At first, this blog was just a way to keep track of how I feel and what I made during the Whole30 program, but I found that I liked to tell my friends, family, and the world what I am up to.
I am in danger of reverting back to my old way of eating. I was fine for two weeks after my Whole30 since I had decided that I wanted to keep going. I was eating well and I felt great. My energy was going back to how I used to feel in college. I had lost 13 pounds which eased the stress on my back. I was even doing better at yoga. Unfortunately, during these last two weeks, it's all hit the fan. My sugar dragon came out and bested me when I thought I could handle a piece of chocolate with C. My energy plummeted after I ate the Mac'n'cheese at my folk's house, but I had thought it would be temporary...yeah right.
What do I do now? Finish the week off with a bang and then start back up after I move or try to jump up on that horse and start anew. Should I stress out about my eating habits while I'm also stressing out about packing, moving, and starting new at a new job? I thought that it would put too much stress on me. I'm already panicky enough, but now, I think I need that diet and nutrition to keep me afloat. Unfortunately, Maw-maw wants to show her love for me by cooking. You know, that Southern tradition where love is in the food, regardless if it came out of a box or not.
This past weekend was a blur. Saturday, I helped get Maw-maw's tank set up then drove out to Animal Jungle to find a battery operated air pump for my fish whom I am taking with me. I, then, drove a friend of mine to the beach so that we could watch the naval ship that her husband and my uncle are on leave. They won't be back for a while so it was kind of sad to watch them and the rain wasn't helping at all with the mood. Afterwards, I packed my gazillion books. Finally, I went to my best friend's house in the boonies (literally a 40 minute drive away) to see her new place and drink some wine and talk for a bit. I didn't get home until after midnight.
Sunday, I woke up early to go to yoga, then got my haircut. I like how it looks, mainly because it looks healthy again. I still didn't spring for that short hairstyle that so many people suggest to me. It's still passed my shoulders and it'll grow back down my back in a short while. Afterwards, I went to my mom and dad's and hung out for a bit. I snuggled with their pittie, Taco while we talked about the arrangements for this coming weekend. Then, I went to my other best friend's house for a dinner party that she had invited me to. I had wonderful time and it was nice to see everyone together one more time before I vamoose from the area. T, L, and their husbands are all planning on when they are coming to visit which is exciting. I don't want it to be like last time when we stopped talking.
This week is busy. Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, so I am going over there for dinner and to hang out. Thursday, I have my last social spinning/knitting with my favorite crafty people. Then Friday, I start packing the truck so that on Saturday, we can travel. This month has flown by and I feel like I haven't done anything yet. Sigh.
So this weekend was pretty awful when it came to eating clean. I was feeling so good and invincible that I wanted to just let loose this weekend, especially since I had attended two parties and the food choices were not the cleanest. I rue that decision now. Seriously...rue.
On Saturday, I want to T's baby shower. She was beautiful and it was great to see her. Her shower went off without a hitch. Everyone arrived on time, the games were quick and fun, and the food was pretty delicious. I tried to limit myself to just the fruit, I even ate before I arrived so I wouldn't be tempted to gorge. I did stay away from the fried chicken. I tried the deviled eggs, but someone put a lot of sugar in their mixture. I found it gross. I ended up overindulging in the lumpia and pancit.
My other best friend, L, and I were the champs of the games. I won once and she was able to snag two. We were a formidable team. L was there earlier than me. She decorated with T's other friend and got things situated. I came after I worked in the lab, so there was nothing left for me to do which was fine since I felt a little out of place. I am a serious introvert and there were way too many new faces. I still managed to have a great time and I am sure T did as well.
Afterwards, L and I went to the country western bar for the anniversary/going away party that my family was holding. I tried to dance the night away, but there was a horde of college students there. They acted like cattle, they didn't know the dances so they would crowd around those that did. If they were at one side of the dance floor and the regular dancers were at the other, they would stampede to the other side. Everyone was getting frustrated with them and there were times when the DJ would play awful songs just to get them off the dance floor.
