Ramblings of a 30-Something Year Old Carolina Girl

My thoughts on Paula Deen

2012-01-26T11:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry if y'all saw this pop up in your google reader. I hit "send" too soon and I had not typed a word yet. haha! Silly me. So bare with me. Post coming soon! =)

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

2012-01-24T09:25:00.004-05:00

Last night I decided to make one of my favorite winter recipes: Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili. Something about this recipes just works. The ingredients just melt together in a big ole pot of goodness. Yesterday was so gross and dreary here, so last night about 8:00 I made the decision to fire up the slow cooker. This is a slightly different version than one I've used before.

This recipe can be made in the Dutch Oven or a slow cooker. Just hold off on the lime juice and cilantro and add that at the end.

Sadly, I forgot to take a photo. So this lovely image is from http://thegreenbite.wordpress.com/.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sweet_potato_black_bean_chili.html
From EatingWell: January/February 2011 Make a double batch of this quick vegetarian chili, full of black beans and sweet potatoes, and eat it for lunch the next day or freeze the extras for another night. We love the smoky heat from the ground chipotle, but omit it if you prefer a mild chili. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread and coleslaw.
4 servings, about 2 cups each | Active Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile (see Note)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups water
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Nutrition

Per serving :307 Calories; 8 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 51 g Carbohydrates; 12 g Protein; 14 g Fiber; 494 mg Sodium; 947 mg Potassium

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Note: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets or online at penzeys.com. *My note: If you don't have chipolte chili pepper, GET SOME. I put it on everything!

Monday update

2012-01-23T17:20:00.003-05:00

I spent this past week at the beach with my family - specifically my mom and my 2 aunts. We had a great time, and although the weather was a little chilly/rainy at times we made the best of it. No more vacations for me for a looooong while though. Sadz.

I got home Friday night, unpacked and immediately packed again to spend the weekend in Charleston with some girlfriends. We stayed at the adorable Elliott House Inn. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a quaint spot to spend a few nights in Charleston. And it's right next door to the famous Husk. It POURED rain Saturday night but finally let up enough so that we could brave the streets. And brave it we did! Woof is all I can say about how we felt on Sunday.

Have a great week everyone!

PS Thanks for the eyeliner suggestions!

Bad, L'Oreal, BAD

2012-01-12T12:24:00.004-05:00

Just recently, I put 2 and 2 together on something and I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner.

Last March, I borrowed a friend of mine's liquid eyeliner (not something I normally condone of course) for a night out on the town and I fell in love. It took some practice with it of course, but ever since then I've been just enamored with how much better my eyes look when using liquid liner. Most of the time I would use the L'Oreal liner that you can buy anywhere - Target, Walgreens, etc. Occasionally, I would switch it up and use something that I'd get from Sephora or if a sample would come in. But for the most part, I used L'Oreal.

Also, around this time I started having awful problems with my eyes. I recently had switched to a different brand of contacts and they were SO comfortable. But then here I was having problems again. I'd wake up every morning with itchy, crusty (gross, I know) eyes. My eyes would be red a LOT. I started buying eye drops by the gallons. I chalked all of this up to allergies. I even bought an air purifier for my bedroom thinking it would help. Nope. The problem continued. Until recently...

I decided to take a break from liquid eyeliner for a week or so and guess what? NO ITCHY EYES. No redness! No crusty gross morning eyes! My eyes feel GREAT. So I started googling and this is what I found:

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★☆☆☆☆

Written on: 10/01/2012

"disssaappoinnted"

I used this eyeliner ever since I can remember, it was the best! The brush was perfect easy to put on and it looked perfect afterwards but recently I had to buy new one and my eyes got red itchy burning also I'm really upset been trying to find something that compares to this bc I love me some eyeliner, but I can't. Come on loreal fix your product then let us know !!!!! I miss it :( it should really be taken off the market if something isn't changed .. if its happening to everyone who wears it something is wrong. Should not just keep selling a crappy product.

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★☆☆☆☆

Written on: 13/05/2011

Wow this was the first and only eyeliner I use to wear. It was the best. Last year aprox July 2010 I bought another one and much to my surprise I started getting really bad swollen eyes and my eyes started burning. I never thought it would be the eyeliner since I had been using this for 12 years. I switched everything else mascara ..eyeshadow and brushes 7 months later I finally figured out it was the damn eyeliner. Very disappointed. I will never buy another loreal product they screwed up a good...

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★☆☆☆☆

Written on: 15/10/2010

What Happened??? I've used this product for as long as I can remember. Two months (July 2010) I bought the eyeliner and the next day my eyes became red, swollen, crusty. It took a whole week for the problem to go away. I suspect L'oreal might have changed the product's consistency to save money. It is too bad they lost another customer. DO NOT AT ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!...

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★☆☆☆☆

Written on: 29/07/2010

OMG! I thought it was me! I have also used Loreal liner for years and years and would use no other because I loved it and then one day I got the red, swollen, crusty eyes as others and had to go to the eye doctor. It took weeks to heal and I didn't want to think it was my liner so I bought another new liner and used it and the same thing happened again. Shame on Loreal for changing a good thing!!...

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★☆☆☆☆

Written on: 23/04/2010

I have used Loreal Liquid Eyeliner for over 10 years. I bought a new eyeliner about a month ago and when I used it, under my eyes got red, swollen, crusty, itchy and unbearably sore. I thought I had pink eye or something. The doctor said no and gave me eye allergy eye drops and ointment to put on them. It took almost 3 weeks to get better. I used the eyeliner again and it happened again, this time it looked like I had a red liner on, they looked burned. I finally realized it was the eyeliner. I...

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★☆☆☆☆

Written on: 10/01/2010

I too used this eyeliner for 20 years with no problem. They ruined the product by changing the formula. I get swollen blistered eyelids from the new one. tossed it out bought another one same thing, waited a few months, bought another one. same problem. I would LOVE to talk with a company rep to see what the change in ingredients is so I dont waste money buying another product that will irritate my eyes. Has anyone found a good replacement for this eyeliner? Pencil dosent work for me....

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★☆☆☆☆

Written on: 13/08/2009

I too have used LOreal Eyeliner for years. I always use black. In May I threw out my old bottle and bought a new one and after using it my eyelids where really sore and red around the lash area I had oozing and inflammation. I stopped using it for a month threw out that bottle and bought a new one used it once and my lash area was very red and sore and oozing, removed it and by morning my eyes were almost swollen shut they hurt so badly I could hardly stand it. It took 3 days for them to return...

Review of LOreal Eyeliner Superliner

★★☆☆☆

Written on: 02/12/2008

I have been a faithful user of Loreal Eyeliner for years. I have always used the brown/black and loved it. I recently about almost 2 weeks ago went and purchased it in black. I applied it and within two hours I notice my eyes were burning and itchy. I continued to use it and now my eyes are super puffy and where I use my eyeliner is all red and flaky. It's really sad this had to happen as I love Loreal's eyeliner, but it's not worth using if I'm going to get this sort of reaction....
Read more

These reviews went on and on and on. Wow L'Oreal....SHAME ON YOU. This product should not be on the market. I really thought I was going to have to switch contacts or either be on allergy medicine forever and now I see it's not me....it's you.

So for that, L'Oreal, we have to breakup. Pack your bags; you're outta here. Now I hope I can find a new relationship with another brand so I can renew my love of liquid liner again. Any suggestions???

P90x Update

2012-01-10T11:04:00.000-05:00

It's not easy to fit a 60 minute workout into your day - every single day. But I'm trying. I've done it more than I haven't, so that's good right? For example, tonight I have somewhere to go after work. I will probably get home around 7:30. And all I will want to do is fall on to the couch, watch tv and then go to bed. But guess what? I have P90 to do - a core work. And I will whine in my head about it. But sitting on my couch and watching TV is why I'm so soft and pudgy. What's more important to me? Getting in shape. So tonight, I WILL be doing my workout. Oh, here's Tony doing a one arm push up. I managed to do one baby one. And I'm not sure it really counted. But I tried. Maybe next time I'll do 2 of them? Lofty goals, people.

Happy Tuesday friends!

I am Southern Belle--ish

2012-01-09T13:03:00.001-05:00

This week at work, my California coworker jokingly said "you're such a Southern Belle!" I'm not really sure what I said that made her say that, but it really cracked me up.

I suppose I do have some southern belle-ish traits. I do love the south and I love southern food. I occasionally wear pearls. Sometimes I say "bless your heart." I love SEC football and wear football colors on Fridays before a game. I have a Southern accent and I call people ma'am or sir. Oh! And I subscribe to Southern Living.

What disqualifies me as a Southern Belle? Well, sometimes I curse. I have never been a member of the Jr. League. I'm a terrible baker. I don't go to church (not bragging about that) and I don't always vote Republican. My pearl earrings? Fake. I bought my first Lilly Pulitzer dress at the age of 35. I once dated a boy from North Dakota. I prefer beer over liquor. And last? I don't have a single monogrammed thing in my house.(Although, I DID cave and buy an Erin Condren planner with my name on the front this year. Does that count?)

So there you have it. Sorry if I caused some of you Belles out there to faint on that last part...

Who's your favorite fitness blogger?

2012-01-06T15:07:00.000-05:00

I need some motivation right now to keep with my goals for the long haul. Is there a blog or website that you read regularly that you love? Or maybe a tumblr account? Let me know so I can add it to my google reader!

Jamie at Sweaty Hugs is one that I am really loving right now. I posted about her on my tumblr account, but it's her inspirational before and after pics that really got me thinking about losing weight versus trying to become leaner and stronger through weights/strength training. It's got me really pumped!

So share with me if you know a great blogger! Or if you yourself have had awesome success. I'll post them here in a later post.

One last unrelated request: Would you mind saying a prayer for Lauren and her family over at Travel With Lauren? Her family could really use some extra prayers right now. Thanks in advance!!

TGIF y'all! Be safe and well =)

Let's have a party!

2012-01-04T12:07:00.002-05:00

Never before have I heard so many different reactions to a song before. Some of you love it. Some of you hate it. Me? It's no Josh Groban, but it's definitely catchy. I kinda like it. And it sticks in your head. All.Day.Long.

What say you? Red Solo Cup - Love it or Hate it? Here's my favorite version:

2012: You need to bring your A-game

2012-01-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

Because 2011 knocked it out of the park for me. So much fun was had this year! But here were the best of the best moments for me:

Going snowtubing in Blowing Rock, NC. (and visiting again for Thanksgiving except no snow - so we did wine tastings!)

A trip to Charleston for my birthday in the Spring with some of my besties.

NKOTB concert in the ATL! Have been wanting to see these guys ever since they first announced they were touring again and it finally happened. WINNING!

My Gamecocks winning the National Championship in college baseball - AGAIN. Also, the football team having our first ever 11 win season. It was an awesome season despite a lot of setbacks. Our football team took on the motto of our baseball team: WIN ANYWAY.

My first PR on a 5K!

Cruising to Mexico. Hope to do this again next year. Amazing!

Running my first ever half marathon. Still can't believe I did that. And that I'm doing it again in March. Insanity.

Meeting Teresa Guidice from the Real Housewives of New Jersey. What a fun night! I'm really enjoying experimenting with her recipes.

A trip to Orlando, Florida - twice! The second time we saw Breaking Dawn on premiere night. So.Much.Fun. What can we say, we love it there.

And last...but mostly definitely not least...my trip to NYC. I love that city so much and can't wait to go back. There are rumors of a return visit in the Spring :) We'll see...(crossing fingers)

2011 thanks for being awesome. 2012, you have big shoes to fill. Let's do this!

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Wrap-up, a move and a hair cut

2011-12-29T10:31:00.002-05:00

My Christmas this year was so great and I hope yours was as well! My mom and I went to a Christmas Eve candle-lighting service at a local church nearby and it was so moving. We did get cracked up though because the preacher was talking about how back in Joseph and Mary's day, they of course waited to consummate the marriage until after the wedding ceremony. But he accidentally said "constipated" and I thought we were going to DIE! It was hilarious. But we managed to keep it under control. I think even Jesus Himself probably had a little laugh over that one.

I wanted to include a pic of my living room with my white tree. Nevermind the bottom of the tree where I ran out of ribbon. Ignore that, shall we? ;) Next year, I will prepare better!

Lately, I've been on an Italian kick ever since getting Teresa's Skinny Italian cookbook. SO many good recipes in there and so I invited my family over 2 days before Christmas and I made them spaghetti. My mom visited Italy earlier this year and brought me back this apron below, so of course I busted it out that night for them. I don't have a drop of Italian in me, but I can make some jam up spaghetti!

My mom's Christmas Day lunch was amaze-zing as always. But of course I forgot to take a picture of her spread. But I did manage to take a pic of the sweet potato salad that I made -recipe courtesy of The Dough Will Rise Again. The only difference is that I used dried cranberries instead of cherries because I had them on hand. It added some great color to the table because if you think about it - stuffing, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes....they are all so bland in color! So this popped on the table and it tasted delicious. Thanks Christina/Crist for the recipe!

Last but not least, last night I said goodbye to my bestest friend in the world. (on the left) I have known her since we were babies and she is the mom to the sweetest kids in the world. I will miss her like crazy. But fortunately..she is just moving to Charleston! Have I ever said no to a road trip to Charleston? I don't think so. I will miss our mid-week lunches though. Sigh.

Totally unrelated though - I got bangs yesterday! (see above) I was so nervous and my stomach was in knots. So far I really like them but it's definitely going to take some getting used to! I wanted to do this in the winter time because I doubt I can rock them in the summer. It's so hot here and sweaty bangs stuck to your forehead is NOT a hot look.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year! I will be doing a 2011 wrap up post soon.

