Labor Day Challenge ACHIEVED!

Another 1.8 pounds gone...which puts me at a total of 25.2 lost since I started my Jenny Craig journey! I am very excited and motivated. I am doing lots of meals and days on my own and still losing weight! I like the Jenny Craig food but I also know that I have the ability to make good, healthy choices!!

My new goal is to be down 40lbs by the time that I go to Ireland in November 2011! I have 14.8 pounds to go to reach that goal and I am confident I can do it. I don't want to aim TOO high to say I'll be down 50 by November but I'm hoping. Maybe my new Yoga DVD will help me get there! Haven't gotten a chance to do it yet but I WILL!

This morning I went to my Jenny Craig appointment and brought my sister. She commented to me, without my having to say anything that my consultant was rude. And that she got a bad vibe from her, which is something I've felt since day one. Everyone who's there on Wednesday is nasty, rude, and gets upset when I don't buy all their food. Today I bought barely anything from them and it was very tense. Oh well, I know that this is working for me!

After my meeting with my consultant I went out to breakfast with my sister. I had a small splurge, 2 egg omelette with onion, mushroom and some jalapeno bacon and an unsweetened iced tea. Not too worried about it! I didn't eat a huge breakfast sandwich or the ever-tempting caramel apple walnut french toast! Planning on hanging out, X-Files marathon and Yoga later tonight! :D

Good luck to my Wednesday Weighers! And tomorrow starts a month of healthy recipes!!!

Update: I've figured out how to 'schedule' a blog post! My first recipe will post at 10am tomorrow (barring any blogger complications). If not I'll post in manually when I get home tomorrow!

Weigh in Eve

Well it's Tuesday night and tomorrow I face the scale!

I feel good...maybe I actually lost weight this week! I have to keep positive because I'm really sure I actually gained. Probably because I'm crazy.

My sister is visiting me! YAY! I had a light day at work...or so I thought. I picked her up after my visits and I had to pop by the office and brought her with me. Poor thing ended up having to wrap up gift bags and sitting in the car for the better part of 2 hours. I feel HORRIBLE. Ugh :( And I hope I didn't get myself in trouble at work...my boss didn't say anything about it and she usually would tell me right away if there's something the matter. But I heard a lot of not-so-quiet whispering from one bitch in the office who likes to make trouble.  Or maybe I'm just looking for things to stress about because I'm trying not to think about weighing in tomorrow :/ I feel anxious and awful.

1.6 more pounds until I meet my Labor Day Challenge goal of 25 pounds down! We'll see!!! Fingers crossed!

Anyway went to Target and finally got a DVD player! I really like it! YOGA DVD HERE I COME!

Feeling kinda sick and anxious, hope everyone has a good night!

Manic Monday!

Connecticut is digging out from Irene. I didn't realize how much damage there was to the trees and things until I went out this morning. We have a bunch of trees down around my condo, branches are EVERYWHERE. Being a homecare nurse I was driving down some streets in the Himalayas (not literally) and found there were a lot of down power lines and huge branches I had to avoid. 500,000 (47%) of the state is still without power. We actually lost power once around 3am last night. I heard everything click off and the power was gone...it came back around 5, thank goodness! I would not have been able to get my car out of the garage if not for the power coming back!! I believe CL&P probably shut off the grid in Windsor to restore power to some people in the area.

I can't believe it's already Monday!! I swear time is flying. Weigh-in is fast approaching and I'm cautiously optomistic. I need to lose at least 1.6 pound to achieve my Labor Day goal (FINGERS CROSSED). I've been doing a lot of exercise lately. Unfortuantely no yoga DVD yet, I have not purchased a DVD player yet. I think it'll be my reward if I achieve my labor day goal!!!

Tonight I'm making my BBQ Pulled Pork Wraps for dinner! I have been craving one all week so I figure why not? It's a healthy JC friendly meal and satisfies my craving for barbeque at the same time. Note: I'm also planning on making these on labor day. Possibly going to my mother's house and I was thinking this would be a great addition/alternative to the normal hamburger/hotdog fare!! And extremely easy to prep. Just cut all the veg in advance, you just toss the cheese on (heat if you wish), you can have the pulled pork heating on the stove OR even put it in a crock pot and let people add their own meat. I, of course, would measure mine out! :D Easy peasy!

Working on some new fall recipes to share that are JC and diet friendly. Starting September 1st I am going to post a recipe a day that is healthy and delicious!!!! GET EXCITED! Tell all your friends!!! :D It's going to be awesome.

Happy Monday!

Update!

Hi all,

Thank you very much for your concerned messages and texts. Currently 500,000 in the state of CT are without power and there's a lot of trees and power lines down. It's absolutely flooded out there! I, however, have power--thankfully! I called my parents earlier and they had a smaller tree fall right into my dad's garden (his pride and joy) and a bigger tree fell at the neighbor across the street but missed the house.

Other than being extremely waterlogged, everything is fine! Sleeping last night was a nightmare...the rain, there was thunder and lightning, TORNADO warnings, and I was here all alone! My boarder decided to sleep over a friend's house. In any event, things were fine. I got up early and took a shower and made myself a Weight Watchers English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich with Canadian Bacon. I like the creaminess of the egg and the meat way better than the JC Sunshine Sandwich. So much better! Now I'm just watching the weather and hoping that everything continues to go smoothly! A couple of my friends have reported that in the last half hour, they lost power. So I suppose it can happen at any time!

Hope everyone is having a safe, healthy day!

Calm before the Storm

Hi all!

While others are out pillaging and panicking, I am enjoying a quiet Saturday morning at home. I slept incredibly poorly last night, I don't know what it was! I was energized and wanted to do some cleaning (not really appropriate at 1am...) but I forced myself to sleep. At seven on the nose, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to greet the day! I wanted to share my delicious breakfast with everyone because it would be a perfect match for anyone who's following a plan--and it's delicious.

Waffles. Delicious sweet waffles...with butter and syrup. Yes! I went to Stop and Shop and bought Low Fat Homestyle Waffles (Serving size 2 waffles) and Vermont Sugar Free Maple Syrup (sweetened with splenda). Syrup was 15 cals per 1/4 cup serving...and I didn't even HAVE that much! I ate 1/8 of a cup on my waffles and they were syrupy and drippy and yummy! It was just what I wanted and needed AND was very filling!! Here's the breakdown!

Click me to make this readable without a magnifying glass!
Analysis done by SparkPeople.com

And my delicious waffles were eaten on one of most expensive pieces of china in my kitchen (why yes, it is a Barbie heart shaped plate). I won't even tell you the price I paid for this gem at a yard sale. (Hint: It rhymes with 'tree'). And now to make everyone drool! It was a delicious, healthy breakfast that is JC friendly, diabetic friendly, and easy to make! I was thinking next time I might get Morningstar Farms veggie sausage and have two links for 80 calories as a "splurge" meal on the weekend. Honestly, it's not much of a splurge since I usually have trouble getting anywhere near 2000 calories and those little veggie sausages are packed with goodness!

Mmmm waffles!

Hope everyone has a safe, healthy weekend. I will update my blog as I can. CL&P (electric provider) called this morning and said they expecting several days of power outages but they would prioritize based on electrical needs (do you think blogging counts? No, I didn't think so either).

Have a great day!

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

The east coast is bracing for hurricane Irene...but the thing I'm worried is the shitstorm of stupidity that's braced Connecticut.

I worked this morning and need to go out this afternoon for a visit. In the interim I decided to go and pick up a few essential supplies. I need a flashlight and some bottled water in case we're without power, also picked up some healthy easy to eat items that don't need to be refrigerated in case there's no power and I can't cook/microwave my JC meals. So I leisurely decided to pop by Target and then Stop and Shop because I needed some onions and mushrooms.

