Caffeine craze

I was jacked on caffeine at work today. After drinking 1.5 cans of energy drinks, I was a Will Ferrel Jr. I could not stop being enthusiastic about giving out coupons and smiling at every customer. I scared an asian woman I rang up today because my manager reminded me that tomorrow was the 28th (when you are able to redeem the coupon) and I freaked out and practically yelled at her that she could find out the value as soon as tomorrow! It was fantastic. Also, the other day, drunkie Jordan cheered me up by showing me how to change Michelle's voice on the recording to a deep slow version of it. We laughed... and could not stop laughing. It's been a great weekend :) Here's some recipes I tried today! I'm proud, I gave two recipes I found through other bloggers a shot! (Oh she glows and The Edible Perspective...)

The Dessert Omelet...
Cinnamon, eggs, vanilla, soy milk, and fruit!

In the process...

I definitely need to get some good yogurt to top it off to help unify the flavors better :)



For dinner I tested an avocado pasta recipe. It wasn't as yummy as I had anticipated, but it was alright. I will definitely need to find a way to tweak it to make it better because I see potential in an avocado sauce pasta dish! :)
Avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, basil leaves, kosher salt, pepper...

Tada!

Feeling my tummy shrink! :)

My stomach looks smaller from my side profile, but I love the feeling of being able to suck in my stomach tighter than I was before. Since I've incorporated vegetables in my breakfast, and kicked my dessert eating habits to the curb, I'm noticing a change in my energy and my body. It's been very exciting watching my body change, but not justify how well I'm doing with a scale. Today, I had planned on working out, but I just had a migrane the entire day and I was exhausted after work. I did manage to workout twice this week though, so I am satisfied! My goal had been 3 times this week weightlifting, but I guess I'll just have to make that next week's goal ;) or maybe I'll attempt a workout tomorrow after work. <3<3<3 I'll post pics up soon of my breakfast!

Tonight I met my mom and sister at Costco's after work. I was happy I did because we met some nice strangers with four kids!!!!!!! They let us try some of their figs and we ended up buying them! It's my new found looooooove. Here's a picture in case you have no idea what figs look like ;)

They look a little odd, but they are fantastic!!!! This will replace my old desserts that's for sure! <3

Calm

I haven't felt calm in who knows how long! I did catch up on a few things that are due tomorrow, so I'm happy about that! Now I have time to blog :-) Here's a picture of my daily desserts lately...

Skinny cow... 140 calories! My sis taught me a trick to eat it with a little spoon and in a little dish to indulge, but not overdo it. Love her for that!!

My dinner consisted of precut/cooked chicken from the freezer and then defrosted :) 1 oz of walnuts, some spinach, goat cheese, cucumbers, and panera's balsamic vinagrette dressing. It actually wasn't bad! Here's a picture of the salad halfway through...

No more food boredom

I've been struggling to get my weight down again and it's because of boredom! I needed to revamp my recipes and get excited again!

Yummmm! I found a recipe online that combined oatmeal and applesauce. I tweaked the recipe a bit because I didn't have bananas on hand or chai tea? or seeds? But it still tastes amazing and I eat it almost every day! :) Oatmeal has never tasted better. <3

Upclose=) yummmm. Just looking at it makes me crave it. 292 calories of heaven. <3

Also, this weekend I tried to reenact a pizza I had a 25 kitchen and bar with peanut butter as the sauce. Here's a picture...

I'll go lighter on the garlic salt next tiem around... but it wasn't bad for my first time :)

It's never too late: theme of today

I felt guilty about not getting my mom something for Valentine's, so I asked Stu if he did anything for his mom. He said no, but then asked if he should have. I wasn't sure what to say to him. Based on my situation and family history, him and I aren't even comparable. He wasn't raised in an all girls's household, so I doubt he ever became accustomed to doing things for his mom for every holiday. But Danielle and I have been well trained. No matter what the holiday, we do something for our mom and she reciprocates.

These past few months (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Joe's birthday, Valentine's day, NYE...) I've been lazy. I don't excuse laziness, but it might be due to lack of sleep, stress, and anxiety I've been faced with. But an excuse is an excuse and my mom looks forward to every holiday, and I should be doing my best to make each one memorable for her. She means the world to me, and my sister and I mean the world to her. So rather than going with my gut instinct and buying her flowers, I didn't. Danielle quickly reminded me that mom hated getting flowers; I hesitated. She thought they were a waste of money and die off anyway.

