Time for a weekend recap...again!

This year has been flying by for us! I always have good intentions to write for this blog during the week, but I never seem to find the time. After Monday nights, it is like I look up and BAM it is the weekend again. Last week was a very hard week at work for me. I had a migraine pretty much every day. I think it was a combination of stress and the massive amount of pollen in the air right now. Every day when I go out to the car, it is covered in a thick yellow dust. The headaches and low energy left me feeling zero desire to be productive once I got home. We had an eventful weekend. On Friday night, the local Junior Auxiliary met for a girl's night at a local restaurant. I got to eat some seared tuna, grilled asparagus, and sweet potato fries. They always serve it with a wasabi soy sauce that is amazing! I had a fun time hanging out with RunninRob. We made some plans for the warrior dash coming up in May. I am trying to convice hubby C that he wants to race, too. I know I will need someone to help haul my butt over some of the big obstacles.




On Saturday, hubby C, baby O, and I spent some family time playing at the house and eating good food. Baby O is now officially into everything. She never stops moving and investigating everything she can get her hands on. Sunday afternoon we grilled out with RunninRob and her family. Baby O really likes to go visit RRob because she has two boys around O's age. I attempted to contribute a fruit pizza for dessert. It was a disaster. When I formed the cookie dough into a 'pizza' shape, I forgot that cookie dough rises as it cooks.

About ten minutes into baking, I start to see smoke rising out of the oven. The cookie had started dripping off the pan and into the bottom of the oven. The whole house filled up with smoke. Hubby C helped me put a bigger pan under the orignial one, and we just let the oven burn off the rest. We cut off the weird edges. I think it turned out pretty well. I will just remember to leave some room for expansion next time.

I spent the rest of the weekend getting ready for the work week: laundry, dishes, grocery shopping. So much fun I can barely stand it! Cheers to a happy and healthy week for everyone!

A Case of the Mondays

Another weekend has gone by at the Cromer house. My only complaint is that it was way too short! On Friday night, we ate out with our friends Clay and Leah. For the last few years, we saw them a few times a week because we always lived very close. Since we moved out to the country, we see them much less often. RunninRob was our waitress for the night. I got to have a margarita, and it was the perfect end to a very long week at work. For only 4$ I got to have the drink and keep the mason jar it came in! Of course, I totally walked out without my cup. I guess I will HAVE to go back again soon. After dinner, we went to hang out at Clay and Leah's house for a few hours. We talked about how life was going and watched baby O do all her newest tricks. It was good to catch up with our friends. It made me sad to think about the fact that in just a few months, we will be living several hours away. I am still in a sad mood about the move. I have turned into 9 year old Linda..."But I don't wanna move and leave all my friends!" I try to avoid complaining to hubby C, because I know how excited he is to be going to graduate school in the fall. I am very excited for him, too. I think it is okay for me to be a little nervous and a little sad about such big changes. I haven't made any progress on finding a new house or a new job. I have made a rough outline of a new resume. It has been about three years since I have even looked at my old one.
On Saturday, we headed over to our nephew's 2nd birthday party. They did a really cute Sponge Bob theme. We ate crabby patties (hamburgers) and drank out of coconuts. Baby O really enjoyed her cupcake. She decided it was too much work to pick it off the table to eat. She was a fan of the dog chowing down method. She also had her first taste of Cheetos. She is a really big fan. After we went to the party, we headed home to work on cleaning and doing laundry. I am so much fun, I know. I did get to go for a 30 minute walk (with a little jogging thrown in here and there) on Saturday afternoon. My new running shoes fit great, and my feet were much less sore after the workout. Success!

