Day 147: Contractor Update & Recipe

Last night pretty much ended after me and Reuben got home from my sister’s house tired and ready to start a new day! I did have a snack, those devil kettle chips, and ended up at 1,490 calories, 221 carbs and 26 fat grams. Not bad! Here’s what I ate.

Today I woke up in knots about stomach about the contractor visit – eek – so hoping it would go well! I raced to work with an egg/cheese/bacon muffin (which I ate in the car) and got in to piles of work. Sigh. Stayed busy all morning and before I knew it, it was 11:45 – time to race up 400 and go meet Austin and the contractor and Amanda (our realtor). I got to the house and he was already hard at work and had good news – it’s NOT a load bearing wall. Therefore, the wall can be taken down the power box can be moved. GREAT news. However, we’ll have to replace the basement carpet if we want it to be consistent… so we’ll need to recarpet the stairs, the big L-shaped room, and a bedroom… hmmm. Don’t know how many square feet that is…. So the contractor (Amanda’s dad by the way!) is going to line item out: the wall, the power box, the carpet installation and this other random built in bench we would want to remove. We’ll have a quote Monday, Tuesday at the latest – based on that quote we’ll proceed… or not! Haha Either way – I took 247 pictures of the house (trying to get every angle of every room so we can recreate them in a 3-D environment later). And me and Amanda talked about the kitchen because it needs a bit of work and her husband is a carpenter and does cabinets (this girl is hooked UP). Then I headed back to work!

Stayed slammed all afternoon, ate white bean chicken chili and a kashi cookie and stayed busy until after 5. Then I decided, no matter what, I was forfeiting the gym and going straight home. I called my best friend Em (i.e. best friend since I was 14, her 13, who lives in D.C. now) and we talked for 2.5 hours. Yes, that’s how we do. During our talk I made a turkey/roast beef/FF swiss on wheat and had some kettle chips. Now I’m settled in with Austin looking at the pictures, reading the disclosure statement that Amanda sent today and just downright decompressing! I’d post today’s food, but I plan to have a few glasses of wine tonight so I’ll wait! I hope you all had fabulous days and have great weekends. We’re not planning much – tomorrow will be a big gym day for me since I’m way behind on strength training, and then tomorrow night we’re going to a friend’s for game night/sleep over with 3 other couples – YAY! And Reuben is invited too – fun! K – I’m out – and off to read your fabulous blogs!

Oh - per Kelly D's request - here is how we make our low-calorie Shrimp Scampi!

12 oz. shrimp (tail-less, deveined, peeled)
1 lemon
½ tbsp Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
2 garlic cloves
Basil
Salt, Pepper, Spray Butter
6 oz. Barilla angel hair pasta

Peel garlic cloves and chop into small pieces. Boil water and cook angel hair in a salted pot for 4 minutes. Once the noodles hit the water, drop the chopped garlic into a sprayed pan at medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, then add more spray, squeeze the entire lemon into the pan, sprinkle in basil, spray in butter spray (about 7 sprays) and drop in shrimp. Turn down the heat to 3 and cover it for for two minutes (it’s already cooked, you’re just heating it. Don’t overcook – it tastes rubbery!). Remove cover, flip over each shrimp and cover again for two minutes. Drain noodles and put in two bowls. Spoon shrimp/sauce over noodles and eat! (here's where we add salt, pepper and parmesan per preference). Nutritional Information: 486 calories, 4 fat grams, 65 carbohydrates and 47 grams of protein per serving. Serves 2. I'll add in a picture to this post when we cook it again and link back to it! :)

Day 146: AT&T is Going Down

So yesterday was just another crazy busy day!! I did go to a new dentist first thing and loved them. I mean – the nicest place/nicest people on earth. Interesting things: everyone was CRAZY chipper, I mean happiest place on earth; my chair had a massager on it that I had on the whole time; my room had two Samsung flat screens (one for TV which I watched the Today Show) and one for my X-rays so we could walk through them together; I was in at 8:15 a.m. and back at my office by 9 a.m. – AMAZING. So I got to work and stayed busy all day, worked through lunch, etc. After work I could only muster up 2 miles and abs, then I headed home to Austin’s pizza muffins and he left…. And came back with no car! Yes, his car sold last night – AWESOME! After the exciting news I got to work – had to work for about 3 hours then I read some of my book and passed out. Not very exciting. :( I did watch Lost though – AMAZING. Wow…. I’m so addicted. Anyway – yesterday was great food wise at 1,542 calories, 209 carbs and 34 fat grams. Here’s what I ate.

Today started out great – still at 116, great shower, got to work early at home. The construction crew has since moved on people. I mean really – they even broke down the scaffolding. Oh happy day. I had another busy, busy day of non-fun, but did get in 3 miles at lunch – then I was back to it. As soon as it hit 5 I wrapped it up and me and Reuben headed over to my sister’s house! We just brought over dinner and cooked chicken fried rice and hung out, talked house stuff, etc. Good times! I do have some slightly annoying news….

So… AT&T calls me today wanting to know if I have proof of purchase on my iPhone. Yes, they have no record that I paid for my phone and THEY want ME to prove that I bought it. I give them several pieces of my mind about how this is a personal problem and it’s not my issue that they keep less than stellar records of their purchases. And furthermore, I got the phone over a month ago so really? You’re calling me now? Then of course I pull the receipt out of my billfold where I’ve been storing it. hehe I give her the transaction code. I’m put on hold for two minutes then her boss comes on to apologize. I’m like yeah… so I haven’t gotten a bill yet. Is that odd. He pulls up the system and guess what? It’s due TODAY, Jan. 29. I never got a bill. He reads me my address and imagine that, the apartment number is one digit off. So yes, I never got a bill. He tells me I can “come in” and pay it. Um, no. I’ll pay online. So we get off the phone and I go online and guess what? My account isn’t set up to be able to pay online. What? So I call the number back thinking I’ll get the same peeps who just called me accusing me of stealing my phone and guess what? It’s a recording. 10 minutes later I get someone who tries to walk me through the online and explains that because my iPhone is a business account and not a personal account, I can’t pay online. I tell her it’s personal… she apologizes, fixes it, then I can pay online. Wow. So now I’m online to pay my bill TODAY because you KNOW they’d do a late fee and it says welcome Elizabeth. Um, that’s my middle name. I go through the site and yes, not only did they have no record of sale, have my address incorrect and list me as a business rather than personal customer, they didn’t even get my f*cking NAME RIGHT! OMG So I call (again) and after the recording I get a guy who totally feels my pain (hello – I tell him the story above), and he puts me on hold for two minutes (after asking me if it’s okay to put me on hold for two minutes and then coming back before two minutes). When he returns he says, “I hope this doesn’t make you too upset… or more upset… but according the FCC we require a picture ID… if it was any other name… but it’s your FIRST name so you must go to the store and show a picture ID…. I’m so sorry.” Sigh. He was super helpful and even gave me another store in my area so I can avoid the STUPID BUCKHEAD BRANCH! I mean really. So – Elizabeth has got an errand to run this weekend!

I’m about to leave my sister’s to head home and will likely have a snack, so I’ll record today’s food tomorrow and Kelly – I’ll post that shrimp scampi recipe, too – promise – it just won’t have a photo until we cook it again. :( I hope you all had great nights! Bummer everything on TV is reruns. :(

Day 144, 145 & 146: House Hunting is a Full-time Job

Eek – I’m getting behind! Sorry, friends – work is killing me and the extra house hunt/stuff/stress on top is going to be the end of me! Let’s backtrack…

Day 144: Sunday, Jan. 25

BLAH as you know this was my binge day – eek! I finally brought myself to record it in Spark People and it wasn’t as bad as I thought! With the pizza I ended up at 1,684 calories, 210 carbs and 49 fat grams. So not awful! I guess when you mostly eat only pizza all day and sleep a lot of sheer exhaustion you can’t be that bad! Here’s what I ate.

