I wanted to take this Friday morning (the Friday before a long weekend, woohoo!!) to share some exciting things that have happened.

1. I LOVE my classes. I only have one of those teachers where they are fantastic scientists but not the best instructors, but generally school is amazing. I plan on sharing posts with you guys in the future about things I learn in my Food Production lecture and lab. And this past week’s lab we learned all about how to do a professional cooking demo! There’s so much fun stuff to come, too. Plus, Student Nutrition Club = love. Our snacks include Chobani greek yogurt, KIND bars, apples, fruit, vegetables, hummus, pita and water. Oh yeah, and even though I don’t have her this semester, one of the nutrition professors is the current ADA president! (ADA = American Dietetic Association). Thought that was pretty cool.

2. I went to my first NFL game! Ross won two tickets to the Jaguars v. Falcons game last night, so we went!

It was really fun, laidback, I got to meet a couple of his coworkers, and we won!

It was a fun way to celebrate yesterday.

3. What were we celebrating? 

(Please excuse the bad lighting and the overly tired, "it’s-late-and-I-just-got-back-from-a-football-game" lululemon ninja look.)

I got the lululemon job! I’ll be working part-time (perfect for school!) as an educator at the Jacksonville lululemon store. There are so many reasons I’m excited about this and so many awesome things about the job (like it’s perfectly on the way between my apartment and school, I love the company, and I get to wear yoga pants to work, etc.). Suffice it to say, the "woohoo!" I proclaimed when I was offered the job was just the start of my excitement.

So, life is good. Granted, there are always things in life that are frustrating, negative, and not contributors to positive moods. But you know what? I try to look past those, because those are little things that don’t matter. Life is good. Focus on the good. Working at lululemon while in school here has been a goal of mine ever since moving to Jacksonville became a prospect (read: months and months!). The thrill of achieving your goal is quite the motivator.

So what are you rocking and owning and loving today? Let’s kick this long weekend off on a positive note!

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This post has been a long time coming, as it’s a topic I’ve been internalizing ever since I received an email over a month ago from a reader.

This reader, who  shall remain anonymous, sent me an email that said the following (paraphrased):

Your site popped up when I googled "volume eating" [hyperlinked to the post she was referring to]. I only recently heard the term and realized I was hearing about myself. I had no idea other people did this and gratified to learn I’m not the only one. It’s kind of a secret thing with me, and I can control it for periods of time (like on vacation with other people) if I have to.

Can you tell me more about it? It is considered an eating disorder? Is it considered a form of bulimia?

I can see that it’s something I’ve always done but I didn’t understand what was going on. It could explain why I was overweight (not grossly obese but I filled up on the wrong stuff like cookies) as a child.

What do psychologists say about volume eating? Is it to fill yourself up because something else is missing in your life? Are control issues involved, as in anorexia (which I’ve had also).
I’ve never addressed this before and thank you for your honesty in your blog.
Where can I find out more information about this?

Well, for the record, the first thing I told her (and am reminding all of you now!) was that I am not a Registered Dietitian, doctor, or psychologist.

That said, the next thing I replied with was that I had honestly never thought of volume eating as being an eating disorder.

Before I go any further, I just want to make clear how exactly I’m defining volume eating.

Volume eating, to me, is having the bulk of your foods consist of foods that are not calorically dense, therefore allowing you to essentially eat more for less. For me personally, I employ volume eating in my own diet as a way to also ensure I’m getting all the nutrients I need.

For example: instead of a dinky little fast food cheeseburger for 300 calories, I’d rather have a spinach salad with tofu, a whole wheat English muffin and a small organic apple for my lunch. Calorically equivalent, just a lot more food, and more nutritionally balanced, too.

That said, after I thought about it, I did see how volume eating could be seen as an eating disorder or even be used as a tool for an eating disorder. Yes, you can have two small bowls of equal size, one full of a filling breakfast of oats, banana, milk and peanut butter, and the  other full of watermelon. But that does not mean that’s a smart choice. For me personally, a small bowl of watermelon will not keep me full or my blood sugar stabilized. But, I can see that if you are dealing with disordered eating, you can fill a plate with mostly lettuce or fruit and call it a meal, because it’s "safe" since it has so few calories.

