October 9, 2012 by Ruth

No this post is NOT about beans, although when I hear that phrase I AUTOMATICALLY sing, “Beans, Beans, the magical fruit…” but this isn’t about that type of good for the heart. And to be honest, the nominal value of “good for the heart” is one of those lies that you hear and accept without research. So when I am asked, why don’t I eat beans, I point them to Dallas and Melissa, who I am QUITE obsessed with.

BUT this is about my weekend, which was good for the heart. SUCH a fun time, starting with friends at Do Di Yos and ending with Good People and a TOTALLY kickin’ concert.

May 14th, 2011 I was supposed to go to Atlanta for the Warrior Dash there. Buuuuut instead I decided to cut my leg off. Because, obviously, that would be a WAY better way to spend the weekend. You know, under stronger pain medicine than morphine, used only for open heart patients, and my REALLY good attitude towards anyone who didn’t just outright say yes to me. So when I saw that it was travelling to Birmingham, I called and asked if I could use the ticket from LAST year. And then. I was registered for the Warrior Dash.

So “World’s Largest Running Series” with the Ultimate Obstacle Course.

PLEASE let me preface this with I had a BLAST! Before, After, in the middle…you name it and I was having a great time. BUT I was disappointed in the “challenge” of it. I guess I expected it to be hard things…instead of “Watch out for slippery slope” or “grab rope and climb to top”. And to me, what was funny is if anyone had ever been backpacking, that is exactly what it was! Hiking, moving, and getting to campsite that you had to pack in for three hours. SO the “obstacle” portion of it wasn’t crazy hard by any means. THE RUNNING though. Man, the running. I suck at running. In fact, I feel like Andy from “Parks and Recs” like…ummm…all the time (Listen, I need you to watch this clip. PLEASE. It’s funny. Please. Look. JUST DO IT.)

So I didn’t run. Instead, I hung out with a new friend and we chatted the WHOLE TIME! Somewhere around 20 minutes into the race it started to rain, and our nice 60 degree start turned into a completely FREEZING WET 55 degrees. And we could not get warm. So we did the ONLY thing we knew how to and that was drink beer 😉 Oh, and layer EVERY BIT of clothing that we could find. And huddle under tents and sit inappropriately close to people! And dance 😉 Destiny’s husband kept cracking on us because we were one of the only ones dancing, but kids who have known me for 15+ years know that I will ALWAYS be the only one on the dance floor! I mean, burns calories, whittles the waist down, and let’s be honest – who can stand still when the “Electric Slide” is playing. NOT THIS CHICK! and really, who wouldn’t want to dance in the mud. How often can you say that is how you spent your Saturday! It was very reminiscent of college days, without the insecurity.

A couple of things that this kick-started back up…

1) My love for the outdoors. I am ABSOLUTELY a creature of habit. So much so, for my flexible mentality, it is very nonsensical. I forget that I like to play outside! Especially coming from the mentality that, “oh crap – if I go biking by myself…what happens if I do something to my leg.” Or hiking…or climbing….or whatever! And without my sweet friends encouraging me to get outside again, I would never have gone! I just NEEDED someone to want me to go with them and want to cheer me on. And not let me sleep in. And they did 😉

2) Loving getting up EARLY on Saturday. I’ve been sleeping in until 9a most Saturdays here lately. Which is like WOAH late. But getting up at 5:30a, breakfast by 7a – I had a JAM-PACKED day!

3) I will be OK walking and running longer distances. The trails didn’t hurt one bit! So I am hoping that I’ve found a new workout buddy that will want to hit the trails. For like a mile. Then we can hike 😉

4) New friends are the best. And you find encouragement in the strangest places. Did I walk a 5k in 59:01? Yes. Is that anything to even talk about. Uhhh, NO. Considering my peers are doing Half and Full Ironmans, running 100 miles in the woods, and swimming up a storm. My outdoor fitness levels is gross. But. FOR ME. This was a crazy-good scary accomplishment.

Today as I showered, I STILL found mud in my toes. Like YES I have showered – many times! But that Alabama Red Clay just sticks to you sometimes. As I hope does the bug of getting back outside.

Billy had a camera on the whole time. I cannot WAIT to see the footage!

So COLD I thought we were dying. And this was right after we got spray off! And the fact that YES I still have lipstick on. Whatever

The feet that NEVER got clean.

After rain shower number 1 BILLION.

Don’t think that needs much explaining…..

Josh with his chicken leg. Yes….he can dance AND eat AND text! NICE.

So, half if not MORE of Birmingham was out there. What did YOU think of the Warrior Dash?

