Time is one of those things that we never seem to have enough of. And the past two weeks have been entirely too stressful for words. I know it seems like I'm griping all the time, and if you think that, then I apologize. I dont mean to, its just incredibly hard to juggle everything that happens in life with trying to lose weight. Honestly I have to give props to all those women and men who do lose a ton of weight, especially in college. There is nothing worse for weight loss than stress, lack of free time, and stress. Stress means you dont get to sleep much, you hold on to weight, you eat for comfort. Which is all counterproductive to losing weight.
I can go into why I havent been blogging OR on myfitnesspal in one paragraph...
On Tuesday I had a faculty graduate review. This is a part of the year that all art grads go though where they put up all the work worth showing and stand in front of all the faculty in the art program and the other grad students and have their work critiqued. Its stressful. There are a lot of things that lead up to it, like having an artist statement that is worth showing to the faculty, having your work prepared, being able to talk about it, finding time to put it up on the wall. Mine was on Tuesday night. On top of all of this, I had another critique, and a test. Which may not seem like much, but it is. I couldnt sleep Monday night because I was worrying about it and couldnt get my brain to turn off. So I was sleep deprived on top of everything.
Needless to say, I didnt eat healthy. I didnt eat horribly, but its nothing to brag about. I havent worked out in a week and a half, and I'm more than ready to.
The sad thing is that I dont really feel relieved that its over, more... just happy that its done, but I know I have a ton more things to do that are going to take this events place. So here is to a better week next week. I gained two pounds in the past two weeks, but I'm also on my period. So I dont really know where I am weight wise. I know I feel gross. I am going home this weekend, and I think I might make my mom come and work out with me! Even if all we do is just walk.
My first week of challenge was kind of a bust, but I can try again next week.
Also, my sink backed up again today. Talk about disgusting. The plumber hasnt gotten out here yet, I'm just ready to get this shit (literally *gag*) cleaned up. Cant wait to mop... I'm lucky I dont have to work tonight because the school is closing Friday and Monday for the Easter holidays.
I know this isnt a long post, but I just wanted to let the world (mainly the bots that come a troll my blog) where I have been this past week.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Challenges
Life if full of challenges, duh. Sometimes getting out of bed for me is just a challenge in an of itself!
Lately I've been motivated everywhere but in the weight loss department (see all the gummy snacks I ate for an example of that). I can honestly say that this will never get any easier. But I know so often I focus on the big picture, yeah I need to lose more than 100 pounds, but I dont know what that's going to look like. So I need to focus on now. As my mom says, "this is a marathon, not a race." So I was thinking about doing a little challenge for myself.
I have stepped on the scale two weeks in a row only to see it go no where. I know I'm going to have to fight tooth and nail for every pound I want to lose, so I'm just going to give myself a challenge for next week- Eat all my calories, drink at the minimum a liter of water a day, and work out for 45-60 minutes three times during the week. Yes next week is going to be crazy hard to make this happen. I have 18 hour reviews, a test, stress, work and a million other things but I need to do this for me. I keep forgetting that this IS important.
If you want to take this challenge with me I think that would be great! I would love other people to do this with me, there is something to be said for a group of people doing something together and the encouragement that comes from it. I think I might make this into a month long challenge, adding something healthy to do each week.
Week 1: Work Out Challenge!
1. Exercise three times during the week
2. Eat all my calories
3. Drink a min. of 1 liter of water a day
I realize that it is Thursday, but I dont really care. If you want to start your challenge on Monday go for it, I'm going to get a jump start on mine. So think of this as a warning that your challenge (should you choose to accept it) starts on Monday. If you already do these things, well good for you! Do them with us next week and when I add something to the next week's challenge you can do it too!
(When I get a chance tomorrow I plan to have a cool little printable card that you can print and keep, or put up to help keep you motivated)
Good Luck! Please post on the comments below and let us know how you are doing!
Lately I've been motivated everywhere but in the weight loss department (see all the gummy snacks I ate for an example of that). I can honestly say that this will never get any easier. But I know so often I focus on the big picture, yeah I need to lose more than 100 pounds, but I dont know what that's going to look like. So I need to focus on now. As my mom says, "this is a marathon, not a race." So I was thinking about doing a little challenge for myself.
I have stepped on the scale two weeks in a row only to see it go no where. I know I'm going to have to fight tooth and nail for every pound I want to lose, so I'm just going to give myself a challenge for next week- Eat all my calories, drink at the minimum a liter of water a day, and work out for 45-60 minutes three times during the week. Yes next week is going to be crazy hard to make this happen. I have 18 hour reviews, a test, stress, work and a million other things but I need to do this for me. I keep forgetting that this IS important.
If you want to take this challenge with me I think that would be great! I would love other people to do this with me, there is something to be said for a group of people doing something together and the encouragement that comes from it. I think I might make this into a month long challenge, adding something healthy to do each week.
Week 1: Work Out Challenge!
1. Exercise three times during the week
2. Eat all my calories
3. Drink a min. of 1 liter of water a day
I realize that it is Thursday, but I dont really care. If you want to start your challenge on Monday go for it, I'm going to get a jump start on mine. So think of this as a warning that your challenge (should you choose to accept it) starts on Monday. If you already do these things, well good for you! Do them with us next week and when I add something to the next week's challenge you can do it too!
