#Last90Days
Is it kosher to just copy and paste someone else’s post into my blog and just say, “Here! Read this – it’s everything I want to say and more!” No? Maybe?
Okay, well here’s what I need you to do before you read any further – follow Rachel Hollis on Facebook and Instagram, sign up for her emails, and DUH read her book Girl, Wash Your Face. Have you noticed I’m a Rachel Hollis fangirl yet?! I’ve already written about her book here and here. And now this is the 3rd post, and this one’s really important because we’re starting a new challenge:
L A S T 9 0 D A Y S
Y’all, it’s October 1st. That means there’s 90 days left in 2018. 90 days to get your life together. Wouldn’t you like to end your year even better than you started it? Wouldn’t you like to START 2019 already feeling your best?! I love this concept.
The last 3 months are the slipperiest (?) time of the year. You throw all eating/drinking inhibitions out the window starting with the resurgence candy corn and it just goes downhill from there. You get busy with holiday parties and your workouts become nonexistent. You wear your sweats and cozy sweaters, and say you’ll start next year. Nope. Not gonna happen, friends. We’re going to do this together.
I love this analogy Rachel shared in her email this morning:
If you needed to climb to the 20th floor of a building and you’re already on the tenth floor, does it make sense to go back down to the basement now and start all over in January? No way! We’re already here. Maybe we charged up the ten flights last January or maybe it took us all of 2018 to get to this place but dang it, we’re here. It doesn’t make any sense to blow it all now.
Right?! Okay, so I’ve convinced you about the WHY, but here’s the WHAT –
5 T O T H R I V E
It’s honestly pretty simple. I didn’t say easy. I said simple. YOU can do all of these things, and YOU can start 2019 as the best version of yourself.
Let’s get our tribe and do this together. Comment below, email me, text me, facebook me – tell me you’re in so we can hold each other accountable.
Today was the first day of the rest of my life.
Who’s with me?!
xo xo
Whole30 2.0 – Alderman Edition
I’ve done Whole30 twice now, and it’s worked both times. I lost weight, and felt better in so many ways. But here’s the thing – it’s not practical.
Both times after I stopped Whole30 I went back to my old eating habits. Sure it took a few weeks, but it happened. I made some healthier choices overall, like eating more veggies and drinking more water, but I still ate crap way too often. And I realized, I can’t just keep doing Whole 30 every 3 months and thinking it’s going to stick. What’s that definition about insanity?
So I’m here to share with you the new plan that Husband and I developed and are starting together this week.
We love Whole30 aka Paleo and how it makes us feel. However, we know it’s not practical to eat healthy 100% of the time, yet don’t have enough self control to say “we’ll eat paleo majority of the time” without any specific guidelines.
I remember my friend Samantha telling me (via her friend Jillian Michaels) you should use the 80/20 rule for eating healthy – 80% healthy, 20% not. If there are 21 available meals to eat in a week that means 4 of those can be cheat meals. These are numbers I can work with. That sounds totally doable, right? That means I could eat 1 cheat meal Friday, Saturday and Sunday and still have 1 left over to use during the week. I don’t feel restricted like I can never eat pizza or ice cream again, but I have guardrails in place.
We also set up a few other rules – unhealthy snacks or desserts count as 1/2 a meal; if you don’t use ANY of your cheat meals for the week you get to spend $X (still undecided) on something you want, like new clothes, shoes, etc.
This is in our kitchen, and should be updated accordingly via the honor system. And if I needed any extra inspiration about looking good in a bathing suit, I can see how many days until vacation we have. (yay!)
What do you think? The hope is that this will help us turn healthy eating into a lifestyle instead of just a fad or a diet.
Have any other tips or ideas to share? I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!
xo xo
Whole30, we meet again.
Okay, technically this time it’s Whole20: Jan. 4 – Jan. 23.
(Why Jan. 23? That’s the start of my birthday WEEK. Another post for another day.)
I went back and read my blog posts from my last Whole30 and remembered how amazing I felt while I was doing it. As I said in one post, I was a walking infomercial about clean eating – my cravings diminished, I slept better, I had more energy, I lost weight, etc. etc.
So, here we are again. 1 trip to Europe, 2 fattening holidays, and countless cocktails later, I need a cleanse. Meat, veggies, fruit, water, coffee. No grains, no sugars, no dairy, no alcohol.
Tonight I’m making Spaghetti Squash Carbonara for the first time, and can’t wait to try it. (Who knew it took spaghetti squash an hour and a half to cook though?!)
I’m currently on Day 4 and feeling good. I’m not joking when I say I’ve already seen and felt a difference in my body and weight.
The hard part will come tomorrow night, when all I’ll want is a glass of cabernet …
But instead I will drink my Pellegrino and remind myself, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.
Or some BS like that.
xo xo
Whole30: Week 3 Recap
It gets easier.
