Monday, February 28, 2011

the stork had to turn around

just when i thought the stork was done for a bit delivering little baby surprises - i got this.


miss reese shared some big news on her 2nd birthday - - she was going to be a big sister!
i need to get a grip because i am just so freaking happy for shannon.
(one of my bff's from high school and college roommate)
her family is adorable and this is the perfect thing for them.  
see, i'm not lying when i say adorable. 


now add another baby. it's too much cuteness for one family.
love. love. love.  

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

turning 80

can you imagine?  my grandma is eighty years old.  the stories she can tell.
so to celebrate my family threw her a surprise party over the weekend and invited her friends. 
(yes, surprisingly enough, 80 year olds still have friends.)
my mom and her sisters did a lot of work, but it was so good - - grandma even got a little teary eyed.



the rough part?
the two lasagnas, lemon poppy seed cake, stuffed mushrooms, ham roll-ups, pecan tarts, chocolate-caramel squares, cream cheese & cucumber sandwiches, cookie dough brownies ...and salad.

can you guess what i had for dinner?  the salad. 
shoot me now.

****
don't ask me what i had for lunch - - some of those other options somehow appeared in my mouth.  diet be damned.

Friday, February 18, 2011

friday weigh-ins

holy shiz - i lost THREE POUNDS in 5 days. 
sweet jesus, it's a valentine's day week miracle.


and here's how it happened.
i was emailing one of my long lost college friends/sorority sisters/diet guru and told her i was feeling a bit chunky after the holidays and asked her for some advice. 
 this is what she wrote back:

As far as diets go... I would recommend the following

Egg whites (I get egg white beaters at the stores so they are all ready to go)
Put in whatever you like to spice them up - peppers/onion/turkey/feta cheese/ spinach etc.
If you like sweet potatoes I would recommend eating a small one with breakfast- Its good to eat a good carb with a protein, esp in the morning. I would poke holes in it and microwave it for like 6 minutes- nothing on it- I actually love it this way.

If you are working out at all I would recommend buying EAS protein shake for women- its the one with 17g of protein. Its amazing but you will notice a huge difference and you will see results as far as looking trimmer/leaner/ and stronger. I would have this as your snack- if you not working out you can still have one but sub it as a meal then- the chocolate are really pretty good.

Lunch I would do salad with tuna... or chicken but eat chicken the least- things like tuna and turkey are broken down quickly- I just read all about chicken and how a lot of specific blood types take much longer to metabolize chicken. I would say its still a good protein but limit it to a few times through out the week.

Dinner again I would do a big salad, any kind of fish, anything green with a protein. I would recommend getting all of your carbs in early.

Coffee is ok but limit the intake and DRINK TONS OF WATER. Go get a liter water bottle and drink 3 of them a day- sounds crazy and you will pee a lot but you will be soo impressed you will be peeing the weight off- so many benefits your skin will feel hydrated and clear- your hair will be shiny- you won't feel bloated- and you will seriously lose weight 2x as fast. If you don't do anything at all above that I mentioned but you drink 3 liters of water a day I still guarantee you you will lose weight.

Now that I prob bored the shit out of you with a diet plan- I am sure you were not excepting this but do me a favor follow it religiously for at least 10 days and tell me what you think!! If not, that is okay too :o)

isn't she amazing?  now here's exactly what i did:
first of all - i was on the treadmill twice and went to kickboxing class once.  i still plan on working out once or twice more before sunday is over.  my goal is between 3 - 5 times a week, depending on my schedule.
now for food.
for breakfast i would eat 1-2 eggs (not beaters because i forgot to buy them at the store), scramble them up with turkey, a tiny bit of cheese and add onions and peppers if i felt like it.
i bought sweet potatoes and would eat that mid-morning at work when i was having a snack craving.  pretty brillant, huh?
i've been eating only fish, shrimp, tuna and turkey.  i did have chicken once and i'm having it again today, but i'm really trying to cut back.  i had never heard that chicken wasn't the greatest thing, so i normally have it everyday.  i love chicken.
i pair my protein with a salad and vegetables.  i even tried a new one - asparagus (not that i've never had it, but i've never actually been the one to cook it).
i've also been drinking between 3 - 4 liters of water a day as i noted here.
ps- 1L = 33oz.

and now how i cheated:  (cue the "wah wah" music)
1. like i said above, i have been eating eggs and not egg whites.
2. i have had a piece of dark chocolate after dinner 3 out of the last 4 nights. yes, i am that weak for chocolate.
3. i never bought the protein shake.  i've tried protein shakes in the past and hated them and didn't want to waste my money trying a new brand. 
and 4. i had ranch dressing on every salad instead of the healthy vinaigrette choice.