(When I get a chance tomorrow I plan to have a cool little printable card that you can print and keep, or put up to help keep you motivated)
Good Luck! Please post on the comments below and let us know how you are doing!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Happy Hump Day!
Okay I realize that it's Wednesday and I'm just now getting around to posting. Bad bad Rachel.
I really have been eat, breathing and sleeping my project for my conceptual design class. But sadly tomorrow I'm going to have to go back to reality (which really I did today because I had to work) and go back to class, I didnt have to go Tuesday because it was a work day. The good news? I'm almost done sewing this thing together, which means I'll no longer be stabbed, jabbed, scraped or otherwise mutilated by pins. My house is a wreck of bits of blue jean material everywhere. My dining room has been turned into a sewing room, and the floor of my bedroom upstairs has been turned into a table, because it has the most floor space for me to lay the thing out, but the quilt (made of blue jeans if you didnt catch that) is awesome!
Yesterday I was feeling like complete and utter poo. Literally because I was sick. Not to mention that I have a bum tooth in my mouth that has kept me up at night aching. I worked yesterday because I absolutely had to, but last night, I didn't go to the opening reception for our gallery because my face was swollen and I honestly didnt think I needed to be touching food people wanted to eat after having been on the toilet all day. TMI? I dont really care! Ha go read someone else's blog if you dont want to know about my stomach ache!
So I havent felt like doing much at all this week. I cant say I've been eating well, yesterday I ate saltine crackers, but the day before I didnt eat well at all. All I can say is that fast food just isnt good for me and its never as good as I think it will be, with the exception of starbuck's breakfast sandwiches. They are always amazing.
I guess sometimes we all need a few days off. I really think I just need to find a more manageable workout routine. I realize that I cant do Zumba every night of the week. That's my problem I throw myself into something and then am not able to manage it, or I get bored. So I was thinking maybe I need to do Zumba two nights out of the week and then on Friday's and Satruday I should do one of my workout DVDs. I just cant workout 5 times a week. Lately, I've been having a problem with staying up too late. I am in bed by 10:30 but dont go to sleep until 11:30 or 12 because I cant stop reading. Then I want to get up early to workout around 5:30, but I just cant manage to function on 5 hours of sleep. *sigh* this is only the third week of school, so I need to get a handle on my schedule.
I havent lost any weight. I went home this weekend and while I wasnt a horrible eater I sure didnt eat all that well. So that coupled with the no working out and everything I'm just happy I havent gained weight. But the rest of the day is still ahead and I plan on going to Zumba tonight, and getting a healthy meal cooked. I also need to eat every one of my calories. When I made the cabbage casserole I would feel full, but not have eaten many calories, so I need to make sure to eat them all. Because then I feel like I'm starving.
So sorry for the lack of communication the past few days. I will be sure to update again this week, and hopefully over the weekend. I hope that everyone is doing much better than I have lately in regards to eating right and exercising!
Here is an adorable puppy pic to make up for no posts!
I really have been eat, breathing and sleeping my project for my conceptual design class. But sadly tomorrow I'm going to have to go back to reality (which really I did today because I had to work) and go back to class, I didnt have to go Tuesday because it was a work day. The good news? I'm almost done sewing this thing together, which means I'll no longer be stabbed, jabbed, scraped or otherwise mutilated by pins. My house is a wreck of bits of blue jean material everywhere. My dining room has been turned into a sewing room, and the floor of my bedroom upstairs has been turned into a table, because it has the most floor space for me to lay the thing out, but the quilt (made of blue jeans if you didnt catch that) is awesome!
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| Axel helping the quilt |
Yesterday I was feeling like complete and utter poo. Literally because I was sick. Not to mention that I have a bum tooth in my mouth that has kept me up at night aching. I worked yesterday because I absolutely had to, but last night, I didn't go to the opening reception for our gallery because my face was swollen and I honestly didnt think I needed to be touching food people wanted to eat after having been on the toilet all day. TMI? I dont really care! Ha go read someone else's blog if you dont want to know about my stomach ache!
So I havent felt like doing much at all this week. I cant say I've been eating well, yesterday I ate saltine crackers, but the day before I didnt eat well at all. All I can say is that fast food just isnt good for me and its never as good as I think it will be, with the exception of starbuck's breakfast sandwiches. They are always amazing.
I guess sometimes we all need a few days off. I really think I just need to find a more manageable workout routine. I realize that I cant do Zumba every night of the week. That's my problem I throw myself into something and then am not able to manage it, or I get bored. So I was thinking maybe I need to do Zumba two nights out of the week and then on Friday's and Satruday I should do one of my workout DVDs. I just cant workout 5 times a week. Lately, I've been having a problem with staying up too late. I am in bed by 10:30 but dont go to sleep until 11:30 or 12 because I cant stop reading. Then I want to get up early to workout around 5:30, but I just cant manage to function on 5 hours of sleep. *sigh* this is only the third week of school, so I need to get a handle on my schedule.
