Bye Bye Salads...

I am turning a new leaf! Or at least I think that is what the saying is...

I was listening to K-Love one day a couple weeks ago and a guest speaker, Christine Avanti CN, was discussing her book "Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads." Well obviously, by the title, it caught my attention. She claimed looking and feeling your best was not achieved by starving yourself or trying any crazy "fad diets" (my latest...see adkins.com) :-/

The next day I googled and did some old fashioned research...well really I just scanned her website. After reading several testimonials, listening to many youtube videos and hearing Christine's personal battle with weight-I was convinced. I ordered the $25 book online (for the bargain of 4.85 including shipping...go me) and dove into her website even more. The majority of what I have gathered thus far is, your body burns actual fat when glucose/blood sugar levels are kept moderate; your metabolism is at its best when you eat four or more times a day; starving does your body more harm than good and your brain operates on CARBS!! Yes, the same thing I had been cutting out of my diet for weeks...No wonder I was experiencing headaches, sugar cravings, shakiness, lack of energy, irritability....the list goes on. Your body isn't going to lie to you...LISTEN TO IT.

Wonderful news! I received the book tonight and plan to download the CD's, for the complete program, by the end of this week! I have jumped into reading and plan to document along the way :) I realize this is not a diet blog...however, if I am actually skinny at the end of this...y'all won't mind reading up ;)

Wish me luck!! & grab a copy of the book....it cant hurt ;)

1st Julie & Julia Sequel

We did it! Meredith and I congregated in the kitchen at precisely 3pm Saturday the 9th of January. We got a bit behind schedule because I forgot to print off the shopping list (quite essential to cooking with Julia) so Meredith had to re-write it and we headed off to Wally World.

*Side Note*

a little tidbit for you all, do NOT under any circumstance, enter Walmart on a Saturday and expect to accomplish much of anything in less than an hour and a half!!

So, approximately 20 minutes after four we swirved through traffic and made it home in one piece.

After flooding the counter with basil leaves and Italian seasoned bread, we reviewed our recipes once again which were the following.....

Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil

French-Style Potato Pancake

Raspberry and Lemon Cake

ALL some of Julia Child's special treats :)

We began with potato pancake because we knew it would take the longest and shortly after began the bruschetta. Meredith took on the "potato pricking" which was a first for her while I prepared for the tomato dicing. We quickly discovered that Meredith is gifted with potato whispering, because the potatoes cooked beautifully!

We diced tomatoes endlessly while having the bread toasting in the oven...well what was left of it after we nibbled on a few slices! We found out that the bruschetta was actually the easiest to make and our challenge was going to be the Raspberry and Lemon cake! Despite its simplistic appearance, there were actually great lengths taken to accomplish this masterpiece! It involved making the pound cake, whipping the frosting (which required trial and error and additional taste-testing) and two types of jam spreads. After the pound cake finally cooled, it was definitely a task trying to spread the sticky jam on one side while ensuring it didn't sneak off the middle and onto the smooth frosting! In addition we had to place the raspberries strategically on the layers so they were balanced and the cake looked rectangular without resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

All in all, we had three successes; simply disregard my families opinion! :) However, by the end of that LONG evening, practically anything would have sufficed as a scrumptious reward to our Julia laborings!

By the way....as you can see by the darkness of the room...we didn't finish until about 9p.m. :-|

1# Gift of the Christmas Season

Just a quick shout out to one of my best friends in the world!! Brandon! Just want to say thank you for the incredible gift!! It is soooo pretty and I am already using it a ton! All my blog fans will enjoy it as well, since I will now add the video feature to my page :D So they thank you too! Definitely the favorite gift this year!! LOvE yOU!!

Yes, it is true. I took a sabbatical from blogging…it has been a troublesome time, yet somehow I have survived without blogspot.com in my life. Ok, that might be a bit dramatic, but needless to say…I AM BACK~!!! :D And my faithful fans…if any are left…are in for a treat! I will not be updating you on the last 4-6months of my life because that would be a novel in itself, however, I believe stories will be reappearing in blogs to come.

Now, for the TREAT! I have exciting news, but let me give you a little background first. One of my best friends, Meredith (who has deserted her blog), and I recently saw the movie “Julie & Julia”, we absolutely loved the movie and have talked about it many times since! Well, Meredith mentioned a couple weeks ago that she wanted the both of us to come up with some tradition or activity to take on together for the new year. Neither of us could really think of anything. THEN! All at once…like an angelic voice from heaven I had an idea pop in my head! I texted Meredith IMMEDIATELY and shared. I said, “Meredith! Why don’t we take on 5 meals of Julia Childs next year??” She thought six would be better so we could do 1 meal every 2 months, and I completely agreed. If you have seen the movie, you know this is no original idea…however, it is new to us!! We have already decided the first menu items and will be recording and blogging our ventures while swapping back and forth from each other’s houses to cook; so we don’t drive both of our mothers too crazy :)

Ah! and one more thing. I am closer to purchasing a laptop…if anyone can share some wisdom on this matter it would be most appreciated!

