I tried parsnips

I got in a mood for Beets and decided to try roasting them and then tossing them with a little vinaigrette. When I was getting the beets I saw Parsnips and decided to try them! Decided on the fly to add a couple more things to the beet salad too

Look at those honkers! this is the biggest bunch of beets I've ever seen.
I chopped and tossed the parsnips and beets with some salt, no stick spray, and coriander

roasted those on 375 for 20 mins. Then I took out the parsnips and put them aside. I didn't want them to get overcooked. Put the beets back in for another 10. Meanwhile, I whipped up a little vinaigrette: splash of rice vinegar, juice of 1/2 lemon, splash of liquid amino's, dry oregano, garlic powder, salt, a splash of olive oil. Tossed all of that with the beets, parsnips, some green beans and a chopped up cucumber.

Here's the verdict on parsnips: don't like them :-( haha. They have an ok flavor but they are stringy and tough like I'm eating the middle of a tree trunk... maybe I should have left them in the oven with the beets. I'll try again. eventually...
I LOVE the beets though. mmmmm and they are SO pretty

cinnamon, hotdog, hot cross

Here's an updated before/after photo I started a long time ago. I found these pants again. I could have taken the today picture months ago but I kept forgetting.

Well, that made me worry that it looks like my butt fell OFF... so I took one with my skinny jeans on. but then YOU GUYS I was traumatized that my right bun looks funny, so I put on another pair of jeans.....
What is UP with my right bun yo????

I've been back at the gym more lately. But I'm not loosing any weight grrrr.... And yes I DO still need (want) to loose more. If I didn't have on those tight jeans, my thighs still touch a LOT. I have flabby bits I'm workin on. I want to get down to 118 still. I mean, I know I need to draw a line in the sand and make a CHANGE. wish me luck you guys. You know I can do it--I've done it before, I just fell off and been rolling around in the mud for a bit. lazy.

Vomit Nail Polish

TODAY is gonna be beach day. I went to the gym wed and did BodyPump and I swear I haven't been this sore in I don't know how long. But guess what! I'm skinnier than the teacher. This particular teacher isn't one of those sinewey nasty thin types. But she had the PERFECT bod when I first started taking the class back in like, march... She's beautiful, tan, good muscles but not too big.... But it's been months since I took her class and I've gotten much slimmer and tan! She had kind of a muffin top. The only thing she's still totally got on me is the thighs. Squats and lunges are still my worst torture and one bun is like, TORE or something it hurts so bad. But her thighs are tight as fuck, and that's what I want. Yesterday I just rode the bike and then did abs and then swam.

after the gym yesterday we started driving to the beach, but then I realized my parking pass is in my other car. It costs $7 to park one day!!!! I paid $21 for a year pass and I'm NOOOOOT going to pay SEVEN effin dollars. So we were in the hills on our way there and I changed the plan to: Berry patch!!! Simeon and I picked a couple pounds of raspberries. We also saw some other veggies growing including some artichokes which I think are So pretty! .... and we had a picnic. I was so good food wise all day till after noon (more on that later). I had oatmeal for breakfast (plain oatmeal with a DAB of brummel & brown, and orange marmalade--200 cals) and this was my lunch: super good deli turkey ($10/lb) on cucumber slices---150 cal

I picked up Corbin from school and we headed straight to the zoo. We have a membership this year and they have some new baby Caracal's. The gates close at 4 so we had to make sure to get there before that. The baby Caracal's weren't out, but here's their daddy: Corbin always wants to feed the lorrakeets and usually that is so crowded. But it turns out, the BEST time to go to the zoo is the afternoon on a school day. I only saw like 10 other people in the whole zoo.
We went out to dinner because it's so hot and I don't want to heat up the house. The place is called Sheri's. It's like Marie Callendars--Pies, and good old American fare. I was going to have a big salad. But ok, so we had to wait around 30 min for a table!!! that's unheard of at this place I don't know what the problem was. If I knew it was going to be that long, we would have left. then every step of the way after that was a horrible wait too.... We didn't have food for an HOUR from the time we got there. I was so frustrated and the KIDS!!! they were being troopers, but they were going apeshit! Corbin and I had both cried by the time we were eating haha. I ended up whimping out and getting fish and chips. They got mini burgers. The food was SUPER good but it still wasn't worth the wait and torture. I was still pissed. then it took forever to get the bill, then when I went to pay (it was a joke at this point) the cashier/manager had dissapeared so I was standing there PISSED. When one of the waiters came to help me instead I told him I was really frustrated with all the waiting and I was about to cry. He went and go the manager and our meal was FREE.