I havent lost any weight. I went home this weekend and while I wasnt a horrible eater I sure didnt eat all that well. So that coupled with the no working out and everything I'm just happy I havent gained weight. But the rest of the day is still ahead and I plan on going to Zumba tonight, and getting a healthy meal cooked. I also need to eat every one of my calories. When I made the cabbage casserole I would feel full, but not have eaten many calories, so I need to make sure to eat them all. Because then I feel like I'm starving.
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| He likes to sleep in the crook of my legs |
Friday, March 15, 2013
Weekend Time!
I'm very glad that it is Friday. Yesterday I woke up and didnt realize that it was Thursday! So today is a rest day because I'm so dang tired! I have done Zumba all week, and then last night at work my photo prof Frank had us clean out a room because we are getting a new exposure unit (yay!) and so we hauled everything out, then put it back in! I felt really bad because there is a Zumba class on Thursday from 4:30-5:30 which means I have just enough time to change out of my sweaty clothes and head up to the school to work. I hadnt had a shower, and even though I did refresh my deodorant, I was probably smelly. Oh well! I did try, who knew I was going to be moving stuff! It was fun though, and made the hours pass by quickly, which is always a good thing.
I weighed on Wednesday/Thursday (dont remember what day it was...) and I am right at 252! So even though I havent been eating great before this week, I am back down to the "I've lost 20 pounds" place. Which is a nice place to be, and if the scale is any indicator I've now lost 1 more pound! Huzzah! I will try to be extra good over the weekend, but we'll see how it goes.
Today after I get off work, I'm going to Benton, then to Jonesboro. I'm excited about Tau Beta Sigma's Third Degree. Its been more than 5 years since I went to one. Being an alum is good, but it makes me feel really old. So as soon as I get home I'm going to pee, throw the dog in the kennel (gently) throw all my bags in the car and my dress clothes and get moving. I'm also probably going to stop at subway for lunch.
When I get to Benton Corey is going to drive, which is good because that means that I can cut down blue jeans on the drive up there. That's my plan to maximize the work I need to do, because otherwise I'll lose half a day of working on my new project. Not sure if I talked about this before, but I'm making a quilt for my new photo project and I have less than a week and a half to do it. So I have to get going like yesterday. Its a BIG review that the grad students have to do, we have a faculty or 18 hour review (18 hours because by this point we should have 18 hours worth of credit) it makes me really nervous. But I do have some things to show, and I'm hoping to be able to make a few more pictures next week (when? not really sure) and also make a few edits on the video. But we'll see how much I'll actually be able to do.
I'm sitting here at work, I thought that I wouldnt be done with everything I needed to do until I got off, but I finished early, and so now I'm twiddling my thumbs and I feel like every moment I'm not working on something for this review is wasted. If I didnt have to answer the phone I would put my head down on the desk and take a nap. I'm so exhausted.
I'm off for now, just wanted to get in an update before the weekend started. I hope you all have a great weekend, and its nice and relaxing!
I weighed on Wednesday/Thursday (dont remember what day it was...) and I am right at 252! So even though I havent been eating great before this week, I am back down to the "I've lost 20 pounds" place. Which is a nice place to be, and if the scale is any indicator I've now lost 1 more pound! Huzzah! I will try to be extra good over the weekend, but we'll see how it goes.
Today after I get off work, I'm going to Benton, then to Jonesboro. I'm excited about Tau Beta Sigma's Third Degree. Its been more than 5 years since I went to one. Being an alum is good, but it makes me feel really old. So as soon as I get home I'm going to pee, throw the dog in the kennel (gently) throw all my bags in the car and my dress clothes and get moving. I'm also probably going to stop at subway for lunch.
When I get to Benton Corey is going to drive, which is good because that means that I can cut down blue jeans on the drive up there. That's my plan to maximize the work I need to do, because otherwise I'll lose half a day of working on my new project. Not sure if I talked about this before, but I'm making a quilt for my new photo project and I have less than a week and a half to do it. So I have to get going like yesterday. Its a BIG review that the grad students have to do, we have a faculty or 18 hour review (18 hours because by this point we should have 18 hours worth of credit) it makes me really nervous. But I do have some things to show, and I'm hoping to be able to make a few more pictures next week (when? not really sure) and also make a few edits on the video. But we'll see how much I'll actually be able to do.
I'm sitting here at work, I thought that I wouldnt be done with everything I needed to do until I got off, but I finished early, and so now I'm twiddling my thumbs and I feel like every moment I'm not working on something for this review is wasted. If I didnt have to answer the phone I would put my head down on the desk and take a nap. I'm so exhausted.
I'm off for now, just wanted to get in an update before the weekend started. I hope you all have a great weekend, and its nice and relaxing!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Veggie Tales
I have exciting news! Well maybe not to you, but it is for me! I've been going to Zumba for two nights in a row! I REALLY REALLY like it. Its 1 buck, and I get an hour workout, its different every time and I am covered with sweat and feel happy after it. Who knew Ruston Louisiana would have Zumba classes... I usually go to the First Baptist Church (yeah I know, I think its funny too) for the class. But they dont have one on Wednesdays, so tonight I'll be going to the Intramural center. I havent been there yet, and I was told that the Zumba classes were really crowded, but maybe they wont be tonight because its Wednesday. Its at 6 instead of 7, so I'll get an earlier dinner which will be nice.
