Week 8: Remove Contacts

First of all, This has to be the best trash can idea ever! I think it is an amazing idea!!!! I have grown up using a "full sized" trash can in the kitchen, meaning a 12 or 13 gallon one, but have always used plastic bags like these for the bathroom trash and for other trashes around the house. A dilemma would probably arise though, with not using any more plastic bags, I would eventually run out of bags to put in it. Then what would I do? Eventually I will run out of bags anyway and am not sure what I will do when that day comes. I do not like using just the trash can in the bathroom and emptying it into the bigger one because then the trash can gets dirty and stuff sticks to it and it is just kind of gross. Any ideas???

As far as Week 8 goes, I am adding to my list of resolutions that I must religiously remove my contacts nightly. As most of these resolutions are, it is something I should be doing anyway. So tomorrow I plan on going to Wal-Mart, stocking up on my fancy contact solution (which comes with a new case) and I still have regular solution to rise with which means I shall be stocked to do this resolution.

As far as other resolutions go, I tried 2 new recipes this week; empanadas were awesome, the mac and cheese recipe was not so much.
I worked out 3 times! I re-used a Wal-Mart bag at Kroger's for my apples. The cashier looked at me a little funny but thought it was a neat idea for re-using bags. I told her I did not like using all the plastic bags and such and she understood. She could still see through it and such so it was not a problem.
I have decreased the amount I order at restaurants decreasing the need for a take-out container and decreasing my portion size. I am proud of my portion control lately.
Body measurements will likely come tomorrow, but the trend of my daily weigh-in has been a downward one!

I also began my new job today! I went in for about 5 hours of orientation and paperwork. I am excited and will be signing up for my health, dental, and vision insurance within the week and it kicks in the day I submit all the paperwork! This means I will be going in for my annual check up, possibly a dermatologist, a dental appointment, and my eye appointment over the next few months. I am pumped!!! Lately I have been worried about how I was going to cover the expensive annual exam, now I know how. And the dermatologist would be nice to make sure some of these moles/spots I am growing are not cancer. People think I am nuts some times, but I know of at least 5 moles that I did not have a year ago, about 8 that I did not have 5 years ago. I know they may not all be cancer, but the big one I worry about is the one on my buttock. It showed up about 4 years ago and has slowly grown over the years. It is not huge or anything, but sometimes when I walk and stuff my pants rub on it because it is right where they fold when walking. Having it removed would be fine with me!

And although I am pretty blind without contacts, my eyes have been improving and I have been forking out the money for eye exams yearly without insurance. I had health insurance through college, but not vision. When you need a new prescription to continue buying contacts to see, you kind of fork out the money. As a part-time employee I am excited because they will cover a lot of a new set of frames/lenses!!! Although last time I looked at new frames I ended up picking out the same ones I already had without knowing it so I just replaced the lenses.

And the dentist... I think I was in high school the last time I went to see one. I know that in my first year of college (06-07 year) I had my wisdom teeth removed because they were pushing my bottom, front teeth together too much. Let me assure you, they spread out some after the wisdom teeth were gone, I felt it... But, I have not been back since because of the lack of money on my part and the lack of interest on my parent's part, otherwise they would have covered it. I figure it has been about 5 years, I should go back and get new x-rays and stuff done.

Growing up my parents were the "only if you really have to" kind of people when it came to medical stuff. I do not completely understand it since my dad was military until I was about 4 or 5. Around the age of 3 or so my mom thought I had lime disease from a tick and I went in for blood draws constantly. They never found anything and Mom finally discovered it was not going away because I secretly scratched it. Besides that and the time I could not sit up without puking for a week, I never went to the doctor. I went to the dentist maybe twice until around middle school when I went a few times and then once or so in high school, and of course the wisdom teeth thing by the oral surgeon. Otherwise, no dentist visits either. The eye doctor I kind of forced my mom to take me to when I was in 2nd grade. I could not read the big clock from across the room. She realized there was a problem and turned out all three of us girls needed glasses. We then went about every other year until we started wearing contacts.

When I have kids I want to be able to have the money and such to make sure my kids get annual check ups by the doctor, dentist, and eye doctor. My sis I live with has yet to take her kid to the dentist or eye doctor, but the school does vision checks and he is fine on those. The dentist part she is waiting on a little longer. I once asked her why and saw very valid reasoning in her choice; it took until he was about 3 or so before he would not scream and cry when he saw someone in scrubs. Nurses in wal-mart included. The kid has had a rough life when it comes to doctors so she figured she would wait until school has the "dentist day" kind of thing where they get the kids all excited about going to the dentist, or until he starts losing teeth. And although he hates it, he goes in approximately every 6 months to Children's to get a general check-up and blood draws done for allergy tests. Yes, she helps two other nurses hold him down for these because she figures she would rather him be upset for holding him down to do the blood draws and such than for him to remember her abandoning him during his time of need. I had never thought of it that way before...

