Some Really Awesome Shit

First: some not so awesome shit.

(source)

Ok, so listen, I’ve been super MIA lately. (Is it possible to be super MIA, or can you only just be MIA? I would analyze that – but I realize there’s no content there.) Jesus. Anyway, I’m sorry. I know you all either hate me or have forgotten who I am; I really don’t see there being any in-between. Actually, I think my wonderful keeps-up-with-the-blog roomiekins has probably experienced both. But that’s only because she has those kinds of super powers. Pretty cool, right? I mean, who wouldn’t want a super power that allows you to hate and forget at the same time? Where am I going with this? Charlotte, I feel like you right now, except I haven’t been taking an inordinate amount of cold medicine. So, in other words, I have no excuse for this belligerent paragraph.

I would like to explain my absence by saying that I took an unannounced-to-the-blog-world break from blogging. I think we all feel a bit overwhelmed by it at times and that’s basically where I was. I think I need to reevaluate my intentions for blogging and possibly revamp my style. Anyway, sorry I haven’t been present lately. Hopefully I’ll get back at it. I’ve missed you all, and even though I haven’t been commenting much, I’ve still been reading lots of posts so I could keep up as much as possible until I decided to jump back in it. You may recall this isn’t the first time I’ve sucked. Anyway, while I’ve been taking this little sabbatical, my co-blogger the owner of this blog, Meghan, has been doing a fantastical job keeping up with everything, as per the usual. Thanks, girl! You’re the very best mama bird a baby bird could ever have. And speaking of Meghan, this brings me to my next point…

Awesome shit #1 – Meghan  has some really wonderful and amazing work news to share with everyone. Maybe she wasn’t intending to share it BUT I DON’T CARE. Now she has to! Ha, sorry girl. No I’m not. This is really awesome and though she probably won’t think it’s blog-worthy, again, I don’t care. I’m really proud of her and she should be too.

Awesome shit #2 –

 

My sweet, sweet boyfriend a little bit lot drunk after a work party and a stop through McDonalds. You know I really love him if I’m willing to even go through the drive through at that nasty ass place. This is how I found him after I went to make a midnight snack. He’s cute, right? (Ahem! The answer is yes.)

Awesome shit #3 –

Yes, you’re reading that correctly, it says “Backwudz Shawty” and I’m only mad about it for one reason: I didn’t put that shit on the back of my car first. I actually took a poll at the beginning of the summer and the first two words that come to mind when people think about me are “backwudz” and “shawty.” Go effing figure. All I’m thinking now is I know what I’m getting me for Christmas! Holla!…Only in Hotlanta right? Btw, no one calls it Hotlanta anymore. (The only person allowed to call it that is Leslee.) I’m pretty sure people in Atlanta have been trying to stop that since only minutes after its inception. I would like to meet the crack head who came up with that awful name and help him get addicted a different drug that might make him more creative. Come on, you all know it was some cracked out dude on MLK Blvd. Well, I just know him simply as “Dad.”

Awesome shit #4 –

This delicious 7 Layer Mexican Dip I made. I made this for Mollie’s birthday party and it was a big hit! By that, I mean I ate half of it. That’s the trick to bringing a new dish to a party – always eat most of it even if it tastes like poo poo. That way, psychologically, everyone will think it’s delicious since it’s already almost gone and the party only started 13 minutes ago.

1. can of black beans, can of refried beans, 1/2 packet taco seasoning
2. Sabra guacamole
3. Queso
4. Salsa
5. Sour cream and jalapeños
6. Crunched up corn tortilla chips
7. Shredded Mexican style cheese and cilantro

Awesome shit #5 –

This pig. I went to visit my little brother and sister who live in North Georgia and when I pulled into their driveway, this is the site I was met with. It’s my little sister’s pet potbelly pig. Her name is Penelope. I think. Maybe I just want that to be her name. Regardless, the main thing you need to know is that as I walked past this docile creature I was scared it was suddenly going to morph into some wild boar and bite my leg off. Needless to say, both my legs are still intact.

Awesome shit #6 –

 

THIS GIANT ASS MONKEY my incredibly thoughtful boyfriend got me yesterday! She’s shown here with me and Christopher Columbus (who my man got me for Valentine’s day :)) Her name is Tinker Columbus and she’s his little sister. No, I will not grow up. Ever.

