It's Kristin. K-R-I-S-T-I-N

My name is Kristin. It's not hard. In fact it's name fad from the 80s. Seriously. Check it out. Lots of ladies in their 20s and 30s named Kristin. But apparently, I spell it weird. Don't know if that's just because it's more common to spell it with an E-N or what. I mean there are more ladies named Kristen than Kristin. Maybe my mom didn't want to be like everyone else or she didn't want me to be anyway. No telling what she was doing in the 70s when she decided on this particular baby name. Maybe she had a love affair with all things Scandinavian. Honestly, I've never really asked - she picked it in high school; I doubt there was any rhyme or reason to it.

It might be more uncommon to use two i's instead of an i or an e but I think that should make it easier for people - less letters to remember. But it doesn't. Most people don't spell my name right. And even after all of the years, it drives me crazy, usually. (In high school I changed the spelling because I was tired of people screwing it up. That really made my mom mad.) If you are the Starbucks barista who writes Kristen on my cup after only hearing it, you can go about your day without me cursing you silently. I especially like the baristas who get clever with spellings like Christyn. That can be exciting. I never understood why people try to over complicate things like the spelling of common names when so many things in life are already complex. I digress.

But if you are a coworker of mine, and you are sending me an email, you should spell it right. Unless you are a complete moron. But you've managed to hold down a job so I assume that means, at the very least, you can read. You can read my email address in the "to" line - it's all spelled out for you. No guessing required. And if you are just replying to my email, you can still read it in the "from" line. But not only that; I  make it even easier. EVERY email I send has my signature. Every. Single. Email. It's large text and a different color text.

Today, I am overly riled up because a coworker of mine spelled it wrong, not once, but twice. And she didn't even spell it wrong the same way twice. (For the record Kristina is a completely different name, not just a misspelling, which is so much worse.) Really? Can she not read? My name is there, spelled correctly at least twice in every email she receives from me. All you have to do is pay a little bit of attention and read. I know it's not as easy as Jane and Dick and Spot from those fun with reading books but it's not complicated. In fact, you don't even have to read it. Just copy the letters you see. Surely, an adult with a job can at least manage that? Evidence says otherwise in this case.

I'm not the queen of patience or taking my time. I know this about myself. But a name is part of each person's identity. It's part of who you are and it is how you identify yourself. I find it so rude when others don't take the time to call you by the right name or spell it correctly. And I don't think "I'm bad with names" is an excuse. I'm bad with filtering before I talk but I do my best to think first, talk second so I don't offend people. This is definitely still a work in progress for me and lots of things for people are this way so I try not to lose my mind when unwarranted. But when things are in writing, and there are helpful hints staring you in the face, I won't cut you much slack. Lock it up. Get it together.

Fancy Berry Nutmeal or It's Not Eggs

One of these days I will get better about writing my ideas down and reminding myself to actually post. Of course half of the time, even when I write things down, or set phone reminders, I still don't do it. Just one of the many things I need to work on to get better at life. Fortunately, today I planned ahead in real time.

After an awesome running WOD, (have I mentioned I hate to run?) I came home to carb load. But I don't actually eat carbs being paleo and all. So I whipped up some delicious nutmeal, which is like oatmeal but made with nuts. And yes, I realize that name sounds kind of gross and I should come up with something better. But honestly, that's what it is so there you have it.

A long while back, I pinned this recipe from Jennie Harrell at easypaleo.com. I make it pretty regularly because it's easy (food processor is the best invention ever) and tasty. Cooking just doesn't get any better than easy and tasty. In fact, in my house, cooking doesn't happen unless it's at least one of those two things. (I've tried a few easy things that were not tasty - it does happen.)

Jennie is a genius and her paleo oatmeal is to die for. But as Emeril would say, it was time to kick it up a notch. My non-paleo boyfriend is always hesitant to eat my paleo cooking. It's weird b/c 98% of the time he loves it. Usually, I just don't tell him it's paleo. I feed it to him, wait for him to praise the deliciousness, and then I tell him. I forgot my plan this time though. Over the weekend, I asked him if he wanted any paleo oatmeal (nutmeal sounds gross and I refrain from saying it out loud). He made a disgusted face and said no. But that's what was for breakfast so instead of fending for himself, he gave it the old college try. Per usual, he loved it. But the real shocker? He made it better.

He's an instant oatmeal eater - every day in the office actually. But he adds blueberries to his before warming it up with the water in the microwave. Being set in his ways as he is, he added frozen fruit to the nutmeal and heated it up with a little extra almond milk. Delish! The next day, I was in bad need of a protein loaded breakfast to hold me over for a 6 hour class. But I was out of eggs and very limited on time. So the aforementioned boyfriend, who is very smart, grabbed the leftover nutmeal, added protein powder, a little almond milk, and frozen berries. He popped that in the microwave and breakfast was served. He takes such good care of me :)

Instant success. So successful in fact, that is now the only way I eat my nutmeal. Allow me to lay it out for you.

1. Make easypaleo nutmeal - in real time or the day before. It keeps pretty well for a day or 2 even with the banana.
2. Scoop out the desired serving of the nutmeal into a bowl.
3. Add a scoop of protein powder (as much or as little as you desire). I use OhYeah! in vanilla. 
4. Add some frozen berries. I prefer Trader Joe's brand because there is no added sugar. I usually choose the fancy berry medley because not only is it fancy, it's delicious. (If you use fresh fruit, I recommend freezing it to reduce the mush factor when it's heated up.)
5. Top with almond milk (original, unsweetened - trust me, you won't need or want the added sugar). 
6. Heat in the microwave (for 1/2 the nutmeal recipe,which his about one serving, you will need 45-60 seconds).
7. Enjoy!

Pre-microwave with all of the mixins

Finished product. Nom nom nom. Be sure to enjoy with coffee. Coffee makes everything better.