Today's Friday Favs is dedicated to the greatest time of the year, the time of year that everyone has been counting down to since January- COLLEGE FOOTBALL. IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!! FYI: my weekend recaps for the next few months will consist of Saturdays watching UGA games followed by Sundays recovering.

Favorite Tear Jerker: I'll just watch this over and over and cry alone in my room.



Favorite Moment So Far: 
Bwahahah suck it, Spurrier.





Favorite Red & Black Game Day Looks:


NCAA Georgia Bulldogs 1-Liter Macho Mugs



















$205 NCAA Georgia Bulldogs Vulcan Tailgating Cooler/Grill (I mean this is just really cool)


















$250 NCAA Georgia Bulldogs 9-Foot x 9-Foot Pinwheel Tailgating Canopy, Red/Black (really want one of these for my extremely bright zero shade backyard)

Friday Favs: COLLEGE FOOTBALL EDITION!!!

Friday, August 29, 2014

I'm in a mood. Ohhhh oh oh I'm in a MOOD. No particular reason, except possibly the time of the month (sorry for the TMI, Dad- I know you're reading). So today's post is going to be a vent post, sorry for the negativit, I'm really anti-spreading negativity but sometimes ya just gotta get it off your chest. And usually once I write it all down I kind of giggle and am like well that was silly and kind of embarrassing...So here it is, my embarrassing list of everything pissing me off today.

1. Work e-mails that basically just say "Hi this isn't working, can you send more options". Oh! You know what? Let me use all the helpful details you included in this email to generate a solution! I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something that works with this wealth of information you included!



2. Mouth noises. MOUTH. NOISES. We are in a meeting, you're going to need to take a break from the nail biting (ripping) for about 30 minutes. Practice. At home. And is this man SLURPING HIS SANDWICH? Like I have never heard someone make SO. MUCH. NOISE EATING A DAMN SANDWICH.



3. Andi's selective attention: Andi (my dog) has been digging in the yard and I read that this is happening because she doesn't have enough mental stimulation and we should try learning some tricks. So you know what we did? Andi and I have spent ~20 minutes/day practicing tricks. In the privacy of our own home with no audience, she can sit, lay down, and come. As soon as one person is present or we are outside- forget it! Even if there are treats. Even if there is REAL BACON. This dog.

4. To follow up on #3, I also read that giving her a kong full of frozen food/Peanut Butter/Chicken broth mix should "mentally stimulate your dog for hours". Well guess what? This diva tried for all of 5 minutes, got a little taste of what was inside and decided she was over it. Literally brushed it to the side with her paw, rolled her eyes, and sauntered off. More time was spent putting together this concoction than "mentally stimulating" my dog. This is who Andi is on the inside:



5. Speaking of dogs, I just un-friended a few people on FB because I am tired of reading their anti-pit bull statuses.  Look, I understand that there are 2 sides to everything, but this is something that has information to back it up- The American Veterinary Medical Association released statistics showing that dogs are most likely to bite when they are unsocialized, kept separate from the family, or abused. So OMG! YES! Banning a breed aka Breed Specific Legislation is definitely a solution! I mean just look at Andi- she's dangerous, she'll cuddle you to death! Not to mention the fact that confiscating and euthanizing a pit bull costs tax payers $68,000 per dog. PER DOG. Man imagine what we could do if we put $68,000 towards each students' education in America... but nah let's put it towards something that has zero data proving its effectiveness in the 10 years it has been happening.

6. People saying Beyonce and Jay Z are divorcing. Just let me live, people!

7. The insane cost of weddings. We were so awesomely within our budget....until we did our walk through and realized every last thing is an add-on. Oh you, the bride, want to walk INTO the ceremony space to walk down the aisle? K well you're going to have to pay to reserve that area right outside the door. You don't want someone having a crazy loud party in the space next to your's which are divided by WINDOWS? You're going to have to reserve that too. You want hot sauce with your food? That's an extra like million dollars.
This is actually insane. My friend sent me this video yesterday and it is 100% true.



 8. Loud phone volumes. Did you not know you can put your phone on silent and check it once in awhile? Or even vibrate! The miracles of modern technology!

9. Also, do you have to have your phone turned up to 1,000,000 decibels to listen to this song/watch this video? On the bus/metro/in the office? It is hurting my ears, there is no way this is enjoyable to you. Also, what is the point of headphones that sound just as loud to me as they do to you while they're in your ears?



