Elusive Ink

Currently Listening
Ain't Gonna Lose You
Brett Dennen



My day today will be spent in Christmas preparations. While for most families Christmas has already passed for this year, ours is still yet to come. Today I plan to take advantage of the after-Christmas sales with Mom, as well as beginning an epic few days of cooking and baking. On the menu for our Christmas/New Years Eve festivities are the follow dishes, to be eaten in no specific order over the course of two days:

Spinach/Brie Quiche
Mini Gingerbread Muffins
Potato Chowder
Turkey Wreath
Green Bean/Tomato Salad
Deviled Eggs
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins
Ham
Fudge
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie

Needless to say, I am very excited to create such an epic assortment of snack-foods. and have plans to post the several of the recipes here, along with the recipes for my cranberry jam, my apple butter, and my peppermint cake recipe that so many people have asked about. It will take me a while, but I will be glad to have some of these recipes out of my head, and written down.

A few weeks ago, I made it my very specific mission to compile a list of classic and essential Christmas movies. (Primarily so that I can begin to acquire them for my own DVD collection.) My first step in beginning this process was Google, because I saw no point in putting all this effort into a list like this if I could find a good one already. There was none to be found that met my very particular specifications, so then I started looking through TCM lineup for the month, just to be thorough and make sure that I had actually seen all of the essential holiday movies.

Now, after 3 weeks, I present to you my (almost) complete list of essential Christmas Movies. I feel certain that at some point I will need to add some, but this is it for this Christmas season.

Currently Listening
I Need A Silent Night
Amy Grant



Today was a really wonderful day, I had lunch with my dear friend Mary and really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up. We don't see each other often because we are both usually very busy, but it is always nice when we have a chance to grab lunch or coffee and get up-to-date on the events in each others lives.


About twenty minutes after publishing yesterday's post expressing my discouragement that my students canceled for the week, and that finances weren't as consistent as I want them to be, I received an email from a student saying she had her computer fixed and would be able to resume lessons. In addition to that, my Mom forwarded me an email from the Homeschool Science Academy, looking for postcard addressers as well as an artist to put together anatomical sketches. I sent an email out immediately for the postcard addressing opportunity, and furiously began revising my resume, writing a bio, and sketching some examples of anatomical sketches. I dropped my application packet in the mail first thing this morning. I am really praying that this opportunity works out, because the additional financial supplement would be a real blessing right now.



Just further proof that God provides, regardless of how insecure I am. Silly me.

Now I am anxious and hopeful for next week! In the meantime, I am looking forward to enjoying some quality "sister time" tomorrow afternoon. I bought Zoe, Sophie, and myself tickets to see The Nutcracker ballet live in Fredrick, MD. We have *amazing* seats and are going to grab some sushi before hand.


Oh, and possibly more snow on Sunday. It is so cold here. 31 days until I am with my sweetheart in California. I cannot wait!

-Lindsey

Currently Listening
All That I Want (All time favorite Christmas song.)
The Weepies



Oh my. Once again it's been far too long since I've posted, and I have an overwhelmingly large amount of things to post about. Especially because I absolutely adore the holidays, and have had a really wonderful few weeks. Although, this week has been a bit weird since both of my Turkish students canceled their English lessons with me for the entire week. All of this means, you can expect a rather spazzy post as always.


I often wonder if my mind is very much like that of Dr. Seuss. I adore children's books in general, and keep a running list of the library of children's books I intend to have in my house. I also tend to amuse myself by thinking of things in rhymes. Just a random thought.


The holidays have been kind to us thusfar, Thanksgiving was really enjoyable with my Grandparents and Cousin in to visit. The only not-so-great part involved picking them up from the airport in Baltimore. Typically it would take about 1.5 hours to drive to Baltimore from our home in VA, but the traffic was so terrible that we ended up stuck in the parking lot that they optimistically call a highway. We did not go above 15 mph. the entire drive there, and after 5 hours finally arrived. Fortunately, we were able to find a different route home, and the trip, in it's entirety lasted about 7.5 hours.