Dinner was okay. L and I shared some hot wings (which had a few undercooked ones) and some onion rings. Neither of us were really hungry since we had just left the baby shower and we were both tired. The service was okay. I think they got a little overwhelmed since we were a party of over 20 people and the two waitresses assigned to us didn't have a clear plan of attack. Our food arrived late and the few mixed drinks that I had came about 15-30 minutes after I ordered it. Usually, they are never like this. I guess everyone can have an off day.
Sunday, I woke up early (after only 5 hours of sleep) and went to work to set-up my cultures that arrived on Saturday. Then, I headed to my ashtanga yoga practice for an hour. I really love this yoga studio. The instructor is pretty awesome and she tries to push us hard, but not be militant about it. I always feel great after I leave because I see my body being able to do something that it hasn't been able to do before, even if its touch my toes.
After yoga, I stopped by my storage unit to pack a few things that are essential and rearrange the storage unit for easier access. I was getting a little angry because I couldn't find stuff that I thought should be in there. Did someone take these items? Not sure.
Mom came and picked me up and we went to the Opera House to watch Ariadne auf Naxos which is a comedic opera composed and written by Strauss. I found it absolutely amazing. It was about a rich man having a dinner party and he paid to have an opera and a comedy performed as entertainment. The opera was supposed to be first which annoyed the composer. However, the dinner party went longer than expected, so the major domo told the two companies that they would have to perform their piece simultaneously. The second half of the opera was what the two companies came up with. Genius. Also, I loved how the comediennes were punk rockers!
After that, mom took me to her house and we had dinner with dad and 'lil sister. Dad made fried chicken strips and mac'n'cheese from the Duck Dynasty cook book. I enjoyed the chicken strips. I found the mac'n'cheese a little flavorless with too much flour. It might be me though. We watched Resident Evil while eating which my mom just rolled her eyes at Dad and I. We have similar tastes in movies.
Lil' sister took me home around 8 so that I could do laundry and pack some more stuff. I watched Black Sails with Maw-maw and spent a little time with her. I seem to not have any time anymore to just stay home. I guess that's what I will be doing for the next week. I fear she thinks I don't love her anymore because I am leaving which is contrary to the truth. Guess I'll have to deal with her feeling betrayed every couple of days. Sigh.
Friday, February 7, 2014
This week, I show you an infographic that is shows why I am a Nerd and not a Geek as many people assume. I'm not afraid of showing off my Nerd-style and I don't care if you call me a Nerd. It's who I am and I'm proud of it. There is nothing wrong with being socially awkward, introverted, and obsessed with the academic world. There is also nothing wrong with being a Geek, but I can't do it. If you click on the infographic, it should get bigger.
This weekend is going to be nuts. I am working on Saturday and Sunday to keep my hours up at work. The tolls for the ERB systems have gone up and my coworkers all live on the wrong side; doesn't bother me though. I kind of like the relaxed atmosphere and the alone time.
Tomorrow is my best friend's baby shower. It's her first baby and I'm so happy for her. I know she wanted kids for a while now. I stopped by the stores that she registered for, but I think I am going to go rebel on her. If I had enough time and not a lot going on, I would have loved to make her something for him like a hat or manly diaper cover, but that's not going to happen in time.
Tomorrow night, my aunt and uncle are having their anniversary dinner and good-bye party (uncle is in the Navy) at a country western bar. This gives me an excuse to go dancing before I have to truly focus on packing my bags for my big adventure/move. We always have a good time here and I started to learn a ton of the line dances. I hope that I can find a similar place where I move so that I can continue to enjoy a night of dancing and possibly make new friends too.
