Attitude Adjustment

When I was growing up, my parents had a quote by Charles Swindoll* about attitude sitting in an 8.5 x 11 frame on the desk in the kitchen. It was printed on parchment paper and began with "Attitude by Charles Swindoll" in big, bold text. Whenever we children gave off too much of the wrong attitude (usually when we were asked to do chores and weren't overly enthused by the prospect), my parents would point to the attitude poster and say that we needed to work on our attitude.

I never read what that poster said. Not once.

I'm sure my parents thought I did read it, as they asked me to read and re-read it many times.  But somehow when you're a pre-teen and teenager and your parents think you need an "attitude adjustment," and you are clearly a misunderstood angel at all times, the last thing you want to do is read a quote about the importance of attitude following a strongly worded suggestion from your parental unit.

But I've been thinking a lot about attitude lately. Attitude makes a big difference in how you approach anything, but especially weight loss.  If you begin your journey expecting to fail then, guess what, you're going to fail.  If however, you choose to believe in yourself and your wondrous and perfectly made body, then you have a better chance at succeeding.

Yeah, yeah, you've heard this all before.  But have you ever heard Mr. Swindoll say it?  Me neither, (remember, I never read the framed quote in my parent's kitchen? Sheesh, we need to work on your reading comprehension) so I googled his famous words on attitude. Guess what? They are some valuable insights on who we live our lives.

If you'd like to read Chuck's thoughts on attitude, check it out below.  

Attitude 

By Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. "

What do you think?  Is life what happens to you or how you react to it? Can you choose your attitude or does that require something yucky like discipline?

*Disclaimer: I have no idea who Charles Swindoll is or why he might be famous. It could be solely for his contributions to the world about attitude. I have no idea.

What's-Up Wednesday

I'm starting a new series called What's-Up Wednesdays. I do a lot of sharing on this blog, but I'd like to hear more from you. Don't worry, I'm not going to be asking deep probing questions each week, just fun things. I hope you'll share your answers with me in the comments.

So for this inaugural What's-Up Wednesday, I'm wondering, "If Hollywood wanted to make a movie of your life, who would you choose to play you?"

Nia Vardalos

There are not a lot of curly-haired size 18s in the movie business, but I was asked this question long ago and came up with Nia Vardalos from My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  She's the closest I'm getting to a Hollywood doppleganger. Plus, she's sassy and funny, just like me (if I do say so myself).

What about you?  Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?

Updates

Sometimes I think I post about something and then never go back to update you on what's happened since.  So this is one of those posts.

My First Trip to the Hospital- I feel completely fine. As each day passes, the more convinced I am that it was just a fainting spell. Aside from excessive tiredness, which I think still stems from my all-nighter last week, I'm great.  I've had both an EEG and an MRI.  I don't meet with the neurologist again until July 12, but I may try to call in a bit earlier to see if I can get my tests results. In the meantime, I am still not driving, but I've got a great roommate who has helped me out with a cajillion rides and friends who ferried me about Charlotte this past weekend like they had nothing better to do.

Bike Update -I'm loving my bike.  I've biked to work twice, but I've also biked to the grocery store (put all the groceries in two bookbags on my back and felt super independent), the bike store (is that ironic? or just smart?), and to return a redbox movie (I've rented a fair share of redbox movies lately that have all been really bad, fyi.).  I'm going to be commuting to work the rest of this week and I even went for a long leisurely ride on Sunday.  I'm not the least bit afraid of riding on the road.

The Third Bad Thing - I got the table all cleaned up and the city hauled away its shell, but I still need to get back out on my hands and knees to comb through the grass one more time.

Next Challenge - My friend Daniel and I both have bikes, so I believe we are both set to compete in the Heels n Wheels Duathlon on August 27 (that is if there is a certain house in south Georgia available to host us that weekend...Abi?).   I also think my friends and I are serious about signing up for the USMC mud run on Oct. 15. In fact, I'm about to send an informational email to those people who said they were interested, TONIGHT!  Hopefully we'll be registered for this one soon.

Announcing: The Walking Club - The Walking Club is still going strong. Every Wednesday we meet at 5:45 p.m. to walk and talk.  It's a pretty marvelous 60-90 minutes. We've moved our location to Cherry Park because it is better shaded, looped and has beautiful day lilies and swings (yes, I'm a big fan of swinging and now I get to swing every week!).  If you've been thinking about coming out but haven't made it, what's stopping you?? It is not nearly as hot as you would imagine it to be. Hope to see you tomorrow!


