Tizz the Season

         'Tis the season folks! How are you feeling about the holidays? It's Christmas Eve and I am honestly one of the happiest people right now. I have traveled northward to Seattle and am visiting my mother and her side of the family. Last night I went and saw the movie Hugo with two of my favorite aunties and my mother and her boyfriend. I spent the night at my aunts' house where my cousins also visited and stayed over. Tonight I am going to my mom's parent's house for home made pizza and gift exchanges. Then even more northward to my dad's parent's house, the place where I was raised, the people I was raised by. I cannot wait to see my grandma Jo and grandpa Bill! I miss my kitty, Ginger and our dog, Maggie. I can't wait to sit by the fire and eat more cookies...

Speaking of cookies... 

I am not doing too well with my sweets so far this weekend. It is Christmas so I am letting myself off the hook on this one, and I think you should too. There is no reason to feel bad about the food decisions you make, especially if you have been working hard previously! I didn't even know I liked cookies this much until every place and person I visit have tubs full of delicious, different kinds sitting all over their kitchen tables. I try to resist but I have to try them and then when you try them you know how good they are and it can be hard to stop! I want to commit to working out more after this weekend and just let myself relax for the time being. My grandparents live a couple blocks from a 2 miles long dike, that separates Padilla Bay from some of the farm land. My goal is to at least run half of it so I will still get two miles in, but maybe run the whole thing and get 4.

Just to add a tiny bit more cheer I had to post this adorable picture of Dexter the worried cat.
He constantly has a look of worry and concern on his face, but he is a sweetie and quite the soft kitty.

 

Happy Holidays to All!

Work-out of the Day & Results

        Today I made up a work-out for myself and it went so incredibly well and felt so good that I thought I would share. It focuses mainly on core with a little bit of legs included. I feel like the targeted muscle groups complimented each other well with each exercise. The only thing I might change next time is paying more attention to which PLANE my body is moving in, because I realize that all of these are sagital.

        For my warm-up I did a few minutes of jump-roping, butt kickers followed by high knees, and over-unders (one leg at a time pretend to step over a rope/fence/hurdle, then continue to pretend to duck under it)

The Workout:
-1 legged squat (with assistance of resistance band if needed) 10 each leg

-Stability ball knee tucks 15 each

-Kettle bell sumo squat (hit floor with bell each time & pull kettle bell up to chest with high elbows) 10 each

-Stability ball crunches 15 each

-Back extensions 10 each

-Bicycle crunches 20 each


I went through each exercise then gave myself a 30 second rest, before continuing on to another round.
I completed 5 rounds, I recommend completing at least 3.

Tips:
>The first round get a feel for each exercise, than push yourself a little harder each round.
>Music always helps to boost an exercise.
>Remember quality over quantity: It is very important to have good form over how many reps you do!
>If something hurts go lighter/easier. Modify things for yourself as you need to.


         Also, I would like to share some more results from my peer on peer 'personal training' sessions, because I am ecstatic about my results!
         My goals as of November 21st were for weight loss, strengthen my push-ups and pull-ups and target my thighs. I had 22.32% body fat (I like to measure it this way, versus saying 77.68% lean body mass, I do know better if I were speaking to a client)...moving on...my measurements/assessment results were as follow:

Arm	10.75
Chest	38.5
Waist	30
Hip	42.5
Thigh	26.5

Sit & Reach straight back		4.5"
Sit & Reach bent back		7.5"
Pushup (Knees)		14
Pullup (w/ Green Band)		5

As of the week of December 4th (just 3 weeks later) I couldn't believe the results I was already seeing + my body fat percentage decreased to 18.65%!

Arm	12.5
Chest	38
Waist	29.5
Hip	42.5
Thigh	25
Sit & Reach straight back		6.7"
Sit & Reach bent back		11.25"
Pushup (Knees)		21
Pullup (w/ Green Band)		10

This definitely motivates me to stay on track and keep up the work! I highly recommend taking your own measurements and doing assessments to keep track of your progress to be able to see your results on paper as well as in the mirror. I am happy to help guide you through any of it, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

I'm going to add another new years resolution: to decrease my body fat % even more! (not sure which percentage I want to get down to yet) Maybe I'll do some research over my vacation.

Observations & Resolutions

        This weekend was my first time doing the promo model thing. I gave a sampling of Robert Mondavi's wine selection, including a Brut sparkling wine, Cabaret from his private selection, a Chardonnay from his private selection, and his standard Woodbridge Chardonnay. It was lots of fun and insanely boring all at the same time. I love interacting with people, plus educating myself (and others) about the wine was lots of fun, but time also passed along quite slow. I gave this demo at an Albertsons on a Friday night during the holidays Most people seemed to be in some type of a hurry and just about everyone wants to be in the shortest check-out line and they all seem to be willing to check every single line for each of their lengths before committing to one line. It was fun to look in people's carts to see what they were buying. I noticed one older man carried a cook book with him, it had lots of little book marks throughout it. He asked me for a sample of wine and I wanted to ask him what he was making, but another patron came up to sample and the man was kindly on his way. I got to thinking about the job itself, I was literally hired on the way I look to be to able to promote the sales of alcohol. This led to me thinking about how many things in my life and our society are based on our looks. I wonder what opportunities I have received or will receive in the future based on my looks, and I'm curious what opportunities people miss out on because of their looks. I hadn't thought about it before, but being that we live in a society where media rules so much and we are constantly told that we need to be 'good looking' it just makes me think twice about the way we are treated now. It is very interesting to me and I'm glad that I have realized it and can step back and analyze. I love analyzing. I love people watching. It is all so interesting to me...

