This is the first installment of September's grocery list. As I mentioned earlier that other then Costco we are going to go grocery shopping weekly so I am going to update my weekly trips here like I did when we went monthly.
Yesterday's trip was to Costco and Food Lion. September is going to be a more expensive month like a thought but in a different way. I thought it was Costco that was going to be more expensive but it is really going to be Food Lion that is going to cost more I think. Sure Costco did cost more then it normally did but I think most of what we got is going to actually last closer to 3 months rather then 2 so that even's itself out. I have already spent $88 at Food Lion and that is some pantry items and the ingredients I need to last us until September 10th. This is okay, just interesting to me. October will be a cheaper month so it will even out in the end.
What we got at Costco:
A case of Brian's Monsters (energy drink)
NutriGrain bars (48 pack)
Chicken breasts (a package of 6 units with 2 breasts per unit)
Ground turkey (a package of 4 1lb containers)
8 lbs of Chuck Roast (only needed 5 1/2 but that was as close as we could get)
Eggs (package of 18)
English muffins (package of 18)
Bread (2 loaves)
Pork chops (3lbs...this will last until November)
Leg of lamb (7lbs)
Beef flank (3lbs....this will last until November)
Pork tenderloin (this is a package of 2, this will last until November)
Chicken Sausage (3 sleeves of 8 sausages...this will last until November)
Butter (a package of 4 boxes of unsalted butter. First time buying butter from Costco so not sure how long it will last)
This all totaled $223. I don't think that is too bad given what we had bought and how long everything will last. I listed things I was sure would last until November but there are other things that could last until November as well depending on what we do for October. And red meat is more expensive then Chicken/Turkey and we haven't eaten red meat in a while.
What we got at Food Lion:
Egg noodles
Pretzel sticks
Wheat germ
Pasta sauce
Dill pickle chips
Cornmeal
Tuna
1 can whole peeled tomato
Pinto beans
Red kidney beans
Green chilis
Tomato paste
Yellow onions
Spinach
Garlic
Jalepeno pepper
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Lettuce
Crescent roll
Cream cheese
Cheese
Pizza dough
Crescent rolls
Feta
Goat cheese
Cheese Tortellini
This all totaled $88 dollars. Some of it will last longer then just the meal but not too much. Based on usual numbers this means we have about $99 dollars to get us through the rest of the month. It might be possible, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Monthly Menu: September
September 2011 Meals
Thursday, September 1st: Tostada Pizza
Friday, September 2nd: Beef Carbonnade
Saturday, September 3rd: Out
Sunday, September 4th: BMC Fend, RAH @ Caroline's
Monday, September 5th: Crispy Eggplant with Spicy Tomato-Feta Cheese Sauce
Tuesday, September 6th: Tortellini Toss with Herbed Goat Cheese
Wednesday, September 7th: Fend
Thursday, September 8th: Vicki's Chicken Squares, Pretzel-Crusted Pickle Chips (FN, June '10, pg 182)
Friday, September 9th: Chili Pot Pie with Polenta Crust
Saturday, September 10th: Out
Sunday, September 11th: BMC Fend, RAH @ Caroline's
Monday, September 12th: Greek Style Chicken Skillet
Tuesday, September 13th: Beef Enchilada's
Wednesday, September 14th: Fend
Thursday, September 15th: Beer Braised Chicken (Food Network, April 2010, pg 82)
Friday, September 16th: Crock Pot Flank Steak with Tortillas
Saturday, September 17th: Out
Sunday, September 18th: BMC Fend, RAH @ Caroline's
Monday, September 19th: Beef Stir Fry
Tuesday, September 20th: Japanese Style Crispy Pork (Food Network, May 2010, pg 78)
Wednesday, September 21th: Fend
Thursday, September 22nd: Fried Chicken and Artichokes with Salsa Brava (FN, May 2010, pg 95)
Friday, September 23rd: Beef Tenderloin with Skordalia (Food Network, May 2010, pg 99)
Saturday, September 24th: Out
Sunday, September 25th: BMC Fend, RAH @ Caroline's
Monday, September 26th: Baked Fish and Chips (Food Network, July 2010, pg 70)
Tuesday, September 27th: Salami Mozzarella Calzone (FN, May 2011, pg 98)
Wednesday, September 28th: Fend
Thursday, September 29th: Spaghetti
Friday, September 30th: Herbed Leg of Lamb w/turnips 4 cheese scalloped potatoes (FN, 4/11, pg 107, 127)
Saturday, August 27, 2011
"Hurricane" Irene
Everyone has been making a big deal about Hurricane Irene. If we were in NC and above it would be a big deal. And everyone has been panicking.
I know hurricanes can be dangerous and cause a lot of damage but they have been calling wolf too many times for me to take one seriously. They either hit Florida or North Carolina and we only get a thunder storm that they call a tropical storm. I figure I will start paying attention when they are more sure of where they are going. I know these things are hard to predict and change but they can definitely be more clear then they have been.
So anyway, I had planned to go out with Walker (officiant, Mom #2's nephew, friend) and Blair (bridesmaid, Mom #2's daughter, friend). I don't know where we were going, we were going to play it by ear. I got home from work and saw Blair's facebook message that hurricane Irene ruined her plans all weekend and I texted Mom #2 to see if we were still doing something. It ends up that Walker cancelled but I still went over to Caroline's and ate with them. Brian had already told his friends he'd play his game so he didn't miss me. I ended up spending the night as it was a bit too windy and rainy....plus a hurricane sleepover is more fun then a hurricane party.
We ate a wonderful meal that Caroline cooked. Pork with apples and mashed potatoes so good! Apparently good breast feeding food. I also learned that I am going to be miserable while breastfeeding because I won't be able to eat foods with garlic in it. I LOVE garlic and garlic is in the majority of our recipes :(. After dinner Blair and I watched "Something Borrowed". I liked it but it is definitely a chick flick. I may have been disappointed if I saw it in the theaters but it was perfect for the occasion.
I left the next morning pretty early as I couldn't sleep and Brian and I had grocery shopping to prepare for. I love the day after a storm. The air is so clear and fresh, it is nice and cool out. Loving the weather today and wish it were like this all the time.
I know hurricanes can be dangerous and cause a lot of damage but they have been calling wolf too many times for me to take one seriously. They either hit Florida or North Carolina and we only get a thunder storm that they call a tropical storm. I figure I will start paying attention when they are more sure of where they are going. I know these things are hard to predict and change but they can definitely be more clear then they have been.
So anyway, I had planned to go out with Walker (officiant, Mom #2's nephew, friend) and Blair (bridesmaid, Mom #2's daughter, friend). I don't know where we were going, we were going to play it by ear. I got home from work and saw Blair's facebook message that hurricane Irene ruined her plans all weekend and I texted Mom #2 to see if we were still doing something. It ends up that Walker cancelled but I still went over to Caroline's and ate with them. Brian had already told his friends he'd play his game so he didn't miss me. I ended up spending the night as it was a bit too windy and rainy....plus a hurricane sleepover is more fun then a hurricane party.
We ate a wonderful meal that Caroline cooked. Pork with apples and mashed potatoes so good! Apparently good breast feeding food. I also learned that I am going to be miserable while breastfeeding because I won't be able to eat foods with garlic in it. I LOVE garlic and garlic is in the majority of our recipes :(. After dinner Blair and I watched "Something Borrowed". I liked it but it is definitely a chick flick. I may have been disappointed if I saw it in the theaters but it was perfect for the occasion.
I left the next morning pretty early as I couldn't sleep and Brian and I had grocery shopping to prepare for. I love the day after a storm. The air is so clear and fresh, it is nice and cool out. Loving the weather today and wish it were like this all the time.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Eating while working out...
Is very important to losing weight and getting in shape or even just maintaining your current weight. Everyone knows that the more calories you burn and the less calories you consume the more weight you will lose. This is of course a very slippery slope.
