I am…

Posted on February 23, 2012

I am learning to accept change.

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you are forced to deal with it head on. There’s no way around it…it just has to be dealt with. You all know I am one for routines and “sameness” in a way…but right now I am learning that I have to adapt. It’s really eye opening.

I am remembering that writing is my outlet.

Hence, the not so long break…

I am thinking about my future.

I am rediscovering the importance of truth.

(more on this subject tomorrow)

I am embracing active living.

Walks and yoga>running and gym time…at least for right now. Its what feels right.

I am listening more intently to myself.

When you really tune in, you discover just how hard it really is to do so and how much you were slacking on it beforehand.

I am redefining what being productive means to me.

I am accepting that life has its phases.

If the one you are in now seems hard, you can get through it knowing that something better and different is right around the corner.

I am learning from my past.

I am realizing that you can’t make the same mistake twice.

The second time it’s a choice.

I am shifting my priorities.

I am acknowledging that nothing is forever.

Even if you can’t do something right now…it doesn’t always have to be that way. If you persevere through tough times, in no time you will be back to living exactly the life you want to live.

I am taking up new hobbies and discovering new passions.

I am clearing the clutter and getting organized in a whole new way.

Both physically and mentally.

I am finding me.

And right now…I am thanking all of you.

I know this post and the last few have been a bit cryptic…but I want you all to know I am okay.

Thank you for all the comments, tweets, emails, and all around genuine outreaches of support this past week. You reminded me that during tough times, the worst thing you can do is fold into yourself and stop connecting with others. The community we’ve built here is so strong and SO helpful. That’s why I’ve decided I am going to keep blogging at my normal frequency. It truly is my outlet for expression and stress relief…and being connected with all of you on a regular basis helps immensely!

So I have a little giveaway for you all just to show how much you really do mean to me!

Some of my favorite products are up for grabs and there will be two winners! Believe me…if I had enough money to send you all a prize…I WOULD! (sadly, shipping costs are B*TCH!! Winking smile )

One prize pack has:

Humus Maximus and Seedlander Dr. Kracker’s, Black Mate Tea, and Peanut Flour!

And the other has:

Purple Rice Crackers, Seedlander and Klassic Three Seed Dr. Kracker’s, and Raw Cashews!

To enter:

-Leave me a comment telling me something you are doing to live your best life!

You can get an additional entry for doing any of the following…

Tweeting about the giveaway (with a link)
Following me on Twitter.
Linking back to the giveaway
Adding me to your blog roll
Liking me on Facebook.

The giveaway will end Sunday night!

Have a happy day friends.

Kaila

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Something to keep in mind…

Posted on February 22, 2012

Just a quick pop in…

Some words of wisdom to keep in mind throughout our days…

Enjoy.

Break Time

Posted on February 20, 2012

Hi everyone…

I have a lot of things going on in my family/personal life right now and thus need to take a little break from blogging. I won’t be on DailyMile or any of my other social media accounts as much either for a bit so I just wanted to let you know in case you were noticing my absence (you probably wouldn’t have anyways…but still).

I just need a few days to wrap my head around some things and straighten some things out. Bear with me friends! I am in no way giving up blogging or anything like that! Believe me, I love it to much! But real life takes precedent over online communications sometimes.

I have still been keeping up with all your blogs and I appreciate all the constant support and love you give to me! I may not be commenting as frequently for a little bit, but don’t think I’ve forgotten about ya!

As soon as I am feeling up to it and have something to write about, I will be back. Just note that it may be a little sporadic for the next little bit of time.

I think we all go through times like this in our life. We experience some highs and lows, up and downs. Right now just seems to be one of those lower points and I want to dedicate and commit myself to dealing with the low. I have seen too many people (in my own family, in the blog world, and in countless other areas of my life) get bogged down by less than good times in their life and I refuse to let that happen to me! So I am being proactive…taking sometime for myself and dealing with my current situation as best I can!

See you in a bit friends! And as always…thank you for everything you do for me on a daily basis! I really can’t convey how impactful you all are in my life. Smile

Kaila

Friday Favorites

Posted on February 17, 2012

Does anyone else really enjoy Friday Favorites posts?! I hope they don’t bore you too much because I really love them. People always post about a mix of such cool things and I always end up getting exposed to a new product, a new site, or just a little something to spice up my day! It’s fun to see what other people have been enjoying lately…at least I think so.

So if you’re and FF hater, sooooorry but I am jumping on the bandwagon this week!

My Faves for this lovely Friday…

1. The trailer for the short film I am in!

A Cows Tale Teaser from Howie Murray on Vimeo.

It was just released today! I love how everything is coming together and I am SO excited to see the finished product later this year.

