Pay Day

Pay day has a new number attached to it: my current weight.

Though my scale may not be the most sophisticated and may not always be entirely accurate, the needle was notably lower than it was 2 weeks ago. I take that as a good sign!

Things I've been doing on my way to a healthier me:
Fruit smoothie every morning comprised of:
Whey protein (to keep me full)
Flax oil (Omega-3, hooray!)
Frozen berry mix
OJ
Cranberry juice
Yogurt
Papaya (kinda gross, personally, but great for the digestion!)
Pineapple, cantalope, kiwi and a banana

Apple cider vinaigrette comprised of:
Part apple cider vinegar
Part Flax Oil
Dash turmeric, cayenne pepper, and chili powder
Fresh cut garlic pieces
Parmesan cheese (from the green shaker thing)

Which I put on my: Salad (I buy the spring mix and spinach leaves containers at HEB) that I have at lunch every day coupled with some form of protein (meatloaf, chicken, turkey, etc)

Dinner I try and stay healthy, but that can be difficult. That's when I focus on moderation. Seems to be working thus far!

Thanks for all the info and assistance, Cares-a-lot! You're my health hero!

3/19/2011 - 3/25/2011

Updated this bad boy daily this week! Enjoy!

3/19/2011 (Last live class. Now it's all up to me!)

3/20/2011 (Finished my friend's book and I cannot wait for the sequel! I hope she gets this published, and soon!)

3/21/2011 (Fresh fruit is awesome and all, but it is beyond time consuming. Also, tried Papaya for the first time. Definitely winged it instead of googling it. It is the mustiest smelling fruit I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing. BUT, it is excellent for the digestion. Just disguise it in a fruit smoothie.)

3/22/2011 (Thank you, Groupon, for being my crutch during the first few months of the new year. I'm glad I quit you for a little while, though. My bank account is very glad, too. Prior to quitting though, I purchased a Canvas on Demand Groupon. It arrived tonight and I am so excited to hang it at work!)

3/23/2011 (Horrible traffic early in the morning due to a pedestrian involved accident...on the freeway. Don't people know there aren't any crosswalks? What galled me was the audacity of the drivers all around me making up laws as they went. Several people considered the shoulder to be a lane for a few miles. Hwy 59 was a 7-lane highway this morning and I was not a happy camper.)

3/24/2011 (Almost have the whole family represented! Will work on that...)

3/25/2011 (How apt! Technically this wasn't my original fortune, but I always say that you should choose your cookie, not be given it. I chose this one...regardless that it was the last available cookie to be had. It was meant for me!)

Steve, he's the man

Steve Martin, a current day renaissance man (defined by wide interests and success in them), is fascinating. He's humorous, having taken part in several of my favorite comedies (Three Amigos, anyone? What a trio.) both years ago and currently. It's Complicated  was a noted success and it just came out in the past few years.

Couple this talent of acting with his indescribable musical gift and finesse with the written word, and this guy puts nearly everyone to shame.  He's enjoyed commercial success on pretty much all of his endeavors, recently scripting his book Shopgirl: a novella into a fairly successful and received movie and earning a Grammy award for his first full-length Bluegrass album, The Crow. Check out this performance on Ellen from a few years back.

I love this album!

I have yet to read the aforementioned novel, but did read The Pleasure of my Company. I have to say, it was bizarre, but oddly fascinating. I was intrigued by the character and wanted to know how his story ended. While Martin's voice as an author is not my favorite, his grasp of storytelling is clever and delivered fairly well. I mentioned that I had read this book to a friend and she immediately handed me his autobiography, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life. The man has had quite a life. From his early beginnings on the stage developing characters and playing banjo as part of his act (yeah, had no idea!) to starring in movies, writing plays and novels...this guy just won't quit! Well, he actually did quit...read his autobiography. The man is odd, no doubt. He has no doubt, either. :-)

I posted a photo last week of the album I mentioned earlier, rediscovering its brilliance, and was insprired with the idea to search him on Amazon.com to see if he had any other projects in the works. Lo and behold, I struck gold! The creative and talented musician has done it again, releasing his second Bluegrass album just one week ago, Rare Bird Alert!