10. Jenelle on Teen Mom. Why is she so fertile? Why isn't she in jail? Why is reproducing? Why did her son say he wants to teach his baby brother to punch his mom and she laughed?

11. People hating on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Just stop, you heartless people. This is bringing awareness to a good cause and raising tons of money. So just stop, haters.

12. Justin Beiber. Why is he still here?

13. Everything I saw in Food, Inc. on Netflix last night.

That's all I can think of for now. Sorry for the negativity. Cheers to a positive Friday right?


Everything that's pissing me off right now

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Osteoperosis: os·te·o·po·ro·sis. /ˌästēōpəˈrōsis/ : a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, typically as a result of hormonal changes, or deficiency of calcium or vitamin D.


Let's have a chat about Osteoperosis. Here are the most staggering facts about osteoporosis that I found while researching from The Recall Center, Mayo Clinic and WebMD:
  • Over 10.2 million adults have Osteoporosis and another 43.4 million have low bone mass
  • This disease accounts for more time spent in the hospital than diseases like diabetes, heart attacks and breast cancer
  • One out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. The most serious osteoporotic fractures are hip fractures.
  • The majority of those who experience hip fractures will require assistance in their day-to-day lives. Twenty percent of seniors who suffer a hip fracture die within a year.
  • Nearly 75% of all hip fractures occur in women.
  • Osteoporosis accounts for more time spent in the hospital than diseases like diabetes, heart attack and breast cancer among women over 45.
  • Hip fractures cost more than $11 billion each year (approximately $37,000 per patient) (hello student loan amounts)
  • When osteoporosis becomes severe, it can lead to fractures and a condition called kyphosis. Kyphosis is spinal compression, sometimes described as the "dowager's hump." Both fractures and kyphosis can be very painful. 
  • Osteoporosis is often called the "silent disease," because most of the time, bone loss occurs without any symptoms at all.
These facts are really freaking scary! So what can we do to make sure we aren't old ladies with broken hips that cost more than out of state college and require live-in assistance to perform daily tasks? According to the Mayo Clinic there are 3 simple ways to prevent this disease:

1. Adequate amounts of calcium
  • Men and women between 18 and 50 need 1,000-12000 milligrams of calcium each day.
  • 1 cup almond milk = ~450 milligrams of calcium
  • 1 serving Greek Yogurt = 350 milligrams calcium
  • Dark green leafy veggies (kale, spinach, etc) = ~30 mg calcium per one cup


2. Adequate amounts of vitamin D (helps your body absorb calcium)
  • We need around 600-800 IUs/day 
  • 1 cup almond milk = 100 IU of vitamin D
  • Salmon = 199 IU/half filet (also think tuna, mackerel, other fatty fish)
  • 1 Egg (with the yolk) = 260 IU
  • We should get more than 90 percent of our vitamin D from casual, daily sun exposure
  • The human body is able to produce as much as 10,000 IU to 20,000 IU of vitamin D3 in just 30 minutes

3. Exercise 
  • It always comes back to exercise right? One of the benefits of exercise is that it builds  the amount and "thickness" of our bones (esp in teen years, but it's not too late for us!) aka "bone mass and density", and slows bone loss
  • The best types of exercises for preventing osteoporosis are weight bearing, flexibility, and resistance. 

One More Reason Women Need Exercise: The "Silent Killer"

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Ok, Tuesday. We can do this. 3 days of work stand between me and a 4 day weekend. I can do this. WE CAN DO THIS!



Before my friends left for their honeymoon they dropped off produce that was going to go bad over the week they were gone which included two (yes 2) heads of cabbage. I did extensive resesarch typed "cabbage recipes" into Pinterest which came back with a clean coleslaw (major fail, likely user error) and someone's grandma's cabbage rolls. Here is my version of these cabbage rolls gone clean- just an FYI these are in no way authentic. I read that you are supposed to mix brown sugar and sauerkraut in with the turkey- neither of which I had at home so I seasoned it my own way.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Servings: 5

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of cabbage
  • 1 lb lean ground turkey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup brown rice, cooked
  • 1 tablespoon Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons parsley
  • 3 cups tomato sauce of your choice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the head of cabbage into a large pot and fill it with water (fill it up to the water running about an inch over the top of the cabbage). Remove the cabbage from the water and bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the cabbage head to the water and leave it (leave the stove turned all the way up too) about 3 minutes or until the leaves on the outside are soft.

