sunday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: corned beef leftovers with pickles
- snack: strawberries
- dinner: beef tips (not great...) and a couple of tomatoes.
monday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and salsa
- dinner: tuna "salad" with celery
tuesday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and cucumber
- dinner: italian "soup"
wednesday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: buffalo grilled chicken over a bed of cabbage
- snack: strawberries
- dinner: beef kabobs with onion petals
thursday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: corned beef leftover and tomato
- dinner: tuna and pickles (it was a late night)
friday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and tomato
- snack: orange
- dinner: "stif-fried" chicken with amino acids, splash of hcg safe chicken broth, hcg safe chili paste, cooked with sliced onions
saturday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: corned beef and cabbage leftovers
- snack: orange
- dinner: buffalo chicken tenders with sliced onions cooked together
- drink: sliced strawberries, vanilla creme stevia, sparkling water
as of sunday morning, 9.8 pounds total loss and 12.5 inches lost
not half bad ;-)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
it's a great day to pick out wedding rings!!
we are headed to the place where anthony bought my ring today
to pick out our wedding bands!
we want simple (read: inexpensive)
yet...nice.
and of course, we have no idea what's in store. gulp.
after we've ordered whatever we'll order
we'll go our separate ways
he has a guys night
and i'm getting together with my friend natasha for dinner and coffee
(we're both doing hcg)
and *conversation*
yay.
i think my saturday will be full of good things...
hope yours is too.
:-)
Friday, July 29, 2011
and the reason we talked about nuts and dried cherries yeterday...
guess what?
it's wedding related. :D
(had you already guessed that?)
anthony and i had a tough time trying to figure out how to deal with reception food
first of all, we didn't CARE what we served
secondly, we didn't want to spend a ton of money. and let's face it...there's a LOT of money wrapped up in food for as many people as we are inviting to this.
thirdly, we still wanted to be creative
this presented more than a few problems.
but one day, after coming to the conclusion that just serving nuts and mints may as well be the way we went since 'spectacular' isn't in our budget
we came up with an idea
what if...
we created a 'make your own trail mix' bar?
and the wheels started turning
right now, what it looks like
is metal scoops
antique-like candy containers
and handwritten cards labeling each one
i have a great group of people who have individually and collectively
offered to help with anything we need
so a couple of them will be responsible for keeping these filled
and others will be doing other things which you'll hear about eventually
this will be the 'favor' too...
but i'll explain how that works later ;-)
it's wedding related. :D
(had you already guessed that?)
anthony and i had a tough time trying to figure out how to deal with reception food
first of all, we didn't CARE what we served
secondly, we didn't want to spend a ton of money. and let's face it...there's a LOT of money wrapped up in food for as many people as we are inviting to this.
thirdly, we still wanted to be creative
this presented more than a few problems.
but one day, after coming to the conclusion that just serving nuts and mints may as well be the way we went since 'spectacular' isn't in our budget
we came up with an idea
what if...
we created a 'make your own trail mix' bar?
and the wheels started turning
right now, what it looks like
is metal scoops
antique-like candy containers
and handwritten cards labeling each one
i have a great group of people who have individually and collectively
offered to help with anything we need
so a couple of them will be responsible for keeping these filled
and others will be doing other things which you'll hear about eventually
this will be the 'favor' too...
but i'll explain how that works later ;-)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
thursday's ten: in a trail mix...
there is a POINT to this post, i promise. i'll let you in on the secret tomorrow ;-)
items i would put in my create-your-own trail mix
1. granola. and i have a fantastic recipe for that...i should share it here sometime soon!
2. dried fruit. cranberries have always been a particular favorite of mine :-)
3. m&ms. gotta have a little crunchy chocolate, right?
4. nuts. i am a particular fan of cashews.
5. shaved coconut. ok, *i* wouldn't put this in, but would you?
6. dried ginger. nom, nom.
7. sunflower or pumpkin seeds. nice crunch and added flavor
8. wasabi peas. mmmm, i LOVE spice
9. peanut butter, butterscotch or chocolate chips (heavy on the butterscotch...)
10. pretzels (mini)
mmmkay, obviously those all wouldn't go in the same one... ;-)
please play along. what would YOU put in a trail mix if provided all the ingredients?
items i would put in my create-your-own trail mix
1. granola. and i have a fantastic recipe for that...i should share it here sometime soon!
2. dried fruit. cranberries have always been a particular favorite of mine :-)
3. m&ms. gotta have a little crunchy chocolate, right?
4. nuts. i am a particular fan of cashews.
5. shaved coconut. ok, *i* wouldn't put this in, but would you?
6. dried ginger. nom, nom.
