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Saturday, November 29, 2014

Saturday night ramblings.

So in case you were wondering, I am still here. In a food coma, but i'm here.

#1: Thanksgiving was amazing. We stayed here in Charleston, so it was just us and the cats, LOW STRESS. Traveling over the holidays is stressful, so if you don't have to, don't.  We made this food all by ourselves. I was just impressed the turkey was so moist. BRINE, people, just Brine. It was an extra step but totally worth it. All in all, the food and company was great, we ate 3PM. This never happens, I come from a family that only eats dinner at 8-9pm. Doing this allowed for us to proceed to Black Thursday at an earlier time and join the madness.


#2:  This. 


#3:  I am a Black Thursday go-er. My husband has always been and I am following suit. I went to Target first, didn't buy a thing, the only reason I even went in there to see what random thing they had. Next, I went to Ulta, bought a few things, there wasn't anything spectacular, other than the Big Sexy hair root pump for $5.99, normally $15, I felt like I won. Kohl's. Kohl's was a freaking mad house. Yes, I stood in line at Kohl's for an hour to check out. I am completely guilty of this. For shame!

Judge me. I already know you are!

This store was the only store that I waited that long, if I didn't nearly have all my christmas presents bought at this store I wouldn't have waited. 

How freaking cute is this? $10. How could I not? 



#4:  We were a little bit delirious after Black Friday shopping. 


#5: Super productive saturday! All the presents are wrapped and we finally put up the tree. People, this never happens. It was weird that we are this together, when the hell did we grow up? The cats are super pumped about the tree. I'll let you know when all the bottom ornaments are chewed and digested. 



#6: So we didn't eat dinner tonight, just the edamame below because we've been eating Thanksgiving every meal since Thursday and really needed to tone it down. It was shameful. I've eaten pumpkin pie with ever meal. I justify this to myself because I only eat pumpkin pie one time per year. We don't eat normal thanksgiving foods for Christmas dinner, because we're weird. I threw out half of our food today. It's really time to get back on track. 


#7: There have been lots of naps, between us and the cats we are in the hibernating season. 


#8: AHHHHH! It's so real. 17 days left. I have one test left. ONE. I can't even believe time is going by so quick. 




#9: The hunt for a place to live in Los Angeles has commenced. I am getting really excited. However, I'm not excited for how much it is to rent there and not live in the hood. We are headed out there a little after the new year, to see what it's all about. I do have a Los Angeles bucket list already started. 

So far: 

  • Be a part of a live audience in Tosh.0 or Dancing with the Stars

  • Be an extra in something. I was almost an extra in Army Wives here in Charleston, but they kept delaying because of rain, and I had school, so that went down the toilet, but I'm shooting for something in LA. 

  • Go to a walk with the stars and take lots of pictures. 

  • Visit all the wineries I can. I've become quite the wine connoisseur these days, being able to afford something other than boxed wine and Boone's Farm. I'm gonna call that progress. 
  • Visit Google, I know it's in San Fran, but I do have an IN there, Matt's best friend works there. 
#10: Woah, we got to 10, it's been awhile. This video has been circulating forever. But every time I see it, I fall in love with it that much more. It's just so accurate. 


Alright y'all. I'll try to not make it another 3 weeks before I make here again. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. Only 26 days until Christmas. 






Thursday, November 13, 2014

18 days in.

It's time for an update with my Advocare 24 day challenge!

I'm currently 18 days in and in the Max phase. I don't have an issue at this point with eating clean, I really haven't had many issues with that. It's all the supplements. I have to remember to take the supplements 30 minutes before breakfast and lunch, with a busy schedule it can be tough. Especially when you can't eat at the same time everyday.

I will tell you the very first day that I took these, I felt super jittery, like I was in a caffeine overload. So I delayed taking my spark until after I drank my shake in the morning. The last thing I needed was to be jittery in clinical! Always listen to your body folks, I really can't preach that enough.



