procrastination is my middle name

Okay, it's been a bit of a minute since I've given you an update, readers!

There's been enormous change in my personal life, but nothing I want to share with you just yet, darlings. To deter speculation, I am not pregnant, engaged or otherwise planning a big surprise announcement; my apologies! Let's talk Whole30, shall we? I have so many interesting things to share (which probably won't interest you in the same way they interest me)! Feel free to skip to the part after this if you're interested in just my ...symptoms.

Okay, we left off on day 25. Five days left and I started to get antsy. It wasn't that I didn't want to eat Whole30, I was just sick of my options, hadn't been to the grocery store, and was totally living the motto "failing to plan is planning to fail." I was close. Regardless, I pushed through. Let's do a quick recap of the last five days and then a recap of what happened in my POST W30 mess.

Day 26 - July 4. 
Happy Independence Day! M had to work so it wasn't a temptation for drinking and what not. We went to our fave restaurant  for dinner and called it a day. I had a delicious kale and pomegranate salad and we ate mussels. Easy peasy.

Day 27 - July 5. 
I got on a plane and went to Portland, Oregon. Larabars, raw sweet potatoes and kombucha, oh my! Life was good, easy, and my wonderful sister took me to Trader Joe's to buy groceries. We ate steak and grilled peppers for dinner, and I tried my hand at prosciutto wrapped figs. #delicious. 

Picture for extra effect - and so you keep reading. 

Follow my instagram to see these firsthand! @sadienewell


Day 28 - July 6
Lindsay and I spent another wonderful day together, ate another wonderful meal together from the grill, and watched a TON of catfish. YOU GUYS, I'm obsessed with that show! She took me on a walk where I pretended to hate it and not want to walk (which I didn't, so I guess I wasn't pretending) but I did get to see some amazing views. Portland is probably the prettiest city in the world. I say this with the most biased tone ever! Portland is wonderful - where else can you find parks down a CITY STREET with trees this amazing?

This was seriously a quarter mile from Lindsay's house, and the trail we walked went on for at least a mile. It is gorgeous and I am so happy she drug me along! I had a wonderful summery time!


Day 29 - July 7 
Homeward bound. I went back to where it all began: Long Beach, Washington. The place where dreams are made of. The place that makes me who I am, where everything makes sense and I feel peace in my heart. Where anxiety fades and I am surrounded by the people that I love and adore. This trip was hard for a few reasons - namely, all my friends are doing really amazing things with their lives and I am not. I feel like I am unremarkable, and that I need to do more. I'm working on this, but that's a blog for another day. I went home and after debriefing my dad and his lady about this Whole30, they were intrigued and supportive of my choice! We had fresh (and I'm talking, came off my dad's boat and into my mouth in the same day fresh) salmon with asparagus. Delicious. That's my dad. I get my good looks from him, obviously.

Day 30: July 8
It was a day like any other... but no, really, it was. I made my signature breakfast (sweet potatoes and eggs) and totally added salmon. I thought about the things I wanted for the following day. Cream in my coffee, a glass of wine, maybe a chocolate something. But what happened was much worse in a few ways, much better in a few others. This doesn't make much sense right now but I can't tell you until I tell you what happened in my post whole30 glow!

My last breakfast. It was delicious. Salmon is so different when it tastes like butter, and feels like Jesus wrapped you in a hug. I seriously swear I felt sunshine in my belly.

Let's talk about the next part, the ... fallout. 

I'm not one for self-hate these days, but I can really be an idiot sometimes. I read the reintroduction chapter of It Starts With Food. I knew what I had to do. I knew to only do things one at a time, a day between....I knew I shouldn't do whatever I wanted. 

It may be important to tell you I'm a gemini right about now. This is what happened. 

Day One of Poor Life Choices. 

I went to a bar with Madeline. THIS GIRL AND HER BARS. Literally, if you don't want to be irresponsible and drink a ton, don't go anywhere with this girl. She also has a much higher tolerance than me on a regular day, and then add to that my lower-than-normal tolerance and we are all sorts of screwed. Well, I was. At least I looked cute. 

My head also looks much too big for my body. This is something that happened to me years ago. Like, when I was 14. 

This had vodka in it. High fives to the bartender, Eric, ensued. Also names for the local clientele ensued. Sadie was back on the town (and had no idea what was about to happen to her body). 

I woke up the next day feeling LIKE HELL. I had what, 3 drinks over a 6 hour period? I wasn't hungover, let me make that clear. I wasn't vomity, sweaty, unreachable. I was just uncomfortable. My stomach was cramping, I felt like I got ran over, and I was really uncomfortable. Note: not a hangover! Just icky, icky contractions of food and alcohol digesting. If this is what labor feels like, count me out. 

