In My Head

This Year & Next

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For the last couple years I have began the year with a list of small goals of things that I want to accomplish during the year. It has always been a good way to urge myself to get these things done. You can see 2013’s list here.

This year a lot of things on that list did not happen. A lot of other wonderful things did happen this year though.

In January we went to Vermont to visit friends.

February was a wonderfully romantic month with lots of wonderful homemade food.

March started off with an amazing trip to New York City and Alex Guarnaschelli’s Restaurant Butter. I was also lucky enough to start a new job. As if anything else could happen Chuck and I moved into a new place. It was kind of a little crazy around these parts.

In April we adopted our little monster Brody.

May included a trip to wine country, and catching up with friends.

For the month of June we did a lot of camping, and read some awesome books.

In July I got a little excited about summer cocktails and did a lot more camping.

August was a nice relaxing month of summer food,more outdoor adventure, and ended with a long weekend in Hampton Beach.

September was a big month here since Chuck asked me to marry him.

October was a whirlwind of excitement in announcing to the world that we were engaged.

November slowed down a little bit and I got into a German inspired kick.

Finally December was another one of those whirlwind months where I shared some quick and easy recipes, as well as a lot of my favorites.

This upcoming year I already know it going to be kind of nutty. The little family that we are building is in store for a big ride. Along with our own wedding planning, theres quite a few weddings to attend and be a part of, and money to save for a house (one day) and who knows what else is in store.

This year my goals are much smaller and personal. They are things like spending more time with family, staying in touch with long distance friends, spending more time outside, and on fitness. I want to accomplish more at work, and save a lot more money, and take more time for myself in my off hours. This year I’m not making a definitive list, but I do have goals I intend to stick with I guess we will see what this year will bring.

Summer’s Over, Let’s Talk About it

By Jessica

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It’s September and by most standards summer is over. As sad and upsetting as it is I’m ready for
fall, I’ve always been a cold weather kind of girl so it’s welcome. I thought it
might be a fun change of pace to do a little review of my favorite things about
this summer.

Camping! We did a lot of camping, my favorite trip had to be
the one we went on with our friends from northern VT.

Visiting wine country.

Favorite recipes included the Herby Burger, Backcountry CreamyOrzo, and Shrimp and Parsley Ravioli.

I was pretty much a lush.

Don’t forget the fair. I’m a dork for the demolition derby.

I loved teaching Brody to swim & love the water as much
as his parents. We also got to go river tubing for a day, found an old rope
swing Chuck played on as a kid, and spent quite a few days up at the lake. We
had lots of water time this year.

I made to the beach for the first time in years!

I started a small garden that blossomed with a pretty
amazing bounty of beans, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, parsnips, and kohlrabi.
I also had way more beans than I could handle. Next year we will pant the marigold a little earlier to keep the pests away.

It was a laid back and fun summer, full of food and friends.
What more could you ask for?

What were your favorite parts of summer this year?

The Reasons I Cheat on my Diet

By Jessica

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Source

I would say 75% of the time I eat clean. Why 75%? Because regular pasta, white rice, even a tablespoon of butter, bottled barbeque sauce, and most salad dressings are not considered clean. I firmly believe a steak as well as a pork chop should be seared in butter. White pasta has a different mouth feel, and starchiness when compared to its whole wheat counterpart, the same goes for rice. Sometimes I just want blue cheese dressing and barbeque, and super lean meats tend to be expensive.

Food is always one of the first things to pop into our head when we think of holidays and traditions; it sparks conversation and brings people together. Food is a driving force for not only our bodies but our soul. These are the reasons that I cheat.

I ate completely clean for a while, do you know what happened? Any time I stepped out of the realm of clean, I got sick. It was not fun. Something as simple as steak, or fish pan fried in butter would send me straight to bed trying not to vomit for the next few hours. I came to the realization that unless I plan to compete in fitness competitions there was no need to live like this. That’s when I implemented a weekly cheat meal. Usually homemade calzones, chicken parmesan, mac & cheese, seafood with butter these are my favorite comfort foods. Do you know what changed? My attitude, I was happier, and my body actually seemed in better shape, I had a lot more energy, and my measurements, including body fat percent barely wavered. I honestly think that having more energy could be contributed to the better mood. Also having a carb heavy meal once in a while will help your metabolism stay up so you can continue to burn more calories overall.

I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea in thinking a cheat meal consists of a trip to McDonalds followed by a stop by pizza hut, and rounded out with a gallon of ice cream, because it’s not any of those things. A cheat meal for me is a lean sirloin steak topped with a little mason butter, a salad with blue cheese dressing, and a side of garlic parmesan pasta or mashed potatoes. It could also be a night out, with linguini & clam sauce, or Buffalo wings and a beer. One single average sized meal, where I don’t over eat, and I usually try to stick to something lighter during the rest of the day.

