Top Three Meals of Europe

Today's Top Three from the trip is my Top Three Meals.

3) Lamb Shank at the Eagle and Child. The Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford is where J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and some of their writer contemporaries would get together for a few pints and to discuss their work.  Daniel, Amie, Stefanie and I had dinner there last Monday night.  I planned to get Shepherd's Pie in an attempt to try authentic British foods, but something was wrong in the kitchen so they couldn't make pies that night. Instead, I had Lamb Shank, which was fall-off-the-bone tender.  We didn't take a picture of the meal, but here's one of D and A outside the pub.

2) Fancy french words that mean beef with sauce and chocolate mousse at French cafe.  We sort of walked forever before we found this cafe to eat at on Thursday night.  We were exhausted and had a bit of a language barrier with the waiter, but this meal made it all worth it. Again, tender meat and a fantastic sauce. The chocolate mousse capped it off perfectly.

1) Crepes on the street. Crepes are thin pancakes that they fill with deliciousness and then fold over so that it is extremely an extremely portable food. In fact, they don't sell them in most cafes, but only in these little kiosks or street carts.  Amie and I each had four crepes in two days.  Amie always goes with Nutella and banana for hers. I split mine between Nutella and banana,which is more of a desert crepe, and fromage (cheese) and jambon (ham), which is more of a lunch-y type crepe. Both are incredibly good.  Here's a pic of us enjoying some.

Side note: A lot of people have asked how I liked fish and chips.  I'm not a fish person, so I wasn't really gung ho about trying it, but we had sort of a lunch snafu on Wednesday that left me with no other options besides fish and chips (it's a long story that involves us dashing out of the same restaurant without eating multiple times.).  I hate to say it, but I was not a fan of the fish.  It's this giant fish that is completely fried and mine still had bones in it.  GROSS! (Everyone else seems to really like fish and chips, though, so don't let my opinion color yours.) Here's a pic of me trying to be game.

Top Three Sights to See

I have no idea if you care about the details of my trip, but I had a pretty fantastic time and it's all I really want to talk about this week. To that end, each day I'm going to share with you a different top three list from the trip.  The most-asked question I've gotten since I returned is: "What was your favorite sight to see?", so my first top three will be my Top Three Favorite Sights.

3) Musey d'Orsay

Everyone knows about the Musee Louvre. (Musee means museum in French, fyi), which we most definitely visited. Not everyone knows the awesomeness that is the Musee d'Orsay.  The Orsay is right across the Seine from the Lourve and is home to art from the late 19th century. This means it includes many Monets, Van Goghs, Manets and other beautiful pieces. In my opinion it blew the Lourve out of the water.  It's also in a renovated train station and is just beautiful inside.  They wouldn't let us take pictures inside, but this was my favorite painting that I saw. It's a Van Gogh that I had never seen before called The Church in Auvers-sur-Olise. This tiny version doesn't do it justice.

2)Notre Dame

Notre Dame was built in 1163. It is indescribably beautiful on the inside with many colorful and elaborate stained glass windows and breathtaking ceilings.  It is such a beautiful thing to stand there and realize that people have been worshiping God there for almost 1000 years.  You can climb over 400 stairs to the top for a breathtaking view of Paris, a close-up view of the famous gargoyles and  a chance to see the infamous bells of the cathedral.  

"All Paris was spread out at his feet, with her thousand turrets, her undulating horizon, her river winding under the bridges, her stream of people flowing to and fro in the streets; with the cloud of smoke rising from her many chimneys; with her chain of crested roofs pressing in ever tightening coils round about Notre Dame."- Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris

1) Bodleian Library

We went to Oxford University with the primary purpose of seeing some Harry Potter-related sites.  We were not disappointed with the Bodeian Library, which is the main university library and also the Hogwarts library in several of the Harry Potter films.  However, that's not at all what made it one of the best visits of the trip.  This is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, begun in the 15th century. Most of its original books were destroyed by Henry VIII, but beginning in 1598 Sir Thomas Bodley began restocking the library and the many, many books he purchased on behalf of the library were still there and sitting on the shelves that we were staring at. It's also a copyright library, so they automatically get a copy of every book published in England and can request any other copyright published pieces. They received thousands of new books each day. It blew my mind. No pictures were allowed inside, but I found this one online.

Have any of you been to any of these fabulous places? Let me know!

