Happy, Happy, Happy!

It’s almost the end of the year! 2011 was an exciting year for me. There are but's and if's to everything I am about to say but I will focus on the positive. In 2011 I lost weight, started teaching, wrote more, went to more football games, travelled and had a blast! I’m hoping for great things to happen in 2012, not just for myself but for all of you. I didn’t weigh again. I am sticking to the plan and I really am not going to weigh until January 20th. I’ve got to do a cleanse. I’ve been good since Wednesday morning but I will be bad this weekend. After that, I plan on being flawless until I go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the 21st. That’s right! I didn’t say anything because it was a surprise but me, my mom and my Oma are going to Orlando to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As an HP nerd, I am TOTALLY freaking out excited! Anyway, I am going to try and be as good as possible to get rid of this holiday weight.



The recipe this week is just chicken salad. I love chicken salad and it’s another one of those foods that I never considered possible. I bought some canned chicken, mixed it with diced onion, salt, pepper, a serving of low fat mayo and a serving of spicy brown mustard. It had awesome flavor and it was a good substitute for the stuff that’s really bad for you.









I posted some pictures from Christmas. We had tons of food at my grandma's house and even more at my parents, me and my mom made a S’mores martini that was yummy, I wore a Santa hat and took a picture of my cute cousin Drew playing.





We played this new game called Quelf. It was awesome. You had to do all these random things. My Dad had to wrap his head like a mummy for an entire round. The game is hysterical and I can’t wait to play again!



You are looking at the scorecard from my very first round of golf. I’ve been going to the driving range for months now and it was time to see what I learned. Well, I learned REAL quick what a mulligan was and I learned that when it says “cart paths only,” there is going to be a lot of walking involved. I also learned that I need a new pair of golf shoes. I got a size too small because they were the cheapest pair so I have giant blisters…because I’m an idiot. My Dad, brother and I went and I am beginning to wonder if we set a record for the longest round of golf that has ever taken place. My poor father struggled through 6 hours and 18 holes with two beginners. The first hole I played, I lost 2 balls because I hit the ball in a creek two times and then my bag fell off the back of the cart. It was cold and wet outside but I had a great time. I am going to get some new shoes and go out again as soon as possible. I was extremely tired after the first 9 holes…I was a little sore in places but not as bad as I thought. I got a double bogey on one hole and there were only 7 that I didn’t complete within 10 strokes so I was pleased. There was even a par 3 hole that I made in three if you don’t count the first drive attempt I made that went 10 yards (and I don’t). I don’t know if a triple bogey is a thing…but I got a couple of those too.





I want to wish my brother David a very happy 18th birthday. This is me holding him in the hospital. I’m a complete wreck when I talk about it too much so I won’t go into detail but I love my brother with all my heart and I’m so proud of him!



My new product for the week before I go is the 8 pack of Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks. These are the snack packs and they are only 1 point per box on the old Weight Watchers system. The Fruit Loops have 100 calories, 1 gram of fat, 23 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fiber and the Apple Jacks have 100 calories, ½ gram of fat, 24 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fiber. Because they are high in fiber, they are only one point. They are my new favorite snack.



I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!!!

I will talk to you all next week, in 2012!

Best Wishes!

Bye!

“Your baby blues
So full of wonder
Your curly cues
Your contagious smile
And as i watch
You start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight

Knowing clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

Story books are full of fairy tales
Of kings and queens and the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see the truth from lies

Knowing clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
But you are never all alone
Because I will always
Always love you

Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms.” In My Arms-Plumb

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Hey Errrrybody! I didn’t weigh this morning as planned so I don’t have a report on that but I have been bustin’ my tail as usual in the gym so I should be OK I guess.



I have a quick recipe for you that might be good for a low fat holiday snack. It’s Pumpkin Pie Dip. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin stuff especially if it tastes too much like pumpkin, but this stuff tastes more like cinnamon, so it was good. You mix together a little brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, fat free Greek yogurt and fat free cool whip. That’s it…all it takes. It’s easy and you can serve it with apples or graham crackers. It’s a tasty, low fat treat for a Christmas party.





















I have had a lot of Christmas goings on in the past couple weeks so I thought I’d share some pics of cookies I made with my friends and their baby Mya, socks my brother and his girlfriend gave me, a cute Christmas penguin tissue box, a gingerbread house my family made, me and the toy microphone I won for singing karaoke at the work Christmas party and a video of Mya singing jingle bells. It’s been a nice time and I look forward to more fun times with family this weekend.



