Suck My Detox

After stuffing my face indulging a bit too much during the holidays, I knew the scale was not going to be my BFF the first time I stepped on in 2012.  I also knew what I had to do in order to drop those pounds and a few more of their posse.

So I stopped eating lots of crap, upped my activity level and started feeling better about myself.  The only problem was that I still felt, for lack of a better term, icky inside.  Even though I have never been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I know my body thrives when I stay away from gluten.  From July to November I ate a roughly 85% gluten free diet and felt great!  After Turkey Day, all bets were off.

Why didn't someone remind me that the reason for the season is NOT baked goods??

Here are some of the side effects I experienced after going back to gluten:
-Lack of energy
-Acid Reflux {I had to sleep with my wedge pillow waaaaay too much}
-Upset stomach
-Migraines

So last week I decided to try something a little different...I am doing a detox on my body.  I need to lose weight, but more importantly, fix my innards <---Could that sound any more gross??

Since Monday, my diet has consisted of greens & lean protein.  I am kicking out carbs and sugar for 4 weeks!  I do still have my daily cup of coffee with stevia, mostly to protect my coworkers from the crazy biatch I can be without caffeine in my system.  As of today I have been doing a stellar job...my only non-stellar moment was a seriously tiny piece of TJ's dark chocolate bar - I had a 2 day headache from detoxing and, unknown at the time, a visit from Aunt Flo.  I made that piece last through 3 bites and savored each one.  My headache was gone within 2 hours....chocolate is magical!

Now, I have planned cheat meals into my 4 week detox.  This Saturday, for instance, Gary & I are going to dinner and a hockey game with 2 friends we haven't seen in way too long.  This will be a night full of shenanigans, so I am totally okay with having 2 3 more drinks than I really should.

The sad part of the detox to me is that I won't have many great recipes to share.  My meals are what the general public may call "boring."  Of course I spice them up as much as I can, but I will not be serving them to Oprah next time she stops by for dinner.  I DO have a dessert recipe in the works for a special holiday coming up that rhymes with Malentine's Ray...bet you can't wait to be surprised!  :)

On a lighter note, it was Homecoming week at my school.  Here are 2 of my favorite dress up days so far:

Mismatch Day

Era Day - I chose the 80's

PINK PINK & more PINK

 So, in rad 80's style: Have a totally tubular Friday, dudes & dudettes!!

January Foodie Penpals

Remember when you were younger how cool it sounded to have a penpal??  Well, I am 31 and that still hasn't changed in my mind.

So when I found Lindsay's blog, The Lean Green Bean, and saw that she hosted a Foodie Penpal, I was overjoyed.  It took me until this past month to actually get the nerve to participate, but I am so glad I did.

The cool thing about this is that you send a package of food, recipes, whatever to another foodie, but the package you get is from someone else. So it is an amazing way to meet other people!

I was super lucky to have Lauren as the person sending me a package.  Lauren blogs on 2 sites, Fitness & Food Junkie and I'm Just Here To Eat.  Her food site makes me drool every time I read about the latest place she has dined and her fitness site inspires me!

After being paired up, Lauren e-mailed me to see what kind of stuff I like.  I think I gave her a very basic answer like "coffee, chocolate and the color teal."  Lame, right?  Well, Lauren is AMAZING!!  From my e-mail this is what she got me!

Chocolate flavored coffee, chocolate covered espresso beans and a TEAL "I <3 NY" coffee mug!  I was amazed at how lucky I was!  I have been enjoying all 3 items on the weekend when I truly have time to indulge!

Here's my dorky mug showing off my new coffee mug!!

I got Jennifer's name over at Peanut Butter and Peppers.  Go check out her blog to see if she liked what I got her!  :-)

Here's an overview of the Foodie Penpal Program:
-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
Sound like fun? If you’re interested in participating for February, please send  an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:
-Your full name
-Your email address
-Your blog name/address
-Your twitter handle (if applicable)
-WHETHER YOU ARE A US RESIDENT OR CANADIAN RESIDENT. – this is SUPER important so I can get you on the right list!

2012 Goals {Check In #1}

On January 1st I set my goals for 2012.  Since I really want to stick to them, I thought it would help for me to revisit them at the end of each month and share my progress.

In case you need a reminder of my goals, here they are.

And here's how I feel I am doing:

1. Take more time for me.  Honestly, this is the one I struggle with the most.  But I have been able to finish 2 books I started after Christmas, so this shows me I am taking a bit more time for myself than last year.


2. Get back on track health wise - eating.  Easier than I thought it would be...at times.  When I am good, I am GOOD.  When I am bad, I am BAD!  But I am making much better choices overall.

3. Get back on track health wise - exercise. I am killing it on this one!!  Gary & I are taking Sasha for walks at least 4 times a week and trying to go for a LONG walk {just the two of us} once a week.  Will I be running a marathon anytime soon?  No, but I am making better decisions.  Instead of driving to the Redbox that is a little less than a mile from us, we walk to get and drop off movies.  In the past that would have never happened.  I am also working with my resistance bands and doing other toning exercises at least twice a week.  GO MO!!

4. GO ON VACATION!!  My goal is for us to take a vacation this summer, and we are saving money to do this.  It has been tough and money is tight, but I truly believe that it is important to travel and get out of your regular routine a few days a year.  Our vacation may not be luxurious, but it WILL happen!

Overall, I give myself an A- for this month.  I really need to work on the relaxing and being more selfish with my time.  I can honestly say that this is the 1st year I have stuck with my goals, and I know it's because I am blogging about my life.  Blogging has been my biggest motivator to keep up with my goals and keep myself accountable.  So thank you all for reading about my crazy, mostly boring, life!

