SemiHealthy

Lesson Learned while dieting

2012-01-22T21:55:00.002-05:00

One of the most important things I learned while dieting is tomorrow is another day. I spend a lot of time regretting yesterday if I ate or drank too much, went over my calories, didn't work out when I had the time. This negative energy and thoughts only hurt my success for the next day. I have/had to re-learn that each day, actually each meal is a chance to do better and also to cut myself some slack when I screw up. I gained weight because I love food a lot, I'm doing my best but there will be times when I eat the wrong foods...and I need to get over it :)

Weight Update!

2012-01-18T22:36:00.002-05:00

-3 pounds this week! I must give all the credit to Calorie Camp! Its a new feature that gives you points for logging food and achieving goals you set for yourself. I'm very motivated by points (gold star syndrome) and they actually can be used for prizes! If you are thinking about using a website to track your calories and lose weight I highly recommend caloriecount.com

Pros

-Its free

-It has a success story every Monday

-There are forums with any topic you can think of

-there are thousands of foods with calorie counts

-calorie camp

-It does an analysis of your day with calories, nutrients, and you view it through out the day to see what you need

Cons

-some of the calorie counts are wrong (can make slight adjustments with size to make saved foods correct)

-if you accidentally put a food in the wrong meal you have to delete it and re-input it (instead of pulling it down to another category)

-I don't always agree with the grades they give foods

-my sodium is always off the charts (okay so this may be my fault)

The "I don't have time to work out" work out

2012-01-17T22:07:00.003-05:00

There are so many times when I waste time wondering whether I have enough time to go to the gym that by the time I make a decision its no because I wasted 45 minutes. So here is my quickie work out that can have you in and out of the gym in 40 minutes

12 Mins- elliptical (I alternate 3 mins using arms/3 mins legs only making sure to be over 6 mph)

18 mins walking ( I vary every three mins at 3.6 mph @ 3.0 incline and then go 4.0 mph @ o incline)

6 sets of 10 @ 35lb hip abductor and adductor (6 sets each)

quick mat cool down

20 crunches reg

20 crunches right leg crossed

20 crunches left leg crossed

40 ankle touches (if you look like a penguin you are doing it right)

60 pulses (you stay crunched with arms straight pointing towards feet and doing mini pulses)

use a minute to stretch my legs and then go home to watch Dance Moms

Biore Bargain!

2012-01-16T15:33:00.003-05:00

I have been avoiding buying face wash until the last moment-Biore is one of my favorite skin products but it can be pretty costly, so imagine my surprise when I stopped in Kmart for some sports bras - I enjoy the hanes two pack :) and while mindlessly browsing through beauty products and found Biore on clearance for $2 to $2.50, I ended up snagging a

Steam Activated Cleanser-$2

Daily Pore Scrub- $2

60 ct cleansing cloths -$2.50

there happened to be a $1 off coupon on the box so I got all my Biore swag for $5.50!

How to get concealer for 45 cents!

2012-01-14T22:00:00.002-05:00

I made a big deal in post about how I score great deals (read: crazy coupon lady) earlier this month and wanted to pass on yet another bargain

CVS

Almay Concealer - $13.79 @ 75% off = $3.45

CVS Extra Bucks- $3 off any Almay product

SAVINGS- $13.34

FINAL COST- 45 cents!

CVS seems to be clearancing a ton of make up so if you want to try out any new colors hop on over!

Creative ways to burn calories

2012-01-14T21:42:00.002-05:00

I took a midol with sleep aid last night and slept 11 hours!!! I don't know if its the winter or what but besides the "sleeping pills" I've needed a lot more sleep than usual. So after my 11 hour slumber I went over to my friends new house to help her paint. It was a lot of well painting, bending, lifting, moving and on my www.caloriecount.com account I imput my painting as an activity and it burns mad calories, I was excited to hear this since I was HUNGRY once I got home. I like it when something I do has multi-purpose- now I have helped a friend (awesome points for me) and have a friend obligated to help me with painting in the future (score!) and I burned calories in a place other than the gym.

Getting Over the HUMP

2012-01-13T21:15:00.002-05:00

So as cliche as it is the NEW YEAR has really pumped me up to go to the gym. I am not a person that hates the gym and actually enjoy going when I get into a routine but I am a naturally sedentary person, I don't "get antsy" to move, if you asked me if I have watched an entire season of a TV show in one sitting, why yes, yes I have and I've done it a couple times thank you. I don't like to think of it as lazy but I am very content to sit and rest and do crafting, reading, tv watching, and sewing stuff like that :)But a big a reason I'm especially pumped is because...IM GOING TO VEGAS!!! Yes I am incredibly excited and would LOVE to lose 5 pounds by my trip (okay really 10 but I'm being realistic here) I've lost 20 pounds so far and it hasn't been that noticeable to others and I see it in my hands, boobs and stomach but as silly as it sounds I think 5 more pounds will be enough weight to make it "noticeable" (I keep reminding myself "my body" isn't nearly as important to other people as it is to me :) but it would be nice to have all those passed pizza slices and cookies were noticed) So tell me whats your favorite thing about VEGAS?!?!

Diet Dessert Review!

2012-01-12T19:35:00.002-05:00

I bought 2 Smartones desserts at Target the other day and wanted to share my opinion so you can know what to buy and know what to skip!
I really thought I was going to like the turtle sundae, alas I did not-the icecream tasted like well ICE I kept eating trying to savor any semblance of a flavor and could not taste a thing unless I was eating a pecan- Grade D
I ended up melting this a bit in the microwave because I was so scarred from the first Smartones dessert I wanted to eliminate all the "air pockets" in the icecream that I believed contributed to its tastelessness. I ended up with a soupy brownie milkshake result which I had absolutely no problem with. I ended up mixing the crust and brownies into the icrecream for maximum flavor and enjoyed this quite a bit! The brownie bites were very tasty and definitely the highlight of this dessert-and there were quite a few of them! Grade- B (mostly for the brownie bites)

There you have it! I find dessert is the hardest food to replicate when I'm dieting, what are you thoughts? Do you have any favorite low calorie desserts?

Talent Show

2012-01-07T19:04:00.003-05:00

People always have a few things they can say they are REALLY good at, for me one of those things is bargain shopping...Today I'm going to show you how I pulled together a wedding look for under $40!I bought these shoes in grey, they were briefly 50% off at payless for $13.99! Blue is the only color left now @$19.99 (I wore them almost the whole night, they were extremely comfortable for bargain heels)
I bought these tights at American Eagle clearance $6.99 and 40% off final total = $4.19 (more grey in person)

American Eagle-This dress is on sale for 39.99 with an additional 40% = 23.99-plus a 15% coupon code I recieved with my new shopkick app made this dress 20.39! It looks very expensive in person ( I got the purple color)

My total was $38.57!

I used a bag of my moms and my grandmothers stole to complete my outfit.

Crafty Holiday Idea!

2011-12-18T19:20:00.002-05:00

I save my Christmas cards from last year and use them to make this years tags, its fun to re-read through last year letters one last time and then put those old cards to good use!

Bachelorette party idea!

2011-12-17T18:27:00.002-05:00

I'm going to a bachelorette party tonight and one of the requirements for attending is:bring some panties- brand new ones for the bride incase there was any confusion. So we are hanging a clothes line in the hotel room and the bride gets to guess who bought what...and then she gets to take home all the panties! I never heard of this but thought it was a great idea to get everyone at a bachelorette party to contribute something and for the bride to get to stock up on some undies!

Holiday challenge!

2011-12-11T20:46:00.003-05:00

I just found this picture on google images, but I really like it. So my challenge since September is to NOT BUY THINGS FOR MYSELF. I haven't been perfect, I mean sometimes you just need to buy something for yourself but this challenge has the duel purpose of de-cluttering by elimination-specifically-make-up, bath and body products and saving money for presents. I usually have the habit of getting bored with a product after I've used up half of it then buy a new one so I then have two open products and so on. I've been working my way through my bathroom discovering products (Redkin Hair Butter Treatment, long lost love) and emptying bottles gives me a feeling of accomplishment (Is that sad?) I'm not a naturally organized person so I to go through all my stuff and put it in a SAVE, USE or DONATE pile. Does anyone else have a "special" way to organize?

Frozen food review

2011-12-10T14:52:00.003-05:00

Okay don't get too excited but I'm actually posting about food on my food blog! I tried this new Michelina's dinner, and was trying to get a picture off the internet but this item must be so new they haven't put it on their website yet! So I had to take a picture of the box after I clipped a coupon off the cover (food AND a coupon sign me up)
I loved this! This dinner was 290 calories and had a zesty cream sauce, Southwestern Fresca was loaded with broccoli, onions, kidney beans, corn, bell peppers and carrots- 10g of fiber and 10g of protein for a meat free meal! Also whole grain pasta (why don't more frozen meals use whole grain?)

Weight Update! I've lost 19 pounds since I've started (September 14th) I've been at the same weight the last 3 weeks but Thanksgiving I ate with abandon so I'm not too upset about this but know I need to get back on track.

Getting Crafty

2011-12-04T19:18:00.002-05:00

Hi, its been a long hiatus but I wanted to share some of my crafty ideas! These are two fun ideas I thought of after buying letters!

This is my card for a wedding (duh), I love this idea because I always seem to mess up when writing on envelopes and this is way cuter than my handwriting and is un-mess-up-able!
This is a fun idea I thought of for my co-workers instead of getting them cards! I got the snowflake ornaments 4 for $1 at Target and used the same letters I used for the card above to personalize the snowflakes. I used clear Tacky Glue to adhere the letters, if you notice there are 5 K's in there, I had to get pretty crafty and cut up some X's and V's to make all 5 K's and stuck little flower stickers on the "crafty" letters to cover up the seams(I always go for the unpopular letters first)
my supplies! I bought two letter bags (one pink, one white) and two silver letter stickers sheets, everything was on clearance for 50 cents each so I made each ornament for about 30 cents a piece!

Boo Weight Gain

2011-10-28T20:29:00.004-04:00

So I got on the scale Wednesday and gained 2 pounds! I was pretty bummed. I may have indulged ALOT last weekend but for the most part I have thought about every bite going into my mouth and recorded everything and created a deficit. This is the most discouraging part of dieting, when you examine everything you eat and are working towards a goal it is very disappointing to go backwards! I'm just working harder this week towards my goal! 18 pounds by Thanksgiving!

Winner Winner Pasta Dinner

2011-10-28T20:18:00.002-04:00

I made a delicious pasta dish for dinner tonight and wanted to pass it along

1-1/2 cups Ronzoni garden delight rotini pasta

1 cup spinach

1/2 cup red pepper

1/2 cup green pepper

1/4 cup onion

1 oz feta cheese (reduced fat)

2 tablespoons fat free sour cream

Pam cooking spray

bit of garlic

~537 calories

optional hot sauce

I sauteed the veggies in the skillet putting onions in first, peppers second and spinach in last (I sprayed pam each time I threw in a new veggie)

by the time I did this the pasta was cooked and I mixed in the sour cream and feta and viola!

Dieting Downfall

2011-10-23T11:58:00.002-04:00

I would say my biggest dieting downfall is alcohol, I work full-time, I'm in grad school, I'm counting calories all day! Somethings gotta give! I went out last night and over the course of a very long evening drank two mixed drinks and 2.5 coors lights and then ate pizza, lasagna and hersheys nuggets-no not dinner just late night eating! This is my most unhealthy eating/drinking day since starting my diet. I'm using today to re-hydrate and and get back on track.