hella cute outfit

ya, I went and did a TINY bit of retail therapy on Friday. I was super bummed about my mom and I only spent like $30. OK OK more like $100 but some of it was product I NEED from Sephora. Even my husband uses it--some face shit that is a miracle for zits, scars, and wrinkles. It's Glycolic Acid 10% toner right, and I let my supply run out and I didnt' rush out and get more for a week or so and dude, I was SO broken out. Not the worst, deep, acne ever. But the whole surface of my skin was just gross and clogged and sad. Anyway, that part of my spending doesn't REALLY count as retail therapy because we both use it and we need it. But I do enjoy going to Sephora :-) Then I went all around the mall and bought 5 pairs of lacy thong panties from Gap--they were having a FOUR dollar sale!!! AH mazing. And I got those cute as shit shorts from Forever 21. I already had the top and shoes from the thrift store ;-P

OH THEN I won an auction for a 3.5 oz bottle of my favorite perfume by Badgley Mischka for $21 on ebay. They don't even make it anymore and I'm so thrilled I GOT it in the mail already. A 1.7 oz bottle was $60 when they DID used to sell it so I got a rad deal. :-)



Went to the airport to get my husband who was on a biz trip all last week. Kids were having a spend the night out.

Sat we did a couple errands then went to the State Fair. Salem (we live in oregon) is about 40 min away with no traffic. But MAN there was traffic!!! there was this super good show on NPR--people telling crazy personal stories about survival. Like a kidnap victim, and a guy who got picked up hitchhiking by an escaped lunatic.... It was fun to listen to while we got roasted alive in my car with no AC sitting in traffic for over an hour. I guess both the colleges south of us were having some big deal games, and the fair was going on.... Anyway we go to the fair every year and I love it. I have a specific order I like to walk through it. We headed straight for the back of the fairgrounds to work our way forward. We went through all the livestock stuff. Those FFA kids are camping out, playing cards, having the time of their lives! I think pigs are filthy and gross, but I like llamas, and cows and the kids love everything especially the goats and horses. I love horses too duh... kay then we were having a little lunch. The family got pizza, I got a burger at a Hawaiian booth. It was GOOD and I thought it was OK if I just ate it and enjoyed it like a normal person. The ketchup dispenser was stuck and I was leaning into it with all my strengh when a clog broke through and I got COVERED in ketchup!!! SO PISSED. because THEN I had to go out of my routine to go to the vendor area next to get a new shirt. I HAVE A SPECIFIC ORDER I LIKE TO GO THROUGH THE FAIR!!! DAMMIT. I got in the bathroom to clean up and there was a line, 2 stalls, and it was COMPLETELY SILENT in there. Not to mention hot and smelly.... I just had to get out of there.... I tried a few more bathrooms along the search for a top, but I didn't have any luck. So I was hot and smelled like ketchup (which was soaked through to my bra) AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH what a fiasco. I had fun though, I really did. I made the best of all of it. I love going through the big grandstand halls with all the quilts, and old ladies doing needlework, and men doing woodworking... plus, we got in free cuz some nice people gave us tickets when we were waiting in line a the ticket booth, so that was bonus.

Sunday, we tried to go to my favorite nude beach on the river..... But it was TOO CROWDED, there was no parking. Everyone was double parked and there was a parade of cars (us included) having to turn around and leave.... so that was a bummer too. We had my car (did I mention it doesn't have AC?) all weeked cuz hubby's was in the shop. It was ready to pick up friday but we didn't get over there and they were closed all long weekend. I was pissed but I'm over it.

Monday, we went to the big bonanza corn roast we go to every year for Labor day. Its a AA party, sounds nerdy but it's not I love it.