The rest of our holidays are looking to be pretty non-traditional this year, since three of my siblings will be gone over Christmas day. We are postponing our Christmas celebration for the 30th. Because of this, we decided just to let Christmas bleed into New Years Eve, and basically have a two-day long holiday party which I'm very excited about. Rather than making another "traditional" holiday feast, I've decided to make a variety of party/finger foods for the family to snack on over the 30th/31st. I'll post a list with recipes when the time gets a bit closer. :)


As far as fitness stuff goes, I was less rigorous for a while, and am now just really concentrating on portion control, and incorporating workouts into my life when I can. I was able to do a good strength training workout on Monday, and kickboxing/yoga yesterday. I haven't worked out yet today - but there's a bollywood dance workout in the free section of my cable on-demand that has piqued my curiosity. Might be a fun thing to mix it up.


Work is pretty calm for the moment, KitchenKids doesn't start up until February, and I'm not sure what the next step to take is in promoting Elusive. Pampered Chef isn't taking off like I'd hoped, which has been a bit disappointing. I've tried to host my "Grand Opening" open house twice now, and both times (a few weeks ago, and last weekend) the weather caused all of the guests to cancel. It's very discouraging, because I could really use the money right now. Despite that, it ended up being a great weekend because it dumped almost a foot of surprise snow on us! I adore snow. It's times like these I am very grateful to have my tutoring position, because that tends to be the only really reliable income I have at the moment.


I have been feeling particularly creative (*ehem*domestic?) lately. I've been working on several knitting projects, learning to crochet, getting back into sewing. I've also been doing a lot more sketching and painting, which makes me feel really good. I feel like my priorities are more balanced, and I'm very content, I get enough recharge/relaxation that I have the energy I need to put effort into work and getting my home businesses up and running. That can seem like a monumental task, but I'm very proud of how I am handling things. Another thing I've been very interested in lately is furniture restoration, reupholstering, refinishing, shellacking. I've been researching on different methods, and gathering lots of ideas from my favorite design site Design*Sponge. The nice thing about Design*Sponge is that they are realistic, the houses they feature don't look like something you'd see in better homes and gardens. The houses are lived in, and some of the furniture looks like it was picked up for free from Craigslist, but that's half the charm, there are tricks to restore "craigslist furniture", and ways to integrate a few good pieces, to really make a space beautiful in a realistic and live-able way.

Even though it's still a year or two away, I am so anxious to have my own home. :-) At least I have plenty of time to make and acquire lots of beautiful and useful things.

I also have a great number of things to be excited for in the meantime, the holidays, my trip to California in January, Tiffany's trip out here in March, Nathan's trip out here in late March, Family reunion in June, KitchenKids starting up, the list never ends.


I was going to try to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, but it always ends up being during a really inconvenient time, so Nathan, Bethany, and I decided we would wait until things slowed down mid-december and have our own mini WriMo amongst the three of us. I'm very excited, because as well has having the opportunity to participate in something that has always come at a bad time for me, I also feel like it will be a good opportunity for me to get to know Nathan's sister better before my trip out to meet her and his parents in January. I am so very nervous to meet them all, but also excited. They seem like really great people, with a lot of interesting experiences to share, and his sister and I have a lot in common.


Lately, I've been compelled to explore a bit more of my femininity. I am comfortable with the fact that I have a domestic, nurturing side, even though I avoided admitting it for so long. I've finally accepted and embraced that I was designed to be a wife, and mother, and am working to learn the skills I need to do that to the best of my ability, and maintain my passions of my photography and other artwork through working from home. But lately I've decided that it would be useful to me to at least be able to be comfortable in skirts and dresses. Not that I feel the need to wear them constantly, but they have always made me feel very self conscious, to the point that I avoid wearing them altogether. It has been an interesting adventure so far, and I have become more comfortable in skirts. It is fascinating how aware just the difference between wearing a skirt with leggings, and wearing a pair of jeans makes you. For me, it causes hyper awareness of how I am acting, treating people, I'm not sure it is a result of the discomfort and self-consciousness, or something else. It has been an interesting and enjoyable experience so far.


I continue to realize how different my life is than what I expected it would be at this point. I'm so content with my life and the direction it is going, and I am very at peace with my place in the world. It's a great feeling, and I'm thankful for all of the blessings and support God has provided me in getting to this point. It amuses me so greatly that just a few years ago I was so anti-domesticity, I was going to be an "independent woman" of the world, in a high-rise apartment, making my way in the world for myself. (I was miserable a few years ago...)