Day Two of Poor Life Choices:

Martinis with my sixth grade literature teacher (no lie), a pseudo-bachelorette party where the apps were delicious, and the rose was sweet. We had shrimp curry and I was very excited to eat rice. In my brain it was a wonderful idea. 

I had zero foods of nutritional value (no, wait, we did go to Walgreens and I found some approved nuts and fruit) and the next day I wanted to die. 

Labor pains is what I'm deeming these feelings. Labor pains forever. 

But wait, I continued. Because apparently I have a deathwish. 

Day Three of Poor Life Choices:

I. Ate. This. A sandwhich. With cream cheese. Cheese. Raisins. Pineapples. Apples. Turkey. Lettuce. And LOTS OF BREAD. 

I felt terrible. And of course I ate the whole thing, which was probably 800 MILLION calories. I was so full and labor pain-ey that I had to lie down in a public place. I'm an embarassment to society. 

These were the highlights of my poor choices. I felt terrible. 

Needless to say, my hey day is over, and although I'm incorporating some more paleo foods and less whole30 foods, I already feel better. Just fantastic! 

I also don't think it's a coincidence that I totally broke out as soon as I stopped eating unprocessed foods. YOU GUYS. IM OVER IT. Homemade LaraBars, dates, and other foods, get in my belly! 

Thank you, readers, for reading my thoughts through this journey. Now that I'm done, I don't know what this blog will turn into, but I'm willing to find out. It won't be over, and it may be where I document my 30 days of something else. I did find that through this, I became more. More aware, happier, more confident. 

Would I recommend this to someone? Absolutely, yes, without a doubt. If you have food issues, unresolved or resolved, looking for a way to get a healthier handle on life, yes. Yes, yes yes yes yes. 

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday!

Wednesday through Sunday, here we go! I will be all caught up, and ready for another week of happiness! 

Wednesday, April 23

Today's Happy Day: Panda on Vacation

Days Left: 88

 

Panda got to have a mini-vacation when he stayed behind with my sister in Washington - he begged me to stay with her and have a vacation. I told him fine, on one condition: that he does his chores and he follows all of Lindsay's directions. 

So what do I get? A photo of him having a lie-in! He did not fold his laundry, did not unload the dishwasher, and DID NOT follow directions. See that frown? He's sad because I told him he couldn't go to the NASCAR race if the debauchery continues. Someone thinks he's entitled. 

Anyway, Panda is kind of a big deal in my family. He goes everywhere, and we pretend he's real. He takes great selfies!

Thursday, April 24

Today's Happy Day: Cat in a Box

Days Left: 87

I flew back from Dallas on United, with a big old box of prescription drugs. I had a note from a doctor on a prescription pad that told me not to check this box. I had to carry it on. Unfortunately, the box didn't really fit under the seat. The flight attendant was nice and said that she would let it slide, but I was determined for it to fit under the seat. 

After a 2 hour flight and a bumpy landing, the older gentleman I was sitting next to turned to me with a quizzical look on his face. I waited, and had to fight the urge to laugh when he asked me an interesting question: "Is your cat okay in there?" 

...I said yes. What else what I was supposed to say? This box was beat up, taped together with no air holes. If he thought a cat lived there, then so be it. 

Friday, April 25

Today's Happy Day: A Hint of Yellow

Days Left: 86

I'm breaking in these shoes for my friend Madeline's wedding, and with that comes the planning of outfits that involve yellow! 

We went outside for the first time in a long time on Friday, and my students were very excited to see that the flowers matched my shoes. They laughed and shouted, "Miss Newell! Miss Newell! Your shoes match the flowers!" 

Indeed. A bright spot in my dull, dull, Friday. After exhaustion, tireless students and one thing after another, it was nice to sit and watch my kiddos at recess. 

Saturday, April 26

Today's Happy Day: FaceTime.

Days Left: 85 

Dating a guy 5 hours away is hard enough, but when we get to see each other every weekend when we are super lucky, and every two weeks on a regular basis, there is a definite lack of, well, facetime. When we both work long hours, we have to rely on texts and the knowledge that we are both thinking about each other. 

Nights like last night, we got to FaceTime and watch the Thunder game together. I love watching basketball with M. He is so analytical where I'm over there like "oh wow, his ears are so small!" I'm sure he gets fed up with all my questions, or lack of knowledge I have on the sport already, but he is patient, kind and is willing to answer even my silliest question. 

Dear iPhone, you make long-distance relationships so much easier. Love, Sadie.

