Creature of comfort

(This is a previously scheduled post as I will be cruising to the Bahamas this week).

I saw this meme-y type of thing over at Lacey's place and thought I'd give it a shot.

My comfort clothes:

grey sweatpants

"lived-in" pair of jeans from Delia*s

sundress from Old Navy that I got in the kids department for $11

My comfort foods:

this recipe for chicken pot pie

cheese pizza

fried potatoes

tomato soup with grilled cheese

homemade pancakes or french toast

My comfort movies:

You've Got Mail

Clueless

Beaches

Old School

The Incredibles

The Little Mermaid

Ferris Bueller

Corrina, Corrina

Sister Act 2

My comfort books:

Eat Pray Love

Bitter is the New Black

Devil Wears Prada

How to be Single

Late Bloomer's Revolution

Comfort activities:

having a DVD boxed series marathon of a TV show

watching Grey's Anatomy with my mom

getting sucked into a good book

reading a magazine while getting a pedicure

going shopping alone

lying poolside

Did you realize that...

Kate Gosselin's haircut which is supposedly coveted by "millions of women,"



first garnered attention by none other than Rosie O'Donnell?



This was recently brought to my attention by one of my friends who happened to be flipping through an old People magazine with Rosie O'Donnell on the cover and was all like "Rosie used to rock 'the Kate!'" and sent me the picture.

Could it be possible that they used the same hairstylist?!

all images courtesy of google

Bahama bound

Next week at this very time, I will (finally!) be loading onto a very big ship that will be sailing to Key West, FL and the Bahamas. I'm so excited that I really just can't hide it.

(photo courtesy of cruiseweb.com)

The reason why I am beyond excited is because I've never been on a cruise before (anyone have any tips?). It's something I've always wanted to do but never really understood the appeal. Well in these past few weeks leading up to the vacay, I've learned that you can go to a spa, be surrounded by endless trays of food and gamble in one place all while sailing across the ocean.

GENIUS, I tell you.

This is my graduation gift and I will be going with my parents, my aunt&uncle, their daughter (my cousin) and her husband&children. I wasn't able to get a trip together with some of my friends back home due to everyone's crazy schedule or fragile situations with money and/or their jobs. That all doesn't really matter though because my parents and family are the most awesome people I know, so this trip is guaranteed to be, at the very least, enjoyable.

Even though I have about four days left until we leave, I'm in the middle of a packing meltdown. I'm at that point where I hate EVERY PIECE OF CLOTHING I own and wonder where I could've left my brain when I did my shopping.

How is it possible that I own a tank top in every color under the sun, yet don't own any T-shirts without any (mildly) inappropriate sayings on them? (I don't want my "too busy to FCUK" shirt to offend the retired couple who's innocently enjoying their shrimp cocktail).

See? this is what happens, I end up focusing on really ridiculous aspects of my wardrobe when it comes to packing.

I know that it will probably boil down to my mother getting so frustrated with my flakiness and anxiety "over nothing" that she will go to my closet, pick out something that I will loudly scoff at & put in my suitcase, and it end up being my favorite outfit during the trip.

Which is why I keep that woman around.

So five years ago

This post is a part of 20SB's Blog Carnival and Ben & Jerry’s is awarding free ice cream to lucky bloggers and readers!

The theme of this month's carnival is "Looking Back" and asked that you share a post from your first two months of blogging.

I started my first blog back in April of 2005 on LiveJournal. I had used it primarily as a way to comment on social issues, news stories, or my daily life (much like I still do). However, my writing style was different. I used to write "haiku-style," with barely full sentences or paragraphs. It was just the way it used to come out of my head and, thus, my blog was called "Fragments of my mind."

The post I'm going to share is from May 7, 2005. I was 19 and it's about how I was feeling at the end of my freshman year of college. (Oh to be so young and free again!)

-------------------------------------------------

finals
the first few weeks of may
signifying the end of my freshman year of college
how soon it all came it and went
brain has been in overload
papers to written, books read
packed up all the things that
was my 'home away from home'
saying goodybe to new, old friends
"we'll keep in touch over the summer"
we promise each other as we pack up our cars
lock the doors and hand in the keys to our dorm rooms
2 weeks to wrap up
what took 19 years to prepare for
joy and fear, like i've never imagined
freshman year of college
i had a blast.

