A burst of creativity

I taught myself how to knit from a book when I was maybe about 10 or 11 years old. Since then, I have actually become pretty advanced, though I haven’t seemed to have as much time to devote to it like I used to. In the past I have made sweaters, bags, scarves - you name it. I even knitted a skirt for myself (which I never wore...it was a little too small! :(.)

The other day I had a sudden urge to knit, so it was lucky for me that I had an in-progress project just sitting there waiting for me. I think the last row I knit on this one was on the plane to Jamaica in January and I haven’t touched it since. The pattern is from Moda Dea and it is a one-piece strip that you twist and sew together to create this little wrap. I started it because I wanted something easy and mindless at the time. You can wear it as shown or with the twist in back. I am knitting it in hot pink! Well, the color is actually called Aurora Pink...it is the middle shade in the photo below.

Moda Dea Wrap Sweater

Classic Elite Ariosa in Aurora Pink

In addition to the wrap project, I started searching online for decorative things I could make for the house. I found this pattern for a crocheted "urn" on the Vogue Knitting website. It comes from their “hipper” knitting magazine, the now defunct (I think) Knit1. I used to subscribe to this magazine, so I searched my old issues and was so excited when I found it on my bookshelf, because I would have had to pay for the pattern online.

This looks like a simple project that will bring my crochet skills out of submission. I hope. I’ll post some pictures when I finish it, and of course, my hot pink sweater. ;)

Last week’s healthy challenge results

Well, I started off so strong with the first week or two of blogging, and then dropped off. Whoops! Time to get back to work! I haven’t had any specific topics come to mind in the past few days.

The last time I posted, I was mortified by the fact that I had such an unhealthy weekend, and was feeling a little, um, puffy. So last week I took counteractive measures by eating healthy every day with no desserts, lots of water, and exercise. Lo and behold, come week end I was down by about 3 pounds! It just goes to show what I would look like if I ate like that all of the time.

This week started off rough since I met two of my friends at Maxie’s Southern Comfort last night—a place I actually try and stay away from because I always overeat. And I did—again! But it was a treat and I never get to see them, so I didn’t feel that bad. Back on the bandwagon today.

Attack of the killer eating weekend!

I say this every Monday after a long indulgent weekend, but this Monday I really mean it!

I usually eat really healthy during the week, aside from the nightly dessert I almost always have. But I always find that as the week wears on, I start to feel like I really need a treat! So I’ll have a glass or two of wine…then we’ll go out for a night of dinner and drinks…then we’ll have a family function where there is an endless assortment of snacks, desserts, and other yummy foods…and more wine or drinks!

Obviously, I have no intention of giving my treats up completely. But I really could use a little more discretion!

For example, yesterday we went to a tailgate/baseball game. Among the food options were macaroni and cheese, potato salad, chips, burgers, brats, and hot dogs. Actually, there was a veggie tray too, but did I eat any veggies? No. Instead I had some of everything else, in addition to cookies, a margarita, a little kettle corn, and then some pizza! And this in addition to the other things I ate over the weekend...probably too overwhelming to list!

Now anyone can tell you this is more than just a little overindulgence! Not only that, but after consuming it all, I was totally lethargic and feeling gross about myself. The worst part of it all? When I stepped on the scale this morning, I weighed the most I have in 7 years!

So, yeah…something has to give. I have no intention of letting this continue. Today I signed up a for a food tracking website, and I am going to be diligent about this! It isn’t all about weight, though that is part of it. It also has to do with my health overall. I think about how bad I physically feel when I eat badly or drink too much (stomach hurts, feel tired, urge to drink countless jugs of water) and that in itself makes me want to stop eating this way.

In the good old days, I was very good about eating strictly healthy during the week, followed by mostly healthy weekends aside from a night out for dinner. It is time to bring those days back! So this is my pledge that “healthy Monday” is going to last more than one day this time—it will last all week (and beyond!) I will have a report on how I did next week.

Wish me luck!

Say hello to my new friend!

Those who know me know that I love all skin care products and I love to try new things. In fact, at one point while I was at my last job (which I disliked, to put it mildly) I briefly considered becoming an esthetician! But then I decided I didn’t want to waste the years I spent on my college education. Anyway.

My most recent skin care purchase is this amazing little tool, the Clarisonic Mia. I heard good things about the full-size Clarisonic tool, but was not prepared to shell out the $200 that it cost. For those who have not heard of it, the Clarisonic is manufactured by the same people who created the Sonicare electric toothbrush.

After reading some reviews online, I discovered that the Clarisonic has a little sister named Mia, who does everything the Clarisonic does with a few less features. It is meant to be a travel size version, but honestly, I can’t imagine why anyone would need both! The Mia retails for about $150, but with my online sleuthing skills I was able to find a coupon code that brought the price down to $120 including free shipping.

