Trying to be Chemical Free

I have officially applied for 50 jobs since the end of October 2013. Of those, I've received 10 rejection emails. So most are either still considering me (I can hope) or they've rejected me without bothering to notify me.

Luckily I found my part time writing position. It doesn't pay much, but it at least gives me a little something to do each day, and it's writing. That's very important to me. It's almost like being in school again. I get an assignment. I procrastinate. I write it. I turn it in. The only difference is, I get paid for these.

Aside from not having a full-time job, life is pretty good. Except for that whole being home all day, every day thing. That's not so fun for me. I'm getting bored. I can only search for and apply for so many jobs in one day.

I love her to pieces, but I am really not enjoying
being a stay at home dog-mom!

So I'm looking for other things to occupy my time. I should be exercising, but thanks to the foot of snow outside covering most sidewalks, I think I'll wait until it starts to melt. I've been spending a lot more time on Pinterest. Looking at wedding stuff, food stuff, workout stuff, etc. etc. As you may know, I'm working harder to eliminate chemicals from my life (and Chris's and our fur-babies).

It's adorable how much she loves the snow.

We've already switched from traditional body washes and facial cleansers to Herbaria, handmade, natural soaps. We love them! It's been fun trying different bars of soap. We finally went into the store the day before Thanksgiving and again the Friday after Christmas. It smells lovely. And it's on the Hill. I love that place. In addition to their bars of soap, I've switched from regular deodorant to a natural spray deodorant they have. I think I'd like to try making my own deodorant in the future as well. (In case you're wondering, regular deodorants contain lots of chemicals, plus most contain aluminum which has been linked as a cause of breast cancer--no thank you!). It is way different from using regular deodorant (which is why I think I want to try to make my own), and it doesn't work as an antiperspirant (that's what aluminum does), but sweating is good for you!

Herbaria also makes a soap for dogs! We plan
to use it on her just as soon as it's warm enough!

We've also switched to laundry detergents that are of the "free and clear" varieties. Currently we're using Arm & Hammer. Eventually I'd like to try making my own of this as well and see how it turns out.

The first thing I plan to "diy" is hand soap. It won't be hand-made or anything, but it will be organic which means no cancer-causing chemicals or anything else bad that painfully dries my hands out. (We're currently using soap from Bath & Body Works which does contain cancer-causing chemicals and is the reason this is the first thing I'm making!)

The Bath & Body hand soap has made my hands so dry that they hurt and are about to start cracking. No amount of lotion or coconut oil (from Herbaria and usually works great) has helped. So I'm heading to the store later today to get some organic castile soap and I'll add some essential oils and our hands will be so much better off!

I'm also looking for an organic shampoo (one that's not super expensive!). I've just been using a "shampoo bar" from Herbaria and while it does the job, my hair still feels dry and looks dull. I've found a couple options I plan to try so I'll let you know how that goes!

It is really difficult to find organic stuff, especially things like shampoos. And many claim to be organic when they're really not. Read labels/ingredients on everything is what I've learned in researching this stuff. You can't trust something that says it's all-natural or organic to really be those things. It's very frustrating.

Anyone else trying to eliminate all these chemicals from their lives? I'd love to hear any tips, products you use/love, and anything you've diy'ed!

Thanksgiving Recap

How was everyone's Thanksgiving?

Mine was pretty good. Not nearly as 

relaxing as I hoped it would be, but it was still good. 

Wednesday was probably the best day even though it started with me and Chris driving to Farmington to get my personal property tax waiver, which we had to pay a freaking dollar for. 

Once we got that over with though, we drove back to St. Louis and headed over to The Hill to buy some soap from Herbaria. That store smells amazing! 

After that we happened to drive by Steve's Hot Dogs so we stopped to have some hot dogs for lunch. They were delicious and it's such a cool place. Definitely recommend it!

Later that day we went to see Catching Fire at the theater. It was a really good movie and I can't wait for the next one! 

That night we met my family at church for the Thanksgiving service and then we went out for some pizza and beer :)

It was probably one of the best days I've had in a while. 

