Big Foot

I am now the proud owner of new running shoes! I visited Hill Country Running Company last weekend with Casey. The guy who worked there watched me walk and analyzed my gait on the treadmill as I was running. He then proceeded to bring out about 10 pairs of shoes for me to try on. I jumped on the treadmill a few times, and of course went home with the first pair I tried on. They are Asics and I got them in the only color they had – hot pink. (Well they are mostly white, but also hot pink!) The most interesting thing I learned was that your shoes (or at least your running shoes) should have a thumb’s width of space between your big toe and the tip of the shoe. That’s a lot of spaces. Usually my big toe is jammed to the very tip, which is probably why I was having problems. Your feet swell when they get hot, and they need room to expand. So my shoes are huge but they feel great! I tried them out yesterday and ran a nice 3.5 miles at the trail near my mom’s house. I don’t have any foot pain or any blisters! Half marathon here I come.

Success!

I successfully completed 10 days of real food! It wasn’t hard at all, but it also wasn’t that different than how I was eating before. It was a little more expensive (only fresh produce, bakery bread) and a tad more inconvenient (no deli meat? Ah!), but it felt good to munch on carrot sticks instead of wheat thins. I’m going to continue what I’m doing, and hopefully introduce some new foods into the mix. A girl from work suggested spiced chickpeas , which sound delicious. (ooo or kale chips?) I’d also like to find some more ways to introduce more veggies into my diet, and eat less fruit. Fruit is so good – but a little too sugary and fibery (stomach pains!).

(ugh I just noticed that the rotisserie chicken I picked up at HEB has some additives, sugars, and milk. I’ll eat it anyway… but I didn’t even think to check the label! Dumb!)

On a completely different note, I just got done reading an entire blog about running. I spent every night last week curled up with my iphone and that blog instead of a book. It made me want to run! I’ve had a little cabin fever ever since I got baby Prim. She hasn’t had all of her shots so she isn’t allowed out and about too much yet. (Not that she will be able to run with me while she is still young anyway. I can’t be messing up her puppy joints!) But I’ve been spending every evening with her making sure she is getting plenty of mental and physical stimulation. I would just feel bad sticking her in her crate for another hour since she is in it all day. I’ve gotten a short run in about every other weekend, but I’m starting to consider waking up extra early (5:30! eep!) to get in a workout. I think it will be better once Prim has had all of her shots, and I can tire her out with a long hike/run/dog park play session after work.

But anyway, back to running. I need new running shoes. I messed up my foot last summer, which was the reason I toned down the running in the first place. It kills me to have to spend a bunch of money on shoes, but I think it will be worth the investment if it helps my feet. I’m planning to visit a running store and do that gait analysis thing to see what kind of shoes I need.

So that’s my life right now: dog, food, work, dog, work, dog, dog, food, dreams of running

Oh wait! I also wanted to share my puppy playschool story with you! I was ranting about it to my friend Casey in an email, and it went something like this:

“I was at puppy socialization class when you called. Prim got stuck playing alone with this one other dog that was being a nutcase. Prim was the only one that wasn't intimidated so she got paired with him. But the other dog was too busy barking his little corgi head off to play so Prim was just begging for treats from everyone. Eventually they moved a little pit puppy in with her (I think the pit was being a butt with the other puppies) and they played well for about 3 minutes, then class was over! Why is my dog the social worker dog?? I wanted her to be pooped out with playing. The good thing is that we get to move to the real dog classes earlier because the instructor said she was mature for her age, an old soul (I don't know how much I believe that!).”

Aren’t you glad you don’t get emails from me? I just blab and blab and blab. Actually… now that I think about it… it’s not too different from this blog.

Are you still here?

A Note.

Dear blog readers (but mainly Aunt Jane),

I have decided to give up chewing gum.

Sincerely,

Lindsey "cold turkey" Brown

Leaves and Pimples

Hello! Today marks my 9th day of eating real food – no additives/preservatives, no sugar, and no dairy. (I realize that sugar and dairy are real food, but I cut those out hoping they will help with my skin.) It’s been easy eating the food; it’s been hard not eating the food. My gosh, when I get into snack mode I just pick and pick and eat and eat. A few almonds, a strawberry, some blueberries, a few triscuits, on and on. That’s a whole other set of issues I have to deal with I guess. The good news, all of the food was “real!”

I feel like my face is doing a little better. Maybe? Perhaps? It’s still covered in unsightly red splotches and I’ve added a few more blotches to my collection this week, but they aren’t huge or painful. I’ll probably continue this way of eating for a while longer to see if it gets any better. I have a dermatologist appointment next week, so we will see what she says. It’s probably all related to my anxieties, which is so much harder to fix than my diet. *sigh*

In other news, my mom and I went to the lake house this weekend with our 4 doggies. It was kind of gloomy and overcast the whole time we were there, but the dogs enjoyed playing outside all day. Saturday was rake day. That’s all we did, raked, and raked, and raked. The porch, flower beds, and yard were full of leaves. I was up at 7:00 (thanks Prim) clearing off the deck, and my mom joined me after breakfast. We cleared out the front walkway, but left the rest of the leaves in piles since it is so difficult to move them to our leaf pile in front of the house. I’m sure the wind will destroy a lot of our hard work, but we put a small dint in it. Plus, my arms were burning Sunday so I feel like I got a good workout in.

