Primal lifestyle

First off, brand new and never-before-seen pictures of my babies:

Pretty kitty looking regal... :)

Ryott with her short hair... :)

In other news, since last December, Kris has been eating a primal diet. This basically means that you don’t eat processed foods. I’m trying to take up this diet because I’d like to see myself lose just a little bit of weight. I’d also like to get toned up, which is where the running and other exercise comes in.

This is going to be a huge adjustment for me. I love food that is terrible for me. I love chocolate, ice cream, potatoes, fast food, etc. Although some of this is okay in moderation, I’m not going to be able to eat the way I’m used to – quick, easy, and terrible for me.

I’ve been making some primal recipes. I’ve made primal stuffed green peppers, where the rice in the peppers is replaced with cauliflower. I’ve also made primal “mashed potatoes,” which uses cauliflower in the place of the potatoes and is absolutely delicious. Chicken enchiladas can also be made primal when you use egg whites as the tortillas. This recipe is a little difficult to actually make enchiladas, so I turned it into a casserole instead of actual enchiladas. Great recipe!

My most recent endeavor has been primal zucchini boats. You cut zucchinis in half, carve out the pulp, and stuff them with a mix of ground sausage, onions, garlic, parmesan cheese, and an egg. Then you bake for 45 minutes, sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top, bake for ten more minutes, and it is ready! If you like zucchinis and sausage, you’ll love this recipe.

 I’m really excited about this life change. I think it’ll be good for my health and well-being. I’m definitely not the healthiest person I know and I need to change that. Eating right and exercise are the best ways to get healthy. 

Take care,

--Nan 

Help!

An old photo of Kristopher and me. 

Well, I can’t complain!

I successfully finished my first year of law school, am a founding member of the Belmont Law Review, got ENGAGED (!!!), am enjoying my internship and research assistant positions, and am loving summer.

I have a trip planned in July with my family and Kris and I have talked about possibly getting away somewhere for a few days as well.

I feel like there is one thing missing in my life, and it has been missing for quite some time. I watched a video clip of Justice Scalia last week where he talked about ways to improve professional writing. One thing he suggested was reading- not just cases, briefs, and whatnot, but good literature and non-fiction as well.

This is where (the few) readers I have come in… I need your help! I need quality books to read in my spare time. This is not just because Justice Scalia recommends it, but because I genuinely enjoy reading and have not done any casual, just-for-fun reading in quite some time.

Please offer any suggestions you may have!

Take care,

--Nan

It's official!!!

Flowers given to us by my step-mother to celebrate!

I mentioned in my last post that I had some super top secret news to announce. I’ve been dying to announce it for weeks…. and here it is: Kris and I are engaged!

I have known about this for quite some time because Kris wanted to make sure that I had the ring of my dreams. We went to the jewelry store and he let me pick out the ring that I wanted. Because the ring was not in stock in a size that would fit my finger, we had the ring specially ordered and it took about a month to arrive.

We picked up the ring last Wednesday and went to dinner to celebrate our impending engagement. He still had to ask me, of course!

Yesterday, he did! We talked about how we felt about each other and even how scary this kind of commitment is. We both understood that this is not something to be taken lightly, but we both know that we want to be with each other. 

Kris and me at dinner after the proposal.

So, here’s the cute part. After we talked about the engagement for a while, Kris said, “Well, I guess we have to ask the magic eight ball.” We don’t own a magic eight ball, but luckily for us, the internet magically happens to have many! Kris picked a magic eight ball on the internet and typed in a question along the lines of, “Should I propose to my girlfriend?” or “Should I give my girlfriend the ring?” (I can’t remember exactly, because I was a little flustered at this point… I mean, my future depends on what a magic eight ball says on the internet?! What?!).

Anyways, he typed in the question, hit the submit button, and the eight ball – to quote law school – unambiguously and unequivocally said, “Yes.” It wasn’t a “Maybe” or “Possibly” or “It depends” or any of the other ambiguous responses the magic eight ball often gives. It was clear: Yes!

So Kris put the ring on my finger and asked me to marry him. I’m not sure I actually said “yes” out loud because I was so excited. It was really, really cute, although I’m not sure what would have happened had the magic eight ball given an ambiguous or negative answer. It didn’t, so I’m not worried about it. 

I am thrilled to be announcing this news, but am even more ecstatic about the fact that I will be spending my life with Kristopher. I am a lucky, lucky lady and could not be any happier. Thank you for all of the kind words of support and encouragement. We are both very excited to start this new chapter in our lives!

Take care,

--Nan

Silly kitty cat!

Happy June!

I posted this picture to my Facebook page, but it’s so cute and silly that I just have to share it on here as well.

It’s hard to see, but if you look closely, Ellie has her paws perched up underneath her chin. I think it is the cutest picture of her to date! She is so silly!