It was a freaking MOB. People are running down the aisles, grabbing things from shelves AND out of people's carts, there is absoutely NO water on the shelves and I ended up having to buy a freaking 40 dollar LED flashlight since that's ALL that was left! (You can bet your boots I'm not opening it unless I absolutely need it) People were yelling at each other, swearing at employees...I told the sales associate they need to start giving out Xanax door prizes. I could not believe the damn stupidity going on. As I was walking to the checkout lines, I saw a display of waterbottles so I bought two cases and there were people stampeding toward me as I put them in my cart. Oh hell to the no, I did not even bat an eye, I just walked to a line and checked out. Also got some socks on clearance AND a magazine to read!!

People can be so dramatic! Is pandemonium really necessary? Irene isn't supposed to hit until Saturday night, can we not have a complete meltdown before that? Are you looking for inpatient admission in the psych ward to avoid the storm? That isn't a bad strategy...

Yeesh!!!!

Anyway, if you don't hear from me for a few days, fear not...I probably just don't have power. Everything will be fine! I may have to eat off plan if I can't eat my JC food but at this point, that's the least of my worries. I think I sweat off a whole pound of sweat making three trips up three flights of stairs to carry in my groceries and the cases of water. Doing the housewife workout to make sure everything is clean and done before the storm. Laundry is being done, kitchen is being cleaned until shining, running the vaccuum... and that will be that. I'm prepared...not psychotic. :D

Hope everyone has a nice, safe weekend

WTH WEDNESDAY!?

Seriously I think being fat has warped my mind...I look at myself in the mirror and I can see a little bit of a change...my clothes are looser but not SO much looser than last week. I get anxious and worried before weigh- in and convince myself I'm going to fail. You're ALWAYS going to be fat...why don't you just forget this whole thing? I'm always the hungriest before weigh-in day (6 out of 7 days, for the most part, I'm comfortably full all the time, I eat my meals and my snacks and am satisfied) and I just want to give up.

Then I go to weigh in day, like I did today...and lost 4.2 pounds!? WHAT!?!?!?! How is that even possible!? Yeah I've been exercising a little bit more, but not enough to break the bank--maybe just enough to bust my buns? My eating as usual was good, even though I didn't make the GREATEST choice at lunch (although I didn't make the worst choice either!? Progress?)

My total weight loss is now 23.4. I had to readjust my labor day goal last week, which I am participating in on the Jenny Craig forums. My initial goal was to be down 15 by Labor Day...last week I adjusted it to 25...I don't know if I should just leave it alone or adjust it again. I think I'm going to leave it and have my new Ireland goal in mind. In November I am going away to Ireland for a week. This is a trip that I booked back in April and I'm going with a tour group!! My ultimate goal was to be down 40lbs by the time I went. I will not be bringing my JC food, this tour included all meals and I feel like I can make good choices AND I'll be out walking a lot. Think I can do it? I am sure as heck going to try!

My JCC was in a good mood when I saw her today...but this week I did not purchase ANY breakfasts and am doing MOMO for a lunch and a couple of dinners. I could see that she was not happy. I, however, am extremely happy. I'm saving money, losing weight, and I feel empowered...even if I am slightly delerious from having my period for five weeks now, UGH.

I have to see a couple patients today on my day off but that means extra money! So after I see them I have to run to the grocery store...which happens to be next to Target. And I may just slip into the DVD players section and see what there is. There's one on sale that got great reviews so...we'll see!

Good luck to my Wednesday weighers! Hope everyone has an awesome day!

Checking In!

Hi everyone!!

I hope that everyone had a nice weekend. I got a lot of things accomplished and had a great day shopping...despite my mother's usual antics! Things are going well with my boarder, he's very neat and quiet. No issues yet! Work has been fairly steady the last two days and the weather is BEAUTIFUL. If only my allergies weren' trying to kill me!

It's weigh-in day eve...and I don't think I lost. I know I say this every week and I have been losing consistently. But with my eating out this week and my PCOS (this is going on 5 weeks now that I've had my period, someone please put me out of my misery!?), I feel bloated and gross. I need to start increasing my activity and I bought a Gaiam Weightloss Yoga DVD, its a box set of two DVDs that I bought at Target this weekend for 14.99, not bad! The only problem is that my DVD player was funky before but now it's plain broken. It's very old, it even has a VCR in it (so you KNOW it's old!!). I know it's time to replace but I'm strapped for cash at the moment. Buying a VCR has to wait until the mortgage payment gets made and the bills get taken care of.

We shall see what the almighty scale has to say. Right now all I'm feeling is weak and tired. I only had three patients to see today so I am home now, I cleaned the kitchen up, I am finishing up the last of my laundry, and I'm going to be taking a nap this afternoon to try and combat some of my crampiness and my weakness. Bleh. PCOS sucks!

On a non weightloss side, I got a bunch of awesome goodies shopping to help me with weight loss! My nonstick pans I moved with were all hand me downs or from yard sales, and they're getting to the point where they're not nonstick anymore. They had Paula Deen red nonstick skillet sets on sale for 25 bucks...and I bought myself some! I got those Yoga DVDs! I also bought a lovely centerpiece and a table cloth (That's not plastic) for my dining room table at Homegoods! I was a bargain ninja and bought a TON of stuff for very little money! I got great deals! (I LOVE SAVING MONEY!) Next up on my bargain shopping: DVD player. And trying to find my yoga mat. I know I packed it when I moved, but I have noooo idea where it is now.

For right now I just need to not fall over...and keep positive for my weigh in! Hope everyone is having a great on plan week!

So-So Saturday: Part II

Two posts in one day, lucky you!

I did okay at lunch but I definitely could've done better. I got a grilled chicken sandwich but I didn't eat the bun and I didn't have any mayo on it. I also did not touch a SINGLE FRENCH FRY ON THE PLATE!? Are you proud of me? I'm proud of me! We went to TGI Fridays and they have a right portion right price thing but I found the menu confusion. They put all of those on different pages and I had trouble finding them. And in the end I just felt like grilled chicken with some Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce. I know I splurged but I think I did okay. Not great. Just okay!

For dinner I had a JC broccoli and cheese stuffed potato with extra steamed broccoli, yum! Lower calorie choice and I didn't add any meat that meal so I saved those exchanges for my big lunch. Yum, it was excellent!

In other news, my new roommate has moved in. He came with my brother and a couple guys and the poor kid has basically nothing. All of his clothes were in trash bags and needed to be washed, so the laundry is going now. And he's very excited to live here, so that's good! Things are changing and I'm not sure what to make of it! For now I'm hanging out, sipping diet root beer, and watching TV!

Anything new and interesting with my trusty blog buddies??

Superbusy Saturday

Hi everyone!
Taking a minute to check in on the blogosphere. My mom was supposed to be here between 11 and 11:30, she even called me at 11 to let me know she was leaving...over an hour later, she called me again to say she hadn't left home yet. Great. At least it gives me a chance to blog a bit!

I'm a bit sore from yesterday's LONG housewife workout, which I continued today when I vaccuumed and wet mopped my entire house (doing lunges while I mopped, glad I have blinds now so nobody thinks I'm crazy!)! YAY! It looks great in here, which is perfect because my boarder is moving in tonight around 9pm. Things are all ready and I'm looking forward to having a little extra income!

I had banana nut cheerios and milk for breakfast and I'm having a JC broccoli and cheese stuffed potato for dinner...which allots me approximately 1400 calories for lunch out today (although I'm not planning on eating all of them at lunch, I'd like to save some for a snack tonight). I've got a few restaurants picked out in the area near where we're going shopping and I have some menu options selected for each! I'm at the top of my game! I'm not going to fail! :D

Things are going well and hopefully my mother will make it here soon, I'm starving! Drinking a BIG glass of ice water and keeping my mind occupied by reading up on blogs and writing this post!

COPACABANAAAAAAAAAAA

It's Friday! WOO HOO!

