Happy #thinkingoutloud Thursday! No idea what I’m going on about? Click here!
1. We’re officially one week in to 2016! Which I hope means that all the #resolution and #cleaneating talk will start to die down a little bit. It’s not that I [really] have an issue with either — I just can’t handle the massive influx of posts/articles/etc. focusing on those topics around this time of the year. I get it — I really do — and I love the clean slate/fresh start/boost of motivation feeling that comes with a new calendar too, but there’s something about the whole thing that I find a little unsettling as well. And when I check my Bloglovin feed on Monday morning only to find it saturated with nothing but green smoothies, salads, and chicken… I can’t help but shrivel up and die a little inside.
2. … especially since I’m over here posting brownie recipes (albeit healthier ones) and polishing off leftover birthday cake. Just keeping it real ?
3. BUT! that doesn’t mean I’m not getting in plenty of healthy, wholesome, and nutritious foods as well — that’s still what the majority of my diet is made up of and I love it that way. I’m not someone who operates well under restriction, and I find that it tends to have negative long-term effects for most people as well — effects that can honestly take years to recover from, especially mentally. Putting food on a pedestal, creating unhealthy “good” food vs. “bad” food dichotomies, yo-yo dieting, shot metabolisms, weight gain, obsessions, binges, benders, GUILT… do any of those sound good to you? Me neither. The best “diet” isn’t a diet at all — it’s a lifestyle. That means that it doesn’t have an end date and has to be sustainable/enjoyable enough to maintain for the long haul. I wouldn’t be as jazzed about healthy living if it meant that I couldn’t satisfy my sweet tooth on a regular basis, or that I could only have “x” amount of carbs a day. That doesn’t work for me — I need the freedom. And “freedom” doesn’t mean eating/doing whatever we want (because how ‘free’ do you feel when you’re suffering from the physical/mental repercussions of a bender/binge or when you feel lazy and lethargic from not being active enough??), but eating/doing things that make us feel our best… which for me means a diet that revolves around [healthy] carbs, with treats on the regular.
4. On that note, I’ve got a treat that you can include in your regular coming at ya tomorrow. And you definitely don’t want to miss this one because it might just take the place of my favourite blog recipe ?
5. AND! I’ve got another exciting little venture to introduce to you the day after that, but you’ll have to wait until Saturday to hear more about it!
6. In other [sort-of] food related news, I had a mini panic attack at the grocery store the other day when one of my contacts almost fell out. My fellow contact wearers know what I’m talking about — when you blink and your eyelid catches on the edge of your lens, pulling it down so that only the lower half is actually stuck to your eyeball while the upper half is bent off at a 90º angle and flailing about in the breeze? Yeah… that happened. And apologies for the slightly graphic mental image, but it’s not actually painful or anything — it’s just suuuuper awkward and anxiety-provoking when you don’t have a mirror to run to and the chances of it popping out completely and dropping onto a dirty public floor seem extremely high. I wish someone was there to snap a picture of me, because I must have looked all sorts of crazy blindly digging around in my purse [for my compact] with my face pointed towards the ceiling, trying not to blink and making all sorts of contorted facial expressions. It was a blasty blast.
7. I blame the dry winter air.
8. And speaking of the dry winter air… I’ve been spending a lot more time outside in it because of this little lady right here…
On a little bit more of a serious/sad note… my dog is getting old ? She’ll be 13 this year, and while she still seems in pretty good shape, there are definitely times where I can see the years in her and it freaks the hell out of me. We lost our last dog almost 9 years ago, and I’d be lying if I said I’m fully over it (i.e. I still get a little emotional whenever I see a dog that looks like her). So, I’ve been trying to spend more time with Ky and doing my best to keep the mortality thoughts at bay. Easier said than done.
9. And talk about a downer of a topic to end things on, eh?!? Eesh. But I’m okay, Ky is okay, and I hope that YOU are having a fabulous day. I’ll see your lovely faces tomorrow with the food I promised! ?
