12 Weeks...No big changes yet!

How Far Along: 12 Weeks (still barely a bump!)

Size of baby: Peach (3 inches)

Important Milestones: The baby's intestines are moving to their permanent position in her abdomen. (It's weird to think they start growing outside the body!) The placenta is growing and the baby's vocal cords are in development.

Total Weight Gain: only about 2-4 lbs. (I worked out three times last week and hope to work out that much this week.

Maternity Clothes: I bought a few pairs of pants, and my mother in law took me shopping for a bunch of things. I haven't really had to wear anything yet, but I'll be wearing maternity pants to Thanksgiving dinner!! ;) I can still manage to button pants! But it's not always comfy when I'm sitting! (Update - I can barely manage to button pants - BARELY. Sitting down is not optional. It's not a pretty sight.)

Gender: No news on that front as of yet!

Movement: None of that happening yet.

Sleep: So far so good!

What I miss: I'm missing wine this week

Cravings: Oranges and orange juice. Big times

Symptoms: Still tired. Less bloated. Less nauseated.

What I’m looking forward to: More energy and baby flutters!

11 weeks...Starting to feel more alive!

How Far Along: 11 Weeks (barely a bump!)

Size of baby:  Large plum (2.5 inches, .5oz)

Important Milestones: Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming. (Why do websites automatically say her?? What if it's a him?)

Total Weight Gain: Somewhere between 3-5lbs, depending on the day

Maternity Clothes: I bought a few pairs of pants, and my mother in law took me shopping for a bunch of things. I haven't really had to wear anything yet, but I'll be wearing maternity pants to Thanksgiving dinner!! ;) I can still manage to button pants! But it's not always comfy when I'm sitting!

Gender:  No news on that front as of yet! 

Movement:  None of that happening yet. 

Sleep: So far so good! FINALLY my night time sickness has been dwindling. 

What I miss: As my appetite has been creeping back up to speed, I really am missing spicy tuna sushi rolls.

Cravings: Gross, but I have had a thing for McDonald's classic crispy sandwich. I had one last week and one this week. I REALLY want a Chick-Fil-A sandwich but have no restaurant close by. I don't even like fast food. I really don't like it. Ethically. Or Healthily. 

Symptoms: Still feeling tired. Constantly hungry the last few days. Only occasionally nauseated. Still a bit, ahem, challenged with constipation. TMI. :p My shirts aren't fitting me right thanks to my growing chest. 

What I’m looking forward to: More energy. No nausea. Baby flutters!

Vote!

Go do your country a favor. Exercise your right and your duty to vote. If you haven't yet, leave now. Go.

You can't complain about the results of this election is you didn't vote. Tis all....

On being pregnant: Week 10

I am very slowly....slooooooowly....starting to feel a little more like myself! I am 10 weeks pregnant today! Holy crap. No bumpage really. It looks more bloaty than anything. The baby is no bigger than prune (the other source I read says kumquat, but does anyone actually know what that looks like?).

I have barely blogged at all recently so you've been spare from the posts in which I would have bitched the entire time about how miserable I have been. The nausea. It has been EPIC. Sure, to most, I probably had the least epic of nausea episodes. However, of you recall, nothing in life makes me more anxious than nausea and the threat of throwing up. So, the past month and more has been hell on earth for me. Weeks 6-8? Really really rough. Then I have the pregnancy acne, thanks to the "glow" of the oil slick on my face, shoulders etc. My hair has also been a greasy mess. BUT! The oil production seems to have slowed and I have made it almost two days with just dry shampoo -- my routine pre-pregnancy. I haven't liked washing my hair every freaking day, as it was drying out my ends. Hoping it goes away for good soon!



I normally have a fairly flat stomach regularly. I was truly blessed with that one. And so you can see a barely there baby pooch happening there. Pretty exciting! In this pic, I'm wearing a pair of maternity velour pants my MIL had picked up for me. Normally, I would have shunned velour anything, because ew. But these are so insanely comfortable, you can't even believe it. Pregnant ladies? Kohls!!! I found these babies there.

And if there's anything that's going to test your marriage more than ever, it's the first trimester. I have been exhausted and haven't been terribly helpful around the house. Dan has been great at making sure it didn't implode inside. There's a lot of work to tackle when I feel better but we don't look like hoarders or people who don't give a crap. It's more cluttered than I like but we will get through. Dan has also taken on the role of laundry, grocery shopping and making of dinner. The rough thing about dinner is that it sounds good to me until he's slaved away over it. Then e serves it and suddenly the smell of it makes me scramble for fresh air and a zofran. The biggest offenders on my nose? Garlic and onions. And I especially love garlic!

