Friday, April 30, 2010

Pictorial Perfection...

I magically find myself short on time today. Signs of a perfect Friday off form work, worry and stress. To make up for my lack of verbal stimulation, I present you with my first ever PHOTO Friday. Enjoy my lovelies. I'll be back with a full post tomorrow. LOVE YOU!!

First let me recap my weekly battle with Mr. Scale. I'm down 1.8 pounds for a total of 52.9. YEAH! I will update the "weight lost to date" photos on the blog when I get a moment. For now, the info will be out of date for a day or two. BUSY BEE OVER HERE!!!!

As you know, I was off today. LOVED IT! Here are some pictures that capture this day in all its glory perfectly! :) No words are necessary....


After breakfast I went shopping, spent a small fortune and then ACCIDENTALLY ended up at the winery with Annie-Boo. GLORIOUS DAY!

Quick note. These crackers from Target rocked my socks off. I'm just saying....

I caught a black lipped BEAST! Oliver Doppelganger. HA!


After our winery shenanigans, Ann and I parted ways. I came home and Nick and I decided to meet his younger brother Scotty and his girlfriend Amanda for dinner at the Geisen Haus in Canton. I never got around to taking pictures though. :-O

I had a grilled chicken cajun sandwich and 1/2 of my fries. YES, I was naughty. I'm okay with that. I'm never naughty. Today has been glorious. And now I am tired. My bed beckons me. Goodnight dah-lings.. :)

XOXO
Ildie

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Amazing Deals and what not...

It's quite possible that in my half asleep, delirious and frazzled state of mind (it just turned midnight) I may start to ramble uncontrollably. It's very possible that this post will lose all meaning, sense and direction. Please bare with me my lovelies. I MUST post for you no matter the time. I think I have a writing addiction problem. :)

My three day weekend is officially here and I'm overwhelmed with joy. I WELCOME THEE! BRING IT ON BABY! Weekends rejuvenate my spirit. I need them in my life like bloggers need their camera. That should sum it up for you quite nicely.

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:00am.

A teeny tiny twist on the usual.
  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/4 wheat bran
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • dash pumpkin pie spice
  • pinch salt
  • Splenda
  • (Microwaved and topped with 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter and 20g of organic raisins.)


Good GRIEF. WHY did it take me so long to combine raisins and PB in hot, creamy oatmeal? I wept. Yeah, it was THAT good!

Am I the only one that finds it annoying when you have things at home for MONTHS that you never think to use? Such as raisins! Then one day you dig around, try something and immediately feel like a BLIND FOOL for not thinking of it before. I plan to dig around in my cabinets some more this weekend. Who knows what else my cabinet jungle is hiding. I bet it's full of brilliant treats, flavors, combinations and goodies yet to be discovered. Just waiting on my clammy little hands to find them. CHOMP!

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:30pm.

I had a spinach salad topped with leftover peas and green beans from last night. I also added a sliced kumato, sprouted sunflower seeds and a Morning Star Farms black bean burger for some protein kick. It was amazing. Hot, spicy and flavorful. :)


Our break away from the office involved a VERY IMPORTANT MISSION! Jean shopping extravaganza #2 for the week. I would very HAPPILY like to announce that operation "locate magical sized jeans" was a complete success. I found a pair that were NOT too long and realized that I dropped yet another size. Yep. Life is good.

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:00pm.


I contemplated not boring you with the repetitive tasty mess that has been my snack all week but here it is anyways. Go ahead, take it all in. Enjoy the view..... I took the picture in front of the VERY classy picture of Nick and I in our Redneck gear for a Halloween in August party last year. HA! (I am NOT meant to be a blonde, good grief, I love that stupid wig!!) And yes, I keep this on my desk. No shame! Gotta stay classy!


Ahhhhhhh. I love yogurt!!! Here we have a plain Dannon Greek Yogurt topped with two mini chocolate protein muffins and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

As I was enjoying my little afternoon treat, I slowly began to realize that leaving work at 5:00 was not going to happen today. In a way I dealt with it and just decided to stay over and get some things done. Part of me found it hard to walk away because I knew I wouldn't be in tomorrow. Annie-Boo was semi upset with me I think. (I LOVE YOU ANN). She sat around in her gym clothes waiting for me, but alas, it wasn't meant to be today. I skipped my workout. :-O

Honestly, I wasn't feeling it. It was getting late, I was mentally exhausted and my leg still felt a bit "off". I wasn't in pain or anything. I could just tell that something wasn't right. So I took a day off. BIG WHOOP! I think this is maybe the 5th or 6th workout I've missed in the last 9 months. I TELL NO LIES! (pssst, I just lied right there...) Okay, I do lie sometimes. You know, to be polite and what not. I'm serious about the workouts though. I hardly ever miss them.

