A Long Weekend in Taos

We spent Independence Day weekend in Taos, New Mexico to celebrate Mike and Pajo's wedding -- it was SUCH a lovely event. I've been to Taos before -- always alone -- and I was excited for Nicole to see it for the first time. Honestly, it's my favorite place to be in the West (though driving through Southern Utah is right up there, as well).

We stayed in a WONDERFUL condo in Taos -- the website claimed it was a ten minute walk from the heart of Taos, and of course, we were skeptical. 10 minute walk = 20 minute walk, right? When are these proclamations ever accurate? Well, this one was. It was so refreshing to walk just about everywhere instead of having to drive in to the town every day...we got to look into so many shops, see some artwork, and have New Mexican food (which Nicole did not like...).


As you can see from our shadows, we had headgear of sorts...and as we walked home from that delectable meal, almost every single car honked and/waved and every passerby had to tell us how much they loved our "hats." Nicole and I always thought that it was cleavage that made people take notice; apparently, one just needs a 4th of July headband.

And, of course, Mike's wedding was so perfect. It was quintessentially "Mike." I teared up as he sang a song for their mothers, and as they both vowed to always communicate to each other. During my four years in Colorado, I have been blessed to have a great friend in Mike; Pajo is such a lucky lady. :)



And now number 24 of our list is complete! We want to return next July 4th, as well, and stay in the same condo -- we loved it that much. It's nice to have a "new" place in which to adventure for our future years together. And thank you, Mike and Pajo, for letting us share in your beautiful event!

The End of Vegan Month

It’s March, everyone. That means Vegan Month is over – for Nicole, this is the most wonderful news ever. For me, I feel like it was quite – QUITE – the learning experience. I’m not sure how long my veganism will last, but I would like it to continue on for as long as I can. I’m shooting for six months, frankly, as a minimum.

My learning experiences:
1. When eating vegan – and mostly “real” foods (we really avoided processed foods for the most part) – fake foods lose their luster.

About halfway through the month, Nicole and I went to the movies, and we each got a Coke (okay, Vegan maniacs, there are some people who say Coke is not vegan because Coke – in other countries – tests on animals, and some that say that Coke is vegan for this that and the other…well, I had two Cokes this month. I still considered myself eating a vegan diet). The Coke just…didn’t taste right. So I thought, well, there can be a few explanations for this:

a.) Something is wrong with the Coke – it was from a fountain, and they may have just filled the fountain or the fountain was running out…something to that effect.

b.) Something I ate earlier in the day / at the theater was affecting my taste buds…

c.) Eating a vegan diet had affected my taste buds.

So I waited a week, and then bought a bottled Coke. Same thing – Coke still tasted nasty. And let me tell you, I LOVE Coke. Love it. And this month…it’s just not happening. It’s interesting, actually. I’m currently drinking a Hansen’s soda (Mango Orange…mmmm), and it tastes “right.” I can’t define “right,” only that it has to do with sweetness. It tastes real, whereas Coke didn’t (and, well, it isn’t).

Prior to this month, I would have my coffee with Splenda…not this month. It was the most vile thing I’ve ever had. Oh my heavens, it was awful.

Real foods, people. Who woulda thunk?

2. There are flavors that are absolutely delicious that have been masked, in the past, with dairy/meat products.

When I was growing up, I would put on my spaghetti (or other pasta) parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella. Yes, three types of cheese. Fat kid, much? Nicole and I went out with Jeanne, Colleen, and Jeanne’s sister early in the month to a pasta restaurant, and we could only order one thing: spaghetti and marinara sauce. No cheese. I absolutely loved it. I can’t remember the last time I had pasta with sauce and nothing else…but it was really really enjoyable.

I felt the same way about an eggplant dish I made this month – we just put sauce on it, and it was great. It actually didn’t need the cheese to “make it.”

3. My body felt completely different this month than it has…ever.
I’m not really sure how to describe this. I just feel…differently. When I eat something processed, my body responds negatively. When I eat something “real,” my body responds positively. There is definitely a correlation between what is eaten and how I feel – I don’t think anyone is surprised by that…but what is surprising is how easily we become accustomed to “bad” food. After eating “good” food for a month, I had some fries…and felt sick for three days (including vomiting about an hour after eating them).

4. If you really explore the food industry (and there are books and/or films I can recommend to those interested), meat (and animal by-products) become far – FAR – less appealing.

I know what you’re thinking – I’ve turned into one of those liberals. But hear me out for a moment. Maybe you feel, Okay, slaughterhouses are awful places, so I won’t eat meat, but why wouldn’t I drink milk? That doesn’t harm the animals.

Actually, it does. Same cows. Same situations. And there are growth hormones riddled in cow’s milk. These cows also stand in their own manure…their entire lives. They don’t eat grass (like they are supposed to) – they eat a corn-based feed, which can seriously sicken them (hello, e.coli).

Chickens? Never see sunlight. Can’t walk.

