Tip of the Petite Chapeau and a Curtsy

A friend of mine on the facebook posted a link to this. A friend I wouldn't expect to but whatever that's a story for another day, and yes it did make me like him more.

Wow. Meet my new lady hero. She's amazing. Jennifer Livingston I heart the bejesus out of you.

If you're going to criticize a woman's weight ( first dummy mistake) I would make sure she does not have a VERY public and forum to discuss it on, unless you are 100% a-okay with the world knowing you're the type of person who just takes it upon themselves to criticize someone's weight. 

http://www.upworthy.com/bully-calls-news-anchor-fat-news-anchor-destroys-him-on-live-tv?g=3

What do I love about this, well let me count the ways:

1. She does not defend her weight. She does not have to. No one's business but her own. 

2. She calls the person a bully which they are and points out how they are reinforcing what is going wrong with kids today regarding bullying. 

3. She stood up for herself in an beautifully articulate way not apologizing for her weight. 

4. She reinforces and sends the message to anyone struggling with their weight you are more then it. Which we all are and can always use a top up in being reminded of. 

5. She admitted while having thick skin being in the public eye the words hurt. Words do hurt and peeps got to be reminded that the internet removing some of the person to person interaction does not remove the sting of hurtful words. Hurtful is hurtful. 

Jewlia Goulia Lives

Did you ever read Jewlia Goulia's blog? She was a very loud and proud voice in the weight loss blog world. She was a prominent character on twitter. I sorta loved hated her. Just being honest. I forget sometimes with people out there I don't have to be their best friends to learn from them or share in their experience.

Anyway she lost a parent, and went through her own rough time 160 pounds down and quit blogging. I was sort of relieved. I no longer had to dread and feel jealous of her presence in social media. I envied she was further along then me, more outspoken, more connected to blogs I admired. I am not proud just honest.

So a few months ago I saw an article in the NY times about a photographer who had been documenting her weight loss. I found the images haunting, beautiful and fascinating. I see another link today on jezebel. Who should the photographer be but Jewlia Goulia. She has another project as well of her dressing room photos which began when she was 338 pounds trying on a wedding dress.

She is remarkably talented and I commend her rawness and willingness to use herself as a subject matter. Everyone knows losing weight is hard, but few know and discuss the aftermath. Her photographs say more then can be explained. I mean I still struggle besides a lot comes with it, things change, your body can look wrecked, I mean none of that has the same impact.

Check it out:

http://jezebel.com/5947345/stunning-photography-project-explores-the-dark-side-of-weight-loss-nsfw/gallery/1




http://juliakozerski.com/half

This is why I'm single the remix

So this message was just sent to me:

You're cute and I want to do dirty things to your body. Anyway you seem like a pretty cool person, I'd love to get together sometime and let you kiss me.

What bothers me most about this, LET YOU KISS ME?! Oh please. You wish. Back to my mature young adult literature because you sir are a jerk. 

Just Shameful

No words for how much I wish I had come up with this but it's also how I feel about my self respect. 

What's so shameful you ask...well it's not that I have been skipping work outs. It's why they have been skipped. I have had a lot going on in the evening so I was trying to work out in the morning. This is difficult to begin with, but I have a new addiction. My name is Anna and I have recently become addicted to mature young adult books. Oh. My. God. They are so cheesy and yet so amazing and compelling. Not one, not two but SEVERAL nights I have stayed up waaaaaay too late to finish a whole book. I am in far too deep. I am checking authors facebook pages for updates on series. I am reading people's reviews to get tips on other series. I need help.

I mean it's sorta easy to see why you get sucked in. You think oh it's just one and it's $.99 or at most $3.99 for a book....the dudes are always impossibly hot and the girls unnoticed until hot boy. Le sigh. I need to stop it because I am already weird enough about dating. This is not going to help matters. It's also not going to help the fact that I already speak like a 17 yr old most of the time.

