{Are you trustworthy?}

Do you know how hard it is to trust someone new after so many people before have lied and lied and lied?

I find myself facing this problem after meeting someone new.

We've only hung out 3 times so far but I find myself questioning EVERYthing:

his words

his motives

his actions

I don't like this.

It's not like he's done or said anything to not be trustworthy.

It's all me and my past.

I am trying to just trust him until/IF I ever have a reason not to.

He is awfully wonderfully nice and quite handsome.

I like that he's not trying to rush into anything.

We'll see how it all plays out.

So far he seems like a really good guy.

I've known/thought he was interested since I met him at the beginning of the year.

I also just realized I wasn't ready for him, if that even makes sense.

I'm looking forward for the next time we hang out.

That is enough for now.

:)

And because I thought this was hilarious...

{Crockpot Chili}

Holy Wow, Batman!

Talk about some good chili!

I got this recipe from Pinterest, of course.

The website is broken up into a lot of different segments so here's the good stuff to know from Jaguar Julie's Award-Winning Chili:

Award-Winning Chili Recipe Ingredients:
6.75 lbs. Ground Chuck - 80/20
2 - 28 oz. cans DelMonte Diced Tomatoes Garlic/Onion
3 - 15 oz. cans Joan of Arc Spicy Chili Beans
3 - 15 oz. cans Hunt Tomato Sauce
3 - Medium Vidalia Onions
2 pkgs. Lawry Chili Seasoning
1 pkg. Publix Sharp Cheddar Cheese Shredded
1 - 12 oz. can Budweiser Select Beer *
Spice Islands Cayenne Pepper
Salt and Pepper -- season to taste
Lawry Garlic Salt -- season to taste
1 cup of water

*The secret ingredient!

I halved this recipe in most instances of each ingredient.

I used almost 2lbs of ground turkey

2 cans of Chili Beans

1 can of DelMonte Stewed Tomatoes with Jalepenos, Garlic, & Cumin

I used 2 Tbsp paprika and 2 Tbsp of Garlic Powder

I used 3/4 of one large yellow onion. 1/2 went into the crockpot and 1/4 of the other half was for toppings.

I ended up not using salt and pepper because I never cook with it so actually forgot about it.

Haha I also just realized I forgot about the cup of water.

The rest of the ingredients I found and used as directed.

Cook the ground meat until done.

While your ground chuck is browning, you can chop two of the onions [one of the onions will be saved for the topping] and add to your crockpot along with the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili beans, and spices. Since I was using two different crockpots, I divided up the ingredients proportionately between the two crockpots.

Once you have drained the ground chuck, you will add that on top of the other ingredients. I usually pour the beer on top and mix in as the final step to covering the crockpots, setting it to high. Once it starts to bubble, I turn in down a notch and let it simmer for a couple of hours.

I added the shredded cheese, onions, and a tablespoon of sour cream to my own bowl of chili and oh. my. word. Talk about delicious. It truly is the best chili I've ever had.  I won't lie, I licked my first bowl when I was done and went and got a second bowl of it. I did not lick the second bowl haha but got some sliced french bread to mop it all up with. ;)

{Weekend Recap}

What a great weekend!

My weekend's are a bit longer than everyone else's "typical" weekends only because I work 4 days in a row (48 hours in those 4 days) and then have 4 days off. Saturday was my first day off and I stopped by Nick's Garden Center for their Fall Fest after I woke-up from my night shift. I like going there purely for the photo ops since they have Halloween and Fall items out.

If you follow me in Instagram, you may have seen these, but here are a few of my favorite photographs from that day...

It was great, just walking around, smelling the roasting of the chilies.

I also stayed around for a bit after walking around to eat a roasted corn on the cop and jalepeno cheese tamale, listening to the live band. Mmm Talk about delicious food!

On Sunday I had race #10 for my One 5k Race a Month for 12 Months.

This race was the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Race.

My friends Elisa, Holly, and Jeff were able to join me on this race.

The race began at Civic Center Park Downtown Denver and ran throughout downtown.

Elisa stayed with me the entire time and I felt terrible for that since I'm so slow. 

However, it was also my 2nd best time ever.

Overall, the route of the race was a good one but I'm pretty sure the last 1.5 miles were all uphill and that was also my slowest time. 37:47 was my overall time with an 11:48 min pace.

The blue line is the 5k route through Downtown Denver and the red line is the 15k route.

It was so cold this morning that I put on way too many layers.  I was comfortable while waiting for the race to begin but after the first 1.5 miles I was burning up and not all that comfortable. I ended up taking my gloves and hair thing that covered my ears off. I'm pretty sure the temps didn't reach 50 degrees until sometime after 10am. The race began at 7am and the weather was definitely in the lower 30's, upper 40's.

Anyway, it was a good time!

Part of the Denver Art Museum building next to the start line.

Views of Downtown from the start line

Me and Elisa

Jeff, me, Elisa - Holly didn't want her picture taken since she'd only had 3 hours of sleep!

The sunrise view of Civic Center Park from the Start line

{New Goals}

So, I have some new goals in mind.

The last time I had a goal it revolved around a new outfit.

This time around I've chosen the same, just with two tops instead of pants and a top.

Here are today's pictures of me in those two tops:

In both outfits, I would like for these two tops to fit more comfortably by November 17.

November 17 is my first goal deadline because I'll be in Louisiana and wearing the Saints jersey that day.

Ugh.

I can't believe I let myself get back to this point and gain back all that weight and hard work!

Not again though.

De. Term. Ined.

On a slightly different note, how crazy bloated do I get?

In the mornings, I start out feeling great and looking thin.

By the afternoon, I get so bloated I look 5 months pregnant!!

See...

Then compared with the photo's above, I look like I've gained a lot in such a short span.
My clothes fit better in the morning too and then get more uncomfortable later in the day, right when the bloat happens.

Anyway, so that's the next goal.
Look (and feel) better by November 16.