Trials of a Long Haired Girl

Happy Friday friends!  Anyone else really take a look at how they changed something in their life to help someone else and then realize that this may not be the best choice and you need to change things up for your own health?  Yep, that just happened.  My goal for the next week or so is to focus on finding myself some lower carb options for some of my favorite things.  Since my daughter decided to go meatless and our family has been trying to be supportive as a whole, I've been bringing in far more bread and pasta into our diets and it's really got to stop.  For the longest, it was really just an occasional, maybe once a week sort of thing, but now, it's getting way out of hand.  I bought some of the lower carb tortillas that I saw recommended, so I'm going to do some more research and figure out what I can do to make this work for me.  I will continue doing WW, but will definitely focus on the lower carb options.  It's going to be a little tri...

Happy Hump day friends!  Hope everyone is having a good week thus far.  You know that moment when you are struggling to figure out what to have for dinner or you know one thing and you need to plan a meal around it?  Well, that happened to me.  I don't eat a lot of bread daily, sometimes it's one slice with my eggs or garlic bread with dinner, or dinner rolls or biscuits but not something I have all the time.  I had rolls that I needed to use before they went bad so I was determined that we were going to have that...but I wasn't sure what else.  Then...inspiration struck...memories from sitting in The Black Eyed Pea hit.  I would fix a veggie plate.  Would my family like it?  They definitely did enjoy it!  That night had salad, fried okra (cooked in the air fryer) and shells and cheese.  It had some variety and a little something for everyone.  I have really figured out that this may be one of my new favorite meals.  Let...

Happy Tuesday friends!  Today I thought we'd talk about something that seems to plague all of us from time to time no matter what our journey is...all or nothing thinking.  For myself, I know it has plagued me when I was practicing for my piano recitals when I was in grade school, when I was working on my routine for competition or even in my weight loss journey.  Why is it that even if it is something that we aren't "experts" at, we expect perfection?  I don't know about you, but I somehow expect myself to doing something like I would if I had numerous years of experience at it.  Let's be honest, there are things that I am not and will not be perfect out.  As the saying goes, should you throw the baby out with the bathwater?  Um, no.  One of the things that I do to remind myself not to expect perfection is to ask myself if I'd say that to a friend or how I would feel if a friend said that to me in the way that I was staying it to myself....

Happy Tuesday friends!  Hope everyone had a great Father's day and is doing well.  We decided on a Make Your Own Nacho bar and pineapple cake for my sweet husband.  It was a good day overall.  While my meals are not 100% planned, I do have a general plan in my mind.  I was trying to think of a meal to go with rolls.  After the damage done by the storms a week ago this past Sunday and many people in our neighborhood were without power, a neighbor turned a negative into a positive by sharing her baked goods with the neighborhood.  I was able to try some of her baked goods and will definitely be making my way to a retailer to purchase some of her baked good.  They were delicious.  Last night's meal may not have been 100% on plan but it was delicious.  I fixed a salad mix, shells and cheese and we put some frozen "fried" okra in the air fryer.  It made for a tasty dinner.   This has been a difficult few weeks with my back ...

Happy Hump Day friends!  I know it's been a minute since I've posted but things have been a bit crazy.  With the crazy storms on Sunday, we've still got some in our without electricity.  My plans for meal preparation on Sunday got pushed by the wayside given the lack of the electricity. I all my meals yesterday and I'm pretty proud of that!  My breakfast was a smoothie and a cup of coffee.  My lunch was a salad with spinach, romaine, broccoli slaw, grape tomatoes and 1 oz of diced ham and my Skinny Kitchen Ranch variation, with 2 cups of watermelon for dessert.  Our dinner was fettuccine with Alfredo sauce and broccoli with garlic cheese bread.  Overall, pretty good day.  I stayed within my Freestyle SmartPoints allowance. 

Happy Monday friends!  I hope you had a great weekend and are setting yourself up for success this week!  May wasn't my best month.  But it's a new day and new month and I am a work in progress.  My planned meals for this week are as follows: Homemade Crunchwraps Hamburger Stroganoff Quinoa Veggie bowls Nacho Bar Smothered Enchiladas Fettuccine Alfredo, salad and garlic bread. Not really fancy, but hopefully tasty and satisfying.  We tried the vegetarian version of the crunchwraps and they were really good.  I'll try to share my recipe for that soon!  What are you having this week?  Do you plan all your meals? Only one meal?  I focus on one meal, dinner and have a general plan for breakfasts and lunches during the week.  It stresses me out to plan each and every meal in detail everyday.  I can usually decide the night before what I will have on the following day.  One day I will be one of those people, but I'm n...

