the distracted diva

Food Journaling

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:57:00 +0000

In order to assist me in my weight-loss goals, I have come to the conclusion that I MUST journal. I kinda suck at journaling, but I'm going to use technology to assist me. So, I might not always "write it before I bite it", but I can at least snap a pic of it, send it to my food journal blog and learn from my mistakes. :-) It's better than nothing and a step in the right direction.

My food journal blog is also on blogger, and can be found here: Divas Have to Eat Too. My first entry is today's brunch - PB & J Oatmeal, inspired by Kath.

I am going to start posting my Mindful Menu Challenge Weekly Menu plans over on that site too....keep it all food-related.

Now, back to my Saturday evening, already in progress! :-)

Mindful Menu: week of 14 March - 20 March

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:50:00 +0000

I think I need to start snapping my menu and loading via email upload from my phone to blogger so that I can get this up on Sunday nights - then revise/annotate when can after! lol.

Sunday: to decode "F4Y" = "Fend for Yourself". Hubby took leftovers to work and I ended up grabbing a sandwich at a local joint with a friend. (Grilled Chicken, smidge of Miracle whip, lettuce, tomato, poppyseed challah roll. shared order of homemade curly fries)

Monday: Grilled Cheese and Apple didn't happen. I at Friday Night's sloppy Joe leftovers instead. (93% lean beef, 2 slices potato bread)

Tuesday: I made the meatloaf the other day, so i guess it's technically leftovers too. (93% lean, liberal dose of oatmeal, 2 eggs, ketchup and spices)

Wednesday: Happy St Pat's! got a corned beef brisket, a head of cabbage, a block of swiss and a loaf of pump! ;-) (just got a big bag of taters last week) (smidgen of beef, LOADS of cabbage and some taters and carrots)

Thursday: we'll probably still be eating on corned beef, unless we've shared it with friends. I'm not 100% sure what's happening Wednesday night, so it's a possibility.

Friday & Saturday: I'll be house-/animal-sitting for friends, so I'm not exactly sure what will happen these days for meals. They usually have quite a stockpile of foodstuffs in their place, so I'll prolly mooch and make it up as I go along. ;-) If they don't have anything that tickles my palate, I'll hit up the salad bar at the Price Chopper down the road.

Mindful Menu: week of March 7 - March 13 & a POST!!

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:35:00 +0000

So, again, I didn't get up the motivation to blog my menu last week- BUT I did plan it! :-) This week, I'm actually blogging my menu! :-) Here's my "old-skool" planning board:

Today, I made Chili - SO easy. I open a few varied cans of beans, a can or two of Ro-Tel toss in some Williams Original Chili Seasoning and simmer away. Today, I decided to add some extra zest to it - and I was kinda worried about how it would turn out at first!

I liberally shook in crushed Red Pepper flakes, garlic powder and black pepper. I added just the smallest dash of Chinese Five Spice. (Afterwards, I realised I didn't add my newest favorite secret ingredient - Sriracha!)

What worried me about the concoction is that as it simmered, I could smell the faintest trace of anise in the air. I really, Really, REALLY dislike anise. In fact, that is only the 2nd time I've ever used that overpriced jar of spice because the first time I used it, I discovered *just* how much I don't like anise: the other 4 spices couldn't help mask or tame it at all. (I prolly oughtta throw it out since it's a couple years old now...)

The good news, the flavors blended really nicely together in the finished product. There was just the slightest afternotes of cinnamon and cloves - and most people would probably never even notice it if they didn't know it was there. :-)

Tomorrow, I'm spending the day with my mom followed by trying out a Step class with a girlfriend and afterwards seeing Alice in Wonderland! (Hopefully in 3D!) I don't know what dinnertime will bring - but I'll be more than likely spending it with my momma. :-)

Wednesday's Orange Chicken is such a strange creature to me; sometimes I like it, and sometimes I really don't care for it. At my bridal shower, we played a "newlyweds" style game through which I learned that at that time (early 2003) this Orange Chicken was the hubby's favorite dish of my culinary repertoire! I wonder what he would say his favorite dish (of those I cook) is today!?

Saturday is a busy busy day! I am taking a PRAXIS exam from 7.30 - 9.30 that morning (to be on the way to being certified to teach High School English!), followed by visiting the Kansas City Gem and Mineral Show (Beads! glorious Beads!)

