Real Talk: My Relationship With Food

Hello there all,

I'm going to open up and talk about something that is kind of nerve wracking to talk about.  It is kind of silly that it makes me nervous because it is something that you can all tell by looking at me or watching me as I am an overweight women. What am I talking about? I'm talking about my relationship with food. I overeat.

We all have a relationship swith food whether we want to or not,  but food and I are real tight.  I consume and consume and consume.  Do I hate it?  Of course I do!  Do I stop?  Sometimes.  I want to at least.  Here's the thing: food is my comfort measure,  and I turn to it all the time. If I'm sad "well,  I'll just eat to make me happy." If I'm stressed, "Well,  if I eat,  it will take my mind off of it for awhile." If I am happy,  "let's eat to celebrate!"  Ugh,  it is awful,  and I know it. 

To add onto that emotional attachment,  I also overeat due to not wanting to waste.  It kills me when people waste anything or trash anything that doesn't need to be disposed of.  So,  I will eat the food,  so it doesn't get thrown away.  The habit is terrible, but I still practice it eating too much constantly.  Want an example?  Sneaking into the kitchen to eat the last little bit of something because I know it will just get thrown away

Over the years,  I've tried myself to fight this battle and train my body to interact with food differently.  I trained myself to dislike food and only eat things that are healthy.  Last time I went through this mindset change,  I lost 70 pounds.  It was a wonderful feeling and accomplishment.  However,  life happened and shit just got a lot more complicated.  So,  I again turned to food.  The best friend that is always around.

Right now,  I am trying so hard to train my mind to realize that I can love food and interact with it in a healthy way. I can eat things that are healthy and view food as a good thing- not the enemy.  Whenever I try to shift towards being healthy,  I always hide from food and don't embrace it for this delectable art that it ism  ALTHOUGH,  it doesn't mean that I have to eat all of it.  By saving the last bit, I can even save some for later to savor those last little bits.   Food is not the enemy.  It is how you interact with food that can be the enemy.

I'll keep you updated with how I am doing on this battle.  Right now,  I am happy to say that I am eating healthier (and loving the food) ,  signed up for a gym,  and I feel amazing. However,  I know that I still have more work on my relationship with food,  and I am terrified that I will fall off the slope again.

-Autumn

Politics: I Side With

Hello there all,

For those of you that are not aware, I am pretty into politics, and I am passionate about the voting process. *This is NOT going to be a post about who I think you should vote for (Although, I do hope you vote for who I want :)). It IS a post about how you can make the voting process easier for yourself.*

Image from ISideWith

 With the impending US presidential election, there are a lot of people with headaches and feel overwhelmed with the various candidates. Does this sound familiar? There is a wonderful website called ISideWith which allows you to answer questions on various topics to figure out who you should probably vote for.

Image from ISideWith

What I love about ISideWith is that it streamlines the decision making process in a non-partisan setting, and you don't have to investigate each of the candidates separately. The website gives you a platform to just say what you believe and then the results tell you who aligns best with that. It even shows your alignment with other candidates and data for comparisons. The website really is a wonderful tool to help the average person make an informed decision.

No, I am NOT paid by this side. I just think it is a wonderfully helpful tool to be a better citizen, and I hope that you do check it out.

If you take the test, what did you think? Did it change your perspective on who you should vote for? If you want, share away who you are voting for? SHARE ALL THE THINGS!

-Autumn

Travel: South Carolina Part 5

Hello there all,

Here is the last set of pictures from South Carolina, and how wonderful that it is happening right before the Mister and I are about to go on another mini vacation. I've learned that having just a little vacation gives you an adventure to actively look forward to. It doesn't matter if it is just a weekend trip. It really helps to have that to look forward to! The reason might be because I just love getting out of town for a bit. I am a firm believer in the therapeutic qualities of leaving everything behind for awhile.

ANYWAYS, this last part is dedicated to our visit to Folly Beach, heading back to Lancaster, SC, and our trip home.

The Mister and I at the beach.

This was my first time at the actual Atlantic Ocean. In the past, I have been to the Gulf of Mexico, but it isn't quite the same.

Feet picture because...feet.

Aren't the bright colors swoon worthy?

Also, you can find MANY full shells which to this Oregon girl is kind of a crazy concept.

While in Charleston, we stayed at The Mister's sister's house, and we watched after their animals. Their puppy, Thor, pretty stole my heart.

The sky on our drive to Lancaster was just so beautiful.

Homeward bound

And that is it!

The blog will be getting back to its normal thing soon.

-Autumn

Travel: South Carolina Part 4

Hello there all,

Earlier this week, I shared with you some of my photos from South Carolina. Now, I am on round 4, and we are almost done :(. I think we will only need one more part.

Part 4 is dedicated to pictures from a plantation just outside of Charleston, Middleton Place. This place was sooooo beautiful, and my history nerd was geeking out over the rich history of the place. Middleton Place is a Pre-Revolutionary War plantation with the oldest landscape garden in the US. It was spectacular to walk the grounds where such rich history was formed. Also, the trees there were some of the most beautiful trees that I have ever seen, and it has one of the oldest/biggest oak trees in the US thought to be between 800-1000 years old. Ya'll, my name is Autumn, so of course, I have a thing for trees.  So, this place was just amazing to see, and the pictures don't even begin to do it justice.

 Must fuel for the journey with some Southern breakfast noms!

The drive there was full of insanely beautiful trees.

Also, don't you love that the marking for parking spots is indicated by trees?

What you walk up and see. One of the original guest houses which turned into the main homestead.

The main house which was destroyed during the Civil War.

 Garden tour

 Garden view with the home. We took a house tour, too. However, we couldn't take pictures inside. If we were to do it over again, we would probably skip the tour because we didn't find the information super helpful in understanding the history and the tour guide wasn't our favorite.

 

Just some of the garden. No alligators in THIS body of water, but there were some in the other bodies of water around the property.

I'm sorry, but this moss is just so dreamy.

Part of the garden

View from the main house out to the Ashley River.

 This is the old oak. Look at how big it is compared to me.

More beautiful tree branches...All so pretty.

On site, they had many volunteers to educate and teach you about historical Middleton Place.

Animals were on site, and this is important because...animals.

This guy became my best friend :).

 Candlemaking

 These guys just wondered all around the property doing their thing.

This place was amazing.

-Autumn

Travel: South Carolina Part 3

Hello there all,

I know what you are thinking. Okay, Autumn, aren't you done with all of these posts? And the answer is "nope." You might have seen part one and part two earlier this week, so here I am with part three. Three posts in a week?!?!? WHHHHHHAT? I am a beast. I know.

Part three covers some of the Charleston exploring

 Probably the best Charcuterie plate that I have ever assisted in devouring. So good. Too good. This was before some of the best pizza that I've ever had came out.

Hate chicken! 

 The houses in Charleston are just ridiculous. People actually live in these places. How even?

Seriously. The houses are insane.

 We explored a bit of The Battery.

 

Pineapple fountain at the Waterfront Park 

Waterfront Park in Charleston

The Mister and I in front of Rainbow Row

 The old city blocks reminded me of Europe

 Went to the old market

 The Mister got me a Palmetto Rose

 Everywhere we go, we always look into the beer scene.

 Gross.

Waterfront park again

 Ravenel Bridge

Part four will be coming up soon and will be mostly the plantation that we went to.

-Autumn