Food vs. Bikini Bod

So, I have had quite the dilemma lately. With summer just around the corner, I hear of everyone trying to get in shape to look good in a swim suit. However, food is a weakness for me.

Sound familiar?

Usually I would fit in with this crowd of “gym-goers” if you must, but this spring it is just not happening for me the way I would like it to.

I get these extreme urges to go work out at the gym and have an amazing body for summer just about everyday.

Well, it just so happens that these urges come as I am laying in bed at 2 a.m. or even worse, as I am gawking at Pinterest boards of girls with successful work outs thinking “gee, I would kill for that body.” (not that I am unhappy with my appearance because I love the way I was made) But, we all could use little improvements here and there.

A girl can dream, right?

One day this will happen and I can be proud of myself for putting the effort in.

I really really wish I was still in as good of shape as I was in high school. Those 6:45 a.m. volleyball workouts were dreadful back then, but man do I wish I still had the opportunity to do them. I digress, but I believe my point has been made.

Now, to the problem with food. I love to eat! Who can disagree? No one, I hope.

The hardest part is that my boyfriend loves when I cook. Sounds like a real problem, huh? (sarcastic voice)

I suppose that is not truly the problem. The problem is that the dishes I make are not necessarily the healthiest meals out there. Granted, I could definitely do worse, but I could also do better.

And when I am cooking for my boyfriend, I need to make double the recipe because it takes him a lot to become full and he shoots for misery when he eats.

Here is an example of something I made that I made the mistake of not making enough of. This has been my pride and joy of meals I have made, loaded baked potato casserole. If this picture interests you, here is where you can try it out for yourself!

Makeup Fanatic

I think I have a problem.

Every time I go to the store whether it be Walmart, Target, or a nicer place such as Ulta, I find myself leaving with some sort of makeup item.

I think my main problem is that I browse Pinterest too often and see all the new products and in turn, that drives my to try it out myself.

For example, I had just gotten new foundation and within the next week I found a trial kit for bare minerals for a great price, so of course I bought it.

My next trip I make is going to be for one of two (or both) products. I really want to try Better than Sex mascara and Big Easy’s bb cream. 

I’m sure you are wondering if I use all of the products I buy. I would be lying if I said I did. I usually am obsessed with the item for about two weeks and then I find something more intriguing that I want to try out.

After all of this sampling, I still do not feel like I have a product that is “mine” so to speak.

I have found products that I really like and for some reason, when I go to buy more of it I end up trying something new because maybe “it will work better.” This seems to be what I tell myself to justify my actions.

A friend from work says that I would be a perfect person to sign up for birtchbox. If you are not familiar with birtchbox you can learn more about it here.

What is ironic about this whole blog is that everyone reading this in my PR class probably thinks I am a liar since I usually show up to class with no makeup.

Hope everyone can still take me seriously!

Rainy Days

I was struggling to think of a topic to blog about today and then I reflected back on my day today.

Today was not one of my best.

First of all, I had a biology test this morning and it was not what I expected it to be whatsoever. I have a new teacher in that class who started after spring break and her tests are different than the previous teacher’s. Needless to say, I was not as prepared as I should have been.

Okay, so that happened. Next, my geography class was pretty uneventful as usual so I did not really want to be there in the first place. Then, I realized that I forgot to print out something for class. Mini freak-out. So, what did I do? I left class and went back to my apartment to print it out, of course.

On my way back to class it started to rain, go figure.

After class, I had to go straight to work which does not usually make me unhappy, but today I was just not feeling it. I wanted to just go back to my bed and sleep the rest of the night away.

Unfortunately…I had to ref intramural volleyball tonight still. So, I made the best decision I could make all day and got Qdoba for dinner. If you’ve never had it before, I seriously recommend trying it. Although, I am a huge chipotle fan, there isn’t one close to me.

Surprisingly, my night got better after reffing. For some reason it just puts me in a better mood.

The only thing that can bring it down is the paper I still have to write tonight, which I am currently finishing along with my cups of coffee beside me. What a typical college student.

Last Minute Decisions

I am going to start off by saying that I am the most indecisive person you will ever meet. I think it is actually quite annoying to others and myself. I have never been reprimanded for it by any means, but I know that my boyfriend would like it if I would just make a decision for once!

