A New, Fresh, SLIM, Start to Life

Sorry for the break!

2012-03-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hello again! I am so sorry that I have been MIA for the past month or so. Just when Trinity was deemed healthy and "normal" (lets be honest, that horse was never normal), work and school all blew up! Work has been amazing. I have had a wonderful time learning and having a great time! We have been extremely busy and had our fair share of ups and downs along the way, but I have learned SO much and have an amazing supervisor, so it is all worth it in the end!

On the diet front, I have been doing AWFUL since my last post. While Trinity was sick I constantly ate out and ate badly, which has just carried over. The good news is that since I eat fairly well some times and fairly bad others so I have actually maintained my weight. So much for loosing another 10 before Shane gets here, but I am happy where I am. Don't get me wrong...I would LOVE to loose 10 more pounds, but I am not lamenting that fact at this point. As long as I don't get above 140 I am happy for now.

I made Gumbo about a week ago with the help of my grandmother! It turned out REALLY good but a little bit oily for my taste. From what I have read that means I need more flour in my roux. Has anyone out there made gumbo? Advice? I put a ton of stuff in including the holy trinity (peppers, onions, celery), sausage, shrimp, crab, and chicken! My neighbors loved it. I also made homemade french bread. I have pictures, but they are on my home computer so I will have to post later!

Out of the Woods

2012-02-02T12:15:00.001-07:00

I am so sorry for my lack of updates recently. All I will force you to suffer through on the horse front is that we are out of the woods! She is doing fabulously and is back to eating me out of house and home. The Vet's tech came by yesterday and said she looked like the picture of health!

So, on to the stuff you really care about...right? This past weekend was beautiful! I had my windows open, I cleaned the apartment, I suffered through the writing of not one but two papers that I had put off during Trinity's attempt to make me bald, and I made a delicious lunch! The true desire to make this meal started on Sunday morning while I was watching Hungry Girl talk about American Classics. I got to thinking about what one of my all times favorite fast foods is...ONION RINGS! Why are they my favorite? I honestly couldn't tell you! They are greasy and oniony and delicious! So, I looked up the Hungry Girl Recipe for deliciousness on a plate and there we went!

For those of you unaware with my underground secret love affair with Lisa Lillian (Hungry Girl), I will tell you, I have a HUGE underground secret love affair with Lisa Lillian! She does an amazing job of taking dishes that you adore and making them not only low fat, but even more delicious than you thought they could be...I first discovered HG on a shopping trip to Bed Bath and Beyond (BEST. STORE. EVER) with my lovely mother and sister. We saw a book entitled 200 recipes under 200 calories. The ever present dieters that we were/are, we picked up several copies. In the next 4-5 years I probably opened that bright yellow book a whopping 4 times. Each time I did, I enjoyed the recipe that unfolded; however, I have never been a big "recipe" gal. You see, I love to cook, however, my love for measurements and rules and ingredients is far less stringent (crazy seeing as though I am a rule loving fiend!..hmm go figure!)

Anyways, I set about making these onion rings by chopping a bright yellow onion in to rings:

Next I followed the egg bath principle. I dipped/soaked the ring in an egg bath mixed with a bit of hot sauce and then proceeded to coat the ring in ground up Fiber One Cereal mixed with onion powder, chili powder, salt, peper, and a little bit of parmesan cheese...

Due to one of my other favorite bloggers insights, I have learned to put my "baked not fried" items on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. This allows air to circulate (meaning you don't have to flip the stuff...yeah for the lazys of the world!)

I cooked these beauties on 400 for about 25-30 minutes...While doing that I put together a beautiful deli sandwhich with Dijonnaise (best dressing EVER), Deli Ham, Pepperjack Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, and Pickle...Yummmms

Now THAT is what I call a delicious Sunday lunch break!

Poop Patrol

2012-01-25T09:40:00.002-07:00

***Warning: Horse Poop Talk***...and a long post

okay...let me explain! My horse is one of the nearest and dearest things in my entire life. I love her so much, and she has helped me through a lot in the last three years. I would go to the moon and back for this horse if needed. And as much as the "outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man", these majestic creatures have some unique quirks in their physiological make-up. While I wont get to far on to my soap box, one of these quirks is a horses inability to throw-up. Now you might say...so? But think to all of those time you have been so sick and throwing up has been a welcomed release. Or, worse, think about those times when you were so sick and felt like you needed to throw up but couldn't...get where I am headed...? So, anyways, when a horse gets a stomach ache it can turn bad very, very, very fast due to another quirk, the 70 foot long small intestine coupled with a stomach that can only hold about 2 gallons of material (a human stomach can hold up to .8 Gallons and only has to travel 15-20 feet, Humans are also about 1/9th the size of an average horse)...weird right? Anyways, because of this quirk, the smallest upset in digestive health can cause a horse to have an extremely upset stomach. These triggers can be a change in food, weather, cold water, stress, eating sand, worms, etc. This type of upset stomach in a horse is called "Colic".

So, while I am sure you are enjoying your morning equine digestive health lesson, I will get to the point. On Monday morning at about 6am, Trinity began to Colic. She started in very mild stages when I first noticed the signs. This vacuum cleaner of a horse was uninterested in her morning hay, wouldn't eat her favorite cookie treats, and hadn't drank any water from the night before. In checking her stall, she also hadn't pooped since the night before. She was also hanging her head extremely low, didn't want to walk, and just overall was moping. These are all early tell tale signs of Colic, but they aren't life threatening. Colic becomes an emergency if the horse lies down and begins rolling around. This motion can cause those 70 feet of small intestines to twist cutting off the horses nutritional outlet. This requires a VERY expensive surgery and increases the likelihood that this will happen again by 25 times (YOWCH!). So, she was only showing mild colic signs at 6:30 in the morning. Two of my neighbors also happen to be Vet Techs (so handy!). So I called one and got her out of bed. By the time she arrived Trinity had begun sucking her belly up, having muscle spasms, and had no gut sounds (due to a lack of gall bladder a horse is always pushing bile through and therefor has a low gurgling noise in the stomach at all times). This lack of sounds means that colic is progressing. When my neighbor tried to find a heart rate, she couldn't locate it (meaning it was beating very faintly). We made a very easy decision that it was time to get the vet out of bed!