Day 145: Monday, Jan. 26

Yesterday… ahh. The day I decided that I wanted that house and in order to do so it was TIME. Time to call a lender. Time to get a contractor over to the house to see if it’s even fixable (the wall/power box). Time to get this thing GOING! Austin concurred. So we set to work getting in touch with people, seeing what we needed to do on our end, getting a letter from the property saying we’re fabulous renters (hehe when it comes to paying not leaving them alone when we have problems), etc. As far as food, we had our egg/bacon/cheese sandwiches (out of muffins!) for breakfast, I had a lean cuisine for lunch, tons of snacks (eek!) and we had Austin’s fab shrimp scampi for dinner! After dinner we made tomato basil pasta bake for Tuesday’s lunch, breakfast burrito mix, and white bean chili for Wednesday and Friday’s lunch. LOTS of cooking (especially for two people still struggling from the weekend). I did get in 5 miles of cardio and chest and triceps – yay! I ended up at 1,497 calories, 212 carbs and 33 fat grams. Here’s what I ate.

Day 146: Tuesday, Jan. 27

Today was CRAZY! Work was slammed, back-to-back meetings/deliverables/etc. I did have a yummy breakfast burrito, tomato basil pasta bake for lunch a few snacks and dinner was a turkey/roast beef sandwich and chips – YUM! Regardless of the crazy day, I squeezed in 3 miles at lunch, and 2.5 miles after work. I had every intention of doing abs/chest/tris but I was dying to get home (Austin had a meeting with the lender at lunch so he had to work out after work which meant I needed to go home and be with Reuben!) and figured I’d do it at home. Nope, didn’t happen. Boo. I was able to do this though (in conjunction with the fabulous Austin, our awesome realtor and my home-owning friends Stacy & Melissa):

1. Do a load of laundry/get gym stuff together/read some of A Body to Die For and watch Secret Life of an American Teenager (hehe it’s SO bad so of course I like it).
2. Get together all of my documents for the lender (November/December pay checks, savings statements, checking statements, 401 k statements; W-2 from 2007 and 2008).
3. Get referrals for inspectors/lenders.
4. Get more information on the house I want! (the comparative market analysis; the MLS sheet; more photos)
5. Get a meeting with a contractor at the house to see if it’s a load-bearing wall and if not – how much it will be to take it down… and move the power box. (meeting on Friday).
6. Get a pre-approval letter from our lender (yay!)

Whooo. Busy day. And night – I was doing that and working trying to catch up to get everything done this week – it’s just WILD how much stuff there is to do. BLAH. So today’s ‘food day’ was good – I ended up at 1,410 calories, 191 carbs and 35 fat grams. Not bad! Here’s what I ate.

I owe your blogs a read - BAD!! :( I plan to do it tomorrow - now i'm 30 minutes past my bedtime so good night and i'll "see" you tomorrow!

Days 142, 143, & 144: 16 Houses, 1 Recipe, 1 mini binge and 2 Exhausted Peeps

Thursday was pretty much done (crazy apartment complex day!). But, as I mentioned, I still made Kitchen Parade’s Spiced Yogurt Chicken – SO GOOD. Here is the recipe for 2 servings:

· 1/8 cup fat-free plain yogurt
· 1 tbsp lemon juice
· 1 tsp olive oil
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 1/8 tablespoon chili powder
· 1/8 tsp cumin
· 1/8 tsp coriander
· 1/8 tsp black pepper
· 1/16 tsp cinnamon
· 8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Sauce: 1/8 cup fat-free yogurt, lemon juice, and cilantro.

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients except chicken. Stir in the chicken, coating well. Marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes. Stir together sauce ingredients in small bowl. Cook chicken in sauce on a pan set to medium until just cooked through, about 10 - 12 minutes (6 minutes per side). While the chicken is cooking, we made 6 oz. of angel hair. We put the pasta on the plate, sprayed it with butter and salt, then topped with chicken and sauce. YUMMMM. You could easily make it low carb by putting in on salad – good, good stuff. After dinner me and Austin got to work– picking out 14 houses to see (hopefully this weekend). We talked a lot and agreed that we’re motivated, we’re ready, and we’re excited to get out with our awesome, awesome realtor Amanda from Keller Williams. By the end of the night we were exhausted, but excited and ready to get to it and get OUT of awful post properties. At the end of the day I had 1,498 calories, 217 carbs and 31 fat grams – not bad. Wish I hadn’t skipped the gym, but what are you going to do? Here’s what I ate.

Friday was intense! Austin reached out to Amanda first thing and she got back with us immediately – we were set – 11 houses (1 was an expired listing and 2 were under contract) on Saturday, and this time we’d ride together (our second time out with her). Yay! Work flew by and before I knew it it was 12, time to go shopping! You guys… I always find stuff at these sales. Always. Amazing deals, buy one get one free designer jeans. You name it. I don’t know what it was. I don’t know if it’s because I had houses and furniture and appliances on the brain, or if I just couldn’t find what I was looking for (jeans/tops – everything was coats/shoes which I have MORE than enough of). Either way, I bought NOTHING. I mean it – not one thing. Craziness. And it wasn’t for lack of trying – I was there for at least 2 hours. But alas, I left having only spent $2 to park. I headed home to chill with Reuben at 3 but the construction was so bad I headed to the gym and walked 4 miles and did abs. Not bad! I got home, hopped in the shower, cooked pizza muffins for me and Austin (he had a happy hour), and headed over to our friends’ for a chill night (a couple that’s getting married in May and we’re both in the wedding!). We had a blast hanging out, playing drinking games, catch phrase, etc.! We left around 2 and went to bed, ready for the next day! I had a high day (I know, shock with all of that drinking!), ending up at 1,879 calories, 188 carbs and 33 fat grams. Not awful, and with the cardio factored in it was a pretty good day! Here’s what I ate.

Saturday we got up at 10, had breakfast and were off to meet Amanda at her Brookhaven office. We set off and, to give a quick recap, did not find what we were looking for. We didn’t go into 4 (2 bad neighborhoods; 2 bad driveways/lots – one steep up/one steep down and), we only went into the bottom floor of 3 (just not for us; too chopped up, too much work, odd, etc.) and the other 5 all had great things about them – just not for us (weird layout, too small for pool table, too small period, etc.). We DID find some neighborhoods we liked a lot, we narrowed our search more, and we even found a house for sale as we were driving around and Amanda immediately called the realtor and got us in – it was our favorite of the day – SO CLOSE to what we wanted… but the basement where the pool table would go had a wall in the way… and the wall had a powerbox. Amanda, being awesome, knows EVERYTHING – and if she’s unsure she’s on the phone right there on the spot, getting you an answer from someone with more expertise (i.e. question about cabinets or low-baring walls). So she was on the phone with someone asking if you could move a powerbox (yes), if so how much, etc. We would have put in an offer on the spot, but the price was already at our ceiling (before the demo/powerbox work) and the yard was not good…. Not bad but SMALL. So we didn’t do anything… but it’s still on our minds… We got done early and went to her office, spending an hour picking her brain, going over contracts, asking tons of questions (none of which she couldn’t answer IMMEDIATELY). She said she would pull more listings in the area with basements and we could go back out tomorrow – wow! We left feeling so confident in what our next steps ours, so confident that Amanda is the perfect realtor for us and feeling SO CLOSE to finding what we want. We got home, took naps, showered, then got the email from Amanda with more houses. We quickly pared them down to 6 and emailed her back, she made appointments and told us she’d see us at 12:45 Sunday to go back out again! YAY – we were on clouds we were so excited. We made some lean cuisines and picked up the house a little for our friends coming over that night!! We had a great night – lots of Rock Band, pool, card games and chatting! We have such good friends, and always have a blast. They left at 3 a.m. Yes, another late night with another early morning – eek! Believe it or not, I didn’t have a high day! I came in at 1,548 calories, 142 carbs and 26 fat grams. Close – but not bad!! Here’s what I ate.

