Thanksgiving

First off, I must say that I am sad that Ariana is moving, but glad that she isn't moving far. I am so grateful that Travis and I moved into a ward that is truly a ward family. Everyone is welcoming, friendly, and willing to help where they can. We definitely needed that in this time of our lives. I am grateful for the acceptance we have found.

Tonight Travis and I are driving to Idaho to visit his mom, sister, and brother. We are definitely excited about this little break. We both need it. Things have just been so hectic and frustrating lately, but they seem to be turning around.

I have been so busy today! I woke up and started laundry. I have everything folding and ready for packing. I bought pouches of canned food for Callie, filled up with gas (only paid 9 dollars to fill the tank!!!) , and gave Callie a bath. I have been a busy, busy girl today, but I'm totally excited about tonight. Not only are we getting out of town for a few days, but tonight I get my new phone! Mine has been acting up for a while and we had to suck it up and buy new phones. I'll post a pic later.

After all that work, I needed a big meal! I new I didn't want something heavy, because I will be in the car for 6 hours, so I did a salad(duh). The only thing that would make this salad more delicious is if it had sprouts on it!

It is green leaf lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, olives, croutons, sunflower seeds, and a creamy avocado dressing. I am stuffed! It is the perfect combination, but the onions are really strong.
Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!!!

Success is hard

Where did little Torie Lynn go wrong? I had straight A's in grade school. I dropped out of HS because I was scared of getting a geometry grade less than 100. Then, I started at NYOS and learned the almighty pain of not being the smartest. It was painful. I was the girl who was .001 percent away from having the top grade in middle school. I graduated a year early. I started junior college the month I turned 16. But, here I am at the very university that I dreamed of going to when I was just a toddler, studying the very subject I dreamt of studying and I feel like a failure.

No matter how hard I study I just can't test well in chem. I have A's in all my other classes, but in chemistry I have done abysmally the last 2 exams; worse than I have ever imagined myself getting.

Is it depression? Is it stress? I have no clue, but its eating me up. It doesn't matter that the average test grade was a 55. It doesn't matter that the highest grade was an 85. I expect more of myself and its hard to realize that I have no control over it.

Back to reality of nutrition, today I left campus during devotional and went to Walmart and then to Zuppa's. Yes, my idea of indulging is eating a salad and piece of WHITE french bread. It was crusty and delicious. No picture, sorry. Guess I'll have to go back soon. It was mixed greens with sesame ginger dressing, tomatoes, olives, red onions, sprouts, croutons, and 2 other things, but I can't remember for the life of me. But it was good whatever they were!

Bell pepper!

So I got bell peppers and zucchinis from the co-op this week and had no clue what to do with them. So, I did stuffed bell peppers. I stuffed it with cornbread, from a mix, and enjoyed it fully.

1 small onion, small dice
1 large garlic clove, mince
1 small carrot, small dice
2 zucchinis, small dice
1 box vegan cranberry stuffing mix
1 tbsp evoo
water
s and p

Dump it all in and let it soak.

After that take your bell pepper, hulled, and put the mixture in. I topped mine with nutritional yeast, you could use cheese if you are vegetarian. Put the bell pep in the oven at 400 F for about 15 minutes.

The green bell pepper added a new level of flavor to the stuffing. It was filling and delicious. I paired it with some biscuits.

Told ya so!

Fridays are my favorite day of the week. It has absolutely nothing to do with it being the weekend. Far from it. I hate the weekend. It has nothing to do with loving my classes on Friday. Fridays are always assessment days, so that isn't the reason. I don't have to get up until 7h30 on Fridays! It was so nice being able to sleep in an extra hour.

Travis came with me to Orem today, so I was even more excited about today. I made our usual breakfast of toast and cereal. Travis eats a bowl of cereal and I munch on it while I wait for the toast to cook.

We left around 9h40, giving us 20 minutes to drive from Lehi to Provo! I was only 2 minutes late. Go hov lane!

While I was in Chem I ate these grapes. Learning about cis and trans fat structures made me hungry. Go figure!

After Bio and Chem I went to CougarEats to pick up some lunch for us and then met Travis up outside the Wilk. While I was in classes and study groups he got my oil changed and went to the bookstore.