April 10, 2012 by Ruth

company

Again I am alone in my house. First there were sisters, then roommates in college, sisters again, a husband, then there was one sister, then there was the other sister, and now there are none…

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 49:19

Overwhelmed at the thought of getting a new roommate. Hating living by myself. Not loving the option of selling my house in the economy (since we bought it about 6 months before the bottom dropped out of the economy. Like, literally.) But there aren’t that many TRULY GOOD memories in that house. Packing sounds so TERRIBLE to me, and I would end up throwing almost everything AWAY.

Now, dear friends, I have been praying for guidance on this house for about 14 months. What is strange is that I keep WAVERING on what to do, and waiting on a clear sign. But maybe its NOT a clear sign.

Maybe its a just a jump that getting out of a house that you used to be married, and then you weren’t –

the house that has half-done projects because someone started them, and then moved away –

the house that held tears and a failed marriage –

MAYBE its a jump because I am supposed to just TRUST.

Revelations 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

So MAYBE I start packing up little by little, and not just NOT. Maybe I just lose the ties that hold me to Birmingham – the ties that haunt of dead dogs and deader life. Maybe somethings are just MEANT to be left behind.

Deut 28:1-6 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. ²And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. ³Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. ⁴Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ⁵Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. ⁶Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.”

April 5, 2012 by Ruth

FAMOUS! {meeting Ree Drummond}

We got to meet Ree Drummond last night!! YES THAT REE! YES THAT ONE TOO! Oh, I think I could probably find her a few places more, but that is all I can publicly admit to stalking her.

So, I have known she was coming to the ‘Ham for a while, but did not KNOW that Books-A-Million put on SUCH an organized show!

Facts about Book Signings at BAM:

1) Go the day before (or whenever you call and ask and they tell you!) To go get tickets to wait in line. So you wait in line to get a ticket to wait in line. Got that? (Thanks Momma for waiting in line!)

2) Make SURE you have a post-it in the front of your book with your name or whoever it is that you want it signed to (I’m not sure she would just sign ANYTHING you put in there….But you know Ree pretty much goes with the flow). (Thanks Momma for getting our cookbooks!)

3) Make SURE you have a receipt of buying the cookbook. In this case, we had the sticker price on the front. But they WILL CHECK IT. (Thanks Momma for making sure they didn’t think we were thieving the books!)

4) Get in line. Try not to think about how sweaty you just got teaching RPM. Allow your momma and sister to tell you that you really DON’T look as bad as you think you do. At least I had my cute Lululemon on! (THANK YOU SO MUCH Momma for getting in line for me and Boo so we could just hop on in!)

5) Get book signed with REE and YOUR PICTURE DONE! And then encourage your sister to ask her about Cowboy Josh, because he needs a Blonde from Birmingham to add to his Ranch Life! (thanks MOMMA!)

6) Have dinner and allow your momma to pay. Then order food that comes on the LARGEST SERVING DISH in the restaurant.

7) Wait, that last one is just for us 😉 And in case you couldn’t tell, we could not have been able to go if my dear sweet mother had not taken time out of her day to make it possible! She also let my dogs out AND did my dishes yesterday! She is THE BEST.

Ree was ABSOLUTELY GRACIOUS to everyone! There may have been a woman in front of us who had a photo album of her 7+ Bassets, and a story and and and…And Ree did NOT blink. She just is the sweetest to everyone! I think we all wanted to shout, I think I could be your best friend! We love you! We didn’t 😉 But I wish she was our friend!

And I am thinking of sending Becca to Oklahoma to see if she can find Cowboy Josh….Anyone want to contribute???

February 28, 2012 by Ruth

just touching base, right?

I miss you guys! But don’t you worry, I have dedicated a post to the inner realms of my mind:

1) Do most people FILE their nails? Or do they clip them? I’ve always just been a nail biter, but in the last 5 years, I’ve rid myself of almost all of that habit! I know, I know…its gross! But I never said I was perfect. (Actually, I am pretty close…Just have a few steps to reach there.)

2) I am having a hard time deciding where to eat dinner for my family birthday. yeah, its comin’ up, and I am SURE you missed the 8,094 memos I have reminded you guys. I can’t help it! After my last year, I am SO glad to be rid of my 20’s and on to a new chapter! Side note, a new co-worker informed me that 30’s are terrible. He hopes that mine are better than his. (umm, they WILL BE, sucker!)

3) Havin’ a sick dog is for the birds! Last week was filled with non-sleeping.

4) Is it ALREADY TIME to launch the Q2 for Les Mills? Aparently so, since they charged me for my new releases.