Week 3 was far and above easier than week 2, when I felt like I was constantly craving things I couldn’t have. I still want things (like gooey-cheesy-goodness macaroni and cheese from The Tavern, thanks to a friend’s picture on Instagram…), but I’m not obsessing over it or thinking about it as much as I was a week ago. Yeah I still want a cappuccino some mornings, but I’m very content with my black coffee. Yeah I still want some chocolate after dinner, but I’m very content with eating some fruit instead if I’m still hungry.
My relationship with food has changed dramatically. I use to think about every meal almost obsessively and about how I could make it as delicious as possible with cheese and butter and sister schubert’s rolls and more cheese. But now, I’m just thinking about what to eat that will fill me up and give me good nutritional value. Of course I still want it to taste good, but dinner doesn’t have to be phenomenal every single night. I think that will make those cheat days even better, right? (I can’t say because I haven’t had one in 3 weeks, but that’s what I’m thinking…) But it’s not like we’re eating bad food. Last week I shared a recipe we both loved, tonight we’re making steaks, and check out husband’s breakfast from yesterday! It was pretty damn delicious (and healthy!).
I’ve really learned a lot about myself and my body, and I’ve learned to say no. My willpower has shocked the heck out of me. I honestly didn’t know I had it in me. This is our final week of Whole30; however, we’ll be changing what we eat quite a bit even after the 30 days. I’ll share more about that in next week’s recap.
Hope you all have a wonderful week! (Enjoy some mac and cheese for me)
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Whole30: Week 1 Recap, Whole30: Week 2 Recap
Make-Ahead Meals: Breakfast Burritos + Mason Jar Salads
Typical New Year’s Resolution: Go on a diet. Lose Weight.
My New Year’s Resolution: Be more conscious of what goes in my body. (And hopefully losing weight will happen more naturally)
I’ve started making small changes in my diet. The biggest one being no more diet cokes every day. I’m not saying no more diet cokes forever, because I think having one every now and then is fine (like with mexican food – yummm) but definitely not one every day. I’ve only had 2 in the last month and I’m feeling just fine. Granted, I am drinking more coffee now because I still haven’t crossed that no caffeine hurdle BUT I’ve started drinking black coffee – no milk, no sugar, just black. Without those coke chemicals like aspartame, I already feel better about what I’m putting in my body – water and coffee.
The food is harder. Figuring out what to eat 3 times a day is hard enough, but then trying to make it healthy?? Ugh. I honestly have no clue what I’m going to do when I have kids. Feeding two is enough.
Lately though I’ve been inspired to eat healthier (and easier) with make-ahead meals.
B R E A K F A S T : E G G, S A U S A G E + P O T A T O B U R R I T O S
I have been vowing for months to make these make-ahead breakfast burritos via momadvice.com. Husband and I are not good at eating a solid breakfast. I typically just grab a Kind bar and maybe some fruit, maaaybe, if I eat anything at all. He sometimes eats yogurt. Then by lunch I’m so hungry I’m ready to eat anything and everything in my path. Not a good start to the day.
I needed something quick to grab, filling and fairly healthy. I’m not an egg eater at all (hard boiled eggs make me want to vomit), but when mixed with a bunch of different flavors (specifically mexican flavors, like huevos rancheros) I like them enough. I know they’re a good source of protein so I found this recipe great for breakfast. We’ve already gone through two rounds of these in just a few weeks. They’ve become our staple breakfast or sometimes lunch, and they are delicious. You can also change them up however you like!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt & pepper
- 1 lb Italian Turkey Sausage — if you haven’t tried this, it’s what totally makes the recipe!
- 9 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- jalapenos
- ½ pound shredded cheese of your choice
- 18 tortillas, soft-taco size (8-inch)
- To roast potatoes, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Drizzle diced potatoes with oil and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Toss the potatoes together to evenly coat in oil and seasonings, and spread out into a single layer on the parchment. Roast until browned on the bottom and tender, about 20-25 minutes.
- Brown your sausage. Once it is cooked through, set aside in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream (or milk substitute) and pour into the sausage skillet. Cook over medium heat until just set, stirring as needed. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine, and transfer to the bowl with sausage.
- Make an assembly line – tortilla, cheese, followed by a small handful of potatoes and a scoop of the egg/sausage mixture. Roll the tortilla up.
- For freezing, place burritos on a wax- or parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm, at least an hour. Transfer to large freezer bags and keep frozen for up to one month.
- For reheating, place a frozen burrito in microwave for 35 seconds on each side.
L U N C H : M A S O N J A R S A L A D S
I had been seeing this trend for a while now and thought it looked amazing, but it wasn’t until a friend posted on Instagram pictures of her salads for the week that I decided I had to try it. It is SO simple and so customizable. There are literally thousands of ideas for different salads on Pinterest. I decided to make mine with no meat, but you could easily add in canned chicken if you wanted.
What’s so great about the salads is that the dressing is in the mason jar. You don’t have to have a separate container for dressing. You just grab the jar and go.