I tend to accidentally have an issue with this. I am obviously working out and burning calories and I am also trying to eat less so I can lose weight. However, there are days I feel like I haven't eaten enough. If you don't give your body fuel it will go into starvation mode and you won't lose weight. If you don't give your body enough fuel it will not create the muscle tone/change that you want it to. My issue comes with the later. I am eating...just some days not enough it seems. I don't want to cut down my activity as I am having fun so the only answer is to eat more.
That is easier said then done. One reason this is hard is because I am so used to eating small amounts multiple times a day that I can't eat a lot at one time. Another reason is that I hate feeling like I am constantly eating. It doesn't matter what I am eating, I hate feeling like I spent all day eating even if it was only carrots. My schedule also makes it harder since I can't eat at my desk and can only really get up from my desk on my designated breaks.
I don't like to eat unless I am hungry. However, I am a big girl so I force myself to something before I leave work. My preferred breakfast is an English Muffin with Jam but right now it is a piece of bread with peanut butter since I ran out of English Muffins. I don't eat anything during my first/second break so I think I might add something there although that will end up being very close to my breakfast time so I won't be hungry or even thinking about food. Also not sure what I would add since I only have a 10 minute break and I would have to get to the break room on the other side of the building to eat whatever it is I brought. Since I work out during lunch I eat a Nutri Grain bar after the gym. I am running out of Nutri Grain bars so I am going have to use a Zone bar which might actually help. That typically holds me until 3-3:15 with my 2nd/3rd break where I eat lunch. My lunch is typically left overs from the night before. After work I go work out and get home where I start dinner and eat that.
Some days it isn't about how many times I eat but more of how many calories I consumed that day. I made Potato Corn chowder the other night so I brought that for "lunch" yesterday and today and I just don't think that has enough calories to hold me over. I need to up the calories without going to high and remaining healthy.
So my solution:
Breakfast: Bread or English muffin with Peanut Butter on it. Holds me over better then jam/jelly
First/Second Break: Hard boiled egg or something like that
Lunch: Nutri Grain bar
Second/Third Break: left overs from the night before
Dinner: Regular dinner
Any ideas on what I could eat on my first or second break other then a hard boiled egg?
(I only really get 2 breaks a day each being 15 minutes long. When I am in training they do two 10 minute breaks in the morning assuming we will only take 10 minutes in the afternoon but as our peer coaches take 15 minutes in the afternoon we end up with an extra 5 minutes as break time. The first break is usually between 9-9:30 where I would eat the extra snack. The second being at 11 which I don't want to eat in yet unless I feel like I need to. A) it is awful close to 9-9:30 and 12:45 when I get out of the gym and B) I don't like going to the gym with food in my stomach)
I tend to accidentally have an issue with this. I am obviously working out and burning calories and I am also trying to eat less so I can lose weight. However, there are days I feel like I haven't eaten enough. If you don't give your body fuel it will go into starvation mode and you won't lose weight. If you don't give your body enough fuel it will not create the muscle tone/change that you want it to. My issue comes with the later. I am eating...just some days not enough it seems. I don't want to cut down my activity as I am having fun so the only answer is to eat more.
That is easier said then done. One reason this is hard is because I am so used to eating small amounts multiple times a day that I can't eat a lot at one time. Another reason is that I hate feeling like I am constantly eating. It doesn't matter what I am eating, I hate feeling like I spent all day eating even if it was only carrots. My schedule also makes it harder since I can't eat at my desk and can only really get up from my desk on my designated breaks.
I don't like to eat unless I am hungry. However, I am a big girl so I force myself to something before I leave work. My preferred breakfast is an English Muffin with Jam but right now it is a piece of bread with peanut butter since I ran out of English Muffins. I don't eat anything during my first/second break so I think I might add something there although that will end up being very close to my breakfast time so I won't be hungry or even thinking about food. Also not sure what I would add since I only have a 10 minute break and I would have to get to the break room on the other side of the building to eat whatever it is I brought. Since I work out during lunch I eat a Nutri Grain bar after the gym. I am running out of Nutri Grain bars so I am going have to use a Zone bar which might actually help. That typically holds me until 3-3:15 with my 2nd/3rd break where I eat lunch. My lunch is typically left overs from the night before. After work I go work out and get home where I start dinner and eat that.
Some days it isn't about how many times I eat but more of how many calories I consumed that day. I made Potato Corn chowder the other night so I brought that for "lunch" yesterday and today and I just don't think that has enough calories to hold me over. I need to up the calories without going to high and remaining healthy.
So my solution:
Breakfast: Bread or English muffin with Peanut Butter on it. Holds me over better then jam/jelly
First/Second Break: Hard boiled egg or something like that
Lunch: Nutri Grain bar
Second/Third Break: left overs from the night before
Dinner: Regular dinner
Any ideas on what I could eat on my first or second break other then a hard boiled egg?
(I only really get 2 breaks a day each being 15 minutes long. When I am in training they do two 10 minute breaks in the morning assuming we will only take 10 minutes in the afternoon but as our peer coaches take 15 minutes in the afternoon we end up with an extra 5 minutes as break time. The first break is usually between 9-9:30 where I would eat the extra snack. The second being at 11 which I don't want to eat in yet unless I feel like I need to. A) it is awful close to 9-9:30 and 12:45 when I get out of the gym and B) I don't like going to the gym with food in my stomach)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Lazy Sunday
Today was almost lazy.
I woke up watched a two hour movie about Sally Hemmings and started knitting. Then I realized, that while I was enjoying the knitting, it was probably not the best thing to do before a photo shoot as I already have a blister on the ring finger of my right hand.
After the movie I quickly ran to CVS and got some pale pink nail polish. I had forgotten to get some yesterday and I needed to get a ballet slipper pink that would go with my outfit. The color I got was fine, the quality was horrendous. It took me 5 hours to put it on and it still didn't work. When I did dishes the water got too hot which melted the nail polish so I had to start over. When I was in the car holding my hands against my top, I guess it got too hot as my nails melded into the mesh part of my shirt. The shirt fortunately was fine but now the imprint of the mesh is on my nail. Thank goodness we didn't do any close ups on my hand :-\.
I am also sort of disappointed in Brian. I knew he was going to start jokingly whine about going home from the get go but after about 20 minutes he was serious. 30 minutes into the shoot I had to glare at him. 45 minutes in he was glaring. Now he had not eaten dinner, he was dragged away from his game (which he played from 8am-1pm yesterday so that should count the 4 hours he was away from it now right???), it was hotter then expected and I think he had forgotten about it but I expected more from him. Now if we were taking pictures for an hour plus? Fine. But I couldn't even get 30 minutes! The photographer was amazing and I think we will end up with some really good shots and I hope the photographer doesn't take Brian's feelings to heart. I was trying to laugh it off like Brian was still joking I am hoping the photographer didn't realize how serious Brian was.
Now we are home, we have ordered Dominoes and Brian is back on his game. I am picking up where I left off with Ally McBeal. That show was really progressive for it's time from what I can remember. I am surprised. So far we have had a show all about transgender issues and why polygamy should be legal. Whether you agree with their view or not the show was at least bringing it up and most shows nowadays still shy away from topics like that. Plus how can you not like Callista Flockhart (spelling?)
I woke up watched a two hour movie about Sally Hemmings and started knitting. Then I realized, that while I was enjoying the knitting, it was probably not the best thing to do before a photo shoot as I already have a blister on the ring finger of my right hand.
After the movie I quickly ran to CVS and got some pale pink nail polish. I had forgotten to get some yesterday and I needed to get a ballet slipper pink that would go with my outfit. The color I got was fine, the quality was horrendous. It took me 5 hours to put it on and it still didn't work. When I did dishes the water got too hot which melted the nail polish so I had to start over. When I was in the car holding my hands against my top, I guess it got too hot as my nails melded into the mesh part of my shirt. The shirt fortunately was fine but now the imprint of the mesh is on my nail. Thank goodness we didn't do any close ups on my hand :-\.