In case you want to lose hours of your life:


http://www.amazon.com/Easy-ebook/dp/B0085ZHMA8/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1348781918&sr=8-14&keywords=easy+in+kindle+books


The Breathe series...oh the effin breathe series, how you enthralled and haunted me:

http://www.amazon.com/Reason-Breathe-Breathing-Series-ebook/dp/B00505AZRS/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1348782069&sr=1-2&keywords=breathe+series


http://www.amazon.com/Barely-Breathing-The-Series-ebook/dp/B007Z0ODCY/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2

I really hope the author Rebecca Donovan announces when book three is coming out soon. Seriously. I am so far gone.

http://www.amazon.com/CRASH-ebook/dp/B008N0LUE4/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1348782222&sr=1-8&keywords=slammed

Happily Crash has a follow up seeing as I stayed up reading the whole book last night, hate to quit cold turkey.

http://www.amazon.com/CLASH-Crash-ebook/dp/B009511VDA/ref=pd_sim_kstore_5


If you don't hear from me rest assured it's because I have been lost to some sort of bizarre-o lady girl land of trying to relive a romanticized teenage/early college youth....sick in the head I am. I would also like to remind everyone that I consider ya'll in the circle of trust so you're not allowed to mock me too harshly or threaten to break up with me like Juice did.

Weekend Roundup

I am in such deep like with fall right now it is not even funny. Saturday was warm, but Sunday was cool and crisp. It was delightful and I just wanted to make out with it. 

Saturday haircut and a lady date was a night and day maker. I let some random dude kiss me. Whoops. Clearly I have some additional growing up to do and decision making skills to work on. He was charming and I had enough vodka to think it was an okay idea. He then pouted when I said I had to go. He was like put your friend in a cab and then come hang with me, we'll go for a nice walk. Uhm does anyone else think it's weird to offer a walk at 2:30am? Nothing says I am going to chop you into bits like a evening drunken stroll at 2:30am. Not for nothing I think this is a new thing guys are doing. He's not the first one to bring up or offer the late night stroll. Either I am meeting many a Jack the Ripper enthusiast or it's a new NYC trend in dating whimsy. Oh she'll think I am all romantic and sweet...not so much. 

I made pancakes Saturday and Sunday morning. I was gonna throw some pumpkin in there, but to keep the nutritional counts a little more reasonable I did the next best thing I poured a ton of pumpkin pie spice blend in there. Same thing no? They were buckwheat and they were glorious. I skipped their suggested honey, and just used low sugar syrup. I didn't miss it or the extra canola oil suggested. 

Hustled the pup off to chemo post pancakes on Sunday. I have a theory that right now because I got a lot going on between life and the chemo pup I am turning to food in a different way. Not so much eating my feelings but nesting and nurturing them. If Dumplin was a human I would be making her soup and renting her favorite movies. Seeing as she is a non-communicative maltipoo I am poaching chicken breast and obsessively cleaning her bedding. I mean who doesn't like clean sheets? I am so far from an OCD person it's not even funny but lately I find cleaning and cooking very soothing. Last night when I crawled into my own clean sheeted bed, knowing the laundry was done, dinner for the week sussed out, and that trader joe's now makes dark chocolate filled with biscoff, I slept like a wee babe. About that for a second....while the pup chemo'ed I went to Trader joes, on a HUGE upside they now sell shaved Brussel sprouts. Ahhhhh-may-zing. I love brussels as a salad. On a HUGE downswing/betrayal they sell dark chocolate filled with biscoff or speculoos. This is like the confectionery equivalent of crystal meth. It's just not nice and all this time I thought trader joe's and I were friends. Friendship over! 

On the healthier shaved brussel's note I love this salad, I mean like I would marry it. It's by one of my favorite chef's Jonathan Waxman and if you can ever go to Barbuto his place lemme know cause I am always down:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Shaved-Brussels-Sprout-Salad-with-Fresh-Walnuts-and-Pecorino-232809

On the Thai chicken enchilada note, they were super tasty but I think I would back off on the coconut milk next time. It diluted the sweet chili sauce too much for my liking. I am curious how they will taste tonight after essentially soaking all day and night. I also healthed them up with whole wheat tortillas, and I think I filled them too generously at first 'cause I only ended up with 6 not the recipes 8. Whoops. 

Run away from this. 

Fall bangs are back.

This Week's News

It's been a pretty nutty week this week. Some highlights below...

- Worked out with my brand spanking new trainer, Jesse. He's a doll and I am in for an ass kicking. For example Tuesday evening's assessment session left me sore and it wasn't even a full blown work out. Today's 7:30am was no treat and I know he's still easing me in. I am equal parts excited and terrified.

