cheated with an intern, so did JFK and many other presidents, he did great things for America). Our deficit has gone from 6 trillion to 10 trillion in the past eight years under Bush's regime. (Fact)
So now it comes down to the real boiling point, and one of the main hot topics today, our economy. For those of you that would like to elect a president who completely opposes abortion, but will only send our economy into a further down spiraling twist with tax cuts (that benefit the rich 10 fold then the middle and working class, which consists of 90% of America by the way) and ridiculous international spending then sure, go ahead and elect Mccain. Now for what I would hope is the more intelligient of the people reading this, consider voting for someone who really does stand a chance at pulling America out of the slump that we are in now. (Check republican/democrat economic track records)
PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR SELFISH REASONS.
If Mccain is elected then abortion will be safe this is true, but as more and more mortgages fail and poverty rates increase, people can no longer pay to go to school, or to support their children and families, but HEY IT'S OK AS LONG AS ABORTION DOESN'T EVER HAPPEN.
God help our country, because obviously for how close Bush has claimed he is to him has helped us a whole lot. US being oil tycoons and millionaires.
Any millionaires or oil tycoons reading this?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Instant Reactions of the Week
Because going to bed before midnite appears something I am not capable of at this time in my life, here is some useful, useless, and Sarah'ish information, whatever that means...
1) Watching debates on Wednesday proved easily to me that I didn't need to watch them to make my decision. And Bama is Obama, not Alabama. And yes, I am voting for him. I will not give my opinion on who you should vote for, but it starts with an O, ends with an A, and has a 'BAM!' in the middle. I just wanted to write BAM! Whoo, I feel better.
2) If you have to list 'it's complicated' as your relationship status, it's not a relationship or you are too stupid to figure that out at the moment. Don't worry, while I've never actually put that up, I sure as hell have been there, so don't feel bad. I prefer listing nothing, because no one really cares, and if they do, they'll ask. That's when you tell them you are a badass who is eventually looking for a real relationship that's not 'complicated.' Or you tell them that you are a crazed fan of solidarity and 'uncomplicatedness.' Either way, it's a winner.
3) On Sunday morning I went to the Hotcake House again. I can see an obsession with this place brewing. Thanks to my buddy Bruce for showing me the way to breakfast Heaven.
4) Try taking five kids to prison in a minivan all the while blasting 107.5 (Top 40 crap rap) and see if you still want kids afterward. Bizarrely enough, I think it's cute when my little 7 year old terrors are singing along to this crap. How the hell do they know all the words?!
5) My very wonderful friend Brian Nelson comes storming through town for ten days starting this weekend. I can't wait for him and his steel jaw to arrive.
6) The Office is awesome this year, and if you disagree, "You are a thief of joy." And if that makes no sense, you just aren't paying enough attention this season.
7) Halftime at Beaver games is best riding through Corvallis on, or thrown over, the shoulders of a friend who can shotput people. Thanks Tom.
8) I had the 'pleasure' of taking the most boring and ignorant person in the world back to Portland after the Beavers game on Saturday. He goes to my gym too, and he is so boring, I didn't even recognize him when he passed me at the gym. He sat in the MU at OSU watching football for three hours before the game on Saturday. Who the hell does that when they are in their college town on gameday?!
9) My roommate's girlfriend made a sign, dressed up in a gawdy wig, bright pink boots, makeup, and a green dress, and yelled, "Welcome home Will" over and over as he arrived down the escalator at the airport from a business trip on Monday. They compete to see who can embarrass the other the most. I think that is so damn adorable.
10) Howie Day is a badass in disguise of a top 40 ballad singer. I've used the word badass twice in this post...and damn, that makes it three. Anyway, go listen to Morning After by him.
11) We'll end on my favorite number...goodnite.
1) Watching debates on Wednesday proved easily to me that I didn't need to watch them to make my decision. And Bama is Obama, not Alabama. And yes, I am voting for him. I will not give my opinion on who you should vote for, but it starts with an O, ends with an A, and has a 'BAM!' in the middle. I just wanted to write BAM! Whoo, I feel better.
2) If you have to list 'it's complicated' as your relationship status, it's not a relationship or you are too stupid to figure that out at the moment. Don't worry, while I've never actually put that up, I sure as hell have been there, so don't feel bad. I prefer listing nothing, because no one really cares, and if they do, they'll ask. That's when you tell them you are a badass who is eventually looking for a real relationship that's not 'complicated.' Or you tell them that you are a crazed fan of solidarity and 'uncomplicatedness.' Either way, it's a winner.
3) On Sunday morning I went to the Hotcake House again. I can see an obsession with this place brewing. Thanks to my buddy Bruce for showing me the way to breakfast Heaven.
4) Try taking five kids to prison in a minivan all the while blasting 107.5 (Top 40 crap rap) and see if you still want kids afterward. Bizarrely enough, I think it's cute when my little 7 year old terrors are singing along to this crap. How the hell do they know all the words?!