Interesting fact about me-I don't get hangovers, I can only think of a handful of times I've ever had one and if you knew me in college this would be shocking. I usually don't "drunk eat" either for all of you thinking perhaps its the insane amount of food before bed soaking up the alcohol. I am a naturally thirsty person, so perhaps that fact that I'm super hydrated could help-I really don't know. I'm not trying to brag-it would actually be a lot easier to stop if I knew I had to pay for it in the morning. So this is about the time when that disclaimer I made yesterday is coming in handy!

Does anyone else not get hangovers?

What are your dieting downfalls and what do you do prevent them?

Workout Summary

2011-10-22T14:35:00.002-04:00

Workout Summary:

Ellipitical -3.1 miles in 31 minutes (I think my new soundtrack with Beyonces new single Countdown helped speed me up from last time)

Treadmill 5.2mph running 8 minutes/3.1 walking 22 minutes

I was bored and not trying that hard what can I say?

Weigh in Wednesday went very well, I lost 13 pounds! My original weight-loss goal was 12 pounds so I made a new goal of 18 pounds by T-giving. I've been slacking on the exercise, in the first 5 weeks of my weight loss, but it was a little intentional. I didn't want to dive right in with a new food and exercise program so I started out with the food but now am going to work in a regular workout schedule as well. This is whats been working for me so far but I understand not everyones the same.

I would also like to make a DISCAIMER and say I have no exercise/nutrition education. I see these a lot of health blogs and will make something a little more permanent but in the mean time would just like to state everything you see on this blog is my own personal experience, I'm not a doctor so everything on here should be taken with a grain of salt if you are looking for ideas about your health.

Also on a side note ShopRites have nutritionists on staff (at least the one that opened in my area does) so if you are looking for free nutrition advice from someone who has a license, you may not even have to look any further than your local grocery store.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Shelf product food review

2011-10-22T14:21:00.004-04:00

I had no idea what to call this, shelf-food sounds really gross but hey we live in America its whats for dinner, or lunch as I would have it. I mixed in 2 tablespoons Carolina Thai Jasmine rice in 1/2 a package of Shahi Paneer(indian cottage cheese in a tomato and cashew sauce with indian spices) I was not feeling this meal it was very blah and I will not get it again. Also as a dieter seeing whole cashews on the cover and not having them in your meal is unbelievably dissapointing.

About the rice though, I can not say enough good things about this rice, I could live on it. It grows to 3X its size when boiled(maybe more) all I know is I made some for a group of people in a normal sized pot and it was like that episode of I Love Lucy where Ricky and Fred tried to be housewives and cook dinner and they put a pound of rice per person in to boil (I miss TVLand).

Frozen Food Review

2011-10-22T14:18:00.002-04:00

I tried the Healthy Choice Four Cheese Tortellini and green beans, it was under the modern classics category of healthy choice-they have so many categories these days but its one of the bigger boxes (12oz) compared to the usual (9-10oz).

I must say the nutritional stats are pretty good other than the sodium!

Theres whole grains, 2 servings of veggies and a lot of vitamins. What I also liked about this is even though it was a bigger entree, the new modern classics do not include the gross desserts that some of the "dinner sized" entrees do. Am I alone here when I say I would way rather have more dinner food than the gross overly sweet fruit concoctions they come up with? If its not chocolate its not worth it right? My rating 8/10- 300 calories, tasty, good amount of food, the amount of veggies was decent and nutritional stats were better than most frozen meals!

Second edition of food for 14 hours

2011-10-18T19:45:00.003-04:00

In my one of my last posts I said that I work 8:30-5 and then head to grad school 6-9 so I pack 14 hours worth of food every class night! Why? 1. because I'm counting calories and this makes it a lot easier to keep track 2. because it saves lots of money! I haven't been overly creative so far but I make sure its enough calories spread over the day and its filling nutritious food.

Protein Pesto Pasta Recipe

-1 serving Ronzoni Smart Pasta -170 cal

-1 cup canellini beans-160 cal

-4.75 cups spinach cooked down - 33 cals

-1.5 cups broccoli -38 broccoli

-1 serving pesto mix-15 cal

-2 TBS FF Sour Cream -25

TOTAL - 441 calories

I packed chobani FF strawberry yogurt and carrots for snacks during the day and a Turkey sandwich for dinner.

Weight Update!

2011-10-17T23:44:00.002-04:00

okay so I've currently lost -9 pounds so far, I have weigh in Wednesdays so hopefully I'll be in the double digits this week! Its been a little discouraging because my clothes haven't been fitting that much different, but I think my work pants were getting too tight anyways so financially its okay for now...You need to lose 10% of your body weight before its noticeable to other people (so I've heard) so I just need to keep on trucking, I've noticed my hands seem thinner but thats about it.

But another one of my accomplishments (and yes this is an accomplishment) is I have not eaten Halloween candy at all so far! I'm trying to wait until Halloween and I'm sure there will be pieces around for the next couple days so I'm going to allow myself 3 days of 1 piece of delicious candy.

I'm not sure what to do about the next 2 months-meaning T-giving and ESPECIALLY Christmas!

Does anyone have any weightloss, holiday maintaining tips?

Planning a whole day worth of food - Grad School Edition

2011-10-13T19:50:00.004-04:00

I work full time and go to grad school at night, this leads to a very important dilemma...what am I going to eat while being away from my house for a solid 14 hours? Here's a look at my end result, pasta salad w/ FF mozz cheese, tomatoes, peppers and cucumber and balsamic vinegarette. A Turkey and cheese sandwich, grapes and pretzels....I think I need another snack.....I'm freezing the grapes so I'm a little worried I'll forget them tomorrow :(

just a quick look at my pasta salad makings, I made extra pasta for another meal and cut up extra veggies for a salad... I'll be gone for my weekend class saturday from 9 to 5 so planning my dinner is essential b/c I'll go out to lunch with classmates

this is ronzoni smart taste pasta so the calories are a little higher than normal pasta but it has a lot more fiber and vitamins than regular pasta.

Workout - 5K training Edition

2011-10-09T17:02:00.003-04:00

Just got back from Sunday's gym workout, I'm running a 5K Thanksgiving morning so my workouts have duel purpose: weight loss/learning how to run for 3.1 miles without dying.

Elliptical-3.1 miles (personal trainer mode) in 32:02 minutes

When I am on the elliptical I alternate 3 minutes with hands on the moving bars and 3 minutes off

Treadmill-1 mile in 13:30 minutes

1 minute @ 3.8/40 seconds @ 5.3

The method I'm following along to is Couch to 5K but I have to modify it a bit since I don't have 9 weeks

Stretching- 2 minutes on metal arch following along all the pictures

Weights- 10 on each leg-lunge with arm curl-5lb weights

10 on each side- weights shoulder to straight arm above head-10lb weights

10 both at once-arm curls-10 lb weights

30 seconds- arms straight behind as far as I can pulsing-5 lb weights (felt self conscious and stopped sooner than I should have)

left gym, will try to remember to do sit ups while watching TV

I am one of those people that HATES running but am trying to run a 5K with dignity since I don't have a lot of choice in the matter (marathon running sister doesn't understand how a person would have trouble running 3 miles, its easier to give in) please give any tips to a novice and unenthusiastic runner.

Indian food the Calorie Counting way

2011-10-08T15:28:00.002-04:00

I love indian food a lot! The problem with indian food is I never really know how many calories are in it when I go out to eat. Since I want to eat it more than once in a blue moon packaged indian food is my answer! Kohinoor is a great indian food brand, I've only been able to find it at Christmas Tree Shop and England so whichever is closer for you I guess (if its England I am super jealous!)

My recipe is
1/2 Spicy Paneer Masala package
1/2 Valley Fresh Steamers Broccoli Florets
1/4 cup of Jasmine rice

all together this is 389 calories and 42% of my sodium for the day
(I cooked half a cup of rice and put the rest of the broc and masala in a bowl and I have another meal ready)

Soup Love/Sodium War

2011-10-07T22:23:00.003-04:00

So as I've said in my first post I am on a diet/changing the way I interact with food. One of the foods I eat A LOT is soup, soup is filling, low in calories and has veggies. In my current diet I'm working very hard to eat healthy foods while cutting calories but sodium is really killing me. My first thought was not to care but monitoring my sodium I'm usually at 150% of my daily value every day, if you have any information on sodium please comment!

All Hail the Cow!

2011-10-06T20:18:00.002-04:00

I love this stuff, I've tried the Garlic and Herb(favorite), Chipotle Fresco (2nd favorite), Blue Cheese (not a fan) and have just bought French Onion for the first time. Whats your favorite?

Don't Worry I'm back!

2011-10-05T22:21:00.002-04:00

After a super long hiatus (over a year I can't believe it!) I am finally blogging again. I am excited, especially because I need some accountability in my current "diet" I know some people hate this word but I can't say "lifestyle change" without cringing. My current weight loss is 8 pounds! Which is a lot for 3 weeks but we'll see how this plays out. My goal was 12 pounds by Thanksgiving but thats only 4 more pounds in seven weeks so I think I'm going to pass it! I would love to hear any weightloss tips healthy not crazy (please don't tell me you shoot up cow hormones or something equally weird) but post away!

hanging out with jillian Michaels hungover :)

2010-08-07T19:28:00.002-04:00

so I'm on day 3 of the Shred and REALLY commited to doing the full 30 days because I'm going to Cape May Labor Day weekend!! So some toning up would be great because I'll be running around in a bathing suit and such!

Also: Bonus- this video really makes you sweat! not the I've been doing the elliptical for a half hour and I'm glistening sweat, like Lebron James in the final quarter sweat soo I feel like a new woman after doing it a very sore new woman!

ice cream!

2010-06-27T15:05:00.002-04:00

Hi ya'll, ice cream is one of my favorite things in the summer. I just love "summer" foods! Pasta salad, grilled chicken , cut up fruit. So I tested out these Lil' Drums, probably the cutest named food I've eaten in a while! They are packed with a lot of fun in a little package, great choice after dinner. But if just eating as a snack on your doorstep (anyone else do that?) you may be reaching back in the box, there are two flavors in each box after all! I got the chocolate fudge brownie/cookie dough box- I like the brownie better but both were good....I have two more boxes to review! Also get a $1.00 off if you "like" lil' drums on facebook!

GOT TO TRY

2010-06-07T20:46:00.002-04:00

I am a big believer in frozen dinners, they are quick easy and most importantly quick and easy...heres one of my favorites from lean cuisine.

I shall turn the tables on you

Whats your favorite frozen (healthy or not) dinner?

Whats the worst frozen dinner you've ever had?

Products Reviews

2010-05-22T14:12:00.002-04:00

Not a bagel but a great change from light bread. I've been making egg sandwiches on these and I have been enjoying it :)

yum! Watery but not in a bad way if you aren't a syrup snob

Products Reviews Continued...