Remove the leaves from the core of the cabbage and set aside.

Combine the turkey, rice, seasonings and eggs and mix well. 

Pour about a cup of the sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish. Now scoop a few spoonfuls into the bottom of a cabbage leaf and roll the meat up Chipotle-style (if you don't know what I mean, this video  has a great example right at 1 minute mark). Place your roll into the casserole dish.

Here's a picture of a Chipotle burrito being rolled (PS those guys are pros. I've seen them roll like 10 lbs of ish into the tortilla. Amazingness)

via
Repeat until you run out of turkey mixture. Top the cabbage rolls with another cup of tomato sauce and put them in the oven for about an hour and a half. 

Cut at least one open to make sure your meat is totally cooked (no pink), add more tomato sauce when serving and enjoy!

In other news, I'm trying really hard to stay on track with exercising (21 days to re-build a habit, right? is this the longest 21 days or what?!). Yesterday I completed day 5 of Fitness Blender's 5 Day Challenge. I'm going to try to go for a nice light job because let me tell you, I'm suffering today.


Question: How are you doing with staying on track? Have you ever had stuffed cabbage rolls and if so how do you season them? 

Clean Eating Cabbage Rolls + The wonder that is Chipotle Burrito Rollers

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

It's Monday and honestly I need to sleep off this weekend. More about that later. For now: breakfast.


Disclaimer: Harrison made this breakfast on Saturday while I sipped a mimosa and played with Andi. I know, my life is really good.

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins

Egg Scramble Ingredients:
  • 5 large eggs, whisked
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/4 onion, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • handful fresh basil, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Pour the egg into a large frying pan and cook over medium heat for about a minute before adding in the veggies. Stir them all together the whole time you're cooking the egg mixture and voila- clean breakfast scramble!

Stove Top Sweet Potato Ingredients:
  • 1 medium sweet potato cut into chunks
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder (less if you're not a garlic freak like us)
  • 1-2 teaspoons Season-All
  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil (or oil of your choice)
Mix all the ingredients well and pour into a frying pan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. They are great.


Just like this breakfast, this weekend was great but almost too much. 

Friday we went to a Nat's Game...confession: I hate baseball. I love drinking outside and that's about as far as my affection for baseball goes. I had to call it quits during the 7th inning to go the heck home (this was after I arrived during the 3rd inning due to excessive tailgating at The Bull Pen, sorry). It was a great night to be outside though!


Only in DC does everyone get all turned up about presidential mascots:


Saturday we went to Trillectro, DC's hip hop/electronic music festival. 



Rained all day.



I was so confused by a lot of things at this music festival including but not limited to:
  • Is everyone's clothes straight out of 1998 Delia's catalogue? 
  • Am I so old that this is like when flair jeans got cool and my mom said "I used to wear flair jeans they were so cool when I was younger too!" and I thought she was so lame?
  • I am actually a decade older than the youngest attendants at this show?
  • My feet and ankles hurt, how do people do this? How did I used to do this on the reg?
  • I have heartburn for the first time in my life? Philly cheesesteaks from a food truck aren't my thing? 
I also caught up on a little Teen Mom and as usual am also in a state of confusion re: Leah. When it's not the hair or makeup, it's everything else. 


And Andi had an all out battle with the vacuum cleaner (I hate vacuuming too, Andi) during Sunday Cleaning.


Question: Has anyone else noticed that festival fashion came directly from the pages of Delia's 1998 catalogue? Was anyone allowed to order Delia's? I wasn't because it was too expensive but I studied that catalogue like my grades depended on it.

 Linking up with Biana!

The Best Breakfast Ever Made + I'm Too Old for Weekends

Monday, August 25, 2014

Friday! We made it! Linking up with Amanda as always. Here's a roundup of some of my favorite things right now:

I don't know if I would call this a "fav" so much as a must-know. What's happening in Ferguson right now is not just a "black" problem, and it is not just a "Ferguson" problem, it's a Civil Rights Problem, which affects all of us. Police accountability and institutionalized racism are two major things that have been brought to the forefront, and it is so, so, so important that all of us understand the severity of what is going on, and the potential something like this has to impact anyone. Take a few minutes to read this article called "What I Did When The Police Shot My Son" If you only have 2 minutes, watch this video starting at minute 9:



How about something a little lighter now. This video tickles me so hard- the other day I was sitting at work and burst out laughing thinking about it:


If you follow me on Insta you know Andi had her TV debut this week on the local news (oh yeah and Harrison was on there too). Check out Harrison (and Andi's) interview about First Time Home Buyers in DC here (seriously check it out, I'm a super proud pit-mama/fiance right now). Here's a little preview: PS is it just me or does Harrison's arm appear to be about 10 feet long in this picture?




