Bookish .

||Day Forty-Three||

I don't know what it is, but there's something about Spring & Summer that always brings out this side of me that just wants to constantly read. Maybe it's the winding down of the school year that alleviates enough stress from my mind for me to focus on something that doesn't have to do with organic chemistry or the physiology of a dog/cat/horse/whatever. Or maybe it's the idea that there's a whole galaxy of different worlds and different lives that I can escape to for a while. Either way, it's just another reason that I love these warmer months.

For today, in keeping with my bookish mood, I went out to Half Priced Books (which I am officially in love with -- basically you can get books fairly cheap, and then when you're done you can sell them back). I went with the intention of buying Divergent, since my library currently has some-20 holds on all ten copies. I know I'm going completely backwards, what with having seen the movie before reading the book. But the way I see it, now that I have a general understanding for the characters/scenery and what not, I feel like I'll be able to read it better. For me, if I'm reading a book that seems somewhat ahead of it's time (be it futuristic or science fiction or even Harry Potter), I feel like I can easily get lost and eventually give up trying to read it.
Besides Divergent (which was a steal by the way -- $7.99), it was luck that I also stumbled upon "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart, which I had been wanting to read as well. Truth be told, I don't know much about the storyline, but I've seen many recommendations online (for example, John Green tweeted about it when it was first being released, and then also "Essie Button" made a youtube video in which she suggests this book).

Basically, I'm pretty pumped to get through my most recent book, which I'm actually really enjoying, so I can start reading these new ones. Seriously, I might have a problem with buying books.

Currently I'm reading a book called "Reality Boy" by A.S. King. It's a Teen Fic (which is my weakness, I don't even care that I'm no longer a teen), and I'm loving this author. This is only the second book I've read of hers, but in both books I've noticed that she writes many small chapters instead of a few longer chapters. This really helps me stay focused when it comes to reading because it doesn't seem to drag anything out. I will definitely be looking into more of her books.

To quickly summarize it, it's about a boy named Gerald who spent some of his first years of life on one of those Nanny-911-esque reality TV shows. As the book goes on, he exposes the truth behind "reality" television, and depicts many events from his childhood that were painted in a light to make him look bad, thanks to his obnoxious older sister. Gerald struggles with anger management problems and is basically trying to get through life with a hope that he won't go down one of his two presumed paths: death or jail. Of course there is also a love interest, a quintessential component of Teen Fic. Pretty much, it's an easy read that goes fairly quick (seriously, gotta love those short chapters), and honestly it's one of those books that you take something away from. It's interesting to see things from Gerald's perspective and to learn from his coping techniques. I'd say it's 7/10, at least for now, I feel as though I haven't quite gotten to the height of the book yet.

"But what's crazy and what's sane when everything is possible and yet nothing ever happens?"

♥K

Replacing .

||Day Forty-Two||

I know I've already made one post about trying to get fit, but I'd like to add to that.

Hopefully I won't be repeating anything that I previously said. 

To me, getting in shape is not about cutting out fat/sugar/carbs, in fact I'm very against cutting out anything from my diet. But instead, it's about replacing and minimizing. You can have a piece of cake, but instead of making it a quarter slice, make it an eighth.

But that's all easier said than done. Trust me, I've been there and I still go there. So when this happens, I try to make adjustments and "balance" things out. Lately I've been trying the substitution (or replacement) technique. For example, in one of my previous posts, instead of using marinara on my pasta, I used cooked vegetables. And while there probably isn't anything wrong with marinara sauce, the fact is that the cooked vegetables might fill me up more or provide nutrients that the sauce might not. Tonight, I tried a similar tactic.

You can buy single serving cups of yogurt at the store, no problem. And again, nothing is wrong with these single serving cups. However, sometimes I want something fresher, something where I can control the amount of sugar that goes into it (because 30g of sugar for yogurt is just kind of outrageous unless you're eating it for dessert). So instead I made what you might call a "fruit parfait".

For this dish I used:
1/2 - 3/4 cup plain low fat yogurt

a handful of fresh blueberries

a handful of Grape Nuts (or granola, if you prefer)

{optional} a drizzle of honey to taste

 {Above: No honey; Below: With honey}

I think this dish could be a great snack, side dish, or even a main dish for breakfast.

I also like the idea of a fruit parfait because it's extremely customizable. You can substitute any kind of fruit for the blueberries, any kind of granola/cereal to top it with (you could even use coconut if you're feeling crazy), and you can essentially use any kind of yogurt (greek, strawberry, etc).

