mid-month mess-up

ah, bethany coined that lovely phrase. we're on day 15 of Making the Cut and both of us failed pretty miserably this weekend. i mean, it could have been worse, but...

time to get back on track for this week. i suffered (suffered is NOT the correct term. indulged is probably better) the weekend due to a wedding, birthdays, memorial day fun, and spending most of my time at Josh's, leaving the option for cooking unavailable. but, i had a great weekend, got some sun yesterday, hung out with family most of the weekend, and had a lot of fun.

yesterday i made a "picnic" for Josh and i which we ate at the beach. we were going to fly a kite, but both of us didn't feel like going to buy one, though when we hit the beach and felt the wind i think we were both a little bummed we didn't get one. we both got a little sun, which is awesome, then hung out with bri & rach for the rest of the day, indoors, playing video games (and eating more unhealthy food *sad face*). Josh was there keeping me accountable to my diet, or try to, but i wasn't very responsive.

fun spot by the pretty grass and soft, warm sand

look at that cute boy!


chicken salad croissants, pasta salad, and fruit salad!
a day of salads, but not the healthiest of salads...


windy. i love us!

oh! and i forgot to mention one of the best parts of the weekend. Saturday night Josh offered to drive us around the Peninsula, and on our way back out we stopped at Waldameer. it was pretty busy due to the holiday and impending fireworks, but we rode the Tilt-a-Whirl and the Scrambler (there were no lines on the rides though!), and it was seriously so much fun. we were laughing so hard, i loved it! :)

day 10

today is day 10 of 30 days of Making the Cut. i've definitely been doing some slacking this week as far as meals go, but i'm still refraining from all sweets and unnecessary eating/snacking.

i have weighed myself and there is the possibility that i have lost 5 lbs since this whole thing started. i know i fluctuate between a few pounds, but last night i weighed the lowest i have weighed in several months, and this morning was even less (i know, you are supposed to weigh in the morning, but my original weighing was at night, so i am trying to "stay consistent" as far as that goes). it seems that my favorite jeans, which i haven't worn much in the last 6 months, are fitting more like they used to (or i really stretched them out...), so...

Tuesday bethany and i made an awesome lunch. california chicken salad with mango and avocado.
Wednesday lunch was a grilled sirloin salad with red peppers, red onion, and corn in a olive oil, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar dressing. it was pretty good as well.

exercise...has been...happening. roomie and i have been walking around the neighborhood, so that's better than nothing! i received my 30-day shred DVD in the mail yesterday so i will be able to use that soon! (super busy the next two days/nights).

california chicken salad with avocado and mango

other things going on:

• remodel is almost complete. carpet is all in (looks awesome) and almost all of the furniture is in. unfortunately i ordered wrong freaking panel frames so i have to order more now to complete everything
• singing this weekend at church, plus it's my brother in law's bday this weekend, and memorial day weekend (which means a day off! YES!)
• roomie and i are being screwed by the electric company, trying to bill us WAY TOO MUCH MONEY, since they finally read our meter...for the first time...since 4 months before we moved in. i tried calling and causing a rucus, but i suck at that and ended up in tears. roomie came through and made it all work out...sort of. they are taking some $ off, but we still think they are charging us too much.
• bridals showers and weddings for my awesome SKANK friends kt and nicole are coming up FAST!!

office recarpeting...

yesterday i walked up the stairs of the office and saw this... (excuse the very orangey picture color, please)

that's right! "remodeling" has continued at AJ Grack Business Interiors. by 4 o'clock, carpet was ripped up from the wall to my station (the one shown on the bottom picture) and my boss was vacuuming and making lots of noise. when i came in THIS morning it looked like this...

so, the carpet is 1/2 done, we're all moved around (even more, now, 5 hours later). the carpet should be done tonight and the NEW FURNITURE up tomorrow! so excited!!!

dieting on a weekend (days 4, 5, & 6)

i did NOT do well on sticking to the Making the Cut meal plans. this happened for several reasons:

1. not convenient
2. trying to feed myself as well as Josh (he said he wanted high-calorie meals!)
3. attending a bridal shower on Saturday afternoon with AMAZING food and so yummy cake (yes, i had some)
4. getting invited out to eat by our friends kt and mike after church on Sunday (i'm a sucker for going out to eat...always)
5. being hungry and not feeling like cooking

however, i did stay under my calories (though my carbs/protein/fat ratios did NOT turn out as they should) by not eating too much and eating salads...(for the most part).

i ordered the 30-day shred DVD, so hopefully that will help with the working out (did not do much of that this weekend, that's for sure).

also, stayed under my budget last week, yippee!!