No questions… just tell me whatever comes to your mind! 😀
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your dog is beautiful! My puppy is about 9 or 10 so I feel you on the getting older bit. He is limping a little today because of the weather change business and it worries me, but when i get that leash out his tail starts crazy wagging and is ready to go. dogs are the best 🙂 and…leftover birthday cake for the win! when its good birthday cake you cant just throw it out because of a diet, you owe it to yourself to eat that delicious birthday cake!
It’s amazing to see how quickly an old dog can become a puppy when there’s a promise of a walk or treat involved. Most people who see Kaiah think she’s still a puppy! So I’m hoping that means she’s got plenty of good years left in her.
Happy belated birthday! And oh my gosh, I can totally relate to the joys of wearing contacts. The dry weather has been recently made wearing my contacts a mess, so I’ve opted to wear my glasses some days. However, the dilemma with that is not being able to wear sunglasses at the same time!
Thanks for the birthday wishes, Alyssa! And ugh! The struggle is real with glasses in the sun!
Happy Belated Birthday- hope you get to enjoy some more celebrating this weekend 🙂
Totally on the same page as you with the cleanses and diets…. its been a week, lets please give a rest now and focus on lifestyle changes!! A to the Men.
I don’t know about extra celebrating, but I’ll most definitely be eating leftover cake all week 😉
Thank you for your diet rant! Please continue to share your honest thoughts! 🙂 I love your recipes and the way you really make an effort to be SO balanced. And your dog is really really pretty, and I understand the difficulty of them getting old. This year we had an old beagle pass away, and it was so sad. :(((
Thank you for your kind words, Emily! It can be tough to find balance with all the extremes out there 😕
Ky is so pretty! I want to hug her and take naps on her 🙂
She’s actually basically the size of a pillow too 😆
My dogs are only 3 and 4 and I can’t imagine my life without them. I can’t have kids so they are my babies! Give your dogs extra hugs! !
Will do for sure! 😀
Amen to #1. I briefly mentioned in my goals post that I wanted to “continue eating healthy” by making smart choices, but that was it. I hate even the idea of a “detox” and it saddens me that so many smart people become band wagoners this time of year. I actually have a whole post in working on that sort of talks about this.
I can’t wait to learn about your new venture on Saturday! How exciting!
Also, happy belated birthday!
Thanks, Catherine! It kills me to see people who already eat healthy restrict themselves even more just to reach some kind of body goals that probably won’t make them happy in the long run. But I’ve definitely been in those shoes too, so I’m not one to judge.
This may sound crazy, but my dog is two and I’m kind of excited for her to get older. I look forward to the calm, older dog days. But I still love her so!
I have mixed feelings about new start, new year kind of things. I get the desire to be healthier, but when people who hardly ever eat treats anyways get even stricter, I want to cry a little. Agreed that getting healthier doesn’t have to mean dieting!
The calm doggie days are nice. I haven’t had a puppy in so long, that I’m honestly not sure how I’d handle it. If I was to get another dog, I’d probably just adopt an older one!
I’m thinking birthday cake too. My birthday’s in a couple weeks and I need to decide what I want 🙂
Chocolate is never a bad choice 😉
OMG totally know how you feel as a contact wearer. Luckily not when I had to drive, but I’ve had a few afternoons of mishaps where I had to go with only one contact in for a few hours UGH. THE DOG IS SO CUTE. Also I’m over seeing a million smoothie and clean eating recipes too for the new year. Boring.
Oi. It’s never happened to me — thankfully — because I’m blind as a bat, so I have no idea how I’d go with only seeing out of one eye 😯
I agree about the dry air being troublesome for contacts. I feel like I can only wear mine part of the day, otherwise they feel so dry and uncomfortable.
Our kitty, a Penny is 13, and it’s so sad to imagine our lives without her in it. Pets should live as long as humans!
Gah! Wouldn’t that be amazing if they did?! It’s not fair that they can get the same diseases as us but not live as long 🙁
Ahhh contact lenses are the worst. I seriously hate being in the cold and wearing them! Thank goodness I don’t have to drive or I would freak out. I probably should keep an extra pair of glasses with me at all times in case they actually do fall out!
That’s what I’m thinking! If I lost one, I’d be in serious trouble — I’m basically blind without them.
