Sunday, May 30, 2010

Mayday, Mayday

The end of May is upon us and I've been a busy girl. People have been pestering me to come back to my poor neglected blog.

So far I've lost five pounds, but I've abandoned the 365 effort. I don't like sex THAT much.

It's late and my brain is begging me for a REM cycle, so I'll return tomorrow with a real blog, pictures and all.

Happy Memorial Day everyone - and remember what it's all about. It's not about drinking and visiting family in Chicago. It's about honoring and remembering all those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

And yes, that was a deliberate dig at Barack Obama.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Failbruary.

That's right, not February...FAILbruary. EPIC, EPIC, FAILBRUARY.

I failed in oh, so many ways last month, and it's stretching into March now.

First off, I failed to post adequate blogs. Secondly, I went to the gym a total of three times. Technically, two and a half. And because my least favorite aunt returned after two years, twice in the month of Failbruary, my husband and I failed our 365 goal. I think we totaled out six times, tops. And I didn't post any healthy, easy, cheap recipes. (I think I'm going to have to do that on a quarterly basis. Every month is a bit much.)

But there is hope!




That's my garden. Here's what it looked like before. I'll have more pictures soon - since I took these pictures we've added more flowers and some other fun things.

And even though I haven't been going to the gym...

34.5 inches!

Now if only I can get back on the elliptical...or maybe just a good romp under the covers will do the trick!!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Party Gras!

Tonight we celebrated Mardi Gras at our house. We made fun hats, wore beads, and ate jambalaya while listening to New Orleans jazz.

Here's my daughter and myself in our Mardi Gras attire:



And here is how you make jambalaya!

INGREDIENTS

Zatarain's Jambalaya w/Cheese Mix (2 boxes)
Campbell's Cream of Celery Soup (2 cans)
Aidell's Andouille Sausage (2 packages) - if this sausage is too spicy you can use whatever you like
5 cups water

DIRECTIONS

Brown the sausage.

Add water and Zatarain's mix and follow directions. Cook covered for 25 minutes.


Stir in the cream of celery and cook for an additional five minutes; remove from heat. Let sit for five minutes to cool and thicken. Enjoy!

This is a very simple recipe that we have used in my family now ever since I was a little girl. I think we have a new family tradition here!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Disaster!

This plan is falling apart! The house is a wreck, Aunt Flo visited for a week and threw us off the 365 track, and I can't stop eating chocolate.

Let me show you an example:





This was our Valentine's Day dinner. I made everything myself. Seared ribeyes with arugula-roasted red pepper salad, cheesy rosemary breadsticks, strawberries and chocolate zabaglione, chocolate tiramisu, chocolate amaretti cake, and some lovely syrah. It was amazing but I'm pretty sure I gained about seven pounds. I'll post the recipes later today.

Also, for the first time in TWENTY years, it snowed in Charleston! Here's a link to my photo blog so you can see the snow. Here are some bonus pictures.


I suppose they are Greek?...




Sad sad snow bunny.



Caveman-constructed.

Now, I'm off to clean the house and tie my husband to the bed before he has to go to work. That's right, I said it!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Running

out of time, and ideas, and thoughts in general!

Sorry for my extended absence of worthwhile blogging material. I haven't had a lot of time to take photos because life is just crazy right now! Here is what's been going on, with YES, photos.

My weeklong vegan diet consisted of smoothies, salads, and grilled veggie sandwiches. Near the end I had some Amy's Organic Veggie Burgers. Also, spaghetti with zucchini and squash.

Here is a typical smoothie:


A whole banana, a whole peeled peach, a cup of strawberries and half a cup of orange juice, with one third cup almond milk.
Here is a tasty salad:


Romaine, spinach, plum tomatoes, carrots, blueberries with a homemade raspberry vinaigrette.

Snack:


Plain almonds with honey and almond milk. YUM!

And while the scale says I lost five pounds, I apparently didn't lose it in my stomach:



I've gained over THREE INCHES in my waist since the beginning of the year. Maybe the scale was wrong. I demand a second opinion.

Looks like the only running I need to be doing is on a treadmill!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Just checking in...

...so nobody thinks I've checked out! I'll be back tomorrow with a new post.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

10 for 10 Challenge Recap: January

My internet has been down so I am blogging to you from my dad's house until we get ours back up and running (thanks Dad!). It is the end of the first month of our new year and I'd like to keep a tally of how things are going so far:

1. 365 Days of Sexytime: We did pretty well, but we have to make up for five missed times plus today's, so six more times - I shouldn't be here! I should be at home in bed with the husby!!! AHHHH!

2. 20 + 10 = 30 lbs. to lose: For those of you who already knew this, last Monday I chose to eat vegetarian until this evening. I did pretty well until yesterday afternoon when I made my daughter a grilled cheese sandwich and then I lost it. I buckled and made myself one as well. It was amazing. Still, I have been keeping up with my gym time and yoga and I do believe my vegetarian weeklong cleanse helped because I LOST 5 POUNDS! I am now down to 150.

3. The Perfect Dinner Menu: I have found four definite meals that can qualify for cheap, yummy, healthy, and easy/quick to make. I have some great ones to try for February!

4. Pray Every Day: Sometimes it's hard to remember this one, I won't lie. But I do my best to say something to God every day, even if it's, Hey Man, thanks for sticking around. I need to improve it though, I know.

5. Become more organized: This one is coming along quite well! We are waiting on our tax returns so that I can go shopping and buy more totes and organizing systems for the house. We've been purging and going to the local Goodwill on an almost-daily basis all month.

6. Ten Percent Fund: I don't make alot of money per paycheck so insofar I have only saved $8.00. Bleh.

7. Keep In Touch: I've been doing about 50% on this one. There are people I intentionally avoid and lately my mother and I have been lacking in our communicative efforts when we used to speak daily. In fact she just called - I'll need to call her back in a few minutes.

8. Recycle: Such an easy one! Do you have any idea how easy it is to recycle?! And it really helps me with the volume of garbage under our sink. It also allows me to look at all of the containers we clean before recycling them to see if I can use them for another purpose in our home - for example, we save peanut butter jars to hold hardware, arts and crafts supplies, etc.

9. Stop Swearing: I REALLY need to work on this one. In fact, for Lent I have decided this is what I will give up. Just an extra motivation to keep me from polluting the air with my foul language.

10. Make Time For Me: I've done really well with this. Bathing to relax, naps, dressing up nicely, reading a good book. I hope to continue this pattern!