Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Well I have some exciting news to report on the WW front! As of yesterday, I am down 15 lbs!!! WOO HOO!!! I had gained a pound last week, so I was so excited to be down three lbs this week!!! Now to stay strong this weekend at the cabin...my game plan is to eat and drink what I want, in moderation. I have to put a little disclaimer on that sentence though. I am about to spend the weekend with some of my most favorite people.in.the.world. Some of them who I have not seen in over a year! Anyways, I thankfully have my WW app on my phone (I'll discuss more about that in a minute) so I'll let that little thing assist me :)

On to more WW stuff...I saw that JH (Jennifer Hudson) was on the Oprah show the other day! She is seriously looking AHMAZING and she revealed that she lost 80 lbs on the WW! I read that she says she prepares her own food and this made me verryy excited. I sometimes get annoyed with celebrities that endorse diet plans. I mean, if I had all of the money in the world and could hire a personal chef and trainer...I could probably drop a bunch of weight too! I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions when I see or hear that a celeb has lost a lot of weight, but I do. I think that the WW is a great lifestyle (not diet) and it does work.



Next I want to touch on two food items that I love! I like to share the food that I am eating because I get excited when I find healthier options that I enjoy. This first one is from Panera and it is their new Thai Chicken Salad. I have tried to find a few things at my favorite restaurants that I can not only eat to stay on plan, but can also ENJOY! I love this salad so much that I find myself thinking about it and going to Panera more than usual! Not sure if you can tell in the below picture but the salad as edamame and wonton strips! I get the full salad and it has 10 pts. It is a LOT of food and more than fills me up. For the dressing I get the Low Fat Thai Chili Vinaigrette for 1 pt. While 11 pts for a lunch may seem like a lot, this is VERY filling and you could get to meals out of it if you want! I think its important to eat your biggest meal during the day so that is another reason why I love this salad.



The last food item is a snack/dessert that is so good! Have you ever had the cinnamon twists at Taco Bell? They are delicious buut they are not so good for you. Anyways, I found these at Sam's club the other day and thought I would try them out. I am HOOKED! I was already a fan of the Veggie Straws. These taste like apple and cinnamon and you can have 38 of them for 3 points! Yessss! They are made by a company called Sensible Portions. I have already had 38 of them today! If you like cinnamon and apple, check them out! You will not be disappointed!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

That one song

Do you have that one song, you know that song that always puts you in a good mood? The one that makes you feel like dancing crazy? Well I do and its from the 70's by Maxine Nightingale. I originally heard the song in the movie "The Family Stone" (a must see if you have not seen it yet). It is from the scene where SJP is having a horrible day and goes to a local bar with her boyfriend's brother. Anyways, she picks a song on the juke box and it's "Right Back Where We Started From." She dances her heart out and from that moment on I LOVED this song. As I mentioned it never ever fails to put me in a good mood so if you have never heard it check it out! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Better Days

Happy Presidents Day! I am spending the day working as we do not have day off, boo :(. I’m exhausted after a very busy weekend of moving, cleaning and organizing. I got the last few things out of my apartment this weekend and am back at my parents.

Friday my sister came home from college to help me move and she brought me two presents from our favorite store in Clemson, Razzberry Fizz. It is an adorable boutique and they have a lot of unique items. The Fizz recently started up an online website, so check it out! Below is one of the signs that my sister bought me. It’s a wooden sign and has a little beg so you can stand it up. I love it! She made my parents and I dinner (also below) and it was again another amazing meal. The pasta meal was a Giada de Laurentiis recipe and even though I don’t like English peas I liked them in this dish. Then she made bread with honey and melted butter. For dessert we had strawberry shortcake. As you can see staying true to the WW was not that easy but I tried portion control and don’t think I did that bad. We hung out for the rest of the night and watched SATC 2…I hadn’t seen it yet.





Saturday some of my family came into town. They are my cousins but are like an Aunt and Uncle to me and it was great to have them here. They helped me move and clean and we got everything finished on Saturday. I was not expecting to be done until Sunday afternoon. That night my sister made dinner again and then I went out with a friend for a while.

