Coincidence? I think not.

Uh, cuz Kirsten, good call on that comment yesterday. I failed to mention, my PB&J sandwich was INDEED not real peanut butter. Ya'll know I'm scared of that stuff! It was in fact the sunflower butter!

You know what I've realized recently? Every day I get stronger and stronger. As I pick up the pieces, I am more able to look back and realize why things happened. That's far from it being easier to deal with but being able to connect two events and how one played into another is pretty eye-opening.

In a round about way, I found myself yesterday re-reading the "I am numb" post I wrote at 1:47am, about 12 hours after I found out about my mom passing away. And then I wondered what I wrote about in the post prior to that, the what I thought would be the last post before my final weigh in. As I read it, I got goosebumps.

Here's a snippet:

No matter what happens tomorrow with the scale, I am proud of where I am and how I got here. More importantly, I am proud of the fact that I did not give into marketing ploys or crazy thoughts in my head and really truly allowed myself to be vulnerable. To fail and struggle, to learn how to fall down and to learn how to pick myself back up time and time again. I am beyond speechless at what I have learned about myself and who I am. More importantly, I am now so much more aware of what I have yet to learn, and I look forward to what’s next.

So…on that note, although I will weigh in tomorrow morning, I do not intend on posting an update. You see, tomorrow is a special day in my life; therefore, I plan on surrounding myself with Carlos and my family to concentrate on things more important in my life then the number on the scale.

Wow.

And so true, it was a very special day in my life - and so true that I did surround myself with Carlos and my family, to concentrate on more important things in life then the numbers on the scale. Little did I know how much of an impact that day really would be.

I smile now knowing how much of a cheerleader my mom was for me on my journey. And I pray for each one of you to know what its like to have a cheerleader of your own.

One of my mom's final thoughts, via a comment on the blog was:

“Now as we travel the road of life, we need to pick up others along the way as their loads may be too heavy to carry.”

Please remember - in the end, as much as sometimes it seems to be, the scale is not what should matter in our life. Think of that the next time you get on the scale.

For the love of sweat
You ready for this friends? We've got some serious sweatiness going on. Check out these friends who are taking no prisoners, they are taking control of their healthiness lifestyle.

Anne @ Bananzattack

Marlene @ Marlene on the Run

Mrs. Bump @ Never Mind the Bumps

Kelsey @ Becoming Better...one day at at time

Clickworthy Links

• Mom on the Run has a great giveaway - a Tea Top Brew Mug. Click & win!
• This Is Why Your Fat honored my mom....well, kinda. Click & Smile!
  
  
  

Eat your greens - except you Iggy!

Just so you know, I'm totally rocking out on these training sessions (minus one missed, bummer!) Kevin mentioned last night that I was starting to complain but I made sure he understood there was a huge difference in me complaining while doing the workout and me complaining to get out of the workout. Point being, I was complaining but still doing the workout - I'll take that as a victory on my part. (and in my defense, I really only complain every 4th workout...gotta pace myself!)

How about you? Do you allow yourself to complain?

Eat Your Greens
Well, this is what the doctor told Carlos anyways. Apparently he has low iron - which I suspect most of the population has. Because no way most of us get our greens in. Except if you are on the green monster train like Dori is. That little lady gets her greens in every morning in a liquid form - I haven't jumped on this "green monster" train yet, have you?

ANYWAYS...Iggy must have overheard Carlos and I talking about how important it is to eat enough leafy green stuff and decided he probably should too. Yesterday morning, I was at work & Carlos was taking a shower.

Iggy took a flying leap and scaled the couch. He then proceeded to take one final jump onto the arm rest where he found his version of greens.

My mom's Peace Lilly!

NOW...if your freakin' out like I did, calm down - Iggy is okay! Carlos came down and scared the bejesus outta him (cause apparently Peace Lilly's are toxic or posionis to dogs.) Luckily Iggy didn't eat enough to do anything. AND, I think Carlos mentioned something about only the white part being posionus? After Carlos left for work, I came home mid-morning to check on Iggy. He was and is fine - didn't skip a beat!

Either way, I had a serious talk with Iggy to let him know he is NOT included in the "get your greens" club.

And yep, we moved the plant higher!

No Soup For you!
Ya'll on board there? You know the Seinfeld episode? No Soup for you?! Hello? Anyone there?

Okay, well actually there is soup for you. Where else but the soup isle! About a month ago I was strolling along doing my grocery shopping when a pretty blue label stuck out amongst the red labels.

We all now most broth based soups are pretty low-cal but Campbell's has introduced a new line of "light" soups. Attracked to anything low-cal (good bad, take your pick) I filled my cart with one of every kind! They offer lots of flavors ranging from 70-80 calories a serving!

• Vegetable Orzo
• Chicken Gumbo
• Chicken Mushroom Barley
  
• Chicken with White & Wild Rice
• Italian Style Wedding
  

I was not hesitant. I fully trusted Campbell's. And the best part, you can have a whole can and have a super low count! Dinner last night consisted of...

Peanut Butter & Jelly Toasted Sandwich

and some Chicken Mushroom Barley.