Today I woke up EXHAUSTED at 8:30 (why 8:30? I don’t know!). I couldn’t sleep, I was so excited. Me and my sister had plans to meet at Pottery Barn at 10 for the design class so I got up, got ready, ate breakfast and met her there! We had a great time learning from the cool guy who taught the class, then we spent an hour walking the store, talking about likes/dislikes, ideas, etc. I updated her on the house stuff, she updated me on her house stuff and we just had a great, great time as always. At 10 after 12 I had to go though! So I flew home, ate a sandwich/chips, grabbed Reuben (he got to come today!) and we headed out for 5 houses (1 was under contract). Let me just say no. no, no, no, no. None were as close as the ones yesterday. I was sad, tired, frustrated and just beat. So I caved…. I got a small bag of sour patch kids. Then I ordred a PIZZA. Yes, a pizza. I haven’t ordered a pizza since I started this blog! OMG! You know what – I wanted it and it is what it is. A yummy mushroom pizza was what I needed! Haha I got home, ate 2 slices and passed out for 2 hours. Now I’ve just been trying to play catch up – I feel SO behind with our meal plan, cooking, laundry, etc. so I’m trying to get it back together! I have not even pretended to put all of this in Spark People for today but let’s just go ahead and say I had a high day today – eek! Me and Austin are now in bed on our laptops (me writing you; him looking at houses) watching some episodes I tivoed of Man Caves! Haha Love it – trying to get ideas for how people lay out their basements around the pool table. Anyway – I can’t wait to get over to your blogs and catch up!

P.S. The house photo is our favorite house that needs the demo/power box work done in the basement. The last photo is in Pottery Barn - I LOVE a trunk at the end of a bed, and I thought the pictures over the bed were clever (it's a placemat in each frame - AWESOME!). :)

Day 142: What I’ve Done to Fit Back In

I have Finally Done It

In 142 days I am officially 21 pounds lighter and at my goal weight of 115! YESSSSSSS. I’m very excited!! Especially since today is the day of the Atlanta Annual Boutique Sale for which I am leaving work at noon to go peruse (and hopefully purchase) designer clothes at non-designer prices. Just glorious. Wish me luck!

So, what now?

Well now, it’s time to MAINTAIN and tone up which, I fear, is going to be much harder than what I’ve done so far. I think it’s going to involve a lot of new recipes, a lot of new books, a lot of new playlists, mixing it up more with cardio, increasing my strength training and the intensity of my work outs, etc, etc, etc. I have LOTS of ideas and of course will be looking for more, as always. In the meantime, I realized I don’t really have anywhere on this blog that tells people, in so many words and in one place, what I do/have done to lose weight/get in better shape/and fit back in to my clothes (yes, all of my clothes fit now… except for the ones that are too big)! So, here’s an overview, forgive the length but I’m nothing if not thorough. :)

Nutrition
1,200-1,550 calories
163-236 carbs
32-56 fat grams
60-127 protein grams

“High Days” (over 1,550) happen – it’s called alcohol for me! I try to stay under 8 a month. Why 8? It gives me roughly 2 days a week (usually Friday & Saturday) to go over a bit. I try not to go over 2,300 calories.

Cardio
I walk on a treadmill, typically between 4 and 4.2 mph. (roughly 15 minute miles)
I adjust the incline often between 5 and 0 (depends on if I’m listening to music – high incline; or reading a book – low incline).
I try to walk 4-5.5 miles a day, 4-5 days a week. I like to break it up and do 3.5 miles during lunch, then 2 after work.
At this time, I do not run, do stairmill/master, elliptical or anything. I get all of my cardio from walking on a treadmill (not outside; I’m allergic to grass).

Strength Training
I break it up based on how many days I can do a week. Typically, it’s 4 days, so I try to do, for example:
Monday: Chest/Triceps
Tuesday: Legs + abs
Wednesday: Back/Biceps
Thursday: Shoulders + abs
For Chest/Triceps/Back/Biceps – I choose 3 exercises for each, and do 3 sets of 15-20 reps with lighter weight.
For legs – I choose 6 exercises and do 3 sets of each. (i.e. An exercise for calves, inner thighs, outer thighs, glutes, quads and hamstrings).
For abs – I do crunches for ‘a song’ on a ball. Then I choose 4 exercises and do 2 sets of each for ‘2 more songs’ – roughly a 10-minute ab workout.

This doesn’t always work out. Sometimes I just can’t stay at the gym any longer so I’ll move it over or shift it. I have a stronger background in ST than Cardio, so I’m comfortable not sticking with a strict schedule. Once I maintain my goal weight I plan to cut back on cardio a little and do more intense & frequent leg & ab workouts as these are my “problem areas.”

Recipes
I love to eat. I love all kinds of food – Mexican, Chinese, Italian – you name it! So for me, I can’t stop eating these things. But I can find subs for these things so I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself or ‘cutting out’ anything. If I want Chinese, I make my chicken “friend” rice. If I want Italian I make our “healthy” chicken parmesan. I am always scouring the net, cookbooks and your wonderful blogs for recipes that use common ingredients, don’t seem too cumbersome, contain ingredients we typically eat, and are in reasonable calorie/fat/carb/protein ranges. I try a lot of recipes, and share the ones I like!

I’ve just recently started doing meal plans – here’s what we’re going to eat this week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We make the plan on Sunday, go to the store and get ONLY ingredients for these meals (and snacks). Then I prepare as many meals as I can that day. It’s just great to have a plan; to know going into it what you’re going to eat. It’s done, it’s ready, it’s easy (and, according to Austin, it’s cheaper). Do I stray from the plans sometimes? Of course; a craving is a craving! But I try to stick to it and keep it simple. At the end of the day, I want to eat to live not live to eat.

8 Things I need/use/rely on/must have to do what I do

1. iPhone: not only can I clearly make calls, download fun apps, etc., it’s helped me out so much with my working out. I have songs, audio books, Friends/Sex and the City episodes, etc., right there at the push of a button. So a 5-mile walk gets a lot shorter when I can watch an episode then listen to a book, or just listen to music! It’s nice to break it up. It’s also easy to take pictures of what I eat and email to myself, as well as if I eat something random – I just jot it in my iPhone notepad then figure it out later. So, I’m a fan.


2. Scale: I weigh every day. It’s such a personal preference on how often (or if at all) you weigh, but weighing every day works for me (in conjunction with twice-monthly measurements on or around the 1st and 15th of each month). When I measure, I take measurements of bust, chest, smallest part of waist, largest part of waist, hips, thighs and a bicep.


3. Food Scale: I just don’t trust my eye or even measured out packs. I find it so easy when cooking to measure the ingredients and know exactly what I’m eating. Here is the scale I have based on a recommendation by Hungry Girl. When she recommended it, it was on sale for $22, so shop around. I like it because it’s simple, it weighs in grams and ounces, and it’s small – easy to stow so people don’t think you’re dealing drugs.


4. Conversion Magnets: I love having these on the side of the fridge, right next to my scale when I’m cooking. It makes it so easy because sometimes a recipe calls for a ¼ a cup, but the bottle says 1 tbsp per serving. You can easily check out the magnets, do the right conversions and make it work! And if you want to save the $, just type it all out, print it, and post it to the fridge – voila! I got mine at William Sonoma, but they don’t seem to be online. Boo.


5. Spark People: I’m very obsessed with Spark People. I use it to:
   Track my daily weigh ins. (chart above is from Spark People)
   Track what I eat.
   Create ‘food groupings’ of favorite meals to make tracking easier.
   To track my calorie intake, fat grams, carbohydrates and protein.
   To get recipes and great advice in forums and through my ‘spark page’
   More!


