The art of letting go

All day I had ideas pop into my head on "letting go". Letting go of unwanted, unneeded, unloved STUFF. I gathered up some books to refresh my memory on the when, why, how of purging.
Fast forward to 7 p.m. I made an unhealthy dinner choice but again it was something I wanted but my body doesn't need or want it--bleh. I'm now trying to recover from that so that I can start the first step which is analyzing clothes. Do I love it? Can I wear it? Would I wear if I could wear it? Will I ever wear it? Do I even need it?

As I lie here watching TLC's "What not to wear" I know that I need to have the same open eye and let things go. I have failed the idea of taking something out when you buy something new--Ha!

Woooooo part one is done.

I ended up with 1 bag to keep (for now). 2 bags to donate and 1 bag to trash.

I have to pick another spot to focus on. I have another bag of fall/winter clothing that needs analyzing and then there's the closet!!.

Letting go feels great!!!!!!

Fall flavors

The weather seemed cooler today and I started thinking about Fall. Usually I don't think about wassail or mulled cider until it's cold and the holidays. I usually make it in a big batch with orange juice,apple cider, cinnamon,etc. Awhile back I stumbled upon a quick way to make a hot drink and it isn't the pre-packaged cider mix. I had purchased some sugar free drink mixes that you put into your water bottle. I had some orange and some cranberry apple. I mixed the two and added it to hot water. Simple, quick and an alternative version of a cider mix.

Another treat that I thought of is gingerbread cake. Hot and moist. I've only had it from a mix so I may search for a recipe.

Ode to the sweet potato

Sweet potatoes!

Baked, fries,chips, mashed,candied,souffle, casserole, pie, cobbler,cookies, biscuits,waffles, pancakes, muffins, bread, soup, cake, cheesecake,dip,dumplings, ice cream,jam,pudding, pone,ravioli,salad,tart,rolls.

Ok, there are a lot of other things that people have done with my beloved sweet potato but i'm not sure I'd like it.

Hunting the perfect sweet potato pecan muffin recipe.

Weekend haul

I did more shopping on Saturday. I didn't get much because I didn't see anything that I really wanted










I got this skirt on Friday





I wanted this one but neither Kohl's had it in my size









I got a light weight navy cardigan that will work until early Fall.

I also bought the ayurvedic powders I wanted

• Amla
• Aritha
• Heenara Hair Pack
• Kapoor Kachli
• Lodhar
• Maka(bhringraj)
• Multani mati
• Tulsi

Have to find time to use them either as a stand alone paste or mixed with conditioner.

Shopping

After work I stopped for a bit of retail therapy. I miss miss miss Goody's.

I went to Kohls. I had seen several tops on their website that I thought looked promising. I found them, tried them on and put them back. I had picked up extra larges and they hung and I didn't like them well enough to look for larges. I picked up 2 denim skirts as if I NEED another one but I can always use another 1 or 2. Dark denim is lacking in my wardrobe.

life + style® Denim Pencil Skirt ---This one I bought

Axcess pleated Denim Pencil Skirt--Needed another size they didn't have it. It pulled across the hips making the pleat open instead of lying flat


Ok off to Sally's
Being the product junkie that I am I bought more hair products that may not do a thing for me.
I got a tube of Marc Daniels Go Curly serum and a pack of Hair One Olive Oil cleanser




I will try them at some point. Not really sure what to do with the Go Curly but we'll see

Cravings

I did the boot camp workout tonight. I haven't updated my food journal but it shouldn't be bad calorie wise. I'm sure I didn't get as much protein or fiber as I wanted. Earlier today I browsed some food blogs and whyyyyy did I do that. I sooo wanted to eat cupcakes, lime bars, blondies, snickerdoodles, and everything else my tastebuds liked.

After dinner I was craving chocolate. so I opened the refrigerator and the freezer, stared into them, closed them and opened them again thinking something had magically appeared.

Sigh..............

On a good note I didn't eat anything extra.

Sam's Choice: Three Cheese & Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Breast--review

This was today's lunch choice. I had bought these awhile back and decided I needed something different for lunch. It said to cook at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Well I did this while preparing for work this morning and I think I went over 35 minutes. It wasn't rubbery or tough but a bit done. The jalapeno had a bit of a kick to it but not too much. I could have used more cheese but then I could eat just cheese as well so it was sufficient for the size of the chicken breast. I paired it with a cup of green beans and a baked sweet potato.

The chicken was 240 calories, 8 grams of fat and 34 grams of protein. More fat than I probably needed but will try to keep the rest of the day's intake down.

I liked this and would probably purchase again

Two steps forward, One step back

Today was supposed to be a 2-a-day workout. I got up this morning at 5 to get dressed and just felt like ughhhhhhhhhh. I told myself that it was ok to "rest" so back to bed I went. I got up an hour and a half later and grabbed some juice and started getting breakfast. Juice was a bad idea. The tummy rejected that with a quickness. I got breakfast down and headed out to work. I got to work and made a cup of tea. That wasn't working for me either. I downed a bunch of saltines and a sprite and felt much better. Next came popcorn. I left for a meeting and got back about 2 and decided to eat my lunch-- Grilled chicken salad. About 4 I had some cantaloupe and fresh pineapple. I headed to the gym at 5 and even though I didn't feel perky, I didn't feel horrible like I did yesterday. I made it through the class and when I got home for dinner I had no desire for anything healthy. It was a sloppy joe kind of night with fries and a brownie.

My excuse is that as long as I have this sinus crud and feel sick, I'm just not up to eating clean.
It's an excuse I know. If I eat better maybe I'll feel better but I'm not feeling it.

Bump in the road

I've had intentions of posting for the past 2 days but just haven't felt up to it. The sinus stuff is making it difficult to stay on plan. Yesterday I didn't have enough calories before my evening workout and I felt really bad on my way to the gym. I made a decision to fuel up with the nearest thing which happened to be a McDonald's. I know I could have gotten something simple like a plain chicken sandwich but noooooo that didn't happen. I needed the healing effect of french fries----LOL! I made it the class and home. All would have been well with my food intake for the day if I had stopped there. Later I ate again and that kicked my count way overboard but it's ok. I'll try to keep it balanced and it should be fine.

Cheating or Treating?

I thought about starting this blog off with some finely written explanation of why I was blogging. I decided to go with what popped into my head. I decided last Sunday that I needed to get back on a healthy eating plan. I haven't been eating completely "unhealthy" foods but I have been choosing too many less healthy foods. We're quickly cruising into another season and as I stare into my closet I realize that there are articles of clothing in there I haven't worn during this warm ------ok hot weather. I haven't worn them because they are a bit too snug for my liking. I don't like the feeling that I could injure someone with a missile formed from a button. My first thought was that I was tired of trying to get rid of the extra inches. I was going to go through the closet and if it didn't fit---pack it up and pass it on. Ok, that's fine except there are things in there I still like. So the lightbulb moment came and I decided to give it another shot.

I grabbed my Dr. Phil's ultimate weight solution for the meal plans. Hmmm 1100-1200 calories for a couple of weeks. Uhmm, I don't think that's going to last. Logged back into my fitday account. [Note to self-the journal would be more accurate if you actually remember what you ate]. I managed around 1200 calories for a couple of days. I ended up with under 1500 average for the week so far. I don't think 1200 is going to work and I don't foresee a 2 lb per week loss either. I have to regroup and find new meals or I'll get bored which will lead to either cheating or treating. I made a conscious decision to stray off the plan today since I was out and yes I could have made a better choice but I wanted what I wanted.

Everything in moderation except maybe cheesecake. It might be best to leave that alone for now. LOL!