       
        Today is the first day of week 12 at school. Then we have a one week 'Christmas Vacation' and once we return I only have 12 more weeks of school. Now that I am getting down the regular exercise, etc. I think I might want to play around with my diet a little more. We have been talking a lot about paying attention to the food we eat and how it makes us feel. As far as energy--how long it lasts, how full it makes us feel (for how long), etc. I have been paying attention to those things, but I haven't made any changes where I know I could. For example my breakfasts almost always leave me hungry two hours later. Especially when I drink smoothies in the morning. I know the reasons why though and I think I'm going to make this a new years resolution. To change my eating habits to be more beneficial to my overall day.



        Speaking of new years resolutions what are some of yours? I really am curious to know! Everyone always has their own personal ones. Are they realistic, silly or serious, maybe both? What do you plan on doing to accomplish these resolutions? Please let me know :)

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Patterns + Thank yous

         What a long weekend...Last week I lost about 2 and a half pounds again. I am excited about it. I remember at the beginning of school I was talking to a girl in my class and she was telling me about how when she gets into a regular work-out routine her body consistently loses weight every three weeks or so. For the longest time I was losing weight very unevenly following a two one or two weeks on, one week off schedule. Now that I have consistently been working out every week and eating, better than I think I ever have, for about two months now maybe I am starting to see some patterns. It seems like I lose a solid two or so pounds then float around that weight for a few weeks and drop down again. I'm curious to see what it will all map out as when my six months of school are complete.

        If you like to count your calories, log your food, or have a place to score your weight, etc. etc. I would recommend "Calorie Count". There are so many online websites where you can access food databases, etc for free, but this is the only one I really know because it is the one I use. I don't really log my food, exercise, etc. online but I like the cool 'weight loss goal map' I've created and I log my weight here and it shows me a graph on the patterns of my weight loss. I think it's pretty cool.

        I have had a few people lately tell me that they have been reading my blog and very much enjoy it and/or find it inspirational. I just want to thank all the people out there reading this blog. I guess the point of a blog is for people to read them and I know I find personal enjoyment keeping up on other people's lives via reading their blogs, etc., but it's kind of flattering having people tell me that they're reading my blog. I sincerely hope I can inspire you to take the next step to do whatever it is you want to accomplish next, because I know you can do it! Never hesitate to ask me for anything either, even if I don't know you. I like meeting and talking to new people.

        Anyway, not much else new in my life. I plan on doing a little more cooking this week (hopefully). Two weeks to Christmas! I hope you all enjoy the holidays.

Dreams

             Today I decided to sleep in and come to school an hour late, I knew I could spare the time and I was just so tired this morning. Lately I've been having very vivid and bizarre dreams. They seem to be either extremely realistic in the situations during the dream or else my feelings from during the dream carry over to when I wake and leave me feeling weird. As a child I always had insanely vivid dreams. I would always remember my entire dream and wake-up to tell my grandparents in the morning. They thought I was making up stories because I was so detailed in describing them. Yet even now I still remember some of the dreams that I had as a child, I can still see in my mind the images/situations that have now become difficult to describe out loud. I used to keep a dream journal, but I stopped a long time ago. Being with all the dreams I've been having lately I am considering starting one again. I'm debating about making some more posts about them on this blog but I don't want to stray too much from my main focus for this goal. But it is a pretty broad spectrum, we'll see. Do you find dreams interesting and would you want to read about them here?

             I'll share a little about one dream I've had in the past that reconnected to a dream I had last night. Awhile ago I originally had a dream where the setting was in this giant house. I was with a group of people and we were splitting up, kind of exploring the house. The feel of the dream was heavy, scary even. As if we were running away and hiding from something in the house. Come now, I do not remember if the house was haunted or if there were actually people in the house or how the situation went down, but I know the feeling was 'heavy'. As the dream went on I was with one other girl and we found in the back corner of an upstairs bedroom (this house was huge, 3 stories!) walk-in closet that there was another door. Through this door it lead to a series of doors and corridors and I believe even a stair case, that was hidden and lead to other parts of the house.

              I've had dreams about this house off and on in different dreams/situations and even a repeat dream a couple times, but if it was a repeat dream I knew I had been there before in my dream, in my dream I knew I had already dreamed this, I knew about the secret section of the house, but not always could I find it, but I still knew it was there. I don't remember the last time I had a dream about this house, I feel like it was months ago (would know if I still kept a dream journal). Anyway, last night I had a dream that I can barely remember now but I remember being with this little girl in a bathroom of a very run down and cold house. The bottom of the door of the bathroom came up about a half inch off the floor and we could see men's boots come up and stand outside the door, two people. I remember feeling very scared and thinking about the back of the pantry way of 'our house'. I can see the pantry in my mind still. A narrow hallway looking place lined with shelves just filled with food, lots of canned items, with puffy jackets hanging by the opening. At the back of the pantry there was a door hiding behind more coats hanging and a broom and mop. I remember thinking of this door and knowing that it lead to the giant house, and in remembering that I felt some comfort. I knew I needed to get to that house to be safe and warm.

