Weekly Wishes: The 4th

Greetings peeps!
 

Its that time again for weekly wishes! Did you set any goals for last week? If so, how did they go? Are you just joining me? Let me explain what happens for Weekly Wishes..

The Happenings: You share your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals/wishes/achievements and you get to be a part of this big group of people that are doing the same thing. Yay! Wanna join in? Check out The Nectar Collective.

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Last Weeks Wishes

*Exercise - Yeah well... does doing a lot of walking at a car show count? If not then I didn't get this one accomplished. :op

*Finish my crochet kerchief project - Er... Nope.

*Do some writing on the book - I'm ashamed to say no!!

(hangs head) I have no idea what I was doing all last week! Lol. I'm sure whatever it was I thought I was busy and it was important, but now it's time to start again.

Sooooooo...

This Weeks Wishes

1. Okay.. I know it's been on there for the past three weeks, but I'm throwing exercise back on the list! This will fall under one of my previous wishes to practice good time management. Even if I have to secretly do twenty jumping jacks in the bathroom stall at work I'm getting some kinda exercise in this week!!

2. Spring clean - I don't know why, but when Spring does finally roll around I get the urge to clean clean clean! So the plan is to pick one thing everyday and just go balls to the wall at it. Maybe today I'll tackle the bathroom? Get rid of products I don't need, dust, & general cleaning.

3. I have a few letters I need to write that I've procrastinated on. It's time to get those written and done. 

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April Monthly Goals/Wishes

1. I really want to get back to regular meditation and journaling. It helps me to deal with stress and keeps me focused. I want to make it a daily practice. I plan to interchange what I'm doing every other day. If I start out meditating on my Monday, then I'll journal on Tuesday and so forth and so on.

2. I'd really reeeeeally like to drop about 10 lbs this month. That will get me back into wonderland (i.e. the 100's) and I will feel like I've accomplished something really big, because... it's a big deal.

3. Re-Connect with my friends. Sometimes life gets busy and it's easier just to check to see what's going on with people through Facebook or Twitter. I want to actually call my friends and say hello and maybe send them something nice in the mail to let them know I'm thinking about them and that I care.

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I hope everyone is having a lovely Monday! I'm determined to get a lot of work done today and really get some things accomplished. So that's it for now. Tell me what's going on with you. Do you have some goals for April?

Ciao!

Girl's Night & Food Adventure #31

Greetings!

Are you as ready for Friday as I am? I totally live for the weekend. Last Friday, me and my friend Stacie D had a Girl's Night at Atlantic Station. You got everything you need down there from Ikea, to clothing stores, restaurants, grocery stores, and of course the movie theater!

The night consisted of some shopping, dinner at Chick-a-Biddy (weird name I know) and going to see Single Mom's Club. Total chick flick, right? Are you like me and you try to take photos of everything? :) I mean... you have to celebrate the occasion with pictures, right? Right!!

(Stacie D)

Per usual in Atlanta, (which to this day I do NOT understand) the family at the next table was staring at us. You know how you will be minding your own business and then all of a sudden you can just feel someone looking at you? Yeah.. that happened. The funny thing about people that stare is, they never bother to speak and when you catch them staring, they just keep on staring!!! Whaaaa? Why?

I love it when you're having a silly moment and then some stranger comes up and participates in the fun. One of the servers there at Chick-a-Biddy skipped over to us and said, 'Hey! Are you trying to take a picture?' I was totally trying to take a picture. I said yes of course. Then he says, 'You looked like you were trying to do something funny so just do the same thing.' He proceeds to take his own picture with my phone and then snaps a picture of us. Here are the results. :)

Stacie D and I both got chicken and waffles. I've never had the combo before, but I liked it. It's a definite repeat performance. I've been to Gladys & Ron's before, but didn't get the chicken and waffles.. I guess I'll have to try that next!

Until the next adventure....

Ciao!

Weighting In: Health vs. Weight-Loss

Greetings!

As always, it seems to be that I've found a new book to read. Nevermind the fact that I currently have at least five other books that I'm in the middle of. I really should add 'Finish a freakin book' to my Weekly Wishes next week! Ha!

I was watching Oprah Prime and she had Sharon Stone and Cameron Diaz on there talking about getting older. Did you watch it too? I loved it. Why? I'm 32 and I'm seeing little signs of age and I don't like it! I just gotta tell ya that getting older is no joke!

