Category Archives: Living Life

Weekend Fun

Posted on February 4, 2013 | 3 Comments

As I type this, I’m chug-a-luggin’ water like there is no tomorrow! After two days of indulgence, my body is craving it. Sometimes it’s nice to ‘let go,’ but always great to get back on track.

While this guy is in Winter Park, Colorado for a few days, I went and visited my sister up in Cedar Falls on Saturday. I needed the little get away to keep my mind of missing Mr. B so much. And my sister and I always have a great time.

Saturday was filled with shopping at some cute little shops in Cedar Falls, where I completely fell in love with a great kitchen table at an amazing vintage store. Sadly, it had to stay there since I didn’t have the $300 for it or a way to transport it home.

This needs to be in my house!

Luckily, there was my favorite cupcakery to soothe my sorrows over leaving behind that table! I’m sure I’ve mention Scratch before and if you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw the pictures of delicious cupcakes I posted. This place seriously has the best cupcakes and being the cupcake snob I am, you should just take my word. (or if you live in Cedar Falls, Waterloo, or Des Moines find out for yourself!)

Scratch

The line was crazy long and we waited to get our treats. I got a Salty Dog and Dulce de Leche cupcake. Oh and some rather yummy pumpkin cheesecake gelato. We enjoyed the gelato and saved the cupcakes for later.

Yum!

Later that night we hit up Soho for sushi and martinis. I probably just could have drunk the martinis all night. They were so yummy! As was the sushi, which I also could have eaten another like 4 rolls of. But, my wallet wouldn’t have been very happy with that. So, after 3 martinis and 2 rolls each, we headed out.

Twinkle-tini, Oatmeal Cookie, and Snickers martinis!

We ended the night at a bar where I sang some karaoke and had a few beers. Then it was late night cupcake snacking at my sister’s house. Perfect drunk food! And hangover food the next morning. Lol

Sunday I was going to head out early and meet Emily to hang out, but a change of plans left me in Cedar Falls a bit longer. Which meant more sister time! We headed off to Newton’s Paradise Cafe and indulged in some more delicious food. (seeing a pattern here?)

newtons

That in the middle is the most delicious potato salad ever! It was made with sweet potatoes and was amazing. I plan on attempting a recreation of it in my own home. The pulled pork was phenomenal too. It was topped with a creamy basil coleslaw and a total foodgasm in my mouth!

After fueling up on delicious grub, we headed out to do some shopping! We headed to Old Navy and found some great deals in the clearance section! Woot! I found a pair of jeans on sale for $15, but was unsure what size to grab. I knew that my 10s and 12s were getting too big, so I grabbed an 8. I headed to the dressing room and tried on a few cute shirts, then came the jeans.

Now, I know every woman out there has the fear when trying on jeans, that they’re not going to fit. Jean shopping is seriously the worse! But, these jeans slid up my thighs and I let out a “holy crap” in the dressing room as they not only went over my hips, but buttoned and zipped! I came out of the dressing room with the biggest smile on my face and made my sister snap a picture immediately!

Size 8

I couldn’t believe it! I started this journey in a size 26/28 jean and now I am a single digit size. Just ONE number on my tag now. Holy Crap!!!! I’m still sort of in shock about it. Lol. Oh and I bought that cute button up too, which usually I have issues with them not fitting because of the loose skin on my arms. But this one fit perfectly!

After Old Navy we hit up JC Penny, where my sister and I both scored cute Columbia winter coats. They were originally $170 and we got them for $24! So, I’d say shopping was a major win yesterday!! (If you’re looking for a new winter coat, hit up JC Penny! They were all on sale for a steal!)

I then headed back home, stopping at a gas station for a potty break and some not so ideal road trip snackage. Once home I made sure to get in my TurboFire workout, even though it was late! Go me!

After my weekend of indulgence, I’m glad to be back on track today. I’ve already downed half my water intake for the day and had a healthy breakfast. Next up is my TurboFire workout and I’m heading to my parents house to cook them dinner!

Mr. B gets back on Wednesday and I also return to work that day. I’m more than ready for him to be back because quite frankly, I just don’t sleep well at night.

How was your weekend?