We had a lazy day Sunday. It started with our weekly grocery shopping trip to WalMart (where we bought everything in the store). For lunch, we ate some barbecue at hubby C's grandma's house down the road. She is 90 years old, and still very independent. I hope I will be as healthy and as active when I am her age. We worked on cleaning the pool Sunday afternoon. It turned into a pond during the fall/winter because we didn't keep it running. I was in charge of scooping leaves off the bottom of the pool. It is so gross. In between the slimy leaves are worms and frogs and dead snakes. Yuck! It will be worth it once we get it cleaned, or so I keep telling myself... Hubby C and I also walked down to the pond. I was on the look out for snakes, but I didn't spot any. I probably wouldn't see one until it jumped up and bit me. I am not very observant. We grilled out with the family on Sunday night. Hamburgers, sweet potato fries, and cupcakes. I made yellow cupcakes with a creamy chocolate filling and double fudge icing. They are pretty tasty. As you can probably guess from this post, my diet has sucked since baby O's birthday! I celebrated losing ten pounds by gaining back 5. I know I will eventually get back on the diet bandwagon....I am just not quite there yet. All in all, it was a very relaxing weekend at the Cromer house. I hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend as well!

****Cheers to a quick week and a return to the weekend!!****

Weekend Update...Easter Style

We had a packed Easter weekend. We went up to hubby C's new graduate school for a tour of the facilities on Friday. We ate breakfast at the Little Bread Company downtown. I was nervous about meeting new people (hubby C's professors), and I ordered a lot of food. It was delicious but way too much. When I sat down at the table, everyone stopped and stared at how much I bought. A chocolate croissant the size of my face and a giant poppy seed bagel. I have a complex about not wasting food...so I tried my best to eat most of it.

While in Fayetteville, I bought some new running shoes! I didn't know we were going shoe shopping, so I was not wearing socks. For some reason, my feet stink REALLY bad when I wear flats. (Must be the lack of socks...) They were having a buy one, get one half off sale. I couldn't pass up a good deal. I went to an area of the store where no one else was shopping and put on one of those panty hose things they have in a Kleenex box. Of course (just my luck) a lady and her daughter walked by and the daughter was like, "Oh God, what is that smell?!" It was my foot. It was worth the embarrassment because I got these awesome shoes! I haven't actually worn them outside because it has been wet and rainy. I will run soon, and I just know I am going to be running much faster. Right?

On Sunday, we had Easter lunch at my husband's grandma's house (Gramelen). I made some sugar cookies and a simple glaze icing. They were delicious. Baby O looked really cute in her Easter dress. She did not like the Easter grass, but she did like playing with the basket.

Me and baby O...

Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend! Cheers to a quick work week!

Happy happy birthday

It's official! My little stinker, Baby O, is one year old. She really liked getting her own cupcake! Her party went really well. I stayed up all night the Friday before and got up early Saturday morning. I had lots of help from family and friends. At 10:57 am, the party started. The decorations were pretty, the food was filling, and baby O had a great time. I decided to make her cupcakes this year. I originally planned on buying a cake, but I decided it would be much cheaper if I just made them myself. I made strawberry, chocolate with vanilla filling, and funfetti. Wal-Mart had some fun colored icing, and I thought they went well with the theme of a mad hatter tea party.

For the decorations, we made a ton of tissue balls. My sister-in-law got the idea off of pinterest. She helped me make all 523 of them. (I am kidding...mostly.) I bought a few tea kettles from the Beehive thrift shop down town. The tea cups and kettles were only 5 and 10 cents each. Bargain!

I also made pimento sandwiches (mayo, cheddar, and pimento), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pasta salad, corn salad, cheese dip, a veggie tray, and a fruit tray. Is it a southern thing to put mayo on stuff and call it salad? My buddy RunninRob made some pigs in a blanket, and my friend Leah made a 'snake' pinwheel. To go with the mad hatter theme, we had some sugar cookies with 'EAT ME' on them. Yes, I gave myself hand cramps writing out the words in pink glitter gel.

The whole party was wonderful! We are really lucky to be blessed with such great friends and family! I will leave you with a family picture from baby O's big day. Cheers!

Real quick update...

(I accidentally didn't press publish on this blog update from last Thursday! Whoops!)

I have been missing in action lately on the blog front. There have been quite a few things happening in my life, so I decided to do a quick update:

1. Baby O is turning one! We are having a big party this weekend, and I am trying to prepare for it. We are doing a mad hatter tea party. Here are some pictures of us getting decorations made:

I feel the need to make sure everything is perfect, since baby O is 1 and will obviously always treasure and remember her first birthday. Hubby C thinks I am nuts for doing all this, but he is wise enough not to say it. Hopefully everything will come together and it will be great. Pictures to come!

