MAIL CALL

I love getting goodies in the mail.

ESP goodies that I ordered ALMOST a month ago and that JUST arrived today.

I opened my package....

Inside was the cutest, daintiest, blingy-est (yes I made that up)

Evil Eye Pendant.

Evil eyes are believed to protect a person from

Jealousy and Evil Spirits.

I can't wait to wear this piece!

Wednesday Weigh In

So

I lost 1.2 pounds this week. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm really happy about it but yet its not even half of what I gained last week,   So in my mind I should have lost more... I could blame it on the stress of school and starting a new job, or just being in funk, or even on that time of the month, but lets face it...I didn't work out and I ate like crap for most of the week so any loss at this point is a victory!
And it allowed me to end my WW week and the month on a high note. 
So YAY for a loss...onward and upward next month!!

March will totally be my B*^$@!!!

TODAY     -1.2 lbs

TOTAL FOR FEBRUARY     -7.2lbs



Friends...

So I was going to look for some sappy friendship quote to put in this post but you know when I'm in a mood--I'm pretty much too lazy to do anything productive. lol Yes, its sad, but its so true.


But in all honesty, we don't need sappy quotes to be reminded about true friendship, we just need TRUE Friends.

A TRUE friend is one who takes AND replies to your text messages at all hours of the night.
A TRUE friend builds you up at your lowest moments and is nice to you even when you aren't being nice to yourself!
A TRUE friend takes the time to remind you of all the good in you and in your life when you can't seem to remember.
A TRUE friend helps to remind you that even on your so-called "Fat" days...you aren't fat, you are voluptuous.  EMBRACE those curves.

A TRUE friend sends you puppy flowers at work, just to make your day brighter!

THANKS NEEEESSSSSAAA!!!!!

Thanks for reminding me, more importantly...thanks for being a TRUE friend...no quotes necessary!

Picture My Life....

(the reason why I HATE stockings)

(white orchids at my MIL's house)

(on the ride home)

(Goodbye card from the office)

(how we spent Friday night!)

(GUEST Photo-taken by Michaela M.)

(I just COULDNT resist trying these on!! lol)

 

Shopping

So today we set out kind of early to go shopping for Mr. M.  Theres been a BUNCH of change in our house lately and he'll be starting a new job in another week too!! So for him that means a totally new wardrobe and while I'm super excited for him....I'm a bit jealous!! I want new clothes too! lol

My day started out like it does everyday....



(Caramel Latte)



Followed by waiting...

(Yes I am in the Men's Dressing Room...lol)





Followed by more waiting...

(Mr. M is in there trying on all his new clothes)

Followed by...

(Cup # 2 - Caramel Mocha)



In all it was a really productive day...Mr. M ended up with tons of new shirts and pants, a couple of ties AND a pair of shoes... even I got a new dress and a pair of skinny jeans that I've been wanting forever! Plus I'm sure I earned a couple of AP's from all of the walking that we did!



Don't you just love shopping & Saturdays?

It's the perfect combination!









I gotta say...today was a good day!

So Friday was about as good as Friday can get!!

1. It was Friday.
2. It was dress-down day at work.
3. It was bagel day!!!!
4. It was my OFFICIAL last day. (I start my new job on Monday morning.)
5. I had sushi for lunch. (With a bunch of my co-workers.)

(Yummy....EEL & Avocado Roll)



    6. I got flowers. (As a goodbye gift from the office)

(It's the ultimate girly bouquet...all pinks & whites)

  7.  And I spent the rest of the evening eating, laughing, and hanging out with family.

Doesn't get much better than that!!!

Treat

So this has been another one of those weeks...not necessarily bad or anything...just extremely busy with lots and lots going on....throw in a bad weigh-in and I needed a pick-me-up.

(I chose a deep purple)

So I decided to treat myself to a gel manicure!!  I don't know about you but I LOVE gel polish.  The manicure time is cut almost in half....the polish dries in like 3 minutes flat (with the help of a UV light)...and get this, you get a chip free manicure that lasts for about 2 weeks!!! Sure the cost is about double the cost of a traditional manicure but for the convenience...ITS WELL WORTH IT!!  If you haven't tried a gel manicure yet, Go. Now!

Lent

So like most people that I know, I have decided to give up a few things for Lent this year.  It is both a personal sacrifice and hopefully a step in the right direction towards by weight loss goals.  For the next 40 days I will be without the following...