--------------------------------------------------------

I actually remember the day I wrote this. I had just finished packing up all of my stuff and the only thing left to pack was my laptop. My roomie had left earlier that day and I was left alone in the now-hollow room.

As I packed up my belonging, I began looking through the pictures taken during those first two semesters. So many emotions stirred up that I was bursting at the seams to find a way to remember what I was feeling at that exact moment, so I signed onto my blog and wrote what came to mind.

It's bittersweet to look back on this entry now because I have completed college. It makes me appreciate that accomplishment much more but also makes me long for those days of aimlessly wandering around campus and filling the dorm hallways with raucous laughter.

I went shopping for a bathing suit and lived to tell about it

So as most of you know, I'm going on my very first cruise to the bahamas in a couple weeks (cue: the obnoxious jumping up&down like a giddy seven-year-old). Therefore, I've been forced to do the dreaded bathing suit shopping.

Normally, I avoid don't bother trying on bathing suits because my only requirement is that it covers my behind appropriately. If a suit had boy shorts then I was at the register and out the door in under five minutes. And, I try to avoid any and all measures to inflict self-loathing.

The reason? I have a birth mark on my upper thigh that I used to be terribly embarassed by when I was a teenager. I thought that I couldn't frolick around in any old suit because I would be worried about the bottoms riding up and revealing the mark. With boy shorts, I could cartwheel up and down the beach with no worries.

However, this year I knew I was ready for a change. I've been working out consistently, eating much better and just feeling great about my body. The mark really isn't that bad and I'm at a point in my life where I don't really care if it is shown. In preparation for my bathing suit shopping, I did some research. During this time, the lovely miss Ev'yan launched her new advice web site, Ask Apricot, where a reader had asked for advice on finding a cute swimsuit for petite frame. I was like, "hurrah! information I can use at this exact moment!" and she shared tips for looking for suits with embellishments, fun patterns, etc. I also read some magazines and took away some tips from a segment on the Today Show.

Armed with all of this good information, I stepped into Dillard's and had one goal in mind: I will try on every single bathing suit, so help me God. Even ones that would cause me to laugh in digust. I had driven to the store blasting my favorite summer mix CD full of cheesy pop music (which includes songs from Nelly Furtado, Gwen Stefani, Rihanna and Shakira. hey, her hips don't lie and neither do mine) to get me in a happy, fun mood.

I was happily surprised when I got to the store because they had more than one style of one piece suits (hey retailers, just because I'm young doesn't mean I only want to look at selection of two-pieces). I went through each and every rack and picked up just about every kind of style available. The saleslady very kindly started a dressing room for me because she obviously knew I was going to be there a while.

After about trying on five suits, I came to the lone one piece I had picked up. I tried on this suit by Raisins not expecting much but then....EUREKA! It fits perfectly, offers the right amount of coverage AND gives my small chest a much needed boost.

(it even has a cute cut-out in the back for a little bit of sexy)

When I tried it on, I wanted to prance around the store, I was so thrilled. I actually found a bathing suit that I feel 100% comfortable in!! The only bad part? I had to shell out $60 for it but it's SO WORTH IT.

In the end I learned I that I cannot treat all bathing suits the same, not all boy short styles are flattering on me (especially because they have a tendency to make the leg line shorter, which is an area I don't need any more help in) and a fun pattern or color makes all of the difference.

I've got a beef

Last night I happened to be watching Nightline (yeah, I'm 23 and watch Nightline) and my interest immediately perked up when they ran a piece on burrito titans, Chipotle.

Steve Ells, Chipotle founder and chairman, is turning the fast-food model on its back end by turning to small farms (instead of factories) and avoiding chicken and most beef treated with hormones or antibiotics.

In the piece, they visited one of the small farms that supplies Chipotle with meat. As the anchor and Ells walked through the farm, Ells shared his thoughts:

"Well, first of all, you can breathe here and it smells great," he said. "You can't breathe in a confinement operation. The odor is horrific. And you can see the terror in the pigs' eyes. And they scurry away from you. And they are chewing on the metal bars. And it's so unpleasant. And when I first saw that 10 years ago, I knew that I never wanted to buy another confinement pig, and have that be part of our business model.

