Dance Parties, Blind Superheros, And Other Things I’m Loving

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Today’s post is gonna be short, sweet, and fun.

I spent most of yesterday at my parent’s house making food and hanging with my momma for Mother’s Day. You guys. My mom? She is the bees knees. I know everyone thinks that about their moms but it’s especially true in my case. She is the most amazing person ever and I am so lucky that I got to be her daughter. Not that I really had any choice in the matter, but you get what I mean. I hope you did something nice for your mom yesterday. I mean she did kind of give birth to you and then put up with you for 18 or so years and you probably still go over there and eat all her food so the least you could do is tell her you love her and maybe get her some flowers or something…. Ok moving on.

Here is a random list of things that are making me happy these days:

Warm weather: It’s still a bit sketchy around here temperature wise, but last week we did have some days that reached the 80’s and it was GLORIOUS. I am waiting for the day when the weatherman says “but cooler along the lakefront”, and it doesn’t mean crying while walking into a 30 mph, 40 degree northwind. Soon….

New shelves/decorations: Adam and I have been upping our apartment decor and I am loving it. We got a new kitchen table, some shelves, a new storage unit for behind our couch, new curtains, and Adam built these awesome yoga mat holders. They were really easy to put together and then I painted them with some chalkboard paint and he mounted them onto the wall. Because our apartment is small it helps to have organization and anything that we can get off the floor helps. We still have a few more things that we would like to get (new lights) but I’m quite pleased with how things are shaping up!

Plantains and tea: For the longest time I was obsessed with my Plantain Porridge. Then one day I was totally done with it. Like didn’t want to look at or eat another plantain at all. Then a few weeks ago I saw them sitting in the grocery store and I picked up a few. They sat on my counter while I thought about what to do with them. On a whim I sliced them up, covered them with a little coconut oil and put them in the waffle maker. They were SO good. Waffle makers are like one of the best appliances because you can make anything in them. I have made eggs, hash browns, sandwiches, waffles (duh), and now maduros (fried sweet plantains). Moral of the story? Make all your meals in a waffle iron. I also found a new tea I’ve been enjoying, Good Earth Tropical Rush. It’s a green tea with all these fruity flavors like mango and lemongrass and it reminds me of summer and makes me happy. Maybe if I drink a lot of it summer will get here faster….

Singing and dancing like a buffoon: This isn’t a new thing for me but I like to have afternoon concerts/dance parties in my apartment. I pretty much turn on Pandora really loud and sing and dance like nobodies business. Except for maybe my neighbors since they have to hear/possibly see me dancing through the window. But they shouldn’t complain because I sing and dance like a pro and they should be thankful for the entertainment. I mean who else is going to blast Barry Manilow’s Somewhere In The Night and dance with their cat? No one that’s who. You’re welcome judgey neighbor across the hall.

Daredevil on Netflix: If you’re not good with violence DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW. It’s like Game Of Thrones level violence. There were some scenes that I had to close my eyes at but I am really loving this show. My dad is a huge superhero buff and all my life I have grown up watching any and every superhero movie or show and this is one of my favorites. I was a little hesitant at first because it seemed like all it was going to be was fighting porn with no storyline but that changes dramatically in the second half of the series. I think what I love most about it is that the hero and the villain both want the same thing, to improve their city, but they go about it in completely different ways. I like my heroes to have a little bit of a dark side/conflict and Daredevil definitely has that. Plus the dude is blind and kicks serious butt. If you have Netflix go watch it now.

Ok that’s enough rambling from me. What did you do this weekend? What things are making you love life right now?

Have a super Monday!

My Shopping Cart: Aldi and Wal-mart Edition

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Today is part two in my grocery shopping series. Last week I shared with you what I get when I shop at Jewel and today I’m highlighting what I get when I go to Aldi and Wal-mart.

These two stores get looked down on a lot. They are associated with cheap/unhealthy food, lower class, and just an overall unpleasant experience. When I first started grocery shopping on my own I did most of it at Wal-mart because it was cheap and near campus. There was an Aldi in town, but I avoided it because I had the same misconceptions most people do about it. I remember shopping there as a kid with my mom. You had to pay for grocery carts, they didn’t have shopping bags, there were weird tubes of meat and it was kind of dirty. As an adult I kind of turned my nose up at Aldi and thought I was better than that.

