twenty fourteen :: january

I was notttttt ready for New Years this year.  Not by a long shot.  I actually thought it was about 2 nights later than it actually was.  Fun fact: New Years Eve waits for no one.  When I finally realized it was on a Tuesday vs the Thursday/Friday I had initially thought, I had this overwhelming sense of calm come over me.  It was a refreshing change to the panic, anxiety and nostalgia that I usually get.  My usual obsessive over-thinking sentimental self { examples 1//2//3 } was at ease.  It's taken me 28.4 years to finally realized you don't need a date, a month or the changing a little number from 3 to 4 to start new.  To refresh your priorities.  To challenge yourself, and challenge your mind.  I've learned that the resolutions we try to set and achieve in January can be set and reached anytime of the year.  Trust me on this one.

Over the past year or two, I've been seeing more and more blogs commit to setting words to live by versus new years resolutions.  I gotta say, I love this concept.  I started thinking about this in early December which gave me plenty of time to feel comfortable with the list I've chosen.  This month's word?  

Intention.

In January of 2014, I commit to living with intention.  To be intentionally present in conversations.  To be intentional with my workouts.  To live intentionally through my words via phone conversations, text messages, emails, blog posts, instagram posts, conversations and everything in between.  I will be an intentional listener.  I will spend my money intentionally.  I will be intentional with my friendships and relationships.  I will be intentional with my meals, what I eat and when I eat.  

January2014. It's going to be a good one.  

twenty thirteen.

In 2013, I

Didn't wear make-up more often than I did

Logged far too many hours browsing Instagram

Spent my grandma's 84th birthday with her

Became a Godparent { x2! }

Skied more than ever

often >>> Read in a hammock

Traveled more than ever

Juiced more than ever

Fell deeper in love with Hunter

Fell deeper in love with myself

Visited 18 states

Realized I make a shit freelance designer as my full time job

Commuted via ferry

Became someone who bakes her own bread

Kayaked

Paddle-boarded

Hiked

Road biked

Backpacked

Cross-country skied

Ran

Biked

Mountain biked

Skied

Practiced yoga

Lived on the ocean

Took a week long road trip in a camper van

Didn't take a proper shower for a week

Read 26 books in 4 months

Spent an entire week in DC

Missed the cherry blossoms in DC by an entire week

Chopped my hair off

Missed my 10 year high school class reunion

Designed Save the Dates for a beautiful woman I used to push on the tire swings in 6th grade

Shucked oysters

Hugged my sister for the first time in almost 5 years

Spent a week at Lake Powell

Drove a mack/plow truck

Re-established my independence

Welcomed 4 beautiful groups of visitors into our beautiful Washington home

Visited the San Juan Islands

Went wine tasting in WA, OR and CA

Fell asleep reading in a snowcat <<< often

Went 3 weeks without booze, caffeine, meat and dairy

Watched Hunter open a { successful! } brewery from ground up

Was asked to be a bridesmaid in a beautiful woman's wedding who happens to enjoy tire swing rides 

Wondered how I'd lived for 28 years without a steam shower.  

Or a hot tub

Fell in love with coffee shops all over again

Lived in a ski in ski out home

Found a way to spend birthdays with Jaime, Amie, Lindsay, Grandma Dorothy and Hunter { most across country! }

Didn't go sailboating in Washington

Did spent evenings on a friend's yacht

Practiced the art and patience of cooking

Rediscovered the magic of friendships

Went to my first job interview in 6 years

Got a new job

Moved to Steamboat Springs, CO

CSD Cleanse :: Holiday Style

::via::

Or is it?!