I'll be wrapping up the day with a Football Game! My brother (#52) plays for the Missouri Mustangs which is part of the Central Plains Football League and the owner of the team is a friend of Hubby's. We go to games whenever we can - and this year we have season tickets! We're not big into sports, really, but we're big into supporting family and friends. :-D

Now, on to prepare myself for the week! Check back with ya later! :-)

Mindful Menu: week of February 28 - March 6

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Mindful Menu 21 February - 27 February

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:55:00 +0000

Sunday: Biscuits & Gravy

Monday: Potato Soup (from the freezer)

Tuesday: cheese and onion enchiladas
(I don't slip the tortillas through hot oil like my mom and grandma always have, I slip mine through hot FF chicken broth instead.)

Wednesday: Veggie Stir Fry w/ brown rice

Thursday: pork chops with oven-roasted green beans (my favorite way to eat green beans now!)

Friday: scallopy pasta (didn't get around to it last week)

Saturday: have a late lunch planned at Red Robin, so will prolly be just snackies at night if either of us get hungry.

Mindful Menu: week of February 14 - 20

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:51:00 +0000

I skipped a week posting my menu here- but I DID do my menu and posted it on a dry erase board in the kitchen. ;-)

This week's menu:

Sunday - chili. (I didn't get to eat it last week, cos someone took all the crackers to work with him)
Monday - Burgers & sweet potato fries.
Tuesday - Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (love this recipe!)
Wednesday - Parma Rosa Pasta w/ Scallops
Thursday - Meatloaf
Friday - Soup & Sandwiches
Saturday - TBD. I think I'll be eating at my mom's - hubby works.

as I get a little more inspired and a little better at this meal planning thing, I'm going to start uploading more info about my recipes - such as pics and nut. stats. until then, it's gonna be just bare bones posting! :-)

bon appetit!

Black Chickpean Burger Cakes.

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:53:00 +0000

I'm not staying very committed to my blog here now, am I? I think my problem is that I'm over-thinking it and feeling "tied" to it - totally not my original intent when I started it! I need to let it be fun and non-judgmental again. ;-)

With that having been said (i so love ablative absolutes!), I hereby BREAK my commitment to my blog and engage to only have some fun! :-D

Now, for some fun - well, I kind of had fun doing it! I decided to attempt to be creative in the kitchen tonight. I didn't have anything thawed and I was just preparing a meal for myself, so I didn't want anything that was too much work, either.

Without using any sort of recipe, rather utilizing things I've learned in cooking other things, I decided to try my hand at creating bean/veggie burger things. I'm not exactly sure what these might be called - perhaps black chickpean burgercakes?

I started with 2 cans of beans: 1 can of Black Beans (from Aldi) and 1 can of Chickpeas (on sale at Price Chopper).

I drained them, rinsed them and threw them in the food processor. The draining and rinsing was good, but I don't think I should have put them in the food processor - they ended up looking like this:

Total Mush. (the color was because I used my phone to take the picture - I was charging the batteries for the camera) Next time, I'll probably just lightly smoosh the beans - cos I'm not going for refried bean texture here.

To my mush, I added:

2 egg whites & 1 whole egg (I had the whites leftover from another dish)
a handful of chopped fresh spinach
4 white mushrooms, finely chopped
probably about 1 cup of breadcrumbs, give or take. (I didn't measure)
1 whole green onion, finely chopped
about 1 Tbsp of prepared horseradish
garlic salt - liberal dose
ground black pepper
Italian Seasoning blend

I then formed them into patties and started to grill them with some organic EVOO.

I was kind of afraid of them not being cooked through, so I put a couple on a cookie sheet and threw them in the oven with the Rosemary-Garlic potatoes was I was roasting.

About ten minutes later, I deemed the potatoes and the cake done and plated them up.

that ugly pinkish stuff in the little bowl is a mixture of horseradish, Smart Balance Omega 3, and ketchup. I slathered it on the patty.

Overall, this was OK. I think had I actually eaten it like a burger, it could've been pretty good. I'm going to freeze the rest of them individually, so I can make quick meals for myself in the future.

P.S. (from the future) I ate one like a burger for dinner Monday night, and the texture was awful. hopefully it was the fault of not having been cooked well. I have a few more to experiment with...

Mindful Menu: week of January 31 - February 6

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:18:00 +0000

I'm posting much earlier than I usually do! woo hoo!

Sunday 31st: ~~I don't know yet...I need to go to the store, so that will probably determine what I'll be having for dinner.~~ Black Chickpean Burger Cakes and oven-roasted potatoes

Monday 1st: Chicken Finger Salad. Chicken prepared with Shake and Bake and then tossed into a spinach-based salad.

Tuesday 2nd: Burgers & homemade Spicy sweet potato fries!

Wednesday 3rd: Hubby's parents taking us to dinner for Hubby's 29th birthday!

Thursday 4th: Burritos.

Friday 5th: Salmon Patties.

