Project 366

The 40ish day: the one with all of the productivity

2016-02-11T19:25:00.001-08:00

There is a picture ecard thing going around that says the most effective alarm clock is the sound of a dog about to throw up. If that isn't the truest statement. At exactly 1:52 last night I awoke to the sounds of my dog about to throw up so that was fun. I was at work today for 11 hours l. It was a very productive day! Koda was at doggie daycare all day so I didn't have to worry about getting home to let her out or anything. She loves doggie daycare and makes friends!

I made homemade healthy cookie dough again because I just needed a faux treat. Also because I am single on Valentine's Day I get a treat 😊 I don't mind being single and this way I can buy myself a treat because I think I am worth it! I am thinking a doughnut sounds pretty good. I am hoping for one with Valentine sprinkles or something.

Also Scandal was on tonight so tomorrow I get to watch it without commercials. Woot woot.

Now considering I am writing this on my phone from my bed I think that is all for tonight. Mockingjay is calling to me.

The 36th, 37th, 38th and Thirty Ninth Day: the ones with all the guac

2016-02-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

yeah, it has been a few days. What have you missed... Let's see basically just guac. I realized that my weakness in this world is guacamole. Not just guacamole, guacamole with chips. I could eat this all day long.

Last week was actually a good week in terms of habits and goals. Bible study and devotions were completed 4 days out of 7. Eating was healthy 5 out of 7 days. I have learned that weekends are hard and I need a new game plan. All my habits tend to just dissolve once the weekend comes, but we shall work on it.

I really need to stop watching shows while I attempt to blog because I am getting very distracted and sweet goodness I am watching Scandal which makes it 1000 times worse. 1000 times.

I have been working out 3-4 times a week for about an hour each time and have come to really love working out. The time along with music blaring in my ears. The time to zone out and think is beautiful. I know eventually it will have to become harder, but I am enjoying this zone out time.

Also Olivia Pope is my favorite, but not really because I love Huck or as I fondly call him Huckles.

Also I want to shoot Cyrus like all the time.

But I kind of like Cyrus sometimes on occasion.

I listened to the if gathering lifestream while I worked today. Jen Hatmaker and Angie Smith were my favorite. It was really great to listen to and I hope to purchase the recordings when they become available.

Today at the gym I got really annoyed because there were about 8 ellipticals open next to me, but this one lady chose the one right next to me. I was annoyed.

Anyways I need to Scandal now because my Huckles is stressing me out.

The Thirty Fourth and Thirty Fifth Day: the one with the tater tots

2016-02-04T19:37:00.001-08:00

I was going to write this great post about my thoughts on guilt free eating and routines and work friendships instead I spent the whole evening playing 3rd World Farmer.

I recommend everyone check out this educational game!

http://3rdworldfarmer.com/index.html

The Thirty Third Day: the one with the snow storm

2016-02-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

It snowed here today. We got about 7-8 inches. My sister and I shoveled the driveway and it took an hour and a half. The dogs had a blast though. My dog Koda also spent the morning at daycare, so she is peacefully sleeping next to me. A tired dog is a happy dog. I arrived at work this morning at 7:15 which is really early for me. They had us all go home around 12 because of the impending snow storm. I was SUPER productive at work today and felt really accomplished.

I also got a workout in. It was just 30 minutes but I have really come to anticipate my workout sessions. I think my eating was pretty good today. Lots of fruits and veggies, but I may have eaten too much. It is a hard balance between eating well and yet not eating too much. I am starting to track my food so I am hoping that helps keep my over eating in check. For my after dinner snack I made a yummy trail mix with peanuts, semi sweet chocolate chips and this yummy cinnamon cereal.

I didn't have a morning devotional time, so that was kind of a fail. With the impending snow I was on a much tighter schedule and it just didn't happen today. Kind of disappointing because it is only Tuesday, but there are "rest/busy" days built into my schedule so I am not so thrown off.

The Thirty Second Day: the one with the workout

2016-02-01T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today has been a good day. It is the first of February AND it is a Monday. It is a goal lovers dream. I worked, took the dog for a walk, worked out and completed the majority of goal related things. My legs are sore! I have also upped my workout time from 30 minuted to 45 minutes. I want to start running again near the end of March so I need to get my body physically ready. I am working on developing a good morning routine. It will definitely take some time to develop, but I think it will be so beneficial.

Let's talk about goals for this month:

Nutrition: Focus on healthy eats, fruits and veggies, limited desserts, track most food, 64oz water a day

Self Care: Focus on working out 3 days a week and yoga 2 days a week. Remember to fuel body.