It’s about balance. I cheat to keep everything in balance.

I eat to satisfy, not only what my body needs but my soul. I am capable of cheating now and then to enjoy my food because most of the times I eat clean, and I am active. I do keep track of my measurements, including my body fat percent, so I know when I need to tone it back (the month of December for example) and eat a few more veggies.

Reasons I Eat Clean

By Jessica

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Source (Great article)

I know this may seem silly to some, but I often get berated because of my eating habits, mostly the fact that I don’t eat cake, so I thought it was time to give a little discussion on why I choose to eat a mostly clean diet (I say mostly because I have another post coming that explains the reasons I cheat on my diet also). I started out making a list of the reason I eat clean, but quickly realized that I could bunch them together in tiers of Immediate, semi-immediate, and long-term, this is also pretty much ranked by importance for me.

The main reasons I eat clean are because of how it makes me feel. I like the way my body and mind function on a clean diet; I feel alive, healthy and strong. When I overeat or eat a lot of carbs in one meal I feel fat and sluggish. Overly greasy food, or food with little nutritional value makes me actually feel greasy, my face, and hair mostly, I also tend to have an upswing in zits when I eat a lot of it, such as around the holidays. Keeping a clean lifestyle makes it easier for me to say no to sweets since I simply don’t crave them anymore. If I am going to waste some of the day’s calories on sweets it had better be the most decadent, amazing thing available, or I better have been craving it for a month. That’s right a month. I do not give in to my bad cravings (except for maybe wine) unless I have wanted them for a long time, cravings usually pass, or give way for something else, which means I don’t really need it.

The next set of reasons is semi-immediate health concerns; I am anemic, and I get awful migraines. Lean red meat, egg yolks, and green leafy vegetables are all very high in iron. I know there is some debate about the yolks part, but I don’t skimp on my yolks, I eat lots of spinach, and am always trying to add a salad to every meal, and who doesn’t love a good juicy steak? A lot of sea food is high in iron as well, such as clams, mollusks and scallops. Like you need another excuse to eat seafood! I noticed that I often get headaches if I am dehydrated and then they often turn into migraines, so I am always sure to drink a lot of water, and eat citrus fruits, I don’t know what it is about them but if I don’t have something citrus for a few days I always get a headache.

The final set of reasons is long-term health, obesity, heart disease and diabetes runs in my family. Most of these are diet related, and can be avoided, or at least curbed with proper diet and exercise. I have seen the struggle of my parents and grandparents and I do not want to face the same reality.

The last reason doesn’t really have a category, but is the single most important reason as to why I eat clean. I have pride in myself, my body, and my capabilities. I never want to have to ask for help with any physical activity. I want to be able to wear whatever I want and feel confident. I know this is vain, prideful, sinful maybe, but it’s the truth.

There are a million other reasons to eat clean. These are just mine. What are yours?

In My Head: Goals

By Jessica

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It’s that time of year again.

The time of year when everyone reevaluates what they accomplished in the past year, and sets new goals for the upcoming year. I had a lot of goals last year, 50 to be exact.

I was able to accomplish over half of them, and the few that are outstanding I think I can handle this upcoming year.

I didn’t get all my hiking and running done because of a strained side that still nags at me and a ridiculously busy schedule, but I have faith that I will have better luck this year now that I have found several friends who are interested in hiking and running.

I didn’t make it to Watkins Glen or NYC this year, but plans are in the works for next year. Specifically a trip to NYC for my birthday!!

I also made a few new goals and accomplishments on the way, such as starting my own business. Something that I am so very proud of! (CHECK IT OUT!)

This year I will have a whole new set of goals, and some carry overs from last year. This list will be smaller. I have accomplished so much and so happy most of this list will just be for fun stuff, and a few things that I should just do more often.

Here is my list of goals that I am going to try to complete this year.

1. Visit at least 1 other country

2. Take more photos.

3. Run a 10k.

4. Run a 5k in under 27 minutes.

5. Hike Saddleback and Basin.

6. Go Snowboarding.

7. Go to Church more often than not.

8. Stick to my monthly budget.

9. Visit the Finger Lakes region (Watkins Glen State Park).

10. Hike 50 miles.

11. Go camping at least once.

12. Go kayaking at least 3x.

13. Go rock climbing.

14. Pay off my School loans.

15. Organize all of the music from my computer.

16. Throw a dinner party.

17. Write in my journal daily.

18. Get my pistol permit.

19. Make a few sales on Etsy.

20. Knit a hat or scarf.

21. Go to the beach.

22. Finish my dumbbell set(5lb, 10lb, 20lb, 30lb).

23. Clean something every night before bed (dishes, bathroom, sweep, dust)

24. Go to NYC.

25. Go on more double dates.So what are your goals for this bright new year?

In My Head

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