PRAGUE!!

We made it to Prague... I have started a blog for our Prague adventures:

loveandpivo.blogspot.com

Hopefully I can continue to update it frequently as I know I am going to be very busy here with the TEFL course and adventures throughout the city!!

Grandma shoes

It is hard to believe that I will be living in Prague a week from today with my love! We have been doing much preparation for our big move abroad!

I have spent a lot of money on new clothes, a new suitcase, travel accessories, and shoes. I spent hours in Dillards trying to find the perfect shoe for walking around on the cobblestone streets. It is difficult finding a shoe that is super comfortable, cute and versatile to wear with both skirts and pants.

I decided upon Merrell brand flats because they were super comfortable and fit my feet perfectly. When I got home from the mall I decided that they look like grandma shoes.

Why can't shoes be both super cute and super comfortable without spending a fortune? I mean sure, I would love to own a pair of Christian Louboutins, but that ain't happenin' anytime soon. So back to the mall I go, hoping to find some shoes that are cute and comfortable enough to spend hours walking on the cobblestone streets of Prague.

What's the most you will spend on a pair of shoes? Are there any inexpensive cute and comfortable shoes you recommend?

Green Monster

Today I made a super tasty Green Monster Smoothie!

Ingredients:
1 c. vanilla soy milk
6-7 ice cubes
2 cups spinach
1 banana
1/2 c. blueberries
1 scoop vanilla protein powder

So healthy, tasty and good!

Day 2: BFL Challenge

I could not fall asleep last night and ending up rearranging my room until 2 in the morning. I woke this morning at 7 and laid around in bed before getting up for an 8:30 Body Pump class. I was so tired before the class I could barely see, but once I got Body Pumpin', my blood was flowing and I was energized!

Before the gym, I had a Strawberry Chobani with blueberries along with my usual coffee and soy creamer.

After doing Body Pump and 20 min. on the elliptical I was hungry! My body was shaking throughout Body Pump!

After the gym, I headed straight for the kitchen and toasted up an english muffin and spread it with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Delish!

I didn't snag photos... I need to get in a habit of carrying my camera with me everywhere!

I do have to say that this blog is definitely holding me accountable and motivating me to stick to this!

Catch ya later!

Day 1: Body for Life Eating Challenge

I have been thinking a lot about my diet and the changes that I need to make to it in order to look and feel my best. I have always had an issue with emotional eating and bingeing on unhealthy foods that are in the house (i.e. cookies, ice cream, chips, crackers, pretzels, chocolate).


I'm frustrated because I have struggled for so long with my eating and reaching my goals. I really wanted to be at my weight loss goal before we left for Prague. I lost about 6 pounds and then put 3 back on. It is so hard for me to lose weight it seems. I know I have not been consistent with eating healthy and have been eating way too much junk. I work out pretty much everyday so I know the only thing holding me back is my diet.


Back in September I had read the Body for the Life book and really liked the eating principles (not so much the exercise component). Bill Phillips' principles for eating clean, whole foods are spot on. I tried it out for a few days but immediately fell back into my old habits. I loved the way I felt during those few days and wasn't hungry at all. I want to try this way of eating again but this time stick it out.


Therefore, I am challenging myself to 21 days of Body for Life Eating.


They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, so if I can successfully complete this challenge then I can change my habits, and make this way of eating a way of life!


Body for Life Eating Principles:

• Only eat whole, clean foods.  
• No white flour or rice, sugar, candy, ice cream, chips, or any other "junk"!

• 5 - 6 small meals a day
• Eat every 2-3 hours
• Each meal = a serving of one protein and one carb
• One serving = the size of the palm of your hand or the size of your clenched fist 
• Incorporate fruits and vegetables into as many meals as possible (modified)
• You may eat whatever you want one day each week! Reward day for eating healthy all week!

Ready... set.. goooo!


I started things off with a Strawberry-Banana fruit on the bottom Chobani with some blueberries mixed in (excuse the half-eaten yogurt) and a cup of coffee with Silk soy creamer (not pictured).

Two and a half hours later I had four whole grain crackers and some cucumber slices with two tbsp of hummus sprinkled with paprika. 


Surprisingly, this had some serious staying power. Three hours later, I wasn't hungry but I had a protein bar anyway to prevent myself from getting hungry.

After a few hours of shopping I went to the gym. I had a ton of energy and busted out 4 miles on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the elliptical! 


I still wasn't all that hungry after the gym but I stuck with my Body for Life principles and had a green salad with Annie's Tuscany Italian dressing, raisins, and feta cheese. I also had some leftover Crockpot Chicken Cattiatore from the other night sprinkled with some parmesan cheese.

...I spy a little girly...

 After dinner I had a small amount of penne pasta with olive oil and some peanuts and raisins.


I loved the way I felt all day. I had a TON of energy throughout the entire day and was never truly hungry the whole day.