So because this week was going to be crazy, and to be honest I think every week this quarter will be crazy, I'm going to have to plan out every day to make sure that I get all the stuff done that I need to get done. Because of that I made some more food. I think I made too much, but I can freeze most of it, so thats a good thing. Monday night I ran to the store and made a cabbage casserole and vegan sweet potato and lentil soup because I was almost out of the lentil chili. I got the recipe for the casserole on runsforcookies.com, and I like it a lot. Yes, I realize it has meat but to be honest, its hard not to eat meat when you are busy. There arent a lot of things that are meat free that are fast to fix. I used ground turkey because I just like it better, and I want to try to stay away from beef.
The vegan sweet potato and lintel soup from Eat Yourself Skinny! is okay, but kinda sweet, I think next time if I do this that I will leave out the cinnamon. There are load of good spices in it, but not wild about the one that brings out the sweet. I have two quarts of it in the freezer that are going to my mom (you're welcome mom!).
I also want to say that I steamed a bunch of carrots and broccoli on Monday and threw them into ziplock baggies so I can just dump them on a plate and heat them up with lunch or dinner. I REALLY wanted to try to eat more veggies this week. I can say that I love them. It was such a good idea! On top of eating more veggies, I feel full longer and more satisfied when I eat lunch. I bought a spaghetti squash when I was at the store too, I'm cooking it tonight to see how it is.
Oh before I forget I just wanted to say about the cabbage casserole, when I make it again, I'm going to do some things different. She says to use a can of condensed tomato soup and pour over the top of the casserole once you cook the meat and layer it with the cabbage, well I think when I do it next time I'm just going to cook the tomato soup with the meat, I think it would be a better flavor. I hesitate to put this as a recipe on the blog before I try it out.. so the next time I make it I'll try the changes and if its good I'll post the recipe. Until then, just use the link above to get the original!
Also regarding food, which I suppose this whole post is about, I just want to say that I bought some Ezekiel bread, another thing that I was surprised to find in Ruston, and I had it with eggs last night and my soup and it was wonderful. Did you know that the bread has 4 grams of protein? You also have to keep it cold, but I dont mind toasting my bread! I keep seeing some of my health nut people on facebook post about this bread, and its great. They have a cinnamon raisin that I wanted to get, but I figured I would try the original before I started on any of the other kinds. I dont eat much bread to be honest, so its nice to be able to keep this in the freezer and not have to worry about it going bad.
So I do have to say that eating all these veggies makes it so that I feel full when I eat lunch and I'm actually eating LESS calories now because before I was filling up on more of the main dish. I dont know about you, but I always think that veggies are such a hassle. I mean I dont have time to steam vegetables every night to go with my dinner and mushy vegetables are disgusting, and sometimes even though I try to include it in the dishes I make, it just doesnt happen. But being able to just pull a little baggie of veggies (the kinds I like) out of the fridge and pop them in the microwave and eat... its awesome and priceless and makes vegetable eating 100% easier.
Also, just one little tip that I have to say is amazing and I found out about a while ago and mean to post. I used to always get bags of spinach out of the bagged salad area, and it would be good for maybe a week at most, and I would try to eat it up, but there is only so much stuff I like spinach in. Well a while back I got some fresh spinach that comes in a bundle out of the fresh lettuce area for a recipe and it came with stems (which I had to chop off, its easier if you do this while its still in the bundle) and I had to wash it, but I put it in a ziplock bag (it was still a little wet too) with some paper towels on the side and it kept for 2-3 weeks. Yeah you read that right 2-3 weeks. So now I can put it in my shakes, my every day meals (like the vegan sweet potato soup!) and my favorite- egg whites (with a little reduced fat feta... perfection!) and I dont have to worry about it going bad in two or three days.
I hope the Zumba class tonight is as fun as the others I've been to! One more thing that I thought of while I was rereading the post... I read the other day on another blog that when she eats dinner she has a variety of things that she eats, like the soup, eggs and the veggies, or whatever she wants. I usually would just eat a bigger bowl of soup and call it done, but she said that having the other food out on her plate makes her feel like she is eating more, which I guess she is, but she says its a mental thing and feels more satisfied because of this. That was another goal this week to eat more than just a bowl of whatever it is I'm having for lunch or dinner, so maybe I can be mentally satisfied too.
So because this week was going to be crazy, and to be honest I think every week this quarter will be crazy, I'm going to have to plan out every day to make sure that I get all the stuff done that I need to get done. Because of that I made some more food. I think I made too much, but I can freeze most of it, so thats a good thing. Monday night I ran to the store and made a cabbage casserole and vegan sweet potato and lentil soup because I was almost out of the lentil chili. I got the recipe for the casserole on runsforcookies.com, and I like it a lot. Yes, I realize it has meat but to be honest, its hard not to eat meat when you are busy. There arent a lot of things that are meat free that are fast to fix. I used ground turkey because I just like it better, and I want to try to stay away from beef.
 |
| Sweet Potato and Lintel Soup |
The vegan sweet potato and lintel soup from Eat Yourself Skinny! is okay, but kinda sweet, I think next time if I do this that I will leave out the cinnamon. There are load of good spices in it, but not wild about the one that brings out the sweet. I have two quarts of it in the freezer that are going to my mom (you're welcome mom!).
