I’ve been obsessed with wedge salads lately, for no particular reason other than the fact that I’m bored with my usual salads (and it’s so dang easy). It’s rare that I actually get to use natural light to take food photos but this particular day I happened to be at home for lunch so I did an impromptu shoot in front of my office window.

Oh, and the blue cheese dressing? Homemade. And uh-maaa-zing.

I have a confession to make. I hate shoe shopping.

Yes, you heard that correctly. Evidently when I was just a bunch of cells in my mother’s womb, the shoe-loving strand of DNA got lost somewhere in the process, never to be found again. Until now.

So for the last year or so, I’ve been wearing the death out of a pair of Nine West ankle boots. They’re black, low-heeled, and so comfortable–perfect for both business casual and casual wear in my opinion. And the great thing about them is I can stomp around like a boy in them, walk all around campus at work, and not get fatigued.

Recently though my boots have begun to fall apart and wear thin on the inside. It probably started when I went to Austin back in December. In an attempt to pack light, I only brought one pair of shoes and my Nine West boots were it. That one morning when we walked to the coffee shop and taco stand was what began their decline, and although they did fare well in the journey, I could already tell their life was limited.

I finally decided this week that I had to find a replacement because no amount of paper towels could make the inside of those boots any more comfortable. Luckily my office is a block away from DSW Shoes so I went there last night after work and prepared myself for what I expected would be an exhaustive search for a pair of shoes that were both somewhat attractive, yet comfortable.

See the thing is I forgot my doctor put me on a diuretic to help reduce swelling in my feet and legs. I had no idea this would make such a huge difference in my shoe shopping experience. Once I tried on a pair and discovered my feet actually fit in them, I suddenly wasn’t discouraged from trying other shoes.

Aisle by aisle, I found myself trying on every shoe I thought was cute: Ellen Tracy, Via Spiga (oh man, there was a cute pair of Via Spiga heels I fell in love with!), Tahari (I absolutely adore Tahari shoes and they’re soooo comfy!), BCBG, Betsy Johnson… I began to mentally create a list of all these shoes that I wanted and realized, “Wow, I’m actually enjoying myself.”

But because I was on a limited budget, I ended up buying a pair of black, croc-patterned LifeStride pumps (pictured above) just to hold me over for a while.

As I waked out of the store, shopping bag in one hand and optimism in the other, I realized this is the best I’ve felt about my body in the last few years

And it can only get better.

Wanna know something about January? The entire month was a success. How do I know? I’m still here. I’m still moving a little more (starting to) and eating well. I’m tracking my food every day. I’ve started exercising twice a week (wanting to increase that to 3 times a week this month). I’m still looking forward to tomorrow and starting again.

Basically, I haven’t given up. And that in and of itself is an accomplishment.

Eating…Well?

Ok, so if you’ll indulge me for a few minutes, I’m going to talk about what I’ve been eating. According to LoseIt, my top 3 foods are milk, apples, and cereal (specifical GoLean cereal from Kashi).

Although I’ve certainly started eating more fruits, I’m not eating as many vegetables as I’d planned. Salads are great, but I’ve gotten kinda tired of salads. Plus I want to cook with other vegetables–something I still haven’t figured out yet.

That’s something I need to focus on this month.

Another thing I’m learning about myself: I really don’t like leftovers. I’m not quite sure why, but it’s a necessary evil that I deal with all the time. It’s actually kinda surprising because I often make a little extra for dinner so that I have something to take to work the following day. But oftentimes, leftovers just sit in my refrigerator for several weeks before I discover I’ve run out of plastic containers and need to start digging them out. This equals a lot of waste in both food and money.

So what do I need to do about this? I don’t know… possibly cook less for dinner and figure out ways I can still eat a well prepared lunch without having to resort to leftovers.

I’m also going to make a confession… I need to come clean about THIS:

Yup. That, my friends, is the Bacon Shake from Jack in the Box. I had no idea this existed until my coworker said something to me. And then after much prodding and peer pressure, I finally got him to break. And since he hadn’t had lunch yet (it was about 2:00 pm), I went with him to Jack in the Box to get Bacon Shakes for us and a couple other coworkers.