Oh, I am SOOOOO with you on the food/weight loss posts flooding the internet. I could never restrict myself and the fad diets that are out there are ridiculous! There is a way to balance and have everything in moderation!! As for your contact, yikes. I don’t have contacts so I have no idea what that experience would be like, but it sounds stressful!! Thanks for the linkup Amanda!
The restriction is the worst, and honestly what messes people up in the long run, I think. Happy Thursday, Sue!
Our chocolate lab, Sam, will be 11 this year and I worry about when he will pass. He was a gift to my husband from his dad six weeks before his dad passed away, so needless to say, it’ll be hard to lose the dog. We just spend as much quality time with him as we can and give him the best life possible for as long as we can!
I’m with you on the influx of healthy living articles this time of year. I think it happens every season. Come summer it will be all fresh fruit and salads and articles about skin cancer. Fall will bring everything pumpkin spice and winter will be hearty recipes and how to avoid holiday weight gain! Eventually someone will think of something new to talk about!
Oh geez. I can definitely see how the circumstances would make it even harder. But 11 is still young 😀 And don’t forget about the bikini bodies in the summer! Those are always my favourite 🙄
Watching your dog age is never easy. We lost our Sandy of old age and the last two weeks of her life were the hardest thing I’ve ever watched. Cherish the time with him!
I wrote about all the new years and diet fads today too even though hello I’m like the guiltiest of it! I just think the most important point we both make is to do what works for you and don’t worry about anything else! I wish I could do all things in moderation, but I would honestly only end up eating your delicious brownies and I wouldn’t win any races and I’m way too competitive for that 🙂
I absolutely think it’s most important to do what works for you, and moderation isn’t always my strong suit either… as I sit here polishing off a bag of jelly beans 😉
My little Bella is almost 14 now and I’m just pretending she’ll live forever. She’s all gray now, but she gets so excited to spend time outside when it’s cold, so I have to suck it up and get bundled so I can keep her happy. Dogs make everything in live better, don’t they?
They definitely do 🙂 Just seeing them happy to see you after a rough day can easily make everything better.
Point #1 made me laugh, point #3 is SO TRUE I couldn’t agree more, and point #8 made me so sad. When anyone talks about their dog getting old I immediately think of Layla getting old someday and I can’t help but wonder what the heck I’ll do when that day comes. Luckily–hopefully–that won’t be for a very long time 🙂
It definitely won’t be! You still have so many good years with her! And she’s a mixie, which tend to live extra long 😀
Ugh. My dog is only 5 and sometimes I think about her… not being around. It’s crazy because I was never super attached to my cats as a kid (and they ran away), and never thought I’d get attached to a pet but I love my parents’ dog so much that now I want one when I get my own place. But Ky still has time – and you have lots of time with her 🙂 Aaaand to end on a better note, I’m super excited to hear about your Saturday feature!
5 is still super young — you have so many good years left with her! 😀
I can definitely relate to a lot of what you mentioned in this post. I’m constantly having issues with my contact lenses and have experienced that many times, with it folding up inside my eye. It’s always frustrating and upsetting, especially when it happens in a public setting! Also, my dog is now elderly; he’ll be 14 in March! It’s so hard to believe that I’ve had him for nearly half my life and he’s truly a huge part of my family.
Have you ever had it happen where you rub your eye and your contact shimmies to somewhere in the back, which basically means that it’s lost in.your.eye?!?! Freaks me out every single time.
dont hate me, i posted a green smoothie. But for GUT health reasons, not calories. Like for reals.
and my dog is getting old too. I’m sad. Let’s not think about it. Let’s eat brownies instead, washed down with green smoothies…kidding
p.s. I HATE my contacts. ugh.
<3 Could never hate you. Love all your gut health recipes, because THAT'S the kind of thing people should be focusing on.
My dog Rhett is 14 1/2 and I totally understand. It’s hard NOT to think about. We lost our other Dog last April and it is so hard. Hopefully you still have more time.
Thanks for the linkup!