2. I finished the 10 day cleanse. I lost 4 pounds and felt great. I decided to continue avoiding flour, potato, and sugar in my diet. This Wednesday I weighed 164.6. Woohoo! Officially ten pounds down! I am excited to get to take ten pound progression pictures. I couldn't tell a big difference myself, but I was out to eat the other night and someone told me I was looking smaller. That comment made my night and made resisting the chips and salsa much easier.

3. I officially restarted the c25k program over since I haven't run in about 5 weeks. It is going well. I like the feeling of working out again. I am running a 5k in town on May 4. No falling off the wagon this time! RunninRob has been running with me, since she is trying to increase her speed. I think it is easier to have a partner. RR is also having a boot camp at the end of the month. I am hoping to participate!

4. Hubby C got into graduate school. Four hours away in North Arkansas. This means that we will be moving at the end of the summer. I am stressed about finding a new job, a new house, and someone to take care of baby O. I am also sad to be leaving all my buddies and job here! We are going on vacation after the party this weekend. I will update soon with birthday pictures and vacation pictures!

Cheers...it is almost the freakin' weekend!

Sugar, sugar..oh..honey, honey

Hello. My name is Linda, and I am addicted to sugar. I have been addicted to sugar my whole life. When I was a child, we didn't have candy around the house. My dad was a firm believer of 'sugar will rot your teeth.' Despite his best efforts, I was a very sneaky kid. If I wanted some sugar, I could find a way. I remember creeping into the kitchen to put a bunch of sugar on a slice of bread. Fold that thing up, and you have yourself a yummy sugar sandwich. I wonder if other people ever do this? My mom would also take me to the grocery store, and we would stop by sonic on the way home. We always got dipped cones, and we always had to finish them before we got home. I loved those trips with mom! Fast forward 20 years, and I still think about/dream about/obsess about sugar. I decided to do a cleanse to try to break my sugar habit.

I started the advocare 10 day cleanse last Monday. I am on day 7 today. The hardest part of the cleanse are the fiber drinks. They are very difficult to chug down. I have to stand by the sink and chase with sips of water to prevent gagging. They don't taste bad, but the texture is so awful. Think snot with sawdust in it. I was worried that the cleanse would have me running to the bathroom all day, but I haven't had any trouble yet. Along with the actual cleanse, I have been cutting out sugar, flour, and potatoes. Basically, I have been eating lots of fruit and vegetables, lean meat, and some dairy. I convinced hubby C to do the diet with me. It is so much easier to diet when your significant other isn't eating Cheetos and Hershey bars while you chew on carrots.

We tried a recipe for spaghetti squash casserole, which I stole from a blog I follow (Elle Noel). We both really enjoyed it! It was simple to make. I used two spaghetti squash, one pound of turkey meat, one onion, one jar of low sugar Ragu, and a little sprinkle of mozzarella cheese. Here is the finished product:

It looks a little different in a bowl (see below). The large purple/black things are Kalamata olives. I love them, hubby C does not...so I add them after cooking. He thinks they look like water bugs--I think they look tasty. (The olives, not water bugs.)

My goal for this month is to try to eat as little sugar as possible. I will weigh again this Wednesday to see my cleanse results. I have got to break this dependency on sweets! My start weight for the cleanse was 169.4. If you saw my last weigh in day the week before last, you know I was on a mission to lose back the pound I had gained. Well, I didn't lose that pound. Actually, I found his little friend and ate him, too. I intend to get back to working out tomorrow! RunninRob wants to do the c25k program to speed up her running time. I want to do the c25k program to be able to run/jog a 5k. We are supposed to meet tomorrow night to start the program. RunninRob completed her first half marathon today! That is 13.1 miles people! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends. Here's to starting March on the right foot!

Liebster Award

Miss Bailey over at Bailey's Blog (http://baileywheeler.blogspot.com) nominated me for a Liebster award! I am very excited, because I don't ever win anything!! (I think everyone says that, but really I don't!) For the Liebster Award, the rules are...