Soup Disclaimer: Most canned soup are very high in sodium. This is true for the Campbell's Light soup too. Some sodium is good, the body actually needs sodium. But too much will cause a person to retain water weight. So although soup can fill you up and be low cal, diets based solely on soup isn't probably a good idea - well, in my non-educated, i.am.not.a.doctor opinion anyways.

Proud Sweaty Pictures
Whoddathunk that so many people would be so excited to share sweaty pics? Here are two friends who are putting their health first, who are not holding back, who are fighting, kicking and screaming their way through their healthiness lifestyle.

Lizzie @ Watching and Weighting

Diane

You made it to the end of today's post. Feel free to leave a comment with your daily thoughts. Or, gotta question you've been meaning to ask? do it do it do it!

Cravings have no control

Happy Monday friends! I have to say, writing that random Saturday (read it here) post really helped me. I never thought I needed to write as much as I am realizing I do. I may not always share everything that's going on but just by talking about how much it effects my healthiness lifestyle really does help me to push through everything.

McDonald's Update
Remember Friday's post (here) about how much I was dreaming & drooling & obsessing about McDonald's? And remember how even though I KNEW I was making it sound better then it would actually taste, that I still wanted it?

Well, I would love to give you an update on this but frankly, there is none. Yep, you read that right. I didn't get any closer to eating the McDonald's. So maybe that's the update in itself, that I am stronger then my cravings. My cravings do not control me.

Tell me this: what is your "craving," what do you NOT let control you?


Proof is in the Pictures
Motivation is everywhere. All over the internet. So many people are pushing through whatever excuse comes up to just do it. Get it over with. Not take no for an answer. No one ever went from unhealthy to healthy overnight. It takes one day at a time, one step at at time. Here are my friends who are taking it one step at at time, here are my friends in all their sweaty glory.

Jack Sh*t @ Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit

Felicity

Kerry @ SKINNY ME!!!!!..... coming soon :P

AJ @ AJ Loves to Lose!

Motivational Match-Up
Wow, so many of you jumped on board with the Motivational Match-ups! Love love love it!By now, you should have received an email with your partners email address. (NOTE: If you don't see an email from us, please check your spam folder!)

Not sure what to do now? Don't worry, we didn't leave you hanging - MizFit shot a quick video with some hints, check it out




The bottom line? Be there for them as much as you want them there for you. This is your relationship with them - make it the best it can be!

Sad ol' Saturday

Hiya friends! Yep, its me coming to you live on a Saturday! How 'bout that :)

I packed up my laptop a couple hours ago and headed to the nearest Panera to consume some delish hazelnut coffee and drool at the bakery case.

Despite staring at the bakery case over my laptop monitor, so far, I have stuck with my coffee and have not participated in any bakery consumption. Maybe because my mind is busy. Off in la-la land. Dazed over. My attempt to get work done was disrupted by thought. As I sit here, I watched customer after customer come in.

• Grandparents bring their grandchildren in.
• Mothers & daughters.
• Elderly couples.

A constant reminder of what was missing in my life and forever will be. Sometimes I loose myself in thought. Lost trying to understand how I am that person - that person who lost her mom. Maybe its still shock. Disbelief.

No one would blame me
I've been thinking a lot about how much I have been dragging my feet to get back into the gym. Most of August & September & October I shared often about how my mind just wasn't into going to the gym. How emotionally I was still numb and being at the gym was the last thing I wanted to do. I still hate that darn gym, still drag my feet to work out.

But I pushed myself. And I continue to push myself. Even though you wouldn't blame me. Heck, if I curled up in ball and cried for three months straight, you wouldn't blame me. If I deleted this blog and transitioned back into a non-blog life, you wouldn't blame me. If I gained 3olbs, you wouldn't blame me.

But I'm different. I refuse to give in. I refuse to settle. I refuse to let my mothers death be an excuse. I refuse to let it be the reason I gain weight. I refuse to let an emotional trauma change what I have worked so hard to get.

As much as I continue to fight and kick and scream, as much as I still cry, as much as I still drag my feet, I refuse to give up.

So thank you friends for continuing to encourage me. I pray that through this blog, you find what you need to fight, kick and scream through what your going through. I pray that despite everything your going through, you don't give up. I pray for all the fight left in you to get you through.

I can do this - you can do this. Together, we can do this...no matter what kind of crap life throws at us, we can do this.

Love you guys!

*P.S., just writing this today has made me feel way better! Time to get some work done.

Craving McDonalds

Uh. I'm a priorfatgirl. I just have to keep repeating this to myself.

I wish I could say that after 2+ years and 100lbs lost it gets easier but I gotta be honest, the last 3 days all I can think about is McDonald's. I have not caved - not because I forbid it, but because I know I really don't want it. I know if I eat it, it won't be as good as I'm making it sound in my head. I know I just gotta get past this craving.

You know what's changed though? 2+ years ago, I would have not made it 3 days of "wanting" McDonald's. I would have eating it 3 days ago. I wanted it, I ate it. Now? I've come too far to give in to a silly craving.

• Sure it would be easy to just swing by and get a happy meal.
• Sure we should be able to have everything in moderation.
• Sure we should not deny ourselves certain foods.

But here this - we each have the power to make our own decisions. I have made the decision to not cave in on this silly little McDonald's desire. It's been 3 days - I am stronger then my cravings.

