breaking the rules

We've been on a hardcore detox/purge since coming back from Spain. The fun we had became noticeably present around the waist. We knew it would happen and we knew what we'd have to do when we got back.

For the past 10 days we've been doing the scarsdale diet. I admit I haven't been following it religiously--I need my sugars and my dairy. I also didn't enjoy Spain as much as my dear hubs. :)

Essentially this diet does 2 things:

1. You stop eating fats, sugars and oils. You don't cook with oil. You don't add anything to your toast. You don't indulge in sweets in between meals.
2. You limit the number of carbs you consume and you up the fresh vegetables & fruits.

All in all, it's not that hard to do . . . the first week. The second week, in my opinion, is hard. You lose energy. Loads of it. I have been craving the craziest things all week and since our cabinets are not fully stocked, I have had to do without. No biggie. I can live without cookies, hummus, tortilla chips, juice etc. We push forward.

Until.... tonight. I needed carbs. We had successfully gone a full 10 days without eating one of our weekly staples: pasta. So, as you may have guessed, we broke the rules. We made pasta. To our defense the sauce was 100% homemade with fresh vegetables and we measured the amount of pasta. I think I actually enjoyed tonight's pasta more than ever before. I enjoyed it because I was starving for it, starving for carbs.

While I admit we cheated (and am proud of it), it made me realize how trivial dinner can become without giving it some thought and effort. We need food to survive, but it is so much more enjoyable if you actually enjoy it. Naturally, I mean in moderation.

This is one thing I really want to strive for this year: to make a much more conscious effort of what I am putting in my body. pm had the idea last week to try to make more things from scratch when you crave them. For example: I want chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate ganache frosting. I could walk down the street to "Fivebucks" and buy one. Easy enough. Although if I really want it, I should force myself to make it. Chances are if I had to make every craving I have, I wouldn't consume so many useless calories.

New Year's Resolution #1: Play an active role in all meals. Give them thought and push the boundaries. Whenever possible, buy locally. Utilize cookbooks, experiment with recipes. Keep track & take notes along the way.

P.S. The other item not allowed with this diet is = no alcohol. Today we made an exception. pm is almost officially done with school forever. To celebrate we had a sherry: Pastora amontillado, medium dry. A solid 8 for breaking another rule.

chill out.

Oh jet lag, why do you taunt me? On second thought, it might not be the jet lag. I think entering back into reality after nearly three weeks of non-reality has finally caught up to me.

Friday nights seem to be nights where pm & I just like to chill out. This Friday, however, is a little different. Not in the sense that we aren't still relaxing, but in the sense that we need to finishing unpacking and settling in.

It's the thing I loathe most about coming back from a vacation (other than coming back): unpacking the suitcase. It's the act of unpacking and putting everything back to normal that forces you right back into your day-to-day life. The actual unpacking wouldn't be so bad, if it didn't mean there was laundry to do and a closet to reorganize so that the suitcases can be put away.

Enough complaining though.

We've started a few new things already this year since being back and hope to continue:

#1: Detox. The holidays were too good to us this year. So good in fact, that my body couldn't handle it anymore. It was screaming for vegetables, fruits and fresh food once we got back. We've answered that call big time this week. If we continue to eat salad as much as we have been this week, we may start growing a fluffy tail.

#2: Daily cleanups. Rather than do all the cleaning for the week over the weekend, I am vowing to do 1-2 chores a day. This way, when the weekend rolls around I don't have to think about it. Plus taking 15-20 minutes a day to do a little bit sure makes a difference. (Granted, I also wanted to clean more this week since we've both been sick. Bleach has been a good friend this week.)

#3: Not overbuying. No more huge trips to the grocery store. From now on I want to buy like a Spaniard. Buy what you need for the week. This involved menu planning in advance. After our first week, we haven't wasted any food and haven't had to make any additional trips to the store.

What little changes have you started to make this year?

new look, new year

Happy 2011!

While our blog recently underwent a little face lift and we now have a permanent home at ampmcrafts.com, we have been totally MIA for the last month. We know it, we acknowledge it & now we're moving forward.

We were super excited to launch our own website. It's been sometime in the making, something we've been wanting to do for a long time. Now that's it's up and running, we already have plans for some new items that will be posted in this coming year.

2011 is going to be the year of new beginnings, a new chapter to the life of am & pm.

We started it off with a Holiday in Spain (props to the Counting Crows & this version of the song!). It was my first holiday there, and four years tardy for pm. Needless to say, it was time for us to go. We were able to escape the cold and enjoy family, friends, food and wine. Ah, it was wonderful. I hadn't realized just how wonderful it was until we came back. Why did we come back? ;)

Our holiday in Spain, also was a holiday from all responsibilities. We paid our rent in advance, and since all other expenses are on pre-paid accounts, we could sit back and enjoy. We very rarely checked our email and as you can tell from our social media efforts, we stayed away from most technology. Fact is: pm and I need a break.

Prior to our trip we were running in so many directions I am surprised that we even made it to Spain without forgetting the clothes on our back and gifts for family. Or worse case scenario: our passports. I will admit, that was a close call the day we left.

We will post photos soon-- as soon as we finish the rolls and get everything developed. I think this time we took more film photos than digital. My love for doing things the old-fashioned way doesn't lead to the immediate results. I am hoping the photos will be worth the wait.

Along with posting photos, we'll also be posting some of our goals for this space for the new year. Since we haven't had time to think about new year's resolutions (other than to eat more vegetables and cut back on meat for the time being), we haven't had time to post anything here yet either. It will come. After all, all good things come to those who wait.

Rather than make a long post longer, we'll be back. Soon.

I may take a holiday in Spain / Leave my wings behind me / Drink my worries down the drain / And fly away to somewhere new.

reflecting.

Today is a day of reflections. We are 3/4 the way through 2010, it's my dear sister's birthday, and we are days away from a 3 away weekend. Seems like a culmination of many things, but as the saying goes ... when it rains it pours. And, it did indeed pour this morning.

I've been thinking today about my resolutions for the year. I cannot say that I haven't done many of them, but then again I haven't done them all. Lucky for me I still have 3 months to make up for lost time. I plan to do just that.

Goal #1: Make cards and send out more snail mail. Want to get it? Let me know.

Goal #2: Read more. I spend nearly 2 hours of my day commuting. Therefore, I have time to cozy up on the train and read some good. Have some good leads? Let me know.

Goal #3: Get crafty: Take photos, make stuff and give stuff.

Goal #4: Purge. Reduce the unnecessary and do some spring cleaning this fall.

How are you doing on your resolutions?

Heart to Heart.

It's not that I don't have motivation, it's just that sometimes I have a hard time finding it (and the hours in the day to use it).

As I patiently await for my strawberry rhubarb pie to be complete, I am reflecting on all the creative projects that pm and I wanted to accomplish as of late. We had a heart-to-heart talk last night as the ampm crew. Creating this blog and deciding to actively post was one of our New Year's resolutions. So far, so good. However, I just don't know that it is enough. I want for this blog to be what pushes us to use our creativity on a daily basis. This may not always constitute a post (perhaps a tweet on our ideas instead), but it should at least motivate us to always be thinking about the next project, the next post.

We've been working really hard lately on making our place feel like home. I have noticed that by removing the clutter, donating items we no longer use, and switching up our wall art I already have a lot more energy to do things when I am at home. No longer will I be victim to just the couch and TV. (That said: pm got some amazing deal on cable. We now have the design channels. This has been proven to be a great way to encourage our creativity. It has also really made us want a house. :)).

Timer is going off. Time to take out my pie! (I'll post a picture soon of my delectable delight).

We're going to take a creative Jump! in the days, weeks and months to come. Hope that you'll be along for the ride. Step on board with us. Forward, ho!