Tips for layering:
Start with the dressing of your choice.
Add the hard veggies that you don’t mine getting soaked, like tomatoes, peppers, carrots.
Add the second layer of veggies or protein, like beans, cucumbers, artichokes, olives.
Add the meat here if you want.
Add the cheese, I like feta or a little gorgonzola.
Add the lettuce, my preference is spring mix.
Voila!
I keep a bowl and fork at my desk at work, so then all I have to do is pour it out, mix it up a little and it’s a great lunch full of veggies!
What are your favorite make-ahead meals?
xo xo
Hot Yoga, thank you.
Dear Hot Yoga,
Thank you. You were not what I was anticipating tonight, and that’s a good thing.
I had some doubts after my first time with you. It was hot, oh so hot, sweaty, crowded, difficult. Then I left you and it was even hotter outside. I swore I’d never come back to you again. I just couldn’t possibly understand why someone would want to drown in their own sweat, while standing so close to someone else that they could also feel droplets of their sweat on them too. You disgusted me.
But then I decided to give you another chance. Your followers really are your best asset, as they can be very persuasive with their stories about how much they love you.
Guess what – this time you were different. First of all, it was cold outside, very cold. And the room wasn’t crowded, and it was peaceful, and you didn’t make me do as much cardio as before. I thought, okay, I can do this.
Then we got going and I felt like I might die. I thought, Oh, now I remember why I don’t do yoga.
But through the pain and inner complaining, I realized something. This was the first time this week I hadn’t been focused on work or my personal problems. I was legitimately only focusing on my breathing, the poses and the present moment. For that alone, I thank you.
First you feel like dying, then you feel reborn. And that’s exactly how I felt by the end of it. Reborn into a new day with new strength and new peace.
As we lay there at the end just breathing and letting go of our body (my favorite part, if you were wondering), your instructor said, “Take a second to memorize this moment. You can come here whenever you want.” Ah. (deep sigh)
Somehow you won me over tonight. So again, thank you.
xo xo, your new yogi
Meet Georges aka GSP, my new best friend
Okay friends, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m kind of a workout flake. I’m all talk, no action. Wait, let me correct that – I’m all talk, no action lots of action for about a week, maybe two, sometimes a month if we’re lucky.
Well, husband is sick of me complaining about my body and is forcing me to take action. (Isn’t that what husbands are for??) I’ve been so proud of him working out consistently the past few months so I decided to take a similar course of action.
We both downloaded the iPhone app Touchfit: GSP. I’ve only done two days so far, but I love it. It’s quick, but challenging. It tracks your progress in real-time. It never gets dull with more than 500 videos. It tailors the workout for your fitness level. And it’s on your phone so you can literally work out whenever, wherever.
So it begins again, and I just pray I can stay committed.
Enjoy a few of my other exercise related posts below. xo xo
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A hilarious Thanksgiving experience (Thanksgiving Begins With A Kick (Literally))
My running playlist (No matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everybody on the couch)
Some motivational quotes (Just do it)
A Lenten commitment (Lent: Prayer + Dance)
I even created a blog JUST to share my P90x experience … which lasted about two weeks. (P90X … Bring it!)
just a few things.
After a whirlwind Vegas weekend two weeks ago, this week I headed to West Palm Beach, FL to experience my first ever commercial shoot. It was challenging, but interesting and always fun to do something different. Next month I’m off to Cleveland!
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During my travels, I found this via Lauren Conrad. What a great idea to give up something different every month?? I wish I’d found this sooner, but nevertheless I’m starting No-Fried February! So look forward to the aches, pains (and hopefully positives) that come out of this experience. Husband and I are also working on an exercise plan I’m going to share with you and see if you will join us in our journey. More to come on that.
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Books, books, books. I’m trying to read more because when I do read and finish a really good book, it is just so gratifying. I recently finished Where We Belong and Where’d You Go Bernadette, both of which I’d recommend. However, I made an impulse buy in the West Palm Beach airport knowing I had a 2 1/2 hour flight ahead – Bossypants. I finished it on the plane and absolutely loved it. Every page was hilarious, and if I hadn’t been on a plane I would have been laughing out loud the entire book. Tina Fey does a tremendous job of providing hilarity, wit and advice. As if I didn’t already love her before thanks to Mean Girls, SNL and 30 Rock, now I adoooore her.
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The second book is one I just picked up that husband and I will be reading together as part of our new couples Bible study. 7 – An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess is a challenge to cut down areas of excess in life: food. clothes. spending. media. possessions. waste. stress. I hope to share our challenges with you and inspire you to do the same.
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Oh, and if you don’t follow me on instagram, (first, you should: @milledavis) here’s another tidbit you missed…
Adorable Adam Brody from The O.C. meets fashionista beauty Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl = cutest new couple ever!
xo xo
Lent: Prayer + Dance
Some party on Fat Tuesday.
Some use it as an excuse to eat everything in sight.
But for me, it’s a day of stress trying to figure out what to give up for Lent.
