The Little Things
February 15, 2013

On Valentine’s Day while growing up I was always so excited to go downstairs and see what my mom had at my place at the kitchen table. Since all of us are now out of the house, my mom has taken to mailing us boxes, which I shared here last year. However, I went home two weekends ago, and I got to be apart of making the Valentine’s Day packages for the first time! I had a blast getting everything ready for my brothers, knowing how much they would appreciate it (and knowing how excited I was to eat everything too!). Instead of buying us big bags of each type of candy (as my mom says- no one needs that much of one type of candy!), each bag gets split into 4 smaller baggies. This gives us a little taste of each of our favorite candies without getting bogged down with too much sugar! (just a hint for the future…). Here are some of the fun goodies we divided up this year:

Vday package 2013Cinnamon and cherry hearts, candy hearts, hard cherry candies, fun V-day napkins, and a mix of 3 types of tea!

Vday package 2013-2

Sugar cookies! I made these one morning, and they’re delicious! Some just have sprinkles on top, some have almond flavor frosting, and some have cherry vanilla frosting using this recipe.

Cupcake Towel

Cupcake Towel! I LOVE IT.

Splitting up packages of things also keeps the cost down, which is an extra perk! While I was at home, I also made mocha brownies for my family, and added this fun Valentine’s Day twist:

Heart Sprinkle BrowniesI’m always a fan of sprinkles, but when they’re pink and heart shaped, I’m obsessed!

Clearly I like to splurge a bit when it comes to Valentine’s Day. I also enjoy brightening others’ days with little treats now and then too!

Besides my great treats, I had a great Valentine’s Day. I won’t write much about it, but this post from last year sums up my day pretty well. I tried to weave in all sorts of things that I loved yesterday, including wearing hot pink pants to work, starting my day with salted caramel mocha, going to a job that I love, running a 5k after work, going on a walk with a friend, watching Big Bang, and ending my day with this cupcake. All things I love:) Oh, and of course talking to the people I’m thankful for too…

Now it’s your turn to share! Did you give or receive anything fun on Valentine’s Day? 

 

February 14, 2013

How fitting that Valentine’s Day falls on my weekly holiday of thankfulness! After all, isn’t Valentine’s Day supposed to be about expressing our love (and thanks for the love and support we receive) from all sorts of people in our lives? In that vain, today’s post is all about my gratitude towards all sorts of people in my life who I very much care about.

I’m thankful for my parents. Always there for me, I am in constant appreciation of them! I appreciate how excited my dad was to work with me once I graduated from graduate school. I appreciate how much time my mom devotes to talking about pilates, cooking, and pretty much every frustration in my life. I appreciate how encouraging they are of me, and how much they’ve jumped on board with me running and training for things! (Case in point- my dad is doing a race with me this summer!)

I’m thankful for my older baby brother. He’s the one who is in the military, and not only do I appreciate that he has a desire to protect the people in his country, but I appreciate his wisdom and his sense of humor! I also appreciate that he’s gotten me a race entry to a half marathon the last two years! I feel like he gets to be a part of my training and racing even though we live hours and hours apart!

I’m thankful for my younger baby brother. Because he lives close to me, we get to see each other frequently which I really love! I also appreciate that he comes to races to cheer me on (and take pictures) and is patient enough to let me tag along and lift with him. He’s also a pretty great road trip buddy (since we live many many hours away from our parents as well)!

I’m thankful for one very special friend. We’ve been friends for 8 years (February 12th), and I’m so thankful that this person has been in my life all those years. Always read to listen to my ramblings, joys, and tears, this person has been there through all sorts of crazy life experiences, both good and bad. This person is kind, compassionate, giving, and one of my biggest supporters, and I’m so thankful for the last 8 years.

I’m thankful for my grad school buddies. This includes my walking buddy and my other friend, “L”. Because they went through a counseling program with me, they are great people to process some of the techniques and exercises I use, and are there with listening ears when I need them! They are so much fun, and I look forward to each and every time we hang out together! I also appreciate our  “dinner or dessert and a movie” nights each Sunday!

I’m thankful for my co-workers! Even though I don’t work directly with them (obviously since I’m in an office by myself with my clients), we get a few minutes in between sessions to chat, and we try to all eat lunch together once a week. They provide lots of fun and laughter in my days. Also, one of the important prevention factors of burnout with counselors is a good work support system, and I’ve definitely got that!