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Posted in Lil B, Living Life, Loving Life, Non-Scale Victory

Tagged cedar falls, cupcakes, Lil B, non-scale victory, NSV, Scratch Cupcakery, Sissy Linn, weekend fun, weight watchers

Christmas Coma

Posted on December 28, 2012 | 5 Comments

I woke up yesterday morning in what I call a Christmas Coma. You know that feeling after indulging in a million of your aunt’s amazing cookies, Lagomarcino’s truffles, delicious beef tenderloin, huge helpings of Pioneer Woman’s broccoli & cheese casserole, your dad’s famous taco bean dip, a bottle of wine, not enough water, and a body that has forgotten what a great workout is? That is a Christmas Coma.

Never a good thing.

The key to coming out of a Christmas Coma is shocking your body and jumping right back into healthy habits! Yesterday morning started with a sweaty workout and a green monster smoothie. Followed by meals filled with Power Foods! There was the small indulgence of a Lago truffle, but let’s face it, you just DON’T throw those things away! I have a few left and plan on eating only one a day until they’re gone. Oh and I drank my body weight in water.

My best advice is to just get back on track and to not let the indulgences of the holidays turn into a month or 2013 filled with indulgences. We’ve all come too far to let that happen!

Our Christmas was a fun and busy one! And we just celebrated one side of the family Christmas! My family doesn’t even celebrate until January 11th!

Monday was with Mr. B’s parents and grand parents. I was spoiled and pretty sure I ended up with the most presents, which I of course teased Mr. B about. It’s only because his mom and grandma finally have a girl to shop for!

presents

I got a lot of cute new clothes and 3 new winter coats, since nothing seems to fit anymore! I also got a tripod for my camera and a Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl (wanted one forever!). We had beef tenderloin for dinner and for dessert I made Mr. B’s Great-Grandma’s 20-Minute Angel Food Cake. Which had crazy instructions like: cook 10 mins with a pie tin on top. I was nervous making it, but it actually turned on rather well and I even made glaze to go with it!

Finished Angel Food Cake!

Christmas morning Mr. B and I opened our gifts to each other. He spoiled me again this year! I got a workout outfit and a beautiful pearl necklace & earring set. Probably the gift I was surprised about was my Instax Camera! I have been lusting over these for quite some time and it has actually been on my Christmas list for multiple years! Now I finally own one! Yay!

Love!

I then made that horrible Pioneer Woman casserole (seriously, it has 2lbs of velveeta and 3 sleeves of ritz crackers. Oh and broccoli! Lol) and off we went to Mr. B’s dad’s family Christmas. After that get together we headed to my parent’s house to see my family.

My sister and her fiance were in town, so we all piled in our Pathfinder (yay for 3rd row seats!) and headed to the nursing home to see our Grandmama. We even got to meet her boyfriend, Don. Haha. They were cute and holding hands and he told us how good of a woman she is. She’s always loved the men!

My brother, Mr. B, me, my sis, and her fiance with Grandmama

Mr. B had to return to work on Wednesday, so we made it home early and headed to bed. I was up early on Wednesday to score some after Christmas sales with my sister and brother’s girlfriend. I widened my Rudolph collection with a wreath and 5 new ornaments. And got a few other things. But that wasn’t the most exciting thing of the day! My family from Chicago was in town and we were finally getting to meet Marshall!

marshallandme

Can we just take a minute and look at his cuteness! My cousin and her man sure made a good looking baby! We all visited and ate cookies that my aunt made. Then Mr. B showed up and got to meet Marshall too. I demanded that he hold him since I have never seen Mr. B hold a baby before.

marshallandzach

Ya, the cuteness in this picture melts my heart. Soon, the family was on their way back to Chicago. I decided I wasn’t going to my WW meeting after finding out my leader wasn’t going to be there (I’m a leader snob and love Becky…lol) and went out to eat with the family. Needless to say I was totally feeling that Christmas Coma.

I woke up on Thursday with a 4lb gain. Figured it would happen and I’m not letting it get me down. This is real life and I’m not going to deprive myself of things I don’t get often. Like I said, I’m back on track and it feels great!

How was your holiday? And what’s your best “get back on track” tip?