Saturday 6th: I'm not sure yet...Hubby works, so it'll be something easy for 1.

Mindful Menu: week of January 24 - 30

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:03:00 +0000

so, I'm a little late with my post - but I'm still posting! :-) I won't bother posting Sunday or Monday, since it's past mealtime for both days!

Tuesday: Home made Pizza

Wednesday: Salmon Steaks

Thursday: Chicken Stir Fry

Friday: Pork Chops - either Shake'n'Baked or broiled.

Saturday: Potato Soup and sandwiches.

past, present and future

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:38:00 +0000

Let's face it - I need to change my posting schedule or start posting in the mornings. After hubby gets up in the afternoon (he works overnights) he's on the computer pretty much the whole time he's awake. If I'm on it, he lurks behind me acting bored and I feel rushed - not a good combo for attempting to post to the blog!

I'll not commit to days - but I'll continue to attempt posting 3x week - and always on Sundays. I have to post my Mindful Menu on Sundays, so I have NO EXCUSE for not posting some valuable content. :-)

Fitness
The going to the gym thing isn't working out so well for me...I obviously haven't tried hard enough to put it into my routine yet. Thursday we actually were going to go, but some things came up and didn't try to schedule it in around. Friday and Saturday and today, yeah, just didn't bother. TOMORROW I'm going. I promise myself that!

I did, however, rip open that Wii Fit Plus - SO. MUCH. FUN! After I finished and came upstairs, hubby asked what I was laughing about - some of the activities just really had me in hysterics b/c of how fun they were or how BAD I was at them! For example, I was REALLY terrible at the birdy-flying-landing-on-the-islands thing - but it was so much fun to pretend to be a bird! :-D

Food
I totally need to start tracking my meals again to keep me accountable!! I have a fabulous tracker, but I just haven't been using it. :-( *slaps hand*

I made a ton of seemingly healthy dishes last week - well, a few, maybe not a ton. I totally deviated from my meal plan, but I did use it to guide me and for grocery shopping!

Monday's Rainbow Pasta Bake turned out absolutely awful! This wasn't a fault of the recipe, rather a fault of using very old, very freezer-burnt veggies. It looked and smelled super-yum, so I'll be trying it again - maybe next week since Bird's Eye Frozen Veggies are on sale this week for 99c bag and pasta is also on sale! I ended up trying to eat it, but gave up and had a Yoplait Pear yogurt instead.

Tuesday & Wednesday we had black bean & corn burritos. Thursday was "ugly vegetable soup" - made from the leftover veg and pasta from Monday. The pasta went to mush, hence the "ugly", but it was actually quite tasty - good thing, cos I've got 2 bowls in the freezer! Friday was 15 bean soup w/ smoked sausage and corn bread - hearty and cheap! Saturday I finally made those Easy Salmon Cakes. Those were definitely a winner!

My goal with the meal planning is to create not only a weekly plan, but to establish a repertoire and to get really good at a few dishes. I also want to start making as much as I can from scratch rather than buying it. So give me your recipes for sauces, soups and whatever other "convenience" foods you make from scratch!

General Bloggy Stuff
I know that my actual blog site needs some help - and I'm starting to work on it, but it's slow going. If you have any tips/tricks/ideas whatever, please let me know! I never was very great at site design, but I've forgotten most of what I did know.

I've had a request to add features to my comments, but I just don't know how to do it. :-( I am limited at the moment to whatever it is that the wonderful people here at blogger have set up for me - but I'm totally open to learning more!

I'm also working on my website for baccantes jewelry design using Microsoft Publisher. I've just started and am playing around with it right now, but I don't really know what I'm doing!

I'm freezing half to death down here in the basement and I have some cookbooks to work through while I have the time to do it - so I'm off. :-)

Mindful Menu 17 January - 23 January

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:38:00 +0000

Sunday: Pork Sausage Casserole (we never got around to it last week)
Monday: Shepherd's Pie, salad
Tuesday: Pork Chops, roasted potatoes, salad
Wednesday: Pasta, Salad
Thursday: Pizza, salad
Friday: Veggie Loaded Stir Fry, brown rice
Saturday: Baked Potato, Salad

Wednesday is the new Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:36:00 +0000

On Monday, I said I'd post 'tomorrow' - we'll it's the tomorrow of 'tomorrow', so that counts for something, right? ;-)

So far NOTHING is going according to plan - but that might be a little more of my not really trying to go according to plan than anything else. Let's face it - I've been in quite a funky rut here lately. I must get out of this funky rut before I can succeed with my goals!

