Bear With Me

I've been working really hard at trying to plan blogging into my schedule. It used to just be a hobby that I would continuously think, "Oh it would be so cool to have a popular blog." Of course, to have a popular blog you have to actually work for it.

And with my blog being promoted more at work I figured I should probably put more effort into the blog, including writing posts so, ya know, people have something to read, weird concept right?

I've been trying to make Sundays my day to write my blog posts for the week, because with as busy as I am, I just don't have time to blog every single day.

However,

this Sunday was not used for blogging (other than this one).

I've been sick and it sucks.

It started Thursday (my birthday of course) with a sore throat and continued through the weekend with a nose that wouldn't stop running, sniffles, and sneezing.

I've spent what little energy I have cleaning the house now that Michael is gone for work.

So just bear with me while I try to catch up and feel better!

Have a great week everyone!

Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin'!

 

WIAW: Wait It's Wednesday?

Holy cow, I can't even remember the last time I did a What I Ate Wednesday.

I'm pretty sure it was like March.

What?

It's been a little crazy around here 

Like I have a list so long that I just lie down because I can't remember what I'm supposed to do

Between moving, graduating, and working full-time it's been a whirlwind of things going on.

However, I actually remembered to take pictures!....sort of!

I had to take pictures of 2 different days, split up because I couldn't seem to remember to take a picture before I scarfed down food.

So here we go!

 Breakfast:

 Eggs in a basket made by my loving boyfriend

After Workout Snack:

Chocolate and peanut butter shake.

Can I tell you what's in it? No. I've been running around so much that Michael just makes food and hands it to me. What an awesome boyfriend!

Super yummy!

Lunch:

Amy's bean & cheese burrito
Almost didn't get the picture..told you I just scarf this stuff down

Pre-Zumba Snack:

Small blueberry Noosa yogurt

Dinner:

Jenn's Baked Tofu with sauteed veggies & steak fries

Thankfully I at least remembered what I ate...even if it was only because it was on my phone...and I'm sure I probably forgot something.

Have a great week everyone!

Transformation Tuesday #4

Hi hi everyone!

So I missed a week here on Transformation Tuesday...whoops

Like I said yesterday, pure chaos around here.

So we're back for another round of Transformation Tuesday!

I really haven't been on my game. I've exercised here and there, but otherwise it's been very scarce. Eating hasn't been the best, but I've certainly eaten worse. I've been half trying to convince myself that, because I need to increase my calorie count, can eat dessert to add more. Well, that was a horrible attempt at convincing myself I could overindulge all the time. My stomach was a lot smarter than my head. Anytime I ate some sort of sweet my stomach would hurt and bloat like crazy, which means, no sweets like that for me. Michael and I are starting over this week and really buckling down on exercise and nutrition.

Michael is in the same boat as me, but he's been a lot more diligent about staying away from sweets. If anything, if he has any, he makes sure he has a small amount and I eat the rest.

Outside of Transformation Tuesday I wanted to talk about a new book I just bought, The Everygirl's Guide to Diet and Fitness by Maria Menounos.

Obviously I'm not trying to lose weight, but it's an excellent read and gives me helpful tools I can then tell other people. It's well written and incredibly relatable. I definitely suggest picking it up and taking a read!

We'll check back in next week with an update!

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Overnight Oats

When I first heard about Overnight Oats I wasn't too sure about how I would like them. I'd tried museli before and hated it and I didn't think I'd like Overnight Oats any more.

Well boy was I wrong!

This stuff saved my life and time. I eat it weekly and it's so crazy easy!

Overnight Oats

Makes 2 mason jars full

2/3 cup rolled oats (must be rolled!)

3/4 cup milk or nondairy milk such as almond or soy

2 tablespoons powdered peanut butter, like PB2

2 dates, finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon ground flaxseed

1 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds

Mix all ingredients together in 2 mason jars (or a resealable container) and refrigerate overnight.

Some add in ideas:

Fresh fruit
Nuts or seeds
Shredded coconut
Pumpkin puree or roasted sweet potato
Cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger
Cocoa powder

Enjoy!

Taking on Some New Tasks

Happy Monday my wonderful readers!!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I sound like a broken record, but things have been pure chaos around here. This past Tuesday I had to take my poor furbaby (the cat, not Michael) into the vet to get his paw checked out. He was holding his paw really oddly for awhile, and when he started to avoid walking on it I knew it was time to visit the dreaded vet. I was worried it may have been a sprain or a small fracture or something. Turns out he had a bad infection in the skin between his pads and the pads were really inflamed, making it painful to walk on.

Poor guy got stuck in the cone to prevent licking and irritating it further.

Then on Friday my mom texted me that she was in the ER for bad chest pains. So I spent hours with her at the hospital while they tried to figure out what's going on. Thankfully it wasn't a heart attack, but we still don't know what's wrong exactly. She goes in for more tests this week to find out what's causing her pain.

With all that going on, I didn't have time nor the energy to write up this post on a new task I've taken on at work. At our gym we have a nutrition board that changes weekly and my boss passed it to me to take it over for a few weeks.

For last week's topic I chose Breakfast.

In a nutshell I wrote:

• A breakfast consisting of high fiber, high protein, and complex carbohydrates will you keep you fuller longer which will prevent you from overeating at lunchtime and thus, helps you lose weight
• Some quick & easy breakfast options include: Overnight oats (I'll post the recipe later today), Greek yogurt with low added sugar granola, and Veggie & Turkey sausage mini frittatas (recipe coming soon)

This week's topic is Lunch

Some of my tips include:

• Make enough at dinner the night before for leftovers the next day. 
• If you're going to eat pasta, serve it over a bed of spinach to cut calories & fill you up (got that tip from the lovely Lauren at Lauren Lives Healthy)
• If you're not a fan of leftovers some easy lunch ideas include: turkey & avo sandwich on whole grain bread, frozen dinners (but watch the sodium!), salad with premade grilled chicken strips
• Make food at the beginning of the week & keep in the fridge like this Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Tomatoes, and Corn, zucchini noodles with veggies & pesto (recipe coming soon), or Baked Falafels on a Salad
• And some good tips on eating on the go: opt for grilled chicken and "hold the fries" and order fruit or a salad as a side

Something else that's new on the blog, besides the new headline up there...

If you look over on the right there is now a button that looks like this

 Yep! I finally joined the bloglovin' community! Be a good friend and follow me over there so you can get all the updates for when I write a new blog post!

Also, don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Hope you're all having a wonderful Monday!

The Final Step to Adulthood

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm jumping in and joining Katie for Marvelous in my Monday and talking about my college graduation!

Before graduation my mom treated me to getting our nails done, hair done, and lunch at the tea house

She also had a lei specially made for me to wear for graduation

Graduation took forever, but I was beyond stoked when I checked in and learned I had gotten honorable mention

My parents were beyond proud and had no idea!

Instead of taking you step by step I'll just bomb you with some photos

Selfie after receiving my diploma!

Afterwards my family & Michael's parents went out to dinner and after that I promptly went home and passed out...party animal right here.

The next day we went down to my grandma's and had a fun party with an amazingly delicious cake from Whole Foods

I'm so beyond happy to be done with school and to finally be a full-time working adult working in the career field of my dreams!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Don't forget, the blog now has its own domain!! Check it out at the top!