still here...

hey ladies (and gentleman if there are any reading this)! i'm still here...wedding planning, my birthday, D's birthday, vday and our upcoming trip to europe have kept me busy and honestly i haven't really been in the blogging mood! maybe it's the cold, windy weather? i don't know.

BUT i am down 3 lbs from last monday, which is good. almost back to my comfort weight. i had a run in with the stomach flu last week but i've been doing well with low carb eating so i really think that's what it is. i'm not counting points but of course i do it in the back of my mind anyway. i haven't been getting in all my points during the work week. work has been beyond busy. my boss was fired and i've been stuck making up for his work, attending his meetings and just really not having time to munch like i used to. so i eat breakfast, lunch, i get home later than normal, eat a light dinner and that's it.

i got to the gym 3x last week and this week my goal is 3 or 4 times. i'm going to do yoga tonight (dvd). i hope everyone is doing well!! i miss blogging and i'm going to try to get back into it.

wedding planning is going well, we have a venue and picked a bakery. we're doing cupcakes instead of a cake. it's going to be so cute, i can't wait.

alright...off to do some yoga, miss you ladies!

the plan so far

so i bought jillian michael's book and i've been following her diet plan since monday. she has three seperate food lists for slow, balance & fast oxidizers (depending on a quiz you take). apparently i'm a slow oxidizer so i need a certain percentage of carbs, protein, fat at every meal.

the menu is very similar to phase 3 of south beach diet. limited breads and dairy, lots of lean protein, veggies, fruit, no soda, no alcohol, lots of water. i've done well so far, down 3 lbs so far, and feeling good. one thing i like is she tells you to track your calories with these foods, so i've been doing jillian michaels/weight watchers. i like it, it just feels like i'm making healthier choices. eating almonds, string cheese and strawberries as snacks instead of 100 calorie packs and carby things. i also have aunt flow in town this week...and it's been hard with sugar cravings but i've tried to enjoy the sugar free jello & sugar free fudgesicles. hasn't been easy but what is?

i did the wii fit monday & today and hit the gym today for 35 minutes on the elliptical. i watched oprah yesterday and she said you need to also work out at the speed where you can talk but you don't want to. i tried to do that today and realized i haven't been pushing myself nearly as hard as i can. not a surprise but something to think of.

well that's about it, hope everyones new years resolutions are going well! :)

happy new year!

this is going to be an exciting year for me...a wedding to plan, new goals to meet!

i'm very excited for all of it. i hope you had a wonderful vacation! diet starts in 3 days! :-0

ending the year right

got in 50 minutes of cardio on the treadmill (run/walk intervals) today and it felt great :)

happy new year everyone :)

i went to the gym!

and it felt great. needless to say it's been a while. i'm starting my diet on monday - 1/5 but i plan on staying as much on track as i can until then, to do damage control from last week/weekend. i only gained 2 lbs but on top of the lbs i've gained before that it's not a number i like at all. maybe i'll tell you the number when i get back to my comfort zone.

so the engagement story...we planned a trip to new york for the night and after we got there i went up to the room to change and D, my sister and my sisters boyfriend went down to the hotel bar to grab a drink. i put on this really cute outfit that i had planned out and we were gonna go to central park. well i came downstairs and D and my sisters bf (B) said they had to go back up to the room. i didnt really think much of it but i had a sneaking suspicion something was going on. so we walked to central park and there was a really long line for the horse-drawn carriages. little did i know my sister slipped one of the drivers/rides $100 and they let us hop right in. we went around the park and we hopped out to see the bridge where they shot elf. then i hopped back in really fast. (i think D was going to do it there)....we got back in the carriage and went down a ways and D asked if i wanted to go see a bridge that the driver was telling us about. so we went and i was like "well we better get back" and he said "kelly" and i turned around and he was on his knee! it was so cute and perfect and i cried like a baby. but it was unforgettable and so much fun :)

my ring:



(i can't figure out how to take the picture without it being blurry. if you have an idea let me know!)

it's so gorgeous, i can't stop staring at it :)

so there it is and here i am, on my way to being in hardcore diet mode. i'm actually really excited and wanted to try body for life or PX90...has anyone done these? i just want to do it to jumpstart the weight loss and build muscle :)

alright off to make dinner.