We got home around 4:00 on Sunday. Prim was up most of the day on Saturday so she didn’t make a peep the entire ride home and was pretty tired all of Sunday night. I was exhausted too. I was able to get a short 2 mile run in on Sunday morning, and by that night my head was pounding – probably due to lack of sleep, increased exercise (I haven’t run in so long!) and too much food. I forced myself to take a shower, get a haircut, and get my grocery shopping done for the week. My hair is so short now, which is fabulous since it’s so much easier to deal with. The hair dresser lady was just shaking her head the whole time she was cutting it off saying, “Such pretty hair and you don’t like it. You are just cutting it off and it is so pretty.” Jesus lady, I’m paying you to cut it off, stop reprimanding me! She had pin straight, thinner hair, which seems like it would be so nice. She doesn’t have to deal with the crazy frizz or the weird waves and crimps. The grass is always greener I guess.

Hopefully I will check back here soon. I’m behind on uploading my pictures for the 365 project, but I have been taking them. (Whether or not there are any semi-good ones is another story!)

Prim Scrapbook!

Look what I got! Look what I got!

I got a package in the mail today from my Aunt DeeAnn. It’s a Prim scrapbook! Look how cute it is, ohmygosh!! I took some quick pictures that don’t do it justice, but I wanted to show everyone.









Ahhhh! I love it!!! Thank you DeeAnn!!!!

Prim helped open it:


(not really though.)

Real Food for Realz

I did my grocery shopping today and I’m officially eating real food, and only real food. I think I will take on the 10 day challenge.

Today I had oatmeal for breakfast with Stevia instead of sugar. I like Stevia better than any other alternative sweeteners I have tried. I also had a spoonful (or two…) of peanut butter, because there is no way a bowl of oatmeal would be enough to fill me up. Right now I am finishing up Skippy Natural peanut butter which has less than 5 ingredients, but I bought some (expensive) peanut butter today that is 100% peanuts and nothing else.

For lunch I had Triscuits Thin Crisps (3 ingredients), with fruits – strawberries, grapes, and an apple, baby carrots, celery, and some more peanut butter. It was like a party plate all for myself. For dinner I cooked some chicken tenders, which turned out pretty tasty. I marinated them in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic salt and thyme, then cooked them on the stove for about 5 minutes. I fixed some broccoli to go with it, and had an orange and grapes for desert. Now I’m eating grapes and blueberries as my nighttime snack because I can’t help myself.

I love fresh foods, and I think the only challenge will making my food last the week. I love snacking on fruits and nuts (and now peanut butter) so hopefully I can control myself so I won’t have to go shopping again. I’m also trying to stay away from dairy and sugar… all of this mostly to see if I can get my skin to clear up. I’ve been battling this acne on my face for way too long, and I’m getting sick of it.

In other news, Prim and I went to visit Pyro and Casey today. We had so much fun! Prim and Pyro played the entire time, and I got to see Casey who I haven’t seen for a few weeks (how do we let that happen?). I can’t wait until Prim is older so we can all go hiking and running and she will be better suited to Pyro as a playmate. He was good with her, they just got a little carried away at some moments and he is so much bigger than her that we had to break them up every now and then. But we shouldn’t let her size fool us, that little booger was constantly back at him trying to start a new game.


Good food, good weather, good friends, and a tired puppy. Today gets a thumbs up.

Girl Power!

This weekend was way too short!

The weather was amazing! My mom came over yesterday and armed with the electric drill and hammer we hung shelves in my bedroom. I can't believe we were actually able to do it! (Doesn't that make you want to shout "Girl Power!"? no?) After the successful construction we visited a random Chinese food place where I got the fried tofu. It turns out fried tofu is kind of spongy and not very good.

Today, Prim and I drove down to my mom's house. I did some laundry and decided to clean up the backyard. It's been pretty neglected all winter. My mom, Prim, and I visited Lowe's to buy some chicken wire for a compost pile. Prim met lots of people, and more times than not, people ask if she is a blue heeler. I guess it's the coloring (not that the coloring is very similar), but it's so weird how many times I've heard that. We spent the rest of the evening piling all of the leaves into a compost pile. The backyard looks so much better now, and Prim is exhausted. She ran around all day (trying unsuccessfully to get the little dogs to play with her); she loved zooming around in the leaves.

