Pieces of Jewelz

2010-11-19T08:01:00.001-08:00

Unregister.

Give and Get is Here!

2010-08-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from August 26-29 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy and we'll donate 5% of what you spend to a non-profit."

i'm still around :(

2010-08-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy, I have a lot to write about. This is going to be a short, pictureless, post. Sorry! I promise to bring pictures and update of m first two days at school. Sorry for the brief post, but I have to fit a workout in where I can. Lunch was a huge salad. Right on campus! This could be trouble :) Until tomorrow

2010-08-20T21:31:00.003-07:00

2/2: the best from a menu! :)

2010-08-20T21:31:00.001-07:00

1/2: Today was a wild ride! No time for a full post tonight, but tomorrow will be chalked full of information! I'm thinking of talking about picking

Exercise...is it for everyone?

2010-08-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

I was riding my stationary bike yesterday, reading about the different reason people workout, and it made me think of all the workouts I do. I'm not a personal trainer or an expert by any means, but have researched and worked out for years. I've tried so many different programs and regimens. I'm not dieter, as I'm sure you have learned from my post, but I believe in moderation.

A lot of the time, people workout for vanity instead of the real benefits. Although the vanity is common, the health benefits should out weigh the vanity of it. It is not a competition or nor should negative emotions be associated with it! The feeling of getting stronger is empowering, and if others could get to that point working out would be more enjoyable.

Sure when I started to work out it was for vanity reasons. I wanted to be "sexy" or what I thought it meant to be sexy. With the tabloids, airbrushing and what not, it is hard to maintain a good body image. But love comes from with in, before it comes for out.

This is my new overnight oats! I added the almond milk and strawberries. I think next time, I think I will add both milk and almond milk. Still super tasty! Especially after my early morning workout. I was surprised, I actually peeled myself out of bed and did day two of the thirty day shred! It felt great! I can feel my legs getting stronger.

I wanted something quick for lunch. I was starving after work! I put a flour tortilla in a pan, grated some Colby cheese and let it melt. Then, I cut up some avocado and presto...lunch! It was very good and felt pretty light. (It looks like a lot more cheese than it is.)

I got a killer headache after lunch. After taking two Tylenol, I still had a headache! I broke down and got coffee. I need to cut back, but I need to do it slowly. The headaches are killer! So I wasn't very hungry for dinner. I just had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats. It was pretty good though.

Eat, Pray, Love..I thought it was really good! It dragged in a few spots, but I found it to be very intriguing. I wasn't disappointed and want to read the book now! I think it is a definite worth watch movie :)

2010-08-18T23:54:00.001-07:00

2/2: ve you like you!! I think I must buy the book now! Gnight! :)

2010-08-18T23:53:00.001-07:00

1/2: Just a quick note...just walked in the door from Eat, Pray, Love. I loved it, it is about the healthiest living, loving yourself! No one can lo

A little of this, a little of that

2010-08-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'm starting with lunch today, because this morning was uneventful. I wanted something healthy! I had bought some spinach wraps and I thought it should be stuffed with veggies!! I spread Spinach and Artichoke hummus on it, so yummy! Then I loaded it up with, romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumber and avocado. It hit the spot.

After lunch, I finished laundry from yesterday. (And two weeks ago! :) I filled out this extensive application, for a student committee at school. I hope I can get it! It is about spread a message about healthy living, through various activities, and I've been looking for that exact opportunity. Fingers crossed, I should know by September 4th if I get an interview...eek!

Finally, about 5 p.m. I got off my but and worked out! I just did thirty minutes on the stationary bike today. I was still a little sore from yesterday! I went ten miles, and it says I burned three hundred thirty-six calories! It felt good. Then, it was time for dinner.

Couscous, with a variety of veggies. I sauteed them in olive oil and lemon juice. It was soo tasty!! There is zucchini, tomatoes, onions and Parmesan cheese! Very tasty! I'm off to the movies with my mom and Lorissa! Finally, going to see Eat, Pray,Love! Looking forward to some Kettle Corn!! MMM...