I also want to say that I steamed a bunch of carrots and broccoli on Monday and threw them into ziplock baggies so I can just dump them on a plate and heat them up with lunch or dinner. I REALLY wanted to try to eat more veggies this week. I can say that I love them. It was such a good idea! On top of eating more veggies, I feel full longer and more satisfied when I eat lunch. I bought a spaghetti squash when I was at the store too, I'm cooking it tonight to see how it is.
Oh before I forget I just wanted to say about the cabbage casserole, when I make it again, I'm going to do some things different. She says to use a can of condensed tomato soup and pour over the top of the casserole once you cook the meat and layer it with the cabbage, well I think when I do it next time I'm just going to cook the tomato soup with the meat, I think it would be a better flavor. I hesitate to put this as a recipe on the blog before I try it out.. so the next time I make it I'll try the changes and if its good I'll post the recipe. Until then, just use the link above to get the original!
So I do have to say that eating all these veggies makes it so that I feel full when I eat lunch and I'm actually eating LESS calories now because before I was filling up on more of the main dish. I dont know about you, but I always think that veggies are such a hassle. I mean I dont have time to steam vegetables every night to go with my dinner and mushy vegetables are disgusting, and sometimes even though I try to include it in the dishes I make, it just doesnt happen. But being able to just pull a little baggie of veggies (the kinds I like) out of the fridge and pop them in the microwave and eat... its awesome and priceless and makes vegetable eating 100% easier.
Also, just one little tip that I have to say is amazing and I found out about a while ago and mean to post. I used to always get bags of spinach out of the bagged salad area, and it would be good for maybe a week at most, and I would try to eat it up, but there is only so much stuff I like spinach in. Well a while back I got some fresh spinach that comes in a bundle out of the fresh lettuce area for a recipe and it came with stems (which I had to chop off, its easier if you do this while its still in the bundle) and I had to wash it, but I put it in a ziplock bag (it was still a little wet too) with some paper towels on the side and it kept for 2-3 weeks. Yeah you read that right 2-3 weeks. So now I can put it in my shakes, my every day meals (like the vegan sweet potato soup!) and my favorite- egg whites (with a little reduced fat feta... perfection!) and I dont have to worry about it going bad in two or three days.
I hope the Zumba class tonight is as fun as the others I've been to! One more thing that I thought of while I was rereading the post... I read the other day on another blog that when she eats dinner she has a variety of things that she eats, like the soup, eggs and the veggies, or whatever she wants. I usually would just eat a bigger bowl of soup and call it done, but she said that having the other food out on her plate makes her feel like she is eating more, which I guess she is, but she says its a mental thing and feels more satisfied because of this. That was another goal this week to eat more than just a bowl of whatever it is I'm having for lunch or dinner, so maybe I can be mentally satisfied too.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Weekend of Woe
My weekend sorta sucked.
This weekend I was going to go home to see my mom's play, but my friends wanted to have a cookout and I wanted to go so I delayed a day and was going to go home on Saturday.
Well, that didnt really happen. I was getting ready to go, took a shower, was packed, about to lug everything out to my car when I was getting something out of the kitchen and noticed that there was water coming out from under the washing machine. I grabbed a towel, cleaned it up and threw it in the machine and was about to go when I noticed that my sink was filled with water. So I grabbed the plunger, called my mom and started to try to get it out of the sink.
When nothing worked, and I hadnt heard from my mom yet, I started to bail out the sink with a kitty litter bucket (which is useful for so many things!) and a sonic cup. I was on the second sink when mom called. I told her what I was dealing with and that I wasnt sure if I would make it up. She told me to call the landlord so I could get a plumber out there. My house was a wreck, because I havent been there to clean it up. Not nasty just messy. So I was hurriedly trying to get the house at least where you werent tripping over things to get around the place.
Before he got there I tried to unblock the clog with baking soda and vinegar, so I had to unhook the washing machine and water started pouring out. I had every towel in the house on the floor, and finally I put a bowl under it to get any excess water that was coming out. So I plug up that hose, and start trying to unclog the drain. While I was waiting the plumber came and got up on the roof and did a motor snake thing that unclogged it. Oh and Axel managed to get out while the plumber was there (kennel escape!) and managed to get so excited he peed everywhere!
After all that I decided to go to walmart and get some mesh things to catch any food that might go down the drain (no garbage disposal). I also got more stuff for the lentil chili, and a new filter for my water filter on the sink.
I came home cleaned and mopped the kitchen, I had to move the fridge because the water had run under it (ick!). I decided that while I was already feeling disgusting that I would clean out the tuppaware containers in the fridge. I get them all out and I'm in the "woods" by my house dumping them when I'm holding a big container of bean soup that I hadnt been able to finish when it fell out of my hands, hit the ground, and splashed all over the front of my body. I didnt want to go back in the house covered in moldy bean soup so I looked around, took all my clothes off, and ran for the front door. I dont think anyone saw me. Or at least I hope not!
I did make the lentil soup, which was okay. I think it tastes sweet, but its what I have for food this week, so I'm going to eat it. I think I like black lentils best.
Sunday was much less eventful. I tried to sleep in, but was awake so I just got up. My stomach hurt all day yesterday! Getting tired of this. I did laundry, cleaned up more rooms, planned meals for the week, and worked on school work.
Today I was going to get up at 5:30 to workout but I couldnt fall asleep last night. I took a shower before I went to bed, and just laid there. So I set the alarm for 6:30 and finally fell asleep at 1 I think. I'm going to the Zumba class tonight so it wouldnt have been necessary for me to workout, I just wanted to. Because I'm under such a time crunch this week, I had to plan my days out. So everything is planned for. I just have to stick with it!
This weekend I was going to go home to see my mom's play, but my friends wanted to have a cookout and I wanted to go so I delayed a day and was going to go home on Saturday.
Well, that didnt really happen. I was getting ready to go, took a shower, was packed, about to lug everything out to my car when I was getting something out of the kitchen and noticed that there was water coming out from under the washing machine. I grabbed a towel, cleaned it up and threw it in the machine and was about to go when I noticed that my sink was filled with water. So I grabbed the plunger, called my mom and started to try to get it out of the sink.
When nothing worked, and I hadnt heard from my mom yet, I started to bail out the sink with a kitty litter bucket (which is useful for so many things!) and a sonic cup. I was on the second sink when mom called. I told her what I was dealing with and that I wasnt sure if I would make it up. She told me to call the landlord so I could get a plumber out there. My house was a wreck, because I havent been there to clean it up. Not nasty just messy. So I was hurriedly trying to get the house at least where you werent tripping over things to get around the place.
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| My "I-hate-plumbing-and-I-feel-disgusting" face |
Before he got there I tried to unblock the clog with baking soda and vinegar, so I had to unhook the washing machine and water started pouring out. I had every towel in the house on the floor, and finally I put a bowl under it to get any excess water that was coming out. So I plug up that hose, and start trying to unclog the drain. While I was waiting the plumber came and got up on the roof and did a motor snake thing that unclogged it. Oh and Axel managed to get out while the plumber was there (kennel escape!) and managed to get so excited he peed everywhere!
After all that I decided to go to walmart and get some mesh things to catch any food that might go down the drain (no garbage disposal). I also got more stuff for the lentil chili, and a new filter for my water filter on the sink.
I came home cleaned and mopped the kitchen, I had to move the fridge because the water had run under it (ick!). I decided that while I was already feeling disgusting that I would clean out the tuppaware containers in the fridge. I get them all out and I'm in the "woods" by my house dumping them when I'm holding a big container of bean soup that I hadnt been able to finish when it fell out of my hands, hit the ground, and splashed all over the front of my body. I didnt want to go back in the house covered in moldy bean soup so I looked around, took all my clothes off, and ran for the front door. I dont think anyone saw me. Or at least I hope not!
I did make the lentil soup, which was okay. I think it tastes sweet, but its what I have for food this week, so I'm going to eat it. I think I like black lentils best.
Sunday was much less eventful. I tried to sleep in, but was awake so I just got up. My stomach hurt all day yesterday! Getting tired of this. I did laundry, cleaned up more rooms, planned meals for the week, and worked on school work.
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| My crazy ass dog! I swear he has a head! |
Friday, March 8, 2013
Zumba!
So after a week of being incredibly lazy and eating whatever I wanted, I strapped on my bodybugg, grabbed a water bottle and went to a Zumba class in Ruston.
I was very nervous about going someplace I didnt know, I hate working out in front of people. Which is why the DVDs at home just work for me. I dont want to see my butt giggling around, and I would imagine no one else does either! I knew that from the last week, when I did it with Ashleigh that it was an amazing workout and would be worth my time if I just went.
Well I got there and it was okay. They got a late start, which kinda sucked because it started (or was supposed to start) at 7, and I was starving because I didnt want to eat before I worked out. The instructor was okay, not nearly as good as Ashleigh. But then I suppose she lets other people lead the class, so this bigger guy got up there and did a dance with everyone and THEN this lady named Marie (I think) got up there and finished out the night and SHE wiped the floor with us. I think I overheard that she was from Columbia, and so when she does these dance moves, it looks like she was born to it. It was amazing! And her routines were a million times harder. Yup, it was a great workout. I left sweaty and more sweaty.
It was only a dollar and normally I wouldnt be able to go to the Thursday night classes because I have to monitor at the Fine Arts building, so I will probably only go to the Monday and Tuesday classes there. I know there is another one at the Lambright Intramural center and I'm going to check that one out on Wednesday next week. I was told that those are really crowded, but maybe it wont be so bad on Wednesday.
I want to keep doing Insanity, but the Zumba doesnt feel like a workout, it just feels like fun. And I have a hard time talking myself out of it, because I enjoy it. The Insanity... not so much. But I'm going to do three days of it this weekend. So at some point today I'll get my lazy (and sore) bum off the couch and get to working out.