I went with plain because it would have less sugar and the flavor of the yogurt would not overpower the toppings, but I think vanilla could be just as good. I also used low fat because it has less fat (obviously), I am lactose intolerant, and because the plain NONfat yogurt tasted like sour cream.

Besides adjusting what I eat, I've also been working on when I eat as well. I think it's extremely important to have 3 meals a day; even if I wake up around 11am or 12pm I still try to get in a small breakfast, then I follow up with lunch a few hours later. I'm eating dinner earlier as well, which I think has helped tremendously. Before, we used to eat dinner around 7:30 or 8, sometimes even 9. And during the school year when I was working dinner shifts, sometimes I wouldn't get dinner until almost midnight. But now, we try to eat dinner usually around 6:30, then I try to eat a small dessert not too long after dinner so that I have more time to "burn it off" before I go to bed.

Lastly, I've been adding more exercise into my routine. I'm replacing my Netflix time, or sleeping time, with being physically active. Currently I do two types of exercises per day:

{+} Morning walks:

Every morning when I wake up, I go for two walks. I used to take my two dogs (one at a time), but lately I've been taking my first walk by myself (this walk is longer and a little faster), then I take my older dog Tippy (who we often call "Fatty") on a shorter walk. Overall, I walk about 4 miles (3 miles on my walk, 1 with Tippy).

{+} Before bed abs:

This is something I've always wanted to start doing, but have put off until just the other day.

10 reps of normal crunches

10 reps of reverse crunches

My plan is to start with this, and then eventually add more reps as I go. The beauty of this, however, is that it's so easy that it's hard to skip it. And over time, I feel like the results will prove to be worth it.

Eventually I'd also like to add an arm work out -- the plan is to use the smaller weights (3 or 5 lbs) and just do a few arm reps while I watch TV/Netflix. Similar to the abs, I feel like the results will be noticeable and it will just add that last bit of toning to my body.

Ultimately, I feel as though getting in shape is very much in your mind.

After only a few days of walking, doing abs, and eating well, I feel so much better. I feel more confident and more motivated to keep working and keep improving.

And let me tell you, it's an amazing feeling.

♥K

S'mores .

||Day Forty-One||

As the days get shorter and as the prominence of fireworks draws nearer (in fact, I hear fireworks going off as I type this), it is clear that summer has officially begun. And what says "summer" more than s'mores? Absolutely nothing.

For years my family and I have been serving these bad boys up microwave-style from lack of campfire or grill, and it wasn't until I moved into my apartment at school last year that I realized it was possible to have an "authentic" tasting s'more. Because it's just not the same unless it has that thin layer of crispiness on the outside and the warm marshmallow inside. So as far as I know, you can roast marshmallows on any stovetop. At my apartment I have an electric coil stove, whereas at home we have gas. It takes some patience, and definitely your full attention (so as to not catch anything but the marshmallow on fire), but within a minute or two you will have the perfect s'more.

I can't even tell you how many times I just roasted marshmallows for the heck of it while I was at school; finals week brings out your inner food-monster. But anyway, while campfires are super fun and everything, they certainly aren't quick or easy. So if you're in the mood for a quick fix of marshmallow and chocolatey goodness, crank up that stove top and get wild.

♥K

Makeup-less .

||Day Forty||

One week ago my boyfriend challenged me to stop wearing makeup.
So, for one week I have allowed myself the luxury of not having to tediously take off makeup every night as well as pushed my self-esteem limits beyond what I thought were possible. And I've come to find a whole new beauty in myself. A beauty that does not need 10 minutes to acquire on a daily basis. A beauty that is not affirmed by checking myself in the mirror.
I feel a whole new level of confidence in myself, and let me tell you, it feels amazing.
Now, without further ado, here is the recap on my 7 makeup-less days.

{Day One}

{Day Two}

{Day Three}

{Day Four}

{Day Five}

{Day Six}

{Day Seven}

Overall, I was extremely pleased with this little "experiment". I feel really good in my own skin (face wise at least, body is still in the works). Now, to plan my next challenge...

♥K

Movie Night .

||Day Thirty-Nine||

Nothing says "quality time with mom" quite like a movie night.
What better way is there to have a movie night than with a large bucket of popcorn that you only barely make a dent in, candy that you actually bought at a CVS but snuck in with your purse (aka being a woman is awesome), and only having to shell out $4 for two tickets. I'm not even a huge "movie-person" but I could see a lot of so-so movies if it's only costing me $2.

