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Hey there! I'm Holly. A 40+ year old insurance-nerd wife, mom, beauty lover, and about a million other things in between.
This is the place where I share about our lives, what I'm currently loving, books I'm reading, plus-size style, beauty recommendations, health + fitness endeavors and anything else I'm finding interesting at the moment.
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Monthly Archives: August 2014
Tuesday Bullets
*I was living on the edge yesterday with the amount of laundry I hung to dry on my guest bathroom shower curtain rod. Clearly I miscalculated. What a mess!
*I had to take a test for this nutritionist that I’m seeing that required me to consume only 24 oz of water in a day. EEP! Yesterday was that day and seriously, it was torture. I got up this morning and was like “I WILL DRINK ALL THE WATER I WANT JUST BECAUSE I CAN” and man, I’ve never felt so excited.
*Speaking of the nutritionist, we are embarking on a little experiment together (HOLD ME) — I’m quitting coffee again. When I type that sentence my brain just sees ALL OF THE SWEAR WORDS IN BIG BOLD LETTERS. So. Any decaf teas you want to tell me about? Because I have to replace my morning ritual with something or this will never work.
*My closet is annoying me. I’m not going to say I’m in a full on clothing funk, but my clothes are boring me and even pinterest isn’t seeming that inspiring. Maybe it’s the changing seasons but getting dressed is just feeling like a drag lately. Perhaps I just need to go out and shop for a whole new wardrobe. 😉
*With the three day weekend coming up Garrett + I really want to see a movie. I know, wild times! But remember, on weeknights we get really crazy and do things like juice and listen to music. Anyway, what have you seen in the theater lately that you just loved, anything? Any disappointments we need to stay away from?
*While not in a clothing funk I *am* in a reading funk. I can’t even tell you the last book I finished, how sad is that? Goodreads tells me it was Brandi Glanville’s book Drinking and Dating and that was all the way back in April. Man, that is EMBARRASSING!
*I did read some great advice about reading funks recently though: If you’re not reading at the moment, you’re just not reading the right stuff. I think this is so true. I think maybe I need to put down the literary fiction and either read something scary, angsty, or hot pink. Recommendations welcomed.
*What’s new with you this Tuesday?
Fun Things to Read On A Friday
Was your week as wild as ours?
HEY-O, it’s been a while since I shared some fun links around here, but it’s Friday so why the heck not? It’s just a few, but they all made me laugh, nod or salivate. That’s the Holy Internet Trinity, I think.
This weekend we are taking a day trip, cooking up a storm, and definitely relaxing, but who am I kidding, we are still breaking in our new juicer so we will probably play around with that some too. Any fun juice recipes to share? HOOK ME UP. I’ve also been into Orangina juices these days.
Hope you all have a fun and restorative weekend, friends. Let’s do this again next week! 🙂
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*This post of 5 Favorite Food Bloggers is full of links to gorgeous food inspiration.
*This weekend I’m planning on making these Ranch Carnitas, this Peach Frozen Yogurt, and perhaps this Slow Cooker Thai Beef Stew just to have some food ready for the week.
*The Muppets doing Beastie Boys? This made me chuckle.
*All of these outfits made me ready for fall! COME HERE, LEGGINGS!
*I loved this idea that content creators/creative folks should not be aiming to “inspire” — let’s all just write what we want!
*I know the word life changing is often overused, but when it comes to books they really can be. Here’s an inspired reading list. (Related: 8 Books That Helped Me Take Charge of My Own Health)
*How To Do 10 Things Slightly Better — WIN!
*A Haircut Menu — where has this been all my life?!?
*6 Ways to Win at Whole Foods. HA!
*After reading this book this year I’ve taken to swapping out the word “but” and swapping in the word “and.” It has been kind of a game changer for me and I loved this post that expands further on the power of that idea.
Twelve Weeks // 235
We are 4 weeks in to some new squat programming at my gym and frankly it is killing my will to walk.
It’s called the Hatch Squat Program and it’s a 12 week cycle that basically includes 2 days a week of A WHOLE LOT OF HEAVY SQUATTING with bonus spreadsheets! I’m serious about the spreadsheet, you can find it here if you endeavor to do this on your own, you crazy squatting beast!
A month in, I think it just might be working mostly because my legs feel mostly immobile about 4 days per week. I have to pep talk myself at least once a day to take the stairs at work. It must be because my legs are getting stronger, right? TELL ME THEY ARE GETTING STRONGER. It’s the kind of workout programming that makes you ask yourself the following day “Do I really need to go to bathroom right this second, or can it wait?” because sitting down is requires reinforcement.
One of the other things kind of blowing my mind is that one of our coaches was somewhat pregnant when we started this cycle, but when we are done with Hatch she very well might no longer be pregnant and will have a real, live baby. A new squat PR? A human baby that you’ve grown with YOUR OWN BODY? So much can be accomplished in just 12 weeks.
Measuring progress is one of my favorite things and for some reason I always find it more enjoyable to work toward something new that has a finite end up ahead. I think that is why I enjoy AMRAP workouts in CrossFit so much more than Rounds For Time workouts. Sure things are going to be hard and get ugly, but when I know it’s only going to be ugly for 10 minutes, or 12 weeks, or just until “Race Day” I somehow tap into this fount of available energy that otherwise seems unreachable. I should probably chew on that a little bit more before figuring out what I want to accomplish next. Bite size pieces, for the win.