I am truly blessed with a fantastic job right now. I'm able to work at my own pace. Able to get work done at home. And I can take breaks almost as needed. I'm really happy I went with this job. I really really am.

That's about it so far. I am finally feeling excited about this baby. While I wanted to have one, the feeling horrible part has put a damper on my excitement. I get to hear the heartbeat on Thursday! So exiting!

And two becomes three.

Ok, I never wanted to turn my blog into a pregnancy journal, but that's my life now. :) Most of you already know this news! And now I can finally talk about it on here! I have been wanting to shout it out!

And now I can! It's been a rough few weeks since we found out and I will get into that in another entry coming up soon....

So much!

There is so much I wish I could talk about right now. But because I can't, I've been avoiding posting anything at all. I haven't felt like myself since August. I've been in and out of emotions, and not feeling well.  I can't get the house clean enough. Takes forever. And I'm trying to keep up with work, but I end up working half the time on the weekends and evenings to just catch up.  I am not motivated half the time to do well, and I get more annoyed than every at my students. I do things half way, I do enough to get by. Dan and are getting along, then we aren't, then we are again. He barely talks to me for fear that I will snap at him. He's been so amazing, though. I love him so very much!!

Just pray for me. That I get through this rough patch...

Building an energy efficient (small) home

I think Dan and I have finally figured out what we want. We have gone back and forth about buying an already built home, renovating our own, or building a house. We're still a little gun shy about building one, but the thought of trying to gut our own house seems more daunting. And we're not sure what can even be done with it to open it up...You know...load bearing walls and all.  We're also on a crazy busy street. Blech. It's an unfortunate location. Even if we changed the inside of our house, it's still not ideal.

Our street is loud. And we live right across from a golf course. I'm tired of finding golf balls all the way in the BACK YARD.  There are some REALLY terrible golfers in this community apparently.

After a lot of thinking, and crunching hypothetical numbers...Looking at home plans. We've shrunk the size house that we want. We were look at home plans around 2200 square feet. But I think we're going to settle on 1200 square feet. Only a mere 100 feet larger than our current house.  With an open floor plan, three bedrooms, 2 baths and hopefully a basement that can be finished at some time.

The things we want to focus on? Less room because we have been TRYING to live more minimalist. And moving into a bigger home would not help this cause. We also want to build something more energy efficient and not break the bank doing so.

We are pulling ideas from this article: Building an Energy-Efficient Home on a Budget, amongst MANY. The main thing in this article?? Smaller and simpler.

And frankly, with a smaller home, it won't cost as much to add premium details such as flooring and kitchen upgrades. It won't hurt as badly to put in a radiant heating system in a 1200 square foot home as it would in a 2200sf home.

I love a big, grand house. But we're not big, grand house people. I don't want to spend a fortune decorating a huge large house. We don't have a LARGE family, so we don't feel the need to have large space to hold lavish holiday parties we will probably never even hold.

Even with kids, this idea will work for us.

We have a five year plan for buying land and building/ moving into our new home. I'm excited about it. Even though right now,  it's a very daunting thought. It's stressful. But its going to be so worth it!!

What I'm Up To: 100th Edition!!

I don't even think I have 100 posts in this blog yet, so I can't say it's my 100th edition. If I were, however, to add all of my archives from all of the years I have been blogging (back into 2007-2008ish), there would be more than 100 posts where I'm just saying hey.

I never wanted this blog to end up stale like this, but I haven't much to say these days. I mean, don't get me wrong -- I have SO FREAKING MUCH going on around me, but I just can't talk about the specifics. I will tell you that I'm driving to approximately 10+ schools a week for treatments, evals, and meetings. I will also tell you that I am loving my job right now (even though I have a a few kids I have identified as kids that are going to make my life....rough...the days I see them).

I was going to take a complete hiatus in September, but a week or two off her and there is just what a gal needs to recharge.  I keep thinking of blog posts in my head, but never get to them...I will do better at writing down the ideas so I can actually make them happen. With ADD, if I don't write it down? It will never come across my mind again.

- - -

My hip. Oh, the horror of this annoying thing connecting my leg to my torso. Hate it. Will never get better. The good news? I am being more mindful of what I eat, so I lost a pound or two of what I gained this summer not being able to exercise. I'm back to trying to walk again -- after taking another two weeks off of exercise due to a flare up. I also did yoga again for the first time in two weeks, yesterday. Need to make sure that stays on my radar to do nightly.

- - -

And because no entry these days is complete without a few instagram photos....(although if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or even on Instagram...These are not new to you!).

I have switched from regular oatmeal to steel cut oats. I like the chewy texture and I'm sticking with them for now. However, they didn't make me as full as regular quick oats. The jury is still out.