Once the vet arrived he performed several exams (I will spare you the details) ruling out sand or worms as the cause. He then determined that she had developed a severe impaction (the food from the stomach was not being pushed through the rest of the digestive process and had gotten backed up. The solution, shove a ton of oil through the nose and in to the digestive track to hopefully get things moving. So, the vet gave her a severe muscle relaxer, a GALLON of oil, and a GALLON of electrolytes. Now remember, the horses stomach holds 2 gallons...hmmm...

Anyways, you know a horse is feeling better when they begin passing the impaction and then pass all of the oil. Until then, the horse is not allowed to eat, period. However, they do need to be watched constantly to make sure that they do not begin rolling, kicking their stomach, or biting their sides (signs that it is getting worse, not better, and that it is time for a trip to the hospital...)So, I took off work the first day to keep constant watch and to serve as poop patrolman!

By the next morning Trinity had not pooped at all (well we got maybe 3/4 of a full sized poop in 24 hours...not normal) and certainly hadn't passed ANY of the oil. So, the vet got out of bed again for round two...This time brought a POUND of Epson salt to act as a laxative and TWO more gallons of warm water...where the hell is all of this stuff going? As he said, at some point, it HAS to come out. My vet, while awesome, is also an exotic animal vet in California and was leaving on a trip that morning so he set an IV catheter so that in the unlikely event that she hadn't pooped by 6pm we could give 5 LITERS of IV fluids to keep her hydrated and to keep her digestive system working. Unfortunately I could not afford to take off a full day of work AGAIN, but luckily my neighbor had an impromptu day off. So, she kindly took over my position as poop patrolman. Did she poop? nope. Did we stand out side in windchills of 13 for 2 hours giving fluids? yupp. Do I owe my two neighbors my life? yupp.

So, we come to this morning. A full 48 hours after I noticed the first signs of Colic. There was improvement as she had two small piles of dry poop (part of the impaction). This is good, but it is not over yet. So, this morning my other amazing vet tech neighbor will be giving more fluids and will be taking over poop patrol for me. I am just waiting for the text message...and can only guess what it will say...

So there you go, a full morning of equine poop, digestive health, and my life for the past two days...If you made it this far then 1) I am impressed! 2) Thank you 3) I think you should rethink your morning reading habits...just saying...

I won't even get in to what I have eaten during this process...lets just say it includes beer, pizza, wings, queso...yeah you get the picture!

A Busy Week

2012-01-19T10:52:00.002-07:00

I know, I know, I know...I post like 52 things over the weekend and then fall of the face of the earth...Well, that is because this week has been slightly insane in the life category. It has been an extremely busy week at work dealing with some stuff from last week and then just plugging ahead! My boss is amazing and keeps giving me more and more responsibility, which I LOVE. My job could not be better. I have an awesome team (save some ridiculously immature boys...) and a great work environment (it will be better once the multimillion dollar library is built and we move in!).

On the food front (which I am sure is why you are here), I have been doing well. I am hovering around 138 and I don't like it. I really want to drop and get to 130. I know that my body hovers, hovers, hovers, jumps down, but that doesn't make it any easier. I looked at my WW graph today and it is depressing (even knowing that it was through the holidays). I will share it with you, but don't judge!

So yeah...depressing...My weeks are tough because I don't really have time to make delicious dinners and gourmet breakfasts, though that may be part of my downfall...who knows at this point. I do know that I am fairly comfortable eating at 26 points, so if that is what I take to maintain then it wont be too bad. I know my other downfall is my serious need for sweets lately. I am usually pretty good around sweets (not salty), but las I have described in the past, lately that has changed. My boss was so sweet and brought in donuts the other day so I had one. Oh MAN it was good. Did you know a glazed donut only has 6 points+? I sure didn't. I knew for sure that I was blowing a weeks worth of points. While it wasn't the best use of points, it was delicious. THAT is not my downfall. My downfall (I believe) is the bite sized Butterfinger, Dark Chocolate Godiva Squares, Lindt Truffles...ugh it makes me want one now...

So, to hopefully combat my need to eat processed food to avoid going to the grocery, I have signed up for Mile High Organics. This is a company that delivers fresh, organic, fruits and veggies to your front door every Friday. Now, I am hoping this means I will only need to go to the store one or twice a month to restock frozen fruit (for smoothies), frozen veggies, and various other quick meal options. This company will deliver everything from fruits, veggies, herbs, protein (though the protein is pricey), eggs, dairy, etc. So, I think that it will force me to eat fresh more. This is always a better option, in my opinion. If I know I have more coming then I will have to eat what I have...right? I think the items are slightly pricey (due to their "organic" rating), but it isn't too horrible and I think it will keep me within my grocery budget.

Do you have any secrets that help keep you on track?

Oh, an NO, this view never gets old!

Royalties?

2012-01-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

At which point do I need to start paying royalties to Andrea of Can You Stay For Dinner?

