Nordstrom, Twilight, Calorie Cutting

Thanks for your lighting support! I hope it goes well - eeeeeek! I'm with ya - fuzzy/fun photos can be cool, but clear perfect are pretty fabulous too!! So Wednesday was a pretty good day! It was quiet so I got lots done at work – nice! I was a bit sore so I decided to take my lunch to Nordstrom! I had SO much luck. Here’s some of the stuff I got!

The loot: 4 Dresses, 3 tops, 1 skirt (think I may take the orange shirt back though - had gotten it for AU football but once home I realized it's a little thin - BOO)

Me and Reuben - in the new top and skirt!

New Dress - plan to wear to my reunion next week (Friday night/casual night). I swear I'm not a bobble head - odd pic!

Love the crossed back!

Reuben had a photo shoot too - even though he didn't get any new clothes yesterday!

New dress - simple - they had TONS of these in different color combos all for $22! Love the pockets

This one has sleeves, and buttons down the front!

I got this one, too - but got bored trying on stuff and having Austin take pictures. hehe
'

Because I spent >$100 I got two free tickets to see Twilight the night before it releases, January 29 at Phipps!!

See, Austin got bored taking pictures - here is a pic of the peasant shirt - love it

So after shopping I worked more and then RIGHT at 5 the sky fell buckets. It was CRAZY raining. I headed home worried I would get stuck down there if I didn't leave. I had every intention of going to the gym... but instead I tried on clothes, had dinner with the family and hung out. oopsie!! I'll make up for it today!! I ended up at 1,622 calories, 219 carbs, 27 fat grams and 105 protein grams. Here's what I ate. I haven't really talked about yet, so new, but on Sunday I decided to cut calories a bit. While I was still TRACKING, I wasn't tracking with a goal really... and the weight was adding up. So I'm now shooting in the 1,500 - 1,650 range - so far it's going okay and my weight seems to be tapering down a bit (was 123 Monday; 120.5 today). I know it will level but want it to trend DOWN not UP like has been. The calorie game is such a beast.

Q: Do you plan to see Twilight?

Q: Any good shopping adventures for you lately?

Q: Do you track calories/have calorie goals?

Mamma Mia,Show Recs, Calorie Counting Question

I always forget about Real Simple and have been meaning to try Oxygen and Clean Eating for ideas and inspiration! Thanks for the recs – I definitely want to mix it up! Someone mentioned Samoas which totally reminded me that my girl scout cookies are going to be in soon. O. M. G. I’m going to have to get Austin to hide them from me. I know that sounds ludacris but sometimes I can’t be stopped!

So last night ended pleasantly with the vitamuffin + Mamma Mia! Today I just worked, had cheerios/milk for breakfast, had a snack of jalapeno crunchies, had chicken fried rice for lunch. Had every intention of going to the gym during my lunch break – even had my clothes on. But some shiz went down at work that upset me so I stayed home to wallow and feel sorry for myself, then got up, got ready and went to my sister’s house for the show! (had a few snacks, too – another vitamuffin and laughing cow + carr’s crackers). At Dev’s I had dinner that I brought, quinoa with garlic chicken, and a brownie of hers. Nom nom nom.

The show… so first it is SO nice to do mother/daughter nights. We don’t do enough as I feel we’re not taking full advantage of my mom now being in town so much more!

Outside the Fox

close up shot in grayscale

far away shot a kind stranger took

Some shots I found online of the actresses from what we saw - AMAZING!

They were SO cute - I loved her voice - she sounded like a Disney character

We loved this little guy - SO funny and such a great little acrobat!

The show was really just absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe how simple the set was - the actors MADE the show and did a wonderful job doing it. It was so smooth and well acted - like the characters had been playing the parts for years. It was a great cast and so fun to feel like a part of it. We were only, maybe, 20 rows from the stage? Great seats, great performance and I'd go back in a heartbeat. I told Austin since we don't go out to eat we should definitely take in show. I likes to be entertained!

Do you like to see shows? What's your favorite play or musical?

Off Topic Question – I’m going to really look at my weights vs. calorie intake this month. Do you think I should count the calories I eat as my calories for the day, or my net after physical activity? (like I ate 1,700; but HRM said I burned 300 walking 6 miles - so I do go with the 1,700 or the 1,400?) Any thoughts on this would be most helpful!

Thanks fabulous friends - HAPPY FRIDAY! I hope you all have glorious weekends. It's snowing in ATL so I got to leave work at 2 p.m. - WOO!

