Thursday, September 9, 2010

Whirlwind week...

What a busy week.

It was my last week doing full time hours before the school year at work, and classes started yesterday. The next few months my life will now be revolving around Taxation, Audition, Management Accounting Seminar, Strategic Management, and Dinosaurs (yes.. I said Dinosaurs..it's a random elective, and with the heavy course load I already have I needed something light haha). Needless to say I am going to have a lot of work to do this semester, and the countdown to Graduation is on (252 Days!).

I am looking forward to getting back into a routine though. I like knowing my schedule in advance, and having the same thing everyday really helps with that. Even in terms of my work schedule I am down to Fri-Sun and on weekends in the winter we are only open 10-6. Friday is my only day that will be up in the air in terms of scheduling.  This makes me happy on so many levels because I can plan my week around class and work so much easier and it is easier to arrange to go to the gym the same time every day and really make it a routine.

I hate to say I haven't gone to the gym this week, but I am planning on going tomorrow morning :)

My eats have been pretty darn good the past few days though!

Last night I finally got around to making the Tomato and Corn Pot Pie I wrote about in my last post.

OH....MY....GOSH..

It was sooooo good! 


Fresh out of the oven!

And another shot with a slice taken out...

The boyfriend was skeptical when I told him about it, but I plan on proving him wrong next time I make it. I think he is picturing a more tomato sauce based pie or something of the sort, because I can understand being hesitant to that. But not this...this is absolutely delicious!

Breakfast this morning was one of my new favorite things:

Vanilla Liberte Greek Yogurt with Coconut, Banana and Chocolate Chips.

After breakfast I cleaned up a bit and got ready to meet my beautiful baby sister downtown for a lunch date.  We ended up walking up and down Spring Garden to find somewhere to eat only to discover half of the street didn't have power! We had decided we wanted to go to Mexi's, and for a minute I was worried because I didn't realize they had moved and the half of Spring Garden where they used to be located was the part that had the power outage.  Once we realized it was now further down, the crisis was adverted and we had our lunch as planned.

My sister ended up ordering the Gigantic Taco Salad. She liked it, but it was way too much to finish and neither of us really like the bowl it came in. I was expecting it to be more of a tortilla type bowl that she could break off and use to scoop part of the salad, but it was more like a deep fried batter bowl. I tried to pick something somewhat healthier and got chicken fajitas. Oh and in that picture of her that is actually steam from my fajitas!

After lunch it was time to head back to school. I finally received my student loan so I went to the bookstore to get all of my textbooks for this semester. $600 later I am now ready and able to study my bum off all semester long. I still can't believe how much I spent on books today, that is highway fricken robbery!

After class I decided to go to the mall and pick up something I actually wanted and enjoyed :P So I ended up buying three new shirts which I love love love! I haven't gone shopping in a long time so I decided to treat myself. In retrospect though, I could have picked a better day to do it instead of carrying around a million pounds of books with me. My back and legs currently hate me.

I had a late supper of leftover pie with a side of baby carrots and skim milk:
I still can't get over how good that recipe is! It is definitely being filed away and I plan on making it many more times.

Now I am finally going to curl up on the couch and relax with a glass of wine and watch Big Brother. I am still so upset Britney is gone. I loved her!

xoxo

Friday, August 27, 2010

Practice, Practice, Practice...

Practice makes perfect right?

I know my blog posts haven't been exactly regular lately but I am trying! I am still getting the hang of this, and luckily I really do enjoy blogging. Life has just been nuts with an erratic work schedule, and getting ready for back to school. It's my victory lap year at SMU so I have to make sure SL info is all set and my "Application for Graduation" is handed in.  The count down will be commencing soon for May 20, 2011 :)

I have been ok with keeping up with my exercise lately, not as frequent as I would like, but alright. I really feel that having such an erratic schedule impacts how often I go to the gym. That's part of the reason I am actually looking forward to going back to school, I will have the same schedule every week, even my work schedule will be a little more regular. Also, I have decided to go to spin class at the Tower twice a week after class to get some serious cardio in. I tried it once and I loved it! Two reasons why I should be able to *ahem* WILL be able to stick to it are 1)it is right after class and I will already be on campus, and 2) for most of the fall Brandon coaches football until 6 so even if we had plans I can still go to this before.