6. Hungry Girl: I love receiving her daily motivational emails, sometimes with recipes, sometimes with product reviews – always great, interesting stuff. I love her recipe book and website. Her site/book were two of the first things that got me motivated to get to it!


7. Blog: I (clearly) use this blog to track everything – my workouts, my goals, my plans – everything! Having it all in one place, including links to your fabulous blogs and other resources, makes it a one-stop shop to stay on track.


8. My Peeps: I’m not going to try to pretend I could have done this without my husband’s support. Wow. He makes it so easy because he’s so into it, too, and so very supportive - even if it means going to 3 grocery stores and helping me measure my wine. LOL And, I rely so much on my amazing Mom and Sis, and you. I think a support system is key. And staying away from those who, I’ll just say it, aren’t happy for you for whatever reason is important, too.

P.S. I will post last night’s food tomorrow and yes, despite my crisis I did still make a new recipe, Spiced Yogurt Chicken from Kitchen Parade. It was FABULOUS so I’ll be sure to post it and a pic tomorrow. I hope you all have amazing weekends! Wish us luck house hunting, we have 14 down for tomorrow. I so hope something works out!

P.S.S. Thank you again for all of your support over the 'apartment complex situation.' I wrote you back on the comments section of that post. You guys are awesome and made me feel SO much better, really.

Day 141: I’m a Yogurt Fan, a Lost Fan, and a Scathing Letter Writer

Last night went on as planned, although I did eat more (split a turkey/fat free mayo on wheat sandwich with Austin) and I didn’t get to watch Lost (SO tired). Instead I slept – hard – and woke up today almost feeling hungover I was still so tired. Weird! I must be having restless dreams or something. No fun! So yesterday ended at 1,510 calories, 221 carbs, 32 fat grams and 86 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

In other news, I’m a yogurt eater now! I never have been; my sister was the yogurt eater, but I’ve found that my cereal/breakfast days are lacking and need something. I decided it was yogurt. I picked up Dannon Light & Fit Strawberry yogurt and just love it! I doubt I’ll branch out to other flavors, but know I’ll continue buying this yummy cup of goodness with only 80 calories, 0 fat grams, 16 carbs and 5 protein grams. Not bad! I watched Lost during my lunch and have mucho thoughts.

Lost: More Answers, More Questions

Who is looking for Kate’s kid? (kinda her kid, you know)
Who is that lady at the end? (Ben works for someone?)
Who is after the them all (Sayid, Hurly)?
Wow – Desmond is Back – what’s the deal there?
So Jin died, for definite? (Wow – Sun is so hard now)
So are Anna-Lucia (and Libby) alive, or was that a Hurly dream?
Not a question, but I almost peed in my pants when Hurly threw that Hot Pocket at Ben! Hehe

Wow – SUCH a good episode. That show rarely if ever lets me down.

In other news, my war with my apartment complex rages on (short story: they’ve been doing MAJOR construction on our apartment for almost 2 months now; I called today because I couldn’t work here as the hammering was so bad. I had it out with the property manager here, Leigh Anne, and her boss, Carla, and tried to call her boss, Trish, but left a voicemail). At the end of the day I got a letter on our door from Leigh Anne saying, in summary: “While we value your residency here, you can no longer contact us via phone as you broke a violation in your lease when you used “the F word” and “yelled at me” over the phone. This was “neither courteous nor reasonable.” Thank you in advance for your cooperation.” She supposedly copied her boss, Carla, (who I also spoke to today), as well as legal counsel. I emailed her back the following, and made sure to look up their email addresses and copy them as well (please only read if you are interested in a long, slightly bitchy letter):

Dear Leigh Anne,

I sincerely doubt that you value our residency here. If you did, we wouldn't have had to speak today, nor would I be receiving this letter now. Moreover, if you did you would do the right thing. You wouldn't expect us to pay a full month's rent when we are unable to be at our home between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday – Friday – even on holidays, see outside of our windows, use our balcony, etc. However, you do, so please do not lie and say you value our residency.

Speaking of lies, just because you were displeased with my tone of voice does not mean I yelled at you. Yelling implies that I raised my voice, which I did not do during my call with you, or during my call with Carla. You asked about the condition of our home. I'm sorry you didn't like my choice of adjectives being that the paint job looks "shitty" as well as the French door/ply wood situation looking "shitty" and lest me forget about the lovely job they did on our now two-toned ceiling. I did not, as Carla indicated, "go down to the leasing office and use foul language." I told you, over the phone, the condition of our apartment. Nor did I use, as you call it, the "F" word. That is a flat out lie. I understand that you didn't appreciate my phone call, and, let me assure you, I didn't appreciate having a reason to make it. However, that doesn't give you the right to tell lies and I truly do not appreciate it.

Furthermore, I think your use of "courteous and reasonable" is extremely amusing. Do you think it's "reasonable" for us to be woken up at 8 a.m. on a holiday to get sliding doors when we pay for French doors? Do you think it's "reasonable" that I'm not able to work from home in the apartment that I pay for, or spend any time here before 5 p.m. on weekdays? Also, was it courteous of you to not return my phone call this afternoon when I called about the construction? I don't think so. Nor, is it courteous of you now, to lie and say that I "yelled" and "used the F word." These are lies, Leigh Ann. Not that I'd put it past you since you are, in fact, the one who told us the construction would be over weeks ago. And of course, now you "don't know" when it will be done, nor are you willing to compensate us for the days we're unable to be in our apartment without interruptions from your construction.

Per your letter, I fully intend to make all future requests in writing. I document all of our phone conversations as it is, so surely this will just make that process even easier. Thank you for doing nothing to solve our problems here, for being condescending and rude in all of our interactions, and for flat out lying about our phone conversation today. I'm looking forward to never having to speak to you, as I'm sure you are looking forward to never having to speak to me – which is probably why you lied in the first place. Lastly, PLEASE DO NOT send anyone to the apartment tomorrow to do the paint or doors or anything. I formally, in writing, rescind my request. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Yes, I’m at the end of my rope. We’ve GOT to get OUT of here. OMG – I hate these people. I was in tears at the way they talked to me today (basically telling me to move if I’m unhappy with my situation). Lovely. Are any of you lawyers?! Sigh. I digress.

I’m out now. I’m just upset and I haven’t even eaten dinner, I didn’t work out today, and I’m just stressed out because I’m now behind at work and I’m taking a half day tomorrow (likely not anymore). Today just SUCKED thanks to them. I’m sorry this isn’t a cheerful post but OMG I just can’t believe people and their inability to do the right thing. It makes me sad. I hope you all had much, much better days than me, and that, based on my letter, you don’t think I’m a complete and total bitch now.

Day 140: Book Review, New Recipe & Lost Anticipation

I did pretty much as planned last night after posting! Read blogs, read some more of A Body to Die For and passed out! Today was quite a whirlwind – back-to-back meetings, last minute to-dos, deadlines, too-long phone calls about non-time-sensitive things, etc. I felt like I was just spinning my wheels all day and, while I know I got a lot done, I feel like I could have done more. Boo. At least I’m working at home tomorrow so I’ll have fewer distractions – yessss. Oh, lest me forget, yesterday I ended up at 1,505 calories, 184 carbs, 31 fat grams and 98 protein grams – not a bad day at all – especially when you factor in the cardio! Here’s what I ate.