Despite that I have a pounding headache from the damn barometric pressure, today has been productive. I was up early and ate a healthy breakfast. I love Life Cereal...just saying. I think it's the perfect breakfast cereal. Crunchy, a little sweet, and it doesn't get gloopy...I hate gloopy cereal. I know you know what I'm talking about...as soon as the milk hits the cereal, it's mush. Ick. I can't stand that! It's one of the major reasons I can't eat oatmeal. I'm shuddering right now just thinking about it. Yuck! My other cereals are Special K with Red Berries (good, but definitely not my favorite) and Banana Nut Cheerios (YUMMERS!) I've heard about this 80 calorie Fiber One cereal but I have not been able to find it at Stop and Shop OR Target near me...so I don't know. I want to try that when it comes out, even though I'd have to eat 2 servings to make up an appropriate calorie level... who knows.

Work was pretty light today, which is good because this headache is killing me. Connecticut is being plagued with these bright sunny days that dissolve into full on thunderstorms by late afternoon. And with the rising humidity as the day goes on and the change in pressure, I've been afflicted with many many headaches. After I finished my patients, reported in and ate lunch, I took excedrin and a catnap, which helped.

After that...I CLEANED THE CRAP OUT OF MY CONDO! As you may have heard me mention before, I am taking on a boarder/roommate. He will be living out of my guest room/laundry room and paying very little rent, just enough to cover extra utilities and use of my laundry. For those of you who have not seen my condo, it's just over 1000 square feet. I have a garage that's attached, I have to walk down three flights to get to it (and three flights to get up to my private door). Only residents have access to the back doors so it's very quiet and private. When you walk in, I have a large dining room that flows into the living room and kitchen. Then there is a hall with the bathroom on the right, my bedroom on the left and the guest room straight ahead.

I was not using that guest room for anything when I moved in. I put in a guest bed for when I had people stay and pretty much put my junk in there. Exercise bike, extra bookcase and my rickety desk. There was no laundry in my condo when I moved in, you had to walk all the way down those three flights and then over four buildings in a creepy, spidery underground tunnel to a "laundry" area with 2 washers and 2 dryers from the 70s. 1.50 per load...I did that once. My towels came out of the washer smelling so moldy I had to THROW THEM AWAY. I tried washing them again twice at my mother's house and the smell would not come out! Needless to say, I did not do that again. I was commuting 45 minutes to do my laundry at my mother's house once a week. So I had to put laundry in... it's totally worth it. The moral of this (boring, longwinded) story is, my boarder can't keep his space totally private because I need to do laundry in there.

I'm not sure how this is going to work. I've already drawn up a list of rules (#1: Stay AWAY from my Key Lime Cheesecake!!) and I did the housewife workout for FIVE HOURS! This place is cleaner than the day I moved in. I am only doing one visit tomorrow but it was my choice (new patient, high acuity, I don't want anyone going in there and screwing up) and then it's hanging with mom and going to lunch! And possibly helping the boarder move in, thankfully I'm told he has basically nothing except clothes.

I hope everyone has a great weekend on plan and a beautiful Friday evening!

Over the Hump

Today was busy but it wasn't as bad as I thought. One major problem I encountered was I didn't get to eat lunch until 2:30pm. I had a bowl of life cereal with milk this morning and I packed myself some Jenny cheese curls and a string cheese...but honestly, I didn't even have a second to eat them. I was going from patient to patient to patient, answering calls from doctors and other emergent calls, ordering supplies, checking in with my sickest patients and trying not to go insane. The only good thing is I was too busy to be hungry...

But when I got home I was starving. I had a huuuge glass of water and made a buffalo chicken salad and garlic bread with my JC Chicken Sandwich. It was delicious...I enjoyed every bite, it was very filling, AND healthy. I'm proud that I didn't come home and binge (which is something that I was in the habit of doing before I started JC). I filled up with water and then had a healthy lunch!!  Doing BBQ pulled pork wrap tonight for dinner, looking forward to it!!

Tomorrow is going to be a lighter day, I hope I'm not bogged down with calls all day...but in any event, I am looking forward to getting things cleaned in my condo. Going shopping and out to lunch with my mom on Saturday! Maybe even getting my curtains up? Hey, I can dream can't I?

Have a great day!

Wednesday Weigh-In!

I've come to the conclusion that I really don't understand my body's signals very well and I don't know how to fix it. Yesterday I was feeling bloated and like I was retaining water, I'm still bleeding, and I wanted to curl up and kill a bag of salt and vinegar chips. But I didn't, instead I talked to some close friends, watched A League of Their Own on AMC, and then went to bed. I talked myself down from the ledge (not literally) telling myself that sometimes people gain and that doesn't mean I'm a failure.

Well, I got to my JC appointment and my regular JCC was on vacation. I already knew this and I had prepared. The girl I had was AWESOME! I wish she was working on a day that I could see her because she was supportive and approachable,she told me I was doing a great job doing MOMOs... I felt comfortable with her! Anyway, I weighed in and lost...2.8!!! Bringing me to 290.8 and that means a PHOTO UPDATE! I did it in my weigh in clothes, the clothes I ALWAYS wear to weigh in...but I can see a change, I really can! It's very exciting!

So far, I haven't gotten any calls. I desperately need to go grocery shopping and so after I finish my breakfast scramble smothered in hot sauce (My WI breakfast treat) I am going to the store. One thing that I have been buying are the Weight Watchers English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich with Canadian Bacon. Basically its a cheaper, more delicious Sunshine Sandiwch...you get two in a pack for 3 dollars at target as opposed to OVER 3 dollars for one at JC. Also need another big pack of lettuce, mushrooms, green peppers, cucumber, broccoli crowns, banana, yogurt and SELTZER!

Hope that everyone is having a great day!

Are We There Yet?

No?

It's not Friday? Darn.

I have about had it this week. I'm already swamped with my work plus the work of lazynurse who's on vacation for the THIRD time since she started 2 months ago. And on top of it, my boss keeps piling more and more work on my plate. The last two days I've worked from 7a-7p...and now on Thursday I have an admission which may have to be done late! WHAT!? I already have a FULL SCHEDULE. And I tried explaining this to my boss but she said 'Oh well we don't have a physical therapist to go on Friday so...it has to be done. Oh and it has to be done immediately. Oh and the physical therapist might be there working with the patient...' Say what!? That is RIDICULOUS. I'm supposed to go through an hour's worth of paperwork in 15 minutes? Even I am not that good.

The only good thing is that on Friday I only have two visits and will get home early. But still, I'm ready to tear my hair out at this point. Can I please get a break? Even tomorrow which is WI day (which I'm dreading) and I'm supposed to be off, I have to be on call...even though I do not get paid to be on call. I get paid only if I get a call and have to go out. Ridiculous.

I do not feel well...I'm going on a month of having my period very heavily. I feel like I'm all bloated and retaining water...I'm sure I'm going to gain even though I've been perfect on plan. Here's to hoping for a small loss, I really want some good news!

MUSCIAL MONDAY!

I just popped home for lunch. I know I said I didn't have time but damnit, I am going to make time. I was so hungry at 1pm when I finished up my visit that I was almost dizzy. So I had a string cheese in the car and ate that (devoured it more like) and then decided I needed to go home and have my JC meal. Luckily I got out of my afternoon visit earlier because my next one is at 2:30 (about an hour from now, with a 30 minute commute).


Today is a VERY SPECIAL JOINT BLOG POST with my good friend who writes Fat Girl in a Skinny World! I need to get my buns moving more! So we have have teamed up and made a list of songs that get us moving around! This is a list of my top 25 workout songs! Songs that get my toes tapping and that blood pumping!  Note: These songs aren’t listed in order of which I like best, but are simply done in the order I think of/remember them! Hope you enjoy!

1)      Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger: This is a great with a steady upbeat tempo and fun lyrics!

2)      Gold Guns Girls – Metric : VERY upbeat, indie song.

