Hiatus

I apologize for the lack of content.  This blog is on a temporary hiatus.  Will explain more upon return.  I hope you're all finding health and happiness in 2012.  I know I have.  I am still following your journey's and I hope you stick around for the updates about mine.

A breakdown of my month and the end of an era

Hello everyone!

It has been far too long since my last post and really the only reason for being missing in action is because life has been crazy and hectic and generally filled with lots of fun and exciting stuff. 

Nov 4-6- Help mom pack up her house, visit with an old friend, host a baby shower for my two cousins who are sisters and who are due 4 days apart over Christmas week (crazy, I know!)

Nov 10-13- Celabrate my best friend's birthday, drive to Chicago with my bridesmaids, run around Chicago in gorgeous 60 degree weather and have the best time ever, find the bridesmaid dress(es), spend lots of quality time with the girls who will be standing next to me on my big day.

J Crew Bridal Salon on Michigan Ave in Chicago!

Nov 18-20- HH with co-workers, drive to my hometown and help my mom pack up her house with my sisters, sat in traffic for 3 hours because it was the first snowfall here in MN, re-organized and cleaned myhouse and got ready for Turkey day!!

Alright, that is what I have been up to.  I am working on this new program where I work out in the morning instead of at night.  For those of you who don't know me really well you wouldn't believe me when I say this.  My old roommates used to call my room the lion's den be cause if yuo entered before noon I would likely maul and attack you (just kidding :).  It is giong really well though!  I am so tired at the end of the day and I come up with EVERY excuse in the book to not workout in the evening, so for now I am riding this morning workout wave straight to the scale, which I might add is looking favorable these days!

Eating habits are always a work in progress, working out is always something to work on, but I am establishing some nice habits to stick with this holiday season.  I have also signed up for some personal training sessions come January and am hopeful to find some new techniques that I haven't heard of.

Alright, so without getting too sappy and sentimental on all of you I must say that I am kind of sad that my mom is moving out of the house that I lived in throughout my high school years.  My parents got divorced a year ago and my mom has finally sold her house and is ready to move on with her life.  I am so excited for her that she has gotten rid of this burden, but I am also kind of sad to leave behind the house and all the good memories there.  I am not quite as sad as when we moved out of my childhood house and my best friend and I laid in the driveway, held hands and cried in the rain.  Haha, so silly!  Another chapter in life is closing and it truly is the end of an era.  Once my mom finds a new place, I really will have no reason to go back to my hometown again, other than to visit a few other family members.  It was a good house, with a great view and on the note I will leave you with a picture of the backyard on the first snowfall this weekend!

The backyard, in the distance is our pond now covered with snow.

Another view.  So lovely and calm.

Worst time of the day



I am not a morning person, so you would probably think that the worst time of the day for me would be 6:00 a.m. when my alarm goes off.  While that is true, the worst time of the day for me is by far the evening after work.  Monday through Friday 8-4:30 I am the queen of healthy eating.  I avoid bad foods at work all day, I make sure I eat my healthy meals and snacks and I drink a ton of water.  When the clock strikes 5:00 and I am almost home it is like a switch turns on. 

There are advertisements on the radio for food.

There is a basket of candy for treak or treaters at my house.

There is a bag of nacho cheese doritos in my cupboard.

There is a coupon for chinese food in my mailbox.

There is my brain telling me that one night of deliciousness can't really be that bad...

So what did I do?  Radio turned off.  Basket of candy put on a high shelf out of sight.  Doritios doused in water and vinegar and thrown away.  Coupon straight into the shredder.  Open up my computer and read some weight loss articles and success stories to remind my brain what the goal is.

Dramatic?  Not really.  It may seem to an outsider that I should just be able to avoid it all, but I am not there right now.  I am at the point where I have to get it away from me or else I will convince myself that one night off track is okay.  I have to get it away from me to reach my goal.  I have to keep going with my 8-4:30 in order to make this weight loss a success.  Does anyone else struggle with this?  Does anyone else have to remove temptation from right under their nose for fear that they will eat an entire basket of candy or bag of chips?  It drives me crazy.  I am happy that I am working through some of these issues with a counselor and I hope that one day soon I can have those things around me and eat them in moderation or avoid them completely, but I am just not there right now.

Right now it is 8:33 a.m. and I am eating a banana and oatmeal and it feels as though the world is my oyster.  I feel like I can accomplish anything.  Like I can resist all temptation.  I plan to ride this feeling out and hope that when 5:00 strikes I am one day closer to kicking these feelings to the curb.