Sunday, I plan on going to the opera with my Mom. We like these cultural Mother/Daughter dates. For the past two years, we have gone to Opera at the Park which is a free event held every year. It's truly awesome. This opera is going to be Ariande auf Naxos which is a comedy by Strauss. It's a mixture of burlesque and opera, so it will be entertaining.
Also, on Sunday, I will have to start the arduous task of packing my room and making sure I have everything for occupational health on Tuesday. I have been putting off the packing because I know how Maw-maw feels about me leaving. I want to cause as little stress as possible for her. She doesn't do change well. How do you try and make it a seamless move, but also hope to cause little trouble with the relative you are living with? I think talking helped a little, but I'm sure the rest of the family will have to step up a little so that she has someone around. To be honest, she feels as if she's a burden on everyone. I keep telling her that that is not so, but she won't listen. She even told me that she won't call anyone if she has to go to Doctor's or emergency department because she doesn't want to cause trouble. Someone needs to knock some sense into her.
So, what am I up to tonight, you ask? I am going to have dinner with my parents. I love spending time with them, but I feel like I haven't done enough. I always feel this way before a big change. For example, when my Pop-pop passed away, I felt like I shouldn't have moved up to Washington, DC and spent more time with him. I felt like I should have dropped everything when my grandparents in California renewed their vows, but instead, I was in school and I couldn't miss a day. I guess I regret things when I shouldn't.
I am currently finishing Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo. I have probably 200 pages to go which is only a small portion considering that this book is nearly 1400 pages long. It's a wonderful book, beautifully written in my humble opinion. Usually, I shy away from historical fictions, mainly because they change history to make the plot fit or the writing is atrocious. Here, she backs her writing up with notes and a lengthy bibliography.
Sacajawea spans the years from the early 1800s to late 1800s; however, Waldo surmises the latter third of the book for various reasons such as accounts of an elderly Indian woman being buried at a Fort near her son who was a Charboneau. Otherwise, it seems very plausible that the accounts happened that way.
I won't talk about what the book was about because I encourage people to read this book. It might not be a masterpiece, but for being Waldo's debut book, it's phenomenal. I definitely give it about four out of five stars. I hope to be able to find more of Anna Lee Waldo's books.
The last week of the Whole30 was a bit of chaos, but I managed to finish the program without a hitch. Unfortunately, I don't quite remember what I ate during that time, especially since on Wednesday, I found out that I got the job that I interviewed for and the thought about moving within a month really started to set in during the weekend after my Whole30 finished. I'm a mixture of emotions and feel bittersweet when I realize that I'm leaving my friends and family behind, but I will be able to see them often because I'm not moving out of the state.
On Saturday, I had to work and read urine cultures which wasn't so bad because of the recent snow, but I went in late because I hung outside with my Dad and his neighbor who came over to fix our electrical meter box. I came home with barely enough time to whip up some blueberry glazed pork chops which was a modification of this PaleOMG recipe and some snap snow peas.
On Sunday, I went to yoga for some much needed zen in my life. It's one of the few exercises that I truly enjoy because I can just focus on the now. My brain actually gives up its hold on my nervous system for an hour. Afterwards, I decided to go to the grocery store by myself since my aunt and uncle stopped by to visit with Maw-maw which was fine. I still had a hard time finding things since Sundays are so packed with people.
When I got home, I took the leftover spaghetti squash to make PaleOMG's Spaghetti Squash Casserole which was surprisingly easy and good. I really wanted to make pad thai, but I couldn't find sunbutter that didn't have any sugar in it (except online). I was able to use up all the spaghetti squash and have decent leftovers for the next couple of days which was a bonus.
Monday was your typical same 'ol day. I went to work, but since I worked on the weekend, I decided to take over the micro bench to finish out what I was doing which was rather nice. I, usually, work the chemistry bench and do my admin stuff on Mondays, so a change was definitely in order. I was feeling amazing too!