I decided to go grocery shopping instead. Oh to fill a cart with healthy goodies (and wine) makes me so happy. It was nice today, not rushing around the store. I took my time wandering every single isle, slowly, taking it all in. I enjoy shopping for food. I really do. Though I will admit, the longer I'm there the more I spend. YOWZA!

After putting my groceries away, I made myself a nice cup of coffee to take the edge off. Coffee calms me. Sweet, soothing cup of Joe, I love you. Why is it Joe by the way? Why not Jill or Jan?


IN OTHER NEWS! have you ever heard of Zeni Optical? No? Well if you wear glases GET HIP! The site is amazing. I have a SLIGHT (severe) obsession with glasses. I think I currently own 10 pair. Seven of them are from Zeni. :-O

I ordered three more about a week and half ago. I paid $35 dollars for all three!!! This INCLUDES prescription lenses AND shipping. HOLLA!

I love the orange pair. I think they really make my green eyes pop. :)


SHHHH, do you hear that??? That's the sound of an AMAZING DEAL! I love this pair too!


AWE SNAP. Shady Shades...... I ordered these lenses with 80% grey shading. I picked the largest, bulkiest frames I could find to get that very fashionable BUG EYED look that all the cool kids are wearing. HA!


Nick called these grandma shades. You know, the ones that old ladies wear OVER their glasses while driving. PLEASE TELL ME IT ISN'T TRUE! I haven't owned shades in years because I'm blind without glasses and prescription shades are EXPENSIVE! When I realized that I could add shading to any pair of glasses for $5 I thought I would give it a try. I think they look pretty good. However, I think 80% shading might be a bit TOO dark. I won't know for sure until I can test them outside on a sunny day. TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS! Be honest. I'm not trying to look like a crazy grandmother! HA!

DINNER (meal #4) 9:30pm.

We kept it simple tonight. Tomato soup....


And Grilled cheese on wheat with fat free cheddar slices and bread and butter pickle rounds. Trust me, the pickles go GREAT with the hot melted cheese.


Wow, it's only 1:05. I can't believe I typed this up so fast. TRUST ME! 1 hour is just shy of a MIRACLE for me. Somehow most blog posts take me at least 2 hours every night. Well, they take that long when you factor in the downloading, uploading and inserting of the photos as well. That and I tend to walk away from it and then finish it later. I get distracted easily.

Tomorrow morning is weigh in Friday. I'll let you know how it goes. EEEK! (Stupid, STUPID Mr. Scale. You evil little thing you.... I can't resist you....)

Be back tomorrow... Must...Go...To...Bed...

XOXO
Ildie

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Save me...

Save me from myself. For I have lost... myself, somewhere, over there, in my dimly lit flickering office, in the corner, underneath a pile of paper, file folders and unprocessed documents. Will you come and dig me out, dust me off and play with me? Help me regain my joy and remind me how to smile again? I have forgotten how to curl my lips upward. They seem stuck in a forever frown. With coffee breath rampant, I run around all day on a caffeine high. The constant GO-GO-GO is like a needle repetitively poking me in my eyes.


But this, this moment right here, it helps. It makes the noises more dull and the murmurs of my stressed out brain a bit more bearable. Typing these words to you every day is like having a long distance therapist. Many of them. Do I need more than one? Either way, I know you are listening. I know you care. And I know you know that I'm crazy, and that you accept it. HA!

LOVE YOU GUYS! Clearly, today was another fun filled adventure in cubicle, florescent paradise. BUT I MADE IT! I'm that much closer to my 3 day weekend and I seriously can't wait. I consider taking this Friday off to be perfect timing. My head throbs everyday, screaming for a bit of freedom. We're almost there baby, we're almost there!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.......

