TGIF!

Oh goodness I’m so glad it’s Friday. This week just seems to have dragged on and on. So after 7 more hours of work (or 6 really after lunch and all), let the weekend begin!
After work I’m going to run to Giant Eagle to try and find a few different Paleo-friendly items that I can’t find at other places. I don’t generally shop there because their stuff is more expensive than other places. However, since I can’t find this stuff anywhere else, I guess it’s worth it to pay a little more since it’s stuff that’s actually good for me. After that I’m going to run over to target to get something for Sara’s baby shower tomorrow. Actually, reverse those, since I’ll be getting cold things at Giant Eagle. Then I’ll hit Millers on the way home to grab some potato salad that was requested of me (which I will not be consuming, but it’s what the pregnant girl wants so I can’t argue with her, lol). Then I’ll finally head home and relax with my family for awhile.
Tomorrow I’ll be helping set up for Sara’s baby shower, then attending. Afterwards I’m headed out to BG for Tracy’s craft day to get some stuff for her wedding in a couple months!! Then I’ll probably go home and do some homework (boo!) and some more hanging out with my family, maybe go to the park and ride bikes/rollerblade and such.
Which reminds me, we got Gabezilla signed up for fall soccer season! I was so excited when I saw the form at the library because I was under the impression that they only had it during the spring. He’ll be excited when we tell him because he kept asking when he’d get to play again.
Sunday is another baby shower, and who knows what. Hopefully some reading because book club is on Monday and I’m not finished reading for it yet!
Last night for dinner we made Loren Cordain’s Vegetable Julienned Stir-Fry, except our veggies were more chopped than julienned, and we added some delicious chicken to it as well. It was really good. Next time we’re not going to cook it quite as long though because it got a little too soft.
Anyway, that’s my update for the day, at least, for now!
HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

Dear Body

 

Sorry for the way I treated you yesterday, you clearly didn’t like it!

Yours Truly,

Me

. . .

 

So I ate TERRIBLY yesterday. I did good for breakfast, which seems to be the easiest meal of the day. For lunch I didn’t have anything with me and we went to Arbys. I got a roast beef and cheddar sandwich and fries (even though I told myself I wouldn’t!) but at least I avoided the chocolate turn over aka a little piece of chocolate flaky heaven. I felt fine till I got home and then I just started feeling crummy. Then for dinner we were going to make something Paleo friendly, but my sister ended up bringing pizza home and that just seemed easier than making anything. Wrong. Sure it was more convenient but my system didn’t think it made anything easier. I immediately regretted it and then felt like I was going to be sick for about an hour. Once I finally fell asleep last night, I slept pretty well but I woke up EXHAUSTED this morning. Blah. So today, hopefully today is going to be a better day.

 

Didn’t get the chance to make a protein happy breakfast, but I did grab and orange and a few strawberries, which is better than anything I could have grabbed here at work.

 

So my sister is here, she’s gotten a job about twenty minutes away from where I live. She is looking for a place nearby which is good. It’ll be nice to have my sister around, and for Gabe to have Sammi (her daughter). They get along great and I think he really enjoyed having a playmate last night.

 

School is going well so far (but how could it not, it’s only the second week!). I have a feeling we’re going to be assigned our first speech soon for public speaking. Yuck, oh well, I’ll have to do it and get it over with at some point. So I’ve been reading my public speaking book, my educational tech book, my intro to education book and a couple other books on the side (Primal Mind, Primal Body for an online book club and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children which was recommended by the leader of the online book club actually). Both are good so far, I feel like my brain is going in a hundred different directions, but I kind of like it. I just hope I don’t overwhelm myself.

 

I guess my life is just kind of boring right now with just having school and work and school and work and family. Maybe I like boring? Ha ha. I’m quite the happy camper these days.

Weekend Recap

Hello everyone, it’s Monday evening. I’m sitting outside on the porch (in the lovely 70-something degree weather, which I’ll probably brag about a lot because I’ve been waiting for it and it’s amazing) due to our new wireless router, which was a bit of a pain to hookup. Here’s why: I get really crappy service on my phone in our house, and I have no idea why, I get fine service everywhere else. So after we followed the directions in the router box on how to get it set up, it was still a no go. So the logical thing is to call NetGear’s technical help line. Well, for the computer to be hooked up online (and we knew we were going to need the internet to fix it), it has to be sitting the living room….inside…where we get no service. So after getting frustrated, I gave the phone to Dan and made him do it. I have very little patience, but it seemed I had even less this weekend. Luckily my phone actually held a call for the ten minutes we needed it to to get it hooked up! Hooray!