So – what are your thoughts? I brought this topic to the blog (with the permission of the reader who sent the email) because I really wanted to see other feedback and discussion about this topic. I’m truthfully not sure if there’s really an answer as to whether volume eating is an eating disorder or not. I personally think that, like many things, it will depend on how the individual is using it.

Discuss away, friends. And, like always, please remember to keep things respectful in the comments. I totally support differing opinions, just be tactful and respectful please! Thank you!

Also, just to note: if you all find this topic really interesting, I’d be glad to do some more in-depth research on the topic and share some scholarly findings with you. If you’re interested.

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• Healthy Living Blogs Database – very first musings! (December 5, 2009!!!)
• Health Bloggers Database Musings – I think I stayed pretty true to most of these. Some are still on the "one day hopefully soon!" list. Others were crossed off (the fee? Although I can’t say I’m still confident in that decision…let’s just say people think I’m crazy for doing this for free/ nothing.)
• The domain was purchased! (February 2010)
• More "hoping to finish HLB today!" (February 2010)
• Design dilemma (February 2010)
• I announced HLB would be going live May 3rd….haha (April 2010)

Wow! It’s definitely been a process, that’s for sure! I’ve learned so much along the way. On top of all the logistical mayhem (I did it all myself and am dang proud of it!), it’s been consuming to get everything just right. All along the way I was figuring out more that I wanted to accomplish through HLB. Even though I had to push back the "by whens" of my HLB goal deadline several times, I can say with 100% certainty that it all worked out for the best and I truly don’t think HLB would have been as successful had I launched it back in May.

Speaking of success, can I just say that we are officially over 1,000 bloggers who are listed on HLB! SO crazy. That’s in less than three weeks, too. Holy smokes! Gotta be honest – totally didn’t see that coming. I naively thought there’d be a couple hundred blogs out there, that’s it…psh! Dream big!! Next goal: 10,000. Do it now.

So what else have I learned through HLB? Here are some highlights (some serious, some amusing, some personal, some professional):

• Things take time. Let them.
• Be patient with people.
• Nothing will ever go as smoothly as you want or as you think it will.
• Be flexible. (Do yoga.)
• Be open to feedback, even if it’s not shared in a respectful manner.
• Remember tone is hard to convey in text, so emails that may seem "rude" or "demanding" are more than likely not intended that way.
• Think the best of everyone.
• 99.9% of the time, everyone cares about HLB just as much as I do – it’s a community project.
• Grow thick skin
• I can’t grasp the concept that connections around the world are being formed and in real life friendships have been made from this little website that I made. How humbling!
• One person can make a difference.
• There are some diverse HLBers!
• There are also some very similar HLBers out there – vegetarian runners are rampant!
• There are some very ironically similar blog names out there.
• Have a support system. (cough savvyjulie cough thenheathersaid cough) Go TeamHLB!!
• Shout out to Heather and Julie again, because I would’ve crawled into a hole in my backyard, crying and sucking my thumb about 1.5 weeks ago without them. And that would have been a problem. Why? I don’t have a backyard.
• Gmail canned responses rock. my. world. I apologize if it seems like you got a standard reply back, but when you’re sending back hundreds upon hundreds of emails that usually have the same core substance, canned responses rock. Insert with the click of the button and customize as needed. (Can be found under your gmail labs.)
• I need an iPhone.
• It’s ok to gently remind people that we can’t do everything immediately. They will understand.
• I need an iPhone. Oops, I mentioned that? Oh, this one’s for Julie. Team HLB needs to run this operation efficiently! Apple/ AT&T sponsorship anyone? ha…
• I think my husband momentarily thought about divorcing me when he realized I was charging nothing for membership, was spending 230948203948 hours a day on HLB jazz, and still had tuition to pay and was iPhoneless. Sorry honey!!

So. HLB has been a wild ride.

Bottom line? Dream big. Allow your goals to go bigger than your dreams. Persevere. And don’t forget to charge an administrative fee per member so you can pay TeamHLB for slaving away with you.

And get an iPhone.

P.S. Everyone go say thank you to Julie and Heather! SJ & THS, I appreciate you two more than you know! One day I’ll pay you big money. Or cookies.

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This granola was inspired by this Cranberry Nut Granola I had seen Giada make on the Food Network recently, namely by the cranberry reduction I remember her adding. For my cranberry reduction I reduced two cups of cranberry juice with a quarter cup maple syrup until the amount was halved.

