Focus.

I am a bit embarrassed (and scared) to do this, but I feel like it’s the only thing I haven’t tried. I’m going to use this blog for accountability purposes. I have GOT to lose weight. I also have GOT to focus on our strategy to get out of debt. Both of these tasks are going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of focus, and I feel like using this to keep me accountable will help. Maybe I'm taking on too much at once, money stuff and losing weight…but I figure if I am really focusing on something, might as well let that energy spill over into something else too.

Last night, Taylor and I sat down and created our “debt snowball” worksheet, which is an action plan to tackle debts - smallest to largest. We also worked out a budget for this pay period and the next. I found that the control I felt over where our money is going made me feel like I can control my behavior with eating and exercising too, so that’s another reason I think I can do both at once. I am HORRIBLE at “control”. I’m really, really good at having no control over my weight, my finances, my schedule, my dogs, anything. I need to take charge of my life and change the things that are making me miserable. I hate the way I look and I hate feeling like we’re never making any head way in terms of our finances. It affects my social life because I never want to go out and be social because I don’t fit into any clothes, I can’t afford and refuse to buy bigger sizes, and even if I’m wearing clothes that do fit, I just don’t like being out and feeling so awful about my appearance. And it usually costs money. L

So here are my goals.

1. Update the blog every two weeks (each pay period) regarding our first try at really  following a budget. We both get paid tomorrow, and from that point on, we are not using our debit cards and only using cash that has been categorically allotted for spending.
2. Actively begin the debt snowball after saving up the "emergency fund", which should be complete by the end of June.
3. Update the blog every week on weight loss. Format: weigh in, highs/lows, exercise update, and goals for the following week.
4. Look at the weight loss thing as a DAILY challenge, not a weekly thing. It hasn’t worked in the past, it’s not going to work now. The “week” mentality lets me get away with too much, I do bad one day and say, “well I have a whole week, I’ll just do better tomorrow and the day after that”. But then I do bad every day.
5. Record everything I eat on myfitnesspal. This shouldn’t be too hard because I already do it, but I normally do it until 4:00 pm and then just “guess” at night, so I’m positive I go over my cal count every day. So all nightly wine, tiny squares of chocolate, and little snacks have to be recorded.
6. Exercise 4 times a week starting today. Walking the dogs counts. (trust me, I am so out of shape that 30 minute walk is huge for me). Move up to five times eventually. Strength/weights at least 2-3 times per week.
7. DON’T QUIT!! I usually quit at 10-15 pounds gone because I feel so great about the loss and think I’m a total super babe. But I’m not, I’m still overweight and I gain it all back immediately.

There are a million other things I want to do, but I think I’ll stop there. The goal is 15-20 pounds down in ten weeks. (how convenient, that’s when I go to Vegas for Laura’s Bachelorette Party!!! J) 30-35 pounds is the ultimate goal, and I don’t care how long it takes, but I’m hoping by September. Baby steps though J

Happy Birthday, Truman!!

Harry S. Truman served as a Jackson County judge before he was president, so guess what? The Courthouse closes on his birthday!! Huzzahh!!!! I get a random Tuesday off! 

To celebrate Truman's birthday eve, Taylor and I went to Chipotle and got margs, then finally went to see The Hunger Games. Very fun.

Today I'm just taking it easy, taking the pups on a walk, and forming a new to-do list. This weekend we have a graduation dinner for my sister (she's getting her master's), a friend's wedding, and mother's day! All these activities probably call for a spray tan. :)

Blogging? What's That? Very Random Post.

There are a few reasons I haven't been an active blogger, the first being that there is some English guy out there named Patrick McCue who google allowed to either hack into my mccue12@gmail.com address or just have the same one...so using this account EVER is sketchy and weird. Does anyone know how to link blogs to new email addresses? I use mollyhartley25@gmail.com now and would really like this blog to be linked to that. I might just have to start a new one.