2. Forever 21’s Workout Gear

It’s cheap and really cute…and seems to be pretty good quality too! I just can’t justify spending a ton of money

3. Steamed Kabocha

Since I am on a soft foods diet right now I can really roast up a crispy kabocha like I usually do. But that hasn’t stopped me from getting in some of my favorite food! I actually really like it steamed…it doesn’t lose any of its amazing flavor and the texture is really yummy! Might have to add this method in to the kabocha cooking rotation Smile

4. Healthy Aperture

I know, I know I’ve mentioned this site before (and have even been featured on it a few times Smile ), but this past week there have been some particularly delicious looking dishes. I have my eye on these cinnamon raisin bagels…

Weekend project perhaps?

5. End of the month magazine restock!

I always look forward to the end of the month when all my magazine subscriptions come in the mail!

6. Summery Shoes

I love when all the stores start putting out their Summer clothes…it means we are that much closer to warm weather.

7. This snack…

I mentioned this yesterday. I know it doesn’t look like much but it is seriously delicious! No crunchy fruit for me right now so I heat up a chopped pear with some frozen blueberries until they are both warm and soft, then top with peanut butter. So good. Warm, melty peanut butter…omg.

What are some of your favorite things from the past week?

Any fun weekend plans?

I have hot yoga on the agenda tomorrow morning!! Haven’t gone in a while so I’m pretty excited!

What are your favorite stores to shop at?

When I am trying to be frugal, Marshalls and Forever 21…when I have a bit more money, Aerie and Target!

Have a great (long? I think for some of you!) weekend!!

Kaila

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Better than Expected

Posted on February 16, 2012

That’s exactly how I’m doing right now (in case you’re new here…I just got my wisdom teeth out two days ago)!!

Yes there is swelling, yes there is pain, yes I have to rest, and yes I can’t eat my normal diet…but I am actually really happy with how I’m recovering and improving!! The pain isn’t nearly as bad as I expected and my only other real symptoms are a little fatigue/tiredness and a few headaches here and there!

I wanted to thank you all again for your kindness and get well wishes! I truly think its helping me recover! You all have been so sweet!

[My sister sent me these lovely flowers!! Love ya Lis!!]

I also want to give a shout out to the doc that performed my surgery! HE WAS AWESOME! So nice, comforting, and, in spite of all the digging and drilling, made the procedure as smooth as possible! He even personally called a few hours after the surgery to see how I was doing. Talk about good patient care!!!

So seeing as I ‘ve been having to rest lately…and that includes not going to school (usually I’d be happy about this…but this is such a BUSY time of year right now so it’s a little stressful staying home!), I’ve been trying to think of creative ways to fill my days!

Eating takes up a lot of time because I have to make stuff that takes longer to prepare and have to be a bit more creative with my eats! The first two days were pretty much all liquid and really soft stuff, but today I am actually eating some solid food! I missed it!

Recent eats have included (sorry no pics!):

-pureed winter squash

-lots of way overcooked veggies

-eggs

-smoothies

-steamed kabocha (I actually really enjoyed this!!)

-LOTS of yogurt

-pureed frozen fruit (peaches, strawbs, and bluebs are especially delicious heated up and chopped up!)

-soup

-baked eggplant

-potatoes

-oats with pumpkin

-cottage cheese

-overcooked pasta with humus and tomato sauce

One snack I have been really enjoying lately is chopped apples or pears heated up with mashed and heated frozen blueberries, topped with peanut butter and peanut flour paste! It’s actually really delicious! I will probably have this even after I am fully recovered!

Despite the pretty yummy eats I am reeeeeally missing my crunchy cereals, crackers, raw veggies and fruits, and crisps!

Yesterday I took part in a little retail therapy to help keep my mind off the pain. I give myself a lot of credit for going out in public with my chipmunk cheeks LOL! Can’t believe I’m about to show you this…

[I look so enthused don’t I? This was right after I woke up yesterday morning…]

EMBARASSING!!

Puffy McPuff Face.

Anyways, my mom and I ventured to Barns and Noble and Target! Two stores I could spend HOURS walking around in!

I headed to the cookbook section first to see if there were any good new ones on the market! I found a few that looked really interesting and actually took a few screen shots with my phone of some recipes I wanted to try….shhh don’t rat me out. Winking smile

Look what else I found in the clearance section…

Seriously? Hooters has a cookbook!? What’s next a Burger King cookbook?

On to Target! This is where the real damage was done!

Found some new Chobani! And FINALLY bought some of the new flavors!

Both were delicious. Yes they are both gone in less than 24 hours Smile

More soft veggies for the teeth!

For some at home yoga!

Clearance buys…

The rest of the day was spent doing school work, knitting, and trying to stay productive! I am one of those people who needs to be doing something all day…its reeeeeally hard for me to sit and do nothing! So hopefully I don’t have any other serious surgeries or injuries any time soon!