I don’t know. The evidence is there. There is a great section in The Omnivore’s Dilemma in which Michael Pollan is sitting at a restaurant with a steak, and acknowledges that either he has to give up meat because of what he knows…or he has to admit he’s a hypocrite (or some language like that, I don’t have the book in front of me).


Do I recommend veganism for everyone? Absolutely not…not even close. I wouldn’t even recommend vegetarianism to everyone. What I do recommend is educating yourself on what you eat. Know what you’re putting into your body. There were some rules given by Pollan in The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food that I thought were pretty appropriate:

1. Eliminate high fructose corn syrup. You will be surprised if you look at labels to see what HFCS is in.

2. Buy local (Whole Foods isn’t necessarily “better”). Tomatoes in winter? Not logical.

3. Eat foods with five or less ingredients.

4. Eat foods that have ingredients you can pronounce.

5. And the overall rule of the book In Defense of Food: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

2.5+

We ran 2.5 miles last night (at the very least -- it may have been more). It took me a long time to get going, though, because I was not dressed appropriately for the cold, and my lungs were not doing well at the beginning. Once I warmed up, though, I kept a solid pace and finished strong, never stopping (not even at the beginning when running was difficult).

Today, I fit into my goal pants -- the goal pants I wanted to wear to Thanksgiving at Nicole's mom's house. They fit. They are snug, admittedly, but they FIT. I have them on. I can sit, I can walk ... it's all good. And I have a week to spare (to get rid of this spare, wah wah).

Running 2.5 miles makes me think we can do this next week. 4 miles. We'll run slowly, but we'll do it. We can do it. One step closer to running a half marathon.

Post-It Notes

Post-it Notes are a major aspect of my teaching, strangely enough.

I tend to jot down details that I need to remember: who walked in late, what I need to cover in class tomorrow, ideas for lesson plans for next semester...there are post-it notes EVERYWHERE.

I'm a Senior Advisor this year, as well, and the post-it notes are a part of advising them -- we have a blackboard filled with our school year goals (some include getting accepted into colleges, enjoying their last year, playing video games...). The post-it notes are specifically for college applications: once a student applies, s/he receives a blank post-it note to write what school s/he applied to. So far, there are 21 post-it notes on the board.

The post-it notes symbolize goals -- what I want to accomplish, or what I want my students to accomplish.

It's not surprising, then, that I have post-it notes taped to my laptop. The one on the left where my left wrist rests as I type this says:
Washington Park
11/26 -
Thanksgiving
5K
Turkey Trot

I wrote it 9 weeks ago and it's been there ever since (with no coffee stains, which is amazing). I wrote it before I knew the race WASN'T a 5K, but instead is a 4 miler.

The right post-it note says:
11/26 - 4 miles
12/5 -- Colder Boulder
12/1 - 12/30 -- 30-45 minute runs
1/1 - 3/1 -- 10K Training
5/31 - Bolder Boulder

I like being able to make goals and ACTUALLY KEEP THEM. It's amazing to me.

I know this blog is about our 101 things together, and we've been focusing on one for a while now (running a half-marathon), but this blog is kind of like one of my post-it notes. It's a reminder.

1. Thank your lucky stars you have someone who loves you.
2. Stop eating like a heifer.
3. Keep moving forward in life.
4. I'm imperfect. That's the way it is. I can only strive to be a better person.

No restaurants for us...

I just asked Nicole if it's been a week since we've gone out to eat, or had any meal outside of our home, and the answer was yes. It's probably been longer than a week by now.

I like the life we're building for ourselves; it's healthier in many ways. I'm glad to be home with her at night, eating whatever is left over or something new or a bowl of Golden Grahams, and just talking with her, playing with our dogs, or getting ready to work out together.

I have no desire to eat at a restaurant, either, which is VERY strange for me. I love food. Hence, I have plenty of weight to lose. But I am not craving restaurant food or fast food or anything of that nature; I just want to go home, make a salad, and run for thirty minutes. Not bad.

Week 2 of training

Nicole and I started week 2 of Couch to 5K training yesterday; we both had that "oh my goodness, I want to die" look on our faces. I am baffled as to how I'm going to work my way up to 3.2 miles. Yesterday was 1.75 miles, and heavens, that was enough.

My body feels differently, though. I have not stepped on a scale to start the working out process, but I can notice a difference in how my body looks. I worked out four times last week, and am planning on at least four times this week (resting is important, too).

Tonight, our plan is to jog around the track once, work on strength through machines, and then go in the pool and hot tub. Sounds like a good evening to me!

Also, I marked off number 47 from the list because I have officially driven the car successfully -- which, in my world, means that I shifted gears without thinking. It was a great drive to the store!

Pumpkin Cupcakes sans marzipan

Okay, so we cheated.

And Nicole said it's okay, and since she is the boss, I defer to her on this one. So Martha Stewart, in all of her glory and baking goodness, expected us to make marzipan pumpkin candies, which would be placed on top of the pumpkin cupcakes.

Nicole and I looked at the recipe and she said, simply: "No."

So we cheated. We didn't make the marzipan pumpkin candies.

We used, ahem, store-bought candies.

Gasp!

