T-Day

 

We had a great Thanksgiving. It all started with pumpkin pancakes, eggs and bacon for Eric.

And what's a holiday without booze? We had delicious mimosas!

Then we relaxed, played on the computer, read..until we headed out to the movies. We saw Morning Glory, which was very cute.

Back to our house for dinner!

Now that’s a plate of food!

mmm…gotta love that bad lighting!

We finished up the evening with more lounging, computer time and show watching. It was a good day.

 

STARTING MONDAY-lot’s of changes. Ok, really only two.

I am starting the Vegan two month challenge. Basically just eating completely Vegan and see how I feel. Does it change some health problems? Do I feel more energized? Etc.…

SECONDLY-Over the weekend, Eric helped me come up with my Marathon training plan. Lord willing, I will complete a marathon by April 2011. Yikes. I am very scared and nervous that I won’t be able to do it, BUT I know Eric is there to kick me out the door on those 20 miles training runs.

So that’s it! I will post my training schedule soon. I’m so ready for tomorrow!

A post about me.

 

So today I had a bad day. I don’t really know how it came up but Eric and I got into the conversation. You know…the one where we talk about my life….or lack thereof.

See, lately…well for a month or so, I have been thinking hard. I had this idea that when we moved to Portland, my life was going to change. I was going to get to go back to school, work somewhere that I was really excited about, find and make close friends, find a good church home, etc. etc. However, none of these things have happened.

As it always goes, I apply to a college, get past the acceptance stage, start talking about the money part and boom. It ends. I have applied, been accepted and almost gone to 4 colleges since OC. But there is always something that prevents me from going. Money is usually the major factor. I’m so sick of it. I am really tired of getting super excited for a new opportunity only to have to tell the admissions counselor that, sorry, I can’t come…I don’t have the money/time/skills/whatever.

I have been realizing that I really have no major future plans until we eventually have kids. So for the next 3+years, I honestly have nothing that I am looking forward to. Sound bleak? Yeah maybe, but this is how I feel.

I feel like I have been working all these past years while Eric was in school, to support us. Basically working any job that will pay the bills. And now, now that I am in Portland starting a new life…I am still working a job just to pay the bills. Part of me wants to scream, It’s not supposed to be like this!!! but that’s stupid.

I was sharing all my feelings of being lost, directionless, hopeless, lonely, with Eric today and he said something that kind of stuck with me. He said, ‘it sounds like your jealous of my life/career'. Of course I instantly shrugged that off…but the more I think about it…this is horrible and probably makes me a terrible person, but I think I am a little jealous of his life.

See, I wish I could have finished college…I wish I could be working somewhere that I really liked and was excited to go to every day. I wish I had a passion that I loved like he does with biking. I wish I loved PDX as much he does.

I just feel like I was supposed to be something. To do something great. And yes, I know I am only 22 and I have a lot of life ahead of me. BUT, now that major schools bills are rolling in…going back to school is not really an option right now…or really anytime in the near future. And Eric has been talking about eventually getting his masters which is of course a wise decision.

I don’t know. I don’t know what I am doing with my life and where I am going. I don’t like sitting at home alone 4 days out of the week trying to pass time. I don’t feel very happy or content and I’m not sure how to fix me.

It’s times like this that I really, really miss my family.

Today I am thankful for our apartment. We just spent the past week house sitting for some friends…and they have a HUGE house. As much fun as that was, I was so glad to come back to our tiny studio and my things.

And on days like today when it is cold, rainy and windy…I am so thankful for a roof over my head and a warm bed to get cozy in!

Today I am thankful for a place to workout when its cold and rainy outside.

And also for my strong legs that let me do crazy hard workouts on them.

Thursday

 

Today I am thankful for butternut squash soup with hard crusty bread.

Thankful

 

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I am thinking of something that I am thankful for every day.

Today, I am thankful for the beautiful fall colors. I was told when we moved here that the leaves would turn yellow and then fall off. But we have found that this year, there have been some amazing colors! Almost as good as MI. But not even close to MA! =o)

 

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Eric and decided that since we really don’t have the kitchen space to cook a big meal, we would either go out to eat or buy Thanksgiving dinner. At my work, we have a Thanksgiving dinner for 2 which comes with lots of veggie sides, soup, rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffed turkey breast, and a desert. All for about $35 bucks! I’m so excited. As much as I love cooking, I’m glad we decided to do dinner this way. It’s going to be delicious!

I love…

 

The gym. I am still going daily and loving it. Eric says I come out of there with a glow. I love the daily sweat, and figuring out how far I can push my body. So far I have been to a yoga class and a pilates class. I am dragging Eric with me to another class tonight and then tomorrow I have a meet and greet with a trainer, just to get an overall physical type thing done. Weight, body fat, etc.

Smoothies.

This yummy concoction had 1 banana, a handful of frozen strawberries, 1/4 c. peanut flour (SO much protein!!), 1 small container of coconut yogurt, and a splash of almond milk. Topped with homemade granola and a few almonds. Delicious!!

My husband.

I found this one morning and it had me smiling all day. He doesn’t typically do things like this, so it’s such a treat when he does!

Christmas!!

Yes, it may be early but I am deeply in love with Christmas. It is my all time favorite time of year and I am so excited to celebrate it in a new city with my wonderful husband. I will miss my family, but I am ready to have a Christmas with just us two!

 

Better run! Yoga is calling!

Gym, Yoga, Knitting, Rain, Fall

 

Yesterday Eric and I had a heart to heart, and we decided that I should join a gym.

I have been wanting to start taking yoga classes for years now, but it wasn’t until we moved to Portland that I really started to consider it as something I could do.

New city=new me. Well…I hope so at least.

All of the studios here are pretty expensive. Around $15 bucks a class or over $100 dollars a month for unlimited. That’s a steep price tag so I looked into joining LA Fitness. For about $9 bucks a week, I can take unlimited classes of all kinds, not just yoga AND of course use the weights, cardio machines, pool, sauna…etc.

Done and done! Today was my first day going and I am LOVING it.

When I first got there, I was so intimidated. I consider myself in pretty good shape, but there is something about walking into a room with very fit people working out hardcore that scares me a little. I texted Eric saying I was scared and he texted back that I would do great, and that was all I needed. I decided to just focus on me, my workout and enjoy. I did 35ish minutes on a machine I thought was an elliptical but quickly realized it wasn’t. haha. And then I went upstairs to a hour long yoga class.

I didn’t think I was going to make it the first half, but I did! Granted, I was starting to shake like a leaf on a windy day, but I stuck it out and I am so, so glad I did. I seriously felt like a billion dollars walking out. I think I was probably glowing.

I am super excited to go back tomorrow!! I think I am going to hit up a spin class as well as a yoga one tomorrow! Why not?

After the gym, I went to a knitting group with a new friend! I’m just starting to knit, and it’s nothing fancy…just going to be a neckwarmer/scarf thing but it was nice to talk to people that had been knitting for years and have made beautiful things!

And on the way home,  I got caught in a wicked rain storm and was soaked. Ah, Portland. I will learn to plan ahead!! It may just take me a couple more months!

Thank you rain storm. Notice the stripe, that’s where my bag was.