ENGAGED!

i'm engaged!!!!! it happened last night! more details later but this definitely puts me into a different frame of mind for my diet...i'm ready to finally do it and now i have a deadline. so happy and excited :)

but for now...still celebrating :)

first of the month & back on track

back on track! needless to say i pigged out over the thanksgiving holiday but i've done great today and i'm sure the extra LBs will be gone soon.

my plan for december: gym every work day (mon-fri) and at least 20 minutes of cardio on the weekends...so far so good. day one: DONE!

have you all seen twilight? it's good but the books are so much better, highly recommended.

alright off to watch the hills...

time to track

hey guys - been slacking a little lately but i'm back on track. i'm picking up a small notebook today and i'm going to start tracking everything i eat for the month of november and see if that works. esp with the holidays.

not much else....work is SO busy, it's insane but i guess it's good. i was asked to be a bridesmaid in my best friends wedding in may so i will definitely have an incentive to drop some LBs and get in shape. :)

apple pie ice cream is back in stores! my favorite! only 140 calories a serving and soooo yummy!!

iLove my new iTouch

D got this for me for our anniversary...and i'm OBSESSED. it is so f-ing cool.



if you need a new iPod - i definitely recommend these, internet, email, IM, games galore and oh yea it organizes music in a really cool way...so much fun!

i suck at blogging

i am not a good blogger lately. i attribute this mostly to work being SUPER busy and secondly to not wanting to go near my computer when i get off work.

but i've been doing well. last weekend was D & i's 3 year anniversary :) we went out to a really nice (and fattening) dinner downtown. it was wonderful and i dont care how many calories it was. sunday i ate some bar food while watching football and drank some beers. but the scale isn't up too far....so i'm not worried.

got to the gym 4x last week! my goal this week is 5x and i've gotten there twice already :) yipeee!

my best friend from high school just got engaged so i will be a bridesmaid in her wedding in may! its definitely motivation to drop these LBs and tone up my arms.

alright...off to get the food ready. i'm making lean turkey meatloaf that i found on the food network site. if it's good i'll let you know!!

recipe: buffalo chicken wraps

this is what i made for dinner last night...so yummy!! spicy & delicious.

2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce, such as Frank's RedHot
3 tablespoons white vinegar, divided
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound chicken tenders
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
4 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup sliced celery
1 large tomato, diced

1. Whisk hot pepper sauce, 2 tablespoons vinegar and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken tenders; cook until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add to the bowl with the hot sauce; toss to coat well.
3. Whisk mayonnaise, yogurt, pepper and the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar in a small bowl. Stir in blue cheese.
4. To assemble wraps: Lay a tortilla on a work surface or plate. Spread with 1 tablespoon blue cheese sauce and top with one-fourth of the chicken, lettuce, celery and tomato. Drizzle with some of the hot sauce remaining in the bowl and roll into a wrap sandwich. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 275 calories; 8 g fat (2 g sat, 2 g mono); 55 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrate; 24 g protein; 4 g fiber; 756 mg sodium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (35% daily value), Selenium (28% dv), Vitamin C (20% dv).
2 Carbohydrate Servings

quick monday post

hi everyone! did you have a nice weekend? mine was very relaxing...it was great.

got to the gym today and did 35 min on the elliptical and 15 min treadmill hills. not bad for a monday! off to read "eclipse" - i am loving this twilight series! can't wait for the movie to come out.

have a great night :)

gym day!

quick post - down -1LB from yesterday, so lower than my weighin last week... :) got to the gym today and did 35 mins on the elliptical and 40 min incline fast walk on the treadmill. feels good to be in the zone! :)

i'm baaaackkkk

i'm baaack! i haven't fallen off the diet wagon so thats good, i was on vacation from thurs-mon. we went to arizona! it was nice, very hot though. i don't think i could ever live there...i'd melt. ha! but surprisingly i'm only up 0.6+ lbs from thursday. not too bad but not entirely due to willpower. i came down with a nasty cold on the way there (like mid-airplane ride, gross!) and just didnt have much of an appetite. when i did eat, i would not finish my entire meal. you know how those colds are, when you have a lot of drainage from your nose/throat to your stomach. its gross, but you know what i mean. i felt icky and full for most of the trip. but it did kind of go along with what i've been doing lately. i am trying to eat just enough to be full, not stuffed. so far so good.