Keeping Man's Best Friend Healthy During Winter

I love my dog Sasha more than anything, so making sure she stays healthy is one of my top priorities.

Living in California means we do not have to deal with snow, but the temperature can dip pretty low and we sometimes deal with a lot of ice in the Central Valley.

I'm Sasha...Thank you for reading Mom's blog!

Here are some tips from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals  on how to keep your pup {and felines, if you are a cat lover} healthy & safe until Spring:

1. Keep your cat inside. Outdoors, felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed. Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife. 
2. During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape. 
3. Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm, dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags. 
4. Thoroughly wipe off your dog's legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice. 
5. Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear. 
6. Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death. 
7. Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself. 
8. Does your dog spend a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities? Increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep him, and his fur, in tip-top shape. 
9. Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol. Visit the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center more information. 
10. Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts. A cozy dog or cat bed with a warm blanket or pillow is perfect.

Another thing Gary & I have to do is make sure Sasha is getting enough activity during these months.  She is an inside dog while we are at work, so she's not able to run off extra energy during the day.  We try to make up for this by taking her for regular walks to a local park where she can run around and by dropping her off at Doggy Day Care {aka my parents} to run around their huge yard at least once a week.

I'm such a lucky dog!

***Please note, I am NOT a dog expert, I just happen to have one of the sweetest, most loving dogs ever living with me, so I do my best to be a good dog mommy!  Ask your vet for REAL advice!!***

****Any other suggestions as to keeping your animal healthy & safe this winter?

Attitude Adjustment

While at work yesterday, I had a situation come up where I was not proud of myself.

My school district was hosting a few training sessions for this new online fundraising company that we have contracted with. Each school was able to send a few people to receive this training.

Totally up my alley because:

-One of my main jobs in my office is fundraising {schools are poor, so you need to know how to pimp yourself out JUST right to get money for anything}
-Using social media is soooooo my thing!

Yet, I was not picked to go.  I found this out awhile back, stated my case to a few people, still was not told to go, so I went on my merry way.

After the morning session, I was called up by my office manager.  I guess the group that went thought {SHOCKER} I really should have been there, so our boss would like to know if I wanted to go to the last training of the day.  Of course I said No....wait....I said NO?!?!  Yes, dummy, you said no.

You may be wondering why.  Well.....

{in my BEST inner 16 year old attitude}

Wasn't I th.....


WAIT!

{add an eye roll for good measure}

Wasn't I the one who originally suggested I be included?!?!  Don't they think I know my job well enough to decide what will help our school?!?!  So I will show them by NOT going.

As soon as I hung up, I aged back to 31 and realized what an immature brat I was being.

Now you need to understand that I am normally {say 98%} of the time very reasonable at work...my feeling is that if something is going to benefit the school and our students, I will do whatever I need to. So if you've reached this far with only thinking I am a crazy biatch once, I thank you!

Needless to say, my boss did "encourage" me to go.  This time, I was my 31 year old self, so there were no problems.

I went to the training, got a million and one ideas and came to work today with suggestions as to how this will benefit my school.

Why am I sharing this so publicly?  Because I know I'm not the only one out there who has days like this.  Days where we know if our Mommas heard and saw us, they'd take our butt to the Ladies room for a "chat."

Like the saying goes: Shit Happens.  And sometimes it's your shitty attitude that is happening to everyone around you!  Just remember that when you're the one getting shit on by someone else's attitude.

Why Does Monday Hate Me??

If there was ever a week where I had a case of the Mondays, this was it!

Instead of making a video showing you my interpretive dance on how my Monday was {because I am just too friggin' tired}, here is my Monday in photos.

When the alarm went off at 4:45:

At 5:30, when I either had to go get ready or crawl back into bed:

When I got to work:

After I realized I worked at a school and the above response was inappropriate:

But then I got home, went onto Pinterest {um...duh}, saw this......

......laughed my ass off and was inspired to write a post about my Monday.

Which just proves, Ron F***ing Swanson {and bacon} makes everything better!

What Gets Me Through The Week

Work has been crazy busy since coming back from Winter Break with no end in sight, so here are a few things that have been getting me through the week.

ALMOND MEAL - I am in LOVE with this almond meal.  I don't want to say we have been eating strictly Paleo, but we are trying as much as possible and the possibilities are endless with this one ingredient.  Pancakes, pizza crust, breading for chicken, fish, etc.  Oh, and it is MUCH cheaper than almond flour {only about $4 at Trader Joe's}.

ALMONDS - These are raw almonds that I have been taking with me everywhere I go.  Just a few when I feel a little hungry and I am good to go!  I tend to have these and a banana for my morning snack at work.

EGG MUFFINS - Last weekend I shared my recipe for these.  Gary jumped on board this week and he is a HUGE fan.  I keep experimenting with my own recipe.  This week I added a handful of spinach and broccoli  to the food processor, which is why they look so green!

PITTED DATES - How have I been able to say no to M&M's in the afternoon?  2 of these babies.  Sweet, sticky and super filling!

 STIR FRY - On Wednesday, I did not feel like making the complicated meal I had planned {note to self: any meal that will take more than 30 minutes of work needs to be saved for the weekend}.  Rather than fall off the wagon, I used the chicken breast I had already defrosted for that night, some broccoli that wouldn't make it past the weekend and a bag of frozen veggies to create this easy meal.  It turned out really nice and I even garnished it with a few of the almonds I showed you above.

This was my 2nd stir fry of the week {the 1st one was planned} but it was soooo different.  My 1st one included red bell peppers, mushrooms, and more almond butter than I would like to admit!

Surprisingly, there were no adult beverages included in that list {this may need to change tonight}!  

Wishing you all the most awesome weekend ever!