Ha! So I think I'm a pretty decent cook. I like to think that I can make a mean just about anything. I like to experiment and try new things. Well I really wanted to try a recipe that I saw at Runsforcookies.com. It was a recipe for lentil chili. I love chili especially any kind with beans in it! I'm always more than willing to try a new bean chili recipe! So I looked over the ingredients and didnt have half of them. I did have the lintels because I keep about a zillion kinds in my pantry because I love them.
Like I said, I didnt have an onion, brown lentils, diced tomatoes, beef broth (or any kind of broth for that matter or tomato paste, which is like half the recipe... BUT I figured I'm good a substitutions and I have other things so I wanted to try them. I DID have onion powder, crushed tomatoes, green, red and black lentils (I used the red), and water. I figured with those instead of the other things it would be great.
Well I put it in the pot like the directions said, let it cook for 45 minutes (it smelled great by the way) and went to check on it and do a little taste test... it was disgusting. Totally awful. How can something that smells so wonderful taste so terrible? What a waste! I cant eat it! So its going to be thrown outside for the neighborhood cats to eat. It tasted sweet, and I think the lintel substitution was the wrong one! Blerg! I really want to try the real recipe so when I get back from Arkansas this weekend I'm going to try again, this time, with the correct recipe.
I want to talk about one more thing. Well two actually. I randomly found a heart shaped Special K flake this morning. I took a pic of it. Hahaha!
I was very nervous about going someplace I didnt know, I hate working out in front of people. Which is why the DVDs at home just work for me. I dont want to see my butt giggling around, and I would imagine no one else does either! I knew that from the last week, when I did it with Ashleigh that it was an amazing workout and would be worth my time if I just went.
Well I got there and it was okay. They got a late start, which kinda sucked because it started (or was supposed to start) at 7, and I was starving because I didnt want to eat before I worked out. The instructor was okay, not nearly as good as Ashleigh. But then I suppose she lets other people lead the class, so this bigger guy got up there and did a dance with everyone and THEN this lady named Marie (I think) got up there and finished out the night and SHE wiped the floor with us. I think I overheard that she was from Columbia, and so when she does these dance moves, it looks like she was born to it. It was amazing! And her routines were a million times harder. Yup, it was a great workout. I left sweaty and more sweaty.
It was only a dollar and normally I wouldnt be able to go to the Thursday night classes because I have to monitor at the Fine Arts building, so I will probably only go to the Monday and Tuesday classes there. I know there is another one at the Lambright Intramural center and I'm going to check that one out on Wednesday next week. I was told that those are really crowded, but maybe it wont be so bad on Wednesday.
I want to keep doing Insanity, but the Zumba doesnt feel like a workout, it just feels like fun. And I have a hard time talking myself out of it, because I enjoy it. The Insanity... not so much. But I'm going to do three days of it this weekend. So at some point today I'll get my lazy (and sore) bum off the couch and get to working out.
Ha! So I think I'm a pretty decent cook. I like to think that I can make a mean just about anything. I like to experiment and try new things. Well I really wanted to try a recipe that I saw at Runsforcookies.com. It was a recipe for lentil chili. I love chili especially any kind with beans in it! I'm always more than willing to try a new bean chili recipe! So I looked over the ingredients and didnt have half of them. I did have the lintels because I keep about a zillion kinds in my pantry because I love them.
Like I said, I didnt have an onion, brown lentils, diced tomatoes, beef broth (or any kind of broth for that matter or tomato paste, which is like half the recipe... BUT I figured I'm good a substitutions and I have other things so I wanted to try them. I DID have onion powder, crushed tomatoes, green, red and black lentils (I used the red), and water. I figured with those instead of the other things it would be great.
Well I put it in the pot like the directions said, let it cook for 45 minutes (it smelled great by the way) and went to check on it and do a little taste test... it was disgusting. Totally awful. How can something that smells so wonderful taste so terrible? What a waste! I cant eat it! So its going to be thrown outside for the neighborhood cats to eat. It tasted sweet, and I think the lintel substitution was the wrong one! Blerg! I really want to try the real recipe so when I get back from Arkansas this weekend I'm going to try again, this time, with the correct recipe.
I want to talk about one more thing. Well two actually. I randomly found a heart shaped Special K flake this morning. I took a pic of it. Hahaha!
On to the real thing I want to talk about. So tonight I'm going to a pot luck with my fellow grad students. I'm excited because these guys (and gals) are great fun, and it should be pretty tasty and exciting. So, I said that I would bring spinach artichoke dip, and if you knew what went in it, and how many calories it is, you probably wouldnt even want one bite because if you have one, you want another, its just that good.
Should I bring something that I know I can eat? They are doing burgers and I KNOW I dont want any of that mess. Bleh! So I'm thinking maybe doing some kebabs of veggies and having them grill those. I could do enough to share, that might be good. I like sharing. But when YOU go to a potluck and are trying to eat healthy how to you manage it? Do you eat before you go? Bring something that you know is healthy and only eat that? I know people dont want to eat my healthy stuff, but its for me, so I guess thats all that matters!
Have a good weekend! I'll have some pictures with my sweaty self after Insanity soon!