- Saw Bon Iver Wednesday night and got to have dinner and catch up with some of my favorite luscious ladies. Thursday I just dragged my butt around work.

- The pups is not doing awesome. She is not responding as well to chemo as they would like. Her nodes are larger, and on top of it she has a UTI. Poor thing, but she's in decent spirits. She could only do a small dose of chemo this week so we're off to chemo again on Sunday if she's strong enough.

- Big fight with my mom last Saturday remains unresolved and I am finding my way to not let it drive me crazy. It's more her issue then mine. We're having some growing pains as I find myself. She also says ridiculous things that I can either roll my eyes to or be honest about and risk her meltdowns. This time it was her musings on her autonomy and being over being a parent and felt she was done with that.  I unwisely asked when she had been a parent. Not my finest hour.

- Had some Egon run-ins at the gym but few are as good at the deep freeze out as myself. That was not a humble brag but a full out brag. I NO LONGER SEE YOU CREEP-O.

- Food wise, it's been chilly so I've brought oatmeal back in a big way. I also did well with an 8 pack of dark chocolate bars in my apt. Little Hershey's Special Dark ones. I aim to keep my dark chocolate evening intake to 1 ounce, and these are .49 so I get two which pleases me. It was an experiment that went well. They do not always go well with the sweets.

- Haircut tomorrow morning at 11am! Eek that means gym prior so I don't ruin my fancy hair post.

- Thinking about making these recipes: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/04/thai-chicken-enchiladas/ and http://www.inspiredtaste.net/9928/baked-oatmeal-with-strawberries-banana-and-chocolate-recipe. Lets not act surprised I have another one from Jess. I am trying to healthy these both up a little bit or be very portion conscious not sure....I think 3 tablespoons of butter for an baked oatmeal seems a bit much.

-There's also the fact that I have been hankering for pancakes like you just would not believe. Anyone have a healthy pancake recipe they want to share with me? Be your best friend.

- The True Blood Sookie Stackhouse books are ruining my life. I picked one up in Costa Rica and have now re-read the whole series. I don't want a real fella I just want a Viking Vampire boyfriend. Foot stomp included.

- Fall, fall, fall and fall clothes. I am a happy fall loving chickadee.

Anyone got some big weekend plans? Busting out fall inspired things yet? Tell me please so I have to put down a True Blood book for a second.

How I Spent Sunday

I had a delightfully lazy Sunday. I should have woken up early. I didn't. I should have worked out. I didn't. Instead I got a massage, strolled with a friend, roasted garlic, did laundry and made delicious sweet potato burgers.

I have such a girl crush on Jess from How Sweet It Is, it's not even funny. I mean I feel like we could be besties. We could spend hours talking about neon nail polish and it's virtues while she fed me all her delicious creations. Her recipes are the ones I am consistently making the most.

This one was another that did not disappoint. Now it felt weird to make sweet potato fries with a sweet potato burger so instead I made a side salad inspired by Costa Rica. Super simple, chopped celery, hearts of palm, thinly sliced red peppers, and lemon juice. It provided some nice acidity next to the burger. I also cannot emphasize enough how good roasted garlic smells or is. I was taking my recycling out and got locked out of my apartment and truthfully I was less annoyed about being locked out, and more annoyed about a door being between me and the garlic. I have big plans for that garlic this week.

Now for the burgers, I used plain ole multi-purpose flour not oat, 1 tablespoon of olive oil for the burgers and the cooking of them, and I hesitate to say this but I omitted the avocado. I don't really like avocado. There I said it. Guacamole sure, but just plain sliced avocado, no thanks. As for the garlic yogurt cream...I am in LOVE. I do not know why a simple thing like this never occurred to me. I am not going to get upset about wasted time I am going to slather this dip on everything I can. I just did fat free greek yogurt, roasted garlic, salt and pepper. I did not blend it because I wanted a little garlic chunkiness.

It's 4:03pm and I all I can think about it is getting through work, my work out and then ANOTHER BURGER! It's a burger sickness.



Don't think. Just make.


http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/09/smoky-sweet-potato-burgers-with-roasted-garlic-cream-and-avocado/