You name it, and I’ve given it up – soda, chocolate, junk food, caffeine, gossiping, eating out, all things presumably bad for you.
But this year, I’m putting a new spin on it. I’m not asking myself what I should deprive myself of for Lent, but instead, what can I add to my life to enhance it?
So, here it is, I’m making it public for a better sense of accountability, for Lent I am going to exercise every day for 20 minutes. This can be anything – walking, zumba, pilates, running, Just Dance (!!) or heaven forbid, weight lifting. (This also fits perfectly into my Operation Bathing Suit, OBS, but more on that some other time.)
It will be tough, but as is the focus of Lent, I’m surrending it all to God. Whenever I don’t want to get up in the morning, when I feel lazy after work or when I think I have a right to skip a day, I’ll call on God for strength, bringing myself closer to my health goals, but more importantly, a closer relationship with my Father too. It’s a time for reflection and renewal.
What are you doing for Lent? I’d love to hear so we can continue to pray for and inspire each other.
Work It, Working Girl
My body doesn’t like my job. I don’t think we were built to sit down 8 hours a day. So, if you’re like me, and you find yourself slouching and feeling lazy most of the day then join me in desk exercises! I picked some least likely to draw attention from your co-workers. So go ahead and do your body some good – work it, working girl!
- Sitting in your chair, lift one leg off the seat, extend it out straight, hold for 2 seconds; then lower your foot (stop short of the floor) and hold for several seconds. Switch; do each leg 15 times.
- Sitting tall in your chair, stretch both arms over your head and reach for the sky. After 10 seconds, extend the right hand higher, then the left.
- Let your head loll over so that your right ear nearly touches your right shoulder. Using your hand, press your head a little lower (gently, now). Hold for 10 seconds. Relax, and then repeat on the other side.
- Sitting up straight, try to touch your shoulder blades together. Hold, and then relax.
- Forget emailing the guy three cubes over — walk.
- The easiest exercise that you can do at your desk is butt squeezes. You can even do them while you are on the phone or typing up a report. Simply squeeze and release your buttocks muscles several times. This is the number one exercise that will help prevent “office chair spread” of your hindquarters.
- You can also march with your feet in place. This will exercise the large muscles in your legs. For easy calf exercises, you can raise your feet up on the toes and lower them. Be sure to use your muscles when you do these exercises for maximum effect.
- A great trick for working on your inner thighs while you’re working on that spreadsheet is to stick a full water bottle between your legs and squeeze against it with your thighs. The bottle offers some resistance (and is there for hydration should you over exert yourself!)
- Sit in your chair with your legs crossed and your feet on the seat. Place your hands on the armrests, suck in your gut and raise yourself a few inches above the seat, using your belly muscles and hands. Hold for 10-20 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat five times.
- Take the stairs — two at a time if you need a harder workout! Do this 5-7 times a day.
- Or if you’re highly motivated, go to the gym during your lunch hour.
Just do it.
It’s time for a change. A health change. If you know me, I go in and out of extreme workouts (P90X, Jillian Michaels, Running) and extreme laziness (no explanation needed) but I’m sick of that feeling of hating my body every day. But how do I get motivated? How do I get going? It’s so hard to get back into a workout routine once you’ve stopped and you’re complacent with laying on the couch (or by the pool) when you get home from work. But that’s not who I want to be and that’s not who I’m going to be.
So first, a few motivational quotes to get going:
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”- Jim Ryun
“Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”- Jim Rohn
“Things work out the best for those who make the best of the way things work out.” -Russell Simmons
(This one is really because I saw it and just love the Simmons family, RUN DMC FOR LIFE!)
“You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She’s 97 today and we don’t know where the hell she is.” -Ellen Degeneres
(This is probably my new favorite quote of all time.)
But when it boils down to it, I think this is the best piece of advice:
“The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what? After you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.” -John C. Maxwell
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Motivation can only get us so far, and I’m at the point where I need some practical steps.
So I found The 4 Simple Steps from ZenHabits that I think are a great starting point.
1. Set one easy, specific, measurable goal. Write this down. Post it up. If you don’t write it down, it’s not important. Don’t — DO NOT — set a difficult goal. Set one that is super, super easy. Five minutes of exercise a day. You can do that. Work your way to 10 minutes after a month. Then go to 15 after 2 months. You can see what I mean: make it easy to start with, so you can build your habit, then gradually increase.
2. Log it daily. This is the key habit. If you can log your workout, you will start to see your progress, and it will motivate you to keep going. And you have to make it a habit to log it right away. Don’t put it off, and say you’ll do it before you go to bed. As soon as you’re done working out, log it. No exceptions. And don’t make the log complicated — that will only make you resist doing the log. Just the date, time, and what you did.
