Monday, October 31, 2011

A weekend of surprise...

This weekend I jetted off to Colorado for a pretty impromptu visit. Two weeks ago my sister helped me book tickets to visit my grandma and aunt, and it was even easier to surprise them since she was out there and could pick me up from the airport. The few friends and family I told kept it a secret, which can be hard now a days with facebook and what not.

We surprised my aunt and grandma on their Friday afternoon coffee run. After they came in and started ordering their drinks, I popped around the corner and surprised them. It was a very happy, uplifting moment!

We spent the weekend relaxing, partaking in some Halloween festivities, and having some great meals as a family!

These are the moments that make life exciting and I am so glad I took the time to book a flight, and head out of town, even if it was just for the weekend!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

A weigh in...

I thought it would be beneficial to start tracking my weigh-ins on here! Over the summer and the first part of fall, I have slowly added about 10 pounds back on my frame. It has always been easy for me to fluctuate between a 5-10 pound range all my life...my weight is never consistent, especially if I am not paying attention. That said, I am tracking again, almost 100%. I went over my points this week, but I tracked almost everything. AND, I am down 2.3 pounds this week...just goes to show you that my body did not want the added weight. This weight loss even came after enjoying some triple chocolate crazy good cake at Chaz's Halloween party.

Now I just need to get my workouts back. With a sore knee and a crap load of stuff going on, I have not been consistent...I need to be consistent! I know weight loss is a journey, and we go through hills and valleys. I don't need to loss weight every week, and if I need a day to just indulge, I will, but I will also come back and keep pushing. Moderation is key and if I indulge, then I just need to cut back somewhere else.

Here's to a good week of good eats!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

fall+food=comfort

Dinner tonight...please don't be jealous!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/mashed-sweet-potatoes-brulee.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weightwatcherspointsrecipes+%28Gina%27s+Skinny+Recipes%29

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dinner-recipes/praise-the-braise-chicken-with-feta-and-tomato

This time of year...

I love this time of year! I do love summer, and I loathe the winter, but there is just something about the perfectness of fall. Crisp weather, pretty foliage. Many comforting and warm memories are associated with fall.

I also love Halloween! It is just one of those chill, fun Holidays that allows us to dress up all crazy, eat tons of sugar, and watch scary movies! It's kind of a nice initiation into long winter nights....sppppoooooooookkkkkkkyyyyyyyyy!

Last night Chaz's work hosted a Halloween party. The restaurant closed early, and they held the event in their storage building next door. It was decorated to the nine's with lights, cobwebs, and the occasional hanging corpse...I wish I would have snapped a photo but all I had was my phone...doesn't do to well in the dark light! In fact, most my pictures are on my phone and I need to change that...I know!

To take part in the festivities, we were asked to dress up. The man decided to pull a blast from the past and dress up as a Boy Scout. Insert*guy I fell in love with*here! I'm not gonna lie, there may have been a few trips to the Boy Scout's of America store by our house to pick up pants, a new hat, and a few patches he never purchased...he assures me that some day he wants to get back into Scout's as an adult leader so hopefully all this business gets put to good use...if not, this was a slightly expensive Halloween costume but damn he looks fine!
And then there's me. I spent the night in a fog mingling with the wall flowers! JUST KIDDING! I decided to go as world peace...or maybe just a peace sign. A bit of a fancy peace sign as I paired it with a pencil skirt, fishnets, and purple stiletto's...flare jeans may have been more fitting but you get what you get when I'm coming from work!
We danced the night away, talking with Chaz's coworkers, and listening to them sing karaoke. Dinner was catered by Brasa, a local restaurant, and treats from Chaz's company. There were also White castle Sliders...I may have had one or two of those little puppies! I also had the most amazing chocolate cake...it was like chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce...I don't really know what was in it but a whole lotta chocolate was involved!



Now off to see if I can pencil in some exercise time today to work of those sliders and chocolate cake!

Monday, October 24, 2011

When stress devours you..

