What did I get myself into?

As I'm looking over my list, I must say...I'm way in over my head. At the same time, I'm also like "Dang - you've done SO much for only starting this thing on November 1st". Give myself a quick pat on the back, then return to staring at the lengthy and complicated things that await me.

As winter presses on here in the A (current temp: 68 degrees, partly cloudy, no chances of snow in the immediate future) I cringe at the snow items on my list. Why oh why can't it snow around me? Seriously...I'm cursed. The last 2 Atlanta winters have been extremely mild with NO SNOW. The last time it seriously snowed, "Snowmageddon" as Atlantans affectionately refer to it, I visited that weekend and was one of the last flights out before God opened the skies and literally took a snow shitstorm on the city. Graphic, I know. So it looks like building a snowman and catching snowflakes on my tongue are out for now. 

I attempted to do the 30x30. But as you can see, I value my weekends...There's always next month.

 I did have some down time last night, in between my Jillian Michaels Kettlebell workout video and eating pizza, so I made this little gem. How cute, right? Who needs Etsy when you have an imagination, hot glue gun,  and tons of wine.

So the next thing I was contemplating checking off the ol' list was number nine: create a photo album to represent every word in the alphabet (A - take a picture of an Apple, B - a picture of a baby, and so on). Too boring. Then I decided to take an actual picture of a letter, as seen here. Too hard. So I compromised. Keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming post which includes my absolute favorite things, as told through the alphabet. Spoiler alert: C is for Champagne. M is for Mean Girls. V is for Vampires. I guess you'll just have to wait for the other letters and corresponding items.

Moving right along...with my list...anyone have a Magic Eight Ball I can use?

L

The Little Things

This post is dedicated to the little things on my list, that I so often forget to update y'all on.

For instance...new restaurants, random acts of kindness, and wearing my retainer (haha jk - that's between me and only me) Except this pic. Take a good long look. This will be the only time you'll see it. I hope you enjoy........

Yikes. I hope you don't get nightmares.

Note: I could play on PhotoBooth ALL DAY LONG. The bf was out of town and left his laptop. How could I not take a million silly pictures and leave them for him to discover on a later date? PS If you don't know what PhotoBooth is, please drive to your nearest Apple store and spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with this little technological treat.

Well that was off topic...This past Saturday was a bit of a "Fat Kid Day", as I like to call it. I woke up slightly hungover from a concert followed by Jack & Coke Slushies (Check out - Victory). I think the latter had more to do with the hangover than the beer at the concert. Just a thought. Not only were the slushies totally worth it, but Anthony Bourdain gives a shout out to them on his show The Layover: Atlanta. Which I watched on Saturday morning. Thank you Mr. B for making me fall in love with my city all over again. And for making me want to go see Blondie even more (Elderly stripper pictured below...The Clermont Lounge's most seductive and experienced Lady of the Night).


So as you can imagine, after watching an hour of the best dining establishments in the 404, I was STARVING. We got dressed and hit up a local "market"...The Irwin Street Market. It was so cute and had this awesome local vibe going for it. We ate at Picnic, which was a sandwich+soup place in the building. Everything is made fresh and if I had to guess, organic.

I ordered a ham and cheese. Sounds plain, but it was far from it. The fresh french bread was grilled and cheese melted, and there was some delicious pesto/mayo concoction on the top. Holy crap. The bf got a BLT. Of course, this wasn't a normal BLT. It was a Fried Green Tomato with pimento cheese and pear jam BLT. Also delicious. I had a cup of homemade French Onion Soup to boot.

Just when you think it's safe to stop eating and leave, our personal chef tells us about the homemade ice cream. To break it down for you, my boyfriend has a problem. He is an ice-cream-aholic. A serious disease. Plus I was meeting a friend for FroYo a few hours later (which I still did). Do you think that stopped us from getting a scoop (okay, 2 scoops) of homemade ice cream? Absolutely not. His scoop was "Breakfast in Bed": Cinnamon Ice Cream with pecans, Belgium Waffles, and bourbon syrup. My scoop was some chocolate explosion in my mouth. I can't describe it. It was perfection.

Fat Kid Meal #2 - My boss has talked about this little Mexican place near our houses, his 6 year old son's "absolute favorite" place to eat, Jalisco. So of course, I had to try it out. It was tiny, authentic, and every table was full. We squeezed into a little corner, by all the "Crazy for Queso" plaques, and did what any person would do in that situation...order the queso. Obviously, being the Queso Connoisseur that I am, I loved it. I also really enjoyed my enchiladas. And the fajitas looked amazing as well. Not the best Mexican I've had in my life, but it was pretty tasty.