Hope everyone has an enjoyable Thursday!

New Office tonight! WOO HOO!

Kaila

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WIAW: 16 Shots

Posted on February 14, 2012

Sixteen.

That is how many Novocain shots the dentist had to give me to numb my gums today.

[Yeaaaah. Heard that quite a few times.]

If you didn’t know, I had to get all 4 wisdom teeth out today. Needless to say, I am sitting here completely numb, drooling, and with ice all over my face. I’ll spare you from seeing a picture…its not pretty.

Overall the procedure wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but still pretty gnarly!! I’m not one to be afraid of needles or blood, but all the digging and pulling definitely was a little uncomfortable! Especially the tooth that took TEN MINUTES to get out.

For the next few days I’ll be resting it up and eating tons of soft foods!

But don’t worry…I have been saving all of my food pics from the past few days so I could still participate in WIAW!! Believe me…you do not want to see what I’ll be eating over the next few days!

I reached out on Twitter last night for some ideas:

[Too bad I can’t stand jello! Am I the only one out there?!]

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies!!! Smoothies, soup, yogurt, and cream of wheat here I come!!

Enough tooth talk though…let’s get on to the good eats!

It’s gonna be painful to look at all these yummy pics…I am already missing all my crunchy food Sad smile

At least I will be able to go along with the theme of WIAW this month! It’s spread the veggie love month and I foresee many pureed veggies in my future…

What I’ve Been Eating:

PopChips was nice enough to send me some of their new sweet potato chips to try!!

You all know my love of sweet potatoes…so I expected to LOVE these! And they did not disappoint…perfectly sweet, crunchy, and flavorful!

Pretty good nutritionals too!

Thanks PopChips for the Valentines Day present!

[Got these free samples with my latest iHerb order!! So cool!]

[tuna chopped salad]

[toast with laughing cow and jam, baked eggplant, juicy pear]

[cottage cheese and jam english muffin]

[more chopped salad love]

What I Wore:

Today was all about comfort for the big operation Winking smile

[Sweats FTW!]

Yesterday’s ‘fit!

[Whom I kidding…EVERYDAY is about comfort. Senioritis…]

Well I am off to keep icing and am hopefully gonna attempt to go eat something! Wish me luck!

Have you ever had surgery before?

This was my first!

Have you had your wisdom teeth removed?

Please feel free to share some advice or experiences!

What’s your favorite liquid/soft food?

Happy WIAW! (even if I am a little early Winking smile )

Kaila

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Working Rest Day

Posted on February 12, 2012

Thank you thank you thank you for all the well wishes on yesterday’s interview!!! I think it went pretty well! So we shall see

——-

Sunday is traditionally a day of rest and I guess it was…in a way. I took the day off from exercise (been taking a few more rest days than usual)…opting for some yoga…but I did not take the day off from chores, school work, and CLEANING!

Forget Spring cleaning…it’s all about Winter cleaning!

I was a machine today!! Shoveling, room cleaning, laundry, food prep, lunch making, de-cluttering, essay editing…I did it all. It was actually nice to be so busy on a rest day! It kept me occupied and I didn’t even really miss my lack of a workout<-something I look forward to in my day!

Just check out the garbage bags from cleaning my room!

[FOUR FULL BAGS!! And they were heavaaaaay!]

Not that my room was that messy…but I just had A LOT of junk to get rid of! Mostly review books, old school supplies, and magazines. Felt good organize a bit and free up some space in my room. Neat freak alert

Well aside from having a pretty productive day, I rounded up a bunch of stuff to share with you all from around the web! I didn’t do my usual link love post this week and since Valentines Day is coming up…I thought it would be appropriate to end the weekend with a little LOVE.

[Following Popchips lead! I’ll have a review of their new variety later this week!]

I’ve been reading so many new blogs lately and discovering a ton of fun sites! My google reader is totally packed…but I can’t help it…too many amazing writers, bloggers, cooks, and people in general out there!

[note: all pictures are from the links associated with them unless otherwise specified]

New Blogs I’m Loving:

Melissa Nibbles- this girl is HILARIOUS!

The Smart Kitchen-AMAZING recipes and a great writer as well! I especially want to experiment with this:

Homemade Seitan!

Fun Food:

Tuna CHIPS

Okay…so if you’re not a tuna lover these might sound a little unappetizing. But I have been on a tuna kick lately so I think they sound amazing!!

No Sugar Added Strawberry Muffins

Perfectly festive for the holiday!

UBER Healthy Banana Bread

Dairy Free Chocolate Cake

Cookie Dough Cakes

Aside from the tuna chips…all these would be perfect for a sweet treat on V-day. And hey…maybe the tuna chips would work too…haha, depending on your tastes!

Promising Pins: