Sewing

Since I've started working a full time job, I haven't had much time to sew. It's quite sad. I love making things with my hands. When I do find the time to sew, I fall behind on housework. I don't know how people who work full time have time to have a hobby. Actually, I should say, "I don't know how people who work full time have the energy to have a hobby." I'm so tired. Maybe I'm going through a growth sprit or something.*

Anyways, I wanted to share these pictures. I find it interesting. I don't think many people realize how much work goes into something homemade. Here is a picture of all the pieces that I needed to cut for the purse below. That's a lot of pieces! Also, they all must be perfectly cut or else it won't line up correctly when I go to sew everything together. 

Side note: I got that rug under the table for $20 at Aldi! What a steal!

So, I take all these pieces and sew them together to get this:

Ta da!!!

*Let's be honest, I'm not going through a growth spirt. I'm eating unhealthy and not exercising. But I'm too lazy to do anything about it. 

Finding Joy in the Small and Mundane Things

If you want to find joy in the small things, you must make an effort to look. Taking delight in the mundane will never just fall into your lap. It isn't something just happens naturally... until it does.

I was reminded of this while talking to my best friend, Sam, on the phone. I was looking at my garden and I noticed that I had one snap pea that had fully grown. I was so excited. It looked so cute. I actually interrupted her and told her all about my adorable snap pea. We giggled and I sent her a picture because I thought it had the most perfect hat. Here is the picture I sent her:

Sam told me, that I have always been really good at noticing the small things. I forget that it didn't always come easy. There are so many small, simple pleasures that past us every day and it's such a shame that we miss out on most of them. However, we can try to catch a glimpse at one or two of them and we will be happier for it.

Life is happening all the time!

I've decided to start blogging again. I have a job with a one hour lunch break - which is way too much time to eat a clif bar and a banana. I take my lunch alone (I'm usually the only one in the office). I used to play video games on my laptop but I think blogging will be much more productive. There are so many great, wonderful, fantastical things that I want to share with everybody!

Here's my life in a nutshell:

I'm such a nut. 

Thank you for loving me.

They all weigh 150 pounds!

I love this.

There is 'right' body type. Weight looks different on different people, and it is all okay. We shouldn't compare ourselves to other people's bodies. We've got to learn to love the body we are in now. 

I ran a 5k!

I did it! I did the impossible!

I, Ann Ethel Nelson, ran a 5k.

Yep. It took 36 minutes and 29 seconds. I didn't walk once.

Go me.


Yeah!















Now, I never have to run again. I gave it an honest try and still don't like it. 

Where in the world is Annie Sandiego?

I woke up at 6:30am today to birds chirping rather loudly. It is a sunny morning. 2 hours later, I am still in my PJs on my comfy chair. It's a good day. My eyes are tired and my lips are chapped but I am still happy to be awake.

Here's an update on my life: 

I've super busy studying -

Schoolwork always seems to be taking over my life. This semester I'm taking 4 math courses (I'm a math major). It is a lot of thinking and memorizing. One class is all abstract math - as in no numbers - as in (I think) completely pointless except to ruin my life and friendships. 

I still eat burritos - 

Ate some last night and they were delicious! There is nothing better in the world than eating a bean burrito. It is quick, cheap, yummy and not super unhealthy. Perfection.

I am still running - 

I don't know why I look so mean in that photo. Yes, I am still running. I have my first 5k this Saturday. I am nervous. I went from not being able to run for 3 minutes to being able to run 25 minutes straight. I am proud of myself. Although, I don't think I like running. It's exhausting and it hurts. I don't know why so many love it. But I am still training. Maybe it'll be better once I do it for "fun". I'm hopeful. 

I'm babysitting - 

It's hard to believe that my job includes such a cute little nugget. I love babysitting. It's really interesting for me to watch kids grow and develop and learn. That have the best personalities. Sure, there are bad days but there are really good days too. 

