MIA

I know by "MIA" you're probably thinking Mission: Impossibly Awesome, but really I was just going to tell you what I've been up to lately  that's been keeping us apart. =)
Whooee it's almost been a month since my last post! And what a month it's been.

I got a phone call a while back from a grad school I had applied to.
"Hello?"
"Is this Elizabeth Brady?"
"Sure is."
"Hello, I am so-and-so from such-and-such MFA program. I'm just calling to let you know that we enjoyed your portfolio and would like you to welcome you to our MFA program!"

At that point my extremities lost all sensation and I tried to remember how to breathe.

So there you have it: I'm going to grad school! =)
After that phone call, I applied to be a graduate instructor while I complete my master's degree, so I traveled to the university to interview for that position. Then I decided it would be economically sensible to relocate into a more affordable establishment.
AKA: I moved back into my parents' house.
And of course the usual busyness of full-time employment, holidays, increased family time, and all the other normal day-to-day life somehow led me to neglect my poor Chewsing Wisely.
In more ways than one.

Let me tell you, folks: it's easier to be extremely strict than to allow yourself an inch here, a slip-up there, and justifications all around.
Granted, I didn't revert to my old carnivorous ways, but I cooked less and let myself fill up on carbs (terrrrrible thing to do to a stomach...inside and out).

SO! I am rededicating myself to Chewsing Wisely =) Now that I'm settled down and have been reminded of why I need this in the first place.

Lemme just tell you what is my lifesaver:

VitaMix!

This baby is my best friend. And I don't take that lightly. And neither does she =)

I use her primarily for fruit-and-vegetable juicing for my breakfasts (but I've also made tons of whole foods stuffs up in hurr: soups, pesto, peanut butter, hummus, ice cream, nutella, etc etc), and I know that every day that I juice for breakfast, I feel so much better. 

What do I put in my juices, you say?

Honestly, I just clean out my fridge. 

This morning it was:
     pineapple juice
     apple
     a floret of broccoli (don't overdo it on the broccoli--those suckers are potent)

     a few scoops of soy yogurt
     carrot

     handfuls and handfuls of spinach

     frozen strawberries
     frozen banana

     and probably some more stuff I don't remember.
See? Seriously just clean out your fridge. You'll learn what combos of fruits/vegetables and the amounts of each you personally enjoy (my sister will NOT put carrots in), and soon you'll be in juicing bliss right along with me. 

Not only does this breakfast increase my fruit and vegetable intake, but I know my body really enjoys absorbing all the vitamins from the food so quickly and easily. It makes my insides happy =)
And if my insides are happy, I am more inclined to want my outsides happy. And what, you might ask, makes my outsides happy?

Yoooooooooga.     (disclaimer: that's not me. but ohhh doesn't that look good right now?)

So there you have it, the un-vicious cycle: insides happy=outsides happy=insides happy. And my dynamic duo: VitaMix and yoga. 

Moral of today's story: do the things that allow you to be happy.   Often.