28-year-old me was pretty smart

I was making everything private on my Facebook page (too many work people!) and found this. I was pretty smart at 28!

1. I would give EVERTHING up for love or even the possibility of it. Needless to say, I’ve had my heart broken a few times.


2. I have continuous need to help people and really try to work on not giving so much unsolicited advice. It’s a bad habit.

3. I was THE fat girl in school from age 5 to 15. Even though I wear a size 2 now, I still have days where I feel like the same girl. My heart breaks when I see a child going through the same thing.

4. I used to have NO boundaries in my life. Now I like to have a little separation between my public and private life. I don't think the majority of my friends know what I do for a living. Someone said the other day, "I thought you were a fitness instructor." I've known him for two years and I haven't done that in one.

5. I have issues with what is supposed to come naturally to women, such as picking out clothes, squealing when I see a baby, wanting to plan a wedding, cooking, and decorating. BUT I am very girly otherwise and think that will change as I get older.

6. I would live in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of a city but refuse to do anything in between.

7. The things missing most from my life are horse-back riding and a dog from the pound.

8. My fiancé and I are so much alike in certain ways and nothing alike in others. I can't imagine my life without him and have a hard time remembering what it is like to live alone even though I spent more time living alone than with him.

9. I still have not gotten over my parents’ divorce even though I know that’s silly.

10. I have ridiculously expensive taste, and I can't help it. When given a choice, I will pick out what I like without looking at the price (especially at restaurants and in clothing stores) and it will ALWAYS be the most expensive. It has become somewhat of a joke.

11. I have become a so much of a food and wine snob that I simply cannot eat crap anymore and am unapologetic about it because it’s my body and my health.

12. I used to have jet black hair when I was 14. It was not a good look.

13. I have traveled extensively my whole life (even as a child with my parents), and I cannot imagine a better way to spend my money or time.

14. I cried more when my dogs and cat died than when a family member passed away.

15. I truly, sincerely love exercise and seeing what my body's limits are.

16. I make a conscious effort to get out of my comfort zone and improve myself every single day. Coasting is not an option for me.

17. I don’t understand apathy and am massively annoyed by it.

18. I graduated high school in three years. Not because I am super smart, but because I was super bored and enterprising. I was really too immature to go to college at 17, but I guess it worked out.

19. In my teens and early 20s I could not sit still. I was always thinking about the past or the future. Today I cherish the NOW and welcome the silence.

20. I live without television but do not think I am too good for it; only that it used to suck up too much of my time. Now I have more time to read, which has always been a love of mine. And what only child doesn’t love to read?

21. Alexander is the best cook I have ever met and has radically changed my love of food for the better.

22. I grew up around an unhealthy pessimism, yet I am a diehard optimist, glass is half full kind of person. I think everyone would be better off being thankful for what they have and what they have made happen in their lives rather than what they don’t have and how they have been wronged.
21. At 28, I finally learned what “don’t sweat the small stuff” means, and I can’t wait to see what I finally learn in my 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, etc.

22. I still think music sounds best on a record player, and a song can move me to tears (the good kind).

23. I finally love myself enough to love others, but I am still learning to manage the standards that I set for myself.

24. I need the beach in my life and make an effort to get there as much as possible.

25. I often wonder how I appear to others because I don’t think I view myself the same way they view me.





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I am still succeeding in my goal not to be on a diet. It's harder than you think when you have been doing it since age 12. I've got lots of fun stuff coming up - a camping trip to celebrate a friend's birthday at Garner State Park (photo above courtesy TPWD), a ladies trip to Rockport, TX and a one-week yoga retreat in the rain forest of Costa Rica. Work is so busy, but I am going to squeeze it all in!

My promise

I will never ever go on another diet again. I am done! Thanks and remind me of this post when I tell you what diet I am this time. No more!

Excellent Chardonnay

Oh my! Cuvaison's 2009 Carneros Chardonnay is the perfect wine for the Spring weather rolling into the ATX. I picked it up at Central Market but am definitely going to buy a case of it for the summer.

From the winemaker Steven Rogstad: "My style and philosophy are based on expressing the unique character of our estate grapes and doing as little as possible to them. When one has such wonderful fruit to work with, that should be ones emphasis."

Winemaker's notes: Bright, light straw with crisp golden highlights. A nose of honeysuckle and beeswax nose with lush notes of white peach and pear blossom. Vibrant apricot and peach tones dominate this richly textured wine, backed by hints of nutmeg and toasty oak.

Cheese!

I am currently making love to Brillat Savarin Bloomy Affine.

Descrption: Brillat Savarin is an extremely smooth and soft cow's milk triple creme with a white mold rind. This is the slightly more aged version that is a little tart, lactic and ultra rich and creamy on the palate.

Amen!

Kicking off 2012 with a champagne cork bang!

Alexander and I could not ask for a better way to ring in the new year. We spent the final hours of 2011 with our fabulous friends Amanda and Josh and their new puppy Hays (who is now Ollie's best friend). The ridiculous menu was as follows:


Champagne and caviar
White wine and stuffed mushrooms
Oyster shooters
A lovely Sangiovese paired with lamb (an Italian recipe with sardines in the sauce - amazing), fresh black eyed peas and mashed potatoes
A cheese plate with dried figs and candied pecans
The finest Brussels chocolates - Pierre Marcolini and Neuhaus

At the begging of the meal we wrote down our hopes and wishes for 2012 and placed them in a jar. Just after midnight we opened the jar and read them aloud as if to cement them into reality. It was a lovely evening and I have high hopes for you, 2012.

Today's Fall Menu

I love the changing seasons and to eat accordingly.

Breakfast: 2 fried duck eggs, 2 slices fresh bagette w/ butter, 1/2 cup sliced strawberries (last of the season)

Lunch: Cedar-grilled salmon, 1/2 cup wild rice, 1/2 cup seasonal vegetables (last peppers of summer, asparagus, broccoli, turnips), chocolate underground yogurt

Dinner: Wild mushroom ravioli w/ herbs, parm and olive oil from our trip to Spain, garden salad, strawberries & dark chocolate, red wine