Mine is definitely just to dive back into it because you have no other option!

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Posted in Living Life

You Can Do This (My Weight Loss Secrets)

Posted on November 6, 2012 | 13 Comments

I hear this phrase a lot. I hear it from people I know and from people I don’t know, but share my story with. People who need to lose weight and from people who don’t.

What’s the phrase?

“I wish I could do that”

Variations being:

“I could never do that”

“I wish I had that will power”

“I can’t lose weight….exercise….eat right….etc”

I’m here to tell you that it’s all a lie, all of it. Every single negative thought you have had about losing weight, exercising, or eating right….isn’t true.

Because you better believe this:

Because you know what? You CAN do this! It is completely possible for you to take the first step to a better you. I know because I have done it. And if I can do it, anyone can. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, but I promise you it is 100% true.

I was just like you, overweight, sad, and unhappy with life. I used to have that voice in my head telling me that I couldn’t do it and I would be fat and lonely forever.But then I stepped foot into my first Weight Watchers meeting and began telling that inner negative voice to shut up. I began telling myself that I could and that I would accomplish anything I set my mind to. And I have.

I’m the girl who set out to lose 100lbs and did it. The girl who ran a mile and eventually the distance of a 5k. The girl who once never thought she would see a number on the scale start with a ’1′, but did. The girl who was sure she’d be a cat lady, but ended up marrying the man of her dreams. And the girl who hit 150lbs lost, all because I stopped listening to the ‘I can’ts’.

I want you all to know that are struggling with starting on a healthy path or even just hit a bump in the road, that this is possible. It is possible to lose weight and feel good about you. Want to know my secrets?

You have to do it for you! Like YOU really have to want it! It’s not going to work if you’re doing it for a guy/girl, to look good for a certain event, or to be accepted by society. Because if you don’t want it, you’re not going to stick with it and continue for the rest of your life. What happens when that certain guy/girl doesn’t want you or when the event is over? You’ll most likely go back to your old ways.

So that’s my first secret….my second one is this:

Eat less, move more. That is how you lose weight. There is no magic pill, shake, or diet. It’s the old rule of “calories in…caloires out.” Sure, I do Weight Watchers, but that is not a diet. The program doesn’t restrict any foods and doesn’t require you to eat only Weight Watchers endorsed products. It teaches you how to eat less, but more of the “right” foods.

Can’t afford Weight Watchers? No worries, there are other resources out that too! I did My Fitness Pal for a bit and I know some people who use Sparkpeople and Lose It. These are great tools to help you decide how much you should be eating and also gives you a great place to track what is going into your mouth.

The second part of that secret is move more. This one is pretty easy to do. If you don’t move at the moment, try at least 10 minutes a day. I started off by walking short distances and doing Leslie Sansone dvds. It took me a while to build up to my 30 Day Shred and Ripped In 30 challenges. Start small, then build up from there. You can only continue to better yourself.

My next secret is a pretty important one and one that I do daily!

Track what you eat! This is something they teach us and stress to us at Weight Watchers. I cannot stress how important it is. If you don’t write down what’s going into your mouth, then how will you know how much you are consuming daily? Track on a piece of paper or on one of those handy sites that I mentioned before. With cell phones these days you can get an app for anything, including the sites I mentioned.

Next up, Find Support! I’ll be honest, even though you are doing this all for you, it is very difficult to do it alone. You need people to vent to when things are going bad and people to cheer you on when you need it. I have found support not only in my amazing family and friends, but also a TON of online support via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and my blog. There are a lot of awesome people out there and a lot of them have the same exact struggles you do. You can even shoot me a message and I’ll be there for you.

And last but not least….

Try new things! Trying new things is super scary…trust me I know. This is part of my journey I still have a hard time with, but getting better with! Trying new things can be as simple as a new recipe or as complex as training for a race. When I first began this journey, I made it a mission to try a new food every time I went to the store. I have discovered a lot of new things I enjoy, that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t just try something new. What’s the worst thing that could happen, you hate it? So what? At least you’ll know.

Well there you have it, my secrets to weight loss and rocking this journey. Incase you need a recap, here they are in a pretty picture for you to print off or even Pin!