Sunday I turned in the keys to my apartment, which was really hard and hung out with my mom. We went shopping for a little while and then I began packing. It’s a three day work week for me, as I’m headed to Wisco on Thursday for a cabin weekend with some of my most favorite people…a much.needed.weekend.away

Here’s to a better week and to better days :)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

What I'm loving...

What I'm loving...

1.) My new iphone. How did I go without this thing for so long? It is pretty much amazing.

2.) Little Big Town's new CD. LOVE THEM. I'm super excited because I'm going to see them in concert next month :)

3.) Juicy Couture Sunglasses! How cute are these sunglasses? I never spend more than $20 on sunglasses because I usually cannot keep up with them or misplace them. However, I might make an exception for these because I love them!



4.) The fact that it is Thursday and Friday is almost here!!!

5.) Coach Poppy perfume. I received a mailer from Macy's the other day and it had a pamphlet for Coach Poppy perfume in it! I was shocked but it smelled SO GOOD! I will have to get myself a bottle!



6.) Kate Spade has some adorable new items out. This one is my favorite and a must have!


Have a good day everyone!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

An amazing friend.

Today I want to give a shout out to one of my best friends whom I call 'Cobes'. It's a long story but it started when we were kids going to junior golf at the local country club. We created nicknames for each other and they have remained for all of these years. Cobes has been so amazing to e-mail me an inspirational quote, funny sayings or bible versus every day to keep my spirits lifted. I am so lucky to have her in my life and thankful that I will be seeing her in a few days!

Cobes is one of those people in my life that makes me laugh a little harder and smile a littler brighter.



"No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." Corinthians 10:13

Monday, February 14, 2011

Kate Spade Sample Sale!!!


Kate Spade is currently having an online sample sale and there are some cute items! I picked up a new purse! Check it out while supplies last!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Vday everyone. I've taken a few days off from blogging due to a lot of changes going on in my life. I spent the weekend moving (that story will come at a later time) and spent time with my family. My family is wonderful and it was nice to have the four of us together...that is a rarity these days.

My sister has become quite the little cook and on Saturday night she made us an awesome dinner! We had steak, potatoes, asparagus and these little appetizer things (can't remember what they were called). The whole meal was amazing (esp the appetizers).

The amazing meal!


Some great red wine to accompany the meal!



For dessert she made Chocolate Souffles and chocolate covered strawberries...ahmazing :)




As for today, my dad left me a sweet card in my car before he left this morning. He travels every week for work. My mom gave me a charm, and stopper beads for my Brighton charm bracelet! I love the charm that she gave me because it's a little poodle with a pink bow :). I adore poodles because of the toy poodle that I have named Blakeli!



I will be working and then spending the evening with my mom. We are going to Red Lobster for dinner and I can't wait. I have not been there in forever.

Happy day of love!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

One Tree Hill Tuesday!

I thought I would start something new and write about one of my favorite tv shows, One Tree Hill. Yes I am 24 going on 25 and I still love this t.v. show. I was so happy that it came back for an 8th season even though I know this could be the last! The show has changed a lot of the years and seen characters come and go. This season has not disappointed. Anyways, last summer during our family vacation to Myrtle Beach we headed to Wilmington, NC for the day. Wilmington is where One Tree Hill is filmed and is also the location for many other films and even some tv shows (Dawson’s Creek and “A Walk to Remember” just to name two of them). We were hoping to run into some of the stars of the show because we knew that they were filming, but we didn’t . We did take a “Hollywood Tour” and the guide walks you through the town and shows you all of these locations where shows/movies/etc have been filmed. There was a lot of info about One Tree Hill since it is still being filmed there. It was an awesome trip and Wilmington is such a cute town. I will be making a trip back. Anyways, below are pics from our trip...


My sister and I on the Rivercourt. This basketball court has been in every season of the show so far!


Another view of the Rivercourt!


Clothes Over Bros (store location from the character Brooke's (Sophia Bush) clothing line). This was formerly the location of Karen's Cafe in the earlier seasons


A picnic table that is currently used in the show...yes I took a picture of this. I believe this was a location from one of Haley and Nathan's first dates, if not the first!