It took a great change of heart to get me to a point where I would be content being "taken care of" financially, to contribute in more abstract ways, and fulfill a nurturing role in a co-dependent relationship that reflects God's perfect plan, and perfect love. But honestly, I couldn't be happier. Not that I'm always content, or never restless - but there's nothing better than being positive that this is where God wants you to be. And until I am fulfilling that role, as a wife and mother, I'm thankful for the opportunity to grow and balance my home businesses, and acquire things for my future home, in the safe protected environment of my parents home. :-)


Well, I think that's all I have for now. I really want to try and keep up with posting from now on, though, because it helps to clear out my thoughts and make me a little less crazy during the day. We'll see if it actually happens, I'm not willing to really commit myself because it could end up becoming a stresser. Maybe after the first of the year, however, I'll set a concrete posting goal.

Bye for now,
Lindsey

I have too many. I can't organize them all to write right now.

Maybe tomorrow.

So, I haven't the time to blog right now because I am hosting my "Grand Opening" Pampered Chef show next week, tutoring foreign students in ESL, preparing for Thanksgiving, trying to stay motivated and in shape, trying to book holiday photography, and now Tiffany has convinced me to particpate in NaNoWriMo.


I'll try to blog some over the weekend.

-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Seven Day Mile
The Frames



My life tends to be a leisurely chaos. Sure, I have stuff to do...but somehow there's always time for spontaneous dance parties, and nice long talks with people I care about. This is something I am very thankful for.

I had a really nice week, although it has left me with an abundance of little things to get done. I am ashamed to admit that I haven't been to the gym, or been running in almost a week. And now it's November. (20 days to 5k) I've gotta find a way to re-motivate myself, but it's just not there right now.

November is usually one of my favorite months of the year, however, this year it has been raining for weeks and I'm really having trouble getting in the mood of things. The leaves are gorgeous, but everything outside is soggy and bleak. For Christmas, I know how to get myself in the mood (Wandering Tyson's Corner with a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha and exploring my favorite holiday inspiration: Williams Sonoma.) For Thanksgiving, it's just not that easy. Especially since last Thanksgiving my sweetheart was here visiting from California, and this year he won't be able to. Despite this fact, I am holding out for things to pick up and already planning for my Thanksgiving feast. Every year I proclaim sometime around September/October just as the warm weather is dwindling out that "maybe I won't make it this year, I don't feel like cooking." I always change my mind.

I'm looking particularly forward to my two holiday feasts this year, because I have designed a really nice spreadsheet that allows us to have the family favorites, without duplicating them or having anything too terribly unhealthy in either meal.

But for now, I'm focused on the next two weeks.

So, I was really disappointed and discouraged the past week or so, because I didn't feel like I was seeing any physical change as a result of my working out. This weekend was very crazy with a photo shoot, and enjoying some time with friends, and then hanging out with Molly and Tay so that Mom and Dad could have a mini-vacation and I haven't had a chance to work out. Despite that fact, I finally got up the courage to step on the scale yesterday. (Scales make me really nervous...because if I hadn't lost any weight, I didn't want to feel more discourage because I know even if there is no change, I'm still working towards a healthier lifestyle.) To my surprise, in the past 2-3 weeks I've lost 6 lbs! It was just the motivational push I needed, annd, today I'm going to go out running because the weather is the nicest it's been in days. *grins*

Despite the awful weather, Ron and Amanda's photoshoot went fantastically. I've known Ron for a long time, and have always enjoyed his conversation/company, but I felt like I really "clicked" with Amanda and we have a ton in common. Nathan and I are planning a trip up to PA to spend some time with them in March, I'm already very excited. It will be nice to have another couple to spend time with. Saturday was pretty great, after the photo shoot we drove down to Woodbridge and played laser tag, and grabbed some dinner. Very relaxing day.