I’m sure you’re wondering, “What in the world is she THINKING?” Well, it’s bacon first of all. Second, it’s a shake. And third, it’s bacon. Honestly, I think this is WAY more unhealthy than eating actual strips of bacon (800 calories and maybe 40 grams of fat), but now I can say, “Yup, I had one. And now my curiosity has been quelled.” Is it something I’ll do again? Probably not.

And seriously–it tasted like maple bacon, no doubt. The first sip–it was confusion. It was a shake, but I kept tasting bacon. My brain was thinking, “Wait, what is this? I feel like I want scrambled eggs and toast to go with this concoction… but it’s a… shake?”

Weird, but I’m happy I tried it.

And Moving More

Here’s the other part I’ve been trying to figure out: moving more. I started doing aerobic dancing a couple weeks ago and that was fun. Then last night I signed up for this:

I discovered them while browsing channels on my Roku box. Pilates Anytime is a subscription service that gives you access to all their pilates videos. It’s been several years since I’ve done pilates, so my body isn’t exactly as strong and limber as it used to be, but I know I can get back there.

Subscription is $18 a month, but right now I’m in the middle of the 15 day trial. One of the things they say about pilates is that after 10 sessions, you’ll feel the difference. In 20 sessions, you’ll see the difference. And in 30 sessions, you’ll have a whole new body. While I can’t say I ever had a new body (I did come close), I know I was seeing a difference after a while when I did this the first time around. Now it’s just a matter of working to get there. Again.

My first session was last night. It was a 50 minute beginning mat session so there were a lot of exercises I had to do that were familiar to me. I was stretching and flexing muscles in my body that I forgot I even had. Luckily though since I was already doing aerobics, I wasn’t completely out of shape.

This morning I woke up feeling relatively good. I wasn’t in as much pain as I thought I would be. It wasn’t until I attempted another session this evening that I really felt which muscles were sore, mostly in my butt and upper thighs. Yeah, I only lasted 20 minutes.

But this is a good sign.

BTW, I had to share this photo:

Izzie thinks that when mom brings out the yoga mat and sits on the floor, that it’s playtime and will do things like sit on the mat while I’m in a pose, bring her toys to me, and just generally be a nuisance. So while I was doing my session, I put her on the bed and told her to stay. She was visibly bummed by this and just watched me from the edge of the bed like a sad panda.

While my progress has been small, I do need to make bigger leaps and bounds this month just to show more progress. Plus I want to be in much better shape when I have to see my doctor again in March.

I hate you. I used to like you at first when you made me do bend over rows, bicep curls, even when you made me do the inline skating, I still thought you were ok.

But then came today.

Today you made me do jump lunges and jump squats. I didn’t know there was even such a thing as jump lunges and jump squats. I mean, I can hear it and visualize it in theory. But no average human being in their right mind should actually be able to do these. Unless maybe they were in some kind of concentration camp or something and had to choose between doing 8 jump lunges or being water-boarded.

So I beg of you, please don’t ever make me do anything with the words lunge, squat, and jump in the same phrase. Otherwise, and I swear on all that is good and holy, you won’t have anything to be enthusiastic about.

Note: This post was actually written over a year ago when I had EA Sports Active and used it. I went ahead and published it just because, well, it’s funny to me

Me: I’m concerned for Izzie. Ever since she got in that fight yesterday, she’s been making gang signs at me.
Jabari: Stop playing “Hangin’ Tough” on YouTube.
Me: That’s not me, that’s Izzie!

Yes, my little Izzie girl got into a scuffle with Jasper, my parents Jack Russell, last night while we were over there for dinner. It’s not Jasper’s fault–Izzie shouldn’t have been eating out of another dog’s bowl. I didn’t see how it went down, I just heard it from the other room and came running as soon as I realized what was happening.

Izzie ended up getting a puncture wound on her nose My sister told me to pat corn starch on the wound to help it coagulate and stop bleeding. It continued to bleed but eventually it stopped. Now it’s just a dark scab just above the tip of her nose.

This evening, we were all getting ready to head out for the day when my coworker Bruce turned to me and said, “My wife would be very happy to know we weren’t the only ones who had our Christmas trees still up.”

Pam and Gonzo, two of my other coworkers, turned to me and said in disbelief, “You still have your Christmas tree up?”

By the look on their faces, one would’ve thought I admitted to biting the heads off puppies.

“Yes…” I said reluctantly. “But I took it off the automatic timer last Friday. I just liked coming home to a lit apartment.”