It really is not the fact that I am incapable of making decisions because I know that I can, I just choose not to sometimes. I am a very easy going person. Some might say too easy going. I am a person who feeds off of other peoples’ happiness. Yes, I know I need to keep my own happiness in mind and I have done so, but I am truly happy when I know that I have made someone  else happy. Even if it just means that they were the one to choose the restaurant for that night.

Now, one may simply call this laziness. One might say that I have such a hard time making decisions because maybe I truly just do not want to. However, I will put an end to that thought before it can even exit your mouth. I have got a perfect example from over the weekend that will set your opinion straight.

Shopping is something that I love to do. Typical of most girls my age and guys too for that matter. Well, this past friday I had a friend from my hometown come stay with me and we went shopping at the Galleria. I swear I took at least twenty to thirty minutes to pick out boxers for my boyfriend. I went back and forth between two different patterns trying to decide which pair he would like better. I think I just overanalyze every option I have.

I spent too long in Victoria’s Secret just trying to pick out seven pairs of underwear, and then had to reevaluate after I had some picked out. It got so bad that I told my friends to go on without me and I would meet them in the next store because I wanted to try on a swimsuit. You can understand my pain by clicking here.

I usually shop by myself because I know that I can be obnoxious. Hey, at least I know that I am annoying and spare my friends time.

Spring Break 2014: A Wild One

Well, prepare to be jealous of my spring break because it was ridiculously…..uneventful.

While all my room mates and my friends were living it up in PCB, I was in my apartment in Edwardsville. You might ask why I didn’t get invited or why I didn’t go. Well, I definitely had the chance to go, I just chose not to.

Everyone has told me, “Oh, you need to experience PCB at least once in your college career.” While I’m sure it’s a great experience, I really have no desire to go.

I was perfectly content with seeing my wonderful boyfriend every day and just hanging out. That’s one of the things I’ve learned to appreciate. Even though I’m pretty young still, I’ve had enough crazy partying that I just enjoy being with the person who makes me happy even if we are just hanging around doing nothing.

Now you might wonder what I did with myself for the past week… well, when I wasn’t working I was drooling over food recipes on Pinterest. I swear, anyone who follows me on that site was probably very annoyed with me for how many recipes I was “repinning.” The most devastating part was that I was doing this while working so I was torturing myself because I knew that I couldn’t have any of the things that I was lusting for. Yes, I’m still talking about food here. 

I desperately wanted to just leave work and run to the store so that I could go cook every new thing that I had read about, but that obviously wasn’t possible.

Finally, I decided on making a dessert that was only 5 ingredients! It was delicious and satisfied my need to cook/bake for the day but, the next day I was back at it again.

Wedding Fever?

This past weekend I attended a wedding with my boyfriend. He was actually in the wedding and had to be there a day earlier so I drove myself. Now, this doesn’t sound like a problem does it? I didn’t think so either.

However, in his eyes I was doing something that was out of this world, but in a good way. He couldn’t believe that I would drive myself to a wedding where he would be the only person that I knew. I laughed because it really wasn’t an inconvenience at all, I truly wanted to go. It didn’t bother me that I wouldn’t know anyone because I’m just that crazy about him that I would go just to make him happy.

Are you going to be sick from all the mushiness yet?

Aside from all of that, this wedding was oddly different than every other wedding that I’ve been to. First of all, the wedding lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes which I’m not complaining about, but it was definitely a change of pace as far as weddings go.

During the wedding, I was totally enthralled by the couple’s gaze at each other. I’m the type of person to get wrapped up in other people’s emotions and then experience them myself. As the groom was say his vows, he began to tear up and consequently so did I. I’m a sucker like that. I’ll even tear up while watching TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. In the back of my mind though, all I could think about is my future wedding day and how I want it to be.

Next, was the reception which was at a restaurant. Also different to me. I was also exiled to the guest table there because my boyfriend was in the wedding party so he was seated at the head table. Luckily I had a very outgoing girl (now a friend) to sit with. She too was befuddled that our boyfriends weren’t allowed to have a “plus one.”

A typical reception has dancing, right? It’s basically the main attraction!! Not for this couple though. They didn’t even share a first dance together! I guess that you can have it your way when it’s your wedding, but this was the first time I actually wanted to dance at a wedding reception and unfortunately wasn’t able to. My boyfriend and I are actually going to take a dance class together so I suppose that we can save our skills for the next wedding.

On the Outside Looking in

Recently, I’ve been noticing that my room mates and I have different approaches to certain tasks. These “tasks” consist of ways to cook, how to do laundry, ways to do the dishes, how to go about splitting the payment of items for the apartment, etc.

