Cinnamon, Be My Friendamon

Okay, so that title doesn't make any sense, but it did make me smile.  =)

I'm sitting on the couch tonight, a little sleepy, and already finished with dinner, when that feeling comes over me.  The feeling of wanting something sweet.  I've mentioned it before, but I think it is hugely ironic that I am craving sweets every now and then, when I've never been a huge sweet fan.  I start doing a mental check off in my head - we're out of cottage cheese - I took the strawberries to work - oh boy, this could be a long night.

Then...out of the blue....this small voice in the back of my head says - "Didn't you purchase a lot of Emerald Almonds back when Publix had them on a buy one get one sale?"  Um, yes, yes, I did.  I find a container of cinnamon almonds, eat just a few, and boy oh boy, that did the trick.  Yep, I'm pleased.  =)  Just a few almonds went a long way.  I'll have to remember that for the future.

This is a beautiful life!!

Weigh-In Wednesday Week 5 - Monthly Meaure Up February

Well, it's weigh-in Wednesday and the scale says the EXACT same thing as last week.  Yes, I know I bought a new scale, and YES, I know the new scale is weighing about a pound heavier than the old scale, but psychologically it does something to you to see the same numbers for two weeks in a row.  Am I at a plateau?  I have no idea.  Everything I've read says I've got to go at least four weeks without a loss in weight or measurements, and I'm only two weeks in.

In good news....I took my measurements since while it's Weigh-In Wednesday, it is also the first day of the month - so here are my results for the month of January

11.2 pounds lost
11 3/4 inches lost overall - with 2 of those inches being off my hips, this does seem to raise my spirits a little about the scale.  =)

It's on February...Let's do this!  I'm going to once again crush it in February and hopefully my March 1st  results will be something to be proud of, too.

This is a beautiful life!

This Year I Promise To....

Try very very hard not to check my work email after hours and on the weekends.  I have a tendency to find myself checking work email when I'm not at work.  This year, in order to help myself relax some (which is part of my plan for honoring my temple in 2012), I will make a very strong effort to quit that practice.  I love my job, but I believe it is very important to have a work/life balance.

Even the Cats are Going Organic

Disclaimer:  Anything I say here is going to make me sound like a cat lady.  I've accepted that - now, let's move on.  Have y'all seen Cheese and Crackers?  No, not the kind you eat, the two that live in my house.  They are HUGE.  I mean, one looks like a mini lion, and one looks like a mini mountain lion.  So, I've been doing some research, and the cats are going organic.  I went to Petco today and bought food that has absolutely no carbohydrate fillers.  It is all natural ingredients.  Yeah, it might sound crazy, but I'm going to see if this helps them become healthier in 2012, too.  Yeah, I'm sure they are about to love me.

                                                  Cheese and Crackers - Doing what they do

                                               Cheese - Doing his next favorite thing - taking a nap

                                                                      Crackers

Spring Mix, Strawberries, and Shallots, Oh My....

I made my FAVORITE salad for dinner tonight.  Sometimes I add chicken, but tonight, I just wanted to yummy veggies and fruit.  I've made it in the past, and of course, it is even tastier with sunflower seeds and walnuts in it, too. 

So here it is:
organic spring mix
cauliflower (most people don't like the extra veggies, but I do)
strawberries
a few Mandarin orange slices
green onions
shredded cheese
cucumbers
cherry tomatoes
just a drizzle of Ken's Light Raspberry Vinaigrette
also yummy - grilled chicken, walnuts, and sunflower seeds

It's a nice Spring/Summer salad, and even though it is January, sometimes you need a little early Spring.  =)

Okay, so obviously, the above picture was taken with my phone, so it is not amazing, but you get the point.  I also love my super cute pink and white bowl - perfect for a Spring salad.

It's a beautiful life!

Weigh-In Wednesday Week 4

It happened.  Oh, you know...the dreaded "step on the scale and nothing has happened" happened.  Even worse, the even more dreaded "step on the scale and it went up" happened.  For the first time in my history of dieting, I did not have a major set back when I saw that my official weigh-in weight was up - yes, only .2 of a pound - but when you've been as good as I've been about tracking everything, to gain at all can be disheartening.  Not really this time though.  You know why?  Well, simple.  The reason I'm not letting it get me down is because I absolutely without a single solitary doubt have no questions about what I ate or could have done differently.  I've pretty much been laying it all out there every single day.  So, I believe that it might not be this week....it might not be next week...but eventually, the weight will have to drop on the scale.

Another note on the scale...  I think my scale died on me.  The past few days, I've noticed that the scale won't give you the same weight - even when you step off and step back on.  Or, it will show me the same thing I weighed in the morning, when it's time for bed.  Tonight, it didn't show me anything at all.  So, I went to Amazon and ordered myself a brand new shiny bathroom scale.  It is supposed to be here Friday.  I shall weigh and see what it says.  It was rated a 5 star product, and considering there are almost 3,000 reviews, I'm going to believe I'm getting a great product.  I'm sure I'll blog about it.  =)

So - as of now - I am down 11.2 pounds....and still going.  =)

This is a beautiful life!

Question of the Day....

Can a person get the shakes from the smell of fried food?  Well, let me just say, I felt like an addict who hadn't had their fix in too long today at work.  We had food at work today and the choices were - fried pork chops, fried chicken, smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli salad (loaded with mayo), fresh rolls, and several types of pies.  Yeah, read that again:  fried pork chops, fried chicken, smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli salad (loaded with mayo), fresh rolls, and several types of pies.  I seriously felt like I was cast into the lion's den of food choices.  I walked away and made my grilled chicken salad.  Once I was full, I felt better, but it was a no joke hard situation. 

I think what made it harder was the fact that I'm pretty sure I'm going to weigh in the morning and be up in weight on my official weigh-in day.  Yes, seriously.  I'm not discouraged because I know that I know that I know that I've done EXACTLY what I was supposed to be doing.  I figure if I'm not down this week then I absolutely have to be down next week...or the week after that...or eventually the scale is going to have to budge downwards.  I will say it is psychological harder when you've been losing pretty nicely and yet, the scale isn't moving at all - except maybe up a pound - and you are doing the exact same thing as before.  I figure my body is probably in shock that I've had almost a month of extremely clean eating and it wondering if it can get me to binge again and get back to the old normal.  ha!  Well, this time, I'm not going there.  I will hold strong. 

Well, I've got to finish up some homework.

This is a beautiful life!