3)      Cave – Mumford & Sons : If you walk with the beat it’s a pretty good workout! Especially if you follow the lead guitar, you double time it quick and then slow, it’s a great interval song!

4)      Tom Sawyer – Rush : This is one of my favorite songs for spinning when you’re doing a Climb. Slow and steady and the perfect length, love the rock soul of this piece.

5)      Changing – The Airborne Toxic Event : This song makes me want to work out. Right now.

6)      Baba O’ Reilly – The Who : Another song that motivates me! Love walking to the beat! Stress reliever too!

7)      Pumped up Kicks – Foster the People :  I just love this song, it makes me want to move and sing along. Also a great social awareness song! 

8)      Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel – This song makes me want to get up and DANCE! This is my dance in the car song.

9)      Nobody’s Gonna Break my Stride – Matthew Wilder : I don’t even need an explanation for this one.  :D

10)   Toxic – Britney Spears : I love to work out to Britney. I love Britney in general. Toxic gets my buns moving!

11)   I Like It – Enrique Iglesias : Just love this song, it’s very hip and has a GREAT beat.

12)   The Final Countdown – Europe : I adore this song. It motivates me to go go GO…because it is the final countdown.

13)   Come As You Are – Nirvana. : This is another song I love to climb to, it makes me focus and work harder.

14)   Shiny Happy People – R.E.M : R.E.M is my favorite band of all time. This is another song that makes me get up and dance, I love to work out to it!

15)   Pale Shelter – Tears for Fears : I really like Tears for Fears as a band to work out for. Their songs are catchy and upbeat…and they also go on forever. So you walk/run/spin hard!

16)    Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac : Don’t mind if I do!

17)   4 Minutes – Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake : I love Madonna. I have a lot of her on my IPod. Old school Madonna mostly but I do love this song, love it to work out to as well.

18)   You Are a Tourist – Death Cab for Cutie : I don’t really understand what the name of this band means…and I don’t know anything else they’ve done, but I like the instrumentals in this one and it has a good walking beat!

19)   Misery – Maroon 5 : I am probably one of the only people who does not LOVE Maroon 5. I can barely stand them in small doses. But the song Misery is genius and I like when it pops up on my workout shuffle.

20)   F@!$ You – Cee Lo Green : Forget ‘Forget You’, I like the real version of this song. This song is a great therapeutic tool and a fun workout song!

21)   Authority Song – John Mellencamp : I hate following the rules too, John.

22)   Save a Prayer – Duran Duran : This is another song I like to do when spinning. I have tons of Duran Duran on my album. The short-shorts do it for me I guess.

23)   Animal – Neon Trees : Upbeat and fun! Makes me want to run around in circles or something.

24)   Shot Through the Heart – Bon Jovi : Another great song by a great artist!

25)   The Sign – Ace of Base : Love to move and groove to this one!

 Miss Fat Girl in a Skinny World did a collaborative post, her list is here:

This was a TOUGH decision for my top 25 workout songs. But it’s definitely something I had fun with! Who knows, maybe at some point I’ll have to do another set!? 

1) Headstrong - Trapt
2) So What - P!nk
3) Flavor of the Weak - American Hi-Fi
4) The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
5) Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift
6) Tik Tok - Ke$ha
7) Undo It - Carrie Underwood
8) Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
9) Lose Yourself - Eminiem
10) Stronger - Kanye West
11) I Believe In A Thing Called Love - The Darkness
12) Beat It - Michael Jackson
13) Black Betty - Ram Jam
14) I Write Sins, Not Tradgedies - Panic! at the Disco
15) Rude Boy - Rhianna
16) Walk This Way - Aerosmith
17) Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
18) Edge Of Glory - Lady Gaga
19) I Love Rock 'N Roll - Joan Jett
20) Hollaback Girl - Gwen Sefani
21) Livin On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
22) We Got The Beat - The Go Gos
23) Paradise City - Guns 'N Roses
24) Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake
25) California Gurls - Katy Perry




OOOOOK So there's my list of 25...Was soooo hard to narrow it down to only 25 tho haha. Can't wait to see what you pick :D I would LOVE to see you blog writers come up with your workout mix! I would love to find some awesome new songs and learn about you through your taste in music! Go forth and show us what you’ve got!

The week ahead!

After the success of doing TWO meals on my own yesterday, I am motivated to do a few more MOMO's this week. However, this week is crazy. We hired a new nurse at work two months ago...she's already been on vacation THREE times! Can you imagine? I have taken a total of ONE DAY OFF in the last 9 months for vacations...and she's already had almost 3 weeks. How the hell is that fair? I get a huge guilt trip even taking that day off to go to my family reunion! And yet other people in the office can jet away without a single word said about it. /Endrant.

Anyway, what this means is I have double the work to do. I am working late every night and I've been asked to possibly pick up a few visits on my day off Wednesday. I've already told my boss I'm not interested in working all day and I have my JC appointment at 9:15am so it either has to be before or a little bit after. I'm not playing this 'you agreed to work so now you have to work all day' game. I'm already going on 7 days now that I've worked or been on call, I'm not doing another 7 more without a break!!!  Food is going to be hard, I am not going to have time to stop to have lunch on two of the days and won't be home until late in the evening on all but one of the days!

My goal this week is planning my meals ahead and packing snacks. I'm planning on bringing my JC snack with my in the car and possibly eating that in the car between patients. At least then I won't be ravenous by the time I get home from work. I love to eat my JC snack as a dessert but because of my schedule, I am going to have to be flexible! I hate being flexible... :(

In other news, I just bought a new indoor grill! My old George Foreman (which was used BEFORE I got it at a tag sale) has bit the dust. The nonstick coating on the plates (which aren't removable) is completely shot and everything just sticks. Its impossible to clean. So I invested in a new indoor grill, it's not a Foreman but it got awesome reviews online. I live in a condo and I don't have a patio or a porch; we are allowed to have grills but I don't want to leave it in the common area (which many people do) and I don't have the space to store it in my garage. Not to mention I don't know how to grill (see my 30 Before 30 List)! All in all I think I'm going to stick to grilling my veggies indoors and leaving the outdoor grilling for when I have a pro around who won't let me catch the entire association on fire.

Hoping that I can get some more blog posts out this week but if you don't hear from me, it's just because I'm swamped! BUT look out for a VERY special joint blog post tomorrow...

Have a GREAT week on plan! Here's hoping for nicer weather than today!

Recipe: BBQ Pulled Pork Wrap!

BBQ PULLED PORK WRAP!!!

Don't be fooled, once again No Thanks to Cake has inspired me to create a recipe! I went shopping at Target today with my mom and we started talking about Jenny Craig and meals on my own. I told her I planned on making BBQ Chicken Baked Potatoes tonight! My mother was intrigued but has had too many baked potatoes lately (typical mom!)...and I also had a broccoli and cheese stuffed potato for lunch. So after some calorie counting, etc, I decided to make a similar recipe in a wrap!!

So here it is! My Pulled Pork Wrap! VERY JC FRIENDLY! My mom ate one too (I portioned hers out too because I was portioning out mine) and she LOVED IT! This would be a perfect family friendly meal, I promise! EVERYONE is going to go gaga for it!

Materials Needed:
Small saucepan to heat up BBQ Pork
Spoon
Willpower not to scarf everything before it's done cooking.
Ingredients (FOR ONE SERVING):

1/4 cup Lloyds BBQ Pulled Pork
1 ounce Kraft 2% Cheddar Cheese
1 Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Tortilla (This is a 70 calorie wrap, you cannot taste a single difference between it and a regular wrap and its soooo soft and delicious, not hard and icky)
4 thin slices of Cucumber
2 slices Tomato
3 thin slices of Red Onion
1/4 cup shredded Carrot
1/4 cup Green Bell Pepper
1/4 cup Lettuce (I used Nature's Promise Organic Spring Mix)

Directions:

Wrap before pork was added.