On the Hunt

Does anyone besides me ever get sick of their food?  Not too long ago I thought to myself, "this whole eating thing is going to be a piece of cake!  I will just eat a healthy turkey sandwich with fruit, veggies and some whole wheat chips EVERY DAY!"  Well, I am sure you can guess how that went.  Epic fail.  Nothing should be eaten over and over again, except maybe cake or chocolate :)  So, I have been really trying to break out of the box and try new things.  I love finding new "healthy" products and mixing them in with some staples that I already eat.

I must say that I am sort of a brand loyalist.  I find something I like and I stick to it.  For example you will catch me only buying Jif Peanut Butter, Heinz Ketchup, French's Mustard and Miracle Whip.  I grew up eating these items and I will not buy another brand of this product no matter what.  Having said that, I do have certain "healthy" items that I really like, but for the most part I am willing to stray if I find something intriguing once in awhile.

I was shopping around  the other day and I found a "healthy" fruit snack.  I know what you're thinking, "that doesn't exist."  I swear though that these fruit snacks ARE different and they taste really, really good.  The brand is called Buddy Fruits and the type of snack is called Pure Fruit Bites.  They are 100% real fruit and in fact the orange flavor had a full serving of fruit in it.  I brought a package in to work so that my co-workers could try them and everyone loved them.  Several of my co-workers said they would ditch their kids old fruit snacks and would be picking up some of these instead.  I am not eating the fruit snacks to replace eating real fruit, but sometimes you just want a snack and this is something that I don't feel guilty grabbing on the go to tide me over*.






* Buddy Fruits didn't pay me to write this post, I just really like their product and wanted to share it with all of you. :)

And the mystery ingredients are...

Brussel Sprouts

On my quest to try new vegetables and fruits every week I decided that there was no better time than the present to try brussel sprouts.  I can honestly say that I have never tried them.  I don't know much of anything about them really other than the fact that it seems as though you either love them or hate them.  It comes from the cabbage family, it is a leafy green color and it contains vitamin A&C, folic acid and dietary fiber.  Good enough benefits for me to eat it.  So I started thinking about how to prepare this for the first time and I wondered if anyone has any good recipes?  I hear that people steam them, bake them, boil them and even chop them up and throw them in salads and pasta!  So adventurous!



Mango

My new fruit of the week (which isn't "new" because I have had it) is mango.  I have had mango before, but it isn't somthing that I usually buy, so I decided to grab a few since they were on sale.  I am trying to break out of my current habit of buying apples, bananas and grapes.  There is so much more in this world than those 3 fruits and I am determined to try as many as possible.

Lunches for the week are salads galore.  Packed with proteins (egg, grilled chicken), more veggies (carrots, slaw, onion, peppers, tomato) and a dash of vinigrette.  I am really excited to be doing a mixture of salads. I have realized that I usually eat a heavier dinner, so I am trying to keep lunches lower in carbs to balance out my evenings.  I do think its important to have a mixture of carbs all day long.  It makes me feel icky when I just eat vcarbs late at night and then go to bed.  Yuck!

Recent food temptations fought: buffalo chicken pizza, donuts and potato wedges. I decided I am going to try to turn my temptations into reality somehow, so I am bound and determined to make a healthy spin on buffalo chicken this week, so be on the look out for that.  Happy Tuesday!

Eating my Feelings

I have always said that I just really like food.  I love the smell, the taste, the texture.  I love the way it can remind me of a time or a place or just make me feel satisfied.  Whenever people would say you have to figure out why you eat what you do and what triggers it.  I would kind of silently laugh inside and think, "I eat because I like food. period. end of story."  Well, while I still maintain that I do just love food, I know that isn't the whole truth.  I mean I have known for awhile that it wasn't the whole truth, but yesterday it became extremely obvious that I, like many other people eat my feelings/emotions at times.

I know this may not seem groundbreaking to any of you.  I am overweight and admitting that I eat my emotions at times.  Okay...?  That seems obvious, right?  I think in some ways it might be obvious, but I think until you actually catch yourself doing it you can pretend like it isn't happening.

Yesterday I had a great morning.  I started out my day with a work out.  I came to work and everything was just fine.  I ate my lunch of soup and a salad and I remember feeling satisified and full.  I went to work at the front counter at my work, which I hate and my day started to spiral downwards.  The front counter is busy, overwhelming, fast-paced and people are generally NOT happy or pleasant to you.   Yesterday was all of these things on over-drive followed by an argument with a friend.  Needless to say I was very quickly in a bad mood.  One of my co-worker's came by to talk to me, but I was too busy.  He could see that I was stressed and on his way back around the building he dropped off a bag of my favorite chips to, "try and make my day a little bit better."