Anyway, we went to see Divergent, since I've been dying to see it. And I know I violated the cardinal rule that you should read the book before you see the movie, but the movie was two bucks.

Overall, I thought the movie was awesome. I'm really starting to love Shailene Woodley as an actress. Not to mention I'm a sucker for dystopia-based story-lines.

And of course, makeup-less challenge day six. Today I felt a lot better confidence-wise, but I really am looking forward to busting out my Naked 3 palette soon.

I feel somewhat in a slump, again. I feel like it may be attributed to the fact that I haven't read for a while. That may sound silly, but it just really helps me relax and feel a sense of accomplishment. I'm a very wound-up person, so anything that makes me not think about the thousands of other tasks I have floating around in my mind is a godsend.

Or perhaps it's due to the fact that the days are getting shorter, June is almost over, and school approaches once more. Here's to hoping the "second half" of summer is just as exciting and fulfilling as the first.

♥K

A "Recipe" .

||Day Thirty-Eight||

Today was fairly uneventful. I woke up early-ish for the first time in a while. Then I headed down to my mom's office building, and helped her clean/move to a different office within the building. Since none of that was particularly blog-worthy, I decided to highlight my dinner tonight.

This is actually one of my favorite meals because it seems somewhat guilt-free, but it's also super easy.

I guess you could called it "Veggie Pasta". Essentially, it's cooking vegetables (I particularly like zucchini and tomato) in olive oil and then putting it over pasta instead of using marinara or alfredo.

Even though it seems pretty self-explanatory, I'm going to break it down.

For this dish I use:
1 whole zucchini,

2 roma tomatoes, and

1 box of pasta (tonight I used fettuccinie)

{Step One} 

Chop up vegetables of your choosing into bite-size pieces. If you you're going with something like zucchini, it's important to cut the pieces fairly thin so they cook all the way through and more quickly.

{Step Two} 

Pour a small amount of olive oil in skillet and add vegetables. In my case, I'm cooking the zucchini first because it will take longer than the tomatoes. I also like to add salt at this point (I prefer Sea Salt because it's coarser) so that it gives the vegetables some flavor.

{Step Three} 

Sauté the vegetables until the start to turn slightly brown, making sure to cook both sides.

{Step Four}

(Optional) Add tomato. As a person who just whole-heartedly loves tomatoes, I think these make the dish. I like to add them in near the end of the cooking so that they don't get too mushy.

{Step Five} 

Cook on low until ready to serve.

{Step Six}

After cooking pasta, top with your cooked vegetables and parmesan cheese. The key to making this dish "guilt free" however, is to have more vegetables than pasta; especially if you're like me and enjoy your pasta with garlic bread on the side.

Unfortunately for me, I have yet to master the vegetables to pasta ratio, and finished my meal feeling slightly guilty. So to ease my mind, my mom and I took our dogs for an evening walk around the block.

And of course, my makeup-less challenge day five. 

I don't know why, but today I felt more self-conscious today than I have the past four days. I feel like this may be attributed to the fact that I didn't do anything to my hair today after I showered; unkempt hair along with not wearing makeup just made me feel like I wasn't put together. It bothered me.

I've also pretty much decided that I will continue to not wear makeup for at least two more days, that way I will have gone one week without it. Honestly I miss wearing makeup. It's not so much that I feel like I need it, but just that I like having the ability to change my look with how I feel each day, if that makes sense. But the important thing is that I feel comfortable enough with myself to not wear makeup, if I so choose.

I feel like these past few days have been fairly busy, and yet I'll struggle with finding something interesting to blog about. I also feel like I'm "cheating" on my "taking a picture every day of summer" challenge, because I want the pictures to be meaningful so that when I look back on them in the winter I can see the pictures and thing "Oh yeah, that was the day I went to ___", or whatever.

Hopefully, I can start to change that soon.

♥K

Perspective .

||Day Thirty-Seven||

Today was one of those days where things just don't seem to go your way. One of those days where it just feels like it's one thing after another. It wears on you.

This morning my mom I were going to the mall to find dresses for two weddings coming up.

The irony in this situation is that I've only been to two weddings (that I recall) in my whole 20 years of life, and suddenly within the next two months I will be doubling the amount of weddings I have attended. They're also both family weddings, one from my mom's side and the other from my dad's. Life is weird sometimes.

