OMG! Part Deux

You've GOT to be kidding me Delta. $300 for an oversized bag?!?! THREE! HUNDRED! DOLLARS! So my bag weighed 80 lbs. So what? Getoverit.

This was NOT the way I wanted to start my Italian adventure. The super nice and helpful and all around pleasant woman at the Delta counter told me to cough up $300 for my bag. Um. No. Hommie don't play that. Called mom, she turned around, we buy a piece of luggage, put 30 lbs of crap in there and check both. Saving $200. Problem solved. OH WAIT. No, not solved because I stinking forgot to put the luggage lock on it. SUPER. LOVE FLYING.

Rage on.

(Please note the jaded and highly sarcastic tone of voice)

P.S. I love my momma. No sarcasm there.

P.S. 2 Can't even get a Chik-fil-a sandwich in ATL because it's Sunday. SUPER. Doesn't matter, not on my diet anyway. Just extra frustration.

OMG!

I'm leaving for Italy... in 10 hours.... for a month. Not. Long. Enough. Too. Many. Clothes. Christmas Lists packed.

Don't be surprised if I don't come home.

More from Chelsea's bridal shower/bachelorette coming soon. Ugh, lurv her.

Did I mention how much I lurv my sister-in-law/THAT baby? Lots. Lots and lots and lots.

Thanks Suz and baby. Yall are the best. Fo Sho.

Ugh, shame.

It's official. I will graduate July 30. BIG SQUEEEEEEE!

And I'm only .03 points away from graduating MAGNA cum laude. So, no matter what... (as long as I don't blow it in Italy, which I won't) I'll graduate with honors. That'll do pig, that'll do. (Yes, I just referred to myself as 'pig'... it works).

Here comes the shame... I bought distressed jeans yesterday.

J.Crew

And I told Emily...

Me: FYI I bought distressed jeans today. Where the hell were you when I needed you?

EMS: No longer speaking to you. Find friends at Jax beach.

Me: J.Crew. $30. A little redemption? I needed jeans that fit. I got regulars tooooooo. [See the desperation??]

EMS: Take them back. I'll mail you a check for $30.

Me: Kitsy says they look cute. Plus they go great with my new Ed Hardy tee. With bling.

EMS: Talk to you never.

Did I mention that I lurv her? And if you're lusting after my new jeans, they're $10 cheaper in the store. Tell them I said hi.... people know me. I'm kind of a big deal.

Who's got 2 thumbs and is excited about Rome?

ME.

And Jesse Spano. But I'm not scared... well, just slightly scared I won't be able to fit my wardrobe in my luggage. Details, details.

FYI: FEMA is on standby. This is only the beginning. Preliminary packing, really. (Sorry Kirby for taking over your room... it might be cleaned up by Friday... might.)

I googled where I'll be staying in Rome, St. John's University, and it's 3 blocks from the Tiber and another 3 from the Villa Borghese. Score! A place to run! The best way to see a city is in some running shoes (preferably not combined with khaki shorts, black calf socks, and a Hawaiian shirt... just sayin').

I'm feeling incredibly blessed right now. In this exact moment. I'm healthy, happy, and whole in my Lord. I've been concentrating on Psalm 18:30 since January, which says: "As for God, His way is perfect." I have no idea where I'll be in the upcoming months (ahem... D.C. please?) but as for right now, I'm exactly where I need to be.

And this Sunday? I'll be in a big bird in the sky... see ya Amuuurica.

Just throwing it out there...

Yes, you've seen this before. It's my cup. My "freedom" cup. And it's on sale. Right now. At Anthropologie. If you're looking for anything to give to anyone special (read: me), this would be more than sufficient and greatly appreciated/loved/adored.

Irony....

After posting yesterday about how I dream of tracking down stolen art...

this happens.

Last Saturday

I keep meaning to document interesting parts of my life so I can look back and say this part of my life was not a complete waste. I do things. I'm hip, I'm with it.

Last Saturday was a super busy day! But let's start with Thursday. After the Kitsy and I spent the afternoon at the beach (lovely), I came home and baked. And I love to bake. I literally made over 100 cookies, which is interesting because the recipe is called "100 cookies". Boom. Beat you recipe.