But allow me to tell you, readers, that the pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are, in fact, delicious. And since we're becoming regular cupcake-makers, we had many ingredients on hand. All we had to buy was butter, cream cheese, pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, which is what we had in the pantry), and, you know, the cheating candies.

The process of making the cupcakes gets smoother every time. Nicole, however, is not keen on using the mixer anymore. Apparently, and this has gone unnoticed by me, she mixes every time. And it's tiring. And not as fun as sifting? I can only imagine. So next time, it's all me on the mixer.

And don't tell Nicole, but I have a little plan to buy a standing mixer in the near future. Not because I don't want to be Ms. Mix-a-lot, but because the one I've been eying is pink and adorable. And perfect for us.

We've reached the end of our night, we shared one cupcake (hey, we ran today -- why sabotage ourselves within twelve hours?), Nicole is cleaning up, and I'm writing this. It's been a good day.

Couch to 5K

I'm starting the Couch to 5K program, which I downloaded on iTunes as a podcast. Essentially, it's a 9-week program designed for couch potatoes...like myself.

I'm starting it today at the gym; I went to the gym three times last week, and felt great about it. I hopped on the elliptical for 10-15 minutes each time, and then the treadmill for 10-25 minutes, briskly walking, with sporadic running for one minute at a time. It's not much, admittedly -- but it's more than I have done.

On our list, number 72 is to run a half marathon. I have a long way to go before that's possible, so I need to start now. Maybe we'll run a full marathon after a while.

All I know is that I've been craving working out. So now I wait for Nicole to get home so that we can go to the gym and get started on the nine week program. I hope it works!

Out of the closet, into the hamper

A quick update to say that in an effort to wear all of my clothes before 2012, I have started to go to the gym again. Frankly, I can't fit into 75% of the clothes in the closet anymore, and I do want to accomplish that goal...especially since I have some killer suits to wear.

Look out, number 47

The true test will be on Monday when Nicole sends me to work in her car.

But last night, I drove from our house to her mother's house (about ten-ish minutes away, if not more) in Nicole's car -- a stick shift.

I realize that I'm turning twenty-seven on Saturday, and that I shouldn't be so excited about driving...but the idea that I've never learned how to be fully comfortable driving a stick shift -- and that I did it last night -- is amazing to me. I shifted gears, I am learning to "feel" the engine, I didn't stall the car.

Okay, I stalled once. BUT! It stalled when I was pulling into OUR driveway after the whole trip. Nicole called it a fluke. It's no wonder I love her.

I never learned because my parents never had a manual car when I had my license. I remember way -- WAY -- back in the day, my dad drove a little white Subaru, and I remembered him shifting and all of that when he would drive. But my mother NEVER drove the car. Actually, I believe that my mom was supposed to take the car for inspection, and she had to call Aunt Jeanne to drive. My mom never learned how to drive a stick shift, and therefore, neither did we. My brother and I feel a little cheated by it.

A while ago, Sean started teaching me how to drive. Sean may in fact be the best driving instructor one can imagine. He let me stall that darn truck a thousand times, and he was patient through the whole process. Great times. I drove around parking lots, I drove by elementary schools (when school was NOT in session), I stalled on a hill, all because he just let me. And explained how to do it in language that made complete sense. Now, with Nicole's help, I'm getting the basics and more under my belt.

Monday, however, is the true test. There is QUITE the hill leading up to my school. If something happens there, I am -- not to put too fine a point on it -- doomed. We're going to take a test drive this weekend to practice. But Monday, alone, me and the Eclipse...that's when we'll see just how comfortable I am driving a stick shift.

36 Dollars, or Why Number 49 Matters

If we don't start managing our bank accounts IMMEDIATELY, we'll never save money for a house or a new car. We're chronic spenders; I wish one of us was a saver, but we're really REALLY not.

I checked my bank account this morning: $36. Yes, that's right. $36. Well, it's not right, but it's accurate. The thing is, though, I only get paid once a month -- so my next paycheck is twenty days away.

Where does the money go? I almost put two question marks there because I'm so desperate to understand why I have a spending problem.

So, I dusted off the old finances spreadsheet I made when we were trying to buy a house a few months ago -- I haven't touched it in two months -- and updated it. My new goal? Check every day to make sure my spending is marked on the spreadsheet.

Not that I have anything to spend now.

Welcome!

Welcome to Pink and Imperfect! My name is Libby, and my partner, Nicole, is sitting over at the other laptop downloading music to her iPod.

This is our blog. We have a mission -- crazy, but true -- to bake, bond, and fall in love through 101 "things" for the next 1,001 days. We believe this is possible.

We chose 101 activities that reflect who we are as a couple. You will see that some items are just for one of us (Nicole has to wear every item of jewelry, for example); but the list as a whole is supposed to help us work together, continue to live happily together, and eventually -- with number 101 -- get married. Perhaps even legally.

We hope you'll partake in this adventure with us; perhaps you'll even decide to join your significant other in a similar way. Thanks for stopping by.

And, in case you're wondering where this idea came from...go to the Day Zero Project.