The dogs I worried would never get along when I brought Vienna into our world two years ago? Yeah.  There's no issue now, as you can see.

I get to wear cute clothes to work, ya'll!  This is probably, by far, the best perk of this job. I have a ton of cute clothes and they no longer have to hide in the closet while I wear scrubs or something other ugly uniform.

No story with this. It was just my first day treating with kids and I was trying to just smile and tough it out. I think I took this right after my first couple of kids when it was going great. Then it went downhill from there. No joke.

Eggs benedict with avocado and smoked salmon. And lumpy hollandaise. I tried adding more of things, but it just stayed lumpy. It still tasted good!

I survived the 1st Day!

Why is the first week back to school always so ridiculously hot?! This morning, we got poured on by much needed rain but I felt bad for all those high school girls who already had school pictures this morning!

I had a great first day. Granted, it was lackluster and I didn't actually meet any students (I hope to observe them next week). I am taking over a massive caseload from another OT (she's lucky! Gets to drop down to three days a week!) and she took me on a tour of where I'm going to be. I met a few teachers, principals, and the most important people: secretaries. All of them were pretty nice, but one are going to be an issue for me. Blurgh. All were SUPER friendly but this one made it clear she wanted to be left ALONE. Whatever.
There is so much I want to talk about right now but can't. Don't you hate that? Many changes are happening in my life right now. I can't wait until things get clearer and I can open up about what's on my mind...

Ushering in fall and a new career...

You guys, I'm so excited! Tomorrow, school starts and I will soon be embarking on my crazy September journey. I get to meet my students (all 60+!!) and their teachers, principals of the buildings I will be in. It's going to be absolutely insane. I will try to post here at least once a week but I know it may be less. I already warned you. I've been pretty anxiety free as of late, and I thank my dear prescription of Lexapro for that one. I hate hate hate being reliant on pills, but it is the lowest dose possible without being cut in half, just 5mg. It makes my life easier and makes it easier for me to DEAL with life, in general. I went back on it earlier this summer, and after battling with Buspar for two weeks, asked my doc to give me Lexapro again. (Buspar was bad...SO bad.)

In the last two weeks, I've been getting myself organized for work. It's insane. It will take me a couple of months to truly organize everything, so I'm trying not to stress out too much about it.  I got my nose repierced!! Very thrilled about that. It's gone better than the last time, and it's kosher to wear it at work, so I'm all good. I was excited to see how many teachers had a little nose piercing when I was at orientation. I even asked one of them if they wore it at school. When they said yes, off to get it done I went.  I wanted it one more time before I got too old to wear it. 

We've had nice cool weather, which makes for wonderful, NON-FRIZZY hair. But it's warm again this week, so I will be battling the first week of school while I try to make great first impressions and look put together. Not going to happen, I imagine.  I just can't wait to break out my sweaters and boots. 

Yesterday, we took our last few boat rides of the summer season. We usually get one later in September, but the inlaws will be doing some construction on the cottage starting mid-month. They also will be out of town for a couple of weeks, in Colorado...so...we won't see them until at LEAST October. 

 And to herald in one of my favorite parts of fall?? Starbucks came back out with the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Seeing as this makes me POOR in the fall as much as I want to buy them, I went with these for the Keurig today. Found them at Target  and with a little vanilla creamer, it's OH SO GOOD! It's not Starbucks, but 18 of them for $12??? Significantly cheaper.  I could only get 3 or so lattes on $12.

HOWEVER....Being that tomorrow is the first day of school, I might have to jump on a Starbucks version. Or maybe I'll do that Friday as a treat for lasting the week!

Super busy.

My life is about to get busy. Super busy. Super super busy. So busy that I won't be blogging most of September. Starting a new job is NUTS.  Especially when you have a million kids on your caseload.

TTFN - Ta ta for now. :)

Time to Minimize!

I hate being an adult. And I hate being an indecisive person. Both Dan and I are that way. We have been trying to figure out the best way to live life and reach our goals as a married couple and it's hard. We both want the same things, but we seem to be in disagreement as to when we want them. We had a nice discussion though about things yesterday (he had the day off, whee!) and we got a lot of things figured out.

Such as this house. We want out. We do. But at nearly 1200 square feet, you know what?? It's not the worst and it's not the smallest thing in the world. It's not the most ideal environment for entertainment or having large groups of people over (we're dying for a house that would allow us to actually host a holiday part with family, for once), but it's not bad for another couple to come visit, I suppose. I look at other bloggers, starting families, either by choice, or "whoops!" and they live in apartments, duplexes, teeny spaces. And somehow make it work.

