Chicago Keeps Giving!

Chicago keeps giving AND feeding my addiction!

Yesterday's trip to the mailbox packed one very welcome little surprise. Sifting through the mail I caught sight of this envelope.




At first glance I thought it was an invitation I'm expecting... then I noticed it was sent from Chicago. Figuring it was somehow related to BOOBs, I set it at the bottom of the pile... save the best for last and all.

So, after sorting all of the CRAPOLA, I settled in with my little envelope. Turning it over, I saw it was from the Coach store... the one that I visited with Maria... the one where I indulged in some fabulous new sunglasses and a ring set. Opening it I found this...

One handwritten note, in which the associate actually remembered details about our visit (not just the merchandise logged into their computer system) AND one $50 gift card to use at a Coach retail store here!!!! OMG, this is seriously the best piece of mail I have received in a VERY long time!!! Now I have an excuse to visit the Coach store and shop a little more!

Maria allowed me to go smell the air in the Coach store... I fed my addiction... I fed the addiction of a certain Coach lover that we all know & love... and now Coach is feeding my addiction. Its a big circle of Coach love I tell ya! :)

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Today was pretty good for food and activity.

Ten miles on the wuss bike at the gym. Then, I came home and mowed the backyard... which took forever. Mowing the yard is to me what taking a bath is to some kids... I hate the idea, but once I get started I actually enjoy it. Needless to say, it had been way too long since I last tackled it and the grass was TALL. Even using the self-propelled feature (I usually don't use it), there were sections of grass that were very hard to push through. Then there's the monster tree out there that has decided to give birth to triplets if not more. It was a workout in itself!

Between the gym and the backyard workout I had this yummy salad for lunch.

Spinach, spicy sprouts, peas, mushrooms, tomatoes (from my backyard), shrimp & feta with Caesar spritz for dressing. YUMMY!!!!

I also spent time cutting chicken breasts into three and four ounce portions... so no excuses for not eating lean protein for quite some time... 12 pounds worth should last awhile... especially when The Boy One is still refusing to eat chicken because it comes from chicken. :)

Two NSVs today... one health related and one life related. Health related: I forgot my post-workout snack when I went to the gym today & I managed to resist the call (errr smell) of Starbucks when I was done. Life related: I made today about me, The Boy One and my home... it felt strange, but good in a way too! The yard is mostly done, we had good food together and enjoyed movie time together before he went to bed. He loves the Home Alone movies & I love to watch him be amused by them. It was a good evening.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

It Felt Good...

Despite a rough start to the day - I accidentally turned off the alarm instead of hitting the snooze button - by 12:45pm I was headed out the door to the gym. As I was puttering around the house - getting my shoes on, water bottle filled, post workout snack packed - I realized that I was already feeling energized. It felt good to go through the steps to prepare for a workout. It felt good to walk into the gym and see familiar faces. It felt good to climb on an elliptical machine and get moving. It felt good to have sweat running down my back (and I hate sweat, lol). It felt good to peddle on the bike. It felt unbelievably good to get in there and do a solid workout - not my best and not the most intense- but solid nonetheless... 30 minutes elliptical and 35 minutes on the bike.



Today was the first day in way too many days that I ate NOTHING from a restaurant or convenience store. Breakfast was a bagel thin with laughing cow cheese & some blueberries. I had some trex mix for a post workout snack. Lunch wasn't the best... a quesadilla with white tortillas and too much full fat cheese... but at least it didn't come from a restaurant. Dinner was grilled chicken salad with turkey bacon & 2% cheddar. Then after dinner I made some lemon poppy-seed muffins... which I proceeded to eat way too many of... the good news they are only about 40 calories each. Still, I'm pleased with the day overall... I avoided restaurants, sugary soda and was pretty healthy for two of my three meals.

I felt more like "me" than I have in a long time today. It felt good to make & execute a plan... It felt good to put healthy foods into my body (if we ignore the quesadilla). It feels good to get to the end of the day and not be beating myself up over caving into the temptation of a drive-thru on my way home from the gym. And high on the list of things that felt good today... all of the warm welcome backs I received from you... those comments mean so much.