3. Report to others. I think this is key. You can do it on your blog, on an online forum, with your spouse, or friends or family, or a workout partner, or a coach, or a group, or a class. However you set it up, make it part of the process that you have to report your daily workout to other people. It could be using an online log, or on a forum, or through email, or the phone, or just by telling your co-workers what you did this morning. But be sure that they know your goal, and that you are going to report to them, and be sure that they are expecting it every day.
4. Add motivation as needed. The first three steps might be enough for you to get the habit going. But if not, don’t just give up. If you miss two consecutive workouts, you need to look at why, and add a new motivation. Rewards, more public pressure, inspiration, whatever it takes.
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Those are wonderful and I plan to use them, but a few of my other ideas include: hanging pictures in our closet of celebrity bodies that I want (I don’t think my husband would mind that either), cutting out all drinks but water and coffee (mostly diet coke), deciding on a specific amount of sweets I can eat per week, eating only natural foods and nothing processed.
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So I turn to you for help. What are some of your favorite healthy living tips and tricks?
No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch
I’ve gotten back into the habit of running this week and in all honesty it’s been GLORIOUS. I’ve had so much more energy, by body feels great and it just makes me happier. So, I’ve decided to share with you the top songs on my ultimate running playlist to inspire you to get your body moving! And please share some of your favorite inspirational running songs!
1. Never Say Never, Justin Bieber
2. Get Me Bodied (Extended Remix), Beyonce
3. Did It Again (Remix), Shakira + Kid Cudi
4. Bottoms Up, Trey Songz + Nicki Minaj
5. Dog Days Are Over, Florence and The Machine
6. Like a G6, Far East Movement
7. Can’t Be Tamed, Miley Cyris
8. E.T., Katy Perry + Kanye West
9. Raining Men, Rihanna + Nicki Minaj
10. Freaks and Geeks, Childish Gambino
Happy Running,
XOXO
Friday + a few of my favorite things
I wanted to share with my lovely readers a few of the little things in my life right now that are making it just that much sweeter.
Vitatops — A BIG shoutout to Hungry Girl for this find and my next one. (If you don’t know who HG is, check her out.) These are 100 calorie muffin tops that are absolutely delicious! They come in tons of flavors including Deep Chocolate, Banana Nut and Pumpkin Spice. You could only order them online at vitalicious.com for a long time, but just recently they’ve come to Target and I’m so excited! You can find them in the freezer section.
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk — Okay, I know this sounds weird, but hear me out. I kept seeing HG rave about this in emails and I was very suspicious until one day I was out of milk and my spontaneous shopper alter ego showed up. I. will. never. go. back. to. milk. I don’t drink milk, so I rarely use it, but this stuff adds a little vanilla sweetness to cereal and coffee. How does that not sound good? And it’s healthy! All natural, 50% more Calcium than milk and only 40 calories a cup. OH and it lasts way longer than milk! I’m a huge fan, if you can’t tell.
Phytoclear moisturizer — I got this moisturizer in Dallas and I don’t know how I’m ever going to use anything else. It’s literally one of those “keep for life” products. The moisturizer is lightweight and sinks right into your skin so you don’t have to wait a while before putting on your make up. It even smells great!
Spray Tans — This has been my latest addiction (yes, it is definitely an addiction and no, I do NOT look like Snooki.) I was very skeptical of spray tans at first, but it was almost spring and all I wanted was to be tan. So to keep me out of the tanning bed I decided to try a spray tan. To be safe I went to a spa and had it done by a professional spray tanner, rather than a machine at a tanning bed place. Though it’s kind of pricey, it looks wonderful and you don’t have to risk your health tanning!
Essie, 5th Avenue — I know I blogged about coral nail polish as a spring must-have, but now that I’ve actually worn it I’m way more on board. I’ve always been a dark or neutral colored nail polish gal, but this is busting me out of my rut. It took me a few days to get use to, but now I absolutely love the burst of color! I always recommend Essie nail polish, and this color is a great coral.
Editor’s Note: I apologize for the salesperson who wrote this blog. I have not been endorsed by any company. These are my real feelings about these products.
Thanksgiving Begins With a Kick (Literally)
In an effort to record significant moments of my Thanksgiving break, I’m going to post a few short, sporadic blog posts this week.
My mom convinced me to get up and go to Body Combat at 8:15 a.m. I only conceded to this after being asked if I’d rather go to 5:30 a.m. Body Pump. Fine, 8:15 it is, and I like combat (or so I thought)- kicks, punches, similar to what I’ve done in the past with KenpoX. (Thus thinking I would be totally fine since P90X is so hardcore.)
I. wanted. to. die.
Several reasons it was not the same as KenpoX..
1. I couldn’t press pause.
2. I couldn’t keep refilling my water bottle.
3. Since the instructor was standing right in front of me, facing me, I couldn’t just partially do it when I got tired.
I was trying to use the techniques I had remembered while doing Kenpo to get me through it. Think of someone you hate and picture their face that you’re punching and kicking. But I honestly couldn’t think of anyone. I’m sure that’s a good thing, but at the time it wasn’t. So then I started thinking of the fried pickles and fried alligator with ranch I ate last night and how I needed to burn it off. That thought only lasted for so long. Of course at the very end I realized I should just be thinking about my wedding and honeymoon. That will be my new mantra: wedding. wedding. wedding. wedding.