And let's just discuss throwing like a girl - I see you! First girl to throw a shutout in the Little League World Series, the sixth to get a hit in World Series history and the first Little Leaguer to get front-page attention on one of the nation's top sports magazines! Girl Power, tell 'em Mo'ne!!




This New York Times article titled "Generation Nice" challenges the idea that millennials are the most narcissistic generation, but are instead Generation Nice. Good read for sure, especially for this communal crier. My favorite quote:
"Taken together, these habits and tastes look less like narcissism than communalism. And its highest value isn’t self-promotion, but its opposite, empathy — an open-minded and -hearted connection to others."
My friend sent this gif out on a google hangout and I just can't stop watching/giggling/wondering if this is something for real?



Refinery29 is claiming Adam Driver is the next Ryan Gosling. Honestly I don't think he'll ever do it for me like Ryan does...thoughts?



Have you met Liz at Fitness Blondie? If not, go meet her now. Her post this week "You Are So Pretty...For Someone Your Size" had me wiping tears and also brings an important point to light: healthy doesn't always look skinny. It's time to stop shaming (skinny AND fat), and educating ourselves/others on why certain comments are just not ok.



A friend sent me this video of Joseph Gordon Levitt talking about the portrayal of women in the media and I just want to say that I didn't know much (ok anything) about JGL before but I am in lerrrvveee.


Speaking of Ellen did yall see what Portia did for her for their 6th anniversary?? My heart is melting.



The Tax Foundation's study of what a hunnid dollas gets you by state is sickening for those of us living in DC. But interesting none the less.



Keeping up with current events is crucial- have yall heard of The Skimm? My friend got me on it this week and I love. It's basically a daily morning round-up of the news you need to be able to talk about, compressed into a simple format that has me finally understanding Kurds and ISIS and Israel and Gaza and Afghanistan etc. It also gets me chuckling every morning. I definitely recommend subscribing, you can do so here!



New fav Instagram account is PeanutButterPibble. Ovaries. Exploding. I mean really the only thing that would be cool about having a kid right now would be that I could take cool pictures of it with Andi like PeanutButterPibble and her kid:




Also I can't stop laughing at Buzzfeed's compilation of ALS Ice Bucket Fails. Dying.

Lastly (and leastly), I am so embarrassed to admit it but I can't stop listening to T Swift's new song. UGH.


I'm super pumped for a Nats game tonight (filling my yearly baseball quota, I know I'm so un-American) and Trillectro tomorrow!

Tell me: what tickled you this week? Any youtube videos I can't miss while I'm procrastinating this Friday?? 


Friday Roundup

Friday, August 22, 2014

This summer has thrown me waayyy off track (ok I mean I've thrown myself way off this summer). Fortunately there are tons of motivational things out there that have helped me get back on track- really how did people stay fit and healthy before the internet?? Here are some of my fitness favs right now, and I want to hear what your favorite fitness stuff out there is!



Eat Pray Run DC's Run Less Run Faster training program: Have y'all met Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC? She is pretty freakin awesomely positive, and a beast at marathon training. She's been documenting her training program that includes less running but better times- that includes track workouts/sprints and less distance running. Sounds too good to be true right? We'll see at her next race! She documents all her training and a lot of her food, and it's really motivational to follow along and see her commitment! Check it out and follow along with her here.




Fitness Blender's 5 Day Workout Challenge to Burn Fat & Build Lean Muscle : Fitness Blender: wonderful. Fitness Blender with Daniel and Kelli doing workouts together: even better- oh my gahhh they're so fun to watch together, especially because after doing their workouts for years I kind of believe I'm friends with them? Or is it just me? Plus, a 5 day plan with lots of variety makes getting back on track a little easier. Today is Day 3 but it's not too late to join in!