Then, I did stuff on Friday. Went to the outlets in the morning with the Kitsy, UNF for a Rome meeting (SO EXCITED!), and worked the afternoon away. After my run, I started baking again. I made 2 pans of lemon squares, Texas Tornado cake, and 2 pans of Samoa Blondies. I was a baking fool. All for the RSM Fundraising Dinner on Saturday night (love yall!!)

But Saturday I volunteered at the Jacksonville Backyard BBQ Championship for Danielkids, a worthy local non-profit.

It was on the grounds of the fire station on Stockton Street. You know... the one where they have those training fires in the tower.
And this is the mighty throne.
Big Boo. Tee-hee.
Yes, I sampled this. Sorry diet, I just had to. Smelling this and not indulging just seemed so very very wrong.

After being there from 9-3, I went home, showered (because I smelled like a giant ham... which isn't unusual) and went to Redeemer to be with my kiddos. And that was a blast. I stinking LOVE Redeemer and the youth there. I have the privilege of working with them every Wednesday night and it is the highlight of my week. Each one of these young people are so special and amazing and just plain awesome. I feel so lucky to know them. And that's a good feeling.

We raised over $2000 for missions and trips for RSM (Redeemer Student Ministries)! Yay! A big thank you to all who showed up and ate yummy goodness and contributed.

Dream Job

As a soon-to-be college graduate (FINALLY! and... fingers crossed!) I've been doing a lot of sitting and thinking. Well, I do a lot of sitting and thinking regardless. Ok ok, maybe just sitting... thinking is hard. What.ever.

What do I want to do for the rest of my life?

(Cue the crickets)

I'm an art history major. And I love it. I'm so proud that I can say I studied a subject I absolutely adore and didn't cop out and become an education major (Really? Is it necessary to teach people how to teach? Most senseless degree ever). But the problem is, I can't really go into my field without a Master's degree. Helllllllo Georgetown! But not until at least August 2011, most likely 2012.

What I'd really like to do... is track down all of the lost artwork that Hitler stole from museums and galleries across Europe during WWII. Dream. Job. Let's do this.

Morning Inner Monologue...

Really? 6:20? In the morning? Is it really necessary to wake up this early while I'm on summer break? Don't. Wanna.

Response: Yes, yes it is. Wake up! Drink coffee! Eat cereal/banana! Chug down some water and freaking run that 12 miles this morning!!!

buy me this?

Maybe I should drink my coffee from one of these puppies....

To be continued.... (most likely from an ice bath)

And the food must be eaten...

This is my friendly reminder to myself... on the fridge...
It basically reminds me I can't eat anything fun. Thankfully, I've found a wee little treat at Publix.
And you know what, they TOTally taste like the real thing. I got the minis, and they're plenty big enough. Like the size of a Klondike bar. When I'm in pinch and a frozen banana just won't cut it, I grab a little guy and go.to.town.
But back to what I wanted to talk about... When I tell people I'm doing this "diet" (more like lifestyle change, thankyouverymuch) they're all like "what the what DO you eat?" I can eat whatevs I want, I just don't eat dairy, most prepackaged foods, and white flour. The picture above is what I had for lunch yesterday. 1 1/2 cups of spring mix, 1/2 cup of strawberries, and 1 tbsp of light organic balsamic vinaigrette and 1 cup brown rice, 1/2 tomato, and 6 baby carrots.

I attempted to eat this much because I ran 9 miles yesterday and I know I needed the nutrients, but once I got through the salad I was so full! I mean, I love my food baby tummy, but it's bikini season and some people get grossed out. Whatever.

Week Two is no meats. Anything that once had eyes, or a mother, that makes any sort of sound whether it is moo, cluck, ribbit, meow... (just making sure you're paying attention). I'm not doing week two wholeheartedly. I am giving up red meat and cutting way back on all meats, but refuse to give it up completely. I understand it would really help lower my cholesterol, but come on! Apparently I need to get more creative with this food thing...

Goin' Vegan(ish)...

Confession: I have high cholesterol.