Then I realized how much money one could spend on groceries and I knew I needed to find a way to eat healthy food but on a fairly tight budget. I swallowed my weird sense of “food pride” and went to Aldi. I was pleasantly surprised. You still have to pay for a grocery cart (you get the quarter back once you return the cart) and there aren’t any shopping bags (if you’re like me and have 5 million reusable bags this isn’t too much of a hassle) but the food selection had definitely changed for the better.

Aldi has been shedding their old brand and showing they are just as good as other grocery stores. They offer a gluten-free line, an organic line, fresh seasonal produce, and a really great frozen foods section. It is entirely possible to eat healthy nutritious food and shop at Aldi. Plus you will save money because their prices tend to be lower than their competitors.

My Aldi shopping list varies depending on what I need that week. What I normally get there each week are:

organic honey
canned pumpkin (during the fall)
10 lb bag of russet potatoes
avocados
frozen mixed vegetables
big bags of frozen tilapia/swai (for Adam)
corn tortillas
2 lb bag of beans (pinto, black, northern)
brown rice spaghetti

I buy these things at Aldi because they are much less expensive than if I were to get them at Jewel or even Wal-mart. I also go to Aldi when I am recipe testing because I can get more ingredients for my money and test more recipes this way. Aldi does a pretty good job of offering fresh and seasonal produce for a really good price. I recently got asparagus there for less than $2 a lb and an 8 oz of mushrooms for $1.49.

I also pick up a few things at Wal-mart each week because the price there is better. I usually get:

half gallon of Silk Unsweetened Almond milk
Thai kitchen canned coconut milk
frozen vegetables
quart sized boxes of shelf stable almond milk and coconut milk (for baking)
big jug of extra virgin olive oil

The Wal-mart in my neighborhood does a pretty good job on their produce, but it’s a little bit smaller of a selection. I can find what I need for a good price at the other stores I frequent.

The most important thing I want you to take away from this post is that you can shop at stores like Aldi and Wal-mart and still have a healthy diet. You might have to search a little bit through the aisles to find the good stuff, but it’s there. Eating healthy isn’t about shopping at the high end grocery stores and buying the most expensive food there. If you are able to do that and that works for you, then great! But for the majority of us it is more feasible to shop at places like Aldi. Look for seasonal produce, read labels, and keep an open mind when you’re shopping at these stores. You’ll end up with delicious and nutritious meals and a few more dollars in your wallet! That’s a win-win in my book!

What are your misconceptions about stores like Aldi or Wal-mart?

What Makes You Light Up?

April 27, 2015April 27, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Before you get all sassy on me, don’t say fire or light bulbs (looking at you mom). Rather, what makes you the happiest? What makes you get all excited to get going in the morning? Are you making that your priority?

This is a question that I have been asking myself a lot lately. I spent a lot of my time in college, a place where you should be finding and doing what you love, doing things because I felt that I had to. I had to be a music major, I had to pass my music classes, I had to do well on auditions so that I could get into the ensemble that I had to be in, I had to do this or that or some other thing. Looking back, I wasted time. That’s been a hard concept for me to admit and accept and say out loud.

No one wants to say they made the wrong choice.

But those are the cold hard facts. Life isn’t about always getting it right. It’s about taking what you have and learning from it and making it better the next time. I spent a lot of time bemoaning my situation after college. Luckily I had Adam to help me from becoming a depressed shut in and I found a job I loved and allowed me to find other things that did light me up.

Food, health, and helping others.

I love those things. They make happy. They get me excited to get up in the morning. I’m trying to make those a priority career wise. I can honestly say that I light up when I work on my blog or offer advice to a reader or come up with a new recipe.

Finding your passion is all part of having a healthy and balanced life. Sure eating right and exercising are good things, but they aren’t the only things. You can’t neglect your passions for too long before you start to feel like something is missing and your health can begin to suffer.

That’s why I want to urge you to not only take care of your body but your mind and soul as well. Today, sit down and think about what you love. Things that make you smile or cheer you up when you’re down. Find ways to incorporate those things into your day. Whether that’s with your career, your hobbies, or a side project, make them happen. No excuses, fit something you love into your day no matter what.

Now, what makes you light up?

My Month of No Running… A Year Later

April 20, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This past Thursday, I came back home after housesitting in Sycamore for two and a half weeks. Other than seeing my husband and my cats, I was most excited to run along the lake again. It’s an awesome experience. To one side you have the lake and the beaches, and (if you run as early as I do) the beautiful sunset. On the other side you have lake shore drive and all the early morning commuters zooming by.

It’s the perfect balance of zen and chaos. I love it.