RAOK January - Stemming from a near parking ticket incident (thanks to Mr. Meter Reader for deciding on that warning instead of another $40 parking ticket), I decided to hit up the local parking meters in front of a heavily trafficked building in Midtown. I popped in an extra 30 minutes for all the cars (4 out of 5 of them were on empty. The 5th car had 3 minutes left). They might never have known I was there...but I saved them from $40. You're welcome.

L

The Cleanse...Can I Go A Whole Day Without Food?

So as I start this post, it is 10:20, I am trying to take my mind off the fact I substituted a delicious breakfast for juice. Why? Because I took the plunge (fueled mostly by the 50% off Groupon - I just can't pass up a bargain) and purchased a 1 day organic juice cleanse from a local store in Decatur, Nectar.

Not only is completing a cleanse on my list, but it also has some pretty legit health benefits. Let me point out some of my boyfriends favorites: increases sex drive, helps improve PMS symptoms, and improves mood. So obvious. Now let me point out my favorites: weight loss, radiant skin, mental clarity. Men really are from another planet.

I'm about to drink juice 2/6. I now know what I'm up against (you can REALLY taste every fruit and veggie in the drink). There's no sugar, no sweetener, nothing but pure, organic, raw fruits and veggies. You're allowed to drink water with lemon, which helps the detox part, in addition to herbal teas. My version of "cheating" is putting half a packet of Splenda in my tea pretending I'm sipping on a SBUX venti skinny caramel macchiato.

Just popped opened drink number 2. This one has cucumbers in it, which is surprisingly much better than the first. I also just went to the bathroom, catching a quick glimpse of myself in the mirror. To my horror the magenta juice drink gave me a bit of a mustache, which gave off the impression of herpes on my upper lip. Not cool, cleanse. Not cool at all.  I shall be much more careful this time around.

Ok, so it's 12:30 and I'm on juice 3. I'm hungry, but as one of my friends reminded me, it's all "mind over matter". So I'm not hungry. In fact, I cannot wait to drink this carrot, apple, and celery blend. In all seriousness, I think this is my favorite. Gulp...Gulp...Gulp...3 down, 3 to go. Halfway there. I can do this. I can do this. I want a cookie. Shit.

***UPDATE: It's now 4pm. I opened juice 4 about 20 minutes ago. It's literally turning my stomach. Not like I'm a huge fan of beets, but I don't think I'll be able to eat them, EVER again. I'm going to chug the rest of the bottle and pray it stays down. Thank goodness I mixed up the juices because if I had to stomach this twice in a row, I'd quit.

Fast Forward to 8am Friday morning...I survived. And much to my surprise I actually stuck it out and didn't cheat. I drank half of juice 5 before hot yoga and the rest immediately after. I went home, showered, and settled on the couch for a documentary. I probably should have watched it before I started, but I felt I was going to need some encouragement at home since my fridge is stocked and there's a box of Cheez-It's that were staring at me from the pantry. I highly recommend watching "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" as it definitely served as motivation to get through the night without ingesting even the tiniest morsel of spinach.

After I finished up, the strangest thing happened to me. I got energized. Here it was, 10pm at night and I decided to clean my room, respond to 42 (yes...42) emails I had received in between 5pm - 10pm from overly eager Junior Leaguers, and pack my bags for Friday night's sleepover with the bf. Somehow I got in bed and fell asleep before 11pm. I don't know how that happened.

I woke up bright and early (eh, I only hit snooze once and kinda laid there), got ready and to work in record time. I was actually early to work, I can hardly believe it. The best part of my morning: I wasn't starving. One of my coworkers told me he predicted the hardest part would be not to binge the next day. So far, so good. In fact, I kind of think next time, I'll go for 2 days...then maybe 5...maybe 10...who knows?!? Yes, I said next time. My impulse buying + Amazon Prime is a deadly weapon. I bought a juicer of my own. Hooray!

If you're considering a juice cleanse, please keep the following things in mind:
1. Start small and work your way up. Do one meal. Then one day. Then 2 days. And so on....
2. Fruits taste much better than greens, so start with the majority with fruits then gradually increase your veggies. You will like it much better.
3. Beets are used as a sweetener. Don't be alarmed when your pee turns a nice rosy color. It's totally fine.
4. Even after one day, I noticed more energy, better skin, and yes...I lost a few pounds ("I really wanna lose 3 pounds". Excuse my Mean Girls reference. You know I try to throw them in where applicable). Your body will definitely thank you for making the effort.
5. Your mind is a powerful thing. If you think you can't do it, it's that simple...you won't. If you tell yourself you can...you will.

That's all folks...

L

We're Going to the Drive-In. And We're Going to get Shot At

Okay...well....not really.

But I did experience my first drive-in movie since Total Recall premiered in 1990. I think Arnold traumatized me enough I have absolutely no desire to see it ever again. Nor the recently released Total Recall with Colin Farrell *swoon*.


So here we have Atlanta's own drive-in movie theatre. Starlight Six, meet my blog readers. Readers, meet Starlight Six. Make no mistake by this jazzy, sparkling sign - it is in the hood.

The bf and I knowingly drive to East Atlanta, stop at a Sonic (because why stop with just the movies...we are having a "drive-in" kind of night), get a Cherry Limeade and head to the show. It's all in the name of "The List". Numero 23 can now officially be crossed off.

To start, it was the most economical movie experience I have ever been had...$7 a person to see a double feature. I know, the more I tell you the more it seems I've reverted back to the 1950's. What's next, you ask? A 15 cent root-beer float, while Al gives me his class ring and Letterman's jacket, asking me to go steady. Naturally.

Let me tell you what happened next. Drove into what can only be described as the darkest rape...I mean parking lot on earth. Seriously, there are no lights. And they want you to turn off your headlights as soon as you enter. Ummmm hello, dat ain't happening. It looked like Mr. Scary Texas Chainsaw Man was going to pop out of the nearby woods and guess what, you'd NEVER see him coming. So the lights stayed on.

We found a spot on a hill and prepared for Movie #1: Haunted House. Movie Review Time - it was okay. I'd probs give it 3 stars simply because I love the Wayans Brothers and also Terry from Reno 911. Nick Swardson really does have a thing for playing not-so-straight characters and I love him for it. So the movie was "Eh, so-so at best". Funny at parts, specifically minutes 20-60. Anything before or after was absolutely boring. In other words, I'd wait until you can rent it on Redbox. Better yet, wait until it comes out on Netflix.

Onto Movie #2: Django Unchained. Thank you Quentin for saving our evening. Leo...Jamie...Samuel L...all on one screen with a not-so-subtle mixture of violence and Old South racism. It was sensory overload for me.

I digress. Back to the whole "us potentially getting shot in the hood" thing. So several times throughout the movie, the sound would completely cut off. Unfortunately for us, it was typically at the beginning and end of the movie. But a few times it happened in the middle, during a really funny or really dramatic part, where sound was a must. If the sound were to totally cut off (I mean, this isn't a perfect world or anything), you would hope it would be in the first movie and maybe someone would think to get the kinks out in time for the second movie. The better movie. The higher grossing movie of the evening. Let me again say....you would hope. Not the case here, folks.

After the 3rd or 4th time during Django, people were getting quite how shall I put this....pissed. You heard horns incessantly honking, car lights flashing (to the point I thought I was at a club with ultra hip and stroke inducing strobe lights), people screaming, shouting, and cursing like sailors. At one point, I thought I heard a gun shot. But no worries. I have a very blonde, very pretty, very white friend who goes here all the time. She told me the only time she heard about anyone being shot here was a car-jacking gone wrong or something to that effect. But it's okay because the victim "knew the guy". Needless to say, I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon. Sorry Starlight [Starbright], but your sparkle has faded.

L

True Confessions of a...

This post can go so many ways...

• True Confessions of a...mid-twenties fashionista-in-training working on a shoestring budget since grad school student loans have consumed my paycheck. 
• True Confessions of a...small town girl living in the big city - kickin ass and taking names while wearing pearls and saying y'all like a true Southern Belle.
• True Confessions of a...former serial-dater turned hopeless romantic thanks to her sweet and nerdy engineer boyfriend - with a secret wedding board on Pinterest (shhhhhh don't tell him)

However. None of these titles quite work for what I'm going for. For once, I'm going to talk about someone other than myself. *GASP* I know. 

One of the things I crossed off my list as of 11pm last night was number 41. Read a book in one day. My choice of reading materials wasn't planned. In fact, I just came off a Gone Girl reading binge (completed the book in under 3 days) and was looking for something a little lighter. Mama Bear to the rescue. 

My mom told me about a book her friend wrote...one that was actually on Amazon (how convenient for me!). So I decided to take the plunge and purchase the $2.99 Kindle Edition. My Sunday night was completely taken up by True Confessions of a Dying Lady: How to Lie and Bribe Your Way Into Heaven. If you're looking for something nice to do for yourself, and for Miss Grety...buy the book. It was such an easy read - plus the stick figure drawings were super cute. Before I knew it, I had finished it!  

So to give a bit of insight without spoiling the book - my mom talks about this Gretchen lady a lot and what a strong woman she is. Not only because she beat cancer (twice so far). But because she has truly embraced her life, and her imminent death. In fact, my mom told me about her book all the way back in October, while at her "Going Away Party" (which was a nice way of saying her Living Wake). At first I was all like, "Ewwwwwww mom. That's so morbid!" But then I was all like, "Dannnnnng. That's pretty genius. You get to have a party with all your besties. They basically get together to talk about how great you are and how loved you are and how much you've touched their lives and how much they'll miss you". It's the ultimate ego boost. It's also something that 99.9% of us will never experience. How many people can really enjoy and embrace something like that? My mom sent me a picture of dear ol' Gretchen at her party - purple boa and cowboy hat with oversized pink shades on having a blast! I commend Gretchen for being strong enough to celebrate her death with grace, charisma, and humor. Which leads me to the following...   

The thing I took away most from reading the book is that when you're faced with a difficult situation (such as calculus, boy drama, or hell...in this case, death) you need to make the most of it. Have a positive attitude. Laugh. Carpe the freaking Diem . We don't know when our last day will be so we should enjoy life a tad more. Appreciate the little things. Celebrate the big moments. Never take for granted the space between (Great DMB reference...I'm patting myself on the back). It takes a lot of courage to write about something so real and so scary and so imminent for us all. For that, I thank you Gretchen. 

FYI, That was your "Life Lessons with Liz" segment for the day. I hope you took something away from it. It would be even better if you happened to click on the link, buy the book, and literally take something away. Hey, it's a shameless plug for a dying lady...how can you NOT buy the book?!? Happy reading, y'all. 

L

Ski Virgin to Snow Bunny

So item #31 was accomplished this past weekend...one I was VERY excited about: Go skiing or snowboarding.

Let me preface this post by saying, I am a winter weather conundrum. The last time I was able to "play" in snow was my first vacation ever: Denver, Colorado in December, 1986 - when I was 6 months old. Let me tell you I was the cutest little thing west of the Mississippi bundled up in layers upon layers of snow gear, not to mention this Florida baby loved snow.

Fast forward to present day. I have been to Chicago twice during the winter, to Iowa countless times between November and March, and was one of the last flights out of Atlanta before "Snowmageddon" hit in 2010. Much to my dismay I have yet to see snow, unless it's been melting on the ground. Not once has a little snowflake fallen in my presence. Never have I had the chance to have a snowball fight or make a snowman. Tragic, I know. So obviously, I have never been skiing. Until now.

This past weekend, I set out for Boone, North Carolina with my boyfriend, his bro, his bro's girlfriend, his bro's girlfriend's brother, his bro's girlfriend's brother's girlfriend....shit that's annoying...it was 8 of us all together in the cutest little cabin on a hill. We were roughly 5-7 minutes from Beech Mountain, which is where we hit the slopes. The man at the ski shop where we rented equipment claimed me "The Ski Virgin", which I'm sure he got off to later. Gross. I was fitted for my boots, ski's, and handed some poles and we were on the way.

It was obvious. I was going to dominate skiing. It requires athleticism, balance, coordination, and self-confidence....luckily I have all of the above. I was going to be a ski bunny badass in no time (self-confidence or cockiness - I can't tell?).

My patient, loving, kind snowboarder boyfriend spent the better part of the morning telling me that I needed to pizza more and make my "S" bigger. Unfortunately, I was having a Derek Zoolander dilemma: I couldn't turn right. It wasn't until his (also) snowboarder brother told me I needed to move my hips more that I really got going. I took a nasty spill the first run down. He thought I twisted my ankle when in fact my wrist doubled in size. That didn't stop me. I became very familiar with the snow bank on the left side of the mountain. It was my safety net. Literally. This is where I plowed into on more than one occasion. I got going too fast and instead of pizza-ing to slow myself down, I decided to just go ahead and veer left quickly and slide on my side to stop. I hated getting up so I decided to suck it up and slow down the correct way.

Another thing you should know about me. I'm competitive. Almost to a fault. Idols include: Violet Beauregarde ("Well you should care, because I'm the girl who's gonna win the special prize at the end"), Ricky Bobby ("If ya ain't first - you're last"), and Tonya Harding. Just kidding on the last one - she's cray.