Making the Cut Day 4

well, it's day 4 of 30 days of Making the Cut. it has been going well so far, but i must say, i'm an absolute failure at the working out part. i might go pick up Jillian Michael's 30-day shred video for $10 at target (since i'm under on my budget this week too!) to get me more motivated.

the first 3/4 days i ate almost to a "t" what the meal requirements were. my problems lie in...

1. i HATE cottage cheese. day two's breakfast was a CUP of cottage cheese. i decided to try a 1/2 cup, and only managed to eat 2 1/2 spoonfuls before wanting to spit it everywhere. however, i didn't eat anything else (but the required "toast") that morning.
2. i love eggs. with salt. eggs with salt are not an option. 3/4 of the days have called for 2 scrambled eggs (the only kind i'll eat) and kashi cereal and skim milk. for some reason, the thought of eggs at 8am just makes me nauseous. today instead of this breakfast, i had the 1/2 c skim milk to drink, a piece of toast, & 1 T peanut butter. this made me much happier.
3. sometimes the lunches make me nauseous. i'm not sure what is going on here. the lunches are good, but for some reason...about 10-20 minutes after eating them, the thought of them just makes me queasy.
4. i'm going through major sugar/caffeine withdrawal. this morning was the first morning i woke up without a headache. one of my main goals with this "diet" is to get off sugar and caffeine for a while. i don't think i've ever gone a day without something sugary, and i'm now going on 4.
   
5. i hate working out. i hate every aspect of it. plus today i'm really busy and don't see when i'm going to have time to do anything.

so, that's about all for the update! have great weekends everyone!!

we have growth!

last week you may have read about Kristen and i's gardening experience. there isn't too much going on outside as it has been fairly icky weather in Erie (50s, 60s, rainy...not much sun). a few days ago we decided it would be best to bring in the herbs that we planted...and they are sprouting up nicely!

at the moment, i can't identify what any of these herbs are, and i don't remember how i planted them...or where i planted what...so...i do know that i planted chives on one of the little side parts, but those aren't coming up too fast. anyway, i'm excited! seeing things grow is pretty awesome. can't wait to use these in cooking!

Making the Cut Day 1

yesterday was bethany and i's first day with the Making the Cut "diet plan."

breakfast was Kashi Go Lean! cereal with skim milk and two scrambled eggs. the kashi cereal was pretty good (though mine started to get soggy cause i was trying to eat the eggs too). my eggs were ok - i didn't have time to make them before coming in to work, so i used the microwave to make them...not as good as a skillet. also - no milk and no salt, just pepper.

lunch was cooked broccoli, low-fat cream cheese, fat-free italian dressing, roasted red peppers, and low-sodium turkey breast heated and combined in a skillet, then put in a low-carb wrap. this was pretty good.

3pm snack was an apple and raw, unsalted cashews. i probably only had about 10, but it was plenty. plus, our apples were HUGE.

dinner was moroccan chicken. i forgot to get a pic, but i have leftovers so i'll hopefully get one tonight. the chicken has allspice, cumin, ground cloves, and oregano (i didn't have oregano so i used italian seasoning). i baked that for twenty minutes while the Near East wild rice cooked (i really liked the rice).

my workout ended up being our hour long volleyball game. which was seriously a workout.


i can't believe how much i crave sweets...and salt! i've been having headaches the last few mornings and i was feeling pretty tired yesterday - the result of no coffee and NO (added) SUGAR. i walk down the stairs at work and see peanut m&m's. i'm at the townhouse and see my mug and want a cup of tea. these being out of my daily routine will be the hardest thing for me, but i've succeeded in one day! this should get easier...right??

day 1 preview

today is day 1 of Making the Cut, aka 30-day-diet, aka amy can't have any sugar and has to...wait, WORK OUT!? i'm going to try to make a point of photographing each meal, then posting it the next day. we'll see how that goes.



also check out this awesome pic Rach took of Josh & I at Presque Isle beach on Sunday night. she has a wedding there on Friday and wanted some dummies (we kept getting offended she was calling us dumb) to try out where to best take pictures. i love it! there's more pics to come.



rachel's blog

busy weekend

lots of things are going on and being celebrated this weekend. also, this is the weekend before the big "fitness and eating healthy" 30 days begins, so of course i'm going to be eating way too much.