• French Fries (Sigh...)
• Cookies (bye-bye Girl Scouts)
• Crackers (particularly peanut butter crackers-I have been addicted as of late!!)
• ALL meats on Mondays (Fruits & Veggies only, etc)
• Meat on Fridays (Seafood only)

Poor Mr. M suggested that I give up coffee.....UUUMMMMM....NO !!!!!!

That was sooooo not going to work... thus I celebrated with a FREE (yes free) Mocha latte from

Dunkin Donuts this morning!

Gotta love DD!!

Wednesday Weigh-In

WOW....Just wow. 

So after pretty much eating EVER-RY-THING in sight last week, I KNEW I was going to gain weight at this weeks' weigh in but 3.6 pounds?!!? SERIOUSLY?!?!!?!?!

Talk about a rude awakening!! But the silver lining in this deep, dark, rain cloud is that I know exactly what I did to cause this gain and therefore I know exactly what I need to do to reverse it!

I have a plan this week.  I will stick to it.  See you next Wednesday.

Today   +3.6 lbs.

Total    6 lbs.



Fat Tuesday....

So today is Fat Tuesday...the infamous day of rich and fatty foods and the beginning of the ultimate test of human will power and self control otherwise known as Lent.  40 days and 40 nights of pure sacrifice.

I'm such a bad Weight Watcher... since I already know that tomorrows weigh-in will be a total flop and because HEY, IT IS FAT TUESDAY!!! I decided to once again throw most of my caution and good sense to the wind and indulged a lunch courtesy of WaWa.  The only good thing is I WILL be splitting that lunch into dinner as well, so not all hope is lost for me!!

I have made the decision to give up a few things for lent this year and lets just hope that this time I can actually stick to my guns and follow through. 

Here goes nothing.

Putting in all into perspective...

This past week has been one of THOSE weeks!! I've been a bit stressed, I'm gearing up to start a new job, Grad classes are just not what I was expecting them to be and to top it all off I've had a cold.

I know the scale is not going to be kind to me this week and really I have no one to blame but myself.  Rather than use my challenges as motivation, I used them as an excuse to eat. A LOT. OFTEN.  I peeked this morning at the scale and I am up a whopping 2 pounds that I'm sure will not be gone by Wednesday morning's weigh in and you know what?? I'm okay with that.  I know what I did wrong and I know what I need to do to correct it.

Wednesday starts a new week for me and I'm ready to climb back on the wagon and ride it all the way to the finish line.  I KNOW there are going to be bumps, detours, and pit stops along the way.  I mean this is life, it happens!

I've been down this road before....I got this!

Weekly Eats

I've set a small goal to attempt one new recipe a week. This week its Bubble-up Enchilada Casserole from EmilyBites.Com (a Weight Watchers' Favorite)  Of course I had to change a few things (based on the supplies that I had handy) and mine is not quite as low points wise...but considering the portion size(it's pretty big for a main course)...and if you include your own veggies or salad....12 points is not too shabby.  ENJOY!

recipe adapted from emilybites.com

Ingredients:

24oz ground turkey
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce 
8oz tomato puree (or tomato sauce) 
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (7.5 oz) can refrigerator biscuits, cut into quarters (I used my store brand “Homestyle” biscuits)
1 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
Cumin, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Red Pepper Flakes (and any other seasonings of your choice)

 Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Season & Brown turkey in a large skillet or sauté pan.
3. Add the enchilada sauce, tomato puree and black beans and stir to combine. Stir the biscuit pieces into the meat mixture.

4. Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly.

 5.  Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

And once it was all done...you know Mr. M & I just couldn't resist a sample!

Picture my life.....

This is an idea that I found (ok........stole) lol☺from another blog that I really like and it's such a GREAT idea.

A picture of my life...One Day at A Time.

(well most of these were taken yesterday. This week has been kinda hectic, next week will be better!)

(at dinner....waiting for our table)

(in class)

(waiting for the doc)

(vehicular milestone! lol)

(You must TRY this!)

(Starting my morning)

(Strawberry Peach Sangria.  BEST. DRINK. EVER.)

Friday.

How does the saying go? Feed a cold, starve a fever?

Well I hope thats how it goes because at this rate, my cold should be gone like yesterday!!!! I have basically eaten more "points" today than I can or even care to count, my nose will not stop running, I have homework to do (along with a billion other things), I'm freezing, and all I WANT to do is crawl into bed, cuddle, and sleep!

UGH.

Extreme?? Maybe? But not really!!

I love, love, love a good coupon and getting a great deal, so like most people I know, I have been both impressed and inspired by watching the show "Extreme Couponers" and while deep down inside I'm a bit envious of thousands of rolls of free toilet paper, I know my limits! I am in fact much too lazy to even attempt such a feat.  I mean seriously, who has 4 extra hours to go around dumpster diving for coupons and then clipping, sorting, and meticulously filing said coupons?!?!?! I'm just happy if after a full week of work (and 2 grad classes), that I can manage to make it out of bed before 11am and head to the supermarket, let alone make an entire day out of it!

But yet, yesterday morning AND last night I lived out a small part of my extreme couponing fantasy.  Due to a GREAT deal that ShopRite was having (that they have since changed due to the likes of me and "extreme couponers" everywhere!! lol) I was able to snag the following....

30 Bottles of Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea and Sobe Life Waters for FREE!!!!!!!

Well actually I did have to pay some sales tax but it only came to about 75 cents which is basically free which happens to sound soooooo much better!! 

So YAAAYYYY Free juice

Now has this event totally changed my mind on the whole "extreme" aspect of couponing?? Probably not, and while I'd love to have a surplus of anything, for right now 30 bottles of free juice is a good start! I'm gonna be sippin' pretty for a while!

Stay thirsty my friends!

Kicking & Screaming....

Coffee.

The lifeblood that drives the dreams of champions.

Clearly my husband knows this.

Cleary my husband thinks I'm a champion.

I have a great husband!

Wednesday Weigh-In

So if you know me (or have least read my short intro) you'll know that I'm currently on Weight Watchers for the 2nd time! The first time around was great...I lost 50 pounds, then proceeded to lose my motivation.  Needless to say, I thought it surely had to be the program and not me, so I canceled my online subscription and decided to try it on my own!

Fast forward almost one year and 20+ lbs (gained) later and I'm back on my weight watchin' weight loss journey.  This time I hope I stick around for good!

So as an attempt to keep myself accountable, I'll be sharing ALL of the details with you, Good or Bad!

Today -2.2lbs

Total -9.6lbs

Don't know how I managed that one, but I'll definitely take it.

Lets hope that next week can be just as good!!  I'm actually gonna try to get in SOME form of exercise this week (definitely NOT my thing-lol) and plan out a better menu. 

Keep your fingers crossed....we'll see what happens!!



On Valentines Day and EVERY DAY....

I love you more than I love french fries.

And we both know how much I love French Fries!!

The only thing better......

Than Coffee??

FREE COFFEE!!!!!

Thanks Dunkin (Gotta love coupons!!)

SuperSTAR

So Saturday evening amongst the snow and FREEZING cold, Lisa and I headed out to Party at Yakatori Boy with Adrienne in Chinatown.  After driving around for about 20 minutes...we secured a PRIME parking spot, only 3 blocks away! lol

So what happens when you combine 2 friends, 2 mics, & a couple of drinks?!?! Probably the most moving, heartfelt, rendition of Michael Jackson's Ben to ever be performed!!!!

 

The evening of course was not complete without an awe-inspiring performance of "I Will Survive" performed by yours truly! It's my signature song and trust me, if you are ever lucky enough to attend Karaoke with me, you WILL see me sing it!!

(Go on now go...walk out the door)

In all, it was a GREAT night. Caution was thrown to the wind (I'm on Weight Watchers) There was singing, dancing, drinking, more sushi and "Japas"consumed than I care to admit and of course CUPCAKES!

HAPPY 30th ADE!!

Mail Call

So I love coming home to something other than bills and junk mail.

After being a member for months...I finally broke down and made my first purchase from Kim K endorsed Shoedazzle.Com. 

So far so good!

I ABSOLUTELY could not resist the Minden Bag.  With 6 different colors to choose from, I finally settled on Red (with the help of Mr. M of course!!) Deep red with golden accents and hardware, this bag is HOT and well worth the price (I'm cheap AND on a budget) and definitely helped to end my work week on a exciting note. 

It'll be making it's debut tonight for Girls Night Out!!

"Yes there were times, I'm sure you knew
when I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
and did it MY WAY!"


Welcome to my world....enjoy the ride! lol