AWESOME SHIT # 7 –

That’s right, bitches, that’s right. It’s so exciting I think I just peed my pants. That’s embarrassing. But I may as well start now because I’m sure it’ll happen again during #BBM2014! Backwudz Shawty!!!

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

Is it really cold where you are? It’s getting nipply here lately.

Can you believe the holiday season is already upon us?? Have you started shopping? I started about 3 weeks ago 🙂

Does everyone remember who I am? I don’t.

Do you miss Meghan, too? Girlfriend has been working really hard and hasn’t been home all week. I miss my bird.

– Rebekah

Getting Back After “IT”!

I took a lot of time off from exercise whilst out of town and combine that with lots of good food that I don’t normally consume – I’m certainly feeling a bit out of whack. I don’t follow any sort of diet (other than no meat), but when my routine gets funky, so does my body. I’ll leave it at that. So this week I’ve been getting back at it with working out and eating a bit more regularly – for me. 🙂

Mollie came over on Monday and joined me for a 5K. We wanted to do 4 miles, but my calves were not having it after 18 miles on Sunday. I can forgive them, I GUESSSSSS.

My dog looks incredibly creepy. That’s pretty typical though. 🙂 We made some s’ghetti squash afterward and it was just ON POINT. SO AMAZING.

And last night, I made up this belligerent 25 minute workout on the spot and kicked myself afterward for thinking it’d be a breeze. Um, no.

I was so gross afterward and it was so good! My poor workout buddies, however, were not so thrilled with this workout. Haha, sorry Jerm! #hashtag #fail! In case anyone cares about this inside joke, I’m learning how to use Twitter and I am not so smart at it yet. Small steps at a time with social media for me, okay? Thanks. I would suggest following me on here but um, I’m boring and probably will stay that way. It’s too much for me to handle.

Anyway, it was a cute workout and night overall with some of my favorite people!

Erika, you’re rehired as our photographer. Jeremy, you #failed.

And another fun thing from this week? Rebekah made some paleo approved donuts and they were stellar. Seriously. I don’t love a lot of the paleo baked goods because I find them to be too ‘heavy’ but these were AMAZING.

They are all gone now. Don’t act surprised. And they are from paleOMG if you care to make them yourself or look at a better picture of them. 🙂

And my last cute thing for today – my boyfriend brought these over after I had a bad day. He is so sweet and always tries to cheer me up when I’m having a stressful day – he always succeeds! 🙂

Enjoy your HUMP DAY!!!

How do you get back into after time away from routine?

Have you ever made donuts?

How sore do you think I am from doing over 200 squats? I’ll let you know. HA.

-Meghan

More Spaghetti…and more other shit too

Super catchy title, right??

So, I’m working on a pretty in-depth post right now but it’s not nearly where I want it to be so I can’t post it today. It probably doesn’t help that I keep changing and rearranging all the content. Anywho, like Meghan, I too have been taking advantage of the spaghetti squash that has recently made its annual debut in our local grocery store produce aisles. Unlike that monstrosity that Meghan discovered the other day, the squashes I’ve been purchasing are just wittle babies. Although, it still takes 40 minutes to cook them. It’s well worth it.

Spaghetti Squash

1	small spaghetti squash
1	baking sheet with lip
20oz	water

1. Preheat your oven to 425*
2. Cut your spaghetti squash in half (or attempt – mine always ends up lopsided)
3. Remove all seeds and innards with a spoon
4. Pour about water into your baking sheet until you have about 1/2 inch of water
5. Place squash face down into the water
6. Bake for 40 minutes
7. When taking it out of the oven be careful not to get any third degree burns by scalding your arms with hot water
8. Use a fork to remove the spaghetti like strands from the shell

Steamed Kale

1 bunch

kale stalks

* You also need an electric steamer or steamer basket

1. Rinse kale
2. Fold one stalk in half length-wise and cut down the edge of the stem
3. Remove and discard the stem
4. Repeat with the rest of the stalks
5. Chop the leaves to your desired size
6. Place all the leaves into your electric steamer or steamer basket over a pot of boiling water
7. Steam for 5 minutes
8. Remove and let cool

Spaghetti Sauce

1 small can (6 oz)	tomato paste
1 medium	tomato
2 cloves	garlic
1/2 tsp	oregano
1/2 tsp	basil
1/4 tsp	salt
1/4 tsp	pepper
2-4	fresh basil leaves (to garnish)

1. Add tomato paste plus one can of water to a pot on low-medium heat
2. Add garlic, oregano, and basil
3. Cut tomato into small chunks and add to sauce
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Stir frequently so the sauce doesn’t burn
6. Cook for 20 minutes, or longer if you decide to add more ingredients and flavors
7. Serve
8. Julienne fresh basil leaves to garnish – or you can chop and add to your sauce a few minutes before serving

Coconut Flour Chicken

(This is kind of a spin on the Paleo Chik-fil-a I made a few weeks ago – I can’t have a couple of the ingredients right now so I kinda just winged it with this one. The chicken turned out sweet and savory. Delicious!)