We spent Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle's and then at Chris's parents'. It was a long day with a lot of food, but it was fun seeing everyone. We went home after that, had more dessert, and watched a movie. 

On Friday I had planned on going to get my license plates renewed but discovered that I couldn't find my current insurance cards. It took most of the day before I could get them printed out. So I decided I would go Saturday. 

I baked some chocolate chip banana bread for Chris (partly because I didn't have time to make it Thanksgiving morning and partly because Chris didn't want to share lol). 

I got up bright and early Saturday morning to go to the DMV to get my plates renewed. Turned out the DMV was closed Friday so it wasn't all bad that I couldn't find my insurance cards. 

I was third in line and could have been done quickly except for one little problem: the renewal notice they sent me said I didn't need an inspection, but since I've moved back to St. Louis, I do need one. And no one could get me in Saturday to do an inspection. I seriously can't catch a break. 

My first attempt at a pumpkin pie. 

So I went home and spent a few hours being mopey and pissed off that I'd have to take Monday off to deal with all this. 

Once I was done moping though, I baked my first ever pumpkin pie. I tried it after Chris got home, and the verdict? I still don't like pumpkin pie. But Chris said it was really good. I also made chili for the first time. It turned out pretty good as well :) 

They actually took a nap together! It was freaking adorable--while it lasted.

Later that night I went over to my mom and dad's house to watch Christmas Vacation. 

On Sunday we spent most of the day getting out our Christmas decorations. Chris got the lights up on the house. We got the tree up and lights put on but we didn't get the ornaments on. We went out and bought a tree skirt (those things are stupid-expensive), stockings, and a tree-topper. I guess we'll get the tree decorated eventually. 

If you look closely, you can see Copper in the window. Creep. lol

All our stockings, hung from my fancy new bookcase because we didn't have anywhere else to put them. 

I was pretty grumpy most of the day because I hate doing this stuff. It probably doesn't help that I'm so exhausted lately. 

My Thanksgiving weekend was good, but it was busy and not very relaxing. I don't feel like I got nearly enough rest. And I didn't get much else done either. Very little exercise, no violin-playing, and no reading or writing. And as of January 2, I'll still be unemployed. I've applied for a lot of jobs now, and I haven't heard a single thing--good or bad--from any of them. 

Here I am on Monday morning (thankful I have so many sick days) waiting for my car to get inspected and then I get to go to the DMV to hopefully finally get my license plates renewed. Yay Mondays. 

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thursday

To make up for all my negativity in yesterday's post, today I'm going to share some things in my life that I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

1. My current job. I've learned a lot here and gained really valuable experience that I think will prepare me for whatever the next chapter of my work-life holds.

2. Chris. He's always there for me and he listens to me whine and cry and puts up with random mood swings. He's really fantastic, and I don't tell him that nearly enough. Like yesterday, I came home to an incredibly clean house, which he did on his day off--I mean, clean, put stuff away, did laundry, did the dishes, etc. It was amazing.

3. My parents. They've always been supportive and understanding and I'm so grateful for that. And for their food. They feed us about once a week and it's always delicious. And I love getting to spend that time with them. :)

4. My pets. Even though they're generally obnoxious and getting into all kinds of shenanigans, I know they love me and I love cuddling with them. Copper is sweet and loving and excited all the time--she's even nice to Cocoa some times! And Cocoa is a really good snuggler, especially when I don't feel good.

5. New glasses and contacts...which I don't have yet. I'll be picking those up tomorrow, but I'm so very happy that I'll have contacts again! And I'm pretty excited for my new glasses as well. They should be tons lighter and more comfortable than my current pair.

6. Books. Even though I haven't done a lot of reading lately. Total slacker. But I love books. I will always love books.

7. Caffeine. Still can't have any, but I will be so grateful when I can.

8. The fact that it's National Pickle Day. I love pickles. So I'm gonna eat some and celebrate!

9. All of you. I really do appreciate that you all take time out of your days to come read my blog. Especially since this blog was supposed to be about running and I haven't done any of that lately.