Husband is out of town again, school started yesterday so me and the little man are headed out to the gym. I love my routine and I love that it is SOOOO HOT this whole week. Maybe I'll take him to the beach just him and I. It won't be crowded today and tomorrow.... I'm gonna do it.

xo

vlizzity

All you had ya wasted~

OKEE DOKKE SO here's the big California Trip post. I promise I MOSTLY read all y'all's blogs when I was gone. I just couldn't really post. I weighed 124 or 123 when we went down and I'M STILL at 124?! sweet huh. I got to work out some just a couple of times at the beginning of the trip. We stayed at a fancy hotel at first that had a NICE workout room. Nicest I've seen in a hotel. When we were driving I was really thinking hard about how I would "deal" with the whole "food thing" while we were down. it wasn't a big deal. We were on vacation and I'm not on a diet anyway, it's a new lifestyle and I make better choices no matter where we are. One of the first nights we went to the grocery store to get breakfast stuff and sandwich stuff just in case we could have an opportunity to save a few bux. I wasn't going to spend $20 PER PERSON for breakfast at the fancy towne hotel and then my kids not eat it anyway fuck that. AT the wedding, I ate everything like a normal person. it was GOOD. Filet Mignon, sea bass, YUMMY mashed potatoes, veggies. and the salad bowl was made of cucumber slices in a circle shape it was so nice. One night, we went out for pizza in North Beach in SF by Chinatown, and I only had ONE slice of a family style sit down pizza. I should have been checking in here to report about all those individual triumphs and failures. its interesting to look back on....

well here's some pictures:




Here's a couple of pictures for my friend Mich--Harlequin Shrimp!






On the drive home we went to this "mystery spot" type attraction where the gravity is supposed to be weird. I think they just build the structure so it's an optical illusion. I got SO NAUSEOUS in this place.


And these are of the bedroom we stayed in in San Fran. My girlfriend lives there and we stayed there the night before we headed to the fancy hotel. She's SO effing cool! SHE's down to earth and funny as hell. She taught me how to cook years ago and she's just the best. She lives in this tall house with high ceilings. From front to back it's about a mile long, there's all these LONG hallways with rooms and lofts. SO charming and cool. Its in the "mission district" which I guess is kinda ghetto. BUT then she works downtown in the financial district. She wears skirt suits and high heels to work like a WOMAN. I love it. When I first met up with her to get her house key in front of her work, we were chatting for 30 seconds when a strung out looking freak came up and tried to talk to us about BART (the subway in sf) She told him "we're having a private conversation", he was all "FUCK YOU YOU LITTLE FUCKING BITCH GO FUCK YOURSELF" etc etc, it was SO funny I'm not kidding. Because we just laughed and told him to fuck off!. anyway, this is her room...

swim time

SO I said I was only gonna swim 20 laps today cuz I was so sore last night no kidding. But I felt ok, so I swam a mile--that's 32 laps and took me 35 min. That used to take me 40 minutes or more I'm a rockstar. And get this: There were SO many HOTTIES (guys) in the pool! 1 on each side, then 2 on each side it was awesome. Then the cutest most perfect body hottie got out and went on MY Side of the pool and layed out and did abs for a full 20 min. I got caught checking him out!! haha! the BEST part is, I'm checking this guy out and then remembering I have someone just as hot (but hotter even) who BELONGS to me and thinks I'M hot. it's rad right!

Then I took my kiddos to the park for a picnic--I packed before the gym just like a perfect mom. It was really nice out.

Salad Rolls Lotsa Pics

As Per Request, here's a whole post just for the salad rolls I recently started making.

To Start, I get everything ready. This time I used:RiceWrappers
Rice Vermicelli
Yellow Bell Peppers
Carrots
Cucumber
Avocado
Strawberries
Watercress
Peaches from a jar
Imitation Crab






Begin by
Dipping the rice wrapper in warm water for 10 seconds
then place it on a plate













Add the filings
line up the pretty things on the bottom
so they'll show.














Fold it up like a burrito
start with the sides
















Voila!!!