1 lb	boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp	olive oil
2 cloves	garlic
1/4 tsp	each salt and pepper
1	egg
1 heaping tbsp	coconut flour
1-2 tbsp	coconut oil (for cooking)

1. Rinse and cut chicken into 1 inch pieces
2. Add chicken, olive, garlic, salt, and pepper to a large Ziploc bag.
3. Shake and massage to combine ingredients
4. Let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour
5. Whisk your egg and add it to the Ziploc bag
6. Shake one more time to cover the chicken completely with the egg and let sit a few minutes
7. Add about 1/4 inch of coconut oil to a large pan on medium heat
8. Drain excess egg/liquid from the bag then pour chicken mixture into a large mixing bowl
9. Sift coconut flour over the chicken
10. Try to cover all sides of the chicken with the coconut flour (you can add a little more or just massage the flour into the chicken with your hands
11. Add the chicken to your pan and cook for a few minutes, flip, then cook for a few more minutes (we all know how to cook chicken right??)

I had leftover sauce so I made another spaghetti squash meal a couple days later. I won’t bore you with recipes for sweet potato fries and Brussels sprouts, but just know that this shit was good as f**k. Carbo loading, anyone?? I did add some Italian chicken sausage to pretend like I was eating a more balanced meal. I don’t think I’ve been that full in a while. I could probably eat this every day. F’real.

I’m sorry, I still don’t care enough to make my pictures better for you guys. I’ll leave that up to Davida. Girlfriend has some legit shit when it comes to food pics.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I’m going to a wedding which means I will be completely neglecting the rules of the Whole Life Challenge. I’m ok with that though.

What are you doing this weekend?

Who else takes really good food pictures? I want to look at your talent and be jealous.

Is everyone else OBSESSED with this song as much as I am?

 

I really like her other stuff too. Cutie.

– Rebekah

A Happy Place

I don’t want to jump the gun here and prematurely state my happiness with running lately – nor do I want to jinx myself, but really…. All of my runs over the past few weeks have been truly phenomenal. I feel like I’ve found a perfect rhythm and beat to my pace. I feel like my legs are happy with me and mind is happy with me. My fifteen mile run this past weekend was successful and I’m not feeling any sort of negative repercussions. That’s new and I’d like to keep it that way!

It’s nice that everything feels this way – my last marathon training it was much tougher for me to get through 10 miles than it is nowadays. I guess that’s the beauty of practice and cross training – something I didn’t really take seriously last time.

Running takes me to my happy place, and the weather has played a huge role in that lately. Thank you, Mother Nature. 🙂

I couldn’t have felt more exuberant and free on this run and I am so grateful to have running as my outlet in life. I could do without the pitch black night time finish, but I’ll take what I can get.

 

When I got home, my lovely roommate, you guys might know her, Rebekah, had baked ANOTHER batch of the muffins from her last post. They were THAT good. They received my seal of approval AND THEN SOME because they were amazing. That NEVER happens!

(Source.) 

If I don’t stuff my face with all of them before tonight, they are to be served at a girl’s night we are hosting tonight! Here’s hoping I keep my mouth closed long enough for others to enjoy these! 🙂 (Mollie, Jax, Catherine, Drew, Ash, please send me encouraging texts all day to STAY AWAY til you guys come over!)

And this morning, because we are doing a cute little girl’s night tonight, Rebekah and I got out miserable morning selves to the gym for some fun. I chose the pool for some cross training while my bestie roomie girl focused on other forms of cardio that didn’t involve the pool.

It’s COLD when it’s this early! 🙂

 

CHEERS TO THE WEEKEND! TGIF!

If you guys lived here with us, you’d all be invited to ladies night tonight! Well, unless you’re of the male gender reading this – in which case, LADIES ONLY (yes I am still 12 and like girl night!).

What are you doing lately that makes you happy?

What’s your favorite baked good right now?

What are you doing this weekend?

-Meghan