I am also sort of disappointed in Brian. I knew he was going to start jokingly whine about going home from the get go but after about 20 minutes he was serious. 30 minutes into the shoot I had to glare at him. 45 minutes in he was glaring. Now he had not eaten dinner, he was dragged away from his game (which he played from 8am-1pm yesterday so that should count the 4 hours he was away from it now right???), it was hotter then expected and I think he had forgotten about it but I expected more from him. Now if we were taking pictures for an hour plus? Fine. But I couldn't even get 30 minutes! The photographer was amazing and I think we will end up with some really good shots and I hope the photographer doesn't take Brian's feelings to heart. I was trying to laugh it off like Brian was still joking I am hoping the photographer didn't realize how serious Brian was.
Now we are home, we have ordered Dominoes and Brian is back on his game. I am picking up where I left off with Ally McBeal. That show was really progressive for it's time from what I can remember. I am surprised. So far we have had a show all about transgender issues and why polygamy should be legal. Whether you agree with their view or not the show was at least bringing it up and most shows nowadays still shy away from topics like that. Plus how can you not like Callista Flockhart (spelling?)
Saturday, August 20, 2011
A weekend with nothing to do...
This is the first weekend where I haven't had much to do for the wedding. Sure we have the photo shoot tomorrow but we don't really have to do much for that other then going shopping for Brian today. I haven't known what to do with myself.
I have finished watching The Kennedys with Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes among other famous people. I enjoyed it very much. It was 8 episodes but, to me who did not grow up within the Kennedy decade(s), it seemed to cover the big things very well. I was impressed with what I had already known. Maybe I did learn something in High School :)
Brian has been playing his game. He has been playing them a lot. I can't really complain as there really isn't anything else for him or us to do. I have gone in today about 5 times asking if he wants to do something and we can't decide what we can do.
I think I am going to pick knitting up again. I don't really have any excuse not to now that the wedding is basically planned. Plus my mini mountain of squares is looking at me.
You know your weight loss program is working when you can wash and dry jeans and not have to jump into them :) They are even a little loose :)
I already have September's meal plan organized. I have decided that we are going to go shopping once a week. That will hopefully solve the issue of forgetting items at the store which has been plaguing me this August and hopefully make it so that I can pay for some of the trips myself. Brian still has to do Costco because he knows his pin number on his debit card but I should be able to help with the actual grocery store. Before I would never have the money at the moment we needed to go for the month as 90% of the bills come out of my bank account. While that is still true, if we do it it weekly the amounts needed will be smaller and I should be able to help share that burden. It will also give us something to do on Saturday.
I like Septembers menu but it will be more expensive then normal I am afraid. We normally don't have red meat. We love red meat but it is expensive and not so great for you in the portions we wish we could eat it in. September has more red meat in it in normal. I could split the red meat menu's up between September and October but that doesn't really change anything as the meat comes from Costco and the Costco trip will be for September and October. October will be a cheaper month so it will even itself out. A lot of the meals on the menu are Brian's favorites and recipes we have been wanting to try for a while. We will also have more left overs. So far in August we have had JUST enough left overs to get us through. September will definitely fix that. I am excited for the menu in September but still not sure if I am going to try and spread it out or if that will make much of a difference.
I have finished watching The Kennedys with Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes among other famous people. I enjoyed it very much. It was 8 episodes but, to me who did not grow up within the Kennedy decade(s), it seemed to cover the big things very well. I was impressed with what I had already known. Maybe I did learn something in High School :)
Brian has been playing his game. He has been playing them a lot. I can't really complain as there really isn't anything else for him or us to do. I have gone in today about 5 times asking if he wants to do something and we can't decide what we can do.
I think I am going to pick knitting up again. I don't really have any excuse not to now that the wedding is basically planned. Plus my mini mountain of squares is looking at me.
You know your weight loss program is working when you can wash and dry jeans and not have to jump into them :) They are even a little loose :)
I already have September's meal plan organized. I have decided that we are going to go shopping once a week. That will hopefully solve the issue of forgetting items at the store which has been plaguing me this August and hopefully make it so that I can pay for some of the trips myself. Brian still has to do Costco because he knows his pin number on his debit card but I should be able to help with the actual grocery store. Before I would never have the money at the moment we needed to go for the month as 90% of the bills come out of my bank account. While that is still true, if we do it it weekly the amounts needed will be smaller and I should be able to help share that burden. It will also give us something to do on Saturday.
I like Septembers menu but it will be more expensive then normal I am afraid. We normally don't have red meat. We love red meat but it is expensive and not so great for you in the portions we wish we could eat it in. September has more red meat in it in normal. I could split the red meat menu's up between September and October but that doesn't really change anything as the meat comes from Costco and the Costco trip will be for September and October. October will be a cheaper month so it will even itself out. A lot of the meals on the menu are Brian's favorites and recipes we have been wanting to try for a while. We will also have more left overs. So far in August we have had JUST enough left overs to get us through. September will definitely fix that. I am excited for the menu in September but still not sure if I am going to try and spread it out or if that will make much of a difference.
Friday, August 19, 2011
What has Rachel and Brian been up to?
Brian is pissed that the roofer guy came 5 minutes early for his appointment, didn't wait the 5 minutes, didn't call Brian saying he was here and just left. We have been trying to get this roof fixed for over 2 1/2 years now
We are trying to decide if we are going to buy the house. We have less then a month to decide. It would be tight until Brian pays off the engagement ring and then much easier when he has paid off one set of student loans but doable. We are thinking of using some wedding money (we obviously don't know if we are getting any or how much but we are pretty sure we will get some as not everyone is going to want to get us something from the registry or find something else) to pay off part or all of one or both things. Things not being taken care of in the apartment is making us lean towards buying the house
I have been saying really silly things on the phones at work. I have finished a mini phone skills class but fortunately my manager didn't need us on the phones by ourselves so I am still practicing with my peer coach. So far I have provided a laugh for those around me. The first day my peer coach didnt think I was switched over so I got muted mid sentence because she thought she was unmuting me and the beginning of the call got all choppy. Second day when repeating something with letters to a caller I said "K as in Kitty Cat" instead of the numerous other choices I could have picked from. Two things made it more embarrassing, I thought my peer coach was agreeing with kitty when she was whispering King and I knew Kitty would probably be silly so I added cat to make it not silly. Today was probably the worst. I may be the only one to say "k as in kitty cat" but at least today's example I know I am not the one. I introduced the call using my old companies name, i.e. "Thank you for calling Island Vista" *head desk*
Our engagement photo shoot is Sunday so tomorrow we have to go and buy Brian an outfit. He is going to have tons of fun. Other then that we aren't doing anything this weekend. Our friends couldn't hang out tonight so Brian and I are trying to decide what to do. We are going to eat out with one of my hotel friends Saturday night. It should be interesting....
We are trying to decide if we are going to buy the house. We have less then a month to decide. It would be tight until Brian pays off the engagement ring and then much easier when he has paid off one set of student loans but doable. We are thinking of using some wedding money (we obviously don't know if we are getting any or how much but we are pretty sure we will get some as not everyone is going to want to get us something from the registry or find something else) to pay off part or all of one or both things. Things not being taken care of in the apartment is making us lean towards buying the house
I have been saying really silly things on the phones at work. I have finished a mini phone skills class but fortunately my manager didn't need us on the phones by ourselves so I am still practicing with my peer coach. So far I have provided a laugh for those around me. The first day my peer coach didnt think I was switched over so I got muted mid sentence because she thought she was unmuting me and the beginning of the call got all choppy. Second day when repeating something with letters to a caller I said "K as in Kitty Cat" instead of the numerous other choices I could have picked from. Two things made it more embarrassing, I thought my peer coach was agreeing with kitty when she was whispering King and I knew Kitty would probably be silly so I added cat to make it not silly. Today was probably the worst. I may be the only one to say "k as in kitty cat" but at least today's example I know I am not the one. I introduced the call using my old companies name, i.e. "Thank you for calling Island Vista" *head desk*
Our engagement photo shoot is Sunday so tomorrow we have to go and buy Brian an outfit. He is going to have tons of fun. Other then that we aren't doing anything this weekend. Our friends couldn't hang out tonight so Brian and I are trying to decide what to do. We are going to eat out with one of my hotel friends Saturday night. It should be interesting....