Although I see his point and appreciate his aim for higher corporate social responsibility, I couldn't help but wonder how ironic it was that they were at the farm (in the midst of the animals) discussing how much better this situation is for the pigs, only for the end result to be the death of the pigs.

(Whenever I see pigs roaming about on a farm, I always think of Charlotte's Web and Wilbur. So my heart weeps for the little guys).

Forgive me for being a bit sensitive but I feel as though I may be going through a food identity crisis. I think I could be on the brink of becoming a vegetarian, especially after reading so much press about the new movie, Food Inc.

The movie tackles issues such as genetic engineering, food borne illnesses, factory farming, and more that are plaguing the food industry. I read an article somewhere where the filmmaker said he discovered that in one hamburger patty, "bits and pieces" from up to SEVEN DIFFERENT cows are used to make it.

GAG ME.

It is amazing and horrifying to know the efforts some in the food industry will take to make that "perfect" sized chicken breast or hamburger patty. I'm talkin' injecting harmful and ridiculous hormones into perfectly healthy animals.

FOR WHAT?

As of now, the movie is playing in select theaters, you can check here to see when it will be playing at a theater near you.

(For us Charlotte-ans, the movie will be playing at Park Terrace 6 Cinema on July 10th.)

As I get older, the concern about the quality of my food increases which is why I LOVE farmer's markets and am always on the lookout for the USDA organic seal on my foods/produce.

I don't eat beef frequently (although I will chuck a cheeseburger down my throat occasionally) and only have pork one day a week (1 or 2 pieces of bacon on saturdays). My diet mostly consists of chicken-related meals. I usually check the package for the words "free-range" on the package but I don't always do the grocery shopping.

There is a lot more for me to consider in order to make the leap toward vegetarianism but the thought is definitely there.

Does knowing that your favorite restaurant/fast food chains use hormone-free chicken, beef or pork influence your decision or opinion?


You can go here to see the piece and read more about Chipotle's efforts.

Bringing on the happy

Since I've been a bit of a debbie downer lately on this bloggy-blog, I thought it would be a nice change to share some things that always put me in a better mood.

And thinking of happy, fun things is very necessary on Mondays.

#1 - Iced coffee

Especially if it's a french vanilla iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts or a white chocolate mocha (nonfat) from starbucks because "once it hits your lips, it's so good!" - from one of my favorite movies.

#2 - Target

It's called the Greatland for about 54202678057 reasons. Once I moved down here I discovered that Target is eleventy thousand times better when it's SUPER. Yes, SuperTargets own my life and I practically live at the one near my house.

It's an obsession.

#3 - Gelato


Locally, I prefer to get my gelato from this new-ish(?) place in Birkdale Village called CafeMia. They have the freshest tasting gelato and sorbetto you can get in the Charlotte area. And the owner is SO NICE. They are always changing up their flavors and they will let you sample ANY and ALL flavors if you can't make up your mind. And how could you with flavors such as Nutella (chocolate&hazelnut), tiramisu, crème à l’orange (made with spanish oranges and a hint of Triple Sec) and pomegranate, just to name a few.

If I can't make it out to CafeMia, then I stop at my local grocery store and pick up some pints of Ciao Bella Gelato. It was named one of Oprah's Favorite Things a couple of years back and there is a good reason why. BECAUSE IT'S GOOD. My favorite flavors are raspberry and mango. They taste like frozen summery goodness.

#4 - Dusk

(Image courtesy of flickr)
I love sitting outside on the porch or patio (especially if it's a breezy summer evening) and taking in the various colors that paint the sky during dusk. Everything gets quieter and sitting under the changing sky allows for some serious reflection and gratitude.

#5 - The library

Yup, nerd alert! I can't help it, everytime I enter my local library (or any library for that matter) I'm always taken aback by the sheer amount of books available at my fingertips. FOR FREE.

The best part is I can scan my library web site for various books that I want to read, hit request and then my library will email me when my desired books are ready to be picked up. That's service I gladly appreciate.