Yeah!!! The weekend is finally over!

Hello blogland! I hope all of you had boatfuls of family and shopping fun this weekend! I on the other hand had other things to do. Like work, work, work, and did I mention I worked a lot?! Moments like these I wish I had invested in a pedometer. I did about ten hours of restaurant managing, but I logged in about twenty-five hours of serving this weekend. When I say serving I don't mean I took a table here or there. I mean frantic non-stop flow of people will it ever stop serving. As I punched out of my final shift this week my computerized time card read 51.46 hours! Now time to prepare myself to do it all over again. Based upon my gladiator six day a week schedules I will have a day off this coming Friday! I guess I can't be really mad. I asked for this torture!

Anyway my eating habits have not been very good at all this past week. My super employee antics have me eating whatever I can when I can. That leads to quick, stuff in your mouth, convenient, not so healthy choices. Lots of fried crap, and very few fruits or veggies insight. Honestly I ate about 2 meals a day. Some of them were swallowed (yes swallowed, not eaten) within five minutes. I feel bad, because I KNOW that I knew in advance that this schedule and weekend were going to be ridiculous, so I could have put in more effort to plan my meals. Hmmm don't know if my activity outweighs my bad food choices or not. We'll see what the scale says Wednesday. Either way every meal is a new chance to make better choices! Stay healthy and Beautiful!

a life entry.......cuz love matters too!

Okay I flippin' lied! I said I would not be posting again this week, but I am..again...today! So sue me! I made a little special time to do so.....Well earlier I said I was going to spend quality time with a quality person. Well I had a play date today with my "estranged boyfriend". (You might remember him and our slightly chaotic/tumultuous relationship from the beginning months of my blog) Well he reappears today! We'll use the term estranged because.....dammit it just fits the situation. Anywho after some Food court chinese grub for me(which I totally forgot to take a pic of...sorry) and 1500 Sbarro's entrees on one damn tray (for him) we saw.....

PRECIOUS
Which was GREAT and worth every bit of buzz that came along with it! It stuck pretty close to the book though it could have done a bit more seeing that the book was only 120 pages! I got pretty damn close to crying my eyeballs out....but I didn't! And I am soo upset with my online community! As many times as this movie has came up on facebook and twitter no one was kind enough to tell me that my future husband/baby daddy/sugar daddy Lenny Kravitz had a role. Small role, but sexy *fans self* nonetheless!


Anyway back to the E.B. Spending time w/ my sweet pea was an absolute breath of fresh air. I hate to sound like a groupie or teenager, but honestly if I could spend 25 hours a day with him I would. We laugh, we bicker, and in so many ways I think we compliment each other to a T. The Heathcliff to my Claire, The George to my Weezy, and maybe even the James to my Florida Evans lol. He makes me love in news ways and my love for him....seems to never run out..it continues to grow, even when situations seem like they are destined for failure. He's a friend who I can tell all my stories too (even if he's heard them a million times). Who knows second, third, or fourth chances might be needed to get this thing right......because I love him enough to try
maybe we should stop trying to run with it....and just crawl.......This is for you sweet pea (ignore the tight jeans, nerd glasses, and Cassie w/ her semi-shaved head LOL) Seems like the perfect message from me to you......

Love, Your Princess

Weigh-In and other randomness

Happy Turkey day eve everyone! I'm sad to say this might be the last entry this week. My holiday will be spent working at a feverish pace, as I have requested to work six days a week until 2010! Today I'm headed out to spend a little quality time with a quality person (we'll discuss later). I expect another day off in seven days :(


First I'd like to give a big shout-out, high-five and thumbs up to my friends at Chobani! I won a case Chobani greek yogurt (honey flavored)! Which I am currently enjoying this morning w/ Bear Naked FIT in triple berry crunch. Delicious!



Any who on to my weigh-in. I must say I have tried really hard this week. The amount of fruits and veggies I have incorporated into my diet within the past seven days is.....(for lack of a better term) mind0blowing! My new favorite fall fruit is.....the mighty pomegranate and I am damn near addicted to roasted brussel sprouts and acorn squash. All those fruits and veggies helped me stay full longer. Thus eating far less which gave me his beaut to show the public....

sorry for the blurriness, I had to crop out my not too hot toes! Anyway it reads: 247.4! Which is down 1.3 pounds from last week! Ok it's not a staggering amount, but hey it took more than a week to put it on.....I assume it will take more than that to take it off!

Hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

for lack of a better title...a HAIRY situation

Ok, it's not an issue of laziness, more so an issue of FEAR! I am not one to self-relax my hair. I generally have a friend that does that for me. That friend is gone now so.....I have to do it myself! I have been putting it off for a while now. To the point where this might be the hardest thing I've ever done! Not to mention I have ridiculous breakage right now and need a trim something AWFUL!!! I know you're thinking...then go to the salon and have them do it! Ummm NO!!! I would get laughed out of there! So I'm thinking...next week I will relax my hair and go to the salon and get it trimmed and styled. After that I will NOT ever in the history of ever stretch past 10 weeks! I mean I'm 28 I have to do my own dang hair at some point in my life *jeez*

Have a sexy Saturday and Sunday

Ok my weekend is totally shot! My work schedule is sooooo ridiculous that I will rarely see my bed on the weekend. So it goes without saying that I won't be blogging. So hope you all have a very fun and sexy weekend! For some added sexiness I'd like to leave you with this video as a token of my affection *swoon* OMGoodness I just love love love Maxwell! I even loved wooley haired circa 1998 Maxwell, but nonetheless here's some eye and ear candy! Enjoy ladies!

Thursday's Inspirational words

“I learned to love myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don’t like myself, there’s no reason to even live the life. I love the way I look. I’m fine with it. And if my body changes, I’ll be fine with that.”- Gabby Sibide Breakout Star of the Controversial film "Precious"

Read more: Gabby Sidibe Makes an Astonishing Debut in 'Precious' -- New York Magazine http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/59419/#ixzz0XKnI9JZR

Courtesy of nymag.com

Would you like to take a gym Tour

I must admit I started my day a little later than normal. I woke up at 8:40 am!!! That is just odd. Normally I have done 30 things by then. Anyhow I decided to venture out and try something the entire blogoshere is doing.....

PUMPKIN OATS!
I added in a little baked apple and........ehhhhhh. I tried to make myself, but I just don't like pumpkin! Well at least I tried it. I'll stick to all the other 500 oatmeal concoctions their are :)

Well I'm sure I have discussed my desire to pinch and save a dollar more than once. I have already discussed how I did away with my dear trainer and gym membership. And we know the adventures of me and my temporarily (fingers-crossed) car-less lifestyle, so we understand the seriousness of low cost to me. With all that preamble....let me show you "MY GYM"

L to R: My (2) 5lb. handweights, my resistance tube, my trusty adidas, and my (2) 2 1/2 lb. ankle/wrist weights

My trusty ab roller (ehhh this was a gift, not sure if it's a real part of the gym) I'm not sure if this even does anything, but it made me want get a stronger core
and as Wisconsin days get colder, wetter and snowier.....

Videos will become a necessity when the weather here gets inevitably nasty! I really want Jillian Micheals' 30 Day Shred not sure if I'm ready for Ms. Micheals yet!
...and my absolute favorite part of my gym....

The bike trail! It's quiet, long, serene, and......

has a gorgeous view......and I get to see little questionable creatures like this

Never got a chance to figure out what the hell that was....LOL. I could see him move up and down so I knew he was breathing, but he refused to come out of that little ball he created! My cell phone rang and he moved a bit.....so I continued on my jog. I've seen "when animals attack". I'd prefer to NOT be a victim. Thank you very much

Point being this journey is not going to include a body bugg, garmin, treadmill, or elliptical. Just the necessities: A body, and a desire and will to change it. That's all I truly need. Any and everything is possible!

When there's a will, there's a weigh

I have been faking myself out for awhile now. Every since I canceled my gym membership I have been working out at home. But how do you know what kind of progress you're making if you don't weigh or measure yourself? The answer is.......you don't. I always knew I was getting in workouts, I knew some days I ate great and others I did not. I knew clothes were fitting differently, but honestly I didn't have a number to connect to the journey. I think at times I was glad I didn't. Reason one: because I have a tendency to go scale crazy. Once I get into my "mode" I can weigh myself upwards of 10 times a day! (I know very unhealthy) and Reason two: I was just too damn cheap to buy a new one. Reason three: I was scared of what it would read. Well I'm not saying I wont have the scale crazy moments I had before, but I'm not cheap and I'm not scared

...and that is the number which is my NEW beginning. Am I overjoyed that that's what I weigh? No it's 26.3 pounds lighter than where I began. Am I saddened by that number? No! It's where I pick up the pieces. It's the number I will look at months from now and beam with pleasure seeing how far I've come.

On a super-off topic I had the most fantastic dinner:

3 oz. of BBQ boneless skinless chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts with parmesan cheese, coconut cashew basmati rice, and acorn squash topped w/ baked cinnamon apple
It might not look that appetizing, but it was delicious!
Lately I've been working six days a week, hopefully I have a chance tomorrow to get in a workout. Take care!

My day late Thursday thought

"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." -Jim Rohn

It's dancing time again!