“Yeah, but you could do that with a regular lamp,” Pam said.

Darn Pam and her logical thinking!

And then they said I may as well keep it up and change the Christmas decorations for Valentine’s decorations and make it a Valentine’s Tree. And then change that for green clovers and leprechauns and make it a St. Patrick’s day tree. And then change that later with red white and blue streamers to make a 4th of July tree, LOL

So I finally took it down tonight when I got home. I was fine living with my shame in secret, but as soon as my coworkers started making plans for a year round tree, I didn’t want to have that hanging over my head lol. I’ve been meaning to take it down for the last couple weeks though. It’s interesting how a Christmas tree can transform from this magical decoration into the most resented piece of crap in a time span of only a few weeks. But yes, thankfully it’s gone and here is my proof!

Well, it takes a village to lose weight and change your life.

Recently I had a follow up appointment with my doctor. I see him every couple months to check my progress and get refills on medication. This most recent visit was a particularly uplifting one. I had not only maintained my weight loss over the holidays, but I also managed to lose a little more. “You are doing excellent,” my doctor said. “Most people gain 3 or 4 pounds over the holidays, but you lost it. And your blood pressure is 118 over 80! I don’t think we’ve seen numbers that low since you’ve been coming here. I’m so proud of you.”

I never really thought I would actually find satisfaction in hearing those words come from my doctor, a man who I’ve really only been seeing for less than a year, but it was a huge boost. I’ve had doctors in the past all tell me the same thing: lose weight, exercise, eat right, blah, blah, blah. I don’t know why that message decided to stick this time around, but I’m glad it has.

It helps to have a physician you feel comfortable with. And it helps to have a support group of people to give you boosts of confidence here and there when you share good news like losing another pound or getting a workout in, which that LoseIt app and my MMEW12 group has given me. Now this little bit of encouragement has left me wanting more so that when I come back in March for my next checkup, I’ll have made even more progress.

I haven’t been in the kitchen like this in a while, but it’s nice to be back. With my healthy lifestyle, I’ve mostly been eating very simple, basic foods who’s calories can be accounted for pretty easily in my LoseIt app.

Today I was feeling particularly nostalgic for a soup I discovered a few years ago when I went to my first Thai restaurant: Tom Kha Gai, a rich, savory soup with coconut milk, tamarind soup base, and chicken. I’ve made this soup in the past, but it’s been a long time so I decided to recreate it, this time documenting the recipe. There’s an alternate version of this soup called Tom Yum Gai (same  flavors, no coconut milk), but I love the pairing of rich coconut milk with the sour tamarind soup base and haven’t been able to stray.

Tom Kha Gai

For the Broth

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 15 oz. can of coconut milk (regular, but you can use light)
• 1 stalk lemon grass (the dried stuff doesn’t compare, but use it if you have to)
• 1 inch piece of galangal root (use ginger if you can’t find it)
• 2 tablespoons palm sugar (or light brown sugar if you can’t find it)
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 1 bunch cilantro stalks

Soup Components

• 1 – 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 can straw mushrooms
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 tablespoons tamarind soup base, or more depending on how sour you like it (also known as Sinigang to Filipinos)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

First, make the soup. Peel and slice the galangal or ginger. Wash the cilantro stalks (the stalks have a lot of flavor and will hold up better on a high simmer). In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, add all the broth ingredients (chicken broth, coconut milk, lemon grass, galangal or ginger, palm sugar, chili garlic sauce, cilantro stalks). Bring to a high simmer for at least 15 minutes. Strain broth and return to medium high heat.

Add the soup components (chicken breasts, straw mushrooms, tomato, tamarind soup base, and fish sauce). For this amount of soup, I only used 1/2 packet of the tamarind soup base, but if you like your soup sour, you may want to add more. Simmer on medium high heat for 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, chop a handful of cilantro and add to soup. Serve with lime wedges.

Volume 11, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

I decided to start the year with a new journal. The previous one was ok and in fact I still had pages left in it, but I thought it was an appropriate time to start fresh in a new book.

Like most of my journals, I bought this one at Barnes & Noble. I don’t buy journals exclusively from B&N. I mostly buy them there out of convenience. I like to spend time and effort picking out a journal in person–opening and closing them, laying them flat to test their flexibility, examining the spines and covers for durability, running my thumbs over the pages, and examining the weight of the paper. It’s almost a ritual.