I made another one of her recipes that keeps popping up on her blog this morning. Today was Banana Oatmeal. It was so rich, creamy, and decadent. PLUS it made a ginormous bowl. It seriously took me 2 hours to eat it all. It is now almost lunch time and I just finished breakfast! Although, a good portion of that time was spent with my Sunday morning chat/Bible study with mom! Anyways, this recipe is so easy: 3/4 cups of old fashioned dry oats, 1/2 cup of fat-free milk, 1 cup of water, vanilla extract, 3/4 of a chopped banana, 1/2 tsp splenda. Microwave for 2.5 minutes, stir, microwave for 2.5 minutes, stir, microwave for one minute intervals until it reaches your favorite consistency (I needed one more minute...but I have a baby microwave so it may just not be as hot as other peoples...). I then added one Tablespoon of Splenda Brown Sugar mix and the remaining bananas. The fresh bananas give a fun consistency and the cooked ones make the dish so creamy. Andrea claims not to need sugar, but I like the extra Splenda and Brown Sugar blend...personal preference I guess!

After cooking my magical bowl of oats, I sat down and prepared for Mom and my special Sunday morning time together. Don't you love technology? I have lived at least 800 miles away from my family for almost 6 years, but I can still have coffee and Bible Study with my mom every Sunday morning! I don't think I could ever live this far away without the amazing benefits of technology! Here I am with my computer, oatmeals, coffee, water, bible, bible study, journal...just waiting on Mom! We ended up using FaceTime on the iPhone instead of the computer, but the screen served as a fabulous way to prop up the phone! Wow this picture makes my kitchen look junky...I really did clean it all up yesterday and it looks nice!

This is how my other 2/3s spends their Sunday mornings (the other one is eating breakfast in the backyard, but I didn't get a picture of her!). My bed WAS made before the dog got a hold of it. Remy roots more than a pig looking for truffles! She roots and roots and roots and turns and turns and roots and roots until my nicely made bed looks like this...then it is an acceptable place to snooze away the Sunday! Kieren just feels the need to find where ever I placed a coat that I DO NOT want cat hair on...oh well...whatcha gonna do?

Have a WONDERFUL Sunday everyone!

Relaxing Saturday!

2012-01-14T19:41:00.001-07:00

So, I didn't do any baking today, but I did get all of my other chores done. This leaves all day Sunday (after Church and FaceTime coffee/bible study with Mom) and all day Monday (YAY MLK Day!!!). Without further ado:

STRAWBERRY-BANANA PANCAKES!

I made these using the same method as the blueberry pancakes the other day. The only difference was that I didn't mix in the fruit, instead, I strategically placed them in each pancake!

EPIC! They look as good as the ones on the box, don't they?

So after an amazing breakfast, I cleaned my apartment, did a pile of dishes, and then ventured outdoors. I think that somebody forgot to tell Colorado that it is still Winter, because I had my windows open all day. did barn chores in short sleeves, and enjoyed one of the 300 days of sunshine that I was promised when I moved here. Days like this remind me why I fell in love with Colorado in the first place and wanted to go to school out here! It also makes me want to stay. If I can get through this winter, I can totally live here. Well, after being in such a good mood because of the weather and my now clean and organized apartment, I saw THIS:

SO GROSS! So, I began what will be a three day cleaning process. Today was removing as much of the cakes on dirt as possible, unbraiding the tail bag to allow her tail to relax a bit, and getting all of the tangles out of her mane. I also was able to get a pretty good cleaning done on her hooves. Tomorrow will be a deep cleaning of the body and the Monday the tail will do back in to the tail bag, the mane will get braided, and the coat will get polished to prepare for our next snow storm (read mud bath)...I don't know how I let her get this bad. If anyone knows me in the horse world, they know what a clean snob I am when it comes to my horse. I like clean, combed out tails, shiny coats, flowing manes, kissable noses, and more! I love when people compliment how clean she is. It makes me feel good to know that all my love and care is paying off...Certainly NOBODY is complimenting this thing.

So after night time feeding and bedding down, I walk around the corner to go back to my apartment and I am greeted by:

My love bug, Kieren...sitting in the kitchen window, which he knows is not allowed!

Anyways, for dinner I felt like having a ginormous salad! So, I did. I cut up anything and everything that could go in a salad, added some turkey and hard boiled eggs, and tossed! For dressing I used 2 TBL Kraft Free Caesar Italian, 2 TBL Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Splenda. Yummmm City!

I hope that you are enjoying my new photo blog! I think that it adds some life and pizazz...don't you think? Let me know your thoughts proceeding. I got this idea from some other blogs that I follow. Whenever I find a new blog that I like, I go back and read from the very beginning. I like to see how people evolve and change as bloggers and people. I recently found Can You Stay For Dinner?, which is a fun blog about a girl, her shenanigans, and of course her food! She uses a lot of pictures and has some awesome recipes (thus my idea for egg whites in the pancakes AND the meatloaf burger recipe). I thought that it would be fun to copy her use of photos and also steal some of her delicious recipes! THANKS!

Meatloaf Turkey Burger!

2012-01-14T09:39:00.005-07:00

Last night I had a delicious dinner! There were some problems that I would fix next time, but they were just because of my absent mindedness... This was a Meatloaf Turkey Burger with Butternut Squash Fries. I ended up not using a bun at all, which was fine because this 1/4 pounder was HUGE! I have been reading a lot of food blogs and so I felt the need to begin documenting the process I go through when I make delicious meals. I will spare you from my documenting the microwavable dinner process (which is my most common lunch/dinner! On the weekends, however, I enjoy having a good time cooking in the kitchen. I am REALLY in the mood to do some baking this weekend. I am not sure what I will make. I feel as though bread and some kind of sweet would be good. hmmmm...research here I come! While I do that, enjoy this decadent burger. Here is what I did/would change:

I began by combining these three wet ingredients: 2 TBSP Chili Sauce, 1/2 TBSP Dijonnaise, 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce.