Yes, it went directly into my cart. Now, to find something else to tip me over the $25 limit...yes, I know shipping is only $3.99, but it's the principle of it all!

Here are some other fun facts about The Man:
1) He's a born Texan, you betcha! Born in Waco, Texas!
2) He recently released another novel. The guy is a true artistic machine!
3) He truly began his comedic career as a writer.

Read his autobiography, it's amazing how many great projects this man has taken part in! I just can't get enough of him! Enjoy!

3/12/2011 - 3/18/2011

I am falling behind on posting, my goodness! For my excuse this week, and for the next several, I am studying, studying, studying!

3/12/2011 (A starry night disaster. Started my painting strong, then quickly tripped and knocked my head against some rocks on my tumble down the artistic hill...until I decided to be obnoxious and obstinate and then what you see in this picture suddenly emerged. It's hanging in my office. And I apologized to the artist-teacher...but had a good laugh all the same!)

3/13/2011 (AIDS Walk Year Two! Why, oh why, must it fall on Daylight Savings?)

3/14/2011 (This movie is literally screaming at me to watch it! Soon...eventually...)

3/15/2011 (Homemade soup! It was really good and it made a ton!)

3/16/2011 (Rediscovered how much I love this album! More, Steve, give me more!)

3/17/2011 (Slainte! Everyone's Irish today!)

3/18/2011 (Breakfast tacos with Tara and her sister [her first time!] and they were very delicious! Love me some horchata!)

St. Patrick!

The Patron Saint of the Emerald Isle

There's a pretty snazzy article on Yahoo! today concerning Patty.

1) He was British, captured and taken to Ireland before escaping several years later. He then trained as a Priest back in Britain before returning to the Emerald Isle to go a'convertin'.

2) There never were any snakes in Ireland, so there were none for Patty to scare off!

3) He supposedly used a three-leaf clover to teach about the Holy Trinity, but that's just legend without legitimate proof. Another interesting fact is that four-leaf clovers are not actually all that rare, more one-in-ten thousand versus one-in-one million.

4) Best of all, he was apparently one of the first to speak out against slavery claiming its immorality.

Today, everyone is Irish. I like seeing people wear green, which most in my office are including myself, and it's fun to embrace the Irish culture wholeheartedly, which I do daily anyways. I love Flogging Molly though the lead singer hasn't lived there since he was a child, and green is a beautiful color on most people. It's a reminder of spring and traditions and the music is fun and fantastic.

I plan to travel to Ireland and when I do I've got a few bucket list items to take care of like dancing a jig, attending a ceilidh (Irish party with music and dancing) and soaking in all the beautiful history the Emerland Isle has to offer.

My Irish roots are significantly diluted but slainte (health) all the same! Cheers!

But why lie, "I wanna know where da gold at."

Time

I weighed myself this morning and the winter layer has gotten way outta hand.

Time to work on that. I stocked up on ingredients and made a soup from scratch that has turned out deliciously. Hello, lunch and dinner this week. It made a TON! I need to scrounge up the recipe from the interweb and will share how I changed it up a little bit.

All things said and done, I am going to weigh myself each PayDay to watch my progress. Game on, body!

3/5/2011 - 3/11/2011

Totally behind but I'm still doing pretty well with my photo-taking. It has been such fun to look at the photo progression! I'm really glad I decided to give this a go. It's fun!


3/5/2011 (Spent four hours in a college classroom but it only took one for me to resort to past note-taking techniques. And it worked!)

3/6/2011 (Oh, Tim, I definitely did not miss you.)



3/7/2011 (FINALLY!)



3/8/2011 (Hi, Kathy! I forgot how ridiculously hilarious you are and was quickly reminded.)

3/9/2011 (Baby Belly is really filling out! 10lbs and growing, a definite workout!)

3/10/2011 (The best time I have ever done this 'do. I HAD to capture it on film!)

3/11/2011 (You'd think AHL tickets would be cheaper than they are, but no. Thanks, Groupon!)

