Foodie

I have a problem. I take pictures of food. I can't help it. Usually, I am so excited that I made something, it turned out, or it looks pretty, that before my mind even knows what my hands are doing, I have taken a photo and if by chance I am not scarfing down the creation in the photo, I am uploading it to facebook or twitter.
One day I ran across this 15 things annoy girls on facebook do- one of which was post photos of food! And it hit me- I am that annoying girl! If you have noticed a lacking of food photos on my social media pages facebook and twitter it is not because I have stopped eating, trust me, I could never do that. If I were Catholic, I couldn't give up food for Lent, if I wanted to prove a point about starving children, I couldn't do that, I love food. The food photos have been cut down quite considerably, but please know, I can never stop!

Here are a few things I have made and want to share with you. Because if it is on a blog, then it's TOTALLY different than facebook, right?

Buffalo wings- I can't take credit for this- Ahmad makes them and then I look like a child covered from nose to fingers in sauce.

Eggs Benedict. I cannot express hollandaise sauce with words.

Chicken pot pie. OMG! One time, I made potatoes and put them on top because I didn't want to see the middle and because I LOVE carbs.

I did NOT make this. Oklahoma Joe's.

Got a Chicago dog for the first time- in KC and bacon mac and cheese- Frank's

Lorax cupcakes- of course, I didn't make these either- Cupcake a la Mode- but so cute and probably delicious!

 Now don't go reading last time's post about weight loss after seeing all these posts about food. I don't need any more judgement than I have already :)

Now what's for dinner?

Motivation

Christmas was rough. I ate sugar. I drank. I had more carbs than ham, and my mom bought 2 hams! I didn't make a new year's resolution and definitely NOT one to lose weight, but I am trying to make changes. I am giving up sugar... again. I am cutting back- carbs, pop, candy, you name it. I am pushing myself. I don't have specific goals, such as losing 10 pounds, but I still have goals. I want to be more dedicated to exercising. I want to eat better- all the time. I want to be challenged.

This is something I have been thinking about- NOT acting on-oops! What got me motivated was Christmas- not the ham or the carbs- but my family. It was great, and self-centered and rude, but I enjoyed hearing my family tell me how good I looked and how they can tell I have lost weight. I have heard this from my mom, the boy and more derby girls than I can count, but it finally clicked. Maybe it was the combination of the sugar high and the compliments, but I no longer felt like I was in a slump.

I thought I had plateaued. And I had in the sense of slipping into eating sugar and skipping morning walks, but it hadn't changed the fact that I had already accomplished something. I had lost a good bit of weight. I went from a size 18 jeans to 12- that is a size I hadn't seen since before high school! It felt good to clean out my closet and get rid of things that didn't fit. It felt awesome to zip up a pair of pants that have always been too tight. That is motivation. It makes me want to go to the gym, go for a walk, do a few sit ups. The new shoes also motivated me, but that is another day.

Christmas 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week- January 2012

What I Learned About Cleaning Bearings

Cleaning skate bearings is hard- TWSS. It is time consuming. It is boring and you get your hands all greasy. These are some of the reasons I have NEVER cleaned my bearings, until last night. Thank goodness I had a couple of good friends to help me, Whitney aka 80085 and vodka. This is NOT a to do list or a how to, these are things that can make life easier if and when you decide to clean your bearings.

1- Give yourself plenty of time, at least 2 hours. You will need less time after doing this once or twice and if you are not multitasking on making dinner.
2- Have all of the tools at the ready- skate tool with bearing puller, a couple of dishes to put the little pieces in, break cleaner, some paper towels and lots of patience.
3- Open a door or window, even if it is 29 degrees out. The fumes mandate this!
4- Keep cats, children and anything else that will try to ruin your night by disappearing with the small pieces away. Or at least keep the pieces out of their reach.
5- You need space. Doing this at a table is a good idea.
6- Be aware that pieces might go flying off or you may drop them. Find them immediately, and then revert back to idea #4.
7- NEVER do this alone!

That's it. Good luck. Please don't ask me to help you clean your bearings. I am whiny and not much help. But I will support your effort. AND I also support trying out your clean bearings by skating around the kitchen.

Dixie

I'm an Adult!?!?!?!?!