I must say I was in a a state of sheer bliss all summer watching Oxygen's "Dance Your Ass Off" The Weight Loss Dance Competition. The competition was a fun yet poignant discussion and attempt to make the American public healthy. It has become the inspiration that "The Biggest Loser" was before they began the "insert shameless plug here" game. A lot of people booo'ed the contestants revealing "dancing with the stars" -like outfits, but I thought it was a brilliant idea. Why hide the fat? We all know that's what you're there to lose! Didn't see it? I feel sooo... sorry for you! You missed great performances like this....
and great transformations like.....

that began as.....

Well our friends at Oxygen are starting the audition process for season 2! Wanna be amongst season 2's lucky 12? Log on for details!

Home is where the weight leaves....

I know...that's a pretty weird blog entry title, but you'll get the point in a moment. I spend a large portion of the day outside of my home. Like most of you I have a full-time job. My job makes weight loss just a tad more difficult, but I persevere anyway. I am a manager/server at my local IHOP. I have been there for over 4 years and in that time I have gained seventy pounds. No, you don't have to read that again it said SEVENTY!

Not all of that do I blame on a penchant for pancakes, actually I don't eat pancakes often. I blame it on my lack of home cooked meals. When I started back in the summer of 2005 I had taken the job as a third shift server in addition to two other part-time jobs I had at the time. I worked as a conference server in the morning, a line server at Qdoba Mexican grill at night, and a IHOP server in the wee hours of the night. So how often do you think I was home?? Yep, not much! Therefore breakfast was scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, and the like in the morning and whatever tasty dish they made for lunch at the conference center. A chicken burrito for dinner at Qdoba, and more than likely a burger and fries around 2 am at the HOP (as I have affectionately nicknamed it). I estimate that to be about 2800 calories a day. I walked alot with my mother, but you know what? Walking on my off time w/ my mommy does NOT burn off 2,800 calories a day.

It's virtually impossible to get a good understanding of what's going into your body when you're not preparing it. I honestly didn't have the time to, and wasn't really concerned. Now I couldn't possibly imagine living off of restaurant food. Unless I can watch how it's being made or I have a pre-made plan and know exactly how many calories I am taking in. I live to try new fruits and veggies, and my daily fight with food is something I am determined to win. I know this war begins right in my kitchen, in my cupboards, and in my fridge. And I can not, or better yet will not, put my health in someone else's hands.

Friday's Eats!

I've been trying to work at doing meal pictorials, but I have learned one thing about myself...I'm a hungry little princess and when the hunger strikes...I normally don't wait long enough to say grace, let alone pull out my camera! But I tried really hard and Friday (for the most part) I got it done!

Breakfast: McDonald's Egg McMuffin w/1 packet of strawberry jelly/reserves and apple dippers w/ Caramel Dip

Lunch: Grilled turkey bacon and cheese w/tomatoes, stone ground mustard, and spinach on Ezekiel Bread; Side salad w/ tomatoes, cucumbers, and mixed herb greens with Newmann's Own Light Italian and a small apple

Dinner: ....and under all that spinach is Subway's Black Forest Ham on 9-grain Honey Oat w/ Swiss Cheese and Fat-free Sweet Onion Sauce

Not pictured: The 3 miniature chocolate chip Mrs. Field's cookies I ate at the mall so fast I didn't even realized I devoured them!

Totaling: 1700 calories...not necessarily my best record, but I'm proud of how many veggies I got in there! There is always tomorrow!

another Thursday thought.....

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
Buddha quotes (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

CoMinG SoOn!

(ignore the caps issue I was just being....zany!) There are soooo many things I have discovered or Re-discovered online this past week. I am excited about all the new purchases I will be making soon....which leads to......that's right! REVIEWS!!!! Those up and comers are:
HAIR:
Avocado Oil
Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea Restructurizer
ORS No-Lye Olive Oil Relaxer
Healthy Fare
Pumpkin Oats (they look so yummy)
Vita-Tops (preferably the Mint Chocolate Chip ones)
Make-up
L'Oreal HIP Chrome Eyeliners (especially in Blue Spark)
Mac's Shale e/s
Essie nail polishes
Sigma Brushes
MAC's LE Comet Blue Dazzleglass (I will go through hell and high water to get this)
MAC's Bell Bottom Blue (discontinued), Blue Brown, Platinum, Milk (from HK collection) pigments
....and the perfect pink lipstick for my NW50 shade cuz this princess is in LOVE with pink!
Clothing
oh WOW!!! have I been clueless to all the great places a plus size barbie/princess like myself could get hot finds! Wet Seal(online), Faith21 (online-with 3x's coming soon!), Torrid(of course a staple), DebShops (a staple as well, cute clothes, but ehhh quality), Old Navy.com and my new overseas fave.....Dorothy Perkins!!! OMG why am I just knowing about Dorothy Perkins??!! That website is like....heaven!

Can't wait to start w/ these! Until then....stay beautiful ladies!