No one tells you that you will start to get rogue old lady chin hairs like your 5th grade teacher had, or that after the age of 25 you.will.never.get.rest.ever.again., or that you can't stay up 24 hrs without feeling like death warmed over the next day. You have to take care of yourself, which brings me to the new book I'm reading.. See how that went full circle? ;) I'm talking about The Body Book, by Cameron Diaz.

Here's the thing about me and my weight-loss journey.. (and I'm gonna be really honest here) I simply want to lose weight so that I can wear the clothes that fit my personality and NOT clothes for an 85 year old woman that likes to wear tiny flower prints, boxy shirts, and sweats and/or wind suits all the time. (No offense to older ladies out there) I want to be able to shop in more than 3 major stores for 'somewhat' stylish clothes. And let's not forget the benefit of not being discriminated against for not being skinny. Maybe you're thinking that the last statement is a little dramatic, but I've experienced it myself at my own job. People are a lot nicer to me, men AND women when they notice I'm losing weight. It's crazy!

I digress though...

 

So the book talks a lot about eating "whole foods" or foods sustained by mother earth. That means no foods with preservatives and definitely no fast foods! (perish the thought!!) Her whole angle in the book is to be healthy. I can dig it. Although, I must say that it's much easier to grab the hamburger helper box and throw some ground turkey in it and call it one than to go to the grocery and buy all the many ingredients it's gonna take to replicate and cook that meal. I figure it's a baby steps kind of thing. Maybe cook one major whole food meal on the weekend when I can enjoy taking my time and not have to rush. 

She talks about how to take care your body and skin and all that jazz too, but I haven't gotten to that point in the book yet. I like this book and it's making a lot of sense so far. So, good people of the land, do you eat for taste, to be healthy, or to just lose weight??

Oh by the way..... and this blew my mind.. It also says that just because you are overweight, doesn't mean that you can't be malnourished. Whaaaaa? I know! The gist is that if you're not feeding your body real nutrients (or eating empty calories) then you can be malnourished. Bam! Did you know this little fact? Let me know!

Ciao!

Weekly Wishes: The 3rd

~Photo source~

 

 

Greetings!!!

Its weekly wishes time again! Did you set any goals for last week? If so, how did they go? Are you just joining me? Let me explain what happens for Weekly Wishes..

The Happenings: You share your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals/wishes/achievements and you get to be a part of this big group of people that are doing the same thing. Yay! Wanna join in? Check out The Nectar Collective.
 

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Last Weeks Wishes

So last week (and the week before) I said that I wanted to accomplish putting pencil to sketch book and actually drawing something. Well it actually happened! I suppose I was preoccupied and in a creative open-minded place while I was watching Oprah's Lifeclass. Something just told me to go grab my sketch book and start drawing. I drew what I always enjoy drawing which are faces. Maybe it will turn into a series? The world may never know.

The other wish I had was to pay more attention to time management. I totally killed this one and I feel like I got everything done that I wanted to do. I'm two for two this week! 

I was also semi working on exercise, because who isn't ever working on that? I made the initiative to go for a walk on the trail nearby. Actually did four miles too! Felt good afterwards except for the big blister that was on my foot. Nothing that a little soak in hot water and Epsom salt couldn't cure though. :)

This Weeks Wishes!

1. Yeah well I guess exercise is still on the list. Meh..

2. As long as my hands aren't yelling at me, I'd like to finish my crochet project that I started 2 weeks prior.

3. Attempt to write some more on the book. I must simply get over this hump I seem to have hit in the story!



Well that's it for now lovely friends. How was your week?

Ciao!

Happiness Day!!

Greetings!

I don't know about you, but I'm so in love with the song 'Happy' by Pharell! It fits perfectly today, because The United Nations has deemed today Happiness Day!! Oh... so wait. You've been living under a rock and you haven't heard the song yet?! Okay, then watch the video below! :)

To quote the creators:   

~view source~ 

"Let's reclaim happiness!

 

Advertisers tell us that happiness comes from buying and consuming their products. Celebrities and the media pretend it comes with beauty & fame. And politicians claim that nothing matters more than growing the economy."

I for one agree with this! While I must say that I would love to live very comfortably and not have to struggle to pay bills, I can also say that I've bought things that made me happy in the moment just to leave whatever it was, in a bag, on my couch for a week. Happiness is all about the little moments that make you smile, loving the company you keep, and plain ole having fun in whatever you're doing! That's what this day is all about. Doing things that make you happy!