I started by combining my dry ingredients: oats, buckwheat groats, raw almonds, cinnamon, and dried ginger. (I told you I love buckwheat in granola! I LOVE the crunch it gives!)

When my cranberry reduction was finished I poured it over the dry ingredients.

Truthfully I got nervous here, because the granola mixture was now really moist!

I spread it out in a 9×13-inch baking pan. It will clump up on its own, but try to spread it evenly.

Now, the moistness that the cranberry reduction gives the granola is two fold. It takes longer to bake, as I baked it for eighty minutes at 300 degrees, stirring every twenty minutes.

It’s fortunate in that it gives an awesome clump and cluster to the granola, which is great for a granola baked without any added fat (i.e. no oils or butter).

To finish off the cranberry flavor, I added a handful of dried cranberries when the granola was removed from the oven.

Now, if you excuse me I need to go make a green smoothie and top it with  a little of this granola for some crunch. Have a great day!

Cranberry Almond Granola

• 2 cups cranberry juice (only fruit-sweetened!)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup buckwheat groats
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

To make your reduction, reduce the cranberry juice and maple syrup in a sauce pot over medium-high heat for about twenty minutes, or until the volume is halved. Pour the reduction over your combined dry ingredients (everything else except for the dried cranberries). Spread your moist granola mixture in an ungreased 9×13-inch glass baking dish. Bake on the top rack for 80 minutes at 300 degrees, stirring the granola every 20 minutes. Remove the granola from the oven (if it doesn’t seem crunchy enough yet, it will continue to get crunchy as it cools) and add the dried cranberries. Stir, cool, and enjoy.

Storage note: I store my granola in an airtight container, and it usually stays good for two to three weeks.

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Just to clarify, these were all things I’ve purchased with my own money.

Coconut water. Not new to me, but the O.N.E. Coconut Water "with a splash of" flavors were new to me. Both the pineapple and mango were good, albeit a little sweet, and I think they’d make great choices for a first-timer, as they’re a little more juice-like. On that note, anyone want to gift me with a lifetime supply of coconut water? Who needs a beer of the month club, can I get a coconut water of the month club?

 Kombucha Wonder Drink. I bought this out of desperation when I was jonesin’ for a G.T. Synergy Kombucha a few weeks ago. Well…I’m still jonesin’. This brand would make a great Kombucha to try for a first-timer. But if you’re wanting the "real" Kombucha this tastes like Kombucha soda. Way too sweet for what I wanted.

Take my word at face value though, because when Ross had a sip he started gagging and choking. Different strokes for different folks!

I bought this Red Wood Hill Farm Apricot Mango Goat Milk Yogurt to try, because with the lower lactose in goat’s milk I wondered if it would affect my stomach differently than cow’s milk. It was good and had that subtle tang of goat’s milk, but I’m not sure if I’ll purchase it again, if solely for the fact of the two dollar plus price tag. Stomach wise, no bothers.

It was particularly flavorful with a white-fleshed nectarine and my buckwheat granola.

Another new foodie find that I eagerly scooped into my shopping cart were the two new larabar flavors I can have (I can’t have tree nuts and both the new Brownie and Carrot Cake flavors have walnuts).

Love. In the past, my favorite larabar flavor rotated between Coconut Cream Pie and Tropical Fruit Tart. Let’s just say Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is certainly in the rotation for current favorite.

The Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip was good, too.

I love that you can visibly see the chips in the bar!

The only thing that made me prefer the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough over the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip was that the PBCC was a little dryer (you can visibly see a little more "crumb" in the PBCC). Good, but CCCD reigns supreme of the new flavors.

The last new thing I tried was solixir. Both the Blackberry Chamomile…

…and the Pomegranate Ginger.

Love these! Lots of flavor from the natural juices and botanicals, lots of fizz, but not a lot of sweet. Can someone stock my fridge with these, too, please?

So, here are some of the new things I’ve been trying over the past few weeks. What new foodie finds have you unearthed?

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I started by rinsing off a cup of red quinoa. I love red quinoa! I actually had only had regular quinoa before this – white quinoa? – and while this tastes the same, it’s just a lot prettier to look at. At least for me and my color-stimulated world.

Cook the quinoa as normal in a two-to-one water-to-quinoa ratio. Let the quinoa cool. Whenever you’re ready (if you’re a slacker like me, this means approximately 1.73 days later) combine all of your cooked quinoa with two cups shelled edamame (mine was still frozen – no biggie!) and two shredded carrots.

Combine and add two tablespoons of hulled hempseeds. These little dudes are quite the seedy powerhouse, packing both a protein and healthy fat punch that’s pretty stellar for such tiny little seeds.

Then add two tablespoons of coconut oil. Don’t fear fat! A little bit goes such a long way, and these two tablespoons bring such huge flavor to the full six cups of quinoa salad this dish makes. *

Squeeze the juice of half a lime for a little acid, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Package up in a dorky recycled Mason jar so you can be the cool earth-loving, hippy-food-eating new kid on your first day of school. Psh, I own that! I be who I be! Also be sure to pack an over-ripe peach so that you can feed the ants peach juice as it dribbles down your hand, face, arm, etc. Public places are prime for this talent.

So far I’ve had variations of this meal two out of three days this week, and I can’t wait for more!

The nutrition stats aren’t too shabby either, ringing in at 215 calories per 1 cup serving (9.5g protein/ 9.5g fat/ 29.4g carbohydrate). **

Please let me know if you enjoy this for your own packed work or school lunches, or heck, even a nutritious side to an end-of-summer potluck.

Cold Quinoa Salad (makes six one-cup servings)

• 1 cup red quinoa (measured dry)
• 2 cups shelled edamame
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 Tablespoons shelled hempseeds
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• juice from half a lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the quinoa by simmering in two cups of water until all the water is absorbed. Let cool. Combine quinoa, edamame, and carrots. Add the hempseeds and coconut oil. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the salad and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

*Note: if you don’t have coconut oil, no worries. While I love the coconut oil + lime juice combination, you can always use extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, or a cold-pressed sesame oil and a spash of fresh squeezed orange juice, etc. Be creative with what you’ve got and what you like.

**Because I know someone will comment on this, I just wanted to add a little disclaimer that I severely underestimated the number of calories in a cup of this salad, which was why I only had a cup of cold quinoa salad and a peach for lunch. When I was hungry so soon after eating, I calculated the nutrition information. Tomorrow I plan on adding some tofu to my lunch to amp it up a little bit more. Live and learn.

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But, as one of the leaders in the interview said, sometimes it’s the really scary things, the things that make you kind of squirm in your gut and ask, "am I really putting this out there?!" that you should put out there, because you can have the most opportunity to grow from these goals.

So yes, one of my goals is to work part-time at lululemon as a way to enrich my personal life, contribute my passions to a workplace, and a way to pay for college (again).

So, besides doing one thing a day that scares me, why else am I writing this post? Well, because I walked away inspired about something that has been resonating with me for over a week now. How selfish would I be to keep that all to myself and not share with all of you, simply out of my own pride and not wanting to be embarrassed if I don’t get the job?!

During the interview, one of the leaders mentioned "by whens" and how important they are. At first, hearing "by when" alone, out of context of a goal or a sentence, I wasn’t sure if I was missing out on some sort of secret lululemon lingo. But no. "By whens" are simply the "by when" deadlines we give ourselves with our goals.

I’m certainly not unfamiliar to setting goals. While I’m always striving to live in the present, I am also always thinking ahead, thinking of ways to better myself and turn my dreams into goals that I will accomplish. However, I was struck with a moment of clarity during the group interview that I’ve been neglecting my own "by whens" a bit.

Sure, I have lots of "one day I will do this" goals or goals I’m "always working on", but there are some things, incidentally the things that also mean the most to me, then I’ve been a bit ambivalent about setting a deadline for. So, in the spirit of accountability and "doing one thing a day that scares you", here are some of my goals and by whens:

• Finish losing weight by August 2011.
• Run five miles comfortably and without foot pain by December 2010.
• Run a 15K (the Gate River Run) in March 2011.
• Run a half marathon in 2011.
• Apply and get into the Nutrition graduate program I want in Spring 2013.
• Get three advertisers on www.HealthyLivingBlogs.com by September 2010.
• Pursue my yoga teacher training in 2013.

Now, the other great thing about by whens is that as long as you’re proactively working towards your goal, the by when may change. For example – even though I’m working on getting advertisers on HLB (which Julie and Heather can keep me accountable for), it still may be too early to have three advertisers by September. But, I can readjust my by when for October if needed at that point. Same with losing weight – I may finish earlier!

So, what are some goals that you’ve been musing on? And if you haven’t yet, take a moment right now to come up with intentional by whens for your goals. Then if you want, share your goals and by whens in the comments! Please feel free to support  and encourage others that leave responses in the comments, too.

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First of all, thank you for your sweet comments on yesterday’s post on why yesterday changed my life. It was so touching to see your words of encouragement, especially since some of you personally knew of my struggles during the past couple years and others of you feel like you’re in that "lost" period right now. You’ll get through it, and when you do, you can have an awesome first day of college, round two, like I did yesterday. Or wherever life leads you.

Anyway, as this week is back-to-school week for me, I spent some time this past Sunday preparing meals that we could enjoy for dinners and leftover lunches. Some meals, like the one you see here, made so much that we can easily save half for another round of meals in a month or so!

Initially this was going to be one of Ross’ favorite and most-requested  meals of all time: lasagna. Well, the dutiful wife that I am failed to take notice that I didn’t have lasagna noodles until after I already promised my main squeeze that his lasagna dreams would come true. Whoops. So I improvised with a pound of whole wheat elbow macaroni.

Just like your standard lasagna, this pasta bake still has layers, including a creamy ricotta layer.

Now, the meat sauce. The meat sauce! Oh man, I did myself proud with it. Except for one problem. I didn’t take a picture of it. foodbloggerfail. So, while I wax on about my beautiful meat sauce, you can gaze at the picture below after I already added the pasta to it.

Now, the meat sauce started with a pound of lean ground turkey (vegetarian friends, feel free to use crumbled tempeh!). I initially wanted to use an Italian-seasoned organic chicken sausage, but the lean ground turkey was leaner on both my waistline and my wallet. So, while the turkey was browning I added about two tablespoons of Italian themed seasonings (think salt, dried red bell pepper, dried onion, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, dried basil, etc.). Then, I let the meat simmer for fifteen minutes with a full jar of marinara and half a cup of red wine.

Please, for the love of Italian cooking, don’t leave out the wine! The sophistication it brings to the flavors creates a dark, sweet, depth to sauce – oh just trust me and throw half a glass in there!

Anyway, now we need to layer it. You might get dirty. Your counter may get dirty. I warned ya.

Dump (technical terms used here on Sound Eats) half your meat sauce and pasta mixture in the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan. Layer your ricotta mixture with mozzarella, oregano, and garlic powder sprinkled on top. Smooth the rest of your pasta mixture on top and cover the whole thing with more mozzarella, garlic powder and oregano.

Thirty minutes at 350-degrees plus a couple minutes under the broiler later…

Yum. Beautiful.

Even though this meal was full of healthier modifications, like the part-skim ricotta, fat-free mozzarella, whole wheat pasta, no extra sugar/ fat-added pasta sauce, and extra lean ground turkey, this still is a meal that’s a bit heavier on my stomach. So, serve yourself a smaller portion and feast on a simple spinach, tomato and balsamic salad.

Macaroni Lasagna (serves 239847298374 people…or a lot more than little ol’ me and the hubs)

Pasta Meat Sauce:

• 16 ounces whole wheat macaroni noodles
• 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
• 2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning (you can use a pre-made blend or blend your own mix of Italian themed herbs)
• 1, 32-ounce jar of tomato sauce (I used light Ragu)
• 1/2 cup red wine (I used shiraz)

Boil the macaroni noodles until al dente, or with a slight bite/ slight chew to them. Meanwhile, brown your ground turkey with your seasonings. Once your turkey is browned, simmer with the wine and the tomato sauce for fifteen minutes over medium-low heat. Combine the meat sauce with your drained al dente pasta.

Ricotta Mixture and Cheeses

• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely chopped or grated
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Finely shredded mozzarella cheese (approx. 1 -1.5 cups, depending on how heavy-handed you are with the cheese)
• additional dried oregano and garlic powder to sprinkle over layers

Mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan and garlic powder.

