Giving blood

Tomorrow I am giving blood for the first time, and I am a little nervous! I remember people passing out in high school when the Red Cross came to do drives, and I was always scared I would too! They say if you're over 110 lbs. you're golden (trust me, I am well over that these days) but I am still a lil scared. I'm doing it at work and the coordinator told me to drink lots of water today and in the morning, and that I have done. I keep a big Tervis Tumbler at work to drink water out of so I don't waste cups every day, and because it holds a lot more, and I swear I drank like 4 of them today. I felt like I went to the bathroom a gajillion times! It is supposed to make you bleed easier/ faster I think, and I am hoping all this water does the trick!

I am excited to actually be able to give this time. I tried to give in high school when the van came to campus, but either I wasn't old enough or had been in a malaria country within the past year (downside of spring break in Mexico I guess). But, this time I qualify and i'm gonna do it! I am kind of excited to find out my blood type as well. Is it weird that I don't know mine? Is that something you're supposed to know? Well, after I find that out I think I might order this book on my Nook, called "Eat Right 4 your Type." It is all about eating for you blood type and what your blood type says about you and your health. My boyfriend said some of the girls in his family have read it, and told me to check it out a long time ago and I am finally getting around to it.

I am getting into the whole nutrition/ good food vs. bad food thing recently (the book "Skinny Bitch" will do that to ya), but I think it is good for me because I admit that I like junk food WAY too much for my own good.

Well, now that I have bored you with deets on me giving blood, I hope y'all have a good Tuesday night!

ERK

Ravioli, Holy Canoli!

Last night I finally broke out the ravioli attachment for my Imperia pasta machine, and it was sort of an epic FAIL. I was very disappointed! I made my pasta dough yesterday and then made a delicious filling with fresh baby spinach and artichokes (and accidentally made way too much, so most got frozen). After I rolled out the dough to the appropriate thickness I put the ravioli attachment on, and after like 20 minutes (because I couldn't figure out how to work it) I cranked out about 8 little raviolis from my first pasta sheet. I then put another sheet in and more filling and kept turning and turning and no little pastas came out! I figured out they were just going around the wheel and making a huge green mess! I ended up wasting about half of my dough after trying this several times. I finally decided to make them by hand which worked much better!

The pasta actually turned out really tasty, though it wasn't the prettiest looking meal I have ever made. (I wish I had taken a picture to share, maybe next time, after I master it) I sauteed little chicken tenderloins with just some EVOO and salt and pepper to serve with it.

Does anybody else have this machine and ravioli attachment and have any tips for me? If you don't have a pasta machine I highly encourage you to invest! It is really easy to do, and the pasta tastes so much better than the dried kind from a box. Also, you can make all different kinds, like whole wheat, spinach, roasted red pepper, ect.

I spent my weekend rug/ fabric shopping with my mom on Saturday, then out with friends for one of my best guy friend's birthdays Saturday night. It was so much fun, but lets just say I had 1 too many Blue Moons... oh well! Sunday I got home and watched church live on the internet then went back to sleep for a few hours (we slept on the floor the night before and as one of my friends said "we're getting to old for this" and I was tired!) My mom and I then went and looked at one more fabric store, then I went to the grocery and started cooking dinner.

I bought the book "Skinny Bitch" on my Nook Color last night and started reading it. I like the way it is written, really funny and a fast read, however I am not sure I can go by all the rules (like, no meat!?!) but I think I am going to try. I found that I already do some of the stuff they talked about in the first few chapters, including no coffee or caffeine (I haven't had any in a little over 2 months, I am amazed that I have been able to do this!) But there are many things they say are bad that I eat, like meat, poultry, eggs, SODA! Hopefully the rest of the book will be as insightful, but I heard they go into detail about how animals are processed and killed, which I might not be able to handle (along with the fact they call meat "rotting animal carcasses... sick)

Has anybody else read this book? Anybody stuck to the plan? Let me know if you have or your thoughts on the book!

I hope y'all are having a great Monday!