1) Heat 1/4 cup of Lloyds BBQ pork in a small saucepan over medium heat until warmed through.
2) Arrange wrap on a plate. Measure out 1 oz of cheese and put it on the wrap. (I did not heat the cheese...it was fine. I would probably melt it next time but that's just personal preference)
3) Deck your wrap out with veggies.
4) Add BBQ Pork onto of the veggies/cheese.
5) Wrap it up and serve!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: I used Sparkpeople to do this analysis for me, SO EASY! For this recipe exactly like it's written WITH the veggies I put on there are:

Calories: 284
Fat: 10g
Carbs: 33g
Protein: 23g
Cholesterol: 35g
Fiber: 9g

Note: This recipe took me literally less than 10 minutes to put together. If you don't eat pork, this could easily be substituted out for the BBQ chicken (which has slightly higher calories) or BBQ Beef (same amount of calories). Feel free to put on whatever veggies you want, whatever. This wrap was literally bursting at the seams when I sat down to eat it, I definitely had to eat it with a knife and a fork!!! Note: This is also a full sized plate, this is not a small plate that I used to make this dish look bigger. Nope, these are full sized dinner plates, YAY!!

Still no pulled pork, JUST veg and a little cheese. WOW!

Weekend!

It's always a relief to me when the weekend comes. I finally get a chance to get things done in the house. Laundry, changing the sheets on the bed, washing the dishes that have magically piled up in the sink, vaccuuming, and cleaning the bathroom from top to bottom! I've been doing the housewife workout all morning! Even though I'm on call this weekend, the patient load isn't heavy and our regular weekend nurses can handle it without needing my assistance. But I do have to carry my work phone around and answer it if I get a call. It's still nice to have some time!

Recently I've begun tracking my calories on Sparkpeople.com. It's free and it helps me make sure that I'm getting my calories in with my Jenny Craig food. I can make sure I'm getting appropriate calories, fat, etc. After you put your food in it runs a report and says 'you need to get more fat into your diet!' or 'you met all your nutrition goals for the day'! It's a great free guideline that is helping me stay on plan! It also makes planning meals on my own VERY easy! You can search for foods you want to eat (example: onions) and choies will come up, then you select the size you plan on or have eaten, and it figures out all the information for it! I LOVE IT! Seriously, go try it out! There are also plenty of articles about starting a new exercise plan, TONS of great recipes, quizzes, a message board forum, and lots of other excellent tools! *I'm not being paid by Sparkpeople...even though I probably should be after this free marketing.

Plans for this weekend include a trip to Target, getting some groceries (I'm out of fat free milk and veggies), and spending some time with my mother. My curtains aren't going up this week...yeah, I know, again...but I'm looking forward to a nice weekend anyway!

In other news, I had an excellent MOMO breakfast that was awesome! I had 1 cup of Banana Nut Cheerios (I'm on the 2000 calorie plan, that's why I had a cup, for lesser plans you probably would only have the serving size of 3/4 cup), 1 banana sliced in my cereal, and 1 cup of fat free milk. SOOO delicious! Perfect MOMO for my plan! Also possibly doing a MOMO for dinner, No Thanks to Cake had an AWESOME recipe for BBQ Chicken baked potatoes...go right now and check it out. It sounds amazing. I want it!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

One of Those Days...

Today was a long one at work, I have to say. I am really looking forward to the weekend...but praying for quiet. I'm on call, bleh. I woke up feeling very tired today, like I couldn't get myself moving. Which is funny because today was a BEAUTIFUL day. It wasn't too hot, it wasn't humid, the sun was shining but there were beautiful wispy white clouds in the sky. I went to bed a little later than normal last night but I also got to sleep in an extra hour, that could've had something to do with it...but I have a lot going on in my life right now. Work, family, etc.

This isn't weight loss related at all, so sorry to unload it! Blogging is cheaper than professional therapy! Hehe. This has been bothering me for a while and I haven't told anyone about it. SO...yay for you getting stuck reading more of my bitching!

Back in June of this year I had a patient who I adored that died very unexpectedly after finding out he had cancer. I opened him to homecare really to check his blood pressure, change some dressings, and prepare him for a scheduled surgery. The doctor didn't think it was anything serious and he was doing great. Well, when they went in to do the surgery they found out he had cancer everywhere and two weeks later, he passed away. I was devestated. This was the nicest family, they were always very grateful that I was there and were so kind and wonderful. Losing him was a blow I wasn't expecting, especially not so soon. After his surgery they were talking about chemotherapy and radiation, I had every hope that there would be treatment and remission! But...he passed.

Because it was so sudden, nothing was in place. No funeral arrangements, no advanced directives, so it took the family about a month to put things in place. The funeral happened to take place in July, the same day as my mother's birthday. I was also working that weekend and it was VERY busy. I felt overwhelmed. One of my "friends" was having a Lia Sophia party and I told her privately that I would not be able to attend because of the funeral I was going to.

Skip ahead to one of the craziest weekends I've had, I had several visits in the morning. My mother is kind of a facebook junkie and so I wanted to say happy birthday to my mom on there (she was really excited to see it on there haha). What I didn't want to do was put a damper on her birthday because I had a funeral to go to. AND I also didn't want to start the inevitable facebook chain of: WHO DIED!!??!!? I also wanted to protect the privacy of my patient and his family, privacy laws extend after a person has died! SO on my status I posted a happy birthday to my mom and left out the other things. Well a little later when I got home, I checked on my page and had a nasty message from this girl (she's 29 years old...but obviously she acts like she's 12) stating: "You didn't have to lie about a funeral to get out of coming to my party". And then proceeded to trash me to all of my college friends before unfriending me, not even giving me the courtesy of a call or a text.

It's been bugging me for a long time. I am too proud to call her or text her and explain  that I was at a funeral and I'm too nice a person to trash her back. It's just been really nagging at me. Apparantly because I didn't post it on facebook...it didn't happen? One of my friends from college who came to the party last night had said that many people didn't show up to my party because of what this girl had been saying about me. So...it's been on my mind. Just makes me wonder what kind of person people think I am if they'd believe I'd lie about a funeral to get out of going to a Lia Sophia party...

I'm a very straightforward person. I'd just tell her to her face that I didn't want to go to a ridiculous party where I'm pressured into buying overpriced, cheaply made things that I'll never wear. But of course, I made the mistake of telling her the truth.

I feel better putting it out there, at least explaining my feelings. I've been feeling down for most of the day. On a brighter note, I was really good on plan...I wasn't even that hungry but I made myself sit down at eat breakfast, lunch dinner and my JC dessert, and I even had a cup of fruit salad that I had made myself yesterday which was delicious. On another bright note, tomorrow looks like another beautiful day and now that I've unloaded, I feel like it'll be a good one.

TGIF!

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To!

Party: Not such a success. I invited a bunch of people over and many RSVP'd maybe or yes on Facebook but others texted me and said they could come. Well last minute I got a bunch of texts and messages saying that people weren't coming. Now, I won't say I slaved over this party...but I made a huge fresh fruit salad, I cut up veggies, I made onion dip with fat free sour cream instead of buying it prepackaged, bought fat free lays potato chips, had hummus and low calorie pretzels, and I made crystal light lemonade...I also did a big housewife workout getting the house in tip top shape. Only to find out that only one person was coming and another person "might" stop by after work.

So then I was all alone with all this food and I'll admit...I ate some. I was feeling a little upset and eating to comfort is one of my biggest downfalls. I managed to stop myself after stealing a few potato chips and munching on some cucumber with dip. I stopped myself and went to sit down with some lemonade and from there it was great. When my friend came I just had some fruit salad and a bit more veggies with dip. I know I went a little off plan but it really wasn't that bad. I also sent ALL of the leftovers home with my friend. She's thin as a rail...and she said she didn't even know that anything was low fat/low cal. She enjoyed everything! AND I got rid of the leftovers!

