you like random? you get random.

well, the results are in: you guys like random posts. because of this little nugget of information, i am about to get pretty random once again.

i am okay with that.

i hope you are, too.

i wasn’t lying yesterday when i said that protein oatmeal is my breakfast 73.9% of the time.

melty mighty maple.

some of you say you have a hard time making your protein oatmeal creamy. it is all about the brand of protein powder you use. i have tried many a powder and found the best one for protein oats is EAS vanilla premium blend protein powder. it is a blend of soy, whey and casein protein.

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brandi & holly are teaming together to raise money for jovenes—an orphanage in hondouras.

you can click their names above to see their posts about the fundraiser. i am doing my part to spread the word–$5 here and $10 there goes a long way for these kids.

and holly & brandi, i am thieving your content straight off your posts :)

for example–

It takes $28,000 per MONTH to keep Jovenes running, and while I know money is tight for all of us, every little bit we can raise is going to help them cover their costs.

your money could fund many things, like:

• $25 = support of children at Jovenes
• $50 = purchase backpacks & school supplies
• $75 = funds skills training program
• $100 = purchase school shoes & uniforms

The minimum donation is whatever you want it to be. Maybe you can go without a new jar of almond butter or coconut milk ice cream and donate that $5-10 here instead. Or maybe you can give more and sacrifice your holiday lattes for the month of December. In the grand scheme of things, it might not be much of a sacrifice for YOU, but it can make a huge difference to them.

Anything you can give is used to keep the orphanage running, to keep the boys healthy and educated and to help give them a life that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

Please consider giving this season.

Share the blessings you’ve received with someone less fortunate.

If you are feeling merry this holiday season, please click here to donate to Jovenes!

Donations are completely secure and private.

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kacy & lisa are hosting a salad challenge for the month of december!

the goal? eat twenty salads this month.

i am participating.

i had a crappy salad last night (#1) and a glorious salad for lunch today (#2):

in the mix:

• romaine
• spinach
• yellow & orange bell peppers
• shredded carrots
• cottage cheese+ranch seasoning
• baked sweet potato
• garbanzo beans
• asiago dressing

you can’t go wrong with salads. this challenge is gonna be easy.

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guess what i found at the grocery store the other day??

adora calcium discs. after seeing them around blog land for two years and being too lazy to order them online, i found them as a “new item” at smith’s marketplace.

they are smaller than i’d imagined.. but WOW—they do a greatjob at satisfying my sweet tooth while giving me much needed calcium.

i am hooked.

which, by looking at the nutrition stats, is not a bad thing.

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i realize i have skipped flashback friday a bunch lately. the reason for this is my laptop with all my old photos on the hard drive is having serious issues. like.. it won’t even turn on. i have tried to flash back using the photos i DO have access to.. but that isn’t very many. sad story.

guess what i do have access to? my old myspace account! oh man, remember myspace?  i sure do. i was in the thick of using myspace when marshall and i were flirting with each other, before we actually went on a date. the only reason i don’t delete my account is because i want to save all those cheesy flirtatious comments we left each other. they are pure gold, i tell you. i should share them sometime. maybe i will.

so, for today’s flashback friday, i give you some random photos from my myspace account. i am surprised i remembered my password! plus, when i logged on it was all SORTS of different than i remember. i am lucky i found the link to my photo albums. i remember that a couple years ago i totally deleted all photos on my myspace—so unfortunately the ones from 2004-2007 aren’t on there. but there are several from 2008. that is when these are all from.

random puppy i found in mexico.

photo booth.

san francisco. we took this photo and people joked that it could be our engagement photo.  little did we all know…

RANDY IS A BIG DOG. actually 2007.

there was a brief period in 2008 that i wanted to make flashing the OK sign just as trendy as flashing the peace sign. it didn’t really catch on.. but man, i hate the peace sign in photos, so i am all about the OK.

there was a time that i could go to the bar on a week night and stay out until 3 AM and go to work at 8 AM. not anymore.

i sure miss snowboarding my life away. i need to get up to the mountains. soon.

here is a photo that will never happen again.. marshall snowboarding with me. he went 3 times before telling me he absolutely hates it.

once a jazz fan, always a jazz fan. (i am actually going to the game tonight!)

i miss mable. HOLY CRUD I MISS HER.

but i am so glad i have penny. this was her first vet visit. tiny pup.

in 2007, i went to norway. it was a blast.

i went on a trip to california in 2007, as well. in the norway photos above and in the california photos below, both from 2007, the last time i looked at these, i remember thinking i was so fat. i remember feeling so fat when the photos were taken.

um. i wasn’t fat. yeah, i was 138 pounds at the time (yes, i remember the exact number), but i still wasn’t fat.

thank you, age and maturity, for realizing that i am beautiful at every weight.

while we are on this topic, i want to direct you to susan’s post about her one goal for december. aka the most important goal she has ever made.

susan’s goal is to end fat talk.

let’s face it.. at one time or another, we have all talked to ourselves (whether in our heads or out loud) in a way that we know we shouldn’t. we have said things to and about ourselves that we would never, ever, EVER in a million years say to another person about them.

i am guilty of this. chances are, you are too.

and guess what? even though i have a healthier relationship with myself than i ever have before, i still catch myself thinking negative things about the way i look.

bad habits are hard to break.

so, in addition to the salad challenge for december, i am also taking on susan’s challenge of ending fat talk.

i will not scrutinize my chin in photos. it is not a double chin, janetha, it is just a bad angle.

i will not obsessively look at my reflection that appears in anything i walk past (store window, mirror, etc) and think that i look bad. in fact, i am going to avoid looking in the mirror all together—except when i get ready, of course.

i will not get down on myself about the size of my calves. sure, i can’t find a single pair of boots that fit over my calves when wearing jeans, but that doesn’t make me fat. it makes me muscular. and strong.

i will not focus on parts of my body and appearance that i don’t love. instead, i will embrace the things i do love. my abs. my hair. my smile and teeth. my little hands and feet. my boobs. yep, i love ‘em. and even if i don’t love my big butt, marshall does ;)

 

wow. that spur of the moment, random decision to flash back to my myspace photos really pulled something deep from within me.

i think i needed that.

you see, this post wasn’t planned. at all. i just opened my blog writing program and started typing.

and this is what i ended up with.

and i am okay with that.

i hope you are, too.

Qs~

1. what do you love about your appearance?

2. describe your dream salad.

xo. janetha g.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. you have until midnight to enter my first giveaway of christmas! giveaway #2 will go up tomorrow :)