And THIS pretty one
I made with strawberries and avocado, and the peaches.
with some of the other stuff, but no "crab"
It was so tasty with just soy sauce
we use a Thai peanut sauce for dipping
sometimes. and also, we get a yummy
ginger dressing that's good too

One of these bad boys is right around 150 cal a piece. The wraps are 35 each, the rice vermicelli is 140 for a half cup and I use less than 1/4 per so lets say 50? then I guess it depends on what all you put in it. if you stuck with cucumbers and carrots and maybe shrimp, you'd be under 100. but if you get fruity or use avocado's you'll be over. a way to save is to not use the noodles at all--they're still perfectly delicious. just use green leaf lettuce as the bulk of the stuffing ya know? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

2 steps forward, 1/2 step back

Still, I'm moving forward overall ya?

So I did well in the days following my fast. Mike did a 1 day fast on Sunday. I didn't join him, so I could be a good support. One of us has to be fully functioning. I have a good friend/mentor/father figure who's in the hospital now. The doctors gave him 24 hours (to live) on Sunday morning, and as far as I know he's still with us, but there's little (no) hope of recovery. Anyway, I was at the hospital a lot this weekend and couldn't bother with worrying too much about what I ate. STILL, I ate well (very little) all day. I made this for dinner:

Salad Rolls with Lemongrass soup
Made all from scratch by ME. this meal was less than 200 cal and Before that during the day I only had juices. I was making them for hubby anyway and they're good for me....

But then I made the kids Ramen---Saporro Ichiban Ramen, and that's the best I love it. I had to have a LITTLE bite. kay, it was ONE BIG bite.... with butter....

Yesterday morning, I woke up and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because I decided to try to eat regular meals. I think "eating regular meals" is a common theme for us today huh girls? Anyway, I ate that right. Then I went to the gym and my friend met me who is thinking of joining. She's watched me get skinny and she was like "I want you to help me". She's already got a pretty good body but she's not in shape and OH if she gets in shape she's gonna look so good! So that's my project and she JOINED the gym yesterday woo hoo! I gave her a work out and she wanted to take me to lunch. What was I gonna say? I TRIED to avoid it but I really couldn't. So then! Another confession: I ate a turkey sandwich! OH Man, it was good too. haha Then for dinner I had a lean cuisine. so that was good. Right now I'm having International Foods French Vanilla Cafe-a wollop of empty BS calories. It's so good :-( AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Then, I'm off to the gym. I'm gonna run and swim today.
xo

Success

I did the whole 3 days and even went till 4pm today before I ate. I just couldn't-I didn't want to eat the wrong thing and get a stomach ache. Plus the only thing that sounded good was this grapefruit-avocado salad I had planned for lunch. Can't eat that for breakfast. anyway! It went really well and I feel sewper and I lost like 5 pounds. We'll see tomorrow.

Have you guys watched "skins"? I kinda like it. All the drugs kinda traumatize me, too many memories I guess. I'm STILL (avoiding) working on the "drug" post I mentioned before. So still stay tuned for that haha.

Ya, I definitely like this show. In case any of you IS a fan, i'm watching the "cadie" episode. cray zay

DAY 3 WOW

1. Greens with apple
~spinach
~kale
~2 apples
~1/2 cucumber
~parsley
~1 lemon
~1 med beet
*trim/clean all that, put it through the juicer....
2. Blueberry-Banana_peach
*all fruits are frozen, add rice milk and blend till smooth.
3. grapefruit-strawberry-mint
*trim/clean and juice
4. Grape-cucumber-pear
*Trim/clean all that, put it through the juicer.
5. greens with apple (same as #1)
6. Raw Chocolate Milk

I have bodypump on Wednesdays. I'm worried I won't be able to hang for the whole class, so I'm gonna skip it and do my own workout. I do want to actually get sweaty today. I have been taking it so easy-afraid to go overboard. But I'm in the home stretch, sweating will be a good thing. I'll do some weights and then go sit in the sauna. Maybe I'll run a little first.