             A couple interesting facts I've learned about dreams:
       (You can easily find cool facts on Google)

>We only dream of faces that we already know.

We see real faces of real people that we have seen during our life but may not know or remember.

>The most common emotion experienced in dreams is anxiety.

Negative emotions are more common than positive ones.

 >The things people say to you in your dreams are not in fact what they might truly say to you, but are what you think they would say to you. What you think they feel about you, etc. So next time you're ready to get mad because your boyfriend said something mean to you in your dream, think twice...

Daunt

    So I lost a little under one pound last week when I was hoping to lose two and a half to three pounds, but I'm actually mostly okay with it. As much as I want to lose as much weight as possible, I also want to have a nice toned, fit body and that really only comes with muscle gains. Muscle weighs more than fat, therefore if I am gaining any muscle I am not going to see the weight loss I would like to and I may even see a gain. Weight is really only a number. No one else but myself cares about it. I'm going to try to keep a strict food journal until Christmas and if I can do that and continue exercising frequently throughout the week, including stretching and overall being productive and positive with the choices I make for my body, then maybe I will still let myself have that pizza the day after Christmas.

End of the Week

    I feel like this week has gone especially well for me. I worked out really hard most of the week to the point where I was sore most of the week, it felt so good! I kept a pretty strict food journal up til Friday night and then I stopped keeping track, but I think I still did pretty good at keeping myself in check. I have gotten into a good habit of packing myself little 'lunches' of my own food so I don't spend too much money or eat too much crap food.
  
     I had two photo shoots this weekend, kept really busy. They were both so fun. One was with a photographer I have worked with several times and very much enjoy shooting with. The second shoot was with a couple that both work as photographers together. It was different, but I loved it! They were so nice, friendly, and made me feel comfortable. They have a nice natural lit space set up in their apartment that seemed perfect for photo shoots. I'm excited to see the results from both.

     The rest of today I am going to go for a two mile run, do some studying for school and then go on a VS shopping spree tonight with their special card holder sale. I'm excited for this month, lots of new things coming about, friends coming into town, visiting family, making delicious food, etc. etc. The loom of the scale waits tomorrow morning and I am anticipating a good number...we'll see.

    I recommend relaxing your mind while still being productive the rest of today and start your week off awesome tomorrow. Go into it head strong, with a positive attitude. Next weekend will be here in no time...my how time flies. Here's to making the best of this week!

Purpose

Today is Wednesday, hump day, as some might call it. I am excited to take this weekend easy. I've got some study plans and a couple photo shoots lined up and that's all I really need. I've been trying to get much more involved in modeling lately because I have come to realize that it is a fun hobby/passion of mine and it's also something exciting to chase after. Modeling doesn't necessarily involve all the stereotypes that surround it. ALL types of people are wanted to be photographed all the time. You just have to know where to look and how to put yourself out there in a safe way.

     Being a nanny continues to be quite enjoyable. I'm spending the night at the house this week (Tues-Thurs nights). I've gone grocery shopping tonight, dropped the girl at soccer practice, tidied up, vacuumed a little and enjoyed the company of the kitties! Here is a picture of Super Nacho, made herself perfectly comfortable in the notch of my back while I was using the computer earlier this afternoon. So cute!

 
      School continues to go excellent! Currently we are paired up with another person from our class. We've talked to each other about our fitness foals and we are treating each other as if we didn't know each other--as if they are my client and I am their personal trainer. It's really fun! Today my PTP (Personal Trainer Peer) worked me really hard. I just know I am going to feel it for the next two days. I have also come to the realization that I love being sore from exercise! I thought it was a weird thing but after talking to another friend I think it's a common thing among athletes and exercise loving people. I do, however, know plenty of people that do not love this feeling. Sure, its an okay reminder that you did something good for your body and you pushed yourself through it, but I don't think everyone likes the feeling of being sore after a work out. I could see it being a nuisance...but tell me what you think about it!

      In a few weeks before "Christmas Break" at school I have to present my (this) blog to the class. That will be interesting...the big question being 'what is the purpose of your blog?' I feel like this question has been coming up a lot lately. At least I've read it a few times recently on others' blogs. The purpose of my blog is to inform people about myself. It is a place where my friends and family can keep in touch and up to date with the things going on in my life because a lot of the time I am so busy to stop and keep in touch with everyone in my life. I have been adding recipes, food tips, quotes, etc. that I find interesting and hope that maybe general public that might be reading this will too. Eventually if/when I start personal cooking and/or training I would like this to be a nice place my clients can come and learn something new and take some positive thinking away with them.