We lost ours in April as well — not a good month! Hope you still have lots of good time with Rhett too 🙂
It’s been 8 years since my family cat died, and two weeks ago my sister sent me a picture of a cat who looked like her…instant tears! My husband thinks I’m crazy…but I loved that kitty!
As for the contacts, I leave a spare set of glasses in the car. I once stranded myself at the store after losing a contact because I didn’t feel safe driving with just one. Lesson learned!
That’s a really good idea. I’m horrible at carrying my glasses with me, but yeah… I’d be in trouble if my contact -did- end up falling out because I’m basically blind!
I was trying to get LASIK so I could avoid all those annoying contact complications! But I found out I was pregnant the day before I was supposed to go and pregnant ladies can’t do lasik. I’ve been wearing glasses almost every day since lol
Oh noes! I’ve thought about getting LASIK, but I have astigmatism and I’ve heard it’s not as successful in those cases. Plus the whole thing kind of skeeves me out 😆
People are all like meal prep and I’m like Pizza! Not to say (as you did) that I’m not eating healthfully and even publishing recipes that I know people will like, but you won’t see me doing whole 30 any time soon. Because that would involve giving up chocolate, which would be criminal. And I don’t want to go to jail.
It is tough with you realize that your doggie or cat is getting old, just like when you realize that people are getting old. There is no way around it, you simply must work through it. The only advice I can give you is to just take each day you get as a gift, but also remember that you don’t know–she might have several more years in her!
“Because that would involve giving up chocolate, which would be criminal. And I don’t want to go to jail.” <-- Best.line.ever 😆
I’m totally with you on the eating lifestyle. I have straightened my disordered eating out so much just keeping a little of everything in my life and making fitness a priority.
I feel for you on the aging pet front 🙁 keep making memories! 🙂
Yessss! I think one of the best solutions to disordered eating of any kind is to get rid of the restriction. That way, food loses the power it has and becomes “just food.” –> albeit delicious 😉
I am getting kind of tired of the resolution posts as well. Over the past couple of years I have slowly changed my diet, but I never went on a diet, I just started to add more whole foods and my daily salad and I love it now. I crave salad, but there are times when I crave some chocolate too. It’s a lifestyle of balance and I know that when I over indulge, I don’t feel that great. I also have stuck to my 5am gym time 2-3 times a week and at least that crowd hasn’t changed, still the same dedicated people. It’s great that people want to get in shape, but I don’t like my workout area to be crowded.
That’s so great that you’ve made those changes, Alicia! And I love that you added in “over the past couple of years” –> I feel like people make these drastic changes and want to see drastic results instantly, when it doesn’t work that way. Slow and steady wins the race.
You look gorgeous by the way.
I wear contacts and have definetely been in that situation. It’s the worst, especially if you are in a public situation that you can’t stop everything you are doing and take care of it.
The chocolate cake look really good. Is it dense, it looks light and with a lot of frosting.
Aww. Well you know how to make a girl blush 😛 Thanks, Hollie! And the worst part about the contact situation was that this is my last pair of contacts! So I’d be SOL for a few days until I could order some more…
I’m with you about January detoxs, Amanda! While I think it’s awesome that people want to clean up their diet, I wish they would realise it doesn’t need to be overly restrictive–> just eat wholesome food which makes you feel good both physically and mentally and everything else will fall into place better than you could’ve imagined! Sending you lots of good vibes for Ky :)!
Yessss. So much obsession on weight loss these days. I say switch the focus to getting healthy. That’s the most important thing.
Your dog is so pretty!!! All the food pictures are making me really, really hungry. Definitely look forward to you sharing your recipe!
Ky says thanks! 😀
Ugh if I was going to diet rant it would be at it works and beachbody coaches who are like vultures on anyone who mentions a resolution. It drives me crazy at least 10 itworks (no it doesn’t) wrappers have contacted me to blog for them like no way. It is driving me mad.
I’d probably just start ignoring messages and deleting them straight off the bat. I like to consider myself a tolerant person, but… to a point 😆
Well, I am totally agree with you on detox monday things. Looks crazy how a lot of my favorites healthy living bloggers start talk about greens and salads. Jeez, I have leftovers from New Year party and I am definitely would eat it all. Never wasting chocolate and cheese
I’m still working on getting through my birthday cake leftovers, so I’m right there with ya!