Blue Print Cleanse Day 2

I'm REALLY impressed with myself. Here's what I'll have today:

1. Greens with apple
~spinach
~kale
~2 apples
~1/2 cucumber
~parsley
~1 lemon
*trim/clean all that, put it through the juicer....
2. Cherry-Banana_peach
*all fruits are frozen, add rice milk and blend till smooth.
3. grapefruit-strawberry-mint
*trim/clean and juice
4. Pineapple-Raspberry-Mint
*All fruits are frozen, add rice milk and blend till smooth.
5. greens with apple (same as #1)
6. Raw Chocolate Milk

Numbers 2 & 4 above are blended smoothies, so I didn't make them ahead of time. SO they're not in the picture. I'm drinking my first green drink right now. Then I'll whip up #2 and head to the sauna. I felt pretty tired and kinda like I had the flu last night. My throat hurt and I just felt like crud. But I feel fine this morning and I'm chugging right along. Yesterday at the gym I felt so badass. As this green juice is absorbed, I feel it's going to be the same today. I'm superman. xo

WOW I'm actually DOING IT!

I got ALL the way through day 1. Like a fuckin champ I can't believe it! I get extra credit too because I have to feed kids and a man and I almost threw stuff in my mouth by habit all day long. but I didn't. I had to have Mike make him and the kids dinner though. I couldn't do it! He made tuna helper and i about died. Some people get through this fast with the dream of a cheeseburger. My dream is tuna helper. And you know what? I'm not even gonna end up eating it at the end. I will just dream about it and know I CAN have it if I really want. I chopped up and juiced my juices for tomorrow and I wanted to eat a hunk of apple SO BAD. Craving an apple?? that's cray zay.

I have a headache. I had a different headache this morning after my first juice but I drank a glass of water and it went away! maybe I'll do that now.

today, I went to the gym and sat in the sauna for 30 min, and swam 10 laps or so. I'll do the same tomorrow. I did some floor exercises (leg lifts, situps, ets) this eve too. I know that's kind of a whimp workout. but I'm taking this whole thing moment by moment. Really listening to my body. Oh this is funny: in the book it says some hippie drama about getting in touch with your inner self or something. I'm probably one of the biggest hippies I know and even I thought that was stupid, but I GET IT NOW. I feel SO plugged in with mind/body.

I can feel that the cleanse is working and my body needs sleep now. Its crazy, I HATE going to bed because I'm usually not tired and I'm just busy busy busy. But right now I feel very sleepy and in TUNE with my body's need for sleep and rest. AH I'm going to bed before 11pm, that NEVER HAPPENS.

good night my friends OH! oh nevermind. I'll post about day 2's stuff tomorrow...

xoxo

I'm Officially Hardcore

I start a juice fast/cleanse tomorrow. I have everything prepped. It's the Blue Print 3-Day Cleanse. I got the book, bought all the fresh fruits and veggies. Washed and prepped tomorrows stuff:


here's what I'll drink tomorrow:
1. Greens with apple
~spinach
~kale
~2 apples
~1/2 cucumber
~parsley
~1 lemon
*trim/clean all that, put it through the juicer....
2. grapefruit-strawberry-mint
*trim/clean and juice
3. spinach-blueberry-apple-lemon
*trim/clean and juice
4. strawberry-apple-beet-ginger
*trim/clean and juice
5. greens with apple (same as #1)
6. Raw Chocolate Milk
*WHAT A TREAT!!!

I got everything ready, but I MADE the chocolate milk tonight cuz it keeps for a few days. it is SO tasty I can't wait till tomorrow night when I get to drink a whole glass! like 12 ounces!! it's raw cashews, 100% cacao, agave nectar, vanilla extract, coconut oil, and I added a dash of cinnamon.

At first today, I thought I better only attempt 1 day since it's my first try. But I'm not scared. I already eat so well and I have kind of been in prep for this for a while. Plus it is SUCH a pain in the ass to get all this crap ready and everything, its not worth it for just one day. I want to go for the whole 3.

I'm working on a post thats kind of response to Mich's "drug" talk one. I got inspired to talk about that too--from my own experience. stay tuned for that.