Yes, yes, it's true. I eat healthy, run 30-40 miles a week, am 24 years old, and yet I have the cholesterol of an overweight 50 year old man (he probably dresses bad too, like a black socks and sandals kind-of-guy). I'm not revealing my number because it's embarrassing (everyone has their thing, ya know?). So, when this nice lady at church who works at Whole Foods told me about this book, I figured I could give it a whirl. I can do anything for 28 days, right? Right.
So, I'm about 1 week in. The first week (if you don't do it whole hog from the start) is giving up ALL dairy and processed/refined foods. This means NO: milk, cheese, eggs, butter, ice cream, sour cream, yogurt, white rice/flour/pasta/bread, cakes, cookies, unhealthy chips, sodas, etc etc.

The first couple of days were a struggle, but I actually am enjoying not eating dairy! And I never realized how much of it I was eating before. I switched to soy milk a couple of months ago and thought I was "off dairy"... Oh, no no. It is EVERYWHERE! I had a lady lunch date with lovely Ali at bb's on Friday and had to ask them to (gasp!) take the brie out of the wrap!! Let's take a moment of silence for that delicious, melty, creamy brie...... Le sigh.....

So, for Mother's Day I decided to make a dessert the whole family could enjoy (or just me... whatever). It's called Blueberry Dumpcake and is SO easy.

2/3 c whole wheat pastry flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2/3 c milk substitute

3 tbsp agave nectar

2 c blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Combine vanilla, milk substitute, and nectar in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. The batter will be runny. Pour the batter into a nonstick 8” square pan. Sprinkle blueberries over the batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with lemon sorbet.

I used a frozen, organic, berry mix with raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Yum!
This is the before baking shot. Ain't she purty?
And after... It smelled so good!
And with the lemon sorbet, which was a little overpowering, a little too zesty. Next time I'd want vanilla soy ice cream. But then I'd eat the whole container. Ice cream... it's like my kryptonite.

Overall? It was okay. I'd rather have it all regular normal style with lots of fat and dairy, but for the time being it was a good substitute. Sorry mom for making you eat this on YOUR day.

LaGrange Adventure

After exams, Mom and I skidaddled out of town and escaped to the ever-so-lovely LaGrange, GA (little UNknown fact: also the hometown of Bubba Sparxxx). It was a FAB weekend filled with fun, laughter, shopping, food (lots and lots of food), and some much needed wisdom.
(Just an example of the food... This was Meme's baked sweet potato at lunch on Sunday... even after my mom went to town on it too). We guesstimated it was about 2-4 lbs. That's a lot of YUM!

Anyway, on Saturday we ventured to outside of Newnan, GA (another small lovely town) to an estate sale at Catalpa Plantation.

Isn't it beautiful? It was built on that property (about 1,000 acres of cotton fields) around 1835 in the Federal style. Like, seriously... they had to put in a bathroom upstairs with the bedrooms (which ALL had fireplaces, loves it!). How inconvenient to use an outhouse! There was nothing special inside the sale. Everything was overpriced, unusable and not to mention ugly. But it was amazing to see the landscaping. This landscaping firm bought the property and used it as a showcase, but unfortunately they have gone under so they're short selling the house.

This is the Catalpa tree, the namesake of the plantation (obviously). Apparently it's the largest tree on the land and inspired the name. Not very original, but I'll let it slide this time.
There was a large pond (small lake?) in the back. Mom and I admired the romance of the gazebo and swing attached to the tree. But my very favorite part? The skeet thrower under the gazebo... gotta love the country! Really though, who needs furniture when you can shoot stuff?
Isn't that beautiful? There was a fish pond (see below) that also ran a small stream to the large pond (again... small lake?) with the wooden walking bridge. Very sweet. It makes me sad this company couldn't make it as they were creative and talented. They grew irises as big as my face! I wish I had a comparison picture. But you can imagine... my face... big flower. Got it? Good.
Lover-ly. Just lover-ly.

Then we pushed onward to Senoia (locals pronounce it Suh-noy... non-locals and Yankees alike call it Suh-noy-uh). It's a neat little town thats been all-done-up with fan-cy brick sidewalks and landscaping and antique-y gift shops. Let's be honest... the best part of Senoia? The slice of AH-mazing Georgia Peach Cake from a local bakery. (I'm telling you, there was LOTS of eating involved that weekend).

This is downtown Senoia. All around, it was a great weekend. I love my family.