If you don't watch One Tree Hill you should check it out, I love it! Also, if you have had a chance to visit Wilmington, NC you need to take a trip, you will not be disappointed.

Life's Playlist


I write this blog post while going through the hardest time of my life (at least up to this point). I really enjoy this blog and feel like it is an outlet for my feelings and current happenings in my life. Last week I did not know what would happen and did not expect or see any of this coming. Even though this blog is an outlet for me, I am not yet ready to share everything that has happened. I want to sit down and try to write it down and get it all out because I feel that is healthy. My life is about to change drastically. One thing that I resort to when I go through a hard time in my life is my iPod…I have created a special play list. The list contains songs that allow me a good cry (not trying to be depressing or mopey) as well as songs that put me in a good mood. The mood may only last for the duration of the song but if I can feel good for those two to four minutes it helps me know that everything will be ok it’s just a matter of time. Therefore, I thought I would share my playlist today.

(Note-this is a bunch of random songs, some old some new and of various genres)


1.) A Little Bit Stronger-Sara Evans (after 6 years she’s finally recording and releasing new music  and its great)
2.) Full Steam-David Gray
3.) The Longest Time-Billy Joel
4.) Fix You-Coldplay
5.) It Won’t Be Like This for Long-Darius Rucker
6.) Not Ready to Make Nice-Dixie Chicks
7.) Better Days-Goo Goo Dolls
8.) Barefoot and Crazy-Jack Ingram (I’m a big big fan of country music and this song reminds me of letting loose and having a blast in the summer…not totally sure why. Summer please hurry up!!!)
9.) Broken-Lifehouse (I’m broken, so this song expresses everything that I’m feeling)
10.) Right Back Where We Started From-Maxine Nightingale (I first heard this song in the movie the “Family Stone”. Sarah Jessica Parker (I can’t remember the character she plays) is having a horrible day and she puts this on the juke box and just dances her heart out…it has been a favorite of mine and never fails to put a smile on my face)
11.) Set the Fire to the Third Bar-Snow Patrol & Martha Wainwright
12.) You’re Not Sorry-Taylor Swift (I had to throw some T Swift in here…love her!)
13.) You’re Gonna Miss This-Trace Adkins
14.) Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground-Willie Nelson
15.) Stay or Leave-Dave Matthews Band

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Superbowl Sunday

The day is finally here, Superbowl Sunday!!! I have my new Packers t-shirt and sweatshirt on and am ready for the game! Here are some pics from the game a few weeks ago. I'm hoping for a Packer Win! GO PACK GO!!!


My sister and I :)


My dad and I! He loves the Packers as much as I do! My dad is in Europe right now on business so he won't be watching the game. I feel bad for him because he would love to see it but he seems to be enjoying himself! We just talked to him and he's sitting at a pub.

Enjoy the Super Bowl and GO PACK!!!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Weekly Gratitude


-thank you to Friday for being here. This means that I have the weekend to enjoy and that this awful week is OVER!!! I am ready for a new one and hopefully a better one.
-thank you to my mom and my dad for their support and help this week...it has been rough. I am so so so thankful to have the parents that I do. I can only hope to be like them some day when I have children. Their unconditional love is inspiring.
-thank you to coffee (I guess caffeine too but coffee sounds better!) for helping to wake me up in the mornings! Without you I would probably be a zombie all day.
-thank you to the website StumbleUpon.Com. You have brought me hours and hours of fun! If you haven't checked this site out, you have to! I have to warn that it is highly addictive!
-thank you to Coldplay for your amazing songs and your talent. Every time I listen to my Coldplay playlist it never fails to make my day better. Please tour in the USA again SOON! :)
-thank you to the sporting goods store at the mall that received a large shipment of Green Bay Packers apparel! It allowed me to stock up on some awesome new items!
and I have to say thank you again to Friday for FINALLY being here. TGIF!

Serenity

It's been a long and rough couple of days. If the past few days are any indication of how 2011 is going to be then I'm in for a long ride. 2012 anyone?!?!...kidding (well maybe).

Anyways, I'm just trying to keep my chin up and realize that stuff happens and it's how you prevail through the hard times. The Serenity Prayer has been a great reminder to me.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr