Fat Girl Problems

The weekend is already over?!  Where did it go?!

This weekend can be summed up in one word:  lazy.  I did a whole lot of nothing.  And I'm not really upset about it.  Except I totally should've been a good student and studied.

But I did volunteer at the Upland Brewery Oktoberfest.

I moved to the 12th largest city in the US and know NO ONE.  There are all these cool things to do each weekend in Indy, but none of them sound fun doing them alone.  Or spending alot of money I don't have.  So I decided I can get to know some people, familiarize myself with the area, check out events for free, and do a good deed all by volunteering!  I would definitely recommend everyone checking out volunteer opportunities at upcoming events in your area.

Upland Brewery definitely treated their volunteers very well.  Volunteers got free admission, a free beer stein, a free beer fill (but they really gave out free beer to the volunteers all night!), and free water and drinks too.  Unfortunately, I don't drink beer.  GASP.  I can't drink at all actually.  Damn meds.

The Oktoberfest had beer, polka music, and food trucks.  It was great weather Saturday too!

I volunteered by checking ID's and applying armbands to everyone that came in.  It was exhausting!  But also entertaining because I got to meet all kinds of people.  But around 5pm, Upland ran out of beer steins, so every 5 2 minutes someone was coming to the table and asking about buying a stein.  As the night progressed and more beer was consumed, people got a little more demanding.  We were just volunteers and had no control over the sell of the dang steins, but we definitely got the blame for it. 

But I did get to eat from another food truck! I've decided I'm going to start stalking Indianapolis food trucks.  Can we say hashtag fat girl problems? I made a list of Indianapolis food trucks and my goal is to try them all before the end of my two year stint at IUPUI. Of course I will share my journey with all of you!

Roast beef on pretzel roll from Der Pretzel Wagon, yum!

I was able to hit up 2 trucks at the First Friday Food Truck Festival last month and one more at the Upland Oktoberfest.  And I've already eaten at 2 cupcake places - duh. So that makes 5 off the list in less than 2 months, so I think I'm doing alright!  And next weekend is the last Food Truck Festival of the year and Bobby is coming to see me, so we are going again!  I look forward to knocking some more off my list!

Which one of these food trucks should I try next? Hope everyone has a great week!

Dirty Truth: Day 3

Well the first 2 days of the Dirty Truth weren't too bad.  But I guess it's time to get all serious up in here.  Today's question: 

The easy, straightforward answer:  Yes.  

When I was going through my divorce in 2010, I felt like I was all alone.  I felt like none of my friends knew what to say to me.  I was ashamed to talk about it with my family. It was truly the hardest part of my life.

I didn't WANT a divorce, but I NEEDED a divorce. My ex was an abusive alcoholic and he stole every single piece of me over the 7 years we were together. He made me feel like I was nothing and undeserving of love and life. I still struggle with self-worth and confidence everyday.   

source

After my divorce, I felt like a failure- I failed my marriage. I failed my husband.  I failed myself.  Then I had to learn to be independent again.  I loved being married and here I was all alone again with no one checking to see if I got home from work at night. No one to help me around the house. No one to help pay the bills. I still struggle 3 years later on a single income from the debt I incurred while I was married when I thought I would always have this double income to pay these debts. 

And it didn't help that the whole divorce process was HARD.  It was not contested, but he fought me every single step of the way.  That's who he was and he was hurting as well.  He chose to hurt me the best ways he knew how - financially and by jeopardizing the care my dogs. 

I cried every.single.day.  And I gained 10 pounds from stress eating and cried some more because I was eating Little Debbie's every day.  I was miserable and when you feel like you have no where to go, no one to talk to, and are backed into a corner - you get crazy ideas.  

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But however insane this may sound to some of you out there, when I was crying each day and night in my bed, I had three furry faces cuddle up to me and wonder why I was crying.  And then thoughts about what would happen to them if I acted on these crazy ideas crossed my mind and I couldn't go through with any of it.  

My dogs saved my life.  

Every now and then I will still struggle with bouts of depression, but now I know the signs and I know it is okay to get help if needed.  I know that being healthy with my mind and body and talking to someone (a friend or professional) is the best way to deal with any of these feelings of hopelessness.  

I urge any of you that ever feel these feelings of hopelessness or feel that you have no one to talk to - please seek help because there is always someone that needs you!

source

My 30th birthday is October 10th!  I have started a series called Dirty Truth for my Dirty Thirty: 30 Days of Truth.  I will be answering real, sometimes controversial questions around my 30th birthday!  Keep up with all of the questions and find out what's next here! 