7. sunflower or pumpkin seeds. nice crunch and added flavor
8. wasabi peas. mmmm, i LOVE spice
9. peanut butter, butterscotch or chocolate chips (heavy on the butterscotch...)
10. pretzels (mini)
mmmkay, obviously those all wouldn't go in the same one... ;-)
please play along. what would YOU put in a trail mix if provided all the ingredients?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
hey, it's ok (tuesday)
hey, it's ok
...to be sort of in love with a friends tea collection. nom, nom.
...to be a little tired of reminding a three year old to make good choices. (there IS a life lesson there somewhere, but i am dragging this morning...)
...to be sad that you have pretty much worn out a pair of flip flops. they are my reef flip flops that i bought in santa barbara in 2007...i guess it makes sense that they're pretty much biting the dust. sand?
...to really want to go to california to replace said flip flops instead of taking the easy way out of ordering online ;-)
...to just want to go back to california, period.
...to think that it's hilarious that jon, the three year old, is running around singing "big bad john"
...to gain inspiration for decorating, etc, from clients homes. i get excited when i see good ideas!
(and i also see some not so good ideas)
...to sometimes get a little overwhelmed by how MUCH there is left to do for the wedding!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
...to be sort of in love with a friends tea collection. nom, nom.
...to be a little tired of reminding a three year old to make good choices. (there IS a life lesson there somewhere, but i am dragging this morning...)
...to be sad that you have pretty much worn out a pair of flip flops. they are my reef flip flops that i bought in santa barbara in 2007...i guess it makes sense that they're pretty much biting the dust. sand?
...to really want to go to california to replace said flip flops instead of taking the easy way out of ordering online ;-)
...to just want to go back to california, period.
...to think that it's hilarious that jon, the three year old, is running around singing "big bad john"
...to gain inspiration for decorating, etc, from clients homes. i get excited when i see good ideas!
(and i also see some not so good ideas)
...to sometimes get a little overwhelmed by how MUCH there is left to do for the wedding!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, July 25, 2011
monday's memory: the one with the baby shower
about 2 years ago, we gathered to celebrate the upcoming birth
of a little boy
friends of ours were expecting their first, and we gathered for a shower
one of the take-homes for the couple was a photo album with pictures of the shower guests
anthony and i were in charge of the camera
and we got a bit bored of normal poses
so this is what our picture for the book ended up being :-)
what wonderful craziness life brings
that baby was finn
the child i took care of all last school year
what a blessing to have been there from the beginning :-)
he still gets excited when he sees me
(i'm hoping that never ends)
and i love the friendship that anthony and i share with his parents
full circle sometimes happens quicker than you expect
my time nannying for finn has ended
(although they've asked if i will please be a regular babysitter.
i had no problem saying yes!)
and i now work with other families as well as other jobs
(which i will tell you about soon)
but relationship
that continues
and i am so blessed
to be surrounded by SO MANY
great people
God has given us community
spread over several states,
a few churches
and many different walks of life
but i wouldn't trade this set of quality folks in my life
for anything!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
hcg week one wrap-up
just so i can keep track...sorry to bore you all with the details!
also, i apologize for putting word verification back on my comments BUT when you have over 300 spam comments in the space of a week, it's time to pull a little more security.
day 1 (sunday)
- lunch: chicken with chipotle chili pepper seasoning, 1 cucumber seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
- snack: orange and grissini
- dinner: steak with amino acid, raw cabbage leaves, melba toast
- snack/fun drink: "mojito" made with strawberries, mint leaves, stevia and sparkling water (yummy!)
day 2 (monday)
- breakfast: coffee with english toffee stevia
- lunch: chicken with german mustard and seasonings, cucumber with salt and pepper
- 'fun' drink of the day: coffee, ice, 1 tbsp milk and english toffee stevia mixed in blender
- snack: apple, grissini breadstick
- dinner: lean ground beef, seasoned with cayenne pepper, garlic, etc, salsa poured over (yummy!)
- snack: 4 strawberries
day 3 (tuesday)
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: greek burger, grilled onions, melba toast
- snack: strawberries, stevia and 1 tablespoon milk
- dinner: 'steak' seasoned with amino acids, onion powder and ginger. cabbage sauteed in apple cider vinegar, amino acids, garlic, celery seed, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ginger, etc... (i was determined to make a cabbage as close to kimchee as i could!)
- snack: orange
day 4 (wednesday)
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: fat-free cottage cheese, melba toast, cucumber and orange
- dinner: 'soup' made with italian-seasoned ground beef and diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano as well as other italian seasonings. garlic melba toast. it was FABULOUS and i couldn't eat it all! definitely remember this one.