Tell me - what do you do to get rid
of a craving that has lingered
around for THREE DAYS!

Lost wallet
Enough said. I lost it. Gone. It had no cash in it but can't believe its lost! I last saw it Wednesday afternoon in my purse under my desk. I noticed it was not in my purse Wednesday at dinner so a very short time frame. I sit pretty far off the beaten path - no one every really walks past my desk.


I have retraced and retraced and RETRACED my steps. Looked in my car 3 times AND had Carlos look too. I've called the restaurant, asked company security & housekeeping, searched high & low, even asked Iggy if he knew where it was.

The worst part? It was a Christmas give from Carlos last year - a beautiful black Prada clutch type wallet.

I don't even know what to do, where to start. Boo hoo, boo hoo, boo hoo!
Sweaty Proof
You want some more proof that we got a gang of people who are kicking their unwanted pounds to the curb? Check out these...

Candace @ Believing in C - C is me

Rachel @ I want to LOSE IT. (for real)

You got proof that you mean business? Send me a pic to jen@priorfatgirl.com and I'll put it up! No need to be ashamed. Your sweat = you're serious!


Clickable Clicks

• Last call for Motivational Matchups! You have until Sunday to send us an email - no reason to hesitate, this is simply a way for us all to get through the next couple of high-temptation months using the wonderful on-line community!
  
• Actual Scale is giving away a $50 gift card to Amazon.com to celebrate her 50lbs lost and to thank the blogging community for supporting her - stop over & congratulate her & enter to win!
• My uncle Dean, who recently started a blog, is taking a poll. We'll have to wait & see what he does with the results of this poll but its only 1 question so if you get a chance, click over and answer...and then stick around and read some of his posts. Click here!
  

Twisted Snickers

Remember that one time I wrote about bendable celery? Well today, lets talk about twisted Snickers.

With all of the devils temptation (aka "left over Halloween candy") hanging around the of lately, I have been put to the test. Monday and Tuesday I didn't do so well.

Yesterday, I did better. At one point, I found myself hand deep in the bowl of "fun sized" temptation on my cubey neighbors desk only to walk away with a "fun-sized" Snickers.

I sat down to savor my high-calorie, totally not worth it snack when a big dose of will power ran through my blood vessels.

Friends, meet Twisted Snickers.

From way way down deep, I mustered up all my frustration for not being able to eat that darn Snickers and just twisted the bejesus outta it.

That'll show them darn "fun-sized" Snickers!

Measurements Update
On Saturday, I had Kevin (trainer man) take my measurements. I must say, I was completely shocked by the results! I really honestly thought I hadn't changed at all since January. Sure I had lost 5 to 9lbs but 2 inches on my chest? 3.25 inches on my waist? Holy cannoli!


Another day, same lesson...the scale doesn't measure what is really going on with the body! Besides the scale, do you track your measurements? If not, you should consider it - it will help you get a better understanding of what's really going on. Cuz the eyes can fool us, we may not be able to see our own results in the mirror.

I had another training session with Kevin this morning - me, just plugging away at this whole healthiness lifestyle. One day at a time!

Wednesday Date Night
Last night, Carlos and I went out to dinner with his boss who was in town for a couple of days. We went to the Modern Cafe in Minneapolis. We've gone many times before - they have a simple yet delish menu! Any locals been here?


From the website:

The Modern offers seasonal menus inspired by local, sustainable, and organic ingredients. The owners of the Modern believe in sustainable, living wages, commitment to long-term employment and reinvesting in the Northeast community.

I ordered the chicken breast
w/ butternut "hash, chorizo
& pan sauce.

Before dinner, we may
eaten a lotta bread!

Finally...dinner! YUMOLA!!!

AND...some housekeeping items:

• Mary over at Fit this, girl! shared a WW recipe for low-cal mac & cheese. Must make & consume ASAP! (click here)
• CaSaundraLeigh over at A Pinch of This, A Dash of That shared a recipe for Candied spaghetti squash - it's delish AND low-cal!
  

Fun Sized, My Ass

Excuse me for the fowl language.

But who in the Lord's name thought it would be fun to make the devil's temptation (AKA, Snickers, Kit Kats, Butter Fingers, etc) in fun size"?


And who decided it was "fun" anyways cuz it sure as hell ain't fun when I'm wiping Snicker smudges off the interview schedule I was suppose to give the VP later this afternoon. And it sure as hell ain't fun when I gotta make the decision to skip dinner cause I went over on my calories or work out a little longer at the gym (neither of which I did - horribly long work day)

If you remember (uh, does anyone remember from last year?) I managed to make it through Halloween pretty successful. Well, if successful can be defined as not inhaling every chocolate "fun sized" piece in sight.

And then after the fact I inhaled every chocolate "fun sized" piece in sight.


Sorry to report that work got the best of me! The past couple of days, I have been so crazy at work. Last night, I worked for 11 hours. SAD! By the time 7:30pm rolled around over the course of Monday and Tuesday, I had inhaled 7 snickers, 2 butter fingers, 3 Hershey's Crunch bars and a Twix - all inappropriately labeled "fun-size."

(That is the picture from me last year.)