I do think that with my coming out and admitting all of this on the interwebz it's at least a little bit better than me just pretending that all is well and letting myself just slide right back into old horrible routines which have proven to NOT WORK in my best interest. it is, isn't it?

Okay, enough whining - and time to take my OWN advice: Tip #3: Don't make excuses.

Although it's already 22.31, I'm not anywhere near ready to go to sleep since I have put myself in the horrible up-all-night-sleep-all-day cycle. I am going to, once I publish this post, go into the other room and do something active. I'm thinking yoga sounds pretty good, or breaking out the Wii Fit Plus I bought a couple weeks ago but have yet to open.

Tomorrow, I'm totally headed to the gym - and I might even get hubby to accompany me.

the PRAXIS takeover

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:26:00 +0000

Why, yes, I did fall off the face of the earth for about a week - thank you for noticing. ;-)

I will fill you in on everything, so, humor me, will you? ;-)

pretend, for a moment, that it is Wednesday 6 January:

My week so far is on track! except for the fact I have to learn about 5000 years of human history and whatnot by Saturday morning! CRAZY! See, I'm taking the PRAXIS exam, and not only is it rather expensive (~$90), if I pass I can apply for certification to teach Social Studies at the Middle School level! Currently I'm certified for German and Latin K-12, but there really aren't *that* many positions available in my area - so this will open up a whole new realm of possibilities for me!

Anyway - Monday, I went to the gym and spent about 20 min on the elliptical. When I came home I made dinner and studied all night long!

Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment at 11.00 - and I forced myself to the gym after. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go, but I took a history book with me and spent about 30 minutes on the treadmill at an incline of 2 and a brisk-ish walking pace. I was driving right by the exit for it on my way home from the Doctor's office, and in an effort to "force" myself to go, I tweeted from the parking lot that I was there - I couldn't back out after that!

