The Peaceful Sounds of Silence

Good morning-

Today is one of those amazing mornings where I have had the luxury (and that's not an exaggeration) of taking my time and ambling through the first hour/hour an a half of my day.  Currently, I'm sitting in my kitchen, sipping my coffee out of my beautiful pottery mug given to us by one of my cousins at our wedding, hopefully eying our new birdfeeder to see if we have any takers, and my chinchilla and my pup laze in the background.  My husband sleeps upstairs and in the sounds of the silence (other than my tapping of the keys, of course) I'm just overcome with how lucky and happy I am in this moment.

Since my last post which chronicled one of the best days of my life (getting engaged to Pat), I have gotten married to my wonderful husband, passed and defended my comprehensive exams, passed my dissertation proposal, moved, and got to be part of a lovely wedding of an amazing friend.  Needless to say, it's been a whirlwind of a ride.  Our wedding was the most perfect day.  That's not to say that everything went perfectly, but it was perfect.  We had the most wonderful time with our huge families and great friends (as you can see from these pictures from our kickass photographer http://courtneypotterweddings.com/blog/2014/5/katy-pat-durham-arts-council-wedding).  Our honeymoon in Aruba was also such an amazing experience and I'm so glad that we made that happen. 

Looking ahead, there are so many things on the horizon.  Completing my degree, one day we'll look for a house and make our plans for expanding our family, celebrating my grandmother's 90th birthday, the marriage of some of my in-laws,  holidays and other celebrations, getting a job...  In between those, I have goals for decorating my house, getting back in the groove of staying in shape, reading some great material, staying in touch with those I love.  These are all so exciting (some are stressful), but here and now in the quiet, I just can reflect on them and think about them and feel lucky that I can do that before I take off running again.

Brain Food

Now, I'll be the first to admit that, as much as I love food, it is one of the things that goes to the back burner when I'm stressed out.

*Hence, why I haven't posted on here in months (I have so much to share with you!).*

So, inevitably, my take-out eating out goes up...and it's not always the sexy, relatively good for you kind of take-out either.  I've been known to hit one of a few fried places along the way--but no golden arches--not until I know their burgers are safe! I have to draw the line somewhere.

However, in these times of poor judgment, occasionally I rectify my mindset and try to "reward" myself with a little brain food. 

This morning's offering:  

Muesli.

Muesli is a breakfast food, traditionally composed of uncooked rolled oats, dried fruit, and nuts.  It takes a little getting used to if you haven't had it before, but it's just like cereal and such a cheap, easy way to make a breakfast (and use up some of that HUGE can of rolled oats that I KNOW you have in your cabinet).

All you need:

1/4 to 1/2 cup (1/4 is usually good for me) of uncooked rolled oats
2 T dried fruits of your choice
1 T of nuts of your choice
1/2 to 3/4 cup of skim milk
Suggested add on's: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, a little bit of honey

I used apricots and ginger this morning with some walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a tiny bit of clove.

Speaking of clove, Clover got to enjoy a little bit of apricot this morning, too. 

Other things you can put in your Muesli?  Coconut, almonds, cranberries, blueberries, pumpkin (I usually do that one hot), strawberries, lemon zest.  The options are endless.


For my brain food dinner last night, I made some port soaked portobello mushrooms on some crusty bread spread with ricotta cheese and a beet salad.  Oh, and a big ol' glass of red to calm me down from the day. 

What's your brain food???

Couldn't have said it better

It's been a long, interesting week for me personally.  Komen's defunding of planned parenthood, election of Karen Handel a few months ago, and I'm just now hearing word of defunding stem cell research has left me angry, disappointed, sad, and so conflicted.  I honestly have felt cheated.  I've had some pretty heated conversations with some over this issue and within myself trying to make sense of all this.  Yet, I've still been struggling with the words that actually describe what this has all meant to me.

Then I saw this.  This woman says it better than I ever could.

(She also gives a disclaimer, but I want to reiterate that there are some graphic, but real images within this video.  But it is a real look into breast cancer.)

Heroic Woman Speaks About What Breast Cancer Means to Her



So where do we go from here?  I'm still figuring it out but first of all, I pray, send good vibes, and love to this woman and all of those struggling with this disease and to those that love them.  Second, I really hope that as people, we can set aside our differences and continue to stay focused on helping experts find a cure for this and other diseases, like AIDS, lung cancer, Alzheimers, MS, etc.  Third, I will continue to support breast cancer research, but I am still conflicted as to how I can support Komen without some major, major changes in their organization.  Thus, I will be more focused on looking into supporting others like the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

Thank you to this woman and all of those who are fighting this and other diseases.  Hopefully, we (I) can do more to support you and take care of each other.  

And a Happy New Year...

Happy New Year! 