The Big Trip

I'm back!  The story of this epic trip is one of adventure, exploration, new experiences, old and beautiful buildings, delicious food and lots of jump pictures.  It's also a story that is really too long for a single blog. Today I'm going to hit some highlights and then each day this week I plan to share lists of my top three favorite aspects of the trip.

First, I think I did pretty good with the plan I came up with last week.  I ate normally.  I didn't restrict myself, but I didn't go crazy either. I had a few croissants in Paris and several crepes (though never more than one at a time.) I ordered dessert more than once. I had the occasional caffeinated soda, but it wasn't habit-forming.  Our friend Stephanie, who we stayed with the first half of the week, bought the cereal I prefer, plus lots of fruit and the makings for sandwiches, so we didn't have to eat out every single meal. This was a great gift.

I also walked so much.  SO much. So MUCH.  I don't know how to say it any other way.  Plus, in Paris, we lived on the 5th floor of our hostel and took the stairs every time.  It about killed us, but we did it.  We also climbed a bunch of towers in London and to the top of Notre Dame. There were a lot of stairs in Paris.  On Tuesday, the only day we had a semi-low key day without a lot of walking, I got up before the others and went to run along the river and the High Street (like a Main Street, here) of Stephanie's adorable little English town.  It was not easy to pull myself out of bed, but I'm glad I did it.

We got in last night. I spent today resting, doing laundry and catching up on television.  I'm in a really good place right now. I'm happy. I'm rested.  I'm at peace with eating and my outlook on life. I feel really normal when it comes to food. It's a feeling and a mood that I wish I could bottle up and store for times that will be more difficult. I know those times will come again when I am overwhelmed by feelings of fear and failure.  However, tonight at Bighouse (youth group I work with) we sang a song called "Counting on God" that I love.  The best two lines in it are:
Joy unspeakable that won't go away
Just enough strength to live for today

It reminds me that I need to continually look to God for both joy and strength but also that I really just need to take it all one day at a time.

I'll leave you with a picture from the trip. (There will be lots more later, I promise.)

P.S. I only gained one pound. Did I mention we did a lot of walking?

Bon Voyage

If you were near me right now, I would read this post to you aloud, in my fabulous British accent and you would love it (and you would make fun of how I'm speaking entirely too high of a pitch and scrunching up my nose weirdly).  I depart today for Jolly 'Ol England and (insert French words here) France.

It will be a week of firsts for me. My first trip abroad. My first time on a plane for more than four hours. My first time through customs, my first time meeting the Royal Family (er, or hanging around outside their royal residences taking pictures of the guards with the funny hats), my first time riding in a train that goes UNDER a river (is the English Channel a river?), my first time spending foreign monies, my first time eating authentic crepes, my first time staying in a hostel, etc. This list could go on forever, but I'll spare you.

Please know that in the next week I'll be busy having tea with the Queen discussing the wedding plans of Wills and Kate and letting the French peasants eat cake. It is highly unlikely I will be able to update my blog.

So have a great week and imagine me across the pond roaming the British countryside, eating fish n' chips and impressing (annoying) some real Brits with my fantabulously authentic accent! If I run into Mr. Darcy or Bridget Jones, I'll say 'ello from all of you.  Cheerio, Gov'ner!

*If you are reading this realizing I'm going to be gone for a week and are therefore thinking about robbing my home, please don't.  Know that I have nosy neighbors,, a ferocious guard dog and a roommate who would die to defend the homestead. Don't mess with the 1611.

A Girl With a Plan

Tomorrow's the day! I leave for England!  More on my fabulous vacation plans in tomorrow's post. Today's post is about how I'm going to deal with vacation, health and fitness-wise.

First, I'm going to enjoy the vacation. I am not going to avoid crepes in Paris and a pint in a pub in London, just because I'm trying to lose 100 pounds.  This is the only opportunity I will have for a trip like this, to these wonderful places, with these awesome people.  I'm going to enjoy it and not feel guilty.

Second, enjoying my vacation should not give me license to go crazy with food. I want to be reasonable and make healthy choices when I can. I hope just the fact that I will be with others who know about my goals and read about my weight loss struggles will  keep me in check. Also, maybe I should write some motivational quotes or just the number 100 down on an index card and put it in my wallet.