Is there anything else from my blog that I have failed to update you on?  Anything about my life keeping you up at night? Let me know and I'll update you!

What Summer Means to Me

While not strictly a health and fitness related post, I've been thinking about how much I love summer lately for these reasons and more:

Ice cream
Swimming
Beach trips
Wave jumping
Trips to Effingham (home to cousins, aunts, uncles and granny)
Early Fridays at work
Summer music (Beach music and country music about summer)
Longer days
Skirts
Cool nights
Day lilies
Reading delicious fiction (I read year-round, but it seems like it picks up in the summertime.)
Cookouts
No socks!


What are your favorite things about summer?

Defeating the Enemy

As per usual, I have been "off-track" now for several weeks.  I haven't necessarily been eating horribly. I've still been making my meals at home and eating healthy snacks at work.  I just haven't been tracking my calories, and I have been eating out a little more frequently.  When I eat out, I order what sounds good, not necessarily what is good for me.  And then there's ice cream.  What is it about ice cream that makes me powerless at the thought of it?

I've been afraid to start trying again, because of a fear of failure (again).

Last night I went to church with a friend, a Saturday evening service.  The message was on Revelation 12.  This passage talks about a great dragon, a serpent, (Spoiler alert: that's Satan) that is hurled down from heaven. It goes on to say that this "accuser" has been overcome by the blood of the lamb and that  "He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." (v. 12)

The pastor spent a lot of time on this passage. He emphasized that there has been this war in heaven (v. 7) and that Satan has already been defeated. Now that he's on earth, he is mad about being defeated so he's trying hard.  But God has already won the victory against Satan. We don't have to do anything.

With this knowledge, which I suppose I have long-known and just needed to be reminded, how should we approach trials in our lives?  Boldly, with confidence, and no fear.  I understand all of this with my head, but the trick is getting our actions and thoughts to reflect it.  Something to pray about, I suppose.

Also, on a lighter note, I"m looking for good snack ideas.  Something easy to take and eat at work, something low in calories around 100 to 150 calories. Any suggestions?

Farm Fresh Friday- Week Nine

Eggplant!

A mini cuke next to a Momma.

Sorry I didn't get my Farm Fresh Friday entry done yesterday- time has just been really flying by lately.  It was another fabulous box, with corn, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, cantaloupe and black berries.  Also,  eggplant!  We've actually had eggplant in our box the past two weeks, but this is the first time I've brought it home.  I've never had eggplant before. I hope it's good. We also got these cute little miniature cucumbers, that I'm supposing you can eat raw just like regular cucumbers, right?  

Today and Tomorrow

Today's test was fine.  It was a little strange to be hooked up to electrodes. I could feel the energy coursing through my body.
Tomorrow will be my first day commuting via bike. My roommate Jen has been good enough to drive me every day this week. I'm both excited and a little nervous. I'll let you know how it goes!

Nocturnal

Last night was my night to be nocturnal.  I have my EEG today, for which I must be sleep deprived. I'm not sure, but I don't think I've ever stayed up all night.  Not at sleepovers in middle school, not during college as I was never a horrible procrastinator and not even at the many youth lock-ins and trips I've attended.  

So this was interesting. Or incredibly boring.  At any rate, I'm going to update you on my night below:

10 p.m. Close my book and turn out the light. I have to be up at midnight for the rest of the night so I'm eager to grab what sleep I can.  

10:02 p.m. Must sleep. Stop thinking about how I must sleep and just do it.

10:11 p.m. I'm cutting into valuable sleep time now. Maybe I should try counting backwards from 100.

10:12 p.m. Why can't I sleep? I need to sleep.

10:31 p.m. MUST SLEEP. STOP THINKING AND JUST SLEEP.

10:40 p.m. Surely sleep will come soon. If I'm not asleep by 11, I'm getting up.

11:26 p.m. Awake with a start. Is it midnight? Did I oversleep? No. In fact I woke up too early. Might as well get up.

11:28 p.m. Grumpily stumble to couch. Start reading, because I fear I will be unable to stay awake while reading later.

12:30 a.m. This book, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, is really good. I can't stop reading it.

2:30 a.m. Stop reading because I am starving. Why am I starving? If I were sleeping I would not be starving. Eat some Combos. Save some for later when I will inevitably be hungry again.

2:32 a.m. Decide to catch up on world news by watching two episodes of the Daily Show.  

2:40 a.m. Funny bit about a failed ATF plan to keep firearms out of the hands of Mexican cartels makes me laugh too loud. Roommate is asleep.