Day 1 was a success! Bring on Day 2.

Cookies for Breakfast

After eating dinner last night, I was overcome with a serious urge to bake. I had a Costco-sized bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips just sitting in the the cupboard waiting to be turned into some tasty treats.

I decided to make Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies from Tina's blog Carrots 'N' Cake. I had come across this recipe on her blog a couple days ago while browsing through her recipes section and knew that I needed to make my own!

I tweaked the recipe a bit by substituting the butter for applesauce to make them a little more heart-healthy. I also added half of a mashed banana to the mix.

(Tip: When baking with applesauce it is usually best to bake a few minutes longer than the recipe calls for because of the added moisture.)

The Result = Major Chocolate-y Moist Goodness!

They were so good that I had five cookies last night... and five for breakfast. Oops.


But let's be honest, what could be better than delicious little morsels of oats, applesauce, walnuts, banana, and chocolate to start off the day?

Who says cookies are just for dessert? Do you eat cookies for breakfast?

Greek Crazy

I went Greek crazy last night at the grocery store.

I bought a 4-pack of fun-sized Yoplait Honey Vanilla Greek yogurts and 4 more Chobani greek yogurts! Can you say Greek crazy? I wonder if they sell them in Prague?

These little greek guys are perfectly sized for a light snack or breakfast with 9 grams of protein each. I chose to have one for breakfast before I went to the gym.

At the gym I did a 3.5 mile run on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the elliptical. I started feeling really light-headed so I rushed home for some breakfast, er, lunch.


I made myself two waffles topped with strawberries and agave syrup. I had egg whites, deli turkey and grape tomatoes on the side. Major yum.


Later on in the afternoon my stomach started rumbling again so I snacked on some cottage cheese, pretzels, and a fuji apple.

After all that snacking I wasn't all that hungry for dinner.

I still managed to whip up some sweet potato soup for me and my parents.

Super Easy & Healthy Sweet Potato Soup:

 3 sweet potatoes (cleaned)
 3 - 14 oz cans of chicken broth
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4  tsp nutmeg
Black pepper, Cinnamon, Curry Powder, Cayenne Pepper to taste
1/3 c. skim milk or regular almond milk

How to:
1. Cook sweet potatoes in the microwave on high for 8-10 minutes until soft.
2. Let cool then peel.
3. Once peeled, cut into pieces.
4. Puree sweet potato and chicken broth in a blender.
5. In a large saucepan, bring sweet potato-chicken broth puree to a boil.
6. Reduce to a simmer (low heat) and add all spices.
7. Simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and add milk.

Voila! Sweet potato soup!
 Enjoy :)

What's your food personality?

Which of the following food personalities best describes you?

Impulsive. If you have a tendency to be impulsive, you might see a pint of Ben & Jerry's in the freezer and go for it. Clearly you are a dieter who needs to remove those temptations.

Oblivious. If you tend to not pay attention when you eat -- maybe you're a TV snacker? -- you need to avoid such situations if you want to control portions.

Uptight. "If you are highly anxious, you will probably have more difficulty," Przybeck says. "Those who are anxious, nervous, and depressed might eat to feel better."

Tenacious. Certain personalities don't find it that difficult losing weight. If you are highly self-directed, cooperative, and have a lot of stick-to-it-ive-ness, you are going to have an easier time.

Sociable. You tend to monitor your food intake better than others.

Which food personality are you most like?

I am definitely impulsive! I will reach for the worst foods in a kitchen full of healthy foods. Why thank you, yes, I would much rather have that big slice of cheesy, greasy pizza over a salad.

Question is, is it possible for us to change our food personalities? Instead of being so impulsive and reaching for the unhealthy food just because it's convenient (and delicious) take a step back and ask yourself, "Is that really in line with my health values and goals?"

It's all in the game of self-control! And to win any game, practice is the name.

Four Weeks!

Four weeks from today we will be on a plane to Prague, our suitcases packed with our treasured belongings  that we will have to make last a year or longer!

We leave Boise at 6 am and arrive in Prague at 10 am the following day!! Four weeks seems like a long time but March 15th is going to be here before we know it!

Here are a few pictures to remind me (and you) of where we will be living!! I still haven't fully wrapped my head around it.

We are moving to Prague!!!!

It is OFFICIAL! Stu and I are moving to Prague this March!

How did this come about you ask?

A of couple weeks ago while Stu was on jury duty he met a guy who worked all over the world as a whitewater rafting tour guide. Stu called me, excited, right after he had met him. "That's what we should do! We find a way that we can work and travel at the same time."

For some time we have been fed up with our job situations. Stu has been working at the same company for the past three years since he graduated from college. I have been living at home with my parents, in and out of crappy jobs since I graduated from college almost two years ago. We are both are ready for something new, challenging, and exciting.