End of Summer Challenge with Fleurty and Fit: If you don't follow Jasmine at Fleurty and Fit you need to go NOW. Jasmine is on an awesome health journey and she keeps it real, keeps it real funny, and is super encouraging. She's running a challenge right now that includes 5 pretty simple elements, and let me tell you- Jasmine's gonna keep everyone on track because that's what she does. So go check out her challenge here and join in!!




Melissa Bender's Yoga, Pilates Fusion Workout: Feeling sore? Feeling stressed? Feeling anything but amazing? Here is your solution to all the things. Something about this workout just really does it for me. Sidenote: when I watch this video I'm like what is it that makes Melissa so beautiful in this workout? Should I dye my hair darker and grow it out long and wear it in a braid so I can look like her? I know, I'll go ahead and check myself into Crazytown.



#YogaGirlChallenge: I mean I'm halfway doing it but watching this whole thing unfold on Instagram is inspiring. Just search the hashtag, kind of join in if you want, and check it out every couple days to see what all these other cool kids are doing. Maybe all these things aren't quite fitness related but I'm a firm believer in sound mind, sound body making it all come together (hey Dad!! I was listening all that time!).

So tell me: what motivates you? What are you favorite fitness things out there right now? 

Linking up today at WOW and Humpday Blog Hop - come join!!



Wednesday Workout: Fitness Favs

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Happy Monday! Big surprise this week- I'm on top of my game enough to have a post out on Monday!


We had friends over for dinner the other night and Harrison and I came up with this awesomely crispy chicken parm. I've never been a big chicken parm person but this was good, and we were able to throw it together pretty quickly.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
  • 1.5 lbs chicken breasts, thawed (we flattened our's out with a meat tenderizer then sliced each one into about 9 strips) ($6.00)
  • 3 eggs, whisked ($.50)
  • 1/2 cup corn starch  ($.40)
  • 2/3 cup ground flaxseed (PS I found ground flaxseed at Trader Joe's for the best price)
  • 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning 
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 medium sized squashes, sliced into strips with a Mandolin  
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 cups of your choice of spaghetti sauce (I use garlic & basil sauce from Trader Joe's)
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set up your stations: 1 medium sized bowl with the corn starch, 1 medium bowl with the eggs, 1 medium bowl with the ground flaxseed mixed with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder, and a non-stick baking sheet.

Dip each chicken strip into the corn starch, then the egg, then the flaxseed/seasoning mix, then set on the baking sheet. Do this for all the chicken strips. Bake for 25 minutes. While chicken is baking, cook the squoodles . After 25 minutes, remove from the oven and glob 3 spoonfuls of the sauce onto each chicken strip, then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Top the squoodles with the chicken. We served it with my friend Allie's caprese salad and it. was. banginnnn.


So on to  the weekend recap. If you read this blog you may or may not have picked up on the fact that I am nerd alert central: I get my rocks off crunching numbers in Excel, making charts and graphs, learning new statistical methods, reading studies, and all things NPR. So when I found out that you can go on TOURS OF NPR'S HEADQUARTERS I booked that immediately. We did it Friday and OMG:



When you're listening to Morning Edition and other national NPR programs, this is where the producers sit:


We got to sit in the actual sound studios, put on headphones, play with microphones, nerd out big time. Fun fact: NPR listeners on the West Coast hear the best quality shows because of the 3 hour delay- producers can go back and fix little things they don't like by the time it airs in California, but here on the East Coast we have a mere 3 minute delay so there's not that kind of time. Crazy huh? Or is that just me?


We hit up the Building Museum to see the giant human maze  and I had a panic attack just looking at it:



That evening we went to Jazz in the Garden, then tried out a new restaurant rooftop called 1905 for a friend's bday (def recommend- food menu looked good and great beer and cocktail options):


Saturday I went on a Boomerang Tubing Tour (we decided to do a redneck theme for our party) for a friend's bday we loaded a coach bus with booze and food and rode 2 hours to the Shenandoah valley..beautiful and so fun!


Nothing says redneck like temporary tats and lime-a-ritas. I don't even want to talk about how hard I scrubbed my arm to get my tats off before church the next morning...


Sunday we hit up a new DC brewery called Right Proper Brewing Company and they had this super funky mural that I am obsessed with:



Linking up today with Biana- come play!


Clean Crispy Chicken Parm w/Squoodles + Weekend Recap

Monday, August 18, 2014

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