I have an aversion to umbrellas

I had a pretty lame weekend. It consisted of a lot of laying around, being lazy, walking the dogs, and watching TV.  So here are a few random thoughts from the past few days.  You're welcome.

Last Thursday Indy got some crazy rain.  Like torrential downpours, something like nearly 2 inches in a matter of hours. You know those storms that roll in at 5am and make you sleep sooo good?  We had one of those.  Except at 5am I am trying to get into my car to head to work.  And I ended up in my car looking like this:

Why didn't you use an umbrella, Jenny?  Because I hate them. It wouldn't have mattered if I had used an umbrella or not, my pants, socks and shoes still would've been soaked due to the sideways downpour and the giant lakes made of rain that I stepped in. I was completely drenched.  It was not a good look for me.  Luckily, I was able to get a change of pants when I got to work.

But that reminded me why I didn't like umbrellas.  I have an aversion to umbrellas because I always think I'm going to be that girl with the flipped out umbrella looking like a complete idiot. Then when you use one, you've got to carry it around all dripping wet. So I just don't use one. Just give me a jacket with a hood.  And I will just stay home when it is pouring rain.

Friday I was feeling crappppy, but like a good student, took my cute new binder and went to the library to study.

New binder.  Cute, right?

I had a pounding headache, but still had all my stuff spread out on one of the tables in the library and was sitting quietly studying.  Then a girl sat across from me that apparently had a cold.  Ewww.  And I could hear her eat EVERY.SINGLE.BITE of her sandwich because she chewed it with her mouth open.  Then she proceeded to get a piece of gum after said sandwich and loudly smack the piece of gum.  I nearly lost my mind. 

Instead, I plugged in my earbuds and logged into Pandora.  But I could still here her smacking over my music!  So I had to blare it.  With a pounding headache.  And count down the minutes until my lab started. 

Shoot me.

One night when I was walking the dogs, I walked out my front door and looked at the white concrete wall that separates the front of our townhomes from the busy road and saw little black things all over the wall.  What.. is... EWWW! 

Yup.  An army of slugs taking over the world have arrived in Indiana. They were literally crawling out of the wet ground after all the rain we had gotten. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Sunday night was the series finale of Dexter.  I can't believe after 8 seasons it is actually over!  But I'm glad that some of my favorite TV shows are about to begin their fall season premieres! 

Speaking of fall, I can't believe it's finally here!!!  Fall is seriously my favorite.  I love everything about it.  I'm totally upset that all of my harvest and Halloween decor is still in Alabama, but I do have pumpkin and apple cinnamon scented Bath & Body Wallflowers plugged in that are making the house smell absolutely delightful!

I hope everyone has a great week!  Remember, today is the LAST DAY to enter to win the leather heart bracelet from Children with Hair Loss!  EASY ENTRIES!! 

Hair Donation

So about 2 months ago, I chopped off all my hair.  It was the summer.  It was hot.  My hair was long.  I was tired of dealing with it.

But of course, I was going to make sure I donated it since I planned on making a BIG change.  I mean, I was already packing up my life and moving from Alabama to Indiana for grad school and quitting my job of 3 years, might as well change my appearance too!  Women do those things.

So when the hairdresser gave my back my 13.5 inches of rubberbanded hair, I had to make the decision of where it was going to go.  I could've left it with my hairdresser, but I wanted to it myself (so I could blog about it duh) so I could make sure it went where I wanted it to go.

I had no idea there were so many organizations out there to donate hair to! I have created an easy-to-reference spreadsheet so you can check the requirements for length and chemical processing in case you are ever interested in donating!

Each organization also requires clean, dry hair that is rubber-banded at each end.  It should be measured straight (especially if you have curly/wavy hair).  You can see in the picture above, my salon added extra rubber bands along the length of the pony to ensure no loose hairs would come out (and they still did because I had some old layers)

Link to Excel Spreadsheet with Links

Since I had ombre and had highlights at the end of my hair, there were only 3 organizations that would accept myy color-treated hair.  So my next step was to review each organization's cause or purpose.  Their are organization's that are just for cancer, just for kids, etc.  If you are interested in donating, take your time and find an organization that speaks to you!