2:51 a.m. Multi-tasking begins. Turn on the computer to surf web while being updated on world events.

3:30 a.m. Switch to a tape of my new favorite show, Top Gear on BBC America.  I was telling friends at dinner tonight about its hilariousness. I had yet to see an unfunny episode.  That is in until tonight. I think I'll do a lot of fastforwarding.

3:53 a.m. Come very close to falling asleep on the toilet.

3:55 a.m. Registered my new bike with campus police to help protect it against future theft.

4:01 a.m. Decide to catch up on local news while paying bills.  CN2 delivers hard-hitting news about a man who drove into a tree during last night's storm.  Is this meant to be Rock Hill's version of the Ryan Dunn story? It is decidedly tamer.

4:07 a.m. Decide to stop wasting my time and clean my bathroom.

4.22 a.m. Realize that the burning of bleach in my nostrils and the smell of it on my fingers will easily keep me up the rest of the night. Brilliant move, Stuckey.

4:40 a.m. Bons gazes at me bewilderingly as I move from cleaning the bathroom to cleaning the kitchen, yet she doesn't move.

5:20 a.m. Kitchen cleaned. Rugs back in place.

5:41 a.m. Watching Gnomeo and Juliet, which I rented. Strangely enough, I'm not buying it. Neither the feud between the two porcelain gnome families or the love between Juliet and her Gnomeo.

6 a.m. Gnomeo and Juliet is putting me to sleep, so I dust, read a magazine, surf the internet at the same time. Every time I stop to pay attention to the movie, my head starts to nod.

6:39 a.m. SPOILER ALERT. They've changed then ending of Shakespeare's classic so that it is no longer a tragedy. They also seem awfully fond of Elton John songs.

6:45 a.m. As the credits roll, I realize a lot of big name actors were voices in this movie, including Emily Blunt, James McAvoy, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine and Jason Statham. Amazing.

6:48 a.m. The night has really flown by. I realize it's two late to start the other movie I rented. Switch to a taped episode of Drop Dead Diva instead.

7:09 a.m. Dad called on his way to work!
7:34 a.m. Took Bons out to greet the day.

7:40 a.m. Shower.

8:02 a.m. Breakfast of Champions: Kashi Cereal

8:13 a.m Vacuuming is the last piece of the cleaning puzzle!

8:30 a.m. Off to the hospital!

There it is. I can't believe I did it. Riveting, I'm sure.   In my mind it was going to be way more interesting than this.

Product Review: VitaTops

Have you ever heard of VitaTops?  I had seen them advertised in magazines a few months ago and decided to give them a try because they boast some impressive stats. My favorite, Deep Chocolate, includes 100 calories, 9 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein and only 1.5 grams of fat.  High in fiber and protein, which keeps you feeling full longer, and low in calories and fat sounds too good to be true.  I figured they probably tasted bad, but decided to give them a go.

I had to search for them in my grocery store.  They are carried by Bi-Lo and Harris Teeter, but not Wal-Mart.  They're found in the freezer section.  They're in a different area of the freezer section in each store, so you'll have to search.

You can thaw them in the microwave, but I bring mine to work frozen and then let it sit in the fridge until mid-morning snack time, and they are just right.   I've tried both the Banana Nut and the Deep Chocolate and I like them both a lot. I'm not going to say they are as delicous as a slice of chocolate cake or banana nut bread, but they're good.  The best part is the way they really satisfy you. When I have this as a 10 or 10:30 a.m. snack, I don't get hungry for lunch until after 1.  That's really great for me, and at 100 calories, they always fit into my snack plan.

The one downside is that they are pretty pricey.  If you try them and like them, then you probably want to keep an eye out for when your store puts them on sale and stock up then.  

Have you tried Vitatops? What'd you think? 

The Third Bad Thing

If you're superstitious and believe bad things happen in threes, then you can breathe a sigh of relief, because my third bad thing happened this weekend. (To recap: 1st bad thing was bike getting stolen. 2nd bad thing was the seizure.)

Saturday we had a freak gust of wind rip through our neighborhood. It lifted my glass-topped picnic table off my back porch and carried it just far enough so that it could crash land in my grass and shatter into thousands of pieces (thousands is not an exaggeration). It also busted my beautiful umbrella.