I didn't even really realize it, but before I knew it the bag was open, the smell of spices and chips filled my nose and I was eating the chips.  I ate probably 5 chips before I realized a few things. 

1. I wasn't even hungry.

2. I was eating my emotions.

3. I am angry that a solution to a bad day in my co-worker's eyes is food.

Number's one and two are absolutely accurate.  Number three is frustrating, but I know that he had good intentions.  He knows that I love those chips and he was trying to do something nice.  I can see that, however I wish it was an apple, a high five or just some encouraging words.  I don't need food to make me feel better about my day, mood or emotions.  I don't need chips to make me feel better.  It is a tough realization for me that food isn't just to be enjoyed in any amount or in any form.  I think food should be enjoyable, but the key is to eat the right food for the right reasons.  Of course there will be times when chips, cake, fried food, etc will be eaten, but it shouldn't be because I had a bad day.  It should be to enjoy a special treat every once in awhile and not to drown out the emotions I am having at the time.

Meeting the Priest

                                                     This is where we will be married :)

As most of you know, my fiance and I are getting married in less than one year.  The paper chain countdown has begun! :)  We are getting married at the chapel at my college on October 6th, 2012.  Since it is on the university grounds we have many rules and restrictions about what we can and can't do, which is making the planning process a little more tricky.  In addition to the rules that are imposed we also have to find our own priest to marry us.  This may not sound like a huge issue, but it is kind of a big deal. 


Ron and I have an appointment tonight at a catholic church near our house that we plan to become members at.  We are hoping that Ron can be baptized there and that we can do our marriage preparation with the priest there.  I got a good vibe from the community when I visited a couple weeks ago and it is only four blocks from our house, so it seems perfect!  The only thing is that we need to try and see if the priest is willing to marry us at another church, which is what I am really nervous about.

I grew up catholic, it is important for me to get married in the catholic church and I intend to raise my children in the catholic faith.  However, having said that I am not a strict practicing catholic.  There are many things in the catholic faith that I do not agree with.  I don't want to get into what I do and do not agree with because I don't want to air that all out on my blog.  I am hoping that everything goes well tonight with the priest and that we can start to move forward with our marriage preparation.  It is sometimes crazy to think that at this time next year I will be married.

We have managed to book our church, reception venue and photographer, but we still need to book everything else.  I feel like having a 22 month engagement can really distort your wedding timeline.  I was really good at the beginning about planning things and then we bought the house, and had five weddings this summer and well you know... life gets busy!

On the weight loss front things are slow, but losing.  It was only about a pound a week during September, which was my own fault entirely.  I wasn't walking the walk at all.  I was giving it a really poor shot.  This month has been much better already.  Avoiding temptation, watching portion control and eating only when i'm hungry.  I have been upping my workouts too, which feels great.  I love being hot and sweaty at the gym and then walking outside into the crisp fall air.

Well, wish us luck tonight and cross your fingers that we find the right priest to marry us :) Hope everyone is having a happy, healthy fall day!

Healthy Fall Foods

Thank you for all of the kind comments that you left for me.  I really appreciate your support.  I decided to continue to post on my blog because it helps me work through many things in my life and it is one of the outlets that I really like to help me with this weight loss journey.  I don't want to give this other person anymore time in the light, so i'm going to leave it at that.  Thanks again for your continued support and thoughtful comments!

I was starting out my day as I usually do and opening up my email and I saw an article on MSN that said, "12 Fall Foods for a Flat Belly".  I decided to check it out and I thought I would share it with you.  Check out this article and other great articles about weight loss and health by clicking the link above.  This is not a paid endorsement, I just thought that the articles contained some good information.  I summarized the article below, but check out the real link above for more details and some photos.


1. Pumpkin Seeds- provide magnesium, antioxidants and fiber.
2. Turkey- great source of lean protein if you ditch the skin and the dark meat variety.
3. Sweet Potato- this delicious fall treat is full of fiber and helps you stay full longer.
4. Kale- great source of vitamin K (bone strengthening) and low in calories.
5. Brussel Sprouts- packed full of fiber and protein.
6. Cauliflower- low carb starch option.
7. Spaghetti Squash- one of my favorites!  Use in place of pasta and save a ton of calories and carbs.
8. Avocado- as most of us already know avocado's provide a healthy dose of fat to our diet.
9. Apple- this fruit is also full of fiber.  Make sure not to choose an apple that is too large or you will end up with more sugar than you want in one sitting.
10. Fig- this little guy packs a big calcium punch for those of us who are lacking in that department.
11. Pomegranate- chalk full of antioxidants, helps boost immunity to colds/flu.
12. Broccoli- the triple threat.  This veggie is stacked with protein, calcium and fiber.