In other news, I read a book this weekend. Yes, an entire book this weekend. I started it on Saturday afternoon and finished it last night.  It was a book that I saw on Jamie’s blog and thought I’d give it a try.  It’s the book on the left in the picture below (James Patterson’s 1st To Die).  The book on the right is the one I’m reading for the online book club. I’m not far into it yet, but one of the concepts that I read online was that the foods we eat play a part in our moods.

After this weekend, I fully believe that this is true.  I have been eating mostly Paleo friendly (at least two meals a day) for the past week or two and this weekend I ate TERRIBLY, and I had a terrible mood/attitude to accompany my terrible eating choices.  I was surprised, I really was.  I’ll keep you updated on the book as we read it, I’m also trying to keep up with my reading in my three classes so those will come first when it comes down to it.

Sunday we went to brunch with Dan’s parents and then headed over to Lowe’s and looked at grills.  Actually, Dan looked at grills, I just stood back and let him do his thing.  He picked the one he really liked, two burners, infrared heating. . .and other cool gadgets that I know nothing about (what I’m concerned about is the food that’s going to come off of it!).  They purchased it for us for our belated wedding gift, and we were so very thankful!  Below is a picture of Dan on our front porch using his new toy to make us dinner last night.Mmmmm, chicken that he spiced up all on his own, no recipe, and it was delicious. The mushrooms were amazing too of course, but they weren’t so Paleo friendly with their added soy sauce.

Dan loves his new toy, and our great new dinner tool!

The first meal from the grill turned out amazing.  He’s actually cooking on it right now too, he’s grilling some squash, and shrimp/squash/chicken/mushroom kababs! *Drool*  I believe there’s also corn on the cob in there, which again, isn’t Paleo, but it’s something we’ve always wanted to try; grilling corn on the cob.  I’m looking forward to it, it smells delicious.

I read a quote recently that I will leave you with: “Let there be protein, produce, healthy fats and fiber in it. A good breakfast wards off energy dips, brain fog and afternoon cravings.”  (I didn’t really know that this was true until recently, I know they’ve always said that breakfast is important, but it really is! But a GOOD breakfast, not one full of cereal and such!)

Sunday

Good afternoon! Its almost 2 PM on Sunday and its been a pretty great day so far. We woke up and lounged around for a few and then made eggs, bacon for breakfast with a side of strawberries. I had a small glass of milk with breakfast. I know I shouldn’t, but i’ve had a glass of milk with every dinner as far back ha I can remember. Food and a glass of milk just go together for me. I bought some coconut milk, but I bought the unsweetened kind and it was . . .blah. And I had bought that kind because last time I bought the “original” and it was too sweet (I’m having a goldilocks moment here I guess)!
We lounged arounds some more and then took our showers and sat out on the porch and read for a bit. The porch is also where we ate breakfast, its just simply beautiful outside. Only around 70-ish degrees it feels amazing, almost a little chilly! I had an apple and almond butter for a snack before deciding I wanted lunch, so now we’re having chicken salads with my homemade (delicious) dressing.
In a little bit we’re heading down to BG to get our new tattoos
I love today.

Words From My Porch

So I finally downloaded wordpress for my blackberry. That sure does make updating on the porch, or anywhere at home (since we have no internet) so simple!
I’m currently out here reading my newest Paleo Magazine (okay, obviously not at THIS moment). And I’m really enjoying the positive, inspiring stories in it, along with the fantastic information it provides too.
I’ve decided that I’m going to make my own recipe binder for our kitchen, and add to it all of the new,awesome looking Paleo-friendly recipes I can find to it, to make this all easier on myself. I WANT to be healthier, I want to EAT healthier. I’m going to start slow and try Whole30 again somewhere down the line once i’ve given myself time to adjust to my new lifestyle.
I almost want to say wish me luck, but its not the luck I need, its encouragement, and accountability. I want to do this for myself. So here we go.
I received my great “start it slow” advice and am going to take it. I went shopping at Tank’s Meats this morning. They had so much stuff, it was awesome. I ended up getting quite a bit for not a ton of money. Its literally two minutes down the road and i’d never been there. I got a couple pounds of ground beef, two 8 oz ribeye steaks, a whole chicken, a pound of bacon, sliced turkey, a giant bag of frozen mushrooms (I Love mushrooms) and a big bag of frozen green beans too. We’re looking forward to trying out the whole chicken. Neither Dan or I have ever made one before so we’re going to find a good recipe and make it good!
I came home from the meat shop and had some scrambled eggs with mushrooms and some of the amazing smelling strawberries I bought yesterday. Mmmmm, so good. Lunch wasn’t so Paleo friendly since we went to his niece’s birthday party, but I didn’t have any cake! (not that I’m particularly fond of cake, but still, it was there, and its sweet, and I didn’t eat it!)
Anyhow, I’m going to get back to the magazine now and fill you in more about my journey later.

