20 days and counting

I thought I'd take a break from my usual sitting around and try out some yoga on DVD to help me relax a little bit more. It never occurred to me that yoga involves holding positions, which is a challenge in itself. After twenty minutes of grunting and screaming through repetitive upward and downward dog into push-up position, I had to stop. Even the cool down was intense, and my muscles quivered as I attempted my last downward dog. So either yoga is very hard, or I am out of shape. I'm devoting the last twenty days here doing this hard exercise and we'll see if I ever get over the shakes during each pose. Fingers crossed!

I just had my first Heidi vs. Al Roker experience.

yeah, it was weird because I usually don't get my feelings hurt, but when the weatherman expresses contempt towards you, you sometimes feel like crying. I saw a lot of these today:

Sometimes you have to let it ride out.

So I tried something I've been meaning to do for years last night. While in my own company, I decided to try the egg white mask. It consists of purely the white of one egg and it is known for its ability to minimize pores, treat moderate acne, and soften your skin. I applied quite a bit and there was a lot of goop left over, so this is a perfect activity to share with another person. It took about ten minutes to completely dry and my face felt stiff, but after a warm wash and applying moisturizer, my face felt oh so great. Plus it was cheap.

I've also tried putting homemade oatmeal on my face a few years ago. It's pretty messy and makes you look scary, but the tradeoff is worth it. My skin was incredibly soft and helped ease irritation from the medication I was taking for acne.

I heard putting onion directly on a pimple has zapping powers. Don't worry-I tried that one too. All I remember was smelling like onions the next day, which doesn't fare well in jr. high. I don't recommend that one.

The best skin potion was introduced to me by my friend Johanna. Witch Hazel is an astringent for your skin that doesn't have any alcohol and is as gentle as aloe vera. Unfortunately I didn't bring my huge 44 oz container with me this summer, and my skin has been going through withdrawals. It's not too expensive and lasts forever. I've had my bottle for about three years.

My uncle actually suffered from extreme acne most of his life. His advice to me was to change my pillowcase every two or so days. That alone made my face clear up almost overnight.

I remember Kim Kardashian suggested sleeping on a silk pillowcase because it doesn't make weird wrinkles in your face or make your skin scrunch or pull as you sleep.

One of my young women's advisors forewarned our mia maids class not to touch our face during the day, and was adament in warning us not to rub our eyes when they are itchy or need massaging because the muscles surrounding our eyes are extremely delicate. Rubbing them excessively can cause stretching and wear to those muscles, which can make your eyes sag later in life.

As always, the best remedy is watching what you're putting in your mouth. Pretty much anything that's really high in fat and high in sugar will not do good things for your skin. As a self-professed sugar addict, learning that sugar produces puss in your sweat glands convinced me to rethink my cookie diet.

I know this information is being projected on deaf ears, as all my blog friends have magnificent skin. But this is knowledge according to me and I think having clear skin is life changing. I obsessed with products during my teenage years hoping for a miracle. Even though Accutane fixed everything, it's still important that I maintain what youth is left before I enter into the anti-wrinkle stage in my life. So like, next month since I'm almost 25. Sheesh.

Love Your Leftovers

This is my friend Maren. She specializes in nutrition and fitness and has started an amazing blog that focuses on tasty foods that keep well and taste just as great the next day. Click on my links on the upper left side of the page LoveYourLeftovers.blogspot.com. Trust me, this girl cooks for Taylor and me all the time. I can personally testify that she has a passion for good food and knows what she's doing.

*Note: Products are not tested on dogs

Just something for your viewing pleasure.

I'm not much of a cook. I was usually on dish duty growing up, so my skills are mostly honed on scrubbing and sanitizing. Honest to goodness, when I got married, I didn't know how to cook chicken. Thank you Food Network for teaching me that I can do hard things.

Tonight's menu was BBQ blackened chicken (blackened was more of an oopsie), Rice a Roni (I recommend preparing it in the microwave-cooks more thoroughly), and a simple green salad w/Italian dressing. This one's for you, mom!

oh no July can't go!!

Funnest Sunday ever! Warm water, mountains, beach, pine trees--a ecosystematic conglomerate of perfection.

Scorpio meets Cancer.

Since today is Taylor's birthday I wanted to do something special for him. So I woke up early and took the dog out to pee so he could do what he loves most: sleep.

Now I'm going to rattle off a top-ten list of why my husband is amazing.

• He totally gets me.
  
• We laugh at the EXACT same things for the EXACT same reasons.
• He never points out my flaws or criticizes what I'm wearing.
• He lets me hog the computer and doesn't judge me for spending hours reading celebrity gossip online.
• He is a man of and devoted to God.
• He laughs when I try to be funny.
• He doesn't gossip and talk about other people's business, ever.
• He is hilarious, incredibly brilliant, open-minded, and gets along with anyone.
  
• He is a true boy scout at heart; he loves adventure and the outdoors.
• He had me at 'hello.'

It's crazy what we both went through to get to each other.

Who knew that his and my brother Dustin's baby announcement would be in the same Sunday paper back in 1982? Who knew that I played T-ball with his sister when I was 6 or 7? Who knew that he drove past me every morning while I waited for the bus when I was in jr. high, ...that he graduated with my brother and I with his sister...that we both went to the Highland singles branch and sat in the same room for nearly three hours...that he worked in the produce section at Winco and I shopped there almost every other day...that one of his best friends married one of my oldest friends from childhood....