2010-05-22T13:51:00.002-04:00

This peanut butter is awesome! And cheap! I've definitely lost my taste for processed peanut butter after eating natural....
I have been putting this in my coffee and monster shakes, and it is creamy and less calories than skim milk :)
These are great! Whenever I get sick of having plain vegetables this is a great way to get a little more flavor and not totally throw away the fact that vegetables are supposed to be healthy.
Portion controlled icecream, it was love at first sight these were veryyyy good! they are smaller than I feel the box portrays but for 160 cals I'll take it!
Also very good! I didnt like the "cookie" on this kind as much it was chalky but the ice cream and caramel was amazing so I'd still reccomend them. They are ungodly expensive but it is summer and they are still cheaper and less embarassing then me running after the ice cream truck :)

2010-05-19T21:16:00.001-04:00

Lunch for tomorrow, dessert for tonight

2010-05-18T23:15:00.003-04:00

LUNCH! I mashed up some black beans, carrots, broccoli, and then remembered my spinach and put some on top and a slice of provolone cheese...oooh and hot sauce. I am just waiting for the babyfood comments tomorrow and I am not excited about them....

Nobody at my work is what you would call "health conscience" in fact one of my co-workers who is a nursing student stared at me in disbelief after I freaked out when she told me she often eats ramen from the vending machine....Now I am no food snob, but I did manage to get through all 4 years of college without ramen. Pretty sure spaghetti and sauce is the same price and doesn't have 7 days worth of sodium..Okay I realize I drink diet soda so I will get off my soap box...

I just thought you would like to see a "behind the scenes" with all my "raw" ingredients... if you haven't used canned beans and are trying them out, know that they go bad REALLY fast, I mean 3-4 days tops and your fridge will start to smell like you are storing dead bodies.

Okay and dessert time for the night, 1/2 a frozen banana with a spoon of peanut butter and a cup of leftover coffee.....ummm so this skinny caramel macchiatto creamer, I will have to toss this I finally looked at the serving size today 1tsp for 30 cals?!?! yikes its not worth it especially since I like a lot of milk in my coffee.

so hungry!

2010-05-18T18:36:00.002-04:00

Wow I was so hungry when I got home I didn't even stop to check my email ( thats legit crazy hungry for me) I made some chicken and cooked it in a skillet with el paso fajita seasoning. I blended black beans, two tomatillos , sour cream , and the rest of my green pepper, hot sauce and lime juice and blended. Very good for a "fridge cleaning" idea.

ugh bad blogger

2010-05-17T21:52:00.004-04:00

FIRST: My lunch for tomorrow turkey sandwich w/ monterey jack cheese, an orange, and a delights rasberry and chocolate yogurt(this stuff is goooddd) ...mmm I'm already excited!!!

sorry I'm a bad blogger, unfortunately the girl who comes in after me called in and I had to stay :( I was kind of upset because 1. I had an incredible dinner planned ( I will do it tomorrow) and 2. I then had to go out and buy dinner because I could not work 9 to 9 with eating some dinner! So I ended up getting a campbells healthy request soup and a box of cheese whales. Oh well more excitement for me tomorrow

just call me kermit

2010-05-16T21:00:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the blurrrrr I had a slimfast shake I found in my garage then I went grocery shopping. I got lots of veggies for monster shakes and just had to test out my magic bullet

In this monster shake

1/2 cup almond breeze

1/2 banana

5 ice cubes

a few handfuls of spinach

a little bit of the green pepper mush from my earlier post

and just in time for desperate housewives!!

Lunch X2 snack and Dinner

2010-05-16T18:27:00.002-04:00

Dinner: Lean Cuisine Shrimp Alfredo w/ peas and broccoli. and then some broccoli on top. Theres so much sauce in these things I always add some extra veggies in.
mmm raw beans, I ate these and then ate another helping
The makings of a lunch. I decided to kill two birds with one stone by making my lunch for today while making my lunch for tomorrow. Light bread is one of my go-to diet foods love it or hate it, it saves mad cals. I will never understand why bread companies can't find a happy medium its either 35 cals a slice or 100 cals a slice CMON people.
My lunch! Fittingly in a taco bell bag, I packed one of those sandwiches, a 100 calorie cheesecake yogurt with graham crackers crumbs on top and carrots, I killed the rest of the bag from that photo above.

Getting Fit Gimmicks

2010-05-16T12:53:00.002-04:00

So I've decided to start healthy eating a day early, eating crappy food was really getting to me I just felt blahh....soooo time to throw out the junk and start eating vegetables again!! I'm excited I want to feel healthy and fit for the summer!

Magic Bullet Lesson 1: Apparently you need to read instructions.... So this was once a pepper now it is salsa. I am going to try to find something to do with this
These are my Reebok Easytones, I don't think they have done much for me but I do love them they are comfy and give you that nice tingly feeling after walking for a while in them and sitting down.
Magic Bullet- after a year and a half...yes a year and a half of wanting one of these I finally got one. I am sooo excited I should have done this a year and a half ago... Except for the pepper incident I think we are going to get along splendidly. I got it at Kohls for $49.99 plus 15% because I used my charge card!
I've had this soda stream soda maker since Christmas, its the perfect thing to have if you are an avid soda drinker. I try to replace at least one of my soda cravings with sodawater instead. I just end up drinking a whole bottle once I start so its a great way to get in my eight servings of water a day. This was off of kohls.com too!

Alright well I'm going to put the radio on blast and start doing some way late and much needed spring cleaning. Our neighborhood has biannual garage sales (I love garage sales, its half the fun knowing which of your neighbors should be on "hoarders") So what do you do with your old stuff? Garage sales? Ebay? Goodwill? Trash? Let me know!

Back and more inspired than ever!

2010-05-15T18:27:00.002-04:00

So I've really missed blogging so I'm excited to be starting up again! I have gained weight and am really ready to get back on track with calorie counting...startinggg Monday, I don't know about you but for some reason I feel the need to gorge on food I pretend I'm never going to eat again before I start my cleanse! Soo my favorite foods to gorge on sour cream and onion chips I absolutely have no control! Its sad really but I never buy them soo I have really been enjoying them this weekend. I got some Tyson chicken fingers and a frozen pizza (definitely should have just gotten a slice from a restaurant frozen is always a mistake) oohh and kraft mac and cheese! Soo now that you know the dirty truth I really am excited to start my diet. I know exactly when I need to start dieting because I starting freaking out when a camera emerges! So hopefully next week I'll be a few pounds thinner and even more motivated to continue on my diet! I will keep you updated! I'm not sure what my goal is pound-wise because I have scale issues but I keep track by how my jeans fit!

So I want to hear it! What are your before diet rituals? What are your favorite diet meals/snacks?

Same Writer, New Venue

2009-11-02T20:16:00.002-05:00

Hey if you've been saddened by lack of new posts don't worry! I'm currently an intern at Saratoga NY Style & Events and have been writing for them! Please check it out! Our Official launch in December but for now we have a facebook page!

Become a fan!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saratoga-NY-Style-Events/144191849350

I'll continue to write here as well if it doesnt interfere with my internship. I have to sign some "non-competing" documents so I guess I'll find out then whether or not I'm allowed.

you can also type into google- Saratoga NY Style & Events - its the first one!

I'd like an energy bar sandwich please

2009-10-12T00:35:00.002-04:00

love energy bars? love sandwiches? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can be transformed by adding a fun ingredient in the middle. I personally love putting in a few broken up pretzels but getting creative can only add to the fun you can have with this old fashioned favorite. chocolate chips, raisins, granola, honey nut cheerios are just a few ideas. Happy pbandj-ing!!!

100 calorie pack- The Great Debate

2009-10-07T15:35:00.002-04:00

Love 100 cal packs or hate them? I'm always a fine line with them, I think because some are good and some are not. I haven't bought any in a while but I used to enjoy pairing the chips ahoy 100 cal pack with a light N fit yogurt back when they were only 60 calories for a 160 calorie "fake sundae". I think the key is to avoid eating them when you are very hungry because that will just end up making 4 out of the 6 packs in your kitchen disappear. There have been studies shown though that the 100 calorie packs help you to better measure portion size when eating out a large bag. I am not good with large portions, the 100 calorie packs help me stop because I can eat the whole bag and then toss it, but I'm pretty sure if you put a large bag of chips in front of me I'd eat at least half actually I'm completely sure of this :)

One snack I've been eating a lot of (I've officially started writing down calories the last 3 days and getting back on track with food) 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese (80 calories) 1/4 cup fiber one original cereal (30 calories) and a tablespoon of sugar free strawberry jam (10 calories) for 120 calories I'm eating healthier and getting a lot more substance than I would from a 100 calorie pack.

I'd love to hear some of the great snacks you come up with in the kitchen!

winner winner chicken dinner

2009-10-05T23:13:00.002-04:00

so I found an awesome new product that I love, love, love! Hormel White chicken chili! I just love chili and this is a great, quick dinner idea. its 240 cal/ 8g fat/5 g fiber per cup. I added a half cup of corn (60 cal) to bulk it up a little more. It has 2.5 servings in it which I hate the half serving like am I going to be half as hungry? No I'm going to eat 1.5 times more but other than that go out and test this out you wont be disapointed!

dinner and a leftover lunch!

2009-10-04T22:49:00.002-04:00

okay so yesterday being the sweeet amazing daughter I am I offered to make dinner!

STUFFED CHEESE AND PEPPER CHICKEN
I had three chicken breasts and cut them almost in half but not quite so filling could be put inside. I put a light laughing cow cheese wedge with chopped red pepper in each of the chicken breasts and closed them. I then melted some butter and mixed it with salt, pepper, crushed garlic and dried basil and just dipped my hands in it and rubbed it on the chicken breasts and put them in the oven for 30 mins at 400 degrees.

PARM OVEN ROASTED BROCCOLI
melt some butter or use olive oil. mix in cup with crushed garlic, parmesan cheese and pepper. Put broccoli in large bowl and pour mixture over and mix with your hands until broccoli is covered. when chicken only has 15 minutes left put the broccoli in with it.

I also made a batch of I believe it is East Side rice pilaf, it was really good and tasted nice mixed up with the leftover broccoli when I ate it for lunch today.

My mom doesnt like cheese that much so I ended up cutting up half of her left over stuffed chicken and eating it on wheat bread with come garlic hummus for lunch today.

Cash for clunkers! except with make-up

2009-10-03T19:38:00.002-04:00

I got an email and I was just soo excited to tell everyone (sorry male readers)! Sephora make-up has a cash for clunkers program with old make up! I'm sure everyone has that lipstick that looked so good in the store and when you got home you decided you like a clown. Well anyways bring any five unwanted pieces of make up and get $10 off $50 purchase...Heres the even better news. It doesnt have to be sephora make up it can be drugstore make up they just want to recycle the cases!

Recessionista's Unite!

2009-10-03T16:55:00.003-04:00

Do you find yourself going out less and less with friends to save cash? Sometimes I find it a little sad that food and drinks are the first things I think of when meeting up with the gals, but lets face it: food and drinks are awesome! I have some great ideas that will make saving money fun!

Potluck dinner- have a group of people that you go out with? Staying in can be cheap and delicious! How else are you going to eat and drink for under $10. You can take turns "hosting" so one person isnt always stuck with clean up! Give everyone a $10 or less spending limit and a type of food in mind. Fun ideas:
FOOD
*tortilla chips with different kinds of salsa
*veggies and dip
*homemade pita chips and hummus
*baked ziti or mac and cheese
*2 subs from the subway $5 menu cut up into smaller sections
*sushi ( unless everyone is a seasoned sushi eater stick with cali and veggie rolls which are enjoyed by all and cheap!)
MISC
*napkins plates cups-if no one wants to wash and buying them all once will last for several parties ( buy recycled :))
*drink mixers

The host can be in charge of alcohol (yes this may be a little more expensive but that why you take turns) and making an awesome playlist for her guests. If you want to make it a weekly event find a TV show and everyone likes and center your nights around it!