Fail-eo

Okay, so after day four of my attempting the Whole30, we went out to dinner and ruined it. We did pretty well we ordered steaks and salads, but it was a ceasar dressing and then they delivered some beautiful warm bread to the table and that did me in so I ordered a peach/strawberry sangria too.    So I failed on the Whole30.  I kick myself at least once every day for not completing this, but it’s definitely not an easy thing to do.  I just feel that I don’t have all the time in the world to be preparing all of these meals, and it never seems to be enough to have leftovers (because I always make the recipes smaller since its usually just Dan and I eating it, and we’re SO terrible at eating leftovers, I hate to be wasting food). While I am eating better than I used to, it’s not perfect, and some days I just fee like life is too short not to eat cheese! (Or chocolate, or a couple other various foods that are not allowed on Whole30 *which sometimes feels like everything*)  I still have all the materials, so I will probably try it again someday.

I have been rollerblading, not as much as I’d like, but as much as I have time for. Fall semester is about to start so this week was opening week at the college I work at, so it’s been quite busy!  We had two events this week, one on each campus and I was EXHAUSTED yesterday. The weather was beautiful yesterday and should be today as well with a high of 79! Is it starting to turn to fall already?  So I think today we’ll go out and rollerblad/run (Dan)/ bike (Gabe). Then we’ll return home to the mountain of dishes and laundry that need to be done (boo!).  So along with fall semester comes my three classes for this semester. I’m taking Public Speaking (big boo, but it’s all online so at least I don’t have to stand up in front of the whole class and look them in the eyes!), Intro to Education, and Education Technology.  I’m looking forward to my classes, and hope that I do well in them.

I am also currently looking for a new place for us to live. We like where we’re at, I love the big porch and the size of the kitchen, but I want a place that doesn’t have a neighbor on the other side of the wall, or upstairs. I also would love to find a place that would allow us to have a dog!  I’m a little jealous of Sara and Joe, Dan’s brother/sister-in-law who just moved a few houses down from the elementary that Gabe will be going to.  It never even came up for rent, we drive by it everyday! It’s a two bedroom house where they’re allowed to have their two dogs! Sooooo jealous! That’s what I’ve been looking for and unable to find.  So the search continues.

Last but definitely not least, we got our wedding photos disc from Seth yesterday!   There are some of them that I just love.  I will post a couple, but I don’t have time to go through and post all of my favorites.

Us and our wedding party

Us and My Grandparents

My Mom and Ashley

Day 3

Okay Okay, so it’s day three. So far so good. There has been no cheating yet (nor will there be!)! I saw that the “I don’t eat crap” shirts are back up for sale, and I told my husband that once I complete the thirty days I’m getting one!
Last night we made the Paleo Lasagna and it was goooooood. It took a lot of willpower for me to not just eat the sauce as it was simmering! It smelled so yummy! I didn’t let it simmer for quite as long as the recipe told me to, so it didn’t come out looking pretty like the one in the picture of the recipe but who cares it was delicious! Dan and I almost ate 3/4 the pan by ourselves! Here’s a few pictures from making it:

We used our new mandolin to make our zucchini “noodles”.

Heating up our ground turkey and onions (I’d also like to point out that we’re using our new, awesome Paula Deen pots and pans we got at the wedding!)

The delicious sauce. . . .smelled SO good!

Okay so it doesn’t LOOK beautiful, but it was YUM!

While we ate we watched “Unknown” which was good. Liam Neeson is pretty much a badass, so of course it was going to be good. I asked Dan if we ever had a son if we could name him Liam, and he said “Maybe as a middle name”. Lol.

I’m in a great mood today! I missed breakfast this morning, there was just too much going on. However, Dan being the fantastic husband that he IS, cut up some strawberries and threw in some blueberries for me to take with me to work. So no protein this morning, but at least I got something in me!