When I choose a journal, I browse the available stock and ask myself, “What am I feeling like today?”

Am I feeling formal and self-indulgent (embossed leather bound)? Am I feeling whimsical (pretty pictures on cover pages)? Am I feeling modern (simple book with a design on the front)?

Yesterday I guess I was just feeling pretty. I almost bought a different book. It had a soft cover with a coated, linen texture to it. The pages were a mixture of lined, unlined, and graphed with whimsical designs on each. I ended up putting that one back solely on the thin pages. I write with a heavy black pen so I need something more heavy weight.

One of these days, I’m going to make my own journal by hand. Bookbinding is one of those hobbies I’ve always researched, but haven’t gotten into due to lack of time and the expense. Nevertheless, it’s on my list.

Izzie hates it when I leave for work in the mornings. How does she show it? Usually by ignoring me. She will stay in the bedroom as I’m getting ready to leave and not even bother to come out and say bye when I open the door. Except this morning, I kept talking to her from the living room, calling her name and telling her I was leaving. She quietly crept out of her bed and peeked her head out of the room. I didn’t notice it until I was almost out the door.

So I took a picture to remind myself that even when she doesn’t show it, she still cares.

Unfortunately though, it’s putting a strain on my new healthy lifestyle. How, you ask?

The food pins!

If anything sabotages my diet, it’s going to be the food pins on Pinterest (and surprisingly not the fact that I work above a pizza place). So far though, I’m being extremely good. I’m still drooling over the photos, but that’s all.

Drool, repin for later, and move on.

On another note, I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last week with my book club. I thoroughly enjoyed it, probably more so than the Swedish movie. First of all, Daniel Craig. Second of all, Trent Reznor. Third, the changes they made in this movie were a little more tolerable than the changes they made in the Swedish movie.

I still haven’t read the second or third books in the series, although now that I still have the first book fresh in my mind, I’m thinking of reading it while I have a lull (I’m a month ahead on my reading for my book club so I have a few weeks to fit in another book.

I did start reading a book The Queen’s Fool: A Novel (Boleyn) (affiliate link) by Philippa Gregory. I’ve never read any of her books before, but I tend to like period novels like this one plus I’ve heard a lot of good things about her.

Today is just going to be a quick update. I’ll probably post a video update on Wednesdays o stay tuned!

I was a bad mommy tonight.

I was out late watching Girl with a Dragon Tattoo tonight, much later than usual. Initially I had planned to leave work at about 5:30 so I could quickly run home, walk Izzie, feed her, and then make it to the movie theater by 6:45.

Unfortunately a call came in from one of the social media managers regarding a pretty important account at 5:40 so what time did I leave the office? 6:10 There was no way I was going to be able to make the movie if I went home to walk Izzie.  My office was already halfway between home and the theater and getting to that part of town was already going to be questionable considering it was rush hour. So I took a chance. I went straight to the movie theater knowing full well I wouldn’t be home until past 9:00.

It was 10:30 when I got home.

When I walked through the front door, Izzie was wagging her bottom and jumping and nipping at me a little more enthusiastically. Then this is what I see on the living room floor.

“It was past 10:00 and you weren’t home yet. I thought if I brought out your favorite movie, you’d come home.”

That’s when I promised always come home before going out. Like a good mommy should.

12/365

I took a picture of my last naughty breakfast. And I call it a naughty breakfast because I knew I shouldn’t have been eating it, but I ate it anyway. As I stare at that photo, I long to feel the crunch of the hash browns between my teeth. And I dream of cutting into that soft egg yolk, watching it run all over the plate, before wiping it up with a little sausage. Yes, my mouth waters just thinking of it.

But that was my past. I accept it, and now I must move on.

Sunday I had a good start. I ate relatively well and within my daily caloric intake limit. Yesterday was the absolute PITS. I felt TERRIBLE. Mostly I was just ridiculously tired yesterday afternoon. I couldn’t focus, my stomach was grumbling, I kept wanting to take a nap, and yet somehow I managed to get most of my work done. I think part of it was I didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

It’s the third day since I officially committed (that sounds like I’m in an insane asylum). And I’m feeling much, MUCH better. I actually have energy. I don’t want to crawl into a hole and die. I feel good.