I spent five hours over the weekend picking all of those individual pieces of glass up.  In the end, I had to individually comb through each blade of glass on my knees to search out each glass shard.  My fingers are now encased in thousands of tiny cuts. (thousands is an exaggeration).  I needed to be extra thorough because Bons walks around bare-footed back there, but I'm still not positive every single piece was picked up, because I was finding them half buried in the dirt.  I think I'm going to need to do one more comb-through before I declare it Bonnie-safe back there.

I'm not sure about the whole "bad things come in threes," thing, but I'll take it if these are my three bad things.  The bike situation has been rectified.  The glass table is (mostly) cleaned up.  Just need to figure out about that whole "possible seizure situation" and then life will be back to normal.

My poor fingers. Now I'll never marry a fine gentleman.

Bike Update!

My frown was turned upside down today when this new bike arrived at my house. My brothers and sisters and my parents went in together to buy me this amazing bike (I'm thinking of naming her Fiona.).  The effort was spearheaded by my siblings, which makes it even more meaningful.

My sister and her family came to deliver it this afternoon. I started crying when I saw it. I don't deserve it, and they shouldn't have gone to the expense. But what a difference it has made in my attitude in such a short time!  I took it out for a spin tonight and as I passed various places, I thought, "I can get to the bank now! ... I can get to PW's now! ... I can get to the grocery store now!  I can get to work now!"  I biked to work and back, and it's 15 minutes one way. I even biked on the road the whole way (I used to stick to sidewalks.)  Looks like I'm going to be a bike commuter now!

I may not be biking to the other side of town, but my radius has significantly expanded. :) :)

My First Trip to the Hospital

Another thing to check off of my life list: I had a seizure Thursday night and went to the hospital. I'm fine now.  It took a few hours to recover completely, but luckily our local ER was crazy that night, so by the time I was discharged at 3 a.m., I was completely back to normal. 

Hospital bracelet

The whole experience felt to me like I just passed out.  My roommate Jen observed the tell-tale signs of a seizure: eyes rolled back in head, body jerking, sounds.  After describing it to the ER doctor, he diagnosed it as a first onset seizure and set me up to see a neurologist the next day. The neurologist is not convinced it was a seizure, and said we should call it a "fainting spell" instead until we get tests results back.  Sometime soon, I'll have an MRI and a brain EEG to see exactly what happened. It's entirely possible it was an isolated incident. In fact, in my medical opinion, I'm pretty sure that's what it was.


It strikes me as ironic that after years of being overweight, I've finally trimmed down and am the healthiest/fittest of my life.  And that's when I have my first medical emergency.  


The worst part of the whole thing is that I can not drive for at least a month, when I'll see the neurologist again and get the results of my tests. I've been mourning the loss of independence my car brings. I love to drive.  I'm sure this is just some stupid isolated incident and the worst part will be the not driving, but I hate that. 


I'd love to use this as an opportunity to becoming a biking commuter, except that my bike got stolen last week.  I went bike shopping yesterday, but they are so expensive and I know so little about bikes that it was overwhelming.


Stay tuned tomorrow for more on how my weekend just got better when strong winds blew my glass-topped picnic table over.

Fabulous Farm Fresh Friday

I've had an eventful past 24 hours, but I don't have the words to describe it right now.  Stay tuned for more later this weekend.

Today, though, is one fabulous farm fresh Friday.  First, a recap of last week: I ate all of the vegetables from last week by WEDNESDAY of this week! Yay!  I had some help when I invited Amie and Daniel over for dinner Wednesday night and we sauteed squash and beans, roasted potatoes, boiled corn, ate the tomatoes raw and the cantaloupe, well the cantaloupe was bad when when I sliced into it.  I ate a few pieces and had to throw the rest out. Sad day.

Today's haul.

But today.  Today, we had blackberries!  and cherry tomatoes!  and a cucumber! and a carrot! and green onions! and another beautiful tomato! and more corn!  and more squash! and more zucchini! and more cantaloupe!  and more radishes! and kale. (At our drop off location, they have a box for the unwanted vegetables to go to a local shelter.  Let's just say I hope they like kale, because I think a lot of the veggie connoisseurs are sick of it.)

The blackberries are amazing and the cherry tomatoes were so great I ate them all at lunch today. I also already ate the entire cuke.  I've got a great new recipe for a squash casserole too.  This is more what I was envisioning when I signed up for this box o' veggie delivery system.  Fabulous!

Next Challenge?

After finishing my first triathlon, I've been thinking a lot about what my next physical goals should be.  They're easier to focus on than weight loss goals and easier to achieve because I can control my outcomes, instead of being at the mercy of the scale.