Happy Hours-the best idea EVER! Happy hours are a great way to try new restaurants, food, drinks and save money! Happy hours are usually Monday-Friday from 5 to 9 so there can't be hours and hours of getting ready if you have a job ( which I don't but if I did...okay don't know where Im going with this) I usually call ahead and ask the hostess because waitresses can be pretty secretive about happy hour specials reasoning: just because you get a 1/2 priced appetizer you still have to leave a full priced tip! You would think this would be common sense but sadly it is not. Recessionistas still need to tip well for good service!

Great Deals going on
I'm going to write about national chains that have great deals so this is useful to everyone but it's usually the non-chains that have great daily specials and deals so check out your neighborhood and help local businesses

TGIFridays
lunch- $6.99 unlimited salad, soup, breadsticks and coffee, tea or soda. Tested and approved
Football season(gameday)-$7.99 ribs, $3.99 6 , boneless wings, $3.99 2 jack daniels sliders

CHILIS
2 people- 3 courses-$20, after further investigation- you share an appetizer, both get an entree (theres a few salads to pick from), and you share a dessert.

APPLEBESS
lunch-pick n'pair starting at $5.99 choose from soup, salad, sandwich, pasta
2-for-$20 an app and two entrees

RED LOBSTER/OLIVE GARDEN
*soup salad bread sticks lunch
*have smaller portions for cheap
*endless shrimp...omg such a bad and great idea all rolled into one.

CHEESECAKE FACTORY
*smaller portions (if you've seen their portions you know a small portion here is a normal portion anywhere else) for cheap, you can also split meals here.

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE
15 meals under $15

Hope this has helped you out some and since this is a saturday night you might want to take one of these ideas and run with it!

Money-wise meals

2009-10-02T21:44:00.002-04:00

Going along with the hunger challenge I'm going to do a semi-recap of my recent meals/money-wise meals.

1. spaghetti and meatballs ( its a classic and delicious)
2. broccoli and rice with shredded cheese (QUICK and can be used with anything to get rid of leftovers) ( grains tip-if you have a whole foods nearby, look in the bulk food bins for your grains, they have super cheap basmati rice I know for a fact)
3. Salads- again a great way to get rid of odds and ends in the fridge and is especially cheap if you buy heads of lettuce instead of bags.
4. frozen meals- I know a lot of health bloggers would rather die than eat a frozen meal but deliciousness so quickly with enough sauce to put in an extra cup of veggies I say DO IT! Kashi makes some great FILLING meals that are totally worth thr $4 price tag.
5. My favorite EGGs , egg sandwich, boiled, scrambled, omeletted pretty much anyway you do it you cant mess up.
6. Feelin fast? I say Wendy's - you can't beat it chili and side salad on the dollar menu!

I failed the hunger challenge today I'm ashamed to say, I chauffered my mom around this morning because she had foot surgery and needed to go to an appoinment and a store and I did not say no when she offered to buy me breakfast at dunkin donuts. I went on a date which I thought would just be coffee but turned into lunch; I had MORE coffee and an amazingg chicken santa fe wrap (chicken, cheddar cheese, roasted red peppers) soo good, and then for dinner my dad broughtphilly cheesesteak subs home. So even though I spent zero cash I thought I would admit these to you b/c it is freakin hard not to spend money on food when you are outside of your house and HUNGRY!

I'm very excited about my next post! stay tuned...

Fruit Snacks- literally

2009-09-29T16:42:00.003-04:00

Soooo Dr Oz, heard of him? I was reading an article about him in Health Magazine and how he "healthed up" a family. One of the things I read thats really quite obivious but you never really think of it at the time was.... when you are in snacking mode and you can't stop and are eating a bunch of junk food your body is not going to get nutritionally full. When you are snacking your body is looking for a certain nutrient that it is lacking and cheetos are probably not what it wants. Next time you are eating everything in sight really think, did I eat protein, calcium, vitamin C today? Maybe try to crush two birds with one stone by eating a cheese stick with an apple or melted cheese over broccoli. mmm I just love cheese. Today, as I am doing my version of hunger challenge I've been eating fruit for my snacks a banana and a kiwi if you havent already guessed. It's obviously not that much of a challenge today because I have so much food in the house but once it starts getting to the 4th day I'll be hurting. Have an awesome day!

egg beaters + mushrooms + laughing cow ligh cheese wedge = heaven

2009-09-29T13:01:00.002-04:00

I had 2 servings of eggbeaters left, 1/2 cup of mushrooms and one laughing cow garlic and herb cheese wedge. Cook the mushrooms first so they get soft that add the add and cheese....SO delicious!

Ode to a thoughtful blogger

2009-09-28T18:06:00.002-04:00

heateatreview.com is one of the most entertaining blogs I read. Its very relevant to me as I love a good frozen dinner. Abi Jones, the creator of HER is funny, smart and thoughtful. She is partaking in a hunger challenge where she only spends $4 on food everyday. Are you wondering why $4? It's because that is what you get to spend when you are on food stamps. $4? I've spent more on a coffee! So $28 per week, that makes the dollar menu start looking expensive. Knowing abi is ONLY spending $4 a day on food I've decided to tighten my belt a little as well. I'm going to only eat what I have at my house- no eating out, no grabbing a coffee or soda when I'm out. I'm also going to go through my pantry and donate everything that has not been used in the last few months. Seriously, that pure pumpkin I bought 4 months ago would be a lot better used making pumpkin pies or muffins for others. I know everyone is struggling financially these days but I think it would be great if you did have something to give to a local food bank whether it be food or time to donate this month, I know everyone starts thinking about those in need during the holidays but people are hungry 365 days a year!

SemiHealthy's playlist to rock out to in the gym/shower/house party

2009-09-27T23:52:00.002-04:00

Kanye West-Work out Plan
MGMT-Kids
Britney Spears-Radar
Maroon 5- Little of your Time
Taylor Swift-Our Song
Jason Derulo-Whatcha Say
Scissor Sisters- I Don't feel like dancing
Beyonce- Check up on it
Vanessa Carlton- Nolita Fairytale
Lady Gaga- Paparazzi

just try not to sing at the gym (its incredibly hard for me!)

Hunger Cues

2009-09-27T23:38:00.002-04:00

So I was just thinking about being hungry and how mean I get when I am in this state. Honestly you do not want to mess around with me when I am hungry-nothing is funny to me and the only thing that will provide me with happiness is food in my mouth. Listening to your body's cues is such an important aspect of health, whether its saying "I'm full" , "I'm hungry, girl you best be feeding me soon" or "Ouch stop exercising I need rest". I am trying very hard to work on this but sometimes I feel like my cues go into over drive. When I haven't eaten in a while I always have to eat an insane amount of food until I'm satisfied but by satisfied I mean laying on the couch because I'm soooo full. And sometimes its hard to tell when my muscles are just sore or if I really should take it easy. hmmm, I guess I'm not really giving advice but thinking out loud. One thing I have noticed is water throughout the day is essential for stopping those fake hunger cues, that are really thirsty cues. I learned from experience once you get that fake hunger from being thirsty its too late, you're hungry go grab an apple but drinking throughout the day is the way to go. Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I was DD :)

black beans

2009-09-23T17:23:00.002-04:00

I almost forgot I had a blog! Well I thought I'd write about a GREAT food for dieting and not dieting. Black beans are a hearty way to get in your fiber not to mention protein. 1/2 cup is only 100 calories and has 7g of protein and 8g of fiber and ZERO fat! Today I cooked up a 1/2 cup of these with chopped red and yellow peppers, a wedge of low fat laughing cow garlic and herb cheese and a little bit a hot sauce! I'm trying to eat smaller snacky meals so this is a great 140 cal snack or put it on top of a bed of lettuce to jazz up your salad.

Also I'm an omelette queen! My omelette pan has sadly start to chip away :( I bought a new one at Bed bath and Beyond but it started chipping during its first use!!! Does anyone have an omelette pan they love? tell me the brand and where you bought it!

Sorry to have deserted you my children!

2009-09-11T12:31:00.003-04:00

Okay so I had a brief affair with a 10 hour a day job that was 5 to 6 days a week. It was all commision, no benefits, and I had to pay for my traveling and food costs. After two and a half weeks I realized I couldn't AFFORD this job! haha theres a problem when you are paying to have a job. This was my experience atleast. Has anyone had a job with the company CYDCOR? I'm very interested in learning about people experiences and thoughts. CYDCOR is main corporate office and all the branches are named different names by the managers. I don't want to say too many bad things about the company but I noticed about 2 to 3 different people interviewing everyday and the office was only about 30 people. We had a meeting every morning that I can honestly say de-motivated me because it was basically shaming me into staying with the company-saying that anyone who quit didnt have good work ethic. I've worked 70 hour weeks, I have no problem with work ethic but I need to see the benefits for me that would be money. Alright share any good, bad, indifferent experiences you or someone you know have had :)

Yankee Trader Crab Cakes!

2009-08-11T23:07:00.002-04:00

I bought some delicious and LOW CAL crabcakes and just had to blog about them. I got a pack that came 2 in a box at 60 calories a cake for $4.99. it was big enough to be put on a roll but I ate it plain with ketchup (like I do with way too many foods) and it was pretty substantial that I didn't need to eat a slice of leftover pizza (but I did)

A Great Debate

2009-08-05T21:35:00.002-04:00

I had work today, as I was driving to work this adorable old man with a man purse was walking across the street right when the light turned green. I was far enough away that it didnt matter but then he kept giving everyone in the street the middle finger! Brought a smile to my face, I love crazy people.
Okay anyways on with the debate. This is for people that have worked in restaurants or chefs. The chef at my place is super mean and yells at people for no reason. All the servers were talking about past chefs and past jobs and said they have never met a nice chef. Every restaurant I've worked at the chefs have been such sweethearts but it seems that the overwhelming concensus is that chefs are jerks :) Have you worked with a mean chef? A nice chef? Are you a chef and want your say about what is really going on in the kitchen? I would like to know so write a comment if you got one!

I got the Frontega chicken panini from Panera today after work (we are supposed to have an employee meal before the restaurant gets busy but we didnt, read above paragraph for reason). I hate being so hungry that you need something really filling but don't have the patience to cook it :( oh well it was delicious!

New Obsession (not such a good one!)

2009-08-03T11:05:00.002-04:00

don't EVEN ask me why this picture is SOO BIG! :) Okay well I've gone pretty much my whole life thinking I hated hotdogs. Bad experience? maybe. Plus everyone saying they put EVERY undesirable thing under the sun in them helped to keep me away from this food. There always seemed to be a burger option at BBQs and I LOVE burgers so I never had to face a dog in the eye :) but when I got to college there would be tailgates with HOTDOGS ONLY. I would either starve or get drunk enough where I ate one and later later was like "I was sooo drunk I ate a hotdog!!!" But the other week I was at the store and saw these Hebrew Nationals 97% fat free and I had to have them! They were $3 on sale for 7 dogs which was a lot more than any other but when you are trying something out for the first time you always choose the company that "answers to a higher authority" I don't know too much about kosher but I do know mixing meat and dairy is a no-no and that it is a very sanitary process when they cut the meat and such. Lets just say integrity is used when making this food! Okay soo I ate two for breakfast (we have NOTHING in this house) and they were awesome covered in horseradish-mustard and ketchup in a toasted bun! When you have are having a cook out party holla out to the health concious ladies and gents and get these!