Funny thing

I've been listening to Harry Potter audiobooks for a good month plus now and have been thoroughly enjoying them. The reader, Jim Dale, is excellent and does great voices.

But I digress.

I ended the fourth book and quickly started the fifth. For those who have not read them or seen the movies because of one of the following options: 1) You've been under a rock, 2) You've denied that you love the concept because you think you're too old or good (and trust me, you aren't), or 3) It legit isn't your thing...you crazy, but don't read any further if you don't want to know what happens.

At the end of the fourth book, Cedric has been murdered in front of Harry's eyes. At the beginning of the fifth book, when they make it to Hogwarts, Harry first sees the thestrels, the death horses that pull the carriages. Previously, they had seemed to be pulled by nothing.

Funny thing though...they ride the carriages back to the train from Hogwarts at the conclusion of the school term...meaning, Harry should have seen these creatures at the end of book four, but it was never mentioned. Am I right?

That nagged at me throughout the entire fifth book, which I finished this morning. I kept expecting an explanation or the question to be posed that would potentially explore why he couldn't see them in prior year, but could see them after the summer had passed.

Nada. Not a peep! So I felt I must take to the blog to see if any other HP fans noticed that like I had. I know story continuity can be skewed at times, so I respect how it happened. Plus, wasn't this when she took a significantly long break to have a baby? Can't rightly remember.

Suffice it to say, I'm still in love with HP and cannot wait to finish the audiobooks and catch the very last movie coming up in a few (hopefully) short months.

Cheers!

Mardi Gras!

I posted about this event awhile ago so I don't feel too badly about missing yesterday.

What I didn't talk about way back then was King Cakes! Those delicious rotundra's of creamy icing and sugar filled with a variety ranging from cinnamon and coffee flavors to pineapple and apple. All of it adds up to a delectable dessert associated with one of my favorite cultural celebrations!

Originally, the King Cake was created to represent the trek of the Three Kings to see the Christ Child. The Kings walked in circles to confuse Herod's assassins who were following them and arrived twelve days after the child's birth (known as Twelfth Night or King's Day). A coin, pea or bean was placed inside the cake and the person who found it was crowned King for the day and was supposed to have good luck in the coming year.

In Lousiana, Twelfth Night signifies the beginning of carnival season which ends on Mardi Gras Day (Mardi Gras is french for Fat Tuesday).The coin, pea or bean has been replaced with a small plastic baby which symbolizes baby Jesus.  Whoever finds the baby is expected to host next year's festivities and provide the King Cake as well!

It's delicious, but after looking at a few recipes, I think I'll just stick to buying mine.

Cheers and Happy Lent to those sacrificing and fasting this season!

2/26/2011 - 3/4/2011

I've been wanting to do more than post pictures, but my two CPA-free weeks are coming to an end today. I am so saddened by this! But...five weeks and then another break. I can push for five weeks. I can do this! I am on my way to a CPA...she will be mine!

2/26/2011 (Played photog for AP's party for her new MIL. It was so much fun! Thanks for asking, Pau!)

2/27/2011 (Gave Jack a much needed bath. She really needed it! My dad goes, after I've finished, "She's pretty, black." I replied, "As opposed to a greyish-yellow?" Ha, ha, Dad.)

2/28/2011 (Was fastest on the draw for the movie quote at work and won a hand-delivered, free [though it always is] soda. Boom!)

3/1/2011 (Have really started liking The Mighty Boosh,  a British comedy. It keeps getting funnier. This card, along with a few others, came in the series' box and I absolutely love this! It's in my office.)

3/2/2011 (Went MacGyver on that black piece of cardboard with that knife. It was awesome. See picture in background? Ha.)

3/3/2011 (My new favorite snack...dried plums!)

3/4/2011 (Mmm...Cupcake truck came to the Williams Tower in the Galleria. Hooray! I was very happy to see them and they were very happy to see me when I helped them sell out of two flavors. They never made it away from there with any cupcakes. SOLD OUT, baby. They will definitely be returning. I told them I'd get them a new crew when I moved!