We went to the Marriot Center and ate lunch. I hate this delicious salad from T&L Produce. Travis has their Caesar Wrap. I ate Travis' roll because on the way to the car I lost mine. Some poor janitor had to lean over and pick it up. You'd think I would notice such a thing, but I didn't until it was too late.

After we ate, we headed over to University Mall. New job, new clothes! Travis got some new jeans and they are currently being tailored. We then wandered around and I bought some new tops at DownEast, which is becoming my new favorite store. The wonder tee is amazing!

After we left the mall I had an apple.


When we got home I snacked on some of Travis' left over wrap. The spinach tortilla was good all on its own! Then, the highlight and my evening!

I made the best oatmeal of my life. It was so good. We are part of our ward's food co-op and we got pomegranates. I haven't had them in years. I don't remember ever opening one myself and I must say I was horribly shocked to discover exactly how messy they can be! My walls, counter, hands, night gown are all purple! I hope it comes out. It came off the wall fine. Anyway, I did 1/2 cup of oatmeal, cinn, vanilla, pom seeds, flax seed, maple, and a Tbsp of strawberry preserves. I like mine super runny. It was so warming. It was a perfect winter meal. Bad thing, I left the camera in the car! The picture is of the same oats, in travel form.


On to TV and chem study. I have an exam Monday that is said to be a killer.
Have a good weekend peeps!

A new resolve

Friends, I am back to my veggie ways and things are starting to work out in life. My husband has a new job, I am feeling good about school, and things are starting to get better.

Because things are now getting better I will soon have more posts that will hopefully be somewhat exciting/intriguing to readers.

First things first, I have less than a month left of school for this semester. Things have been busy with my schedule lately, so I've been taking oatmeal for lunch. Its quick and easy. I put 1/2 cup of oatmeal in a container, add 1tsp whole flax seed, 1/4 cup of blueberries, 2 splenda packets, 1tbsp of maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon and a little vanilla. It seems like a lot, but it is delicious. I add water and put it in the microwave and then I have lunch.

Add to that a wheat roll as a snack and a couple of apples, yes a couple.

Dinners have been potatoes, veggies, soups, breads, salads. It has been quite the assortment.

So, I will soon be posting pictures and recipes for the coming holiday. Stay tuned!

Learning about eating

Okay, so its been a while since I've posted, but I have a really good reason for that. The big reason is that I'M A STUDENT! Yes, mid-terms, and exams, and quizzes every week are insane, but I am taking precious time(which I would have used doing something productive like playing Scramble on facebook) to post a blog about what I have been learning about in Nutrition for the last few weeks.

We have been learning about eating disorders, which we hysterically call ED. I was very nervous about studying eating disorders, because I happen to know that I have come quite close to having one. Then, we learned about the newest ED that is being diagnosed. It is called Orthorexia.

Orthorexia is where a person becomes obsessed with food. They could be binge eaters, or calorie counters. Counting calories is a major problem with eating disorders. People who count calories become obsessed with food because they tend to memorize nutrition information.

I called my mom as soon as we learned about htis condition. My mom and I probably both have this condition. I don't go a moment through the day not thinking about food. I am always thinking about what I can eat when. My days are planned around when and what I will eat. I plan events so that I won't be home and be tempted to overeat. My obsession with food is upsetting, but I am quite proud on myself for not having another ED. I have all the personality traits for someone with an ED.

People with ED tend to be perfectionist with OCD tendencies. They could be chronic dieters. They are people who try to please everyone and always take responsibility.

Does anyone else think its unfair that people who are sensitive to other people tend to be the ones with major issues? Its is like you punish yourself for being a good person.

My advice to everyone, whether you are overweight, obese, stick thin, vegan, vegetarian, or meat head, DON'T COUNT CALORIES. DON'T JUDGE YOUR HEALTH BY YOUR CLOTHING SIZE. Health is about more than just the size of your weight. I have issues with that idea and I blame it on my personality and dance history, but if you can change your thinking do it.

I gained a few pounds recently and the first thing I noticed was that I was able to pick up my backpack without falling over. I had more strength and agility with only 5 more pounds. Being thin isn't everything. It is finding the healthy middle that is important.