Today was a day where I just let it all get to me. My day was shitty, and I was distracted with stressful situations around me. To top it off, work was crazy stressful today and I was running around with out even a chance to pee!

Luckily my day flew by, and I am now relaxing on my couch, doing some homework. I am going to go to bed early so I can wake up tomorrow and start fresh. Sounds like a good plan!


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Crap...a new obsession

Today I had almond butter....and I have converted! This business is amazing. So amazing that I had a bagel thin with my other obsession, pumpkin spice cream cheese on one half, and almond butter on the other and when I finished the half with almond butter, I covered the cream cheese side with almond butter too! So good!

I bought a little pack of almond butter at Target so I could try it, but not be out a lot of money if I didn't like it. Any butter other then peanut butter tends to be a bit pricey. I decided to try it since every health food blogger has been blowing up about it but now I need to do a little research and actually figure out how good it is for me or what the benefits are. All I know right now is that it was so good and pretty filling! The little pack I bought was Justine's Maple Flavored almond butter and for the packet, which looked to be about 2 tbsp, it comes out to 5pp. The same about as 2 tbsp's of natural peanut butter! And since I only use 1tbsp, I generally just take 3pp and it is so worth it to get that hearty, full feeling from eating something good for you!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Brrrrrr...

It's getting chilly in Minnesota. Not just wake up in the morning and throw your hands in your pockets to get warm chilly, but all day, cold to the bone chilly. That can only mean one thing. Winter is well on it's way.

On this cold October evening, I did what any Minnesotan would do. I took an ice bath to settle my sore muscles. And yes I know, this is not what any Minnesotan would do, but it sure felt great!

Since running the 1/2 marathon this summer, I have dealt with some sore heels, and my right knee kind of hates life. I have read on many blogs about ice baths so I decided to give it a try. I put a few inches of cold water in the tub and added a bowl of ice. I started by only putting my feet in and letting them numb up, and then I decided I would need to sit in the water if I really wanted it to be beneficial for my knee.

I kept my sweater on for warmth and slowly lowered myself into the water. After a few seconds, my body got used to the water, and I was able to sit for a good 10 or so minutes. My muscles felt great! Of course my upper body was a bit tense, bracing against the cold, but I followed my ice bath up with a nice warm bath, complete with eucalyptus Epsom salt.

I know I feel great right now, but hopefully the feeling will last through tomorrow! I guess I will just have to wait and see but I see this becoming a more common occurrence if I actually feel some relief! Here's hoping I can get back on the running train sooner rather than later!

MIA

I went to go write a new post like 6 times last week.

I have so much I want to write about, but life gets busy, and my blog easily falls to the waist side (what the hell does that even mean?!).

But I love my blog. I love to write, research, and fill my friends and family in on life and this is the most beneficial outlet for me to do all of those things. It just also seems the easiest to push lower of the to do list. Well, in all honestly, lots of things get pushed lower...life is like one constant to do list!

Here's to hopping I can get some writing in this week!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

A life lesson?

Yesterday my aunt got married...what a great time! It was a small country wedding, complete with fresh air, bugs, and a boat load of fun. I will write more on that later...I have some bomb cake recipes and some great tips! But I thought I might talk about my wonderful husband tonight.

While my husband is romantic, he is not a huge fan of dancing so I went into the event this weekend with the notion that I was not going to push it. That ended up being a great move on my part!

The dance floor was hopping with upbeat songs and I was enjoying some ridiculous dancing with my friends and family. The DJ decided to slow it down so I took a chair on the sidelines, ready to converse. I looked up shortly after taking a seat and saw my handsome man strolling towards me. My brain started fluttering with questions. Is he coming to talk? Did he need something? Does he actually want to dance? He reaches me, grabs my hand, and asks me to dance with a playful smile on his face....my heart started to flutter. And this didn't happen just once, but twice and when my aunt played our wedding song for us, we got in a third dance! It made for a lovely evening and some great memories.