I realized after looking at this list that I have some exploring to do.  I haven't had pumpkin seeds since I was a kid, so I will make some of those at the end of the month.  I don't make sweet potato's enough, so that is on my to do list as well.  I have never eaten kale or brussel sprouts, so I suppose now is as good a time as ever :)  Lastly, figs don't excite me, but I am willing to give it a shot.  I will let you know if I try any dishes with these "new to me" ingredients.  Happy Monday!

I Wish...

I wish I wouldn't have let a month go by without telling you all why I was not here.


I wish that I didn't let what happen upset me as much as it did.


I wish that I felt the same way about blogging as I did over a year ago.


I wish that the person who sent me several awful emails would have thought things through before sending them.


I wish I would have just brushed it off and not let it consume me.


I wish these things, but the truth is that wishing is not enough.




About a month ago I got the first of three emails from a reader who was not happy with my comments on this blog.  This person was very upset that I didn't outline everything that I ate every day, pictures of my scale every week and that I didn't ask my readers more about how their journey's were going.


That was the first email.  The second and third emails were ten times worse and honestly, I am not even going to validate the person by explaining it all here, but let's just say that I had to seek the advice of an attorney to figure out what to do next.


I don't want to dwell too much on what happened or the very ridiculous allegations and assumptions that this person was making, because they are unfounded and absurd.  I will say that I am sorry for my absence, that I appreciate those of you who have followed me and offered me support over the past year and a half and that I wish you all continued success and I hope that you all reach your goal(s), whatever they may be.  I think the majority of the people in this blogging community are amazing, inspiring and motivating people and I continue to motivate myself through all of your stories.  For now, I am going to take this blogging thing one day at a time.  I needed to break the silence, since I have gotten a few, "what happened to you!?" emails and I realized that is was rude of me to fall of the face of the earth.


I am not done with my journey or with blogging, but I am taking time to rethink my presence in the blogging community and trying to determine if my words are better suited in a journal rather than in a public forum.  I am still struggling with that notion and I don't expect to have all of the answers right away.  I hope you all understand where I am coming from and realize that we all have to make our own personal decisions based upon what we feel is right for ourselves.  Thanks again for the love and support you have given me all of this time and I hope to be back in some capacity that suits my personal journey.

Overcoming the morning craving

Today I got to work and I didn't want to make my usual breakfast sandwich.  I was kind of sick and tired of this egg/soy sausage breakfast sandwich and I just wasn't in the mood for it.  I know how important breakfast is, so I knew I needed to eat something.  I was already at work so my options were very limited. 


We happen to have a store at work that sells pop, snacks, chips and some breakfast items.  Almost nothing in the store is a healthy option, which makes shopping there a little tough.  They do have a package of muffins that is really tasty.  You get two mini muffins and they are moist and delicious!  I was sitting here for an hour and thinking about them the entire time.  I walked back there to purchase them and I looked at the nutrition facts right away.  This is my new thing that I do.  I look at the nutrition facts from top to bottom and THEN I decide whether or not I am going to buy it.  Thankfully I came to my senses and realized that this was NOT  a sensible lunch at all.

Mini-muffins.

Capri sun, mini donuts, ramen, fruit cup and mac and cheese.  All bad options, except for the fruit if you drained the syrup.

My weak spot.  CHIPS!  There are some baked options, so kudos to that!

Tons and tons of soda pop.  I am really trying hard to not have any.  Sometimes I will have a diet coke.

I made a bowl of oatmeal and ate my banana.  It was not what I wanted to eat at all.  It wasn't very comforting or tasty.  It was however, nutritious and satisfying in the sense that I know it will keep me full until lunch and it won't leave me with regret.  So, oatmeal and banana wins for breakfast and first craving, urge, desire to fall off of said wagon for the day has been controlled.

oatmeal and banana.  My friends in weight loss and guilt free eating.

Moving on to my next topic.  My weight loss journey.  I have continued to lose every week, but not the numbers that I would like to see.  I know that I could be exercising more and also eating better all the time rather than most of the time.  I think I have decided that I am going to join Weight Watchers.  As much as I can say that I hold myself accountable until I am blue in the face there is nothing more accountable than knowing that someone else will weigh you once a week.  I think it will help me stay even more focused and even more on track. So, what do you guys think?  Who loves WW?  Anything I should know before I do it?

