Monday, January 7, 2013

Happy New Year!



Hi foodie friends, Happy New Year!

I know it's been quiet over here for a few months but I hope you have had a wonderful holiday season. After a bit of a sabbatical, I wanted to surface again and to give a little update. 

So, Mr. Max and I said I Do in December and we have been slowly but surely settling back into a normal routine after wedding, honeymoon and holiday travels. Cooking new meals and using all of the fun kitchen-related wedding gifts has certainly been a treat! Last year was truly wonderful for us and we are thankful for the blessings bestowed, we are very excited to see what 2013 has in store for us.

As the new year is now in full swing, so are many new beginnings and goal-setting opportunities. Instead of making resolutions each year, I look at the facets of life that make me whole: physical, emotional, spiritual, educational, professional, financial, recreational, etc. I like to try to create a goal that will challenge me on all of these levels to help me continue to grow and thrive.

This year, my goals include:

Physical: I dabbled in yoga since 2010, hoarding Groupons to try a place for a month, then go on to the next place. In the spring of 2012, both Mr. Max and I made a commitment to the practice by joining a yoga studio. I hit 50 classes after 5 months but then tapered off of it. This year, and with 12 months ahead of me, I'd like to do 200 classes for the year and complete one of the monthly challenges my studio offers. 

Spiritual: Mr. Max and I both grew up with church as a large focus. We both participated in youth group, youth choir, mission trips, sunday school, confirmation classes and at some point, we both attended parochial school. We happened to fall into the same pattern once we left for college where we didn't stay disciplined to continue that on our own. Since college, we have gone to church here and there, but in our marriage counseling, we both identified that as the #1 area for growth that we feel we need as a couple. My aunt gave us a daily devotional book for the year and my goal is for us to complete that book, and to get involved in our church whether it is a bible study or a Sunday school class. Our schedules vary, I end up working a lot of weekends and we sometimes miss church, but I would like to actively strengthen my spirituality through prayer, fellowship and devotion in this new year.

Emotional: This goal is one that goes hand-in-hand with my spiritual goal. I would like to become more emotionally self-disciplined, learning to focus my thought process on God's perspective. I want to challenge myself to think more before I react and pray for patience so that I can be a better wife, daughter, sister, friend, and colleague. I will use my spiritual goal through our daily devotions to hear His word, praying for patience and perspective in all areas of life. I will also choose affirmations for myself and for my husband to repeat often. For myself, they will be phrases that I can focus on to get back on track if I start to feel overwhelmed or impatient. One I have said for years is Let Go and Let God; I tend to have a need to plan and take control of a situation, but this year my challenge is to let go of those urges and listen for His direction to anchor me again. For my husband, I want to affirm him daily in some way. Whether it is in action or speech, I want him to feel affirmed in love, support, guidance, trust, and decision-making.

Educational: This year, Mr. Max and I have a travel goal. Since that one is categorically ambiguous, I thought I could just classify it here. There are some places that we want to go, see and experience together. I hope to become educated on foods, wines, history, culture and more through our travels.

Financial: I didn't do a very good job at learning to live within my means as a single girl with a non-profit job in a fun city and this inherent want for pretty things. Mr. Max had a sit down with me last May and we've been working together on this little by little. In 2013, I would like a full year of paying of my credit card in full each month while also putting away a certain percentage into savings. This will be a challenge for me but something I should have learned a long time ago.

Professional: I would like to challenge myself this year to grow and become a more well-rounded professional to help achieve the vocational ambition that I seek. This one is short and sweet, a little vague, but not something I am not ready to expand on fully because I'm still working to grasp exactly what it means for me.

Finally, we come to Recreational: This is the area of life that makes up whatever I do when I'm not working. The part of life that helps give balance by way of a hobby. Well, for the past four years, cooking and keeping up this blog has been a big hobby for me. However, this year Kate's Cure for the Common Cuisine will re-brand and be a little different going forward to grow with me, as a writer and as a person. In the next month or so, you will be introduced to a new site focusing on more domestikated posts (see what I did there?!) that will not solely focus on food. I started this blog in 2010 as a way to share healthier recipe alternatives on my journey to better nutrition and learning to cook with my favorite sous chef. While there is still much more to come out of our kitchen, there is other content I'd like to be able to share with the help of some fantastic guest-blogger friends.