Friday morning rolled around and I popped right out of bed when my alarm went off at 5:30 am. Yes folks, I wake up that early on weekdays. It was the perfect day for a run. Not too hot but not too cold. There was a slight breeze, not the winter gale force wind I had been experiencing for months and there was a gorgeous sunrise. It was one of those runs where you don’t even realize you’re running because everything is just perfect.

As I was blissing out over this run, I started to think back to last year. About this time last year as I was on one of my runs my left knee started to hurt. Then it started to really hurt. Then I had to stop running and walk and then sit down in the middle of a country road and wonder how I was going to get back home. It was the first time that I had a real running injury. I had gotten my share of blisters and chafing and other running maladies but I had never had a full-blown, can’t run it hurts so bad injury.

I was devastated.

Not because I was hurt or because it was really painful but because I could NOT run. I tried to trick myself and took a few days off thinking I would be fine after the weekend. Yeah, no dice. There was no way I was going to be able to keep my regular running schedule with that knee.

It was a really hard month. I was mopey and crabby and pouty. Adam should get a medal for being around me because I was not a pleasant person to be around. Running felt like the only thing that defined me as far as physical activity. I had fallen in love with running and it had helped changed me inside and out and to suddenly have it ripped away really took it’s toll on me.

It sounds dramatic, but I know other runners will feel me on this one.

But here I am a year later, running along Lake Shore Trail despite my dark moments of despair when I would cry and ask Adam if I would ever run again. That month of no running taught me a lot of things and they have stuck.

1. I am not just a runner. I have so many other things going for me

2. I don’t have to run every single day to be physically fit, in fact I shouldn’t run every single day

3. Running isn’t the only form of exercise that I enjoy. I actually like lifting heavy weights and want to lift even heavier

4. I can handle adversity, but I need to learn how to do it with a little more grace.

5. I need to be thankful every run that I can do because sometimes I can’t

Sometimes things happen in life that knock you down so that you can pick yourself up and be stronger.

I think experiencing a month of no running helped me to get to where I am right now. And where I am right now is pretty awesome. I am truly blessed to be living the life I am and I love being able to do things that I believe in and help others. I have an amazing support system and I learn new things each day. I have pushed my limits more than I thought I could and I am ready to go even further past my comfort zone. Running has given me so much but not running gave me more than I thought possible.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Transforming The Creature Of Habit

April 6, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

The idea of routines has been on my mind this week. You know from previous posts that I am a creature of habit. I like having a routine and doing certain things at certain times. I feel more in control of my day when I have a set out plan for what is going to happen. It also keeps me organized and on track to have a schedule to adhere to.

This past week I have been nowhere near my normal routine and you know what? I haven’t fallen apart. The days have moved on as they always do and time has gone by just like normal and I am still here and haven’t gone to pieces. In fact I have doing some great and inspired work. It might not seem like a huge thing to you, but to a control freak like me this is nothing short of a miracle.

There have been times where things have not gone according to my “plan” and I have completely lost it. Adam can attest to my horrible attitude when something out of the blue comes my way. I almost turn into a small child having a temper tantrum. I would always marvel at my husband’s ability to take everything that comes at him in stride. He knows that there are certain things that he can’t change and rather than let it ruin his whole day and turn him into a moody teenager, he works around it and figures out a new plan.

And I think that attitude is starting to rub off on me.

As time goes on I am learning that I am in no way in control of the things around me. Sure, I can have a routine and some semblance of order, but there will always be curve balls. Life in general is one big curveball. Letting my life come to a screeching halt whenever something goes awry is no way to live. In fact it isn’t living at all. I want to be able to say that I enjoyed life, that I was able to adapt and deal with any hardships that came my way. I don’t want to look back and see that I pouted my life away or flew to pieces because something happened that I had no control over in the first place.

In light of this revelation (that only took 27 years for me to even begin to figure out) I want to try and step out of my comfort zone a little more. I want to try things that aren’t in my routine. Let my schedule be more of a loose guideline than a strict plan I have to follow or lose all hope. I’m betting that amazing things will come my way and I will be able to seize them much better than if I had stuck to my rigid plan.

What about you? Are there things in your life that you can let go of? Are there changes you can make to your routine that might allow you to experience something new and amazing? If something has been holding you back or you have been waiting for a nudge, consider this it. Try something new, step out of your comfort zone, forget the plan for a little while.

I promise you that you won’t fall apart and you might even grow just a little bit.