Thursday is a busy day with therapy for The Boy One and Margatini night with my BFF. I don't know if I've explained margatini night before... we go to Applebees 3-4 times a month, she drinks a martini, I drink a margarita... so we named it margatini night. I generally try to eat one of their "healthier" options. I've had the steak and chicken from their 550 calorie menu.... any other ideas on tasty meals there? I'm kind of in the mood to try something new & definitely want to stick to a healthier choice.

And just for Draz... because I adore her so much... I'm finally writing my Victoria Secret post. :)

The Weekend Wrap

Before I get on to the weekend, I want to respond to the comments on my last post...

Chris - Thanks for your amusing antidotes... they made me smile. And you're absolutely right, much of my "anger" comes from the fear of knowing what she is doing to herself.

Drazil - You're so sweet for wanting to come rescue me! Its hard to know what to do... but I find myself biting my tongue a lot. She is here til Wednesday.

Josie - Thanks for your encouragement, especially when I know you haven't been feeling well. :)

K - I'm so sorry for your loss. I really do try to be as compassionate as I can. It just gets very frustrating at times because not only will she do little to nothing to help herself, but she does things that prevent me from doing what is best for me & my family (as far as living a healthy lifestyle). This post will give you a little bit of insight into my relationship with my Mom.

Okay... on to the weekend...

Saturday was a lovely day. I made these yummy chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

Then it was off to the gym. The first hour there I spent upstairs where I did 40 sets on the circuit machines, 30 core sets & 50 free weight sets. Free weights are killer because my shoulder is so freakin sore... but I've got to get it done. Then I spent about 40 minutes on cardio, split between the bike & elliptical. My energy level was way low, which was really a bit frustrating considering how much of the challenge I still have to go.

We had company over dinner... DiAnne (the peanut butter cookie baker) and Erika (the BFF, who has been better lately). It turned out to be a great time... lots of food (which I tried not to overindulge in... but I ate too many cookies for sure) & many fun games of Dutch Blitz. My Mom was even pleased because we had potatoes and something with beef in it, lol.

Sunday started with blueberry oat pancakes. I don't know what my obsession is with pancakes lately, but I could eat a variation for breakfast every day I think. Sorry I was so busy eating I forgot to take a picture, oops.

Next stop was naturally the gym. There was an "incident" at home this morning which left me with awful chest pain... so I took it really easy. I just did 22 miles on the bike & 22 sets on the circuit machines. The good news is that I'm now close to having those two parts of the challenge completed.

This wasn't a typical Sunday because I didn't get much of my prep cooking done for the week. However, I managed to get a couple batches of Lemon-Poppy seed muffins baked & some brown rice cooked. For dinner I made these boneless wings and a simple salad with Asian dressing.

It was really yummy. And, would you believe my Mom actually liked it so much she asked for the recipe??? I'm still recovering from the shock!

Speaking of recipes, should I start posting them on here?

Overall, it was a great weekend. Hope the weekend was great for you too!

She's Gone & Done It Now!

All of you lovelies who told me to come here when my Mom was driving me nuts... you're in for a "treat" because here I am. And its not a pretty visit. She has seriously gone & done it. I am just seething inside - and that's after running my mouth (just a tad) and kicking my butt for 2 1/2 hours at the gym.





Remember we all agreed that I'm going on business as usual around here - well it seems that decision will be a source of discontent. We were watching Dr. Oz & he was giving the food comparisons for different meals at Mexican, Italian, Chinese, etc. When he gave the calorie count for french toast, she went on tangent number one of the day. She literally said that she can't wait to be dead so she doesn't have to worry about food anymore! Worse yet, she said it within the hearing of my son!!! OMG, I wanted to slap her!!! And, no I would never slap her... but good grief why on earth does she think its okay to say things like that? And why would you ever say something like that where a child can hear it? She clearly has no clue the impact of hearing things like that can have on a person. This isn't the first time she's said something similar... but the most blatant. Somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to keep my cool on the outside... while SCREAMING loudly inside.