5) My very wonderful friend Brian Nelson comes storming through town for ten days starting this weekend. I can't wait for him and his steel jaw to arrive.
6) The Office is awesome this year, and if you disagree, "You are a thief of joy." And if that makes no sense, you just aren't paying enough attention this season.
7) Halftime at Beaver games is best riding through Corvallis on, or thrown over, the shoulders of a friend who can shotput people. Thanks Tom.
8) I had the 'pleasure' of taking the most boring and ignorant person in the world back to Portland after the Beavers game on Saturday. He goes to my gym too, and he is so boring, I didn't even recognize him when he passed me at the gym. He sat in the MU at OSU watching football for three hours before the game on Saturday. Who the hell does that when they are in their college town on gameday?!
9) My roommate's girlfriend made a sign, dressed up in a gawdy wig, bright pink boots, makeup, and a green dress, and yelled, "Welcome home Will" over and over as he arrived down the escalator at the airport from a business trip on Monday. They compete to see who can embarrass the other the most. I think that is so damn adorable.
10) Howie Day is a badass in disguise of a top 40 ballad singer. I've used the word badass twice in this post...and damn, that makes it three. Anyway, go listen to Morning After by him.
11) We'll end on my favorite number...goodnite.
Monday, October 06, 2008
"Once You're Connected"
I love the smell of field burning mixed with the cold air and rain. I need to get used to wearing my raincoat everywhere and socks again, but so far, the fall weather hasn’t bothered me at all. I love Oregon because you can be dressed to the nines and still have your Marmot or Columbia rain jacket on right over the top. Okay, maybe I just need more fashion sense, but…I like to stay dry.
That is a precursor to the “I’m wearing my happy hat again” post to follow. Gear up, because it’s really about the moments with the people I adore. I’m not intending to turn on the cheese ’o’ meter here either, though some will read it that way. As I may overstate at times, I just feel pretty fortunate to have what, and who, I have in my life, and they don’t always get recognized…
So, Friday night was one of those perfect nights with three of my best friends. Two of them have been married to each other since 2001 and the other I can do anything with, anytime, anywhere, and always have some bizarrely perfect time. Anyway, we’ve been having ‘foursome’ adventures for almost ten years now, and they never get old. We’ve never run out of things to talk about and all we do is laugh, the entire time, at everything, sparing no embarrassing stories or stupid moments. Everyone needs a crew like this, so if you don’t have one, find one.
I guess I am lucky, because I have a few of these. Three of my girlfriends and I are still on our roll of getting together once every week for lunch. We’ve missed a couple, but it’s funny because I can be stressed and having the shittiest day…but then our lunch rolls around and they just calm me down. Maybe it’s because I’ve known them so long. I don’t know. I also have another newer group of girls that I do brunch with once a month. I love that just as much.
Then there’s another friend who I met back in April. We’ve had some lengthy conversations about everything from our disasters in relationships to our hatred for ignorant politics…it’s always engaging and I seem to always walk away from him enlightened. A couple Sundays ago, we hit the Willamette on kayaks for three hours of rowing and chatter, and I once again realized that good friends can come into your life at any moment. He’s never been afraid to tell me to look at things in a different light or that I’m over thinking things, and I appreciate that about him.
I also got to catch up last week with a friend I admire to no end. She takes on everything and has literally blossomed into an amazing wife, mother, and activist in the three short years I have known her. Ahh, and she wrote this about me last October and it makes me laugh…
Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, oh how I miss my Sarah. On my first day of work at Catholic Community Services I found out a second person was hired to do the same job as I was. This woman was tall and beautiful and smart and asked all these great questions during our morning orientation type meeting and I went home and told my husband about the new chick that I did not like. Have I ever mentioned that my first impressions are usually wrong? By the end of our first week I had fallen in love with Sarah. She is smart and funny and loyal and kind. She stayed on a CCS for a while after I left but then moved to Ohio. This summer Sarah joined us on our family vacation on the east coast and it was a very cool time with her. It is rumored that she is coming back and though my heart breaks for Sarah as this may mark the end of a very important relationship in her life, I simply can't wait!
I love this because I remember how news of me planning my move back to Oregon last October spread like wildfire through my old CCS coworkers...all of them were on the phone with me within 15 minutes of the first one finding out...asking me what I needed and if I was okay. I’ve somehow remained close to all of them. I have new coworkers too who just put a smile on my face any time I hang out with them. Maybe it’s the line of work we all do…we’re always solving everyone else’s problems, so our hearts are pretty in tune and open.
