Radio Silence: Terminated

Radio Silent for 6 months. I’m sorry.

This summer was for staying in, and going out – and leaving my laptop in my backpack. Rather than ferociously attacking an unrealistic diet and workout schedule to achieve a bikini bod that should have been a year in the making, I took the summer easy. I tried not to be too hard on myself if I didn’t run, or if I had dessert every night that week. It was relaxing and I didn’t step on the scale once.

In August, my boyfriend and I closed the summer with a trip to Cabo San Lucas and a beautiful backyard wedding. But, as they almost always are, wedding photos are unforgivable (not-so) fun house mirrors. Sure, reality is a bit distorted – I do not have bingo wings. I do not have bingo wings! But there is always a little truth, because it a reflection of yourself.

Fortunately, the best thing I wore that night was confidence – even if it was based in ignorance.

Fat Faced….

But Smiling!

Fat Faced, But Smiling

Nevertheless the experience got me thinking, and as we drove home I developed a plan, a challenge if you will to achieve a goal I had been putting off since March. I certainly was happy, but was I healthy?

I decided that although I didn’t want a number to define my experience as a healthy individual, I couldn’t deny that a number was standing in the way. It was late August, and I wanted to lose weight by Christmas. (Christmas photos are the evil step-sister of wedding photos.) The true test would be captured as I stood in baggy Christmas sweaters amongst family in friends. Maybe then will my vanity be satisfied.

So on August 25^th I held my initial Weigh-In.

Coming in, at 151.4 pounds, stumbling, out of Albuquerqueeee New Mexico!

Ouch.

When you get that first gust of motivation – you, or I, make ridiculous goals. Like say, lose 20 pounds during the Holiday season. WTF?!? I decided to break it down into 4 sections – or 5 pounds a month. When September 25^th came and went – I made it! I met my goal and it felt really good, but as the end of October approaches, I definitely feel a second wind is in order.

On that cramped car-ride home on a warm August afternoon, I predicted my own behavior. So I decided that there must be consequences for not meeting my own goals. They are as follows: If I don’t meet my goal in…

 

September – I cut TV consumption in half for the next month!

October – Eliminate sweets for November!

November – No TV at all – which means no Christmas movies in December.

 

If you know me, these are dire consequences, particularly the last. So after a long and windy blog post – I come to this.

I’m back. I’m counting calories because that is what works for me. If I work out then great, if not, then it is no big deal. But I am starting to check things off on the list of things that stop me from living a happy and healthy life.

Maybe next I’ll tackle my addiction to Netflix (Maybe not, on second thought.) Or try and get my skin care in order (Eczema, Acne, and Stretch marks. Oh what fun.) But I am here – and there should be no excuses because now you know too.

 

Adventures Abroad & At Home: Part II

Because I am feeling guilty ahem, I mean generous I am posting two days in a row! It’s not like I have any reason to atone… or maybe I do… after all it was only like twenty-something days ago I made my last post. Regardless, here we are – so let’s carry on, shall we?

Our first day in Dublin actually started in a small shop in Maynooth, where Nora is studying at the local university. Because we weren’t very hungry and we wanted to save our cash for the “big city”, we opted to share a breakfast sandwich and grab a tea.

Breakfast & Bus Fare

 

There is something so special about simple and fresh foods coming together in flavorful combinations. Our breakfast sandwich was stacked with hot and fresh eggs, ham, rich cheese and sliced tomatoes on toasted sesame seed bread.

The same day we stopped in on an intriguing little joint called 37 Dawson Street, which is familiarly called a late bar & food emporium. Although we didn’t ever get a proper look at the right time of day, we still enjoyed the food and atmosphere immensely!

The food was great & so were the bubblies. I was definitely fond of Orchard Thieves and drank it several times while I was over seas. The salad featured above was light and jam packed with flavor. To name a few: Avocado, Cucumber, Feta, Olives & Some Tangy Vinegar and Oil Dressing that was prime.

The other restaurant we were especially fond of was Queen of Tarts! True to it’s name, the patisserie was chalked full of delicious desserts. Nora and I both ate sandwiches, and in the spirit of trying new things I had the house soup! A sweet potato and lime puree that was a major surprise. It was perfectly complimented by the rich notes of goat cheese and pickled beet root in my sandwich.

Take a good long look at that tart! That’s 4 inches (inches!) of meringue piled onto smooth lemon filling. Alright everybody, let’s say it together… “Yum!” There were countless other mouth-watering desserts arranged in the café, but I am not so tech-savvy so the pictures were not so nice. So you’ll just have to take my word for it until you can visit yourself!

Well, it wouldn’t be a proper visit to Ireland if I didn’t try any local fare. Here are the remnants of a traditional Irish Breakfast – the mini version no less, supplied by the lovely and charming The Coffee Mill in Maynooth.

Before

After

I also tried the traditional Irish Stew. Unfortunately I didn’t get any good pictures of that either, but I will break it down for you. In my opinion, it was like any beef stew: meat, potatoes, root veggies… with one quirk… Can you guess it?

Corned Beef, my friends. Corned Beef.

It was certainly enjoyable, but it didn’t hit the spot quite like the rest of the food we had eaten. Maybe it was because we hadn’t walked ourselves ragged that day, or I had finished half a pint… Either way, it was just not the meal for me.

Now are you ready for Part III?

(Too much rhyming? Too bad!)

The Green Chile Convert

The Green Chile Convert: How a New Mexico Native became a Prodigal Daughter

“Some are born to love chile … others have chile thrust upon them.”