The inner thoughts of a bus rider

Something awful happened on Friday, well two something awful's, but only one of them directly affected us.  Friday started off with my sister texting me that our apartment building that we used to live in had burned down.  We moved out 3 months ago when we bought our house, but we lived there for 2 years and loved our time there.  It was our first house together.  We had many, many "firsts" there and it is just so strange to think that it burned down.  Not only is our building gone, but the heaviest damage was done on our floor, on our wing and to be exact in the apartment directly next door to where we lived.  It was a surreal feeling to think that if we had not made the decision to buy a house this year we would have been homeless.  I got to thinking about our neighbors and how they must feel.  I decided that I would try to do what I can to help our old neighbors in their great time of need.  I made some calls and I felt better about it, at least for the interim.

The something awful that happened that directly affected us happened on Friday night.  My mom was coming down to the cities to stay with my two nephews, so I decided to go over there after work and have dinner and hang out.  Ron was coming by later on to play with the boys, but he was taking longer than usual.  The boys were looking out the windows for him and decided that when they saw him we would all hide and wait for him to find us.  He drove up to the house and we all hid in the pantry. After waiting for like 5 minutes we emerged and yelled, SURPRISE, but there was no one there.  I went outside and found him and he was inspecting his car.  He had just been in an accident and his car was leaking oil.  We knew that it wasn't good and we decided to have it towed.  The guy at the repair shop called and said, "I just want you to know that you were VERY, VERY lucky."  He went on to say, "if this piece of metal that flew off of a car and hit the underneath of your car would have hit 2 cm's away from where it hit the car would have likely imploded on impact and you would not be here right now."  Wow!  Scary stuff.  Two bad events in one day.  It felt like someone was really watching over us!

Oil leaking out of the car.

Hauling the car away!

We still have to pay to fix the car, we have been a one car househould instead of two and we know that we will be tight on money for a little while until we can put back from our savings what we have spent on repairs.  We are alive though and very thankful for that!  The rest of the struggles are managable compared to the alternative in either scenario.  It got me thinking this morning that life is so, so precious.  Make sure you tell someone you love them today and make sure you're doing what you can to make the best "you" that you can.  For me this meant starting to ride the bus (which saves money and means more walking) and saying "NO" to the cookies in the breakroom this morning.  It means going home and working out rather than plopping on the couch and making a dinner that Jillian Michaels would approve of! (I have started this new thing where I pretend that Jillian Michaels COULD potentially walk into my house at anytime and if she did would she be okay with what I was putting in my mouth?  If not then I just can't take the risk :)

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

This is not a post about falling off the wagon, so have no fear.  This IS a post about the success of planning.  As I have mentioned in many previous blog posts, I am a planner.  I am slightly type A, I like organization and I appreciate having a plan and sticking to it.  This weekend my goal was to simply plan ahead and try to stick to it as much as possible.

Friday: I stayed well within my calorie goals for the morning and night and I reduced my amount of carbs before dinner because I knew that I was going to a pizza place with friends.  I looked at the menu before I went and decided on their special which was called, "Fresh tomato pie" and it boasted, "local tomatoes, garlic, mozzarella, pecorino, basil and truffle honey."  The honey part threw me off, but I got it because she said it was drizzled and very subtle. 

I purposely chose this pizza over some other ones for a few reasons. The first one is because it didn't have a sauce base, which meant less sodium.  Tomato sauces can be really high in sodium and I try to watch that.  The second thing I did was choose a pizza without meat to keep the calories and fat down.  I am not a vegetarian at all, but forgoing the meat sometimes means I can eat more pizza.  The food was amazing and the company was even better.  After dinner we did some shopping and we stopped at McDonald's to go to the redbox.  Some of the girls went and ordered McFlurry's and I stayed by the redbox machine.  I knew that if I stood in line I would buy something that was not a good choice, so I stayed back.  When I got home I ate a 100 calorie pack of chocolate covered pretzels and was completely satisified.

Me and my 6 best friends.

Saturday:  I had a bridal shower on saturday in Stillwater, which is kind of a drive for me, but it was for a good friend and it was a lot of fun.  The decor was lovely and it was the perfect length of time at 2 hours.  I didn't eat breakfast because I knew I would eat a big lunch.  I tried to stick with mostly veggies, fruit and salad.  I did have a little of the cream cheese spread with crakers and a cupcake with half the frosting taken off.  It was a great afternoon and made me excited for my showers next year.

That night we went to dinner at a new noodle place in Uptown with some friends and I ordered the Spicy Udon noodles with lots of veggies and chicken.  It was awesome!  We went out with friends and I had a few drinks.  I wasn't planning on drinking at all, so that was a change, but I had a lot of fun and worked out extra hard on Sunday.