So after a bit of warming up I was ready to go. I beat my boyfriend in a race down the mountain. Not saying I was faster or anything....he was probably just letting me win/boosting my ego. What a good man. I left the trip, the best skier in our group. Okay, you caught me. I was the only skier ..the rest did snowboarding. But there were 2 others who never hit the slopes before, and I was clearly the best out of that group.

As it turns out, in a matter of 24 hours I went from Ski Virgin to Snow Bunny. From my experience on the mountain, I took away no broken bones, bruises, or bumps...only mad ski skills. Or another way to put it,  I shredded that mountain y'all. Next stop: Whistler. Oh wait, I'm not suicidal...I think I'll stick to mediocre East Coast slopes for now.

Until next time,

L

Sometimes you feel like a [Health] nut...Most times I don't

In honor of a new year and the realization I'm a titch closer to 30, I'm taking my health a bit more serious. Just call me a HIT (Health-nut In Training). So in honor of this new attitude, I'll share some of my Health Resolutions for this year. Those loyal followers may notice seeing a couple of these guys on my overall list. I find that the more people that know my business, the more accountable it holds me. Here we goooooo...

L's Plan to Optimum Health in 2K13:

• Stop drinking like a fish. You aren't 21 anymore. For that matter, you aren't 25. When you binge drink, you typically stuff your face when you get home resulting in a 3 pound weigh gain the next morning. You also have the WORST hangovers. Remember the day after Halloween? The day you didn't get out of bed until 4pm?  Or more recently, the NYE fiasco of 2013. When you and your bf decided to get a Domino's pizza and cover it in ranch and queso before ingesting? We shall not be speaking of this EVER again. Then the next day your hangover started roughly around 1:30pm becuase you were still drunk off tequila and champagne jello shots when you woke up. You need to slow your roll in 2K13. Your liver/digestive system/head/entire body will thank you.

• Complete a cleanse. So after spending substantial time researching cleanses (Should I do a pill? Or should I go with a juice only? Or maybe strictly soup? How about a pre-bought one - you know, it's like $300 for 7 days...wth this is hard) I finally found one I think I might be able to handle. It's Dr. Oz's 2 day cleanse. I know what you might be thinking...who really trusts a man who wears scrubs during daytime television 5 days a week (unless it's Stefano on General Hospital - ok I made that up, I have no clue who's on GH because I'm not a desperate housewife...yet). But I read it, and it looks legit. And totally doable. And only an entire page of items to get at the farmers market. Ugh. The wonderful wizard...er...Dr. [of] Oz claims he had a spiritual awakening after completing it. So we'll see. The best part, Oprah endorses it...SO YOU KNOW IT'S GOOD. Check it. 

• Sign up for a 5k every quarter. I'm already off to a rocky start with this one. I was DYING to run the Hot Chocolate 5K in January, but apparently so did every chocolate junkie in Metro ATL. The 5K sold out in a matter of days. So instead, I'm planning on running the Junior League's Shamrock-n-Roll in March. That's where my planning has stopped. So if any ATL runners have some suggestions, holla at me. And yes, I know about the Peachtree Road Race. And yes, I'd love to. But no, I'm not from Kenya or a member of the running club so it's highly unlikely I'll get a spot. Fingers crossed The Color Run or the Firefly 5K comes back this year. Those seem like a real [running] treat. 

• Dance and Hot Yoga at least once a week - each. As many of you know, I've taken up a different kind of dancing. One that combines some of my favorite things: ass-shaking, ballet, rap music, and shiny objects. Okay, one shiny object. A pole, to be precise. I pole dance (here) and I'm proud. If anyone wants to give it a try, the ballet-inspired class on Tuesday evenings is the jam. In fact, the instructor called me her muse and is developing a whole series inspired by moi. Tres chic. I also have one tiny obsession with Hot Yoga. So if anyone else wants to sweat for 75-90 minutes in a 105 degree room, let me know. This place is the best. It gets a little crowded so you may or may not be sweating on your neighbors Lululemon mat. But hey, it's slip resistant so it's not that big of a deal. 

So there we have it. My healthy inspired list for the year. I guess I'm also going to watch what I eat, take vitamins regularly, and continue to not smoke cigarettes (only in the house - not really - inside joke - ask my Tampa girls about it if you're really that interested). Cheers to a happy, healthy, new year y'all. BTW - I was toasting you with my super XL bottle of SmartWater.

L