At first I looked for another tri to do, but wanting to do an ocean swim really limits me.  There just aren't as many and I have to drive and stay in a hotel to do most of them. The next one on Jekyll Island is the Tri Red sprint triathlon (where I did my first and where I have a built-in fan base) is on October 8, so that is a possibility. I have a friend getting married October 8, but I think if I really wanted to do the tri, I could make it back in time for the wedding.

My friend Daniel wants to do a tri with me, but he does not enjoy the swimming.  So I found this Heels N Wheels duathlon in August, which involves a run-bike-run course.  Currently, I am sans bike as mine (really my sister's, which I was long-term borrowing) was stolen while I was at the beach. Yes, folks, vandals have rendered me bike-less.  So whether or not I will be able to enter this August 27 race remains to be seen.

Then I got the kind of crazy idea to do a mud run.  There are a lot of these types of races; they are usually shorter but involve obstacles.  The most common one around here is the United States Marine Core Mud Run. I know a few people who've done it, and they say it is crazy challenging. I like the idea of it because it is not just straight running.  Plus, you work in teams.  One post on Facebook about it and I had enough people interested that I could've formed two teams. We'll see if they're all still committed as we draw closer to the October 15 race date.

Then again, I've also always been drawn to doing a half marathon.  While 13.1 miles sounds crazy to me at my current running level, you get a MEDAL if you finish.  All you have to do is finish and they give you gold.  Plus, you can put one of those super cool 13.1 stickers on your car.  My friend Stefanie does the Disney Princess Half Marathon every spring (at least every spring until she collects all the different princess-themed race bibs) and I really can't imagine a better half marathon experience than running through the Disney World parks, being greeted by characters along the way. Plus, I'd have a free place to stay. The jury's still out on this one.  It's at the end of February, 2012.

Finally, there's always the option of not having race-related goals.  I want to be able to do a pull up someday. Right now, I'm using the assisted pull-up machine at the gym (not literally right now, cause right now I'm on my couch with a laptop in front of me), and I need A LOT of assistance.  So I'm thinking it could be awhile on this one.

Along the same lines, what about being able to do 100 pushups?  There's an app for that -  an app for a training program to help you do 100 pushups, which I have downloaded, so this is probably already a goal, though I have yet to start.

Of course, I could do all of these, but that could get a little expensive...must narrow down list of challenges. Advice/thoughts welcome. Am I missing anything?

Book Review: The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance

Last week I read this funny memoir, really more devouring it, rather than reading. It's the story of a girl who is dealing with weight (and significant weight loss), dating, identity and how to live all that while staying true to her faith. Oh, and at the same time, it is hilarious.

Let's just say it is making a whole lot of sense to me right now.I identify with several with aspects of her story, and it feels good when someone else says some of the things out loud that you've been thinking or wondering.  

The only thing is it totally glosses over the whole weight loss is hard thing. She loses 80 pounds in the span of one chapter (in a unhealthy, but doctor supervised manner it took only 5 1/2 months).  But really, I'm okay with her not dwelling on it, goodness knows I dwell on the "weight loss is hard" theme enough here on this blog.  Plus, then it gets to the meat of the story, which is how she deals with life and dating and her faith after she loses the weight.  

Before she lost the weight, she was always "the funny one." After she lost it, she struggled because she felt like she was losing her funny girl status, but she still wasn't winning the title of "the pretty one" either.  

She ends up falling for an atheist, which really challenges her faith.  I was so engrossed with the struggle that I had a hard time deciding how I wanted the book to end. I certainly didn't want her to give up her faith in order to live happily ever after with the guy.  But he was also so perfect for her and she had to kiss a lot of jerks before she met him that I didn't want her to give him up either.  You'll have to read the book to see which she chooses!

If you have ever tried to stay true to your faith in a faithless world, looked everywhere for love and not been able to find it, tried to figure out who you really are and what you really believe, or been a girl, I think you will love this book. Seriously. I checked it out from the library and had two other people read it while I had it out, because I loved it so much.

Thanks to M.Carter @ the Movies for recommending!

Catch Up

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. I partly blame vacation, but also my thoughts on diet, health and exercise have really been running the gamut lately. It's been hard to clarify these myriad thoughts into some digestible morsels. Here goes:

-I hate running, but I love the way it makes me feel when I actually complete a running workout.  I've been falling out of the habit lately, but starting today, I'm back to making running a commitment in my life.

-I've been feeling a little aimless lately because I have no future races/goals on my calendar.  I'm looking for a new challenge. I have a few possibilities that I'll share with you later this week, hopefully.

-I've been wildly "off track" with my dieting. So much so that I am afraid to weigh. I haven't weighed since I went skydiving at the beginning of May.  Despite not weighing, I can tell that I am gaining some weight back and it feels uncomfortable.  I feel better when I'm eating right and exercising, why can't I remember that?

-I hate blogging when I'm "off track." I either complain about being off track or I blog about other things and don't tell you I'm off track. The first option is depressing and the second makes me feel like a fraud. I don't want you all thinking I'm this successful weight loss story when it continues to be a struggle for me, and some days are better than others.  To that end, I may not be as consistent a blogger in the future. I don't want to give it up completely, but I don't know if I will continue posting daily.

-I started a book called "Intuitive Eating" this morning as I was eating breakfast. It sounded like a load of crock to me, but the first chapter hooked me. It described me perfectly as a "professional dieter" who goes through endless cycles of dieting and then not dieting/preparing for the next diet. Because the diet is restricting, you end up going through cycles of dieting and then when you're "off-diet" eating horribly. The professional dieter knows a lot about how to eat right and knows the nutritional content of all foods, but it feels forced.  Anyway, I only got through one chapter this morning, but I will definitely see about reading the rest. I'll let you know if I reach any revelations.

PS. I didn't do a Farm Fresh post last week because I was on vacation, but my vegetable buddy delivered my goods to me yesterday and guess what? I got a cantaloupe! I've never been particularly fond of cantaloupe, but I was so excited to see fruit that I think I will not have a problem eating it all up.  I also got a bajillon beans. I shelled them all last night (which took forever) and the actual amount of beans I got out this huge pile was less than 1/4 cup.  I should've taken a picture so you would understand, but I'm a bad blogger.  Crazy, though, the things people will go through for some beans.

Farm Fresh Friday, Week Six

Time for another installment of Farm Fresh Friday.
This week I got:
Collards - Again! if I never see another green again, I would be pretty happy about that.
Zucchini
Squash - Although they are white?  Not sure why.  V. confusing.
Tomatoes-Green!  I've only had green tomatoes fried before...wondering if I can eat them plain.
Cabbage-5th week in a row! I think I might attempt cole slaw this time.
Potatoes
Corn- Exciting new vegetable! Of course, I have enjoyed corn before now, but it is new to the box.
Bay leaves- These were provided by a Winthrop gardener. I didn't want to take them, but the ladies at the CSA drop off said I should.  I said, "I don't know what to do with this." They said, "Just hang them up to dry and then put them in a jar."  I did not want to further embarrass myself by saying "Then what?"  but someone later told me to "Put them in sauces."  We'll see about this.

I should mention that my parents seem to be embarrassed about my lack of vegetable knowledge and even resorted to quizzing my younger sister to make sure she knew her veggie facts.  (She fared only slightly better than I.)  I can only respond that I can not help it if radishes are always on our family's veggie trays, and I never chose to try them. I'm sorry about that, as they were better than expected when I tried them for the first time two weeks ago.  Also,  I have never seen a whole head of cabbage in our family fridge, so how was I supposed to tell the difference between it and a head of lettuce, which is also green?

Anyway, I'm taking my veggies and heading to the beach, so you won't see posts from me for a week or so.
In the words of Zac Brown Band, I'll be:


Knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy 
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Adios and via con dios!  

A real, green tomato

This is how I feel about cabbages.
They are eclipsing my existence

Fresh bay leaves

Words I overuse

Words I overuse:
Amazing
Awesome
Tired
Ridiculous
Funny

If something is even partly good, I always go for amazing or awesome as descriptors.  I think it lessons the impact of these words and I would like to expand.  After a quick thesaurus hunt, I found the words "marvelous," "fascinating" and "astonishing." Plus, I've always wanted to incorporate the word "classic" into my vocab more after watching some Hugh Grant movie. It was either About a Boy or Notting Hill (thinking it was Notting Hill, though.)

Tired is overused because I'm always tired.  I already sleep 8 or 9 hours a night, so I hardly think I need more sleep.  Not sure what I could do to put a little pep in my step.

Ridiculous might just switch to absurd or bizarre.

Funny.  Is there any less colorful word out there to describe things that really are marvelous?  I also thesaurused it and found loads of better words:
Absurd
Amusing
Comical
Humorous
Farcical

Why does this concern you?  Well, you read my words so often, I thought you might want to have a say in the ones I choose. Let me know if you have any suggestions for good words in the comments section below!