Still in Recovery Mode

Song of the Day:  Macklemore - Ten Thousand Hours

Okay, I read Malcolm Gladwell's 'Outliers' and just got depressed.  Well, let me rephrase.  I read about half of it, twice, and then got depressed.  Ten thousand hours is a really long time when you're still looking at logging hour 90.  ....for those who may not know, Malcolm Gladwell found that 10,000 hours of work/practice is the difference between mediocre and great/genius.  Macklemore, who obviously put in the time, was inspired to write an amazing song about it.  Not that I have one thing in mind that I want to be amazing at, but that almost makes it worse!  Hahaha, oh well, maybe I'll pick up the book again, and just keep plugging away at everything until I find that one thing I want to focus on.

So, this week included a gain.  I'm not shocked.  I think I'm still in recovery from this past weekend!  When I got home I was up 6 lbs, and this morning I was up 2 lbs.  Probably more accurate as I'm working on catching up on sleep and getting back to eating normally.  Either way, worth it, lol.  This also puts me at my pre-pregnancy weight, so I'm not upset about it!  Just because I'm working on a lifestyle change of eating better and taking care of my body, doesn't mean that I'll never have a weekend with friends ever again.  And really, I'm pretty proud of myself for the food choices I made this weekend!  When it came to dessert of Friday night I tried one bite of the two we got to share.  I also didn't eat as much of the chips and queso as I really really wanted to (but I still had plenty, haha)!  It was amazing, and I've been thinking about it ever since, lol.  I could say I was really healthy and ate a ton of grapes instead of cupcakes, but the grapes were soaked in burbon, so that may not count as being healthy lol :)  The real problem will be if I gain again next week!

Wow, I apparently am listening to my music really loudly.  I just took a break from writing to grab coffee and a yogurt and took my earbuds out (because I think it's rude to interact with people while still wearing them) and realized that the library is really quiet.  

This week is kind of slow for school, and I know that means I should be getting ahead in my reading, but instead I'm reading tripadvisor.com, specifically looking at Aruba!  I feel like we're finally a little closer to knowing what we're doing for our vacation!  YAY!!  

Alright, time to read about how culture influences our perceptions :) 

   

A Week In Review

Song of the Day:  Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together  ...Thanks Ms. Swift for writing yet ANOTHER song that I will 'never ever ever' get out of my head :)

 My weigh-in this week shows just how ridiculous weight can actually be.  I've apparently lost 4 lbs this week.  Don't get me wrong, I am glad to see the loss, but I haven't really done anything this week to contribute to it.  I mean, I have been eating MUCH better and mainly in smaller portions than I normally would, but I haven't worked out since Friday.  But it is towards the end of TOM and that's really where the weight loss comes from; no more bloating.  It really is ridiculous what women have to go through!  

Last night for dinner I made a chicken fettuccine alfredo bake with leeks.  It was so good - and easy because it wasn't from scratch ;)  I lightly salted and put garlic powder (tons) on the chicken (1 lb) and baked them first (350, 30 minutes).  Then I shredded it and put it in a 9x13 pan.  Then I cooked penne rigate noodles for 2 minutes less than the box recommended.  I added a jar of alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup of milk and 3/4 of a bag of shredded mozzarella (I think a 16 oz bag).  Then I added 1 leek, halved then sliced.  I mixed it all up in the pan so I didn't have to deal with an extra bowl.  Then I topped with the rest of the cheese and covered with aluminum foil.  I had time earlier in the day so that's when I did my prep, and just put the pan in the refrigerator.  When it was close to time for dinner I cooked the food at 350 for 20 minutes - with the aluminum foil still on.  Then I took the foil off and continued cooking for 20 minutes (or until cheese is bubbly).  It was so good!  Leeks have a taste between onion and garlic, so they were a perfect addition.  Here's a pic of the finished product... with a few servings missing :)

Unfortunately, Kyle can't eat it, but I'll make it again when he's gone :)

This week we also had salmon and make at home pizza.  The salmon was pretty straight forward, just lightly salt and pepper and some lemon peel.  The pizza was store bought crust, store bought sauce, mozzarella cheese (also store bought, lol), and sliced pepperoni from the deli (AMAZING).  It's not from scratch, but it's still better for you than Pizza Hut!  I don't always have time to make my own sauces, and the kind people at Classico (brand) understand that.  When I buy jarred products I tend to look for the least amount of salt and sugar, but I also go by taste (I hate Ragu). 

This week's Pinterest project:

+ Carpet Powder from Pinterest: The recipe doesn't actually say how much baking soda to use, so I just used about 1/3 of the box (what I had left, but set aside 1 tsp to make chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon :) ).  I didn't have orange oil, but I did have melaleuca oil which is a natural cleaner, and smells really good!  I put a ton of drops in the baking soda until it seemed right, probably 15-20 ish.  I didn't have a parmesan cheese container, so I tried pocking holes in a mason jar with a nail.  The holes ended up too small and not enough powder came out.  I gave up on that idea and just spooned out the powder.  Our rug wasn't smelly with anything in particular, but it just needed a lift.  The powder definitely worked, and now our house smells really good!  I also like that it's ingredients that are safe and I don't have to worry about putting Caroline on the rug.  I'll definitely use this again!

Today is my last day as a stay-at-home mom.  School starts Tuesday!  I'm really bittersweet about the whole thing.  I'm sad that the kids are going to daycare, especially Caroline.  There's so much that I may miss now.  What if she takes her first step there?  I'm also concerned that Elliot and Caroline won't get to see each other and that their relationship may suffer, but I'm going to talk to daycare and see if they can possibly see each other a few times a day.  I'm not at all concerned about Elliot!  He had a play date with my cousins kids yesterday and he had so much fun!  He was so excited that after they left he almost fell asleep while eating lunch.  And it was macaroni, which is his FAVORITE.  He's really going to enjoy playing with the other kids, and I even saw some kids from his old class still there, not that he'll remember them, but still fun :)

Well, time to get ready for the 3 day weekend!  Happy Labor Day everyone!