This week's recipe!

So I came home after a long day of substituting and debated what to make for dinner. I have my nephew while my sis is at class tonight for a make up class and so I was in charge of cooking. After drinking a fruit smoothie for breakfast, having an apple for snack, and a bowl of soup with a side of blackberries for lunch I was craving something substantial. With a pound of ground beef thawed in the fridge I began to think and... Empanadas it was! I just googled a recipe and found that one. After beginning I realized my sis does not have a grater thing so I just diced the potatoes after microwaving them for about 3 minutes. Added that to the meat and about an eighth cup of water to make sure the potatoes would cook the rest of the way ok. I also only rolled the dough out to about 1/4" thick, used a bowl to cut out circles and then rolled them out a little thinner, one at a time. I ended up with about 10 I think. I also debated on adding corn to the filling because I did not know if it would be enough filling, but the potatoes added a lot. Not sure on how they taste yet, they are baking in the oven right now, but I must go save the boyfriend from having to play with my nephew. He likes it some of the time, but I am not sure how OK with it he really is right now; I am sure he would not mind being pulled away.

Emapanadas were not bad at all! The pastry makes me drool just thinking about it... I think this will be my new pie crust recipe from now on too. It was so light and flaky. They are a dry kind of dish and would be better with a sauce of some sort to dip them in but I would be afraid to put any sauces inside. A sauce inside would probably make them soggy and not that great. 

A Random Post

So nothing to big to report. My boyfriend, I think, did want me to report that at lunch today I ate approximately 1.5 teaspoons of the spicy barbeque sauce from Bandana's. The beef just needed something and in case you were wondering, I got a double order of green beans as my side. They actually list the calories of everything and it really makes one think twice... After all this he has not said anything about making me post about his Sara Lee bread which has High Fructose Corn Syrup AND sugar!!! Let me just say, Sarah Lee sucks!!!! Everyone thinks Sara Lee must mean quality and healthy. At least I did, he did, and many others I know do too, but man is it bad! The Honey Wheat that his roomie bought has only 3 or 4 grams of sugars in it. I am disappointed and it makes me just want to give up bread in general. Maybe one of my weeks will be just that...

I could not find the ingredient list. Image from: http://www.saraleebread.com/our-bread/bread

In other news, I love my bathroom scale and have weighed myself at least twice a day on it. I know it is bad and you should weigh yourself once a day, at the same time each day. And on top of that, weight is not a true measurement of health.. blah blah blah. I still get a kick out of weighing myself and if I gain a few pounds I blame it on water weight cause that is probably what it really is.

I think next week's resolution will be to take out my contacts religiously. It is something I am supposed to be doing already, but I have not been doing it enough. I used to not think twice about sleeping in my contacts and then I went to the eye doctor in Hawaii. Let me just say I almost had to change my pants after talking to him! Did you know that if you wear contacts that are not sufficiently clean you can get cyst kind of things on the inside of your eyelids? And people have also woken up blind from blood vessels growing into their cornea area?! From then on I tried to do a really good job of taking out my contacts and I even started using this fancy solution which is Hydrogen Peroxide and such. It is awesome! Holidays, traveling, and all those things that should encourage me more to take my contacts out every night have become the reason I have become a slacker in this area.

PS- Worked out tonight!!! Will probably work out tomorrow too! And... I am working on getting back on this running plan. Maybe in the future a resolution will be to run another 5k?

OMG!!! Just realized I forgot about week 5!!! BUT, I did whip up a new recipe last Tues while babysitting. It was more of an 'There is nothing to eat so let me throw this together' kind of thing. Turned out pretty good though. It was 2 cloves garlic sauteed in some olive oil, one drained can of chicken (looks like a tuna can but it is not!) and then a can of stewed tomatoes, slightly drained. Combine, heat, eat with spaghetti noodles.

SNOW DAY!!!

I know I am a substitute and I only make money when school is in and I am scheduled to work. But hey, who does not love a snow day?! Yes I was scheduled to work today, but it is really nice to not to today.

Plus, I have not seen snow in a long time and this year's snow levels have been severely lacking! So now I just have to convince the boyfriend he wants to go sledding with me later. :)

Alright, carry on with your days. I am going to eat breakfast and work on that surprise that was mentioned in an earlier post.