I could also barely understand what our fearless leader (who I wanted to call Tony) was saying over the loud music. So at several points he started laughing and I didn’t know if he was laughing at something he said, or something I did, since he looked at me every time he laughed. Granted, there were only 3 people in the class.
I can’t say I’m not glad we went because it does give me a sense of self-confidence that I could beat up anyone in the alleys of El Dorado. Which might be necessary, in all honesty.
As we were walking out of the class, he asked us if we were coming back to the 11:15 for round 2. The first thought that crossed my mind was turning around and using my hook and uppercut right there. I guess I am ready for the streets.
Flip it and Reverse it, New Years Resolution Style
It is amazingly and quickly approaching November 1, and I’ve decided on a new experiment. This idea was prompted by two things.
1. It has come to that point in the semester that laziness has kicked in. I don’t want to do anything school related- which is wonderful considering this is the point in the semester where all of the big projects and tests and papers begin. Thanksgiving is so close I’m drooling at the thought of turkey (or perhaps duck, so I’ve heard!) and I literally think about pumpkin flavored things every day.
2. New Years resolutions are bogus and everyone knows it.
Thus, I’ve decided to create a reverse New Years resolution list. My goal is to do all of these things by New Years. So not only will I avoid that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach each January 1 trying to come up with ways to “improve my new year” that I know I will break in a month, I will also hopefully end the year with a bang. So here goes. I’m not saying I will perfectly complete all of these things, but I sure will try my hardest.
1. Stop eating fast food unless it is absolutely 100% necessary. (Just to clarify for anyone out there, I am not a fast food addict. I simply want to start using my money more wisely and making overall healthier decisions, which leads me to number 2..)
2. Get into a regular exercise routine. (I genuinely do love to exercise when I get into the habit, but that’s just the problem.. getting into the habit. Hopefully when I visit my parents for Thanksgiving going to my mom’s 5:30 a.m. spin class will get my motivation reeling- or more likely kick my butt and remind me how hard it is.)
3. Limit my caffeinated beverages to 1 a day. (My current caffeine predicament can be summed up in a Gilmore Girls quote. Rory says Lorelai, an avid coffee drinker, is “90 percent water, 10 percent caffeine.” This is currently me. Need I say more?)
4. Read 5 non school related books. (Okay, here is where you can help. Please comment with your favorite books that I should read before New Years!)
5. Find somewhere to regularly start volunteering next semester.
6. Take the time to write a detailed letter to my future self of all the things I’m passionate about right now and want to accomplish in my life. (I want this to include everything from living overseas to performing in community theatre to baking my children cookies when they come home from school to bringing hope to people in third world countries.)
7. Finally, and most importantly, spend more time with God- in His Word, in His creation, in conversation.
I truly believe that if I pursue this resolution the most, all of the others will fall into place. He will give me the strength to roll out of bed in the mornings and go on a run with the beautiful body He has given me. He will give me the discipline to eat and drink healthfully. He will provide me with open doors and light passions within me for my future. He will remind me that though 2011 may seem like a year with a lot of unknowns, He has plans for me and they are even greater than I could ever imagine.
I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -Jeremiah 29:11
Time for Talk with Tony
P90x, how do I even express my feelings for thee?
P.S. This is Tony, my "motivator"
This is my 4th day in a row of doing it, and though that may not sound impressive, trust me, it is. After not exercising pretty much all summer then heading straight into p90X (again, I would just like to emphasize the X because it’s Xtreme) this is a lot for me.
Surprisingly I’m enjoying it. Ask either of my roommates and they will tell you my energy has skyrocketed. Our house has been a tumble of crazy all week, and I love it.
Of course come into our house during the hour of p90x and you will hear me screaming in pain, fake crying and lots of horrific disgruntles. What can I say? Pain does the body good. I love this adrenaline that I have and how hyped I’m getting, it’s like I’m on a drug. I can’t let myself forget this feeling. Especially tomorrow when I wake up dying from Ab Ripper X.
Poll: Would it be gross if I ended up looking like Tony?
Goodbye Summer, my dear sweet friend
Ah, a breath of fresh air.
Summer is over and school has finally arrived. Thus comes with it routine (which I LOVE) and includes keeping my blog updated to the best of my ability and trying, once again…. drumroll please……
P90X.
As you may or may not know, I tried to work my way through the grueling 90-day workout plan last year and lasted about.. 30ish days. It was Christmas break then and my birthday and all was lost. But I’m back on the bandwagon and this time I WILL MAKE IT! (because I have the support of my readers, right?! Anytime you want to send me inspirational quotes or pictures, go for it 🙂 )
At the end of June I created a summer bucket list. I am now here to evaluate my summer and see what I did and did not accomplish…
1. Start a blog *obviously, CHECK.
2. Read all the books on my summer reading list *CHECK. best book of the summer/my life: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
3.Go to the drive-in movie theatre *sadly no, but I still have a few more months until it closes!