It comes in white, yellow, and pink—so of course I went pink. When I received it, I was surprised that it was considered “travel size” because it seemed pretty full size to me. You need to charge it for 24 hours right out of the box, so I couldn’t use it right away.

The next day, I was ready to get to work! You put your cleanser on the brush head, turn it on, and then slowly move it around your face for about a minute. The brush spins and almost has a vibrating effect. It almost feels like you are buffing your face…I like to think it is slowly erasing the small furrow developing on my forehead due to so much frowning!

The next day (and every day since) I can’t believe how much smoother and fresh my skin feels. It is like getting a facial every day. They say that the one of the main causes of dull, older-looking skin is lack of exfoliation, so I feel this is well worth the money. Think about how much you spend on face products and treatments and the cost of this doesn’t seem too bad. At this point in my life I feel that it is worth it to invest in products like these that can help me take care of my skin and keep it looking good for years to come!

Some other notes—this is cordless and you can use it in the shower if you want. It only has one speed (full size has two) but this doesn’t matter to me. Also, they recommend using it twice a day, but I only use it once. No need to overdo it.

Healthy lunch ideas, please

For years, I have had a love/hate relationship with my old lunch standby: the turkey sandwich. Since it is easy and relatively low fat and calorie, I just always tend to buy turkey when I go to the store.

Finally, I have to say “no more,” at least for awhile. It’s getting to the point where the thought of a turkey sandwich makes me want to gag—unless of course it is loaded with mayo, cheese, and on some good bread (which is exactly how I usually don’t make it!) So I Googled “healthy lunch work” and came up with a few ideas

• ½ of whole wheat pita bread with hummus, a little bit of feta, cucumbers, red peppers, and tomatoes.
• A whole wheat pita or tortilla with vegetarian refried beans (I actually like these cold!), lettuce, salsa, veggies, and cheese.
• Apple with a tablespoon of almond or peanut butter (more like a snack, obviously).
• Barley (I don't like rice that much) cooked, and prepared with any combination of veggies you have on hand, maybe some feta, pinenuts, or regular nuts, with a teaspoon or two of olive oil and lemon juice or red wine vinegar. You can also add chicken or other meat if you have it on hand. The barley doesn’t get soggy, which is a plus. You can also make this in advance and eat it over several days. Light and refreshing, especially for summer.

Those are just a few ideas I came up with that seemed easy to prepare and filling. Obviously, there are many more, so if you have a great idea, share it here!

Delicious cajun jambalaya cooking experiment!

In my constant attempts to try and eat healthy, fresh foods while not sacrificing any flavor, I decided to try a new recipe I found in Clean Eating magazine. I don't claim to be a clean eater all of the time, but it certainly doesn't hurt to try. I would love to be able to say I eat this way each and every day, but it just doesn't seem totally realistic to me.

The recipe is Cajun Jambalaya and I thought it seemed easy enough, especially since you cook it in foil packets in the oven. No mess! I wasn't sure what to expect, but all I can say is this was absolutely amazing! My husband was also impressed. It had so much flavor!

You can't find the recipe on the Clean Eating website, so I'll post it here.

1/2 lb. raw shrimp, 26/30 size, peeled and deveined, tail on
4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 all natural low-sodium turkey sausage (I cheated and used two. I also couldn't find all natural or low sodium at the store I went to!)
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced (I used a red pepper since I am not a fan of green)
1 rib celery, diced
1 1/2 medium vine-ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp. salt free cajun seasoning (I didn't have salt free so I used regular.)
1 cup all natural instant brown rice (I used one package since I didn't want to waste the rest. It probably equated to about 1 3/4 cups.)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Olive oil cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degees.
2. Mix all ingrendients in a mixing bowl, except for olive oil spray.
3. Create two foil pouches by folding up sides to hold in liquid.
4. Spray foil with olive oil spray (I accidentally forgot this step and mine turned out fine!)
5. Divide mixture between two pouches. Fold up sides to create a seam and then fold in ends.
6. Place on baking sheet and bake for 25 min., or until your protein is cooked through (25 minutes was perfect for mine.)

This recipes makes 4 servings. 339 calories, 5g. fat per 1 1/2 cup.
Enjoy!!

I’m Back!

You might not know it, but this blog has actually been around for about a year. Granted, I only posted about three times during that time period, but the blog did exist!
I decided to delete the very few posts I had, simply because they are no longer relevant. So much has changed since then—I have a new job, new husband, and practically an entire different life, so I decided to start fresh!

I don’t know exactly what I’ll write about here, but I hope it is a little bit of everything that I love, whether it be shopping finds, new recipes I’ve tried, or fun places I visit.

Stay tuned for more soon!