Dinner was nomnompaleo's Cracklin' Chicken. Unfortunately, I let my oil get too hot and so it scorched my chicken. I was afraid of the skin getting too burnt that I flipped them over sooner than Michelle Tam suggested. I was rewarded with crispy skin, but uncooked meat. I had to finish the chicken in the microwave once I started to eat. I was highly disappointed at myself.
Tuesday, was another work day, but they were threatening another snow day with more snow that before. I was a little skeptical, but decided that I should get my car inspected, just in case I couldn't get there for the rest of the week. My car passed the state inspection and an oil change for free! SCORE! Anyways, I got to work late and still finished my work around lunch time. The clouds were starting to roll in and the temperature dropped a little by the time I left work, so I figured that I shouldn't spend too much time out and about. By the time I got home, which is only a 15 minute drive, it had started to flurry. Guess we were getting snow afterall!
That night, I made a mexican meatza with Glen muir brand medium salsa, a diced avocado, red onion slices, and bell pepper slices. I was pleasantly surprised with how it came out. Maw-maw thought it was a little spicy, but I guess that salsa tends to get spicier when the liquid evaporates. Not sure, but even she was happy with it.
Wednesday was a snow day! It snowed over 10" in my hometown which made almost everything shutdown again. The roads were horrible and people were abandoning their stranded cars in the road because of how deep the snow had gotten. My dad came to my house, picked me up in his truck, and took me over to their house so that I could play in the snow like a little kid with my 'lil sister and Taco, the pitbull. We had a really great time being little kids again. At lunch, we had hotdogs and I made my mom and I some cajun sweet potato fries. In the afternoon, we walked to my aunt and uncle's house to throw snowballs, but the snow was too powdery. We ended up just tackling each other into the snow drifts and helping people get their cars unstuck.
Dad took me home around dinner time and I made some chili out of my own head. It was pretty good, but I probably should have cooked my meat with the peppers instead of just letting them simmer. I used two pounds of ground beef, a large can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, cumin, mexican chili powder, and a touch of cayenne pepper. I let it simmer for 45 minutes until my hunger grew to starving and I couldn't wait any longer.
Thursday, I decided that I needed to go into work even though we were closed again due to snow, so I braved the roads so that I can get results out to needy people with possible UTIs. I spent more time at work that I should have, but I needed to get away. I, then, went to a friend's house to hang out for a bit before her husband goes on leave. We cooked some chicken with garam marsala seasoning and watched Fairy Tail which talking and being silly. I went home and ate leftover chili which was much better than the day before. It was my last day too! I had made it!
Day 31, which was Friday, my parents treated Maw-maw and I to cracker barrel. I still got the grilled catfish with two sides of turnip greens and a very bland cucumber, tomato, and onion salad. I didn't touch the bread and I only drank water. I was super proud of myself. I really didn't want to cause any problems.
Unfortunately, the weekend was a different story. I had a chocolate milkshake when I had lunch with my knitting partners-in-crime after going to the Neighborhood Fiber co trunk show and super bowl sale at my local yarn store (LYS). Then, it was late when I got home so I ordered stir-fry from a chinese place down the street since Maw-maw was really craving it. Note to self: Those people were right. Chinese food is NOT your friend! I have been battling the "Chinese flux" for two days now.
Superbowl sunday, I made the crispy and spicy hot wings again with a paleo-fied bloomin' onion (which was a bust!). Maw-maw snuck in a little bit of flour to the batter for the onions and I didn't find out until after dinner, so my stomach is now really not happy. I can't believe that I'm so sensitive to gluten, but the results don't lie.
So what's next? I'm going to eat cleaner than normal while I go through the moving process, but I am not going to get overly anxious if there are a day or two when I can't be completely clean because I just can't let that add on to the stress. After I move and get situated, I'm thinking about another Whole30. I, also, want to start getting physical (Does Oliva Newton John pop in your head too?) by exercising and finding a yoga place. This is an exciting new adventure in my life and I plan on sharing it with you.