Gorgeous purple hued cupcakes

Sunday:  I went to visit my mom in St. Cloud and to meet with a potential "day of wedding coordinator".  We talked for 2.5 hours and it was a lot of fun.  I have most of my ideas already decided, but it was nice to talk them through with someone to see what their thoughts were.  My mom made a healthy and delicious flatbread pizza that we shared along with veggies and fruit and then we went on a very long walk.  I love spending time with my mom.  It always gets my week started out o the right foot.

My family dog Gabi.

So that is my weekend in a nutshell.  I think I did pretty well.  I got 2 full workouts in and a long walk.  I think the worst choices were maybe a cupcake and some cocktails.  So far this week everything has been trucking right along.  My close are starting to feel looser again, thank god!  I am on a roll and it feels good.  I have started to write down everything that I eat again and it is really helping.

This week's posts will feature... a post about fitness tips, what I hate about wedding's and a post about making your groceries stretch.

Shedding for the Wedding

We have all heard it before... Don't go shopping when you're hungry, don't go when it's really busy, avoid the middle aisles at all costs.

I must have learned my lesson because last night was a very successful trip to the grocery store.  We stocked up on produce and lean meats and only got one bag of chips eat (baked for me) which is honestly hard to do.  Letting me loose in the chip aisle is similar to letting a grizzly bear out in front of a grill of delicious meats.  Chips are my total weakness.  Truth be told- I once went to the grocery store and bought 6 bags of chips in one trip.  I am not proud about it.  It was not one of my finer moments. 

So, after we got $175 worth of deliciousness and healthy goodness we went home and made lunch, which was a simple sandwich, veggies and fruit spread.  Sometimes it is nice to just have a no-frills lunch.

After lunch I was off to the thrift store.  My new favorite place in the world.  In the past 2 months I have found many treasures at my local thrift store.  I was searching for some unique glassware to try a DIY project for the wedding.  I found a bunch of stuff that was 39 cents and some of it was even half off of that.  When I got home Ron had already mowed the lawn and we were ready to begin our first of MANY DIY wedding projects.

So our wedding is next October and our theme- if that is what you call it- is kind of an elegant Tuscan Romance.  We want it to overall feel elegant and glamorous with touches of tuscan old world charm.  Our colors are plum, gold and moss green.  The bridesmaid dress color shown below is our purple color. 

 

Okay, so moving on to our little prject.. I love the look of gold mercury glasses, but they are CRAZY expensive.  So I found a DIY mercury glass technique on a bridal blog, so I figured that I would give it a shot.  I have heard that it is kind of a long process and it definitely is.  The problem that I am having is that it ends up looking more silver than gold.  We are hoping for more of a silver look rather than gold, so I am not sure if we should just scrap the whole thing and use plain votives.  What do you think?

The first three are our votives that we DIY'd and the fourth one is actual mercury glass.

I think they look pretty good, I am just not sure that they are what we are looking for.  I need some guidance... good thing I am seeing my mom this weekend!

So how is the weight loss going?  This is a weight loss blog right!?  The weight loss is moving along.  I haven't had a gain since the beginning of June.  This last week the loss was smaller than I would like at around 1 pound, but it wasn't a gain.  The only thing that bugs me is that I know that I didn't do my best last week and I still lost 1 pound, so that makes me feel like, "C'MON Shannon! If you can give a mediocre effort and lose 1 pound, what can happen when you give it your all?  So, that is my plan.  I am really giving it my all this week and seeing what the payout is.  Hopefully that gives me the momentum I need to keep it going well into fall and winter!

Today is a perfect example of, "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail."  I was running late this morning and I almost didn't take the time to pack my breakfast and lunch.  I threw some healthy stuff in a bag and headed to work.  On my way into work I remembered that it was a co-worker's birthday.  What does that mean?  FOOD.  Blah, temptation, don't you hate it!?  So, I made the decision before I even set foot in the door to stay on track and avoid the food.  I have seen it exactly three times this morning and I have walked away exactly three times.  Success is planning!

Brownies and sugar cookies don't taste as good as feeling great on my wedding day will!

Running on Empty

I am so thankful that I have so many friends and such great family that always want to get together, but I may have hit my limit of non-stop events for now.  In July and through this last weekend we had 3 cabin trips, 2 weddings and 2 birthday's.  I am exhausted. 

This last weekend we were at a cabin that we have been going to for almost 10 years now and it was just as fun as ever.  So good to get together with old and new friends and watch everyone get along so well and have such a good time.  We swam and we ate lots of food and sweets.  We played lawn games and drank a little too. 