Week 7: Keep Track... and some on Valentine's Day

Ok, so first, this was our Valentine's Day. Well, not just a day, but the weekend. We got to do nothing! It was awesome and just what I wanted. My boyfriend and I talked about going somewhere for the weekend which turned into why not just get a room with a pool in town? Then we realized none of the hotels in town have a decent pool so what was the point on spending money to sleep in an uncomfortable bed? So we stayed at his apartment and watched netflix. I loved every minute of it! We have been busy every weekend since Thanksgiving I think with me gone, visiting his family, going to birthday parties out of town, and all the other normal social obligations. And, now that he has his dream job of working from home as a booking agent, he gets up around 9am and works from his desk all day being interrupted by e-mails and calls at random times throughout the day. So even if I do not have to sub, he typically has stuff to work on anyway. The weekend alone of doing nothing was nice. We slept about 10 hours both Friday and Saturday night along with me sleeping through "Mars Needs Moms" this afternoon. He picked it while I was already half asleep.

As for gifts, I am broke. The lack of a real paycheck this month has set me back a little and he will probably get a gift next month if any. He wanted to buy me something though which came up from the weekend away. I was half joking and told him we could just stay home and he could instead spend the money to buy me a Nook Tablet. I love books though and feel I would only really want it for the tablet part along with the fact that I like physical books, would be afraid to take it substituting with me, and I one day hope to have a bookshelf full of books in my house. He said he would though if I really wanted since that was probably what he was going to spend on a weekend out of town. I then settled on a juicer.

Another strange sounding gift I know, but a practical one too. I watched the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead movie and while I was gone he watched it too. So we both kind of want a juicer to make juice with and to my surprise, he wants to do the juice fast!!! Only for like 10 days, but this is coming from the guy who I had to struggle to keep on a gluten free diet for a week! So I told him that if it was closer to summer when we could get fresh, local produce easier and have more of a selection I would do it with him. I feel winter is not ideal juice time. So in my card I got a "gift certificate for one juicer." Well in our hunt for juicers yesterday I found something interesting on Macy's website about a juicer... it will ship typically in 32 days or less. So I posted something about this on facebook and in the morning I woke up to a text message from my dad's cousin. She has a Jack Lalanne juicer that she does not use and would like to see it go to a good home. She is going to ship it to me for free! We are excited!!!! Wish I would have known this awesome woman when I was younger, but that is a long story of my huge family. Well, then with no gift to buy me, my boyfriend and I went back to the thinking board about what he could get me. Then I brought up my resolution for this week!

This week ties in a little with last week and will hold me accountable for last week's exercise resolution too. Especially since I failed and only worked out twice. Let us just say my sister's house is a huge mess right now and being there is not really enjoyable for me so working out in the basement sucks. This week's resolution is to keep track of my measurements. So I will be tracking body measurements to see how the diet and exercise change my body over time. Am I expecting to see huge results? No. I just want to know what is going on and if anything is changing.

That is when the Valentine's Day gift idea came to me. A bathroom scale! I know, I am probably the only girl who was excited to get a bathroom scale from her boyfriend for Valentine's Day, but I am weird like that some times. It is practical, helps me reach my goals, and he can use it too. His actual response to getting on the scale was something along the lines of "I am fat." So this could be useful for both of us. Me on the other hand, I knew about where I was and actually think I lost a pound or two since I last weighed myself.

So, measurements will be posted soon!

Something out of the Norm...

So I typically do not do the whole chain mail kind of e-mails, posts on facebook, or any other sort of thing similar to this but an old friend of mine, Amanda tagged me and so I figured why not. If she was going to take the time to think of me, I will return the favor. 

Starting with 11 facts about myself:

1. I never thought I would ever make it past the third grade. In first grade I got the feeling that 3rd grade would just be way too hard for me and I would never pass it. Turns out it was not too hard. 
2. Independence is my thing! I like to think of myself as very independent and can stand up for myself. Do I all the time? No. But I know I can when I need to.
3. The idea of having kids scares me. I go back and forth between wanting them someday and not. then I bounce back and forth between having my own, or adopting. I am not too worried, I still have plenty of time to figure this out.
4. I went to college in Hawaii for my bachelors and miss it a lot!
5. I am creative and have many talents. 
6. If you tell me I cannot do something it makes me want to do it more. Cannot in the sense of physically, especially if it is because I am a girl.
7. Organizational skills is something I really try to work on, but it never seems to help. I have a planner, a google calendar, and an iPod touch all to keep track of my schedule and I still struggle. 
8. Living with my sister sucks. I would much rather be living on my own again but have no money or stable job that allows me to cover student loans and an apartment.
9. I have a doggie! Her name is Kia and she is a dog that just wandered out of the woods one day. I adore her and wish that she did not have to live at my sister's house either. She likes the other dogs, but there are now 4 others and she is more of a lone dog. 
10. My stress levels are something I learned to lower a long time ago. I broke out with dyshidrotic eczema a couple years ago and I feel it was triggered by stress. How did I lower my stress levels? I just stopped caring. All the little things and things beyond my control are not something I worry about anymore. 
11. And a strange one... When I was 5ish we went to Florida to visit my aunt and uncle who had recently adopted two kids who were about my sisters' ages. While there we of course went to the beach and my dad told us to be careful because he saw jellyfish and they will sting people. All my life I had grown up only seeing bass, sunfish, perch, catfish, etc. So, when he said jelly fish I had NO clue and pictured a strange looking sunfish with long spines on the fins kind of like a catfish. I have since learned what a jelly fish really looks like but some how missed going to the beach in Hawaii when they were around.

And her questions for me:

1. What makes you happy? A lot of things make me happy. The big one right now is when I go in to substitute teach and students are excited to have me as a teacher and think I am awesome at helping them with homework they do not understand. It helps me remember why I spent all that money on becoming a teacher.
2. What can you never get enough of?   Sleep. I am ALWAYS tired. Someday I plan on having an ALCAT test done to see if I can find out why. If I skimp on less than 8-9 hours for a few nights I end up really sick with a head cold/sinus problems.
3. What's your favorite time of the day?  Mornings! I know, I am strange, but it is the one time I can wake up and be productive; by one-ish I will be dragging again.
4. What's your favorite time of the year? WINTER!!! I know, a girl who loves winter and snow went to Hawaii for college and would love to go back.
5. Is there a time in your life you wish you could live over?   14. On my 15th birthday my friends thought I was nuts as I cried on our walk to school. I tried to tell them that next would be 16 and I would have all the responsibilities of a car. Next would come college and bills and being on my own and all sorts of things I did not want to deal with. I saw it all coming! ... Oh, and on my friend's 20th birthday she called me crying because I was right all those years ago and she wished she could go back.
6. Something you have seen in the last 24 hours that is beautiful. Snow. Peaceful, white, drifting down from the heavens, snow.
7. Something you wish you did more of.  Social things. Like community social things where everyone meets everyone, especially sports. I moved from a tiny town with no children's activities to a town where everyone had at least played soccer from age 4. They were not very welcoming, especially to someone who had never heard of soccer before. I feel most of the town is still that way and I am a little intimidated to just go join a random team of people who already know everyone.
8. Something that you do really well.  Cook. I feel I can cook if I really want to. I am too lazy most of the time, but I can do a big feast like you have never seen before if I have the time and energy.
9. Something you've made that you are proud of. My life. I have done a lot with my life and I am very proud of it. Right now I am not exactly where I want to be, but it is hard to look back at all the things I have done and believe that I am still so young.
10. You just won a free trip to anywhere in the world. Where do you go?  Russia or a tiny Pacific Island. I have always been fascinated by Russia for some reason and then I have learned that every island is linked by similar traits, yet so different at the same time.
11. What celebrity do you think you could be good friends with given the chance?  I used to have one and if I see her in a movie I would know it right off the bat. There is one actress who I feel is very much herself in a lot of ways and that she would just be someone really great to know and be friends with. But sadly I cannot think of her name right now!

So I am supposed to tag 11 people, but I do not really follow many bloggers who would probably do this and I do not know how many people would actually know I tagged them so I am going to list three friends who I know blog and see if they respond. Otherwise, feel free to tag yourself. :)

1. Katie B.
2. Ashlee
3. Cassi

Week 6: Workout 3x a week

So I have really taken a lot of time trying to figure out what I am going to do for Week 6 and I finally decided to just make myself workout at least 3 times a week. I thought this would end up being difficult as I am too poor to get a gym membership and I was going to the local college gym with a friend until our schedules began to clash too much. Then I would just take my boyfriend's ID and go workout at the gym anyway, but it just is not open during ideal workout hours for me and I really liked the idea of a 24 hour fitness membership, but I am too poor. BUT, when I got home today and went downstairs to get stuff out of my room, I realized that my sister's boyfriend moved in, or at least all of his stuff did while he rents a room 2 hours away for college. Guess who now has an expensive treadmill and stationary bike in the basement??? That is right, we do! Thank goodness he got the equipment paid for partly by insurance and is training for triathlons. Only since he cannot fit it in his room at college, he is storing it in our basement! He is 30 I think it is and is going back to school after his job contract ran out and the company was not planning on renewing his contract so it is not like he is 20 and dating my older sister. Thought I should add that.