Currently, I'm looking forward to: 

Baking - 

Ha. That was my first batch of cupcakes I made with my new mixer. O yeah, my parents got me an electronic hand mixer and frosting tips for my birthday. I have a new dream of being a baker. I know those cupcakes aren't the prettiest things but they were tasty! They were chocolate cupcakes with salted carmel frosting. I mostly wanted to play around my new frosting tips. If you want to see a better example of my decorating, look above at the birthday cake. I'm really excited to have time to bake again. So friends, if you live near me and need some baked goods - let me know. I would be happy to help. I need the practice.

Camping - 

I love to camp. Since, I was in Yellowstone last summer, I didn't get the opportunity to camp much (weird, I know). I'm hoping this summer will entail lots of camping trips. I'm just going to force all my friends that I've been neglecting to come and camp with me - we will bond and hopefully rekindle our friendship through late night talks around a bonfire and bathing in Lake Michigan. 

Yosemite National Park-

Ta Da! My boyfriend and I are going to Yosemite National Park in June. I am super pumped! I've wanted to go to Yosemite ever since I worked in Yellowstone in 2008. We'll be spending a week there - camping, sight-seeing, and hiking. Most importantly, we are hiking the half- dome. I am beyond thrilled/excited/scared for this hike.

Let me tell you a little bit about Yosemite's "half-dome." But first, a picture - 

Yes, that dome thing is what we'll be climbing. It's a geologically phenomena. It's a granite crest that rises more than 4,737 feet above the valley floor... And I'm hiking it. EEK! It's day hike* that is 14.2 miles roundtrip and an elevation gain of 4,800 feet. 4,800 feet! That's almost a mile! People die yearly on this hike. Only 400 people a day are aloud to go to the top. Luckily, my boyfriend and I are two of the 400 who will ascend on Thursday, June 21 2012. Here's a picture of the last part of the hike: 

It's a 400 foot climb at a 45 degree angle with two waist-high cables. I'm tired just looking at it. 

Anyways, that's my little (quite large actually) update on my life. 

*the boyfriend and I are going to try to get a camping permit so we don't have to hike it in one day - but it is highly unlikely we'll be able to get one for the half-dome hike because they are so highly sought after.

I like this photo.

hiking in the Grand Tetons

Life will be good when...

I often get this idea in my head that goes something like this:

"Life will be good after (fill in date)" 

Most recently, my idea was "life will be good after Spring Break". 

To me, 'life will be good' means several things: 

• I'll be organized
• All my laundry will be done, dishes put away, floors vacuumed, everything will have a spot, and no floating papers (schoolwork, mail)
• I'll eat healthy
• Dinner will be cooked at home, veggies and fruits are in the fridge - ready to be eaten as snacks, and bagged lunch will be made the night before for school the next day
• I'll exercise
• Work out at least 3 times a week
• I'll have "me" time
• Time to read, time to blog, time to sit and stare at leaves on a tree
• I'll have time for friends
• I'll see at least 2 friends a week
• I'll do all my school work early
• Study ahead of time, write papers early

I'm serious. I have all these ideas in my head and I always seem to fall into a trap of "life will be good after..." ... THEN,  life will be good. Ahh, yes - I can't wait.

But then. Ka Plunk! It doesn't happen. This past experience was the most eye-opening of them all. I was just waiting for Spring Break to come so I could re-vamp my life. I was going to go through all my clothes and closets and cupboards and re-organize everything! I was going to call all my old friends and re-kindle friendships. I was going to sit outside and read The Hunger Games. 

Guess what I did when I had time to do those things over Spring Break?

I watched Gilmore Girls and took naps. I slept in until 11 and didn't do much at all. I was lazy. I was really lazy. 

And then it hit me. Ka Plunk! My excuse for not doing any of those things above was "I'll do them after..." I was PROCRASTINATING. So, one day I just started doing those things. It wasn't easy and it still isn't. 