The days are winding down....

2010-08-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

Any day I can start with a Caramel Macchiato is a good day! I love this drink. I don't think about the calories or sugar, I just drink it. I don't get many indulgence but I take advantage of this one!! :) Paired it with a Zucchini Walnut muffin. I ate half of it and gave the rest to Ben.

After my coffee and some bills...blah...I re-started my 30 day shred program! If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it! It is a great workout program and goes into detail of how to do certain exercises properly! It is a little advanced, so a beginner may have a hard time with it. But I'm an exercise lover, but it is still a challenge for me. But when I started it a few weeks ago, I could see the results! I had to start it again because the gap of me doing it was over a week.

I rushed to get ready and go get Kayla. By the time I got home, I was starving! I heated up a Lean Cuisine. It was very good!! It was a Lemon Pepper fish with rice pilaf. It came with some apple cobbler, but I skipped that.

Thom's car broke down, the second time in two weeks, and was late getting home! I had to call work and let them know I was going to be late for the fashion show. I get to work and the DJ cancelled. We had to improvise and had the "models" do other things. I ran all over and picked up food for the big event! We had crab wontons, Python Wontons (which I didn't eat), and a wonton cracker with Ahi tuna on them. Dessert was Cheesecake and a Fudge cake. I took a small piece of the Cheesecake, one crab wonton and one cracker. It was starting to get room temperature, so I was scared to eat the rest! Not a big enough dinner!! I'm definitely hungry right now! Can't wait for breakfast tomorrow. I think I'm making my overnight oats for Thursday! :) Night!

Growing up too fast!

2010-08-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Let's start with a pic from my birthday dinner. I love a good, cold beer!! This is a Jeremiah Red Ale. It was so smooth and delicious! I loved it! I think next time I will try the sampler!

I am a little bummed my eyes are closed, since this the only picture of that night! (My camara decided that it didn't want to work in the dark restaurant) But I love these girls!! Great friends! What a fun night!

So today was Kayla's first day at a new school. I was sooo nervous! We were standing there, watching her in line, and I kept hoping that she would make friends quickly! The bell rang and she was off.. :( It was even sadder thinking Ben will be there next year! He has grown so fast!

After we dropped her off, we went to the U of A to take care of some of my school. On the way there I had half of a Clif Bar. I shared part of it with Benjamin. I had to get my MMR and my books. Two of my books aren't in yet. That means I need to battle the crowd next week. I even searched Chegg and Amazon, they didn't have them either. So fingers crossed. It makes me nervous to NOT have all my supplies before school starts. I'm a planner and organized person, things like that make me nervous.

We went to Sunflower and got so much good food. We bought fruits, veggies and coconut water! We got Almond milk too. I want to make them with my overnight oats! I will post the recipe, after I make it. :) Which I've been dying to try! Kayla had a great day at school! She loved it! She was excited and told me so much fun stuff! She even said I didn't have to walk her in tomorrow , if I didn't want to. :(

Then we played Wii Fit and had some family competition. I scored 365 in the Super Hula Hoop! It was a lot of fun. We capped off the evening with the David Hasselhoff Roast! It was pretty hilarious! Until tomorrow, where there will be more pics, I have a fashion show at work. I will get some good pics of that, have a great night :)