However. I will tell you I still feel pretty good. Spark absolutely gets me through my days, and I really thought a protein shake in the morning wouldn't be enough to hold me over until my mid-morning snack, but it actually does! My absolute favorite has been the Chocolate mocha, I love the taste of coffee and this really helps me get over it.

I can tell you right now that day 25 will have coffee in it, with no ridiculous creamer of course. Still plan to keep that part clean.



Another struggle I seemed to be running into... after dinner... DESSERT. My goodness, the struggle is so hard. However, after some searching on Pinterest I did find an idea and put my own spin on it, Honey Cinnamon apples . 

Honey Cinnamon Apples Recipe 

2 Honeycrisp Apples 
1 tsp of cinnamon 
1 tsp of honey (I use Savannah Bee Company, Tupelo Raw honey)

Bake on 350 degrees for 15-30 minutes, leave in longer if you like softer apples. 

I actually threw in some fresh pineapple, that was amazing too. Heating up fruit does something to help the fruit release more natural sugar. 

Don't worry I did actually share with Matt. 




A couple things i've noticed about a clean eating lifestyle is: 

It's really hard to eat clean when you are busy. I absolutely now understand why people prep for the entire week. It not only keeps people on track, but you don't have to worry about not having something ready when you've had a super long day at work/school. 

Not everyone eats clean. It sucks when people around you are eating pizza and all kind of greasy food. WILLPOWER is hard. For instance on Veteran's day, Matt and I went to Chili's to eat because he could eat for free, I saw on the table over they were eating onion rings, and queso. I NEVER WANTED QUESO SO BAD IN MY LIFE. I then looked down at my mango-chile tilapia, and was a little sad. However, when we did leave, I felt amazing, I kept my willpower over eating crap. I never felt so good about our decision to start eating cleaner. 

After explaining my decision with my friends, some of my friends were like, "oh that's great I totally support you", and then some of my friends were like, "why are you even doing this to yourself?"

Yes, a lot of this was directed towards the no coffee aspect, but honestly I know everyone has their own opinion on what is right for them, and I really feel like this is right for me. I needed a change. I felt like crap eating crap. 

So far the challenge is going well, I've kept my focus on my nutrition and NOT the numbers on the scale. I actually haven't weighed myself since the first week of the challenge. 


Talk to me! 


Have you ever tried the 24 day challenge?

What is your favorite eating clean recipe?!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I'm feelin' like...

22. NOPE. Even better, 27.

Yes, my birthday was like Friday, on the 7th. Clearly, blogging took the back burner and champagne took the show. Yes. I'm still on the 24 day challenge,(but I cheated a lot with champagne and red wine).

Birthday trumps.

Matt took me out to Hall's Chophouse. If you are ever in Charleston, you must try this place. It's a tad bit pricy, but they did give me free champagne!

We kind of went all out. My steak was pretty normal, but Matt's steak had truffle butter.

TRUFFLE BUTTER ON STEAK. 
IT WAS AMAZING.

Did I feel like I was going to have a heart attack immediately? Absolutely. 

We also ordered lobster mac and cheese. It was incredible. Creamed corn. Before you turn your nose up and think we're 90, ordering creamed corn, you should try it. It was fabulous, I almost liked it more than the lobster mac and cheese...       Almost. 

And yes, because we're fatties at heart and can't help it, there are most definitely onion rings on the table as well. 

85% of the food on this table was taken home, thanks to the 24 day challenge, we could barely eat anything.





MMMMMM. Whiskey bread pudding. I had only one bite, but that bite was amazing. 




I am one of those people who never thought I would be older than 21. I mean I knew I would be, but never actually thought it would happen as fast as it did. 

At 27 I realized a few things: 

-I love who I've become. 

-I have never been more sure of myself. 

-I finally have an idea of what my career will be. 

-I'm better as a person. It's amazing what nursing has done for me. 

-I am much happier now than I have ever been, even in my early twenties. 



I hope you are amazing. 



Monday, November 3, 2014

8 days, no coffee.