Tonight was a really good experience for me because I did catch myself stress/comfort eating. I had already eaten my JC dinner too (Sesame chicken!) and I wasn't even HUNGRY! I just...wanted to do SOMETHING and food was available. I won't make that mistake next time. I also won't have a whole bunch of snacks for people I think are coming! Yikes!

Tomorrow is another busy day...but my Friday looks amazing :D Very light day so, fingers crossed, it will stay that way! I am on the weekend but so far it looks pretty light. I could use the break! And my dad might come help me put up the rods and the curtains...maybe.

Goodnight to all my wonderful blog readers. Thank you so much for your support, it really means everything to me. I couldn't get through this without you!

Love,
Katelyn

FIRST GOAL ACHIEVED!

WOW!!!
I was not expecting a 3.2lb loss this week. I've been feeling bloated. As many of you know I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome...and my body does WIERD stuff. I've been having my period for the last three weeks. Isn't that just SPECTACULAR!? I thought so. So I know that I'm retaining some fluid, I've been drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated in the heat and to fill me up so I'm not so hungry before, during and after meals! I've been consistently getting my 8 glasses a day (and running to the bathroom about 45 times a day).

My goal of getting to 294 is accomplished! Today I was 293.6, WOO! This means that I have lost 10% of my weight AND have lowered my risk of Type II Diabetes!!! I didn't plan it like this but I am having a little party tonight with some close friends to hang out and watch movies. This is my prize for 10% lost! Yeah yeah I know I scheduled the party a couple weeks ago but it can still count, right? Right! :D

The party is at my house so I've made all the food. Made onion dip with Breakstone's fat free sour cream- for 2 tablespoon serving of onion dip its 20 calories. I figure I'll have a little with some veggies that I'm cutting up. I have a big fruit salad. I have reduced fat potato chips and some hummus and low calorie pretzels. These are things I know my friends will enjoy but that  I can also eat without feeling too guilty! I'm setting myself up for success! I know I can make good choices and stay on plan. I know there will be a little splurging but I can do fine!

So now that I've achieved my first goal, it's time for me to reveal my second goal!! IT IS VERY EXCITING! I've been talking a lot with another wonderful blogger who writes Fat Girl in a Skinny World! She is awesome! And when I make it to my halfway weight which is 235, I am rewarding myself with going to visit her in Canada! WOO HOO! What a goal! I better get my buns moving!

In other news my JCC was better today. After last week and me telling her very clearly that I need to do meals on my own for my financial security and telling her I would reassess if my weight didn't show the results I wanted, it really sunk in for her. I CAN lose weight doing meals on my own...and I HAVE to do it. I need to learn how to eat without Jenny Craig food (and I figure it's going to take a long while before I'm comfortable doing every meal on my own, that's why I'm starting now with just a handful). Not to mention I find the idea of paying 2.95 for one serving of cereal to be outrageous. I bought a box of Special K with Red Berries for 1.99 after using a coupon...and that's a whole BOX, DOZENS of servings! The cost is a little inflated for something like that. JC is definitely worth it to me, but I also don't see any harm in substituting a more cost effective solution when able to!

After having to get up at 5am to work today...on my day off...running around to get my patients seen and then speeding (ahem, I mean driving exactly the speed limit the entire way) to my appointment, I am exhausted. Getting everything prepped for the party tonight and maybe a little nap... maybe.

Sending out skinny vibes to my other Wednesday weighers, like another fellow blogger Fat in Suburbia! Have a great day everyone.

And happy 19th birthday to my little brother! Love you <3

Trepidation on Tuesday

Weigh in is imminent... and I am getting my normal case of nerves. Why do I always feel so anxious about this? I have no idea. I've been good on my plan with very few splurges. I have been exercising...okay, not as much as I should be, I know. I am very naturally active, I walk a lot and I'm always running around, up and down the stairs, performing intense medical procedures like wound care--so I get a workout that way. I've been taking the stairs all the time now and that's something I never did before. Baby steps? I know, I know.

Today was crazy, I had to be at work by 6am...and I worked until 6pm. So now I'm home and I'm exhausted. Tomorrow is supposed to be my day off...but I'm working in the morning (...damn it). I've already told my boss I need to be finished by my weigh in at 9:15 so that means I'm going to be out at 6am again. AND I'm on call this weekend. The only good thing is that I haven't even had a second to be hungry. I don't think about needing to eat because my mind is occupied.

Delicious Dinner!

Although the second I walked in, I went straight to work sauteing onion, pepper and mushroom to volumize my spaghetti and meatballs. I also served it with a side salad with light Italian that I saved from lunch. And I put 2 teaspoons of kraft parmesean onto it, its 20 calories; so I counted that as using all of my limited frees. Very delicious!

Now I'm going to just try and relax and not get overly anxious about weigh in...or get annoyed at having to work on my "day off". I'm also having a small party, more on that tomorrow!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

The Start of the Week!

Well it's Monday and that means a new week is starting...but my Jenny Craig week is almost over! I go on Wednesday to weigh in and I'm praying for a loss. I've started to really notice that I've lost weight though. My boss said she noticed that she could see in my face that I had lost weight. And my clothes are getting looser or, in the case of my capris, WAY too loose to wear. I almost lost them around my ankles when I tried to put them on!!

I find that I also have a renewed energy. Of course, that energy gets sucked up when I have to get up for work at 5 am... (not my favorite thing believe me). Yet this morning I was up before my alarm! Okay, it was only 5 minutes before...but still! I was up, I was alert...that is not something that's normal for me. I'm really hoping it will be for the new and improved me though! Before I started JC I would sleep until the last possible second, trying to get those last five minutes in. Then I was always dragging, the whole morning I would be cranky... I don't drink coffee because of severe heartburn that I get from it, so it was a lose-lose situation for everyone.

Now I find that I fall asleep and wake up much easier. I never felt depressed really, not since nursing school...but I wonder to myself if I was down on myself and didn't notice the depression. My gynecologist tried to prescribe me a low dose Lexapro but I refused. First of all, I'm a nurse...so I'm stubborn as all heck and refuse to take medication that's not ABSOLUTELY necessary.  I didn't feel like I was depressed, I was still working every day, and I wasn't having emotional breakdowns; I was just tired and cranky! Also, the medication came with a pricetag that I didn't want to pay. So I just told him no... and I'm still glad I did that. But maybe I was somewhat depressed!

Tomorrow is a realllllllllly busy day. But I have found the time to take a break and eat some lunch. I shuffled some things so it'll work out fine! I need to keep my eye on the prize and focus on getting through Tuesday so I can go weigh in Wednesday! For the first time in my life I can't wait to step on the scale!

ALSO! My little sister is going to Italy and she is going to be blogging her journey! Also I would like to point out that I came up with the blog title! Lol if you're interested in travel or in Europe, check out her blog: Mom I'm Still Alive, I also have it linked in my blogroll! YAY!

Sticky Sunday

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having a good day on plan!

It is sooo sticky and hot outside...and the rain has not stopped. It's been pouring since last night. I'll admit, we need the rain! But I was looking forward to my hike. Well that was a wash! I can't say I've done too much in the way of activity other than convincing myself that a shower was necessary and doing the dishes in the sink. Not exactly a win for that...I'm convincing myself that I need to do time on my exercise bike this afternoon!

Food wise I've had a good week and weekend. Weigh in is coming on Wednsday and I'm eager to see. This week I've started doing meals on my own for several breakfasts. I got Special K with Red Berries, Banana Nut Cheerios and Life cereal which I've been eating with skim milk. I picked the cereals because they closely matched the calories, fiber, fat, etc of the Cranberry Almond JC cereal. So I did that 3x this week and I have it on my meal planner 4x next week, unless I see a gain in which case it'll be back to JC breakfasts.