Earlier this morning I was discussing my weekend with a coworker and I mentioned that I go grocery shopping once a month. I told her this was because I didn't really have time to go multiple times throughout the week and those stops for 1 or 2 things can be rather expensive. <WHAM!> Insert dramatic noise, because that's when it him me: I am an adult. I have bills, that are paid on time, my own apartment, I am responsible for 2 furry lives and people depend on me.

Here is a short list of how I know I am an adult. Feel free to cry with me over a glass of wine, because adults don't drink wine out of the box.

I fold underwear.
I go grocery shopping with a list containing more than booze and frozen pizza.
I plan things, have a calendar and an address book.
I pack my lunch- eating out is expensive.
I make my bed- sometimes.
I have cats, and they eat often and have a clean litter box.
I know when trash day is and I recycle.
I go to work. The same time everyday.
I have benefits- YAY!
I have a supply of toilet paper and paper towels.
I use real dishes- the solo cups are for "special occassions".

Being an adult isn't a bad thing, just a scary realization.

And now to drive home the point that I am an adult, see the picture below. My mom looks so proud.

My First Blog - Pinterest

Hi. I am Leah, or as most of my friends know me, Dixie. I have a lot of things I like, some are obsessions, or that is what I am told. I love playing roller derby, napping, cooking, playing with kittens and other randomly generic things. I started this blog because twitter only allows me 144 characters and I have too many facebook friends that don't need to know everything, but I think it is ok to share with random stangers. AND every other amazing woman I know has a blog, so I figured I should too!

I rant a lot, out loud, probably too much, so instead of forcing my coworkers and friends to hear it, I am making it optional by blogging. If you don't like what I am saying, feel free to be distracted by my newest obsession Pinterest. Long and short- digital pinboard-amazing! There is everything on this website- food, design, DIY, products, ANYTHING! Literally. People can pin anything online. I discovered this gem from my bestie and in no time I was addicted. I am talking late nights on the computer, staring at the screen when I should have been eating my lunch, I must make this and that and that type of obsession!

But WHAT is on it? Recipes, ways to get organized, everything! Here are some examples.

I got a new apartment with a bigger bathroom than I had, but NO linen closet! I needed storage!
This is what I found on Pinterest:

This is my $2.50 find at a thrift store. I used some leftover sage green paint and soon it will be filled with towels and baskets (and secured to the wall, because I have kittens)!

My mom heard me talking about this website and wanted in on it too! She is not quite sure why you pin things or how, but she has found some ideas. Her first idea was covering a mirror in broaches. She had a lot of broaches but didn't like the original idea to add them to a blazer. I thought this was a cute idea, but it wasn't working for her. She used a mirror that she had tried a crackle paint on. Again, I liked her mirror, but she did not. Off she went with her hot glue gun- this probably explains my deep love for the hot glue gun- genetic!

This is what she ended up with:

I lovingly refer to it as the 'bedazzled mirror'.

You aren't crafty, or so you claim, I can't believe that, but how about food? Recipes galore! I have recently cute sugar out of my diet, not because I hate myself, although it appears that way, but because I have a diabetic boyfriend. I guess it is rude to eat sugary sweets in front of him. I have made a few things that I found on Pinterest, but here are my favorites.

Crock Pot Apple Sauce- yes, you read that right. AND I made it with Splenda, so it is sugar free. The fat girl in me wants to pour this apple sauce over some ice cream, but I managed to eat it plain! Simple recipe and so good!

Chicken Parmesan- I had NEVER made chicken Parmesan before, but chicken was all I had in the freezer. This is an easy recipe- the bf claims I only look for "easy recipes" and he is right. I have a job, a life, but I don't have all day to cook! He says this dish was "all right" but proceeded to eat half the pan and would have continued if I didn't swoop down and steal the leftovers for my lunch the next day.

Red Lobster like biscuits- there are certain things I cannot live without: chocolate, Diet Coke and carbs are at the top of my foodie list! These biscuits are soooo good! And I had ALL of the ingredients in my house! That never happens, which means this must be food fate.

 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough- but ok to eat :)- This is next on my list to try. Oatmeal and chickpeas yet it tastes like cookie dough? I HAVE to try this!

There it is. My first blog. My shameless post for Pinterest. The things I make in my "spare time" and the foods I like. Also known as 'my mom wanted me to post the pictures of her mirror to pinterest, but I tried to explain I couldn't do that without having a website or blog. WHICH did NOT go over well because she had no idea what I was talking about. SO it was easier to just create a blog post!

LD

 @dixiedanger