    Well I've been trying to write this for awhile and I keep getting distracted so I am going to take it to a close now. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

Busy Times I Live In

     Well, did you all survive the Thanksgiving feasts? I must say that I did not fully survive, but I'm trying to accept it. There is basically one month until Christmas and if I can pull off a good weight loss this week than I think I still have potential to reach my Christmas weight goal. But this is the final week to change it around or else all hope for this goal will be lost.

     My weekend consisted of family & old, good friend visits and a ton of delicious foods. From caramelized sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, candied yams, roasted onions with cheese, cheese balls, cheese dips, crackers, bread, bread, bread and more bread with butter and garlic. I will just spit it out and tell you I gained 1 and a half pounds this past week. I blame all the starch. It's hard to stay away when you've been away for so long. Then someone offers you one piece, you take a bite, and there is no going back. That's how it felt at least. I've got better grip than this and I'm going to prove it to myself (hopefully). I plan on keeping a strict food log the rest of the week and exercise every day. The week itself should be fairly easy, as it usually is. This week I am spending Tuesday through Thursday nights at the house I nanny for. The father is going to Seattle for business. I plan on getting all my homework/studying done and definitely getting my work outs in, because generally so far I have found that staying the night at their house is kind of boring. The kids get themselves to sleep by about 9 o'clock, I don't even have to do anything. Before that they just watch TV or play video games.

     What else is going on? I don't have a lot of plans like I have had the last few weekends, so that is kind of a relief. I have a couple photo-shoots planned and besides that I want to take it easy and study hard and feel prepared coming into the week. I usually do, but I also usually don't start studying until late Saturday or Sunday. Hopefully I'll just get a little more in.

     I've been very interested in doing more modeling recently. Unfortunately, I realize the more I want to collaborate with artists, the more I realize that my time is very strapped. December isn't even here yet and I'm almost completely booked up for the month! I am considering taking up ballet starting in January. It's something that I have been thinking about a bit and just think it would be a fun experience and a good work-out / fun-something to keep me doing until I graduate school. Ballet is so gorgeous and I used to take it as a very young girl. It would be nice to try it again! I haven't 100% decided yet, but I will let you know when I do.

    This week is going to be about a lot of discipline. I haven't been running or jogging at all because the weather has been absolutely horrible, but before this week things were still working out for me. Like I said, this is my last week to really turn things around for myself. I can do it. I've totally got this...I'll try to post a bit more this week. You understand, last week with a holiday and what not. I hope your week kicks off to an amazing start. Make it a good one.

Monday Morning Madness

     Today I woke up and I was very hesitant to step foot on that scale. I ate pretty well for the most part, but that second half of the week just through me off. A good friend of mine had a pre-thanksgiving potluck on Friday where I definitely over-ate (so much delicious food!) & Saturday I ended up going out with some friends before and after a concert. During the weekend I thought semi-often about my Christmas goal and stepping on the scale this morning I was prepared to just let it slip away. I stepped up and didn't look down for a few moments, letting it configure itself first. Slowly I glanced down...and to my surprise it read 161.2! I'm pretty stoked! That's a 2.4# loss. If I keep it up I can most definitely reach my goal by Christmas! Today I am going to take a look at a fitness gym called Anytime Fitness. It is just 2 minutes south of where I work so I think it would be convenient. If I go to the gym every day after work for just an hour, getting solid cardio time in, I know I could speed up this process in no time. I'm just worried about the cost. I am not willing to pay over $40/month but I have a feeling it's going to be just that. Fingers crossed though, we will see.

     Last night I made a delicious dinner with a friend using some ingredients from my organic food bin. We made roasted russet potatoes, yams, and turnips with steamed carrots with leeks and toasted pine-nut cous cous. It was very delicious! We also had crispy kale as an appetizer and coconut-milk Mexican hot chocolate. We then watched the American Music Awards which lasted 3 hours, but was pretty entertaining.

    This week in school we're learning Adaptations to Anaerobic Training Programs in physiology, Energy Balance in nutrition and about the biceps in anatomy. It sounds like it will be a solid week. Nice it's only 3 days. Thanksgiving this Thursday will be fun too. I am excited to visit with my family and eat more delicious food.

Summary of this Week So Far

    So far this week is going well for me. I haven’t been jogging because the weather has been absolutely nasty out and two of the three days at school so far I have gotten some solid sweaty workouts in. I have been doing my ‘simple morning routine’ every morning except this morning. This morning I slept in 15 minutes rather than saving that time for the workout. I’m not stressing it though. Yesterday we did not work out during school and I kind of had a lazy day at home. Wednesdays are the first day of the week that I don’t have homework or tests to study for and I like to relax. I did however stretch a bit with my new yoga blocks that I just got and practiced doing hand stands in my room. I found it is quite fun and I have the perfect wall to practice against. Once I get in the handstand I practice bringing my feet away from the wall and then back against without toppling over.