I'm really just wondering - who's having the fun here? Did Snickers place a camera pointed at the bowl and all the Snickers marketers are just sitting there laughing at my lack of self-control? Does the Butterfingers company think its funny to watch me eat the little "fun-sized" candy bars like I am an addict?

Today is Wednesday. I will make every attempt to keep my hand outta the candy jar.

Sweaty Proof
Yesterday, I posted my picture of sweaty proof that I am kicking my stress to the curb. Yeah, I ate some chocolate temptation but you know what? I still was able to run 3.68 miles on Sunday so pooey on the "fun-sized" candy bar makers!

Anyways, here are some of my friends who are kicking poundage & stress to the curb with some serious sweat!

Mrs. Ballou

Jessie @ Figuring It Out

Annie @ Shrinking Girl

Amy

Whaddya think? You got a picture of yourself to prove to the world your not taking prisoners? Send them on in and I'll post for everyone to see!

Clickworthy Links

• MissyMaintains is hosting a great giveaway! Check out Cookware.com for your favorite brands like Hamilton Beach, Emile Henry, Rachel Ray Cookware and more! Giveaway ends 11/6
• Kat is turning her frown upside down & celebrating her accomplishments!
• Motivational Matchups with MizFit is in full swing - wanna know more? Click here! Ready to jump in on the action? Email us at motivationalmatchup@yahoo.com

Giveaway Winner
So many of you entered to win the Kay's Naturals Giveaway - I'm telling you, this stuff is good. Low cal & healthy - meaning not a bunch of added crapola that shouldn't be in our body anyways! DELISH!

The winner is...

Chelsea said...The cereal looks delicious! ____@comcast.net

November 1, 2009 6:30 PM

Running in the cold...

I'm so glad you guys like the idea of a Motivational Matchup! And even more glad that between Mizfit and I, we can match you up with someone special! I look forward to finding out who my motivation match-up is!

Speaking of motivation, I swallowed a big ol' motivational pill on Sunday. I'm serious, I don't know where it came from! I told ya'll about how I am going to run a 5K on Thanksgiving right? Excited, nervous, anxious all flow through my mind. I haven't been running very much - barely making it to the gym 3-4 times a week. I'm celebrating my 3-4 times a week but look forward to getting some more gym time in over the next couple of weeks.

Anyways, I am scared because I am not a baby.its.cold.outside.so.lets.sing.a.song type of gal. No, I'd much rather be inside by the fire. No sledding, no skiing, no snow-tubing and definitely no running in the cold! So why, do you ask, would I sign up for a run?

Cuz I'm nuts like that!

I figured I better do a practice in the cold and marched my butt to the gym to see what kind of ear warmer uppers they had in stock.

I found these 180's Ear Warmers which
came highly recommended by my Twitter friends.

The goods, outside of the box.

I broke them outta the box on Sunday and
decided to take them for a test run.

I thought I took a picture of me wearing them but guess not.

It was about 47 degrees out which isn't that cold but my ears & nose get pretty flippin' cold when I run which is why I don't run outside very often. I'm pretty excited to report that I made it not 1, not 2, not 3 but 3.68 miles! I didn't keep track of the time but I really don't care about the time, I care about the fact that me, a priorfatgirl just ran 3.68 miles! I never thought I would have ever been able to do something like that!

180's Thoughts: I know I would have never been able to run as far as I did without the 180's. They definitely kept my ears warm. I would be head over heels in love with them except for one thing - they kept sliding down & off my ears! The entire time I was running, I was constantly readjusting them back over my hears. Not kidding, about once every 1-2 minutes. It got annoying pretty fast but I kept running - I was just so excited I was running outside!

By the time I finished the run, I looked like
I was about ready to fall over after! I'm sharing it with
you to prove that I mean business - I'm kicking all
of this stress to the curb!

Call for pictures: Want to show the world that you mean business, that your ready to kick your stress & extra poundage to the curb? Send in your sweaty red faced picture and I'll post it for the world to see!

I knew I needed some serious fuel so dug into a banana and added some Naturally Nutty Pepita Sun butter. Remember this from a couple weeks ago? I had a giveaway and mentioned that it was kinda gritty? Well I've changed my mind - the more I eat it the more I LOVE IT!


Iggy is not the type of dog to run with - he weighs about 4lbs now and would much rather just go for rides on Carlos' back.

(yes my friends, that was my cheesy
transition to Iggy - I just wanted to
share this picture with ya'll!)

Germs Germs, Stay away!
Yesterday morning, I started to feel pretty gross. Like sore throat nausea gross. Like "I would rather be home" gross. A little bit of a headache, body aches, freezing & slight cough. I'm hoping & praying & wishing its a one day thing. Cross your fingers okay?

Oh, one more thing - today is the LAST day to sign up for the Kay's Natural giveaway! Winner announced tomorrow!

Motivational Match-up

I am 100% confident that each of you have helped me over the past couple of years because whether you know it or not, you have helped me be accountable to what I'm fighting for. There is no trick to losing weight, no secret I can share with you to explain how I did it other then the "accountability" factor (mostly to myself) and the importance of community.