I don't know, I guess my point is that we have decided (for the week), that we want to take longer to save up for a house downpayment then into next year. Our biggest project is paying down debt, and we don't want to move into a new house just for the sake of moving into a bigger house, for instance. We want a house that we can call our forever house. Something we can make work the rest of our lives, or at least a vast majority of it. Our kids (did I say kids>>), our retirement.

We live in a society of instant gratification and having to wait another possible 2 years to make sure this house is ready to sell and to make sure we have the money for our "dream" home (we still have to figure out what that even means!)....It feels frustrating and suffocating.  Our small house feels smaller and smaller by the minute when I have those suffocating moments, you know!?!?

We come to the agreement, that should we be in this house for 2 more years...We may be starting a family HERE. In the house that most of the time feels so tiny to me. Where in the world would we put baby stuff!?!?

- - -

I guess I need to try a minimalistic approach around here. At one point, I started reading "The Joy of Less" and I think I will be tackling that reading again. It's time to make a lot of changes in our house! We already starting with the kitchen yesterday with Dan off of work. Going through and getting rid of a lot of doubles, triples, et. Who needs 3-4 ladles? Or 2 can openers when we really only use ONE of them because the other one is hard to use. Granted it has a bottle open on it, but guess what? We found a smaller one in the drawer. Bingo.

I think as an occupational therapist, I have an innate need to collect things that may eventually be useful to me. And I need to get out of that mindset and only have a certain designated space for that stuff (such as work supplies). Once that space/box becomes full I must then rotate things out if I want to bring things in.

And here comes those overwhelming feelings again...It will be a work in progress, for sure...

Let's talk about babies.

Oh, good lord. When did I start saying I wanted to talk about babies??? Why would I ever say that!? Didn't I go on a rant not long ago about remaining childless on purpose?? HA!  Well, things are changing around here, folks. My head is changing.

In fact, for about a month now, I have been thinking quite seriously about having kids. Dan and I have started talking about it and now we're starting sentences like "When we have kids..." "If we have a daughter she will never wear an outfit like THAT out of our house." Etc Etc. Etc. Like, totally naturally rolling off the tongue.  We both seem excited and nervous about the prospect of actually starting a FAMILY. So much so that we have stopped thinking about how to make our small house work for the two of us for the rest of our lives and have started making serious plans about the next year and how to get into a bigger house.

1A. Knock out credit card debt. I'm mostly the guilty party dealing with THAT mess. :p It will take a couple of years to get it gone COMPLETELY, but by this time next year, that will be significantly CHOPPED by 75%. I want to wipe out the majority before we start making the extra steps in the housing search. (But not all, because they look badly on you if you don't have SOME credit card debt sitting out there, which makes no sense, OMG).
1B. I made point 1 a two parter because..well....the credit card debt. All in thanks to my bad money management skills before meeting Dan. And paying a lot of our wedding and recent trip to Hawaii with it. Which is one thing and both are paid for, but then you have this girl right here who has had issues with shopping.  So....I'm pretty much not allowed to shop for anything until next summer. The only things I'm allowed to purchase: underwear, socks, and 2 sweaters. Ok, the sweaters part makes no sense, I know, but Dan watched me get rid of a TON of my winter clothes to good will. So he said I could replace 2 of the 12 gazillion I dumped. I STILL have way too many clothes.

You see, I have this issue with likely to shop when I'm down and out, pissed off, anxious and depressed, etc etc. I have the false sense of security and feel BETTER when I shop. So I'm working on this horrible addiction. (I wanted to go run to Old Navy today because I got this great outfit idea on pinterest with a red sweater and red patent ballet flats and OMG, they have both of those....)

What was I saying?? OH YES. I'm an addict. MUST STOP. I really am thinking of talking to a shrink about this addiction. To get down to the bottom of it. But do people GO to shrinks for this sort of addiction? I know they do for drugs and alcohol, but this is shopping for goodness sake.

(No more talk of money. It's embarrassing. But I'm glad to get that embarrassment off my chest for the time being.)

2. Sell the house. Somehow someway, we are getting out of this house next year. Even if it means that we have to rent an apartment for 3-6 while saving up for a bigger house or are building. We are GETTING OUT OF THIS SMALL HOUSE. And we have dedicated ourselves to getting rid of it first BEFORE landing onto a new mortgage -- we simply can't afford to pay both. Even when our credit card crap is GONE, I can't imagine having 2 mortgages to deal with.  I have student loans to worry about. Technically a 2nd mortgage anyway.