Each blogger posts 11 random facts about themselves.

Answer the questions the tagger has set for you

Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award to/nominate

Come up with 11 new questions to ask your nominees

Go to their page and tell them about the award.

No tag backs!

So, with no further ado...here we go!

 

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I like to eat things that are cold! Ice, ice cream, frozen pineapples, frozen grapes, Popsicles, snow cones...you get the idea.

2. I am addicted to the Food Network, HGTV, and DIY network. If I start a show, I have to finish it.

3. I read the end of a book while I am still reading the book...I can't help it! I have to know what happens!

4. I like to go fishing, but I don't like touching the worms. Or the fish. I think I am everyone's least favorite person to go fishing with.

5. I was a vegetarian for two years. My parents lived on a beef cattle farm in Texas.

6. I once got to compete at the State track meet while in High School.

7. Feet, spit, cotton balls, and pomegranates make me cringe.

8. I don't like to say the words moist and jello.

9. I like to bake sweets.

10. I bang my shoes out on the floor before I put them on. (Because I think there might be spiders in there!)

11. I hate the way subway smells. I feel like it sticks in my hair and clothes all day long.

 

Bailey's 11 Questions for Nominees:

 

1. Why do you blog?

I started this blog because I wanted accountability for my weight loss goals. I like having a journal/diary/captain's log.

 

2. What’s your favourite song right now?

Some Nights. Fun.

 

3. What’s your dream vacation?

I want to go to Egypt! I want to see the pyramids! I have been obsessed with going to Egypt since I was a wee little pipsqueak. 

 

4. What’s your favourite healthy snack?

Edamame! I like to eat food you have to work a little for...crab legs, edamame, sunflower seeds.

 

5. Where will you be 5 years from today?

Well, hubby C will be done with graduate school (he starts his MFA program in August). Baby O will be almost 6 (holy crap!) and will more than likely have a baby sibling.

 

6. Where were you 5 years ago today?

I was 22. I was about to start graduate school, living with hubby C and all our animals. 

 

7. Where did your blog name come from?

I thought it could mean losing weight and losing my mind. ;)

 

8. What’s your favourite activity?

Hanging out with Baby O and hubby C.

 

9. If you could move anywhere where would it be?

Hawaii! I am totally moving there when I win the lottery.

 

10. Do you have any pets?

Sam the dog and Sassy the cat.

 

11. What do you hope to accomplish this year?

New house, new job, lose some pounds, have some fun, travel.

 

And these are more questions I am supposed to answer...I think...

1. What was your most awkward date?

We once went on a date with another couple, and they got into a huge fight at the restaurant. She left. Awkward.

 

2. How did you spend this Valentine's Day?

At home with hubby C and baby O. We ate some dinner and watched tv. Hubby C got me some flowers and some chocolate coffee.

 

3. If you were the member of the opposite sex, what would you have people call you?

Bob.

 

4. Where is your favorite place to buy workout clothes?

Old Navy

 

5. Have you ever smarted off to a teacher?

No! My parents raised me to be respectful of any person in authority. I always knew if I got into trouble at school, I would get a whoopin' once I got home. I was scared.

 

6. What is most likely to get you into trouble?

Speeding. I hate being in the car!

 

7. What do you like most about yourself?

My calves.

 

8. I need new music, sooooo what's your favorite jam?

Shake it off by Florence and the Machine is my favorite running song. It IS hard to dance with the devil on your back.

 

9. Do you have any jokes?

No.

 

10. What is the most hideous thing, in your opinion, that people wear?

I hate seeing people's drawers hanging out of their pants....especially when they aren't clean drawers....

 

My Questions for people:

 

1. What is your favorite place to eat?

2. Which television show couldn't you live without?

3. Read any good books lately?

4. What are your summer plans?

5. Pepsi or Coke?

6. I need a new recipe for a cake...any suggestions?

7. What other awards have you won?

8. What words do you most often misspell?

9. What is your biggest pet peeve?

10. What was your favorite memory growing up?

 

Thanks again to Bailey for nominating me!