Trials of a Long Haired Girl

Happy Friday friends!  Finally, this has been a long and stressful week, but it's going to have a great ending!  My sweet husband is taking me to the Ultimate Willy Wonka party.  I am so excited!  Okay, seriously, this has been a ROUGH week.  With the end of the month and being down a person, it's made for a difficult week.  It hasn't been the best food week but whatever the scale says, it says and I just have to move forward.  I did listen to an interesting book this yesterday.  It's called Own Your Everyday by Jordan Lee Dooley.  She shares a declaration that I will share at the end of this blog.  She talks about being present. I found myself really hungry this week so next week, I need to focus on being more prepared with my food and snacks so that I know I have things I can eat.  Goals also include getting to the Rec Center this week so I can get some workouts in.   1. Water intake of at least 90 oz. per day. 2....

Happy Monday, friends!  Where have I been?  It was a rough week and I just never found the time to sit down.  For those of you that know me, I am not a big fan of change.  We had a big change at our office because one of my co-workers left our office for another opportunity.  I wish her well in her new venture.  Time was limited to meal prep for this week, but I really needed to be "on" this week like I was a couple of weeks ago. Breakfasts:   Chocolate Chip Pancake Bake  Breakfast Casserole. Lunches:  Hamburger Philly Cheesesteak on cabbage Spaghetti Squash and chicken meatballs Veggie Lo Mein Noodles Dinners:  Lasagna Burritos Kung Poa Tempura Cauliflower Fried Rice Salad Night Hopefully we will enjoy the Philly Cheesesteak over the cabbage.  I'm trying to keep it lower carb where I can, but I've decided for right now not to focus so much on that after my really off week. I've got ideas in my head for ...

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve!  How's your week going so far?  I want to take a moment and talk about something posted on Facebook where people have made rude comments.  Here's the thing, purely my opinion, but I think that many people are getting more rude and not thinking about how it may cause others to feel because they are hiding behind their screens.  Here's my two cents or what it's worth, just be kind.  You don't know what others may be going through.  One smile from you may change the way their day is going.  One "good morning, how are you?" even if you don't really want to know.  Even if you do not agree with someone, there is no point in being rude to them.  We are all human and we all need a little grace sometimes.  We are not perfect and we each fall short from time to time.  I guess my Mom telling me for so long to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" just stuck and I try hard to be courteous to...

Well, hello, and happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump day!  This has been a busy weekend and a weekend of trying new things.  As I may have mentioned, I am trying to focus on some lower carb options.  I found a recipe for cauliflower hash browns and decided I would try to make them as an additional to breakfast casserole.  Unfortunately I didn't have 2 packages of cauliflower rice so I decided to halve the recipe.   Here's what I did:   I used my one smaller package of cauliflower rice (10 oz. package), 1 cup of the Simple Truth Organic Cheddar and 1 egg and I added some salt, pepper and garlic powder.   They were a little more eggy than I would have preferred but I didn't have the same amount of cauliflower that she had.  They are really tasty and made a good addition to my breakfast casserole.  I'm looking forward to having them this week.  Did you try any new recipes this week?  Maybe any of the recipes I've shared?...

Happy Tuesday friends!  It's time again for Pep Talk Tuesday.  Let's talk for a minute about something we all do...and probably should do more of...sleep.  There are some nights I feel really rested, I get up and feel pretty positive...and then I get to work and start feeling tired.  Let's take a moment and talk about how to set ourselves up for sleep. 1. Build bedtime habits.  Pick a calming activity that you can do every night.  I found a great ten minute Yoga routine that I can do before bed time.  It definitely helps me.  You can also, take a bath or shower, or read a book.  It's harder when you are doing it on an electronic device.  Turn that calming activity into a routine.   2. Select a cue that triggers you to do the activity.  Set an alarm or use the end of an episode of your favorite show.  Be sure to set the cue at the same time every night so that you are maintaining a consistent schedule.  Star...

Happy Monday friends!  I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!  Mine was a bit busy, but it was good.  I got to enjoy some quiet time, but I got some good meal prepping done.  While my weigh in didn't go quite as planned, I am so seriously planning on a GREAT week!   As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.   With that being said, I was struggling to eat the breakfast casserole by the end of the week.  This week, I made two different breakfast items to give me some options.  I made a ham, egg and cheese breakfast casserole, some cauliflower "hash browns" and a pancake bake.  I also made a pancake bake for my DD.  Honestly, because I struggle having the same thing for days on end, (really how do people do that??) I try to make different things that I can have on different days.  As last week was so crazy and I didn't eat everything I prepped, I still have some leftovers for this week.  So I will use that ...

Happy Sunday to you!  It's been a minute since I've posted on a Sunday, but I'm trying to get my routines back in order since we ran away on vacation.  Weigh in yesterday was a 1.2 pound gain.  To be honest, I could be really upset by this because I was pretty good most days this week staying within my points and carbs.  However, this week was full of some stressful situations and life.  I am NOT giving up or giving in.  I'm focusing on making the coming week a MUCH better week for me.  I'm meal planning and meal prepping.  I have my calendar out right now so I can put my workouts down on my calendar.  Also, this was the first week of focusing on my WW points AND net carbs.  It's a bit of an adjustment, but I'm gearing up, making plans and making it happen for me.  169 is literally 10 pounds away right now.   What are you doing to set yourself up for success this week? 

Happy Friday friends!  We've almost made it through another week!  Wow!  For a short week, this has been a crazy week!  Feeling good about taking time to prepare some meals and components were super helpful this week!  Now to figure out what to fix for next week.  I'm thinking a bacon breakfast casserole for next week.   This week I had a nuclear stress test scheduled for this week.  Initially, I was okay and then, as the time for my test got closer, the anxiety and stress started getting to me.  By the time that I checked in and was heading to the waiting room, I broke down and started tearing up.  I made it through the test and (Thank you, Jesus!) my tests came back normal.   This is my first week trying to double tracking my Freestyle SmartPoints and my net carbs.  Not everyday has been a win, but like I said to my husband, I am certain that it's better than what it might be if I were not tracking them. Foc...

July and August had some good and bad points to them for me and my weight loss journey.  Here's the thing, I want to go back into basics with my Weight Watchers journey.  The big thing that will be different than when I first started with Weight Watchers originally is that I will be adding some walking in as well as focusing on the basics of the program.   From my weigh-in on July 28 and throughout the month of August, I lost 4.4 pounds.  I hit a low of 188.4 about mid-month, but I have not been working the plan the way I need to since then.  Since we are starting the month with a 3-day weekend, I'm going to try to get some meal prepping done so I can go into the month of September with a game plan for success.  As Benjamin Franklin says: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”  Zero point foods will definitely be a big part of my plan for this month.  I am determined to hit the 180's again this month and stay there....