Today, I've spent the day studying, feeling a bit of a reprieve as far as the gym goes since I went yesterday! :-) I've spent the day studying!

~~~~~~~~~
Now, let's jump a little into the future - it's Saturday the 9th now:

I didn't make it to the gym yesterday - was in panic freak out study mode. The test this morning was rough - but not horrible. I feel about as confident about it as I did about my German PRAXIS, really. I did get some very valuable info from my studying though. :-)

Stuck to my Menu Plan pretty well, the only changes to be made was Thursday we had leftover meatloaf, soup and Elephant Souffle (which I made Wednesday b/c the eggplant was about to expire), so we had pasta and salad Friday night.

This week has been a crazy one - and I hope that through better planning in the future, I won't have to repeat it! Now, off to my friend, Peige's, "Kegs for Legs" fundraiser!

Seeing as this has become a rather long post, I'll not continue on at the present time - I'll chime in tomorrow. :-) maybe i'll even have some pix to share! :-)

Mindful Menu Week of 10 January

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:44:00 +0000

This week is going to be interesting as to what I pull out of the cupboards and freezer to throw together!! I want to use up what we have - and I will, danggit! ;-)

Sunday: BLT. choco-raspberry Yo-plait for dessert.
Monday: Rainbow Pasta Bake
Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner!!
Wednesday: Salmon Cakes
Thursday: Pork Sausage Casserole. (I know, not too healthy...but all in moderation, right?)
Friday: Vegetable Stir Fry
Saturday: Vegetable Bean Soup

Mindful Menu Plan: 3 Jan 10 - 9 Jan 10

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:18:00 +0000

I'm a little slow in the posting of my menu for Jenna's Mindful Menu Challenge she's hosting over on her site Chive Talkin' - but here it is nonetheless.

Sunday: Taco Salad - light on the taco, heavy on the salad. (93% lean burger)

Monday: Meatloaf (rest of pkg 93% lean burger). I don't like leftover meatloaf overly much, so I will probably leave it all for hubby and have baked potato and salad instead.

Tuesday: baked acorn squash and salad.

Wednesday: soup from the freezer! from scratch: Chicken Noodle or Potato.

Thursday: Simple Pasta - plain tomato sauce with whole wheat penne. with salad of course.

Friday: Salmon, rice and salad.

Saturday: Probably dinner with my family for baby bro's birthday

So it begins...

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:33:00 +0000

I can't put this off any more - the holidays are officially over and it's time to get serious!!

I wanted to write up a little post to tell you exactly what it is that you're in for as you follow along with me on this life-changing journey of mine!

To start, I will be posting 3x/week - Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, to be exact. On Sundays, I will be posting my intentions for the week in the form of my Mindful Menuss meal plan, my exercise plan for the week as well as any other personal goals I might have.

On Wednesdays, I will more than likely talk about what's been going on for the week and how much on track I've been. I will also probably post links to articles and websites I've come across and found helpful.

Saturdays will be a reflection of the week gone by as well as a bit of self-analysis.

Now, with that having been said, since I've just posted my blog plan and I've already posted my meal plan, I just have to post my exercise plan!

Monday: spend some quality time at the gym. 20 min on the elliptical. also spend some time at home doing yoga.

Wednesday: hit up the gym's elliptical bank again. more yoga.

Friday: let's go 3 for 3 and hit the gym.

so boring! I know, but I get overwhelmed by trying to do too many different things at once. I'll vary the "routine" - but for now, I've just got to get it started!

I'm really not feeling very creative and rather luckluster - so I know already that this week is going to be a mega-challenge for me!

New Year, we meet again.

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:03:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

So, last night was all about partying like it was 1999 or something like that, right? and what does that partying entail? well, I don't know what you did at your NYE party, but at the one I was at, beer, drinks and wine were flowing, the noms were tasty and 2 lovely people became affianced to one another. (did i use that word correctly? i'll have to research it)

I, like so many other people, have a list of things I would like to see accomplished by myself in the coming year. I refuse to call them my "New Year's Resolutions" (see the post I made exactly one year ago today) - New Year's Resolutions are made to be broken. I am trying to think of them as promises to myself.

So, what are these promises and why am I telling all of the interwebz about them? Well, they are things I want to do in order to make me happier, healthier and wiser. What I want to get out of posting about it is a sense of accountability. I find that if I am not held accountable, then I will not be successful.

The thing you will probably see me posting about the most is diet and exercise - if i'm not physically sound I have no foundation on which to build my mind and spirit. I have joined together with some friends of mine to form an accountability group - but because we live all over the city and have very different schedules, we're going to do it primarily through facebook and probably text. In addition to that group, I have decided that I needed to use this poor neglected blog of mine...I think that it will be a fantastic tool for me to meet my goals for 2010.

In a similar vein, I have also joined The New Year's Mindful Menus Challenge started by Jenna on her blog, Chive Talkin'. I really hate menu planning, and honestly I really suck at it - i think it's because I get so overwhelmed by trying to plan out so far ahead and try to keep things interesting. I know, however, that menu planning is a great way to ensure to always have healthy meals and follow a budget - therefore I have joined the challenge. Thanks for putting out there, Jenna! (for those interested, I will be posting my menu plans here - so keep me accountable!)