A requested day off...umm, apparently off limits

2010-08-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well, last night was fun until I got sick! We went to BJ's. I got the Avocado Egg Rolls!! My absolute favorite. If you are ever by one, you have to try them. They have avocado's, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. They serve it with a teriayki type sauce, it really adds to the flavor. I paired it with a Jeremiah Red Ale. It was all so good. I was having so much fun. Then they brought out the ice cream brownie. I, of course, had to have a few bites. It was so delicious.
Afterwards, we went to the Cactus Moon. We started off with a shot of Southern Comfort and Lime. Then we went for a Dos Equis. Both tasted good. About an hour into being there, and some fun dancing, it started to rain. They had the doors open, both the heat and humidity combined. It was like sitting in a hot sauna. I instantly didn't feel well. We decided to leave and the car ride made it worse! Lesson learned, no beer and ice cream.
I woke up this morning and I felt great. Stayed an extra hour and got some visuals done. Got home and had a tiff with Thom, my boyfriend. We have been together for twelve years and have had a bumpy road. We have made it through so much. We can make it through anything! But we struggle with communication. Oh well :)
After relaxing most of the day, I started dinner. A big huge salad! (PIC posted with my phone :( Sorry I left my camera in my friends car. ) It was soo good. I added spinach, tomatoes, pine nuts, edamame, goji berries, cucumber, red onion and carrots. It the spot. After all the booze last night, I need something healthy. I love cooking at home!

I made Thom boiled chicken tacos with avocado. He has to eat the blandest food! I don't know how he does it! But with stomach issues like him, I have to cute with different knives than what I used on my salad. Poor guy!

Tomorrow is Kayla's first day of 4th grade, at a new school! She is nervous and we have to wake up early. Then off to the U of A for my shot, pick up books and a package for childcare. Promise, to be back with pictures tomorrow!

My overnight oats

2010-08-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

Overnight oats, are exactly like they sound. You can mix and match ingredients and it, literally, takes less than ten minutes. I've been wanting to try it with Almond milk and green apples. I'll let you know how that goes. Below is a foundation recipe, you can put whatever you want. Switch out what you don't find appealing.

1/3 cup of rolled oats

1/3 cup of Greek yogurt

1/3 cup of 2% milk

1 tsp of flaxseed meal

A handful of sliced almonds

A handful of blueberries

Half of a small banana

Mix it all together and let it set over night. Then I added some Shredded Oats in the morning. I wanted a little bit of crunch

Anticipation of a fun night!

2010-08-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

My first choice for breakfast is overnight oats! They are amazing! With the excitement of it all, I forgot to make them. This is the next best thing! I started the day off with a small workout. I did my strength training with my Wii Fit. I've been doing this 30 day shred program, from Jillian Michaels, and I've seen a huge improvement with my endurance. I'm coming up on the second week, I'll update it weekly.

I haded to work and was happy to see one of my favorite leaders was working. We had so many people working that she said that I could go home early. :) Which meant I had time to go and look for a shirt.

I went to GAP, Express, Forever 21 and so on. There was nothing out there. All the stores were a mess and too many sweaters. I went back to Banana Republic, and with the help of my boss, found a cute blue top. It is adorable! Pictures to come!

I've been reading Operation Beautiful. If you haven't heard about the movement, you should go and check out operationbeautiful.com It will inspire you.

When I got home, I got to eat leftovers of my crab mix and salsa. I love to eat homemade food. I'm drinking up all the water I can today. But right now, I'm just relaxing and hanging out with the kids. I'm excited to go out with my good friends for dinner and dancing. (pics to come)

My 29th birthday!

2010-08-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

This is my delicious birthday dinner. I had crab ceviche. It was amazing!! I had a great 29th birthday and even better, I get to share it with my son Benjamin. We had a good day filled with friends and family. I was so excited to get my Wii fit.

I started my day with meeting Kayla's new teacher. Then I went to Target and got a Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks! It was amazing! I headed off to get my haircut! I wanted bangs, not sure how I feel about them yet.

With this blog, I really want to share with people my experience. I LOVE food. I study it and care very deeply about nutrition. Especially, since I don't eat meet and Thom has such a bad allergy to many foods. It is a trick to sitting down to one meal. I also want my kids to eat right, so it will feature fun meals for them to eat too! I'll post reviews of places I eat at, recipes I make and tricks.

On top of eating right, I work out with much passion! I feel it is important to take care of your body and treat it right! I'll, obviously, be thirty in one year. I want to be in the best shape of my life! So I will document that journey.

Not only the journey of the year, but the success I have in school and balancing the rest of my life with that. Because, isn't life a balancing act anyway??