On August 6th, just 6 days after my moms accident, I wrote about community (full post here). I was rereading that post the other day and something I wrote stuck out at me:

If there is anything I can tell you about how I lost my weight, it was by relying on community. When I was feeling stressed or ready to give up, so many of you instinctly rallied around me. When I shared a victory, you were right there to celebrate with me. That truly is how we continue through life. By supporting each other, by rallying around each other - good or bad. If there is anything I can tell you about how I have made it these past few days, it is by relying on community. We need to do that more.

I mentioned the other week that I was gonna jump on Ebay and get me some serious protective gear to help get me through the holidays, so I don't come out on the other side 20lbs heavier. I am completely aware that stress is gonna run high and food will attempt to be my comfort. But if I have my way, food will not be my reason to live. I need a partner. An accountability partner. A motivational match-up!

Friends, you wanna do this with me? Are you in need of a motivational match-up? Well I have supercalafragilistic news!

MizFit and I are partnering to match you up with someone, somewhere in the world to be your motivational accountability.

What does this mean you ask? That's the best part - cuz it's up to you & your partner! We give you a name & an email address and you define the rest! Be it a text, email, phone call, whatever!

Someone to check in on how things are going.
Someone to poke you when you need a poke.
Someone to pat you on the back.
Someone to give you a reality check.
Someone to send you a impromptu smile.
Someone to be part of your accountability.
Someone who gets what your going through.

If your game, send us an email to motivationalmatchup@yahoo.com with "Count Me In!" as the subject. MizFit and I will match you with a new friend, easy as pie!

Your deadline? Let us know if your on board by Sunday, November 8th. We'll introduce you to your motivational partner soon after!

AND...tomorrow is the last day to enter the Kay's Natural giveaway. Winner announced on Wednesday!

Luscious juicy bacon

How was your weekend friends? Just thought I'd stop by for a little weekend recap cuz tomorrow, well tomorrow, I got something special for ya.

It's a little extra oomph. A little extra something we all need, especially during this holiday season when temptation is at every house, at every cubicle, at every store we frequent. But ya'll gotta wait until tomorrow!

Friday Night
In the mean time, I thought I'd post tonight a little about the weekend! Friday night, we watched my nephew Colton. He is absolutely adorable and I can prove it:

As I was cleaning up from bath time fun, Carlos
attempted to show him some Fist of the North
Star cartoon on Hulu.com.

Colton wasn't impressed.

Saturday
Saturday morning, we woke up and played a little more!


I had my 8am training appointment with Kevin. I was a little nervous since I had slept through my Thursday 6am appointment but Kevin wasn't too rough with me. Just enough for me to learn my lesson - I will not be sleeping through another appointment!

Saturday evening, we met our friends Toby & David for dinner at a place called BD's Mongolian Grill. Have you been? It's fun - it's like a buffet set up but you make your own stir fry!

I got a ton of veggie's with a little tofu thrown in!

After I finished my dinner, the server
brought temptation over and placed
it right flippin' in front of me. GEEZ!!!

I may have gotten the Oreo one,
in honor of my mom of course!
(But I only ate half, it was way too rich for me.)

After dinner, we went to see Paranormal Activity. I watched the trailer last week and was pretty scared. I know - I'm a big scaredy cat.

The movie wasn't as scary as I thought - maybe because I spent most of the movie hidden under my coat. In fact, the last 4 minutes of the movie I hid. And I'm glad I did because I heard the grown men behind me scream like little girls.

After Carlos pried me out of the movie seat, we said goodbye to Toby & David. On our way home, Carlos mentioned that one of his clients was having a little get together and thought I would like it. It's called Foci Glass - its a glass blowing studio and for the evening, they turned off all the lights and just left the glass melting ovens on. It was beautiful on the inside!

Foci Glass - Minneapolis

On display, some hand blown alien creatures!

The director & students getting crazy with their glass.
The piece in the middle started out small but (top of image)
the director is blowing into the glass while the
students are stretching it out.

SMASH! Who knows why they smashed it - they
swept it up and resued the glass later in the evening.
More on display.

I would love to go back and buy some of the
art - it is amazingly beautiful! Even more
amazing to watch them make it!

Sunday Morning
Sunday morning Carlos and I woke up and decided to make breakfast right away. Carlos got up to look in the fridge and pulled out bacon. Immediately I wrinkled my nose - no way can I be healthy and eat bacon at the same time...right?!!

Carlos examined the package and then exclaimed in a very excited tone

"Jen, you can have luscious juicy
bacon! 2 slices are only 80 calories!!!"

I would love to stop here and tell you that I did
not give in to the fatty piece of bacon.
But I ain't gonna lie - how could I say
no to "luscious juicy bacon"?

I had my 2 slices with scrambled eggs and
a low-cal wrap covered in yum salsa!

And that my friends, concludes my weekend. Well, not actually. I did have a run that I'm gonna talk about later this week, maybe on Tuesday because this post is already getting way too long.

How was your weekend? Did you eat any juicy luscious bacon?

No good excuse but moving on

I'm embarrassed. I wish I had a good reason.

Like I overslept.

Or that my alarm clock broke.

But I got nothing. The simple fact of the matter is that I just forgot. I forgot about my 6am personal trainer appointment yesterday. I set my alarm for 6:15am to get up and go to work and went to bed.