One tip for you today as you embark on the holidays…stay away from the scale! It won’t help. I usually weigh on a weekly basis but I don’t ever think someone should weigh more than once a week. It’s dangerous to become obsessed with the scale. Your body changes on a daily basis…it can even change by the minute so weighing once or twice a day isn’t a good way to measure the weight you’ve lost. I think it’s important to weigh sometimes so you can stay goal oriented but you don’t even have to do that. For instance, I bought some jeans the other day. They are super tight so I’m calling them my February jeans. If you can have goals like that without weighing, go for it but if you do weigh, don’t develop Obsessive Weighing Disorder…it’s a dangerous habit. Have fun on Christmas and eat a little good food…life is about eating, drinking and being merry with the people you love. As long as we can all get back on the bandwagon after Christmas, all will be fine.



I don’t have too much else to say. I am excited about Christmas and being off of work for 4 days. I hope you all have some time off too!

I’m also experiencing my first round of golf on Tuesday so that should be interesting.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL holiday!

Be safe!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holiday’s!

Bye!

“Through the years we all will be together and
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bow,
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now…” Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Mind Over Matter

Hey y’all! I had some serious sleepless, nightmare-y hours last night so I’m extremely excited about the upcoming weekend. As you may remember, I had lost a couple pounds from all of the Thanksgiving weight. Though I’m not sure of the exact number because I decided not to weigh this morning, I am confident that those pounds are right back on. I had a rough weekend. I’m not sure what was happening mentally but whatever it was resulted in fried chicken and probably 5 servings of spaghetti and meatballs. Also, I attended another Christmas party last night and it involved pasta and cheese…a lot of cheese. Needless to say, I didn’t want to speak to the scale this morning. In fact, I don’t think I will weigh again until January. I am serious about that too. If I can manage to do well on the days that don’t have a Christmas or New Year’s agenda, I am staying away from the scale. I have GOT to get on track and back to 100% beginning in the new year but there is no reason I can’t be running at a solid 75-80% until then.



The recipe this week is a nice addition to a party that features healthy hors d’oeuvres. These are “Spicy Cheese Twists.” I believe I got this one from the Hungry Girl. All you do is take a canned pizza do and slice it lengthwise into 16 pieces. Twist ‘em up and add parmesan, chili powder and red pepper flakes. It helps if you spray the dough before you cut it with Pam and press the spices into the dough so they get nice and pressed in there. Bake them and they are ready to eat. As my roommate pointed out, you can use garlic powder instead of chili powder and then dip them in pizza sauce. I ate too many of them but they were a nice little treat.







This week, I’ve decided to provide a little trick I’ve learned along the way. Any healthy frozen meal you eat is almost an insult to your stomach. They are tiny and to me, they never seem like enough food. However, I have found tricking your eyes is half of the battle. The pictures above are of frozen meals that I have added to a plate and served with toast or a vegetable. If you dump the meal out onto a plate and add a side or some bread, it suddenly looks like a meal. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t give you the “full as a tic” mentality but it certainly presents it in a way that actually makes you feel as if you are eating.















It’s Christmas time and even though it sometimes takes me a bit to get in the Christmas spirit, it’s beginning to look and feel like Christmas where I work, visit and live. We had a dirty santa game at work in which I won Neville Longbottom Wyatt. Neville, whom I named after a Harry Potter character, is clearly a giant floating fish. He is remote control operated and though he may not seem like much, he is fascinating to watch. I took a couple pictures and a video because that’s what I do. The tiny tree is the one that’s up at my apartment. Because I name things, this tree is a little guy that I HAD to have when I saw it. I named him Frasier and my roommate and I added lights and Bama koozies…because we are classy. The other pictures are of the tree at my parents. I grouped all of the ornaments with pictures of me and my brother on them and put them up front…clearly they are the most important. I am getting a bit more into this Christmas thing…I’m still not keen on listening to the music for too long though…it drives me CRAZY.