I did a meal on my own for lunch yesterday and although I did splurge a bit, I think I made good choices. Instead of picking a high fat food, I went for a low calorie salad. There was about 4oz of chicken (used my dining out guide tips for eyeballing portions). The chicken was very thin and about the lenth of my palm. The sauce on it was Frank's Hotsauce (I'd know that taste anywhere!). It was on a big plate of romaine with cucmber and cherry tomato. The fattening part came in with the bleu cheese crumbles which I estimated were probably about 1/4 of a cup. And 2 tablespoons of full fat bleu cheese I got on the side-- I didn't eat all of it either. I had unsweetened iced tea to drink and put a splenda packet in it. All in all, I think it was a major success! And for dinner last night I had a broccoli and cheese stuffed potato to save some exchanges (meat exchange you're supposed to add = bleu cheese in my salad, I decided).

I'm hoping for a loss this week so we will see! I can already start to feel my clothes fitting better...and that is a success in my book!

Monday looks like an okay day at work but Tuesday is going to be a huge pain. I'm working from 6am-6pm...and since I'm on the road, I am not going to be able to stop, make my lunch, and keep on my way. I'm trying to work into my day a break where I can stop home and at least throw some lunch into the microwave but it's looking very difficult at the moment. I will make good choices no matter what though! I can do it!

Hope everyone's having a wonderful Sunday and has a great week!

Feeling Better

After my majorly long rant this afternoon, I decided to make up a list of ten things that I'm thankful for and that make me feel better. It's better than dwelling on what's annoying me!

1) My blogging buddies - You are all awesome and a huge inspiration to me. You make me feel like I'm not actually a crazy, irrational biotch (even if I am, lol).

2) My family - I'm lucky that I have living parents and that I have a relationship with them. They might drive me up and down the wall but I'm lucky to have them. And I love them.

3) Today I fit into a pair of shorts that I haven't been able to squeeze into for a LONG time...and I looked good. I didn't have to struggle to get the zipper up or end up throwing them in the dirty hamper (yes again) to get rewashed. AND my capris and pants that did fit are getting way too loose!!

4) I went out to eat today and I made great choices, I felt confident and was not influenced by other people's choices, even though SORELY tempted.

5)  Best Friends - My friend Tracey is awesome. I had a tough day and she drove out 45 minutes to see me <3 And we vented and drank some Crystal Light, and it was awesome. I love her!

6) Rain. I know it inhibits a lot of things (like me going out for a walk) but tonight the thundering of rain on my window is comforting. I don't know, I just sleep better when it's raining!

7) Central Air. It is SO humid...you can't even get in a good breath of air. Even though its raining and stormy, the humidity is NOT dropping. So I'm so glad I have AC so I can keep it cool in my house.

8) Key Lime Cheesecake - Oh how I love you. At my last JC appointment I bought 28 of them...I cannot live without the key lime cheesecake. It's my favorite! I'm so happy to have a stockpile in my freezer. Looking forward to having one tomorrow!

9) Yoga - love yoga. Relaxing yoga, core building yoga...as soon as my DVD player stops being a pain in my behind, I will start doing my Yoga for Beginners every day. Maybe even get up to be able to do advanced yoga someday!?

10) Work - Work is stressful sometimes but I adore my patients and my coworkers. I am very happy to be a nurse and to have a career. I am happy to be employed in a time where many are struggling to get and keep a job!

Here are ten of the many things I am thankful for. I'm thankful that people are reading my rambling blog posts! Have a wonderful night and a beautiful day tomorrow! Let's keep our fingers crossed for some sunshine!

CAUTION: Angry Rant Ahead

Well, I suppose with any family visit there's always one family member that just drives you up and down the wall? Well for me, that is my mom. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom. I am just really sick of the way things are going around here. I bought a condo in November and it has been a great investment. I got a great deal on it and I've made some improvements for sure! I replaced the ugly grey carpet for lovely laminate floors, I redid the tiling in the bathroom and the kitchen floors, I've purchased furniture and art, and I've made this place my own!

But the one thing I haven't had is curtains/blinds up...at all...since I moved in. Now, let me start at the beginning...when I told my father I was going to hire someone to come out and measure the windows, order blinds, etc...he threw a fit. He said he'd measure it all and help me order the blinds, etc, that's a dad's job. Cut to six months later, he finally comes around to help me measure. I ordered the blinds and they arrived but it took another month and a half to schedule a time he could come over (it's approx 30 minutes from his house to mine). Well, turns out he measured the windows wrong. The first time he came to help me put them up, he said he needed extension brackets (might as well be speaking Greek because I have noooo idea what this stuff is). The blinds company sent them to me for free...so I didn't care, it was just one more week without blinds. They arrived and my dad came the next weekend to find out there's a 3 inch excess on each side of the blinds!!!!!!!!

At this point, I went through a total run around with the blinds company who were being completely inflexible... and they told me it would cost hundreds of dollars for me to ship the blinds back to the company, have them cut down, and then shipped back. Another week goes by and my dad asked if I'd be okay with him paying for curtains to hide the mistake...which I readily agreed to. So today my family came over, my mom, dad, sister and her boyfriend to put up the blinds and get the curtain situation settled. The boys had the blinds under control so my mom, sister and I sat and chatted for a while. So we were going to go out for lunch and then pick up the rods/curtains at Lowes.

Good part of the day: I did great at lunch. I've been making No Thanks to Cake's buffalo chicken salad for the last 3 days, haha. But I decided to have the buffalo chicken salad at the cute cafe down the street for me. The chicken was grilled and was about a 4oz portion with just hot sauce on it, there was some bleu cheese crumbles and I ordered the dressing on the side. I had unsweetened iced tea to drink. All in all, I think I made a great choice! I ate slowly and enjoyed every bite of my salad. I didn't eat much of the dressing because the bleu cheese crumbles made it moist enough. For breakfast I had a JC breakfast stuffed sandwich and for dinner I'm planning on having a broccoli and cheese stuffed potato, so I splurged just a little but I'm well within my calorie count for the day! Not to mention I'm going to get more than enough exercise picking up my house that was trashed by my family coming over...

Anyway, back to me complaining about things you probably don't care about! We went to Lowes after lunch and I picked out rods and curtains only for the living room, I didn't find anything that really suited my needs for the bedroom or the dining room. Well my mother starts going on and on about how this will have to wait for another day and how she's done for the day and wants to go home and nap. That's all well and good but I'm having guests over on Wednesday and I really wanted this all done. The blinds look ridiculous (that's why I need the curtains to hide them). After nearly eight months of this back and forth, I feel completely and totally overwhelmed. This was supposed to be the day that we got everything done. At least get the darn rods up so I can get curtains and put them up myself!! But no, my mom needs to go home and take a nap...

I feel so frusrated and powerless. If I just hired a damn guy for 50 bucks or whatever, this would be done. I wouldn't have had to deal with all this BS. So I have rods in my closet taking up space, my house is covered in dust from putting the blinds up and their power tools, cups are all over, I need to take all sorts of boxes to the dumpster, my whole bed got ripped apart, my alarm clock unplugged... I am just done. I seriously, totally want to curl up and eat my feelings. UGH!

Instead I'm going to commence phase II of the housewife workout --cleaning what's already been cleaned twice since yesterday. If it wasn't storming out I'd go for an angry walk...but that's out of the question. Maybe I'm being too sensitive or irrational...I just am so sick of things being unfinished. And my mom saying she had to go home and nap when everyone else was ready to take the last 20 minutes and help me put up a couple of rods so everything could be complete...that really got me burning. But of course not, as usual it's all about her.

One thing about me is that it takes a lot for me to get angry...it's taken me eight months to even get a little bit annoyed at the situation. But now that I am mad? I've bottled it up really good and now it's 'contents under pressure'! Watch out, I'm ready to explode. So I'm doing my best not to have a complete meltdown (writing this blog post kinda helped!) Anyone have any words of wisdom to share on letting go of stress and anger? Or maybe a similar experience they want to share? I could really use the help!