I then used my Magic bullet and combined: One torn up piece of 45 calorie bread (a good use for the heel!), 2 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese, 1 TBSP Italian seasoning (just a blend of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and basil), ½ tsp ground black pepper, ¼ tsp salt. I would cut these in half. I cut everything else in half, but I used full seasonings, because typically turkey has less flavor than beef. This was a mistake. The burger was too seasoned. It was yummy, but overpowering. Either double everything else (for 4 burgers) or half the seasonings (and keep with 2 burgers).

Combine all of the ingredients with 8 oz. of lean ground turkey breast (99% fat free). GET DIRTY! Use your hands and make sure everything gets blended well.

Place on a baking sheet (or Stoneware! If you don't have stoneware, please get in contact with me. I can help you order some. It will change your life!). Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15-17 minutes. The wet ingredients keep this SO moist, turkey is known to dry out and this was not dry at all! I then placed a 2% fat Pepperjack Cheese slice on top with onions, tomatos, pickles, and jalapeños.

I then made the butternut squash fries. Beging by cutting the squash in half right above the bulb. Peel using a veggie peeler (if it is too hard, place it in the microwave for a minute of so). Cut the bottom half in half and remove the seeds. Slice into long fry strips. Place on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. This allows air to flow above and below and prevents you having to flip the fries.

Let the fries sit out for a while and dry for a bit. The sprinkle with salt, garlic salt, pepper, or whatever you like on your sweet potato fries. Bake at 425 for 40 minutes or so.

I hope that you enjoyed the journey through my dinner last night. The burger (half the recipe) with all the toppings was 7 WW points plus and the butternut squash fries are technically free! I only ate about 2/3 of the ones I made, so I have a burger and fries waiting for me in the fridge (warm the burger AND fries in the over to avoid drying out).

I'll be back later today to show you my awesome Strawberry Banana pancakes that I am eating as I type (yes, it is difficult). I will also figure out if I am going to bake today...decisions decisions...

Deliciousness!

2012-01-13T12:32:00.003-07:00

Breakfast of champions? I say YES! This was my creation with my new Fiber One pancake mix. The first time I tried the mix I followed the directions on the box. They were yummy...The second time I made the pancakes I used a trick from one of the bloggers that I follow. I whipped 1/4 cup of egg whites to stiff peaks and then folded them in to the batter (made as directed). I then added blueberries! TASTE explosion! These were so good. Plus the egg whites bulked up the pancakes so I got 4 huge pancakes when I normally would get 3 medium sized one. The blueberries added a fun texture and sweetness along with my sugar free Maple syrup! Repeat? ABSOLUTELY! I think that I ill try Strawberry pancakes this weekend. The second best part of these pancakes (because let's be serious...the taste is the best part) is that they are only 6 WW plus points (one extra point for the sugar free syrup, for a total of 7). My microwavable, tiny, delicious, yet not satisfying Jimmy Dean sandwiches are 7 also...come on even the microwavable Smart Ones breakfasts range from 5-7!

I found another recipe for Meatloaf burgers that I am going to try tonight, though I will be using ground turkey in place of the beef (one it is healthier, two it is all I have...). I sure hope I have Worcestershire sauce...maybe I should stop at the Grocery Store? Will the burger be as satisfying on a SaraLee thin bun, or should I pick up some real buns (low fat, high fiber...of course). I will also be making some butternut squash fries! Stand by for epic deliciousness!

Th will power of an ant...

2012-01-10T12:14:00.001-07:00

So, after my weigh in on Sunday I made a choice...I would only weigh twice a week! That lasted until this morning. For some reason during weight loss I love to see that scale move. Even if it is down .2 or 0 or up .2, I like the movement and motion. Luckily for me, I was down this morning, so it didn't put me in a funk. I don't know why I get in these stupid funks; however, knowing that I do, I should just forgo the scale...right? Well, every morning that scale is like a pat on the back saying "Great Job yesterday Lauren, Keep it up!". It is so much easier for me to stay on track when I am getting that slightly schizophrenic encouragement every morning. Does anyone else experience your scale talking to you in the morning before that first cup of coffee...No? well, me being slightly psychotic shouldn't be of any great surprise!

Anyways, I am kicking butt and taking names this week. I have been eating a good amount of fresh fruits and veggies and getting in some nice lean protein along the way! And don't forget dessert!!! When did I become a dessert person? I never used to be...I mean don't get me wrong, I loved dessert at restaurants and those enjoyable stops at DQ for a blizzard when Mom picked me up from Kindergarden or those late night runs for a Braums banana split because Dad has a sweet tooth...but all of that aside, in my adult life, I have never been a huge sweet person...Well that has changed. My late night (and by late night I am doing good to push 9pm...) dessert fix sets me up for a great next day! Now sometimes dessert is a delicious Smart Ones Sundae, sometimes it is a popsicle, and sometimes is is a warmed piece of fruit with cool whip...but regardless, I love my nightly dessert! I'm not sure where this post got off track...but it did...drastically

What I am trying to say...I think...is that things are going really well. I have really gotten in a groove with the Weight Watchers Points Plus system, yet I am still incorporating everything that I learned with Slimgenics. This may be why my weight is coming off so quickly now, much quicker than it ever has. I think that the key to any "lifestyle change" is finding out what works for you. For me, I like to graze all day. I have a set breakfast and occasionally a set dinner, but for the most part I just eat small snacks all day long. This seems to work for my body. Another thing that I have noticed is that it works for me to eat a lot of fresh veggies and fresh or frozen fruits with lean protein and then the indulgences. The way that WW works allows me this since my "lunch" salads are usually around 3 or 4 points total...today's is a whopping 6 because I splurged with some dried cranberries, roasted walnuts, tilapia, and fat free thousand island dressing. However, I also know that when I get home from class I have some chile rellenos thawing in the microwave and a Weight Watchers Sundae calling my name! This is the joy of combining plans that work to your individual specification. I can eat healthy, but I can still have frozen dinners.