And in the spirit of making an effort to get serious about exercise, I figured it was about time to replace my super old sneakers (6 years old.. ancient in sneaker years... and talk about worn down!) with these new sneaks :)



My eats have been pretty darn good if I do say myself. I am still getting used to taking pictures of my meals, so I only have a few snapshots of what I have been eating. I am pleased to say only 2 chocolate bars have only managed to sneak their way into my belly (this is a huge improvement for me) and I blame that tempting monster of a Vending Machine at work.

I am striving not to "diet", but to just eat healthier. I am trying to eat things as close to their natural state as possible as a general rule. No crazy preservatives or additives I can't pronounce. One great find on my last grocery trip was this:

Vanilla Greek Yogurt - YUM!

And I also have been drinking a lot of this:

Loose Leaf Green Seduction Tea from David's Tea

I think I have found a Red Bull replacement. It tastes amazing and gives me enough of a pep to wake up me and keep me going. Plus its a healthier, no-crash pick me up. I am in love.


I have also been reading lots and lots of blogs, and finding some really great recipes I can't wait to try. One in particular is A Teenage Gourmet's Tomato Corn Pot Pie. I think it looks absolutely delish.

As of right now though, I just finished a crazy late supper of steak and sweet potatoe fries (devoured it way too fast to take a picture.. it wasn't pretty) and now I am going to curl up and watch an episode or two of Lost before bed. I'm in season 5, so I am almost done!

xox

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Where to begin..

Vices. I have way too many, and they are all basically food. I don't smoke, don't drink excessively, and don't do any other substances either.

If I were to narrow it down, I could probably narrow it down to two things I have a hard time giving up - Red Bull and Sweets. I know neither of them are good for me (especially the Red Bull) but I just can't help myself. I blame the Red Bull addiction on my over-achieving self thinking that doing a full course load at SMU and working full time while trying to do extra-curriculars (such as the sorority) and maintain some kind of a social life was a good idea. And really, it's not just Red Bull. While Red Bull is my favorite, I have been known to drink Full Throttle, 5 Hour Energy, etc.

I kid you not, once after downing a 5 Hour Energy (which are so little you basically just take a shot of it) a friend said "I feel like I just witnessed something bad, like a junkie shooting themselves up or something". Yes, I was that far gone.

I have cut down substantially over the past few months, but I still have at least one or two a week. Currently I am trying to stop all together, and have been drinking a LOT of this yummy green tea I got from David's Tea as a replacement. It's called Green Seduction, and I love it. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will have cut energy drinks out completely.

As for sweets, I can't narrow it to just one type. I just get these cravings all the time for "something sweet". It really doesn't matter what it is sometimes, which can be fine as long as I have a lot of fruit on hand. When I really give in to my sweet cravings is at work or school when I have the temptation of vending machines all around me. I just really need to work on making sure I have lots of healthier alternatives readily available to keep me from those impulse sweets. It's a work in progress but I know I can do it!

That's it for now.. I plan on having another post up later but for now I have to go get ready for my day. I am borrowing my mum's car for the week while she is in Ontario and am going to possible run a few errands and go to yoga tonight.

Speaking of yoga, does anyone have any recommendations for a good DVD so I can do it at home?

Monday, August 16, 2010

There's something I need to confess...

I am famous for starting things and not finishing them.

For example, I started tennis a few years ago.. bought a racket and everything. It lasted the 8 weeks I went to the classes and I played maybe twice after they were over. I haven't touched it since. I tried hula hoop classes (which I did love!) and have been meaning to sign up for the level two class, but it has been over a year now. (In my defense though I still hula hoop while watching T.V. sometimes). I could go on and on with all kinds of examples, but I think you get the point.