It is a nice time to relax and catch up, but getting there is half the battle.  We have to drive 2 hours each way, buy food and drinks, take time off work and time away from home.  It is so worth it and I hope this doesn't come off as complaining, but does anyone else ever feel like they need a weekend of nothing?  This upcoming weekend we were invited to another cabin and I literally had to put my foot down and say, "NO".  It really is too much to be going non-stop every weekend.  This month we still have a lot going on so this weekend is really our only time to just relax and breathe.

We got out into our lawn yesterday and mowed and trimmed and picked weeds and I must say it felt good and long overdue.  Our poor lawn looked so unkempt and sad.  It was enough for both Ron and I to say that we need to take a step back from all of the activity and be homeowners.  We own this house now and we need to put in the work to maintain it and keep it looking nice.

Anyway, enough talk about that.  Is anyone else counting down the days to Friday besides me?  We need groceries in the worst way. but we are kind of tight on money right now with all of the recent events.  Wedding gifts, attire for weddings, food, drinks, gas, hotel rooms etc all add up.  So this week eating healthy has been a challenge because we don't have a lot of food to choose from.  Tonight Ron is whipping up some grilled chicken and I am thinking of making some frozen veggies and a side of the only fruit that we have left... grapes.  We have enough to get by until Friday, but it is requiring quite a bit of creativity.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my birthday.  I am 25 years old.  I am actually technically not born yet, not until 8:03. 

Fun fact I was born on 8-3 at 8:03 and I weighed... you guessed it 8lbs and 3 ounces.  Crazy.  Too bad I wasn't 83 inches long.  Wait, I retract that statement.

Last night Ron told me to be ready at 6:15 for a surprise.  I was unsure why we were celebrating something that wasn't on my actual birthday, but I went along with it.  He blindfolded me forced me to close my eyes the entire 20 minute trip and for some reason I actually listened.  When I got out of the car I was at a restaurant/bar called Psycho Suzi's.  We were weaving around tables and clearly on a mission.  I was very confused until we got to the back of the patio and I saw my best friends sitting at a table!  What a FABULOUS surprise.  So, Ron left me with my favorite ladies and we proceeded to talk until sun down and eat some delicious food.  My camera was dead, so I didn't get any pictures.  It is cheeky and kitschy and has great food.  It is in an area called NE Minneapolis that is really fun and right on the banks of the Mississippi.

Today I came to work to find my desk had been decorated in birthday decor.  How fun.  My friends are bringing me out to lunch and my wonderful fiance is surprising me with some more fun tonight.  It is going to be a good day.  25 might not be so bad afterall! :)

One of my bridesmaids Deutsch, Alyssa, Kevin the groom with cake on his face, Danielle the bride and me this past weekend.

A few Random Birthday facts

1. I am allergic to fish, coconut and cats.
2. I broke my arm right before my 8th birthday, but I had a water cast so I still got to have my pool party.
3. I like to waer normal shirts with pajama bottoms or sweat pants (for example I come home from work leave on my work shirt and put on sweats).
4. I am a little too excited for Jersey Shore to come back on tomorrow, it is my guilty pleasure.
5. I hope to have a dog by the time I am 26.

The Underdogs

My nephew was the 6th seed in a tournament of 8 teams and somehow last night they found themselves playing the championship game.  It is the ultimate comeback story that everyone loves to see.  I was sitting outside in the blistering heat and humidity yesterday watching these 8 year old boys play their hearts out on both teams and conducting themselves in a fashion that most adults don't even practice. 

My nephews team ultimately got second place, but they were ecstatic!  The parents, coaches and fans were all so excited to see how far this team had come.  It really was impressive considering at the beginning of the season we were lucky to have every 6th kid actually hit a ball.

When I was watching the end of the game I was astonished to see what great sportsmanship both teams had and how genuine their "good game" handshakes were.  There was no bitterness, no blaming others for mistakes and no pouting.  To say that I was impressed was an under statement.  These 8 year old boys had more respect and tact than I had ever seen before.  They played hard, they celebrated hard and they won or lost respectfully.

You may ask yourself what this has to do with weight loss.  Well, the answer for me is that sometimes I get so discouraged when I workout with others or see them progressing further than me.  I would say that at times I am even jealous or envious of them and their accomplishements.  I find myself discouraged, making excuses and finding reasons why weight loss must be easier for them. 

After the game yesterday my sister had us all over for a BBQ and I really started to think about the boys and their performances and how they were the underdogs and somehow they came back against all odds.  I want to be the person that overcomes my weight against all odds.  I want to keep pushing and keep learning and never give up.  I want to stop making excuses and start making choices.  I want to say more, "I can" and "I will" and less, "next time" and "someday".  I am only the underdog in this weight loss journey if I allow myself to be one.  I can be just as successful as anyone else trying to lose weight.  I can come back from this and I am working towards that goal.  One day, one work out and one smart choice at a time.