(BTW, I don’t want to say “since I started my diet” because a diet is something you attempt even though you know you’re eventually going to quit. And I don’t want to quit. I want this to be permanent. I want to change my lifestyle.)

There are a couple things I’m learning about myself in this process.

Thing #1: I love meat. For some people, their weakness is sweets or salty processed carbs like potato chips. Mine? It’s meat. Last night I picked up a rotisserie chicken from Boston Market so that I could make a few meals during the week. I had to shred some of the chicken breast for my salad, which is usually when I snack on the skin of the chicken.

Oh yes. That salty, delectable skin.

Seriously, my mouth was watering as I separated it from the meat. And it took so much mental effort to avoid eating it. Finally I just had to take a bite and it was existential.

You know that fast food, fried chicken joint Grandy’s. I can remember as a kid, that used to be my favorite place in the whole world. I loved it because it was located on the way home from church, so occasionally I would be able to convince my parents we needed to go there for lunch afterward. Once I was the last one eating at the table because I was still gnawing on a chicken bone like a little wolf cub. My sisters were so annoyed with me, but my mom, and this is why I love her, told them to leave me alone.

Thing #2: Portion control is an eye opener. Recommended serving size for most meats in general is about 3 oz. 3 oz.! That’s like the size of the palm of my hand.

And I once had a chicken fried steak bigger than my face!

From Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. And it was amazing, not gonna lie.

So yeah, retraining my brain to recognize what a normal portion is is the biggest battle right now. I’ve been reading this book called The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan : Feel Full on Fewer Calories (affiliate link) and it’s been one of the most informative and practical nutrition books I’ve ever read. I picked it up from Half Price Books last summer and it’s been on my night stand ever since.

But more on that in an upcoming post. It’s almost bedtime and I need my energy for tomorrow. Things are looking up

For those of you who were following my videos on YouTube, never fear, I’ll still continue to do my video updates. I’ll just mix it up a little, incorporate some cards, probably work on my SMASH book and add more pages to my album.

The next project I’m starting is definitely a challenge. It’s a with Cathy Zielske called Move More, Eat Well. It’s a year long journey to better health and a better life in 2012.

Let’s just hope the Mayans weren’t right and the world won’t come to an end because it would be a shame if I wouldn’t be able to accomplish this.

And yes, my failure at this would be due to a slight case of armageddon and not my lack of willpower. See? Optimism.

I attended the first live chat this week during my lunch break and I gotta say, I’m totally excited (and a little nervous) about starting this project and documenting it. We’re supposed to get assignments every month, but hopefully that’ll keep me on track.

My weight has always been something I’ve battled with since childhood. I’ve never been skinny. I’ve always had a little meat on my bones. I’ve lost weight, and I’ve gained it back and then some. And here I am at age 31 and I think I’m at my heaviest.

My goal is not to become a size 6. While I do want to lose a significant amount of weight, ultimately I just want to incorporate better eating and exercise habits without having to give up my love of cooking.

However, this brings me to the title of this post. During the chat, one of the things Cathy kept saying is, “So THAT happened” in response to her eating bad one day and then picking herself up the next day and starting again.

This is true though, and is something that can be extended across all aspects of our lives. I make mistakes all the time. I know I’m going to eat that ice cream, or have that third glass of wine at dinner. But I can’t punish myself for it. I have to get up the next morning, accept my past mistakes, and move on. It’s a new day.

And that’s what this post is. I’m going to accept that I ate the fried chicken today and that hot dog yesterday and I’m going to say you know, tomorrow is a new day. Yeah, so THAT happened. And today, I’m going to start fresh. Every day will be a new start going forward.

So there’s that.

That’s not the only thing I’m working on in 2012. I think I’m going to attempt a 365 photo a day project. Yup, that’s right. I said it. In fact, I documented it right here. I’m going to take and post a photo a day.

Lord help me.

That on top of MMEW and my videos, I worry… am I taking on too much? I don’t know, but I feel like I do need to challenge myself. Push myself a little more this year, this time for something I enjoy doing, which is telling my story.

Below I’m going to leave you with a video you’ve probably seen a million times, but I’m going to share it anyway. For me, it represents what love should be like, two people smiling at each other and making beautiful, harmonious music together.

lol Hope you all had an awesome Christmas like mine and Izzie’s