You Get Out Of It What You Put Into It

So for the past 8 months I have really been trying to take charge and eat better as well as exercise. I have given in to lazy cooking and I gave in to cravings and exercised only once in a while. I have not been disciplined but along the way I have been acquiring lots of information about healthy eating habits and trying different workouts. I feel like I have made this resolution a million times in the past couple of years but two weeks ago I finally reached the point where I really committed and I am feeling great.

The first time I tried one of Jillian Michael's videos, I had a realization when she told me that cheesy line that "we are so much more powerful than we think we are." I really took that as a wake up call and decided to take control of my life and act instead of be acted upon. I can do hard things and I can be disciplined. I felt so empowered and she actually pushed me to give my all in my workouts and to dedicate myself to this regiment. Pretty great, right?

So I am doing some butt kicking Jillian Michaels work out videos 5 days a week. It does cardio and strength combinations for the whole body and the trouble zones. I feel like it perfectly challenges me and I love it! It has been so long since I have done exercises in loads of humidity so it was really wierd to feel like I just got out of a pool by the end of my workout. It is pretty gross. Back in Utah sometimes I don't feel like I have to shower afterwards. The dry climate just soaks it all up.

 This is my " Are you kidding me, Jillian " face

 

 I am now frequently consuming vegetable and fruits (really enjoying my green smoothies and salads) and try to balance my diet between nutrient rich whole grains (like quinoa and brown rice, plus so many other fun grains), beans (loving lentils), and dairy. Notice that there is no mention of refined sugars and meat. Sugary things are so infrequent now and I am now a vegetarian.

I have been slowly cutting back on meat this year and so many of the students and teachers at my school are vegetarian. I have been asking vegetarians about their choice and their eating habits in an effort to gather information for a possible future decision. I remember talking to my vegetarian students and thinking about being vegetarian but then decided that meat tasted too good so i couldn't give that up. I remember thinking that was a really weak reason and if that is my outlook on eating then I could feel the exact same way about sugars and then I would get fat.

In living with Aurora and Jeff I was able to see their healthy eating habits and what they fill their kitchen with. Jeff is vegetarian and it was great to see what he eats and how happy he is with his diet. Trader Joe's is out here and they make shopping for good foods much easier plus the prices are great. These things were great resources for helping me commit and make a habit of filling my body with good vitamins and nutrients, which does not have to include meat.

I decided to be vegetarian because I always feel kind of gross and heavy after eating meat. I don't really crave it anymore so I am going to get my protein, iron, and B12 other places. I do not need the saturated fats and cholesterol boost. I prefer to center my efforts on preparing so many other dishes that are prepared around more important, nutrient rich foods instead of what goes with meat. There are many health risks that are taken when eating meat and I don't want to deal with that. So many Americans eat too much meat and I do not want to support that industry which is mistreating animals and run a farming factory where they inject their animals with growth hormones and many more unnatural techniques (watch Food, Inc.).

As a member of the LDS church I follow commandments of health that are found in our scriptures. This includes abstaining from teas, coffees, alcohol, and tobacco. Included in the Word of Wisdom is the commandment that God has made all wild animals "for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger" and "to be used sparingly." Wild animals have been around much longer than we have and our outlook on their purpose should be expanded past our current society's industrialized outlook. When people cannot grow their own grains, fruits, legumes, and farm grown foods, man can use meat from animals to sustain them. In the past I'm sure wild animals were occasionally necessary meals for people who could not stay in one place and wait for their crops to grow. I feel this is a perfect explanation for when people should be omnivores.

This is a good book about exploring eating habits. Andrew and I now feel differently about this topic.

I am excited and loving this regiment of healthy eating and exercise. I am looking forward to all of my hard work paying off. I expect a flat belly and toned arms and legs by the end of the Summer.

No Sleep Till Brooklyn

We have been anxious to check out Brooklyn and since we have friends that live there we thought we would explore it with them. Last Saturday we met up with Rachel and Travis McKinney in Brooklyn for some brunch and then we it the Brooklyn Flea. Since Brooklyn is so hip the prices of all the cool vintage stuff were quite high. We went away with some sweet wood type that Andrew painstakingly had wittled down to 7.

 We found so much stuff that I couldn't buy anything. I realized you have to go there looking for something specific or else you will want to buy everything. Here are some sweet glasses.

We had a great time walking the Brooklyn Heights promenade which has a gorgeous view of Manhattan. We went back to their apartment in Park Slope where we chatted and ate fondue. I really enjoyed reconnecting with Rachel at this point in our lives.

I have been trying the discounted ticket lottery for some Broadway shows the last couple of weeks and we finally won tickets to see Newsies. Many know that I was a bit obsessed with this movie in high school and I might have learned a lot of dances from it cause I secretly want to be a Newsie. Anyway, it was incredible! The dancing, oh the dancing! The story changes a bit so that we don't know exactly how things are going to end, which I really appreciated. They also added to the music which mostly worked out and I liked. I pretty much go everyday to try my hand at amazing seats for the Wicked lottery. So far no luck.

