{Meal Prep}

I made meals for the next 4 days of work last night.

I made a large batch of chicken avocado salad (to go with a whole wheat pita).

4 Salads with the homemade ranch dressing (made with plain Greek yogurt).

4 days worth of egg muffins with chives and Canadian Bacon.

I've also got Gala apples, yogurt, oatmeal, and boiled eggs for breakfast and snacks.

Since I'm always tired after work, I'll pack a gym bag and head straight over to my work gym immediately after work.  That way I won't have any excuses.  Monday and Tuesday I should be able to hit the gym before my night shift.  If I'm up early enough those days I may even be able to go to my new boxing gym for a kickboxing or boxing class.

So, I tried out a new recipe last night for eggplant.  

Oh. My. Word.

Well, just one word... Delicious.

The recipe called to steam sliced eggplant in chicken broth, 3 minutes on each side with a lid covering it (I am a rebel and did not cover... or I just couldn't find the lid).

While that's steaming, press 2 garlic cloves and mix with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and a dash of salt (I used sea salt).

Once the eggplant is done steaming on each side, add it to the mix.

It was amazing and I will forever make this dish.

I also asked my mom to go ahead and make those cinnamon rolls for us.

I didn't want to be in the middle of eating well and then eff up because of a cinnamon roll craving.

Since I was already craving it last night I figured I'd just get it out of the way.

{It's been too long}

Crap it's been way too long.

Now that school is {pretty much} over I can devote some time to the blog again.

School isn't quite over for me because I still need to take one more test.

It's a test for Intro to Philosophy so I don't have to take the actual class.

Womp Womp

I should find out sometime after Jan 31 if I got accepted to the Graduate School I applied to.

I {really} hope I got accepted since it's the only school I've applied to.  o_O

For the weight loss part of my life... Well, it's really more of a weight gain.

I've gained back every.single. effin. pound I lost earlier this year.

I am working on getting back on track though.

For instance, last night I {really} wanted to make the cinnamon rolls my mom bought and are in my fridge.

I even went so far as to go into the kitchen with the intent of making them.

Mind you, this was at 10:30pm.

I opened the first cabinet looking for the pan.

I opened the 2nd cabinet looking for the pan.

I did not see the pan.

I turned around and saw the packet of ranch dressing on the counter, of which my intent was to make a homemade dressing using plain Greek yogurt.

What do I do?

I make the dressing.

I cut-up a Roma tomato.

I cut-up 1/2 a cucumber.

I drizzle that homemade dressing on top and, Voila!

It IS what I ate instead.

I've been exercising off and on but more off than on.

I'm working on that also.

I got a Polar HRM watch and strap for Christmas so hopefully that will motivate me more.

I want to SEE how many calories I am burning.

I will work on using this blog to keep track of what's working and what's not working for me.

Oh, and I did decide to go through with cutting my hair.

{Pain, Pain - Go Away}

So, about a week and a half ago I finally tried out a Boxing class.

It was an insanely intense workout.

I hated it.

I loved it.

Seriously, it made me sign up for that gym it was so awful but wonderful.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to go back yet since that first class.

I am looking forward to trying out their kickboxing class also.

Because they are a smaller gym, the class times for boxing and kickboxing are limited and with my crazy schedule, it makes it harder to attend during the 4 days I work.

A week ago I tried snowboarding for the first time also
A week of firsts!!
Snowboarding was a lot of fun and I definitely learned some things.
For one, and most importantly, stay on the bunny slopes until I get comfy and know how to "steer" and stop.
Steering and stopping are key.
Here are a few photo's from that day.

This is actually the view on the way home.

Loveland Ski Resort

My mom and myself

These ski lifts go up to the 2nd run I did (and should not have done).

If you notice, there's a Y. The right side is where the bunny slope comes out at.
The left side is where the 2nd run I did comes out at (and the harder runs as well).

I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I fell.
The 2nd run I did was the scariest to me. I'm afraid of heights so coming down the mountain scared me the most. Crazy, right?  I was lucky though and had 2 different friends stay with me on each run (the bunny and scary one). Overall, it was good times and I'll definitely go again.
I'm anxious to get it down pat so I can enjoy it fully.  :)

I had 2 really hard falls which made me thankful for the helmets.
The rest were easy falls.
I had lots of bumps and bruises though.
I didn't take a photo of the one directly below my ass cheek. haha

{True Colors}

It's always nice and awful at the same time when you find out someone's true colors.

The boy isn't meant to be.

That's okay.

So, I'm looking at getting this hairstyle...

I've had it cut similarly many years ago and I really liked it.