Yesterday was pretty quiet, spent most of the day just watching/playing with Molly, then enjoyed a bit of Rock Band with Taylor and some great conversation with Nathan afterwards. I had trouble getting to sleep though, because miss Molly snores like you would not believe. I knew I had to keep the baby monitor up loud enough that I would wake when I heard her this morning...so I was also listening to her snore, and then the heater in her bedroom would come on and start making really loud white noise through the monitor. Haha. I 've got plenty of coffee this morning, though - so I should be good. Maybe I'll take a nap this afternoon. If my crazy week doesn't inhibit that.

This week is certainly looking to be insane. I have a ton of little things I've been procrastinating that really need to be done: go to the bank, send out some forms, send out a few boxes, build forms for KitchenKids, get ready for the consignment fair this weekend and finish everything I need for my KitchenKids/ElusivePhotoDesign booth (and pray my new business cards for EPD get here in time.), study for and finish my second assignment for HTML class, and...who knows what else?

Now I'm off to conquer my day.
-Lindsey

Today I went to the gym, and took a 25 minute core training class, ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill, biked for 20 minutes, and did a bit of strength training. The weather has been nasty, and I'm ready for it to clear up.

I am officially a Coffee Fool. Pure kona = blissfully smooth, sweet, fresh happiness in a mug.

Tomorrow, I will make my favorite banana cookies, and try out my apple-sweetened gingerbread muffin recipe, to go with my amazing coffee.



I'm really going to sleep now.

Today I did not work out. It was glorious. Kind of. Part of me wanted to move, to do something, and felt guilty for my 12-hour hiatus. Another part of me recognized that my constant exhaustion + sore muscles needed a day to recuperate. I'm looking forward to another day of 5k training in the morning.



I have been a bit discouraged regarding my progress towards my fitness goals, and am so frustrated at my lack of physical change, even after a few months of consistent exercise, portion-control, and balancing my meals now. Normally when I start wanting for physical change, I get a haircut, but I'm growing my hair out right now, with plans to get it cut, highlighted, and lowlighted before I go out to California in January. Sooo...I'm trying to focus on being healthy and not get discouraged. Regardless of what the results are for me, I'm doing this to be healthier and more active, to be able to conquer goals I've had for a long time (learning how to rock climb, going water skiing), and I'm doing it for my future husband and children.



Plus, yesterday was Biggest Loser night, which I love because it is basically just "motivation night" for me. To watch these contestants working together, especially Abby this season, who has been through so much, and always is pursuing things with the right motivation. Although, I'm ready for them to kick off Tracey. I don't want to be judgemental, or mean, because I don't know her in person - but the producers of the show are obviously playing her loco game to it's capacity just to stir up drama. Let's get away from the separation, and get back to the team-building, motivational, inspirational show that it was at the beginning. It's a game, but there's no reason to play dirty, and I'm fairly sure I would like this season a whole lot better if Tracey was gone.

Aside from the fitness stuff, I had a relatively good day. Interesting conversation with the Turkish student I am tutoring in conversational English, today she wanted to talk about politics (which I generally avoid as a conversational topic at all cost, but today I went along.) and we had a really good conversation.



I (skeptically) downloaded Pete Yorn's new album feat. Scarlett Johannson, and was very pleasantly surprised. I love Pete Yorn, but a whiney female can ruin the best of songs. S.J. has a pleasingly mellow voice and I'm looking forward to giving this particular album a bit more attention.

I had more I wanted to say...but it'll have to wait until tomorrow because I am very tired, and have big plans for a batch of apple gingerbread mini muffins in the morning. :D I also have good intentions to get the pictures from Molly's pirate party up soon. Along with the rest of my to-do list, bank, post office, UPS store, drop off children's ministry volunteer application, drop off 5k registration, send out invitations for my pampered chef "grand opening" in Nov., order bulbs for my studio lights for my photo shoot with Ron and Amanda on Saturday, finish up a temporary KitchenKids site to put up, finish a couple of paintings, and go to the gym.

Right now I'm going to sleep. We'll see how much of that I actually accomplish tomorrow. Hah.

Today I ran 3.1 miles in 47 minutes. Which was very frustrating. I went out intent on beating my Sunday time (46 minutes) and ended up being one minute over. Grrrrrr. I'm trying not to make excuses. I have a whole slew of 'em, but I'm going to try to just accept responsibility and push myself harder on Thursday. Tomorrow is cross-training at the gym.