ERK

Sick puppy

Poor little Cupie was really sick today, so sick that mama had to come home from work to take care of her.

So I got to work as usual and about 12:30 my mom called and said when she had gotten home Cu had gotten sick all in her cage and when she let her out in the back yard she was even more sick. My mom had someone coming to pick up furniture from our house so she couldn't take her to the vet so I rushed home. (I literally ran to my car and sped home... what will I act like if I ever have a human child?!?) When I got home my little baby just looked so pitiful and sad and wouldn't even eat a milkbone (the only human word she really knows is "treat" and she would literally scale a wall to get her little grinch paws on a milkbone or 2).

I called my vet and they said to watch her and if she got worse, or if her nose stopped feeling cold and wet, to bring her in. She got sick a few more times, but mostly slept for the rest of the afternoon in my lap. She seems a lot better now, but boy was I worried about my little angel!

Here are a few pictures from over her life to show you why I love that little girl sooo much!

The first day I had her... she was so little!

Playin' at the doggy park!

Pretty pink bows!

Wearing her fave outfit, an elegant evening gown a la Petsmart Disney halloween collection

Well I hope y'all had a great Friday and a great week!

ERK

If only it wasn't going to rain this weekend!

Talk about PERFECT weather, if you live in Atlanta you know what I mean! The one thing I missed while living in Dallas was 4 distinct seasons. There, it was either HOT or cold. There was never really Fall or Spring, but in Atlanta there is and I just love it! I love Springtime; the flowers, the warmer weather, the smell, the general happy feelings! The only negative is pollen, which is trying its hardest to kill me this year (unsuccessfully thanks to zyrtec and several other meds).

Anyways, this weather has got me ready to switch out my winter and summer clothes and throw on a swimsuit and head out to the pool. Unfortunately, it is supposed to rain starting Saturday, Boo! I feel like the weather is always beautiful when I'm stuck in the office, but when the weekend gets here it either gets cold or rainy, or both. Can you tell I am not happy about this?

I might still switch out my clothes, but I will not be donning my suit this weekend... maybe next?

If I were going to be doing a little laying out, here are a few suits I wouldn't mind wearing! (I think I am going to be more of a 1-piece girl this summer, because not getting much exercise and sitting in an office all day has not done wonders for this bod!)

This SUPER CUTE number I saw on this lady's cute blog!

Or this cute La Blanca suit with the ruffle!

And I love this Ondade Mar Suit!

Or this cutie!

Or, just this simple black and white suit!

And the grand finale... this gorg Trina Turk suit (I think this one will be a must for me!)

Do y'all have you eye on any cute suits for this summer?

ERK

I guess I'll Play Along

I've see this on several blogs, so I decided to join in on the fun!

A-Age: 22, almost 23. I can't believe I'm that old! I remember counting down the days until I turned 16!

B-Bed size: Queen and I love it! I grew up in twin beds and had them in my room at my parents until I moved back in and had to put my big bed in there! For such a small dog, Cupie takes up a lot of room!

C-Chore you hate: Doing the dishes. I cannot touch something that someone else has eaten off of. I don't know why but it makes me feel sick. I'm glad I never had a job as a waitress!

D-Dogs: My furbaby is sweet little Cupie, aka Cupid, Cupita, Scooter, Little Dog. She is an angel! My family also has a black-lab mix named Bailey, aka BayBay, Boo, Buddy, Black Dog



Cupie!

Bailey!

  

E-Essential start to your day: Um, actually getting out of bed? Haha jk Usually washing my face and brushing my teeth

F-Favorite Color: Pink and Green, duh!

G-Gold or Silver: I used to only like silver, but I am more of a gold kind of gal these days.

H-Height: 5'3 1/2"... can't forget the half

I-Instruments you play: I used to play the clarinet and bass clarinet, but I am not sure that I can still play, it has been a while

J-Job title: Case Assistant

K-Kids: Do fur babies count?

L-Live: Atlanta, GA

M-My mom's name: The Beckster 

N-Nickname: Um, I don't know, Baby Ruth? or Ruthdawg

O-Overnight hospital stay: I had really bad asthma as a young child, so I had 2 overnight stays when I was about 3 or 4 I think.