    Last night at the house where I nanny I made the kids red pepper and tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and little pigs in a blanket with smoky wieners and Safeway brand doughy croissants (similar to Pillsbury, less fat). As I was rolling the ‘pigs’ into the ‘blankets’ I wanted to snag a little. A few times the dough would come apart and I’d almost eat it (I love raw dough) but then I just stuck it back into itself. I told myself at one point that I was going to make a few non-piggy ones just in case ‘for the kids’ but then I put my foot down, realizing it was just an excuse to allow myself to have just one or two. I made them all pigs in a blanket and I didn’t have one. I didn’t even try the dough. I also didn’t make myself a grilled cheese, which looked freaking delicious by the way (I don’t think I’ve made such perfect grilled sandwiches before), and I only tried the soup to see if it tasted good or needed anything added. It was super hard to resist all those things but I did! I went home and I roasted myself some mushrooms and carrots and had them over my brown, red, wild rice with lentil mix and it was also very good. Then I indulged in chocolate soy chai tea ☺
   

    Today my organic first organic delivery comes! Probably around 6pm I think. I am so excited!!! I checked the bin this week on their website –ORGANICS TO YOU—and it says it includes honey crisp apple, comise pears, star krimson pears, kiwis, yams, winter squash, onions, kale, carrots, celery, radishes, green peppers, and russet potatoes. I am especially excited about the winter squash! I have been craving squash so much lately. Roasted squash in particular. Of course this bin is subject to change, I’ll keep ya’ll posted on what actually arrives.


    A fellow student and I are partnered up and doing a little project on ‘balance’.  I need to research more exercises so we can put together a warm-up & workout and then go through it this afternoon in the practical part of class. I will also try to remember to post about the things I learn with that. I already know that balance is  a lot more important to peoples lives than they realize and it is something everyone should practice.

One last thing: I finally snapped a cute picture of these lovely kitties together!

  Stir Fry &  Tardo
They literally follow each other every where! They go to the bathroom and to get food together. Stir Fry is always sleeping on top of the bed and Tardo is usually under it, if not snuggled up next to Stir Fry. Just too cute to handle some days!

Monday, Week 7 of School

             If you’ve viewed my progress tab this week you will see that I lost a whopping .6 of a pound last week. Better than nothing I suppose but not by any means close to what I should be down by if I want to lose 12 pounds by Christmas. Back in the summer I used to make myself goals every week of things I wanted to work on and keep them in plain sight to remind myself throughout the week, then build on them every week. I think I am going to start doing that again, because in the summer it really helped me.

             This morning I had a little extra time between getting ready and leaving so I did a little workout that I would ideally like to do 4 mornings per week (if not more time during week and/or day). It is quite simple, but doing it every morning will help build up some extra strengths/toning + I can build on this little routine in weeks to come. It consists of side plank—30 seconds on each side, 30 pleas holding a 10# dumbbell, cross over leg lifts—30 each leg, 10 push-ups (doing as many non-modified ones as possible), & 30 squats.

   
         Also, this week, I would very much like to start jogging a bit more. I will limit myself to 3 times per week, and aim to hit 1 mile per jog, for now. I don’t like running much right now, but I’m hoping to change that.

            Thursday this week my organics delivery service will be here. I also went grocery shopping last night and picked up a bunch of delicious healthy foods. I got a dry mix of beans to add to some soup, and a dry mix of brown, red, and wild rice with lentils. I also picked up some more coconut milk and almond milk. I tried almond milk for the first time this past weekend and it is delicious! It is the closest resemble to milk I think I’ve tasted so far. The consistency is just right and the almond taste is very subtle. So yet another goal this week is to eat better and resist over-eating and sweets.

           With increasing my workouts I want to start stretching more often too, because I am typically a pretty flexible person already and I would like to keep it that way if not expand. You might ask how do I plan on fitting all these things in to my schedule, while going to school full time and working? Well I’m going to try my best to do it, I know I’ll be very busy but I do think it’s quite possible. I don’t even have to completely sacrifice my weekends I just have to manage them. In working-out more I will also, theoretically, be more tired at night and therefore sleep better.

            So to recap my goals for this week:
            -do the simple work out minimum 4 of mornings
            -go for a jog at least 3 times this week (aim for 1 mile per jog)
            -eat healthier, more regularly, steer away from sweets
            -start stretching more
            -work-out 6 days this week, work up a sweat each time

           

    

Nanny Update

     I haven't written an update on my new nanny job since I started posting regularly. It has been going very well. I have now met all the cats and the last one, Tardo, is insanely cute! I still haven't managed to snag a picture of him yet but I am going to keep trying. Stir fry and Tardo are basically best friends it's adorable. They are constantly running around together and sometimes I find them curled up snuggling together, it's adorable. Tardo is very skittish though, even though he (she?) will let me pet him, he still runs when I try to approach him when he's not sleeping. About a week and a half ago I brought home one of the four cats for us to have at our house, it's technically my roommates cat. Her name at the house where I nanny was Guano (which means bat shit in Spanish), but my roommate renamed her Mal. She is quite adorable. My cat, Dina was very territorial at first. She has been the only cat in her household for the last 6+ months, but before that she lived with other cats and got along with them just fine. Now Dina and Mal get along for the most part. They like to play sometimes and spend some good time following each other around, but they also spend a majority of the day just ignoring each other. My hopes are to find them snugglin up one of these days.