The other reason is that my division has been in five different trials pretty much back to back since the end of January so we have been super busy. Lots of jurors. Lots and lots and lots of jurors. <insert smiley, tired, annoyed, laughing, confused face>. I have had to deal with panic attacks, vomiting, over-sharing about other unfortunate bodily functions, bus schedules, parking issues, and just pissed off people in general for almost four months now. Fortunately, there are some jurors who actually like jury duty so they bring me lots of baked goods, which is great, but with all the food around during trial I am yet again a fatty mcgee riding the yo-yo weight train for the billionth time. Yay. Regardless, all of these stories are for another time.

Just wanted to stop in to say hello and post a photo that I am way too excited about:

I mean seriously. All three dogs looking at the camera? I should submit this to some puppy modeling agencies.


This is from Bark for Life a couple weekends ago. Lots of people came out with their pups to support the American Cancer Society (including my mom and sister, Jeremy, Mallorie and their husky Skylar, my office mate Heather and her dog Hans, my friend Lauren Williams and her fiance Dan, their dog Henry (Shamus's twin), and of course my two babies and Taylor.) Brittany and Jimmy were also on the committee, so it was just one big happy dog-loving family!

More to come....

local eats

I love working downtown in that it has opened my world up to some new places to lunch and happy hour that I wouldn't be able to conveniently visit so frequently otherwise. Here are some places I've been for the first time recently and fell in love with.

Blue Bird Bistro - (17th and Summit) Sustainable, local and so cute. They have a fabulous happy hour with great deals on local wine (the Ruby Red from Somerset Ridge Winery is delicious) and appetizers. We got some great hummus and "the monster tomato", which was an awesome heirloom tomato, homemade feta cheese, and homemade HUGE white bread. I die. Menu changes often though, so you might not be able to catch it if the tomatoes aren't in season.

Hickok's - (River Market) I'M OBSESSED. Happy Hour from 3-7 and on Saturday from 11-7! Free chips and salsa and $2 wells and drafts - including Boulevard. The atmosphere was wonderful, it reminded me of So Long in Manhattan. The menu looked awesome...also similar to So Long in a way, so of course I was into it. Can't wait to go back.

Kansas City Cafe - (15th and Grand) Only open Monday through Friday for lunch, and I've been twice in two weeks. It's gourmet cuisine for cheap-o prices and it's AWESOME. I've tried the fish tacos, parisian chicken sandwich (Chicken, dijon aioli, sliced apple, melted white cheddar), goat cheese salad, and lobster bisque. Everything was superb.

Le Fou Frog - (River Market) such an adorable spot. I went for restaurant week with a big group of girls and we had a blast. The salmon and risotto were amazing, and the wine list was frenchy fancy yummy. Their happy hour looks great too.

The Brick - (17th and McGee) hole in the wall goodness. GREAT tacos (vegetarian and beef) for 75 cents on Tuesdays and a really varied menu beyond the typical bar food.

next on my list - Happy Gillis, Gennessee Royale Bistro, Westport Cafe, Nica's 320, Grinder's. (yes, I know, I've never been to Grinders...sinning.)

pinterest cooking

This post on Brittany's blog inspired me to offer my own pinterest cooking experiences to the blog world...because who are we kidding, I really don't cook anything anymore unless I've seen someone's perfectly photographed recipe on good ol pinterest.

So here goes....(there are a lot)

1. Green bean casserole, Pioneer Woman. Really good. Brought it to Christmas Eve. Normally don't like green been casserole but this was killer.

2. Green Chile Chicken - from "For the Love of Cooking". DELICIOUS! Taylor and I both loved it.

3. Parmesan Baked Artichokes. Really easy side dish that we loved.

4. "Healthy" Chicken Parmesan...from Skinnytaste. This has become one of my go-to weeknight meals. Easy and DELICIOUS! I use Trader Joe's marinara...which is awesome.

5. Chicken Marsala...this was really good. Next time I probably won't use both marsala wine and white wine...it was a little too booze-y tasting. Not that I don't love booze...I just didn't feel like getting drunk off my chicken. It didn't taste like it was cooked off. Also, I cooked this when I was on the hard core South Beach Diet Phase One, and then my lovely husband pointed out it was dredged in flour before it was cooked...I forgot flour counts as a carb. Bummer.