Yesterday afternoon I called to apologize to Kevin but it was hours after my appointment and he was with other clients. I'm going to have to make this up to him and will probably have to just accept some intense training for our next session while he takes his frustration out on me. I wasted not only his time, but an entire session plus my money! I hate when that happens, when ya just completely space an appointment out! YUCK!

My next appointment is tomorrow at 8am.

Shut Up and Drive
Remember my post about how I was gonna stop blogging about how I was gonna do all this healthiness stuff and instead I was just gonna shut up and drive? I had one good week of just shutting up and driving.

That was last week. This week started out good but kind of slowed to a halt. I hit the gym Sunday and Monday but missed Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Friday - I knew I needed to, I knew I MUST wake up and go to the gym today so I knew I needed to do something really drastic.

I decided I would have to sleep in my workout clothes. So I did. But I still faced waking up to just turn the alarm off which has happened frequently. So I asked Carlos to kick me outta bed when the alarm went off (normally I'm in charge of setting the alarm, turning it off and waking him up.) But this time, I secretly hid the alarm on his side of the bed so that way he would HAVE to force me outta bed!

And it worked! 5:30am he work up, probably a little irritated but either way, I was up and on my way to the gym! With tomorrow included, that's 4 days this week - wahoo!!

Yep, I am just gonna keep shutting up and driving!

Weekend Plans
Tonight, we are gonna watch our adorable 1 year old nephew Colton overnight. Love him to PIECES, can't wait to show ya'll pictures!

Tomorrow...scary tomorrow. Halloween. After the gym, I will have an early lunch will be at Panera with some new friends. No parties for the evening but we are gonna meet Toby & David for dinner and then gonna hit up a movie theater to see a movie called Paranormal Activity. I'm scared outta my mind. I watched the trailer and it looks flippin' scary! Have you see this? Please tell me I'll be okay!

Are you going to a Halloween party? What are you dressing up as? Do you know as an adult, I have never been to a Halloween party or dressed up? Maybe next year...

Clickity Clicks

• Don't forget about my Kay's Natural Giveaway! You have until Tuesday, November 3rd to enter so click here!
• An important mid-day reminder yesterday, did you see it? Click here for my version of a PSA!
• 150 bloggers united to give you the best of the best. Do something for others and get something in return - click here to learn more about Blog-4-Cause!
  

Have a great weekend friends! See ya'll on Monday for a VERY IMPORTANT POST!

To everyone who reads this...

Just a little reminder to all my readers to stop right now and send an email, text message, make a phone call or turn around and tell someone how much they mean to you.

Because you know that saying "You never know what'll happen tomorrow?" Well, its true. I never once actually thought it could happen to me - never did I think someone I loved would actually truly be taken away before I could say goodbye. For Pete's sake, that stuff happens in movies, not in my life.

But I want to remind you right now that life does what it wants. Take the time now to tell everyone in your life how much they mean to you. Because you never know what'll happen tomorrow. And on that note, I want to give a shout-out to a few people in my life:

• Dave, Mike & Dean: Although we all live so far apart, you all mean so much in my life. Thank you for being my uncles - thank you for making a difference in my life. Thank you for reading my moms emails and for responding to them. She loved emailing you all so much! I love you.
• Dad: Thank you for talking when I had no word. Thank you for knowing what I cannot describe. Thank you for being strong and not giving up on me. I love you more than I can explain.
• Heidi, Alicia and Melinda: Thank you for sharing mom with me. I see mom in each of you and am so glad she was able to teach us the importance of sticking together, the four of us. Thank you for going through this with me. I love you.
• Mike, Dan & Nate: Thank you for taking care of my sisters, especially over the past couple of months. Thank you for giving them the extra hugs they needed, thank you for wiping their tears and most of all, thank you for loving them.
• Carlos: Thank you for taking the brunt of my heartache - for helping me pick up the pieces and figuring out how to put everything back together again. I've got a long ways to go but cannot imagine doing this without you. Thank you for loving me at my worst.
  
• Dori, Amanda, Nicole, Michelle, Kirsten, Deanna, Stacie, Syl, Carla, Annabel, Jenny and all my friends: Thank you for continuing to send me smiles, for continuing to check in on me and for keeping me busy. Now more than ever I have realized how much you all mean to me.
• To all my blogging readers, commenters & those who read from a distance: Thank you for being there. Thank you for your continued prayers, motivation, encouragement and support. Each of who who come here make a difference in my life. I can never repay the blogging world for what you have done for me. I hope to pay it forward.

That's it, that's all I wanted to say - back to your regularly scheduled program!

Review & giveaway

Kay's Natural's
Let's talk about something delish! If you followed me on Twitter, you'd know by now that love me some Kay's Natural food! You don't follow me on Twitter? Click here to find out what your missing!

Anyways, back to Kay's Natural. About a month ago, I received a box in the mail and gotta admit, I was skeptical. From the site:

We are dedicated to bringing to you, our customer, better alternatives to gluten free snacks and cereals. Made with a better balance of soy protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and good fats, our products are delicious and uniquely satisfying snacks and cereals that can actually help curb the appetite, whether at home, at work, or at play.

Here's where they got me... low cal AND good for me! I was game!

I first tried the cereal.
100 Calorie & 9g protein!

