WHERE ARE YOU, AMANDA

Some of you may have noticed my absence on my blog as of late, and I wanted to explain why this absence has occurred:

1. Did you know that the deadline for registering for fall classes is like next week?
2. I'm in a musical! Check it out here... and here...and you can buy tickets here.
3. Blogger (the website you're on right now, reading my blog) has not allowed me to post my images lately... and I have absolutely not idea why. So! I've been scouring the web to find a new host for my blog... and I think I've found one.
4. Paleo... man. I've been cooking my behind off! Cooking is exhausting. (Insert hashtag first world problems)

The plan is to have a new web host by the end of the month (fingers crossed), so pray to that end. I have a lot of neato stuff to share with you guys!

Thank you all for reading, and being super lovely.

Time to Try Something Different

A few days ago I made the decision to try the Paleo diet.

I guess I should back up.
A few years ago, I went through a stage in my life where I had a lot of stomach problems. It became quite debilitating to the point where I was hesitant to eat anything for fear that it would upset my stomach to the point where I'd have to stop whatever I was doing and either use the restroom (for quite long periods of time), or lie down because of the discomfort. As you can imagine, it put quite a chink in my physical (active) and social life style as I was kind of afraid to go anywhere for fear that it would arise the moment food entered into the picture and, in some cases, even when food wasn't in the equation. In an effort to get rid of this "mystery issue," I stopped eating meats - except for chicken (I love my chicken wings more than life. *exaggeration*). Some of you may think that it's weird that taking meat out of my diet was my first instinct. Well, it is weird, so you're correct in thinking that. I guess at the time, that was the most simple way for me to test to see what my stomach was truly intolerant to.
- Side note: my friends coined the term "chickatarian" for me, which was ended up sticking. Amanda became that friend, who was weird and only ate chicken.

Anyway, I continued that lifestyle of chickatarian-ism for about a year (give or take a few months), and my stomach issues seemed to slowly wither away (not entirely, but noticeably)... until recently.

About two weeks ago I had a really weird reaction to some food I bought at a restaurant that rhymes with "Baco Tell." I originally thought it was food poisoning, and continued to believe that it was until last week where I had another similar (but worse) reaction to some food I bought from a more "high class" establishment - meaning it was not bought at a sketchy restaurant for $2.50.

It's worth mentioning that leading up to these two incidents I had begun having a bit of stomach trouble similar to the previous stuff from a few years ago. My stomach became practically intolerant to foods that normally would not have bothered it (yogurt, milk, pasta, etc.).
Needless to say, I decided to try something different.

*In enters the aforementioned title sentence.

I did a bit of research on different diets and their benefits and found a diet that I had heard a bit about a few months before. *Disclaimer* I'm in no way saying I know everything there is to know about this diet, nor am I 100% correct in anything that I say regarding its boundaries. I am, however, saying that this is what I've found on the internet about the Paleo diet, therefore be gracious when you read the following sentences and if you must, please give advice graciously.*

Since the horrible episodes of stomach issues I had a few years ago, I've been keeping track of all the things my stomach reacts negatively to. A few of these things include dairy, fries, sweets, other meats, etc. I've also been trying to eat a little better, as I don't want to shrivel up and die before I reach the age of 60 because of my love for chicken wings, fries, and "Baco Tell."

To get excited for this huge food change, I made a recipe book the day before yesterday full of ideas from Pinterest on how to eat Paleo style.


(I obviously didn't get too creative with this one.)
I will try my best to share the ups and downs of this new diet on my blog in hopes that it helps someone out there or brings you entertainment, or whatever.

I had pizza yesterday for dinner (thanks Sam!), so obviously I'm starting today. So far, so good. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, and a few tomatoes for breakfast.

Here goes nothing! (and everything...)

Wandering Wednesdays IV - Red Top Mountain

Well, almost two whole months later, and I'm back with another blog post to add to the ever growing (and slowly developing) Wandering Wednesdays series.

(View the |1st| & |2nd| & |3rd| posts by clicking the numbers.)
Keeping up with the "spur of the moment hiking tradition," this trip to Red Top Mountain on May 3rd was pleasantly unexpected. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, a rarity in Georgia during May, so we decided to go on an adventure. Below are some snappies of the sights we saw.
Enjoy!


Artsy shot to set the mood.


Jamison got all photographer-y.


How gorgeous is this cabin?


Squirrel friend doing his thing.


Cliché Chaco appreciation picture.


I think it's worth mentioning that we got lost not once, but twice during this hiking trip. Turns out Red Top is a pretty big mountain. Word to the wise - always keep track of the markings in the trees that were purposefully painted there to help hikers remember which path they're on.

The end.

Wandering Wednesdays III - Sunsets

Welcome to Darling Simplicity's third post in its newest blog series Wandering Wednesdays! (View the |1st| &|2nd| posts by clicking the numbers.)
Due to the sudden pollen attack over the past week and a half in Georgia, I haven't been able to visit anywhere spectacular... unless you count running to Walmart to grab some popsicles to soothe my throat "spectacular."
I do have a couple exciting places I plan to visit in the upcoming weeks however but for now, I've decided to write this post about an adventure I had about a month ago.

Jamison spontaneously called me one late afternoon/early evening and said, "Hey, what are you doing right now?" I told him that I was about to leave school and he enthusiastically instructed me to grab my camera and that he was going to take me somewhere. Naturally, I was excited (and so thrilled to see that he shared my enthusiasm for taking pictures of things), and rushed home to grab my camera. Once he got to my house, we hopped into the car and were on our way.

A few questions (about where we were going), and moments later, we arrived at our destination. It's a little bridge near my house that crosses over a lake. You're able to park on either side of it and get out of your car to "sightsee" (I guess). Anyway, this was what we saw.

Enjoy!



Thank you so much for reading! Hopefully I'll have more exciting things to share with you in the near future.

Wandering Wednesdays II - Marietta Square

After I posted my last Wandering Wednesday, I realized that I had not really explained what this new series is about.

I have always relished the idea of traveling and photographing what I see, then blogging about it. As a college student, I very quickly realized the importance of finding places that were cheap enough for me to get to and explore. I came up with the name "Wandering Wednesdays" because it gave me a definitive day to post these wanderings on, and gave my reader an idea of when and what to expect.
Thus, Wandering Wednesdays - the blog series in which I "wander" throughout the week then blog about it every Wednesday.

This past week, I ventured into Marietta Square. Marietta Square is kind of like the Downtown Acworth of Acworth that I posted about last Wandering Wednesday. It's a historic part of town that has places you can eat, shop, and relax. One of my favorite things to do there is visit the park that is located in the center of it all. There are a ton of benches to sit in and absorb the glorious spring sun (finally), not to mention rest your feet after all that walking.
Below is my perspective of the Square. Enjoy!

Thank you for reading!