We had talked about different ideas before such as using all of his savings to travel the world, and then decided that probably wasn't the best idea. Then I had planned on going back to school for Occupational Therapy because I couldn't get a decent job with a marketing degree. We both talked about getting out of Boise and going somewhere else, but we didn't really know what to do or know how to do it.

So after talking about it some more and doing research on different ways to work abroad we decided that we are going to teach English abroad!


 English teachers are in high demand and all you need to have is a bachelor's degree and a TEFL certification. So to get our TEFL certifications we will be going through a program in Prague that is respectfully named TEFL Worldwide Prague. After reading testimonials, blogs, message boards, and reviews, we found that TEFL Worldwide Prague seems to be best one out there. The program is four weeks long and is supposedly very intense and challengingly... but once we are done we will know how to teach English AND be able to teach English virtually anywhere in the world!


Prague (Praha in Czech) is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. It is one of the only cities standing today not to be bombed during WWII. All of the buildings and everything that stands today has been around since the 15th century. We can't believe that we are going to live there together!

More than likely, we will not stay in Prague after the course, although we plan to still in the Czech Republic since it is so centrally located and much more inexpensive than other European countries. Our goal is to find teaching jobs within smaller cities of the C.R. One of the cities we have researched is Brno (pronounced Bur-no), the second largest city, located in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic.

We feel this is the best time to do this while we are still young with nothing holding us back. We are so excited for the journey we are about to embark on! We can't wait! It will definitely be challenging but with challenge comes reward. I hope to develop my self-confidence and find my true passion in life. Who knows, I may love teaching and make that my career! or we may love Europe so much that we may never come back! We can only embrace what's to come... :)

Na shledanou!
(See you later! in Czech)

Spinach kind of day

Spinach, carrots, two eggs, tomato, cucumber, basil and fat free caesar dressing

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3

A Jumbled Reflection.

After graduating college over a year ago, I have been searching for a job to lead me in a successful direction. I have held about six or seven jobs from July 2009 to present, each lasting only a few months at the most. It has been a challenge because Boise's economy was hit hard and jobs here are scarce.There just aren't the same kind of jobs here that you would find in a big city like Seattle or Chicago.

For the past 2-3 months I have been working at the Boise Chamber of Commerce filling in for a girl on maternity leave. I am thankful that this is a temporary job because I cannot stand working at a desk in front of a computer all day. I will not work in a cubicle for another minute of my life! I look at this as a blessing in disguise to show me what I don't want to do. 

I have struggled in many different ways since I moved here. Trying to find a meaningful, respectable job. Discovering my true passions and values. Spending a lot of time alone. Making (not making) "real" friends. I have an amazing boyfriend and parents here that I am extremely thankful for. But my life is not complete without a close group of friends or a job that I am passionate about that allows me to be independent.



I love change, new experiences. I think it's because I get bored easily. However, I've found that too much change does not allow for growth and success. The people who stick things out and don't give up when the going gets rough are the ones who succeed. It is a fact of life that I give up too easily. I don't stick things through. If I don't like something or find it too difficult, I quit. If I keep going down this road of quitting everything I start that is going to get me NOWHERE. I must identify the things that drive me to succeed and what I am passionate about and put my focus on those.



I know now that I need to work one-on-one with people in a position where I feel as if I am making a difference in other people's lives. It is also very important to me to be respected for the work that I do and that I am able to SEE that I am truly helping others.

Sabotaging Happiness

Why do we sabotage our own happiness? There are so many times that I have worked so hard for something, only to give up on achieving that goal or vision, in turn sabotaging my own happiness. This has been a constant theme in my life and I want to conquer this.  

I am ready to live healthfully, mindfully, and happily. This blog is to help me live mindfully without sabotaging my happiness...

I want to start achieving the goals I set for myself. I want to stop giving up when times are tough. I want to push through things and show myself and others that I can achieve anything and be successful. I want to inspire others with my success. I want to be a role model and act on what I believe in, not giving in to peer pressure and external influences. For example, tonight I ate three pieces of pizza and chex mix even though I was not hungry at all. I let myself go and didn't listen to my body. My emotions said "eat the pizza! it will make you feel good!" and my body said "don't eat, you're not hungry!" I need to "feel" my body and learn to take cues from it. 

If my body does not feel hungry than I should not eat. My mind/emotions are the real ones that needed fed by something other than food. I think by listening to my body it will make my mind stronger. I just need to listen to my body and not my mind. Take a moment. Write down my feelings. A breather... Relax. I turn to food when I am anxious - mostly bored, need to get out of house, go for a walk, bike ride, something is irritating me. Mostly, I am very easily influenced and just need to say no when I am around food that I know I should not eat.

I will not sabotage my own happiness by being mindless in my thoughts and actions. ~ Me

So here goes... Tomorrow I start blogging/taking pictures of what I eat. Tomorrow I will begin living mindfully in all areas of my life.