Heres comes the rain

2009-08-02T17:48:00.002-04:00

I can't believe how rainy and gross New York has been. I've barely been here a week and I'm ready to pack up and move back to Ohio. Reasons why rain is awesome: My car has never looked this clean and I never have to go outside and water my garden. Reasons why rain is not awesome: every other reason than those two. Its really pouring here, so much so that I can barely here my Law and Order SVU! Mariska Hagartay is soo beautiful, I hope I didn't botch her name too bad. I popped out of bed at 7 and worked from 10-3 today I got home by 4 and pretty much lounged around and have been looking for jobs. Ughh looking for jobs is so depressing, does a college education count for anything these days? I already know the answer: No. Tomorrow is my only day off I fear for the next century so it better be beautiful. Wow I'm such a complainer! I hope everyone else is a little less down in the dumps than me, I just need some sun!

FOOD NEWS! For breakfast I made myself a fantastic omelet with my parents omelet maker (its so old I think they got it for their wedding or something) If you are ANYTHING like me omelets are just an impossible food to make unless you have a fancy tool ( if I just have a skillet they just become scrambled eggs with stuff in them) I made one yesterday w/ ham/spinach and cheese and today was spinach/cheese/sourcream. I think I need some onions and mushrooms they just get together with eggs and harmonize amazingly :) I've been making 3 egg omelets because I have a long day ahead of me at the restaurant and need some PROTEIN to keep me going all day.

A lesson in life from Jillian Michaels

2009-07-31T20:32:00.002-04:00

Hate her or love her, the woman has got a sick bod. I've always been a fan of biggest loser, although I have never watched a complete season I'm always hooked to it when I catch an episode on TV. Jillian doesn't take crap from anyone, shes a no nonsense lady that gets results and I love her for that. I recieved the 30 day shred for my birthday and I must say it completely changed the way I look at exercise. I used to go to the gym and do an easy 45 mins on the eliptical and then do a few sit ups and leave. After working out with the 30 day shred I realized that exercise is EXERCISE for a reason. You need to feel "worked out" when you leave the gym. If you don't get sore, you aren't going to see results. When I go to the gym I now realize a hard 15 minutes is going to do sooo much more to change my body than a easy 45 minutes. Keys to knowing whether or not you are "working out". You should feel a little uncomfortable, you should be sweating, and my personal favorite the belly test-your stomach is cold you are working out, when you sweat and your belly gets colds because your body is trying desperately to maintain homestastis.

I just want to be a grown up with a vocation, but I'll tell you about my day foodwise

2009-07-30T19:14:00.002-04:00

my dad grilled up a Perdue's perfect portion chicken breast with Sweet Baby Ray's sauce. I'm very particular about what kind of bbq sauce I like and this stuff in awesome, beyond awesome even. I also ate some delicious corn from a farmers market and zucchini cooked in tomato sauce (ehh so-so but don't tell my mom this is one of her "classic recipes")

I got a job but not a job that I'm really excited about. I'm a server at a nearby country club. My boss told me several times how "demanding" the customers can be....oh fun :) This willl probably be something I only do for the next few months anyways and hopefully only on the weekends once I get a real job.

Breakfast and lunch were both the same thing-leftover Spinoccoli Pizzeria Uno pizza. I think I've mentioned "trigger foods" before, pizza is one for me. When its in the house it fills my dreams and its all I think about until it is gone. This pizza has got some power to it. It is heavy as anything and has a crust like a crossiant sooo good and its actually filling after two slices...shocking.

Dinner recap, salad for lunch and a sad dinner

2009-07-29T13:16:00.003-04:00

I saw an ad for this on the side of my blog the other day and had to try it! I got the Wanchai Ferry Sweet and Spicy shrimp meal. I ofcourse added broccoli to it but it would have had two pretty big portions without the added veg. it was 4.5 grams fat/400 cal/13 g protein per serving (not prepared but just use some more water and pam instead of oil) which if you love chinese food but don't get it b/c of the scarily unknown amount of calories this was an excellent runner up.

I've become addicted to salads, I go through a salad phase at least once a year where they are all I can think about. Today was green peppers, carrots, lettuce, banana peppers, cheddar cheese, cucumber and blue cheese dressing. It was really good although I'm going to try to switch to a lighter dressing from now on than Marzetti'sUltimate Blue Cheese :) It really is a phenomenal dressing though. I had come home from the gym and had eaten a banana and a few cherries because I heard bananas are good for sore muscles (can anyone vouge for this?) and also fruit's vitamins and antioxidants are much better digested when eaten alone on an empty stomach.

I have mentioned this in a few posts before so I'm not going to try to depress anyone too much but we are putting down my dog today. Its a sad thing ofcourse but after seeing her lack of quality of life this past week I'm wierdly okay with it, or maybe it just hasnt hit me yet. Shes definately not the same dog I grew up with. My family's going to order in some Pizzeria Uno tonight because we all will need a little comfort food and no one will feel like cooking.

planting my garden

2009-07-27T19:16:00.002-04:00

Today I drove over to Hewitts a local garden store and bought sweet basil, green beans, cucumber and tomato seeds. I held off on the tomatoes because they take a long time to harvest and can be bought half grown nearby. I got bit by a lot of mosquitoes and stung by a bee on my elbow, I can barely straighten my arm (awesome) but hopefully it will all be worth it in the next month and a half when I'm eating my own produce. Its been a rainy NY this summer, I've only been home for a few days and its rained everyday of it so I hope this won't negatively affect my plants and only rain enough so I don't have to go out and water my plants :)

My camera is still packed but I went grocery shopping the minute I got home and have some awesome products I want to recommend!

I bought a box of this, I know it is not the healthiest cereal out there but its soo delicious and stopped me from eating an entire jar of PB.

Walmart's (warning, not an actual photo) -Black bean and corn pico de gallo! I found this in the refrigerated section near the produce for $2 and can't stop eating it. I've put it over a bunch of lettuce and then put some shredded cheese on top and a little blue cheese dressing for an awesome salad

Also glad to see I have some new followers! It makes me very excited that people are reading my blog and I'm not just writing this for my benefit! so thanks to everyone that has been following so far!

Disapearing act!

2009-07-26T13:36:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone I havent posted in the past few days because I just made the LONG trip home from Columbus, Ohio to Saratoga Springs, NY. I've been unpacking and seeing friends so I havent had any time for the blog! I went to Fridays last night and had the Santa Fe chopped salad (no olives) and it was really good and if you go to www.tgifridays.com you can print $5 off for every person you bring along! Nothing better than going out to eat with friends in the summer and their drink list was really hard to resist! okay I'm going to make a sandwich

God's gift to college Students

2009-07-22T15:34:00.002-04:00

So I just came back from an econ experiment and not only are they fun they are profitable. I made $20 in an hour just for playing money games! I'd been driving around for about 15 minutes looking for a spot beforehand b/c I think I packed up my umbrella and it was about to pour! The whole time I was playing I was thinking MY CAR BETTER NOT GET TOWED!!! I checked the sign a few times but on my way there I saw 2 meter ticketers so no one is ever safe! If you are a college kid look into stuff like this at your school-econ and psych experiments are the most common, theres also a lot of medical studies at my school as well but I'm too afraid to take pills for cash(you get paid in the 1,000's though, very tempting)!!! I got started because they automatically signed up econ students but any major can do them. Well my car didnt get towed incase you were wondering and I also packed up my trunk so I'm ready for my move-out EARLY friday morning, my parents are bringing my dog Katie up for the trip b/c shes just not doing too good and they feel bad leaving her with the neighbors and the vet can't take dogs on weekends.

southwestern vegetable soup lunch and a product endorsement

2009-07-22T12:48:00.003-04:00

I had a can of progresso southwesten style vegetable soup! I love soup and this is an awesome low-cal soup, I wanted to pair with with a slice of bread and garlic hummus but the fridge has seemed to have eaten it :/ oh well I'll probably have a kids clif Zbar right now.

It is time I do another "I don't know what I'd do without this product" post! The Body Shop is hands down the scent masters, I put this on after my shower and I can't stop smelling myself and feeling how soft my skin is, its truly a miracle in a jar!

Healthy Tuna Salad sandwich

2009-07-21T16:20:00.002-04:00

I would have taken a picture but I was about 1/2 done with the sandwich before I even thought about it. I stirred up a can of solid white tuna in water (drained it) with a BIG squeeze of yellow mustard and a small squeeze of FF zesty italian dressing. I needed a crunch and was saddened because I didn't have celery but found a close second! A jar of dill pickles! i love pickles and they gave the right amount of crunch in my tuna sandwich and I had two more on the side.

Its a miracle people! I finally sold my bed and its out of my house! I couldn't be more pleased! Its the only thing I KNOW I wouldn't be able to fit in my dads car. I was feeling hungry @ 3 but meeting people after a tuna sandwich is not something I'm willing to do so I waited until they came and took the bed so I didn't eat until 4.

Dinner last night- Smart Ones Lemon Herb Chicken Piccata w/ rice-(230 cals) really good but I was hungry after an hour and got a cup of Cookie dough @ UDF

Dunkin Donuts Flatbread and iced coffee

2009-07-21T12:37:00.003-04:00

I woke up to find out I had somehow slept through my alarm?!?! I'm such a light sleeper in the morning I'm not sure how this could've happened! So I couldnt get my starbucks pastry but maybe it was for the best since like I said I'm not a pastry girl to begin with! I went to the bank and everytime I go to the bank I reward myself with coffee not made by me so I went to Dunkin Donuts and got an egg white, turkey sauage and cheese flatwrap on whole wheat. I got a iced coffee w/ skin milk and 3 splenda. So delicious! The sandwich how ever...mehh not the best bread ever and it was pretty bland. I spent half the time wondering if they accidentally gave me the veggie wrap but then I saw a little ball of turkey sausage and knew that this was their idea of a meat sandwich :( I took an absolutely terrible bite in the car then waited until I got home and loaded it with mustard to cover up the blandness...not exactly what you want to do to a tiny $4 sandwich. Atleast my mom gave me a ton of coupons to DD from a calendar she bought so my coffee was free!

lunch time

2009-07-20T13:30:00.002-04:00

Wow that mcmuffin and coffee kept me full for hours! The hunger finally started up and I had my version of a baked potato with McCain seasoned fries, broccoli with minced garlic, mexican cheese and hot sauce! I had this last week and it was so good I had to have it again, tonight will probably be a tuna sammie or one of my frozen dinners. I'll keep you informed about the exciting choice I make!

My one task for the day, besides getting my coffee mocha was to re-install my closet doors after taking them off two short years ago, I cannot for the life of me figure it out. I may have to get the help of a male on this one...

broke and lovin' it (please get the McD's reference!) and last nights amazingness!