Day 338: 5.5 miles + 180 Squats + New Enchilada Recipe

So yesterday. Sigh. You know how every once you in a while things are just coming to a head and you’re excited but kind of anxious? And then it doesn’t go your way and really, semi blows up in your face? Then you find yourself crying because you’re so blindsided and angry and just BLAH. Sorry – not a good explanation – I just don’t talk “work” on here. But let’s just say I was having a good day, walked 3.5 miles, had a bad afternoon and cried the whole way home until about 7 p.m. Then I sucked it up, cooked dinner, showered and had a few drinkies. Then our bestie was down from NY (who just broke off his engagement… :( ) so he came over with a favorite couple of mine from back home and her brother (who I love and haven’t seen in foreva!) and his GF.

The 7 of us had a few drinks here and before I knew it, I was at an ale house at 3 a.m. playing pool with the guy I’m still thinking of hiring to be my personal trainer. Gotta love those “chill, relaxing weekends” I’m SO BAD at making happen. Even when we got home we stayed up playing pool until 4:30 a.m. What is WRONG with us? I ended up at 2,399 calories, 255 carbs, 45 fat grams and 101 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Food was GREAT – right around 1,700 but alcohol gets you. And the bar didn’t have SF Redbull so I had half a regular. Eek! At least I did burn 332 calories during my 3.5 mile walk!

Despite only having 5 hours of sleep, I popped up at 9 a.m. I got it together, made a grocery list and took it to the gym!! I walked 2 miles then did legs and abs…

You guys – GREAT workout. It took exactly 1 hour and 3 minutes, and I burned 379 calories. Woo! The leg workout was killer and I’m so happy I made myself do it and poured sweat – woo! I left the gym and headed straight for Kroger ready to make some new recipes. I raced home and Austin unpacked while I put together a new recipe: Beef and Bean Enchiladas from one of my FAVORITE food bloggers - For the Love of Cooking. I changed it a little for 2 peeps and for our preferences – here goes!

½ tsp olive oil

2 tbsp onion, diced

½ Anaheim chile, diced

½ jalapeno, diced

8 oz. lean ground beef (I used 96/4)

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp oregano

¼ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the diced onion, chile and jalapeno. Sauté for 3 minutes; add the ground beef and all the seasonings. Cook until beef is done making sure to break it up into crumbles. I added a little water during cooking.

Other ingredients:

6 Corn tortillas

½ can of Bush’s mild beans

½ cup enchilada sauce

30 grams fat-free cheese

2 tbsp Sour cream

Green onions, diced

Place tortillas in wet paper towels and microwave for 60 seconds or until soft and pliable. Coat a square baking dish with cooking spray then pour ¼ cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan coating evenly. Place a spoonful of undrained beans on the tortilla followed by a large spoonful of the beef mixture. Roll and place seam side down on the baking dish Continue until baking dish is full. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over each enchilada then top with shredded cheddar cheese. Cover the baking dish with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tin foil and continue to bake for 2 additional minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes before serving. Top the enchiladas with sour cream and green onions. Enjoy. Nutritional Information for 3 enchiladas/1 serving: 477 calories, 21 carbs, 8 fat grams and 32 protein grams.

Fabulous! Even with the fat free cheese and stuff it tasted restaurant style which is AMAZING. So flavorful and fabulous!! And…. This is my first time cooking with ground beef! It was so easy and Austin was so excited to have “red meat” back in the hizzy. After lunch I finalized my goals (posting tomorrow!) then I passed out. And took a 3-hour nap, getting up at 6:30. OMG. Now I’m going to go make another new recipe, get in the shower, and go meet some besties at a bar in Buckhead. Going to make it a two-part goal: A) don’t drink myself into oblivion and B) Be ASLEEP by 3 a.m. Hmmmm. I’ll post my ‘final stats’ tomorrow – but I’m hoping it works out.

Day 314: 6 miles, low calorie day, randar HBO TV

Yesterday I ended up staying home from work. I just felt pooey and wanted to take a break before I got more sick. Blah. I slept…. Made an egg/turkey bacon/fat free cheese wrap on a Mission low carb tortilla and ate a bowl of grapes…

Watched TV… made pizzas for me and Austin (sausage, sun dried tomato for Austin; spinach, sun dried tomato for me!). Below is Austin's masterpiece - super thin crust - woo!

Then my mom stopped by and I made her a tomato/mozzarella press (from yesterday!) but added Italian seasoning chicken. She liked it! Next time I’m going to not use pieces of chicken but instead use tenders so it’s less messy! Definitely helped make it more of a meal and less of a snack though so that’s good!

After mom left I got bored and antsy and decided to get out of the house. It was 4 so I just went to the gym telling myself I’d walk 2 miles and read. After 2 miles I felt fine so I stretched and hopped back on for 2 miles. Then I was like okay… if my favorite treadmill is available downstairs (only one downstairs and it’s so much colder down there!) I’ll walk 2 more. I walked down and it was! So I was like okay… if I refill my water bottle, use the restroom and stretch and it’s still available I’ll walk 2 more. It was so I ended up getting in 6 miles. I left the gym HUNGRY and Austin called to tell me his bro was in town (UGA sophomore) – so I beeped by the grocery store for a few things (ate one of my soon-to-be-purchased FiberOne bars – do you ever eat in the store or am I a total tackster?), got Reuben a 40-pound bag of food that should last him until 2013 and then headed home to cook Bourbon Chicken! The boys liked it! Then we watched the pilot episode of Hung (I don’t know if it’s for me… have you seen it?) and 2 episodes of Eastbound and Down (O. M. G. it’s so wildly inappropriate and non-P.C. that I find myself drawn to the main character’s hilarious redness). I think it will be one of those shows me and Austin watch together – a good gender neutral romp if you will.

Hung peeps.. the poet is a pimp - rando! And I still picture her as Niles' girlfriend on Fraiser... how I miss thee.

hehe Just looking at this makes me laugh

After dinner I had 2 Hershey bliss chocolates and headed upstairs to blog/read/watch even more Gilmore Girls with Reuben, and shower/get ready for work/take medicine, while the boys headed to the upstairs den for, you guessed it, xBox time! I don’t know when Austin went to bed, but I was out like a light ending my day at 1,507 calories, 223 carbs, 36 fat grams and 88 protein grams. I am honestly surprised that my calories were as low as they were. I knew I felt good and not full, and right before bed I got hungry so I had the light baby bel. Hmmm. Maybe it’s the medicine , or the fact that I had so many calories this weekend ? Dunno – here’s what I ate. And per Spark People I burned 308 calories walking 6 miles at 4 mph. So all in all a solid day and a nice little Monday (aren't they all when you don't have to go in to the office or school or anywhere you're obligated to go for whatever reason?) Hope you all had lovely Mondays!! And yes, i'm feeling a bit better today (thankfully). :)

SPOILER: Tomorrow i'll post a new recipe: Pizza Pasta Salad. Yummmmmmm. Me and Austin are both FANS!

Day 311: Dinner with Friends, Mileage Goal Thoughts, How Long Will I Count Calories…

Yesterday at work flew by! Despite the fact I was a bit low on my usual eight hours of sleep, I powered through the day getting lots of work done and walking 6.5 miles (during lunch and after work BOTH with Stacy, my co-worker who just bought a food scale and is ready to start working on weight loss – fun!!). After my second walk I raced home, hopped in the shower, and got ready to go to Lola in Buckhead for dinner with Stacy and her BF Shane and Melissa and her husband Jon. I had my FAVORITE appetizer, caprese salad, and then I ordered a thin-crust mushroom pizza which I might have had half of? Fab pizza though. I also had 2 beers – would have had more but the guys decided to take shots so I had to start drinking the water so I could drive the train home! Instead of driving us home, I dropped Austin off at a local neighborhood bar with Jon then headed home and passed out! I ended up at 2,208 calories, 268 carbs, 67 fat grams and 87 protein grams. I wish it had been lower, especially since I only had 2 beers, but the dinner hurt as did the snickers… all 4 of those baby bundles of deliciousness. Oh well – at least I did my cardio, right? And… it’s Friday!! Here’s what I ate.

We ate at the table on the right outside! Next door was a Yogurberry and these peeps had set up a flatscreen and were just doing Dance Dance Revolution to MJ.... like all night.... so rando!

Here's us walking over to the valet - I love this little area. When we lived over here a mere 3 months ago this was just being finished - I think they did a nice job!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my 1,000 mile goal and am just so thrilled because I set it on a whimsy while reading running blogs and just hoped that one could do it while walking 15 minute-miles. Austin even calculated and told me that if I could it, it would take me 15,000 minutes… or 250 hours… or 10.5 DAYS. That’s kinda cool. Anyway, I had a dream last night where I was in Troop Beverly Hills (a childhood fave). It was that scene where the girls gathered together to announce how many cookies they’ve sold. When it was Beverly Hill’s turn they were like we didn’t sell 1,000 boxes. And Vedla Plendor was like, “of course, I knew you wouldn’t.” And Phyllis Nefler’s like, “we sold 4,904 boxes!” Same deal – except I was announcing my goal and Velda was all whatevs – knew you couldn’t do it – but I exceeded it! Now I’m like sweet – thanks to this deep, philosophical dream featuring Shelley Long I will meet and possibly exceed my goals fo sho!

Anywho… I’m feeling a little down on my calories. I just feel like I’m having SO MANY high days and I worry I won’t get to/maintain my goal weight if I keep up all of the snacking and pasta-eating. Boo. I’ve got to get back on it – can’t wait for the HRM to come in- I think it’s really going to help me out. Sometimes I wonder, am I going to count calories forever? While I envy the girls out there who rely on intuitive eating, I know I can’t be trusted! But at the same time… how long am I going to do this? I’m coming up on a year of tracking every single day and it’s not like it’s time consuming, I just wonder if this is the way it’s going to be. Anyway, I’m rambling. Hope you’re all having fabulous weekends!

Day 271 - 273: 18 miles + Recipe + Burning Question: Why am I SO hungry? + Caloric Math

Monday was a pretty blah day. I woke up not really tired, but just feeling like crap. Sore throat, stuffy nose, sneezing, cough – you name it. Traffic on 400 was a total skank and so I was a little late. NO fun. I got lots done at work though and walked 3.5 miles during lunch, and 3 miles after work. Yes – I walked 6.5 miles. Why? I honestly lost track of time after work – I was reading – trying to finish Over My Dead Body already – I’ve been “reading” it for months! Anywho. I raced home, had yummy DIY pizzas and passed out. I DID try a new treat – cat cookies from Trader Joe’s! I’m a fan! In other news – guess what is back on the shelves? My beloved Kashi dark chocolate oatmeal cookies. Praise the lord! I hope they never recall them again. Silly FDA. I ended up at 1,764 calories, 238 carbs and 51 fat grams. Here’s what I ate.




Tuesday. SSDD. Rolled in to the office, worked, walked 3.5 during lunch, worked, and walked 2.5 after for a total of 6 miles. I hopped on the highway straightaway to let little Reuben out (Austin had a golf thing with clients). We had dinner (those Trader Joe’s pitas + guac + pico + roasted chicken patties) and watched Veronica Mars – LOVE IT! Then I read some book and passed out into a Benadryl-induced coma. I ended up at 1,797 calories, 35 fat grams and 269 carbs. WAY too many carbs, and a little high on calories. Or is it high when you walk 6 miles? I don’t know. Here’s what I ate.



Wednesday was another rough day on the sick side. OMG –when will this end? I worked, walked, worked and walked again haha – see the pattern?! I ended up getting in 5.5 miles, and I made a new recipe when I got home –Chicken Marsala – LOVED IT! (source unknown – SAD!) Here’s the recipe!! (sorry the pic is SO bad - eek!)




.1.5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
½ tsp Lemon Pepper
2 boneless thinly sliced chicken breasts (8 oz.)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup sliced Baby Bella mushrooms
½ tsp Oregano Leaves
4 tbsp marsala or slightly sweet white wine
½ tbsp lemon juice
½ tbsp Parsley Flakes
5 oz. barilla angel hair
Spray butter

Set a pot of water to boil and measure out noodles. Mix flour, salt and lemon pepper in a small bowl. Spread on to a large plate. Lightly coat both sides of chicken with mixture. Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan and add noodles to pot. Cook noodles for 6 minutes and drain. Cook chicken about 5 minutes, turning once, or until lightly colored. Remove chicken from skillet to a warm plate (I mircowaved a plate for two minutes, put chicken on it and covered it with foil). Add mushrooms and oregano to skillet; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in wine and lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Add Parsley Flakes and remove from heat. Put noodles on plate, lay chicken over it, and spoon sauce over it. It had 488 calories, 63 carbs and 9 fat grams, but like most of my meals you can easily take down the pasta and add mushrooms to bring those calories and carbs down!

After dinner Austin left for poker and I settled in for TV & Reuben time! I ended the day at 1,872 calories, 251 carbs and 49 fat grams. Yes – I suppose it’s high again?? Here’s what I ate. I’m in bed watching SYTYCD now – I’m loving it!!!

So… played around because I’m way curious as to why my 1,700-calorie ceiling keeps getting broken and here is what I figure:

• I went here and found that at 5’2”, 115 pounds, age 26 I burn 1,317 calories doing NOTHING. Clearly 1,317 isn’t perfectly accurate – I’m a little taller than 5’2”, weigh a little less than 115 (today) and I will be 27 next month (O.M.G.) but STILL let’s go with it.
  Let’s say I burn another 150 calories all day walking around, standing, getting ready, etc., taking me to 1,467 burned.
• Then I walk 3- 5 days per week. I always walk at least 15 minute miles (4 mph). According to here, each mile burns 59 calories. I typically walk at least 4 miles per day so when I walk four I burn 236 calories, five I burn 295, six I burn 354 or six and a half (most I walk in a day) I burn 384. So this means I burn 1,703, 1,762, 1,821 or 1,851.

Is this math making sense? Is the 150 calories in #2 not enough or too much? I dunno, but if this is right then it makes sense that I’m SO HUNGRY during the week. However, I guess I need to consume fewer calories during the week to offset my booze-it-up weekends. Hmmm. I have a headache now. Thoughts??? Help, friends!

K- now I’m officially out and off to see your bloggies! Hope you all had good hump days!