week two

another week without my beloved chocolate.
even my one-piece-a-night supply has dried up
and i didn't think it was the smartest diet move to go out and buy more.

i'm without carbs, alcohol, fruit and sugar.

(i've given up on not eating any diary, but i keep it in small doses.)

and another week saying "no" over and over again.

things have gotten harder and easier both.

one of the hardest things for me is breakfast.

let's see, what do i normally eat?

cereal, waffles, smoothies, pancakes, biscuits, yogurt.

how much of that can i have?

zero.

me and eggs are trying our best to get along,

but i'm getting kind of sick of them.

the thing that is getting way easier
is my need to snack.
i would always snack in between meals.
especially in the afternoon.
i don't even really think about it anymore,
but if i do get hungry, i make myself a cup of tea.
i know that sounds weird, but it works for me.

and i did have a cheat meal.

the girls from work have started a dinner club

and we went to a thai restaurant and i had pad thai.

i mean, hopefully one meal will not kill everything else,

but i felt bad after eating it anyway. blah.

for week three my goal is to get my fitness on.

the combo of the diet and exercise should

help with additional weight loss.

should.

we shall see.

total loss this week: 2 lbs.

for a grand total of 6 lbs.

fading away

i wear a lot of black.

in fact, in college, most of the time you would either find me in

a delta zeta t-shirt or a black shirt.

i didn't really feel the need to expand my color palette

and so to this day i have one drawer just for my black shirts.

i'm glad to say that over the years, i have decided that

color is not the enemy and added to my wardrobe,

but still,

black is my best friend.

however, i don't want to buy all new black shirts every year.

and it's the quickest color to fade.

so i was trying to figure out how to salvage

a whole drawer full of clothes that was fading fast.

enter, RIT.

it's a fabric dye that you can put in your washing machine.

i bought two boxes of black at hobby lobby

and decided to give it a try.

i used the hottest water cycle

with the coldest rinse.

i only did about 4 or 5 shirts,

all cotton or cotton blend.

and all the directions are on the inside of the box.

everything turned out perfect.

in fact, i threw some old shoes that i love

but had turned into my old paint shoes

and were basically gray.

use your magnify glass and you can spot them from this old pic:

and now, back to black. yay!

i still have my second box of RIT for my sweaters,

but i'm putting that off since winter is o.v.e.r.

oh and ps - don't forget to do another cycle

with nothing in your washer but detergent and bleach

to rinse out all the dye before you add any other clothes. 

hope you can salvage some of your black (or any other color) too! 

sock it to me

as a fair warning, the pictures involved in this post

could be used against me in "worlds most awkward photos" contest.

but nevertheless, i'm going to go ahead and share.

i have done this to my hair a couple times but wanted to share the process

1 - because the girls at work wanted to see the "sock curls"

and

2 - because my bff is no longer using heat on her hair

in hopes of having gorgeous long locks at her wedding [in 2 years]. 

yes, that's right.  she's planning ahead.
i thought this could be something she could do
 in case she wants to get fancy.

the sock method uses no heat,

but does require you to prep your hair the night before.

start with clean, dry hair.

oh and apparently makeup is also an option. wah wah.

spritz your hair with water to dampen.

and then put your hair in a super high pony tail right on top of you head.

i put my in two pony tails because my hair is so thick.

[this is where the weird/gross pictures come into play]

cut the toe end of your sock off.

roll the sock into a donut.

pull your hair through the donut hole

and fold the ends of your hair around the sock.

continue to roll your hair down over the sock.

reminder: normally you would only do one of these but i'm doing two,

 which is probably not necessary unless you have super long or thick hair.

this is also where i asked my assistant,ronaldo, to take a picture of the top.

he couldn't decide which joke to make first

and then he asked me to never do this to myself again.

clearly, he's not a star wars fan.

then, just go to bed and sleep on it.

in the morning, unroll the socks from your hair and take out the ponytail.

and that's it.  perfect, easy curls with no heat and no mess.

(you'll notice i had a few bumps at the top of my hair

where the ponytail had been.  i just took my hair straightener

and smoothed those out.)

donzo. and love it.

eat mor chikin

i went over to lindsay's parent's house a couple weekends ago for dinner

and was so impressed with her mom's menu that i had to know the secret,

and then try to recreate it.

it is perfect for my diet and i knew ronaldo would love it too.

friday night we had no plans so i thought i'd give it a shot.

turns out, its the easiest meal and pretty healthy too.

the first time i had it, she used chicken breast

but all i had in the deep freeze was boneless/skinless thighs

so that's what i used.

just rub them up in olive oil.

sprinkle on some season salt.

and cover in crunched up corn flakes.

bake in the oven at 350 for 40 minutes.

that's it. wah la.

for a side linds' mom made asparagus

and since i had some in the fridge

i thought i would do it up right.

brush olive oil on the asparagus

and then lightly sprinkle garlic salt to taste.

broil on low (250 degrees) for 12 minutes.

and then i made up a side of rice [for ronnie].

it's a really easy meal

with very few ingredients

and we loved it.