Happy Sunday friends!  I hope everyone is having a blessed day.  Just wanted to ask one question today, what are you doing to set yourself up for success this week? For myself, I will be cutting my vegetables and cleaning my fruit to make sure I have a good week.  Those little steps help to set us up for success throughout the week.  Even little things like browning meat ahead of time, makes it easier to put together meals.  I'll be taking some time to roast some veggies as well.  Those quinoa bowls I was talking about a week or so ago are definitely on my list this week.  It may be a lunch or it may be a dinner or both. I think I forgot to post my June starting weight yesterday.  My starting weight for June is 178.2.  Is it the smallest I have been?  No, it's not, but it's where I am and it's where I hope not to stay long.   Wishing each of you a successful week! 

Happy June 1st friends!  Hope everyone is doing well with their goals.  Honestly, May was not so great for me, but I'm moving past it.  Positive things that happened last month: - I saw pictures that made me realize how noticeable my weight loss was - I tried Kodiak pancake/waffle mix and even tried a few recipes with it - I tried Built Bars - Found and tried some new meatless meals Having grown up in a "meat and potato" household, it's hard for me to think about giving up meat forever.  Maybe some day I won't feel that way, but I am still struggling a bit at the moment.   know it's a process for sure.  My goals for this month besides taking care of myself.  I know that should be a priority but it isn't always.  I have a rib that seems to keep popping out and it's quite annoying.  Thankfully the chiropractor has been able to pop it back in, it just doesn't always stay in place. I want to try some more meatless recipes.  One...

Not hitting my step goal today which makes me sad,  but I came home with shooting pains in my head.   I just pray it's better tomorrow morning.   Early night for me.

Happy Monday friends! I hope y'all had an amazing day!  My day was busy, but good.  My poor DD got all the way to camp and then realized she forgot her toiletries.  DH and I had to make a quick run to the camp grounds to drop her off.  I am so glad that she isn't too far away.   I was not sure I was going to hit my 6,000 step goal today, but I managed to.  My afternoon got a little busy and I wasn't able to walk the way I wanted.  Also, it started pouring down rain this afternoon.  Between the rain and the busy work afternoon, it just wasn't happening.  I did get to take a nice walk around the building before the rain hit.   Again, my food was not 100%, but I am making progress listening to my comfort zone.  That is something for me.  I noticed I have not been paying attention to it and I am making myself sick.  I am a work in progress.  One thing I have noticed is that my body rebels in a not great wa...

Happy Sunday friends!  I hope you have had a fantastic Sunday!  We certainly had blessed services at church this morning.  I always feel recharged after a good service.  I was reminded at service this morning that we need to have "Great Expectations" of God.  Truly some good food for thought.   I have less than a 100 steps to get to my step goal and I am determined to hit it.  One step at a time.  I feel positive about this week.  My DD will be at camp, but I'm hoping that I can start getting my workouts back in order and get things on a schedule.  I know how I feel when I workout and I need to get started again.  My eyes are burning pretty badly so I am off for the evening.  

Good evening and happy Saturday friends!  I hope everyone is well!  I was exhausted last night and wound up dozing off before I managed to even get the computer opened on my lap. I did get up and make a run to check-in with Weight Watchers this morning.  I managed to lose 0.2 lbs in the last 2 weeks. I definitely have some room to improve that's for sure.  I was a little frustrated with myself yesterday but while I didn't get my steps in during the workday, I refused to just give in.  Although, I will admit it was tempting just to go to bed without finishing.  I walked standing next to my bed just to hit my 6,000 step goal.  I was in a similar situation tonight.  We worked on my house so I managed to get some movement in, but not quite enough steps.  I did a little walking around the house to get my last few steps in.  I am feeling pretty good that I have managed to hit my step goal this week.  It was definitely a busy week, but...

Hello friends!  Welcome June!  This year is just flying by for me.  What about you?  I am feeling pretty positive about this month and setting myself up for achieving some goals for this month.  I do need to check in at Weight Watchers so I have a starting weight, but I promised my DD that we would go to the mall tonight to try to pick up some pencil skirts.  It was a successful trip.  For the new month, my goals are: 1. Track, no matter what I eat; 2. Focus on hitting my step goal;  3. Meal Plan, even if I don't have an opportunity to prepare it ahead of time. What goals have you set for yourself for this month?   My Pastor was talking about the "Next Right Steps" and it's really giving me some food for thought.  In the grand scheme of things, it can really apply to different areas in our lives. I am hoping to share a little bit about it soon.  I should get to bed!  Hope everyone has a great night!