2009-07-20T09:15:00.004-04:00

So my roomate who works with me went out for dinner and drinks last night with my boss Sarah. Shes a fun young lady and we've always talked about going out together but never got around to it until I had to leave. It was soo much fun , Julia(roommate) and I cabbed it down to Rossi in the Short North b/c ever since I was plating mint leaves on dessert plates all I could think about was how much I wanted to try a mojito(alcoholic much? yeah I know). Sarah told us this place had the best mojitos and with no other mojito experiences to reference from I'd have to agree, Julia and I sucked down two while Sarah got a belevedere martini! We then got 2 margarita pizzas-rumored best pizza in c-bus, definitely could have gotten just one but atleast Sarah has some awesome leftovers and ofcourse Sarah being a sweetheart paid for everything TOTALLY UNEXPECTED, but soo nice of her! If you live in the Columbus area or are ever visiting Rossi is a great place to eat and drink at and its very low key on Sundays atleast! We were all up for some more drinks and Julia and I were telling Sarah we were buying her everything from now on! Ofcourse when we got to Bodega and I tried to get my credit card out it totally flew across the bar and Sarah yet again paid. When I ordered my 2nd blue moon I already had my money in hand to throw at the bartender! The Tour De France was on TV and Sarah knew everything about it, it was crazy! I had no idea how much strategy and politics were in biking! They all bike in those lines because it helps each other out and theres also people in the race that bascially try to push you off course called the peliton? probably wrong this was about 3 drinks in when Sarah was telling me. I think there was a couple on a first date or something across from us at the bar and the guy was totally talking to Sarah the whole time about the race and his poor date kept rolling her eyes! Note to self: never on any circumstance on a date sit at a bar. The night was so much fun and as much as the Columbus can be really hokey, the Short North is one of the hippest places I've ever been to; your car feels the change in energy as you drive through it.

So this week is clearly not going to be healthy! I have an excuse though! Too many fast food establishments are giving away food and I couldn't possibly turn them down could I? So my friend told me about McDonalds summer giveaways and you can get FREE Mocha lattes every Monday from 7 am to 7pm! So I'm pretty sure thats why my body naturally bounced out of bed at 8:30 am and thought COFFEE! I got a sausage McMuffin too b/c I felt a little weird going just for a free coffee so I got a 16 OZ iced coffee and a sauasage McMuffin for a $1?? what?? crazy and I was about to go to the exxon station next door for a coffee! I do think they gave me the wrong size coffee though b/c my friend told me sample sized, so no one get your hopes up. McDonalds also has a $1 any size soda (umm large obvs) for an unknown amount of time as well.

as for tomorrow, Starbucks sent me an invite for a free pastry with any beverage purchase! I'm soo not a pastry girl but I like to stick it to Starbucks whenever I can, when at Starbucks I never realize 4 dollars for a coffee is ridiculous but when I'm at the supermarket buying 260 cups of folgers coffee for $6 I'm like wow starbucks you are a tricky minx. I mean its such a good idea, coffee is the oxygen of the morning you can charge pretty much anything you want for it and people will pay it. Okay well if I get any more tips on good deals on food or you have one send it in! Also if any readers want to send in an AWESOME local restaurant in or near their town so that we can have some "inside" knowledge if we travel there that would be great! When I get back to Saratoga Springs I'll be doing some reviews!

lunchtime

2009-07-19T15:15:00.004-04:00

food time! I had a grilled cheese and broc sandwich, I covered the outside with minced garlic...love garlic, I liked this idea of adding a veg to grilled cheese I bet it would be really good w/ onions or mushrooms or both! I had the rest of a head of lettuce I had. It was getting dangeroulsy old and looks a lot like iceberg in this pic. I covered it in some light balsamic dressing, still tasted good! And also theres a babes in blogland contest, so if you like my blog a lot give me a vote! http://somethingiwantedtotellyou.blogspot.com/ theres more info @ Kims website!

Weekend Recap

2009-07-18T23:17:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I cleaned out the kitchen of all the stuff I brought and washed it all so it would be super clean. After soaking and handcleaning all the silverware I must say, girls are disgusting! I fashioned myself some "towel-shoes" and cleaned our kitchen/living room floor because our mop was not up for the challenge! The rest of the cleaning involved a lot of comet! When I get started I really don't mind cleaning its just the whole getting started part thats hard!

On to the fun, I drove down to Cincinnati to visit my friend who just got a job. He technically lives in Kentucky so last night we literally walked from Kentucky to Ohio to go out! We went to a club called Cadillac Ranch and it was pretty crazy, they had a mechanical bull there (I don't do mechanical bulls I learned one night several times over that they just aren't for short people) I saw a bride on it! Her friend was tucking her dress in for her so it wouldn't go anywhere and all I could think was "shouldn't you be on your honeymoon?" hahah well to each their own! So that was my crazy night in cincin, before I left I had to get an oil change, my car was yelling at me the whole way there. Thank goodness Kevin went with me I've actually never gotten an oil change or anything like that, kind of embarrassing but thats what dads are for, shout out to Rob! We got there and the whole place smelled of...an illicit green plant and all the mechanics were acting accordingly atleast there was someone out there to laugh at the ridiculous amount of bird poop covering my car (sadistic columbus birds, you know who you are) so I just prayed they remembered to change my oil after making fun of my car. I got a $10 discount for going to OSU so that was pretty awesome and my car was ready for a trip back to c-bus. I drove home late afternoon I realized I hadn't eaten anything in about 20 hours except for vodka and was happy I packed a banana and a fiberone bar. I stopped by Jeffersonville Prime outlets b/c I saw it on my way there and couldnt resist on the way back, I didnt end up getting anything though. I went to the Fossil Outlet and saw my beloved sunglasses that broke but the two pairs they had at the outlet were half-broken, I took that as a sign and stopped searching. I love Fossil sunglasses but they do break VERY easily-but they also have an awesome return policy in the retail stores, so word of the wise save your fossil receipts and all will be fine. I wanted to go to the Coach outlet to see if they had a purse to match my adorable wristlet I got from Allie, but there was a long line out the door b/c they have a limit of the number of people that can go in at once, so I bailed. The setup was so confusing I ended up walking around the entire outlet to find my car, it was cold and I felt like people could smell booze on me so it was time to get back on the road. When I got home it was time for dinna so I got a chicken philly sandwich and fries from steakescape, love steak escape.

Save the world while saving your wallet

2009-07-16T15:08:00.002-04:00

I just got so inspired from my last post that I thought I would write a bunch of the things EVERYONE can do with little to know effort! But first my celebrity PET PEEVE!

I've heard Jennifer Aniston say in at least three interviews I've read ( and probably more) that she saves the world by only taking showers for three minutes, umm hello if we all had someone to wax our entire body and do our hair everyday we'd all only need 3 minutes in there. Also shes the spokesperson for a bottled water company! Seriously? taking a long shower is a lot less hurtful to the world than throwing another plastic bottle on the planet. Sorry I had to rant about that its been bothering me for years!

1. Unplug appliances you aren't using, a little bit of energy still is used even when the appliances arent being on! Crazy I know so unplug

2. I'm sure you've heard your dad say "are we single handedly supporting the electric company?" Mostly because my mom likes every light on in the house but its not needed! I try to do a sweep of the rooms before I leave the house to make sure all unoccupied rooms don't have lights on for...no one.

3. Carpool, do all you and all your roommates need jobs? Okay okay this is probably a lot easier in college but get a job together (thats what me and two of my roommates did!) Work is a lot more fun along with the trip to and from. Going along with that stop driving to places you can walk to, get some fresh air its a lot more relaxing than a 2 minute car ride. I got some serious guns carrying my groceries home in London!

4.Use the same cup all day, I drink a ton of water everyday and if I got a new cup every single time it'd be disgusting and our dishwasher would be running non-stop. So going along with my calling out JA for being a poser use the same cup in your house and get a reusable water bottle for your time away from home (don't use bottled water bottles over and over they give you cancer when heated)

5. Fill your gas tank in the morning (this isn't really saving the world but it saves cash!) As all you science people know heat makes gas expand , so when you fill your tank in the hot sun you are getting less bang for your buck and then when it gets cold the gas condenses. The best time to buy your gas is in the morning, 5 am is the coldest time of day, so rise and shine :)

6. pay it forward, getting your roommates and friends to start doing these easy tricks is going to make the biggest differences since two heads is better than one.

7. Re-use things, use your old grocery receipts to write your new shopping lists on the back, if you get plastic bags from the grocery store find something to reuse them for, save all the Christmas cards you get to cut up and make tags for gifts, go one step further and save those tags for next year. Towels- I use to 2 towels for my hair and body everyday, not necessary at all, use them as many times as you can while still feeling clean. Same goes with jeans.

Grocery shopping and a bit of work in the evening

2009-07-16T14:38:00.003-04:00

Grocery shopping! I've tried to not constantly go grocery shopping before I leave but I think it made me want to grocery shop more! Apparently I cannot live happily on canned diced tomatoes and granola bars ( I tried...for about 5 minutes) But I had such a shopping success that I WILL be able to survive the next week easy peasy. 1 bag frozen broc florets, 1 bag frozen green beans, loaf of bread, 2 frozen pizzas, 2 bags of shredded cheese, 1 can of tuna, 1 oscar mayer buffalo chicken flat wrap kit all for 13.75! Expect some loaded potato-broc, cheese, hot sauce sub fries for potato and grilled cheese. I already ate 1/2 of one of the pizzas and I'll be getting dinner via work tonight.

I get a lot of frozen vegetables because some raw vegetables are a lot harder to digest for me. I never realized it made a difference raw or cooked until I read about a boy with an allergy to raw vegetables and it was an like the clouds parted. I still eat them whenever they are around I LOVE CAULIFLOWER but on my own time I usually stick to salads.

MORAL DILEMMA- I love oscar mayer sandwich kits for their convenience but they are usually $$$ for a sandwich, I mean hello you have to put the sandwich together and they have sooo much packaging. I feel like such a typical american opening up one of those everything is in its own packaging :( after living in London it opened my eyes that other countries are making a bigger effort than us. I washed my clothes in front load washers, at the grocery store if I did not bring a reusable bag I got charged per plastic bag (which is not that fun but you remember to bring your own bags from home) and just in general they were a lot less wasteful. The bag you get your bread in becomes your lunch bag and so on. Now when I shop grocery or mall, I don't use a bag for stuff I can put in my purse or if I do have a bag already put all my purchases in one bag. This year I'm really going to try to do more and I'd love to hear what YOU do to save the world :)

Wife Swap!!!