For most of my life, I have been the odd-man out in my family. If you are unfamiliar with New Mexican cuisine, you are about to become very familiar. The good ole Land of Enchantment is the square-ish state smushed between Texas and Arizona, and is decisively forgotten by the rest of the country. It’s like the other 49 states skipped 5^th grade and refused to learn states and capitals. They dropped New Mexico and adopted Puerto Rico. You may think I am kidding, but I have LITERALLY been asked if I needed a passport to leave the STATE.

Now that’s off my chest…

The food in my favorite state revolves around our favorite vegetable fruit (Sorry science – we just don’t see it that way!) Green Chile. Usually the star of any dish, it is often accompanied by the dream team:

Cheese. Beans. Rice.

If you ask any New Mexican, if your green chile isn’t hot, then you are eating a bell pepper. Canned chile is sacrilege, and buying it freshly roasted is the optimal (and only) choice.

That doesn’t leave a lot of room for a girl whose tongue and tummy are linked directly to the Anglo-Saxon side of her. Meanwhile, everyone else in my family, and the state, eat like this…

I have always loved the smell of roasting chile outside of our local grocery store when fall rolls around the corner, but I have never been able to withstand the spicy pepper it comes from. It never logically occurred to me that it is a good thing to put something in your body if you have to double glove your hands to peel it. Even then, a faulty brush of forehead sweat, and you could be sending your eye into a frenzied state of panic.

My first experience really enjoying chile was when I was working a baseball game a few summers back, and all Dion’s was selling was a large pizza slice with Green & Pepperoni. Now I don’t know about you, but running around in the hot sun, makes you hungry. Hungry changes a person. One bite, then two, and suddenly I was on the bandwagon, shouting, “full speed ahead!” I didn’t forget the burn, I embraced it.

That night, I went home and broke the news to my family.

“Mom. Dad. Today, of my own free will, I ordered and ate green chile and enjoyed it.”

You would think I was waiving around a Yale acceptance letter – my mom even put it on the calendar! Being part of a chile loving family will always mean that someone will like chile hotter than you, or they may chuckle when you pour yourself a glass of milk to chase down that green chile stew. But one thing I have learned, is that they’re not laughing at you anymore, they’re laughing with you.

I’ll leave you with this.

An Apple a Day

Hello lovelies!

Today we have passed the two-week mark on my self-appointed February Food Challenge and are commencing the two week countdown. (Which has been highly anticipated since Day 1.) This experience has been harrowing, and inspiring mostly harrowing. The office where I work, looks a lot like this….

Except, I’m a larger mouse with a bigger appetite. And instead of cheese, it’s cheesecake. Mmmm… cheesecake. Not to mention, my blessed coworker is the candy-man. He leaves a distractingly large bag of chocolates on his desk for everyone to share. I’m not sure if you are familiar, but those gleaming colorful wrappers taunt you. Those savvy slogans are especially vicious.

Admittedly, this has been a better experience than I let on. The deliberate absence of sweets, has made me realize how easily chocolates come in and out of my line of vision. And more often than not, they are just in arm’s reach. And holy canole! Mmmm… canoles. I would have eaten every single thing that was in sight.

It was actually eye-opening, because I realized I am a lot like this girl!

Actually, I lied. I’m this kid.

On the bright side, if there is one, is that during this torture challenge, I have been spending more time with people that I adore. Just this weekend, my love and I took my baby cousins to the zoo and to Tingley Beach. By the end of the experience, we were a little disenchanted with gorillas and a bit hungry, but their smiling faces and wet kisses were well worth it. Sure, the four of them (lover included) dined on animal crackers, while I munched on apple slices. But I think that maybe being together, kinda made my apple a little sweeter.

Affection Correction

Today is the fourth of February. Maybe not for me, but for you it is. So, for the sake of argument, it’s the beginning of a new month. As the majority of you are fully aware, the 2^nd month of the year is typically characterized by over-the-top, ooey-gooey, lovey dovey stuff. Well, it has come to my attention that I pretty much celebrate every month of the year with this exact mentality.

At this moment you may be thinking that you’ll just sign off now if I go into details about the exact shape and masculine features of my lover’s nose, which I do adore. But you are just in luck! It’s true, I must confess. I have a love affair with chocolate.

URGENT PSA: Chocolate is the gateway drug to all things sweet, and delicious, and tasty, and oh boy – I am getting out of hand!

Addiction runs in the family. My mom can’t seem to quit the chips & dip, and I’ve got a hankering for something sweet. So basically any potluck is our nirvana. As easy as it would be to toss all the blame on my mother, I do believe in the fair and just. So it must be revealed that my dad has definitely contributed to my… er… problem. Long story short, he took a page out of Lupin’s handbook – “Eat this, you’ll feel better.” Thus chocolate has always been a treat, but it has also been my go to comfort food. Voila! Nature and nurture have come together to thoroughly rock my world and set me on a course for obesity.

Ideally, that is not the path I would like to be on. Which is exactly why I have opted for this change of lifestyle, and why I am documenting it. To jump-start this revolution, I have decided to do something drastic. For the month of love, I have decided to give up, no, trade something that I love to focus on other things that I equally adore.

Good-bye chocolate (sniff)! Hello new world! Somehow that does not feel as good as I thought it would writing it.

Good-bye warm, crumbly cookies. Good-bye bite size brownies, red velvet cake, and cold creamy ice desserts.

But also, Hello family time! Hello to big family dinners, and game nights galore. Hello lover, I’ll visit more. (Rhyme game too strong?) I am looking forward to playing Settlers of Catan (link here if you want a non-food obsession), and laughs all around as we gather in the den to play Reverse Charades. This month – I am going to try to focus on family, and not food. Wish me luck!

 

Good-bye sweets, Ta-ta for now!