Actually, it was shorter than this picture but I really like the cut of this style.

Now I just need to make the appointment.

{Never ever at lunchtime}

I went to my gym at noon yesterday.

Seriously, 12pm on the dot. 

I learned I'll never do that again.

I normally go around 9/10am or 2pm and those are perfect times to go.

Not noon.

Not when everyone else and their mother are taking their hour long lunch break to workout.

So, instead of getting my 3 reps in of each exercise I only did 2 because I was annoyed and because every time I went to use something specific it was always taken.

I did begin a new workout routine yesterday also.

I can say I am very sore today.

It's absolutely worth it though.

So, the guy suggested a kickboxing class to me.

Apparently, he use to do it in another life, before the Air Force.

I checked out the video for it and it looks pretty intense (the kickboxing class stuff is towards the end of the video).

With the company I work for, we get amazing discounts through our insurance.

For instance, I paid $180 for a year membership at 24 Hour Fitness that normally costs everyone else $400+.

I checked the website to see if this place is included in the list of gyms we get a discount at and IT IS!

Well, that looks really small so if you can't read it it says:

$19 activation fee / $10.20 per week for 96 weeks

or

$50 activation fee / $10.20 per week for 48 weeks

or

$100 activation fee / $10.20 per week with no commitment

This place usually runs about $80 a month, not including the activation fee so these prices are 1/2 off! Insane.

Their first class is free to see if you like it so I'm gonna look into taking that class today.

 

{Are you trustworthy?}

Do you know how hard it is to trust someone new after so many people before have lied and lied and lied?

I find myself facing this problem after meeting someone new.

We've only hung out 3 times so far but I find myself questioning EVERYthing:

his words

his motives

his actions

I don't like this.

It's not like he's done or said anything to not be trustworthy.

It's all me and my past.

I am trying to just trust him until/IF I ever have a reason not to.

He is awfully wonderfully nice and quite handsome.

I like that he's not trying to rush into anything.

We'll see how it all plays out.

So far he seems like a really good guy.

I've known/thought he was interested since I met him at the beginning of the year.

I also just realized I wasn't ready for him, if that even makes sense.

I'm looking forward for the next time we hang out.

That is enough for now.

:)

And because I thought this was hilarious...

{Crockpot Chili}

Holy Wow, Batman!

Talk about some good chili!

I got this recipe from Pinterest, of course.

The website is broken up into a lot of different segments so here's the good stuff to know from Jaguar Julie's Award-Winning Chili:

Award-Winning Chili Recipe Ingredients:
6.75 lbs. Ground Chuck - 80/20
2 - 28 oz. cans DelMonte Diced Tomatoes Garlic/Onion
3 - 15 oz. cans Joan of Arc Spicy Chili Beans
3 - 15 oz. cans Hunt Tomato Sauce
3 - Medium Vidalia Onions
2 pkgs. Lawry Chili Seasoning
1 pkg. Publix Sharp Cheddar Cheese Shredded
1 - 12 oz. can Budweiser Select Beer *
Spice Islands Cayenne Pepper
Salt and Pepper -- season to taste
Lawry Garlic Salt -- season to taste
1 cup of water

*The secret ingredient!

I halved this recipe in most instances of each ingredient.

I used almost 2lbs of ground turkey

2 cans of Chili Beans

1 can of DelMonte Stewed Tomatoes with Jalepenos, Garlic, & Cumin

I used 2 Tbsp paprika and 2 Tbsp of Garlic Powder

I used 3/4 of one large yellow onion. 1/2 went into the crockpot and 1/4 of the other half was for toppings.

I ended up not using salt and pepper because I never cook with it so actually forgot about it.

Haha I also just realized I forgot about the cup of water.

The rest of the ingredients I found and used as directed.

Cook the ground meat until done.

While your ground chuck is browning, you can chop two of the onions [one of the onions will be saved for the topping] and add to your crockpot along with the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili beans, and spices. Since I was using two different crockpots, I divided up the ingredients proportionately between the two crockpots.

Once you have drained the ground chuck, you will add that on top of the other ingredients. I usually pour the beer on top and mix in as the final step to covering the crockpots, setting it to high. Once it starts to bubble, I turn in down a notch and let it simmer for a couple of hours.

I added the shredded cheese, onions, and a tablespoon of sour cream to my own bowl of chili and oh. my. word. Talk about delicious. It truly is the best chili I've ever had.  I won't lie, I licked my first bowl when I was done and went and got a second bowl of it. I did not lick the second bowl haha but got some sliced french bread to mop it all up with. ;)