Spiritual: Focus on creating time in the morning for devotion and bible study. Prayer and worship music. Spend less.

Fun: Read 2 books, take more photos and cook more food.

The Thirty First Day: the one with the cream cheese chili

2016-01-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

Last night I put everything in the crockpot for cream cheese chicken chili. It is not the healthiest by any means, but it is the best chili I have ever had. Serve it over rice and it is a wonderful. Here is the link to the recipe. It was a pretty chill day today. Mostly spent with family playing games and eating good food. It was also a gorgeous day in Minnesota, so time was spent outside. There was sunshine AND it was warm out. Which is rare.

There was a trip to Costco one of my favorite stores. I stocked up on some veggies and fruit. I miss summer produce! Good fruit is hard to come by these days. I did however get a giant bag of grapefruit. I think I mentioned before but I have fallen in love with grapefruit again. The thing is to let them sit on your counter for a while. I find if they sit for a couple of days they are less tart and more sweet;

Goal Check:
Nutrition: Not great. Overall for the month it was a good month in terms of realizing what I am eating. Now to cut it down for February

Self Care: Pretty good. I started working out again and took care of all my health issues.

Read More: I finished the Hunger Games and am almost done with Catching Fire.

Daily Devotions: I definitely struggled the most here. I really need to establish a routine and be flexible. It was better than it has been but some work needs to be done.

Tomorrow February goals.

The Twenty Ninth and Thirtieth Day: the one with the long walk

2016-01-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

I have realized this week especially that working out and being active makes me feel better. And I think it will also help with eating better. I need to fuel myself better to exercise better. I have had some chill days. I am working on budgeting and not spending much this month, so my usual Saturday activities had to be scaled back. Usually I would go walk around stores or something, but I took a long walk instead. The weather was awesome in Minnesota today. I have already created some February goals and to-do list things. I am ready for January to be done with. The first half of January wasn't bad but the last two weeks were pretty brutal.

I get to watch Catching Fire tomorrow---hopefully! I am almost done with the book. My kindle had to be charged... what an inconvenience #firstworldproblem ALSO for the first time in a long time I fell asleep before reading. I was clearly exhausted and I feel like I could get a cold.

I definitely think a lack of a spiritual life also contributed to the funk I was in. It just hasn't been there. Completely my fault as when life gets hard I tend to shut down. I listened to some worship music while on my long walk and that really helped. It didn't necessarily do anything but it made me feel better.

Currently watching Alice in Wonderland--- real one waiting for my brother to come pick up his dog so I can go to sleep. I am also hoping my dog will sleep past 7 tomorrow--- 8 would be GLORIOUS.

Also where I live there has been tons of dead animals near us lately. Squirrels, rabbits, mice and birds. We know coyotes are getting some of the animals, but who knows what else could be out there And of course my dog and my parents dogs find all of the "remnants" of these animals. GROSS.

The twenty eighth day: the one with the same

2016-01-28T18:49:00.001-08:00

Same as yesterday except today there was pizza.

Here's to getting out of this funk soon!

The Twenty Seventh Day: the one with workout

2016-01-27T18:45:00.002-08:00

This week has just been so slow. I feel like I have been run over by a train mentally and emotionally. I am just exhausted. I did however get in a workout today. I do love the way I feel when I work out. I still need to work on my healthy eating but I am hopeful that will come.

I am about 50% through Catching Fire and totally loving it. I forgot about how much the movies miss when I read the books. Also I am on Peeta Mellark's team forever.

My poor dog has a hurt paw or something sore with one of her legs. It is only when she first gets up, so I am hoping it is just stiff. Her activity level hasn't changed at all and she doesn't limp except when she gets up. She has a full day of doggie day care tomorrow and I am hoping she does well.

I need a break but I have no idea what that looks like.... do I need sleep or just time away. I don't know anymore.

Here is to having a better rest of the week and then a fabulous February!

The Twenty Fifth and Twenty Sixth Day: the one with the hard things

2016-01-26T18:26:00.001-08:00

I took a little internet break last night, so there was no post. I am having a hard week and it is only Tuesday. I feel like I am getting nothing accomplished and maintaining my goals have been hard. It is hard to lose weight after you have gained some back. Especially because I used food as medicine. When life got hard I ate because it made me feel better, but that is the thing about food it doesn't make you feel better for long so you have to keep eating it.

I am tired and am dealing with a lot of decisions going through my head and a lot of unknowns. I want to eat to stop thinking for a bit, but I also don't so it is a hard cycle. Because if I don't eat food then I have to deal with all the feelings and thoughts in my head. Some days I win the battle other days I don't.