5) Why is it that I can get obsessed with every type of exercise known to man, and some people HATE to work out. I wish I could share my love with everyone! Currently, I am loving Bikram Yoga down in Vestavia near the bowling ally. If you want to come, just LET ME KNOW!

6) I wish I could wash my hair more. I just don’t like to.

7) Sleeping an entire 7.5 hours makes for an AWESOME morning! I am ready to solve ALL of the world’s problems! Just tell me what is going on! I’ll fix your life ASAP! I’m just good, and PERFECT like taht (see #1).

8) Saw WICKED two weeks ago. It was MOST excellent.

9) I REALLY want to go to all of these awesome music festivals coming up (see here, here, here and here! OH and one day, I will make it here: 2013 Glastonbury Festival. Check out their amazing past line up!)

10) I love Mexican food. I mean LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

What I am eating this week:

Melissa’s Meat Muffins (I used Italian Sausage – super SPICEY and its so. so. sooo good.) Also, aparently I only like to make mini-muffins, in which case it yeilds like 48. I think I had 12 this morning for breakfast. Please don’t judge. Also, Melissa has been SO AWESOME to offer yall a PDF of the recipe from her book. For FREE!

Carrots

Tuna+Cracked Pepper Mayo+Avocado+Capers = super tasty snack

Cuties (I mean they are SO cute!)

Boston Butt, taco style last night. The world is my Oyster for tonight!

GoGo Squeez – kinda obsessed how EASY these are for a snack! And SO TASTY! Obvi I don’t eat the Banana one. But I LOVE the strawberry one!

January 13, 2012 by Ruth

{day 5} HOW I FEEL (shutup already)

Hungry

Tired

Missing Cheese

Missing wine

Missing Milk (and I don’t even drink that much!)

Whiney. I’m sure ~~you couldn’t tell~~ I hide that well, right?

But it all comes down to my inherent nature – You tell me no, and I will do EXACTLY what I am not supposed to. Run with knives? Check. Foot up on the dash? Check check. Speeding? Ugg yes. Don’t have that next (abc, 123, whatever!) and I will immediately do it. THAT my friends and family is my terrible, ugly, disgusting human nature. And why I feel like this chick and I could be BFF….or somehow distroy the world. Whatever.

I want to do what I want when I want, and in my youth (college) it caused myself a lot of harm. Its taken me a long time. LOOOOONG LOOOOOOOOOOOONG LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG time to recognize the fact that I thrive within rules and guidelines. At work, at home, in my relationship with God…friends, family….ALL of it!

So I kept thinking. I dont WANT to do this. I want to eat whatever I want and be skinny, better skin, feel better, walk around happier. But friends, let’s be honest. It does NOT happen that way. Change only come with really BIG effort. Really BIG pains, and REALLY BIG commitment. And I don’t think we ever FEEL like it. But GROW UP RUTH. Change is hard. ALL OF IT.

TOUGH LOVE from this CHICK

Here comes the tough love. This is for those of you who are considering taking on this life-changing month, but aren’t sure you can actually pull it off, cheat free, for a full 30 days. This is for the people who have tried this before, but who “slipped” or “fell off the wagon” or “just HAD to eat (fill in food here) because of this (fill in event here)”. This is for you.

It’s not that effing hard. (Yes, I wanted to throw an f-bomb in there.) Don’t you dare tell me this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Drinking your coffee black is. Not. Hard. Substituting Sunday morning French toast in favor of a giant omelet and side of crispy bacon is not hard. Eating fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables every day is not hard. So I don’t want to hear one single complaint. You won’t get any coddling from me on this one, you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”, and you won’t get any second chances. Not in my house. It’s thirty days, and it’s for the most important cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. So shut up and do it.
Don’t tell me you “slipped”. Unless you physically tripped and your face landed in a box of Krispy Kremes, you DID NOT SLIP. You made a choice to eat something of poor quality. It’s always a choice, so do not phrase it as if you had an accident. You make a poor choice, even once, you’re out. You don’t get to re-start, you don’t get to keep posting. Commit here, 100%, for the full 30 days, or go somewhere else.
Don’t lie to me. Don’t even try.
You never, ever, ever HAVE to eat anything you don’t want to eat. You’re all big boys and girls. Toughen up. Learn to say no. Learn to stick up for yourself. Just because it’s your Mom’s birthday, or your best friend’s wedding, or your company outing does not mean you “have” to eat crappy food. It’s always a choice, and I would hope that you stopped succumbing to peer pressure in 7th grade.
This does require a bit of effort, people. If you’re cutting grains and dairy for the first time, you have to replace those calories with something. You have to make sure you’re eating enough, that your vitamins and nutrients are balanced, that you’re getting enough protein, fat and carbohydrates. Don’t expect me to fill in the blanks for you. Figure it out. There are a ton of good resources out there, so take responsibility for your own plan. Improved health, fitness and performance doesn’t happen just because you’re now taking a pass on chocolate milk.