Today marks day 14 of my vegan Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse!  It's crazy{sextdiet} {heyoo!} to think 2 weeks are already down and I've only got one week left.  I've been flying through these first 2 weeks pretty much without even giving it a second thought.  It's interesting to me how when I was first contemplating the cleanse through the holidays, I would run through the holiday parties/social events I'd have and it seemed so intimidating.  I've had about 5 Holiday parties/friend dinners + 1 Broncos game + co-hosting a girlfriend Christmas party this evening and secretly, I haven't missed the cocktails, cookies or cheese platters at all.  Crazy, right?  I KNOW what I'm about to say doesn't make sense, but this thought came to me last Sunday after Sara and I had 6 people over to the house to watch Sunday night football.  After everyone left I thought "Man.  I like my friends more when I'm sober."  What does that even mean?!  I have no idea.  I think I was referring to how I remember so many more one-liners and you catch the little things people do, or don't say when you just sit back with warm cider and watch every one else enjoy their brandy + warm cider and let loose.  It's entertaining to say the least.

It was important for me to do this cleanse for a number of reasons.  { first } It seemed impossible not to drink or over-indulge in food over the holidays.  I wanted to prove that little voice wrong.  Also, I was sick of the excuses I was telling myself.  "I'll cleanse the first week in January!  Wait for the holidays to be over!  Detox then!"  I was beyond ready to jump into it and leave the excuses be.  { second } I've been eating out and indulging in an adult beverage or 7 way.too.much. since we've been back from Washington.  I would eat and drink to my hearts content simply because I  SO excited to be back around my friends and family. I wouldn't even realize I'd almost put back an entire bottle of wine in a few hours.  All moderation was thrown out the window and that really bothered me.  { third } A few years ago, my dear friend Tim showed up at all our events; Christmas Tree decorating, Fakesgiving and various dinners in between and didn't drink a drop of alcohol at any of them.  Of course at the time I was like  TIM.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.  YOU ARE PREGNANT AREN'T YOU.  And he replied so simply by saying "Beth.  My entire life, whenever someone has offered me a drink I've taken it.  I'll survive a holiday season without any alcohol."  That quote of his has been hanging out in a little corner of my brain for a few years now and it hugely stuck out to me when I was debating starting this cleanse between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  { fourth }  There is a reason the vegan lifestyle is so appealing to me.  Not just because eating meat (sa-eriously) grosses me out, but also because my body just doesn't react well to dairy.  I wouldn't go as far to say it's an intolerance, but I just doesn't process it well.  When we lived in Bremerton, we were rockstars at meat + dairy in moderation.  We never ever (everever) brought it into the house (unless we had guests) and when we went out to dinner, if we felt like a meat entree, we got a meat entree!  But those times were pretty few and far between.  Here however, it seemed like each and every time I'd meet friends for drinks + brunch + lunch + dinner I was eating either meat or diary saying "Oh whatever, it's just this one meal."  But one meal a day for a few weeks in a row really added up and I just didn't like how much of it I had been eating and most importantly how I'd been feeling.  { fifth }  I had gotten pre-e-e-e-e-ty dependent on coffee.  Raging headaches if I hadn't had a cup by 11:30a, huge mood swings, feeling just all around lethargic.  One of the most liberating things to come from this cleanse so far has been freeing myself of the coffee dependancy.  The direct hand off of that has been I've been drinking herbal teas like a BOSS.  I bet I go through about 3-5 different bags of tea each day, and I can usually get between 2-3 cups of tea from each bag.  Do the math.  I will go back to enjoying a cup of coffee when this is over, but maybe just a cup a day?  A cup every few days?  Every few weeks?  We'll see, but I will put fourth so much effort not to go back to a cup or 3/day.

Kris Carr recommends that every 7 days on the cleanse, you do an all juice + smoothie + tea detox day.  I got pretty {un?}lucky with my first detox day because I had a really gnarly stomach flu.  I didn't even have time to miss regular food, because even a juice that I'd usually take down in 4 minutes I would have to force myself to drink over like 2 hours.  Yesterday was my 2nd juice + smoothie detox day, and I felt like it went really well!  I had a slight upset stomach during the evening, but after reading more about it late last night, turns out it was likely just toxins being released, whichhhhh was the whole point of the detox day.  They aren't the easiest days to get through, but isn't that really the point?  To go outside your box and push yourself to do something you know you are fully capable of doing?