Whew! Well, that about sums it all up! Starting this year, I will post my monthly F&F (fitness & food) calendar. This is a tool I started using in February of 2012 when I took part in a healthy living challenge. By mapping it all out, it helped keep me on track. I took the Microsoft Word calendar template and just filled it all in, noting days I had events or meetings that I would need to be conscious of. You can see my January calendar below! Note, I usually don't plan out Fridays and Saturday meals, leaving those flexible.




Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday





1
2
5:45 PM - Metal/Fire Progression

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Work meeting - Chinese
Turkey Chili Taco Soup
3
6:00 AM – Wood 60 OR Cardio and Weights

PM – Haircut

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Turkey Chili Taco Soup
Quinoa/Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
4
6:00 AM – Cardio and weights

Cotton Bowl Game
5
9:15 AM – Yoga Earth Class



6
 Cardio and Weights

Meals:
Eggs, wheat toast
Protein Smoothie
Bnut Squash Chicken Spaghetti bake


7
5:45 PM Metal-Earth Progression
OR 6:20 Metal 60

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Chicken spaghetti
Blackned salmon/veggies

8
6:00 AM – Earth 60

Meeting PM

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Spaghetti squash with chicken
Fiesta flank steak salad
9
6:00 AM – Cardio and abs

Meeting PM

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Fiesta flank steak Salad
Meeting - Italian food
10
6:00 AM – Wood 60


Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Chicken/spinach wrap
Skinny Chckn Parm with spaghetti squash
11
6:00 AM – Cardio and weights

6:00 PM – Central Market Cooking Class
12
12:00 PM – Metal 60
13
 Cardio and Weights

Meals:
Eggs, wheat toast
Protein Smoothie
Tortilla Soup
14
Meeting PM

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Tortilla Soup and salad
Pot roast

15
6:00 AM – Earth 60

5:45 PM Body Works

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Pot roast
Turkey Lettuce Wraps

16
6:00 AM – Cardio and abs

5:45 PM - Metal/Fire Progression

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Veggie Ribbons/ Salmon
17
6:00 AM – Wood 60

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Chicken/Spinach wrap
Lasagna roll ups
18
6:00 AM – Cardio and weights

5:45 PM – Wood-Metal Progression


19
9:15 AM – Yoga Earth Class
20
 Cardio and Weights

Meals:
Eggs, wheat toast
Protein Smoothie
Turkey Chili

21
5:45 PM Metal-Earth Progression
OR 6:20 Metal 60

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Turkey Chili
Chicken Caprese with Spaghetti squash
22
6:00 AM – Earth 60

5:45 PM – Body Works

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Chicken/spag squash
Brisket/veggies
23
6:00 AM –  Cardio and abs

5:45 PM - Metal/Fire Progression

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Brisket/veggies
Butternut squash penne
25
6:00 AM – Wood 60



Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Butternut squash penne
Black bean enchiladas
25
6:00 AM – Cardio and weights

5:45 PM – Wood-Metal Progression
26
12:00 PM – Metal 60
27
 Cardio and Weights

Meals:
Eggs, wheat toast
Protein Smoothie
Butternut Squash Soup and fig/gouda grilled cheese
28
5:45 PM Metal-Earth Progression
OR 6:20 Metal 60

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Bnut squash soup/ salad
Quinoa/black bean bowl
29
6:00 AM – Earth 60

5:45 PM – Body Works

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Quinoa/black bean bowl
Asian stir-fry & salmon

30
6:00 AM – Cardio and abs

5:45 PM - Metal/Fire Progression

Meals:
Protein Smoothie
Salad
Beef Kabobs & Veggies

31
6:00 AM – Wood 60

Meals:
Whole Grain Cereal
Salad
Chicken pesto pasta




Tastefully yours, 



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