But the point is we went to the mall looking for dresses. We tried a lot on, but nothing really seemed worth the $100 they all seemed to be worth. Despite us both striking out in the dress department, I ended up finding two nice pairs of shorts, which is possibly the most challenging and daunting task that a woman can take on. I've just come to the realization that "Juniors" clothes (especially pants and shorts) just don't work for me; they're cut funny and are ridiculously short. So today I got shorts that *gasp* actually fulfill the "fingertip length" requirement they used to tell girls in middle school/high school. Either way, they fit well and I like them, so at least there was some success in today.

After that, however, things started to go downhill.
It was 2pm before we got home to eat lunch. The weather was predicting possible tornadoes and floods. I made a quick trip to the grocery store to get things for dinner -- got rained on. And then I remembered that something I had sold on Amazon was supposed to be sent out today. Which started a cascade of unfortunate events.
First I had to go to the library to print a packing slip, because we decided against setting up our old desktop computer and printer when we moved. On my way to the library it POURED down rain. I stepped in a puddle getting out of the car (in the sandals pictured above). When I finally got to UPS I found out that it was costing more to ship what I sold than the profits I will get from it. AND the weather/my terrible neck problems were giving me a headache that I couldn't shake.
So I did what any rational person would do once they got home. I made hot chocolate, watched the rain, and pulled myself together.

And I did feel better. In fact, as I was heading upstairs tonight I overheard my brother talking to my mom about how he's felt so agitated lately, but how he always tries to remind himself that he lives in a nice house, with a loving family, and two kooky dogs (the "kooky" was my own embellishment). Hearing that made me feel better too. Sometimes it's hard to step back from all the small problems and realize that in the grand scheme of things, you can't forget what you have and how fortunate you are to have it. It's all about perspective. Now that's not to say that you should never be upset, or that you should always just be happy, because we all need that moment of weakness sometimes. I think it's okay to take some time to be sad and just cry, or to be angry. Emotions are meant to be emoted.

And lastly, my makeup-less challenge for day four. Today I was especially proud of myself. As superficial as it may sound, it was difficult to let myself go to the mall knowing that I wasn't wearing any makeup. In fact the whole way there I worried and started to question if I could handle it.

Baby steps. 

♥K

Fit .

||Day Thirty-Six||

The day started out how most days have been starting out for me -- waking up way earlier than I wanted to, trying to sleep for an hour or two longer, then ending oversleeping way longer than I wanted to. It's a vicious cycle. But despite my resent for my three alarms (which I did not hear go off) and my slight lethargy, I wanted to start the day off right. So I made french toast. It was frozen french toast, but it was just enough sugar to lift my spirits a bit.

Though my mind felt the drive to start the day, my body lacked the enthusiasm. For a few days I've been wanting to run, even though I am terrible at it. I just know that it's a fairly "quick" way to tone the majority of your body. But as I said, my muscles still ached from stone moving (which is pathetic) so I decided to take my dogs for a walk instead. I just needed something to get my heart rate going, and hopefully ease into running at some point. First I took Tippy.

Tippy is the epitome of a "good dog". She comes when she's called, she's easy going, and all she really asks is that you pet her often and give her the occasional carrot. But Tippy is getting old (she's 9). And though she loves going for walks, so much that she whines incessantly at the mentioning of the word "walk", she can be risky. And by that I mean she has a weak bladder, which means that mid-stride she will stop to go even if she's in the middle of the sidewalk. Basically, I cut her walk short so as to spare myself any judging looks from a passerby. She still had the best time though.

Next I took Zoey. Zoey is only 5, but she still acts very much like she's 1. She is without a doubt the most curious dog I have ever met, which has it's downfalls. On our walk she was constantly speeding up, slowing down, moving to my left side, moving to my right side, stopping to sniff the grass, stopping to watch a squirrel, etc etc etc. It's a task to walk Zoey, but again, she loves it. And it's honestly heart-warming to watch her eyes follow in amazement as a bird flies overhead. Thankfully though, I seemed to tire her out, and by the time we made it back into the house they were both ready to crash.

The rest of my day didn't include a lot of excitement, other than cutting up this watermelon (which turned out to be super juicy and delicious). After all, nothing says summer like the perfect watermelon.

Overall, I've really been trying to be better about three things:

{1} Eating healthier. Which includes cooking food, eating less processed food, and just trying to eat less in general. I'm a bored snacker, so I'm trying to kick the habit before school starts.

{2} Working out more. Like I said, I would love to love running. And maybe some day I will. But even just going for a walk every day is better than doing absolutely nothing.