Today was a good day in that I walked 3.5 miles at lunch & 2 miles after work, and did legs! Not bad at all. Also, I wore long johns under my slacks/dress shirt so I stayed toasty as opposed to uncomfortably cold (nicest I could describe the most recent temps in my office). And Austin got a call – a guy is driving from Columbus to see the car tomorrow night. He seemed serious so that’s good news. And I finished Danielle Steel’s Second Chance. It was by far the quickest listen – wow – I just flew through it. While some parts were unbelievable it was a great story about loving someone but letting life get in the way and the importance of making your own choices instead of letting others make them for you. Also – compromise – when to give and when you’ve given too much. It told a great story, and had a great and not overly happy ending. I enjoyed it and would recommend it! Lastly, we tried a new recipe: Pita Pizzas. I must admit – I combined a couple of recipes to make this one so bear with me (one from Hungry Girl and one from Spark People)! This serves 2:

3 small Trader Joe’s Wheat pitas (100 calories each)
¼ cup chopped green bell peppers
¼ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 package of boca soy crumbles
9 Hormel Turkey pepperonis
.75 tsp of Olive Oil
3 tsp of red pepper flakes
12 tbsp Muir Glen Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
80 grams of Kroger Fat-Free grated mozzarella cheese
3 tbsp President Fat Free Crumbled Feta - California Tomato & Basil

Set the oven to broil, and lay out the three pitas on a pan. Smear ¼ tsp of olive oil on each pita. Smear 4 tbsp of tomato sauce on each pita, and sprinkle 1 tsp of red pepper flakes on each pita. Set aside. In a pan sprayed with nonstick spray, cook peppers and onions over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, stir, and cook for one more minute. Then add frozen soy crumbles, and continue stirring and cooking until crumbles are thawed and heated (about 1-2 more minutes). Remove from heat, divide into three servings and spoon onto sauce-covered pitas. For each pita, sprinkle 25 grams of cheese, 1 tbsp of feta and 3 pepperoni slices on top. Put in oven to broil for about 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. Remove from oven, cut one in half and each serving has 1.5 pita pizzas!

I really liked them! Austin not so much – too many green peppers for him. Oops! Next time: I’ll use less boca soy crumbles (it was a lot!), more pepperonis (5 per pita) and maybe more sauce (the sauce part was my favorite; 1 tbsp more). I may also broil for 7 minutes, instead of 5, so the pita is a bit more crispy. I was just SO SCARED to burn it! Note: I made the onion, bell pepper, mushroom, boca mixture ahead of time, so I just microwaved it for 30 seconds tonight then added it on. As far as nutrition, it came out to 358 calories, 52 carbs, 6 fat grams and 32 protein grams – not bad!

K – off to watch Lost with Austin, and probably read more of my book!! “Talk” to you tomorrow!! Happy Hump Day!

Day 139: No Sale, Premade Meals & Some News

So after Monday’s rude awakening, eggsailla and book arrival, the day went on pretty much as I’d intended! I did the other load of laundry, I walked 5.5 miles, finished Queen of Babble (loved it!! GREAT treadmill read, super cute, I loved the characters and it wasn’t too predictable – I could easily see it made into a movie that I’d love!), I got the dentist appointment and spot at the Pottery Barn decorating class, etc. I had friends planning to come in town this weekend that had to cancel, so I can work out Sunday after all, so I moved my back/bis/abs over so I only walked yesterday. While I was in a better mood, Austin was not. The people backed out on the car. So annoying. Not that they backed out – stuff happens – but that they wasted his time. This was their second time meeting, we’d already gone 20% off the price with them, she called all week to give us status updates on how ‘getting the money together was going’ and then her husband decides during last night’s meeting while they had cash on hand and Austin had all the paperwork ready that something’s not right. Mind you, his wife is translating for him as he doesn’t speak English. Whatever. I just felt bad for Austin because I know he’s ready to get rid of it!

Aside from that disappointment, I was NOT disappointed in Gossip Girl! SPOILER!I loved the Lily/Chuck situation and thought they were a great team. Couldn’t believe the almost-rape situation – wow…Should be interesting when he moves in with them, right? And the whole where are they all going to go to school is good stuff, too. And that teacher? Could she look younger? Um, no. And is she going to hook up with Dan?! Could Blair’s family/Deroda have cracked me up more with the Yale paraphernalia and the dog?! LOL Another great episode – that show is on fire. So other than fab TV I cooked FOREVER while listening to Second Chance (fun listen). I made dinner (lime chicken) and then I pre-made:

• 4 servings of Potato, Egg & Sausage Burritos
• 4 servings of Egg/Bacon/Cheese Sandwiches
• 2 servings of Thai Curry Chicken
• 2 servings of Tin Foil Chicken
• 2 servings of mix for Pita Pizzas
  
• 

Austin had already made 4 servings of chili so we’re good to go for food until like Thursday night! I turned in early and started reading A Body to Die For – GREAT so far – then passed out! At the end of the day I had 1,548 calories, 216 carbs and 35 fat grams. Here’s what I ate.

Today was BUSY! I got up and weighed 116.5 (up a pound – knew I would be!). I stayed SO busy at work – had my yummy egg/bacon/cheese muffin, plowed right through work until noon, had a reduced fat cheez it snack, walked 3.5 miles, ate Austin’s FABULOUS chili, had a granola bar, worked nonstop and before I knew it, it was 5 p.m. – time to head out and walk another 2 miles and do abs, biceps and back. Great workout! I got home and Austin had cleaned and bathed baby Reuben! Yay! We popped in the Tin Foil Chicken, ate it up and watched some 30 Rock. Now I’m about to get in bed and read some more – I’m ready to relax! I’ll probably have a kashi cookie for lunch! A little bit of news:

• Our realtor sent us houses today - YAY! So excited.
• My last of the 12 books arrived – YAY!
• The sliding doors they put on this morning don’t look awful; but I did feel so bad having to leave Reuben in a vacant apartment today. :( Poor buddy.
• I ordered a Bridesmaid’s dress today and based on my measurements she insisted I needed a 2…. I was nervous… I consulted a friend and she suggested I get a 4 so I wouldn’t worry. I did. Now I’m nervous alterations are going to be expensive because the girl kept saying based on my measurements the 2 would need to be taken in. We’ll see… either way, glad it’s ordered and will hopefully be here soon! (I’m in two weddings in May – the other dress was decided on/ordered in AUGUST)
• Austin was down to 173.5 this morning! Wow! I’m so happy for him!!

K – I’m out – and off to read your blogs before bedtime. I hope you all had happy Tuesdsays. :)

Day 138: 16 Songs, A New Recipe & a Crappy Mood

Yesterday was a weird day – I wanted to be positive and have a great day, but I just felt AWFUL still. Such a grumpy Gus. I couldn’t stand it! I tried TV, reading, laundry, etc. Mostly I tried to stay to myself (why ruin Austin & Reuben’s days with my foul mood?) Finally I gave up- couldn’t break it – so Austin put some more music on my iPod and I left in a bad mood to go (hopefully) walk it off. It worked! I walked for 5.5 miles then did shoulders. Afterwards I kept the pod in at Kroger and flew through my grocery shopping. I got home in a MUCH better mood. My stomach even felt better! I hopped in the shower and got out to make Chicken Parmesan for me, Austin, my sister and her husband. They came over at 8 and we had a great time!! Yummy dinner, great conversation and awesome chill/catch up night. I’m so glad our husbands get along so well, too, I hear of these people who just don’t like the people their siblings date/marry/etc. – I can’t imagine! Anyway, I ended up having a high day once you took into account the three glasses of red I had. But that’s okay! I ended up at 1,779 calories, 243 carbs and 24 fat grams – so only 229 calories over and, with 5.5 miles of cardio, I burned 299 calories. So if you think about it the wine didn’t count! Hehe Here’s what I ate. Oh – here are the happy Pod tracks I put on yesterday:

• New Soul, Yael Naim
• I’m Yours, Jason Mraz
• Shake It, Metro Station
• Greenlight, John Legend feat. Andre 3000
• Single Ladies, Beyonce
• Happy Birthday, Altered Images
• Let it Rock, Devin Rudolf
• When I Grow Up, Garbage
• So What, Pink
• That’s Not my Name, Ting Tings
• Great DJ, Ting Tings
• Shup Up and Let me Go, Ting Tings
• Whatever you Like, T.I
• When I Grow Up, The Pussycat Dolls
• Sour Cherry, The Kills
• And the one I recommend for everyone who wakes up feeling how I’ve been feeling: Be Ok - Ingrid Michaelson