Isn’t that awesome?? I need a no-bullshit version of EVERYTHING in life. And especially since in the South, it seems most people are accustomed to the “white lie” so that no one’s feelings ever get hurt.

I used to “lie” and tell people that Body Pump/RPM/BodyFlow/CXWorx/THEGYM is easy. Well and for me, it was “easy” in the sense that I liked it and I didn’t consider it a pain to want to puke my guts out for 30-90 minutes. To me, it wasn’t a lie. I really DID like it. But then I started realizing (through my sisters and mom) that not everyone likes to work out. And not everyone could care less if someone sees them sweating/breathless/struggling. And I had to turn this around and see the 90% of people that working out is NOT their release. Its their CHORE. And turn it into something that they can manage. And that mentality is how I need to view changing my life in regards to what I eat.

September 1, 2011 by Ruth

how I win for free every day….

There are few things in this world that I like better than a GOOD DEAL, and those of you who know me, know that! I find NOTHING shameful in being a good steward of your own money – if something is listed at$65, but you only value it at $30, and don’t ask for a price difference, then you have OVERSPENT $35. Which means you could have bought two of the items for one.

One small fact you may not know is that I like to barter on EVERYTHING. YES EVERYTHING. Cell phone bills, coupons, groceries at the Farmer’s Market, etsy, power bills, college loans, credit cards, ummmmmm you name it and I have bartered/haggled on it.

One of the best resources in Birmingham right now is Freecycle. Now, this is not a site JUST for Birmingham. Right now in Alabama they have a group for the following:

Birmingham
Irondale
Hoover
Shelby County

That doesn’t include Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Huntsville, etc, which also have sites.

Now that you know WHERE they are, what IS it?? THis is a place where you can give and recieve free goods. Their guidelines state that this is NOT a place to offer jobs, solicit services, etc, but a place for us as humans to be a little more green.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to just throw away what I don’t need – old boxes, plastic bins, boxes, wood pieces, vaccum cleaners, sheets, etc. (yeah i know….I really DO just throw them away!), magazines, etc. But when you use this site you can offer it to someone who might actually USE it instead of throwing it away!)

Says the site:”The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,975 groups with 8,694,279 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and thus keeping good stuff out of landfills.

Membership is free, and everything posted must be FREE, legal and appropriate for all ages. To view the items being given away or sought in Birmingham, you must be a member of the local group. To view the local group posts, visit the local Yahoo Group where they are located by clicking on the link below!”

I love it. I have given up bamboo, an old coffee maker, a vacuum that didn’t work so well. In return I have received seedlings for herbs, a dishwasher that just needs a new board ($99 instead of $399 for a new one) as well as various and assundry things. Of course, you do run into those posts of “I need a brand new Blackberry cell phone for T-mobile” and I think, no one NEEDS that, let’s just keep it to the things that we really NEED to function properly.

But all-in-all I have had a FANTASIC experience on this site! Please try it out!!

http://groups.freecycle.org/BirminghamFreecycle/description

August 8, 2011 by Ruth

the birmingham fooooood trucks!

I am MASSIVELY intrigued by the food truck craze in Birmingham. Quite frankly, I don’t know WHY more restaurants don’t do this! Low overhead, little to clean up, quick and easy turnover.

The history of the food truck started out as a Chuck Wagon in the old west. Don’t you remember having to buy the supplies on the trail to Oregon? And having to make sure the Chuck Wagon didn’t get lost in the river? Most likely you would just die of dysentery anyways…. (you do remember the The Orgeon Trail, right?! Please tell me that you played that game off of a HUGE floppy disk while growing up? Or perhaps that was just an Indiana deal…)

All of that is nice and dandy, but I really think they started to hit big time popularity after a show on my favorite (food porn) network The Great Food Truck Race. Or maybe they were before then. All I can tell you is that we have 5 food trucks in the Birmingham Area that I know about. My favorite? I am going to have to say Dreamcakes, because who DOESN’T like having a surprise cupcake every now and then

Shindig

Area of Town: All over, check Facebook and Twitter for locations

http://www.shindigscateringtrucks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ShindigsCatering http://twitter.com/shindigstrucks

Cantina Food Truck

Area: 6th ave. N. Between 20th 19th st – other places as well (Ensley park, etc.) so make sure to check out their Facebook and Twitter (and their fish tacos!)

https://www.facebook.com/cantina.onwheels http://twitter.com/cantinaonwheels