We made some chicken salad (again with our homemade mayo) last night for lunch today. I threw in some organic raisins instead of craisins because all the craisins I could find had added sugar in them. (Boo!)

I was supposed to meet up with a friend tonight for a few, but that didn’t pan out so I’m going to go rollerblading instead! YAY!

Today is good.

Update – I also bought a couple of these at the store during my last trip because I was curious as to how they’d taste since they have NO added sugar! To me, it kind of tastes like a thicker fruit roll up, which is okay in my book! :

Day 2

Hello Wednesday – Day 2 of my Whole30!
Today I’m feeling pretty good, although I’m going to admit I didn’t want to move again once I rolled over this morning. Last night I worked out with Joe and Britt, and Joe kicked our butts, I was a hot, sweaty mess. I was totally feeling it this morning, it was some yoga-ish stuff, and it was tough. I am so out of shape it’s terrible. However, after getting up and about I’m feeling better already so that’s good news. Last night for dinner Dan made steak and a recipe I had found for lemon-garlic broccoli. The steak was AMAZING, however the broccoli. . .I gave him too much lemon juice and so it was a bit sour. I ate it anyway though, can’t let broccoli go to waste! Then I followed that up by a few cherries. Mmm-mmm! Another great thing from last night was Sara brought over a bunch of clothes that don’t fit her anymore and gave them to me! YAY, lots of cute new stuff!
The start of day two has been pretty good so far. I started it out with a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs with mushroom and a bit of that amazing steak from last night, and some blueberries on the side. I’ve brought tuna for lunch, and get this, I MADE my own MAYO (pictured below)! I followed ‘Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan’s recipe (which I found here)and it came out surprisingly well (consistency wise). I tasted a drop of it last night and wasn’t quite sure of it, but I’m also used to eating miracle whip and not real mayo. I also brought some cherries too.

For today’s work snack I grabbed a larabar. I purchased a few of these at Kroger last night and tried the ‘Apple Pie’ one last night. It was good, today I have chocolate coconut chew which has cocoa powder (how can I not like that, right?). Hopefully it’s delicious and gives me that extra “umph” I’ll need this afternoon.
Not sure what’s on the agenda for exercise tonight. I’ll be on my own and I know we’re going to take a walk up to the library, but I’d like to do a little bit more. Don’t want to use my brand new rollerblades yet because I’m trying to be patient until tomorrow when I can try Tracy’s on. If her’s fit me well then I can return mine saving me some moolah (and who doesn’t like that?).
Tonight’s dinner plan: Yummy Paleo Lasagna!

Here Goes!

Today starts my Whole30 Challenge. It isn’t going to be easy for me, but as they say it won’t be hard (because quitting heroine is hard, and beating cancer is hard) and compared to those two things this should be super easy. My problems are that I often give into my sugar cravings and I snack because I’m bored. Hopefully aside from being healthier and hopefully dropping a few pounds, I’ll learn to quit those bad habits I have and begin a healthier lifestyle. As I start this new way of life I will also begin to exercise more. I’ve purchased a pair of rollerblades, and have also downloaded the Couch to 5k app on my phone so maybe I can get some running in too (I’m a terrible runner right now). I’d like to get in some crossfit eventually, but I can’t afford it right now. Honestly I probably wouldn’t have time either with the three classes I’m going to be starting in a couple weeks.
So here we are, day one. I’m feeling optimistic about things, I’m in a good mood. I started my day off with 2 scrambled eggs, and a cut up kiwi. You’ll have to give me a little time on breakfast, I am not now, and never have been – a breakfast person. I’m just not hungry so early in the morning. I guess that’s something else I’ll have to work on. I also don’t dig eggs so much, but I know they’re good for me. . .so I’ll keep chugging along with them, because they’re fast and easy and I don’t have a ton of time in the morning. (Man, listen to all those excuses I could give for not doing this, but I WILL!)
Stay tuned for what comes next, and follow me along my path to healthiness!

Edit:

Okay, so I just had lunch. I left and forgot my salad dressing at the office! Which was a total bummer. I had a grilled chicken salad with olives and green peppers. I had olive oil/vinegar mixed for dressing which wans’t so great. I ended up putting pepper on the salad to give it some flavor. Washed it all down with a banana and headed back to work.  Tonight I’m definitely making some tuna or chicken salad for tomorrow!!!