The Upcoming Road Trip!

The Road Trip is quickly approaching. Seven days away to be more precise! My excitement is at an all time high. Today I have been furiously downloading audio books for the drive. I have a plan to listen to all these self-improving books on our trip. That way we are being very productive and exercising our brains while we drive. You can laugh at me, my mom is right now too. :) We don't have much of a plan, but isn't that the beauty of it? We do know that we are driving to Salt Lake City to visit Chris' oldest brother and his son. Then we are venturing to the Grand Canyon where I WILL RIDE A DONKEY. We also plan on camping, hiking, and taking lots of pictures there. Then we are going to Albequeque, New Mexico for Chris' Grandpa's 80th birthday and a New Mexico football game. Finally, we will be traveling home through California, up the beautiful coast. We plan the trip to take 14 days. I can't help but smile.

Summer Doesn't Get Much Better!

We recently got back from our second wonderful trip down to Grants Pass. Our first day there we hiked the China Creek Trail. We thought it was 5.9 miles... come to find out, that was just one way. The creek was fun to play in though and I did make a friend out of this crawfish Chris found.

Okay, maybe he wasn't really my friend. He didn't seem to like being taken out of the water.

We also went to the farmer's market. I think the Grants Pass farmer's market is awesome. Take this little girl for example, seven years old and she is an amazing violin player. She was fundraising for violin camp. Seriously, how cute!

On Saturday night we attended Chris' friend Nick and his now-wife Michelle's wedding. Here is the cute couple!
Like I said before, I love wedding dancing! I love this picture of us girls. They are so fun.

I did catch the bouquet, but then I tried to pawn it off on Rachael :)

After the wedding, we hit the town (funny thing to say about Grants Pass) and went to JDs, a local pub for some game with magnetic slidy things. I have no clue what else to call it. Chris and I lost anyway.

Then Chris and his friend Chris played Safari Hunter! haha. But, I threw this picture in mainly because I didn't take a good one of him at the wedding all dressed up. Doesn't he look great?!

The next day we went out to the Illinois River to hang out and swim. Gorgeous, huh? I think Grants Pass has unbeatable summers.

This dog made me laugh.

That is Chris jumping off a rock!

We were so devastated we had to come home that we drowned our sorrows in margaritas! Isn't it huge? We polished off two of those bad boys :)

Like always, I can't wait to go back. I like the small town life, the amazing weather, the river, visiting friends and family. It doesn't get any better for me!

It started with a book, now its a lifestyle.

WARNING- This blog post is very much a public service announcement!

Two weeks ago I picked up a book a friend recommended called Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. Since then the book has really changed everything about my food intake. I kicked my terrible Diet Coke habit after learning about how harmful aspartame and any other artificial sweeteners are to the hormones in our bodies. I never thought Diet Coke and me would part ways. I was addicted to it for 8 years! And after one day of giving it up I could feel a huge difference in my body. I no longer craved sweet food late at night. I was more consistent in my weight due to less bloating. I haven't gotten one of my notoriously awful afternoon headaches. Simply put, I feel great.

Not only did I throw away a bad habit of soda drinking, but I also did away with diet food completely. It is shocking that I did this. I am the girl who had a nervous breakdown at an airport for not having non-fat yogurt at their Starbucks (the hormones were a tad bit out of balance that day). I am still eating non-fat yogurt, but it is the Nancy's organic kind rather than the kind filled with terrible chemicals like high-fructose corn syrup and other things that spite our leptin hormone levels. I feel like I am eating real food, which tastes way better, instead of all the processed food that use to make up 90% of my diet.

Switching to real food may seem expensive at first, but what I found is it was cheaper in the end because I am no longer buying as much processed junk food and I am saving a heck of a lot on all that soda I use to buy!

It is also extremely fun to go to the local farmer's market to pick up fruits, veggies, eggs, bread, etc. In fact, Chris and I just met a garlic expert that gave us a hot varietal of garlic that we are going to cook with this weekend!

Here is an insert from the book. I find this stuff so interesting and I really suggest reading the whole book yourself:

The term "organic" applies to a farming method that raises food without pesticides or other chemicals. The idea is that by allowing natural processes and biodiversity to enrich the soil, as opposed to relying upon synthetic chemicals or genetically modified seeds to protect the crops from pests, we'll get healthier food and- imagine that- a healthier environment.