Besides this juice cleanse, I am back to 100% vegetarian. I did eat chicken about 3 times in the last 2 weeks. Thought it would help with getting sick all the time. it didn't. I'll bet millions this cleanse will though. But I just still kept thinking about poor chickens on a conveyor belt and how i just feel like it's wrong. So, for me, that's the deal now. I still bought (happy) chicken for my family. Thankfully, my husband IS open to trying new or different things. I made hamburger helper tonight for them with Quorn Meatless Crumbles. and it was good! I know a lot of husbands would be pissed, but he said it was good even. gotta love him!

oh ya, UM YES I will still be drinking coffee. 1 Cup in the morning that's it. BLACK

updated later- here's a picture of all my juices ready to go in the morning:

Glad I got sick so what

I got the stomach flu and broke my plateau of 139 which I was stuck at for a month. WOO HOO! It actually sucked and I'm not sure it was worth it, but it's not like I asked for it. I'm at 137.

SO sad that my brother is moving away to another state. He's my baby bro and I feel like ever since our Mom died, we've gotten closer. It's sad. I'm having a going away party though, I want to be supportive. The whole thing is making me cry worse than I did when my mom died. what's up with that.

Yummy Indian Food

Sorry for the name change you guys, if it throws ya off. I always get confused when someone changes the name of their blog, but I can figure it out pretty quick once I open it.

Tonight we went to my favorite Indian restaurant. I haven't been to Indian food since I stopped eating meat, But I knew I didn't want the standard veggie stuff I've tried before like veg samosas, or dosas. I LOVE curries and dipping my nan in the extra gravy! YUM. I ended up getting Malai Kofta. It's little sausages made with veggies and cheese. the texture and flavor was insane tasty. and the curry its in!!?? AAAAAH it was to die for! We got extra special nan--Kabuli Nan. It's stuffed with dried fruit and nuts. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

best workout ever

is this: Bodypump, THEN swim 10 laps. 20 would be better but I had to rush out of there. I'll swim longer next time. I get HIGH for several hours when I do this workout. AAAAHHHHHH

proud of myself. Today I've had: trail mix, and 1/2 a tuna sandwich (lite mayo). YOU KNOW WHAT I just realized I've gone over a week without a coke zero. SO THERE! I was all bent out of shape for being addicted to them. I'll have one tomorrow. I've been drinking LOTS of Blueberry Slimlife tea by Yogi Tea. it's Blueberry Green Tea--2 or 3 cups a day. It's really good, I put a pack of splenda but you dont' NEED sweetner.

talk to yall later
xo

Another fun "Before/After" Pic

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! I WAS SO FAT! GAWD!

Goal Met

Yoga (kristen)
Running- 1 mile (half before, half after) walking 1/2 mile

ALL I've had to eat all day so far is coffe, 1/4 cup of trail mix, and green tea
I'm going to TRY to wait to eat lunch (curry tuna/brown rice/veg) until 3 and then I'm not sure about dinner. I'm trying so hard to restrict but not so bad that I turn into a binge zombie. I mean, I've binged a couple times lately. But the foods aren't always the WORST.

I've been to the gym so many days in a row I don't even know how many days sheeze. I haven't been doing Livestrong.com at all lately.

I can't believe it though!!! I've lost 48 pounds!! from 188 to 140 today!!!! WOW I'm tickled fucking pink! first goal is 125 and I'm shooting for that by March. Then I DO have a naughty dream to get down to 113.

kickin some ass this week

I've been to the gym every day since Sunday. Here's my schedule:
Monday: Bodypump class, 10 lap swim
Tues: 2000 meter swim (40 laps)
Wed: Bodypump Class, 10 lap swim
Thurs: Run 1 mile, 32 lap (1 mile) swim
Friday: Yoga Class, 10 lap swim
Sat: Bodypump Class, 10 lap swim/ hottub chillout
Sunday: open. Maybe no gym, maybe yoga with husband.

I'm feeling so good. OKOK, I'm gonna add some pictures cuz it's been a while and I can see things that have been hiding for years, like, my jawline! I know it it still looking a little, ummmm, saggy, but it used to just be straight to neck. HEE HEE



Here's a better one I made some adjustments to hue on:


And lastly here's a little collage. The first 2 are from mothers day. Right side photo is from this weekend, same dress. I know you can't see as well in that last one, but JEEZE I was SO FAT!!! Like FOR REAL and that's not me. I don't look right at all in those fat ones.