Thank the Lawd

(that's Jess speak for Lord by the way!)

Hey ya'll!

Comin to you straight from Generator Land!

We are going on hour 53 of no electricity!

Yoinks!

See, my folks have an electric water heater so that means COLD showers! 

But, no worries.

The most important thing is that everyone here is safe, sound, and healthy.

We were able to get my parents garage and shop cleaned out today enough to fit all of our cars inside.
(why yes, we are still unpacking boxes, but that is of no great concern!)

That makes for much less worry of hail damage (yucky)

While straightening up we found the gas powered generator my daddy has! 

Woopie!!

We filled her up

and went to pluggin in the fridge and a lamp right away!

Oh yea and my precious wireless modem!

My dad is good to me! 

Check this out.....

This tree is RIGHT behind my dad's shop!
Lightening struck the poor thing sometime during all the chaos!
Bless it's heart!
(I really just wanted to bless somethings heart!)

The down side to all of this.
What does one do when there is nothing else to do?!?
EAT!
Wait, is that only me?!?
No?
It's you too! Okay good!
I had Whataburger and Cinnamon Donuts!
YIKES!

But, I am getting very creative now!
Because once I'm done here I am going to get my daily pinning addiction on.
The iPad's charged and fully downloaded.
The iPhone is ready to roll.
and if all else fails I still buy books in hard back too :)
oh! or I could paint my nails!
They are looking a little shabby!

(Whoa I can't believe I just let you see that!)

Then, when the sun comes up,
I'm going to run until allllll the calories I have eaten fall off.
(okay, maybe not that far-but FAR I tell you! ;)

Until Then....

Mouse Pad Wrist

I think I might have mouse pad wrist.

You know like tennis elbow

or writers cramp,

swimmers ear,

or runners knee.

Haven't you heard of those things?!?

What do these things have in common?

All things that ache, thanks to over use!

See, I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to see a specialist for this.

Okay, maybe not, but I think I definitely need to take a break from the ol' laptop for the night.

In other news, I think I am nearing a vision for this blog. 

It's such a great idea it's under secret protection for now.

Okay, not really to that too.

But, I am still working on the ideas.

So, I am not ready to take it there yet. 

Easter is nearly upon us.

With today being Good Friday 

and 

Sunday being Easter.

Check out these pretties!!! 

Source

So intricate!

Oh yea, and check out these.

I just can't get them out of my head!

Source

Wouldn't it be so nice if the Easter Bunny put these in my basket!!

*Drool*

Pretty please with sugar on top!!!

Alrighty, I'm outta here...gonna go read Water for Elephants.

Source

I sure do hope this book is as good as I have planned it out to be in my mind!

I'll have to let you know!



Until Then.....

On The Table~Day 1

Cue the oh-so handsome George Straight's voice singing

"What's going on in your world?"

"I hope your doing fine"

Been a little while huh folks?!? No excuses here...the writing just didn't happen this week. But, I have found my way back and I have plenty to share.

Let's see.
So, I came up with this plan...it's called time to go on the hot and sexy bikini diet. I mean spring is most nearly upon us and followed by that summer and that can only mean one thing (or two or three or more things):

Tank Tops

Shorts

Swimming

Bathing Suits!!

All of which will expose my winter layers - that were necessary to combat this insane cold that exists in the "nawth". Let's face it people - I'm not ready for all that! I mean, I AM ready for warm weather! But, I'm NOT sure my shape is ready for skimpier clothes!!!

So, with all of the good intentions that I have, I planned to start my bikini diet on March 1. Woops! It was a busy day!

Welcome to March 2 - the bikini diet has officially kicked off with this evenings dinner choice! YAY!

Here is what was on my table tonight:

Honey Mustard Salmon with Parmesan Roasted Asparagus!

The most pleasant thing about this meal-- it was TASTY!

The second most pleasant thing about this meal-- it was GOOD for me!

