Monthly Archives: March 2012

Mar 29 2012
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basics, life

Growing Up

I remember when I was very young, January 7th was always a special day for me.  Not quite as special as July 14th, but still very important.  The day when I could officially tell adults that I am nearing their age and slightly wiser than they had expected.  The day I could say, “I am  <insert age> and a half years old.”

Why were we so adamant about growing up in those days?  I wanted nothing more than to be older.  I would start talking about my upcoming birthday around April or May and the conversation wouldn’t end (even after my birthday had passed) until close to August.  My birthday, the day I was one year older, was always such a coveted and desired moment.

“If only I were 8 years old, then I could do ….”
“When I turn 13, I will be able to….”
“OHMYGODMYPARENTSARESOANNOYING! I can’t wait until I am 18…”
“The second I turn 21, I’m headed to the bar and ordering 21…..”

But distant are the days where becoming older was exciting.  Now, I am reminded on a regular basis that getting older has many drawbacks.  Take grey hairs for example.  Someone please tell me why I am finding grey hairs on my head before I have even reached the age 25.  this. is. not. okay.

However, I think we all have moments when we realize we are getting older and it doesn’t end in some sort of dramatic hair appointment to cover those stubborn greys or a Nascar race to the department store to buy the most expensive eye cream on the market, trying to magically remove those little lines “that weren’t there yesterday.”

This morning I woke up at 7am.  Turned my alarm off.  Made my coffee and breakfast.  Read the latest news online.  Planned out my workout (back and bicep day).  And then sat down to write this post around 8am.  It was in that hour window that I realized I have grown up.

Why am I awake so early?  I don’t work until 2pm.  Most 24-year-olds would be sound asleep until at least 11am if they didn’t have to work before the afternoon.  But I realized this morning that I like waking up early (someone please call an ambulance.  surely my mother has passed out reading that).  I like accomplishing things in my day before anyone else.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am definitely not a ‘morning person’ per se.  I still won’t want to talk to you prior to 10 am and get quite irritable when simplest things go wrong.  But I would definitely say that I have grown up from my sleep-like-you’re-in-a-coma-until-2pm earlier years.  And this particular milestone of growing up is something I am happily embracing.

Now, if only I could get rid of these wrinkles and grey hairs.

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Mar 17 2012
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food, living in madrid, paleo in madrid, travel

La Mejor Frutería

One of the best things about living in Madrid is the availability of seasonal fruits and vegetables. I’ve talked about this before but I just felt the need to write about it again after my visit to one of the best local markets in town. This little frutería will probably never be visited by tourists or even most Madrileñas.  Hidden away in Barrio Lavapies, this little market sells some of the most delicious and fresh produce I have tasted to date. They also stock their shop with amazing seasoned Spanish olives and other sorts of pickled vegetables. However, despite the lush racks of vibrant fruits and vegetables, the real reason I visit this little stand is for the eggs. No, they aren’t anything special, but they come in bulk – a concept that is practically unheard of here. For only €2.40, I can buy myself 30 eggs as opposed to the dozen in the normal market for one Euro less. Such a steal!!! Located on Calle Santa Isabela near Aton Martín metro, this market deserves a visit if you ever make your way into Madrid.

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Mar 16 2012
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life

3-year-olds are a pain in the ass

I like to think that turning 3 is a big deal.

Not that an average 3-year-old can remember that big day, but think of all of the exciting things that happen when you are three:

  • Development of Motor skills:  you no longer walk around like you are about to topple over (which, when I become a parent, means that you no longer are being carried anywhere)
  • Language development:  you can grasp concepts and can follow simple directions (you have now just volunteered yourself to help with the chores. thank you.)
  • Social development: you have a better sense of recognizing feelings and managing them (if I can’t throw temper tantrums, then neither can you.  get a hold of yourself.)

However, the exciting new things that happen when you are three are often coupled with a few small disadvantages:

  • You don’t like to share
  • You can only handle about 2 instructions at any given time
  • Cooperation with others is not a priority

Unfortunately, when my Blackberry turned three years old, it did not have the developmental skills that most 3-year-olds possess.  In fact, the disadvantages of being three outweighed the advantages in all categories.

Luckily, unlike children, as soon as your three-year-old electronic begins acting fussy and throwing tantrums, you can just get rid of it!!!!

So that is what I did and now I am way too fancy for this blog.  Gone are the days of keypads and actual buttons.  Those have been replaced with…..well, nothing.  It’s just one big screen that I am expected to tap on in perfect sequence to create my messages (note: they don’t warn you that this takes a lot of practice.  I am still currently typing like a drunk.)  The standard functions of the phone have now been outperformed by cute little things called “apps”.  All sorts of apps.  Ones where I can makes lists.  Others where I can organize my lists.  Cool calendar apps.

apps that make me look like I am a better photographer than I really am

I’m sure I could even find an app that babysits my (future) three-year-old.

One such application that I was able to find (and download in about 5 seconds – also an amazing feature of a newborn electronic) was for WordPress.  Which, as you might know, is where I write this little blog.

So, my friends and fellow parents (real or not), you should be seeing more updates from me on here, on my Facebook, and on my Twitter.

However, I can not guarantee that the messages won’t look like I’d been writing at the bar, which as you might already know would be considered “bad parenting”.

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Mar 09 2012
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blogs i'm loving, challenge yourself, paleo

Girl Crush

I have a girl crush.

You probably already know it by now because I talk about her all the time.

She is just so cool and I want to be like her and hang out with her and cook food together and just be friends.  BFFs if you will.

If you don’t already know who my girl crush is by now then you clearly need to stop everything you are doing and start reading all my posts prior to this one.  No, seriously.  Get a move on.

For those of you who have read all of my posts (thanks, mom), you will already know that I adore Diane Sanfilippo from Balanced Bites.

Anyways, since I always love testing the waters and conducting an experiment, I have been doing a lot of research on figure competitions.  I’ll be honest:  It has always been a dream of mine to compete in a figure competition.  Some people have aspirations to run a marathon … and some people want to get completely shredded, slather on a fake tan, primp, wax, and flex their way to 1st place.  I happen to prefer the latter.  No big deal (minus the walking-on-stage-in-barely-there-bikini thing).  From the hours upon hours of research I had been doing, I couldn’t find any information on competing while following a Paleo approach.  All of the sample meal plans included things like oatmeal, rice cakes, protein shakes, and many other stereotypical diet foods that we all hate.  If you haven’t noticed, bacon is usually the deal-maker to get people to try Paleo (just sayin’) so rice cakes never stood a chance.

“Where is this post going, Sarah?” Stick with me here.  There is a method to my madness.

Anyways, Diane and her friend Liz (Cavegirl Eats) have this really cool podcast where they answer questions people submit on their websites.  Usually lasting about an hour, these podcasts are amazing for when you are going on walks, sitting in traffic, or just listening to on your iPod while you go about your normal day.  So obviously I decided to submit a question about competition diets to the podcast in hopes that mayyyyybe it would get answered.

And it did!

You can listen to Diane’s response by visiting the podcast episode here.  You can also read the exact question I submitted among others from the podcast.  She gave some great feedback and it was very helpful information!  Even though she repeatedly advised against it, I will be honest and say that I am still researching the possibilities of competing in the future.  It is not as realistic right now living here in Madrid, but I am still very curious about the approach to nutrition.  I might even test out a version of this competition style diet more tailored to my body and the Paleo lifestyle.  There will be more on that later once I have done enough research to make a decision for myself.

As for my girl crush, it’s still going strong.

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