     Anyway, really not a lot else to post about. I've been in Salem all weekend visiting my boyfriend. e had some friends from Portland come down last night and hang out, fun times. I've been studying a bit tonight. Learning about hormones/steroids/supplements/drugs in physiology, digestion in nutrition and the rotator cuffs in anatomy. I feel like today is Saturday and that I should have another day to not do anything before returning to my work/school week. I guess some weekends feel like that though. I wish Salem wasn't 45 minutes away so I could go home whenever I wanted and not have to worry about time. Oh well, it really isn't that bad. I'm going to get ready to leave here in a minute. I've got some laundry to do at home, want to stretch and maybe get some more working out in. I didn't work out yesterday, but I went for a run today. It felt so good in the fall weather. It really wasn't that cold today and the leaves all over the ground were just so gorgeous. I love the NW Fall color, smell of the fresh air and the feel of it on my skin. I would like to say that I want to try running/jogging a bit more, but if I don't want to say anything of the sort because chances are it's not going to happen. I just plain and simple don't really enjoy running much. The thought of getting to the point of enjoying it sounds delightful though. I guess I'll see...I get a lot of ideas about things that I want to do, I'm not holding myself to this one.

Stir Fry

Super-Nacho

Dina Belle

Mal

No one said it was easy

     All right, so I feel like I’m getting into a pretty good routine with posting: Sundays and Thursdays. Sundays are the closing to my week meaning a good time to reflect on the past week and the future week to come. Thursdays are the days that we get to work on our Blogs in class, making a perfect time to check-in and make a nice post.

     The past two weeks I’ve been trying to focus very hard on working out more outside of school, keeping track of what I’ve been eating and really shedding those pounds and toning up!  Taking small steps for exercising outside of school have included jogging to and from my friends house (.4 miles round trip) and dancing to my favorite music in my bedroom. I’ve set a small mid-point goal for myself that I would love to hit but I am not going to set up a check-point schedule or anything, just keep it in mind for myself. That goal is to lose 12 pounds by Christmas. This means losing 2 pounds per week in the next seven weeks, which is very reasonable. This would also put me over half-way to my weight loss mark in March, which I would give me 3-months to lose another 10 pounds…sounds easy, if I can get there! I mostly want to shed these pounds by Christmas as a challenge to myself to keep the pounds off during the holidays and also to ‘wow’ my friends and family when I return home for the holidays.

     No one said it was easy and I am telling you, readers, and myself that it is not. I had a hard day yesterday, but I pulled through and the way I felt going to bed and waking up this morning is a feeling that I really wish I could hold on to and remember every time I am struggling. I stayed out late the night before last and because of that I did not feel very well yesterday, therefore I didn’t work out with my class during our practical session. I stretched and took it easy (at least I did something). I stayed the night at my nanny job last night because the father was away on business and the girl that I nanny was the only other one home. Our night consisted of TV watching all evening--seriously from ~5pm-9. This is just not something that I do, ever. I don’t have TV in my own home and I can’t stand to watch it because of all the stupid commercials! During this time I looked up a lot of fitness things on the Internet--exercises, pictures, etc. Just dinkin’ around on the World Wide Web. I kept thinking to myself that I should just get up, go to the guest bedroom and workout! I was really getting on my ass about not working out that day! I wasn’t doing anything else anyway and I knew the girl would not care at all. I have always said ‘If I worked out as much as I thought about working out, I would be in the best shape of my life!’ Finally I made my way to the guest room and decided to work up a sweat before bed. [The work out is listed below along with a link of where I found it online which further explains the exercises if you aren’t familiar with the names]

     I’ve got to say after thinking to myself all evening about how I should really work out, why I should do it, picturing the results I want to see in my head, etc, I still really didn’t expect myself to do it…this would be the typical me, I know myself too well. If I had not completed this work-out I know the exact feeling I would’ve sunken into too. Slight disappointment in myself and just kind of quiet and not wanting to think about it, giving myself the motivation that I will do it next time and not to stress over it too much. But the fact that I did do it, expecting I wouldn't, made me feel even better! I literally had a smile on my face, my body was sticky with sweat and I pushed myself through the exercises with my goals in mind every second of the way and I got through it and it felt great! It’s hard to explain the actual good feeling that overcame me and compare it to how I would’ve felt if I had just gone to bed or continued surfing the web. It was nice surprising myself, it’s nice pushing myself, and it’s nice knowing that overcoming this puts me just that much closer to accomplishing my goals!! & knowing that I can do it. You can do it too!

“30 Minutes to a Sleek Physique: The No-Equipment Workout You Can Do Anywhere”

1. Warm up for eight minutes. You can do whatever you like to get your heart rate up. Do some jumping jacks, jog in place or dance to your favorite song <-- (That’s what I did!)

2. Do one minute of jungle squats. (Lower body)

3. Do one minute of push ups. (Upper body)

4. Do one minute of reverse V lunges. (Lower body)

5. Do one minute of modified chair dips. (Upper body)

6. Do two minutes of cardio—mountain climber burpees. (Whole body)

7. Do one minute of abs exercises—inch worm. (Whole body)

8. Take a 30 second break.

Repeat steps 2 through 8, three times.