yesterday was my beautiful cousin (who could pass as my younger sister) Bekah's 18th birthday!!! rach and i celebrated with her at Marketplace Grill, downtown Erie, Under the Clock (for dessert), and after dropping off rachel, Bekah and i went to the dock and to visit our gramma. rach also brought her rented lens to practice for a wedding today, and bekah and i were willing subjects to be photographed. there are some awesome pics to be seen!!

me, bekah, and rachel. probably around 1993-94

me and bekah after a dundie's volleyball game

tonight all the SKANK's are being reunited for an evening of food, fun, and wine. it's been a while since we've all been together, so i'm looking forward to seeing them all!

tomorrow is Mother's Day, of course. i pretty much have the best mom ever. she's nuts, silly, funny, loving, supportive, encouraging, always willing to help, always there to listen, and just over-all awesome.

rach, mum, and me...under a tree...probably 1986-87. back in my blond days...

i'm singing with my sister & her hubs, and her hubs is preaching! i'm definitely excited for that, as we are also doing worship a little differently (we have no drummer, so we are going all acoustic - which we haven't done in a while [or ever] in the new building). we have brunch plans tomorrow, Monday is my grandpa's birthday so we are celebrating that as well...

....and JOSH COMES HOME tomorrow!!!!!

the quest for motivation

it takes a LOT to get me motivated. i mean, a lot. i believe myself to be a fairly lazy person who can lay her head down on her pillow and fall asleep in minutes. literally, minutes.

a few nights ago this was not the scenario. i doubt it took me longer than 30-45 to fall asleep, which is normal for some, but is not at all normal for me. thoughts of finances, the future, and my main lack of motivation to do almost anything frustrated me. i used to be able to push any bad thoughts away at night, knowing worrying about them then doesn't do anyone any good.

so, i started thinking about a plan. i definitely don't have a budget now, they are too hard for me to handle. my new plan however, forces me into that way. i am going to take out a set amount of money every week and that is all i get to spend on food (groceries or eating out), entertainment, gifts for people, gifts for myself, clothes, apartment fun...etc, etc. the thing i haven't worked out in this scenario is where does the run-off money at the end of the week go? put it right back into the next week's allowance, put it into my savings, put it as an extra payment on credit cards or loans, or put it into a "good job, you saved money!" splurge jar (yeah, that would just defeat the purpose).

i have ideas of where i would like to be in my near (and far) future, and that place is not in debt or worrying about money! i know i need to get this under control now. also, i'm sure my car isn't going to last much more than one or two more years, so i need to be prepared for that as well.


along with my new found "budget style," co-worker bethany and i are going to start a 30-day fitness book, Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels. i know some of you out there have used her program before and seen results, and since i have someone i'll see 5/7 days a week keeping me accountable on this, maybe it will work. this program is for people wanting to get toned and lose a little weight, which is what i'm looking for. i hope that if i start both of these plans at the same time, it will put me into motivation overload and hopefully i will have a good, running start. i'm excited about the idea of "30 days" and that's all your committed to (hopefully it will throw me into a pattern of better eating and a more consistant workout schedule).

anyway, that's was going on with me. the plan is to start Making the Cut on Tuesday (so bethany & i have Monday to talk, make lists and go shopping) and i'll start the new budget that week or the following (depends if i want to start the weekend after i get paid or before).

wish me luck and help me stay motivated!!!

my modeling career begins

hmmm...not really. i have a problem with laughing a lot and being goofy, especially when my sister takes my picture.

anyway, a few weeks (more like months) ago, i went with sissy and some of her fun photographer friends to do a "trash the dress" session at Waldameer. it was utterly freezing, i went over my lunch break (and was not prepared with nice makeup or hair), wore my sister's wedding dress, and posed for pictures on The Comet - Waldameer's old, rickety, crazy roller coaster (ps: i hate roller coasters).

anyway again, rach put the pictures up on her blog (finally hehe) and Heather (one of rach's photographer friends) put some up a few weeks ago.

Rachel's Page

Heather's Page


they turned out pretty fun. i wish that...

1. i would've had more time to do the session
   
2. i would've known a little earlier that we were doing it
   
3. i would've had a $99 dress that i could have really trashed or done crazy things in
   
4. it wasn't under 20 degrees that day (except the sun and sky were AMAZING)

these are some of my favorite pictures:

taken by Rach

taken by Rach

taken by Heather