Wow.  I feel like I've been going on { and on and on } about this when all I had set out to do was say weeeee I'm on week 2 and 1 week to go!

The cleanse is up on Christmas Eve, which couldn't be more perfect timing.  We always go to my uncle Joel's for Christmas Eve dinner in California, and I'm already looking forward to a bowl of his noodle soup and a glass of what I know will be a lovely and local glass of wine.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Ha!  JUST when you thought you were done reading all those annoying lovely Thanksgiving recap posts, you wised up and clicked this post.  I like to keep you on your toes.  Keep things fresh.  Keep things original.  And if telling you all about my Thanksgiving vacation 9 days away (!!!!) from Christmas isn't fresh and original while standing on our toes, than I don't know what is.

Great use of grammar there, Beth.

So.  Without further adieu, Thanksgiving 2013!

This happened.

And a little of this happened.

And this happened to happen (!!!!!!!) { The right + middle photo almost got me kicked out of Lion King by some snotty usher.  The same snotty usher also cock blocked me from getting a bottle of water at intermission, so naturally I felt it was my duty to piss her off, too. } { beteedub; HOW cute are my parents?! }  { beteedub2; don't let the coffee fool you.  They weren't to keep us alert during a late evening show.  They were to sober us up after a 3.5 hour happy hour prior to the late evening show }

Some of this happened.

A lot of this happened.

And naturally on Black Friday morning, this happened. { we all have our own ways of celebrating Black Friday.  Let's keep judgement to ourselves, yes? }

trottrottrot Then trot trot this happened trot!

Let's not forget these happenings that happened!

Ahhhh happenings are so happenin'.

Ugh I'm annoying myself.

Stay tuned for my California Christmas Recap scheduled around Valentines Day 2014!

Beet That.

Speaking of Instagram, a few months ago I started a 2nd Instagram Account!  I wanted a space to document all my juices, smoothies, fruit + veg obsession love without annoying the shitake out of my regular Instagram followers.  So!  If you are looking for an Instagram account with far too many photos of fruits, vegetables, juices and way more hashtags than socially acceptable, look me up at beet_that!

Insta{nt} Replay.

^^^ stunning leafs / stunning frans!

happy halloween / celebratory salads dolled up oj with mary ^^^

^^^snowy range + my happy place / tranquility

sunsets are my love language / all the drinks were needed for that manic monday ^^^

^^^ throwin' it back to stacey and clinton / last hh wo+men standing!

bremerton dreamin' / gooooooo broncos! ^^^

^^^ sunsets are my love lang----yeah ok you get it / don draper obsession!

juice me! / thursday mornings ^^^

Life List.

Things I've been doing lately that haven't included blogging:

Forgot to blog.
Spent the week with my family in California.
Visited wineries.
Drank wine.
Laughed my arse off.
Tasted wine.
Helped my mom make an epic Thanksgiving meal.
Proceeded to eat leftovers for days after the holiday.
Realized I drank so much wine and indulged on so much food not just over the Thanksgiving holiday but since we've been back from Washington and decided to do my all vegan, no caffeine, no refined sugar and no alcohol cleanse until Christmas.
Contemplated if doing a cleanse during the holiday season is the most ingenius or stoopid thing I've done in a while.
Obsessed over reading the Divergent Series.
Ob. Sess. Ed.
Speaking of obsessive things; Cuties.  Hashtag Can't Stop Won't Stop.
Ignored each and every "Gift Guide" blog post that's popped up on my feed.
Averaged 9+ glasses of tea per day.
Basically glued my tacky Christmas slippers to my feet.
Watched as Hunter cringes seeing my tacky Christmas slippers are BACK IN ACTION.
Enjoyed Carrie Underwood's Sound of Music on NBC.
Promised to start blogging more regularly.