3. Stop taking birth control and get my cycles all regulated. AH. The joys of talking woman details. I won't go further, because if I DO have any dudes reading this, they are likely to feel almost as embarrassed as I am about the credit card/shopping addiction issues. :p

- - -

So anyway, babies. I finally feel like I'm grown up enough to clean up my life in order to have a little one. I don't want to start trying until we have a lot of this accomplished. I know, I'm getting older and there's no guarantees as I get older. I was told this not long ago by a friend, and while this friend is right...there's no guarantees on anything...I'm not willing to start trying until I no longer feel completely PANICKED at the thought of trying to raise a kid while I'm trying to fix my life. (Granted, I may always feel anxious and panicked about bring a human being into the world....BUT!!! I don't want to have credit card debt sitting over my head. Once that gets cleaned up, I will feel a million times better about having a baby!!).

If we get pregnant before we're ready?? Well, that's life, isn't it? And I trust that God will help me feel ready at that time. But unless it's meant to be before we're ready to start trying....I'm not going to try and make myself a mess. :)

AH! Finally being open and honest about the next steps in our life...Makes me feel like I finally have blog content to discuss again. Hmm....

That time I forgot about my blog.

I have issues keeping a blog this year so far. I get so caught up in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc...I have lots of great social interaction! So I forget about blogging. I don't really feel like I get a ton of readers here half the time, so why I bother??

Oh, right. Because when I do remember, I love it.

What I don't love right now. The crazy hip pain I'm still experiencing.  I did the elliptical this morning and I'm not in PAIN per se....Just uncomfortable as all HELL. My PT said told me it would take around a month to stop feeling uncomfortable all together. And as long as I don't HURT, I don't have to take breaks.  But I need to take it easy. It didn't hurt WHILE I was at the gym on the elliptical. It just hurts now. 4 hours after ward. BOO.

I suck at taking it easy. I have little patience for much of anything, especially taking it easy.

In other news, we continue to eat from our Clean Eating "E-Meals" plan. AND I  LOVE IT.  It doesn't make groceries cheaper, unfortunately, but we eat almost all meals unprocessed. We. ROCK.  They just launched a Lunch Plan. And I just signed up for it. Planning our dinners? Has made us a lot healthier. So I can't WAIT to start planning our lunches when I'm back to work!

I promise to blog more from now on. :)

Recipe! Fattoush!

I love fattoush. LOVE. I also love falafel and tabouleh and pita. Nom...But my most favorite out of any of those choices will always be fattoush. I almost always get it from Schwarma King here in Kalamazoo, but it often has almost too much dressing on it!

I decided I wanted to make my own to bypass this.  And found the perfect recipe:

Fattoush Salad with Grilled Chicken and Pita Chips (FOR 2 PEOPLE)

• 1 pita, torn into pieces
• 3T + 1t olive oil, divided
• 1 boneless chicken breast, cut into strips (I cut it into smaller pieces than that -- I only cut it AFTER it was grilled).
• 1 cup romaine lettuce, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (I quartered them!)
• 1 small cucumber seeded and chopped
• 1/4 purple onion, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup garbanzo beans (about 1/2 of a 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 t white wine vinegar
• 1 small garlic clove crushed

Heat oven to 400F. Sprinkle pita with 1t of olive oil. Tear into pieces. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until crisp.

Heat grill to medium. Toss chicken with 1 T olive oil (and we ended up putting seasonings on the chicken!). Grill chicken about 6 minutes per side.

Toss romaine with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garbanzo beans, and mint leaves. Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and 2 T olive oil. Toss with salad. Top with grilled chicken and pita "chips". 

ENJOY!

A fantastic weekend...

Ah...Fresh highlights and a trim...


I spent Friday evening with my gal, Bari...Eating delicious, Americanized sushi.


Then we had to hit Bell's. Where I found my most favorite beer FINALLY back for the summer! Leo Batteur is a very light blonde ale. It's crisp and refreshing and I would love it if they bottled it, but alas they do not. It's nearly 6% so it's deceptive. Yum.


I talked Bari into getting one, too.


Then I jumped to the Java Stout! Another favorite but it is heavy stuff when you're full from a huge dinner. Blurgh.



Saturday we hit the farmers market...but I didn't get pics of my picks OR the market itself. It was crazy busy. I also hit the mall for end of summer sales for a few new work wardrobe picks. We also spent Saturday afternoon pouring over home plans. And picking out a possible plot of land. More on that later.