After that unpleasantness I got myself ready & headed to the gym. Walking through the door I was wishing for a punching bag, lol. My workout today consisted of 160 floors on the StairMaster, a mile on the elliptical and 10 miles on the bike. I wanted to do more... but I just didn't have the energy to keep on for some reason. I burned 1,155 calories...so not bad.





A quick stop at the grocery store and I came home to make these yummy chicken fajitas for dinner.

Guess what? She complained about the fajitas... because... they were messy!

Oh and she HATES all things chicken, unless its rolled in flour & fried. Considering the fact that my menu is chicken, chicken, chicken, shrimp, chicken, chicken and chicken until further notice... she's gonna have plenty to complain about.

Here comes tangent number two (or three if we count the chicken/fajita comments as a tangent) of the day. I was watching (ok more listening to) Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution while I was cleaning up from dinner. I made a comment about the "poor girl on there probably weighing 300 pounds or more" and her immediate response was "well then she doesn't have the right to a good life!" STOP right there because that's where I couldn't bite my tongue another second. At my objection, she insisted that she had heard people saying things like that on some talk show recently, which she may have... I don't know what she watches. The thing is & what I said that I probably shouldn't have was that she lives her life in a manner that says she believes that. Everything about the way she lives says "I'm fat so I don't have the right to a good life." Me saying that had her in tears... and I feel bad for making her cry... I just couldn't hold it in... I'd had all I could take.





Sorry for all the venting... but really you guys are all I have right now because I don't dare share this with The Husband... he'd probably really let her have it & I'm TRYING to maintain the peace around here. Thanks for "listening" to me, you're the best! I promise I have a positive, upbeat "thankful" post coming SOON!



Hope you all have an awesome weekend! :)

April's Lifestyle Goals.... and The Buffet Report

Okay... better late than never... here I am with my Lifestyle Goals for the month.

Lifestyle Goal #1 : FINISH the Around the World Challenge at the gym! Do you realize how far behind I am on this thing now?

This is what I would have to do on a daily basis IF I go to the gym on every available day between now & when the challenge ends (20 days because they are closed for Easter & I have one other day that I know I can't get there):

• 9 sets on the circuit machines


• 11 sets of core stuff


• 19 sets on free weights


• 3.75 miles on bike


• 1.85 miles on treadmill


• 1.52 miles on elliptical


• 79 floors on StairMaster

Considering that "stuff" ALWAYS comes up to interfere with my plans, I'm hoping to get it done with 15 visits to the gym, which would require this:

• 12 sets on the circuit machines


• 15 sets of core stuff


• 26 sets on free weights


• 5 miles on bike


• 2.47 miles on treadmill


• 2.03 miles on elliptical


• 105 floors on StairMaster

One minute I look at those numbers & think that doesn't look so hard... then the next I look and think "OMG, I'm gonna die before this is over" and visions of Mother's Day last year (when I was at the gym almost all the hours they were open) start swimming before my eyes. I know I can do it! After all, I'm in way better shape than I was last year when I finished the whole adventure!! And... there is that new Coach bag I'm working for... you can see it here if you missed it.

Lifestyle Goal #2: Drink one cup of water before & after each meal or snack I consume... starting tomorrow. Other than when I'm sweating like crazy in the gym, I haven't been drinking nearly enough water. I used to be pretty decent about this... don't know when I got out of the habit. If I do this 21 of 27 days (approx 75%), I will get myself a "special water glass" for at home use... something pretty, haven't picked out the exact "one" just yet.

That's it... just two goals this month... trying to keep it simple because I know Around the World takes a lot out of me. Besides, The Husband will be in pre-deployment (aka we need to be together every waking moment) mode soon so I don't want to to pile too much on myself right now.

Moving on to The Buffet Report...

Here is my first plate from last night's visit to the buffet.

Look at that... you can actually see a fair amount of white plate there! Everything in this picture was pretty tasty; I ate all of the mac & cheese, the roll, the chicken & half of the brisket. That chicken is Hawaiian BBQ with pineapple....so unbelievably good. Its probably best not to ask how much of it I consumed. My second plate had more chicken (lots more), mashed potatoes with gravy (which I took two bites of and decided they were gross) and a little corn. Plate number three (yes there was a third plate and yikes) had more chicken (seriously the chicken was amazing) and way too much corn bread. My only defense is that they had just put that corn bread out and its soooo tasty when its fresh. So yeah... I confess the buffet was carb & protein heavy... with not much to call a veggie or fruit in sight... except a few tidbits of pineapple. I do have to say it was a bit amusing walking out of the restaurant... everyone else in the family was groaning about how much they ate and how full they were while I was thinking to myself "I'm on the well satisfied side of things... but definitely not overstuffed."

Ok, now that my buffet confessional is over... I want to know...

What are your goals for April? How do you plan to reach them?

No Foolin Here...

Ladies & gentlemen (wait, do I have any guy readers??? lol), I have no time for the pranks of April Fools today... so I swear everything you are about to read is the honest to goodness truth... fortunate or unfortunate as it may be.

Remember the dinner I was going to try not to eat too much of last night? Here's my plate...

Let's just say that my plan to eat a small meal went a bit awry. I had one small spoonful of the casserole after this. Hopefully the fact that I substituted a banana for the bread & butter that everyone else ate with their meal counts for something.

And about that chicken I was looking so forward to at the casino... I ordered it, they cooked it fresh and I was excited to sit down with it - 7 "flamin' wings" - at the only remaining table in the cafe area. *Insert here that I attempted to take a pic of them, but the 300+ pound security guy that came to yell at me for using a camera in the casino was less than helpful.* The first bite, of the first wing, was luscious - spicy with just the right amount of heat - and juicy. The first three were fairly tasty. On wing #4 the trouble began. There was such a thick layer of fat between the skin & the meat that I could NOT force myself to take a second bite. Wings #5 & #6 same story! Gross, disgusting, wretched nastiness! By wing #7 I gave up & was literally picking the flavored coating off the last piece - being careful not to get any of the nasty skin. And if that wasn't bad enough, when I got up and started walking around the casino, I had the WORST stomach ache I've had in ages. Lesson learned - NO MORE WINGS AT THE CASINO!!!

And while we're on the subject of the casino. I FAILED to make my regular donation! That's right, I actually left the building with more money than I took. Not a lot more - but a little - plus I bought food there. This is one time when it felt pretty darn good to fail, lol.

As I type, I am waiting for the rest of the family to assemble themselves so we can head off to dinner - at the freakin BUFFET! Honestly, I swear I will be lucky not to undo all of last weeks progress & then some at this rate. The good news is I knew what was going on for dinner ahead of time, so I had this for breakfast...

One grapefruit with 1/2 whole wheat bagel & a scant 1 tablespoon of reduced-fat peanut butter. 310 calories... and way satisfying. Plus, I've eaten a small portion of the leftover casserole from last night, which is actually pretty low calorie other than the rice since she used 96% lean ground beef, so I won't be famished when we get to the buffet (that's if we get to go sometime before now & next year).

We spent the afternoon visiting some local antique stores... and I've got to tell ya I never knew before today that its possible to pile on the calories while shopping for things older than dirt. Every store we went to had out trays of cookies and/or candy - free for their "valued" customers. Its embarrassing to report - but I had four huge malted milk balls (they were the best I've ever tasted) and five freakin cookies (not even homemade yummy cookies, but store bought sandwich cookies). Even more embarrassing that was pretty much what ended up being for lunch too! Ugh, I can't remember when the last time was I had that much sugar in a single day, much less an afternoon.

