Happy New Year!

Happy New Year friends! Sorry I haven't been blogging in a while. The original point of this blog was to start running, right? I have seriously strayed from my original purpose, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed.

Being holiday season and all, my friends have been inspiring me with their own weight loss and healthy eating adventures. Because blogs should always dual serve as a sounding board for other blogs, I will shamelessly promote my friends' blogs now. Well, mainly one blog. My friend Julia has started a blog called Adventure to Weight Loss and I am really proud of her. Blogging is hard, dieting is hard, and watching what you eat is hard. Blogging about intimate parts of your life for the whole world to read - that's the hardest thing that she's doing. So read her blog, support her, be proud of her with me. 

So anyway - back to my blog post. I have been feeling very blah lately, mostly because some aspects of my life are completely falling apart, but I really don't have anything to complain about. My boyfriend's parents gave me a Trader Joe's Cookbook for Christmas called Lighten Up! IT IS AWESOME!!! Sorry for the shouty capitals. So far I have made "Pan-Fried Polenta with Warm Blueberries," "Try It, You'll Like It Turkey Chili," "Spicy Quinoa, Black Bean, and Mushroom Soup," "Sandwich Love," "Best-Loved Chicken Balsamico," "Dijon Salmon with Artichokes," and "Caramel Apple Oat Bars." Wow, I didn't realize I have tried that many recipes in the last week. I absolutely love Trader Joes - mainly because the food is a) cheap, b) delicious, and c) relatively healthy. Last week I bought $175 worth of groceries from the Trader and I don't think I will have to buy anything for about a month except for fresh fruit. 

From GoogleImages 

The recipe book has something called the "2 Week Challenge," which is basically to eat everything healthy for two weeks (no dairy, no white flour). I'm trying to follow it, but I can't do it exactly right now. I have been back and forth from my apartment and my best friend and boyfriend's house, but when the semester starts again and I can cook all of my own meals for two weeks straight I will definitely do it. Also, this recipe book doesn't really feel like dieting, feels more like eating delicious food, which is always good for me. 

Right, so today I basically did a whole lot of nothing. I stayed in my bed basically all day, and somehow managed to be productive. I wrote a cover letter for an internship I want next year, made an appointment at the career center at school to have it reviewed tomorrow, and did a required 2-hour online school violence workshop to become a certified teacher. I also edited my friend's cover letter and cooked a lot.

I was pretty proud of my day, but sitting on my couch watching TV I felt like such a gross slob. There is a gym in my building and I had literally used it twice since moving in in August. What is wrong with me? I have to say, I have been eating pretty healthy since I moved to New York, and some of the clothes I bought in the summer I can no longer wear because they are too big. That has never happened before, and obviously I was really excited.

So at 10:45pm I decided to go to the gym, why not? I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and walked to five minutes on the treadmill after to cool down. I feel pretty great right now. Every New Year brings new resolutions, and I didn't really feel like making resolutions this year. So instead I made a broad resolution to be happy, whatever that happens to mean at the moment. 2012 had super intense highs and supper shitty lows, and right now all I want is to be happy in 2013. 

So you can expect a lot more exercise-related posts again - but I am not going to limit myself to running anymore. I am going to do whatever I feel like doing, and be proud of myself regardless. So I might ride my bike outside, use the elliptical, run, walk, whatever makes me happy that day. 

Happy 2013 everyone! Much love, and I'll post again soon,

B