If you're still reading at this point, I love you and you are awesome. <3 Thanks for letting me rant on like a crazy person and get some of my feelings out!

FRIDAY!!!!!!!!

Oh boy am I glad it's Friday. It's been a tough week in some ways. I've had a bit of a lighter work schedule but I've had a lot of stuff going on outside of work. Our CEO passed away suddenly on Tuesday and there has been a real black cloud over the halls of my workplace. Services were going on all week and although I didn't know the man well, his wife is one of the homecare nurses and I feel awful for her. It really makes me sad when young people die (I work with patients, the oldest of which is 103, so I consider 58 young). The worse part is that it was very sudden. We were told he was going to have some surgery but was working from home...a week after that an e-mail went around that said he had colon cancer but they were looking into treatment options. Two weeks later he passed away very unexpectedly.

Colon cancer is something that I've seen a lot more of these days. And it always affects me when someone I know dies. Today I'm using my blog to plug routine screenings. Early detection of cancer saves lives! Have your mammograms, colonoscopies, prostate exams, etc...early detection is the best chance for survival and success!

Okay now that I've depressed the hell out of you, I am very glad to share that my family is coming to spend the weekend with me. I have a brother and a sister (both younger) who are both going to college for Engineering (at different schools). My sister is 22 months younger than me, she's on a 7 year program to get her Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. in Engineering at her college! For the next year, starting in September, she's going to be studying in Italy. So I'm glad to have time to spend with her!! She's coming home this weekend with her boyfriend! My dad's birthday is tomorrow, on the 6th, and my brother's birthday is the 10th. My dad has generously offered to help me put up my blinds and get things settled in the house and then we're all going to go out to lunch!

Since I got off from work a bit early, I've been doing the housewife workout for several hours and woof! I am beat! I deep cleaned my condo from top to bottom and boy was I sweating! I moved all my furniture to vaccum underneath, I organized closets, finally unloaded the dishwasher and reloaded it, started laundry, dusted, washed the bathtub and shower, and a bunch of other nitpicky little tasks. It feels really good now that it's done though!

Going out to lunch tomorrow is going to be good. I am looking around at restaurants, I am armed with my dining out guide and I know I can make good choices! I also have decided to have a JC lunch for dinner so I don't go way over calories. I know that there will be some splurging when I go out so skipping my JC snack and having a JC lunch for dinner will balance things out.

Also I'm looking forward to possibly crossing one of the things off my 30 before 30 list!!! My family and I are thinking of hiking up Talcott Mountain. It IS supposed to be nasty this weekend so I'm not sure if it'll actaully happen (it's dangerous to hike up a wet trail) but I'm hopeful! It would be great to cross that off!

Looking forward to a great weekend. Happy Friday everyone!

Thirsty Thursday!

Today was my first day of doing MOMO. I had a cup of Life Cereal with skim milk while watching the weather this morning. I don't even know why I bother watching the weather...they never get it right. So much for the humidity coming down with the downpours of rain...uhhh it's another kickass sunny hot day outside. Not a dark cloud in the sky! I wish I had a job where I could be wrong 85% of the time and not get fired!

Anyway! Life cereal is one of my favorites and I'm loving having it for MOMO. For 3/4 a cup its 120 calories but I'm supposed to have a cereal of about 150- I'm basing this on the analysis I did of JC breakfasts, especially the cranberry almond cereal. So if you divide 120 by 4, that's 30 calories per 1/4 cup...so I added an extra 1/4 cup and ended up with 150 calories for my cereal and 100 calories for my skim milk to make up a total of 250 cals, PERFECT JC BREAKFAST!

Had buffalo chicken salad for lunch using my JC Chicken sandwich. (STILL thanking No Thanks to Cake for this one!!) And I'm enjoying a Pina Colada Polar Seltzer. The bubbles get on my tongue and it really tastes like I'm drinking a pina colada on ice with NO calories and no alcohol! I am loving the seltzer, cannot get enough! I really reccomend to anyone who's having trouble getting your fluids in to invest in some seltzers! LOVE it! Can't wait to try the mango one tomorrow!

JC forums are still not back up which is sad. I love reading about everyone's successes and their daily struggles, tips and tricks! So I'm hanging out on the blogosphere, checking in! I hope everyone is having a good day!

Weigh In Wednesday!

Happy Wacky Wednesday everyone! My toilet is broken...ahhhh! It's had a problem since I moved in that it doesn't flush appropriately and fills up about every hour, which is disturbing when you're sleeping. But now it's doing it more often...it can't even get down one square of TP! So thankfully I have a guy coming out today to fix it. Toilet is not something I can compromise on! I only have one in the house!!!

But you aren't here to read about my toilet woes.

I lost another 3.8 pounds today. AND I AM OFFICIALLY UNDER 300!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't been 296.4 since...probably middle of my senior year of college. I am seriously SO excited. Under 300!! That's amazing. I almost cried when I stepped on the scale and watched it go there...especially since TOM just ended this morning and I was afraid I was still carrying some water weight. I had set myself up to possibly maintain if not go up a bit! Boy was I pleasantly suprised!!!!! WOOO!

I told my consultant today that I'm going to start doing more meals on my own. I bought some cereal to eat for breakfasts and I'm doing a dinner on my own. The cereal I compared side by side to Jenny cereal, they match exactly with calories, fat, etc. She seemed to be a little put off...so I know she's really doing this for her comission. So before she could say anything, I very nicely said 'I need to do my plan the way it works for me. And if I start doing these meals on my own and my weight loss stops or my weight goes back up, we can reassess the situation then'. Well that quieted her down fast!

But hey, she can't be that mad...I bought 28 Key Lime Pies. She definitely will get a good comission this week. I can't live without the key lime pie when they're gone! I am going to have them for a long time to come (I bought other snacks to eat in between, so I will have something to toss in my bag if I need to take my snack to go). My freezer is FULL of pie right now, I barely have any room! But now I have my favorite snack and I won't be upset when it's gone.

I am very motivated and happy! Looking forward to a great week! How is everyone doing?

Treat Yourself!

Today was crazy at work...I kept getting calls about emergencies with my patients, I barely had a second to stop and breathe, and I was sorely tempted to stop for fast food today. Blame TOM but I have been absolutely DYING dying for chicken nuggets. When I finally stopped to have lunch, I realized I had a cheesy potatoes with chicken...wow! It really satisfied my craving. I, of course, added my usual allotment of hot sauce and really enjoyed! Thankfully I didn't give into my craving and stuck to plan, TAKE THAT CRAVINGS!

I had my last visit which ended at 4:30pm and I was not too far from the grocery store. Since I'm running low on lettuce and mushrooms (been obsessed with them lately). I also had pick up more fruit --pineapple, oranges, and some raspberries! Mushrooms, green pepper, red and vidalia onion, romaine, arugula, and...a special treat that I HAD to share!!

Over the last couple weeks since starting JC, I've been looking for ways to get some extra fluids. Well I've been obsessed with seltzer. I bought Polar Banana seltzers because they were on sale...THEY TASTE EXACTLY LIKE BANANA LAFFY TAFFY. I kid you not! The delicious taste of candy with NO CALORIES! I am savoring every delicious sip! I also got a pina colada one and I'll let you know how it is. Seriously, this is such a treat! I'm so excited.

Which makes up for the fact that I almost DIED tonight. I was coming out of the grocery store and I walked into a GIANT thunderstorm. As I was running to my car, lightning slammed into a jeep about 25 feet from me...it was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. Needless to say I ran the 50 yard dash in record time--pretty sure I'm eligible for the Olympics now. Now I'm home, sipping on my delicious seltzer and enjoyed a traditional lasagna for dinner. Lemon cooler cookies for dessert, I can't wait :D

Have a great evening! WI is two days away! FINGERS CROSSED!