Archives for August 2013

08/28

A Day with Jax

I was uploading some photos from my phone tonight and found a bunch of stuff from the summer that I haven’t gotten around to posting about. This was a day I had off and I got to hang with my nephew, Jaxson. I wish we could have done more of this over the summer, but I was traveling like crazy and now school’s already back in session. Anywho…

Since he’d already seen the movies I wanted to see (Monster’s U and Despicable Me 2) twice,

we opted for the Flight of The Butterflies at the Science Center’s IMAX theatre.

It was really good, AND we got to play at the museum. #doublewhammy

Afterwards we went to this fro-yo place, on the way to the park. (Its competitor across the street always has tons of business so I chose this one to lend a hand to the smaller store… They had 4 flavors and all were weird mixes of flavors… our toppings were the only yummy part of this. They both looked pretty at least.)

(There’s a reason the other store has more business…)

Getting drenched in the fountain is the best part about cruising through the park

on a day that’s a million degrees out! We both got soaked and it felt

AMAZING.

A little chill music for the ride home

aaaaaand mission accomplished:

A fun day indeed. : )

posted by Ami McMullen 2 Comments
Filed Under: Jaxson

08/25

Things That Are My Jam Right Now

This chocolate bar.

Chocolate. Bananas. Peanut Butter. I meeeeeeean. Got it at Whole Foods. You should do it too. Soon.

These Cherry Tomatoes

I love that tomatoes are in season right now because I eat a lot of them. Every batch I’ve gotten at the store recently has been amazing. I usually like to get cherry ones so I can scoop up a small handful from the counter each day until they’re gone; a good snack. This batch lasted me a day and a half… they were SO perfect.

This sweet birthday/road trip mix ~~tape~~ cd.

My good friend, Abby made me this! I make playlists for my classes all the time and am in kind of a playlist slump right now, so it was great to get one made for me! I played this sucker on my drive to Columbus, OH this weekend. Had a blast. It was awesome not knowing exactly what was going to be on it. Every new song that came on was a surprise! And I love surprises…

These flowers!

Speaking of surprises… I was in NYC on my actual birthday, so my man-friend sent me these a couple days later, once I was home to receive them! I was PUMPED. I hadn’t received flowers from a guy in YEARS so it was awesome to get some from him. I was completely surprised and giddy the rest of the day. High five, man-friend. Nice work!

This dog.

My roommate was away at grad school all summer so it was just me and all 5 house animals all summer long. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to walk Tango and Churchill separately so they often got walked together… which was fine, just a little hectic. The Tang and I didn’t get a lot of quality time, just the two of us. Now that Tamara’s back in town, we’ve been able to spend a lot more time together lately and it’s been awesome. Our walks have been more frequent, a lot longer, and Tango’s doing really well not pulling on his leash and walking right next to me – something I’ve been trying to get him to do for the past 3.5 years. I love this dog so much.

posted by Ami McMullen 4 Comments
Filed Under: Jam, man-friend, Tango

08/22

Recipe: Banana Bread is My Jam.

Warning: this is NOT a super healthy recipe.

But it IS super yummy!

(in small doses…)

I love this cookbook. I found it in an antique store here a few years ago and have been in love with it ever since. No, it’s not vegan, or organic, or gluten-free, or anything like that. It’s just a cookbook… that dates back to the 1890s. I love that it tells you how to cook every kind of meat there is, plus salads, sides, desserts, and everything’s from scratch. It’s awesome. And you can basically take all these old recipes and modify as needed.

I make this Banana Bread any time we’ve got bananas that are about to go bad. Since you need 3 really ripened (i.e. black) bananas, this is the best thing to do with them instead of chucking them in the trash (if you don’t compost). It takes about 5 minutes to prepare and then you toss it in the oven. An hour later… bam!

Fannie Farmer Cookbook

Banana Nut Bread

Mix in a Bowl:

3 ripe bananas, well mashed

2 eggs, beaten until light

Sift Together:

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Stir all that to the banana/egg mix

then add 1/2 cup nuts, coarsely chopped.

Stir well.

Put in buttered loaf pan (9x5in)

Bake

1 hour at 350 degrees.

I’m not a huge fan of nuts in my ish (ha!), so I leave them out. Make sure your oven is at the correct temperature w/ an oven thermometer. If it’s not, it gets really janky, really quickly! I also have two smaller loaf pans, instead of one big one. So I make two instead of one and have given one away so I don’t eat too much of this sugar/flour concoction by myself. It’s really good and I could easily eat the whole thing in one sitting.