Work is chugging along nicely, all of my holiday weight has been packed away with my tree and nativity scene, and I am enjoying our short burst of nice weather here in Colorado!

...am I just rambling to myself?

Not Hungry?

2012-01-06T12:17:00.002-07:00

This is a rare an odd thing for me to say; however, since I have been back in Colorado, I have not been hungry. In the mornings I have been waking up and eating some sort of breakfast sandwich (a Smart Ones, Jimmy Dean Delight, or a homemade one). Then I am off to work with a fruit smoothie in hand for a snack; a lean pocket, Amy's light burrito, or some other microwavable goodness in hand for lunch; and a bar or crunchy snack for the afternoon. I am following Weight Watchers and trying to keep to my 26 points each day so that I can loose my holiday weight quickly. So with all that I pack, I usually leave 7-8 points for dinner. Now, since being home, I have not gone to the grocery (thus the immense amounts of frozen foods and not fresh veggies/lean protein like I usually stick with). Anyways, so I eat my delicious breakfast sandwich (around 630am) and head to work. By the time I leave my fellowship and head to work (around 11am) I have not been hungry enough to drink my smoothie. I then tend to get caught up in work and drink my smoothie slowly throughout the afternoon (between noon and 1 or 2pm). And let me tell you, it is a yummy smoothie (frozen fruit blends and Almond Milk...though one of my good friends here is Denver taunts me with her delicious smoothies made in her Vitamixer, complete with carrots, kale, bananas, and all over deliciousness...I only wish my blender was this cool, or that the Vitamix wasn't so expensive. If I put a carrot in my blender it would not only die, it would kill me! :sad face:). Anyways, by the time I get off of work or head to class I eat my lunch (4 or 5pm, depending on the day) or just have my snack, depending on how I am feeling that day... Long story short, I seem to eat 2/3 of my food after 4pm. From everything that I have read, it should be the opposite.

So, today, I decided that I was going to eat 2/3 of my food before 5pm when I get off of work. I started my day off making a egg sandwich. I didn't have any kind of deli meat or sausage so I used a veggie burger patty. Maybe that was my mistake. The sandwich was delicious and filling. I wanted to eat lunch around 10:30-10:45 so that I wasn't eating AT work right when I got there, it just seems weird to me. Well, I went downstairs from my fellowship to grab a chef's salad (only 6 points plus, plus one point for the lite Italian dressing). By the time I got back up to my office I was SO not hungry. And come on, it had been like 4 hours since I ate breakfast...Well, I ate the salad to try and keep to my goal of eating 2/3 of my food before 4pm. Now, I feel full and not happy. I look in by bag at the two snack I brought (usually I am CRAVING them and have to keep them hidden so I don't eat them all right away) and I am repulsed by the thought of eating them.

I don't know what is going on. Maybe my body is finally detoxing from the disgusting amount of food that I ate over the holidays, and maybe I am just going crazy (or both...). I am supposed to eat all of my points for Weight Watchers, but there are some days that I just can't. The other day I didn't eat lunch because I just wasn't at all hungry, therefore I had like 16 points left at dinner. So that night I had a Chick-fil-a sandwich for dinner, then made popcorn. I was going to have a dessert to help get my numbers up, but I just couldn't do it. Therefore I ended the day with 5 points left over...thats just wrong!

Has anyone else ever experienced this?

So far, So good

2012-01-05T08:45:00.002-07:00

So, I have been hitting Weight Watchers again to shed the holiday pounds that I gained. It is going really well and I am really enjoying having a routine again. I was down to 140.6 this morning, so that was encouraging. Only 10-12 lbs before I hit my goal! I know that I can do it. I just hope that my momentum keeps up and I don't stall out at 136 again, and again, and again. It is very encouraging that my whole family is also doing weight watchers, so we can share tips and tricks along the way.

School is gearing up for another rousing quarter. I am not very excited about any of my classes. I think that they will be fine, but I wish I was EXCITED about them. I guess I will have to act excited and hope that my body is tricked into actual excitement...here's to hoping! I think the main downer is just that I don't like going home at night to do homework. For so long I had a job that allowed me to do homework while at work, so I never had to actually DO homework. Now, I have an amazing job that I love and keeps me busy, therefore limiting my free time to do homework. Therefore, there will be more homework. I guess I now know where my time on Saturdays will be spent...at my kitchen table reading and writing...woohoo. Additionally, I have a ton of work to do on my capstone project, yet I can not get motivated to do any of it...Why?

On a better note, Mom and I are starting a bible study about the life of Paul this week. We are going to chat every Sunday night and use it as a mother/daughter bonding time for the two of us. I am very excited about that! I really want to get in the habit of setting time aside each night to work on my bible study. I am also going to start going to mass again and try to find a church where I can get involved in the social fellowship and the spiritual ceremony again. I am currently waffling about whether I should return to the Catholic Church or whether the Episcopal Church is more in my line of thinking and beliefs...so yes, I am just full of spiritual searching right now! Luckily, I have an amazing mother who is willing to help me on my journey!!!

A Fabulous Trip

2012-01-02T11:33:00.002-07:00

Well, I am back...I know that I have been MIA for a while. I had ever intention of writing while I was out of town; however, I just didn't. So...oh well! I had an amazing trip, though I am excited to get back into my daily activities. To begin, Shane took all of his top honors at graduation. I could not be more excited for him. He was top in academics, shooting, and overall shooting/defensive tactics! He started his job and is doing so well and really seems to enjoy it. If nothing else, he is doing well in the eyes of his supervisors (which is ALWAYS good!). After his amazing graduation session, we had a fabulous week relaxing and spending time together. Additionally, I spent a ton of time with his mother (Donna) baking and cooking and laughing in the kitchen. The down side...the sugar! OH THE SUGAR! We ate a ton of sugar and sugar cookies!

