Embracing My Impatience

If you know me in real life, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced my impatience. I’m not so much impatient in the “I can’t wait in line for 5 minutes way.” It’s more of when I get an idea in my head, I don’t stop until it’s finished. I need it NOW.

If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen me tweeting about buying a MacBook Pro that day. A few people sensed there would be an update the following Tuesday (today) and urged me to wait. Against my will, I held out for the two days. I had been thinking about upgrading to a Mac for a while, but it was just Sunday I made the decision to go for it. Again, once I make my mind up, I need it now.

Today was the day I would finally get my shiny new Mac. Long story short, everything in the world went wrong and I spent four hours running around town to three Apple store, 1 bank and my house to make this laptop happen. All the work I did might seem senseless to some when I could have just picked it up in the morning in one simple trip, but my impatience thought otherwise.

Normally I’d feel guilty about being impatient and working so hard to get what I want when I want it. But I’ve been thinking differently since receiving an email from Heather a while back. (She posted the email here.)

She said: I didn’t actually make RESOLUTIONS – instead I swore I would embrace the qualities that make me who I am, instead of constantly trying to change parts of myself that although weren’t always ideal, weren’t really that bad, either.

She inspired me to embrace who I am rather than always try to change it. Yes, I can be impatient, but sometimes that is needed to get the job done. My being impatient gets projects rolling now and keeps me ahead of the game. Plus, being passionate about something (even if it’s just a laptop), makes me feel good. Thanks for the reminder, Heather :)

My shiny new Mac is now home and I’m looooooving it. I’ve always been anti-Mac, but I think I’m severely in love. This baby will make my freelance marketing work and blogging soooo much easier! Today was a long day at lululemon. I woke up early and began the day with a green kombucha and an English muffin with homemade AB and jam.

…and a banana… and a huge salad with hummus and Italian dressing..

I enjoyed a pink lady and an unpictured homemade larabar for afternoon snacks!    I left work later than expected. I used that as my excuse to pick up dinner from Whole Foods! I LOVE their vegan sushi!!! The sauce is a creamy horseradish flavor. Yum!

Post-Mac festivities I went for a short (but fast!) 2 mile run around my neighborhood. Running as late as I did (11:00 p.m.) scares me so I cut the run short. I also took Dixie out with me for the second mile. I’ll blog more about that later!

Just a little bit ago I snacked on a granola bar.

And now it is finally time for bed! Good night!

What “bad” trait within yourself  can you learn to embrace?

Juiced

I’ve got a problem. My first few days at lululemon have been amazing. However, I also love every product in the store. So I buy another sweater on my lunch break on my first day. I’m a soon-to-be-broke rookie!

But my problem doesn’t end there. I also pass by Orlando’s biggest Whole Foods on my drive. Hello hot bar and juice bar!

Today I tried my first juice based on Ryan’s recommendations- carrot, apple, beet, kale, spinach and ginger. I was the biggest skeptic, but this juice was incredible. There was so much flavor (good flavor!). It literally tasted like health in a cup. Mmmm. I want more soon!

Other than the juice I’ve been getting little boxes of my hot bar favorites… such as baked yucca and spinach pesto tofu. Yes, very dangerous.

Tonight Ryan and I went ice skating and saw Dear John! It’s always great hanging out with this girl.

To sum up my eating would be several photos of tupperware and Ziploc bags. I feel like all my food has been eaten on the go!

But I have been eating plenty of these. David and I have made it our mission to prove that there are way less than 64 servings in here!

To make up for the animal crackers I’ve also been eating plenty of the following…

Dixie says goodnight.

Do you drink fresh juice? Do you make your own or buy out?

Happy Birthday Dixie!!

Dixie turns 1 today!!!

Just over 6 months ago Dixie came into our lives and made our little family complete. She is an angel and I couldn't possibly love her more.

Dixie is always by my side. She is innocent, trusting and gentle and will always be my baby. She sleeps in-between David and me at night. She loves flax in her food and enjoys meeting new friends. She's getting big, too- 70 pounds already!

I love you Dixie!!

This morning I had a banana with PB before meeting Katy for a run. I did 9 miles. It wasn’t the best run, but I’m so glad I did it!

Dixie got a special treat in her breakfast- a cookie!

I literally ran through the door for a big bowl of PB-naner-oats- with frozen peas on the side to ice my knees and shins!!!

After the oats we headed to the dog park to play!!

Other eats included a fruit pop…

…tea…

…and some wheat grass to help me feel a little more balanced!

Then we did some baking! The girls helped:

For myself I made (and proceeded to eat way to many of) vegan Chickpea Blondies. Instead of jam I used 1/2 unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 a banana because that was all I had. I enjoyed my batch, but I bet these would be amazing with the jam!

Umm, about double this plate was my lunch. Mmmm.

Dixie’s birthday activity was baking cookies with mom. We combined several recipes online to make a vegan PB-oatmeal cookie. I blended everything in the food processor so the cookies were smoother :)

Dixie approved!

I’m definitely having some veggies with dinner!

Do you celebrate your pets birthdays?

Laying Low

Yesterday I fell while running and scraped my knee, had serious dental work done and had my dog break skin on my foot in two sensitive places. I had a day of pain.. so yesterday and today I am laying low!

Before all of yesterday’s pains I met my good friend Pam in Tampa for lunch and a cookie at Whole Foods. Gosh I wish I could do that every day!

Pam and I signed up for the Disney Marathon together. We didn’t get to start or run together for the actual race, but we still did it together!

I also spent some time with meatballs :-)

How handsome is my little brother?!

And here’s my Boomer. He is the most handsome, sweet black lab. Love him.

I’m off to watch Grey’s and Private Practice. I hope to fit in a short bike tide and yoga later if I feel better.

What do you do when you don’t feel well?

Two Dog House

The pets are overtaking the house!!!

Sabrina, my dad’s boxer, has come to live with us. In case you’re counting that now makes us a family of two humans, two dogs and two cats. I believe a house with pets is a house with laughter… so four furry family members makes us one fun house!

No matter what, my Dixie will always be my baby. Nothing beats that face!

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Oh, how was my Christmas? Yummy! I enjoyed not taking photos for a few days. I spent the holiday with many different parts of my family, but here’s one photo from Christmas Day. I hope you all had a great Christmas, too!

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I went 100% vegan in July of this year and have loved it; however, I’ve allowed a few non-vegan bites of this and that sneak into my diet this month and I’m paying for it. I can definitely feel the difference when I avoid animal products and I’m ready to give a big fat goodbye to all those treats at my office and little things at holiday parties. To kick off my renewed commitment I went grocery shopping! I can't wait to dig in to all the fresh fruits and veggies!

For a fun change tonight I made a box of Mac & Chreese- cheddar-style, organic, vegan pasta-in-a-box! Ryan recommended this so I picked up a box at Whole Foods.

It is tasty! It’s definitely no Kraft blue box, but it definitely fills the void.

I’m using the rest of the night to catch up on my to-do list. Next up? Clean the cat box. Oh, the joys of having four pets!

I think it’s safe to say I should buy stock in teas. I just can’t get enough of Celestial Seasonings and their Holiday Teas! I have more boxes, too- at work, in my car, etc. :)

What’s your favorite holiday drink?