- fun drink: 'cappacino' made with ice cubes, coffee, english toffee stevia and 1 tbsp milk in the blender
- snack: strawberries
day 5 (thursday)
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: chicken with mustard and spices (eh, it wasn't fantastic), cucumber, 1/2 an apple baked with cinnamon and stevia
- dinner: the rest of last night's soup with garlic melba toast
- fun drink: fake mojito
day 6 (friday)
- breakfast: coffee and stevia (2 cups)
` lunch: burger with tony's seasoning and fresh minced, tomato
- dinner: corned beef and cabbage at my favorite pub. this was my first attempt at eating out, and it was...kind of successful? the beef was fine, but the cabbage was definitely cooked in oil and butter -- and i could TASTE it. it was odd. i ended up transferring it from the bowl to my plate and shaking off most of the sauce, so it wasn't bad at all once i did that. oh, and i had a small shot of whiskey. yummy. but no more alcohol during this phase -- my head was liiiiight!)
* i skipped both fruit servings and one serving of bread to make up for the extra calories. hopefully that wasn't a bad thing!*
day 7 (saturday)
- breakfast: coffee, cinnamon and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and 2 tomatoes (one from MY garden!!!)
- snack: orange. and i had starbucks! iced coffee and i added cinnamon and a tbsp of nonfat milk as well as a packet of stevia
- dinner: burger and grilled onion at the in-laws...another (kind of) successful attempt at eating somewhere else but my house or bringing my own food. unfortunately, i didn't get to weigh my meat before it was cooked (which is a big no-no) but we tried to figure out how much to take off and i figure it's close enough. and i only sort of coveted the cheese and onion rings on the table...
as of this morning i am down 6.1 pounds and 6 inches. for a week...not too bad? and i haven't been (too) bored with my food and choices...
best of all? i feel GREAT. seriously. i have more energy (on WAY less calories, thank you drops) and i just feel...good. the 'cleanse' bit is definitely working, and i'm considering extending it another week and just dealing with a bit of a gain/stall when we go to indiana and i have to eat cake at our shower...
also, i apologize for putting word verification back on my comments BUT when you have over 300 spam comments in the space of a week, it's time to pull a little more security.
day 1 (sunday)
- lunch: chicken with chipotle chili pepper seasoning, 1 cucumber seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
- snack: orange and grissini
- dinner: steak with amino acid, raw cabbage leaves, melba toast
- snack/fun drink: "mojito" made with strawberries, mint leaves, stevia and sparkling water (yummy!)
day 2 (monday)
- breakfast: coffee with english toffee stevia
- lunch: chicken with german mustard and seasonings, cucumber with salt and pepper
- 'fun' drink of the day: coffee, ice, 1 tbsp milk and english toffee stevia mixed in blender
- snack: apple, grissini breadstick
- dinner: lean ground beef, seasoned with cayenne pepper, garlic, etc, salsa poured over (yummy!)
- snack: 4 strawberries
day 3 (tuesday)
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: greek burger, grilled onions, melba toast
- snack: strawberries, stevia and 1 tablespoon milk
- dinner: 'steak' seasoned with amino acids, onion powder and ginger. cabbage sauteed in apple cider vinegar, amino acids, garlic, celery seed, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ginger, etc... (i was determined to make a cabbage as close to kimchee as i could!)
- snack: orange
day 4 (wednesday)
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: fat-free cottage cheese, melba toast, cucumber and orange
- dinner: 'soup' made with italian-seasoned ground beef and diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano as well as other italian seasonings. garlic melba toast. it was FABULOUS and i couldn't eat it all! definitely remember this one.
- fun drink: 'cappacino' made with ice cubes, coffee, english toffee stevia and 1 tbsp milk in the blender
- snack: strawberries
day 5 (thursday)
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: chicken with mustard and spices (eh, it wasn't fantastic), cucumber, 1/2 an apple baked with cinnamon and stevia
- dinner: the rest of last night's soup with garlic melba toast
- fun drink: fake mojito
day 6 (friday)
- breakfast: coffee and stevia (2 cups)
` lunch: burger with tony's seasoning and fresh minced, tomato
- dinner: corned beef and cabbage at my favorite pub. this was my first attempt at eating out, and it was...kind of successful? the beef was fine, but the cabbage was definitely cooked in oil and butter -- and i could TASTE it. it was odd. i ended up transferring it from the bowl to my plate and shaking off most of the sauce, so it wasn't bad at all once i did that. oh, and i had a small shot of whiskey. yummy. but no more alcohol during this phase -- my head was liiiiight!)
* i skipped both fruit servings and one serving of bread to make up for the extra calories. hopefully that wasn't a bad thing!*
day 7 (saturday)
- breakfast: coffee, cinnamon and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and 2 tomatoes (one from MY garden!!!)
- snack: orange. and i had starbucks! iced coffee and i added cinnamon and a tbsp of nonfat milk as well as a packet of stevia
- dinner: burger and grilled onion at the in-laws...another (kind of) successful attempt at eating somewhere else but my house or bringing my own food. unfortunately, i didn't get to weigh my meat before it was cooked (which is a big no-no) but we tried to figure out how much to take off and i figure it's close enough. and i only sort of coveted the cheese and onion rings on the table...
as of this morning i am down 6.1 pounds and 6 inches. for a week...not too bad? and i haven't been (too) bored with my food and choices...
best of all? i feel GREAT. seriously. i have more energy (on WAY less calories, thank you drops) and i just feel...good. the 'cleanse' bit is definitely working, and i'm considering extending it another week and just dealing with a bit of a gain/stall when we go to indiana and i have to eat cake at our shower...
Saturday, July 23, 2011
it's a great day to wrap up some wedding stuff
today involves me going with anthony to help get the tux details down
us collecting all the emails possible for sending out our save the dates (yeah, we know. we're a little late...)
and hopefully a little relaxation as well.
at some point i need to run to a grocery store
and pick up a few needed items for emi and for my diet
oh yeah, and unload the dishwasher
ugh.
but i've definitely enjoyed this morning to be totally and completely lazy before our busy afternoon and evening!
hope you all have a wonderful weekend...diet update coming at you tomorrow!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
thursday's ten: stuff i HAVE done for the wedding...
it's easy to get a bit overwhelmed at this stage
thinking of all that we have left to do
all the money we still don't have
(yikes)
so today's ten is all about what is DONE for the wedding.
1. i have a DRESS. hey, that's a big one :-)
2. bridesmaid dress is also chosen, and everyone has ordered. truth be told, i assumed we would have several dresses in the same material...but the SAME dress looked fantastic on everyone. so i got my secret wish of having a matching bridal party! it's the little things :)
what, you want a picture? ok.
i was fortunate enough that all my nashville girls, including the flower girl, were able to come to the shop the night i made my final decision. and anthony's mom & aunts, and my cell group girls. it was a BIG party :D
here we all are:
ok...NOT. that's actually from awkwardfamilyphotos.com
i can't show you MY dress. my fiance does read this blog and doesn't want to have any idea.
but i can show you a couple of my girls :)
(mandy, hailey and kat)
(laura, flower girl israel and natasha)
3. reserved venues for the ceremony and reception
4. secured our minister for the day, one of the most Godly men we know
5. chose our photographer
6. decided what to do about reception food. this was especially hard. wanting to step up slightly from nuts and mints and yet not break the bank was a challenge!
7. created the wording for our invitation...now to order them ;)
8. created a save the date. we're collecting all the email addresses now for them. yeah, we're a bit behind on the invitation and save the date bit. eh.
9. booked our engagement photo session
10. at least have a cake PERSON...now to choose the cake!
oh, there is SO much more to do. but at least i can breathe a bit easier knowing what's DONE! :-D
thinking of all that we have left to do
all the money we still don't have
(yikes)
so today's ten is all about what is DONE for the wedding.
1. i have a DRESS. hey, that's a big one :-)
2. bridesmaid dress is also chosen, and everyone has ordered. truth be told, i assumed we would have several dresses in the same material...but the SAME dress looked fantastic on everyone. so i got my secret wish of having a matching bridal party! it's the little things :)
what, you want a picture? ok.
i was fortunate enough that all my nashville girls, including the flower girl, were able to come to the shop the night i made my final decision. and anthony's mom & aunts, and my cell group girls. it was a BIG party :D
here we all are:
ok...NOT. that's actually from awkwardfamilyphotos.com
i can't show you MY dress. my fiance does read this blog and doesn't want to have any idea.
but i can show you a couple of my girls :)
(mandy, hailey and kat)
(laura, flower girl israel and natasha)
(ok, flower girl izzy by herself. her dress will be red as well, by the way)
3. reserved venues for the ceremony and reception
4. secured our minister for the day, one of the most Godly men we know
5. chose our photographer
6. decided what to do about reception food. this was especially hard. wanting to step up slightly from nuts and mints and yet not break the bank was a challenge!
7. created the wording for our invitation...now to order them ;)
8. created a save the date. we're collecting all the email addresses now for them. yeah, we're a bit behind on the invitation and save the date bit. eh.
9. booked our engagement photo session
10. at least have a cake PERSON...now to choose the cake!
oh, there is SO much more to do. but at least i can breathe a bit easier knowing what's DONE! :-D
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