What are you thankful for this week?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Falling Off the Wagon

Last week I fell off the "30-Day Squat Challenge" wagon. Hard. Tuesday was my first day of classes and it went pretty well. I had a decent day over all even though I had gotten little sleep the night before: class was good, and I was looking forward to going home, doing my squats and then relaxing.

Instead, I came home to a house that smelled of poop. I had no clue which animal had done it or where, but I knew what it was the second I walked in. I wanted to cry. Of course, it was Copper. She had diarrhea. And she had managed to get it all over her kennel and herself. So I had to clear all of the cat's stuff out of the bathroom so I could give the dog a bath (still in my nice work clothes--didn't want to risk her getting her poop-covered self on any of the furniture). She was not happy about the bath, which she made quite clear when she got out and shook off, soaking everything in the bathroom.

I made a few attempts to dry her off then set out to clean her kennel. I wanted to puke. It smelled so, so bad. Meanwhile, she went and took a little nap on the couch. While she was still soaking wet. On top of all that, I couldn't even shower until later that night because Chris was working late.

Needless to say I did not get any sort of workout accomplished that night. The next day was my other class, Advanced Publishing, which is my night class. I had coffee twice that day because I was so exhausted. The class was good though. We watched Helvetica (if you're into typography and that sort of thing, you should watch it) which was pretty good. I'm pretty sure it's on Netflix, so once we move and have better internet, I might watch the whole thing. Since I work all day on Wednesdays and then have night class (not to mention the fact that I was exhausted), I didn't work out that day either.

By my afternoon class on Thursday I was completely off the wagon. I had given up hope of working out at all that week, or on catching back up on the squat challenge.

I spent the weekend doing homework, laundry, and napping. Copper's diarrhea slowly went away (thank God!!) and she's doing much better now.

Labor Day marked Year Two for me and Chris. We stopped at the Boat House in Forest Park for a beer and then went to the Zoo (mainly to see the sea lions!). After that we went to Pi for a late lunch and then headed home. Aside from burning my fingers with hot grease from our breakfast (much better now but hurt like hell at the time!), it was a really great day :)

Despite all the obnoxious kids that kept getting
in the way, I was able to get a couple good pics.

The Sea Lions/Underwater Tunnel is definitely
my new favorite place at the Zoo :)

Cute little elephant :)

View from one of our favorite spots.

Grizzly bear!

And last, but not least, the penguins!

I hope you all had a fun, safe Labor Day! Sorry that I also seem to have fallen off the "blogging wagon" as well. I promise I'll try to write more regularly ("try" being the key word there!). 

Grad School: Year 2 Starts Today!

My "last weekend of summer" was pretty good. Spent time with my family, went to the Cards game Sunday (which they lost...), and went to see our new house (which isn't quite ready yet). 

Before I show you pictures of the house, here's a couple of the coffee table Chris made:

Copper wouldn't get out of the picture. 

We also got a brown slip cover for our futon, since we can't
buy a new couch just yet thanks to the dog! 

And now for the house! It's being inspected this week (I think), so hopefully we'll be able to move in a couple weeks. 

Front of the house. Adorable :)

Itty-bitty, teeny-tiny kitchen--with no dishwasher! But it's
so cute :)

Front door/living room

Bathroom (yes, those walls are purple, lol)

Dining room

Copper's big back yard :)

Back of the house: on the right side is the garage, and the
doorway in the middle is the breezeway/mudroom. 

I can't wait to move!! Hopefully we find out this week a set date so we can start planning and packing! 

In other news, I'm on day 8 or 9 of my 30-day squat challenge. It's going pretty well so far. We'll see how I do once school is in full-gear. 

Speaking of which, I have my first class of the semester today. I'm so glad it's not my night class because I didn't get much sleep last night. I woke up around 2am sneezing and coughing. Finally I just got up around 4:30am. Not fun :( So my Tuesday/Thursday afternoon class is Contemporary American Poetry and my Wednesday night class is Advanced Literary Publishing. I'm excited for both classes. I think this is going to be a pretty great (although probably exhausting) semester! 