I will continue to write about topics other than just health and fitness - you'll see posts about my trying to get baccantes, my jewelry biz, up and running, as well as house & home, organization, education - all of those things I promise in the little banner at the top of the screen. Well, sort of. I will not be writing about ADHD here anymore - I will be the KC ADHD Examiner for examiner.com! I'll be writing little articles for that website, but I will post links to them here, too, so you won't miss anything. ;-)

I didn't intend to write such a long post - more of a "hey!! I'm still here knocking about - look for me around more often" kind of thing, so apologies for its general lack of order and cohesiveness.

I look forward to writing more frequently (my goal is 3x week)and to reading your comments!!

xdanix

returned from the black hole

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:13:00 +0000

I have posted neither much nor often, but I am crawling back out of the black hole into which I have been sucked! promise! *pinky swears*

Today, 1 November 2009, Husband and I started our "New Healthy Lifestyle". I don't know how it's going for him, but I can't say it's going superbly for me today. :-( BUT it is only day 1 and I made the mistake of going into this without any plan! It's not gonna work without a plan!

Through this site, my Facebook profile, my Brightkite family and sparkpeople.com, I will be documenting our attempts at our healthy new lifestyle and life as a result of it.

I verily promise this to you,

love,

me.

excuses, distractions and saying no.

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:54:00 +0000

I started posting here for a variety of reasons - but they pretty much boil down to two things: keeping myself accountable and ensuring that i'm really not as crazy as i sometimes feel!

I haven't been posting...therefore by default I also have not been using this avenue to keep myself accountable nor have I been clearing my head of the "crazy thoughts". I have no excuses, no rationale....just being "lazy". I have to say no to that attitude and get myself back into gear!

I haven't prepared any thoughts for this post, so bear with me for i tend to write in a james-joyce-esque stream of consciousness style...

Though I'm incredibly hypersensitive to raw criticism and things which to me sound similar, sometimes the raw criticism/blunt truth is exactly what I need to hear. This doesn't give anyone a green light to start dogging on me - constructive or lovingly crafted criticism is definitely best. I had two instances of this just yesterday, actually: one made me look more whole-heartedly for a "real" job, the other made me really take a long look at myself and figure out what the heck exactly is going on with me.

The "job incident" was definitely raw criticism at its most acidic. Yes, it prompted me to start looking for a "real job" again, but it also made me think/feel lots of other things which were not nearly as productive or positive. I also found loads of tempting jobs with the Peace Corps or teaching English overseas.

The "me incident" was lovingly crafted, i think. @bwjen tweeted yesterday inquiring how those who were participating in the Missouri 60 Challenge were doing with it. I responded that I wasn't doing so hot. @bwjen's reply: "well you better get it all fixed and get your hiney back on the road!!"

indeed i had better do just that.

i can not attain my goals of being healthy & fit, organized & clutter-free, and an all-around diva without having my "hiney back on the road". I get frustrated because I want to achieve my goals yesterday...but logically, i know that this is impossible. One day at a time.

As Lao Tzu said, "The journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step."

trending healthy?

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:57:00 +0000

So, I know that It's only Tuesday (for another 2 minutes at least) but I just have to publicly pat myself on the back! I'm so stinkin' excited that I'm starting to trend towards being healthy and active again! woo hoo!

I had a crappy weekend, but Sunday before work I attempted to take the dogs on a walk - we made it about a half mile round trip b/c it was so darned hot. I wasn't satisfied with my activity, so I drug hubby to the gym! Only had time for 30 min there, but it was 30 min well spent! I spent 20 on the treadmill and 7 on the elliptical.

Monday I was a lazy bum all day and it was glorious in some respects.

Today I worked a full shift, came home and although i was exhausted, I went to the gym! I spent 20 min/1.14 miles on the treadmill and 20 min/2 miles on the elliptical! boy did i ever sweat! I don't think I've sweat that much in a while! I felt so good.

The other thing I've experimented with is with green smoothies. I made a "green monster" yesterday with just almond milk, fruit, spinach and ice. i had it as a snack last night and another serving of it for breakfast this morning. It was a very tasty concoction!

this afternoon, however, i whipped up a smoothie and added chocolate spirulina/rice/soy protein powder - it was not quite so awesome. I could taste the protein powder in every sip. i did choke down about 8 oz of it though. Unfortunately, I have another serving of it in the refrigerator. I think I'm gonna have to doctor it up to be able to drink it.

what sorts of healthy things does tomorrow have in store for me? I think I see Yoga...perhaps followed by another trip to the gym!

Adult ADHD: Learning How to Harness it!

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:10:00 +0000

Often, the mental image which comes up when one thinks about the typical person with ADHD is an ornery blonde 10-year-old boy, a la Dennis the Menace. OK, maybe it's just me who thinks that. One picture that pretty much never comes to mind for anyone, though, is a quiet, somewhat-shy and yet accomplished grad student in HER late 20s.

When my therapist suggested I be tested for ADHD, I adamantly denied that I could possibly have it. I was 27, had graduated from 2 different universities cum Laude. I was anything BUT hyperactive. I was not the typical poster child for ADHD. Then I started reading about the 'disorder'; the more I read, the more my reluctance to being tested faded.