Organics help you stay slim and prevent diabetes. More than 90 percent of endocrine-disrupting pesticides that hang around in our body tissues come from foods we consume- especially animal products.

Organics help you avoid scary hormones. The FDA currently permits six kinds of steroid hormones to be used in producing cattle and sheep. Eighty percent of U.S. feedlot cattle are fed or injected with steroid hormones. Each of these cows gains up to 3 pounds per day.

Organics help you avoid pesticides and other chemicals. A study at the University of Washington found that the urine of kids who ate mostly conventional diets had nine times the organophosphorus pesticide concentration of kids who ate mostly organic.

Organics help you prevent antibiotic resistance. Massive use of antibiotics in the meat and dairy industries leads to widespread antibiotic resistance, exposing us to potentially fatal bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

Organics make your food taste better. Organic food is an will always be fresher than nonorganic food- without pesticides and chemical preservatives, organic produce had to be eaten faster or it will rot!

Organics make your food more nutritious. Organic fruits and vegetables can't rely on pesticides- they have to fight off bugs with their own "immune systems," naturally raising antioxidant levels.

Organics help you save the earth. Produce grown in the U.S. travels an average of fifteen hundred miles before it gets sold. But organic farming uses 30 percent less fossil fuels while it conserves water, reduces soil erosion, maintains soil quality, and removes carbon dioxide from the air.

One quick example: Take tomatoes. Tomatoes have all the cancer-fighting health benefits- the best form of medicine with no harmful side effects. Now let's take our little tomato and see what happens to it in the name of capitalism. The tomato is grown conventionally, and sprayed with up to seven kinds of pesticides. Then it is picked too early because it must make the long journey across the country- or across the world- from its original location to your supermarket. Yes, you are now polluting the environment with all the gas used to transport the tomato. But, there's more. The tomato is still green because it was picked too early, so now it is sprayed with argon gas (also used to euthanize dogs) to make it turn red prematurely. Wow! We have just taken a natural medicine and turned it into poison. That is why we must make efforts to go organic.

The more each of us votes with our dollars for products not produced with toxins, the quicker we'll help right the wrongs and get this earth back where it belongs. As more people eat organic, organic food will become cheaper.

TALL GLASS OF HORMONES

Cows that produce organic milk are fed organic grains and are given access to pasture, but, most important, they cannot be treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin). And thank god for that! Traditional dairy farmers feed this horrific synthetic hormone to their cows to boost their milk production, and so far, the USDA still approves them as safe. Unlike the regulatory agencies in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and twenty-seven countries of the European Union, where rBGH is banned.

Studies have shown that rBGH increases the levels of insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1, in the milk of these cows. Drinking just 1 glass of milk a day for 12 weeks can increase a human's blood levels of IGF-1 by 10 percent. At normal levels, IGF-1 does good things in the body; it's responsible for cell growth, division, differentiation. But, IGF-1 has been linked, in hundreds of studies, to increased breast, prostate, uterine, colon, lung, and other cancers in humans. Emerging research even links high levels of IGF-1 to autism. Rather than destroy IGF-1, pasteurization increases its levels, and because bovine and human IGF-1 are identical, this raging abundance of hormones is eagerly absorbed into the digestive tract and the bloodstream, where it can act on various parts of the body. Awesome.

Studies have shown that high levels of IGF-1 increases ovulation. In fact, one study found that rBGH is one of the reasons early puberty is on the rise.

The kicker? The USDA has consistently refused to mandate that milk producers warn consumers that their milk products include rBGH, and many state dairy boards are attempting to ban any mention of rBGH on labels at all.

Still promising- Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Safeway, Kroger, and many others are starting to use rBGH-free milk.

Being a guest is tougher than it appears.

This weekend my boyfriend and I are headed back down to southern Oregon. Lots of time will be dedicated to playing at the Rogue River, but we are also attending a wedding of one of his friends.