For example: I wasn't doing my laundry because my thought was "I'll do laundry after Spring Break". But then it kept pilling up. And then I didn't do any laundry over Spring Break. And then I didn't have any clean underwear. And then I realized - it's okay to do one load of laundry if that's all the time you have. 

I kept waiting for a whole day to do my laundry (and everything else). I thought Spring Break would've be enough time - it was a whole week. But after working, going to Troy, and being lazy - my time was out. It was Sunday night and I hadn't done anything. My life was never going to be good. 

So back to my rude awaking... (you can probably tell where this is going) I realized life can be good right now. So what if everything isn't organized? That doesn't mean I have to leave all my crap out just because my closet isn't organized. 

So, I'm putting my life back together. I'm living again. It feels good to not be overwhelmed by a growing a list of things to do. Now, my list of things to-do isn't growing - it's just sitting there - waiting for a spare hour or two so something can be check off. I don't need a whole day/week to get my life back in order. I just needed a new mindset. 

Now to switch gears (only a little bit). Part me living again means I'm eating healthy again. YAY! Only about 10 days ago, my diet consisted of gummy worms, BBQ Kettle-cooked chips, and Little Caesar's Pizza. I am not kidding, that is what I ate one day (no more, no less). I was feeling GROSS. So, I changed that. I went to the store at 8 am (that is the only time that works for me - soo early) and bought a lot of healthy things. Like SALAD. 

LOOK! 

I just ate that about 2 hours ago. It's "Spring Mix" lettuce, with feta, red onion and kalamata olives. Sure, I put on dressing that 100 calories a tablespoon. But ya know what? I probably wouldn't eat all those dark leafy cancer killing greens if I couldn't put a good dressing on it. 

And then for dessert? Chocolate milk! I know, chocolate milk isn't healthy. But it's better then a tub of ice cream. Look, it's 200 calories a cup (I buy the good stuff):

So I'm not a healthy perfect eater. But that's okay. Because when I strive for perfection, I end up procrastinating and never doing anything that I truly want. 

I'm making my little baby steps towards my "life is good" list. And ya know what?

Life is good. 

12-minute mile

This is how I feel about running:

Follow my progress here.  

Running Goal #1 Accomplished

I did it! I did the first day of running and....

it completely sucked. But I did it!

Since I am doing the "couch to 5k" training guide, I had to walk for 90 seconds and then run for 60 seconds. Before I started, I thought - this is going to be so easy! I was wrong - WAY wrong. I forgot how bad of a runner I am. It was hard for me to run 60 seconds. 60 seconds!? yes, I can't believe it either.

I didn't like it and here's why:
- my hands were freezing (I walked/ran back to grab gloves)
- my throat/breathing tube was freezing - it really hurt.
- the sun was in my eyes (do runners wear sunglasses?)
- I was out of breath and that's a bad feeling
- I rather be sleeping
- I rather be eating
- I rather be be baking

BUT, I am going to continue doing it. I made a goal and I really want accomplish it. It was my first run, I don't think it's suppose to be that great. I have the time in my life to do it now so I am. I am going to give running a fair shot.

Here's a picture of me right before:

I'm really excited about my new running gear. 

Running!

I have never run a mile in my life. NEVER. Not in grade school, not in high school, not in college - never. When we "had" to run in high school, I ran a lap then walked a lap. It took me 17 minutes. I have no idea how it took me that long.

I've always been VERY negative towards running. I thought it was stupid. It wasn't just something that I didn't like, it was something that I thought was unhealthy and a waste of time. Runners always seem to have bad knees and poor joints. Why would I ever want to force myself to try something so ridiculous? 

Yet, there is it - a picture a me wearing running shoes, leggings, shorts, and fancy t-shirt. I am going to try running and here's why:

• The boyfriend. He started running over the summer and ran his first 5k. Ever since then, he's gone running crazy - reading books, researching the best running form, and signing up for all sorts of crazy running events. He has a huge influence on me and considering I spend a lot of time with him, I think he's slowly been brainwashing me to believe that running is good. 