Although she fed that line to us, that was not her only reason to dissociate herself from flowers... Any time a boyfriend of hers, or even my dad, did something wrong and felt guilty about it, they bought her flowers. Knowing that, I hate myself for not buying her the flowers. Getting flowers from me would have repaired the meaning of the Valentine's to her. It's a holiday that celebrates love, not hate or grief or sadness.
I needed to make things right because my first mistake was avoiding her on my brother's birthday. She sat in her room depressed all day long on this day before Valentine's. I had to go into work and I could not bear to see her grieving. Still, I should have taken the time to do something special for her.

So in attempt to make it up to the greatest mom in the world, I decided that Danielle and I are going to do something extremely special for her tomorrow! :) We plan on going directly to the stores after class and  surprise her at work with chocolates, flowers, and balloons. She deserves the attention! I hope she's happy because I truly believe it's never too late for anything!

You are your own best teacher

I stood in my boss' cute brown booties today because I left my flat ones at home. I stationed myself at fits. My feet began to experience some agony halfway through my shift when I couldn't help but stare at the men's side. There was a gentleman with his friend over by the underwear selection. I scanned him up and down noticing a few things: he wasn't wearing any makeup, he hadn't done a single thing to his hair, he probably gets laid close to every night or every other night; but then I stop to assess myself. I'm wearing makeup, I spent a good twenty minutes on my hair, I was wearing heels and a pushup bra, and I get laid once a year.

And then I started questioning why women strive to be something they're not. We want bigger boobs, we we buy pushup bras; we want longer eyelashes, so we purchase expensive mascara; we want thicker hair, so we tease the crap out of it or put in a 'bump it'; we want to be taller, so we wear heels. But even moerso, why do we continue to set higher stands for ourselves when men are clearly not doing so in the same fashion? Is it because of the men? Is it because of society? This is stupid. Each and every single woman out there is beautiful in her own way. And no one needs a man or society to tell them that. Happy Valentine's Day to all my fabulous ladies out there. <3

&hearts Feb 14 bound...

Valentine's DAY is Monday.


Get it girrrrrrrrrrrrl.

  
Questions/thoughts on the Holiday itself:
1. Is it really appropriate to celebrate a hallmark holiday... when you're single?
No. Couples only conform to keep the sparks flowing...
When you're single the only sparks you should be concerned with are the ones on fourth of July. [FIREWORKS, PEOPLE!]
2. Why do we single women indulge in chocolate, on this holiday, like we'll never see chocolate ever again?
It must be that we're emotional during this time of year... much like we all are on our periods. And what is the first thing we grab for when we're bleeding a week straight?... yes... our old friend, Hershey's. But I'd prefer to be lonely, and without chocolate, than spend time with my friend Hershey and in turn gain new friends: thunder thighs and love handles...
3. When this holiday passes, will I still be wanting a - dare I say - boyfriend?

More than likely, yes. Day in and day out, all I want to do is snuggle up with a cute boy who's crazy about me. <3<3<3

Addictive behavior: shopping maniac

My bra, jean, boot, and tanktop wadrobe all look much like this picture [my sweatshirt collection]. A complete rainbow. I have my sister, my mom, Express and Victoria's Secret to thank for that.

"Retail Therapy" is plenty justification for my past irresponsible spending behaviors. Retail has been my employer for 3(+) years now; and because of that, I continue to outgrow my closet!

Today, I considered my alternatives. 1. A trip to Playto's closet to give me more space. Consequence: Potential pocket book ruining decisions to refill the empty spots! 2. Keeping closet as is by holding onto clothing I no longer use. Consequence: It takes longer to get ready, but I always have extra clothes to lend to someone if a friend ever wishes to borrow something. In which case, I'd have something other than my brand new favorite shirt to offer. I can't decide.
4 or so years ago, who would've thought that a girl who hated to shop for clothes and shoes would ever amount to a level of high maintenance? But shhhhh... I'd never admit to something of that nature ;)