I love weddings. I think that cheesy wedding dancing is the most fun I can have. People of all ages flock to the dance floor to move around to predetermined wedding songs. I love weddings so much that I use to go to the golf course when weddings were scheduled. It definitely helped that I knew the catering director and he let me dance the night away (he also had no problem letting me use the open bar). One time I had so much fun that the bridesmaids and I were singing karaoke by the end of the night. But, those were wilder, more courageous times. Actually, now I just don't know the catering director. :)

Anyways, I think weddings are extremely hard to dress for. Can I get away with wearing black? I have a predominately white dress I love, is that appropriate? This isn't a club, so maybe I shouldn't wear THAT short of dress. Etc. Etc. As for me, I don't think the rules exist. I have no problem wearing black to a wedding. In fact, I was going to do it until I saw the weather report called for 90+ degree weather and before I got my heart set on getting something new. There is something about dressing up I don't take lightly. Especially since I don't really know these people. I want to make a good impression. Oh, and I have worn white to a wedding. Who cares.

I planned to go shopping last weekend for a new dress. It is always tough for me to find what I am looking for when I am looking for it. Isn't that always the case? I find dresses I want throughout the year when I have no occasion to wear them too, but when I really need one, there is zero. I came home from my Portland shopping expedition with ZERO. The next day I unexpectedly got off work early and headed back to the stores. This time I was getting desperate. I found a cheapy purple dress that would work as long as I forced myself to the gym everyday. Okay, it wasn't really that tight. But, it still wasn't perfect and I didn't want the stress of feeling uncomfortable in it after two long days enjoying myself at the river (I am implying that I want to drink beer). So, third time was a charm. I found this Free People dress at Nordstrom. It was a dress that I had overlooked twice before, but decided to give it a try when the end was near. Now, I love its funky play with metallics and patterns. I am pairing it with a simple pair of peek-toes. What do you think?

How could I forget, I will also be wearing these two pieces from Olivia Clare Designs. The dark gold layered chain perfectly coordinates and the blue gives a little pop. Isn't my cousin a genius?

This is a deep rut

Life has its ups and downs. I experience my little ruts just like everyone else. But, this rut I have been experiencing lately seems to be more than a little rut. It has been weeks (between 3 and 4) of irritation, emotions running wild, throbbing headaches, low self-esteem, lack of motivation, spells of silence lasting hours, stress over daily activities, anxiety of being around people and fatigue. All of these things are abnormal for my normally bubbly personality. Sure, I will have an off day here and there, but this is definitely something more and I cannot figure out the cause. My guesses are as abundant as my symptoms- is it work, relationship, living conditions, my upcoming senior year of college that are causing my weak psychological state? As sad as it is, this depression is effecting my whole life. I have been leaving work early, distant from loved ones and restless about my present and scared for my future.

I have had many attempts of treating myself- from shopping trips, to long drives, to watching inspirational movies, to talking with my friends, to lashing out at my boyfriend, to more shopping expeditions, to practicing yoga, to writing this blog post. But, none has seem to cure me yet.

I even went to the doctor to diagnose my headaches. But, my lack of confidence in doctors is even higher than my lack of confidence in myself lately. For he prescribed me a migraine medicine I refuse to take.

I just feel lost. I feel I don't have anything I am passionate about right now. How do I find my thing? How do I reclaim my life?

And the worst part, I am going through all this while giving up my beloved Diet Coke. AHHH... so tough. I'm on edge.

"You Should Know From the Beginning This is Not A Love Story" Part II

Way back in March I posted a blog about my anticipation to see the movie (500) Days of Summer. The movie was soft released everywhere BUT Oregon in July, so this past Sunday was my first chance to see it. (500) Days of Summer is so perfectly casted and acted. Joseph-Gordon Levitt is beyond adorable in his emotions and style. As always, Zooey Deschanel is my favorite. Everything about her is perfect, although her character did shocked me to tears (I obviously didn't take the advice from the headline). All week long this movie stayed on my mind... it was just so delightful and provoked a lot of thoughts about love in me.

The soundtrack is also awesome- featuring songs by Wolfmother, The Smiths, Sea Wolf, and Regina Spektor.

Here is Joseph and Zooey at the LA premiere:

I love everything about this...

Feminine. Light. Vintage. Intimate. I couldn't get enough of the imagery or Ashley Olsen's interview in the September issue of Marie Claire.