Should I bring something that I know I can eat? They are doing burgers and I KNOW I dont want any of that mess. Bleh! So I'm thinking maybe doing some kebabs of veggies and having them grill those. I could do enough to share, that might be good. I like sharing. But when YOU go to a potluck and are trying to eat healthy how to you manage it? Do you eat before you go? Bring something that you know is healthy and only eat that? I know people dont want to eat my healthy stuff, but its for me, so I guess thats all that matters!
Have a good weekend! I'll have some pictures with my sweaty self after Insanity soon!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
My Photography
Okay, so this post is because I need a place for my photographs until I can get a website up and running. I have a super old one I think floating around the internet someplace with old work on it. But seeing as how I'm now a graduate student, I think I'm going to need a spiffy new website. Until that time I'm going to post my photographs here.
Not that you can tell from my regular photographs taken of myself with my iphone as I pour sweat from whatever workout I'm doing, but I am a photographer. So here is some of the artwork I've been working on for the past year.
I feel like I'm just now digging deep into what I want to get across so you're going to see how this started and where I'm going currently.
I started out my first quarter doing photographs about my issues with body image.
Not that you can tell from my regular photographs taken of myself with my iphone as I pour sweat from whatever workout I'm doing, but I am a photographer. So here is some of the artwork I've been working on for the past year.
I feel like I'm just now digging deep into what I want to get across so you're going to see how this started and where I'm going currently.
I started out my first quarter doing photographs about my issues with body image.
At the start of the next quarter (this past December-February) I started trying to work through how I got those body issue problems. Dealing with issues like family, weight, expectations, love, etc.
I ended the quarter with a video. I'm still working on my video skills, like lighting and making the actual video, but I think it will help become a means to an end and just another extension of my art.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Lots of Loss
Good news! I have lost 4 more pounds! Very exciting! Today I saw this on my "Women's Weight Loss" group on facebook.
I
This is so true and so appropriate for me. I always seem to give up and think "Oh if I had just kept going I could have lost 20 pounds these past few months." And the more time passes, the more I think if I had just kept going I could have lost even more weight! I dont because I gave up. So now I've lost a total of 20 pounds. I dont know if I can really tell yet. I know you probably get really tired of hearing this, but this is so hard, and so depressing.
Every day is a battle to not eat badly, to not binge or go and buy something that I know is bad for me. I have to force myself to workout, even though I do enjoy it. Nothing about this is easy. But I know its worth it. I dont want people who are reading this to think that you cant do it. Because if I can do this, anyone can.
I left Jonesboro this weekend, and I was driving the three hours to my mom's house and I would get really cold, turn on the heater, then get super hot. I got chills. When I got home I couldnt get warm and laid down in bed and went to sleep. I woke up warm, went to dinner with Corey and my brother and ate a few chips and didnt feel like eating all of my fajitas. So I got it to go. I was still really cold, and laid back down in bed when we got home, Corey laid down with me and we took a nap. I woke up with a fever. But it broke in the middle of the night.
I'm still not feeling 100% better. I took a day off yesterday and just felt weird today. I am probably just going to workout after The Biggest Loser goes off.
Tomorrow I have to go home. I'm so so so not looking forward to going back to Ruston. I dont know why. Probably because I'm ready to be done with school for a while, more than just a week. Only 12 weeks and I'll be done with my first year. 12 weeks! I wonder how much weight I can lose in three months.
I just have to keep going because the time will pass even if I'm not trying to lose weight. I just want to say a BIG HUGE thank you to all the ladies on myfitnesspal who help keep me motivated. I'm so so gald for the Women's Weight Loss group because they sure do help!
I
This is so true and so appropriate for me. I always seem to give up and think "Oh if I had just kept going I could have lost 20 pounds these past few months." And the more time passes, the more I think if I had just kept going I could have lost even more weight! I dont because I gave up. So now I've lost a total of 20 pounds. I dont know if I can really tell yet. I know you probably get really tired of hearing this, but this is so hard, and so depressing.
Every day is a battle to not eat badly, to not binge or go and buy something that I know is bad for me. I have to force myself to workout, even though I do enjoy it. Nothing about this is easy. But I know its worth it. I dont want people who are reading this to think that you cant do it. Because if I can do this, anyone can.
I left Jonesboro this weekend, and I was driving the three hours to my mom's house and I would get really cold, turn on the heater, then get super hot. I got chills. When I got home I couldnt get warm and laid down in bed and went to sleep. I woke up warm, went to dinner with Corey and my brother and ate a few chips and didnt feel like eating all of my fajitas. So I got it to go. I was still really cold, and laid back down in bed when we got home, Corey laid down with me and we took a nap. I woke up with a fever. But it broke in the middle of the night.
I'm still not feeling 100% better. I took a day off yesterday and just felt weird today. I am probably just going to workout after The Biggest Loser goes off.
Tomorrow I have to go home. I'm so so so not looking forward to going back to Ruston. I dont know why. Probably because I'm ready to be done with school for a while, more than just a week. Only 12 weeks and I'll be done with my first year. 12 weeks! I wonder how much weight I can lose in three months.
I just have to keep going because the time will pass even if I'm not trying to lose weight. I just want to say a BIG HUGE thank you to all the ladies on myfitnesspal who help keep me motivated. I'm so so gald for the Women's Weight Loss group because they sure do help!
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