P-Pet Peeve: Bad manners, hearing people eat (weird but I can loose my appetite in an instance), bad drivers (because obvi I'm the best driver in the world), and the list goes on and on...

Q-Quote from a movie: "Anarchy, Anarchy, I don't knnow what it means, but I love it"

"I'm all jacked up on Mountain Dew"

~ Both from the greatest movie ever, Talledega Nights

R-Right/Lefty: Righty

S-Siblings: An older sister and an older brother

T-Time you wake up: Supposed to wake up- 7:15, actual time- 8-ish

U-Underwear: Yes

V-Veggies you dislike: Um, mushrooms, cauliflower, fresh tomatoes

W-What makes you run late: Cupie, or hitting the snooze/ turning off my alarm

X-Xrays you've had: Teeth, elbow, knee, lungs, stomach (Geeze!)

Y-Yummy food you make: Homemade pasta and pizza, oven fried chicken, cupcakes

Z-Zoo animal: big cats

I hope y'all are having a fab Wednesday! I know I can't wait for the weekend to get here, especially if the weather satys as ah-mazing as it is now!

ERK

Food!

So, it seems like every time I try to "diet" or eat healthier, I become absolutely obsessed with food! Not in a good way either, in a "I would kill for some candy of McDonalds french fries right now" kind of way. You think i'm kidding, but i'm not!

I was thinking about this as I was walking out of my building today. I have to pass a little convenience store on my way to the parking garage, and sometimes I stop in for a little something (now and later's are my fave thing in there), but it took everything I had today not to run in a grab something. I feel like I have absolutely NO self control! I snacked at work, but it was healthy (an orange for my morning snack and a Larabar for my afternoon snack) but at the end of the day I am still hungry.

That's another thing, I don't think "hungry" is the correct word. I think bored and obsessive are more like it. I literally don't think I went more than 10 minutes without thinking about food today! Psycho? Yup!

So, I decided that I need to start menu planning for the week so I don't get too off track, because I am even more obsessive about calendars/ schedules than food. The only problem is that doing this while still living with mom and dad gets difficult, since during the week my dad cooks most of the time. However, I found several great recipes on Gina's skinny Taste and printed them for my dad so hopefully he will make those this week!

Well here's hoping tomorrow I can not think about food all day! And, if anyone has any tips or any good healthy snacks, I would love your input!

I hope y'all had a great Tuesday!

ERK

So, about that triathalon

It won't be happening, any time soon, that is. I had high hopes for really "digging deep" and getting into training and eating healthy when the year started, but as the nearly 3 months have passed since the first of the year, my motivation has steadily decreased. For a while I was all over it. Gym almost every day, healthy food/ sticking to weight watchers, the whole-nine-yards. But now I am not.

Today, for example, I decided to go run around a park near my house. I was planning on going after work all afternoon, and I actually went! But... I only made it almost halfway and then my leg started cramping like crazy. It was like a charlie-horse but at the very bottom of my calf. Needless to say, I was finished attempting to run running for the day. And, Georgia is, I think, the capital of pollen and mama was having some seerrrrious asthma troubles. My lungs surely felt the burn.

Well, all that being said, I am getting back into the groove as of TODAY! After a weekend of some seriously high calorie/ fat yummy food in California, (post to come tomorrow) this is just what I need for a little confidence boost! So, I stayed on my weight watchers (except for the 4 Now-and-Laters, but I just COULD NOT resist!) today and at least got a little exercise. Though, I learned my lesson about trying to run outside when it's a pollen storm, don't do it!

Also, warmer weather= shorts, swimsuits and smaller clothing in general, YIKES! That right there is reason enough to get my booty to the gym! I have some cute new items on my Spring/ Summer wish list, but I am not going to buy them till I shed a few lbs and get into somewhat decent shape. That there, is motivation folks!

Ok, well that is all for today! I will be back tomorrow with a recap of our quick trip to SoCal!

ERK