Since receiving my official diagnosis of "ADHD-Inattentive", I've done loads and loads of reading on the topic so that I might learn to work with my ADHD brain rather than against it. After renewing my stack of books on the subject twice - and STILL not being done with them - you can imagine that my ADHD has gotten in the way! 12 weeks should be plenty of time to read 6 books!

Once I finish reading the books (I'll have to turn them in and re-check them out - apparently MidContinent Public Library only lets you renew books twice), I'll post reviews of them. The one I'm reading right now is called The Disorganized Mind:
Coaching your ADHD brain to take control of your tasks, time, and talents and it's by a woman who knows what she's talking about - she's mastered her ADHD and is an ADHD coach. Her name: Nancy A. Ratey, Ed.M, MCC, SCAC. This is one book I plan on actually BUYING. Yeah - it's that good.

Other books on the slate are: Author:

Is it you, me, or adult A.D.D.? Pera, Gina
The ADD & ADHD answer book Ashley, Susan, PhD
Understanding women with AD/HD Nadeau, Kathleen G
You mean I'm not lazy, stupid or crazy?! Kelly, Kate.
Journeys through ADDulthood Solden, Sari

I'm learning so much as I read...and I'm feeling so empowered!

Clearing out the Cobwebs

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:23:00 +0000

I haven't blogged - even half-assed - in a very long time. Why is that, you might ask? Have I not had internet access? Has my computer been wonky? Did I break both of my arms in a raucous beer hall brawl?

Nope - none of that. In the last few weeks I have been "mentally" blogging - thinking about things I'd want to blog about, but I've never actually taken the time to sit down and type it out. One thing I have been doing, in order to better my blogging, is reading loads and loads of blogs! In order to be a better writer, one must be an avid reader!

Before people start emailing or tweeting me about where the awesome blogs are, here's a mini-list for now (i'll edit my sidebars and stuff soon!)

KathEats - i ALWAYS take the time to read Kath's posts - even if I don't bother reading the rest!

BitesandBowls - I found Kelsey's blog through Kath's (they're "real-life" friends) and I always seem to have time for this one too! ;-) (LOVED the bear-shenanigans while B&B housesat for K!)

Roni's Weigh - Roni is uber-inspiring and multi-faceted. I love reading her posts!

Bessie Rides - my friend Sally's little sister, "@slimfender", who's currently studying in Prague! Though I've known Sally since 6th grade, Wini didn't go to our school, so I never met her! I know her through Sally and her blog/twitter! (hence my using her twitter handle for her name!)

The Art of Nonconformity - I don't always have time to read his posts - but I save them for later so I can read them at leisure and "get" them. I love what Chris is doing! Chris was one of my first twitter friends - and he's a super nice guy!

The Discomfort Zone - another one of those "read it at leisure and savor it" blogs for me. Tim Brownson is pretty amazing, methinks. (Even if he doesn't like the word "Woot".) ;-)

Here are a few that I've recently started RSSing...and plan on working them into my blog routine!

Bookworm on a Mission aka @bwjen
Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat? aka @LaughItOff
Losing My Thighs aka @losingmythighs
Slow...Deep...Breaths aka @WannaBeSkinny
How Not To Write aka @hownottowrite

I subscribe to way too many blogs - so I'm sure I'm missing some great ones!

And, as you probably noticed, Twitter is a fairly essential part of my on-line life! :-) It's a wonderful social media tool!

So, what are those things I wanted to blog about? geez - I took so long composing my blog must read list, my train of thought de-railed!

Raw Brain Nuggets:
- my dealings with harnessing my ADHD
- Healthy Life Changes
- Eco-Friendly living: why everyone should be green
- Teaching a Dead Language (or NOT as the case may be)
- Travels!

This is a sampling of some of the things which have been going through my mind lately...and definitely way too much to include into this post! So, I guess consider this a teaser?

And feel free to suggest things for me to talk about! :-D Or to make suggestions on things I can do better!

xx dani xx

Fraturdays

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:24:00 +0000

That’s what the last two days have seemed like to me – one giant blurred together mess of time! Did the same thing both days – mega busy at work, then house stuff shopping. Woot!

After work yesterday, I had to go to the optometrist for a contact re-check – what usually takes 15-20 minutes took like 90. bleh. I had to have my eyes dilated, then the doc found an old retinal tear and she wanted to try to image it. The flash from the imager felt FABULOUS on my dilated pupils.

DH and I went to JCPenney to buy window treatments, and lemme tell you, the new free-standing JCPenney stores are MEGA bright. I really wish I had taken my sunglasses in with me. by the time we left, I had a horrible headache. BUT we did buy curtains and valances for our bedroom and picked some out for the living room! What a difference it makes – we’ve lived in our house for almost 6 years and have never put curtains up in our room! (we have always had blinds, though)

Today I trudged into work, even though I woke up with my headache having worsened! A couple of ibuprofen dulled it immensely – i still have it, but i am functioning! Spent some more time shopping today, after work. Went back to Penney’s to buy the curtains for the living room. they only had enough for 2 windows, so for the 3rd I had to trek out to a nearby town to fetch the stuff for the last window. I can’t wait until tomorrow when we put them up!

While “out-of-town”, I hit up the TJMaxx. I found a cool wall mirror for 1/2 the price of the one we were looking at at Penney’s and a dress to wear for my sister-in-law’s wedding in April! (I’ve been sweating it!) success all around!