Layer your dish with half of the pasta meat sauce mixture, then spread the ricotta mixture evenly overtop. Sprinkle a handful of mozzarella over the ricotta, then sprinkle oregano and garlic powder over the entire cheese layer. Layer the remaining pasta meat sauce and finish off with another handful (or two – again, your call!) of shredded mozzarella and oregano and garlic powder. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Kick your oven up to broil and broil the bake for one to two minutes — all broilers are different, so please be careful and watch it! — until your cheese on top is all bubbly and golden. Enjoy.

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A career in nutrition is something that I have thought about for a long time. Back when I was in my first degree for Music, I thought about transferring schools to UNF to pursue a degree in Nutrition. I couldn’t do it, though, because I was so close to finishing that Music degree, and I just did not want to throw that away.

Plus, even though it wasn’t what I wanted for my life anymore, I couldn’t shake the feeling that not getting some sort of a music degree would make me a failure to myself, my talent and the dreams I had growing up. Not to mention feeling like I’d be letting down my friends and family, and to all the teachers and mentors who had poured support and guidance into me over the years.

So, I graduated college (round 1) in three years with a music degree. Ross and I then tried to move to Jacksonville right after college and right after we got married. That way UNF would be nearby if I decided to go to school again. No dice. The job that Ross had lined up fell through nine days before the wedding.

So we moved to Winter Haven, Florida, where a lot of personal changes happened. Between getting married, moving to a small town, and losing that social college atmosphere, I felt like I lost a lot of friends. Plus I was unemployed and spending hours every day trying to squeeze something out of the zero opportunities I had available. To say it was a rough time would be an understatement. I don’t know how many times I broke down crying because I wasn’t going anywhere with my life and didn’t know specifically what I wanted to do.

I did have some ideas, though. My top three contenders were a career in nutrition, music education, or event planning. I eventually picked up two part-time jobs in Winter Haven where I got to do events and development for a  non-profit and also taught music once a day at a special needs elementary school.

It was fun, but I wasn’t sold on either. I knew if I really wanted to do music education I’d have to go back to school again, and I realized that I did not love it anywhere near enough to commit to that. I liked events, but  the type of work I was gaining experience in wasn’t 100% what I wanted to do either. And truthfully, I didn’t know if I’d be able to make a living off of doing what I was most passionate about with events – helping brides on really tight budgets. (If they’re on a really tight budget, how would I make enough off them to live off of?)

So, I looked into some of those online nutrition consultant certification programs, and I actually started to pursue one, but didn’t complete it because I realized if I was going to make a career out of nutrition, I wanted to do it right, and to me that meant becoming a Registered Dietitian. (Note: this is what works for me. I personally felt like the online certification was a bit of a joke to make a solid career out of, as they’re – usually – essentially a college Introduction to Nutrition course equivalent. I personally didn’t feel right taking that limited knowledge and then being able to give guidance to people. I reasoned that if I wouldn’t see someone with that kind of online certification, how could I expect others to see me as a resource for nutrition advice and knowledge?)

So, in the summer of 2009, Ross and I told our bosses that we were looking for jobs in Jacksonville so that I could apply to UNF for Nutrition.

Well, if you’ve been reading for a while, you know that didn’t work out. We ended up moving to Gainesville in Summer 2009, because my job opportunities in Winter Haven were drying up and my husband really wanted to get into teaching high school English instead of elementary ESE. So, we moved, reasoning that I could also pursue a Nutrition degree at UF, too.

After a couple months, I eventually picked up a part-time job working for a non-profit homeless medical clinic, which was honestly great for me on so many levels. Last spring I took another big step forward as I began to take some courses, prerequisites for a Nutrition degree, at a local community college.

We were all set to stay in Gainesville another few years, with me attending UF. Then, I was told that I wouldn’t even be able to apply  to UF until I had completed Intro to Chem, Chem 1, and Chem 2. Which, as they were three consecutive courses, met that I wouldn’t even be able to apply to UF for another year and a half. Although I’m young, I really didn’t want to keep postponing going back to school that long unless I had no other choice.

So I applied to the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. I vividly remember the day that I dropped my application off to the post office. I had been scurrying around, trying to round up all sorts of transcripts and paperwork, and I remember deliberately pausing before placing the big manila envelope into the postal lady’s hands, thinking that whatever happens would be fine. If I got accepted, great, if I didn’t, great. If it was meant to be, it would be.