AND I STILL MANAGED TO LOSE WEIGHT!  wahoo!
3 down. 12 to go. 

Thursday, February 17, 2011

the stork is gearing up again

that's right, another baby is on the way!
and this time it belongs to my lovely college roommate, marge.
although - i heard it through a friend,
(ahem - marge, you totally should have called my ass)
but she meant for me to find out through email by sending this little number. 


how cute. 
her and her husband started dating in september, got married in september and now is expecting a little bean in september.  september 5th.

i'm so happy to be an auntie again!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

floating away

my new goal this week:
drink 3 liters of water a day. 


before now i always had a 32oz. jug at my desk. 
i normally got through one of these and on a good day, i could down two.

i am now drinking 3 and that is only from the hours of 7-3 while at work.
yesterday wasn't hard.  and right now its a little before 8am and i already have one done.

minor problem: get ready to run back and forth to the restroom all day. 
the goal: healthier skin, hair, and waist line.

Monday, February 14, 2011

happy valentine's day


although i'm spending v-day alone - i'm still feeling the love
mr. cox has class tonight from 5 to 9, so i'll be spending the evening enjoying what i like to call "puppy love".  just me and my dogs. 

so here's to romantic dinners, beautiful flowers, creamy chocolates and being with the one you love.
enjoy yours.  

Friday, February 11, 2011

more seating

our new sectional and cocktail table was delivered yesterday two weeks early!
(i did a little dance when i got the call)
i was just so excited to have the movers bring it in, i didn't really think about the placement of things.
turns out, ronnie and i had to move that sucker three times before i got it how i liked it. ronnie is still on the fence, but i think it looks good.
the rug i bought before christmas finally got brought up from the basement and is now being used.
this is before:

and this is after:

we brought home this chair from illinois a year ago when we went to visit ronnie's mom and i cannot wait to have the thing reupholstered.  right now our room is a little lopsided.  too much weight on one side.  i think this chair will help balance things out if we put it right here:


and lucky me - the furniture store will sell me the fabric i picked out for my throw pillows on the couch, so everything will coordinate.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

blogger vacation



not quite yet, but i'm just so darn excited about a CRUISE we booked on sunday. 
seven days in the caribbean.  my dream. 
and the best part is my best friend, kass and her bf, chris are coming with us!
august is 6 months away - how am i going to last that long!?
i. can't. wait.  
we are going
and

pass the suntan lotion and the margaritas.  i'm ready.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

my own super sunday.

today was more than just super bowl sunday. 
my best friends all got together (for the first time since july)
and had lunch.  sounds simple, but it makes me so happy. 
we lost katie last week and kassie is really doing well with it.
mr. mason will be a month old next week and dana is one proud mamma.
mauri made the drive up from dexter to be there for both her friends and
i thought this called for a little time for all of us to  get together.


we had lunch and then sat around to talk for the next couple hours. 
and all the kids finally met and it was the. cutest. thing. ever.



super bowl sunday to you.  super friend sunday to me.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

master your craft (#2)

so what do you do when you are snowed inside for three days by yourself?
get crafty.

i read 3 books, watched 2 movies, had all the laundry done and decided it was time to actually get up and do something.
if you remember in my "what i want for christmas" post, i listed one of these.


i had all the necessary materials so i went at it. 
and i love the outcome.
it's now hanging on our front door.



next up, either coffee filter trees or another wreath - - this time from pages out of a book.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

keeping warm

it's the blizzard of 2011.  i've been at home for 3 days and it's kind of killing me.
one of the things that get me through is my dad's hot chocolate recipe.
no peppermint, no nutella, no cinnamon.  this is good old fashion hot chocolate.
it's amazing and a little fat.


1. take one strip of hershey's chocolate bar, a spoon full of marshmallow fluff, the hot chocolate mix and put it in the bottom of your mug.
2. poor hot water 2/3 full directly over the mallow and chocolate bar - melting them.
stir until it's all dissolved.
3. fill up the rest of the cup with half and half and stir.
4. add another marshmallow on top.

believe me - it's heaven.
enjoy!