That is the hard thing about growing up and being an adult. You have to be the one to make decisions. The changes have to be yours to make. No one is going to monitor me or stop me from eating ice cream. I have to do it. And some days I don't want that responsibility.

For me to even write this is a step forward. It is acknowledging that I am struggling here. This week is also strange because I am tired and possibly getting a cold and just not feeling the best.

I also realized that I am too comfortable with my life. It is safe, but not a fun kind of safe. A safe that keeps you from exploring, adventures and excitement. This kind of safe also keeps me from pain, hurt and rejection. But I am coming to realize that is no way to life. I want to get out of my safe zone. I want to be excited about life again. I want to try new things and live on my own.

The Twenty Fourth Day: the one with a good friend

2016-01-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends came over today and it was a great time of conversation, walking and food eating. I love getting together with her :) We always have the best time.

I am tired---again, so I am hoping that I can catch up on some sleep.

It has been a really hard week. I am exhausted mentally and physically.

So the goal check for this week is NOT GREAT....

BUT

Next week I will do better.

Monday here I come

The twenty third day: the one with animal planet

2016-01-23T18:22:00.001-08:00

Currently watching animal planet. Didn't end up baby-sitting today which was a blessing in disguise because I need sleep. I can feel the crabbiness setting in. It doesn't help that I woke up at 5 to a dog who was throwing up... Nope that was not ideal.

Also I may break down and have some hot chocolate.

The Twenty Second Day: the brief one

2016-01-22T18:27:00.001-08:00

I am worn out so I am not going to write a lot. I walked a lot today. I took the dog on a 3 mile walk through trails near my house and met this really nice couple while walking. I chatted with them for a while before heading home. I am baby-sitting again. One more night left and then a break. I enjoy it, but I also enjoy sleeping.

Since I am tired and have been busy almost every night this week. I let myself have a fun dinner. It was still kind of healthy but really not. It consisted of red grapes, chips and guac and my healthy cookie dough. It was mostly healthy except for the chips because I refuse for my chips to be made of vegetables or beans or taste like cardboard. So they are the healthiest good tasting ones.

I am planning on napping on the couch and maybe watching Catching Fire, but realistically I will fall asleep to Modern Family.

The Twenty-first Day: the one with the tour

2016-01-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

I am mentioning it again but I am having some weird and vivid dreams... Today was a go into work day which was great! I was able to get a lot accomplished and I went on two walks with my co-workers. I am glad the weather is warming up enough now, so I can start walking the dog again outside without risking frostbite.

After work I went on a tour of a doggie day care. I have been thinking about putting her in daycare for about a month now and the timing is just right. I researched a ton of doggie day cares because apparently they are a lot out there! I found one that had really good reviews, was close to work, and is a positive reinforcement only facility. The tour today went great. I loved the staff. I am excited for her to go I think she will love it. And best of all it will wear her out!

I am babysitting again tonight. It is an easy one as the baby is sleeping and I am faceboooking, blogging and watching project runway junior.

The only bummer about baby-sitting at night is that I am tired, so to stay awake I want to eat. My eating was much better today and I made sure to have tons of veggies and fruit. I also made a stir fry for dinner which was really good. AND I even marinated the chicken which is quite a feat for me because that required thinking ahead.

My hands are really dry again.

My dog chewed up part of my retainer that I just found after 5 months. sigh

I am going to watch trainwreck now.

The Twentieth Day: the one with all the eating

2016-01-20T18:07:00.001-08:00

I am blogging from my phone MID DAY. It's a day twenty miracle. Currently watching The One Hundred Foot Journey which would probably rank as one of my top 10 favorite non animated movies. It makes me want food which I suppose is probably stupid since I already want all the food today. I am tired and two days away from the start of my period which means I want food. So I have eaten way more than usual. I still haven't broken my sugar rule. And I have already resigned that I can have my healthy cookie dough for dinner that is just fine. Tomorrow can be a day to eat vegetables :)

I also I spent almost an hour today on pinterest pinning healthy recipes which I find slightly ironic.

Also I had a really weird dream last night. Someone went into an anaphylactic shock and I had to find there medicine as their condition slowly deteriorated. I could hear them gasping for and at the last second I was able to find their medicine. It was an intense dream to wake up from.

I also think there is something else I wanted to mention here, but I can't remember. Goals haven't been great this week. I knew this week was going to be hard. It is a super busy week for me and I have little to no free time. Thankfully only a couple more chaotic days and then rest :)

The Nineteenth Day: the one with the busy schedule

2016-01-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

I really planned on taking time to write more today and now it is 9pm and I am tired and want to go to bed. Today was a full day at work. Thankfully I got a lot accomplished. I signed my lovely dog up for daycare. She will go two days a week. It is super close to work, has really great reviews and is affordable. I then had to go pick up my sister from work and go to my brothers house to let the dogs out to play. By the time I got home it was almost 7 and I needed to make dinner. I also had to make more healthy cookie dough because I ate all the other stuff.