bon appetit!

week one

are you tired of reading about my dieting?

i'm just as tired of having to do them.

trust me.

but with spring here and summer around the corner

something must be done.

so i reverted back to my college days

and the one thing that worked for me.

south beach.

my parents bought the book when they
were each told they had high cholesterol

and we all went on the diet together.

i lost almost 20 lbs.

that was back in 2006.

and mostly, i've kept it off.

but since last august i have put on 9 lbs.

and been trying my darndest to pretend it's not there.

but last friday i hit a wall.

and decided it was time.

and so i started.

i've said this before

and i believe it to be true:

the universe actually prefers me to be fat.

i'm not kidding.

most nights i have to beg ronnie to get ice cream.

last saturday, i come home and there was a
smores concrete in the freezer for me.

son of a bitch.

i tossed it down the drain.

and proceeded to define the word 'supportive' to ol' ronaldo.

on monday we got a brand new stock of mini candy bars at work.

reese's, snickers, peanut M&Ms, kit kat, you name it.

and then, on tuesday, a coworker treated us to ice cream.

i put mine in the freezer and brought it home for ronnie.

of course, i knew it would be hard, but come on.

free desserts everywhere i turn? not fair.

instead i've been trying to do this:

no carbs, no fruit, no sugar, no dairy and no alcohol.

you are left with lots of protein and veggies.

of course i cheated.

i put ranch and cheese on my salads.

i ate one peice of chocolate a night.

and i had a glass of wine.

so sue me.

i get to add more things back into my diet as the weeks go by

but i feel like if i can keep this up

and add a little exercise

i could maybe, possibly be ready for the dreaded S word:

and as of this morning,

with one week under my belt,

i have lost 4 lbs.

thank god.

trending: colored jeans

i heard on fashion police that printed pants are in style this spring,

but right now, i'm loving me some colored jeans.

i just bought another pair, mint green.

here they are with my new shirt and a navy blazer.

and again, with a nude shirt and wedges.

this could also be cute with black or white,

so i feel like i have some options on how to wear them.

i have my eye on a taupe pair i think are super cute

and my purple ones are still one of my faves. 

plus, one of my bff's has a red pair that i might have to borrow.

aren't they fun and perfect for spring?

a little safer than printed pants

and probably a bit more flattering.

a wrinkle in time

a girl i work with met my brother

and thought i was the older sibling.

time for some wrinkle cream?

son of a bitch.

gray hair and now this?

shopping spree

i've been picking up a few things.

a little bit of this.

and a little bit of that.

to start, i got a new shirt and a new ring.

(thank you, old navy and modcloth)

and then i decided i should get back to the basement,

so i finally bought a black bed skirt, a few bed pillows,

one decorative pillow, two night stands and two baskets.

[don't tell ronnie.]

but actually, i got a really good deal.

the pillows were on sale for $6 each. 

i bought the nightstands because they were $13 a piece. 

hello, TWO nightstands for $26. i didn't even know that was possible.

the two baskets were half off totalling $18 for both.
i forgot to take a picutre but they are real light color with rope handles.
reminds me of the beach.  and i stuck them in the two bottom shelves of the bar.

and finally the throw pillow, which was ridiculous at $30,
but it reminds me of a beret and carrie bradshaw's dress when she arrived in paris.
so really, i couldn't say no.

plus i didn't look at the price tag and was shocked when i checked out.

oh well, that makes up for all my other deals.

so there you have it.

i can't wait to put it all together.

 

easter best

this year we spent easter with my side of the family.

so we packed two dogs, some fruit salad and headed to warrensburg.

we had our traditional lamb for easter dinner
 and ate outside on my parent's deck.

then my cousin and my aunt went out looking for
wild asparagus and came back with bags full.

[this is pretty standard for my family.  my grandparent's farm has always
 had wild asparagus growing on it and yearly we get to try some fresh.]

after, my mom hid easter eggs for the kiddos

and then again for ronzo, brian, jaime and me.

that's right.

we're all around 30 yrs old and still hunting eggs.

it was a perfect day.

[all pictures thanks to my cousin, kelly, the photo queen.]

madeline on her search for eggs

easter lilies my mom got me.

 madeline, still searching.

 easter bunny cake pops - a la aunt margo

 my two cousins on an easter egg hunt.

hope you had a happy easter too!

lady my ass

we had an amazing time at the lady antebellum concert
and acted like anything BUT ladies.

actually, we had an amazing time even before the show started.

lots of talking, drinking, and silly pictures.
once at the concert, we thought double fisting would be
the most appropriate way to go.
you know, less walking and all.
we're nothing, if not thinkers.
and all too soon the concert was over.

so we made it back to dana's for the post party.

sleepovers are few and far between at age 28.

but that didn't stop me and my besties from cuddling up on friday night.

nights like these remind me why

when push comes to shove,

i've always got my girlfriends.

and that's something.

we owned the night.

thursday in pictures

linds, shan, her kiddos and i took a mini-roadtrip last night to visit jana and max.