I’m thankful for each one of my other friendships! I feel bad clumping everyone together, but let’s be honest; this list would be very very long if I listed each one out by name. I’m so thankful for each person whom I consider a friend.

And most importantly-

I’m thankful for God’s love. So very, very thankful for the unconditional love he gives to us.

Now it’s your turn to share! Tell me who you are thankful for this Valentine’s Day! 

 

February 13, 2013

I’ve recently gotten on a far bigger cupcake kick than is healthy for myself. I can’t help it- I love ending my day with a delicious cupcake! In the name of Valentine’s Day, I thought these cherry vanilla cupcakes are perfect (and they were absolutely delicious!). One thing I really like about these cupcakes is that they are small (1/4 or 1/3 of the size of a normal bakery cupcake) and are about 250 calories, so I feel like I can eat them more frequently (which means more enjoyment!). You can find the recipe here– I’ll share my personal tips below.

Ingredients

Here’s what I did. I mixed up the cupcake batter per the recipe. Be aware that it includes butter and egg whites standing at room temperature for 30 minutes, so the entire cooking process takes a bit of time. After mixing up the batter, I took 10 maraschino cherries and cut them each into six smaller pieces. I dumped them into the batter and very quickly mixed into the batter before pouring into the cupcake liners (the original recipe calls for putting half a cherry on top of the batter, but I liked having the bits of cherry mixed throughout).

Cherry Vanilla Cupcake Collage

After baking I let cool, and mixed up the cherry-almond butter frosting (recipe can also be found here). I frosted these by filling a ziploc bag with frosting and snipping of a small corner of the bag. This takes some practice to get it right. If you’d like, you can add another cherry to the top before eating!

cherry vanilla cupcake

These are amazing! While they definitely work for Valentine’s Day, the flavor would also be perfect throughout the spring and summer! While these cupcakes do take quite a bit of time (between letting ingredients sit, mixing things up, cooking, and frosting), but it’s definitely worth it! And best yet, this recipe is also lactose free!

Now it’s your turn to share! Growing up my mom used to make a heart cake on Valentine’s Day. Did you grow up having a special dessert for V-day? What’s your dream flavored cupcake? 

February 12, 2013

I grocery shop once a week, and generally spend about 30 minutes in the store. My whole process of shopping and cooking for the week (which is primarily done on Sundays) has become pretty streamlined over the last year, and it’s made food preparation fairly low stress. Part of that is because I tend to buy many of the same products each week (or stock up when they are on sale!), so I don’t have to think about what to get. Doing this ensures that I have all sorts of meal options and tasty snacks throughout the week! I thought it might be beneficial to give you all a peek into the items that I regularly have on hand. (disclaimer: I’m not putting on condiments, spices, or baking items like sugar, flour, etc… Obviously I have those things on hand at all times)

Foods on hand Collage

Vegetables 

Fruits

Beans

Grains/Pasta

Drinks

Meat

Other Items

I think that’s most of it! Of course there are unique items put on the list each week based on other specific meals that I might make. However, these foods provide all sorts of potential food options that set me up well for food preparation!

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you food “must haves” that you keep on hand most of the time? 

February 11, 2013

Ah, it’s Valentine’s Week, and all the anti- Valentine’s day people are out in full swing. The thing is, I get it. I understand that Valentine’s Day can be a reminder of our “aloneness”, or can hit our fear that we aren’t enough for a relationship. This Valentine’s Day, instead of grumbling about how much you dislike the day (because honestly, grumbling just leads to feeling worse about things, not better) why not choose to focus on loving yourself well and having fun throughout the day. You can read all about how I shifted my focus last Valentine’s Day here.

In the name of loving ourselves not only on Valentine’s Day, but on each day of the year, here are some ideas:

View yourself as an investment: Instead of viewing the time and energy you put into yourself as selfish, acknowledge the investment you are putting into yourself, and how that will positively impact those around you. I devoted an entire post to this a few weeks ago.

Plan a fun girls night. Even if you aren’t dating someone, you can still have a great night full of love and laughter! Go out or stay in, but plan something fun so you aren’t alone throwing yourself a pity party.

Pamper yourself! Schedule a massage, haircut, manicure, pedicure or something similar. Not only do we usually feel a little about ourselves, but it’s a fun way to show care towards ourselves and our bodies!