Today is going well so far. Started out being woken up by the phone – Austin’s car is SOLD. (he bought a Z a while back and we’ve had his Maxima on AutoTrader.com – gotten lots of hits and today it’s sold!) We're meeting them tonight to give them title for cash (they've already test driven the car, etc.)Kinda sucked being woken up – but again – great news! I hopped on the scale and it said 115.5. What? Tested it again – 115.5. Wow – what I’m doing is working. Will I be up again tomorrow? Likely – but I’m still trending down and feel great about it! Soon after construction started. Yes, they’re doing construction TODAY on a holiday. They even tried to come into our place to replace our French doors. We declined. They were pissed. Too bad. We’re on vaca – leave us alone! So now we’re listening to them replacing other people’s French doors. Reuben just LOVES it, so much so that each time he hears a loud noise he barks. Awesome! :( I’m trying to have a good day – catching up on Desperate Housewives (so good – what a sweet story and nice flashbacks…) and Brothers & Sisters (I just love this show – so good, so real, and Sally Field is just a doll). Me and Austin also made another new recipe for breakfast adapted from Southbeach Diet’s Eggsadilla!! Here’s how we did it for TWO servings – SO good.

1 tsp EVOO
3 large eggs
1 tbsp fat free milk
2 8” Mission Carb Balance Tortillas
1.5 ounces FF shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp hot sauce
Salt & Pepper

Spread 1/4 tsp hot sauce on one side of each tortilla. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat (we added a bit of spray since the oil didn’t cover the whole pan). Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, and scramble for 2 minutes. Remove to plate. Wipe the pan with a paper towel, and replace on heat. Add tortilla to heat and cook on both sides for 1 minute. Remove from heat and do the same with the other tortilla. Leaving the tortilla on the pan, top it with cheese, then eggs, and then with the other tortilla. Cook for one minute, then flip and cook for another minute. Cut in half and serve with 2 tbsp salsa per serving (for dipping). Each serving was 301 calories, 25 carbs, 12 fat grams and 23 protein grams. Great breakfast! (FYI – we tried cooking them with salsa in them and they were MESSY – so we’re definitely going to dip from now on).

GUESS WHAT?! As I was writing this post my books arrived! I’m so excited! 11/12 are here – one was backordered but that’s okay, I think I have enough to keep me busy in the meantime, no? I only have 30 pages of Queen of Babble yet so they’re just in time – AWESOME.








Austin’s now making chili and I’m now watching Nancy Drew mysteries from the tivo – so cute! I just loved those books and the hour-long episodes are fun to see. Did any of you see the most recent Nancy Drew movie? I liked it, but it was nothing like these! I don’t have much planned for the rest of today – another load of laundry, LOTS of cooking for this week’s meal plan, 5.5 miles/abs/back/bis, ordering a bridesmaid dress, reserving a spot at Pottery Barn’s upcoming decorating class, and making a dentist appointment. I know – you’re jealous huh? Haha I hope you’re all having wonderful days and In My Tummy I’m super sad for you that you’re working. Blah. Hope you’re not at it too hard!

Day 136 & 137: Three Recipes & a Relaxing Weekend

Friday was a great 2-new-recipe day!! Started out with me running LATE so I ended up eating a Jimmy Dean for breakfast. It didn’t taste as good as it used to! I now much prefer our ‘fresh’ breakfasts!! Anyway, I got to work and was super busy, and for lunch I had the chili me and Austin made last night. We LOVED Southbeach’s White Bean Chicken Chili! It heated up great and was FABULOUS. Here is the recipe adapted from a Southbeach Diet recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
15 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1.5 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp all purpose flour
1.5 tsp cumin
Bush’s Best Cannellini Beans; White Kidney Beans1 15.5 oz. can
Del Monte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with Zesty Jalapenos 14.5 oz can
1 cup Swanson 99% Fat Free Chicken Broth
Salt/Pepper

Set a large frying pan to medium-high (7) and add oil. Chop the onions, cut the chicken into small, bite size pieces and rinse and drain the beans. Now that your pain is hot, add onion and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, and broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and sprinkle flour in to the mix. Stir for 1 minute, then cover and cook for 3 more minutes. It makes 3 servings, and each one has 387 calories, 40 carbs, 7 fat grams and an awesome 44 protein grams.

After lunch I had a few treats – a couple of hershey’s kisses… 2 butterscotch hard candies…. A slimfast chocolate bar! Hehe After work I had every intention of going to the gym but my stomach hurt, I had a headache, I was tired so you know what? I went by a boutique and bought a few tops with Stacy then headed home to make dinner, another recipe, Kitchen Parade’s Blackened Chicken. They did it with a salad, we did it angel hair. Here it is adapted to be a bit more mild (we used less chicken so ours was SUPER spicy).

Marinade:
1 cup water
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Spice Rub:
.5 tsp spenda
.5 tsp black pepper
.5 tsp paprika
.5 tsp onion powder
.25 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp cayenne pepper

In a bowl, combine marinade ingredients and 8 oz. of defrosted boneless, skinless chicken (we used three tenders). Cover and marinade overnight or at least for 4 hours. Generously spray a non stick skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Take marinated chicken breasts and place half a teaspoon spice rub on one side and evenly distribute. Place spice side down in heated skillet and sear the chicken breasts for 3 minutes. Repeat on the other side for 3 minutes. Then turn heat to low and cover and cook slowly on each side for 3 more minutes each or until chicken is no longer pink on the inside. Super easy, super good and very flavorful. We just put salt and spray butter on the angel hair and the chicken had so much flavor it was awesome! You could easily do it in a salad or with rice or whatever. As Blackened Chicken Pasta it was 437 calories, 66 carbs and 3 fat grams, but 300 calories came from the pasta so you can adjust it if you want!
After dinner we took down the ‘ski clothes’ box and piled on the layers to head over to our friends’ house for chill/game night. It was FREEZING outside – even little Reuben wore a wool lined sweater – brrr. We had a blast at their house, but of course I drank myself out of the REC zone with two beers, two glasses of wine and a redbull vodka, taking me to 2,048 calories, 227 carbs and 33 fat grams. Not AWFUL, but not the best either – but of course, worth it! Here’s what I ate.

Saturday morning I woke up hungover and TIRED! I drove us home from our friends’ house and immediately got to work on the Tomato/Feta/Onion omelets again! If you’re interested, here’s the recipe per omelet.

2 eggs
2 tbsp liquid egg whites
½ tbsp fat free milk
¼ cup chopped onions
¼ cup chopped tomatoes
1 oz. President Fat Free Crumbled Feta Cheese
½ tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (from jar)
¼ tsp low sodium salt

Whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk and salt in a small bowl. Set a small-medium pan over medium heat. Spray with PAM and drop in olive oil. Let it sit for 1 minute, then drop in onions, tomatoes and garlic. Stir for 4-5 minutes until vegetables soften and start to brown, then remove from pan. Respray pan, pour egg mixture in, let it set for 2 minutes, then move spatula around pan to get egg off the edges, and run the uncooked egg into the edges to cook. After 1 minute, spoon the tomatoes, onion and feta cheese onto the egg mixture and fold one half over the other. Let is sit for one minute, then flip it and let is sit for another minute. Put on a plate and serve! Based on the ingredients above, it has 254 calories, 13 fat grams, 9 carbs and 24 protein grams.