2009-07-15T14:49:00.002-04:00

Please tell me somebody else watches this! The premise: Two families are chosen with completely different viewpoints ie: one religious strict family and wild family. Today's episode was especially crazy because there was one super religious family and then the other family (the dad anyway) basically studied the bible to rip religious peoples viewpoints apart. I watched a man cry because his daughter wrote a vow not to date on a piece of paper. I watched another man drive his daughter off in a van in the middle of the night because his daughter was being corrupted by outside forces. Omg I love it I can't get enough its constantly cringe-worthy and such a trainwreck. The thing the makes it even more funny is the swap is for two weeks and the people act like its two years in a Tibetan prison! I am not in anyway making fun of religious people, I am only making fun of insane people. But at the end of the show both parents usually realize a few of their faults and reform a little. Give this show a chance! The awkward moments in it are like The Office on crack its pretty painful but in a good way! Okay today was an especially good show and niether family learned anything so I thought I"d do my first blog post about a show. I'll probably do a few more show reviews since I don't have a job as of tomorrow @ 11 PM ( yup, I'll officially be a deadbeat) cheers!

bad pic, good lunch

2009-07-15T12:27:00.002-04:00

Well its only 12:30 and I've done more already than I have completed in most recent days. I got up at 6am to work at my job, so 3 and 1/2 hours of work with a BIG breakfast of mediocre eggs, sausage and homefries and AMAZING coffee :) -I don't know if I have brought up the tragic loss in my life but my coffee machine broke over a week ago and I've been trudging through life without coffee-colors arent as bright, smells arent as sweet-I just cant bring myself to buy anything that will take up more room in my car on the way home. So after work I got home and immediately started looking for jobs. I wrote up a cover letter in about 10 minutes (record!!!) and sent it out. Finding and applying for jobs isnt too much fun but it does get easier at least! Now for lunch, I guilted myself out of getting subway and opted instead to make a cheaper and healthier lunch at home. I made an open faced hummus, ff cheese and lettuce sandwich. It was good, not subway but good. Interesting fact about subway-People consume more calories at Subway than when dining at most fast food restaurants-BELIEVE IT! If you eat a 12 inch its 500 cal in the bread alone and thats the lowest calorie bread, also I've never met a sandwich artist that isnt heavy handed with condiments. I make sandwiches at home 95% of the time but sometimes break down and get subway b/c of all the amazing toppings and the fact that I could throw a stone at it from my porch.

So my subway tip: have a person to split a 12-inch with, no meats w/ mayo base, and either know your splurging with a creamy condiment or go for a mustard based sauce, sweet onion or vinegar

Feeling nostalgic

2009-07-14T16:56:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone, so I went on a walk around campus and took a bnuch of pictures of campus! Its been so beautiful and sunny all summer and it makes me sad to leave! The top picture is our new union-soooo jealous! I didnt have a union or library for 3 years of college so that the freshman of 2009 could have an AMAZING union and library (bitter)

I went and bought yet another OSU tee-shirt to work out in and probably wear to watch games at the bar in NY.

I don't know if its been bothering you but....

2009-07-14T13:04:00.002-04:00

All of my pictures of food have pretty much been taken on my bed or floor, the reason for the is we do not have a kitchen table and have uncomfortable bar stools. I usually eat in my room since we don't have couches in our living room anymore. So I've been thinking that everytime I take my photos incase you were wondering! Have a great day!

lunch time!

2009-07-14T12:44:00.002-04:00

good afternoon! I tried my other Ethnic Gourmet meal for lunch today-Chicken Tikka Masala with a big bowl of broc, I must say the Masala part of this was AMAZING! so good! The chicken didnt look like the picture but it was all white meat and really good. The rice on the other hand sucked! For being "all natural" this was the most artificial tasting rice I've ever eaten out of a frozen dinner! I'm torn to recommend this or not! The chicken, the sauce amazing! and if you want to dump the rice and make your own it would be delicious! But the whole point of a frozen dinner is quick and efficient and @ $3.50 on sale you might as well get takeout and feed yourself for a few meals instead. The result is a draw-the entire meal was only 260 cal and tasted really rich and I'm completely full so if you are watching your calories get the meal if not go to your local indian takeout!

Dilemma of the century

2009-07-13T20:19:00.002-04:00

So I'm way too broke to be shopping, I'm too broke to be even thinking about shopping but I've had my eye on Victoria's Secret "the lacie" panties since they came out! they are 3 for 25 and I'm having a hard time resisting! How do you justify an unnecessary purchase?

dinner

2009-07-13T20:06:00.002-04:00

Dinner was pretty boring, just a salad of literally lettuce and chicken with a little honey mustard dressing and some seasoned french fries. All I bought for produce when I went shopping was a some red lettuce b/c I was going away for the weekend and didnt want to waste any food. I was on the phone with my parents while making dinner and over defrosted the chicken so it didnt turn out too good and I couldnt finish half of it, its a shame because I think I was craving protein all day! Everytime I get "snacky" I think about if I ate protein that day and the answer is ALWAYS "no", I just need protein in my life. All I have are some chicken tenderloins in the freezer that are all stuck together so I may have to go shopping again, oh darn!

Getting healthy-er

2009-07-13T16:27:00.003-04:00

Okay so to do a little recap of my food today. I ate Lean Cuisine chicken pesto pasta with asparagus. I added some broccoli underneath because LC's have a skewed sauce to veggie ratio and adding veggies helps to bulk up the meal a bit. This was a good one, I reccommend it @ 340 cal. I then ate a True delights quaker dark choc and rasberry granola bar-140 cal -this was also really good but don't open it over a staircase (what I did) pieces broke off immediately and I have yet to find them all! I was hungry a few hours later and dug into a white chocolate macadamia LUNA bar-190 cal- these are always good and keep me full for atleast a few hours but I have to say CLIF bars are my absolute favorite and Lara Bars I think are well gross. Afterwards I went to send out a few pieces of mail and then went on about a 2.5 mile walk around campus, ahh I never realized how beautiful it was or how long my walk was EVERYDAY to class! An hour after I got back from my walk and watched an episode of wifeswap my new tv obsession, I got hungry :) and ate a mission wrap w/ garlic hummus and lettuce mmm delicious wrap and hummus-180.

So thats the food I've had so far, I just havent felt "satisfied" all day which is why I've been snacking so much!

I'm a calorie counter, this is the only method of dieting that really works for me so if you'd like I can write the calories of stuff so you know or if you don't like that you can tell me also, I don't count calories in veggies (kind of like WW) unless they are starchy ie: corn, potatoes, peas.

Okay well I'm spending the day looking for jobs and I might do another walk later, it is such a beautiful day and I don't know how to "work-out" unless I am in a gym

the wedding!

2009-07-12T19:17:00.002-04:00

I've been gone for a few days with the wedding! So Friday I'm walking out of my house to drive over to Allies and my car is gone!!! I completely forgot about "street sweeping" with all that was going on this week. Street sweeping is Columbus's fake service to collect money for the city. They go around sweeping the streets once a month and towing cars in the road. So instead of helping Allie set up things at her house I waited in line for 3 hours to get my car back. It probably couldn't have happened at a better time though I barely even cared that I paid $200 to get my car back because I was in go mode and thinking about what else I needed to do and pack before I left for the weekend. So atleast I got to the rehearsal dinner :) and Allie got all the bridesmaids adorable Coach wristlets! Mine was all white, she knows me so well! I'm not a big logo girl I actually think they are tacky except for my chanel bag, chanel can ALWAYS be obnoxiously advertised in huge letters! She also made everybody picture frames and got me a special MOH gift certificate! I just loved everything and it made me feel proud of myself for how much work I have done for the wedding! I've always been the type of person to try to do more than is expected of me and this was no exception!

Friday night I actually got some sleep at Allies parents house and woke up the next day to go to Allies makeup appointment and then get to the church! We all ate turkey subs and were hungry for dinner once that came too! and I thought nerves would stop hunger! Never!!! The wedding was so amazing and Allie looked soo beautiful in her dress! My speech went awesome and for me to say that says a lot! I thanked the p's said a funny story and told everyone how much Allie and Jon meant to me! I've watched so many wedding toasts and the best man always has witty fun toasts and the MOH's are usually lame speeches or bawling their eyes out, so I practiced a ton in my room and was constantly tweeking it to make it as good as possible! I was determined to have the better of the two speeches, I'm competitive like that! I'd like to think mine was the best! I didn't cry during it either so even more yay!

So the wedding was a blast! I had a ton of alcohol, I'll tell you 3 glasses of champagne in a limo before a toast is really the key to getting rid of any nervousness! I can't even begin to count how much I drank at the reception! I was at the reception from 4 until 1 am! I stopped drinking at 11:30 though. I then decided to sleep in the back seat of my car (thanks to the drinks) and woke up at 4 am absolutely freezing but sober!!! So I drove home at 4 am in my dress :)
Now the present, today was not healthy or even semi-healthy. I had a chicken melt, I have never had a melt so I'm pretty sure I ate mayonaisse today but I was ok with it because I needed some hangover food I only could finish half of the sandwich and a few fries (not like me), I then dragged my bed out of my room and into the living room and went out and bought an air mattress at Big Lots for the next 2 weeks (only $25 and who can't use an air mattress). Someone was SUPPOSED to pick up my bed today but did not even call-SO FRUSTRATING hence my earlier craigslist rant post! I'll give her until tomorrow and then I'm re-posting it because I need to sell it, I had a lot of interested buyers and ummm its taking up my entire living room! I'm about to blow up my air mattress and realize that I need some 1.5 bolt batteries so I run to CVS and they just happen to be having a BOGO sale on batteries! Yes, I love when you don't even try and you get good deals, also I got a bottle of softsoap for 99 cents not amazing but at CVS it is. then I drove to T-bell and got two chicken burritos ughh why! I figured I'd make a day of eating bad food! This sadly is what works for me I feel so sick and terrible that I WANT to eat healthy for a week! We'll see how well that works, if I get hungry tonight I'm only letting myself eat fruit or veggies b/c thats what I NEED no more processed crap! So anyways if you read that entire post thank you! I had a great weekend and just can't stop talking about it! Have a great day everyone!

just another "must-have"

2009-07-09T23:08:00.003-04:00

I just thought of another product that I love. There is not one thing I can complain about when it comes to this product-the smell AMAZING, the outcome of using it AMAZING, the price, okay yes if it were free then this truly would be a gift from the gods but this is truly a LESS IS MORE product and one $24 bottle will last a year if you play your cards right and trust me I have a ton of hair. If you are a girl that repeatedly abuses her hair-highlights, blow-drying, straightening and curling ring a bell? One pea sized quirt of this serum when you hair is towel dried and you will not believe your eyes. Its the product your hair stylist puts in your hair and you cant stop touching or smelling it, yes this is it! I have extremely fine hair but a lot of it so my hair it full of snarls when I shower or move for that matter. This serum makes my hair super managable when wet and keeps it from getting all snarly when its dry and I'm living my life! Okay now I'm seriously going to clean my room and hopefully be in bed by 1. Goodnight lovelies!

getting my gourmet on

2009-07-09T22:11:00.002-04:00

hello this is a late post paired with a late dinner. You caught me I again went to the grocery store! I just couldn't bare to eat anything else I had-I finished off my pasta salad, my shredded chicken, a can of soup and made a pizza wrap which I wish I took a picture of because it was awesome! but then I knew grocery shopping was in my future! I think I'll be staying until July 23rd though soo I'll probably need some more food anyways ;) I got some ethnic gourmet meals! They are all natural ( I checked, they have completely readable ingredients) I just love Pad thai! Its one of my favorite foods on earth and living in C-bus, Ohio I don't get nearly enough of it! I will tell you where the best pad thai on the planet is though Sea restaurant in NYC!!! Although I will give a shout out to North Market in Columbus for an honorary award although I did not know what to make of the tofu they gave me-very rubbery and greasy...okay okay back to the frozen pad thai w/ tofu I ate...noodles were a bit soggy which was dissapointing, it did have a really good flavor though and for a frozen dinner I think it did a really good job putting in all the essential ingredients of pad thai-crushed peanuts, scallions, carrots. So I would say go and get this for quick dinner at home don't be expecting a super authentic pad thai but a a pretty decent imposter. cheers!