-CLICKING HERE will take you to the website where I found this work out and further explain the exercises.

-CLICKING HERE leads you to a helpful online digital stopwatch/timer/countdown. I used it to time the minute intervals above.

*I hope you enjoy the work-out!*

& I thought I had nothing in the fridge…

So my weekend was amazing and they seem to just keep getting better and better every freakin' weekend! It’s awesome getting to spend time with people I don't get to see too often, travel if I want to, and be able to relax. I never realized how awesome life would sync up by just having weekends free!

Friday night I saw the Cherry Poppin Daddies (#1 hit being Zuit Suit Riot) live downtown Portland for the second time. They were just as good as the first time! Very upbeat and dancey the entire time, quite lively and felt like I was in the 1920s for a moment. I love dancing! It was great having my favorite dancing partner there with me :)

Saturday I watched an AMAZING documentary called Forks Over Knives (www.ForksOverKnives.com) that was suggested to me by a friend. It was made this year (2011) and the second I finished watching it I went online and purchased it. I was not expecting to be completely awestruck by this film, but I sincerely urge everyone I know to take 96 minutes out of his or her lives and watch it!! It is now listed under my “Film” tab [above] with a synopsis and where you can view it. If you personally know me and are reading this, chances are I will see you this holiday season and will insist that you watch it with me! Be ready.

I had also been planning all week to go to Bella Organic farm on Sauvie’s Island. Ever since I watch the documentary Ingredients I’ve been wanting to buy local/organic food—considering I live in Portland I figured this couldn’t be too difficult. However the farm closed on the fourth so I was unable to go. Thankfully, I remembered a company a couple blocks from my first apartment in Portland, called ‘Organics to You’. I looked up their website and signed up for their service. They put together different style ‘bins’ you can choose from to have delivered to your house weekly, biweekly, or monthly. The bins consist of locally and organically grown produce. I chose the ‘bin for one’ that will consist of a random variety of fruits and veggies. You can select Add-on items from teas, cheese, local/organic beef and pork, to little baskets that’s contain herbs or salad mixes (with cucumbers, fresh greens, etc). I am so excited to start receiving this service!!My first delivery should be the 17th.

You can visit the Organics to You website by CLICKING RIGHT HERE!

I also saw a band called Deer Tick at the Mission Theatre in NW Portland Saturday night. Amazing live band, put on a great show! I definitely suggest looking into them.

Today (Sunday) I strapped down and started studying for my three tests that I have every week. This week in school we are learning about endocrine response to resistance training (physiology), proteins (nutrition), and the deltoids (anatomy). Studying has come pretty easy tonight and I am thankful and excited about it. Still have a tad more to do, and then think I might take a jog up the street to my friend's house to say hi. Haven’t seen her in awhile and miss her and her roomies.

I think I’ve mentioned it previously, but I recently have taken interest in making a transition to be a vegan—meaning a person that doesn't consume any dairy products whatsoever. I still plan on eating eggs, bread, small amounts of cheese, and probably ice-cream on occasion. Tonight, thinking I barely had anything in the house to eat I made a quest out to make myself a vegan dinner (failed w the pasta part, but close). The recipe is below:

Surprisingly Delicious Stir Fry of Sorts

1 package Udon Noodles
(udon noods are not vegan)
½ 1 bunch green onions
1 tbsp Chopped garlic
1 carrot (sliced thing w peeler)
5 mushrooms (sliced)
1/3 c chopped mixed nuts
1 small tomato, diced chunky
3 tsp Worceshire sauce
2 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
Salt & Pepper
Organic dried basil
1 tbsp vegetable oil.

-bring some water to a boil and pour over udon noodles
-set aside, letting udon noodles soak and loosen.
-heat frying pan on medium-high
-pour oil in pan
-add green onions, garlic and mushrooms
-sauté for a few minutes until mushrooms start to soften
-add carrot and tomato
-add worceshire sauce
-continue to sauté for a few minutes
-add teriyaki sauce, balsamic vin. and udon noodles
-saute
-sprinkle salt and pepper and dried basil over everything
-mix well and serve!
**a squirt of lemon juice adds nice flavor as well!

Like I said, surprisingly delicious!!

Eating Tips, Weight Goals, + Lower Body Circuit

     Sunday night I posted about my weight loss goals and the steps I have been taking to get myself there. I mentioned my curiosity towards the number the scale was going to give me, especially because it was Halloween weekend and all. I didn’t mention, but will now, that I struggle most after Thursday every week. I don’t have school and I only work in the afternoons on Fridays so I think of it like having a three-day weekend and from there it is hard for me to continue working out on the weekend, and like most young-adults I think it’s safe to say I like to indulge in social activities which often times end in ordering pizza. If I get in the mindset of pizza there is no going back on it. I can’t even stop myself, it’s been a problem.