• The description of "running is like jumping". I read this while researching the history of running. It never occurred to me that running is like jumping from one step to the next. I love to jump. It's in the categories of dancing and laughing. It's a fun thing to do. Maybe running will be a fun thing to do.

• The community. Runners have a huge awesome community full of really nice people. That's attractive to me. I saw my brother run a half marathon not too long ago and I was really surprised at how nice everybody seemed. There was something in the air and I wanted to be a part of it. 

• The health benefits. Despite my previous concerns (bad knees/joints), running is healthy. It gets your heart rate up and releases endorphins (which makes you happy or something - I never really understood endorphins). I'm still a little bit concerned about the bad knees and achy feelings but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. I can quit at anytime. 

• The boyfriend again. He gets mentioned twice because he was that influentional. Did I mention he bought me all that neat running gear for Valentine's day? Yeah, he's pretty awesome. 

My two running goals:

#1) Go running on Friday at 9am. Like I said earlier, I never run. Starting is going to be the hardest part.

#2) Do a 5k on May 12, 2012. That's the date of the Riverbank Run in Grand Rapids. I'm going to do it. I'm going to follow the "Couch to 5k" training plan and run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. 

I'm going to do it. I am going to run at least a mile and that will feel good. I want to feel that pride and work hard for it. If I hate it, then I don't ever have to do it again. 

Also, I forgot to put on deodorant today and I don't know what to do about it. 

This is what I will look like on Friday morning - just add red hair.

Boston Creme Pie

I'm going to make a list of things I want to do before I have kids. Now, I am nowhere near having kids right now but I really like the idea of making a list of things I want to do before I give up my life and personal dreams for kids (that's sounds bitter... it's not meant to be). So the first thing on my list is to take a baking class. I love to bake and always have. In particular, I really want to learn how to decorate things. I want to make beautiful frosting flowers and learn how to use fondue on a cake. I might try to adventure on my own a bit. 

Speaking of baking, I made my boyfriend Boston Creme Pie for Valentine's Day. It's his favorite kind of dessert. It was quite an adventure. It started with dancing to Edward Shape and The Magnetic Zeros. No really, it did - look: 

                                            

After dancing for way too long, it was time to stop procrastinating and start baking! This is the recipe I used: Boston Creme Pie . It's from Kraft foods which makes it sketch. I usually like to go all out (everything from scratch) when I bake but today I didn't have much time. This recipe uses things like boxed cake mix, instant vanilla pudding, and cool whip. It's strange to bake with things that don't come in a 2 lb bag. 

It appeared super simple... but of course I make everything complicated: 

Oops! That's not suppose to happen.... BUT thankfully, I baked two 9-inch cakes even though the recipe calls for one (I almost didn't notice this). 

Problem areas that I need to work on for next time: 

• Cutting cake layers evenly
• Un-lumpy frosting (sorry boyfriend)
• Decorating 
• Making my own decorating frosting

But after all those mishaps - it still turned out pretty darn good. It's not perfect but I know he'll love it. 

I dyed the creme in the middle pink and put a heart on it for Valentine's day. So there it is, my first Boston Creme Pie. 

Now, I need to go buy more baking supplies. Actually, I need to save up for baking supplies and then take a class. If anybody knows of good places to purchase baking supplies, let me know. Meijer (local grocery store) doesn't have much. 

Weight Loss Story

I always feel strange telling my "weight loss story" because my weight has always been up and down... and I didn't keep very good track of it.

In middle school, I was overweight. I was the chubby girl that hated running. I felt very awkward about myself and I found attention by being the funny, crazy girl. 

These are really embarrassing. 

Then, I went to high school. I really wanted to play sports but I never tried out. I felt too fat and too slow. I have no idea if I was classified as "overweight" in high school but I felt overweight. Looking back at pictures, I wasn't that big of a girl:

I've always hated my legs. I think they are fat and chunky. 