I definitely do not look down upon their ways, I can just be a stubborn person at times and I forget to remind myself  that not everyone had the same type of upbringing.

When I find myself getting frustrated with one of their responses, I try to refrain from rebutting which is a pretty difficult thing to do at times considering that I find it hard not to voice my way of doing something.

It’s crazy to think that there are so many different traditions within families that are passed through each generation. Whether it just be a certain way you put up a Christmas tree or just which side of the kitchen sink is the dirty side (that was a problem with my room mates and I, unfortunately).

So looking at what I’ve written thus far, I realize that I am just rambling on here and I think that it mostly because it’s late and I’m pretty tired. I apologize for wasting your time with this. Maybe I will follow up on this topic in the future, but for now I’m drawing a blank.

Instead I will be focusing on my sleep for the night and you can check out these techniques too if you’re having trouble sleeping.

Valentine’s Day: Just Another Day

Valentine’s Day is this weekend if everyone was not already aware (clearly sarcasm). Now do not get me wrong, just because I made a comment like that does not mean that I am cynical towards Valentine’s Day whatsoever.

I enjoy all the love that is spread on that day just as much as the next guy, but I think there is definitely too much emphasis on the day itself.

For example, media has had a ridiculous effect on girls’ expectations of their boyfriend or just the male population in general.

I mean how many tweets/facebook posts have you seen where a girl is clearly stating that her boyfriend has to do something specific for her or she’ll be upset. COME ON, ladies! Or how about those who repetitively complain all over social media about being single on Valentine’s Day? Please, keep it to yourself. It’s just one day out of the year; you will survive I promise you.

I won’t deny that it’s nice to get flowers or a stuffed bear and then go out somewhere nice for dinner. Personally I like surprises of all kinds (hint hint, Jacob). If you are looking for a cute idea that is a little more meaningful, try getting some personalized M&M’s. Hopefully, he/she will admire the time and effort put into creating something on your own (with a little help).

But in all seriousness, Valentine’s Day to me is not about outdoing yourself from the year before, or spending a lot of money just to impress your significant other. I could care less about those things. It is about spending time with the person you love because time spent with that person is worth way more than money can buy.

Money can always be earned, but time is something that we cannot take back or even get more of for that matter. So, spend your Valentine’s Day wisely and cherish the time you have with your significant other.

Food > Football

For those of you, who truly appreciate the love of football, I apologize in advance for what I’m about to say. Don’t get me wrong, I like to watch the game, but when I hear talk of the super bowl my mind immediately wanders to the thought of what food I’ll be having.

Traditionally, wings are always a crowd pleaser whether they are home made or from Buffalo Wild Wings. I personally do not have a preference, wings are just amazing altogether.

Another favorite is buffalo chicken dip. Now, I thought that only my best friend’s mom made this, but as I made friends in college I came to realize that this dip is pretty common and popular. When I’m near the snack table it’s pretty difficult to get me to move away from it.

Of course chips and some sort of complementary dip are a must. My personal favorite is tortilla chips and guacamole. I could eat something made with avocados for every meal if it was available.

If you haven’t gathered that if we ever spend a super bowl together there needs to be a lot of great food, then Ihave failed at getting my point across asa blogger. 

Forbidden Love?

Have you ever fantasized about having a relationship with a co-worker? Of course you have. People can dream, right? Unfortunately, relationships within the work place are looked down upon. Why this is such a problem is beyond me.

I understand that there are consequences of having a relationship with a co-worker, but what if that person is the one that you have been looking for? The two of you do not have to brag about your relationship, keeping it between the two of you is in your best interest. In my opinion, if two people meet at a job and decide to form a relationship, then it should be accepted by those around them.

Now, you might bring up the point about all the drama that could form if the couple were to break up. The whole work environment would change, there would be tension between the separated couple, other co-workers would “take sides,” etc. Yes, I know you are thinking “Why bother?” Well, like I said previously, this person you met at work could be the one for you.

Maybe my brain is wired way differently than everyone else’s, but I think that everyone is capable of acting in a mature way when it comes to relationships in the work place. For example, if the couple were to get together, they should still continue to act professionally at work and not let their love life interfere with their job. Likewise, if they broke up the two should be able to keep their composure and not let their problems affect other co-workers. Sounds easier said than done I suppose, but I truly believe it is possible.