After Virginia, I was off to Texas. I had so much fun spending time with my aunts, seeing my cousins, and most of all seeing and spending time with my mom, dad, and sister. Christmas was great and so was our Family Reunion New Years Party. Something was weird though, the whole thing did not seem like Christmas to any of us. I felt more like I was going through the holiday motions rather than celebrating a holiday. I don't know...it is just weird. Overall, however, it was a fun and enjoyable holiday season. Well, negating the almost 10lb weight gain...

So now I am home. It feels good to be home and I am enjoying spending such a great time with my four legged family. Remy was happy to see me and is now laying on my feet. Kieren is a total pur box and is resting his head on my lap as I type. I went and saw Trinity and she seems fat and happy. I will take some time later today to go groom and love on her. I have so much to do, yet I can not get motivated enough to really gear up. Therefore, I have decided that I need to spend today as a relaxing, chill day. Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, January 3, 2012 I will be going full steam ahead. This will include:

Drafting a new Capstone Proposal (I changed my topic...again)
Working hard at my new job in order to assure a promotion and full time appointment
Starting my next to last quarter of school
Cleaning my house
Unpacking all of my suitcases
Taking down my Christmas decorations

This will take place each evening after work as well as a majority of the day Saturday and Sunday evening. I say Sunday evening, because also starting this weekend I will be joining a church and trying to get more involved in my community! I hope all goes well.

Leavin...on a jet plane!

2011-12-13T09:25:00.002-07:00

I am 24 hours away from my fabulous trip to Virginia and then on to Texas. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it! I have to work all day today but then I am headed home to take Remy to the kennel, clean the house, finish packing, and head to bed early! My flight leaves at 6:45am and I am not sure I will be able to sleep. For one, I always find it weird sleeping in my bed without Remy. Second, I am so excited to see Shane and celebrate his graduation and his family. Thirdly, I can't wait to see all of my family back home in Texas!

In other news, word of me getting another promotion at work (before even starting the one I just got) is increasing. My boss increasingly mentions me moving up and my place in the department. I am so excited! Yesterday I interviewed a guy to replace my old position and he was great! I think that we have such an amazing team and I would love to keep working with them in a full-time managerial capacity! I only wish the job was in Texas. That is what makes this so hard...I want to move back to Texas and be close to family and friends and yet I love my job and I love being in an organization that has total faith in me, my ability, and my visions for the future. dilemma... Grant it, nothing is certain and I may not get the job or I may find the absolutely perfect job in Texas that makes me want to run as fast as I can from Denver. Time will tell, though I am not good at the wait and see...

le sigh...

2011-12-08T08:43:00.001-07:00

So I am back to the old game of hippity hoppity on the scale. Before you say anything, yes I know all of the "don't weigh every day, your bound to fluctuate" "Its water weight" blah blah blah. Yes I K-N-O-W this information, but do I listen? Obviously, not! Instead of listening to this nagging voice in the back of my head telling me to put the scale away except for weigh in days twice a week, I am frustrated by the ups and downs that I see on a daily basis. Why is this? I honestly have no idea. I have this compulsive need to weigh myself (probably comes from 24 years of being overweight...psh but who's counting?). I know that everyone thinks that I look amazing and need to stop trying to loose weight; however, I would REALLY like to get to 130 before I just worry about not gaining it back. Why 130? Well, this would put me fairly close to the middle of "normal" on the BMI chart. Where I am now, depending on whether today is a hippity or a hoppity I am normal or overweight. I DO NOT want to be over weight any longer. It is as simple as that. I am not obsessed with the number, my looks, or the art of loosing weight. I AM obsessed with not being "overweight".

Many of you may return with, "So get your slightly-overweight-depending-on-the-day ass off the couch and exercise!". Eureka, because I haven't heard THAT before! While exercising seems like a no brainer, I have hit several obstacles. 1) There is snow and ice EVERYWHERE 2) My membership at the DU gym has been cancelled because I am not a "full-time" student (even though I am) 3) I can not afford a different gym, or even DU's gym 4) My apartment is not conducive to high movement exercise videos 5) I hate exercising...While number 5 may not technically count as a good excuse, it is one I use often. I know that I should break out the Wii and at least do some step aerobics or something each night, but I just hate it so much! Though, my ready for bed at 8pm mentality is probably screaming that I have plenty of time to do what I need to do...Goal for tonight...Wii...

A reprieve from the cold!!!

2011-12-07T10:53:00.001-07:00

Today at 8am when I was feeding Trinity, walking Remy, mucking stalls, and breaking ice off of water buckets I was pleased to note that it was 25 degrees and felt A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Now this is funny for several reasons! 1) It is below freezing and we still have 6 inches of snow, but I was in a long sleeve t-shirt and over jacket and happy! 2) It was the same temperature in TX last night and EVERYONE'S facebook page talks about how cold they are! 3) Our high is 40 today, which means snow melt!

In other news I have officially lost all of my Italy weight plus some, which is super exciting! Apparently when Weight Watchers took 3 points away from me they know what they were doing! Another funny thing to note, is that so far I have used 7 exclamation points in the same amount of sentences...apparently I am very emphatic about my excitement this morning! Oh well, off I go...

So Much...

2011-12-05T10:24:00.001-07:00

So sorry that I haven't posted in almost a week! Things have been going really really well! I found out that I got a promotion at work, which means I will be making more money and have the opportunity to work more hours. Plus, there is a very high probability for a full time promotion come March or so!