The third most pleasant thing about this meal-- it was EASY!

The fourth most pleasant thing about this meal-- mine looked just as good as THEIRS!

The fifth most pleasant thing about this meal-- OK I'm out of pleasant things!

But, it really was so awesome! I got the recipe from the "Cook This, Not That" book! Insert good news here!!! You don't have to shell out money for the book to get this recipe! A few of the books more famous dishes (including this one) can be found by following the link above!

I also threw out alllll the temptations lurking in my cupboard! Thank goodness the neighbor boy was around and likes mini powdered donuts! I may have shed a tear if I'd had to toss them in the can!

Some of you may be asking "What diet are you following?" or "What are you choosing to eat and not eat?" Give a round of applause for:

I have decided to go with a meal plan that I read about in "The Four Hour Body".

It's basically a zero carb/minuscule sugars diet.

So you get the gist.

All the meat, veggies, eggs, and beans a gal can handle!!!

Plus, one cheat day a week! How awesome is that?!?

I have already decided to commit to the diet for the next 30 days. At that point I will measure my progress and reassess. I'm actually pretty excited about it! I feel like this will really push the envelope when it comes to learning to be more creative in the kitchen!

photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

And...terror of all terrors. Tomorrow I am going to take my measurements! (scary enough right ladies?!?)

But I have to take it up a notch....I'm going to post them....here....for you and all the world to see.

I have got to up the accountability big time! (also a suggestion from the 4HB)

Yoinks!

No worries though, I am going to do it and I am going to be proud of whatever those numbers are!

Anyone with me?!? Well you don't have to post your numbers silly!! But, how many of you are gearing up for summer in your own way?!? What kind of diet and exercise plans are you trying?!? I couldn't resist doing SOMETHING when that Victoria's Secret Swimsuit Catalogue arrived!

Until Then....

Experimental Eating

As most of you know I am working on/tyring to read 100 books in one year. Well, I recently started reading The Four Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. Who doesn't like short cuts in life?!? In his book Tim (yep, we're on a first name basis haha) talks about a "Flash Diet" where subjects were asked to take pictures of all their meals or snacks prior to eating. Research concludes that photographs are more effective than written food diaries and more convenient to boot! It allowed participants to consider their choices before the damage was done.
It is suggested that you up the ante by posting the photos in a public place!
I mean really...if you know someone is going to see it you probably won't eat that entire bag of chips while watching TV or decide to indulge in that second can of soda!!

At the end of the chapter the reader is encouraged to ask some questions of themselves and take action. Tim challenges you to participate in at least 2 of his 5 suggestions for cutting fat without changing what you eat. One of the choices just happened to be....yep, you guessed it! Photographing your food!!! So, here I am giving it my all! He recommends doing the experiment for 3-5 days but I am going to aim for 2 weeks!!!!!

YIKES!!!

Enough jabbering... here is what I ate today!

Breakfast: 4 Powdered Donuts, Dinner: Pan Fried Pork Chops, cheesy taters, & broccoli, Desert: 3/4 of a Strawberry Cupcake (I shared a lil with hubster!) 

And, for good measure, I have decided to photograph what I drink as well. After all you can drink your calories!!

Water all day and Honey Brown with dinner

 There it is. The ugly truth. I would get a good "talkin to" from any nutritionist. I pretty much operate on the principle "Eat when you are hungry and don't eat when your not!". For as long as I can remember I have never gone wild over breakfast. I hardly ever feel hungry in the A.M.!!! I know! Really bad huh?!? To add to all that...I rarely eat 3 (or however many they are recommending these days) square meals a day. If I'm not hungry I might skip one and then make up for it by eating double later!!! Feel free to lecture me! But, really, that is the purpose of this little experiment. I'm going to see if I can guilt trick encourage myself to make better choices for my health!

There you have it guys!
Anyone else wanna play???
What are your thoughts on my little experiment?!?

Until Then....