It amazes me what a big impact little actions can have on a person. My husband made me feel amazing, like a princess, just by strolling me around the dance floor a few times.

Welcome to the Durgin family...

This lovely came in to my life around 3:30 p.m today, October the 9th. We are acclimating nicely and getting to know one another! I have a feeling this will be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

How did they know?

How in the world did the Mpls. Star Trib know that my evening would entail making my very first wedding cake? Right, right, I know they didn't, but let's talk about crazy coincidence.

Today's Variety featured a wonderful article on the writer making a cake for her friends wedding. Coincidentally, I am making the cake and cupcakes for my aunts wedding. There were some great tips that I am hopping to put into play tonight...I will let you know how the cake baking turns out!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

My brother is a freshman in college...

I was the first Bonnell kid to step foot on the campus of Concordia College as a college student. By sophomore year, there were two of us as my sister was starting her first year of college.

With two of the three Bonnell kids enrolled at Concordia, that meant lots of family trips up to visit.

About a month back, my friend Alyssa and I were reflecting on college life during a dinner out as both our siblings are freshman this year. We laughed about how much fun it was, and the silly things we did. I told Alyssa about the one family visit in particular where Kory and I snuck our brother into the dorms for a sleepover. Since Concordia is a strict school, no boys are allowed in the girls dorms after midnight, and vice versa. My sister and I had to get creative in order to pull it off!

We decided to load our bite size brother up into my roommates big suitcase and wheel him in....of course, to not look suspicious, we rolled the suitcase out earlier in the day. We just thought we had it all figured out! And of course, to make it more interesting, and to be super cautious, we loaded Mikey up in the suitcase in the parking lot, and rolled him the whole block back to the dorm.

When Alyssa and I talked about this a month ago, I wrote it down as a topic to blog about. I have been putting it off, trying to think of the best way to tell the story, but when my sophomore year roommate posted this picture on facebook today, I knew a visual would do it justice!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Reality Check...

Just when I think I can pull out the stretchy pants and eat processed desserts, another blog shows up with amazing recipes, all WW friendly...I am still in shock over the goodness that is on this blog...so many desserts, so many rich meals. I just may be able to get through this holiday season and still fit in my pants!

www.skinnytaste.com

I have Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili for tonight so I will let you know how that goes!

Heart Happy...

Life can be tough. There are moments of pain, sadness, stress. We load our plates too full; we take on too much. We essentially make life a pain in the ass. So many people complain, hate, and grouch around with every excuse possible and it does not have to be that way. Of course, easier said then done, and yet, I wonder if that is an excuse in itself!

My approach...take life moment by moment. Don't regret. Try something new. Make your life meaningful. I easily fall into the stressed out category, and occasionally grouchy, but when I get this way, I try and step back and really remember what is important. I have found that this leads me to be a pretty happy individual.

Not everyone is built the same way...it has a lot to do with our upbringing and environment. I personally love being busy all the time. My favorite past time is baking and cooking. Sometimes I bite off more then I can chew (pun intended!), and I try to squeeze in baking amidst cleaning and homework and anything else imaginable, but I love the feeling of when I complete a creation. I can share it with others, or watch my family eat it, and I feel accomplished. That feeling can take me pretty far.

I love to dream, and think of the next fun adventure, whether it be traveling, planning a fun event with my loved ones, or just chiseling out a day to pamper myself and relax. Focusing on these things, and not on the negative aspects in life, keeps me charged up and excited about life. It helps me focus on what is really important and not what is superficial. I find my heart just bursting with joy over life's little blessings, like a dinner out with my husband, a walk with a friend, playing cards with my grandma, reading an uplifting blog or story, or a good run. These are small things, but they make me happy, and that rocks!

I challenger everyone to focus on what makes you happy. Don't worry about others. We spend too much time doing that and end up neglecting ourselves. Take the time to make yourself a better you, and it will undoubtedly pay it forward.

Oh, and FYI...you are hella awesome and deserve only good and happiness in your life. Don't forget that!