Phone Update and Busy Busy Busy

Well, it is official! :) *drum roll please...*

I am now the owner of a Samsung Impression!!! We finally made a decision last night and although it set me back a little bit more than I would have liked, I love the phone and still got a better deal than At&t was offering (so that was the bottom line).

It is taking me a little bit of getting used to with the QWERTY board, since I have never used one; however, I believe I am going to catch on quickly. As far as the touch screen, I feel well acquainted with it already, since I get practice with my itouch all the time. I am procrastinating on updating my contacts list though, because it is all confusing and displays things WAY different than I am used to. So, if I don't call you for a while...don't be offended :)

Other than phone adjustments, I have a busy day ahead of me! As you know, Mother's day is on Sunday and I have yet to find anything for my own Mother dearest. My sister has bought her the traditional mani/pedi and I would LIKE to go with the theme; however, I am drawing a blank... She isn't a huge massage person (which would be the most obvious partner to a mani/pedi) and she just got her hair done! I decided to shop aimlessly today in hopes to create a "Vacation Prep Kit" for her. I love putting these types of things together and I believe she will be excited as well! If you have any nifty ideas, please text asap.

Aside from Mother's day shopping, I also have a bridal shower to attend tonight, in which I have not purchased anything for as of this moment. She is registered at Walmart, so the selection should be quite broad and foolproof. I need to slip a tanning and Macon trip in today as well...wow, I have a lot to do...WHY am I sitting here blogging?!?!?! Catch y'all later! I need to get busy!

Bathing Suit Preparation

Regardless of who you are or what weight you are, everyone has a certain weight they want to be. Therefore, even though some of you may disagree with my decision…*ahem*…I am on a diet. Strict diet. I let things get to far, like people tend to do when they require a diet change, and my time has come! I have certainly put it off to the last minute; I realize this. However, this is my 2nd week of dieting and my 1st week of HARDCORE dieting. Last week was easing-into process and now, *sigh*, I am in the heat of the battle. Every time I feel as though I could slip up, I think of how I looked in my bathing suit last week (I’ll spare you the details-it wasn’t pretty).Other than how I looked in my bathing suit, I also want to have a couple pounds to mess around with on vacation 1 ½ short weeks away. Who wants to go on vacation and eat healthy?? Not me. So, my goal is to get as many lbs. off, as my body will allow, and then have a little fun in Florida! However, absolute spoiling of my diet, will not occur. I refuse to be at the same weight I was before the diet, at the end of our relaxing getaway. It is simply not permitted. Of course, this sounds depressing…going on vacation and remaining on a diet…however, the result is much more rewarding!

This diet plan has turned into a household effort. They have made the necessary lean meal choices for the week and have done a fantastic job! My lunch options for work even excite me! I was so impressed that i felt the need to share this delicious meal with all my faithful readers, in case you have a bathing suit to fit in as well! Healthy choice steamers-depending on your local grocer, they run about $2.00 and are 5pts or 250 cals or 4.5 fat grams...i believe that pretty much covers the main diet concerns. Instructions are simple and you will be enjoying your healthy meal in around 6min. (including prep time).

Phone Issues...

So, I am in the market for a phone again...I was discussing phones with Meredith the other day and we seem to be in complete agreement-THIS IS A BIG DECISION!

The ending of our contract is nearing and I have already changed my mind twice on my phone selection! There are so many things to consider! My dad always tries to find us the best deal, of course, but this time we are coming up empty handed with every deal we explore. We think,"should we go through our network?" or "should we try buying online?" or"maybe we should just buy new phones and keep the plan the same?" All of these are valid options, however, only one is right for us.

I started out completely satisfied with my choice. I had made up my mind. I was confident. But no, I just HAD to stop by Radio Shack and cheat on my phone choice. Low and behold I see my very own selection in TERRIBLE shape! It was literally falling apart! Both slide options of the phone wouldn't hold and it was now crooked. I gasped and knew I didn't want to have any similar horrifying issues down the line, so I was back to square one.

Option 1) Pantech Matrix

I immediately ran home to begin my in-depth research once again.Nothing on EBay. Check. Nothing interesting on Craig's list. Check. AT&T, too expensive. Check. However, while on the AT&T a particular phone caught my attention. It had a QUERTY board, which I decided was a must this time around and all the reviews I found were satisfactory.And for an added bonus, it was also touch screen. Well, I consulted with the phone guru/expert, Meredith, (aka. also BFF, she really is an all-in-one package deal) and she did her usual highly involved research and review checks between both my previous choice and current selection and came back to me with her decision. Samsung Impression.Therefore...

Option 2) Samsung Impression

Well, now price was going to be the issue...*sigh*Bless my Dad's heart, he has tried relentlessly to search for deals and,at this point, I don't know if I AM going to get a good deal. More than likely I will be biting the bullet this time and plunkin' my money down in order to get what I want. However, this is a very new phone, and I have only heard good about it. Lord only knows how this will turn out and the jury is still out.

So, leave your comments if you have any...I am still looking for a deal...or reviews you have about my future phone*crossing fingers*