It's all Greek (yogurt) to me?

I have fallen in love with the smooth, dense, creamy Greek yogurt that is now readily available in the grocery stores. It can be used to make frozen yogurt, or topped with berries and granola as a healthy snack. And it's guilt-free - there are 0% fat versions available!

So when our local grocery store had Yoplait Greek yogurt on sale, I stocked up. 100 calories per container, you can't go wrong, right? But I had never tried Yoplait's version. I figured it was worth a try. I was SO wrong.

Normal greek yogurt is formed by straining normal yogurt to eliminate more of the water content. However, the cheapskates at Yoplait decided to add gelatin and other additives to try and simulate the authentic Greek yogurt. Instead of doing it right, they cheated and created a chemically, dry-tasting product that left a lot wanting. I guess they just lost a customer.

(As an aside: did you know that the second ingredient in Yoplait Light yogurts is corn syrup? Really? WTF)

Zen-ing my productivity

One of J's favorite sites, LifeHacker, is a trove of useful everyday information. It serves up tips on everything from brewing a mean cup of iced coffee to more random geek hacks, to just plain advice.

A recent post caught my eye. Although I am a habitual list maker, rarely do I cross off much from the list. Having a place to dump all my thoughts - from dropping off dry cleaning and dusting, to more lofty goals like learning a new language and losing 10 pounds - can be cathartic, however, tt also tends toward a stream of consciousness journal rather than focused task manager.

In the article, it gave some solid advice (http://howtogetfocused.com/chapters/how-to-get-things-done-like-a-zen-master/). To summarize:

1. Get an off-line, pen-and-paper weekly planner. Online ones get too complicated and distracting.
2. Using the weekly layout, designate specific days to accomplish certain tasks. I.E. PRIORITIZE.

And the best one...
3. Every time you sit down at your desk/computer/workspace, have a sticky note present with three (3) tasks to accomplish. Focus on those tasks ONLY.

The first two should be productive, work-related, but the third one could be a more pleasurable task, like watching a TED talk, browsing music for spin class teaching, or finding movie times for Friday date night.

I like the idea of having a carrot - a little reward is enough to motivate me to get through my work first!

Tables, part deux

I spent some time perusing - more aptly described, determinedly hunting for that one picture I could not seem to find. That long, distressed, highly used and loved table covered with empty wine bottles from the night before and the kids coloring there over their morning toast. It still drives me nuts that I can't find that picture!

Luckily, I was able to find some images that contain a bit of that same idea. I still want that table though.









I think I like this last one mostly because it reminds me of Brazilian tiger wood.

Tables, part I

A few years ago, maybe about 2 now, I fell in love. With a rustic wooden dining table. Maybe more so a large almost-bureau. The first few heart flutters came from magazine pictures. A messy but loved 15-foot table that served as the heart of all activities in the home. Another, more refined but still full of character wooden anchor for the kitchen-cum-dining room. These images have been in the back of my mind for awhile now. I found the table feeling at Repast's bakery in Inman Park too. A massive golden wood object of desire that quite nicely handles at least 8 people on bar stools, cozied up around it munching on their Saturday morning pastries, perusing the newspaper headlines and sipping their lattes. Almost makes me want to go back right now. I haven't been there in at least 2 years...

And almost a full year passed. Then I was recently perusing the Ikea Hacker blog (ikeahacker.blogspot.com), and came across this Danish inspiration (not Swedish, actually by a Dane):



And another inspirational photo. I don't love everything about the details of the table or even the exact seating, but I like taking it for the feeling I get when I look at it.



I will dig deeper into rustic wooden tables across the Internets, and will be back soon!

New directions

I feel like I have abandoned my blog. No, I actually HAVE abandoned my blog. It has been woefully neglected for almost 2 whole months, and I am trying to figure out why.

Part of it comes from realizing that the text editor is wholly uninspiring to me. I hate writing in it. I have ideas for what to write when I am not staring at this technical, boring text box. I would much rather have my happy picture to look at, and see text getting put directly onto my actual blog. You know, direct feedback on how it looks and feels in context.

Part of it also stems from feeling like whatever random ramblings I have merely clutter space on the Internets without providing any productive content. To address that insecurity on my part, I plan to take this blog in a more focused direction. Part home decorating, part "green" ideas, and maybe even part projects (so I have impetus to actually finish some of them!). Not that I won't have my random post days, but having a better vision of why I bother to write here should help my motivation to do so.

So, keep checking back and bugging me if I start slacking!

I feel better. Is that weird?

When J and I started our Lenten diet this year, it was no big deal. We had given up the same things last year: refined sugar, refined flour, red meat, and caffeine. Sounds like a lot? Yeah, it was rough last year. But this year wasn't so bad. I didn't miss the sugars or white bread as much as I thought I would, but I was really looking forward to Lent being over. Or so I thought.

Easter Sunday came, I grabbed a Chai Latte from Starbucks as a morning treat, and went to church. So far, no big deal. Then our friends had an Easter potluck, replete with glazed ham and chocolate fondue. Ok, I can handle that. And then I got home, and the boxes of candy called my name. I indulged - why not? I wasn't on our Lent diet any more - and then it happened. I crashed! All throughout this past week, I have allowed myself to eat sugar whenever I pleased, and my body has not like me for it! I literally felt bloated and sluggish all week - pretty darn terrible given how on top of the world I had felt the week before. I even seemed to gain a few of my lost pounds back!

What I did not experience last year, and what shocked me about it this year, was a complete change in my actual taste for sugar. For me - a lifelong sweet tooth - the ability and realization that my body (and therefore my self) no longer gets much pleasure from eating sugary things as I thought. There must have come some moment of mental switch in the last 40 days, realizing that I did not mentally need sugar, nor did I physically need it either, and that was it. This has been such a freeing feeling too, to not want or crave things that are ultimately bad for me. I feel better without sugar. Is that weird?

Starting today, I am back to the no refined sugar, no refined flour, with a little leeway built in for those occasions when I want a bite or two of something sweet. But this is a decision that is an obvious choice now because I have found out how good and strong and alert I can feel, and I don't want to give that feeling up for a box of jelly beans. It's just not worth it!

Beer me

...or not. For those of you who knew me in college, you are aware how much I despised the standard college parties with their cheap beer and mysterious punch. I had such a loathing for beer from those early experiences that there was little motivation to start drinking beer until I got to graduate school...and then it was the social lubricant of choice for all of my friends. So I tried, and tried, and found a few beers tolerable, but quite honestly, I still much prefer a glass of red wine (or white) to any beer you could hand me.

That is, until I discovered vodka. Vodka and I have made quick friends (no no, not like that!) so now when I reach our destination bar, I can quickly order a vodka soda, especially one of the flavored varieties, and be quite happy all night! Can I suggest a rootbeer vodka and soda? Or a sweet tea vodka and lemonade? Even Stoli raspberri is acceptable in these circumstances.

I miss out on all the bloated feelings that beer gives, the dreadful aftertaste, and the beer breath. Oh darn. I feel like I have finally reached adulthood now that I have come of age enough to have specific taste and opinions about the alcohol I ingest. Cheers to my favorite drink, and yours!