On a completely different topic though, I ran across this website the other day: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/. It's about eating whole food - stuff that is "more a product of nature than a product of industry." I love that idea. I read Michael Pollan's Food Rules last year, and one of his rules was to avoid foods with more than 5 ingredients. That has stuck with me (not that I've ever tried to follow that rule) and I want to give it a try... or at least head in that direction. I've stocked my cabinet with Lara Bars, Triscuits, oatmeal, and nuts. My fridge is full of fruits, veggies, and fish. My bread still breaks the rule, but I've found a local bakery that does make bread with only 5 ingredients. Let's see how hard this will be. Do you think you could give up processed food for 100 days? How about 10? It won't be convenient, but it seems like a fun challenge.

How to Drink Water

How to Drink Water
by Prim

Step 1: Place front feet in water bowl.
Step 2: Drink water.

Hey Good Lookin'

See that?

That's my new microwave.

Finnnaalllly.

So I said before that Casey gave me a microwave, which she did, but it stopped working before I could ever use it (she warned me it might not work). I spent about a month heating everything up in my one pot, which meant it was cleaned about twice a day. So I sucked it up and went down to Best Buy this morning, armed with my $25 gift card, and bought the cheapest microwave I could find. It was the last one left so I got the floor model at a 10% discount. After everything was said and done I paid $23 for my new microwave. I heated my beans for lunch!! In a microwave!!

Then Stephanie told me she had one that I could have had.

(This blog soooo lives up to its name.)

Snow Days and Sunny Days

There has been some crazy weather lately! Early Friday morning (as in 3:00 AM) early, Prim and I went out for a potty break and it was snowing! We rarely get snow so it was rather exciting. When we got up later around 6:00, we found a nice, untouched layer of snow on everything. Now, I don't usually enjoy the constant potty breaks, but it was kind of cool to see the snow falling and the fresh powder before it had been trampled on. My boss called me around 8:00 and instructed me to stay home. Snow day!!




Prim enjoyed snarfling around in the snow, and I was able to get a 2 hour nap in! Unfortunately, I had to head to work around 2:00, but it was relaxing while it lasted.

Then the weather did a 180 and Saturday was beautiful! It was warm and sunny. I drove down to visit my mom and Prim tired herself out tearing around the front yard. She met a few neighbors, including the kids that are always playing on our street. My mom and I took advantage of the weather and went on a walk with the Yorkies. We also took Prim down to Half Price Books to meet some people and I picked up a book to read. I haven't started a new one since I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series.



I also got the collar tag I had ordered in the mail! It is from Very Vintage, and I think it's so cute!

Today a few friends are coming over to meet Prim. I can't wait until she is old enough to get out and about more! I would love to go to Town Lake today since the sun is still shining.

Vet Visit

Prim had her first vet check-up today (well, her first time with me anyway). She was so good; just chilled on the table and gave the vet lots of kisses:

bblrrheuuh?

I've been living my life in a daze lately. My mind is constantly like, "puppy puppy puppy puppy." Also, I'm not sure if I'm sick or have bad allergies, but I'm feeling a little under the weather. So it's been rather difficult mustering up the energy to do anything. Even this post - I keep erasing sentences because I have no idea what my point is. Moving on.

Yesterday we were invited to Casey's birthday party. Casey had her whole family over, so Prim got to meet people of all ages. She even met little 3.5 month old Rhyan and Prim gave her some sweet toe licks. We went out to eat at Chi, a China Buffet, and I stuffed myself silly. Prim was exhausted by the time we got home, and so was I. On to pictures:







Back at home:




Weirdo.

Maybe I'll try to nap today, mmm.

p.s. Holy cow it's hot outside! It's January and people are in the swimming pool. What?!

Introducing...

Hi there!!

I’d like to formally introduce Shalako’s Primrose of Zydeco, better known as Prim. She is my new puppeh!


She is an Australian Shepherd bred by the lovely Andrea Torres and Shelly Hollen. She was born November 27, 2010, which will make her 9 weeks old tomorrow.


She came home late on Wednesday night, and I’m already exhausted. She isn’t a bad puppy – she settles quickly in her crate, plays with her toys, and is easy to redirect when she is getting into something she isn’t supposed to – I’m just trying to get used to watching her all the time and losing sleep for night time potty breaks.

But I can’t complain too much. She is so poofy and adorable! We’ve have fun wrestling and tugging in the living room, and I’ve even attempted some clicker training but I’m not too good at it yet.


Right now my main concern is socialization. I’m trying to get her out to different places and meet new people. Two girls from work are coming over today during lunch to meet her, and Stephanie is coming by after work. She is making so many new friends!

On a slightly different note, I decided a while ago that I wanted to attempt a 365 project. That means I have to take one picture a day for a whole year. My aunt DeeAnn has already started one, and she is doing really well! I want mine to be 365 days of Prim, so we will see how long it lasts. I almost forgot to take one yesterday (day 2!) and ended up with a blurry tongue pic. The rules are – take one picture a day, upload a least once a week (we can be lax on this rule), the picture must be Prim related, anddd I can take it with whatever camera I have at my disposal. Some days I will probably take more than one picture – but I’ll pick one to be the picture for that day.

Wait... vlog?

Soooo I wasn't going to post this, but I figured I would since I took the time to do it and for the lolz. I've always wanted to make a vlog!