We headed up to the Lake to see our Colorado family late Saturday. Dan's sister, his brother in law and our two nephews. I managed to not take a single picture. WTF? Whenever my MIL sends me a few, I will share. I went tubing with the boys....and while it wasn't a crazy ride, oh my goodness I got marginally sea sick. Which would not have happened if I hadn't eaten lunch right before. Don't worry -- I did not lose my lunch. :)

I also have been spending time this weekend working hard on healing my Piriformis muscle and I think things are going in the right direction with that. It doesn't kill to drive anymore and I'm walking up stairs without looking like a geriatric. Which is not a bad thing unless you're like me...30 years old.

Last picture of the post:


Our ride home from the lake always ends up this way. Ike normally avoids Vienna like the plague but when tired, he uses her as his pillow. Love it.

What were you up to this weekend??

Homemade Granola Bars

I am finally back into the swing of baking again. I haven't baked a thing since Colorado. I didn't feel like baking while there (didn't have all of my fun tools, for one, like my processor, the chopper, the Kitchen Aid mixer). I haven't felt like baking since I got home. But I'm getting back into MAKING everything again myself, instead of buying processed. It feels good to get back to it!


One of my most favorite recipes to make on a regular basis? Granola bars. I love them. They are easy to grab when they are on the go, and the ones I make homemade are super filling compared to anything you can buy pre-made. I often substitute the fruit, nuts, and type of chocolate chips to put in it, but this is my favorite combo. I drive 2 HOURS just to shop at Trader Joe in Ann Arbor for the dried cherries. Yes, I do. Because this is the only place I have found dried cherries made WITHOUT sunflower oil. It seems extreme,  but of course I end up stocking up on A LOT more (two weeks ago, it was $150 worth, whoops). 




On the cooling rack about to get cut!! 



Homemade Granola Bars


INGREDIENTS:
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ (I used ground flaxseed instead as that is what I had)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried sour cherries, chopped
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup slivered almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla.

3. Mix well using your hands, add in cherries, chocolate chips and almonds. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden around the edges. Cool on wire rack for about 30 minutes before cutting. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting because they will crumble.

Makes 24 Servings (Though I managed to cut them into 32! Woot!)

FUN, LESS MESSY TRICK:  Instead of mixing together in a bowl with your hands....dump it all in a gallon size Ziplock bag. Then you can moosh and roll around without getting your hands gross. I've got sensory issues, so sue me. :)

Dinner: Mahi Mahi

It's the first real day of the Dream Team challenge (though it started Friday). And to kick it off right? A healthy eating day...including this very tasty dinner...




Tonight's Dinner:
- Trader Joe's Mahi Mahi
(with a little garlic olive oil, Abe's seasoning, and saracha for a little kick)
- Chopped Brussel sprouts sautéed in a smidgen of olive oil and Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute.

It's simple but it was delicious. Never frown on simple.

Summer of Bored-ness

Because wearing bright clothing always keeps me smiling...

What is it about telling people you're bored out of your mind form unemployment that makes them seemingly uncomfortable and they change the subject...??? This actually happened today when I was getting my hair trimmed. I yawned and she asked if I was up late last night. Nope. Just tired from not doing a darn thing these days.

I had big plans to DO things this summer with any free time that I had. But I had no clue I would end up with THIS MUCH free time. I assumed I'd be able to find a job quickly after returning home. It's been rough. We don't have a ton of money to toss around (we had enough to survive a month or so before I got a job...but that hasn't occurred just yet -- I had to file unemployment in order to make sure we aren't hurting or going belly up), so it's easy to become bored. Can't go out shopping. Can't really pick up any big new hobby like I'd like to (sewing or fixing up the house with fun pinterest crafts).

I was going to work out like crazy! Finally tone up more, be ready to run my first 5K in awhile in October. Lose the 5 pounds I gained while in Hawaii early June (there is so much good food there!!).

Then one day in June, I woke up having difficulty walking without pain in my bum. Occasionally in Colorado, I had the pain pop up. But nothing like this. Saw a doc, and then soon a PT who immediately told me NO EXERCISING. I have to even be careful of upper body workouts because he didn't want me to do too much yet with my core (and that stuff engages the glutes and quads at times). So I asked...Maybe yoga??? Can I keep doing yoga?? OH PLEASE, CAN I DO YOGA??? And....I got a no.

In an effort to find something to do this week, I worked on my overloaded wardrobe. I'm working on minimizing things around here. I have nothing else to do, so I'm going to do what is needed to do. I have gotten rid of approximately 2/3 of my wardrobe and still have too much. It's a painful and shameful experience. Looking at how much useless clothing I bought over the last couple of years. How much money I would have been able to save instead. But enough of feeling shameful. It's a matter of pride and a wake up call for how to change a ton of things in my life.

I guess I won't be too bored after all working on all of that....