{3} Being more confident. I would love to just feel fit. Not skinny, not buff, just toned and healthy. Honestly just eating better and working out some can change the way you see yourself.

I'm not sure what that phenomena is, but it's keeping me motivated to stay on track.

And of course, day three of my makeup-less challenge.

I feel like a new woman.

♥K

Read, read, read .

||Day Thirty-Five||

Today consisted of two things, mainly -- sunshine and reading.

The day before I managed to go from halfway through my book (which is about 300 pages) to about two-thirds done. So today I was pretty determined to finish it altogether so I can move on to my next book ("Reality Boy by A.S. King, which is the same author as I'm reading right now).

Since yesterday I took on a more physically demanding job, and woke up feeling every muscle that was used, I decided that today should be more laid back. I brought the lounge chair from the screened-in porch out to the patio, laid out a towel, and begrudgingly sprayed on some sunscreen despite how greasy it was. Then, it was time to relax and dive back into the last 100 pages of my book.

I got about another 50 pages down when I started to feel sleepy, I guess sun and soreness will do that to you, so I closed the book and took a 20 minute nap.. in the sun.. whoops. By the time I woke up I was ready for some A.C. and lemonade, so I packed up my stuff and took my reading elsewhere.

After a quick shower, I had about thirty minutes or so until dinner. I sat in the living room and only had, roughly, ten pages left; I was just getting to the most crucial point in the novel when it was time to eat.

Two hours later, we watched a movie while we ate, I finally got to finish the book. Overall, I liked it pretty well. Not to sound redundant, but I think the ending really wrapped things up nicely. On to the next book!

Also, here is day two of my makeup-less challenge. I even went out in public today, and honestly I never felt better. Don't get me wrong, I love makeup and I love experimenting with different looks or products, but it is nice to feel good in my own skin.

It was a full day of reading, and it shall keep on going. So with that, I am off to start my next book.

♥K

My Everest .

||Day Thirty-Four||

In the Season 8 episode ("The One with the Rumor") of the classic TV sitcom "Friends", the gang is celebrating Thanksgiving. Joey, who is attempting to eat a whole 19-pound turkey by himself, eventually makes the statement, "You are my Everest". And today, I tackled my Everest.

Basically, when we first moved into our house, the backyard was full of of these skinny trees (don't even ask me to tell you what kind of trees because I know nothing about dendrology) and in the middle of the yard was this stone circle. It's kind of hard to explain, but basically this circle encompassed a few trees and then was filled with mulch, some other plants, and this cute stone path. But over the two years that we've lived here it became unkempt, especially with having two dogs that just traipse through the yard, and this summer we finally decided to remedy it.

Because my mom has a lot of neck/back trouble, which I so fortunately (sarcasm implied) inherited, I decided to take on this project myself. So, I doused myself in bug spray, put on some music, and threw all my inhibitions about how fabulous (more sarcasm) I looked while I worked. Overall, the job wasn't so bad except for two main problems:

(1) the stones were ten times heavier than they looked, which made it even more of a challenge loading up a plastic tote (pretty much one of these bad boys) and then carrying it from the middle of the

yard to the porch without completely collapsing, and

(2) there were many stones that were so solidly into the ground that it took both my adrenaline-strength and the ingenuity to figure out that by hitting a stuck-stone with a free-stone, I could manage to either wiggle the stuck-stone to the point where I could pull it out or break it into easily accessible pieces. It's times like these that I wonder if I could be cut out for Survivor. Then I remember that I don't like fish and would thus probably starve.

Anyway, to remove all the stones in the circle it took me about an hour and half, which to me sounds like pretty good time. Now all that's left is the stone path, which will definitely take more than one person. But in all seriousness, I'm proud of myself. Just look at this "Everest" of pesky stones. It probably doesn't look like much from these pictures, but holy cow I will be hurting tomorrow.

Also, I saw this adorable squirrel sitting in the treetops and munching on a walnut. My dog Zoey is absolutely fixated with squirrel watching; she could watch them all day, and now I know why.

Lastly, my boyfriend told me that I should try to go as many days as I can without wearing makeup. So I've made it my own personal challenge to take a picture of said makeup-less face for every day that I succeed. Then, hopefully, at the end I will maybe make a whole post about it, or at least put all the pictures together. I think it'll be a good way to promote confidence within myself, not to mention how much time I'll save on not putting on or taking makeup off.

Here's to day one, and the first official day of summer.

♥K