Monday, August 15, 2011
It is nice to relax...
Don't get me wrong....we have had plenty of stuff to do but for once it wasn't so overwhelming.
Brian and I have made a deal (not sure if Brian fully understands it...) I will unload the dishwasher as I don't care about that and Brian will load the dishwasher as he prefers that (do not ask me why....clean dishes is always better then dirty dishes) so that is how we are tackling the cleaning/dishes issue. I still may be doing technically more work then Brian but he is now doing what I hate most so I think that evens itself out.
Since the wedding is basically planned I have very little that I can do at the moment. Now we are playing the waiting game. I am waiting on the hotel to give me instructions (this is the ONLY part I am stressing about but three of my awesome friends who still work there are going to help me so I am feeling a lot better...still nervous but I know that my new, current plan of attack it will end up okay) and the engagement photo's to send the Save the Dates. I don't see the engagement photo's holding anything up, my photographer is amazing and will at least have the digital prints done in time so that I can chose one/two and print them and stuff them. The hotel info could hold us back. We really need to get the Save the Dates in the mail by September 1st to give everyone enough time to book. The engagement photo's will be done this Sunday the 21st. He says he can get the digital prints by the end of the week so then it is off to see who can print the pictures the fastest for the least amount of money. At this point we will have all of the envelopes addressed we will just need to stuff them. Fortunately that shouldn't take to long.
Fitness Center is still going well. Night class with the girls went well tonight. It was this other woman and I tonight and we did a kettle bell exercise. This tape had three 10 minute exercises. I was done after the first 10 minute exercise but the other woman wanted to keep going and I felt bad leaving her by herself so I stuck it out. Man I am going to have trouble walking tomorrow! It definitely works you out but my only complaint was that it was A LOT of legs. Next week we are going to do the one we did tonight and find another one that focus' more on the upper body for the last 10 minutes that way our whole bodies can be in pain. Plus when doing the two exercises from the same tape you do the same things over again. They had taped different segments and then edited them in multiple exercise sessions in a slightly different order. They add one new move and they are done. Kind of making doing two sessions in a row A) less fun B) more painful.
People are starting to notice that I have lost weight/inches. I have been told by so many people how skinny I am looking. My tank tops are loser, dresses are fitting better. So even if the numbers are going up I am still feeling good.
This weekend we are taking Brian shopping for his engagement photo's outfit :) Light Khakis with a dark blue shirt is my goal :)
Brian and I have made a deal (not sure if Brian fully understands it...) I will unload the dishwasher as I don't care about that and Brian will load the dishwasher as he prefers that (do not ask me why....clean dishes is always better then dirty dishes) so that is how we are tackling the cleaning/dishes issue. I still may be doing technically more work then Brian but he is now doing what I hate most so I think that evens itself out.
Since the wedding is basically planned I have very little that I can do at the moment. Now we are playing the waiting game. I am waiting on the hotel to give me instructions (this is the ONLY part I am stressing about but three of my awesome friends who still work there are going to help me so I am feeling a lot better...still nervous but I know that my new, current plan of attack it will end up okay) and the engagement photo's to send the Save the Dates. I don't see the engagement photo's holding anything up, my photographer is amazing and will at least have the digital prints done in time so that I can chose one/two and print them and stuff them. The hotel info could hold us back. We really need to get the Save the Dates in the mail by September 1st to give everyone enough time to book. The engagement photo's will be done this Sunday the 21st. He says he can get the digital prints by the end of the week so then it is off to see who can print the pictures the fastest for the least amount of money. At this point we will have all of the envelopes addressed we will just need to stuff them. Fortunately that shouldn't take to long.
Fitness Center is still going well. Night class with the girls went well tonight. It was this other woman and I tonight and we did a kettle bell exercise. This tape had three 10 minute exercises. I was done after the first 10 minute exercise but the other woman wanted to keep going and I felt bad leaving her by herself so I stuck it out. Man I am going to have trouble walking tomorrow! It definitely works you out but my only complaint was that it was A LOT of legs. Next week we are going to do the one we did tonight and find another one that focus' more on the upper body for the last 10 minutes that way our whole bodies can be in pain. Plus when doing the two exercises from the same tape you do the same things over again. They had taped different segments and then edited them in multiple exercise sessions in a slightly different order. They add one new move and they are done. Kind of making doing two sessions in a row A) less fun B) more painful.
People are starting to notice that I have lost weight/inches. I have been told by so many people how skinny I am looking. My tank tops are loser, dresses are fitting better. So even if the numbers are going up I am still feeling good.
This weekend we are taking Brian shopping for his engagement photo's outfit :) Light Khakis with a dark blue shirt is my goal :)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Busy Saturday :)
Yesterday was very busy. I had a hair cut which I posted pictures of (I am still loving it fyi).
After that Brian and I did our Bridal Registry. The stores names are linked to our registry.
We registered seriously at Bed Bath and Beyond. We tried to pick things we really wanted so that no matter what someone got us, we would be ecstatic. So yes....we do really want everyone of those pots and pans in case anyone was wondering if we were providing choices of a type of pot, no we would love each one :) We love our china. We already have good every day china so we asked for fine china which will be good for parties and special functions. We did ask for fine flatware and every day flatware as well. And yes, most of our registry is kitchen items. And yes, Brian and I have been living together for about 3 1/2 years now so we have a lot of it already but those items are cheap and are on their last leg. We have always planned to use the registry to get things we would LOVE and use but wouldn't/couldn't buy ourselves and to replace lower quality items for higher quality items. I should also say that our colors for the kitchen are Black and Red so if there is ever a color choice in kitchen items...we would appreciate it if you picked black or red :) I should also know that in terms of wine glasses/place mats/napkins/ fine china, etc we have registered for sets of 12 so some items we are asking for multiples of them to accomplish the 12. The only thing I can think of that is not for a set of 12 is our regular everyday flatware where we only registered for a set of 8.
We also registered at Pottery Barn. While I would love things from Pottery Barn, this was more to give people an idea of our taste and style. Basically if it is furniture it is on there to give you a sense of our style/look. There are candles, candle holders, picture frames, wicker baskets and a mirror that we would actually like and we hope will be looked at as possibilities. Now if someone wants to buy us the furniture we wouldn't mind it either :)
It was getting pretty frustrating with the registry's. Both companies did a great job so the frustration did not stem from them. The frustration is coming from the fact that we are 90% we are buying the house which is awesome but we have no idea what color we will end up painting the rooms. I know the dining room which is why I was able to place place mats/napkins/table clothes on the registry. We would have loved to put bedding, curtains, rugs, pillows, etc on the registry but we didn't want people spending money on things that may not work with whatever paint color we chose and I don't think we should be picking our paint color based on the wedding gifts especially since I could get different colored items. So that is why there is no bedding, rugs, curtains etc on either registry. We don't know the colors we are going to paint to so we can't pick anything out with real certainty.
Everyone has been telling me to put twice as many things on the list then guests I am inviting so people have options and we have basically done that. I think we are stopping at two stores. Everyone is like register at as many places as you want/can but without knowing colors of the walls we are running out of things to add. While yes, we would like 2 pitchers, I really don't think we need 3 or more which I am afraid would happen if we had similar registries else where. I don't want people wasting their hard earned money. Plus I am starting to feel greedy. :-\ Though I am excited to see what we will actually get :) The items left over will turn into Christmas list's and "feeling rich" months.