I have really been enjoying the fall weather the past few days, makes running outdoors much more enjoyable. The only con is that I get too cold to wear sleeveless shirts and running shorts which means I get less tan. Molly and I went outside and played in the leaves yesterday which proved to be a really fun autumn photo shoot.



I finished my first assignment for my HTML class today. It was technically the first day of class, but I read half of this week's material yesterday, finished reading today, created and uploaded my assignment. (I feel so productive.) I also had a fun conversation with a Turkish student I tutor in ESL, she had discovered the magic of acronyms and was so very excited at how efficient they were! Fortunately for her, I love acronyms and was able to passionately share her excitement. She also gave me a bit of a challenge, in asking for me to define the words "would," "should," and "will." :-)

Now, my sweetheart has signed into IM and I am going to spend the rest of my evening chatting with him and doing a bit of picking up/cleaning.

-Lindsey

Today I ran 1.3 miles in 20 minutes, weight trained for 30 minutes, then biked for 10 minutes. Now I have no motivation to do anything else. I am so. sleepy.


Today day was completely overcast, until just now. It seems to be clearing up for the last couple of hours of daylight. I'm really enjoying the reading I'm doing for my HTML class. (Meta tags are not a magic solution.) And trying to muster up the motivation to make some dinner. Fortunately dinner should be pretty easy, baked chicken with apricot mustard sauce, brown rice, and asparagus.

-- 10 minutes later --

Dinner is in the oven, and now I'm sneezing my head off because I inhaled a big breath of cayenne pepper. Whups.

I am just dragging this evening, I didn't sleep well last night and I think it's finally caught up with me. I'm not irritable, just...TIRED. For no good reason, as I haven't done much but study and gym today.

Oh, and this...


Good day.

More tomorrow. :-)

-Lindsey

Today I ran 3.1 miles in 46 minutes, the weather was nice and I was able to run almost the entire 3.1 miles, with the exception of hills.

I am very excited (and nervous) to be running my first 5k in 40 days. I have been running for a few months now pretty consistently, but I still can't really consider myself a "runner." I have this bad habit of doing great for 5/6 days in a row...and then craving a cheeseburger and brownies.


I always appreciate motivation and encouragement from anyone who wants to offer it, I certainly couldn't reach my fitness goals on my own and I am so appreciative for the support of my family and friends. (In other words, keep it coming --- I'm not there yet!) Asking me how I've done with my goals for the week always gives me a good opportunity to reassess my progress and make adjustments accordingly.

Right now, my main goal is to get my 5k time down to 33 minutes for the 5k. Not great time for a seasoned runner, but I will be very proud of myself if I can do that well after only seriously training for a bit over a month. Especially with all of the other exciting projects I have taken on lately.

I am...

...taking a programming class through the International Webmasters Association starting tomorrow.
...getting NoVA KitchenKids built and scheduled for this fall including running a KitchenKids table at a local children's consignment fair.
...tutoring foreign students in conversational english through Royal Language Training.
...becoming a Pampered Chef consultant.
...advertising more actively for ElusivePhotoDesign, and looking forward to some fun photoshoots.
...trying to get my paintings into some local galleries.
...volunteering with the children's ministry in our church.
...working on some secret Christmas projects.
...editing and illustrating a children's story I used to tell Taylor when he was little.

Lots to do, and I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging and having a visual history of my progress towards my fitness goals. Now I'm off to go see if I can find something to eat for lunch.

-Lindsey

Lots to do. Somehow, though, all I can think of is you. (118.)

It's a good life. :-)

Sometimes you can mosey through life, insisting "Nothing ever changes around here." and then one day, you wake up, and you realize that while you were focused on the monotony...everything changed.

It's a good day.

Currently Listening
Breakfast At Tiffany's
Deep Blue Something

I have been so incredibly busy lately that blogging has unfortunately fallen to the bottom of my priority list. I am savoring my last few weeks with my sweetheart here before he dashes back off to school in San Jose. I'm also in the midst of a very exciting job change/improvement, and taking on some new projects! We've also found a church in the area -- CrossCurrent -- I've only been once, but my family has been a few times and it seems to be a good "fit" so far, looking forward to going and getting to know more people in the area.