Third, I will not freak out about not working out.  I might try to sneak in a run or two while my compatriots are napping (Amie, I'm looking at you. Daniel, you're welcome to join me on the run.) or I might ask Amie to teach me some Budokon moves (Amie's a Budokon instructor. I can't tell you what Budokon is or even if I'm spelling it right,but I think it is similar to yoga.) if we have some down time.   But again, I'm in England and France to experience the culture and the history and to visit with my amazing friend Stephanie who lives there.  I'm not there to work out.  I will relish the walking that I've been told I will be doing a lot of, and be thankful that I'm in shape for it.

So, how's that for a plan?

The Difference of a Few Pounds

I've been wondering a lot about the difference between the weight I've lost thus far and my 100-pound goal. I argue with myself a lot about it, actually.  I have two schools of thought on the subject.

First, I've been very focused on the number 100 for a long time. So focused that most of the time I do not feel successful because I have not made it to 100 pounds lost yet. Five years ago, I half-jokingly wrote "Lose 100 pounds" on my life bucket list. Nineteen months ago, I made it my ultimate goal when I started this weight loss journey.  Neither time did I really believe I would actually ever lose 100 pounds.

However, I've lost 97 pounds to date.  That is a lot of weight.  That is more weight than I can lift in dumbbell or barbell form.  It's more weight than most weight loss success stories I read about in magazines.  It could almost be considered enough weight to form a whole 'nother person from. I'm very happy with how far I've come and how I look.

Somehow, miraculously, I am very close to losing 100 pounds.  Yet, even though I am within striking distance of that goal, I've somehow twisted my thinking so that I don't feel like I've accomplished anything without it.  I don't know how I've come to that, but it's the truth.  I think that's the source of all of the pressure I'm putting on myself lately.

So, I need to step back, look at the big picture and be thankful. Thankful for the clothes I fit into now. Thankful for the way my body moves and the way my lungs hold and release air.  Thankful for the hourglass silhouette that I didn't know I had.  Thankful for each and every one of the 97 pounds.

100 pounds will come someday, and it will come at the right time.  Moving from 80 pounds lost to 100 pounds has been a struggle that will take the better part of a year before its over. It's been frustrating. It's been hard.  Really, though, the longer it takes me to make it to 100 pounds lost, the better off I'll be.  The more practice I will have at eating well and the more lessons I will have learned about healthy living.  Not that either of those things will end once I make it to my goal, most definitely not.  it's just the longer it takes, the easier it will be to never find those lost pounds again. There's something about a journey, and not the destination, that teaches so much.

Bye, Bye BoJangles

I came to two realizations today.

1) I no longer crave (or really even like) BoJangles for breakfast.  I'm really over fried foods in general.

2) Extremes (either good or bad) are not the solution.

Let's back up.  Even after writing last night's post, when I had resolved to start trying again, I stopped for BoJangles on the way to work this morning. I can't really even explain why, except that the thought popped into my head, and I wasn't able to put up a good defense against it.  I suppose my willpower muscles were weak from all of the bad food choices I had made over the weekend.  However, it turned out to be a good thing, because I don't feel like I ever need to do that again.  My Kashi cereal with blueberries/strawberries and almond milk is way better.

That's a big deal for me. Before I started this weight loss journey a year and a half ago, I would go through periods where I would eat breakfast out multiple times a week.  Even since I've been trying to lose weight, eating breakfast out regularly pops up as a temptation I have to battle.  

Aside from the BoJangles start, I had a pretty good day health and fitness-wise.  In fact, it was very low key and easy to make the right decisions.  I went slightly over my calories for the day, but it was worth it to feel somewhat normal. Not deprived, not on a diet, but just a normal person going throughout my day.  Also, I walked outside with coworkers at lunch and went to half a Turbokick class (half because my energy still isn't quite back to normal, but half is better than nothing).

I think part of the reason I have these cycles that I mentioned in yesterday's post (where I'm super motivated some days and all "woe-is-me, I'll never make it" other days) is because I push myself really hard when I am super motivated.  I'm always one extreme or the other. I'm either eating 1300-1500 calories and working out twice a day or I'm filling up on junk food.  I'm starting to realize (and really, my friend Monica has been trying to tell me this for years) that with this extreme motivation I burn myself out. 

I'm still not sure how to deal with this second realization.  I've got too much of an all-or-nothing, success or failure mentality.  I suppose, though, that the realization is a starting point.  I can always figure out what it means later.