In other news, we have Snow...Snow...Snow...oh and did I mention that it snowed? Yes? Well, it is worth mentioning again, because it snowed! Yes, about every two days we get a fabulous 4 inches of snow, which has made my commute a blessing and thrill! <--Note sarcasm! The snow has been gorgeous and a lot of fun for the dog, however, breaking ice off of water troughs and driving has not been as enjoyable!

Also, I am almost back down to my lowest pre-Italy weight, just in time to head to Virginia and Texas for the holidays! I am not too worried about Texas, as everyone else is in weight loss mode and we should do alright; however, the trip to Virginia may put me over the edge. That doesn't matter though, because I am going to see Shane for 7 whole days! This will be our longest visit (I think) since I moved in May 2010! We have so much stuff planned, yet we have a lot of downtime. I am not totally sure when Shane will have to work and not, so I am just being flexible. I know that Thursday is his graduation (YAY SHANE!) from Police Academy and we are going to go have pictures taken. Then his parents are treating us to dinner to celebrate, finally we are going back to his house to open Christmas gifts. Saturday his mom is having a Pampered Chef party and I will get to meet my Director for the first time! Besides that, I am not sure we really have anything planned other than just enjoying our time together! On the 21st I fly out to Texas to see the family, which I am SUPER excited about. This holiday season is going to be amazing, I can feel it!

Back Stateside!

2011-11-29T08:11:00.001-07:00

Italy was possibly the greatest week of my life. There is so much to tell and so many pictures to share. We began in Milan and did Milan in 5 hours (haha, consisting of pizza, The Last Supper, and The Duomo). Then we hopped a train to Florence. This was probably my favorite city. It was so historic and cute and laid back! We took several tours in florence and saw so many things. We had an amazing tour guide on our first day for the Best of Florence Walking Tour. He gave us so much insight into the history, the art, the politics, and more! I loved it. After 2 days in Florence we went to a day long Cooking School! We started the day with a tour of the Central Market in town and learned about all of the delicious foods and oils local to the area. Then we went to the school and made a delicious 5 course meal (and ate it of course). That evening we took the train to Rome. Rome was an amazing city full of history, however, it was definitely a CITY with millions of people! Regardless of that it was spectacular! We took several different tours there as well, however, my favorite was the Angels and Demons tour. We went around the city and saw all of the different churches and sites that were referenced in the book! All along the way the tour guide told the story in such a captivating manner! Once I get the time to upload all of my pictures I will post a few here...

So, how did my waisteline fair during this 10 day eating, drinking, eating, drinking fest? I am only up 4 pounds! I was up more than that when I went to visit Shane for a long weekend! My sister and mom and I were talking and I think that it is the fact that everything is so fresh and that they don't use preservatives in the food OR the wine. So, I am doing a fresh start starting today (3 days of raw green veggies and unlimited protein) then I will be jumping right back on the Weight Watcher wagon. I only have 15 days until I leave for Virginia, hard to believe. I figure the holidays will be alot of this eating bad, correcting my weight, eating bad, correcting my weight...oh well...

Staying the same

2011-11-15T19:59:00.001-07:00

So I haven't written in a while because I have been totally nutty! I am so excited about leaving for Italy in a few days and I am so busy in the next two days! I have been writing papers like a crazy person. I feel really good about how I am finishing the semester though. I think that my papers are really well-written. I am very proud of the stuff that I have turned out. I had a pampered chef party this past weekend (ehh...) and I have another one tomorrow. I hope that the one tomorrow goes better than the last one. I am really excited that 15 people have RSVPed, however, they are all grad students so I don't know if they will be able to buy anything. If not then I don't know what I am going to do...I want the business to work, but so far it isn't going very well.

I'm Normal!

2011-11-10T12:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, stop laughing...

Please stop laughing?

Okay, so in reality this picture was taken a few days ago, but I forgot to post it. Therefore, I am posting it now!

Okay, So I know that I am at the VERY high end of normal...but I am normal none-the-less right?

Chugging Along...8 days...

2011-11-09T13:31:00.001-07:00

Oh my gosh, I have so much to do in 8 days! The list includes:

2 Pampered Chef Parties
Certificate Program Capstone Paper
Certificate Program Final Presentation
Large Leadership Group Paper
Leadership Group Presentation
Leadership Style Reflection Paper
Professional Development Reflection Paper
PACK for 10 days in Italy!

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed at this point, but I am doing okay. I almost have my capstone paper done and I am slowly working on my group paper and my capstone paper right now. I am also starting up my Pampered Chef business and it is going really well. I am not feeling super overwhelmed, I guess I am just slightly above whelmed. Is that a real thing? I think that there should be a "whelmed trajectory". This would range from completely underwhelmed to completely overwhelmed with many stops in between. Hmm...chew on that for a bit.

On the weightloss front (since that is why I started this blog, I officially weighed in on the Slimgenics scale this morning at my lowest weight ever! I am so happy and excited. I only have 5 pounds to loose to be at my official goal weight and 10 to be at a level where I would be very comfortable and happy. Since starting with the Weight Watchers PointsPlus system, I have noticed that I am not eating enough points. I eat a lot of lean protein, fruits, and veggies due to my conditioning through Slimgenics, but I am now noticing that I need to eat more to achieve my point levels for the day. I am finding myself HAVING to eat a dessert or something higher in fat to reach my goal level. I don't mind if I am a few points low, but for example, last night I had ten points left! EEK! I don't know what I am going to do when I have 39 points instead of 29...that will be extremely hard to do on a normal day. Obviously, it will not be hard on special occasions or when I am eating out...strange. Maybe I will make beef tomorrow?