i was bad at exercising last week but we did a LOT of walking and we hiked a bit so i'll take it. i got to the gym today for 40 mins on the treadmill and i plan to go at least 2 more times this week. i have a show to go to after work thursday so i dont know if i will be hitting the gym during the day. even if i shower and fix my hair, its still kind of flat and i feel sweaty still. i dont want to feel that way since i'll be downtown all night, ya know? excuses excuses...but this one is a good excuse at least!!

alright...hope everyone is doing well. my goal for this week: exercise at least 3 times. what is your goal?

gym mojo

helloooo. i have been a bad blogger lately. everyday i think about blogging but it just doesn't happen. i've also been a bad gymgirl this week too but i made up for that today! here is what i did so far:
25 min elliptical
45 min treadmill (fast walk)
5 min bike
15 min walk outside

PHEW! 90 minutes of cardio so far. and i'm running errands after work too. i already feel my gym mojo coming back. it was gone last week but now i'm back on track. clothes fitting good, scale is decent, i'll take it.

alright back to work. just wanted to check in. going to get to the gym for 45 mins of cardio thursday & friday. i blew the challenge already but next week i am starting a new challenge - getting to the gym 4x. thursday night i leave for a mini vacation out to arizona so i just want to be prepared. alright...toodles :)

a quickie

hi everyone...lots to do but just wanted to give you some quickies

- going to a wedding this weekend
- found a REALLY cute dress for the wedding...a cheaper version of an herve leger dress




looks more like the one on the right. it's by a designer named adrianna papell - it's black, slinky, hugs the right places and very flattering. i've been searching for it in my size all week and i FINALLY found it at nordstrom
- still staying steady at 137...i'll take it
- haven't been to the gym all week, i'm dying to get down there but work was too busy and i had afterwork plans each day
- excuses, excuses, i know. getting to the gym next week
- going into hardcore diet mode starting monday...i'm trying to lose 3 or 4 lbs in 2 weeks.
- i will get to the gym 5x next week, lets do a challenge...anyone? carolyn?

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! :) i'll try to take some pics of the dress, it's so pretty i'm so excited to wear it :)

i'm still here

hi all! i am still here...had some PMS last week and only made it to the gym once. but i did do 60 mins of cardio that day. either way, i've been back on track since yesterday and the scale is being kind to me. only up 2 lbs which will hopefully be gone by friday.

i've been reading those new vampire books. i'm on the first one, called "twilight" - it sounds weird but its actually REALLY good. i recommend it.

watching all the premieres this week...one tree hill was extra cheesy. i loved it. 90210: not sure how i feel about it. one of the girls is playing a teenager and looks to be in her 30s. lol. i guess its just hard comparing it to the original 90210 which i LOVEDDD. what else...the hills...it gets more fake each episode i think but i still like it.

went for a 30 min walk today so at least i did that. back to the gym tmw. work has just been REALLY crazy. but i need to get back in there.

alright....off to relax! :)

checking in

doing good - didnt get to the gym today but about to go for a 30 min walk with my sister. food is good and exercise is good. just another week :)

toodles!

exercise

did a 30 min run & 30 min walk today on the treadmill. alternated every 10 mins and it felt great. very sweaty but great. i did this at 10am and had to go back to work so my hairline was a little sweaty even though i showered. but well worth it i think because i felt great the rest of the day! :) just thought i'd share...

monday...already?

well my weekend was fun. traveling down 95 though, no so much fun. all the beach traffic, it's ridiculous. it turns a 1.5 hour trip into a 3 hour trip. BLAH! but i did pretty good with eating. i splurged a little on my mom's stromboli (like a pizza rolled up) and guacamole (lots of cheese & sour cream in it). but compared to what the scale said last monday, it's down 2 lbs. so i think thats good. only up 2 lbs from friday! i'll take it.

nothing big planned for this week. i have a "stock the bar" party on saturday for one of my engaged friends. basically you buy them a bottle of liquor or wine to stock the bar in their new house. they are always fun parties. gotta try to be REALLY good this week and the goal is to get to the gym every day this week to stock up some extra points for the weekend. i'm not really counting points like i said but i still think in terms of "points" for some reason.

i'm surprisingly energized right now....so off to get a head start on work while it's quiet and no one is here yet!
have a great day!