Also This weekend is going to be super busy and internet-less. I'm heading over to Allies for last minute setting up then rehearsal dinner. I'm sleeping over and then ofcourse THE WEDDING!!! I believe I'm sleeping in a tent in the backyard Saturday soooo I wont be posting until Sunday when I'll be moving my bed out of my room and I'll literally have the world's saddest emptiest room ever!

mehh day

2009-07-08T20:04:00.002-04:00

So I went over to my friends and her apartment is gorgeous, we got to look through all her shower gifts and put them around the apartment.

I called home just to make a quick call to my parents about picking me up from Ohio and my mom told me that my dog Katie is not doing well at all. She's 15 and a cocker spaniel so I get it that shes old but its so sad I've had her since I was 7 years old. I was home in March and she was doing great so its just a shock to me. It seems like she always rallies back to health but I guess shes doing pretty bad and my parents don't want her to have to live in pain. All I can think of is how I had the cutest picture of her on my cell phone but I had to replace it after a month of dropped calls I couldnt transfer it because the phone was completely defective. If there was ever a commercial NOT to get T-Mobile this would be it. I'm so mad at T-mobile right now I never had the chance to go home and take another picture of her.

Ode to Make-up Snob

2009-07-08T12:59:00.004-04:00

As I was reading http://www.themakeupsnob.com/ it occurred to me that I have 3 products I would bet my life on and share with everyone I know.

They are all from Lancome, I absolutely love them, they are a little pricey but WORTH every penny I promise! I have longish lashes but after Lancome Primer, and Lancome Hypnose mascara they get ridiculous! I try to pair my department store make-up purchases with the free gifts so that I get a lot of fun make-up and products I might not buy but obviously I'd want to try! Lancomes make up remover is amazing! I use to be the girl pulling under my eyes to get my liner off but that is soo terrible and that skin is very delicate and I don't need huge bags in my life so this is my saving grace!

Lashes tip- if I'm feeling super ambitious I hold my eyelash curler underneath my blow dryer for 15 seconds to heat it a little then I curl my lashes when only the primer is on then coat with mascara

Okay so go out and buy these and see how right I am!

fun and games

2009-07-08T12:37:00.002-04:00

So cleaning out our living room I found all my games that I brought, I thought I'd bring some special attention to catchphrase because that game is just so much fun I have the music edition but theres the original too. Texas hold 'em for dummies was NEVER used but I think I'm going to make my dad play with me when I get home, I kind of know how to play poker but thats like saying I know how to lose money :)

So now my pasta salad. I made it this morning and let it cool for an hour and a half before digging in. I dropped some frozen beans and spinach in when the pasta was boiling so I wouldnt dirty another bowl in the microwave. Its Smart choice elbows, so its whole wheat that gets all the nutrients bleached out and then put back in artificially- I bought this for mac and cheese awhile ago and it was in no terms supposed to be healthy so it did its job. I had some FF zesty italian dressing I poured on and then chopped up two string cheese sticks. I enjoyed it a lot but you can definately tell the difference in the dressing, all the oil in the regular italian dressing makes such a beautiful harmony with the pasta that FF dressing can not live up to. But for 15 calories a serving as opposed to....more I'll deal with it.

Today I'm going to see my best friends new place with her husband to be on saturday! so excited!

attempting a peaceful walk in C-bus

2009-07-07T20:42:00.002-04:00

So I went on a little night walk to just take in some fresh air and calm myself. I love walks outside, none of my roommates do which is a shame so I just have coldplay sing to me through my ipod. I arrange my walks so that I avoid bar patios and walk on our empty campus just to have it be even more peaceful.
So I'm starting on my peaceful walk and crossing a road a white car starts beeping at me. I just keep walking but can tell its actually stopped behind me and beeps even more so I'm like "wow this has to be one of my friends" I turn around and its some 30 year old guy and his bud. Now I would say 99% of the girl population hates being beeped at by men. I don't really see what they get out of it, the horn is not a mating call men its a noise that makes signifies bad driving. If I'm dressed up with a bunch of girls I get it it's kind of funny but when you are alone wearing sweats, no makeup and over sized sunglasses its downright annoying and kind of scary. I'm posting this because it really ruined my walk, especially since my over sized sunglasses were blocking my vicious glare, so if one guy reads this and realizes this annoying way to get a girls attention is just that annoying, and waits until hes not in a moving vehicle to hit on a girl it will make it all worth it :)

dinner

2009-07-07T18:59:00.001-04:00

I used almost a whole bag of frozen broccoli, one masala burger, 1 slice of FF cheese and two Tbs of FF sour cream and a lot of hot sauce and proceeded to swirl together. Such a good idea for a quick meal I do this with morning star burgers too but the masala made it taste like a loaded baked potato

breakfast/lunch recap

2009-07-07T15:32:00.003-04:00

for breakfast I had my last piece of quiche! So sad! but it was a delicious start to the day paired with a coffee.

lunch was the same thing as yesterday except I added some spinach. a 1/2 cup of shredded chicken, a roll (these rolls are tiny and white bread :( I wish I hadnt bought them but you know those 49 cents deals at kroger are hard to pass up! A cheese stick and the rest of my fresh bag of spinach, the bowl was overflowing before I put it in the microwave and it shrunk to the bottom of the bowl after.

AMAZING NEWS! I finally sold my desk and bookshelf-it is paid for and gone! I also sold my sterlite plastic drawer set and cubic storage thingy! I'm so glad, not only because I sold it but because I wont have to throw it away. I would have tried to bring it to goodwill if I couldn't sell it but I'm not sure if my car could fit much in it.

I think the people that bought it were college students which I'm happy about because you HAVE to buy furniture for your rooms but its usually not stuff you are going to keep forever, mine was in great condition but anything I bought from the "plastic storage" department in Target isnt something I'd want past college so I got to make a little money while they got to save a lot of money, EVERYONE WINS!

shopping success!

2009-07-06T17:32:00.003-04:00

One of the reasons I will miss Ohio State University-having an Urban Outfitters within walking distance from my house. Urban is like a super expensive hipster Target, they have furniture, housewares, books, clothes, and ofcourse purses. I went to Urban Outfitters today armed with my birthday giftcard, I got a purse and a checkbook wallet. I cant tell you how much I love checkbook wallets, they keep everything so organized and look so much nicer than normal wallets and can still fit into clutch bags. Also I can buy crazier designs because it doesnt have to match anything! Okay I'll calm down as I keep opening and closing my wallet and purse. They have a pretty good sale going on if you don't mind rummaging through piles of stuff.

will power FAIL

2009-07-06T14:57:00.002-04:00

okay so I'll admit it I went grocery shopping yesterday after promising myself I wouldn't until after I left Columbus. I think I bought some vital things though:ice cream cookie sandwiches, colbyjack cheese sticks, hummus and a tub of Chi Chis refrigerated shredded chicken. I was getting so bored with what I had at home that I negotiated with myself if I bought a few things I would actually save money instead of going to get food at a casual place about twice; I got everything @ the grocery store for $13.

So for lunch I had shredded chicken with a hamburger roll to dip into it and a cheese stick, grocery purchases already showing their value.

I highly reccomend Chi Chi's chredded chicken its soo good and so easy if you are bored with the usual turkey sandwich. I'm not sure about the sodium I'm sure its high but its 60 cal/2g of fat for a 1/4 cup which fills a sandwich so I'm not going to complain.

speech complete, present wrapped, car wants some gas

2009-07-05T19:44:00.003-04:00

So I finished my MOH speech and for the rest of the day I have felt like I couldnt do anything because I was on the verge of tears! So embarrassing I hate being an emotional girl! I talked to my friend who recently has moved to cincinati and I'm probably driving there to see the Counting Crows with him tomorrow. I saw them last some in Saratoga, NY Adam is a real trip to watch he cries when he sings, hes crazy I love it. I've always had a crush on him. I take that back I have a crush on all of the singers whose music I listen to.

lunch and a beautiful day

2009-07-05T13:52:00.002-04:00

For lunch today I decided to try cottage cheese and tuna, I saw this combo on www.katheats.com I used one can of solid white tuna in water, 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and a ton of mustard. I was sad I didnt have any celery because thats my favorite part of tuna. It was pretty bland though but I have a feeling all that protein will keep me full for a while. Does anyone have any exciting tuna recipes that do not include mayo ( I dont like it) Today's plans are soaking up some sun, putting together my MOH speech and walking to urban outfitters because I still have a b-day giftcard to there!

Happy Fourth of July

2009-07-05T00:33:00.002-04:00

Hey I know its a little past midnight but I just got home from work and wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th! I hope everyone got to see some fireworks!

Good afternoon

2009-07-03T13:36:00.002-04:00

I woke up today REALLY wanting coffee!

Last night got a little crazy drink and foodwise. Allie and I split a burger and then decided we wanted more so I made allie go up and work her "bachelorette" charms and we got another free burger and a HUGE plate of fries. I'll tell you if you want free drinks the whole night being a bachelorette is a perfect plan!

I made skittles for our pregame! which consisted of diet mountain dew, half a packet of crystal light (the big packets) and korski vodka (classy)! it was so good, its usually made with koolaid but crystal light hid the vodka beautifully.

Another Drinking tip: if you are prone to hangovers it may be the alcohol you drink, cheaper liquor and wine is filled with sugar which will give you a killer hangover as opposed to the more expensive stuff.

When we got there everyone was really interested in the bachelorettes outfit but it was not late enough in the night for people to buy us drinks yet, we went out at 7 because one of our roomates had work at 6 today. But within a few hours we had drinks coming out of the woodwork!

So the night was a blast Allie and I got kind of lost together and wandered around the bar ( this usually happens) and only one sad man who told us marriage was a sham and everyone gets divorced put a bit of a damper on the night because he wouldnt leave us alone but other than that- we ate, we drank, we danced- songs requested-Whitney Houston-I wanna dance with somebody, lady gaga-just dance.

quick dinner

2009-07-02T17:46:00.000-04:00

I had my so-so pasta leftovers. I added about a tablespoon of cayenne pepper powder and WHOA that was not my smartest idea. I think its not the taste of the sauce its the fact that there was nothing else in it like shrimp, veggies or mass amounts of cheese to keep me entertained. I was force-fed spagetti and meatballs too much as a kid I guess. Alright I'm heading out pretty soon wearing a black ruffle dress I got from an HM in London! Ahh miss that city sooo much! I put a picture of the ceiling of the British Museum, it was my favorite thing in the whole museum. Cheers!

lunchish

2009-07-02T15:24:00.000-04:00

Hey again I got a little hungry and decided to break for lunch although its 3:30, I will need to eat right before we go out too because I'm a light weight when it comes to alcohol :) so I made a broccoli and cheese pizza on a tortilla with a bunch of carrots and snap peas on the side! I microwaved the veggies in a little bit of water so they softened up and it actually worked!

Hangover and drinking tips: The first two I learned from a nurse

1. Wonder why the drinking age is 21? Its because your liver is not fully developed until you are 21 so its really bad for you to be drinking before that

2. Eating fried or greasy food when you drink helps absorb a lot of the alcohol which makes a nicer pace for the liver to filter alcohol

3. This is my personal tip so not from a medical minded person or even a responsible person for that matter. Chug water and by that I mean atleast 3 glasses before you go to bed and everytime you wake up to go to the bathroom drink a glass of water to replace it. I'm happy to say I've never had a life crippling hangover.

As I get older I really see that difference in my skin after a night of heavy drinking! so definately no close-ups tomorrow!

Alright Have a good day and I hope no one is offended by this post!