I am also feeling more unsettled lately with where my life is going. I just feel like this is a waiting period since in about 2-3 months I will actively start looking for another job and then have to find a different living situation. It is just a lot. too much for tonight

The Eighteenth Day: the one with the ....

2016-01-18T18:09:00.002-08:00

I NEED SLEEP

K, BYE

baby-sat and grocery shopped that is all.

The Seventeenth Day: the one with aladdin and another goal check

2016-01-17T17:49:00.000-08:00

It is 10:50am and I am watching Aladdin while looking up healthy cookie dough recipes. I have a serious chick pea addiction right now. I LOVE them. They are versatile little beans. It s currently about -35 so I am again not venturing outside much. I do need to run to Target because I am out of coffee creamer and that would make me go out in a blizzard. I NEED coffee creamer.

I have also decided to love grapefruit again. I got kind of sick of them for a while, but they are back on my yummy breakfast list.

So I got all my shopping done. I completed my shopping in record time because of the cold. I went to TJ MAXX, Target and Chuck and Don's for dog bones.

I made the cookie dough recipe, the healthy version with chick peas and oh my gosh it is absolutely delicious, It really does taste like cookie dough. I looked on pinterest for a recipe but ended up combining several. Also Target had cashew butter and I was floored I did not expect them to have that! Also instead of chocolate chips I used cacoa nibs.

Also my hands are less dry but my lips are about as dry as can be.

Oh this was edited to add a goal check. Cause you know accountability and things.

1. Nutrition. Pretty Stellar. Fruits, veggies and health.
2. Self Care. This week we focused on relaxing. :) Next week we add the working out
3. Reading More. I finished the Hunger Games and will be starting Catching Fire
4. Daily Devotions. This was an area that I slacked on this week. I was easily distracted and not focused.

The Sixteenth Day: the one with more caffeine

2016-01-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

I didn't get home until after midnight last night which is late for me and I was hoping to sleep in, but at exactly 7:47 my 14 year old dog came and opened the door to my room and started licking my face and she only really does that if she needs to go out, so I was up for the day. Thankfully I had a chill morning watching The Hundred Foot Journey. We are in a wind chill warning so doing anything outside was not happening.

The afternoon was spent playing cribbage while two dogs played indoors to burn off some energy.

I am baby-sitting again tonight. It is a good thing I like children. Also I realized that I am fluent in the toddler language. These are the kind of revelations I have on Saturday nights. Also that broccoli "fries" are a thing and that they are gross.

I had to stop at Dunn Brothers on the way because I was very caffeine deprived and knew there was no way I was going to stay awake. An iced vanilla nirvana because I drink iced coffee all year long.

The toddler is sleeping and I am watching the Big Bang Theory.

I think there was something else I wanted to mention here, but alas it has slipped my mind. Time to veg on some tv and stay warm.

The Fifteenth Day: the one with the dog park

2016-01-15T22:44:00.000-08:00

Today I took the dog to the dog park. We go to one a little further from my house because it is more open and I like it better. She runs around like normal, barely listening to anything I say to her. It has gotten better but I have seriously never had a dog that was this stubborn. Not even stubborn but if she doesn't want to do something not even sticking chicken in front of her face will change her mind. I thought all dogs were naturally eager to please that is a LIE. Anyways we went to the dog park and it wasn't too busy which I prefer and she made friends with a Tibetan terrier named Charlie. I don't often like terrier breeds but the Tibetan terrier is a gorgeous dog.

I stopped at Dunn Brothers this morning and got one of there new lavender honey tea lattes. It was yummy and a nice treat.

After I got done working I went to pick up my brother who was having car troubles and grabbed some chipotle for us to eat. I tried the steak which was actually better than I expected.

I have been baby-sitting tonight which is always fun. I built a fort. I am an excellent fort maker.

Update I left my kindle and water bottle at the house I was baby-sitting. Boo :( But I will be able to get it on Monday but I have rediscovered the love for my kindle.

Free Willy is now on amazon prime video. Saturday plans anyone ;)

The Fourteenth Day: the one with the honey mints

2016-01-14T17:36:00.002-08:00

BINGE WATCHING THE AFFAIR.