After breakfast I spent the afternoon relaxing, watching TV, catching up on Lipstick Jungle (love that show!) and finding some new recipes. Austin made yummy sandwiches for lunch, and I mixed up some easy red curry (chicken, white rice, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and Trader Joe’s FAB red curry sauce). I was supposed to go to poker night tonight but my stomach (TOM) is so upset I’m staying home and doing laundry - LAME I know but I’m definitely making the most of it and now chilling with Reuben enjoying myself! (And looking at houses online, finding new recipes, setting up next week’s food/grocery list, etc.) :) At the end of the day I had 1,542 calories, 171 carbs and 58 fat grams. Here’s what I ate.

I did NO cardio this weekend – nothing! So I’m going to hit the gym today and hopefully finish Queen of Babble – I’m ready to know what happens but keep putting it off! I hope you’re all having AWESOME weekends! And I hope, like me and Austin, you’re all off on Monday!

Day 135: Book Review, New Books & Updated Measurements

So today my arms were SUPER sore! That’s what I get for not doing strength training for a couple weeks – DANG! Today I was back down to 116.5! Hadn’t been there since Dec. 16 – yay! Yes, I know it will fluctuate but still – trending down is always a good thing. Oh – and I measured! Here is my updated chart (click for it to get larger). It’s official – I’m a bit smaller than I was at the first of the month (TINY bit).


So my day started out great (working from home today) – had a yummy cereal breakfast, morning flew by working and then it was time for sandwich/chips for lunch and a 4-mile walk! I had a great walk and finished up Avalon High. It was a super cute book – didn’t realize it was a little mystery/buffy the vampirish book which made it different and fun read because I was like what is going on?!

(BTW – it must be said that I only read book jackets when I buy them… this was a library rental so I borrowed based on the author, Meg Cabot, and the cover, purple and pink… there, I sad it!) So I’d recommend it for a fun, quick read – and it was VERY easy to listen to and had lots of chapters which I like (my friend Stacy is reading a Jodi Picoult book and she can read forever and not finish a chapter – boo!). When I was searching for this image to add to the blog, I found this short, cute review that I thought was SO true – it has some spoilers though so if you like to be left out on the plot of books then don’t go read it.

My afternoon breezed by as well and before I knew it was 5 p.m. and Austin was home! I took a shower and we mixed up the meal plan and had pizza muffins tonight, but made the white chicken chili tonight for tomorrow, and I prepped the blackened chicken pasta for tomorrow – yay! Can’t wait to try both new recipes tomorrow. We tested the chili and it was GOOD – I’ll give a full report + recipe tomorrow once I’ve eaten it and see if it fills me up, etc. I watched lots of Law & Order SVUs today – WOW – that show, while I still love it, has gotten a bit graphic! The pedophilia episode just about upset me – wow! Aside from the SVU throwing me off, I had an argument with a friend. Crazy – I don’t feel like I’ve argued with a friend like that in YEARS, truly – like I can’t remember…. definitely not on my list of top 10,000 things to do. One of those situations where I was totally blindsided and had just had enough… so I told the truth. She’s probably still mad at me but I’m just not going to do this. I’m not going to argue with my friend simply because we disagree and I won’t do what she wants me to do. I respect where she’s coming from, and while she may respect where I’m coming from, she’s more concerned with getting her way and I hate it for her, especially for picking this tiny battle, because now even if I were to come around I couldn’t in principle because of all of the back and forth dramatic emailing, text messaging and phone calls that just about drained me of all of my energy today. Sometimes even when you feel deep down you’re right and you did the right thing, you still don’t feel good about it in the end. It was lose-lose you know? Damned if you let it go and damned if you took a stand. SIGH. Sorry for the vague randomness that is this paragraph but I really am thrown by this. I mean it. I don’t argue with my friends – do I get upset with them? Do I sometimes disagree with them? OF COURSE. But I like to think we all agree to disagree and move on… Anyway…

On a more positive note – here are the 12 books I got at Barnes & Noble online for a grand total of $53.88 (including tax & free shipping!):

Ivy Chronicles – sounded cute!
A Body to Die For – LOVE Kate White’s mysteries
How to Be Popular – Meg Cabot; nuf said for me!
Nanny Diaries – always thought this sounded cute
Last Chance Saloon – love Marian Keyes
To the Nines (Stephanie Plum) – love these little books; have listened to a few from the library
Twelve Sharp (Stephanie Plum) - dito
Ten Big Ones (Stephanie Plum) - dito
At First Sight – loved the notebook and thought Sparks would be good to listen to
Shoe Addicts Anonymous – sounded cute!
Speak Softly, She Can Hear – sounds SO intense… I’m intrigued
Eye Contact – ditto

At the end of the day I realized I was low on calories again, so I had some cheez its… then a bowl of frosted flakes! I weighed it though and made sure I stayed in range, ending up at 1,508 calories, 231 carbs and 31 fat grams. Great! Especially with the cardio factored in! Here’s what I ate.

Day 134: Mini Binge Recovery, Devil Chips & A Failed Recipe - SAD

I know I mentioned my ‘mini binge’ last night. I finally brought myself around to tracking and it wasn’t as bad as I thought: 1,816 calories, 262 carbs and 44 fat grams. Not AWFUL, 266 calories over the high and I burned 300 calories by walking 5.5 miles again so really it’s in REC zone when you factor in my exercise. But I didn’t need all that food! The extra chips and milk chocolates? I was just bored and let my TOM pick random foods, after 10 p.m. no less! Oh well – another day, right? Here’s what I ate.

Today was a much better day. I stayed super busy at work, which made the time fly by! Me and Stacy walked 3.5 miles at lunch, but for the first time, we couldn’t get side-by-side treadmills! So none of our usual chatter but we DID get to read lots of our books which was nice! When we got back to work it was nonstop meetings until 5 and I was out – back to the gym for another 2 miles, a great ab workout and chest and tricep strength training. So today I did:

Cardio: 5.5 miles walking 4mph (15 minute miles)
Tricep: Nosebreakers with the 20-pound EZ Bar (3 sets of 15)
Chest: Press with the 20-pound EZ Bar (3 sets of 20)
Tricep: Bench dips (3 sets of 10)
Chest: Lying flies with 5-pound dumbbells (3 sets of 15)
Tricep: Overhead dumbbell extension w/10-pound dumbbell (3 sets of 15)
Chest: Lying dumbbell press with 10-pound dumbbells (3 sets of 12)

Felt great! My arms are a little sore but it’s cool! I will say, during my 3:30 p.m. meeting I started getting the sniffles. Then when I got back to my desk I started sneezing. I so hope it’s just the freakish weather change…. I so hope I’m not showing early signs of a cold… eek! As far as food, my Morningstar sausage/egg muffin was fab! I skipped my mid-morning snack, and had the curried chicken salad for lunch on a pita… I wasn’t a fan. I couldn’t even eat it all! Boo. A failed recipe. Sad. Thank god I had some hummus in my lunch box so I ate half the pita with the hummus and forced the other half w/the chicken salad down so I wouldn’t be so hungry at the gym! Then I found a light sargento cheese stick and ate it! By 4 p.m. I caved and had 2 Hershey’s kisses and 2 butterscotch candies! I needed a treat! When I got home me and Austin made an old favorite – something I used to eat at least 3 times/week – rice, broccoli & lemon pepper tilapia. Me and Austin agreed – it’s not as good as it used to be. It feels like we’re eating healthy, whereas some of our other, newer meals don’t feel healthy – but they are! So… we’re going to pass on this meal for a while… weird, huh? Used to love it… now I’m disappointed!! Guess it’s back to the pizza muffins! Hehe I was so disappointed I had a kashi cookie…. Then more of those dang Kettle Chips. It’s clear they’re my ‘Tostitos jalapeño scoops’ in disguise (i.e. evil). I’ve GOT to get on the snacks as much as I have my other meals! Going to get out the Hungry Girl cookbook and make some desserts this weekend – NEED snacks! Here’s what I ate.