So, I know that I, like all people, have some superficial friendships. It’s not to even say that those are bad necessarily. Occasionally, amazing connections start superficially as you’re fumbling over the odds and ends of two, or several, different lives merging into commonalities. I truly love meeting new people and finding reasons to join up with someone I hardly know…whether it be to motivate me to exercise or to get me out of a hole. Not all these friendships will go on to include all the nuts and bolts obviously, and some will simply fade out, but I have to recognize this quote from someone I‘ve never met…
“Once you’re connected with someone, time and space become irrelevant.”
It reminds me that everyone who is truly meant to be in our lives may not always be there for us as we all finish school, start new jobs, get married, have kids, get caught up in good and not so good relationships, move away, and occasionally, move back. But, if we hold on to the ones we adore, get to know the ones we think we may grow to enjoy, and leave the ones who burn us out behind, our connections will be pretty damn good…and time and space won’t ever matter.
That’s my two cents. Song of the moment is #41 by Dave Matthews Band. I’m still a little bummed at the loss of LeRoi Moore in August…he had such a signature sound.
That is a precursor to the “I’m wearing my happy hat again” post to follow. Gear up, because it’s really about the moments with the people I adore. I’m not intending to turn on the cheese ’o’ meter here either, though some will read it that way. As I may overstate at times, I just feel pretty fortunate to have what, and who, I have in my life, and they don’t always get recognized…
So, Friday night was one of those perfect nights with three of my best friends. Two of them have been married to each other since 2001 and the other I can do anything with, anytime, anywhere, and always have some bizarrely perfect time. Anyway, we’ve been having ‘foursome’ adventures for almost ten years now, and they never get old. We’ve never run out of things to talk about and all we do is laugh, the entire time, at everything, sparing no embarrassing stories or stupid moments. Everyone needs a crew like this, so if you don’t have one, find one.
I guess I am lucky, because I have a few of these. Three of my girlfriends and I are still on our roll of getting together once every week for lunch. We’ve missed a couple, but it’s funny because I can be stressed and having the shittiest day…but then our lunch rolls around and they just calm me down. Maybe it’s because I’ve known them so long. I don’t know. I also have another newer group of girls that I do brunch with once a month. I love that just as much.
Then there’s another friend who I met back in April. We’ve had some lengthy conversations about everything from our disasters in relationships to our hatred for ignorant politics…it’s always engaging and I seem to always walk away from him enlightened. A couple Sundays ago, we hit the Willamette on kayaks for three hours of rowing and chatter, and I once again realized that good friends can come into your life at any moment. He’s never been afraid to tell me to look at things in a different light or that I’m over thinking things, and I appreciate that about him.
I also got to catch up last week with a friend I admire to no end. She takes on everything and has literally blossomed into an amazing wife, mother, and activist in the three short years I have known her. Ahh, and she wrote this about me last October and it makes me laugh…
Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, oh how I miss my Sarah. On my first day of work at Catholic Community Services I found out a second person was hired to do the same job as I was. This woman was tall and beautiful and smart and asked all these great questions during our morning orientation type meeting and I went home and told my husband about the new chick that I did not like. Have I ever mentioned that my first impressions are usually wrong? By the end of our first week I had fallen in love with Sarah. She is smart and funny and loyal and kind. She stayed on a CCS for a while after I left but then moved to Ohio. This summer Sarah joined us on our family vacation on the east coast and it was a very cool time with her. It is rumored that she is coming back and though my heart breaks for Sarah as this may mark the end of a very important relationship in her life, I simply can't wait!
I love this because I remember how news of me planning my move back to Oregon last October spread like wildfire through my old CCS coworkers...all of them were on the phone with me within 15 minutes of the first one finding out...asking me what I needed and if I was okay. I’ve somehow remained close to all of them. I have new coworkers too who just put a smile on my face any time I hang out with them. Maybe it’s the line of work we all do…we’re always solving everyone else’s problems, so our hearts are pretty in tune and open.
So, I know that I, like all people, have some superficial friendships. It’s not to even say that those are bad necessarily. Occasionally, amazing connections start superficially as you’re fumbling over the odds and ends of two, or several, different lives merging into commonalities. I truly love meeting new people and finding reasons to join up with someone I hardly know…whether it be to motivate me to exercise or to get me out of a hole. Not all these friendships will go on to include all the nuts and bolts obviously, and some will simply fade out, but I have to recognize this quote from someone I‘ve never met…
“Once you’re connected with someone, time and space become irrelevant.”
It reminds me that everyone who is truly meant to be in our lives may not always be there for us as we all finish school, start new jobs, get married, have kids, get caught up in good and not so good relationships, move away, and occasionally, move back. But, if we hold on to the ones we adore, get to know the ones we think we may grow to enjoy, and leave the ones who burn us out behind, our connections will be pretty damn good…and time and space won’t ever matter.
That’s my two cents. Song of the moment is #41 by Dave Matthews Band. I’m still a little bummed at the loss of LeRoi Moore in August…he had such a signature sound.
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