DESSERT WAS 3 INGREDIENT HONEY MINTS

K, BYE

The Thirteenth Day: the one with all the walking

2016-01-13T17:45:00.001-08:00

Yep, I am still watching The Affair. Today was the first day in almost a week that it was above zero. Which meant I took the dog on a long morning walk. After work I drove to a park and we went on a longer afternoon walk. Now mind you it wasn't super warm it was about 15 degrees but it felt much nicer than the -30 it was just the other day.

I had breakfast for dinner which was delicious. I made pancakes topped with peanut butter. It was delicious.

Today was a pretty uneventful day, so not much to report. And I am in less of a chatty mood tonight.

Hands still dry and cracked.

I need more sleep.

The Twelfth Day: the one where the majority of characters are stupid

2016-01-12T18:45:00.003-08:00

There is a character in the show I am watching The Affair his name is Noah, and I am not a violent person but I kind of want to run him over with my car. Hypothetically of course. This show... I think oh they will find redemption, and be happy and everything will work out okay. Well it is all a big lie because people are idiots. And yes, I understand that this is just a show but that is what happens when you binge watch things...

Also let's talk about my incredibly dry and cracking hands. I literally cannot keep them moisturized. Last night I put on three layers of lotion AND coconut oil it did nothing. So now my hands are bleeding. Thank you Minnesota winters.

I went to Trader Joes today and let me tell you that store is magical. I seriously love me some Trader Joes. I bought some veggies for stir fry, my favorite bbq sauce in the whole world, honey mints and a bunch of other goodies for the eating. ALSO FULL FAT YOGURT one of my more recent discoveries. It makes my smoothies taste decadent and yeah know what fat doesn't kill you it just makes this taste better.

I am almost done reading the Hunger Games and that makes me quite excited because then I can watch the movie.

All right those are all the thoughts in my head for tonight.

The Eleventh Day: the one with the affair

2016-01-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

To be clear I'm not having an affair. To have an affair you have to be in a relationship so clearly I am not having an affair. Anyways I started watching the show The Affair on showtime because I can watch it through amazon. I don't know how I feel about the show yet, but it is intriguing. One of the actresses on the show won a Golden Globe last night and that peaked my interest. On a different note I watched most of the Golden Globes last night. And can I just say I am not a fan of Ricky Gervais hosting... he wasn't my favorite.

Also yesterday I had ice cream. OH THE HORROR. After battling cravings all day I decided to give in and have a bowl. It was delicious. Tasted just like birthday cake and frosting with sprinkles. And it wasn't the end of the world. Even though I had a treat I didn't feel guilty it isn't that big of a deal. Obviously it can't become a habit but a treat once in a while isn't going to kill anyone.

Since it is a Monday that means it is a weigh in day. Today I weighed 190.2 which is a loss of 2.4 pounds! Considering I lost over 2 pounds just from eating better is pretty impressive.

I made a delicious stir fry for dinner and had roasted chick peas for breakfast. Also I bought a 5 pound bag of chick peas from amazon because God Bless America!

Also smoothies are totally the greatest invention ever. Here put all this fruit in a blender thing, add some milk and yogurt press a button and you have the best breakfast, lunch or dinner ever! I rarely add veggies to my smoothies. I would much rather have a salad later than taint my smoothie with spinach. And for those people who say "you can't taste it" LIARS!

The Tenth Day: the one with blood and a goal check

2016-01-10T13:04:00.002-08:00

The Vikings play today which is all everyone is talking about and I understand we are in the play offs and Go Team! and Yay Sports! But sports are not my favorite. I can watch them just fine but I get real bored real fast.

Also my dog got part of her tongue stuck on some ice and tore off some of her tongue. It was a horrific scene. I wasn't sure what was happening at first and then blood literally started pouring out of her mouth. I had no idea what happened so at first wasn't sure if she had bit something or if she was coughing up blood. Thankfully after the blood stopped flowing I was able to see that it was just her tongue, but poor girl it must have hurt.

Also since it is Sunday I thought I would evaluate how I did with my goals this week.

1. Nutrition-- Excellent! No treats were eaten, and my consumption of fruit and veggies have increased significantly.
2. Self Care-- Super! With two trips to the doctor and a diagnosis we are doing much better.
3. Read More Scroll Less-- Great! I am about 200 pages into the Hunger games and have replaced my nightly phone scroll with a shorter scroll and more reading. I would like to read a bit more. I have also stopped the horrible habit of checking my phone while driving.
4. Daily Devotion-- Pretty Good! I am having a harder time with this one, I just get so distracted. I am sure it will get easier as I go along.

I also feel like we should acknowledge the fact that I am not posting this late at night or from my bed.

Also (again) the Viking's just lost terribly.