My Half Marathon Recap...finally!

2011-12-22T11:57:00.000-05:00

I finally recapped my half marathon only a month and a half later! If any of you are interested, you can read it here: http://chasing13point1.tumblr.com/.

Merry Christmas from my house to yours!

2011-12-19T17:02:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! Have you finished your shopping? This year I was determined to start early and so I bought 2 items a few months ago. Then I fell off the wagon and never got back on. I did a marathon shopping trip this past weekend and got most of it done. Now the wrapping begins! I got most of my decorating done about a week ago, but my poor tree just got put up this past weekend. Better late than never, right?

Here are just a few photos for y'all:

The wreath in my entrance foyer. My coworker helped me with this and she did a great job.

My "mini tree" and the lights on my outdoor patio.

My white Christmas tree (that sadly needs a bow topper.)Anyone want to make a gorgeous pink bow for me?? I bought some ribbon at Target today and have been watching You Tube videos on how to make one. We'll see.

And last but not least, my little reindeer fur child. Who is not happy in this picture. At. All.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Final trip of the year - and it was a BIG one!

2011-12-15T10:27:00.001-05:00

My last and final trip of the year was this past weekend....in New Yawk City! We had SO much fun. I honestly can't wait to go back. This was my third trip, but my first time back in 8 years. So needless to say, the city and I had a lot of catching up to do. We mainly did the tourist thing this time as this was my friend and her sister's first time visiting.

I wanted to list every place we visited so I won't forget!

Le Pain Quotidien Restaurant & Bakery
9/11 Memorial
Fanelli's Cafe in SoHo
Times Square
Rockefeller Plaza
Radio City Music Hall
NBC Studies
Staten Island Ferry to see Lady Liberty
Empire State Building
Central Park
St. Patricks Cathedral
Sophia's in Little Italy
La Bella Ferrara Bakery for the most amazing cannolis
Carnegie Deli
Macy's on Fifth Avenue
Eileen's Cheesecake
Cafe Bari in SoHo

I think we were most proud of conquering our fear of riding the subway. Once we did it a few times, we felt like pros. This is definitely the way to get around the city without spending too much money.

Have you visited NY? We are planning another trip very soon. Let me know if any of you have suggestions for where to go on our next visit! We tried to visit Serendipity but there was a 3 hour wait to get in! So we will be making reservations for next time! I've also never been to a Broadway show, so that is on my list to do someday.

Until we meet again NY...I'll miss ya!

My night out with a Real Housewife who likes to flip tables

2011-12-14T15:10:00.001-05:00

Thank you for all the comments about my "problem" and for making me feel better about said problem! ha! I did want to mention that I know some people say these types of comments and they do mean well. And I realize that. I've just never heard someone refer to it in that manner before. Like there was something wrong with me. But oh well. Movin' right along as the muppets like to say...

About a week or so ago, a friend of mine and I got to meet a Bravo Real Housewives star! None other than Ms Table Flipper herself! We both just have been big fans of hers, even though this last season she made me want to strangle her a few times. However, I still am a big fan of hers, ingredientses and all. She spoke for about an hour and answered questions from the audience. For those of you that care, she said that she and Melissa are definitely not speaking right now. And Season 4 just wrapped. From some comments she made, there is obviously a lot of tension still between her and Caroline and Jacquelyn too. But who knows...

Let me tell ya, she is SO nice in person and signed copies of her cookbooks for well over 2 hours. (and yes we waited that long-whew!) I took a picture with her, but I look horrid in it so sorry kids. Not posting it! ha!

She talked to all her fans in line, took as many photos as you wanted and never made anyone feel rushed.

I was in the mood for spaghetti last night so I decided to try her "Quickie" Basic Tomato Sauce from her Skinny Italian cookbook last night and it was delicious. I really will never go back to the store bought canned sauce again. This was too easy and too delicious.

Basic Tomato Sauce AKA “The Quickie”
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
One 28-ounce can imported Italian plum tomatoes, broken up, with their juices
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and their juices and the tomato paste. Bring just to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the basil. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes. The end.

Then I grated some fresh parmesan. I have these girls to thank for my now need to grate my own cheese all the time. And while you are visiting them, go ahead and bookmark or subscribe to their site. You'll thank me later.

Then I ate. Delizioso!

Apparently I have a "problem"

2011-12-13T15:10:00.002-05:00

So the other day one of my coworkers sat down next to me at a company party and struck up a conversation with me. It went something like this... (OCW shall represent obnoxious coworker)

OCW: So, how's it going lately?
Me: Pretty good, you?
OCW: Not bad!
Me: That's great.
OCW: So are you dating anyone?

(usually when someone asks this, they have someone in mind they want to set me up with.)

Me: No, not at the moment.
OCW: Well, why not?
Me: Uh...I don't know. Just haven't met the right guy at the moment I guess. Also been busy lately.
OCW: Well...(wait for it....) ....what are we doing about this little problem?
Me: Excuse me?
OCW: What are you doing to meet people? Don't you WANT to meet someone??
Me: Uh....(still trying to decide if she really said "problem")
OCW: Don't you have hobbies? What are your hobbies? Do you go to church? (always my favorite because that is EXACTLY why we go to church, right?) Make you should take up a class? Maybe...

And CUT. That's when I cut her off and said I was pretty content with my life right now but thanks anyway! And I made a beeline for the spiced punch.

Seriously. What am I doing about this problem? Are you kidding me? Folks, don't ask single people this. Really. Don't. I love how people say "problem" like it's something we can fix if only we would just work a little harder. My life is pretty effing fabulous, thank you very much. And I don't need a man to make it fabulous. Would I like to find someone to spend my life with? Sure. But I'm not sitting around crying in my ice cream about it. I'm out living my life. Traveling. Spending time with friends and family. Running half-marathons. I'm a pretty happy girl.

Seriously #2. I don't mind someone occasionally wanting to set me up if you legitimately have someone in mind. I think that's great. But don't make it your job to find me a mate. Really. It's uncomfortable. And most likely I won't hang around you much longer if you do.

Seriously #3. Happy Holidays y'all. My little rant is over. Eat, drink, be merry. Enjoy the holiday madness. Kiss under the mistletoe. Just don't try to get me to kiss your single third cousin from another marriage. Just because he's single (unless he looks like Clooney, then I'm down.)

Keep Calm and Travel On

2011-11-28T16:38:00.001-05:00

Well, I had an entire blog post written up earlier this morning and then somehow I lost it all! :( The old blogger format used to auto save, but I guess this one doesn't? BOO. What a waste of time. Anyhoo. Let me see if I can remember some of what I said...

My apologies for not doing a Savannah Half recap yet! My router at home broke and I have yet to replace it (from sheer laziness) and so I haven't been able to blog from home in months. And work has been very busy, so blogging at work has not been a possibility lately either. That equals no update from me! But I will try to rectify that soon. In the meantime, here is a snapshot of my recent travels! I've been a busy girl.

PS I have NO IDEA how these photos are going to line up. If it's a jumbled mess, I apologize.

Savannah Rock n Roll Half Marathon - just after crossing the finish line :)

Pretty downtown Savannah.

C and I at the start line.

Two weeks ago, I traveled to Orlando with a friend to visit her sister. We had a great time! We ate, we shopped, we saw Breaking Dawn (perhaps twice), we ate some more. A great time was had by all. And the weather was well, typical Florida! Hot and muggy! We loved it. This is a picture of me having a beverage at at a restaurant in downtown Celebration, FL. Can I move here? That place is ahhh-mazing. Seriously. Google it. You'll want to live there too.

This past week was Thanksgiving and I ate more than I want to talk about. UGH. Let's not talk about how much weight I have gained since the half marathon. It's not pretty! Moving on...

On Friday morning, my friends and I drove up to Blowing Rock, NC and spent a few nights in the beautiful mountains of NC. The place we stayed at is called Chetola Resort. This is our second annual girls trip, and we love it there! Last year, we went snow tubing. This year, it was too warm but we still had a blast. And of course right now the resort is completely decked out for the holidays. They even had horse carriage tours around the lake and photos with Santa if you were so inclined.

We drove up to Banner Elk on Saturday and visited a winery there. We had so much fun! NC wines are simply delicious.

I have a VERY special trip coming up in 2 weeks, and I can't wait to share it with you! I'll keep it a secret until then! :)

And finally, I'll leave you with a VERY random photo of me bowling. Just because I thought it was hilarious. What a pro...(not)

Tis the season to be crazy, y'all! Stay calm and watch lots of Christmas Vacation.

See ya on the flip side!

2011-11-03T13:49:00.001-04:00

I'm off to beautiful Savannah, GA in the morning to join a gazillion other people running the Savannah Rock n Roll Marathon / Half Marathon. Thirteen Point One Miles...You will be MINE.

And if anyone personally knows Paula Deen, will you ask her to meet me at the finish line with a plate of biscuits and honey? Thanks y'aaaallllll!

Goodbye for a little while...

2011-09-12T09:41:00.001-04:00

This week my blog turns 4 years old. It's been a wonderful way for me to chronicle my life over the last 4 years, but I believe that the time has come for me to take a break for a while. I have been struggling for awhile on blog content so it just feels like the right time to take a break. My thought is that I might redesign my blog later this year and come back after the holidays and my half marathon is over. And of course if something major happens in my life, I'll let you all know!

If you wish to keep up with me, I will still be updating my tumblr account (link over on the left) and y'all know I love me some twitter. So don't be a stranger!

Much love to you all!

Seven Random Things About Me

2011-09-08T14:18:00.000-04:00

I really have not had much to blog about lately other than training for the half marathon and, well, that's pretty much it. So I saw this on someone else's blog and thought it would give me somehting fun to post about. I think it's a "tag" type post, but instead of tagging someone just play along if you are so inclined!

Seven Random Things About Me:

I hate to talk on the phone. When I get a voice mail at work, I cringe. And I stare at the little red light blinking and dread what the caller has to say. And if it's a call I don't have to return I'm SO RELIEVED. Silly, I know.
I love to swim. I was on a swim team when I was younger, and I would swim every day if I could. Even in the winter (indoors of course.) My best stroke is the breaststroke followed by freestyle swimming. I was a horrible backstroke and butterfly swimmer. I'm jealous of those that can butterfly swim.
I can make a MEAN lasagna. And an even meaner baked spaghetti. I think secretly I'm a very pale Italian.
I can type extremely fast. About 85 words a minute. And fairly accurate too. My boss types with his index fingers and it DRIVES ME INSANE.
I take pictures obsessively on my iphone. I've only had it a few months and I've already taken over 2,000 random pictures on it. It's ridiculous. But a fun hobby of mine I guess.
I can speak in a British accent. Not a great one, but I can usually fake it for a few minutes until a really southern word comes up and then I screw it up. haha I also love the really deep South Scarlett O'Hara Southern accents. Where the words are draaaawn out. I love accents. (Still thinking about doing the accent vlog.)
This one is gross but: I hate to throw up and fortunately it rarely happens. I could count on one hand the number of times in my life I've gotten sick and I still remember it like it was yesterday. In college, when I was hungover, I would just lay in bed for in misery for hours instead of .... you know...just "getting it over with." I know that's gross, but y'all know what I'm talking about it!

Q&A Session:

Favorite color: I am really loving kelly green lately and purple.

Favorite song: I have a LOT of favorites but the Season 1 Glee soundtrack is in my car right now on permanent rotation. "Don't Stop...Believing..."

Favorite dessert: Bananas Foster Cheesecake from Liberty Tap Room in Columbia, SC

Biggest pet peeve: Currently because it's fresh on my mind...ELITIST RUNNERS. There are 2 in my training group who won't even speak to the rest of us nor do they wait on us to finish like everyone else does.

When You Are Upset, You: Cry. Curl up on a couch. Call a friend. Whine on twitter. jk ;)

Your Favorite Pet: I love my kitties.

Black or White: Both?

Biggest fear: Not finding a companion to spend my life with.

Best Feature: No clue. Maybe my eyes? That sounds so cheesy.

Everyday Attitude: I like to make people laugh. I don't take life too seriously.

What is Perfection? Sitting on my back porch with the sun setting, drinking a glass of wine and chatting with a good friend.

Guilty Pleasure: Real Housewives!! Can't stop the train wreck so might as well join in.

The Crock Pot Girls Insanity

2011-09-06T14:06:00.000-04:00

Last week I saw my friends by the GALLONS "liking" the Crock Pot Girls on Facebook. Now I like my crock pot as much the next person, but I also know the last time I cooked it in, I ate off it for DAYS. Honestly, it's not really practical for one person. But sometimes I do like a good crockpot recipe if I'm having company, or just want to make something for the heck of it.

So I did not jump on this bandwagon but most of my friends did. I started googling them the other day and I came across this article:

http://hellotarte.com/blog/2011/09/01/crock-pot-girls-a-crock/

It's an interesting read about how these ladies were able to get their page a ton of "likes" but much of it was done through a marketing company and internet bots. I immediately screamed SCAM! Just kidding. I'm sure these ladies are legit, but even Hungry Girl doesn't have that many likes (as the article mentions) and HG even has her own TV show.

What's your take? Have you tried any of their recipes?

Running Stuff

2011-08-31T13:56:00.006-04:00

I have been hearing about Road ID for quite some time now, but honestly up until now I haven't spent that much time out on the road. Most of my runs have been done at a park or on a treadmill. But for the next few months, I'm going to be spending every Saturday out on the road running my tush off. (I wish literally) So I decided it was time to finally buy one. They aren't that much; Mine was only $15.

A Road ID is a bracelet that has your name, emergency contact number(s), allergies or medications you take, and an inspirational quote/message. It's a great thing to have on you in the event you were struck by a vehicle, and anyone who share the road with cars should probably have one - walkers, bikers, or runners. I plan on getting my mom one, as she walks outside daily.

I put Phil. 4:13 at the bottom of mine. I recite it all the time while running. (I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me." And it's pink. :)

Speaking of pink...my friend loaned me a pair of her Zensah leg sleeves. They can be worn during running or after for recovery purposes. They are supposed to increase oxygen blood flow to the muscles of the lower leg, and mine were definitely feeling sore yesterday. I wore these around the house last night and it definitely made a difference.

And last but not least, here I am post my 6 mile run on Saturday. For the first time ever, I really think I can actually do this half marathon thing! I know it's going to be tough for me, but I'm not giving up!

I read yesterday that the race is sold out already! They capped it off at 23,000 runners. Wow. And I'm going to be one of them. Bring it on!

Quotable Thursday

2011-08-25T11:21:00.002-04:00

Some of my favorite quotes from Pinterest lately.

Source: miscfinds4u.com via Sherri on Pinterest

Source: thatfitgirl.tumblr.com via Sherri on Pinterest

Source: soon2befit.tumblr.com via Sherri on Pinterest

Source: marilynwann.tumblr.com via Sherri on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Sherri on Pinterest

Oh Mexico...and other madness

2011-08-24T08:59:00.008-04:00

I've been so busy lately I haven't had a chance to update this blog. So I am just going to do a quickie update just because I like to chronicle my life in my blog. I think 10-20 years from now it'll be an interesting way to go back and remember people, events, etc. I have such a terrible memory and I wish I had kept a blog or diary years ago. I forget such important things that it makes me sad. It also makes me worry about my memory! So here we go.

1. A few weeks ago I cruised to Mexico with some friends. We had a wonderful time! Cozumel is truly beautiful. I could have stayed there forever. Our cruise also docked at Calica, Mexico the next day and if you ever have that as one of your ports, just know that Calica = nothing to do. So you have to either book an excursion or go explore on your own. Which is what my friend and I did. We took a taxi over to Playa Del Carmen. The beach was beautiful. The shopping was....interesting. Very, very aggressive sellers. Sketchy. You have to bargain with everyone. Not my cup of tea. We took very few pics and decided to catch a cab back almost immediately. Sketchy cab driver too. He pulled over on the side of the road and got out of his car to go talk to someone on the way back. Insert freak-out here. We pretty much thought we were about to get robbed, kidnapped, whatever else. But he finally came back and delivered us back to the cruise ship safely. Did I mention I will never jump in a random cab in Mexico ever again? Never. Ever.

Me in front of the Carnival Elation docked in Cozumel. No I'm not trying to be sexy, it was really windy. ;)

I held some crazy ass birds. I held an iguana too. He was cute. If I had known someone was taking my picture, I surely would have sucked in my stomach. Guh-ross. Anyhoo.....

Beautiful water! I swam in it all day and did not want to leave.

2. The friend of mine that I mentioned on my blog a few times that was having a rough patch finally moved out and found a new place. Conveniently it's near me, so I've spent the last 2 weeks helping her move, unpack, clean, shop for new things, etc. The worst was trying to pack up 2 of her cats and take them to the new place. I only bled once so .... score! Good grief. Cats do NOT like to move. Her lab is adorable though, and I can't wait to take her on walks ~~to pick up men~~. I'm so happy to be able to be there for her, but I'm not going to lie, it's been tough. She's still very sad and has no family here. I am it. So, for all my friends I've neglected lately, I'm very sorry. Just bare with me. She's done a lot for me over the years, and I feel it's my turn to pay it back.

Little bitties.

3. My half marathon training started this week. Holy crap, this is going to suck. Seriously. This is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Last night, I had a "whoa is me" moment at the house and started crying, wondering if I can do this. But just like everything in life, I'll try to do my best. And pray a lot about it. And whatever happens happens. I think in the long run it'll be an awesome experience, and of course I'll document it all here (well most of it will be here: http://chasing13point1.tumblr.com/).

4. For those of you on the East coast, did you feel the earthquake yesterday? Wowza. That was crazy. The earthquake happened in Virgina, and I am in Columbia, SC. The building started vibrating really crazy-like and my monitor was shaking. It lasted about 8-10 seconds maybe? My coworkers all darted out of their offices into the hallway and we were all saying the same exact thing "Was that was I think it was??" Of course, me being the only twitter addict in the office, checked my feed and confirmed that yes, it was indeed an earthquake. Seriously wild day!!! And with Irene also coming, I just feel that Mother Nature is really mad at us.

There is probably more I could/should blog about but work is calling! Have a splendid Wednesday!

12 Days...

2011-08-22T10:15:00.002-04:00

Finally finished The Help

2011-08-04T14:16:00.005-04:00

If you haven't finished the book, skip this post. You've been warned!

**********************************************

The ending! What?! I need more....What happens to Minnie? And her baby? And where is Aibileen going to go now? And does Celia ever have a baby?? Does Yule May ever get out of prison? Does Skeeter find love? What about her mama? Oh my gosh. I need CLOSURE. Do you think a sequel is in the works? What did you think of the end?

So many questions, so little answers...

A Post about Oatmeal

2011-08-01T13:40:00.003-04:00

I apologize in advance. This is going to be a very boring post, but what can I say? I love oatmeal. I talked about my love affair with oatmeal here and I love to put an egg in my oatmeal like she shows here. I know, it's a little weird to be so obsessed with it but I am.

Most of the time, I like to make my oatmeal on the stove-top and use real oatmeal. But sometimes in the mornings when I'm in a hurry, it's just not practical. So I have been known to cheat and grab those little dinky instant oatmeals. They really are not that great for you but it works in a pinch.

And then last week I discovered Better Oats. It is instant oatmeal that is good for you! I was very excited to find this. (No, I'm not being paid for saying all this...I wish I was! And being paid in oatmeal! ha) It tastes more like REAL oatmeal but takes 2 minutes in the microwave. Perfect for a busy morning when you don't have time to make the real thing. I think it was under 3 bucks for the box.

From their website:

Wouldn't you rather have Better Oats® ingredients?

100% Whole Grain Oats
Naturally firm and hearty. Never over-processed and never mushy.

Real pieces of fruit
You always know what you're getting with our fruit—real apples, peaches and strawberries. Just for fun, check the ingredients on your old oatmeal brand. Most of the strawberry oatmeal sold uses reconstituted apple bits, flavored and dyed to seem like strawberries. Same with peaches. Don't be fooled by imposter fruits!

Real dark chocolate morsels
If you love chocolate, you'll have to try our Lavish Dark Chocolate oatmeal. You won't want it just for breakfast.

Thick, quick and old-fashioned oats
All the hearty and natural texture but still fast and microwavable.

Do you love oatmeal? How do you make yours? Am I weird? (don't answer that)

Organization brought to you by Pinterest

2011-07-28T16:19:00.003-04:00

I am always looking for organization ideas for my home. I'll admit though, homes that are TOO organized are just creepy. I like homes that are organized but look lived in. Because that is just real life.

Here are some of my favorites from Pinterest. And come join the fun! My pinterest link is on the left hand side of my blog.

I love pretty laundry rooms. I am in the process of making mine over.

Source: mrsmfc.blogspot.com via Sherri on Pinterest

My jewelry is always a hot mess. I have some hangers in my closet but I would LOVE something like this. I wonder where you could find it?

Source: weibo.com via Sherri on Pinterest

I'll probably never do this, because I'm not crafty. But it is certainly cute!

Source: withlovemeghan.blogspot.com via Teresa on Pinterest

Cute idea for makeup brushes, since I am always laying mine down and then promptly losing it.

Source: misscappuccino.wordpress.com via Meghan on Pinterest

Cute for the kitchen.

Source: re-nest.com via Maximillian on Pinterest

I can honestly say my linens closet looks pretty good. But not THIS good...need to get some shelving for sheets like they have below.

Source: bhg.com via Angie on Pinterest

Happy pinning!

My blog is WONKY

2011-07-27T15:34:00.003-04:00

So I got a new computer at work and now when I look at my blog, it looks wonky. The whole right side is chopped off. Has it looked like this the whole time???? This makes me INSANE. Hopefully I will get this resolved soon. In the meantime, I apologize if it has looked like this for a long time. I am no design expert.

I leave you with Gus. And his pool. I want Gus.

Happy Wednesday!

Gluttony at its Best

2011-07-25T11:20:00.008-04:00

When I fall off the eating-well wagon, I fall hard. But it was for a good cause. The dual-birthday cause.

This weekend we celebrated two of my dear friend's birthdays. They share a birthday, how cool is that?? These girls...they are crazy. They are fun. Did I mention they are crazy? And I love them dearly. Even if they do wear pink flamingo glasses. And one of them may or may not be obsessed with Robert Pattinson. And I may share that obsession. I digress...

Me with Ms. pink flamingo before she donned her festive glasses. You can't really see it, but her arm candy was BLINGIN' that night.

Peach Mojitos!

Bananas Foster Cheesecake!

And then Sunday morning, I decided to make blueberry pancakes. A Twitter friend challenged me to a Breakfast-Off and who am I to turn down a challenge?

I scarfed. The end.

And now I will be running 5,000 miles this week to undo the damage. As the Countess says, Chic, C'est La Vie, right?

Happy, er...have a good Monday y'all!

According to Him

2011-07-19T15:30:00.004-04:00

Thank you everyone for all the support on the half marathon goal! I'm still so nervous but excited too! My friend and I are getting a beach cottage for that weekend and that will be our reward for all of our hard work. We are also signing up for group training runs and so that will be interesting for sure! But a good thing.

I started a Tumblr to document the journey and also for motivation. Follow me here if you like:
http://chasing13point1.tumblr.com/

Every day I doubt that I can do this...but every day I am also reminded that I CAN. Isn't it funny how sometimes we find inspiration in the craziest things?? When I am running, I listen to all kinds of music. It just depends but a lot of my songs are top radio hits, because they are new and have a good beat to run to. I also spend a lot of time listening to the lyrics.

The other day I ran outside for the first time in months. I was only supposed to run 2 miles, but when I got to the last 5 or so minutes of my run, I could feel the tears piling up in the corners of my eyes. My legs felt like logs. I thought about how in a few short months I'm going to have to run 13.1 miles and if it felt like today, I'd never make it. I was feeling pretty much like a failure and really beating myself up in my head.

Then this silly song came on my Pandora station and I started listening to the lyrics. It's really about a girl comparing her boyfriend to another boy. Apparently her boyfriend tears her down and is not supportive and this other guy is. And as crazy as this may sound, I think in that moment God wanted me to think of these lyrics in terms of Him and how He thinks about me. And how I shouldn't listen to the negative thoughts running through my head at that moment. And so I did. And a funny thing happened. It got me through the end of my run and I felt AWESOME.

According to Him
I'm beautiful,
incredible,
he can't get me out of his head.
According to Him
I'm funny,
irresistible,
everything He ever wanted.
Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
so baby tell me what I got to lose.
He's into me for everything I'm not,
According to Him

Like I said, it's a silly teeny bop song. Laugh if you must. But for me, it worked. And that's what it's all about. Finding inspiration in little things throughout the journey that will ultimately propel you to the finish line.

TGIF & a BIG announcement

2011-07-07T13:51:00.011-04:00

Did y'all have a good Fourth? Mine was relatively quiet. I went to the movies with my mom and a few of her girlfriends, which was fun. We saw Larry Crowne and while it wasn't the most riveting movie I've ever seen, it was cute. Julie Roberts wore some awesome dresses in the movie.

I am still loving my Shakeology drinks, and plan to order another month's supply. I can definitely feel an energy boost and last week I lost 2 lbs in my first week of drinking the shakes.

This week I started P90x. I started on Sunday and have done it every day except Wednesday night, where I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill instead. It's a great program and my muscles are definitely feeling the burn. However, now I have something else new to focus on....

I am a little scared to put this out there, but I need to. A friend of mine has convinced me to train with her and another friend for a half marathon. In November. I'm terrified. I only have 3.5 months to do this. The most I have ever run to date is 5 miles. I have a little work to do, no? So if anyone needs me for the next few months, I'm probably going to be a little bit busy. Running. And running some more. And trying not to throw up at the thought of running 13.1 miles. Someone hold me.

Have any of you run a half mary? If so, how long did you train? Any advice? Shaaare with me.

Cheers to Friday my peeps! I snapped this picture on the 4th of July. I was sitting outside on my porch, sipping wine, watching the fireworks pop around me and celebrating America the Beautiful.

TGIF!

Best..Wordless...Wednesday...EVER...

2011-06-29T09:20:00.003-04:00

Photo credits :ESPN, The State, Fits News, & The Post & Courier

Ten on Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

2011-06-28T09:17:00.009-04:00

Rambling update!

1. Last week's NKOTBSB concert in Atlanta was simply amazing. We had so much fun! Going with three girlfriends made it even better!

Yes, we decorated our car...

Yes...their hair is crimped. I LOVED it.

Me and my friend Lisa...ready to scream!

Jordan was this close to us in the crowd singing "Tonight" Yes, we screamed.

Glow in the dark polish. Scream!

Oh and Backstreet Boys were there too. They were great but we were there for our Kids!

2. This is HUGE. My Gamecocks are one win away from winning the National Championship in the College World Series of baseball again ... can we do it?? CROSSING FINGERS AND TOES! Last night's win over the Florida Gators was UNREAL. Props to Florida's pitcher though. That boy's talent is sick. Not as sick as our Scott Wingo though!

3. Shakeology update. Y'all this stuff is DELICIOUS. It tastes like a chocolate milkshake. I'm not even kidding. I'm only on Day 2 though, so we'll see how it pans out in other departments. The claim is that it increases energy, helps with regularity (tmi?), weight loss, lowers cholesterol, blood pressure and the list goes on. I'll update each week.

4. I don't know what I've gotten myself into, but I bought P90x yesterday. I bought it used off of Amazon, so crossing fingers it arrives in good condition. I love a good challenge though. When it arrives, I'll update my workouts mostly on my other blog if you are interested. But if I have any major changes or updates, I'll post it here to of course. EEK! I'm scared! But motivated! :)

5. The reason for my BIG workout push? I cruise to Cozumel in 40 days!!!! EEEE!!!!!!

6. My good-ex boyfriend (The Cub) is now dating someone else. And it does not bother me at all. Is that weird? I think it's good. Also, I dreamed about the bad-ex last night (Mr. P). I woke up in a sweat. That...was not good.

7. I need a nap. Just thought you needed to know.

8. My snoozing in the mornings has gotten wayyyyy out of hand again. Time to reel it back in. I KNOW that all I have to do is turn that snooze option off on my phone. But it's so hard to do. But once P90X arrives, I am going to have to do this workout in the mornings occasionally. And snoozing for an hour is not going to work for me. Who wants to call me in the mornings and wake me up?? And WHY is this so hard?? I get plenty of sleep.

9. I invented a word. You know how when you (and by you I mean us girls) sneeze, sometimes you tinkle a little? Well, I have started calling that Sneekle. "Oops I sneekled just now." It happens. ;) Or maybe it's just me?

10. I'm going paddleboarding again tomorrow night. I enjoyed it SO much. I can't wait.

Letter to My Younger Self

2011-06-26T12:06:00.008-04:00

Sometimes I will hear a song or read a post about someone writing a letter to their younger selves and they always say "don't worry, the best is yet to be!" And I always stop and think...would I say that to my younger self? Because I sure did have some fun when I was younger! ha

For most girls, we tend to think "the best" in terms of finding the love of our lives and riding off into the sunset. I hear girls saying all the time "when I get married..." or "when I have children..." I used to say that too. You just assume it will happen someday. But what if it doesn't? Can the best still be yet to come?

My sarcastic self would like to say this to my younger self:

"Dear 17 year old me: When you are in your 30's, you will live alone. Wait, not alone. With cats. Love, Your Bitter 30 Something Year Old Sad Panda Self"

That's no bueno.

It's easy to be bitter. It's easy to wallow and feel sorry for myself. But at the end of the day, all that does is breed more negativity. Sure my heart longs to find that one person that will be there for me during all of life's ups and downs. I do long to fill that void. I still pray that it will happen. But I also have to accept that God may have other plans for my life. I trust Him. It's not always easy. But I do. And the truth is that I am so blessed in so many other ways.

So instead, I would say this:

Dear 17 Year old Me:

Life is fun for you right now. Enjoy every second. Cry when you feel hurt. Laugh when you hear something funny. Live in the moment. Life isn't a fairy tale and you may or may not find your Prince someday. But you will live an amazing life. And everything you are go through is prepping you to be a strong, independent woman. Your family will be there for you throughout the years, even though you won't always appreciate it like you will when you are older. Some of those friends you have now will be friends for life. And you will make new friends throughout the years. You are one lucky girl. You will be healthy. You will own your own home. You will be financially comfortable and able to pay your bills. You will find happiness in the little things in life. You will get your heart broken a few times. One will be really bad and almost break you. But it won't. You'll dust yourself off and start living again. You'll grow closer to God during this time. And someday you'll realize that while life isn't perfect, the life you are living is perfect for you. It's been God's plan all along. Keep growing, living and learning from your mistakes. And I promise...your best is yet to come.

Love,
Me Today

Me at 17. The higher the hair the closer to God, right? ;)

Shakeology: I'm doing it

2011-06-20T13:00:00.004-04:00

First things first. Remember when I said if I found a picture of me paddleboarding I would post it? Well, if you blink twice and squint really hard, you can see me...

Could I possibly look anymore squatty and chunky dunky? I don't think so. Oh well. And not that I would call her out or anything, but..if I were to, then I would tell you that that's my friend Julie next to me...trying to stand up... hehe.

So, I purchased Shakeology today. I don't usually buy into the hype of a lot of weight-loss products, but I have heard SO many great things about this one. I thought I would give it a 30 day try. As of today, there are 48 days until my cruise! And I want to look and feel my best by the time we board. I will report back in 30 days and let you know the final results.

From their site:

Just replace one meal a day with Shakeology®, exercise three times a week, and follow a balanced diet. It's that simple. You can lower cholesterol levels, lose pounds, and shed inches. Participants in an independent study who combined The Shake, The Workout, and our Eating Plan for 90 days¹ dropped an average of 10 pounds and 2 inches off their waistline. They also improved digestion, increased energy levels, and lowered their total cholesterol on average by 30% and LDL ("bad") cholesterol by 38% on average.*

We shall see. PS It ain't cheap.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T05:00:00.002-04:00

To the greatest man I know: Happy Father's Day!

I love you.

It's official: Paddleboarding is FUN!

2011-06-17T05:00:00.003-04:00

A happier post!

So Wednesday night was my first paddleboarding lesson. First of all, I will never turn down anything that involves spending time on the lake. But I won't lie, I was a little nervous. My friend who is one of the instructors had told me to to wear something you can get wet in in case you fall in, but that I probably would not. I wore board shorts, my bathing suit and a tank top. I never fell in but the water temp was awesome. Kind've wishing I did now!

Basically, we started out by me climbing onto the board from the dock on all 4's with my paddle in front of me horizontally on the board. Then he had me sit up and paddle away from the dock while on my knees on the board. When you finally get a little ways out, you put your paddle back down, and slowly rise up on to your feet one foot at a time. This part was tricky because I was so nervous my knees were shaking like crazy! I just knew this is when I would fall in. One guy came over to me on his board and told me to just relax, and hang out for a few minutes. Get comfortable. And that's what I did. Eventually my knees stopped shaking and I was able to finally look around me and enjoy the view. It was so peaceful out there! I finally got my rhythm going and was able to paddle around. This is something I will definitely be doing again in the near future!

I don't have any pictures of me on the board but there was a reporter from the newspaper there taking shots. If I find one, and it's not totally horrific, I will post it. Ha!

This picture made me laugh!

Here is a video of a stand up paddleboarding demo. You know. If you are interested.

TGIF! LONGEST WEEK EVER!!!

How to eat like an Italian...and stay slim

2011-06-15T11:17:00.004-04:00

This post is a little long, but hopefully you'll find the article at the bottom worthwhile reading like I did!

One of the girls that is visiting Spain with my brother right now tweeted about the interesting foods they were eating. I've always been fascinated with the food and eating styles of other countries. What they eat, how much, what time, etc. And how they stay so slim with all this amazing food available to them. I know one thing is for sure. America has amazing, fresh food available to us too. But usually we don't take the time needed to buy, prepare, consume and ENJOY this food. We eat processed crap. We eat SO FAST. We Americans never have enough time. We spend all day driving around in our cars. We eat in our cars. When we dine out, we tend to woof down our food, pay the check and it's back to work or home. Lots of Americans don't even eat all day because they are too busy with work and then what happens? Hunger kicks in and then we overeat. Fast food. TV dinners. And half the time I can't even tell you what I ate the day before.

The other problem I have with Americans is our mentality of dieting. Instead of making better food choices or moving more, we eat fat free this and fat free that. Certain foods become off limits for some reason. "Don't eat cheese." "Don't eat pasta." Etc. The problem is not the food. The problem is how MUCH of this food we eat. And how little physical activity we get. Because there is never....enough...time..... Am I right?

We need to change our mentality. Other countries make meal time an experience. It's about pleasure. It's about taste. It's about fulfillment but not gluttony. The Italians have always fascinated me when it comes to dining. They are not a gluttonous country. Yet they are surrounded by pasta. Pizza. Wine. So how do they do it?

Earlier I was googling (love how googling is now a verb) "typical meal for an italian" and I came across this article below. I wasn't even planning on doing a blog about this, but it struck me as such good information that I decided to share it with all of you.

Italian Diet Secrets: How the Italian people manage to stay slim in the land of pizza and pasta.

By Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD/LD

Italian Diet Secret No. 1: Dine Leisurely
It quickly became clear that the Italians, like other Mediterranean cultures, know how to really enjoy the experience of eating. They relax and socialize while dining for hours, over lunch and/or dinner and coffee. Yet sitting at the table for long periods of time does not appear to lead to excessive eating or drinking.

Before and after dinner, many Italians engage in the passagiata, a leisurely stroll through town. Generations walk together, talking and keeping alive a cherished tradition.

It also became obvious that the typical Italian diet is very different from what you see on an American Italian restaurant menu. Italians enjoy a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, poultry, olive oil, tomatoes, whole grains, dairy, red wine -- and they eat very little red meat.

Typically, Italians start the day with a relatively small breakfast of coffee with milk (rather than cream or half and half) along with cereal or a cornetto, a small biscuit. Lunch varies from family to family and all over the country but typically consists of a "first plate" and "second plate," such as a sandwich and salad, or a small plate of pasta followed by a small piece of fish or chicken and vegetables.

When kids want a midday snack, they usually have yogurt or fruit, not cake, cookies, or candy. Adults often opt for coffee or cappuccino made with milk (not specialty coffees topped with whipped cream).

Dinner is a larger meal, but is not served too late (to allow time for proper digestion). It's usually pasta with a tomato or vegetable sauce; a small portion of fish or meat; vegetables; and fruit for dessert. Mineral water is the preferred beverage, along with a glass of red wine. All portions tend to be small when compared to our own supersized quantities.

Italian Diet Secret No. 2: Stop When You're Full
Italians are not concerned with calories because they stop eating when they are full, says one Rome physician.

"We eat by our stomachs, not by our heads, and since we dine leisurely, we get the signal that we are full and can just enjoy a coffee and the company," says Stephano Gumina, MD, PhD.

Gumina also describes a very active lifestyle, with lots of walking or bike riding, especially in urban areas of the country. Then there's the Mediterranean-style diet, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, fish a few times a week, lean meats or chicken, whole grains, olive oil, and red wine. All of this helps Italians enjoy long lives, he says.

"Where we differ from Americans: We eat small portions, do not eat after dinner, never in front of the television, computer, or while sitting sedentary reading a book, and no junk food," he says.

In addition, Italians usually satisfy a sweet tooth with fruit instead of higher-calorie desserts. A typical dessert could be fighi e albicocce -- figs and apricots picked from the garden trees. In southern parts of Italy, the enormous and delicate lemons are the basis for desserts such as gelato and lemon ice.

Italian Diet Secret No. 3: Balance Quality and Quantity
On the sunny Amalfi coast up in the village of Ravello, the famous "Mamma" Agata runs a fabulous restaurant overlooking the sea, teaches Italian cooking classes, and plans to publish her first cookbook next year.

She sizes up Italian eating plans quite simply: "We balance the quality and quantity of ingredients -- not too much fat, just enough carbohydrates, lots of fish, chicken, and turkey, and just a little red meat."

"People think Italians eat a lot every day but they are wrong, because while we do eat a big family meal on Sunday, the rest of the week we eat small portions of healthy foods, such as pasta, vegetables, lean meat, fish, and cheese," she says. "But we never drink soda [or eat] chips, junk foods, or mayonnaise."

Olive oil is the preferred oil, used extensively in cooking and on salads. But you won't typically find it on the table for bread dunking as we enjoy in America. Italians enjoy the healthy, monounsaturated fat, but don't overdo it.

"Healthy fats are better than trans or saturated fats, but olive oil is fat, has the same number of calories as other fats, and needs to be eaten in limited quantities," says Gumina.

Italian Diet Secret No. 4: Enjoy Simple, Fresh Food
The Tuscan diet is loaded with beans, which are high in protein and soluble fiber that fill you up for a long time for very few calories. Riboletta soup and pasta e fagioli are two popular hearty dishes that feature beans.

Balsamic vinegar from Modena is another flavorful, yet very low-calorie, product of Italy that is used freely to flavor foods and salads.

Down south, the fresh fish, herbs, artichokes, capers, and gigantic lemons contribute to delicious and healthy cuisine. Pasta is served al dente, with a little olive oil or tomato sauce and vegetables, and always in small portions.

"Our cooking is simple and genuine," says Agata. "We start with fresh ingredients, often from our own gardens. We don't buy precooked foods. [We] eat lots of vegetables, keep it simple, and try to eat like our grandparents."

To make sure the kitchen secrets are passed along from one generation to the next, small children can always be found in the kitchen with their parents -- learning from the masters.

Italian Diet Secret No. 5: Don't 'Diet'
Dieting seems to be a foreign concept to Italians.

"We are not hung up on nutrition labels nor dieting, just eating a healthy, satisfying diet and being active," says Gumina.

Says Agata: "When people go on diets, they get depressed and gain more weight at the end of the diet. So instead, they learn to eat well and only enjoy something sweet on occasion, and this way they are not frustrated."

So the next time you're in the mood for Italian food, serve up a dish inspired by the land of Romeo and Juliet that includes all the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Skip fried foods and cream sauces on pasta. Instead, go for a tomato salad, simple vegetable pasta sauce, and use olive oil sparingly. Use herbs, lemon, vinegars, capers, and other intensely flavorful, low-calorie foods for seasoning.

Not only is the Mediterranean way of eating healthy, it's quite pleasurable, says K. Dun Gifford, president and founder of Oldways Preservation and Trust, which developed a Mediterranean diet pyramid in 1993. "Sipping wine, eating fine cheese and succulent seafood is quite luxurious, and an indulgent, lovely eating pattern -- yet it is good for you," he says.

Published July 9, 2007. SOURCES: Stephano Gumina, MD, PhD, University of Rome. "Mamma" Agata, restaurant and cooking school owner, Ravello, Italy. K. Dun Gifford, president and founder, Oldways Preservation and Trust. ©2007 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.d e

Tuesday Tidbits

2011-06-14T10:03:00.009-04:00

Just a few random updates:

1. My Gamecocks are heading to Omaha again to defend our National Title! The first College World Series game is June 19th at 7 PM against another great team, Texas A&M. Let's home our boys can bring another title home! GO COCKS!

Photo courtesy of The State: I love a good dogpile!

2. One of our best players, Jackie Bradley, Jr., was also recently drafted to the Boston Red Sox. That's what happens when you are part of a team that wins the College World Series. You lose players to the draft. I am definitely going to be a bandwagon Boston fan now. Congrats to JBJ and to Boston for a great pick! The boy is dy-no-mite.

3. In the past 2 weeks, I have only lost .8 of a pound. But...I also did not make it to the gym as much last week as I usually do and I have gone over my calories a few more times than usual. This week I have several things going on after work, so yesterday I tried something different. I worked out during my lunch break! Crazy I know. I am fortunate my gym is right around the corner from work, and they have a large changing room. Not something I can do every day but occasionally, it works.

4. I started the Couch to 5K plan again last week in order to ease back in to running. I don't have any 5K races on the schedule until October, but I want to stay ready in case one pops up that I'd like to try. I am only running on the treadmill though and keeping my pace pretty slow. I should finish Week 9 the week before my cruise...speaking of...

5. I cruise to Cozumel in August! Any tips from those of you who have been before?

6. I recently had my back porch screened in and a roof put over it to block rain. Needless to say I am loving it! I absolutely cannot wait until Fall, when I can leave the doors to the porch open and let the cool air flow in without worrying about bugs, mosquitos, spiders, etc.

7. Tomorrow I am getting my first lesson in paddleboarding. A friend of mine is giving lessons at the lake tomorrow and I am super excited! And nervous. Hope I don't fall in. He said no one fell in last time but if it happens to one person, it will be me. Wish me luck! And I wish I looked as confident and amazing while paddleboarding as Jenn A does! :)

8. My brother is currently in Barcelona for the week. I am sooo jealous. It is definitely on my bucket list of places to visit.

9. Guess who is just now watching Lost? I was addicted from the very first episode. It's going to take me forever to finish but I am determined.

10. Next week I see these guys in concert!!

Happy Tuesday!

2011-06-10T10:40:00.004-04:00

I have been wanting to do a Pinterest post for weeks, but I am just now getting around to it. Anyways, here are some of the items I have found that I just love. Thought this would be fun for a Friday end-of-the-week post!

Source: Wedding Course

Source google

Source: Google

Source: Citified Blogspot

Source: Google

TGIF!

Happy Birthday

2011-06-09T09:25:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday to my mom!

I have been blessed to have the most amazing mother in the world. She has taught me so much over the years and I still learn from her every day. She is the hardest working woman I have ever known and at at the age of 69 (omg how did that happen??) she can still run circles around me. Not only is she my mother, she is my best friend. Sometimes I think I drive her crazy because I call her so much throughout the day. ha! I cherish every single day that I have with her.

I love you mom. Happy Birthday!!

We Want to Know....

2011-06-08T15:07:00.004-04:00

Copying A Belle in Bows today and doing a WWTK post.

1. Everyone seems to have a quirky family situation, what is something unique

about your family dynamic?

My dad was an only child but my mom has 7 brothers and sisters. Having said that, ALL of my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. live in different states. Neither my brother nor I are married, so it's just the 4 of us here, and we all live within a few miles of each other. I talk to my family every single day.

2. What is the most stressful aspect to blogging?

Trying to make sure that what I am posting is not too annoying, boring, weird or offensive to anyone. And then usually I just say "oh well" and post it anyway. ha!

3. We all end up on a blog at some point in our day, but name your top 3 favorite

websites you flock to daily. (Non-blog)

Pinterest, My Fitness Pal, and my Gmail.

4. What's your sign? Believe in it or not does any of it ring true for you?

I'm a Pisces, and even though I'm not a believer, I will admit the characteristics of a Pisces fit me to a tee. intuitive, dreamy, artistic, humane, sympathetic, sensitive, compassionate, perceptive, tender, impressionable

5. Ice cream Ice cream, we all scream for ice cream!!! Name your

favorite flavor!

Breyer's Oreo Ice Cream. I love it so much that I can't buy it because I would eat the whole tub in one day. It contains whole oreos. I die of happiness every time I eat some.

Oh and just two more random things...

I discovered yesterday Starbuck's Caramel Frap Light Grande. Only 110 calories. Heavenly and guiltless!

Last but not least, please tell me you are watching the Bachelorette. Oh Bentley...turd alert. All I can say is that the ABC producers are eating.this.up.

Tuesday's Confession: Contentment

2011-06-07T10:44:00.007-04:00

There was a time in my life where I lived for going out on the weekends. I never wanted to stay home. I lived for partying it up with my girlfriends. For whatever reason this past year, that has all changed. Now I live for slow, lazy weekends (see post below). I love curling up with a good book. I love sitting on my porch drinking a glass of wine. I love to cook. Etc.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy going out to dinner with friends and laughing over a glass or two of wine. I especially love going to the movies (sidebar: GO see Bridesmaids!). But what I can't handle anymore? Waking up with a hangover or being overly tired because I stayed out too late. I loathe clubs and bars. I don't even really enjoy dancing anymore (not that I won't occasionally bust a move at a wedding or something, LOL!). But overall, I'm just completely and totally over the whole "partying" scene. It's just not fun like it used to be. I guess I really am growing old? ha! :)

It's just who I am now, and I don't apologize for it. I'm so much happier these days. I'm just...content. I guess that is a good way to describe it. For the first time in a LONG time, I'm content just being by myself. And not desperate to find someone or something to fill a void. Sure, I'd still love to meet someone. But it no longer lingers in my thoughts constantly. I'm pretty happy these days. Who knew? Broken hearts really can heal. :) And I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and an amazing family.

Life's A Beach

2011-06-06T12:28:00.006-04:00

The past two weekends I've had the pleasure of spending some time at the beach with a good friend of mine. We pretty much have done nothing but shop, eat and lounge on the beach.

How cute is this wine?

Found me a floppy hat to protect the paleness that is my skin.

We found a Chick Fila truck by the sea. Score.

Toes in the sand = my happy place.

And of course a Carolina sunset to end a perfect weekend.

I wish every weekend were this simple and easy.

WANT

2011-06-01T16:57:00.002-04:00

I am craving this.

So bad it's all I can think about. Oh and cupcakes. Help....

Hello Summertime!!!

2011-05-31T13:01:00.004-04:00

What, it's not summer officially yet?? Well it is here in SC! It's hotter than a pair of sweatpants full of barbecue. On the bright side, it's also the fun time of the year - weekend beach trips, pool parties, cookouts, summer produce and and cute summery clothes.

This past weekend I went to the beach with a friend of mine. We were only able to stay for the night, but we had a great time. I can't wait to go back! We did some shopping, and I dragged my friend into a Forever 21. That store is always completely trashed and full of teeny bop clothes, but their jewelry is cheap and fun to shop.

I spent Memorial Day with my family, and we took a trip to the local farmer's market. Let's just say, we tore it up.

Mater sammich = Two pieces of white bread. Slice a juicy tomato. Slap some Duke's mayonnaise on it. Bite into a slice of heaven.

Ahhhh..... :)

Today was an exciting day for me because I was down 2.8 lbs this morning, for a total of 8.4 lbs since April 25th. Baby steps to the finish line... :)

My latest food obsession: Vegan/Raw Foods

2011-05-26T08:56:00.003-04:00

I have a new surprising food obsession, one that I never saw coming. A little restaurant opened up beside my gym, and I never really gave it much thought. The words on the door said "organic, raw, vegan." Now I do like to consider myself a healthy eater for the most part. I like to try new stuff occasionally. But this place never really struck me as one I wanted to dart in and try immediately. Fast forward a few weeks later, and a friend of mine told me she wanted me to try a new favorite lunch spot. It was, you guessed it, the same place. So I agreed. The first time I ordered a hummus wrap. I don't how to describe it really. It was delicious...refreshing...filling (as in, I wasn't hungry for HOURS), and just overall very tasty. Over the next few weeks, we went several times. On this past Tuesday, she texted me to meet her there as I was already walking in the door. That's how bad our obsession is.

Pictured below are two of their specials. The first one is my personal favorite, the vegan tacos and a corn salad side dish. It's ah-mazing.

This one is their vegan spaghetti and meatballs.

Now I know what you are thinking. What the heck are they made out of? I really don't know. I know that according to their website, it is "unprocessed plant foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees." I don't plan on turning into a vegan anytime soon. I do enjoy my meat, cheese, milk and eggs too much. But trying new things from time to time is never a bad thing, right?

Have you ever tried raw/vegan food?

What a weekend!

2011-05-24T14:32:00.009-04:00

Sorry for the late update! Just finally recovering from the weekend. It was a super busy one! Thursday evening was the Kenny Chesney concert, and it was SO much fun! We bought tickets but a friend of ours had a suite, so we were able to enjoy the show while enjoying free food and beverages!

My friend Julie and I before the show. She's one of my besties, and this is her first appearance on my blog. Everyone say "Hi Julie!" ;)

Here I am with my boyfriend, Kenny, before the show.

Friday evening was my friend Shannon's baby shower. You should have seen my friend Jenn and I in the Target trying to buy items off her list. It was so hilarious! We finally had to flag an associate down for help. "Um, can you tell me where to find Butt Paste???" Next time, I'm bringing Chardonnay with me. The shower was fun though, and I got to meet a lot of sweet ladies!

By the way, would y'all please tell Shannon to update her blog already??? :) Clearly, she has some news to announce!

Saturday evening I attended a beautiful wedding. We had a great time!!

I love these girls!

And there may have um, been a photo booth....what happens in the photo booth stays in the photo booth right???

I can't believe these horrible tornadoes have struck again, but keep Joplin in your prayers. You can also text "REDCROSS" TO 90999 to donate $10 for relief efforts. I did it last night, and it was super easy.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

PS If you are reading this in Reader, I'm sorry for how screwy it looks. It looks normal on my screen but it always looks crazy in Reader. Ahh, Blogger. We have a love/hate relationship!

"One Bottle of Wine and Two Dixie Cups"

2011-05-19T11:28:00.003-04:00

"3 AM we fell in love....

That's right...it's time for some Kenny Chesney! The last time I saw Kenny Chesney was a few years ago when he played at Williams Brice Stadium. He broke his foot in the lift as they were bringing him up to the stage but guess what? The man still rocked the house! With a broken foot. Amazing. I have mad respect for this guy. Hope to have some fun pictures from the concert to show y'all tomorrow.

Happy Thursday!

A Confession

2011-05-18T13:42:00.010-04:00

Y'all know I love the South. Specifically South Carolina, obviously. The South is where my heart lies and most likely, I'll never leave. My family is here. I have lifelong friends (aka family) here. I have a great job.

However, regardless of all of that I confess: Sometimes I sit and dream of moving to California.

I just fell in love when I visited and I could easily see myself living there. The people were so friendly, the weather was amazing, the scenery is breathtaking, and the the food...I could go on and on. It's been 2 years since I visited but I can't wait to go again someday. I even loved LA. Just overall a beautiful place.

So there you go. My little West Coast secret. :-)

200 Calorie Pizza? Don't mind if I do!

2011-05-17T06:00:00.004-04:00

Did you know that Hungry Girl is on the Food Network now? I caught a few minutes of it yesterday and she was doing a show on low calorie pizza. I don't know about y'all but pizza is one of the things I've really missed while I've been trying to lose weight. So needless to say, I perked up when I heard what she was discussing.

The first pizza she did was a White Crispy Pizza. Her version says that it is only 200 calories. Mine was probably more like 280 calories, because I could not find fat free ricotta. I used skim instead. But at any rate, under 300 calories is still pretty good! Also, I used spinach instead of basil leaves, because I didn't have any on hand.

Let me know if you try it. I can't wait to try more Hungry Girl pizza recipes! PS the 200 calories does NOT include the red wine. ;) hehe

Crispy White Pizza
PER SERVING (entire recipe): 200 calories, 3.25g fat, 930mg sodium, 33g carbs, 7g fiber, 7g sugars, 17g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5*

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

Click to download a printer-friendly version!

Ingredients:

1 large low-fat, high-fiber, burrito-size tortilla with about 100 calories (The one I used was the brand LaBandarita, which only has 81 calories - I found it at WalMart)
1/3 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1 tbsp. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion 
1/4 tsp. garlic powder 
1/8 tsp. salt, or more to taste
Dash black pepper 
4 thin slices plum tomato
4 fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Put tortilla on a baking sheet sprayed lightly with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven until slightly crispy, 3 - 5 minutes per side. Leave oven on.

In a small bowl, mix ricotta cheese with mozzarella cheese. Set aside.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add onion and, stirring occasionally, cook until softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Immediately stir onion into cheese mixture. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

Spread cheese-onion mixture evenly on top of the tortilla. Top with tomato slices and basil leaves. If you like, sprinkle with a dash of salt.

Return pizza to the oven and bake until hot, about 5 minutes. Slice and enjoy. Pizza for one!

MAKES 1 SERVING

A Prayerful Monday

2011-05-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

Please keep a dear friend of mine and her family in your prayers as they deal with a devastating loss.

Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

Happy Friday!

2011-05-13T14:03:00.002-04:00

Gummy Vitamins: Best Invention Ever

2011-05-12T13:32:00.000-04:00

Ok, maybe not ever because I'm pretty sure air conditioning is the best invention ever. But after that...definitely gummy vitamins.

I don't even want to know how much money I have spent on multivitamins only to toss them out after a few months because I would never take them. Or I would take them maybe once a week. And when I did finally break down and take one of those horse pills, I would gag on them. And then stress about choking to death in my kitchen because I live alone and no one would know for days until they smelled the decaying body.

When I recently heard about these, angels started singing and it was love at first sight.

source

Now not only do I take my multivitamin every night (and whatever you do, don't take them in the morning - Nausea City, USA), but I look forward to taking them! They are yummy and they are gummy. And you get to take two a day. Score. Just don't eat too many...they taste like candy and it's easy to do. You've been warned.

And now back to your regular scheduled blog reading. Just had to share this because if you haven't heard of them, go out and get some today. No more death by multivitamins! (I got mine at WalMart.)

Enjoy!

Birthdays, Mother's Day & More

2011-05-10T15:40:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was my friend Cindy's birthday! We went out to dinner to Cotton Grill in Lexington and had a fabulous evening. And I splurged a little too much but it was worth it! Their grits are amazinggggg. Zomg. But moving along....

Me and the Birthday Girl:

These two sweet Southern gals below are sisters and I have known both of them my entire life. (and that's a long time) ha!

Cheers to the birthday girl!

On Saturday, I took my mommy to Charleston for the day. She loves to walk on the beach, and by the time we were done we had walked almost 5 miles. Whew! Then we did a little beach shopping on the Isle of Palms, drove around and looked at houses, and then drove over to the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. We walked half the bridge and added another 2 miles onto our daily total. I love that I was sore the next day but my 69 year old mother? Totally fine. The woman is a walking queen.

I always take a picture of this sign - I love it!

After lunch and walking the beach, so pardon our sweaty selves.

For Mother's Day, I cooked and we just relaxed outside and enjoyed each other's company. I cherish this time with her. She is truly my best friend! I love you mama.

And last but not least, my weekly weigh in was this morning, and I'm down 2.8 for a total of 4.6 (not sure why, but my ticker on the left side rounds up...grrr). Yay! Of course, I walked approximately 25 miles this past week, so I'm sure that helped a great deal!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Keeping a Clean House: How Do You Do It?

2011-05-03T15:30:00.007-04:00

I love a sparkly, clean house but I hate to clean. Then again, unless you are Bree Van De Kamp, who enjoys it? But I do enjoy that high that you get after a good cleaning session. Is there anything better than going to sleep in fresh, laundered sheets? I don't think so.

Because of my bad habit of procrastination, I usually end up with a mound of laundry every weekend and a ton of household chores. And I run around doing a quickie clean job, and never finding the time to do a really good scrub session. Sometimes it just ruins my weekends, and I spent Sunday nights folding clothes.

I am determined to put a stop to this. Or at least attempt to create some better habits throughout the week to put a stop to weekend "cram cleaning" episodes. A few days ago, I downloaded Martha Stewart's Weekly Cleaning Guide. I was afraid it would be too daunting because we know how Martha is, but overall it's not too bad. So what I've decided to do is break up these weekly tasks into certain days, and try to accomplish a few of the things on the list each day.

Do you have a cleaning list? How do you keep your house clean? Or do you have these crazy rush-job cleaning episodes like I do? And those of you with children, a-yaya. It's just me in my home, so really it is ridiculous that I cannot manage to keep up with this daily. I'll keep you posted on my progress! I have even considered asking a few friends to drop by unannounced over the next few weeks to keep me accountable. Hmm, scary thought. But it would probably work!

Ending on a positive note, I lost 1.8 lbs on my first week tracking through the My Fitness Pal website. Some of you may remember, I was really struggling with losing weight with the new WW points plus program. For some reason, it just wasn't working for *me* (Disclaimer: I love WW - I lost 30 lbs on the old program. But for me, the new plan just didn't work well.) Whatever works, right? If you join MFP, let me know so we can be friends on the site!

Happy Wednesday!

Brag Report: 18 miles!

2011-05-01T21:09:00.004-04:00

I dread walking on the treadmill as it is so boring to me! However, this week I sucked it up and got on that bad boy almost every day. And as a result, I got in 18 miles of walking! The first few days were pretty rough, as I am not used to walking that much every single day. My legs were feeling pretty tired. But after about the 4th day, I was feeling pretty good! I downloaded a few movies onto my iPhone, and this has been a lifesaver. I prop the phone up on the top of the treadmill screen, plug my ear buds in and off to the movies I go! It was so helpful in passing the time away.

Also, I've been continuing to faithfully use the website My Fitness Pal every day, and several of my friends/coworkers are now using it as well. Whenever I log in I can see which one of my friends has already logged their food, exercise or if they have lost weight. It's pretty motivating! So far, I've done really well, except for Friday. I pretty much had a cheat day on Friday. But hopefully on Tuesday morning when I get on that scale, I'll see a lower number. Cross your fingers and say a prayer!

I'll leave you with my favorite photo from the royal wedding:

The little girl with her hands over her ears? Pure awesomeness.

Friday Follow: Am I Following Your Blog?

2011-04-29T14:48:00.005-04:00

I have a feeling there are some of you out there that I am not following. Leave your blog address in the comments if you think I might not be, and I'll make sure to follow you asap. And I am determined to get back to commenting on blogs again.

Also, if you like, follow me on Twitter: @carolina_tweets.

I won't post much on the royal wedding because I'm sure you've read/heard all about it. But it was definitely so beautiful. I am still in awe and plan on watching it again tonight. I'll state the obvious: Kate was stunning!

Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Gossip.

Cheerio!

Pray For Alabama

2011-04-28T08:50:00.002-04:00

For the recovery...and the families of all those who lost their lives in yesterday's awful storms.

All photos from msnbc.

What I'm Reading

2011-04-26T16:00:00.006-04:00

I have times where I read and times where I don't. Last year I didn't read much at all. This year I've read a few books here and there. Also, I have a habit of reading 2 or 3 books at one time. I don't join book clubs either. I loathe having to read what everyone else is reading. And people in book clubs get really annoyed when you show up and haven't read the book and just want to drink wine. Not saying I did that or anything... :-)

But I did download a few more books recently, and going to attempt to get started on them asap.

The Help

It helps (pun intended) that this movie is coming out in August. And the trailer looked super cute. I started reading this Sunday night, and so far it's awesome.

The Paris Wife

I have a feeling I am going to fall madly in love with this book - Ernest Hemingway, a love story, Paris in the 20's. Yes, please. Have any of you read it?

Pictures of You

I don't much about this book except that a blogger recommended it and said it was amazing and one of the best books they've ever read. I'm a sucker for a good review, so on my kindle it went. I'll let you know when I'm done!

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

One of my best friends told me about this book recently. She said if I liked The Secret Life of Bees (which I loved) then I would love this. So I downloaded it asap.

Last but not least: Breaking Dawn

My friend Lisa will kill me if I don't finish this book soon. I really need to start it over to be honest. Sometimes I get sucked into a series of books but I burn out before I reach the end. That happened to me with the Harry Potter series and now the Twilight Series. But I definitely want to finish it, and super excited to see the premiere in November with her!

So that's it for now. I'll keep you posted! Are y'all currently reading any books that I should add to my list?

I'm Back: Monday Brain Dump

2011-04-25T10:57:00.007-04:00

Was really thinking that I had lost my blog mojo recently, so decided to do a Monday brain dump just to get back in the habit of blogging. Here we go...

My conference went great. We had a good turnout, and everyone seemed to go home happy. The Marina Inn is fabulous as a site location, and I highly recommend them. Here I am with my coworker (check out Caroline's blog) handing out a 2 night stay at the Marina Inn to one lucky door prize winner! Everyone had a good time.

This past weekend, my friend and I went to visit her family in Orlando. Her sister lives in the Celebration community near Disney, and I was super excited! We had a wonderful time - we had a pool day, a shopping day, dinner at downtown Disney and a movie. Have you seen Water for Elephants? I am VERY sensitive to seeing animals being abused, and I was extremely nervous about seeing this film. But I'm glad I did. It was a beautiful movie, and even though it was hard for me to watch some scenes, I actually want to see it again. And I'm not going to lie; seeing Rob Pattinson helped. He's super hot. And Reese did a wonderful job as always. I did not read the book, but everyone has told me that they did a great job of keeping it very much like the book. Go see WFE!

Can you tell we were excited??

I've recently discovered Pinterest, thanks to my friend Crist. Have you tried it? It's super addictive. Add me as a friend if you are a member of the site.

I canceled my Weight Watchers online membership. Now I am trying something new called My Fitness Pal. It's a free site where you log your food and fitness, and I find it to be very motivating. I'll keep you posted on my progress from week to week.

I think that's it for now. Have a great week all! Good to be back in the normal swing of things.

Hiatus

2011-03-30T10:30:00.002-04:00

Putting this blog on hiatus for a few weeks. My work conference is coming up the first of April and I really need to stay focused. I'll be back soon so don't leave me for good!

Stay well my lovelies,

Birthdays & Boot Camp

2011-03-23T10:12:00.006-04:00

I spent my birthday weekend with some amazing girlfriends in my favorite city, Charleston. We had so much fun, and I can't wait to go back again with them soon. We spent Friday on the beach at Sullivan's Island and ate a late lunch at Poe's Tavern. Saturday had brunch at Toast of Charleston and then shopped on King Street til we dropped. Saturday evening we ate dinner at Bocci's (still dreaming about my spaghetti marinara), and walked next door to my favorite Irish pub Tommy Condon's where the Irish eyes were smiling upon us. The same bartender still works there from when I was in college at CofC. Whoa. I felt so old!

A special thank you to my sweet friends Jenn and Lisa for making this weekend SO fun and amazing!

Monday evening was my first boot camp session. And it's official: I am sore in places I did not even know had muscles and sitting on the toilet is excruciating. However, I can honestly say that I had fun! I am going back tonight for more butt kicking. I'm just glad my friends J and C are enduring this pain with me. Together, we will survive ladies! :)

Here is the line for boot camp - 140 women registering! It'll be interesting to see how many come back tonight. Looking forward to Friday, so I can have the first week over and done with!

Happy HUMP Day!

Boot Camp TONIGHT

2011-03-21T15:16:00.004-04:00

Boot camp starts tonight and continues for 4 weeks. I'm scared. Someone hold me.

(the guy above will do just fine...)

It's mah birthday!

2011-03-19T06:00:00.001-04:00

And I've got a fun weekend planned thanks to some berry sweet friends! :) I'm going to pretend I'm turning 27 all weekend long.

Wednesday night I was surprised with a little impromptu birthday party ...nothing says birthday like Mexican food, beer, good friends and cake! Ole!

Have a great weekend! =) Be back Monday with a birthday recap and I'm sure lots of fun pictures.

Outdoor Blogging aka I have Spring Fever!

2011-03-13T19:50:00.010-04:00

Since today was the first day of Daylight Savings, I took my laptop outside on my back porch.

I did a little writing....

I drank a little wine...

and I waited for my favorite moment of every day...

Happy Daylight Savings everyone! Have a great week!

Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers

2011-03-12T13:27:00.006-05:00

I don't know about y'all but turkey burgers can taste a little bland to me sometimes. I found this recipe somewhere (I finally remembered where: Eat, Live, Run, follow her recipe for more exact measurements - I just guessed when I was making mine) and I give it 2 thumbs up! Next time I might experiment with some more spices/seasonings. It's really delicious though. Enjoy!

1 package Jennie-O ground turkey breast
1 package frozen spinach, thawed (use as much or as little as you like, I used about 1/2 cup I think)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (or more if you like)
1 tbsp EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together in a bowl. Mold into patties and grill approx 6 minutes each side (depends on how thick you make them). I think these would go great with a side of sweet potato fries!

Skinny Girl Magaritas make you think you are in high school again

2011-03-11T14:13:00.006-05:00

Before:

After: (Attempting cheerleading moves and splits)

Kids, don't try this at home...especially if you are over the age of 30. Things don't um, move the way they used to!

Weighin' In and Red Pepper Hummus

2011-03-09T09:05:00.004-05:00

First things first, the weigh-in: I lost .6 this week.

I have a confession though: I took a week off from Weight Watchers. I was becoming, dare we say, slightly obsessive? WW was consuming my every thought, and after last week I just needed a break. So needless to say, I am pleased with the loss, no matter how small. Maybe I should rename this blog to "Tiny Losses". :)

Last night I made some fresh roasted red pepper hummus. I looked around at a bunch of recipes and finally just ended up doing the following:

1 can chickpeas (16 oz), drained
1 roasted red pepper (I broiled mine in the oven for about 15 minutes)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp onions
1 garlic clove, diced
fresh squeezed lemon juice, a splash
black pepper to taste
sea salt, to taste
dash of paprika
dash of parsley

I think that's everything...but hummus is one of those things that I keep adjusting til I get it right. This turned out pretty good! Do you make hummus? If so, what's your secret to making it perfect?

I kinda dig the color from the red pepper!

Weekend Update: Baseball & 5Ks

2011-03-07T09:21:00.003-05:00

My first Carolina baseball game ever was a success! Gamecocks were triumphant! It was very cold but we had a great time. We beat the Tigers 6-3 and I had one of the best hot dogs I've ever had in my life. Seriously. The Carolina Dog - let's just say, baseball game hot dogs have come a long way baby. I'm still thinking about it! I also got to see one of my favorite newly-engaged bloggers Emily, From The Land of Cotton.

The national championship trophy - doesn't it just scream "winning, duh!" =) I had to fight to get this picture. There were people everywhere snapping pictures of it.

Saturday morning, our 5K race started at 7:30 AM. Whoa that's early for this girl! But we survived it despite the early start time, misting rain and chilly temps. I was so worried about my iphone getting wet in the rain, so I had my friend hold it in her jacket pocket. Which also meant I ran almost the entire race with no music! I DIE! It was tough. Mental note: find a way to protect my iphone in the rain! Afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Cafe Strudel, one of our favorite local spots. If you are ever in town, I highly recommend you stop by! We also made plans for our next race in late April.

Look at that red face! The rest of the weekend I pretty much lounged around. Happy Monday everyone!

Friday Mish-Mash!

2011-03-03T10:59:00.009-05:00

Tonight I'm headed to Carolina Stadium to watch the 2010 National Champions, my SC Gamecocks, take on the Clemson Tigers! Let's go Gamecocks! Beat those silly Tigers! Nevermind their Tiger Blood - we have Chicken Blood! And that's even more powerful :) The proof is below:

Yesterday I tried to recreate the curly Scarlett Jo look from my last post, and it turned out decent I thought. I used a 1.25" curling iron.

Last but not least, here is a picture of the sunset from Lake Murray last night. We have a walking trail here that goes over the dam, and the views at sunset are breathtaking. And y'all know I'm obsessed with sunsets! :)

Tomorrow morning, it's 5K GO TIME! Wish me luck!

"I'm not Bipolar, I'm Bi-Winning!"

2011-03-02T09:34:00.008-05:00

Today, I am going to just blog about nothing and anything in general because there isn't really one big thing I can think to entertain you with. So I will entertain you with several :)

Charlie Sheen. Crazy with a capital C. I've never watched Two and a Half Men except for an episode here and there, so I don't miss his show. But I feel bad for the other people that worked on that show that no longer have a job. And his kids....just sad. What a role model.
Today is weight watcher's weigh-in and I lost .5. I'm back to where I was 2 weeks ago pretty much. Keeping right along, that's pretty much all for now. Hopefully slow and steady will win the race.
This weekend I have a 5K race and 2 of my dear friends are running it with me. I'm excited! It's amazing what a difference running in hot vs cooler temps can make. I ran Sunday in 80 degree sunny weather and almost passed out. Last night I ran the same route and felt like a champion. Hoping for chilly temps and no rain on Saturday!
Currently I am reading Sullivan's Island. I have read it before but wanted to reread it so that I can also read Return to Sullivan's Island. Every time I read it it makes me want to drive straight to Charleston. I could still make it by lunch if I start now...anyone want to go with?? I also downloaded Pictures of You to my kindle. Have heard great things about it - have you read it?
This spring/summer is going to be a fun one! I have several trips/concerts planned - NKOTB & Backstreet Boys anyone??? Can't.Wait.
I'm currently obsessed, and I mean obsessed, with this song.
My biggest event of the year is next month, so if you know me in real life, you know that I'm a crazy person right now. Lots of overtime hours and panic attacks. Good stuff!
I've also lost my mind and signed up for a 30 day boot camp class. We're talking straight up military style! I will be going 3 nights a week for a month starting March 21st. Wish me luck. And please send Ibuprofen for my birthday.
Speaking of....it's my birthday month. And I am turning an age that is so not cool in any shape or form. However, I know 10 years from now (if I'm still here Lord willing) I will look back and give anything to be this age. So I'm looking on the positive side and just being thankful everyday I get to be alive!
Did you watch the Oscars? I wasn't really in love with Scarlett Johansson's dress overall, but I did love the color and the back of it. My favorite though? Her hair. I really am thinking about how I can pull this cut off.

Happy Hump Day!

Life is Sweeter with Biscuits and Honey

2011-02-27T18:39:00.006-05:00

This morning I got a little crazy and decided to make some homemade biscuits. I had emailed my aunt a few weeks ago asking for her biscuits recipe, and when she said "let me dig around for it", I knew it would be a while...if ever...before I got it.

So I did a little google-ing (thank goodness for google, amen?) and found a recipe that looked like it had potential. Besides, you can't go wrong using a recipe from someone who calls themselves Granny, am I right?

I don't think my kitchen has ever seen so much flour but the end result was worth it!

And in my house, every biscuit deserves a little honey drizzled on top...

Granny's Homemade Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup milk

Combine all dry ingredient and blend well with whisk. Cut in butter until resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in milk until all comes together to form a dough ball. Turn out dough ball onto a heavily floured surface (I use wax paper). Let set for a couple of minutes and then knead for about a minute and then re-flour surface and pat out to about 1/2″ thick. Cut biscuits with floured biscuit cutter and place into ungreased baking pan. Form remaining dough into ball and repeat until all dough made into biscuits. This recipe will make approximately 12 biscuits. Bake in 425-450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. (Note: I didn't use a biscuit cutter, therefore my biscuits turned out more uneven and bigger. I like them that way!)

(In case you were wondering, I only ate one and gave the rest away to my family. They didn't complain.) :)

A Few Tweaks to my Diet

2011-02-24T08:52:00.005-05:00

I struggled yesterday with whether or not to post my weekly weigh in results because again, I do not want this blog to become all about that. But I find also find myself struggling with what else to blog about lately because my life is well, pretty boring right now. And honestly? I kind've like it. Last night my day ended with me sitting on my back porch chair, feet propped up, drinking a glass of red wine, and watching the last of the sunlight fade away. That pretty much equals perfection in my book. Bad scale day or not.

That being said, yesterday I started my day with my first gain (+1) on Weight Watchers (this time around). I didn't get too upset because I know I did my best. But having said that, it's definitely time for a few tweaks to the program. If you try something over and over again and get less than great results, it's time to make some changes.

I went to the WW website yesterday to try to get some advice and tips. I posted a question on their forum and immediately got many responses! I was so thankful and the advice was great! So here are my tweaks to the program recommended by other WW members:

Tweak 1: It was suggested that my daily points allowance might be slightly too high for my lifestyle. Other than the days that I workout, I sit at a desk all day long. I'm pretty sedentary. Therefore, on days that I do not work out, I am going to shave 2 points off my daily points allowance.
Tweak 2: Fruit became a "Free Points" item on the new Points Plus Program to encourage members to eat more fruit. However, I am a bananaholic and since they have become "free", I think I eat too many. As Jillian Michaels says, it's all about calories in, calories out. A banana might be free on WW, but it's still calories at the end of the day. So, I am going to begin to count bananas as 2 points if I eat more than one.
Tweak 3: Shave off a few points from my breakfast. I love breakfast, and I tend to use up a lot of points here. Sometimes at the end of the day I leave myself with only 4 points for supper. That's not much! And after a hard workout, I need something substantial. So going to try to limit breakfast to 6-7 points and have a snack mid morning.
Tweak 4: Strength training. I have GOT to start incorporating strength training in my workout routine so I don't lose muscle mass. Lack of muscle mass equals a slower metabolism which equals slower weight loss. Ding, ding!

So there you have it. We'll see if it makes a difference next week! Tonight is Zumba class again - I can't wait! Have a great Thursday everyone!

"Sunsets are just little glimpses of the golden streets of Heaven..."

2011-02-23T14:11:00.005-05:00

Lately, we have had some amazing weather here in the Carolinas and the sunsets have just taken my breath away. I have always been in awe of a beautiful sunset, and whenever I see one I must stop and take a picture even if I'm in the car.

Here are a few sunset photos I have taken over the last few days...all were taken on different days. The one on the top right was taken from my porch last night. The sky was so orange and pretty!

What to do when the scales get stuck (per Dr. Oz)

2011-02-22T13:41:00.008-05:00

So yesterday, I recorded the Dr. Oz show and he had a few tips about what to do when the scales aren't moving.

1. Add a new ingredient to your diet. They suggested lemon juice, because it contains Citric Acid which slows down gastric emptying. This means it holds food in your stomach longer and in turn you should feel full longer. I added lemon juice to my water today, and will continue to do so all week. I will report back if I think it really does help.

2. Change up your environment. The suggestion was to put your trigger foods in the freezer. This eliminates easy access to your treats and putting them in the freezer creates a barrier. This really doesn't apply much to me, because I simply do not have any trigger foods in my house right now. And my biggest trigger food is ice cream, and well.... ;)

3. Dr. Oz’s third tip for speeding up your weight loss is change your habits. He said to set your alarm every 4 hours to remind you to eat. Eating regularly throughout the day creates more energy and thereby revving up your metabolism. I have not figured out how to do this on my phone yet, but I'm sure there is a way. Although, I must say, my stomach usually tells me every 4 hours it's time to eat!

Overall, I was hoping he'd have more tips and I'm sure if I looked harder, I'd find some more on his website. But I just wanted to pass these along. Do you have any good tips for breaking through plateaus? Anything that has worked for you?

In regards to fitness, last night I did my first Zumba class at a new gym. It was fun! What a great workout. Right now I am looking for different ways to get a workout in, so I don't get bored. Tonight is Yoga. I am also on Week 6 of Couch to 5K.

I promise not to let this blog turn into a diet and exercise blog! I have my other fitness blog, but since right now it is my main focus, it's just easier to post here. I promise soon I will have some more interesting things to talk about! :)

Weight Watcher's Mid Week Update

2011-02-16T15:17:00.008-05:00

First, thank you for all the sweet comments on my last post!

Second: today's weigh in: - .6 Good Lawd, I'm a turtle loser! haha

But no worries! No whining today! A loss is a loss. It's actually a little comical to me now and I've come to expect these tiny losses. Just gonna laugh it off, and I will not give up. It is clear: I am going to have to work VERY hard to get this weight off, but anything worth having is worth working hard for. Right?

2/16 - .6
2/9 - .4
2/2 -1.0
1/26 0
1/19 -.4
1/12 -1.2
1/5 -1

This turtle WILL finish...someday! A few notes from the past few weeks:

First - What I've done right:

1. Tracking. I am a tracking maniac, especially since I got my iphone! I now have access to my weight watchers food journal everywhere I go. And anything I've eaten in the last 5-6 weeks has gone into my tracker, good or bad. Last weekend out to dinner, I had a cucumber sushi roll and what do you know??? WW had the points already figured in their system! Who knew? Love.

2. Staying within my points. Because of my tracking, I am able to stay within my points range each week and even have a few splurges occasionally. (See Red Velvet Cupcakes down below...ha)

3. Getting in my fruits and veggies. I LOVE experimenting with new recipes and finding newer healthier ways to cook. Below is my dinner from last night: turkey burger topped with cooked onions and tomatoes, steamed veggies and roasted potatoes (drizzled w a tsp of EVOO and a dash of sea salt).

Where I could do better:

1. Cardio. An ongoing challenge - sometimes I excel in this category and sometimes I fail miserably. Gotta do better because this is probably where the majority of my weight loss problems lie. I just joined a new gym, and I have started back the Couch to 5K program again. My next 5K is next weekend!

2. Using up my extra points. I tend to hoard my points sometimes. I saw a quote somewhere - wish I could remember who said it - about being a points hoarder and I immediately thought "that's me!" Points are fuel..to be used daily.

3. Strength Training. Just need to do more - enough said.

4. Stop comparing myself to others. Last week I was really upset about my tiny loss and I came very close to throwing in the towel. But this week, I have had a better attitude, and several of you gave me great advice and encouragement in my post. Thank you! Tiny losses still count in the long run and I need to remember that. I'm in this for the LONG haul so that means day in, day out until the job is done. Gotta keep my blinders on and stay the course.

Did y'all see Jennifer Hudson on Oprah? Wow. 80 pounds gone using the Weight Watchers program. She looks amazing.

This blog is 100% smoke free

2011-02-15T10:25:00.003-05:00

Happy smoke-free anniversary to me! Eight years ago I became a quitter for life: I quit smoking. I try to blog about it every February to commemorate this big event in my life. If you've ever been truly addicted to something, then you know how difficult it is to stop. It was the hardest thing I ever did and yet still to this day, the BEST decision I ever made. THE BEST. It was/is life changing.

2935 days, 10 hours, 29 minutes and 24 seconds smoke free.

17613 cigarettes not smoked.

$2,641.50 and 4 months, 14 days, 13 hours of your life saved.

Your quit date: 2/2/2003

Happy Valentine's, Luv-uhs!

2011-02-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Tonight I decided to make some mini cupcakes and I went with red velvet! They are delicious...

They may or may not be Duncan Hines but I'll never tell... ;)

Weight Watchers: Yep, More Frustration

2011-02-09T09:12:00.009-05:00

Well, well, well. Here we are again. Today's weigh in: - .4

:::Heavy Sigh:::

Really Mr. Scales? Really? Why do you hate me so? Why won't you work with me? You see day in and day out how I cook my food...plan ahead...pack my lunches...count every.single.point.every.single.day. Drink my water. You know how I stayed home all weekend to avoid splurges like Super Bowl Parties. You saw me eating grilled asparagus on the couch when everyone else was drinking beer and eating burgers and yummy dips. You saw me walk the hills of hell this weekend. So what gives????

I know weight loss is a journey. I know it won't come off overnight. I know it takes time and patience. I know it's a loss and I am grateful. But... I do expect when I work the program exactly as it tells me, that I should have more success than I have had recently. And I'm frustrated.

Having said all that (and thank you for putting up with my whine session), I am not giving up. I need to blog about my frustrations because I want to document my journey each week. I want to be able to look back and see what I was thinking/feeling each week. Maybe (hopefully) things will change soon.

My stats to date:

2/9 - 0.4
2/2 -1.0
1/26 0
1/19 -.4
1/12 -1.2
1/5 -1

Total: 4 lbs over a 6 week period

PS My new little friend: WW iphone app. Love this!

Be Mine, Valentine!

2011-02-05T22:11:00.005-05:00

I saw the cutest wreath on Tater Tots and Jello's website and decided to create my own. I really wanted to make mine a little different but I ended up loving the polka dot ribbon so much I couldn't help but do the same. The actual wreath itself is made of 100 mini cupcake wrappers all hot glued on to a wreath. I wrapped the wreath itself in the polka dot ribbon as well. It turned out really cute! Except now I just want some cupcakes... :)

Well, I did it

2011-02-03T09:53:00.003-05:00

I drank the koolaid and purchased my iphone from Verizon last night. At 3 AM. Delivery is tentatively scheduled for February 10th.

What I'm most excited about? The Weight Watchers application!

Do you have the iphone? Do you love it or hate it? I have a feeling I'm going to love it.

Weight Watchers Weigh-In Day

2011-02-02T07:49:00.004-05:00

Well, I lost a pound. I'm happy about that, but also a little frustrated. This past week I can honestly say I did everything right. I stayed within my WW points every day (even when I had a cheat night I counted and used my extra points), I exercised, I drank lots of water. Not sure what else I could have done but it is what it is. I'm obviously the Turtle in the weight loss race. And as long as the turtle finishes, I'm ok with it. Total loss: 5 lbs. (according to my WW tracker). I also have to lose 3 more pounds to meet my 5 % goal.

I went back and read a lot of my old blog posts for the last several years. It's sad how much I talk about weight loss on this blog (and in real life). And it's sad that in 4 years, I haven't accomplished any of my weight loss goals. But as a friend of mine and I discussed this weekend (as I was venting again) at least I have not gained back the weight I originally lost on WW back in 2006 (around 25 lbs). Also, I have ran several 5Ks and an 8K. That's something I should remember and be proud of.

I think losing weight is a personal demon of mine and I probably should just pray about it. Because I forget to do that sometimes! And as much as I'm so tired of hearing myself talk or write about weight loss, I refuse to give up. It's time to finish what I started in 2006! Who's going to join me? :)

I feel so loved...

2011-02-01T20:26:00.007-05:00

Look what my talented, sweet, wonderful friend Rebecca Jo made for me!!!!!!

Seriously, how talented is she?? RJ, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I think you must be one of the kindest and most thoughtful people I have ever known! You truly are an inspiration to me, and I can't wait to meet you in person someday! And when we do it we will probably not stop talking the entire time! haha :) Thank you for the sweet handwritten note too!

From her RJ Photography facebook page: (which you should definitely "LIKE"!)

"It is easy to say how we love new friends, but words can never trace out all the fibers that knit us to the old." -George Eliot

So true my friend! <3

Sweet Potato Fries

2011-01-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

Made these a few weeks ago and have been meaning to share! Quite possibly one of my most favorite things ever and SO EASY.

Peel your sweet potatoes (I just did one for me at the time) and cut into whatever shapes you prefer. Lightly toss with olive oil, and sea salt (some people add other seasonings like garlic salt, etc.). Layer on baking sheet and bake for 450 degrees for about 20 minutes. I like mine crispy! Keep an eye on them though, you don't want them to burn obviously!

I serve mine with ketchup...yum yum!!

I'm estimating about 6 points on Weight Watchers for approximately one serving, not including the ketchup.

Operation No Snooze Button: An Update

2011-01-27T09:03:00.005-05:00

Every since I have turned the snooze option OFF on my cell phone, I have been forced out of bed every morning at 6:45. For the first 2-3 minutes, I'm really ticked off that I can't hit snooze. Like a bear that has just awoken from a long winter hibernation!

But after I get up, I'm totally fine. It's been life changing.

I'm on time to work...usually early.
I'm not grumpy. Shocker!
I have time for a full breakfast.
I have time to apply my makeup and not in the car like I usually do. (don't judge)
I get to watch a snippet of the Today show.
I have time to pack my lunch every day.
I have time to make my own coffee.

My goal is to eventually schedule in a short workout in the morning. But baby steps...for now this is working. Who knew?

Weight Watchers Mid Week Update

2011-01-26T09:58:00.003-05:00

Wednesdays are my weigh-in days, and I'm here to give you the skinny good or bad! Well, it's not good but not the worst news in the world. My weight loss for the week:

-0 lbs.

Yep, I lost zero. I'm going to have to blame it on this....

Lovely, no? But really...who loses weight on a Girls Weekend Trip to the mountains? At least there was no gain, right? I weighed on Monday morning (I promise I am not obsessing with the scale, just wanted to see what the damage was) and I was up 2.5 lbs. Must have been water or the change in altitude. Thank goodness that did not reflect today.

Total loss to date: 4.5 lbs. I have some work to do!! My birthday is mid March, and I'd like to see a real change in my body by then. Onward to the next week...my friends will laugh when they read this: "Healthy Choices!" ;) I'm determined to see at least a 2 lb loss next week.

Oh, one last note. My gym membership expired, and I did not renew. They require a one year commitment, and I'm a commitment phobe! Mainly because when the time changes, I have lots of sunlight after work and I like to be outside. So I found a small gym nearby that is month by month, and CHEAP! Going to check it out soon, and see if it can meet my needs for just the next 2-3 months.

xoxo!

Snow Tubing

2011-01-25T12:47:00.003-05:00

This weekend I went on a fun trip to Blowing Rock, NC with some of my best girlfriends. We had a blast! I highly recommend Blowing Rock - it's a gorgeous little town nestled in the mountains of NC. More pictures to come as soon as I get them from my friends (cough, hint, cough) but here are just a few :) I took these on my cell phone which is why they are not the best quality!

Chatola Resort is where we stayed. This is the front of the resort and it overlooked a huge pond that was almost completely frozen over. The place was gorgeous!

This is one of the hills we went down:

It was soooo cold and windy! But we had so much fun!

And afterwards we warmed up with a few brews! :)

Definitely visit Blowing Rock if you ever have the chance. The views are amazing and the town is so quaint and pretty!

One week experiment with NO SNOOZING!

2011-01-17T11:21:00.005-05:00

Now that my insomnia issues seem to have gone away (Thank the Lord!) I want to admit another problem I have. It's called the Snooze Button! I have seriously snoozed hours of my life away and I hate that. I hate that I hit snooze for as long as possible in the morning, only to have to rush through my morning and arrive at work looking haggard and in a bad mood. Most days my makeup gets applied in the car or in my office at work.

This needs to stop ASAP.

I think I have found the solution. I have turned the snooze option OFF on my blackberry (which is my alarm clock). *gasp* I honestly did not even know that was an option. But now that I have discovered this, I might be able to break this habit. The one thing I have never done is fall back asleep if there is no snooze option. Because I KNOW if I lay back down on my pillow I will fall back asleep. So that is not even an option. I will have to get up.

I'm going to see how this goes for a week. Do any of y'all have snooze issues like I do? For those of you that bounce right out of bed everyday, how?? I would love to be one of those people. (and I know having a child or dog you have no choice, but all I have is lazy cats that have no problem snoozing with me.) Also, I have tried the whole "putting the alarm across the room" trick. Have I mentioned I'm a champion at falling back asleep? I would get up, walk across the room, slap snooze, and get right back in bed. Zzzz....

Wish me luck!

Weight Watchers: The new pro points program

2011-01-12T11:07:00.005-05:00

I started back on Weight Watchers 2 weeks ago, and I have been using the new Points Pro system. I was a little skeptical at first, but I decided to give it a go. If you follow my other fitness & diet blog, you will remember I had been having some problems with losing weight and I was super frustrated. Weight watchers worked in the past for me (lost 30 pounds in 2006), and I decided to really fully commit to doing it again.

Which means recalculating ALL of my food. The new program is not as easy to configure points. In the past, you could go loosely by calories and estimate your points. A 100 calorie food item was approximately 2 points usually. The higher the fat content, the higher the points. Now Weight Watchers does not consider calories in their formula. They focus on protein, carbs, fiber and fat. Many processed foods went up in points. Which is a good thing! This means I won't waste my points on silly processed 100 calorie crap, that does nothing for you.

The biggest change that I have noticed is that I am eating more fruits (which are 0 points now!) and protein. And the difference? I am FULL all the time. I also try to eat a pretty big breakfast every day. That's the key for me to not overeating throughout the day. I've also been cooking more of my own food, and that's been the fun part! (who knew?)

The only negative is that other than yoga, I haven't done much cardio much the last 2 weeks. But I'm one of those type that can only really focus on one thing at a time, so the cardio had to take a back seat while I figured this all out. Now that I'm in a groove with my eating, I can concentrate on cardio again.

The result? Down 3 pounds so far. It's not a huge loss, but it's a start. I am hoping that once I start exercising regularly again, that will increase. But on the positive side, what weighs 3 pounds? A half gallon of milk. That's nothing to sneeze at.

Link source

Here's to losing a whole gallon next.... :)

The most perfect bowl of oatmeal EVER

2011-01-11T14:07:00.006-05:00

Even if you are not into oatmeal, you should try this. It's that good! (Inspiration from Kath Eats Tribute to Oatmeal - lots of great ideas on her page.)

1/4 cup McCann's Steel Cut Irish oats (or whatever brand you prefer)
3/4 Cup skim or low-fat milk
1 banana
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond butter
1/4 cup walnuts (or a palmful is what I use)
A dash or 2 of cinnamon

Cook the banana in with the oats and milk and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the banana is nice and melted into the oatmeal. Then turn off the heat and add the remaining ingredients. When it all comes together, this is what it looks like:

This turned out delicious and extremely filling! A perfect way to start my day. Enjoy!

A Snow Day! YAY!

2011-01-10T16:11:00.006-05:00

It snowed last night and we woke up to a winter wonderland! Which is even crazier because it just snow 2 weekends ago! That never happens here so needless to say we are thoroughly enjoying it (and the day off from work...because that's how we roll down South!)

I made a super delicious soup last night and I want to share the recipe with you all. I got it from The Fitnessista. It's delicious!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
-1 small sweet onion, small diced
-1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
-1 can organic black beans, rinsed and drained (I added some red beans bc I didn't have many black beans)
-1 14 oz can organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained (I didn't drain)
-1.5 C organic veggie broth
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 T chili powder
-1 t cumin
-1 t paprika
-pinch cayenne
-1/2 t sea salt
-1 lime (for splash of juice at the end) - (I didn't add this bc I didn't have any lime.)

Combine all ingredients into a slow cooker (except the lime), sprayed with nonstick spray. (I used a Dutch Oven instead.)

PS Thank you for all your suggestions on my sleeping issues! I've been trying several methods and things seem to be improving. Boy, not sleeping is awful. I have a whole new respect for those with chronic insomnia.

I can't sleep!

2011-01-04T09:09:00.003-05:00

For the past few nights I have been going to bed and then laying there wide awake for HOURS! And it's not as if I'm not tired, because last night I almost fell asleep on the couch. And normally I am a CHAMPION at falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. So hopefully this is just a phase that will pass. If I can't sleep tonight then I am going to have to go buy some Tylenol PM or something.

Do any of you ever have this problem? If so, how do you function the next day? I am an 8 hour of sleep a night girl (always have been) and if I don't get my sleep I have a VERY hard time concentrating at work the next day. It's amazing how much sleep affects us. Even right now I'm at my desk and about to fall asleep in my coffee cup.

A Resolution & and a Confession

2011-01-02T20:01:00.006-05:00

I normally don't do resolutions but this year I have decided that I will because I have a dirty little secret. And it needs to be outed so I can change this terrible habit ASAP.

Here it is:

I resolve to never text message while driving ever again.

I've been thinking about this for a long time, and how I needed to stop but I had not done it yet. It's actually been a little dirty secret of mine, one that I was/am ashamed of. I've been known to fuss at others about it, and yet I have been doing it myself more than I'd like to admit. I wanted to stop, but I would be driving down the road and the text sound would go off. The wondering of who it is and what they want drives me crazy. So I read it, and then of course think I have to respond. Which is ridiculous. Most of the time I am in the car for no more than 10 minutes. There is almost nothing that can't wait 10 minutes for a response.

So there you have it. I knew in order to make this real for me, I needed to post this on my blog. Make myself accountable. Last Thursday, I happened to watch a video on facebook that a friend's mom posted. It was about texting and driving. That was the moment I decided to make this real and I vowed, no more. You heard it here first, folks.

If you know someone that texts while driving, have them watch this video and vow to quit with me. It's powerful...

Kale Chips: I'm in love

2010-12-28T22:50:00.002-05:00

The other day I was surfing you tube for some healthy food/snack ideas and I came across kale chips. I initially thought "ew" but I was also intrigued. Then I went out and bought some kale and tried it. And I'm here to tell you...they are DELICIOUS. Who knew???

Rough Recipe: (From Kath Eats)

Preheat oven to about 375*
Use about 1 salad spinner’s worth of kale (which was a stuffed grocery store veggie bag). Tear the leaves off the thick stems into bite size pieces. Spread out on cookie sheets.
Drizzle with about 2 tsp of olive oil
Sprinkle with Parmesan, Asiago or your seasonings of choice. Plus a sprinkle of kosher salt.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until edges are brown and kale is crispy when moved in pan.

Silly picture I took right before placing in the oven...

Picture below was one I took after they were done. Brown on the edges, and nice and crispy! (Actually I think mine could have stayed in the oven an extra minute, maybe two but the first time I made them I burnt them so I was a little overcautious this time.)

Here's the video from Kath Eats' website about how to make Kale Chips.

According to Wikipedia, "kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties and is considered to be anti-inflammatory. Kale is also very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium."

If you try it or have tried it before, let me know! Enjoy! :)