Food Diary

Hey guys, I know I am a bad blogger. You can kind of see that from my track record. I think I may use this blog to post what I eat on the days I feel like posting, although I'll try to make this fairly consistent. When I get un-lazy I may even start taking pictures of my meals/snacks :)

Daily calorie goal: 1,430 (to lose 1 pound a week)

Breakfast: 270 Calories
2 dippy eggs
1/2 C of Hashbrowns (just natural potatoes, no grease)
2 pieces of turkey bacon

Lunch: ~400 (I didn't exactly measure everything, so 400 is on the high end. I didn't drink the whole smoothie either because it turned out to be huge and VERY filling.)
Green Monster made of...

• ~1 or 1.5 C baby spinach
• 1 C nonfat Greek yogurt (23 grams of protein per cup!!!)
• 1 T sunflower seed butter (OMG amazing)
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 C frozen peaches
• ~1 C almond milk (maybe less)

Dinner: TBA, but I have ~730 calories to play with for the rest of the day.

Seriously, if you haven't made a Green Monster yet- go do it now! You can't even taste the spinach! To find out more about it go visit the official website www.greenmonstermovement.com :)

Great Day to be Alive!

So guys, about 2 weeks ago I posted about my heartbreaking breakup. Well, I actually feel really good now! I've been leaning on my faith in God, and it really has done wonders for my morale. I just want to shout from the rooftops how great I feel! I know breaking up was the right thing to do, and we can move on and be friends.

I'm excited to start grad school next month and am so excited to see what this next chapter of my life holds.

It's so funny because I thought that when I was 22, I'd be planning a wedding or already be married. Obviously, life didn't turn out that way. And I am a-okay with that. I have never been more at peace with anything in my entire life.

Life is amazing and I am excited to see what is in store for me!

Trials and Tribulations

Sorry for the (once again) hiatus from posting here, guys. To be honest, there are multiple reasons. For one, I've been very busy. Two, I've just also been...lazy, for lack of a better word.

Lately, life has been anything but rainbows and butterflies. A few days ago, my boyfriend (of 3 and a half years) and I mutually decided it was best to end our relationship. Since this is a public domain and all, I don't feel the whole freakin world deserves to know why. Our breakup was one of the most mature conversations we've ever had and it remained amicable, albeit super hard. I would argue this is the HARDEST thing I have ever had to do, and the hardest thing I've ever had to endure. I am just thankful that we are going to remain friends and do not harbor any resentment or bitterness towards each other. We both knew it had to happen (for our own personal reasons), so there's no sense in hate, bitterness, or resentment.

I've had my fair share of tears, emotional tirades, and doubts over the course of 3 days. I can't even begin to describe how much pain I'm in (mostly emotionally, but some of that emotional pain has manifested physical symptoms, such as a literally heavy-feeling heart), and this is by far the most pain and hurt I've ever felt. I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on ANYBODY.

Today happens to be one of those days I just feel "ok" with things. I have a feeling that I'll have to take this whole thing day by day because I absolutely know that I will not feel "ok" every day. I mean for God's sake, we were together 3 and a half years! I haven't been single since I was 18. I'll be 22 in 5 days and this is the first time I've been single as an adult. It's going to take a long time for me to adjust to all this change.

To top it all off, I move to a new city in exactly 7 weeks from today. Granted, it's to start grad school (one of my major life goals/dreams), but I hate hate HATE uprooting my life. On the other hand, I think it will be good for my healing process to start fresh in a new town at a new college where nobody knows me as "Court's girlfriend" and nobody will ask "OMG Y'ALL BROKE UP! WHYYYYYY?". This will give me a chance to gain more friendships and to pour my heart and soul into other things.

I'm really taking this time to lean on God. There has never been a rough moment in my life that God hasn't carried me through, and I don't believe that will change. I think God realized that with my almost nonstop crying for 2 consecutive days I needed a break today. So far, today has been alright. I haven't cried at all, so that's a step in the right direction. I also believe God has the right man picked out for me and will introduce said man into my life when He deems fit to do so.

But, WOW. Life is NOT what I thought it would be at this age. I always figured by age 22 I would either be married or at least planning a wedding and living out my "happily ever after". Needless to say, life didn't turn out the way I expect. That's definitely one lesson I learned from all this.

Everything will be alright. I just have to take it one day at a time until the day comes that I am TRULY at peace with this breakup. I look forward to the day where I can say I feel no pain and can move forward with my life. For now, I'm going to pour myself into strengthening my relationship with God, working out, eating better (both to lose weight), kicking BUTT in school, work (a graduate assistantship I got with the school I'm going to) and getting plugged into a few organizations.

Trigger foods

So as any of you who have struggled nearly all their lives with weight, you know that there is always a list (large or small) of trigger foods. I define trigger foods as the following:

Trigger foods- certain types of food that once they are around, you can't say no to eating them; once you start eating them, you can't stop at just "a little"- foods that trigger you to binge (on that certain food or foods)

I think a lot of you know what I'm talking about. For instance, if I order pizza, I can eat nearly the whole thing in one sitting most of the time. Tonight I ate the whole thing in one sitting (the only redeeming qualities were the thin whole-wheat crust and that it was covered in veggies and less cheese than usual). Another occasion is either when I make cookies or someone else makes cookies. I can't just eat one or two and feel satisfied. I have to eat like 4 or 5- you know, when I feel like I'm about to lapse into a sugar coma.

I don't binge-eat on EVERYTHING I eat- just a select number of foods.

Tonight after eating a whole pizza (even though it was as healthy as a pizza can be made), I have decided to stop eating trigger foods altogether, at least until I can get control of my eating habits. To start small, I'm going to make myself go at least a week without any trigger foods. My list of trigger foods is as follows:

Stephanie's List of Trigger Foods

• Pizza
• Mac & Cheese
• Pasta (of any kind)
• Cookies (especially peanut butter, sugar, or chocolate chip)
• Bread (the white, processed "crap" kind- whole wheat doesn't trigger me to overeat)
• Chips
• Rice (only white rice- brown rice doesn't taste good enough for me to binge on)

Here's to kicking my trigger food habit once and for all. Maybe one day I can be one of those people with a healthy perspective on eating the things they like to eat, just in small quantities.

Here are 3 questions I have for those of you who can relate.

1. What are YOUR trigger foods?
2. How do you cope with the urge to binge when they are around?
3. Have you ever overcame the problem of binging on "trigger" foods? If so, how did you do it?