(I'm in a bummed out mood today. Didn't get one of the jobs I was hoping for. I'm still waiting on the final YES for another (and maybe a second choice at the same company), and a first interview this week.  We'll see. Please send me good thoughts.)

What's happening?

What the heck? I revived my blog and then disappear for a week? What kind of nonsense is that?? Heh...What can I say...It's been a busy week. Last week I got really sick...Super nauseated. I am not entirely certain if I had a bug or if it was the side effect of medication I was trying out (well, not "trying out" per se, but my doc wanted me to try it).  It doesn't matter because I'm not anymore.

But I am fighting an evil sinus headache.  Why I'm suffering from allergies right now why the land is as dry as can be and there isn't any growth from plants...I have no idea.  Regardless, I took a trip to Walgreens today and am armed and READY to kick some butt, as you can see. I must say, I highly recommend Similasan Nasal Allergy Relief versus using Flonase. One is natural and one is a steroid that the body gets too used to using and if you stop using it, you get rebound congestion. I decided to ditch the steroid.

There is of course the possibility that I have a headache right now worrying about some money things. Nothing serious, just one of those things that you have money saved up for. Remember this? When my car got a little too cozy with a low profile gas pump island while I was on the way to Silverton, CO?? This was back in May. And it is UGLY.

We finally went to get the estimate on that repair yesterday. I was hoping for a certain dollar amount as I was really hoping we would not have to file an insurance claim. We had another dollar amount in our head for when we would, in fact, go ahead with a claim. We had no idea what to expect. Drumroll please.....

 $1768.80 - Filing a claim it is!

Thank goodness we only have a $500 deductible and rental coverage. Because my car is going to be in the shop for 5 days. Well, 7 days technically, since it's going to be in over a weekend. SO SAD. But happy it will have that ugly dent GONE. If it hadn't hit the body and only the door, I'm thinking it would have been a bit cheaper, but there's no guarantee it would have been low enough to not file a claim. SO! A ticket and a claim within a few months of each other means our insurance will be EXPENSIVE on the next 6 month rotation. UGH.

- - -

Last thing! Still seeing my PT diligently. I've been given some new stretches as of today and I'm in a lot less pain than even last week. I'm probably going to be going for a few more weeks, as he feels like my spine is super stiff and inflexible. Good times. I now use a therapy ball, some weird foam back roll, an exercise tube stretchy thing, and some weird belt thing.  I'm very excited that I'm getting to do more, but I'm annoyed that I'm still experiencing pain...Patience. I'm not good with it...

Swallowed pride tastes gross...

Instead of being pissed off about the fact that I have been sidelined by sciatica right now, I'm ok with it. I was pretty upset about it at first. At my first physical therapy appointment last week, the initial evaluation screwed me up royally. The PT did was he was supposed to do -- attempt to illicit pain to pinpoint what the cause is and how to treat it.

By the next morning, I was in tears. I was in pain. So much pain. The worst pain I have experienced with this yet. The spasms were unbelievable and I could feel twitching from my bum down into my leg. I went and had a clinical massage to the area, which thank goodness gave me a great deal of relief.

I went to PT last Wednesday and basically chewed him a new one. Mostly, I didn't agree with his theories on disc involvement and I was angry that he had instructed me to not even stretch it until the pain was relieved. I was so frustrated.

I really hate the way I behaved that afternoon. I really really do. As an OT, I really stress to my clients/patients that they need to understand the importance of compliance. When I say do not do something (and here is why) I get kind of perturbed when they don't follow my instructions, or get defensive with me. I hate it. I want to shake them, heh....you know what I mean. Shake the sense into them!! I can only imagine my PT feeling that very thing toward me at that moment.

So I vowed to just do what he says to do. Lay on the floor in prone (on my stomach) as much as possible. Walk around frequently. Don't do any extended times of sitting. Ice. Heat. Advil. No bending over too much. No engaging of the glutes. Which is what I did almost all weekend.

And I was happy to report at my appointment yesterday that I was feeling great, was no longer angry...and....maybe he has a point about his theories. (In my tiniest voice ever.)

Ugh. Shoving away one's pride, swallowing it WHOLE...sucks. But I need to be patient with this injury, and with the instructions for it. I want to get back to my exercise routine and can't rush it.

I'm proud of myself for being able to admit that I was wrong. But I hated having to admit that to myself!

I've returned to blogging...

I took a one month hiatus and I'm certain that it was noticed. But I needed to take a break. On top of it, I was annoyed with my domain: melrene.net. I was bored with it. I went ahead and decided to let it expire a couple of weeks ago. I have sat on this the last few weeks trying to decide what to do with this space.

So I temporarily deleted it. Blogger keeps your entries for 30 days, so I knew that I had that time to decide - quit blogging or change what I was blogging about.