Success!

2011-11-08T14:01:00.001-07:00

I weighed-in this morning on my own scale and I am back to approximately my last weight on Slimgenics! I am so happy. I was home with family, ate at real restaurants, and enjoyed my food AND I lost 2.5 pounds! I am very happy about this fact. I am also happy about the fact that there are only 9 days until the end of the quarter AND Italy!!! I am NOT happy that there are only 9 days until all of my papers are due. Actually, I have one due Friday, two due next Wednesday, and a Presentation next Wednesday and next Thursday! STRESSFUL!

Plus, I have a Pampered Chef party scheduled for Saturday and Wednesday! Woohoo! I am glad I had a relaxing morning and spent a good amount of time with Trinity and Remy, because each night this week and all day Sunday will be busy busy busy!

My new way to Maintain

2011-11-07T15:47:00.001-07:00

So, I love the Slimgenics program, as you all know. It really helped me to get over the weight loss hurdle and reach a point where I am happy. I am now done with the weight loss "phase" but I am not done with my weight loss. My problem with the Slimgenics program is that I do not feel as though I have the level of support during my maintenance phase as I did during the weight loss phase. I think that the counselors still care, but the program is designed for weight loss and gets a bit complicated for maintenance. Therefore, I made the decision this past weekend to spend the money to join Weight Watchers to help me with my last bit of weight loss and then to keep me going through maintenance. I tried it out over the weekend while I was visiting my family and I really enjoyed it! I am still trying to stick closely to the Slimgenics idea of increased protein and veggies and moderate fruit and starch, but I am not sticking only to that. I like that I have the freedom on WW to eat what I want, go out to eat, and learn moderation as well. I was home with my family, had a cocktail party, and ate out, but I think I actually lost weight! I will do an official weigh-in in the morning (since by the time my flight landed today I had already eaten) and I will let you know how it goes!

I am also going to go do an official weigh-in at Slimgenics tomorrow. I am going to keep going to my once a week meetings for a while. I don't know why since I don't really find them all that helpful. I guess I feel like since I spent the money I should use the service. I don't know.

On another note, I am so excited for Italy! I helped Mom to get her clothes together this weekend and then I helped her to pack and that made it all so real! I have been planning this trip since May and I can't believe it is less than 2 weeks away. I have so many cute clothes and I am really excited about picking out my outfits and getting myself packed! Thank God I have such wonderful neighbors that are willing to help me out and take care of Trinity and Kieren for me. If only Remy wasn't such a looney toon... oh well...I love her anyways! Trinity is doing so well, however she is fat and muddy! Everytime it dries and I can get in her stall and clean it and clean her it snows again...We are supposed to get snow again tonight...oh Colorado, how I love yet loath you...

Do You Like Free Stuff?

2011-11-01T14:23:00.002-06:00

So, I have recently started a new business opportunity! I am so excited to start sharing it and helping others to discover how amazing this opportunity really is! I have become a Pampered Chef Consultant! I know what many of you are thinking...oh geez another home-buy program. I thought the same thing, but I LOVE it. I can do as much or as little as I want and I have found that I absolutely LOVE the products and the training and talking to people about the business! I also love that I can involve my friends near and far in the opportunity by having them host "catalog parties". Most importantly, I love that I get to use and own several amazing kitchen products that I would have never gotten elsewhere! If you happen to read my blog and would like more information about hosting a Pampered Chef Party in the Denver area then PLEASE leave a comment here or send me an email. If you do not live in Denver but you like the idea of getting amazing kitchen stuff free, at half price, or discounted up to 30% then contact me about hosting a Catalog Party. If you have a non-profit or a group that needs to host a fundraiser, what better way then a fun and interactive cooking show in which your organization receives up to 15% of the sales as a donation!?!

The concepts couldn't be easier. You host the party, I do the work, you get a ton of free stuff! For catalog parties, you don't even need to find a time to get your friends together. You simply take the catalog everywhere you go, talk to people about the amazing products, great benefits, and amazing warranties and BAM they place an order. After you have collected all of your orders you send them to me and I send you anything you want for FREE, half price, or up to 30% off.

My blog wont let me attach the awesome fliers, but I will send you all the information you need if you comment here! Make sure to include your contact information!

My Astute Observations...

2011-10-27T09:13:00.003-06:00

So, while visiting Virginia this past weekend I made an astute observation about current fashion in America (or at least in the preppy south...). I am living at a never ending Horse Show...

What? You may ask...for years, it was normal to go to a horse show and see girls walking around in skin tight leggings (riding pants) with knee high flat boots (riding boots) with a long sleeve shirt and vest or a long sleeve shirt and fitted quilt jacket of blazer. What did I see people wearing at the pumpkin patch you may ask...leggings with mid calf or knee high boots, a long sleeve shirt, and a vest. While years ago this was simply practical since it made the transition for relaxed to show dress easy...now it is fashionable? Now, don't get me wrong, I have partaken in this craze of what I will deem "Horse Show Chic" and I actually very much enjoy the style; however, I was slightly taken aback several times when I had Las Colinas Fall Classic, Glen Rose Spring Awakening, and San Antonio Christmas Final flashbacks!

Fall in Colorado!

2011-10-26T09:11:00.001-06:00

Well, I was going to go back to the center today and weigh-in to see how I was doing on getting back on track. Instead, I woke up to a true Colorado fall day...

My scale at home said I was down about a pound from yesterday, which verifies my thought that my weight gain was 70% water retention and 30% actual gain. Hopefully I will be back down to where I want to be by the end of the week. I will do an official weigh-in on Friday and then again on Saturday. Then next weekend I am in TX with my wonderful family! I can't wait to see everybody!