4. Do the Branson Canopy Zipline *this will be moved to my life bucket list
5. Make at least 10 recipes I’ve been saving for the last year *okay, I’m giving myself a little credit here. I didn’t make 10, but I probably made around 5 and for a girl who eats out constantly, it was a success.
6. Chase down the ice cream truck with the neighborhood kids and buy something *So I didn’t exactly chase it down, but I did run outside when I heard the song and waited for it for about 10 minutes before I realized my dreams were lost on another neighborhood
7. Go canoeing {despite my dislike of the river} *Well, I didn’t do this either, but I do have plans for this for next weekend!!!!! So I can cross it off prematurely right?
8. Go to a water park *CHECK and I earn double points for this one, since it was a water park I’d never been to and I didn’t get sunburned
9. Sleep in and not feel guilty about it *CHECK and proud of myself.
10. Go to a rooftop party *this too will be transferred to my life bucket list. I think I need to live in a bigger city..
11. Take walks after dinner to the school playground and just swing *CHECK, one of the most memorable things about my summer
12. Take fashion risks *I think I can cross this one off from just last week when I put pink in my hair, wore a leopard print shirt and had fake tattoos all over my body……..
13. Catch fireflies *Does it count if I have the firefly jar sitting outside ready for them?
14. Write a letter to an old friend *CHECK, and how refreshing it was.
15. Find several DIY projects and DO THEM *This was attempted one day with the roomies and what we ended up with was three exhausted bodies, a galore of unending puzzles and a growing pile of toilet paper rolls for my yet-to-be-started project.
COMING UP NEXT TIME: School time reverie and a Senior Year Bucket List
The new and improved 1-day cleanse
Well, I failed. My 2-day cleanse did not go as planned. Here’s the rundown of day 1:
- Woke up and made a delicious smoothie per directions, couldn’t even drink all of it. Boy did I think I was getting off to a great start.
- Since I woke up at 10, making it to lunch wasn’t too hard, so I put my snack of cucumbers on my greens and made a nice vinaigrette of oil and balsamic vinegar. I then put some Italian seasoning on my 4 oz. of chicken and grilled it on the stove. It was a delicious meal that was very satisfying and reminded me how much I enjoy eating healthy and how easy it can be.
- 2 hours later- I was starving. Now I think it was all in my head since I knew I was on a diet, but I was literally starving. I was headed to Borders and ordered a big cup of green tea that I was allowed to have as a snack (remember my post about tea?!). Needless to say, it wasn’t a great snack.
- I headed home for dinner where my mom was making me a delicious dinner according to my cleanse (the exact same thing as lunch). Thank goodness I got home and my parents said, “We’re starving. We’re eating early.” So once again I ate a delicious dinner of 4 oz. of chicken and greens.
- Now the plan probably would have been great if I’d gone to bed 2 hours after dinner, but I didn’t. I went over to the bfs where he was snacking on chips and coke and I was starving and wanting a chip more than anything. BUT I was good and knew I couldn’t eat just one, so I didn’t eat anything and sat there in starvation.
- I woke up this morning prepared to go forth for the second day of the cleanse. However, I was soo hungry and shaky that I felt like I could barely walk and was going to pass out. This is when I decided I was going to stop this silliness.
What I learned: Cleanses are kind of ridiculous. You should never starve yourself. I enjoy eating healthy. I love diet coke. so. much. I hate green tea. so. much.
I did eat healthy today though and even made a wonderfully delicious treat: Monkey Bread. This recipe is definitely one to be shared, as it tastes just like normal monkey bread, but so much healthier for you.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated), divided
2 tsp. cinnamon, divided
2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
2 tbsp. sugar-free pancake syrup
2 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
1 package Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Directions:
Fresh out of the oven
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix 1 tbsp. Splenda and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a large bowl or container. Set aside. Spray six cups of a muffin pan with nonstick spray, and set pan aside as well.
Place a small pot on the stove, but do not heat it. Add butter, syrup, brown sugar, 2 tbsp. Splenda, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Leave this on the unheated stove, to be melted and mixed later on.
Roll out the dough on a clean dry surface, and sprinkle evenly with baking powder. Gently smooth baking powder into the sheet with your fingers.
Cut dough sheet widthwise into six strips equal in size. Cut each strip into four squares. Roll each square into a ball, for a total of 24 dough balls.
Place 12 dough balls in the bowl with the Splenda-cinnamon mixture. Lightly toss to coat, and then place them gently in the muffin pan, with four dough balls in each of three cups. No need to press the dough balls into the pan — just let them fall naturally. Repeat with remaining dough balls, so that each of the six muffin cups contains four coated dough balls. Set aside.