Enjoy!

posted by Ami McMullen 1 Comment
Filed Under: recipes

08/20

29 Lessons Learned Over My 29 Years of Life…

Since this is my last year in my 20s, I feel like it’s my last year to be a mess or make mistakes. Now I know that’s not the case; I’m sure I’ll make more. I’ve done pretty well for myself so far, BUT Ima do my best to remember what I’ve learned these last 29 years… and try my best not to repeat any former mistakes. At least not for the next decade…

In no particular order:
29 Things I’ve Learned In My 29 Years of Life

1. Surround yourself w/ peeps that make you feel happy/loved/spirited/excited and that love you EXACTLY how you already are.

2. Don’t judge. You never know where somebody else is coming from. Often you’re surprised to find the people you may dislike the most are an awful lot like you.

3. Always carry-on… as much as possible anyway. Checked bags get lost. A lot.

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4. Always pack a bathing suit and extra underwear. I mean… why not? It’s not like it takes up that much space. You never know when you’ll be delayed/cancelled/wind up in another country…

5. Share what you have with others… even if all you have is a good attitude.

6. Be where the opportunities are. Be proactive! That ish doesn’t just find you (not always).

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7. Boys DON’T ignore you when they like you. I’m glad I had an older brother to tell me these things. There was still heartache, but less confusion about boys’ antics growing up.

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8. Just because he likes you doesn’t mean you HAVE to like him. It has to be mutual if it’s going to go anywhere.

9. When there’s money to be made, make it. Especially in the independent contractor world; being self-employed is awesome, but not as predictable/stable.

10. Travel as much as possible. It’s a big-ass world out there.

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11. Keep #10 in check… being broke/ in debt isn’t much fun.

12. Don’t make excuses. Nobody wants to hear them and you’re only shifting blame from yourself to feel better.

13. When you’re a kid and you don’t brush your teeth in order to “stick it to the Man”, you’re only hurting yourself. #wishminewerewhite

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14. Never leave a job until you have another one lined up. This helps motivate you to find one faster and keeps you from freaking out financially. It’s always worked for me.

15. Be patient. This always has been, and always will be, the hardest thing for me.

16. Go barefoot. Feel the ground.
16b. Watch where you step. Don’t step in dog ish.

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17. Get to know the city you live in, even if you don’t want to be there. It helps…

18. Make new friends… even if you don’t need more. You can never have too many girlfriends.

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19. Cheaper airfare is available during the middle of the week.

20. Never lose your inner child; dance as much as possible.

21. Don’t spend every penny you earn.

22. Sugar is yummy. But after age 25, it hides your abs and holds them hostage for a loooong time.

23. You can do a little of everything! Just not all at the same time…

24. When you follow your gut, you wind up exactly where you need to be.

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25. Accountants and Financial Planners are the bomb. Make friends with some.

26. Spend more time happy than sad.

27. Being scared is ok. It gives you the chance to be brave, which gives you more strength later.

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28. It’s nobody else’s responsibility to make you happy. The only person that can do that is you. If something’s not working, change it yourself.

29. Don’t settle. Ever. Bitches.

It’s a good thing I’m so wise now… ; )

What things have you learned, other 29/30 year olds?

posted by Ami McMullen 7 Comments
Filed Under: Birthday, learning

08/17

Birthday, NYC, Guest Teaching, etc

Today is my 29th Birthday!

I’m back! … for a hot second.

So with me being all janky with my ankle, I’ve been in a pretty shitty mood lately. I’m still doing everything and going about my normal day… it just sucks to be injured when you’re an active person. Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I just didn’t want to overload you with any more pissy posts.

Moving on: The fitness industry just had its biggest conference last weekend, IDEA World Conference out in LA. Being in town for only three days, then having to be out in LA for a few, and then back here for just a couple more days left me reeling with too much to do and not enough time. But I’m home, in bed at 7:30pm, and determined to post some photos… before I leave in the morning for NYC. So here’s a quick recap of the conference last weekend:

Flights to LAX were crazy so I flew to Orange County instead

and took the train up… I LOVE taking the train. It’s a way more relaxing way

to travel. Santa Ana’s Amtrak station is beautiful!