And just for fun, here are a couple pics of Copper and Cocoa :)

Left this laundry basket out for her all weekend
while we were gone. Both of her toy mice were
in it when we got back lol

Copper had to sit at my feet on our way back
on Sunday. Luckily, she behaved most of the way.
She did not behave herself most of the weekend though :(

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

How was everyone's Memorial Day? Mine was pretty busy, but it was good. We stayed with my parents. Copper had a blast running around like a mad dog in their back yard. Saturday night we went to Gettemeier's with my sister for a few beers since we hadn't done that since she turned 21. We had a good time.

Sunday breakfast was delicious, as expected. Biscuits and gravy and fried eggs and some fruit salad. I was going to try to go for a run on Sunday but I was exhausted, so we were lazy and napped for a while before we got ready to go to a graduation party. I got to see my best friend, Dani, who I haven't seen in far too long. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together, but it was fun. After that we went back to my parents' to watch a movie.

I finally went for a run on Monday. It wasn't a great run, but I got out there and did it (or tried anyway). And, I even read a little more in American Psycho! Not much, but I'm getting there. I'll finish it eventually. :)

We had ribs for dinner that night and they were delicious. Someone fell asleep on the way home:

Copper was a sleepy puppy after a nice long weekend
of running free in a nice big backyard :)

We got home (a little earlier than we expected!) and it seems like it took forever to unpack. I hate packing/unpacking. Once we were finally finished with that we sat down to relax and watch a movie. Copper passed out on the couch. I kept hearing a noise, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Eventually, I realized it was the cat scratching at the door--she wanted to come out! So I cracked the door open for her and she came out to explore. She even walked right up to Copper since she was asleep and all, but she moved and scared Cocoa off.

Look who came out to explore!

Copper has gotten a little braver every day and the other day they were growling/hissing/barking at each other from opposite ends of the hallway:

Demon kitty trying to scare Copper. 

Cocoa is slowly becoming more tolerable of Copper. Today she let Copper in the room (I was holding Cocoa though) and she didn't growl or hiss at her--until Copper started eating the cat's food. Kitty didn't like that. 

Friday night we're going to dinner and then the Cards game with my parents. And it's a fireworks night after the game--my favorite! :)

MIA

I've been MIA for a while...sorry about that. I've been enjoying summer (or whatever this season is supposed to be) and trying to relax before my summer class starts.

I've also been trying to run as often as possible. My frequent stomach aches make that kind of difficult sometimes (like at least once or twice a week), but somehow I managed to run 25 total miles  from April 23 to May 23. I'm pretty proud of that, although I'm sure at some point in the last few years I've done at least that much, but given that it's been a long time since I've really run, I'd call that a fairly big accomplishment. 

In other news, look who came home with us last weekend: 

Meet Cocoa. I've missed her so much and now she's home with me! :)

The second bedroom is "hers" for the time being. When she came out of the carrier she went straight for the recliner and crawled up inside it and stayed there for two days. Eventually I tipped the chair over and forced her out. 

She's starting to be nicer to me and Chris--she even purrs now--but she doesn't want to be friends with Copper. Poor Copper is scared of her. A day or two ago, if she even heard Copper coming down the hall she would hiss and growl. Now it doesn't bother her as long as the door is closed. I tried leaving the door open just a crack and she just hissed at Copper and then Copper started whining. Hopefully they'll become friends soon. Or at least tolerate each other enough to be in the same room together. 

We're spending this weekend at my parents house, which means: delicious food (I can't wait for Sunday breakfast--always my favorite), Copper gets to run around in a nice, big, fenced back yard, and ya know, I get to see my family and whatnot ;) 

I'm pretty excited about having Monday off. That means I only have to go into work Tuesday-Thursday! I'm really enjoying working from home on Fridays. Except that when I try to take my "lunch" break to work out like I normally would at work, Copper just thinks I want to play with her. So I'm not really accomplishing a whole lot with my workouts. 

Still trying to eat healthy. So far it's going fairly well. Oh, and the Sensodyne totally works. I believe this is week 3 now? They're still a little sensitive, but much better than they were before! 

Anyhoo, have a nice long weekend everyone! 