From the interview~

At 23, she is very much the master of her own fate, and an icon of defiant personal style. Today she's wearing beige corduroys made exponentially cooler by the fact that she's ripped them up the side seams from hem to shin—and the fact that she's owned them since she was about 15. (Understand: She never, ever throws out clothes. The genie and penguin costumes? All stashed in storage units in L.A. warehouses.) She's paired the beige cords with a signature piece from her and Mary-Kate's fashion line The Row—a supersoft white T-shirt with an artfully stretched-out neck, the short sleeves of which she likes pushing up over her shoulders. Add black flats without socks, tuck the fine blonde hair up under a floppy skateboarder's cap, and the look—at least on her—is just hip and effortless and right.

"I think you're either born with a sense of style or you're not," Ashley says in her small, soft voice, giving her knuckles a loud crack. "Either you care or you don't. And we"—she and Mary-Kate—"love fashion. When we were going to NYU, I think that was the first time we were aware of the power of our personal style. Not the power of it, but the result of it. Between the big sunglasses and the Starbucks cup and the big sweaters, the hobo-chic thing, we were more shocked than anything"—by the endless commentary and tabloid coverage. "I get it; we were fortunate enough to have really nice clothes, and we put them together in this raggedy way. My mom wears glasses this big"—she mimes massive goggles—"from the '70s, and you wonder where we got it from?" She laughs. "The dark eyeliner, the scarf around the head—it's just so interesting and natural." Her family, she says, was "very bohemian."

"Mary-Kate and I are very aware of trends and style, but at the end of the day, we don't even think twice about it. It's just, What do I feel like wearing today, and how do I want to put it together?"

I just love her free-spirited ways.

Tell me what you think is sexy...

I felt like an awful blogger friend when I failed to respond to TWO, thats right two, tags my favorite blogger, Vanessa tagged me in. The first tag I attempted, but lacked the time to get it done and the second tag required me to show what is inside my purse- YIKES, it is soooo messy (my purse's nickname is Garbage Can)! So, to make up for my delinquent behavior, I have decided to do her latest tag.

Rules of the sexy tag:

Write things that make you feel sexy
Post a pic if you dare!
Pass it on to lovely bloggers

Ready? Set? GO!

I think....

1.) Cooking a meal that is edible = sexy

2.) Being a bookworm = super sexy
3.) Being career ambitious = ultra sexy
4.) Flashing a great big genuine smile = fabulously sexy

5.) Wearing yellow = confidently sexy

6.) Sleeping under the stars = vastly sexy

7.) Being a world traveler = excitingly sexy

8.) Working up a sweat hiking with my boyfriend = adventurously sexy

9.) Being a dreamer = the ultimate sexy

Tell me what you think is sexy...

To see Vanessa's cute list go here.

Have a very SEXY weekend!

Columbia Gorge Hike!

Chris and I did this hike on Tuesday with our friend Franklin and his dog Hope. It was some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen (Italy still dominates). None of these pictures have had an ounce of editing- amazing huh?! The Labyrinth hike follows an old abandoned highway for the first 1/2 mile.



Isn't it weird how this tree is growing over this rock. One day will the rock be completely consumed by the tree?





Good thing I am not afraid of heights! But, the 50 mile an hour winds were a little unsettling. I was knocked to my feet a few times!

Our hiking companion Hope. I made her walk ahead of me to scare away any snakes. I think it worked.
We are all planning another hike this upcoming Tuesday around the Mt. Hood area.

Mall of America- Do you miss me?

My mom has always been my shopping partner. It is our bonding activity. When I was a kid we would drive up to Portland every Sunday and go shopping. Now, anytime we have had tough weeks or are under a lot of stress, we call each other up and plan to do some retail therapy. So, it is killing me inside today that she is at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN without me! 400 stores! Uhhhh....

But, since I am not a pessimist, I will keep telling myself how happy I should feel about all the money I am saving by not being there. It will keep my summer stingy streak alive!

What I Have Been Reading.

I have been really laxadazical about reading this summer, but I finally picked up a book my boyfriend has been recommending to me since I met him. Seriously, could I get luckier?! A boyfriend who recommends love stories! I was reluctant and nervous about reading The Time Traveler's Wife because it is long (thats the student in me) and because it is fiction (my phobia of fiction has not yet been kicked). Then I saw the movie preview based on the book and felt like I had to read it. So far, 100 pages in, and I love it.

The only let down is Eric Bana could NOT possibly play a good Henry. He is a terrible actor!