So, Jordan and I have officially kicked off our Operation Oscar. Even though the Oscar nods aren’t out yet, we have a pretty good idea of some that we will definitely need to see. I will be reporting on them as I did last year. This time we saw J. Edgar which features someone I’ve been a fan of (in love with) since I was a child, Leonardo DiCaprio. This movie was…OK. I will say this up front. Both Leo and Armie Hammer are HOT and I was disappointed that the movie didn’t showcase more of their hotness so I’m a little bitter about that. The movie was interesting. I certainly learned a lot of historical details that I was unaware of. However, the movie moved a bit slow and I thought it could have been more emotionally moving. That may not been what they were going for…I’ve seen it before in a movie like Frost/Nixon but for me, an Oscar movie is dynamic, it makes you feel and it is wonderfully made. My other main issue was that the makeup seemed subpar. The makeup that they used when Leo and Armie (we are on a first name basis) was almost silly looking. Anyway, the most positive factor was Leo’s acting and the historical lessons learned…other than that…I could take it or leave it.


I told you last week that I am the new contributing writer for bamahammer.com. I don’t think links work on this blog for some reason so you will need to either just type in bamahammer.com to find stuff I’ve written or copy and paste the links below into your browser. The site is dedicated to Alabama sports, primarily football. Whitney saw that they were looking for someone to write and it all just worked out. I don’t personally know the people that run it but if you are into Tide sports, it’s a fun site to read. All of the guys are super informed and I’m the new girl in town trying to offer a different spin. It’s been fun so far! They actually have a lot of people that seem to be reading so it’s neat. If you are on Twitter, please follow them @BamaHammer and if you are facebook, you can like them by searching and liking BamaHammerFans. If you have trouble with this let me know. I appreciate the support. I pasted what I’ve written so far but again, I encourage you to look at the whole site, it’s really nice.

http://bamahammer.com/2011/12/10/haters-guide-dont-give-a-x-about-honey-badger/

http://bamahammer.com/2011/12/13/anthony-grant-you-daaaaaamn-right/

http://bamahammer.com/2011/12/14/alabamas-underclassmen-the-future-of-the-tide-is-bright/

http://bamahammer.com/2011/12/16/anything-you-can-do-we-can-do-better-except-kick/



One more thing before I go, I just wanted to wish my friends Whitney & Xay Happy Birthday AND Happy Anniversary as they both own the month of December! I plan on making Christmas cookies with them tomorrow. I’m excited to see them AND their precious baby, Mya! Love y’all!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I plan to!

Bye!

“I'm gonna stop lookin' back and start movin' on
And learn how to face my fears
Love with all of my heart, make my mark
I wanna leave something here

Go out on a ledge, without any net
That's what I'm gonna be about
Yeah I wanna be runnin'
When the sand runs out

'Cause people do it every day
Promise themselves they're gonna change
I've been there, but I'm changin' from the inside out…” When The Sand Runs Out-Rascal Flatts

Dr. Pepper is strong enough for a man...

Well, due to my extreme dedication the past couple of weeks, I managed to lose all but two of the 5 pounds I have gained over football/thanksgiving season! This means I am only 2 pounds away from my lowest weight! I think that’s pretty good considering all of the stuff I have eaten the past few months. I have cheated today because we had our departmental Christmas party. In fact, I don’t plan on weighing much the rest of the month. That doesn’t mean that I will be cheating every day, but I will be eating a bit more and it may be wise not to be obsessed with the scale at this time. I will be working hard to maintain during the non-festive moments. I was very pleased that I proved that I can still be very strict when I need to be.



Since football season will be over in just a few short weeks, I wanted to give a recipe that was modeled after one of my favorite tailgating snacks. Barbecue nachos are a delicious invention that include tortilla chips, loads of smoky, delicious barbecue and slathered with yummy nacho cheese. There are many variations…I decided to make a healthy one. The key is portion size. The barbecue nachos you get at the games are enormous. I used one serving of each of the foods I used to make this yummy snack. It doesn’t look pretty, but it tasted good. I took baked Tositos, a serving of pre-made barbecue you get in the produce section of the grocery store and the Tostitos brand white cheese and put it all together. It was actually a great substitute and one that you can have any time of the year.



I wanted to share a new product with you today. I am loving the new ten calorie Dr. Pepper. Their initial advertising campaign is a bit obnoxious as they have stated time and time again the drink is, “not for women.” I’m not sure why they went with that but I have been drinking it and I haven’t sprung any chest hairs that I’m aware of. Anyway, aside from that, I think it’s delicious. I loved Dr. Pepper in high school but I prefer Diet Coke to Diet Dr. Pepper. However, those ten calories make a world of difference. I think it tastes GREAT. My roommate, who is not a fan of any diet drink still says that she can taste the difference but I’m very used to the Diet flavor and I don’t notice it. Anyway, it’s something different to try.