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Here's my happiness:

~Hanging with the Rents'~

~Kickin it with my Peeps~

 ~Reading really good books!~

~Journaling~

~Crocheting!~

~Painting~

~Being silly~

~Going to the beach~

     ~Practicing Reiki & learning about astrology~

Honorable Mentions:

~Sharing my life with my husband to be ~ Traveling ~ Singing at the top of my lungs in the car ~ Sitting on the floor while I eat ~ Watching Super Soul Sunday ~ Having music wars with The Boo ~ Having three hour conversations with my besties about nothing and everything ~ 'shop looking' with my mother ~ drawing with wild abandon ~ watching Netflix with The Boo ~ laughing till I cry and my stomach hurts ~ trying new foods ~ Hugs! Hugs are the best! ~ Talking in Gibberish with Kim ~ Taking photos  ~ Sharing a look & a chuckle with the person in line behind you when you see something odd ~

These are the things that make me happy and make my life rich. What makes you happy? Until the next time..

Ciao!

Weekly Wishes: Part Deux

Greetings!

Its weekly wishes time again! Did you set any goals for last week? If so, how did they go? Are you just joining me? Let me explain what happens for Weekly Wishes..

The Happenings: You share your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals/wishes/achievements and you get to be a part of this big group of people that are doing the same thing. Yay! Wanna join in? Check out The Nectar Collective.

Last week I said I wanted to start drawing, begin a new crochet project, collect up stuff to sell on eBay, and start back exercising. The only thing I got accomplished was the crochet.. ha ha! Not to make excuses, (but yeah to make excuses) last week was really busy.. Do you ever feel like all your free time has just suddenly and mysteriously been zapped away? Yeah.. Me too!

Here are some pictures of what I started on!

Unlike most things, I'm actually making this one for myself. Its a kerchief of sorts I suppose. Im following a pattern on YouTube. You can literally learn anything on YouTube! What do you think? I think it'll be great for Spring, especially for those windy days! 

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This Weeks Wishes:

1. I still want to draw something. Maybe if I sneak up on my sketchbook and scare it, it won't scare me instead. The blank pages are very daunting. The question is always, what in the hell do I draw?? Any ideas?

2. Time management! Often enough, I don't feel like I have time to get everything done that I would like to do. I am a total procrastinator, so maybe its time to take a look at how much energy (or the lack there of) I'm spending on doing things. I have a lovely organizer now that I've been coveting for months, so its time to put it to good use.

Okay kiddies, that's it for wishes this week. I figure these are enough, because well.... isn't trying to work on time management hard enough?

Ever Procrastinating, :)

The Lost Art of Snail Mail

Greetings!

Most recently I've been reading a blog called Vivid Please and on said blog, Vicky has organized a Snail Mail Trade. I don't know about you, but I absolutely HATE going to the mailbox. I'm talking about the kind of hate where I will refuse to check the mail for three weeks.... I am a 'Let's go paperless' enthusiast! I work with an oceans worth of paper all day long at work, so I certainly don't wanna deal with it at home. It's nice to get something other than junk mail and bills.

Here's the way it works: You will receive a gift in the mail from someone, as well as send one out. You aren't necessarily sending something to the person that is sending you a gift. The cap you spend is around $16. You answer 5 questions about yourself and give social media links of your choosing so that the person that is to send you something can find out what you're into. The person I was assigned to is Sarah. Some of the key things I picked up from her info was that she liked writing, photography, the outdoors & nature/animals.

I was so mad when I got to the Post Office, because I remembered that I forgot to take a picture of the items I got for Sarah! Do you do that to? Remember that you have to do something at the last minute. See this is why I just bought a planner. I digress though... So here's the picture you get..

We both like letter-writing, so I wrote a lovely letter to go along with the package. I surprised myself and wrote two pages. I figured, I knew a little bit about her, so it's only fair that I share a little bit about me. Okay, wait.. this wasn't two whole pages all about me. There was other stuff in there too. ha ha!

1. So I got the cutest little notebook that's red-ish with gold embellishments and a string wrap around closure with  bead at the end. 