Another fun thing Andrew and I have been doing is reading a French children's book and doing French lessons every once in a while. Sometimes we only talk in French as well. He is really quite good at French and I love helping him. I love teaching him more in depth about the beautiful city of Paris that we will some day visit together. This is some art from the fun book about Paris we are reading.

 Cool Things We Have Seen

I visited the home of Langston Hughes here in Harlem. I love the vines.

We found a mini car (aka Willow Ufgood's car)

Andrew sited a pirate dog walking (not in the sense of there being a pirate dog but rather a pirate walking dogs)

We also came upon a wonderful art installation at Madison Square Park.  There were several of these wierd shaped blobs that make musical sounds when you touch them.

Andrew found Elmo and wanted to get a hug.

This is a funny conversation about the photo from Instagram 

This week we have had our friends Hannah and Sean staying with us for a couple of days.  We found out recently that my sister Laura will be coming to visit in July as well as Andrew's mom, Debbie, who will stop here before she goes to live in Great Britain for about 5 months. We are excited to share the city with family and hopefully we will get more visitors before the Summer is over. We booked our flight to visit family in Nauvoo at the end of July. Meredith, Aurora, and Jeff are all going to be in the Nauvoo Pageant so this is a great time to see some historic LDS cities and sites.

A heat wave has hit us and Andrew is coming to terms with the humidity as he has reconciled his feelings of gross and unpresentable sweatiness that comes from just standing outside. In dry Utah you have to have worked out to get that wet, so he was really confused.

I was able to volunteer this week with some women at our church. We served dinner at a soup kitchen in our area. I just felt so blessed to never have to worry about where my next meal will come from. I sometimes take for granted the everyday little things so i am grateful to have the opportunity to help others who are in such need.

Finding Joy In The Journey

We went to Riverside park where we committed our first act of vandalism in the name of love.



When you are in love sometimes you just gotta tell the whole world. I can't help it though. My husband is so cute with his curly hair in the humidity.

We took this shot while relaxing on a grass lawn on the High Line.

                                                                              I was able to visit the northern tip of Manhattan at

Inwood Park where I captured these images.

                                                                         This park is where you can find the original boulder and forest parts of New York City. 

Most people see that in Central Park but this 

less frequented location is just beautiful.

We went shopping at a store called Uniqlo and it knocked our socks and our toe hair off. Apparently our scouting phase of shopping did not last long. I realized things change and may not be available in stores a month later, so we just followed our general rule of only buying things we are in love with.

This is the Manhattan LDS temple which we have frequented since we came. Just wanted to show this holy sanctuary from the bustling streets of the City.

Cool Things We Saw This Week

A man who balances a cat on his head all day

This art piece that is made for a child to enter into when he needs to snug security of the womb again. Don't worry, the entrance hole expands to accomodate the growth of the child.

A street artist who draws with tons of colorful sand.

An abandonned school that has foliage growing out of the windows

Lastly I saw the Saint Thomas Church and I though it resembled the church from the Norman Rockwell Painting "Lift Up Thine Eyes." I took the photo on the left and compared it to his painting on the right. I have always loved the message of that painting. We so easily get distracted by the ho-hum of life and forget to look up toward God and remember the joy of the journey. If you are focused on Him then you will always know how to get where you need to go. 

I LOVE finding inspiring and interesting things here! It brings me happiness.

Your Humanities Degree Is Showing

Recently we visited the Museum of Modern Art which was so incredible. One cool part that I didn't take a picture of was the industrial design section that in my opinion was a new inventions type of section.

Here we are discussing what art is

Among other artists, we saw some Dali, Picasso, and Duchamp (Dadaism)

One reason I love seeing art in museums is that you get to see the original size of the canvas. Many people are surprised to see that the Mona Lisa is as small as it really is. I felt this way when I saw Dali's "Melting Clock," seen above compared to Andrew's head. He had to be able to make such small strokes and that makes him even cooler in my eyes.

This is the the entrance to theRockefeller Center building and it is the style of Art Deco. It is really cool. Do not confuse it with my favorite style of Art Nouveau.

I came across an Art Nouveau book that Jeff has. I put together some pictures from it to the right. I fell in love with this art style when I went to Paris. The architecture of Hector Guimard is seen on some of the metros and many buildings. Sadly they do not have much art nouveau architecture in New York. This makes sense since it was most popular in Europe. I love it because it was created in the Belle Époque era which was around the turn of the 19th century yet the style looks so much more modern than it was. I adore the color scheme and the curvy lines of the typefaces. The fact that it focuses on nature and that it harmonizes with the natural environment makes it very appealing to me. Whenever I see it I long for Paris, my first real exposure to it.

 

            Here is a look at the use of type.

This incredible place is the Casa Batiló in Barcelona. I am in love with it!

I convinced Andrew to allow us to name our first child
Colin Art Nouveau Beck. Done.

I lub it! It is dee best!

Jeff had not seen "Nacho Libre" so we had a grande fiesta! We made yummy nachos, luchador masks, and lit a Catholic candle so that we were mentally ready for this great theatrical experience.

Andrew put on his stretchy pants of course.

                                     

AMAZING!