I have so many great recipes that I've managed to throw together recently, that I definitely want to make some posts on that in the near future. I finally bought a tart pan (something that had been on my list for quite a while) it's such a great and inexpensive tool! So far I've used it to make a meatless lasagna tart, as well as a dark chocolate ganache tarte. A few other recipes I've played around with lately have been spinach and artichoke dip, apple coffee cake, a really dense white cake recipe, as well as a fantastic asparagus w/egg butter that was a hit with the family. (Even my 13-year-old brother who is typically repulsed by asparagus!)








We've also had the pleasure of hosting a foreign exchange student from Spain over the past three weeks, he'll be leaving tomorrow but it's been a great experience for all of us, and a ton of fun for me to pester him about what type of foods they eat in spain for more cultural recipe experimentation. Looking forward to making paella sometime in the next few weeks. We had fun exposing him to our independence day celebration, and are already looking forward to having another foreign exchange student next year!



I've recently taken up "yarn" as our family-friend Mel (who inspired me to try it) calls it. I have tried knitting so far, and also got the tools and instructions to learn to crochet. I'm almost finished with my first scarf and then plan to tackle something a bit more complicated. I'm hoping to try out making an afghan and start a hope chest for my future firstborn. I'll have to post a picture when I'm finished with the scarf.

My most exciting news at the moment is that I will be leaving Le Creuset to work teaching six-week childrens cooking classes locally. I'm hoping to start mid-september, and will be teaching four classes a week (provided I can get the word out) Two 8-10 year old classes, and two 11-13 year old classes, with seasonal recipes. I'm working on lesson plans, budgeting, advertising, and making sure that I have all the equipment (Extra mixing bowls, spatulas, etc.) handy before tackling my first "test class"...my lucky guinea pig siblings! The classes will consist of instruction as well as hands-on activities, based on kitchen safety, learning the lingo, and lots and lots of fun! Plus, each child will have their own personalized apron, recipe book, and "kitchen goodie bag" upon completion. I definitely think it will be a challenge, but I am so motivated and excited at this point, and definitely see the potiential for it to be rewarding.

Now I think I will go and enjoy having this lovely, cool, overcast day off - have a piece of warm apple coffee cake, with a cup of coffee and maybe take a nap! By some cosmic coincidence I ended up with six days off in a row this week...I am definitely going to take advantage of it and balance lesson planning/attempting to do some laundry (note: attempting!) with spending time with Grandma and Nathan while they're both here, and RELAXING!!

TGIF.
-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
She & Him



Well, I took the entire week last week off. It was a good week, and the weekend was particularly fantastic. Tiffany drove up on Monday and spent the week, and despite the fact that we'd never met in person before - we hit it off immediately, as if we'd grown up together. (In fact, Nathan was shocked to find out that it was our first meeting after her week here.) We enjoyed some relaxation with the hot tub, and massages --- as well as some craziness in downtown Leesburg with some vintage hats, a big yellow bear, a camcorder, a spontaneous rain downpour, and a random Target trip to get a multitude of sugar cereal, oreos, and milanos.


Grace and Stephen joined our party of two on Thursday, and after crashing for a little while Grace, Tiffany, Mom, and I went to get pedicures, which was fun. (Also turned into a spontaneous trip to Target to buy "Apples To Apples" and then we went on a failed Tequila adventure. That night we stayed up FAR too late spontaneously dying Tiffany and Grace's hair.




We spent all of friday in DC where Nathan was able to get off early for the weekend, and Ian joined us mid-day. We were all SO HUNGRY that after picking Ian up we stopped at a random metro stop (which just happened to unfortunately be in the business district) and ended up eating pizza because there was nothing else closeby. Then we headed to the Spy Museum, but since Nathan and I had been before we decided not to spend another $40 going back in, so we went across the street to the National Portrait Gallery. We'd planned on going to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, but it ended up getting too late - so we went back to the house where Mom had made spahgetti and we played more Apples to Apples. Oh, and that is officially NOT my game. I felt like a total dope and didn't "get" half the jokes or pop culture references.