Long One

Brace yourselves, this is gonna be a long one. 

The short version is I got sick. 

The long version:

I skipped my workout Wednesday to meet a deadline. I knew if I worked out at my usual time, I wouldn't get the project done in time, so I decided I'd go once I got the project finished. Well, by the time I got it finished, I was exhausted and my throat was hurting. So I decided to just give it a rest and I'd get back in the gym on Thursday. 

I got through my class that night okay. My throat still hurt, but nothing terrible. I got home, had dinner with Chris (eggs, asparagus, and sausage) and then went to bed. 

By the time I woke up Thursday morning I felt terrible. If it weren't for my class that night, I probably would have stayed home that day. But I went to work and progressively got worse. I did however make time to stop by My Daddy's Cheesecake to get some cookies to bring to class. 

I'm assuming they were good since there were only
a couple left by the end of class. 

By the time my class started that night I was miserable. Sneezing, sore throat, body aches, chills, etc. And of course, not only did the class go the full time, but it went over. My friend Angi let me borrow her sweatshirt to use as a blanket, and everyone just kept giving me these pitiful looks all night. Not fun. 

I finally got home and went straight to bed. And felt terrible for not eating the dinner Chris had cooked for us. Unfortunately, I didn't have the option of staying home all day on Friday. I did get to leave around 1:30 though. I stopped at Walgreens to buy some Nyquil and then I went home and straight to bed. Chris came home later and brought me a Sprite and a York Peppermint Patty to make me feel better :)

Saturday morning we got up early to get ready for my friend's wedding. I would have taken some pictures, but I felt like crap. It was a small wedding and the reception was almost immediately after (pretty early in the afternoon). We stopped at the Schnuck's next door and found a nice little Gluten-free corner. So I bought myself some bread to try. Probably should have bought more, but oh well. 

I was only able to eat the salad at the reception, but it was pretty darn good. And everyone else's food looked good lol. After the reception we went back to my parents' house to pick up the puppy and head home. 

We ended up staying for dinner (I had another salad while everyone else had pizza--luckily I don't really like the pizza they got, so it wasn't torture or anything to watch them eat it). And we stayed until the end of the Blues game (which of course went to overtime). I'm glad we stayed though. Even though I felt like crap, I had a good time--and we got a free dinner out of it ;)

And Copper tried really hard to make friends with my kitty Cocoa: 

You can't really see her, but Cocoa is under the chair.
They stared each other down for a good ten minutes.
It was hilarious. 

I woke up Sunday morning from my Nyquil-coma to the smell of bacon. We had bacon and gluten-free bread/toast for breakfast. Super healthy :)

After that we headed out in the stupid rain to go do our grocery shopping. Thanks to Chris, we actually found some gluten-free stuff, like the Quaker rice cakes/snacks and stuff. (I swear those did not exist last week when I was there!) It was a pretty successful shopping trip. I got some new gluten-free snacks to try, and we bought corn flour tortillas for our tacos that night. 

The corn flour tortillas were interesting. They don't taste too bad, but they fell apart pretty easily. That could also be because we were trying to stuff too much into them ;) 

I went to bed Sunday night feeling a little bit better. We had done some laundry and watched a couple movies and I took a nap. At some point in the middle of the night that all changed. I woke up the next morning feeling terrible. I got up, fed the dog, and then texted my boss to tell her I wouldn't be in. 

Once Chris got up around 7, I took some more Nyquil and went back to bed...and didn't wake up until almost 5. After I got up though, I felt significantly better. I showered, watched some tv, and then made dinner. I made spaghetti squash with ground beef and tomato/alfredo sauce, and a side of asparagus baked in the oven with a little olive oil and parmesan cheese. It all turned out really good. 

After dinner we caught up on some shows and watched Bates Motel--not bad so far although kind of confusing since it's the prequel to Psycho, but it's set in modern-day. And then we went to bed. 

I woke up feeling quite a bit better this morning. Not great, but a pretty big improvement over the past few days. I spent most of today catching up at work and I'll spend the rest of my week at work and then at home doing homework. Lame way to spend Spring Break.