So yeah, that is my resolution for this week. I did have a neat suggestion though and I feel that when I get to be a teacher and have to assign papers it may come in handy. The idea was learn how to speed read and perfect the skill. So maybe not every day for the rest of the year, but set aside a certain amount of time each week to work on learning to speed read then just keep up with it for the rest of the year. I am definitely putting it on the list of future ones because I do not think I will have time right now for it.

Speaking of lack of time, I am currently starting a project for my boyfriend and his roommate. I will be taking pictures along the way, if I can remember to, and will write about it later. Otherwise all I can say is that it must be done before St. Pat's and it should be pretty awesome. It is going to take a lot of time though and I just started on it today. So that will be taking up a lot of my time and then I also went in for another part of the interviewing process for the job I had applied for at the local warehouse home improvement store. I do not really want to mention names and such just for privacy, but I got the job!!! It does not pay amazingly, but it is more than I was hopeful for and after 90 days I will be eligible for a raise. Orientation is on the 18th which pretty much ruled out the idea of getting a paycheck in before my student loan payment is due on the 20th. So, if you are interested in eco-friendly, safer than most cleaning supplies and household goods, let me know. It can also be a home income opportunity. And if you are interested and end up signing up then you help me out making money. So check out patricia.ecomomteam.com and request more information. I really do love their products more than I thought I would and love to tell people about them.


I also have sub jobs lined up for the afternoons from Wednesday through Friday and all day on Monday and Tuesday, so those should help with next month's check, but all it does is keep me extra busy right now. I really need to get the money in the next two weeks to make my loan payments without having to ask to borrow any. I have faith that I can get it done!

This morning was my first morning at home and not out visiting the oldest sister. I got a phone call letting me know that my youngest nephew was having a rough time with the fact that I was not there anymore and so we got my sis hooked up on Skype just so my nephew could be all shy and bashful and not talk to me. But now she has the account and software so the nephews can talk between the states with video chatting and if we get Mom and Dad in on it too, it will probably help the family stay connected. I live with the middle sis in the Midwest, the oldest lives in the Northwest, and my parents winter in the Southwest and summer in the North Central area. So we are never really all together and it takes a lot of travel to get between all of them. I will try to post some pictures on here when I get them off my camera of my recent trip to the Northwest.

As my visit, and week 5, comes to an end...

Staying at my sister's is not as bad as I thought it would be, I accomplished my main goal for coming and hopefully it will help later too. I also managed to stick with my resolutions, create a new one, and feel pretty good about myself. I did slip up once, but I cannot really call it a slip up. I look at it as product testing. So for my home income opprotunity I feel like I need to know what I have available to buy as a customer and since my sister is also a customer she had more products which I tried out. Two of them are pretty good things to buy in my opinion and had I not started this no processed sugar thing I would buy them myself. The first is a bar to block hunger cravings; really good and satisfying... unless you have not had sugar in weeks. I really think that the sugar in them is what caused me to actually be hungry for the rest of the night. I was not hungry, hungry and definitely not right away, but I just did not feel satisfied for very long. The other is a bar which has this cool technology in it which will block your body from burning recently eaten stuff and instead access your stored fat supplies. It too had sugar in it, but less than the other bar. They are both delicious tasting to a point. I feel that they would be good if my diet still contained sugar, but to me I can taste the sugar in them and it just is not worth it to me. Your taste buds really do change when you give up sugar.

So tomorrow morning I will head to the airport to fly back to the Midwest. I know it really is not a long day of traveling, but the time change is going to bother me a little with shifting me back into waking up two hours earlier. I am excited about getting back, I have a lot to work on with job applications being up there on the list of priorities! I have got to get started on those now that teaching jobs are popping up more and more each day.

Tomorrow also marks a new week of the year, Week 6. I have NO clue once again what I am going to do for a resolution for next week. I did have a friend suggest using one of these instead of pads or tampons which I already use rarely since I use these. Only I was a little put off in the differences in shape and such. But I also just noticed that instead has reusable ones?! I will have to look into them some more since I never found that when doing research. But, I also will not have to worry about this for another month now and I feel like I need to make a resolution that is pertinent this week, not next month. Any ideas??

PS I had 6 hits on my blog today. I am not sure if it would be because I put it on StumbleUpon or what, but I feel like I am famous with my 6 hits in one day!