Wedding Season and a NSV

Hello fellow bloggers.  I hope the summer heat hasn't got you down!  It is finally not over 100 degrees in my neck of the woods and I couldn't be happier :)  I have been the energizer bunny for the past week and it will continue into September if you can believe it.  Sometimes I can't even believe it. 

On Friday night we had a wedding recpetion for our friends who got married in Jamaica in March.  It was a lot of fun!  We danced and did the photo booth (which I can't wait for at our wedding) and saw some old friends.  Saturday I had a garden party at a co-worker's house followed by a pub party at my future in-laws house.  They built and English pub in their backyard.  It is very lovely and everyone had a great time.  My family also came, so it was a nice time to have a mixing of teh two families.

This week Ron and I are interviewing wedding photographers.  There are some really talented people in the Twin Cities, so it has been hard narrowing down our list.  We met with someone yesterday whom we really like a lot, but I feel like I want to interview at least one more person to be sure.  Afterall, this is a large investment and is something that we will have and will look back on for the rest of our lives.

This weekend Ron and I are headed to Duluth for a very good friend's wedding.  I am very excited to get away on a mini trip and to spend time with friends that I haven't seen in far too long.  Wedding season is definitely in full swing and I am just trucking right along and dancing my way through each one.

Weight loss keeps coming!!  3.3 pounds down this week!  Woo-hoo.  I had a GREAT NSV moment this weekend when several people noticed my weight loss and commented that they can see my waist starting to get defined.  Haleluja!  This weight loss thing is starting to look good on me.  Literally! :)

Sorry the pictures have been sparse lately, I am fixing my camera, but it will be done this week and I promise I will give you some pictures to go along with all of my adventures!  Have a happy and healthy week! :)

Hot, hot, hot

Happy Tuesday.  Is it swealtering hot where you live?  It has been like 100 degree with high humidity and disgusting dew points and I am over it.  My hair is frizzy.  I am sweaty and gross.  My clothes feel sticky.  I don't like it when it is super humid and hot.  I am a firm believer that you can only complain about one season.  I choose to complain about the summer.  I am a polar bear and I should probably move to Alaska. 

Our power went out yesterday early in the morning, so I was excited to get to work and get in the A.C. When I got to work I noticed that the air was out.  BAAAH.  8 hours working in the heat.  Pass.  So, I decided when I got home I was going to put my swimsuit on, fill the bath tub with cold water and sit in it until I was cool again.  Luckily when I got home the power was restored and my house was cool as a cucumber.

Okay, moving on... enough of the ranting about the weather.

I have been a work out champ the past few days.  Moving non stop from sun-up to sun-down and feeling great!  Eating has been good, could be better and will get better. I am really liking being active though and I am staying committed to that right now.

2.3 lb loss this week.  Keep on trucking along... :)

Yard Work=Therapy

I was in a bad mood the last couple of days.  Some things happened over the last couple of days that left a sour taste in my mouth.  I have been working through it and trying to move on, but it was bringing me down.  So, I decided last night that I was going to "work out" my issues.  I hit the gym and had a nice work out and then I came home and worked in my yard/garage for 2 hours.  I was sweaty and dirty and gross when all was said and done I honestly felt better. 

I haven't had a lot to say the past couple of days, because they probably wouldn't be very optimistic, but I decided that I was wasting my time worrying about it and that I needed to just let it go, so I have.  I am moving forward past this issue and hoping that it doesn't come up again.

I have a weekend filled with no major plans and a lot of little things to check off of my to-do list.  I have some exciting posts coming up and I am working on all of them.  That is all I have for now.  Short and sweet.  It is raining here right now and I think rain makes me sleepy and quiet. 

Murica: A Weekend Recap

We had a 4th of July party on friday with some friends.  It was aptly named the "Murica" party.  I decorated the house and we had a whole feast of food.  It was a lot of fun and Ron and I were happy to entertain.  The weather got a little sour for awhile (as seen in photos below), but we didn't let that take away our fun!  We also had a crabby neighbor complain that we were too loud at 10:15 when we were just standing outside with sparklers.  Ugh, can't win them all I guess!?

Window view of the Red, White and Blue theme.

Kitchen decked out for the 4th.

Uh oh, this doesn't look too good.

Rather ominous if you ask me...

Dark meets the light.

The party must go on. This is Kelsey one of my MOH's

Deutsch and Hilary two of my BM's.

Tomorrow's post will be healthy related and then I will be on hiatus again until Sunday night.  I am going to the cabin for th rest of the week/weekend.