BREAKFAST of champion lunatics (meal #1) at 9:15am.
  • 1/2 old fashioned oats
  • 1/4 wheat bran
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • dash pumpkin pie spice
  • pinch salt
  • Splenda
  • (Microwaved and topped with 1 tbs ground flax, 1 tbs sugar free strawberry preserves, more cinnamon and 2 tbs pumpkin butter.)


This was so good. I forgot how much I like pumpkin butter in warm oats. YUM-YUMMERS!

Shhhhhhhh, do you hear that? That weak whimper? It's me. HA! We had a mandatory meeting at noon today. It involved more fun and exciting work for my position that I'll have to make some miracle time for and pizza, which of course I couldn't eat. Good times..... Good times......

LUNCH (meal #2) at 1:00pm.

I whipped my healthy lunch together as soon as the meeting was over. All my greasy lipped coworkers watched in awe and horror as I plated up my leftover asparagus, mushrooms and broccoli over a bed of spinach. Yeah, that's right. I love my body and feed it accordingly. Take that pepperoni breath! I topped off my veggies with roasted red pepper hummus and Sriracha and also had a toasted english muffin on the side (which I forgot to take a picture of).


To put it simply, this was incredible! :)

A little while later Ann and I escaped for a bit and ran to Barnes and Nobles to take a breather. I enjoyed some African Autumn tea and browsed through a few cooking and fitness magazines. It was SO nice to get away from my computer screen. :)

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:00pm.

A repeat of yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. What can I say. I take comfort in the familiar. I had a plain Dannon Greek yogurt with 2 chocolate protein muffins.


After work I ran.... I literally RAN out of the office (with the biggest smile on my face) and went to the gym to get my sweat on.

WORKOUT!

Seated Leg Curls (cable)
100lb x 15
90lb x 15
90lb x 15
Leg Extensions (cable)
100lb x 15
90lb x 15
90lb x 15
Inner Thigh Machine (cable)
75lb x 20
75lb x 20
75lb x 20
Outer Thigh Machine (cable)
85lb x 20
85lb x 20
85lb x 20
Reclined Leg Press (plate loaded)
140lb x 15
140lb x 15
140lb x 15
Free Weight Squat with straight bar
45lb x 15
55lb x 15
45lb x 15
Elliptical Cross Trainer
20 minutes, 1 min. intervals of levels 6, 8 & 10, 1.6 miles
Treadmill
10 minutes
min. 1 (3.2 walk)
min. 2 (5.5 run)
min. 3 (3.2 walk)
min. 4 (5.5 run)
min. 5 (3.2 walk)
min. 6 (5.5 run) Back of left thigh started to feel funky, so I stopped running.
min. 7-10 (3.2 walk at 8 incline)

Total time at gym = 1:19
Max HR = 178
Average HR = 138
Total Calories Burned = 626


After the gym we did the usual feeding of the kitties at Mama and Papa's house and then I hustled home. I had brilliant plans tonight for some palate pleasing goodies!

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:45pm.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I recently started seeing no bake "cookie" concoctions in BlogLand and I thought I would give them a try tonight. In a small bowl combined the following. DON'T ASK QUESTIONS! Just do it!
  • 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
  • 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter
  • 1 tbs (and a splash, JUST a splash) of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
Stir the HECK out of this gooey and sticky mixture until it's nice, thick and pasty. Next, take a piece of foil (or a plate) and sprinkle it with sweetened coconut flakes, scoop 3 servings of the sticky mixtures and roll it in the coconuts. They will start out as balls and flatten as they sit. I popped hem into the freezer for 10-15 minutes and VOILA, they were PERFECT!! Like cold, chewy, rich no bake chocolate cookies.


Here is a picture of something TRAGIC! An empty plate. I WANT MORE!


DINNER (meal #5) at 9:00pm.

I sauteed some green beans and frozen peas with soy sauce, spicy Thai chili paste and minced garlic. I piled them on top of spinach for a warm salad of sorts. I also had a Morning Star Farms black bean burger on an Ezekiel wheat bun with spinach, low carb ketchup and spicy mustard. I loved the green bean and peas combo! It was excellent.


The TV and my couch beckon me to come hither. I think I'll call it a night and relax with the Mr. for a bit. Time to UNWIND!

Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week. YAY! I..CAN..NOT..WAIT..FOR..5:00pm!!

NIGHT NIGHT!
XOXO

Ildie
 

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