Sunday, FINALLY! April 27

Today's Happy Day: Dutch Babies

Days Left: 84

Not too long ago, my sister and my dad went down to my hometown to clean out my grandmother's house. It was time to put her in a home, and it was up to them to clean out her house before they could put it on the market. Both Lindsay and my dad asked if there was anything I wanted out of the house. I can honestly say that I hadn't been in there for so long I couldn't begin to request something. I told them that there wasn't anything in particular but I did want a small keepsake, like a china cup. 

Not only did my sister surprise me with three difference china bowls and cups, but she also handed over my grandmother's cast iron pan! For those of you that don't know, cast iron pans are like GOLD and best handed down - that way, they are seasoned and have a lot of history. Of course, my first thing to make was a Dutch Baby - a breakfast staple growing up, and something I have been missing dearly! 

Stay tuned this week for my next 7 posts - can't wait to see you on the happier side of life! 

Catchin' Up...

Seriously, this may be the busiest I've been in a while. A week ago today, I was flying home from Washington, where M and I spent time with my family. We got some really good quality time in from Friday to Sunday, and flew back late in the evening. The following morning I was up and at 'em, ready to teach. Wednesday night I flew out to Dallas and back on Thursday afternoon, where I then taught Friday. Pair this with long hours, poor nutrition and all other female things you can think of; by the time Friday night rolled around, I was ready for bed. 

Imagine my delight when the complex next to me decided to bust out their R&B mash-ups until 2 am. I was so angry! I had been looking forward to snuggling down in my duvet for the longest time, and by the time I had finally gotten there, it had been spoiled with the noise from next door. Needless to say, I spent all of yesterday sleeping. I'm still tired from last week, and it's a question of ever being able to catch up! 

So, let's catch up here, so this week can run smoothly. 

Friday, April 18

Today's Happy Day: Hunkalicious M

Days Left: 93 

M was gracious enough to come out to Washington to meet my mom before she passes. It was incredibly humbling, gratifying and special having him by my side on this trip. It meant so much to me that they met each other, and neither one questioned the prospect once. You know, I am incredibly lucky, and FEEL incredibly lucky, to have someone in my life that really wants what is best for me. He is articulate, pensive, intelligent and all the right things. He makes me feel like a million bucks, and I love that! 

Please keep in mind that this will be one of the only times you see a photo of us and our life on any sort of social platform. Due to his requests to keep our relationship off social media, our story is not one I plan on telling, not on here. Live it up while you can! 

Saturday, April 19

Today's Happy Day: Panda Goes Out

Days Left: 92

On Saturday, when we were hanging out in Spokane, Washington (the Italy of the PNW?) we had a wonderful dinner with Panda and Lindsay. We went to the Italian Kitchen and ate family style. We were stuffed and Panda was all about the leftovers. 

He also was into photobombing. Silly Panda. 

Anyway, despite the cold weather it was nice to break bread with Lindsay and M, have time to relax, laugh and reconnect. There is something about family that just soothes the soul and repairs all things in the world. Seeing my big sister was just what I needed to really finish out the year. BONUS: I get to see her again for a NASCAR race in just a few weeks! Actually, in a matter of days at this point! 

Sunday, April 20

Today's Happy Day: Sisterly Love

Days Left: 91

Meet my sister, Lindsay! 

She's my best friend, my confidante, and the most selfless person in the world. She has been the world's most wonderful sister, and someone that definitely keeps me sane. 

Like I said, family soothes my soul. I am so glad that we made this trip happen and that we got to see each other. This year was the first year we have seen one another more than once and it has been such a treat! I miss her so much and was very thankful for the time we got to spend together! 

This has been the best few days of my life. I just really like finding the happiness inside the mundane, or the silver lining in any cloud. 

hoggin' up the road with my p-p-p-p-plower...

Today's Happy Moment truly made me laugh. It, again, was hard to choose. I had a wonderful day with my students, and we talked a lot about expectations in third grade. For some reason, they just love running down the hallway. It is INCREDIBLY frustrating. Regardless, we deal with it and move on.

Now, this afternoon I was really trying to get myself to the grocery store to make sure I was ready for the week and have a healthy plan in place (seriously, bikini season is coming and I am NOT READY). On my way there, I notice this guy just driving along the road on his LAWNMOWER. People, come on, this isn't something you see every day, not even in Kansas, but seriously, you could use the sidewalk and stop holding up the general public. What do I know, I don't own one!

Anyway, here's today's Happy Moment - feel free to check back for the weekend update!

Today's Happy Day: Man on a Mower

Days Left: 90!