After Bed Bath and Beyond but before Pottery Barn (Pottery Barn was the last stop before dinner) we went shopping for me. I needed a pair of brown shoes and white shoes to go with my dresses for work. We went to Payless and they were having a major sale which I didn't realize until we got to the register. One pair of shoes were on sale so I was feeling lucky with that but on top of that they were doing a Buy One, Get One sale so I got both pairs for a little less then $40 and saved about $20 dollars :). Always a good thing.
Next stop was finding an outfit for me to wear at our engagement shoot next weekend. I was having a really hard time finding an outfit until I went to Dress Barn. I found some great white pants and a great purple top. I am wearing them tomorrow to make sure with Caroline but I love them. I can wear it to work if I am really careful (stains are drawn to me). The pants were on sale so I got both items for a little less then $65. (My hair cut was only $50 dollars this morning as well which I thought was a good deal...that includes tip) I like my outfit a bit too much because I am now thinking Brian won't look as nice next to me as he is wearing a work outfit and may not look as crisp/neat next to me as he has worn the pants/shirt multiple times and well....worn clothing never looks as good as new. Oh well. At Dress Barn I also found a dress contender for Mom (we are debating what color is purple and if a certain dress coordinates)...this dress is a bit darker then I originally imagined but it still works and it is similar to my dress which would be cool :)
After the mall we picked up our Save the Dates as they came in. Now Caroline is going to start addressing the envelopes and I am going to start bugging the hotel about instructions on how to book the rooms for the people needing rooms. The goal is to have the Save the Dates in the mail by September 1st. They are SO cute :)
Why so early and why is the hotel info going with Save the Date? The hotel will only hold the rooms to December 1st so people need as much time as they can get to plan/save and book. We wish the deadline was later but such is life. After December 1st the rooms will be let go so guests will be on their own in finding a place to stay. It is possible they could still stay at the same hotel as everyone else but they would lose the group rate. Hopefully everyone will book in time. I would really hate to have to bug guests about not reserving their rooms. I also hope my guests follow the instructions on booking so the rooms don't get messed up. Reserving the right rooms is a bit of a complicated issue on the hotels end and if a guest calls in and leaves out or says the wrong thing they could easily end up in the wrong spot. I know the hotel would be able to fix any error but I would rather them not have too. :-\
After the Save the Dates we went to Pottery Barn and then went to TGIF for dinner. Al came over to watch the Giants vs. Panthers game and that was about it....
After that Brian and I did our Bridal Registry. The stores names are linked to our registry.
We registered seriously at Bed Bath and Beyond. We tried to pick things we really wanted so that no matter what someone got us, we would be ecstatic. So yes....we do really want everyone of those pots and pans in case anyone was wondering if we were providing choices of a type of pot, no we would love each one :) We love our china. We already have good every day china so we asked for fine china which will be good for parties and special functions. We did ask for fine flatware and every day flatware as well. And yes, most of our registry is kitchen items. And yes, Brian and I have been living together for about 3 1/2 years now so we have a lot of it already but those items are cheap and are on their last leg. We have always planned to use the registry to get things we would LOVE and use but wouldn't/couldn't buy ourselves and to replace lower quality items for higher quality items. I should also say that our colors for the kitchen are Black and Red so if there is ever a color choice in kitchen items...we would appreciate it if you picked black or red :) I should also know that in terms of wine glasses/place mats/napkins/ fine china, etc we have registered for sets of 12 so some items we are asking for multiples of them to accomplish the 12. The only thing I can think of that is not for a set of 12 is our regular everyday flatware where we only registered for a set of 8.
We also registered at Pottery Barn. While I would love things from Pottery Barn, this was more to give people an idea of our taste and style. Basically if it is furniture it is on there to give you a sense of our style/look. There are candles, candle holders, picture frames, wicker baskets and a mirror that we would actually like and we hope will be looked at as possibilities. Now if someone wants to buy us the furniture we wouldn't mind it either :)
It was getting pretty frustrating with the registry's. Both companies did a great job so the frustration did not stem from them. The frustration is coming from the fact that we are 90% we are buying the house which is awesome but we have no idea what color we will end up painting the rooms. I know the dining room which is why I was able to place place mats/napkins/table clothes on the registry. We would have loved to put bedding, curtains, rugs, pillows, etc on the registry but we didn't want people spending money on things that may not work with whatever paint color we chose and I don't think we should be picking our paint color based on the wedding gifts especially since I could get different colored items. So that is why there is no bedding, rugs, curtains etc on either registry. We don't know the colors we are going to paint to so we can't pick anything out with real certainty.
Everyone has been telling me to put twice as many things on the list then guests I am inviting so people have options and we have basically done that. I think we are stopping at two stores. Everyone is like register at as many places as you want/can but without knowing colors of the walls we are running out of things to add. While yes, we would like 2 pitchers, I really don't think we need 3 or more which I am afraid would happen if we had similar registries else where. I don't want people wasting their hard earned money. Plus I am starting to feel greedy. :-\ Though I am excited to see what we will actually get :) The items left over will turn into Christmas list's and "feeling rich" months.
After Bed Bath and Beyond but before Pottery Barn (Pottery Barn was the last stop before dinner) we went shopping for me. I needed a pair of brown shoes and white shoes to go with my dresses for work. We went to Payless and they were having a major sale which I didn't realize until we got to the register. One pair of shoes were on sale so I was feeling lucky with that but on top of that they were doing a Buy One, Get One sale so I got both pairs for a little less then $40 and saved about $20 dollars :). Always a good thing.
Next stop was finding an outfit for me to wear at our engagement shoot next weekend. I was having a really hard time finding an outfit until I went to Dress Barn. I found some great white pants and a great purple top. I am wearing them tomorrow to make sure with Caroline but I love them. I can wear it to work if I am really careful (stains are drawn to me). The pants were on sale so I got both items for a little less then $65. (My hair cut was only $50 dollars this morning as well which I thought was a good deal...that includes tip) I like my outfit a bit too much because I am now thinking Brian won't look as nice next to me as he is wearing a work outfit and may not look as crisp/neat next to me as he has worn the pants/shirt multiple times and well....worn clothing never looks as good as new. Oh well. At Dress Barn I also found a dress contender for Mom (we are debating what color is purple and if a certain dress coordinates)...this dress is a bit darker then I originally imagined but it still works and it is similar to my dress which would be cool :)
After the mall we picked up our Save the Dates as they came in. Now Caroline is going to start addressing the envelopes and I am going to start bugging the hotel about instructions on how to book the rooms for the people needing rooms. The goal is to have the Save the Dates in the mail by September 1st. They are SO cute :)
Why so early and why is the hotel info going with Save the Date? The hotel will only hold the rooms to December 1st so people need as much time as they can get to plan/save and book. We wish the deadline was later but such is life. After December 1st the rooms will be let go so guests will be on their own in finding a place to stay. It is possible they could still stay at the same hotel as everyone else but they would lose the group rate. Hopefully everyone will book in time. I would really hate to have to bug guests about not reserving their rooms. I also hope my guests follow the instructions on booking so the rooms don't get messed up. Reserving the right rooms is a bit of a complicated issue on the hotels end and if a guest calls in and leaves out or says the wrong thing they could easily end up in the wrong spot. I know the hotel would be able to fix any error but I would rather them not have too. :-\
After the Save the Dates we went to Pottery Barn and then went to TGIF for dinner. Al came over to watch the Giants vs. Panthers game and that was about it....
Saturday, August 13, 2011
I think I found my hair stylist :)
After only about 4 years of looking I think I found a hair stylist I actually like. The good news is that she does wedding hair and make up so I can use her for my bridesmaids as well :)
It started to pour right after my hair cut and then there was a major accident on the way home so it doesn't look as great as it did when I got up from my chair. It is also straight ironed which I don't do so we will really see what it looks like tomorrow but I like it! I got my hair cut today so that my hair would have a chance of looking decent for our engagement pictures next Sunday.
What do you think?
