currently: february 2014

 

eating sooo many clementines

 

feeling silly swim suit shopping in february

researching cold brew coffee makers

 

trying to understand my big fat American Gypsy wedding and extreme cheapskates

explaining to Greg why I watch them

 

appreciating the winter sidewalk maintenance in our neighborhood

 

working on my tan ;)

practicing my calligraphy skills

donating lots of clothes

gluten-free, dairy-free dark chocolate cherry chip cupcakes

bake some of these scrumptious cupcakes for your sweetheart, you'd never know there's no gluten or dairy involved! {even the guys at work loved them}

for the cupcakes you need:

• dark chocolate chips
• 16 oz maraschino cherries
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c (1 stick) margarine
• devil's food gluten free cake mix

step 1: mix the dark chocolate chips in with the dry mix. according to my grammy, this will help keep the chips from sinking to the bottom. then mix in the eggs and margarine according to the directions on the box, and pour into your cups.

step 2: pull the stems off of your cherries and add them to your cups.  i'm sure the yield on this box is for more than a dozen, but i used giant liners and may have eaten raw batter too..... :/ so i had enough cherries to add 2 inside and 1 on the top.

step 3: bake according to the box, and cool on a wire rack.

for the frosting you need:

• 1/8 c of the cherry juice
• 2 c powdered sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 c (1 stick) margarine softened

step 1: cream 1/4 c powdered sugar, margarine, almond extract, and cherry juice together on medium.

step 2: slowly mix in remaining powdered sugar, 1/4 c at a time. keep mixing until it's nice and fluffy.

step 3: frost and add a cherry to the top.

step 4: peel the wrapper off, tear off the bottom of the cake, put it on the top of the frosting, and enjoy your cuppie cake sandwich! yummmmm

well that's not what i expected to see.....

i'm pretty picky about the *fashionable* scarves i wear.  i will walk up and down the aisle, touching and touching and touching.  and touching. they can't be too heavy or bulky or itchy.

so when i stumbled upon this one, i held it up in front of me briefly, and liked everything about it.  but it wasn't until i got it home that i actually held it up and open to see the full pattern. oh boy. efff. really?!?!? i can't wear that.......ugh, seriously.

classy, i know. but, i really like the pretty colors, and the pattern when its tied. so, shhhhhh! we won't tell anyone, right?!?!??

ps, i've lost both of my gloves already....boo.

running ahead: the best running log, ever!

in january, i gave up on my monthly off my butt goals; it was disheartening to be missing it month after month.  lately i've been getting in a run once a week {or so, ish..}, and i don't want to NOT give myself credit for it either.  instead, i'm gonna amend my new years resolution.

by adding......running 500 miles this year {yikes!}. that sounds like a whole lot right now, but really breaks down to only 9.615384615384615 miles per week.  i know some weeks are going to be shorter, but as i build my mileage back up, and as the days get warmer {and longer!!}, it'll be easier to catch up.

via

there's nothing i like more than a good chart to track my progress, and for a while i tried to track it on paper.  but i'm lazy it was kind of a pain in the butt. so after neglecting it for a bit, i'm going back to running ahead to track my runniinnnn.

i've tried other running sites, but they're either too flashy or not customizable {<-- is that even a word?!?!?}. this one allows my inner number-nerd to to chart what i want, how i want.  bar graphs, number scatters, whatever. and i can track the progress on custom goals.

so i've added a button on my side bar that'll bring you to my running log.  i'm going to try and update it more than once a week, but we'll see. so follow along, cheer me on, start your own, do whatever you want, just get off your butt :)

ps, how are your resolutions going? leave a comment!

hello february 2014

all 4 goals for last month were accomplished, wooohooo! i like a nice strong start for the year. with this being the shortest month, and a week long vacation planned {yay for mexico in february!!} i wanted to keep this month's goals pretty simple:

> so there's this pair of skinny jeans i've owned for, oh, at least 3 years now....and they've all ways been too long. if i'm wearing flats, i just roll up the cuffs, and greg calls me a 1950's greaser.  these are also the only pair of pants that fit in my tall brown boots, and with my shapely calves, it's a tight squeeze with all of the extra length rolled under. oh, and i also *kinda* know how to sew ;)......i think its time to get it done. UPDATE: i'm lazy, i'll add this to march's list

> by the first week of the month i should have all of the paperwork i need to get my tax forms filled out....and i'll feel so much better knowing its done and over with. no dawdling. UPDATE: finished on the 27th, whoohoo!

> ugh, no sugar. efffff... this one is going to be sooo hard.  my gluten allergy cuts out 75% of the things my sweet tooth craves, but jelly beans and peanut butter m&m's are still pretty easy to come by.  i have a feeling that sugar plays a big part in my tummy troubles too, so we're going cold turkey {excluding all of the gf cupcakes at the bridal shower and the m&m's that got me through the plane ride last weekend :/ }. UPDATE: i'll call this one semi-successful. willpower was strong the first week of the month, and plenty of fresh fruit to keep me occupied while on vacation. but i may have eaten a few handfuls of stale marshmallows when we got back :/ and given in to some caramel cadbury eggs on the 28th, booo.

> SUPRISE! i never did send out any of my cards for january :( oops. i think i psyched myself out about writing them. lets try again this month. UPDATE: these were in the mail in time for valentines day <3

what are your goals for this month? leave a comment!