When I researched Locks of Love, I knew that was one of the larger known organizations and they also make hair prostheses instead of wigs.  But when reviewing their donation guidelines, it clearly states that any unusable or unused hair WILL BE SOLD to offset manufacturing costs.  I know this is a non-profit organization, but I didn't like the fact that my hair may be sold to somewhere else when I donated it.  They also charge families a large sum to receive a hairpiece.

When reviewing Children with Hair Loss, their mission was to be able to provide a hairpiece to any child with a medical related hair loss.  And their goal is to never charge a family at a time when they need the most help. This really hit home to me.  Since I've worked in pathology for 5 years, I see all types of biopsies come through the lab for more than just cancer.  And knowing a child could possibly be teased at school because he/she did not have hair just breaks my heart.

This was the organization I decided to donate my hair to.  I also donated money and received a shirt and cute little bracelet.  I'm hoping my small monetary donation will help a family be able to get a hairpiece for free.  If you are interested in donating, please visit their shop.

 
I also have an extra black-band heart bracelet that I want to giveaway to one of my readers!  I love this bracelet!  I wear mine with absolutely everything.  It is adjustable and let's be honest, I just love hearts!  Enter the rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

Winning bracelet has BLACK leather band

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please contact me if you have any additional questions about hair donation!  My email is badluckjenn@gmail.com!

Dirty Truth: Day 2

I got such a great response from day one's post!  I hope you continue to like my questions (and answers!) And maybe it will spark some of you to tell the Dirty Truth on your blog too!  

Today's question:

 

A lot of things make me happy, so I will try to limit it to some of the top 5 things off the top of my head that always bring a smile to my face or just make my day. 

1.  this boy.

don't mind his face.

Cheesy, I know.  But I love him.  We are a perfect fit for each other and understand each other so well.  We can both be in a room, look at each other, and be thinking the same thing!  I love it. That doesn't mean that we don't fight, because we do!  But I think it's because our relationship is full of so much passion.  And you can't fake passion.  And how he holds me, cares for me, and loves me makes me unbelievably happy. Okay, I will stop making you vomit in your mouth. 

2. sunrises and sunsets. 

one of the prettiest ones I have seen in person

I try not to be awake for sunrises, but it doesn't matter which one I catch, I love them all.  They take my breath away and make me pull over on the side of the road when I'm driving to watch them.  I love all the colors and how they fade into the base of the earth and into the top of the sky.  And they are even better along the water!

3.  my babies. 

Duke - Bama - Crimson

They drive me crazy most days, but they also make me smile most days too.  Anyone who truly knows me knows that my dogs are my children.  Their pictures are blasted all over Instagram, are framed in my house, and grace my Christmas cards.  They have given me a reason to wake up when I've been at my lowest points in life (and many reasons to scream and count to 10!), and I would not trade them for anything in the world. 

4. sweets.

All kinds.  I am an equal opportunity dessert eater.  I mean, it wasn't even hard to make that collage pictured above and Bobby can attest to that!  Every meal has to be followed by something sweet, my pantry is full of little debbies and sweet snacks, and after a dinner out I always want ice cream or cake.  Hey, you intake your calories with your wine and beer - I can have mine in the form of icing!  

5.  best friends. 

Heather & me

Tamra & me

There aren't many friends that I can call "best" friends.  As I'm approaching my 30th birthday, my pool of friends has definitely narrowed down for one reason or another.  I would group most people I know or hang out with as merely a "friend" or "acquaintance".  But these ladies pictured above are definitely SOME of my best friends.  They are self-less, kind, generous, and I would do absolutely anything for them!  

What makes you happy??

My 30th birthday is October 10th!  I have started a series called Dirty Truth for my Dirty Thirty: 30 Days of Truth.  I will be answering real, sometimes controversial questions around my 30th birthday!  Keep up with all of the questions and find out what's next here! 

I've Been Here a Month?

I just survived my first physiology exam. shudder.  I think I passed. No wait, we are going with positive thoughts, right?  I rocked that bitch! (ha!) On the way to class this morning, I realized I have been in Indy for a whole month now!  Where has the time gone?! 

I have been so overwhelmed with my new life.  I've had to swap my entire sleep schedule from being a vampire for 5 years from working nights to waking up at 4am.  My body actually woke up at 8am on Saturday!  I was like, what the hell is wrong with you?!  But it allowed me study protein receptors watch Magic Mike with Channing Tatum's sexy abs. 