We had so many opportunities to meet as we crossed each other's paths, but thanks to the universe, the timing of us actually meeting couldn't have been more perfect. When people ask how we met, I tell them it's one of those "Scorpio meets Cancer, Cancer and Scorpio fall in love, Scorpio and Cancer get married" type of stories. Love you so much, Taylor. Happy Birthday.

obsessed with beauty

Ok this is kind of personal, but part of my nightly ritual involves burrowing into my sheets with my dog and watching youtube clips on my phone until I'm sleepy, then I turn on Pandora to fall asleep to music. I go through phases, but I usually listen to Thom Yorke or opera to drift off to. Last night, I decided to listen to Celine Dion just for kicks. Whether you are a diehard Celine fan or not, her lyrics are crazy good. That woman has a great set of lungs, but the best part is now that I'm married, I finally understand what she's singing about. One of my all time favorites, "Power of Love," has a totally different meaning to me now than it did when I was in 9th grade. I can't believe I listened to such heavy music at such a young, naive age. It is seriously so seductive and semi-gross knowing she's singing about her 90 year old husband. But I can appreciate her passion and I can appreciate her for using her talent to put unselfish love into words so beautifully. Even if her voice gives you a headache, I'm about 67% sure her music will reach down into your soul and remind you why you love your significant other.

my BIG mistake

It was a huge mistake to go off meats. As a future dietitian I should know better. {And by future dietitian, I mean if I can pass all my classes in the next year, followed by actually getting into the program.} Ahem. So I figured I would try going off meats cold turkey to see if it made any significance to my overall health. I don't have a scale here with me, so I would go off of the tightness or slack in my clothes as an indication of weight alterations. Once again, not very scientific in the least bit, but ya know whatever.

The first week, and only week, I ate lots of dairy. I mostly snacked on cheese when I felt lightheaded. I downed an entire gallon of milk all by myself. For dinner I made scrambled eggs and for in between meals I put peanut butter on bread or saltines. I love fruits and vegetables, so of course, ate those incessantly.

I don't have any actual proof, but I'm pretty sure I put on 5 pounds just from last week. Whether or not I scarfed down 1200, if not more, calories a day, I had zero energy. Weird, since I was still eating a good amount of carbs. And more times than not, my stomach felt like it had a huge hole, even after I ate. I was insatiable. My body must depend on iron, as I've been told before my blood carries little iron on its own.

Guaranteed there are meatless alternatives that won't rob me of much needed protein and iron. I'm still interested in trying those recipes, and I am interested in incorporating tofu into my diet at some point.

Needless to say my bottom and hips filled out and my saddlebags poke out a little more. I'm sure that's what happens when you sit all day and eat crackers and cheese all day.

I know dreams typically don't mean anything, but the other morning I woke up dreaming about eating a juicy double cheeseburger with ketchup squirting out of each side of the sesame seeded bun. So I decided a Carl's Jr. teriyaki burger was in order. A burger never tasted so good..so right...so meaty.

morning glory

Taylor making sure the sparklers are safe

trying not to get burned

and dance at the same time

Mr. and Mrs. Burrup

Both Taylor and I own cameras. Mine just needs new batteries and Taylor's just needs to not have such a bright flash and voila! we'd have better, higher quality pictures. For reasons unbeknownst to us, we haven't taken the time or put forth the effort to change batteries. Neither of us are photogenic in the least bit (wed pics, for example), so a camera is kind of like our enemy rather than a necessity.

Someday that will change; believe it or not, Taylor is an amazing photographer. Something he could pursue....I hope.

For now, we are okay using our phones.

So, for the 4th, we started things out right with Pizza Guys pizza. Thank you Daneile for ordering a pizza with just cheese since I can't eat pepperoni. :) Then I received phone call after phone call from my nieces and nephew- my older sis is preggo!! yay!! So exciting. Then we enjoyed a lovely firework show Citrus Heights style in the mall parking lot. I loved every minute of it. I think it's when I hear "Stars and Stripes Forever" when my patriotism surfaces. I could wake up every morning to that song and a diet coke and do magical things.

I am so transparent

Remember that I'm off meats right now. I was torn between Mongolian BBQ and a sandwich place for lunch. I decided to try the mongolian place because I could get noodles and veggies {yum my fave} but as I neared the door, I saw that it was a 'wait to be seated' type of place and I was by myself so I was like "nah.." so I went next door to ToGo's for a gourmet sandwich.

I walk in and the sandwich artist immediately greeted me. People in Citrus Heights are so friendly. I glanced at the menu board and instead of confidently saying "I want a veggie on white", I asked him "what kind of veggie sandwiches do you have?" He listed off a few variances of meat-free delicacies. I quickly settled on avocado and cucumber and he got going. Just keep in mind he was maybe 19 or 20 years old.

Out of nowhere, as I'm busy texting, he casually asks, "so, how long have you been vegetarian?"

Wow. I had to pause for a second to process his question. He knew me so well just by ordering an innocent avocado and cucumber sandwich. I was impressed that he knew that deep down, yes, I actually am currently vegetarian, even though ordering a veggie sandwich is a fairly common thing for me to do.

This reminds me of the time I was working at mrs. powell's and a customer showed me her ID. Her last name was Phillips, so I automatically assumed since my last name was Phillips, I should ask where she was from. She gave me a weird look and said, "oh we aren't from anywhere close to here." Even if she may actually been my third cousin's once removed aunt, I learned there is a certain employee/customer boundary, like 3-foot-wide counter, that doesn't need to be crossed. So after he asked such a presumptuous, somewhat nosy, question, I remembered to be polite as I sheepishly confessed, "two days."

The sandwich was excellent, by the way. He surely deserved a tip, but I couldn't make myself go back up to the counter for fear he'd ask if I'm trying to lose weight since I ordered a diet Pepsi.