I went way over points today – almost took up all my weekly ones too! BUT i am accounting for it, and i’m really not worried about it, honestly. I’ve been doing really well with keeping track lately and i’ve been logging small but encouraging losses every week! What really tipped the balance today was the chocolate malt i got at Sonic – 1 large is ca. 20pts! I rarely ever get things like that, so it’s all good! ;-)

I hope that the weekend is going well for everyone! Pix of the windows tomorrow!

Out with the Old, In with the New

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:50:00 +0000

I discovered this morning that bananas can be a lot more points than i thought possible! I guess I had bought some ginormous bananas or something – check this baby out!

can you read the screen on my food scale? 4 – that right – FOUR points for that sucker. i’d already put the pictured banana’s cousin in my oatmeal before I thought to weigh it – otherwise i’d have only used half!

My KERF-inspired oatmeal this morning was tasty – i think, though, that the almond butter and the walnuts are redundant and I shall do one or the other from now on.

This 11-pt breakfast did tide me over fairly well – though I think I could’ve used more protein in it. My mix:

Ocean Spray Instant Oatmeal, Cranberry Orange Muffin
1pt’s worth of craisins
1pt's worth of walnuts
1 tsp (1 pt)Naturally More Almond Butter
1 ginormous 4-pt banana, mushed.

I had a 2pt Pumpkin Spice Kashi TLC bar at work during my break and a 1pt clementine when I came home from work.

Hubby and I went in search of a pair of casual every day shoes for him and a few things for the house (like a new duvet and sheet set!). While we were out we stopped at Firehouse Subs for lunch. WOW! was it yummy! I had the Engineer, which is 8pts w/o mayo and cheese. Also, I had my first diet Coke that I’ve had in weeks and weeks. If I’d had realised they had bottles of vitamin water, i’d have opted for that instead.

After lunch, we headed out to NFM to pick up our new furniture! yay!

first, to contrast, take a look at our old, hand-me-down couch!

bleh. gross. our new furniture is cute though!

Lovely deep seat couch!

And an oversized chair with matching Ottoman.These of course had to be Kitty approved before they were allowed to stay! ;-)

Our new furniture was bought to co-ordinate with our existing chair – a retro piece which has pretty much *always* been at my grandma’s house – since time immemorial! When she decided to sell her house, I took the chair!

~~This is how it used to look:~~ Well, I couldn’t find a picture of how it used to look, but did find one of the reupholstery project in progress. The cushion is how it used to look and the frame is how it looks now:

it was kind of an off-white/eggshell color with silver sparkly threads running through.

see, now isn’t that better?

After all this excitement, hubby and I went to see Coraline. It was pretty good, but I think i really need to watch it again. At the theater, we had a coupon for a free drink, so I got a diet Coke; and we were both peckish so we shared a salted pretzel with cheese dip (about 5pts).

Just now, after returning home, hubby heated up some bean-only chili I made yesterday. For me, 1/2 cup chili with 1 tsp 2% milk cheese and 10 unsalted top crackers. not bad at all for only about 3.5 pts!

On the way home from the movie, I learned a big secret that I can’t talk about yet – but it’s a good secret and I’ll be able to talk about it soon! can’t wait!

Change in the weather, Change for the Better!

noreply@blogger.com (dani) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:59:00 +0000

I decided that I was going to write a post today since I haven’t in a very, very long time! I think that if I were to maintain my blog, then I would have an additional accountability partner for all the various things in my daily life for which I need to be kept accountable!

I had the day off today, and instead of being a lazy bum and not doing anything at all today, I made the decision this morning to make a list of the things I actually did accomplish! I usually only make a list of what I want to accomplish; this list tends to get really long and I end up not accomplishing anything. However, today, whatever I did seemed to have worked because I was able to do a fair bit! :-D

I started my list off with documenting my breakfast. I’ve been super bad about journaling my food intake lately, and it shows. :-( So, here is my breakfast:

Yeah, it’s a little high in points (13!) BUT it was breakfast and lunch combined. I also used a full serving (1/4 cup) REAL maple syrup – at 4 points it is the same as my pancakes! It’s totally worth it though. :-D Am I crazy for taking on the extra calories for real maple syrup as opposed to going for the “light” syrups? Does anyone else make exchanges like that? I also will spend a little more money on organic or local things…but that’s a different post in the near future.
;-)

After breakfast, I had intended to make some jewelry to start stocking my online shops at etsy and artfire, but after doing a few other things around the house, the husband was awake and we decided to take the dogs to the park.

It was such a gorgeous day – the first we’ve had in a week or so! It was perfect weather to take the dogs on a nice long walk and to play with the digital camera we recently purchased! (I kinda broke the old one!)

Here are a few of my favorite shots from today:

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After coming home and cleaning up from the mudfest that was the park with two hyper Boxers, hubby and I chillaxed a bit then headed out to the Legends shopping center.

On the way out there, we decided to stop for a bite at Cheeseburger in Paradise, since it was dinner time. This is definitely one of those times I wish I had a mobile web browser on my phone or had carried with me my dining out companion – wow. I had a Bleu Cheese Burger, though I can’t find exact numbers for it, I guestimated that it was about 20 points for the burger alone. egads – good thing we had that long walk earlier!

After dinner, we headed over to NFM to check out living room furniture. We had a hard time agreeing on anything, but found a good compromise lurking in the clearance section. I LOVE it! :-) We pick it up tomorrow!

I have an early, but thankfully short, day tomorrow – only working 6 – 11. :-D