#magicmike or physiology? #channingtatum or protein receptors? Tough decision...
— Bad Luck Jenn (@bad_luck_jenn) September 15, 2013

I'm finally getting unpacked and being able to find things!  Like my can opener!  If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know that last week I wanted chicken salad.  But then I couldn't find my can opener.  Damn moving.  I even said eff it I will buy a new one and stopped by the nearest grocery store which happened to be a Fresh Market... but they didn't have one. Jerks.  But I found my can opener this weekend when I found 2 more unpacked boxes in my kitchen pantry!  Who put those there?  I see chicken salad in my future.

Ta-da!  Can opener has been here all along!

My body is seriously HATING me.  The added stress of moving and school plus the change in my sleep pattern has everything more effed up than it already is.  Then let's add that I am walking around campus all the time since there is no parking anywhere close, always going up and down stairs, and walking my dogs 4-5 times a day (is that enough? how much do you walk your dogs?)  My legs burn everyday and my hips hurt so badly I can't even touch them and when I lay down I almost want to cry. I'm hoping to get on a better routine with work, school, and doing things around the house so that I can find time for yoga - it really makes a huge difference in joint and muscle pain.

I'm also in a city where I don't know anyone besides my classmates.  But luckily this weekend we all got together this weekend and ate a late lunch at a place called Bru Burger.  It is actually listed as one of the top 25 places to eat in Indy.  They have gourmet burgers and I got a bourbon burger with a bourbon glaze, some fancy horseradish cheese, and bacon.  They also make their own house ketchup, but its really sweet.

leftover Bru Burger & leftover pizza.  Good study food.  Don't judge me.

I don't get out very often, but besides last weekend when Bobby came to visit, there are a few other places in Indy that I've gone to that I've loved!

When me & B walked into Kilroys in Broad Ripple for dinner one night, we thought we were just walking into a college bar.  But lucky for us, they had amazing food too!  But this place is definitely geared towards the drinking crowd.  They have a huge chalkboard of shots with their ingredients (what girl doesn't love to know what kind of shots she can get?!) and they are known for their 32 oz flavored long islands.  This is also where Melissa, Kay, and Heather have decided to go one our blate!  I can't wait to go on my first blate AND meet these fabulous girls!!

list of shots!

And of course I want dessert after dinner. Brics - Broad Ripple Ice Cream Station is really close to my new place and it has the word ice cream in the title.  So le duh, you know I'm going to love it!  They have all these unique flavors - they already have fall flavors out too! - and one scoop is MASSIVE!  They will even let you split your one scoop into 2 different flavors if you have problems choosing like me!

one scoop!  yellow cake batter + broad ripple tracks (peanut butter & chocolate)

And what kind of doggie mom would I be if I didn't get the dogs some kind of dessert too?  The dog treats at Three Dogs Bakery are amazing!  I always love bringing them home treats from bakeries when I go on vacation and now realized that those bakeries are wayyy overpriced!  Three Dogs has great treats at reasonable prices - and my dogs loved them! 

I hope you had a fabulous weekend and have a great week!  Fingers crossed that I rocked that test!

Easy Pizza Roll-ups

If you take a look at my food. Pinterest board, you will notice they all have something in common.  They are super easy!!  And I want to share with you today one of those recipes that I love to make all.the.time. because it's so quick & easy! 

Original Pin: HERE

How I make these vary some from the original pin, but that's what's so freakin' fantastic about these - you can change them up all the time!  There are so many variations you can make!

INGREDIENTS:
1 can of refrigerated crescent roll dough
Shredded/String Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni

Suggested: Italian seasoning & Parmesan cheese


DIRECTIONS:
1. Unroll each triangle of crescent roll dough onto greased cookie sheet.

2. Place as many (or little) pepperonis along large base of triangle as wanted.

3. Add cheese.

I've added Italian seasonings to these! Yum!

4. Roll up the crescent roll.

5. Close in sides to keep cheese in 

 

 

Close that little flap by getting dough to stick to main body of roll

 

 

6. Cook into oven at 350 degrees until golden brown.


FREAKIN' EASY AND SOO YUMMY!!

Imagine what you could do with these! Don't like pepperoni?  Try canadian bacon, ham, or bacon.  Use cheddar instead of mozzarella (or both!).  Love veggies on your pizza?  Throw some spinach, mushrooms, onions, or peppers into these little guys!  Looking for a healthy version?  Then you're definitely on the wrong blog! But I'm sure you can figure out something!

Check out more Pinteresting posts!