I don’t have time to talk about much else. I got an awesome Christmas during present dirty santa today that I will share with you next week. Also, I will talk more about the new site I’m writing for, bamahammer.com. It’s a Bama sports site. They have been having problems with the site the past couple of days but I will hopefully have more on that later. Jordan and I are celebrating our Christmas together tonight by kicking off Oscar season. I will have details on that later as well….I guess this is one TO BE CONTINUED.


Y’all have a good weekend!

Bye!


“Let's get out of this town tonight
Nothing but dust in the shadows
Gone by morning light
Somewhere we won't ever get caught, ever be found…” Get Out Of This Town-Carrie Underwood

Quit Throwing Your Vegetables Under The Table!

Happy December Everyone! Last time we spoke I was getting rid of some football weight in preparation for Thanksgiving. Well, I am still up a little over 5 from my lowest weight but I worked hard this week and plan on working just as hard this weekend and the next week. I am disappointed and angry at the gain. I have never had this much trouble during the holidays. I think it’s because I am not just cheating on the actual day of the holiday, I’m cheating the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after too and that’s not good. I am arranging my calendar for the rest of the month and the new year and I will only cheat during Christmas parties and actual family Christmas meals. If I can make it through December and be up only around 5 pounds or less after the new year, I will be doing good. Once I get back on track it should only take me a few weeks to get it off, I just have to stay focused on the good days. Having said that, I started off Monday with strict dieting and as usual have not skipped at all in exercise…it’s just the food that’s getting me. I am not really panicking yet and I’m not really sure if that’s a bad or a good thing but I think it’s OK because I know I will reel it in.



My extra pounds may have something to do with this picture. This was a picture of our Thanksgiving feast and even though some of us helped, big props to my mom for making most of this delicious meal. My problem had more to do with the non-pictured pie. I must’ve eaten 10 pieces of pie between Thursday and Sunday last week so thank GOODNESS, it’s all gone and I’m back to normal. It was a nice day with family. I hope yours was also nice.



In order to get my mind off of all the calories I consumed, I also threw in a healthy recipe. This one is nice because it does have some fat in it. It’s a bit higher in points but still a great alternative to a fast food burger. This is a chicken sandwich that I threw together. It’s got sliced chicken breast (I actually prepared the chicken breast in the skillet, then sliced it), a piece of reduced fat cheese, spicy mustard, reduced fat mayo and sliced Chorizo. Chorizo is a type of sausage that I love and I happened to find it sliced in the deli section at Wal-Mart. I think Hormel makes it. It looks like sliced pepperoni or salami but it has a bit of a different flavor. Though it’s high in fat, it’s pretty low in calories. I piled all this on a sandwich thin. It was filling and delicious. You could save on fat and calories by taking out the mayo and/or cheese if you wanted. I fixed it up with some shredded hash browns and had a great meal.



Also, while we were apart, Alabama totally dominated in the Iron Bowl versus Auburn. The game was on their turf but we are a better team this year and we were definitely looking for revenge. I hope it’s not annoying that I say “we” as if I play for the team but I can’t help it. I feel like I do play for the team. Because of this dominating win and key losses from other teams, Alabama is looking like they will probably get a rematch with LSU for the National Title. I hope it happens!



Since I have decided to no longer share before and after pictures (unless I hit a milestone), I have decided to give you tips I’ve learned along the way and/or share new products. Today, I have something simple to share…EAT YOUR VEGGIES!!! I know it’s something that should seem obvious but there are many people that don’t like vegetables. You should try sautéing them or including them in a pasta dish or casserole because they aren’t just low in fat and calories…veggies like spinach, potatoes, green beans and MANY, MANY other vegetables are LOADED with vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. I eat a lot of green beans, probably too many, but they are easy to make. I also really enjoy squash, spinach, potatoes, sweet potatoes and others in various ways. Some veggies like sweet potatoes and potatoes are a bit higher in calories/points but they are super filling and there is no end to the different ways you can prepare them. If you don’t like cooked spinach, try throwing some in with your salad. For those of you who only like corn, I hate to break it to you but it’s high in sugar and doesn’t really provide much nutrition so my challenge to you is to try other veggies. Don’t just think you have to have them steamed and boring…you can put them on a pizza, in a salad, mixed in with some pasta or in the skillet with your “fried” rice.

That was all I had today.

I look forward to relaxing and watching football but I also have errands to run and papers to grade.

I hope you enjoy your weekend.

Bye!