I started this blog back in March with the intention of using this a great tool to hold myself accountable for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, keep track of my progress and find other people with similar goals. I still have those intentions, but I just let life get the best of me, and used it as an excuse. First it was moving, then it was exams, and then I told myself that once I was settled into working full time again I would finally get on track with this. As you can see, it didn't happen.

I am saying it today, I will be doing this more often. I mean it this time. I have ZERO reasons not to, and every reason to do it. I need to do this for my health. And unfortunately I have recently had a reminder about why this is so important for me to do. My Aunt just passed away about two weeks ago, and it was directly related to her health (aka obesity). Almost everyone on that side of the family has struggled with their weight and I don't want to even give myself a chance to become that far gone.

I have at least 20lbs to lose right now, and I am going to do it!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

What a week....

And it's only Tuesday! So if my blog posts aren't as regular as I plan for them to be this week I apologize ahead of time...

I know that there is "always time for fitness" in my daily routine or so I have been told by countless magazine articles in Oxygen and other fitness magazines, personal trainers and so on... but can someone please tell me where?!

I feel like I have no time to breathe, let alone exercise. Especially this week, in which I have a term paper and two large assignments due, work (I know for most students this normally isn't much...but I work almost full time during the school year to make ends meet), class, and to top it all off... I MOVE on Friday. It's enough to make me want to curl up in bed and just wish it all away. *If only that were possible*

But of course that won't work. So I am just trying to take it one assignment, and one box at a time and tell myself it will all be over soon.

I have been trying to get some exercise in. I took a hula hoop class at Studio in Essence last year, and I still have the hoop (I even remember some of the tricks!). The hoop is actually weighted and heavier than a normal child's hula hoop. On Sunday and Monday I managed to squeeze in some 'hooping' while watching TV for about 30 minutes, and honestly after doing that straight for half an hour I really do break a small sweat! After that I try and squeeze in a few body bar exercises like bicep curls or weighted lunges.



Today unfortunately I honestly had zero time. Between waking up and remembering a third assignment that was due this afternoon and having to skip class to finish it, going to class, coming home to move some of my things, and finally finish my paper there is just no energy or time left.

I have been trying to eat as healthy as I can. My breakfast is pretty standard, Fiber 1 Cereal and sometimes a little yogurt. Lunch has been a lean chicken breast sandwich on whole wheat (I know turkey is supposed to be better for you but chicken just tastes so much better!). Supper has been all over the place, last night it was Kraft Dinner and Edamame (in the pod, not mixed in...ew!) and tonight was chicken breast. My disclaimer for the random/boring/WTF food combos is that I really, really, really need groceries. There is practically nothing in my kitchen. But for now, I just can't bring myself to buy any until after I move. I know it probably sounds weird but I just don't want to have to move my stuff and a bunch of food.

I hope everyone else is having a better week, and I promise there will be more regular posts in the future. Sorry if today's blog sounded very whiny. Oh! And I have been carrying my camera with me more often, so I can start remembering to take pictures of what I am eating.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

My Very First Post...

This is kind of scary. I have never been much of a writer, let alone a blogger, but I have decided to give it a shot. I have read so many great blogs over the past few weeks and they have inspired me to start my own.

One of the main things I plan on blogging about is my path to become healthier and leaner. I think that by blogging about it, I will feel like I am being held more accountable and I won't want to let down what readers I may get. I really need that feeling, otherwise it will be too easy for me to just put off my work out yet again, or give in to that extra piece of (fill in the blank). It's not that I don't have the support of my friends and family, of course I do, but they don't really push me. My boyfriend, my mom, and my friends know I want to do this, but they all love me for who I am, slightly over-weight or not. The problem is...I don't. Not in that regard at least. BUT that will, I repeat - will - change. I promise you.

Also, I will blog about pretty much anything else. It could be a make-up review (I am addicted), venting about my day, anything :) Just whatever I feel like that day I guess.

Well, that's it for now. Goodnight xox