The beginning of this year began with me on the couch for a few days (including today) with a monster cold. While I've been pretty miserable, maybe this is nature's way of getting me to slow down for a bit before I go back to work and school. It's been difficult for me to think real clearly, (my words with friends plays have had to be somewhat delayed for fear that I will make irreparable damage to my game board-ha!) but I have been reflecting on the past year and setting some goals for 2012. Let me share them with you:

Reflections on 2011: 

2011 was a challenging year. There was a lot of change at the beginning half, both positive and negative. More than that, I was totally blindsided by the force of the first semester of my second year in the PhD program. I felt that I had gotten through the first year and kind of had things in an order. So, of course, I felt I could add more things to my plate.
Little did I know, however, that others were also ready to throw a bunch of stuff on that plate for me, as well.

I watched others go through this last year, but I really did not anticipate how hard it was going to be for me. That being said, I think that I really tried to make decisions this year that were true to myself and I am proud of myself for that. While I feel that there are obviously things I could have done better (be less stressed, take on less, etc.), I felt very much me.  For example, I took on a job that, while it didn't pay as well as my last one, I feel that I have learned a lot in working there. Also, the people I work with were integral to maintaining positive feelings and motivation. I am dating a person who is so supportive, positive, and genuine. There were times that I felt I was able to help others this semester and I'm glad that I took the time to do that. Also, while there were some ups and downs, I kept myself relatively in shape over the whole year-which makes me feel great!  Finally, I was able to make some great food creations when I had some spare time.  Overall, 2011 wasn't too shabby.

Goals for 2012: 

Like anything else, there's always room for improvement in yourself. So here we go:

1)Be more aware of the people and relationships that make life so much fun.
2)Stress less about temporary stress. When stressed, use this to drive you to do healthy things-like workout or something nice for someone else.
3)Make limits on work time and do things that are important to me: i.e. cooking, seeing loved ones, and reading.  This way, I can share more on this blog :)

Now, I see some potential barriers to these goals: 1) Extraneous responsibilities 2) Time management 3) Professional Direction (still in flux a bit). However, I think if I just take it a step at a time and continue to remind myself about what's important, 2012 is going to be great!

PS-the cupcake above is a champagne cupcake from Sprinkle Bakes. My roommate found it and I assisted her in making them and they are so, so good. I would highly suggest them for your next get together.

Best wishes for the New Year!

Restart Button

Spring break is coming to a close today and I am so thankful for the time that I had this week. It wasn't a "crazy" spring break, rather uneventful by others' standards but absolutely glorious all the same.

Most of those who are very close to me know that the last months have definitely been strenuous on a intellectual, spiritual, and emotional level. However, sometimes it is the simple, most basic things that take you back to where and who you really are.

The tragedy in Japan was the cap to my week's reflections. I can only hope that all the people, friends, and family of those in Japan receive some relief soon.

It is amazing to me how touching base with my base, my family, brings in to focus myself and the priorities in my life--which is them. My time spent with my mom, my cousin and her husband and her daughter, the phone calls to my sister, my brother, and my Nana, lunch with my dad's girlfriend and emails with my dad, phone calls to close friends are some of the great things I got to do this week. Those are the highlights of my break, my exciting and eventful moments. So very thankful as we are reminded this week how very fragile those constants in our life actually are.

As we move through time, we definitely come up against some hurdles. It's not to say that the hurdles themselves don't matter and often they add something to ourselves and change us, sometimes in essential and important ways. I find, however, that for those times when I feel like I'm getting a little out of rhythm, these times with the people in my life--the ones who are always there-- get me back on track.

Thanks to all of you. I have some really cute videos of Miss Riley (who will be 1 this week!!!). I just have to figure out how to get them on here.

Change will do you good....and give you anxiety

Oh man y'all, I tell you--even good stress is still stress. I have been a giant nut lately with all the impending changes that are approaching in a matter of about a week or so and I am responding in two ways:

A: Being a lazy bum:
-haven't run in over a week
-spend hours trying to read all the books I have gotten from the library before I have to read text books
-wanting to stress eat sweets is at a high (see first bullet under point A)

B: Being super crazy energizer bunny with sporadic bouts of uncontrollable tears
-scheduling how to watch supernatural in the fall has taken up more hours than I am proud of and caused too many arguments (not kidding)
-I have made sure to make a shower one of the priorities of the day on more than one occasion (because it just hasn't happened since... hmm)
-should not be allowed to drive as I continually recalculate my new proposed budget in my head and simultaneously ream myself for giving in to starbucks and spending 4 dollars on a chocolate coconut frappacino (by the way-tastes like a mounds bar in a cup- DELICIOUS!) and subsequently forget where I am going

On a positive note, my closet/desk hasn't ever been cleaner, the books I have read have been excellent, and I have tried some new workouts at home.

The problem here is, I just haven't set my schedule yet. I'm confident that it will get better soon (right kids?!). I know this is a silly entry, but thought that I would share- and apologize to my loved ones for my craziness and thank you for setting me straight :). Love y'all--