One step at a time

So, after weeks and weeks of beating myself up about the fact that I let myself gain back the 25 pounds I lost (plus one or two more pounds) and weeks of wishing I would just eat a perfect diet 100% of the time, I decided to let that go today.

I got in all my veggie/fruit servings today and all my veggies even happened to be green! I have had tons of protein, all lean sources from chicken and eggs. Hey, they say green veggies have the most nutrients, right? After work, I leashed my dog up and went for a walk in the beautiful sunlight.

At dinner, I had 2 pieces of white bread- you know, the processed, bad-for-you kind. And you know what? I didn't beat myself up for it. For the past couple months, I'll set out at the beginning of the day to eat perfectly healthy all day. When I slip up, I beat myself up (mentally) and just gorge on more unhealthy food. Counterproductive, right? I wish I could be as logical with my food choices and my relationship with food as I am in other aspects of life.

I believe a big part of being healthy physically is being mentally healthy, too. It's something I'm trying to work on. With all the crap that's been going on with me lately in my personal life (not gonna get into it all on here, aside from what I said a few posts ago), it's been really, REALLY, REALLY hard to get my head back in the weight loss game.

I'm going to try to take it one step at a time- one meal at a time, one snack at a time, one day at a time.

If I knew then what I know now...

Stress and (lack of) weight-loss

This is going to be a short post because I just have one question to ask.

How do you get your head in the game to lose weight when you're going through all these stressful life changing events? All I want to do is stress eat.

Any answers appreciated, the more honest (and helpful) the better!

Bring the Rain!

Ok, so the title of this post is meant in more than one way. The first way is a pretty light meaning- there have been tons of allergens in the air here in North Texas lately and it's bringing my allergy symptoms back in full force! I feel tired, sneeze all the time, and my throat is itchy (my classic allergy symptoms). I can't go anywhere without having a Kleenex on hand for fear of snot hanging all over my nose and getting on hands (LOL!). Some rain is definitely in order!

The second meaning is that this involves the title of a song I've been obsessed with lately. I've been going through a ton of changes in life lately. I don't like change much because it turns my life upside down and well...I don't like that feeling!

• Graduating college in December- amazing feeling but that brought changes of its own
• Looking for a job while applying to grad schools in the meantime
• Adjusting to said new job because it involves teaching (not a full fledged teacher, but a Compliance Teacher, at least)- my degree is in psychology!
• Applying to grad schools. In the process I got rejected by one of my top choices, but got accepted to an even better program. 
• Recently I found out about another option I have for grad school- now I have two places to choose from when I thought my place of grad school was all set. 
• I still think I'll attend my first place because I have a good feeling in my gut about the place, and it's more prestigious in the school psychology world than the latter option.
• If I go to the more prestigious option, I have to move and find a new apartment. Finding a new apartment involves looking for a place that accepts a 95 pound lab for rent I can afford (I found one place so far that looks promising, at least!) is proving to be a challenging feat!
• I also have to find furniture to furnish said apartment
• I also have to find a way to pay for said prestigious school- the tuition isn't cheap! I'm saving all my money and am thankfully getting a graduate assistantship from the school. Unfortunately, it doesn't pay for all tuition- boo hiss! Oh well.
• The priest at my church sent a truly appalling message in the weekly message this week and it angered me enough to where I am no longer attending that church. Now I have to look for another church. I know I don't "need" to go to church to get closer to God, but I feel like it is an integral part of my life that I am now wanting to give up just yet.

I know eventually all the changes will smooth out. Everything happens for a reason. Now I leave you with some things that are helping me stay positive through the changes. Odd enough, I feel even closer to God through all the stressful changes. All the stress is making me have no choice but to lean on Him and pray. It's all making me feel very connected with God. See, good things come out of any situation!

*Disclaimer: To those who do not believe in God, please don't interpret this as me pushing my beliefs on anybody or getting "preachy". This is what I believe and what has worked for me, and everyone has the right to their own beliefs. If you don't believe as I do, then that is just fine with me! No judgment to other beliefs here :)*

"...but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." [Romans 5:3-8]


"In all things God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to His purpose." [Romans 8:28]


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall make your paths straight." [Proverbs 3: 5-6]


"Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." [Shakespeare] (I can't be afraid to be great, because all this will make me better in the end, even though in this case it's being "thrust" upon me)

And...a music video to sum up my feelings about the changes.

 

Only on day 4...

And I've already had 2 biscuits and a piece of cornbread.

Fail.

Tomorrow's another day, right? Here's to tomorrow!

I'm baaaaack!

So, you'll never guess.

I'm back on the weight loss wagon for the bazillionth time as of Monday.

The cynic in me says "hmmmm let's see how long this will last".

The optimistic in me says "you can do it this time! Get your head in the game and you'll be unstoppable!"

Let's see who wins.

P.S. All I want right now is a huge bowl of mac & cheese and/or some cheese enchiladas...great. LOL!

Nails in the Fence

First of all, let me preface this post by saying I am SO SORRY for not blogging! I just haven't had anything interesting to say lately.

I do have some exciting news! Today I got to be the main teacher in the class of 29 kids I'm a Compliance Teacher in. The main teacher had to go do some science camp thing for the day so I was left in charge with someone else assisting me with things like basically watching out for the kids with bad behavior and stuff. Being the teacher in charge today was exhilarating and felt amazing! If I wasn't going to grad school to be a School Psychologist and the job market for teachers wasn't so bad right now, I would jump on getting certified and just try to get my own classroom. I really think I'm going to work on getting certified to teach Elementary level and Special Ed in case one day I'd like to "tinker" around with teaching.

Now to an interesting story that teaches us the power of words (with a short preface of my own).
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I heard this story years and years ago. Once again, my dad made me aware of this story when I was a teenager and had problems with saying hurtful things out of anger. The lesson in this story is that words have power and should not be taken lightly; especially when speaking out of anger. He has always taught me to never make decisions or say things when I am emotionally compromised.

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.” 

The little boy then understood how powerful his words were. He looked up at his father and said “I hope you can forgive me father for the holes I put in you.”

“Of course I can,” said the father.
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Next time you are angry and are about to say something hurtful, think to yourself: am I going to say this just because I'm angry? Is it going to have harmful effects to someone I love? Am I going to unnecessarily wound someone who loves me/I love?

Words have immense power- use them wisely. 

(I still have to work on this almost daily!)

I'M GOING TO...

GRAD SCHOOL!

Yes, my title deserves all caps.

I just got the news yesterday that I've been accepted to one of the top graduate programs for School Psychology in the state of TX and even the nation!

Here's to kicking butt and finally getting to make my mark on society!

My dream career is finally starting to come to life! :)

• Graduating college- CHECK!
• Getting some teaching experience like I always wanted- CHECK!
• Teach a kid to read- CHECK! (well, starting to read)
• Get accepted to grad school- CHECK!
• Get engaged- not quite yet (but that's ok!)

My life is on track for sure! :)

100 things about me

So I've seen a couple posts around the blogging world and thought I would try to share 100 things about me (that hopefully don't backfire! haha).

1. Whoever did my mom's ultrasound when she was pregnant with me said I was going to be a boy. They were wrong, needless to say.
2. The same thing happened with my boyfriend, except vice versa. Weird how that works, huh?
3. I was born on my due date.
4. My parents had to pay me in quarters so I would stop sucking my thumb.
5. Both mine and Court's parents were married in February.
6. This makes me want a February wedding when the day comes for me to get married :)
7. I never met my paternal grandfather.
8. I have never had to deal with the grief of losing a family member. My dad's parents died when I was too young to remember them or know what death was (I was 3 when they died).
9. My dad wanted to have 6 kids but my parents couldn't get pregnant again.
10. This means I'm an only child.
11. I was never spoiled like a lot of only children are. I had to work for what I wanted.
12. I'm also an only grandchild for my maternal grandparents.
13. I'm the shortest person in my family.
14. I've been the same height since I was 14.
15. My shoe size has shrunk over the last (almost) 2 years.
16. I graduated as the Outstanding December 2010 Graduate of the Psychology department :)
17. I didn't like kids until I started my job 3 months ago.
18. I think I actually like kids better than adults now. LOL!
19. I've been craving Terra, a kickass Mediterranean restaurant, for the last 2 months. What's a girl gotta do to satisfy her craving?
20. Labrador Retrievers (I just call them labs) are my favorite dog in the world!
21. I believe all mistakes are worthwhile as long as you learn the lessons they give.
22. Sometimes I entertain the thought of being full on vegetarian...
23. But then I remember I like to eat meat :)
24. I only eat meat about once a day.
25. I've been with Court for 3 years and almost 2 months.
26. I just tried to play a bad April Fool's joke on Facebook.
27. The joke involved changing my relationship status to "single".
28. It lasted for about 5 minutes, tops.
29. I'm a terrible liar.
30. And apparently I'm bad at April Fool's jokes.
31. I feel like I connect with God best through music.
32. I try to remember to pray every day, but oftentimes I forget to.
33. Listening to positive music makes me feel more connected to God than when I pray.
34. I'm thinking about being confirmed Catholic someday.
35. I was raised in the Episcopal church and now attend an Anglican church (which is a lot like the Catholic church).
36. I've never changed a baby's diaper.
37. I don't think I could ever change anyone's diaper besides my own (future) children and grandchildren.
38. Dolphins have always been my favorite animal.
39. I watch iCarly and discuss it regularly with my 1st grade kiddos.
40. I love love love to cook!
41. Sometimes I contemplate going to culinary school when I'm older and have the money.
42. I like school.
43. I want to get my PhD someday and become a college professor after becoming an expert in my field.
44. I so desperately hope I get into my master's program(s) I applied for!
45. I play the piano.
46. I also play all percussion instruments.
47. I got a queen bed for my college graduation present from my grandparents. Best gift ever!
48. I miss my old college town.
49. Every time I drive into it, I feel like I'm coming home.
50. My boyfriend is also my best friend.
51. I knew he was the one I was meant to be with even before I fell in love with him.
52. I also knew that before we even started officially dating!
53. Our first date was seeing Juno in theaters January 2008.
54. His car was acting weird so I had to drive us on our first date!
55. Don't worry, he paid for the movie tickets :)
56. Over the years, I have learned to be more optimistic.
57. I used to be the negative pessimist who assumed the worst.
58. Court is the one I owe my newfound optimism to.
59. Life is so much better seeing the brighter side of things.
60. My favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory.
61. My favorite characters on iCarly are Gibby and Spencer.
62. My first ever spanking was for lying to my dad when I was 4 years old.
63. I not-so-secretly hope that Jesus will come to get us (yes, I'm a Christian and this is my own personal belief- that's all!) before I have to lose anybody I love.
64. The first person I lost in my life that I cared about was an old high school friend who died in a car accident in August 2010.
65. He was driving drunk :(
66. Ironically as I was driving off from his funeral, I got in my first car accident.
67. If I was going to be a boy, my first name was going to be Matthew and my middle name was going to be Christopher.
68. My middle name is the same as my mom's.
69. I know my grandma is mad at me when she uses my first AND middle name to address me.
70. Although I am my own person and march to the beat of my own drum...
71. I really hate disappointing people.
72. I can't stand it when I disappoint my parents.
73. Almost to the extent that I'm a "parent pleaser".
74. If Paula Deen was my mom or grandma, I would weigh 300 pounds. LOL!
75. I wish I had a group of girlfriends like they have in Sex and the City.
76. I'm perfectly content sitting at home with my dog.
77. I don't like big parties.
78. At work, I like things to be inconsistent because...
79. It makes the job more fun not knowing what to expect day-to-day!
80. In life, I like consistency.
81. I hate change.
82. My relationship with change is love-hate, but mostly hate.
83. I've never had a healthy perspective/relationship with food.
84. I'm trying to learn how to have that.
85. I've always struggled with my weight.
86. I have to have to HAVE TO get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
87. If I don't, I get cranky.
88. I'm starting to become addicted to Starbucks.
89. The first thing Court ever said to me was "Did you go to Hawaii?"
90. I was wearing a t-shirt I got as a souvenir from my visit to Hawaii as a high school graduation gift from my parents.
91. In response to that question (which I perceived as kind of a dumb question, haha) I said "uhhh...yeah...."
92. I still sleep with stuffed animals.
93. I can't wrap my head around the thought that running a marathon is something (some) people do for FUN.
94. I don't drink (alcohol).
95. Water is my favorite drink (seriously!).
96. My favorite drink to order in a restaurant is unsweetened iced tea.
97. I like lemon in my water, but not my tea.
98. I like orange juice, but not oranges.
99. I think Brussels Sprouts and celery are the two most vile tasting things on Earth.
100. This was way easier than I thought it would be.

If you read this, my hat goes off to you! If you read it, what was the thing(s) you found most entertaining?

Life Lessons from Marshall

This post was inspired by two cute posts from PB Fingers and Carrots N Cake about life lessons they have learned from their dogs. Here is what Marshall could teach us :-)

Take time to rest.

Take time to be silly!

If you need something, don't be afraid to ask for it!

Belly rub please, Mommy!

Mommies know best.

  

 Grandparents are great!

Grandma

Grandpa

Don't take things that don't belong to you.

Take care of your things.

Friends are a real treasure and not to be taken for granted!

Marshall and Jake

Marshall and his old best friend Hazel (R.I.P.)

Madchen (pronounced May-Chin) and Marshall

Marshall and Hazel

Marshall and Court

Marshall and my grandparents' Miniature Schnauzer, Annie (best buds!)

Car rides can be fun!

What has your pet taught you?

Sorry!

I'm SO sorry for not posting since March 4th. Yikes! A lot has been going on. What has been going on since my last post, you ask?

• Had my grad school interview on March 10th. I should know my admission status relatively soon (within another week or two) and am chomping at the bit! I seriously check my email so many times a day now (they said the admission letter would come via email)!
• Suffered from insane allergies- hello allergy medications that are so strong they make you woozy and dazed!
• Drove to Sedona, Arizona on Spring Break vacation with my mom and a family friend...and of course Marshall!
• Got a 24 hour stomach virus that made me miserable for part of the vacation
• Gave my mom the stomach virus 3 days later :(
• Drove to the Grand Canyon and took some amazing pictures! (will post them next time)
• Went on a jeep tour through the mountains of beautiful Sedona
• Drove home and am back in the good ole state of TX!
• Got a pedicure- my feet look awesome now!
• Went on a couple dates with Court- I missed him so much!
• Saw Hall Pass last night- a must see!
• Had a revelation about my food choices when I was sick (I thought it was food poisoning at first, but since my mom got sick the same way I was 3 days later I guess it was a virus- sad face)- will make a whole post about that another day (or perhaps later today? depends on if I get time)

So as you can see, I have been a busy bee! I don't know how some of my favorite bloggers (see Blog Roll) make time to post TWICE a day while working full-time jobs and caring for their loved ones. I work full-time and by the time I get home from work I'm too tired to do anything except relax or maybe cook dinner! Props to you bloggers who can work full-time AND post twice a day. Perhaps if I had access to a computer at work I could make more time to post, but working with 1st graders leaves no time for computers, haha.

How has everybody's month of March been? Anything exciting going on?

The Starfish Story

I love this story! I first heard of it from my dad, who is pretty much me in the form of an older male. We have the same goal- that is always to make a positive difference in someone's life, even if it's just one person. It doesn't matter what I end up doing in life- I could be a garbage collector and would be happy as long as I made a difference in someone's life. My goal and purpose for being here has always been to help others in any way I can (at least, I feel that is my purpose for being here).

This story is just a reminder that even if you make a difference for one person, that person could possibly make a difference in someone else's life just because of what you did for them. See the cycle? This reminds me of "Pay it Forward"- do something nice for someone, then they do something nice for someone, and so on. The cycle never ends! You should never think you're doing something in vain if you're selflessly working to serve someone else's needs :-)

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adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

What are your thoughts on this story? How does it feel for you when you make a difference in someone's life? Are you always working to make someone's life better?

Mexican Lasagna

Let me preface this by saying sorry this does not have a picture. Next time I make this recipe, I'll edit this post and include a picture! But just imagine the goodness as I share this knock-out recipe.

I came up with this recipe from a daydream I had in my head. My mom, grandma, and me all cook the same- we dream up these recipes that always seem to come out well. And oh, it turned out amazing! Here's how to make the amazing-ness. I call it Mexican Lasagna because it's structured like a lasagna (sort of) but using Mexican food ingredients instead of Italian :)

Ingredients

• 1 pound 96-4 ground beef (96% lean, 4% fat)
• Cumin, cayenne, and garlic (to taste)
• 1 (7oz.) can green chiles
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (you could use Rotel too, but I didn't want it to be too salty)
• 2 regular sized cans of enchilada sauce of your choice (I used medium level because I like it kind of spicy!)
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 can fat free refried beans (if you want more beans you can add another can)
• 2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
• 12 corn tortillas

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Heat a nonstick skillet on about medium-high heat and add EVOO
• Brown beef and season with cayenne, cumin, and garlic
• After beef is browned, pour in the can of green chiles and half a can of enchilada sauce
• Spray nonstick cooking spray in a casserole dish and pour the other half of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish (this is like the equivalent of pouring pasta sauce on the bottom for an Italian lasagna)
• Layer approximately 6 corn tortillas on the bottom, overlapping them so that the whole bottom is covered (this is like the "noodles" if you were making a classic lasagna)
• Spread on the can of fat free refried beans all over the tortillas (this is like the ricotta mixture in a lasagna)
• Pour on beef mixture (just like you would when making a lasagna)
• Sprinkle the cup of diced tomatoes
• Layer on the other 6 tortillas
• Pour the other can of enchilada sauce over the tortillas
• Cover the top with 2 cups of cheese
• Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden
• Wait a few minutes before serving so that it sets and cools

Seriously. Make this now. Your whole family will thank you! My family loved it! When I took my leftovers to lunch, my coworkers raved about how good it made the room smell. It will only please, not disappoint! :-)
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On another note, today is my boyfriend's birthday and he is 23 years old! I can't believe it. He was just about 3 weeks short of turning 20 when we started dating and now he's 23. I was 18 when we started dating and I'll be 22 in a few months! I know the both of us are still young but it's hard to believe. Here are a couple pics of when we first started dating (literally about a week into the relationship). I knew even then, before we fell in love, that he was the one I'm meant to be with :-) I am so very fortunate to have found someone as great as him!

Awwwww, puppy love stage. We look so glowy!

The lighting in his apartment really sucked, haha. More "puppy love" glow. Awwww!

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My grad school interview is in exactly a week! I can't wait, I am itching to get it done and make a good impression to earn my spot in the program of my dreams :) My boyfriend has been talking with professors and advisors to start grad school for a M.S. in Math (I think he would start January 2012 since he graduates with his B.S. in Engineering Physics this December 2011) and he has found a way to become a graduate assistant and go to grad school for free! I am so proud of him. I'm excited for the both of us to get our Masters degrees (well, mine will be a Specialist degree- higher than a Masters and not quite as high as a PhD).

Well, it's time to get ready for bed. Goodnight!

Don't mess with Texas!

175 years ago, the men and women of Texas stood up against Mexico demanding independence. Texas became a republic in a little over two months after declaring independence from Mexico in 1836. Nine years later in 1845, Texas became the 28th state in the United States. This upset Mexico who declared war on Texas and the U.S. This led to the U.S. conquering New Mexico an California and overtaking Mexico City which led to the Mexican Cession.

Moral of the story: Don't Mess With Texas!

Happy Independence Day, Texas! God Bless The Lone Star State!

Speaks for itself, right? ;-)

March goals

I can't believe it's already March! Seems like just yesterday it was February 1st and we got some snow that would last for around 4 days. Anyway, here are some goals I would like to accomplish in March.

• Kick butt in my interview to hopefully earn my spot in grad school! (T-9 days to go)
• Make better choices with food- not always perfect choices, but at least eat healthy foods more often than unhealthy foods
• Stop overeating so often! Overeating is a big problem of mine- it almost seems comfortable to overeat, even though the too-full feeling afterward is FAR from comfortable
• Post on here more!

That's about all I have for March. If I come up with more, I will update!

What are your March goals? How did your February goals fare?

Before and After in reverse

Just in case you forgot, in summer of 2009 I lost 24 pounds and looked great. I felt healthy, I looked thin, and I was wearing a size 8. I had a "glow" about me and felt beautiful.

Before (thin and glowy)

My boyfriend, grandpa and me at my dad's 50th birthday party last year.

After (still confident in myself but less glowy and definitely not thin)

Graduation in December 2010. I don't look "fat" or anything but at this time (and still now) my weight climbed and I gained the 24 pounds I lost- plus 1 more.

So what does this all mean? I am disappointed in myself for letting myself gain back all the weight. It feels like it canceled out all my hard work and now my "skinny" clothes don't fit anymore. As a matter of fact, my former "fat" clothes (please know I'm keeping this as a relative term since we all have different feelings of when we feel fat) are right back to how they used to fit. Actually, in a brand of jeans I like (but they run small) I had to buy a 14 the other day because my 12s were feeling tight (at least that size in that brand feels ridiculously loose- gotta justify stuff sometimes, right?). Now I know this brand just runs small because I have NEVER been a size 14 before (and refuse to say I am a size 14 because my other size 12 pants fit fine) but this was pretty much my turning point where I realized I was just so disappointed in myself. I have been in a funk lately about my weight and basically eating my feelings instead of just dealing with it and losing the weight (once again).

I'm tired of feeling disappointed in myself. Let's turn that disappointment into another 24 pound (maybe even more!) weight loss and this time PERMANENT. I had a "last hurrah" today and in the morning I will have a fresh start.

Here's to new beginnings and lessons learned from past mistakes!

Accent Vlog (way overdue!)

The Accent Vlog: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
• What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Ok everybody, here is my accent vlog. I know this is kind of "old news" since these were done a couple weeks ago but I thought this would be fun. It was a royal PITA (pain in the a$$) to finally get working because my webcam software was acting up. BUT I finally got it to work and here is my accent!

A lot of people here in TX say I don't have a Southern accent but people from up North usually say different, haha. My family is from east TX so I kind of picked up on their accents. If you think my accent is Southern, you "ain't seen nothin' yet" (to sound all Texan haha)- my family has it way thicker than I do! I'm also very tired so my accent really comes out when I'm tired.

What do you think? Did I sound like you expected? If not, what were you expecting (more/less of an accent, a deeper or higher voice, etc.) to hear? If I sounded like what you expected, what were you expecting to hear (I sound different to myself than I probably sounded to you)?

ABC's of yours truly

ABC's of ME!!


(A) Age: 21, close enough to 22
(B) Bed Size: Queen
(C) Chore You Hate: doing the dishes and folding laundry
(D) Dogs? 1 dog, a 1 year 3 month old yellow lab (see dog in my profile picture)
(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: shower
(F) Favorite Color: black
(G) Gold or Silver? Silver
(H) Height: 5'5''
(I) Instruments You Play: Piano (played for 7 years as a kid and recently got back into lessons- YAY!!) and all percussion instruments (hooray band)
(J) Job Title: Compliance Teacher and a human who is dying to get back to being a student (in grad school)!!!
(K) Kids: none unless you count my dog :)
(L) Live: The best state in the world...TEXAS! :)
(M) Mom's Name: no thanks, not posting my mom's name all over the internet lol
(N) Nicknames: Steph, Stephie, and other nicknames that I plead the fifth on :)
(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? for myself, none...but I've stayed overnight with my dad when he got in a wreck 3 years ago
(P) Pet Peeve: people with bad spelling/grammar (not as annoying as it used to be), rude people, yappy foo-foo diva type dogs, cats that just run around my neighborhood peeing and crapping all over my yard and not in their own yard, people who don't clean up after themselves, people who choose to be ignorant instead of actually learning something, my dog always wanting to hump and chew blankets (he's at that stage haha), people who let their kids run amuck in stores getting in everybody's way, lazy people, people who feel entitled for doing nothing, arrogance, people who don't use their blinkers/turn signals when driving (I call it a blinker, but some of you may call it a turn signal haha), and last but not least- ABUSERS (of any type), drug dealers, murderers and rapists (don't even get me started on what I think society should do with those pieces of crap)...I have way more but I just thought I'd list off the stuff that really really bugs me haha
(Q) Quote from a Movie: "You don't just look for an hour and call it quits. You get your ass out there and you find that f***in dog!" Billy Madison (my favorite movie haha)
(R) Right or Left Handed? Right handed
(S) Siblings: none (parents couldn't get pregnant again)
(T) Time You Wake Up? Monday through Friday I wake up at the ungodly hour of 6:10am and on the weekends I sleep till around 8 or 9ish
(U) Underwear: the kind you wear UNDER your pants/skirts/dresses...duh :P
(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Brussels sprouts, celery, broccoli
(W) What Makes You Run Late: the only thing that could possibly make me late is a traffic jam...I am NEVER late! "to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late" is my motto (you can thank my band director in HS for that haha)
(X) X-Rays You've Had Done: just stuff in my mouth for when I was diagnosed with TMJ, when I had braces, when I got my wisdom teeth taken out, etc
(Y) Yummy Food You Make: all breakfast food, lasagna, enchiladas, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, grilled chicken, cakes, pumpkin cheesecake, the good stuff :) I can cook anything really, cooking is one of my hobbies.
(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: penguins

Thanks to M at I Made My Bed for the ABC's :)

Heck yeah!!

I got an interview to the grad program I really want to go to! It's March 10th and I can't wait!

Yesterday at work was kind of rough but at the end of the day, things started to look up. After school on Fridays, I tutor a small group of some 5th graders who need extra help. At the end of tutoring, someone wrote on the board that I rock (she wrote Ms. ____ rocks! I don't want to write my last name on here haha) and then another girl said "you're the best teacher!" so I told her that made me really happy to hear that and that's what I'm here for.

Ahhhh it makes me feel so much better on days when I feel discouraged, the days I feel like I don't know anything about teaching (I tutored the men's basketball team in college, but tutoring is a lot different than teaching I've found out), that I still am making a difference. That's what I want to do, so I feel so much better knowing that I'm making a difference in helping someone learn. Last week, one of my 4th graders that I tutor after school also told me "I like tutoring with you best because I learn more". I think I must be better at tutoring than teaching because when I try to teach in the class I work in during the day (1st grade) I seem to be at a loss on what to do sometimes.

HOWEVER, I've been helping a small group of kids in the first-grade class who have a hard time with reading and now they're starting to read! Maybe I do make a difference. It's just some days I feel like a total "newb" and feel so lost. It happens, right?

So all in all, yesterday turned out to be a GREAT day :) I love working with the kids (1st, 4th, and 5th grades) and they are great.

What do you love about your job?

I'm a bad blogger :(

Sorry for being such a bad blogger, guys! I've been super busy at work and by the time I get home I'm either too zonked out to post or I'm busy doing some other activity that isn't internet related. Working with first graders all day means no internet until I get home from work.

What has been going on since my last post?

• I celebrated my 3 year anniversary with Court on February 10th. He gave me an awesome Blu-ray player and a blu-ray movie to watch on it. I can't wait to set it up with my TV! He is truly the best person I know and is my best friend. I couldn't ask for a better man to spend 3 years and counting with :)
• I've been eating super unhealthy lately and am starting to think I need restriction when it comes to losing weight. I love the mentality of WW where you can eat what you want but in moderation, but I don't think it's for me. I need MUCH more structure.
• I'm going to sign up for Healthy Lifestyle Secrets with my school this week (they start the program together later this week). The "diet" is really restrictive at first and gradually adds in more foods, and I hear it's set up to where you lose more fat than with other diets. I'm excited to try it to see if this will be the structure I need.
• My previous post was the first day it snowed in Texas for 2011...it snowed some more for 3 more days and I had all the rest of that week off work. It snowed AGAIN February 9th and I got that day off work, too. What's up, Texas?
• The weather is FINALLY warming up! For the last 3-4 weeks, it's been 20s-30s every morning and I am NOT a fan of that. Today it is mid-70s and sunny- a perfect day to me!
• I realized that I look better when I wear less makeup. Win-win, right?
• I started a photography class and am learning a lot!
• I did my first 5k last Sunday! I walked it with my parents, who asked me to sign up with them. I would have jogged some of it, but I was nice and walked with my parents. What a great way to start the day :)
• I'm starting to make a difference with one of the kiddos in my class! I sympathize with the students who are a little slower on the uptake with school work so I try to help them out more. I'm still lost as all get out in the job (at least, I feel like it- people say I'm doing a good job for being so new to the job though!) but I love the kids I work with. On Friday as I was leaving, all 27 kids in the class gave me a hug. I had kids surrounding the whole circumference of my body. It seriously melted my heart and was the highlight of my day! It's the little things, right?

I've  been thinking about doing one of those accent vlogs soon because it's fun listening to everybody's accents! Knowing me, I'll be too lazy to do that :)

I leave you with some fun pictures :)

Marshall just LOVED the snow while it lasted! Didn't my dad get a great action shot of him?

Drinking a Grande Skinny Caramel Macchiato with an extra shot of espresso before the 5K

My dad got another cute picture of Marshall in the snow. Isn't he so photogenic? He's even cuter in person :)

How has everybody been lately? Any juicy gossip to share? ;)

SNOW!!! and February Goals

Well, North Texas got to kick off the first day of February with snow (yes, REAL snow!!) and the school district I work for shut down today so I get an extra day to rest and recover from this nasty cold! We Texans are gigantic babies when it comes to snow, it's quite ridiculous. Everything pretty much shuts down even if we get just an inch of snow. I know, it probably sounds pathetic. BUT 100 degree days are nothing to us whereas people up North think that's like a sauna, so I guess it evens out :) I feel almost 100%, but it was nice to get an extra day to rest. There is no such thing as rest where I work, so this was almost like it was sent from the big man upstairs :)

This is the snow that shut down all North Texas schools and a lot of places of work. It may not look like much to people who see more snow, but to me this is awesome!!

I slept in until 9am (and to think I used to think 9am was waking up early...LOL) and had a nice hot bowl of oatmeal with 1/2 C canned pumpkin, some cinnamon, allspice, a squeeze of agave nectar, and a small spoonful of peanut butter. YUM!

Now, to preface my February goals. Today, I dropped my membership to WW Online because it just doesn't feel right for me right now. I don't really have a good reason other than counting points is just not my thing. I'm thinking about trying the program my parents have been doing called Healthy Lifestyle Secrets. You don't count calories/points and it teaches portion control and healthy eating. Best part is that I don't have to pay for it because my parents have all the information about the program from their work places doing it for the staff.

February Goals

• Eat sensibly and not gain any weight (hopefully lose some weight in the process)
• Find a way of eating that works for me
• Save my money as much as possible- don't spend more than $100 a month in "luxuries" I don't need
• Keep learning more effective ways to help my first grade kiddos so I can help as much as possible!
• Read at least one book

What are your February goals?

1994

This post was inspired by a post I saw over at Carrots 'n' Cake and thought it would be fun to post.

Sorry for the fuzziness, this picture was taken by my camera phone a long time ago (picture of a picture, anyone?).

Anyway, I turned 5 years old in 1994 and started kindergarten that year. I was very into playing with my grandma's makeup as you can see, and I loved wearing bows and cute dresses and skirts. That phase didn't last too long until I went through the tom-boy phase and then sort of adopted a middle ground between girly and tom-boy. My favorite TV show was Barney, and I also liked to watch Thomas the Tank Engine. Pocahontas and The Lion King came out when I was 5, as well (although they either came out in 1994 or 1995- I was still 5 for part of 1995) and they were my favorite movies of all time. One year I was Pocahontas for Halloween and had Pocahontas clothes, dolls, and sheets. I think I even had a Pocahontas sleeping bag! haha. Pocahontas was the first movie I ever cried in (when they were about to kill John Smith) and The Lion King was the second movie (who doesn't cry at the part where Mufasa dies?) I ever cried in.

I learned to read in 1994 and had a hard time drawing inside the lines. My handwriting was horrible, but hey I was making large academic strides that year :) When I was 5 (not sure if it was the 1994 part of 1995 part) I also got a black eye from a pinata incident at a friend's birthday party (her mom sat us too close to the pinata and the kid who swung at the pinata hit my eye instead- OUCHHH!) and soon after burned my hand with hot coffee at the 7-11 while my grandma was in line paying for cigarettes for herself and an icee for myself (I got too impatient to wait so I started to get coffee and it spilled on my hand instead) and the hot coffee burned the skin off my hand. This pretty much explains my still persistent lack of patience, but it's progressively getting better.


Who were you in 1994?

No motivation

This post will be short and sweet.


I did track my food intake on Monday like I promised, but that's it. I haven't tracked my food intake since then. I don't know why, but I haven't been feeling very motivated. I'm still feeling like I need a break so I don't get burnt out on WW and give up on it for good. I'm not sure which route I should take- stop paying for WW and just try to eat reasonably on my own (while still weighing in) or keep my membership and come back to it when I'm ready?

I just don't know what to do. It doesn't help that I've been sick practically all week when I just came off a horrendous cold less than 3 weeks ago. I guess it's just going to take some getting used to for my body to adjust to being around sick kiddos all the time. I feel like death :( For the past few days the medicine I've been taking has just made me there but not really there. I've just been going through the motions, but I feel mentally detached from everything, like I'm just floating around in a daze everywhere. I hate how medicine does that! UGH.

Any advice on how to get myself back on track would be appreciated :)

Confession

Forgive me WW, for I have sinned. It has been two days since my last tracking.

I haven't tracked my food intake since Friday. Even then, I didn't track my dinner and my lunch- both of which were very unhealthy and very high in points.

Last night I went out for Thai food with my boyfriend and his parents for his dad's birthday. I had an eggroll, 2 coconut shrimp, half an order of pineapple fried rice with shrimp (YUMMMMM!), and some dessert. Friday I had pizza at lunch and for dinner we had mashed potatoes and some white cream gravy with pieces of steak chopped up in it. All of these meals were absolutely amazing and I don't regret a bite.

I just felt like I needed a break from tracking for the weekend. Usually I track every single bite that enters my mouth, but sometimes you just need a break to stay on track in the long run. At least I do.

I will 100% be back to tracking tomorrow, at least that's my intention for now :)

Anybody else in this spot and/or have been here before? If so, how do you deal with it to move forward?

Crazy whirlwind of a week!

I started my new job last Thursday as an orientation sort of thing but really really started getting into the work on Tuesday (we had MLK day off). If you want to know my job, scroll down a bit and it'll have a description somewhere in there haha. Anyway, this has been one crazy week! My job is so fun, and so busy. One good thing is we only get half an hour for lunch (because that's how long the kids get) and the school I work at isn't close to a restaurant really. This pretty much forces me to pack a lunch, which makes me more inclined to pack a healthy lunch. Also, when you spend 8 hours on your feet walking around answering questions of inquisitive first-graders, you burn lots of calories.

All this has led to a 1.6 pound weight loss this week! I've been playing with the same numbers ever since I moved home a month ago so it's nice to see a loss. This brings my total weight loss to 6.6 pounds lost. This is still snail speed since I've been on WW since November 11th, but at least I haven't GAINED weight. The scale is moving down, and that's all that matters. I wish I could lose weight Biggest Loser style, but the truth is that most of those contestants gain back a lot of that weight because no reality can accommodate 6-8 hour workouts a day and super clean eating 100% of the time. I'll take what I get as long as it's weight lost :)

Sorry I have been a bad blogger, by the way. My job is so exhausting and I'm still getting used to it. Right now, every day I come home from work and get in my PJs and just veg out. I'll get used to it and not have to crash so soon. For now though, sheesh I am tired!

I will say that my job has been very rewarding so far. It's nice to work with kids who give you hugs, say you look cute and beautiful, compliment your clothes and jewelry, and actually listen when you tell them to do something. These kids are great (most of the time hehe) and I really enjoy them :)

How was everybody's week? TGIF!

Commitment Issues

I have serious commitment issues with weight loss. When I was 12, I lost 30 pounds and gained back 50 (I wasn't very overweight because I had gotten soooo skinny after losing those 30 pounds, almost underweight actually). I didn't look too chubby, but I felt chubby by the time I was 19, almost 20. In 2009, I lost 24 pounds and felt awesome! Then I gained back 25 and started WW again. I've lost 5.8 pounds total so far at a snail speed of around .5 a week (because of a couple gains I've had) and here I am again...lacking motivation and doubting my commitment to weight loss.

I don't really know what it is, but I think it's because I'm used to seeing myself look average, maybe a little tiny bit chubby, instead of being one of those thin women I'm always jealous of (in terms of body shape). It could also be the fact that I like to eat all the foods that are bad for me, and not enough of the ones that keep you thin/losing weight.

Exhibit A? I was supposed to weigh-in (WI) today but I had a pizza fest last night and had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning, so not much time to WI. I only like to WI in the mornings so I'm holding off until tomorrow. HOWEVER, I just had a mini-pizza binge again from the last night's pizza leftovers. I only ate like 3 slices worth  (they were cut into small squares with thin crust) and think I actually had the points for it today but that sodium may make me have a gain in the morning.

For now I'm going to just keep going and tracking and just hope I find some motivation. I think maybe I'm not feeling much motivation/commitment right now because I just started my new job today and I'm feeling kinda stressed about it. I had a great first day, but change stresses me out. When I'm stressed, I eat bad foods. Blah.

Anybody else going through this issue, too? I'm not going to give up, but I sure feel like it right now.

Drunken Pooch

Is it just me (and my mom) or does Marshall look drunk?

 

LOL. I have the goofiest dog on the planet!

I don't really have anything interesting to say today. I'm not sure how many more lazy days I can have until I'm processed for my new job through HR so I went full-on lazy today. No makeup, stayed in PJs all day, sat on the couch and watched TV. 

Court went back to school today (not school school, but just back to the town) and stopped by to say hi/bye on his way out. I gave him a bunch of casserole leftovers from what I made tonight to make sure he has enough to eat and I'll get to see him again either mid-week and/or this weekend. This weekend should be for sure, but mid-week dinner is up in the air. It feels weird for him to be going back to school and I'm still here at home. No textbooks to buy, no going back to school. 

I'm starting a new big girl job, though! It's my first job that requires a college degree so that feels pretty cool. Part of me is saying that HR needs to get me processed through so I can start working ASAP and the other part of me wants to go back to college and do all the things I got used to doing for the last 3 years. 90% of me is excited to be "growing up" and the other 10% wants to stay a kid forever. Sure, I'm not a full-blown "adult" yet since I still live with my parents and I don't pay ALL my bills yet, but it's a transition. I'd rather transition into it rather than be thrown into it saying "good luck!". Gradual change is my friend. I do not like change so it's optimal for me to sneak into it until it feels ok. Hey, if I get into grad school I can get back in my element of being a student and feel a little more comfortable again :)

I'm a lifelong learner, for serious. In 2 weeks I'm starting a photography class at TCU with my parents so we can learn how to use our super sophisticated cameras more effectively. I also want to work on being a real certified teacher and go to culinary school (those are both possible things, not necessarily mandatory- more like things that I want to do if I can ever find the time to do them haha). Oh and of course start grad school in August to become a School Psychologist and eventually get a PhD to be a college professor (those two things I really really really want to do!). See? School is my thing LOL. At least I get to work in one :)

Hmmmm...turns out I had something sort of interesting to say for today haha

How did you deal with the transition into adulthood?

Sunset

Texas sunsets are one of the prettiest things in the world.

 

Sorry I forgot to take pictures at the Stars game. I forgot to bring my camera, so this picture is courtesy of my handy dandy camera phone. Unfortunately, the Stars lost to the Rangers :( They went into two overtimes and a shoot-out, and that's when we lost. Buttttt I had tons of fun with the love of my life! I'm not sure what it was about that night, but I think I fell in love with him even more. It's the little things that matter most, right? :)

How was everybody's weekend? I finally kicked my cold to the curb so hopefully I can workout a lot this week! Hooray! :)

BIG NEWS! (yes, it deserves all caps)

Today I got a "big girl job"! It's going to pay me well enough to where I can pay my own way through grad school when that starts in August (assuming I get in *crosses fingers*) plus the people I'm going to be working with seem really great!

The job is at an elementary school working in a first grade classroom. The job title is called "compliance substitute" which basically means I'm going to help the teacher with the everyday things they do in class plus in the afternoon I'd take a small group of kids to another place to help them with parts of the lessons they aren't understanding. I enjoyed tutoring in college, and I think this will be just as fun if not more.

This has been a really good day! Soon my boyfriend and I are going to head to the train station that will take us into Dallas (it only takes 30 mins as opposed to an hour's drive, woohoo!) and we will have so much fun at the Stars game.

Here's to a kickass weekend!

Awesome graduation gift!

For the past year or so, I have so desperately wanted a queen-sized bed. After I got Marshall in March, my wish became more of a need. A twin-sized bed for a full grown woman of average height and size (5'5'') and a 92 pound lab just got...cramped. My parents got me an awesome Canon Rebel XS (a kickass camera!) for my graduation present and my grandparents just bought me this awesome bed yesterday. It was delivered this morning and I love it (as much as you can love a bed, haha)!

Marshall likes it too, see?

 

I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family! And now I am fortunate to have such an awesome bed.

Tomorrow Court and I are going to see the Dallas Stars play the New York Rangers. My Christmas present to him was the tickets for he and I to go see the game. I got us decent seats and it didn't cost near as much as I would have thought. I can't wait! Pictures to come soon.

On another note, the only GHG I did not meet was the 2 tsp of healthy oil. I got 1 tsp of EVOO today, but came short of the second teaspoon. I want to save all my WP's for tomorrow in case I eat badly when we get to Dallas so I didn't use any WP's for the extra teaspoon of oil. Such is life. I met all my other GHG's and ate all 29 of my DP's. I feel great! :) Here's to a bigger loss next week!

Any fun plans for the weekend?

I lost weight!

I lost .4 this week despite going in the red with my points! I ate really  badly this week and didn't get in hardly any GHG's. I'll take .4, even if it is a small loss! That puts my total weight loss to 5.8 lost averaging to .5 lost a week. That is slower than I'd like, but I still have to fight the mentality of wanting big losses all the time.

My attitude still overall remains "a loss is a loss"...yes, even a measly .4!

This week, my goal is to get in all my GHG's everyday and try not to use too many of my WP's. I'd like to see a bigger loss next week, so I'm gonna try my damnedest!

How did everybody else's WI go this week?

Down for the count

So on New Years Eve I woke up feeling like crap- turns out I have a cold. I started feeling a lot better yesterday and then today I woke up and felt MISERABLE. I finally got my headache to go away and feel a little better after eating something, but I just feel awful. I've been loading myself up with vitamin C, vitamin D, and lots of medicine.

It's nice being able to relax since I haven't got a spot for my tutoring gig yet, but this is getting old. Go figure the time I finally decide to get back into working out I get sick enough to where working out would just make my cold worse :(

I had a big huge bowl of tomato bisque last night from my favorite store ever (shout out to Central Market!) and didn't think it would be as many points as it turned out to be. I also had a piece of foccacia bread and knew it would be higher in points than normal bread. So basically my dinner put me 1 point in the red for the week and I'm trying to get better so I can earn back some AP's to put me out of the red.

I stepped on the scale this morning for a sneak peek and it says I'm up .6 from Thursday but I have a feeling it's because my dinner last night was very salty. I'm not too worried about gaining again this week because most of that was probably just water weight from yesterday's lack of enough water and too much salt.

Here's to sitting on the couch watching the entire season of The Next Iron Chef on Food Network (the one where Forgione wins, or however you spell his name) and relax with my dog.

I now leave you with a cute picture of my spoiled pooch, Marshall. This was taken the other night when it was time to go to bed and he was wayyyy too tired to get off the couch. Hence the dirty look that says "but momma I don't wanna get off the couch, I'm too tired!"

It's such a rough life being Marshall.