Life has been good to me lately. I finished my first year of law school, got my grades back, am interning at a law firm, and working as a research assistant.

I’m happy. AND I have a super top secret announcement to make soon. Stay tuned!

Take care,

--Nan

Sister Jane

The cover of my aunt's book about her trip to visit the orphanage.

My aunt Elizabeth recently came into town to visit. She brought Sister Jane with her, an African nun who founded and runs an orphanage in Cameroon, Africa for children whose parents have died from HIV/AIDS. Kris and I had dinner with them. Meeting Sister Jane was an incredible experience.

Sister Jane told me stories about the development of her orphanage, the children at her orphanage, and attempts to prevent her from running the orphanage. She told me that a neighbor had attempted to poison her and that armed men broke into her orphanage with the instructions to kill her.

Sister Jane is an exceptional person. She has devoted her life to saving children. She is warm and welcoming. She brings with her a sense of calm and instills the desire to help into others. Sister Jane is a force for good.

If you’re interested in learning more about the orphanage or donating to it, the website can be reached here.

My aunt wrote a book about her travels to Africa to help with the orphanage. If you’re interested in it, it can be purchased from Amazon by following this link. 

Spread the word about this amazing cause. Tell your friends to read the book, visit the website, donate, or anything else they can do to help Sister Jane maintain the orphanage for these children.

I can’t tell you how life-changing it was to meet someone like Sister Jane.

Take care,

--Nan  



It's hard to say what it is I see in you...

Sister Hazel performing at Exit/In

Lead Singer, Ken Block

Both photos courtesy of my fantastic boyfriend, Kris Steer.

Look him up, he's very talented!

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the Sister Hazel show at Exit/In last night. It was an absolutely fantastic show.  I must admit that I don’t know a lot of their music. When Kris initially told me about the show, I of course began singing the chorus to “All for You” in my very off-tune and untalented manner, but I’m not really familiar with much of their other music.

This will certainly be changing. The band had so much energy and so many great songs to perform, some of which were new songs. I was impressed with their talent and enthusiasm. It was a great performance – one that will surely not be forgotten!

I’ve recently learned how much the world is full of talented people. Living in Nashville tends to do this to you, as you see people at hole-in-the-wall music venues who are extremely talented and are waiting, just hoping to be discovered.  It’s sad to me that some of the best talent goes unnoticed and unappreciated.

This extends far beyond the music scene. It extends to everything. Every day, people do amazing things, from saving a life, keeping the streets safe, or teaching a child how to read. These simple things should be acknowledged more often. After all, it’s the simple things in life that really matter the most.

My so-called “life-philosophy” has always been to love others. I think the most important thing we can do in our lives is positively influence others – by loving them, respecting them, listening to them, teaching them. The development of loving and trusting relationships (in any form – family, friend, significant other, etc.) is essential to leading a fulfilling, meaningful life.

This is part of the reason why I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I want to share my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned with others. I want to help others, and the best way I know how to do that is to write.

Take care,

--Nan

5k Success!

Take a close look at this image from my treadmill yesterday:

Ignore the time and pace on that image. They’re not exactly correct because I took some of that time warming up, cooling down, and intermittently walking. But, take a look at that distance! Yes, I finally did it – I successfully ran a 5k!

Of course, I didn’t run any official 5k event, nor did I run the entire distance without stopping, but I did manage to run it. I made it! And for any of you who know me, you know that this is a pretty big accomplishment.

I have never considered myself a runner. I always hated it. I couldn’t run any kind of distance whatsoever and, when I tried, I was miserable. Despite being thin all my life, I simply wasn’t ever in shape.

Then I hit the big 2-5 and realized that I needed to work out to stay healthy and fit. I couldn’t maintain the lifestyle I had lived up to that point because it simply wasn’t a good way to live. While eating fast food and sitting on the couch watching TV rather than eating vegetables and running a 5k initially seemed much more appealing, the change in lifestyle helped me learn that it really wasn’t.

So, I began the Couch to 5k program a few months ago. I started off precisely following the program, but one day decided to push myself a little further and ran for quite some time. I then ebbed and flowed a little bit because the final weeks of my first year of law school kicked in and I didn’t feel like I had the extra time to run. I did, however, make some time for it.

Once I finished my first year, I got right back into it. I didn’t follow the program because I’d gotten to the point where I didn’t know where in the program I should re-start, so I kind of began my own program. And yesterday, I successfully made it the entire 5 kilometers (and a little more)!

I am quite proud of this, and I encourage everyone to try this program. Running is a very good way to release stress, clear your mind, get in shape, and feel better about yourself. Once you set goals and achieve them, it feels so great. So, despite being sore this morning, I am very proud of myself and look forward to continuing this journey.

Maybe one day I’ll make it to a half-marathon! You never know! 

Take care,

--Nan