Anyway, when we started Hatch my Squat 1 Rep Max was 235. I’ll let you know where it is in 8 weeks. Any of you ever survived a 12 week Hatch cycle? Talk to me…and my jello legs. 🙂
Tuesday Tedium
*Every morning while I am putting on my makeup and blow drying my hair I let Buster out of the bathroom and into the back yard. (If you don’t know what my bathroom looks like that might sound confusing, but basically we have a door in there that opens to the backyard. Well, it turns it wasn’t that confusing after all. You can kind of see the door to the outside behind the shower in this picture so there’s a visual in case I am making no sense.) So, because he inside most of the day (sorry adorable but practically Albino dog, the vet says no sunbathing for you!) I try and let him get outside and sniff around while I’m getting ready before the sun is too high in the sky and radiating everything in sight. Have I mentioned how fond of summer in Sacramento I am? Anyway, every morning without fail he runs down the path we have in the backyard to this little chink in the fence where he can sniff at the neighbor dog that lives behind us. Neighbor dog is a black lab named Casey who is outside most of the time, and I swear to god, you guys, they sit around and kvetch for like 10-15 minutes every morning. I know they MUST be communicating, but WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
*Speaking of animal communications I totally want to see a dog psychic. let that sentence sink in for a second. Did I say psychic? Ahem, “Animal Communicator.” I know, I know — I sound like a raging lunatic, but there is one that comes highly recommended in my area (seriously, she has Yelp! reviews!) and there is a part of me that is just DYING to see if she can really give me insight on what Buster is thinking. It’s not that expensive, so I am very tempted if only to have the experience: what does an animal communicator do? What would she say? How would Buster respond? I mean, frankly I should do it for blog fodder alone — AMIRIGHT?
*We are going to go a see a wedding venue this weekend, and I am hoping this is the thing that I need to get my ass in gear around planning a wedding. I am a bridal failure, you guys. I am so happy to be engaged and so happy to be marrying the love of my life and all that but every time I think about “Planning A Wedding” I find really urgent things to do like clean my baseboards or alphabetize the magazines that I am throwing into the recycling bin, you know? I’m hoping that finding a venue we are excited about will give me that equivalent connection/excitement that seems to happen to expectant mothers once they find out the gender of their baby? I don’t know. If not — I may need some cheerleading. 🙂
*I have been working with a nutritionist and it is turning out to be a real exercise in change management, self sabotage, and a little “getting my ego in check” thrown in for good measure. So much to say on all of these things, but really it comes down to “What do you mean I need to stop using garlic and onions for 10 days? WHAT WILL I COOK IF I CAN’T HAVE THOSE?” Any of you have experience with Metabolic Typing? She has me experimenting this week with a meal plan based on my metabolic type and I am feeling a little bit ragey about it. My type is a “Fast Oxidizer” — which will mean nothing to most of you, I’m sure but if you are curious about determining your own metabolic type or if you are just bored at work and want to take the nutritional equivalent of a Cosmo Quiz, you can probably get a pretty good idea from taking this free online assessment that is somehow associated with our old buddy, old pal Jillian Michaels.
*Speaking of Jillian Michaels, will her podcast give me rage or is it worth listening to? I have softened on her just a smidge since she has decided to leave The Biggest Loser and talk (though somewhat vaguely) about what a sham that show was with respect to health. Entertaining? Yes, sometimes. Promoting healthy habits? Notsomuch. Anyway — where were we? *clap clap* Ah yes, Jillian’s podcast? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Any other fitness-related podcasts you’d reccomend? I’d like to listen to them while eating Taco Bell on the couch.
*Juuuuuuuuuuuust kidding. Just checking to see if you were still reading. Happy Tuesday, y’all!
Getting Back On The Horse
There is a layer of dust on this blog that is so thick I want to stick my finger in it and write WASH ME.
I wouldn’t mention it at all, but HELLO, there was I time I wrote here 5+ days a week. And I LOVED IT. I’ve been stewing about this for weeks, and while I don’t know that I have a locked down solution, I will tell you that it is very clear to me that when I am not writing here I feel like there is this giant hole in my life sucking the energy out of it. Some of you may think that sounds completely ridiculous. Some of you get it. Regardless, it’s the truth for me.
I like writing here. Yet I am not writing here. These two things are not so harmonious, and I am not the only one who has noticed.
Things Garrett, the ever-private-doesn’t-even-have-Facebook member of our relationship has said in the past month:
“You should blog about this, don’t you think?”
“Do you want to take a picture of my dinner?”
“Are you sure, it looks really delicious?”
HA! Such a good supporter, that guy. I know he can see just how much I miss this blogging thing.
Related: I spent Sunday doing yoga and drinking champagne with one of my favorite people yesterday and of course since we are Friends From The Internet the conversation obviously had to turn to blogs at some point. We both shared a similar sentiment that lately our favorite blogs to read are the ones where you get a little everyday slice of life.
Sure, I love a good aspirational blog on occasion, or a blog with content that is going to teach me how to do something. But more often than not I find that when I make time to read the internet I want to hear how you are living:
what you are reading
what you are watching
what you are cooking for dinner
what you are storing in your freezer
what you are wearing
what you are learning
what I need to buy the next time I’m at a drugstore
what your workouts have looked like
what yoursummer goals were
And of course, marvelous things at Trader Joe’s
The good stuff, ya know? How we’re living.
The mundane. The everyday.
So anyway, all of that is to say — I need to get back on the horse here, because I’m not happy when this place is so quiet. And while I don’t know exactly what that is going to look like (though I’m sure it will include finally tying up my engagement weekend with a bow because JEEZ LOUISE that happened back in May, and I haven’t finished telling that story, I MEAN COME ON!) I think I will just take some time to write about how I’m living.
I’ve missed our chats, guys. What’s new in your neck of the woods?