Some time passes by and I get word that I was indeed accepted into UNF. Wooho, celebration time, right? Nope. Before Ross and I committed to moving, we needed to at least have a job for him lined up. So we both searched and searched and traveled over to Jacksonville from Gainesville on multiple occasions for various interviews and meetings. There were so many strong prospects, but nothing was coming to fruition. Until, right before our "we need to know by" deadline, the very first school Ross had interviewed with called to offer him a job.

This is going to clue you in as to how big of a cheeseball I am, but I started crying at work when Ross called to tell me that he got a job offer in Jacksonville. The wave of relief and "oh-my-gosh-this-is-really-happening" sensation that washed over me was indescribable.

So, much to the disappointment of our now-former bosses, we gave our notices and began looking for our new home in Jacksonville. We found it.

Several long days of packing, a drawn-out moving process, and one allergic reaction to our new home’s carpet cleaner later, we are here in Jacksonville.

Already the quality of our life  has improved tremendously. We already have more friends and Ross’ sister lives here. There are more friends to be made. We adore our new home and our new city. Ross is so far liking his new teaching position (although he meets students for the first time today, so we’ll see what happens there!). I’ve been on one interview to a job that feels so right and that I want sooo badly. I’ve been able to deepen my yoga practice here. Everything is just awesome  and coming together in great ways.

My point is this: perseverance pays off. Set your goals and stick to them, even if you can’t see the big picture initially. My first goal was to explore career fields and find something to pursue that I could enjoy, look forward to investing the time in, and eventually make a living off of. My next goal was to go back to school, which is where I am right now. Ironically, throughout my whole long story, I kept coming back to the same place – UNF and Jacksonville – and through years of perseverance, that’s where I’ve now ended up.

One of the most important lessons I’ve taken out of this experience so far, is to honor yourself. People change. You will change. I have changed. I truly appreciate the experience of the past couple years, because I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I want out of life. However, I feel like the whole thing would have been a lot easier had I realized it’s ok for people to change, that people are supposed to change. I think had I realized that, I wouldn’t have kept trying to make music work for me, and I would have forgiven myself for "giving up" a long time ago.

If you feel lost about the direction of your life right now, that’s ok. I honestly think everyone goes through a phase of directionless confusion. Embrace where you are today, for it’s those "lost" moments that will eventually give you clarity about what you want in life. Actively pursue the best you that you know how to be, and your life story will only be able to be an inspiring and fulfilling one.

In the meantime, if you need me you know where to find me for the next 4.5 years.

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Now, listen. A note about soy and tofu: I’m one of those folks that touts the mantra of "everything in moderation." And I truly believe everything. Yes, I’m well aware of some controversial research about health side-effects of soy, but I’ve also heard stories about potential health-related side-effects of cell phone usage, and well, I’m pretty sure we’re all well aware how quickly cell phones are going out of style…

Plus, bottom line: I like tofu. Yup. The occasional soy works for me.

Now that we’ve got that covered, here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 package of silken tofu
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups frozen broccoli, thawed*

In a blender, combine your tofu, nutritional yeast, water, salt and garlic powder. Blend until thoroughly combined. Add 1 cup of your thawed broccoli and blend on low for fifteen seconds, or until the broccoli is broken into smaller pieces. Add the remaining cup of your broccoli. If the broccoli was in really big chunks like mine was, feel free to pulse your blender on low until the broccoli is your desired size.

At this point you can either set the soup aside to warm up later, or put it in the microwave or on the stove top to heat through.

Done.   

This makes about four servings and seriously took me no more than ten minutes (including the five minutes on high in the microwave). This is the kind of meal I have time for. Add some leftover whole wheat corn bread with a "gourmet" Agave Earth Balance to complement.

For the Agave Earth Balance (or whatever butter) just take a knife and blend a tiny bit of agave into a couple tablespoons of Earth Balance. It takes seconds and will impress your guests, whether it be your boyfriend or your new neighbors.

Oh yeah, and you know what else? Ross liked this soup. Mr. I-Don’t-Like-Tofu-It’s-Gonna-Make-Me-Grow-Boobs liked this soup. And I know what you’re thinking. I did  not  trick him into eating it. He knew it had tofu and he still ate it and enjoyed it.

That pretty much speaks for itself, right there.

Copyright © 2010 Sound Eats This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this feed on other websites breaches copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, it makes the page you are viewing an infringement of the copyright unless it has been properly cited.