Take a new class! This is not only fun, but can introduce you to new people and teach you a new skill. Here are a few ideas: Baking, cake decorating, scrap booking, a fitness class, sewing class, wood working course, art class, etc…

Remember that your worth doesn’t come from a relationship status. I know that sometimes it really does feel like our sense of “okay-ness” comes from whether we’re in a relationship or not, but it doesn’t. Try to avoid that connection as much as possible.

The primary point is this- you can choose not to be miserable this Valentine’s Day! You can choose to love and invest in yourself, and you can choose to have fun with those in your life, even if you aren’t dating someone. And, if you are dating someone, it’s important to focus on loving yourself too!

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you plan on loving yourself this Valentine’s Day? What’s one of your favorite ways to pamper yourself?

February 10, 2013

This week of training I sat back and observed my mental thought patterns, and realized the excitement and thrill of training isn’t here this cycle, mostly because of the negative thoughts. I race because I want to, because I have fun, and to be healthy. I don’t race to win (because that’s an expectation that’s completely unrealistic!), so there doesn’t need to be a lot of stress related to my training. I will be intentionally trying to work on this from here on out. Here’s what this week of training looked like:

I’m not happy with the amount of cardio for the week. If I wasn’t training, this would be just fine, but I would like to have at least one more day of cardio. I am happy with the strength training and pilates that I’ve been getting into my weeks. I think pilates and stretching is going to be a big part of strengthening my legs to help prevent IT band pain, so I’m making it a bigger priority!

My Tuesdays and Wednesdays have gotten a little complicated with my work schedule (and the addition of leading group on Tuesday night), so for the next six weeks those days will likely be rest days or lighter workouts. I’m going with the flow those days to not stress myself out.

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you roll with the punches when it comes to busy times at work and exercise? Do you do pilates? 

February 9, 2013

On my way home from work yesterday I called a friend to express my frustration about my own mental state (I’m an extravert, so processing out loud is my preferred processing style). I told him that almost every day of my last two half marathon training cycles I was excited and thinking about the race. This time, however, is different. The excitement isn’t there quite as much. In place of excitement is fear and frustration. This nasty IT band thing that started back in September is still clinging on, although I have been really dedicated about not pushing myself and foam rolling and doing strengthening exercises, and I hope things are improving. Anyways, like I said, I’m just not as excited. Maybe the newness has worn off? I think that last weekend’s 5k run didn’t help so much. While I knew that conditions were tough, I haven’t had a great run since the Thanksgiving Day Gobble Wobble, and my frustration was starting to really get to me.

I headed out today for a 3.5 mile run, and for the first mile and a half my heart just wasn’t in it. I was physically running but my mind was checked out, full of doubt and frustration. I finally kicked myself into gear, stopped throwing a pity party, and ran. While I had a few slight twinges of pain in my right knee, this run felt pretty great (I stretched out my legs for almost 30 minutes last night which I think really helped).

Overall I felt pretty great about my run. Here’s what it looked like:

Picture 30

At the start of my last half marathon training cycle, I had just come off training for a triathlon, so I was in great shape (unlike this time where I’m in good shape, but my last race in November). Here’s what my 3.5 mile run looked like then:

Picture 32

Today’s run (the above numbers) wasn’t actually that much worse than the run at the beginning of September- not even a minute different! While I’m frustrated that I haven’t improved, I know that I can’t expect that out of my body. And so, this run was all about the mental fight; to keep my head in the game and shut down the negative thoughts. It’s time to once again remind myself that with having POTS, I should be grateful that I can even run and race.

And I keep going back to the quote behind this post that I wrote right before my first half marathon.

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you fight the mental battle when you’re out on a run? 

February 8, 2013

Each season I try to take my favorite recipes and desserts and turn them into foods for the current holiday! It puts a smile on my face, and I enjoy creating the different foods! I became obsessed with all things gingerbread this Christmas, and knew I needed to do something for Valentine’s Day! For a quick and easy dessert, I made heart shaped gingerbread cookies!

Ingredients:

You can find the actual recipe here. I made the cookies per the usual recipe. I used a cookie scoop to make equal sized balls, rolled them in sugar, and equally spaced them on the cookie sheet.

photo

Then I took the balls and squished them into a heart shape, as seen above. This will just need to be done by trial and error in figuring out how to do it. You don’t need a perfect heart shape by any means.