Anyway, now I’m chilling, watching 30 rock episodes with Austin, reading your blogs (J), watching The Biggest Loser from last night (when he plays video games), and petting Reuben. Today was his first day “loose” in our place. He did wonderful and we’re so proud of him!! I also bought 12 books online at Barnes & Noble – each was on sale for $3.99 and free shipping! Couldn’t be beat – and most are hardback!!! SCORE! (those are easier to read on the treadmill) I hope you all had great Wednesdays. Am I the only one so ready for Friday? Can’t wait for the weekend – probably because I have no plans! Yesssss.

How Old Do You Act?

I found this at my mom's blog! According to this 10-question multiple choice quiz, she acts like she's 32, me 27 - no wonder we get along so well! :) Take a minute and play if you're bored, I mean procrastinating... whatever!

I'll return to regular posting later today. I had a mini binge last night and am dissapointed in myself. :( So I need to track lots of chips and chocolate. Dang TOM!

You Act Like You Are 27 Years Old

You are a twenty-something at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

Day 133: Recipe & Deep Gossip Girl Thoughts

Yesterday ended up being a great day! I did splurge on chocolate covered almonds after lunch…. SO good, and worth it! After work I got in another 2 miles to bring me to 5.5, and back/bicep strength training and abs. I got home and me and Austin heated up the chicken parmesan we prepared last night, and while the chicken cooked we got dinner ready for tomorrow (chicken fajitas – so we measured out sour cream, cheddar cheese; defrosted chicken; and chopped up peppers and onion) and cooked potato, egg and sausage burritos for breakfast tomorrow (SO good – I couldn’t wait until the weekend to have them again). I know I listed the ingredients, but here is the exact recipe I made if you’d like to try it! Mom, if you’re reading, is this similar to how you used to make it when I was little?

Sorry this photo is so bad - I snapped it this morning before Austin wrapped it in foil for me to take to work!

Potato Egg & Sausage Burritos
Makes 2 Servings

5 oz. peeled baking potato, raw
1 egg
2 tbsp liquid egg whites
1 Morningstar farms sausage patty
1 tbsp fat free milk
1 tsp olive oil
2 Mission 96% fat free heart healthy flour tortillas
Garlic Powder, Creole Seasoning, Salt & Pepper to taste

Set oven to 350 degrees. Set a medium size pan over medium heat; spray with cooking spray. While it heats up, peel a baking potato, measure out 5 oz., then chop it into small pieces (1/4” squares). Get out a small bowl and whisk together egg, egg whites, milk and a dash of salt and creole. Heat up the sausage per box instructions and cut into small pieces. Drop potatoes on the pan (they’ll sizzle!). Sprinkle with garlic powder, creole seasoning and pepper. Stir for 1 minute, then add olive oil. Stir and let it set for 3-4 minutes. Then stir and let it sit for another 3-4 minutes. After 8 minutes mine were brown; I tasted a thicker potato piece and it was perfect so I dropped the tortillas in the oven on a pan, then poured the egg mixture and sausage on top of the potato mixture. I stirred for 1-2 minutes until egg thoroughly cooked, then removed the tortillas from the oven and covered each in the potato/egg/sausage mixture and served.

Tips: I liked mine plain; Austin added a ¼ tsp of hot sauce. You could also add salsa since it’s a low-calorie condiment, or even add chopped veggies like onions or peppers. I personally wouldn’t add cheese as I don’t think you’d be able to taste it. As far as cooking potatoes- the smaller the pieces the quicker they’ll cook, so my best advice is do like noodles – taste one before declaring them done!

Nutrition Facts: 295 calories; 41 carbs; 8 fat grams and 16 protein grams.

Back to our regular programming… we boxed up all of the prep meals and ate fabulous chicken parmesan for dinner while watching 30 Rock and recording Gossip Girl. 30 Rock is just TOO funny – love it! And Gossip Girl was SPOILER!!! very good. GG Deep thoughts: Chuck is such a dumbass, I mean really – he wouldn’t have fallen for his uncle’s ploy based on past precedent. B did the right thing – about time she kicked Chuck to the curb. WOW those parents totally punked Lily/Rufus… I bought it and was so sad for them… but now I’m like oh my – who is this kid and when are they going to show up? Will add a fun story arc to the show. Serena & Dan are less on my nerves while Jenny is more on my nerves (and poor Eric - give the boy a break with his boy!). Since when do we call Vanessa, V? Did I miss something? Isn't Dan a Newyorker? Shouldn't he be more 'on guard' when it comes to not getting pickpocketed? Speaking of, the pickpocketing girl, I don't get it - when did she go bad?K – that’s it for now. What did you think?

At the end of the day my calories were at the VERY top at 1,550, 201 carbs and 35 fat grams – not bad! And I did burn 300 calories from walking 83 minutes at 4 mph – yay! Here’s what I ate. BTW – I’m going to stop posting my weight in each post unless it’s significant or something. I’m totally still going to weigh every day and post in the sidebar and update the ticker – just don’t feel like blabbing on about how I’m 119 STILL! Haha Also - THANK YOU guys so much for your support with mine and Austin's house hunt! I'll definitely update the blog if/when something significant happens!! (hopefully sooner rather than later!)

K - off to work - have fabulous days!! "See" you tonight!!

Day 132: All About the Meal Planning

So yesterday afternoon I was all pumped to do good things including go to the gym, go to t-mobile, go to Kroger, go to Plato’s Closet and plan meals/cook several… I was 3 for 5 – skipped out on the gym and Plato’s Closet. Sigh. I just couldn’t find the motivation to drag my but to a treadmill! I finally got out of bed at 4:30 (not kidding!) – I was just doing house stuff and watching bad TV. I made myself plan the meals and a grocery list and we set off for Kroger/Publix/Trader Joe’s (turned into 3 trips) and T-mobile. When I got home I did well with the Meal Plan:

• I made 2 servings of Greek Feta Chicken for Monday’s lunch
• I made the sauce/breading for chicken parmesan; prepped the 4 tenders and measured out noodles for Monday’s dinner
• I made 2 servings of Sweet & Sour Chicken for Tuesday’s lunch
• I made a new recipe – curried chicken salad for Wednesday & Friday’s lunch. I’ll post the recipe later (after I decide if I like it of course!)

So I still need to get ready for Tuesday’s & Wednesday’s dinners tonight – not too bad! Here is the plan:

Monday: Greek Feta Chicken/Chicken Parmesan
Tuesday: Sweet & Sour Chicken/Chicken Fajitas
Wednesday: Curried Chicken Sandwiches/Lemon pepper tilapia & broccoli & rice
Thursday: Turkey/roast beef sandwiches & chips/Lime Chicken & rice
Friday: Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich/Blackened Chicken Pasta
Saturday: Egg, Bacon & Cheese Wrap/Chicken & White Bean Chili/Tin Foil Chicken
Sunday: Southbeach Eggsadilla – make list/plan and go back to store! :)

Other than the back-to-back cooking – I was able to squeeze in more Queen of Babble and Desperate Housewives – SO good! I just love this season. Mostly Gabby & Carlos’s new dynamic – very cool. At the end of the day, I was at 1,395 calories, 204 carbs and 24 fat grams – not bad! I actually was under 1,200 after dinner so I ate a small bowl of cereal to take me into the right range. Here’s what I ate.

Today is going well so far- yummy breakfast sandwich (no more Jimmy Dean’s unless it’s an emergency – ha!), the greek feta chicken heated up nicely (not as good as fresh – but pretty dang close), I walked 3.5 miles with Stacy at lunch (she just bought a house so she has lots of great advice!) and am looking forward to knocking out more miles and abs/back/biceps. Figure I’ll do back machines (since I have no spotter) and alternate with different kinds of curls. We’ll see. I may even post my work out – would anyone be interested in that?

K – I’m out – happy Monday! (blah) Looking forward to seeing what you guys were up to this weekend!!