6. The Best Baked Oven Fries...from Annie's Eats. They were great. A little labor intensive if I remember? But definitely the best baked oven fries I've done.

7. Mongolian Beef. One of our favorites...I've made it four or so times. Tastes just like P.F. Changs and is surprisingly easy!

8. Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno - I've been really lucky with my pinterest cooking...except for this guy. Dry and pretty tasteless.

9. Tomato Basil Soup from Jenny Steffens Hobick. Delicious, but it was one of those things where you get sick of the leftovers really fast. So make it for a crowd.

10. Oreo Cheesecake Cookies - good, but the cooking time was off in the recipe, so the first batch I burnt. Actually it may have been my ghetto oven. Just watch them closely if you ever try them!

11. Bruschetta - this was absolutely perfect. Excellent proportions of olive oil, basil, tomatoes, etc. YUM!

12. Lasagna Roll Ups - EVERYONE has these pinned, so I was pretty excited, but unfortunately they were pretty bad. Maybe better with chicken or just cheese. The beef variation was no bueno.

13. "Healthier" General Tso's Chicken (b/c it's not fried)....I remember this being pretty good. I could live on Asian food.

14. Chunky Vegetable Soup - This was so-so. Too many carrots in Taylor and I's opinions.

15. Christmas M&M Pretzel Things- Fantastic! The recipe says 5-6 minutes at 350...but they only need 2-3 minutes. The white chocolate ones melt faster than the milk chocolate, so you could separate them if you wanted true perfection. :)

Christmas post (on January 22)

I will start this post with a picture of my parents (huge) Christmas tree. There's nothing better than Christmas at home. This picture is taken on Christmas eve, which is my second favorite day of the year, second to Christmas day...which follows. Every year, Christmas day is exactly the same, so here are our traditions:

Good Morning!

 Amy passes out presents...

 and we take turns opening. This year, Dad gets superman boxer briefs from my brother.

 So of course he models them over his jeans, with his Dwight Schrute shirt and ever-present mock turtleneck.

 After we finish opening, dad was surprised in the garage with a snowblower. He was VERY excited.

 And my dogs are adorable. Of course. They remain outside with brand new bones so they don't eat our gifts.

 So let's drink to that!

 Mimosas.

 And here it comes...the meal that deserves an entire blog post to itself, our Christmas morning tradition, the ONE day of the year we get to eat....my dad's egg's benedict. He has made it for over 25 years, and each year he perfects his recipe until it gets so perfect we all close our eyes after every bite and moan and groan and then ask for more. It's mind-blowing. It's my favorite thing to eat it the whole wide world.

After this, I fall into a coma for at least 2 hours. Everyone else somehow finds the strength to play games and talk on the phone. But I sleep.

 And when I wake up, there's more food! Here is my favorite appetizer...fried artichoke hearts.

 Salad, prime rib...

 homemade shoestring fries...

 Birthday presents..

Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.

And a perfect ending...Shamus convincing my dad that dogs on the furniture is a good idea :)

What a very, merry Christmas!

JOB JOB JOB!!

Last Monday I got a call from a friend about a judicial clerkship at the Jackson County Circuit Court that was opening up...and to apply fast.

Tuesday morning I came up to the courthouse, delivered my resume to the judge.

Wednesday afternoon I got a call for an interview. SO excited. (didn't even think I'd make it that far)

Thursday I interviewed.

Friday the judge called me. And I got it!!!

Monday I started.

Today I have completed my first week! And I love it! The only kicker is the dress code. Every judge is different, so not all law clerks have to do this, but I have to wear a full suit every day. And I only have one that is wearable, because the other one needs hemming. So I gotta get a new wardrobe. I've gotten a bunch of great deals on shirts to wear under my suits, ($12 shirts at the Limited, $16 shirts at Costco, yes, Costco, $15 shirts at Nordstrom after our discount) so that makes me a little less angry about this mandatory shopping that I can't afford.

I am so so so grateful and thankful to finally have my first job as a lawyer. It took awhile, but it all works out in the end, and no matter how much I didn't believe that a month ago...it's all good now. :)