“I’m dreaming of a national championship,
With every football game I watch,
So, here’s to you a big ol’ ROLLLLL TIIIIDE!
And, press onward, dear Crimson Tide!” Uh, I wrote this…just now…to the tune of White Christmas.

Take Those Pounds And Shove It!

Welcome to the weekend everyone!!! I am ready to relax and I have the vision of a 4 day weekend coming to me very soon and I could not be more excited about that. If I can make it through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (and I’m confident I can), I have 4 days of food, family, friends and football and well…I just can’t think of a much better way to spend time. I weighed this morning and I knocked out around two of the 4ish pounds I had gained over the past several weeks. I was happy about that and I expected to lose because I’ve been SUCH a good girl. I was flawless last weekend so, SIANARA 2 pounds! I feel confident I can keep those two pounds off for a grand total of 2 or 3 days. Between our work Thanksgiving celebration, Thanksgiving at home and leftovers, I might as well have a parade for the return of those 2 pounds because they are coming back with a vengeance. I’ve come to terms with the fact that my original goal for January 15th isn’t going to happen. I’ve been eating way to good over football season to expect to drop almost 14 pounds in the next 7 weeks. I’d have to lose 2 pounds a week and with my lose some, gain some routine, it’s just not going to happen. My goal now is to maintain this process of putting on a holiday and football pound here and there and then getting rid of it the next week. If I can do that, I can go full speed ahead beginning in January so I will keep exercising and doing well MOST days but rest assured, that goal is mine and while this fall season has been a bump in the road for me, it won’t be a sink hole that sucks me down into an abyss. Trust me, I run over bumps all the time, in my car AND in life but I just keep on driving and that’s what I plan on doing.





This week’s recipe comes from the Hungry Girl and she calls them Hot Stack Ruby Sliders. They are a nice breakfast substitute for those fattening sliders you can find at Ruby Tuesdays and many other places. For the bread, you use the Arnold Sandwich thins. Cut the bun into thirds to make three sliders. The recipe called for Canadian Bacon and fat free sliced cheese but I used sliced deli ham and sliced Reduced Fat Sargento Colby Jack cheese. Use about 2 pieces of the thinly sliced ham on each slider and split one slice of the cheese into thirds. Heat a skillet and cook egg beaters in the bottom of it. Place the ham and cheese on top forming little piles that you can add to the bread. Put a lid over it for a minute or so to get the cheese to melt and then place the nice little stacks on the bread. This turned boring egg beaters into something yummy and different. It was quick and easy and that’s always my favorite way to cook.



Well, the ticket fairy arrived to me on Friday of last week allowing me to go with my Mom to the Mississippi State game. We had a great time. It was chilly and the cowbells proved to be pretty annoying but it was an easy drive and other than Bama’s complete inability to kick a field goal, it was a pretty easy win.





This will be the last before and after picture until I go back to my regularly scheduled updates when I hit a milestone. The main reason I’m not doing anymore is because I’m out of fat pictures. Trust me, there were plenty but I went on a deleting spree of them awhile back and there just aren’t enough to keep up with anymore. I know you are devastated but just try and understand. Also, if at any time you need to be inspired or feel better about how you currently look, you can look at archives and my standard/official before and after pics are always there for your viewing. I will come up with something magnificent to talk about since this section won’t be here anymore. In this before picture, I was apparently angry at something. I look like a giant yeti that is about to purposefully cause an avalanche. The after is from this past weekend. My Mom took a picture of me in front of MSU’s stadium which is small but surprisingly tall…trust me…the 500 ramps we had to climb up to get to our seats were no joke.





Since next week is Thanksgiving, I will not be blogging next week at all. Since I won’t be talking to you again until December, I wanted to go ahead and wish you and yours a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!



Also, since I won’t be blogging, I won’t be able to slip in a ROLL TIDE for the next two weeks. Alabama plays Georgia Southern tomorrow and hopefully, they won’t be a problem. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Alabama will head down to the plains to play Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Even though Alabama appears to be a better team this year, the Iron Bowl’s are traditionally unpredictable and since Alabama is playing them at their house, it will be an exciting game. I will watch that one from home unless the ticket fairy visits me again…I’m not too hopeful that will happen but I’d LOVE to go if I could.

That’s all I had!

Have a great weekend, week, Thanksgiving and weekend!

Roll Tide!

Bye!

“I wish I was cold as stone,
Then I wouldn't feel a thing.
I Wish I didn’t have this heart,
Then I wouldn't know the sting of the pain.
I could stand strong and still…” Cold As Stone-Lady Antebellum