I found ways to avoid showing off my legs in the summer - wear hospital pants or a skirt. 

Then.... I went to college. And I gained a lot of weight - I think my highest weight was in the Spring of 2008 (2 years of being college). I ate crappy - really crappy. Then I went to Yellowstone National Park to work for a summer and that kick started my weight loss. 

Now, the last three years have been up and down. I was never as big as I was in 2008 but I did gain weight and started to feel like the chubby girl again. 

Then... I went to Yellowstone National Park again! And it (once again), kick started more weight loss. Once I got back, I continued to loose weight and we get to today. . . 

Here is the grand "before and after" picture:

The picture the left is the biggest picture of me I could find. The picture on the right is the most recent picture of me. It was snapped on my boyfriends phone while I tried on clothes (for fun) at Banana Republic. 

I have lost 70 pounds and went down 6 dress sizes. 

It's strange because I have never been this size. I am not use to it. 

.

.

.

Since I'm going along the theme of being honest - I'll be honest. . . 

Currently (as in right now as I'm typing in my bed), I hate being skinny. Well, that's kind of lie - I love it and hate it. I love it because I feel awesome. I can walk into a store and try on almost anything and it probably will look good. I don't need to worry about love handles, tires, or muffin tops.

I hate it because nothing in my closet fits. And if you've been following my blog then you know that I am on a strict "no spending" budget. 

On Christmas Eve, I am suppose to go out to dinner with my boyfriend's family. I am very stressed out about this. I was told to wear something nice but not formal. This is the worse situation for me. Even before (when all my clothes fit), I would stress out about this. But now, I literally don't have anything to wear. I thought maybe, I had some black pants I could wear so I tried them on. This is what it looks like:

This is how most my clothes look. All my tops can be pinch in the back about 3 - 4 inches.

I feel like such a brat right now. I'm complaining because I'm "too skinny" and that I "don't have enough clothes." I'm ashamed to admit that because I should be thankful that I'm in a healthy BMI range (finally) and that I have any clothes (even if they are too big). 

But regardless of my efforts to be thankful, I'm still stressed about what to wear on Saturday. . . 

Sorry for getting so off track and dampening the mood of my weight loss story. This is just how I'm feeling currently (on a grey rainy day). Taking a step back, I feel happy and proud of myself - it's taken a lot of work to loose weight. I shouldn't worry about buying clothes that fit because I can do that in the future. Now is the time that I should focus on maintaining my weight and making sure I don't gain it back.

And if you are curious how I lost it - eating less, drinking lots of water, and exercising. 

My New Motto

Study Break #2 

Study Break....

{i love curly brackets}

And guess what profession is guaranteed to use them? 

No, not a web designer

 --> A high school math teacher!

{back to studying}

The Importance of Friendships

Friends are important. Duh.

As self-evident as that is, I think this is a lesson that I need to learn over and over. When I feel trapped and busy and stressed out, the last thing I do is see friends. I tell myself: I don't have the time, seeing them will stress me out even more, and my brain is too overloaded to be a good listener. I want to get away from people and spend time alone relaxing because everything is about me when I'm stressed out.

I have been in this cycle more than once and almost every time I come out of it, I realize that friends never hinder my mental health. When I think seeing them will stress me out, it actually causes me to relax and feel good for a moment. It's strange really - logically it doesn't make sense. Adding one more moment to my already full brain should put me into overload and die. But I don't die, I feel relieved.

My logically conclusion?
Seeing friends forces me to not focus on me for a moment - it's a relief.

So, during this stressful exam season - I need to make time to spend with friends. Even if it's only an hour. I know that laughing and talking and catching up and discussing and eating and playing "go fish" will be more beneficial than spending time alone relaxing.

Here is a photo tribute to friends:

I love you all very much. Thank you for putting up with my highs and lows.

Sorry for the messy, I don't know how to organize the photos. Also, click if you want to see one bigger :)