Bring the small pot on the stove to medium heat. Stirring frequently, heat just until butter has melted and contents are mixed well. Evenly spoon the butter mixture over the dough balls.
Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, or until puffy and firm. Allow to cool slightly, and then plate and enjoy!
MAKES 6 SERVINGS (Well, I don’t know about that…What can I say? It’s just too good!)
Zucchini for breakfast, zucchini for dinner
My latest eating healthy adventures have been all about the zucchini, and both have surprisingly turned out great. So pick up some fresh zucchini at your local Farmer’s Market and try these out.
Zucchini Rotini from Women’s Health
2 c whole wheat rotini
1 c fat free cottage cheese
2 tbsp salt-free Italian seasoning
1/2 c shredded zucchini
1 c canned, diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 c reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
This recipe was very easy to make and very delicious, reminding me of spaghetti squash for some reason. I couldn’t find whole wheat rotini so I used linguine instead. Also, I HATE cottage cheese, but wanted to try this recipe anyway and loved it. I honestly couldn’t taste the cottage cheese at all. I baked mine in the microwave in a small bread pan and it worked perfectly. Though the recipe claims it’s only 2 servings, ours was easily 3.
Zucchini Zazzle from Hungry Girl
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
3 tbsp. crushed walnuts, divided
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together the zucchini, egg substitute, applesauce, butter, and vanilla extract. Slowly add this mixture to the first bowl, and stir until thoroughly blended. Mix half the crushed walnuts (1 1/2 tbsp.) into the batter.
Line 9 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the 9 cups. Top each cup with a sprinkling of the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. crushed walnuts.
Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool and then enjoy!
Review
These turned out GREAT! The zucchini taste was very subtle and really just tasted like a good, healthy muffin. Though the ingredient list may look daunting, you most likely already have a lot of it in your kitchen. I used a bit more walnuts in mine than called for, and the batter actually made 12 servings instead of 9. One thing I would be wary of is how long they are in the oven. After 20 minutes my toothpick came out clean, but there were still random gooey spots in a few of the muffins I’ve found as I’ve been eating them.
Well, my next foodie adventure is this 2-day cleanse, starting today with one of my roomies and my mom. I’ll give you the reviews Thursday!
Let me share with you the 340,293 reasons why YOU should drink tea
I need to let out a short rant, so here it is:
I don’t like tea.
I will drink iced tea on occasion, but on the whole, I don’t like tea.
Yes, I know the BAJILLION benefits of it. I’ve read it in magazines, I’ve heard it on tv, health conscious friends have told me. But I don’t like it, and I don’t want to drink it. I am genuinely trying and have been trying for a while to get into the tea craze. I went through a stint (during p90x, HA) where I was only drinking hot tea in the morning as my caffeine for the day (another HA). I thought I had turned into a tea drinker, but after about a week and a half I remembered how much it just tastes like nothing. Hot water with a little flavor. There are so many more wonderful drinks out there. Yes, I know, not with ALL OF THE PAGES of benefits of tea.
I really do want to be that healthy person. That person that just drinks tea and water, and eats organically and is just putting wonderful things into their body, but it’s not realistic and it’s not me, at least not right now.
So please, allow me to drink my water and coffee and diet coke. And someday, maaaaybe, I’ll come around to tea.
Can I get an amen?
Sick, sick, sick
I rarely get sick. If I do it’s a cold or something that passes quickly and doesn’t make me feel too bad. I also never have a fever, making it worse when I do feel sick, because if you don’t have a fever, most people don’t believe that you are sick.
As weird as it sounds, I’ve always wanted to be really sick for at least a week. I’ve wanted to not be able to get out of bed, to be forced to watch movies and television shows and read books and have people bring me food. I’ve never really gotten that and always wanted to. I’ve told this to multiple people who have experienced this and they tell me I don’t understand. I will get sooo bored sooo fast. Nah, I don’t believe them.
Today, I wake up and feel sick. My throat hurts more than it ever has before and my glands are swollen, which has never happened to me before. I quickly get on WebMD and diagnose that I have mono, strep or tonsilitis. Yes! This is my time.
I go to the doctor. I take a strep test and wait in the exam room for my results for an hour. As I’m sitting there, feeling awful, I realize I really don’t want to have strep. I’ve always prided myself in being a healthy person. I have plans this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow. I leave for vacation in less than a week. I can’t lay in bed for a week, I’m the busiest person you know, and I would go crazy. I can’t have strep. My dreams of being bed-ridden are suddenly washed aside as reality rolls in.
The doctor comes in..
I don’t have strep. But I do have a severe upper respiratory infection. I do need to rest, but I’ll be fine in a few days. I deem my Saturday the “week” I’ve never gotten before. I’m going to watch movies and t.v. shows out the wazoo. I’m going to make the bf take care of me (as I know he gladly will). I’m going to not leave my spot on the couch or bed.
And then tomorrow, I’ll be back to myself.
m.davis xoxo 