2. No point in having a notebook without a really cute bedazzled pen to write in it with right? 

3. I picked out a nice matted photograph of a horse. It was beautiful! It's a black and white photo that shows mainly the side of the head of the horse and a little bit of the body. It's basically the horse standing out in a field and you can tell it's a windy day, because it's mane is all blown in it's face so that you can't even see it's eyes.

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I just got my gift in the mail on 03/14 and I was so excited! I jumped up and down and everything when I got it. The anticipation was just killing me! I don't know know the name of my sender since there was no letter or return address, but I can tell you that she did a bang up job on presentation of the items. :) 

Here's what I got: 

How cute does everything look, right? A lot of things were edible items and the yarn and ribbon will be great for my crafting addiction. :) The little rubber ducky is actually lip gloss and the item in the top left corner of this last picture is a cute little bag. I think it's handmade, but I'm not sure. 

Let me give you a closer look..

This was the first Snail Mail trade done and I look forward to the next one. It was a lot of fun picking out things for someone and waiting on something great to come in the mail. The organizer is in Scotland and so a lot of the people who signed up for the trade are in Europe as well. I like the fact that the items I get will more than likely come from across the ocean and it's a nice way to make friends from all over.

So tell me, have you done anything interesting and fun lately? I would love to have a pen pal to write to! How do you feel about such things? You don't like writing or you think it's a grand idea?

Ciao!

Weighing In: It's Wednesday!

Greetings...

Seeing that it is Wednesday and I've been doing quite a bit of thinking lately, I figured it was time to weigh in. Brace yourselves... I'm about to get wordy. :)  So let me update you on my latest weight-loss adventure. Taking supplements is all the rage now in the weight-loss game apparently, so me being the ever curious Gemini, I wanted to check it out for myself.  The lady at The Vitamin Shoppe said, 'oh yeah! take these fiber pills! It helped me lose 13 pounds in a month! They will help keep you full when you eat.' The way she was talking, you'd think she had just discovered that they had magic in them. She didn't claim there was any magic, just that they would keep you regular, and let's be honest...... It's always a good thing to be regular. 

So trying to save a buck, as they were on sale, I bought them (as opposed to the more expensive pills I was contemplating) before reading how many you need to take on the daily. Don't you know that you have to take 3 of those horse pills!! I was horrified. Not only because they were huge (I’m always afraid I'm going to choke on any pill no matter the size), but that I had to take 3!
Before every meal!!  

So I put on my big girl panties and took one (or rather 3!!) for the team and started using the pills as instructed... Let me just tell you... I might as well have not eaten anything at all, because those pills had me feeling so bloated and uncomfortable all the day is long.. #notkool  As every women knows, we don't need any help with feeling bloated and uncomfortable. So that lasted for about oh um, 4-5 days until I couldn't take it anymore. So yeah.. no more of that. 

So I'm back to no supplements and I feel better for it. Later that week I had a revelation though. For the longest time, I've been trying to figure out what the difference is in the way that thin people eat as opposed to people who are overweight.   

The one thing that I can find that is consistent is eating small amounts of food. Have you experienced that moment when you're out with your friend and she takes 3 bites of her salad and eats half of the half sandwich she ordered and claims to be SO stuffed! Then proceeds to grab a non-existent muffin top that isn't there to show how fat she is... Yeah, I'm starting to think they are serious about feeling stuffed. Being Fat? No. You're a size 8. Please.shut.up. 

I was talking to a work friend and she was eating a piece of toast with peanut butter for breakfast and was contemplating eating her banana as well. In my mind, I was like 'Duh! And grab another piece of toast to go with that homie!' In her mind though, she thought that she would feel stuffed for a good portion of the day. So I was like 'wait-a-minute... ole girl is what? like a size 5 and this is what fills her up??' 

Maybe my idea of a proper sized meal is really skewed!' Okay so my idea of breakfast is 2 eggs, some home fries, 2 sausage links, and 2 biscuits w/butter or 2 pancakes w/butter & syrup. I mean.. that's what Bob Evans says is breakfast.. They can't be wrong, can they? lol.

I know that's too much food and so my plan of attack now is to eat much smaller meals with some low-cal snacks in between. Oh! and Let's not forget the water they say you must throw down your throat hole. This plan seems to be going quite well thus far. I don't feel so heavy all of the time and that helps me feel more comfortable in my own skin. (and clothes for that matter) We'll see what the scale says at the end of the week. :) 

Ciao!