Even after all of that, I'm looking forward to the buffet tonight. I will follow my rules & it will be fine. They have awesome food & I know in advance what is worth using calories for. And the best part, I can steer clear of anything known as "beef." I swear its like I've had a "cow relapse" or something - going from eating beef maybe once a week to having had it (omg, wait while I try to count here) four times in a 48 hour period. The Husband has been "dying" for a good steak... I think his wait just got extended by a nice long period of time. Maybe that will be his farewell dinner before he goes on deployment, lol.

One "yay me" event of this trip: I have not had a single chip the whole time! Normally not a big achievement because I don't eat chips that often. But, they are everwhere here. The Husband ate them on the way here, they have bags sitting on top of the fridge beckoning, they pull them out at lunch or for snacks in the afternoon... and though they are right there mere inches from my fingers (and my nose) I do not reach for them. I am strong. I will not bend on this... small & insignificant as it may be. Now those addictively tasty pepper jack cheese sticks in the fridge are an entirely different ball of wax - or should I say artery hardening dairy product?!?

I'm gonna try to catch up on some blogs while these SLOW people are finishing getting ready, lol. I'll be back later with my April lifestyle goals & to take care of an award I received... hopefully tonight.

What surprising places have you found mounds of goodies free for the purpose of widening your arse? I must know so I can avoid them in the future, lol!

Safeway Loves Me, The Conspiracy & Convenience Food

They really do! Look at that beautiful grocery ad for the week! Chicken breasts are on sale & we are literally down to our last three pieces of chicken in the freezer... so its perfect timing. Honestly chicken is almost always on sale at one store another so that's not such a BIG deal. But, look right next to the chicken & see BLUEBERRIES. They are buy one get one free!!!!!! I am soooooo happy about this. Blueberries are my absolute favorite fruit, but they are just too expensive for me to buy fresh during the winter unless they are on sale. Needless to say, I haven't had any in a LONG time. Frozen ones just don't do it for me... so I wait patiently for the fresh and now it appears my wait is over! Yay!



This is what I took along to kids group for my dinner last night...





And, its what I was thinking of as my Mom was munching away on her Doritos. I packed it in one of those Fit & Fresh bowls I picked up at Ross a couple weeks ago. It worked out perfectly, other than the included spoon that kept wanting to fold, lol. Breakfast for Dinner... but until I get to the grocery store again its all about getting creative in this house.

Update on the alliance/conspiracy: To be crystal clear, I have NO (well almost no) interest in what my Mom and The Husband choose to eat as long as they don't push it on me. If they want to gorge themselves on cheeseburgers & pizza more power to em. Selfish perhaps, but my main concern is making sure I'm putting mostly healthy things in my body... cuz lets be real here, I still LOVE all of those indulgent foods... but I CHOOSE to limit them. And, naturally I want to help my son learn to eat a healthy diet... I'm pretty lucky there, as he is usually happier with an apple than candy.

The best way to manage the conspiracy: To go back to the basics of what I did to lose the first 45 pounds. Novel idea right? Do what was working and put it on repeat! That means healthy foods only in the house, unless I plan for an indulgence. Restaurants limited to 1-2 times a week. Being firm about my gym time & dietary needs. And perhaps most importantly, saying a big fat NOOOOOOOO!!!!! when the time calls for it.


I took the day off from the gym... and did this with the time...






I prepared some "convenience" food... which was desperately needed. Lettuce & celery chopped... waiting eagerly to be mixed with other ingredients for tasty salads. Measured Bare Naked Fit granola, almonds and chicken & beef jerky (high in sodium... but its a weakness that I allow for once in awhile). All of the bags are labeled with the amount, calorie & fat content...so I'm reminded of EXACTLY what I'm putting in my body when I reach for a bag. Taking the couple extra minutes to do that helps immensely as I go through the week. Often, I will mix and match with the bags to get the calories I'm allotting myself for a snack; so it makes it really easy to adapt to whatever I'm craving at any given time.

Random question: What kitchen appliance do you find the most helpful in your healthy lifestyle?