Thoughts: It was so good! And the best part, it really did keep me going! I normally have oatmeal for breakfast but the cereal was a pretty good trade off. Plus, I have to admit, it was kinda fun eating cereal at my desk while everyone else was eating oatmeal!

I also tried the pretzels.
110 Calories & 10g Protien.

Verdict: Again, delish! These had a slight butter flavor to it - who doesn't pretzels with an egg white, light laughing cow & salsa wrap. Perfect lunch!

Giveaway
Now the good news. One lucky reader will receive their own sample pack from Kay's Naturals.
To win, simply do one or any combination of the below:

• Visit the Kay's Natural website & browse around. Then come back and leave a comment with what you would love to try!
• Update your Twitter to read "Kay's Natural Giveaway @priorfatgirl! Sample pack of healthy and delish at www.priorfatgirl.com"
• Update your Facebook status to read "Kay's Natural Giveaway @priorfatgirl! Sample pack of healthy and delish at www.priorfatgirl.com!"
• Include a link to this site your next blog update

Fine Print: Entries accepted through Tuesday, November 3rd at 11:59pm. U.S. residents only. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 4th.

Ready...Set...GO!

Empty House Syndrome

Happy Hump day friends!

How was your Tuesday? Mine was good - work is crazy busy. I just so happened to start during one of the busiest times of the year so I've been super overloaded with things to do but am really enjoying all the new projects.

I had a "lemme eat everything in sight" kinda day yesterday *pooey!* Well, the day started out okay until about 3pm when I realized the day was almost coming to an end and I had so much to still do. So I panicked and reached for a piece of candy outta the candy dish. It tasted good.

So I had another.

And another.

And before I knew it, my garbage was full of wrappers and the work still hadn't been done! (I had a total of 6 bite-sized pieces...not horrible but definitely not needed.) I then proceeded to come home to an empty house.

Empty House Syndrome
Not sure if any of ya'll experience this too but when I'm home alone, I feel like its free reign on the kitchen. If I take it back a bit, when I was losing a majority of my weight, I lived alone. Which means I controlled the food in the house and just chose not to have any junk food in the house. Now I cannot blame this on Carlos moving in but the fact of the matter is that since he moved in, there have been more temptation in our house then before. When he is home, no problem - I don't eat it.

But when he's not home, it's like the house is filled with the crapola food screaming from the kitchen! Dorito's taunt me, I swear! Last night, Carlos was out with friends which seemed to give me some sort of "excuse" to raid the fridge. I didn't have a total binge attack but ate way more then I should have.

So...that means, onto the next book recommended! My twitter & local Minneapolis friend @nicycle mentioned a book called The Beck Diet Solution.
I logged into my local library's website last night to find that there is a waiting list a mile and a half long for it (I'm such a drama queen, more like 2-3 weeks!)

Have any of you read the book? I can't wait to get the book - I've heard a lot of great things about it and will definitely share my thoughts with ya'll!

Meaningful Necklace
Yesterday, I shared with you an image of my necklace that has my mom's fingerprint on it. It truly is the most precious thing I have right now. I've found myself quite often throughout the day holding it...to calm me down, to remind me that I will be okay, to remind me that my mom is closer then it feels.

Many of you asked about how I got this necklace. Actually, all of my sisters have one as well as my dad. My sister, Heidi, found a company called Jewerly That Matters did them for us. Great company, great customer service, amazing memories!

Clickworthy Links

• Missy @ Missy Maintains has a giveaway - enter to win Progresso gift package.
• Mom on the Run is having a giveaway too - enter to win an inspirational gift package!

Incorrect Measurements & Fingerprints

Carlos helped me take my measurements last night.

January 2009: 36.6 inches
October 2009: 26.6 inches

Well I'll be darned, I knew I lost some serious boobage but uh, Carlos, I want a second opinon!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....really, that is messed up. There is no way I had 10 inches to lose at that point, no way my chest is 26.6 inches. I'm crying FOUL! I'm gonna take my tape measure to the gym on Wednesday and have them remeasure me. I guess this is the reason why its so important to have a professional take your measurements! I'll share the official results when I get them. (P.S. Love you Carlos, thanks for trying!)

• Do you take your measurements or just weigh yourself?
• If you take your measurements, who do you have take them?

Lately
Addicted is too strong of a word. Obsessed is dramatic. There are some things in my life that I admit, I have become infatuated with. For example...

Tortilla, egg whites, light
laughing cow cheese wedge & salsa.

Tortilla wrap w/ veggie burger,
light laughing cow cheese wedge, lettuce & salsa.

Kays Naturals White
Cheddar Cheese Kruncheeze

Chocolate Mint Vitatop Muffins &
Whipped Cream for dessert!

Sparkpeople
I've been doing so-so on keeping record of my calories in Sparkpeople. I am better at work and then just never seem to do it at home. I need to get better about it.

Some of you left me comments saying I should find you on Sparkpeople. Lemme explain this though; I'm on Twitter, Facebook, and blogger yet for the life of me cannot figure out how to add someone or find someone on Sparkpeople. If you can figure it out, feel free to find me, I'm priorfatgirl.

Sharing
My mom and I talked a lot - we talked every day. Not just once a day, multiple times a day. We emailed all day long! Even after I would leave my computer, we would text each other. Not really huge conversations but just would tell each other what we were doing, ask what the other is doing, text something funny we saw or anything else that randomly came up.