I decided to go with the latter. I went through the little bit of posts I did have and got rid of a lot of negative stuff. I'm sure that I won't always be able to completely avoid ALL negative in my life, but I got rid of the whining. No more of that.

This past spring, it was put into my face...that I was full of drama. After some reflection, point taken. I have a lot of drama. This is how I am and this is how I've always been. I have an anxiety disorder and I work really hard to not let it affect my life, but it's been a rough period of time for Dan and I.

I'm not going to have a theme to my blog. Not just workouts, or food/recipe info (though I've been working a lot on both). But I'm fighting to write about my life in a more positive light. Maybe as something therapeutic for me. Seeing things so negatively doesn't make my anxious ways better -- it only fuels the fire.

So...here we go... With a new domain name: overdramaticmel.net.

Because I am, and probably always will be, a little dramatic (even if it's just in my own head! :D).

Just a Sunday Drive

My week in pictures..

Bug Eyed Blonde at Horsefly Brewery. YUM. (It's not Oberon but it will do.)

What I'm wearing on my toes for Heather's wedding. This color teal is one of her colors and it seems fitting.

Frozen adult popsicle!? YES!!

Headed to a trail on Gunnison Gorge.

Because I said I was never going to buy a piece of neon clothing this spring...And then I changed my mind.

I haven't seen these since 2008. MY WEEK IS MADE.

More Hiking!

I actually took a long hike today! Longer than I have anyway. I am kicking my fitness into high gear for the next 3-4 weeks as we are going to Hawaii and I need to do something about these thighs. I'm going to be in a bathing suit most of the time and I haven't done enough about strengthening them. At one point, we weren't sure if we were going to have to post pone the trip -- if Dan had gotten the job, it would have been tight financially. Our plan was to take it in November. So for 3-4 weeks, I got a little lazy about the working out bit. BAD. I just need an end point....a goal to look toward....for motivation. And I was lacking the motivation (though, with being in a wedding in a few weeks, I should have gotten more motivated about my arms!).  NO LONGER am I without motivation.

PLUS! The weather here is on the upswing for spring and frankly, sitting around at home is boring and downright stupid. Why not take advantage of all there is around me these next few weeks?

Behold...A trip to Gunnison Gorge this morning. Ok, I didn't actually get to SEE the gorge (I'm not sure how to get there??), but I did find a trail in the conservation area this morning that didn't seem too bad an idea.

I didn't take this picture...But this a picture of the gorge -- and inside? The Gunnison River. Eventually I will take a trail down to this point!! I'm hoping to do it soon with Dan. I just don't want to take the long trails alone, you know?

Came across this guy only a few minutes in. Very telling...I would soon be spooked by them as they were everywhere scurrying about. I don't think I would have been so spooked if I hadn't been alone! 

 Going up! This area wasn't as tight as it looks. But this portion of the trail was hard on the ankles. No flat surfaces.

 Still going up. This picture was taken looking down at what I just walked through. I hate how I can't capture how steep this trail sometimes was.

Loved these rocks...While not the most exciting scenery on this hike, it was still nice! 

Headed down a steep path down (it didn't seem this steep going up...note that my shoes are now uber dusty. You should have seen my car when I got out of the conservation area's dirt roads). 

The last steep part of the trail I was headed down (see previous picture). I kind of stayed close to the left  so I could grab onto the rocks when I would stumble. 

Done. Only an hour and a half hike. I didn't make it all the way to the end before turning around. The last portion was VERTICAL and by that point, I was kind of pooped. I had had this big plan to jump on the next trail to go see the rim (and maybe a view of the river). Next week, I'm thinking, lol.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

This is when I got out at Point Rock to view below....That behind me?? Goes down...and down....

Headed downhill to see the Gunnison River up close and personal...

Worth the crazy drive down. Seriously.

The River going the other way....

The River...from waaaaaay up high! The sound of it was insanely loud, surprisingly. It was amazing....

 Standing atop Prophet Rock taking this one (felt a little funky -- SO HIGH!!)

True to bipolar form, as a couple, we decided that we don't want to give up on this land just yet. We just....can't. We've gone back and forth on this decision the last two days and feel the most comfortable staying with our plans. They have changed a bit though....I'm trying to get a travel position north of here, where we want to land, and where Dan has the best chance of finding work. I talked to the company (well, I emailed them) I interviewed with this week and am asking if they may consider a traveler. If they don't, we'll see if something else opens up. If it doesn't? THEN and only THEN will we accept that I may have to come back to Michigan for some time. We're feeling good about this and I hope I can get through the next 5 weeks without going insane!!