The recipe calls for baking for 8-10 minutes, but I tend to cook mine for 12.5-13 minutes and they are still nice and chewy! Once I pulled them out, this is what they looked like:

photo

Pretty awesome, right? Not only are they delicious, but they’re an easy way to turn a normal cookie into something delicious for Valentine’s day!

Looking for other fun Valentine’s day foods? Check out my Valentine’s Day Oatmeal and Cherry Vanilla Waffles 

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you bake anything special for Valentine’s Day? Are you already tired of seeing hearts everywhere? Are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this weekend (or have any other fun weekend plans)?

February 7, 2013

Happy Thursday, a day where we not only realize how close we are to the weekend (!!), but also focus on what we are thankful for in our lives. Because I do this once a week, I notice myself more automatically picking out things I’m thankful for throughout the week (and that’s a really healthy thing!). However, no matter how much I work at it, those negative thoughts do of course come. Anyways, here’s what I’m thankful for right now:

I’m thankful for taco soup. I’ve been eating this taco soup for many dinners this week, and it’s just so delicious! Plus, with it being really chilly the last week, it’s the perfect dinner to warm up to after a work out and driving home in the cold! There’s nothing better than food that warms you from the inside out! Yummm.

I’m thankful that success doesn’t just have one definition. If it did, I’m pretty sure that we’d fail a whole lot more in our lives. As I was running my 5k race this weekend in some of the most rough conditions I’ve ever run in, I realized that the race wasn’t a failure despite my poor finish time. There were so many things that made the race a success, even though it was my slowest 5k race yet.

I’m thankful for the new addition to my schedule for the next few weeks! Two days a week for the next two and a half months I’m leading a counseling group for a school. I’m really looking forward to meeting the participants, and I’m thankful I have the option to do things outside of my normal job! I love it!

I’m thankful that I have access to a free gym. I sometimes catch myself grumbling on the way to the gym because it’s not as nice as the one near my parents that I get to work out at 4 months a year. I usually try to stop that train of thought though, because ultimately I am really lucky! I get free access to a gym through my job, and although it’s not as nice, it still does the job and has clean locker rooms I can shower at. Sure, they might not be as nice, but the fact that I don’t have to pay for the gym is something that I would like to be continually thankful for in my life.

I’m thankful for my new office! I can’t remember if I ever mentioned it on here, but at the start of the new year I moved into a new office. I debated moving for a few months, and was reasonably anxious while moving (there was lots of deep breathing on my end!). I was unsure if I’d like the new office or if I would be happy sitting in it all day, but after a month of being in the new office and I can firmly say that I really like it! It’s the size of my last two offices combined (plus maybe a bit more space) and so comfortable! I also have a small sized lazy boy that I get to sit in when I see clients (instead of my desk chair which I’ve always sat in) and it’s really comfortable! I’m thankful I decided to try something new:)

I’m thankful that I figured out how to plan and cook my meals on Sundays early in my career. For about two years now I’ve made at least all my lunches (if not some dinners too) on Sunday afternoons, and that creates a lot less stress throughout the week (plus give me great fuel each day!). I’m not sure why I first started doing that, but I sure am thankful that I did. It’s a true time saver!

Now it’s your turn to share! Tell me a few of the things that you’re thankful for today? Do you like change, or does it make you a little uncomfortable? 

February 6, 2013

My love of “seasonal-izing” food goes into hibernation for a few weeks after Christmas, but comes out full force once again in February for Valentine’s Day. When I was visiting my parents a week ago, my mom came up with this fantastic idea for waffles since she knows my love for all things pink. As she explained her idea, I immediately jumped on board to make a perfect Valentine’s Season breakfast!

Ingredients: (makes 3 servings)

Mix waffles according to instructions on the box. I used bisquick but you can use any waffle recipe (and adjust ingredient list accordingly). Then blend cherries in a blender until fairly smooth (but you want some chunks in there!). Mix cherries and vanilla flavoring into mix and cook according to instructions in the waffle maker.

Cherry Waffle Collage

After removing from waffle iron, dust with powdered sugar and syrup.

Cherry Vanilla Waffles

This was a really easy way to add a little something to a typical breakfast and add some fun for Valentine’s Day!

Looking for another fun Valentine’s Day Breakfast option? Check out this Valentine’s Day Oatmeal!

Now it’s your turn to share! Did your parents (or do you) ever make any fun food for Valentine’s Day? Growing up a few of my friends’ parents colored their milk pink, but I couldn’t ever stomach that… 

©2013, Journey To Wellness, Caroline