I mean, I’m pregnant so every time I see another weight loss post, I’m like.. uhh.. but what about ice cream? Because the important things. We never had a dog growing up because I was/am a allergic (when I moved out/got married I decided I didn’t care and we needed a dog, ha!) but I can still understnad the mortatilty and mobid thoughts part of dog ownership. We talk and get sad about our dog and how long he’ll be around, and he’s only 2.5 years old!
It’s tough for sure. I used to be CRAZY about dogs when I was younger, but not so much anymore. And I think a big part of it is that a part of my dog-loving heart died with my last dog. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when Ky goes 😕
Amen! It’s a lifestyle. I was feeling overwhelmed by all the healthy focused posts this week, but I’ve been trying to see the positive in them that maybe some people are just starting their health journey now really need that help and motivation because it is their time. That said, I have no green smoothies or healthy chicke recipes planned for this month.
I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt as well, because I would -love- to see them get healthy. Let’s just send them good vibes… and stay away from the green juices and chicken 😉
I’m thinking there might be a few more weeks left with the diet stuff and then, February comes along with Superbowl and Valentines day and we go back to normal? I’m with you of course on keeping the chocolate! And sweet and savory Saturdays sounds intriguing 🙂
I love that you’re on the chocolate bandwagon with me 😉 Looking forward to seeing your delicious looking recipe tomorrow!
Give Ky extra butt rubs from me! He’s very handsome. Chester was only 10. 🙁 And my cat is almost 15 . . .
I keep thinking there’s a cookbook deal & I’d totally volunteer to recipe test or review — that 2 minute brownie was great! Next time I’ll double the recipe so my husband can try it, too, & then there will be no half bananas to worry about. I think I actually ate 3 bananas that day . . .
I’m really sorry about Chester, Judy 🙁 We lost my last dog to cancer when she was only 5, and it really sucks to lose them that young. And I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownie!
“The best “diet” isn’t a diet at all — it’s a lifestyle.” Yes, yes and yes. Exactly! Well written!
Diets are denial. They are complete restriction / avoidance of the things that make us happy. Life should be about living your life based on eating the right foods and getting the right levels of nutrition for the benefit of our health and still including those treats!
And yes, as a fellow contact wearer, I concur, I know just what it’s like regarding your recent grocery store “episode”. I don’t know if it’s the same for you Amanda, but if I have an issue putting my lenses in at the start of the day, then practically the whole day can be ruined!!!
Contact issues can be the worst! My eye doctor once put me on this new brand that had me feeling like I had little steel plates in my eyes at the end of the day. It was agony!
I can understand spending as much time as Ky – I don’t think people who don’t have dogs quite understand how much they are a part of the family.
Every time I see a black lab I think of our family Marie – she was beautiful 🙂
Lots of cuddles and play and give Ky a big cuddle from me!
Will do 🙂 Thanks much, Jen!
All the diet and gym nonsense this time of year doesn’t jive with me either. At the office yesterday a lot of people who I know live off alcohol, nail polish fumes, and late night fries were toting around green juice cleanse bottles… Too much!
Right?!?! I really do want to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t help but wonder how long these overnight overhauls will last…
Don’t get me started on the diet hoopla. I have heard enough and don’t care if i ever see another resolution, fad diet, goal setting or clean eating juice cleansing fast fix again! I am with you on the doggies – my cindy died in 2003 right before her sweet 16 and i am still not over it. in fact, most people think i am not a dog person which isn’t/wasn’t the case. i just haven’t gotten over it and never really looked at dogs again.
I see myself going that direction again. Feels like I lost a piece of my dog-loving heart when Belle died, and I think losing Kaiah will be the end of it.
I own 2 dogs and 1 of our dogs is really old and just got diagnosed with heartworm. Apparently, the medicine that we need to give her has terrible side effects even ones that can cause death. I was not a dog person at all until my kids brought these dogs to our home and I had no choice. I probably won’t be able to get more dogs after this.