It started to pour right after my hair cut and then there was a major accident on the way home so it doesn't look as great as it did when I got up from my chair. It is also straight ironed which I don't do so we will really see what it looks like tomorrow but I like it! I got my hair cut today so that my hair would have a chance of looking decent for our engagement pictures next Sunday.
What do you think?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Random....
* This month's menu planning is still going awful. Tonight was supposed to be cheese souffle and not only did I not have heavy cream and had to replace it with half and half but the egg whites would not peak so we ended up having to trash the whole meal. It is an expensive meal that only Brian really likes and it is expensive :( Plus we don't have that many left overs and I was counting on this to work.
* Fitness Center is going well. This week several instructors are on vacation so we have had subs and boy am I sore! I must be gaining muscle as I apparently packed on 5 lbs though I don't look it other then maybe more muscle? I have been eating the same save this past weekend....
* Found a DJ for the wedding so now we just need a florist which we will do in October and start planning/ordering/doing the small decorations. The Save the Dates are in and I plan to pick those up on Saturday. Now I just have to A) get the instructions on how my guests should book and B) get those mailed out
*Payday is tomorrow. I also find out how I did on my first work test. I am still not at all used to getting paid every two weeks. It is weird.
*I was feeling less overwhelmed until today.
*I don't do phones and people keep calling/wanting to do things over the phone rather then email which isn't helping me feel less anxious/overwhelmed.
* Fitness Center is going well. This week several instructors are on vacation so we have had subs and boy am I sore! I must be gaining muscle as I apparently packed on 5 lbs though I don't look it other then maybe more muscle? I have been eating the same save this past weekend....
* Found a DJ for the wedding so now we just need a florist which we will do in October and start planning/ordering/doing the small decorations. The Save the Dates are in and I plan to pick those up on Saturday. Now I just have to A) get the instructions on how my guests should book and B) get those mailed out
*Payday is tomorrow. I also find out how I did on my first work test. I am still not at all used to getting paid every two weeks. It is weird.
*I was feeling less overwhelmed until today.
*I don't do phones and people keep calling/wanting to do things over the phone rather then email which isn't helping me feel less anxious/overwhelmed.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Don't you wish you were us?
This is what happens when you get 105 degree weather day in and day out and an AC system that works....
or at least this is the only explanation for this that we can think of:
Yup the outer pane on that door is completely cracked and split all the way up. It wasn't like this when we left the house on Monday but when we got home we both noticed it. If it was supposed to be like this it would be quite pretty.
Oh and a way to terrify your landlords? And no, having your ceiling falling in, AC breaking, sockets following out has no affect. Tell them that you are getting married. Brian was bombarded with "are you leaving? would you let us know? Are you sure? really?" questions after he let them know we had gotten engaged.
or at least this is the only explanation for this that we can think of:
Yup the outer pane on that door is completely cracked and split all the way up. It wasn't like this when we left the house on Monday but when we got home we both noticed it. If it was supposed to be like this it would be quite pretty.
Oh and a way to terrify your landlords? And no, having your ceiling falling in, AC breaking, sockets following out has no affect. Tell them that you are getting married. Brian was bombarded with "are you leaving? would you let us know? Are you sure? really?" questions after he let them know we had gotten engaged.
Monday, August 8, 2011
My weekend turned out amazing!
Outside of pigging out it was a blast!
Want to know why? My Aunt Betsy came down! She was here for work and we were able to meet up! She makes the second person other then my parents to come visit me :). I love my Aunt Betsy!
I picked her up at about 4 pm at her hotel and we went to Broadway. I don't own shorts and didnt want to be in a dress (I am in a dress every day at work and I am missing pants) so I was VERY hot. At first we just walked around Broadway and then we saw Wonderworks which is an upside down museum. I have been wanting to go for awhile but didn't want to have to deal with the crowds so we were waiting. Aunt Betsy had the excellent idea of doing it while she was here. We got the local discount because of me and we may have fibbed that Betsy was over 55 to get the local seniors discount. :)
When you first walk in you walk through a tunnel that has lights moving about so you think you are walking on a bridge that is swinging even though you are walking on a cement floor. At times I was afraid we would go upside down! SO cool!
Our first stop was the hurricane shack. We were excited about the winds but it sadly didn't last long enough and didn't blow hard enough :( It was a great cool down but we would have liked it better if it lasted longer and blew harder.
We then walked around, attempted some of the other sciencey experiments, failed and found the Titanic exhibit where you can feel how cold the water was. Man that was refreshing! We could have stayed there a lot longer but felt that we should probably move on.
They also had a big piano on the floor so we both pretended to be Tom Hanks in BIG. We also had fun dancing to music that created cool 70's colors on the walls, pretended to be neurosurgeons and failed miserably, and had a lot of fun just walking around.
The best part was the bike exhibit. There are two "bikes" and each bike has two seats. You and a partner sit in and you pedal. You move the ride forward by pedaling. If you can pedal hard enough and fast enough you will make the ride go around in a circle. It is a roller coaster you operate yourself. We had a blast waiting in line and was of course cheering everyone on ahead of us. Then it was our turn. We were not able to go all the way around but we got VERY close. We also ended up upside down we just couldn't do the first circle. We could not keep our feet on the pedals! I even lost the shoes they made me put on mid ride. It was a blast but man was I exhausted! My legs hurt, I was breathing so hard you would have thought I had just finished sprinting a mile. It was quite a workout! Thank goodness I had worked out for a month...if I hadn't I don't know if we were able to go upside down!
After that we finished walking around Wonderworks and found this:
SO sweet :)
After WonderWorks we walked around and reminisced our family reunion in Arizona because of these guys:
Except this time we didn't feed them ice cream.
After that we went to dinner at Key West Grill. She had shrimp and grits with a side salad which were very good (maybe I don't mind shrimp and grits) and I had blackened salmon, a baked potato and a side salad as well. I enjoyed mine greatly. At this point it was about 7 and we decided to call it a night as she had a very busy weekend. I dropped her back off at the hotel and I went and hung out with Caroline for the rest of the night.
It was so great seeing Aunt Betsy! I miss her already :)
Want to know why? My Aunt Betsy came down! She was here for work and we were able to meet up! She makes the second person other then my parents to come visit me :). I love my Aunt Betsy!
I picked her up at about 4 pm at her hotel and we went to Broadway. I don't own shorts and didnt want to be in a dress (I am in a dress every day at work and I am missing pants) so I was VERY hot. At first we just walked around Broadway and then we saw Wonderworks which is an upside down museum. I have been wanting to go for awhile but didn't want to have to deal with the crowds so we were waiting. Aunt Betsy had the excellent idea of doing it while she was here. We got the local discount because of me and we may have fibbed that Betsy was over 55 to get the local seniors discount. :)
When you first walk in you walk through a tunnel that has lights moving about so you think you are walking on a bridge that is swinging even though you are walking on a cement floor. At times I was afraid we would go upside down! SO cool!
Our first stop was the hurricane shack. We were excited about the winds but it sadly didn't last long enough and didn't blow hard enough :( It was a great cool down but we would have liked it better if it lasted longer and blew harder.
We then walked around, attempted some of the other sciencey experiments, failed and found the Titanic exhibit where you can feel how cold the water was. Man that was refreshing! We could have stayed there a lot longer but felt that we should probably move on.
They also had a big piano on the floor so we both pretended to be Tom Hanks in BIG. We also had fun dancing to music that created cool 70's colors on the walls, pretended to be neurosurgeons and failed miserably, and had a lot of fun just walking around.
The best part was the bike exhibit. There are two "bikes" and each bike has two seats. You and a partner sit in and you pedal. You move the ride forward by pedaling. If you can pedal hard enough and fast enough you will make the ride go around in a circle. It is a roller coaster you operate yourself. We had a blast waiting in line and was of course cheering everyone on ahead of us. Then it was our turn. We were not able to go all the way around but we got VERY close. We also ended up upside down we just couldn't do the first circle. We could not keep our feet on the pedals! I even lost the shoes they made me put on mid ride. It was a blast but man was I exhausted! My legs hurt, I was breathing so hard you would have thought I had just finished sprinting a mile. It was quite a workout! Thank goodness I had worked out for a month...if I hadn't I don't know if we were able to go upside down!
After that we finished walking around Wonderworks and found this:
After WonderWorks we walked around and reminisced our family reunion in Arizona because of these guys:
After that we went to dinner at Key West Grill. She had shrimp and grits with a side salad which were very good (maybe I don't mind shrimp and grits) and I had blackened salmon, a baked potato and a side salad as well. I enjoyed mine greatly. At this point it was about 7 and we decided to call it a night as she had a very busy weekend. I dropped her back off at the hotel and I went and hung out with Caroline for the rest of the night.
It was so great seeing Aunt Betsy! I miss her already :)
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Gym/Diet
This weekend is apparently a pig out weekend for me. It definitely wasn't planned but apparently what I needed. After Caroline, Blair and I went and bought our respective dresses we went to Subway. I was decent there...I only ate half of my foot long Italian BMT sub and I picked light mayonnaise rather then regular. We ate Spaghetti Carbonara last night for dinner and while I ate a moderate portion...Spaghetti Carbonara isn't very healthy especially since Brian made me put in the rest of the bacon which was a lot more then I was expecting. We also had ice cream that evening. This morning I couldn't stop thinking about the sub so I ate that for breakfast. It was so good! I know...weird breakfast food. For lunch Brian, Al and I went to our new favorite restaurant where I got my favorite sandwich and fries and ate the whole thing. Yup ate way too much food...if I didn't have a work out program I would feel really bad about it. Tonight I am going out to eat with my Aunt who is in town. This also happens to be our weekend to splurge. We haven't really spent THAT much money but we have compared to what we have done in the past couple of months. I don't feel horrible about it because well...every once in a while you need to spoil yourself a little bit too keep you on track. So I am definitely looking forward to working out on Monday.
Speaking of working out..I have decided two things. That I don't like doing the elliptical so much and that I need to add more strength training. A group of girls who also did all the night classes with me have decided they want another night class as well so they have organized a get together and they thought of me and invited me to participate! I know I must sound like a 5 year old but it is SO nice to have people actually think about you and invite you to things! I have rarely ever had that in my life so it is shocking to me that it is happening now. I LOVE it! So on Monday evenings I am doing video's with them at 5:15 (I think this week is buns and thighs). I have also decided that on Wednesday evenings I am going to some machines. I don't want to do it Thursday night or Friday night as Friday during lunch I have a strength training class and I think doing it on Thursday/Friday evening would be a bit too much.
So my evening schedule is as follows:
Monday: Video class with the girls
Tuesday: Zumba
Wednesday: Machines
Thursday: Elliptical
Friday: Elliptical
In the next day or too I am going to put on a dress and take a couple pictures of me in it. This dress was the dress I wore for my interview for my current job and when I tried it on to include in the pictures of my dress barn dresses I was surprised that it was a little tight. I almost felt pudgy in it. Well, I wore it the other day and it definitely fits better. I even think it even looks better on me now then it did in the interview :)
I don't expect to lose too many more pounds in terms of numbers as I am gaining more muscle and muscle does way more then fat. I do expect to lose more inches and get a lot more definition. I am going to try and measure myself (they have a measuring tape) at the gym as I think that will be where the difference will be made and will be where I gain the most reward rather then focusing on the numbers.
Speaking of working out..I have decided two things. That I don't like doing the elliptical so much and that I need to add more strength training. A group of girls who also did all the night classes with me have decided they want another night class as well so they have organized a get together and they thought of me and invited me to participate! I know I must sound like a 5 year old but it is SO nice to have people actually think about you and invite you to things! I have rarely ever had that in my life so it is shocking to me that it is happening now. I LOVE it! So on Monday evenings I am doing video's with them at 5:15 (I think this week is buns and thighs). I have also decided that on Wednesday evenings I am going to some machines. I don't want to do it Thursday night or Friday night as Friday during lunch I have a strength training class and I think doing it on Thursday/Friday evening would be a bit too much.
So my evening schedule is as follows:
Monday: Video class with the girls
Tuesday: Zumba
Wednesday: Machines
Thursday: Elliptical
Friday: Elliptical
In the next day or too I am going to put on a dress and take a couple pictures of me in it. This dress was the dress I wore for my interview for my current job and when I tried it on to include in the pictures of my dress barn dresses I was surprised that it was a little tight. I almost felt pudgy in it. Well, I wore it the other day and it definitely fits better. I even think it even looks better on me now then it did in the interview :)
I don't expect to lose too many more pounds in terms of numbers as I am gaining more muscle and muscle does way more then fat. I do expect to lose more inches and get a lot more definition. I am going to try and measure myself (they have a measuring tape) at the gym as I think that will be where the difference will be made and will be where I gain the most reward rather then focusing on the numbers.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
It is only day 6.....
of August and we have done HORRIBLY on the grocery budget. I blame it not having a printer and having to copy everything by hand.
I have so far forgotten eggs, butter, zucchini and half and half so I have had to go back and get those. Actually I got the eggs and butter this morning. I was purposely waiting on the zucchini so it doesn't go bad and didnt realize I didn't have half and half until I started cooking dinner and went to grab it.
I think what happened with the half and half is that what I did have went bad and I threw it out. Brian is currently running to the store and grabbing more.
Here is hoping these are the ONLY things I have forgotten for this month. Without going to Costco this is becoming our most expensive month and I swear we had a lot of this stuff already at home. Do not understand. :-\
I have so far forgotten eggs, butter, zucchini and half and half so I have had to go back and get those. Actually I got the eggs and butter this morning. I was purposely waiting on the zucchini so it doesn't go bad and didnt realize I didn't have half and half until I started cooking dinner and went to grab it.
I think what happened with the half and half is that what I did have went bad and I threw it out. Brian is currently running to the store and grabbing more.
Here is hoping these are the ONLY things I have forgotten for this month. Without going to Costco this is becoming our most expensive month and I swear we had a lot of this stuff already at home. Do not understand. :-\
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
July's Fitness Results
Here is where I stopped going to the gym. These pictures are almost a year ago exactly (08.20.11) and no I did not plan this. At this point in time I was doing Curves 5 days a week and Gymnastics twice a week for an hour each session.
Before:
Not bad....
This July was a lot of fun. I officially lost 4lbs so I am 162lbs total....only 2lbs heavier then I was in the above pictures. I have not measured myself in terms of inches but I will try to for next month.
Now:
I will have to remember to take pictures in my work out shorts and sports bra next time. It is really hard to tell any differences between the two sets of photo's due to my different outfits.
I have *definitely* lost inches. Most seem to come from my upper body though my legs/behind have lost a fair amount as well. I am noticing a lot more leg/calf definition. My arms are becoming more defined just a different defined then they were when I was doing gymnastics. My stomach has flattened again and I am almost at the point where my legs don't touch when walking up at the very top which has never happened.
Hopefully next month when I am in a similar outfit the changes will be more apparent. I do feel like I am closer to the "before" pictures then the "now" pictures show.
Before:
Not bad....
This July was a lot of fun. I officially lost 4lbs so I am 162lbs total....only 2lbs heavier then I was in the above pictures. I have not measured myself in terms of inches but I will try to for next month.
Now:
I will have to remember to take pictures in my work out shorts and sports bra next time. It is really hard to tell any differences between the two sets of photo's due to my different outfits.
I have *definitely* lost inches. Most seem to come from my upper body though my legs/behind have lost a fair amount as well. I am noticing a lot more leg/calf definition. My arms are becoming more defined just a different defined then they were when I was doing gymnastics. My stomach has flattened again and I am almost at the point where my legs don't touch when walking up at the very top which has never happened.
Hopefully next month when I am in a similar outfit the changes will be more apparent. I do feel like I am closer to the "before" pictures then the "now" pictures show.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monthly Menu: July
This is how our menu for July turned out. There were, as usual, changes in terms of flip flopping days and deleting entire meals. This was the first month where we were completely out of left overs at the end of the month. Usually we have NO issue with left overs especially at the end of the month. At the moment one of us has to cook for us to have dinner and lunch the next day. It will be interesting to see how soon we get a "stock pile" of left overs again.
July 2011 Meals
Friday, July 1st: Chicken Paprikas and oven rice, use thighs
Saturday, July 2nd: Out
Sunday, July 3rd: Fend, RAH @ Carolines
Monday, July 4th: Out :)
Tuesday, July 5th: Mom's Penne Rigate, double Mom's tomato sauce recipe and freeze half
Wednesday, July 6th: Fend
Thursday, July 7th: Garlic Lemon Mahi Mahi
Friday, July 8th: Curry Chicken Pot Pie, use breasts
Saturday, July 9th: Out
Sunday, July 10th: Fend, RAH @ Carolines
Monday, July 11th: Oven Honey Chicken, use breasts
Tuesday, July 12th: Fend
Wednesday, July 13th:Mom's Chicken Sausage Tortellini, use breasts
Thursday, July 14th: Mom's Mac and Cheese, buy real milk
Friday, July 15th: Vicki made dinner :)
Saturday, July 16th: Carolines :)
Sunday, July 17th: Chicken Tetrazzini
Monday, July 18th: Garlic Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon
Tuesday, July 19th: Ravioli with creamy tomato sauce
Wednesday, July 20th:Slow cooker upside down chicken pot pie, use thighs
Thursday, July 21st: Fend
Friday, July 22nd: Chicken Bog, use breasts
Saturday, July 23rd: Pizza
Sunday, July 24th:Fend, RAH @ Carolines
Monday, July 25th: Fend
Tuesday, July 26th: Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinigrette
Wednesday, July 27th: Fend
Thursday, July 28th: Brian's Mahi Mahir
Friday, July 29th: Fend
Saturday, July 30th: Out
Sunday, July 31st:Fend, RAH @ Carolines
I didn't realize until I was editing this page that we had done Fend so often this month. This obviously is why we didn't have as many left overs as we normally do. We have also skipped a couple meals entirely. This also probably means that I do not have to plan/cook as many meals but sometimes it can be hard to know how much left over we will actually have. I can make the same meal the same way and have enough left overs for a week or only two days.
August's Grocery trip was more then I was hoping but still ending up right around where we have been at. I will go more detail when I break it down but when planning the meals I was really trying to pick recipes where we had the majority if not all of the ingredients already here. I was successful in that but I guess it just didn't work. I also didn't have any coupons as I don't get the newspaper and I was wondering if it was worth it to just order the Sunday paper for the coupons. Have not decided yet.
Our printer has died so I do not know how I am going to print off the menu's etc. It will print/see that it has paper when we turn it off and on and it prints a test page but if we send something to the printer it will say "no paper" no matter how full/empty the tray is. We have also tried to see if the paper was too far out for the sensor and that wasn't the case either. :-\ We really do not want to have to buy another one
Our printer has died so I do not know how I am going to print off the menu's etc. It will print/see that it has paper when we turn it off and on and it prints a test page but if we send something to the printer it will say "no paper" no matter how full/empty the tray is. We have also tried to see if the paper was too far out for the sensor and that wasn't the case either. :-\ We really do not want to have to buy another one
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Wedding and my 200th post :)
This post is my 200th post :) I don't feel like I have written 200 posts :)
Anyway... I am almost done planning the wedding. I of course have the tiny stuff to do but even with that most of it I have in idea form it is just executing those ideas.
Venue: Booked
Hotels: Held
Photographer: Booked, Engagement photos Aug 21st
"Save the Dates": Ordered, will be mailed 9/1st ish
Invitations: Will be ordered 9/1stish to be mailed October 1st ish
My Dress: found and will be bought this Saturday
Bridesmaids dresses: Found and 2 out of 4 girls have officially picked theirs
DJ: Setting up a meeting to meet with him hopefully this week and more then likely booking him
Cake: Going to try to make this a school project for a young girl we know
Officiant: Walker, Caroline's nephew and my good friend, will be performing the ceremony
Paperwork: That is this week's project
Flowers: Centerpieces decided upon, bridesmaids/groomsman flowers will be figured out specifically in Oct when my Mom comes down
Rehearsal Dinner: Idea/place booked, awaiting more info
I think that is about it... I make decisions quickly as you can see. Once I see something I like it is done. I never expected to find everything so easily, I thought I would have to do more research/shopping around which is why I started looking so early but that is just the way it happened. :)
Anyway... I am almost done planning the wedding. I of course have the tiny stuff to do but even with that most of it I have in idea form it is just executing those ideas.
Venue: Booked
Hotels: Held
Photographer: Booked, Engagement photos Aug 21st
"Save the Dates": Ordered, will be mailed 9/1st ish
Invitations: Will be ordered 9/1stish to be mailed October 1st ish
My Dress: found and will be bought this Saturday
Bridesmaids dresses: Found and 2 out of 4 girls have officially picked theirs
DJ: Setting up a meeting to meet with him hopefully this week and more then likely booking him
Cake: Going to try to make this a school project for a young girl we know
Officiant: Walker, Caroline's nephew and my good friend, will be performing the ceremony
Paperwork: That is this week's project
Flowers: Centerpieces decided upon, bridesmaids/groomsman flowers will be figured out specifically in Oct when my Mom comes down
Rehearsal Dinner: Idea/place booked, awaiting more info
I think that is about it... I make decisions quickly as you can see. Once I see something I like it is done. I never expected to find everything so easily, I thought I would have to do more research/shopping around which is why I started looking so early but that is just the way it happened. :)
Monday, August 1, 2011
Fitness Center
I had a very busy day today. I worked out, got home about 6pm went grocery shopping, came back home made dinner and now it is 8pm and I am exhausted. I will set up my photo/weight loss update tomorrow but I thought I should at least update my workout schedule as that has changed.
My Thursday afternoon class got cancelled due to lack of participation so I am pretty disappointed. I understand why they cancelled it (last Thursday I got a private training session since no one else showed) but it was the only class completely focused on Abs and I need that.
This is my basic schedule:
Monday: 12:05 - 12:35 Circuit Circus
12:35 - 12:45 Absolutely
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
Tuesday: 12:05 - 12:35 Sassy Step
12:35 - 12:45 Stretch
5:15 - 6:00 Zumba
Wednesday: 12:05 - 12:35 Strike
12: 35 - 12:45 Abs
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
Thursday: 12:05 - 12:45 Zumba
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
Friday: 12:05 - 12:45 Triple Threat
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
I am not sure that I like doing the elliptical as often as scheduled. I am going to leave it as it is this week and see but probably find something to do different on Thursday night in the weeks coming. If no one is using the studio I can use a tape they have or maybe I do some weights. I don't know but we shall see.
My Thursday afternoon class got cancelled due to lack of participation so I am pretty disappointed. I understand why they cancelled it (last Thursday I got a private training session since no one else showed) but it was the only class completely focused on Abs and I need that.
This is my basic schedule:
Monday: 12:05 - 12:35 Circuit Circus
12:35 - 12:45 Absolutely
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
Tuesday: 12:05 - 12:35 Sassy Step
12:35 - 12:45 Stretch
5:15 - 6:00 Zumba
Wednesday: 12:05 - 12:35 Strike
12: 35 - 12:45 Abs
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
Thursday: 12:05 - 12:45 Zumba
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
Friday: 12:05 - 12:45 Triple Threat
5:00 - 5:30 Elliptical
I am not sure that I like doing the elliptical as often as scheduled. I am going to leave it as it is this week and see but probably find something to do different on Thursday night in the weeks coming. If no one is using the studio I can use a tape they have or maybe I do some weights. I don't know but we shall see.
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