As I was perusing some of my favorite blogs and wondering why they hadn't posted in a while, I thought, perhaps, I should post...because what if by some crazy stretch of my imagination someone was thinking that about my blog. Or...what if you're thinking, "Seriously, Katie, WTF? We've had enough of your blog-pushing ways for one night."

Eh, eff it. I'll post anyway. You clicked. You're here. You're reading.

I'm copying someone elses (What the hell...why can't I get that line to go away. Is "elses" not a word? It's not a word, is it?) idea.

Here are the things I'm loving this week:
My New Pill Box
Yeah, you read that right. My new pill box. It's hot pink and it has three compartments. You should have seen how excited my friend and I were at The Container Store. The 87 year-olds trapped inside us were thrilled about the pill boxes.


So, now my pills don't get mixed up. Allergy pills, Ibuprofen, and Midol. Check, check, and check. It fits in my purse perfectly and I can't wait until someone I know says, "Geez, I really have _____________ (bad allergies, a headache, a broken femur, a skinned knee, cramps, appendicitis) Ok, I can't help for all of those things, but someday, maybe and I'll be able to say it all started with my pink pill box. Best ninety-nine cents I ever spent.


The People at Dutch Bros

I don't know if they have to take a class in awesomeness but sometimes I go there just to feel like I have more friends than I actually do. They are so genuine and fun and happy and they make me feel like I'm their BFF. Do you think it would be weird to see if they wanted to come to a slumber party at my house and play Girl Talk and, maybe, go teepeeing later?


Flag Post-its

I'm back in school and they are ah-mazing. I flag places in my book. I write notes on the edge. Sometimes I just get them out to look at the fun and complimenting colors of them. Organization + Aesthetically Pleasing to the Eye = A Happy Me!


My Lavender Sleep Pillow Spray

Ahhh, I'm drifting off in to dreamland just thinking of it.

It's no secret that I love sugar. Love. This makes me think of that Friends episode when Phoebe is dating the psychologist and he says, "It's just food, Monica, not love." "It's just sugar, Katie, not love."

Let me just tell you about the worst of my addiction to that refined poison...during my 1st year of teaching (which was the 2nd most stressful time EVER) my daily routine, after school (and sometimes at lunch too-did I really just admit that??), was to get a Diet Coke and a Twix bar out of the vending machine. You know how the commercial for Twix bar makes them look like a "pause" button? Well, where the hell was the pause button during my gluttonous overdose of a year of bad decisions and a TWENTY (yes, you read correctly) pound weight gain?!?!




Fast forward to the next time I ODed, big time. I moved to Durango...the fittest city in the world. These people worked out and ate healthy like it was their job. The guy I used to work with biked to school every day...even when it was 8 degrees. WTF?! EIGHT DEGREES. I didn't even want to walk to my car, let alone bike to my job. So, all of the Durangans were kayaking, hiking, jogging, biking, rock climbing, cross country skiing. I was driving, not biking (even though that's pretty much how everyone else gets there) to Bread...for the cookies that were as big as my face. This happened a lot. Strong work Cartier.



So, as I began getting healthier, because it was either that or slit my wrists (and probably watch refined sugar pour out of my veins), I did some research. Since I pretty much have a PhD in Googling, I Googled.


Major things that cause sugar/caffeine (caffeine is in this category as well) cravings:
1. High stress
Your body doesn't care whether you're stressed because you're being chased by a shark (in which case I would hope I wouldn't stop for the Twix but I'm not convinced) or because of the day-to-day BS. SOLUTION: Realize you're getting stressed and: breathe, meditate, chew gum, whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of your body because the last thing you need when you're stressed is for your jeans to not button.


2. Inflammation
This sounds weird, but it's true. However, it can me the normal inflammation like injury or something or allergens. So, if you are allergic to everything, as I am (I'm not freakin' kidding. They put 80 "allergens" on my and I was allergic to 73 of them, Holy Shnikees!) you'll be affected. SOLUTION: Take your allergy pills or stay away from things you're body hates you for putting in/near it.


3. Low blood sugar.
That means when you don't eat enough, your blood sugar gets low and you crave sugary snacks. SOLUTION: Eat every 3 hours. NEVER let more times than that pass and make sure that each time you eat there's some protein in the mix.


4. Not Enough Sleep
This is not a problem for me but some people getting enough sleep is a tough task. SOLUTION: turn off your computer (ahh, the irony as I type this as midnight) and drift off into dreamland. Sidenote: I had to put this adorable picture of my sweet, sweet niece sleeping like a baby.



5. Eating Dirty
This is the opposite of "eating clean." So, if you're putting food that has been altered (think: almost everything that's in the aisles of the store), you're going to be craving more of that dirty food. SOLUTION: Detox. Some people don't agree with these but I do. People have said, "Our bodies are built to process this and we don't need to do them." I say, "No, our bodies were NOT built to process chemically enhanced, processed food. So, for that reason we need to "eat clean" and when we don't (cause nobody can do it all the time) we need to detox. In unrelated news: don't EVER Google Image: eating dirty. Ahhhh, my eyes are burning!!!


Moral of this story: I had to find my triggers and still have to work hard to realize what is going on when it's happening and then, here's the hard part, not give in to the sugar cravings.

PS. I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not but refined sugar is BAD, BAD, BAD for you. So, grab some fruit (which is not refined sugar but still sweet) and let's all sing Kumbaya. Namaste Friends.