Yes, you read that right. 



Don't worry, I'm just as surprised as you are. I've been inhaling Spark like it's my job. This waking up at 5am for clinical is killing me. 

This also means i've hung on to the 24 day challenge for at least 8 days (omfg only 16 more days to go). I'm still in the cleanse phase, and i'd like to say it's getting easier... when it's not the weekend. The weekend steals my will and makes me want to drink a bottle of red wine. No exaggerations. Did I mention no booze on the challenge?? Not like I drink too often to begin with, but when someone tells me I can't have something, it's all I think about.  

I have to say the hardest thing about this challenge has been finding new ideas for clean eating. I already know what you're thinking, "What, you don't have a pinterest?!" 

Well of course I do. BUT i'm 86% lazy for most of those clean eating recipes, if it doesn't require my George foreman. I need to get over being so lazy, and try new things. I do however plan all the meals we have at the beginning of the week. They just might all revolve around a protein in the george foreman and a random veggie in the oven. 

I think for the most part I've gotten over the fiber drink, as long as i've chugged it. Oh and one more thing, this cleanse portion really gets your tummy rumbling. My goodness. You will go to the bathroom more than you normally do, that's because the herbal cleanse pill has senna in it. 

Senna= bowels on the move. If you have digestive issues, the cleanse actually could help in that department. 

That's all I have to say about that. 

I have to say that I am sleeping a whole lot better. Like good quality sleep. I usually will wake up sleepy, but energized. After I stood on my feet for 8 hours at clinical today, I went on a three mile run when I got home. 


This thought would not have even crossed my mind in the slightest last week. I'm not saying my body is responding positively just because of Advocare's products, but I like that i'm sticking to the regimen of eating clean and training my body to eat at the appropriate times. It's crazy how your body reacts to what you feed it. 

I really thought not drinking coffee would be the end of my survival in life, and guess what? It's not. 

Will I stop drinking coffee altogether when this is over? HELL NO, I love the taste way too much, but I will share my caffeine intake with Spark from here on out. 

My hopes for this challenge are still pretty big. I really hope that I can make clean eating a really great habit for Matt and I. It's a practice that I think everyone should try at least once, even without the Advocare products. 

Here's to another week with no coffee! 

Stay fabulous, my friends! 




Sunday, November 2, 2014

7 reasons why November is fabulous.

I have to say November is my favorite month out of the entire year. For these reasons I will explain below:

1. I was born in November. Duh, I'm a little biased. However, 27 is coming whether I want it to or not and I am absolutely determined to make it the best year yet.

2. THANKSGIVING. I love this holiday. I feel that this is one of the least stressful holidays, because all you do is eat and don't have to worry about presents. Just being present to eat.

All of these were necessary.




I thought this was hilarious when I found it. I was like, oh is that Mariah Carey AND thanksgiving foods, this could be amazing. 



3. Black Friday. I LOVE deals. I get some kind of weird "omgimamazing" feeling that I cheated the system and got something for much cheaper than it would have been. Matt shares this too, this is why we are soul mates. 


4. November means that Christmas is less than 54 days away. You know I have a love for countdowns. I don't know about you, but I love the anticipation of christmas. PLUS, in November in our house, we put up the Christmas stuff the Thanksgiving day. 

5. It's still fall. AND it's getting sooo chilly!!! Ok, so chilly for the south. I actually turned on my heater yesterday. The high was 49 degrees. It was insane, but I was loving it. Clearly, I belong in a colder climate. 



6. It's still ok to have the famous PSL at Starbucks as well as all the Christmas flavors too. WINNING! I promise I just got the email. As soon as this 24 day challenge is over, I will be drinking coffee again. 

7. This happened. COMPOSITE PICTURES at school! Graduation is sooo close I can taste it! If you don't know what composites are, they are pictures that go in our graduating class picture for the school AND can be used for your licensing picture. 





I stopped at 7 because it's my favorite number and I really should be studying right now. 

Happy Sunday!