Her fingerprint is in everything I do. I catch myself doing things and instantly know that I'm doing it because its the way my mom did it.

I know my mom isn't here any more to email or text me but her fingerprint is still close to my heart.

Forever & always.

(My mom's fingerprint)

Nice & slow...

aaaahhhh....friends, this weekend was nice & slow. Of course I'll recap the weekend but thought it would be appropriate to show you how Iggy likes to help do the dishes.


I know I know, how freakin' adorable right?

Saturday Morning
Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early to a little Good Earth. I met my friend Amanda, another priorfatgirl and Michelle from Michelle's Hobby Bloggy for breakfast.

We drank a trazillion
gallons of water.

I ordered the breakfast parfait.
Ready for this picture?

The freshest of fresh mango, kiwi, strawberries & yogurt all laying every so sweetly on layers of granola. I never in my wildest dreams thought a little fruit & yogurt could fill me up but man oh man, this was heavenly!

And it was a perfect pre-workout breakfast...not too heavy, not at all greasy. After breakfast, I went to the gym to meet Kevin for legs day. By the time he was finished, my calves shook were shaking!

So now to recap the past couple of days.

• My calves are shaking.
• My biceps are quivering.
• My quads are trembling.
• My butt cheeks are throbbing.

Holy Hannah, what's left of me? I've been asking Carlos for help to stand up off the couch - don't even ask me about going up and down the stairs!

And yet I'm going back for more! Tonight - 6:30pm. Oy vey, I better get someone around here to take my measurements! Anyways...this next image describes how I'm feeling right about now:


Besides my newphew, Calebs birthday party, I made it to the gym both Saturday and Sunday which is a huge accomplishment for me. I really did take some mental time away this weekend - zoned out in front of some serious Hulu.com catch-up. (If you don't know what this site is, check it out. It has every show you could ever want to watch in order from season after season and is completely free!)

I plan on trying to keep it low-key throughout the week because although the weekend felt great to just relax, I could definitely use some more down time to just mentally catch back up.

What do you do when you need to relax?

I cried on the inside....

Oh my Heaven and all the stars in the world!

Kevin, the new trainer totally showed me whats up!

I woke up extra early for my 6am appointment. I am pretty sure I was in and out of sleep as I drove to the gym but luckily I made it. Kevin was there, all cheery - no one should ever be that cheery at 6am.

He screamed "Hiya, Jen!" I grumbled and nodded my head. I looked around for a coffee maker.


Ix-nay on the coffee machine. Just hell machines and water fountains.

I turned back to Kevin and nodded again indicating I would succumb to the appointment. He led me towards the weights skipping and whistling like it was 2pm in the afternoon and he was on his way to a bakery. I crawled behind him...sllllooooowwwwwlllllllyyyyy.

Weight lifting began, me trying to look cool and forcing myself to do sets of 12 with more weight then a coffee mug so who cares the actual number. I cried on the inside but showed no pain - no way was I gonna look weak on my first day.

Small talk consumed most of the 30 minutes we spent together - getting to know each other, our personalities, communication styles and all that jazz.Eye contact was limited because my eyes were glued to the clock on the wall. I cared less about what color Kevin's eyes were, I just wanna know when this atrocious way to spend the morning session was going to end.

It finally finished.

I got in the car and knew I was in trouble the minute I started to back out of my parking spot but my arms wouldn't move. Within a matter of 7 minutes and 32 seconds from completing my Kevin-inflected Jen-paid-for session, my muscles were ripped to shreds and were done before the day even got started.

I drove home using my thumbs and knee only to face my next dilemma.

Hair washing.

I screamed for Carlos to help me but he was still plugged up from his "I don't have H1-N1" illness and knocked out in bed. I did the best I could but ended up allowing myself to leave for work looking like one hot mess.

And the worst part? You wanna know the worst part of this whole entire experience? I can't believe I'm gonna share this with you but after this whole experience yesterday morning, I got up on Twitter and admitted this:

@priorfatgirl hate to say this too loud but I feel great after waking myself up at gym.Might hafta ponder convincing myself to consider doing it again!

**this morning, I am a sore. Not horribly like I pushed myself too far but just sore enough to know yesterdays appointment went well. I have an impromptu session with him tomorrow.

Contest Winner
Ya'll have had plenty of time commenting on the Potty Breaks post - remember the one where we all commented on the color of our potty? eeeewww....um, I know more about your potty habits then I ever thought I should. Anyways, the whole point of the post was to talk about how dry my hands get from a gazillion bathroom break & hand washings every day at work. Without further delay, the 2 winners are...

Angela @ Cherry Blossoms Run

and

Lexi @ Ramblings of a Healthy Student

Ladies, email me your home address - jen@priorfatgirl.com

Clickity clicks....

• Oh la la, click here for a little added fiber to your day via some possibly free muffins!
• Amanda, another priorfatgirl is giving away a little somethin' somethin' to get your hips a shaking - click here!
  

This weekend I hope will be some quiet time. I declined some social activities which is not like me but because I just need some time to figure out how to relax before I go postal. Yep, no going postal for me!

Alright folks, have a healthy weekend!