Saturday was Luau-day, we spent all day preparing: beginning with a whirlwind trip to Target and Costco. We were expecting several local friends to join our fun, and were surprised when no one that RSVP'ed ended up coming. It was still possibly the best party I've ever had or attended, though. We ended up remixing the party playlist and the six of us made it a good time, despite no one else showing up. (Including some epic videos of the macarena, and Grace and Tiffany doing the Soulja Boy dance.)





Unfortunately, vacations don't come without consequences. This week has hit hard. I can't believe it's already Thursday. Just hoping I can get through Today and Tomorrow at work. I had a bit of a tumble (on a boat?) somewhere in the midst of the fun last week so I've been kind of sore in multiple places this week. I've decided to ignore it, though, as of this morning. Nothing I can do about it, life goes on. I regretted being a bit of a bum Monday and Tuesday, catching up on sleep (and not much else) and letting some other stuff I needed to get done slip. Yesterday was my first day back to work after my vacation, and it went surprisingly fast. It wasn't a pleasant day, I was pretty grumpy all day because my leg and wrist were hurting and we got a five pallet shipment of nearly all cast iron. I was looking forward to coming home and relaxing and getting some laundry done, and walked in to my Mother in a really bad mood. I have this bad habit of blaming everything on myself even when I haven't been around all day, then Mom mentioned something about the laundry and I freaked out because I'd left a load of Nathan's laundry in the dryer. I had left the laundry where I had planned on picking it back up in the evening when I got back, on the false assumption that Mom wouldn't have time to work on the Laundry yesterday. Sooo...there were no empty hangers in the Laundry room, and she had to do my boyfriend's Laundry. I know that contributed to her frustration, but was finally able to convince myself that it was only a contributing factor. So, I decided since she'd had a bad day we should go on a goodie-errand run. Nathan and I headed out to get some goodies, and I spontaneously stopped at Bloom to get some Belgian White Chocolate Macadamia coffee creamer since that's Mom and my favorite and Target stopped carrying it. Then we went to find a car wash, but it was closed by the time we got there. Neither Nathan or I had eaten dinner so we went to Kobe and were going to grab some sushi to-go, but the grumpy sushi chef was refusing to make anymore for the night. We stopped at Wal-Mart on the way back because I wanted to look for a movie, and ended up picking up some sweet tarts for Mom. All of these stops ended up meaning that, we failed in getting the manufacturer's star off the front window, and got home too late, Mom had went to bed. Just the topper to a really sucky day. Hungry, my leg and wrist killing me, pointless errands, dirty vehicle, and five pallets of shipment. (We did manage to finish that shipment though, despite the fact that two coworkers have the flu and the other has strep throat.)

I've done really good this week at eating right so far this week, I've gotten down to half a cup of coffee a day, and the only "slip" I've had is a piece of carrot cake the other day. (Hey, it needed to be used up before it went bad!) I bought a battery for my pedometer, which I've found does keep me more accountable for making sure I'm active. I average abot 8000 steps a day so far, but that isn't including going running because I haven't been able to the past several days. I'm actually thinking about putting my graduation money towards hiring a personal trainer, ida lee has a pretty good deal for five sessions and I think it'd be a really good jump-start, to learn some things I can't find out through my own research and have a fitness plan customized to me. Going into a gym by myself and trying to figure out the equipment is kind of daunting, but if I had a plan and knew what to use and the best safest ways to use it I would definitely be more inclined to take advantage. Plus, I'd get that initial motivation.

Part of my aversion to going to ida lee to work out is that I don't like driving. It makes me nervous. I really need to get my permit - I drive a vespa right now, and I just feel so SMALL out on the road. I avoid driving myself to work, and try and get a ride as much as possible because I get a knot in my stomach every time I think about going over in the outlet mall traffic. People around here are so careless already, I almost got hit once trying to turn into my driveway. I was turning from the right side of the road left into my driveway, WITH my left turn signal on (trust me, I checked) and this dude tried to pass me on the left and get around me right as I was accelerating to turn. Brilliant. But I've just decided that fitness is worth it, plus I can always bike, I need to get better at biking.

Anyway - I just finished some fresh fruit, cottage cheese, eggs, and am going to grab a piece of bread before I head down stairs to get ready for my day: dentist, bank, UPS store, work, and bringing home a 13 quart cast iron dutch oven for Mom tonight.

More later.
-Lindsey