      Thankfully though I have for the most part conquered the over-junk food-binge eating problem. I have tried to keep a regular eating schedule as much as possible, and I’ve been keeping a food log. These things together help me realize if I am truly hungry or not so when I want to go out to eat or order in pizza I ask myself, ‘Are you really hungry?’ When it comes to going out to eat I have definitely limited myself, half because I just don’t have the money and the other half because I know how not so good for you going out to eat is--so many hidden calories, among other things! If I know I am going someplace, like a friends house, or just to a park or something to meet up with friends I pack myself a little lunch to nibble on. That way I know what I’m eating, I have a limited amount, and I’m saving money! I’ve set into the habit of eating ‘healthy’ that my stomach can’t even handle things that I used to love oh so dear, like pizza. Don’t get me wrong, when I really want to I can still scarf down an entire zza to myself, but not without putting my stomach in danger. I get the worst stomach pains from eating things that I have limited myself on. Back in high school (~2005) I cut my intake of fast food by about 90%. After I became a vegetarian in 2008 my options were pretty much only limited to fries and shakes if I wanted fast food, which I would still very rarely indulge in. Then I moved to Portland, OR where they have Burgerville. At Burgerville they have vegetarian burgers, so I thought I would try them. The first, second, and lastly third time I tried them my stomach was just in knots. I can no longer eat fast food at all. I guess this is a great thing, but my point is I feel like the same situation is coming on with the other foods (like pizza) that I have been limiting my intake on. I also feel like this is a ‘sign’ that those foods are worse for me than I thought.

      I’ve recently taken a look into dairy as well. I have learned so many things about dairy products lately (i.e. the milking of cows, what happens to the calves, etc.) and I am in the process of cutting back on dairy in my diet. Besides the heart breaking farm animal dairy product stories I have read, I have also learned that humans are the only mammals that continue to drink milk past infantry and that this is most likely the reason why so many people are developing intolerance to lactate later in their lives. Whether you realize it or not dairy really isn’t very good for your body. If you are sick cut back on the dairy, it’s just going to promote mucus and clog you up more! Try cutting back on dairy in your diet, just as an experience, see if you feel any positive differences.

So the fill in on what the scale read:
       I went from 166.2 #s (as of 10/24/11) to 164.2 #s (as of 10/30/11) giving myself a solid 2# loss for the week. I’m feeling really good about it. I am still going to take baby steps in my progression. I am continuing to eat well and watching my calorie intake closely. I’ve been trying to stay between my recommended calorie intake for my weight loss goal and the calorie intake to maintain my current weight. I have also been pushing myself harder at school when we work out, because we work out every day (M-Th). About two of the four days we get to work out independently. I usually end up working out with someone else or creating a circuit for myself. Today, in hopes that we will get another independent work out I have made a lower body circuit for myself, feel free to use it for yourself to.

       With 30 mins in mind it is going to be a AMRAP work out, meaning, as many rounds as possible in the 30 minutes. Go at whatever pace you would like, but be sure to push yourself to a challenge. *the exercises between the numbers are to be done between each of those exercises.*

1. Skater Jumps x20
            -10 leg swings (ea leg)
2. 30# on shoulders –squats x20
            -15 kettle bell pleas
3. 30# straight leg forward rolls x10
            -30 Russian twists
4. Walking lunges x30
            -plank hold for 1 minute
5. Side lunges x20
            -15 side leg lifts or circles (ea leg)--on all fours

Loving to Learn

Going into Week 5 of School
Weight Loss Goal: 142.8 #s
October 3^rd - March 23^rd 2012

     This past week we learned about Bioenergetics in Physiology, Fats in Nutrition, and the Pectoralis major and minor and the Serratus Anterior in Anatomy. School is going well. Just tonight I think I realized the true meaning of loving to learn. It’s a great feeling.

     To truly get on a roll with my weight loss goals this week I tried very hard to keep track of everything I ate. I was doing very well until Saturday. I lost my little notebook I was writing everything down in, so I’m going to get a new one. Also being Halloween weekend it made things a bit more tempting but I think I did really well. It’s nice not liking candy. Call me crazy, but I don’t.

I looked up some things like my recommended daily caloric intake for my weight loss goal and how many grams of protein per day I should have, etc. etc. I’m really excited to get back into tracking everything. I think it’s fun tracking it and seeing the progress.

     I weigh myself every Monday and am curious what tomorrow’s numbers will read. My teacher is constantly saying that weight is pretty much ridiculous. It is just a number and you’re the only person that really cares how much you weigh. Society and media are the only things that make you think otherwise. But in having my own weight loss goals, it’s what I like to do. So far I have lost something like .4 of a pound per week since school started. When I lost a bit of weight this summer I was losing 1 ½ - 2 pounds per week. With my current weight loss goal I only have to lose 1 pound per week. I’m hoping to exceed my goal, but I set my standards as low as I could while still pushing myself.

I thought of a tattoo I think I want to get and I’m also holding myself to my goal and using that as a reward. I think it’s great. I looked up a bunch of pictures and have been thinking about the tattoo a lot. If I still really like the idea and want to get it after thinking about it for five months I figure I’ll go through with it. I want a Great Blue Heron on my right shoulder in a landing position. His beak would run down my arm a little and his feet probably wrap under my armpit. The wings would be back (as if landing) spreading over my own shoulder. The shading would be pretty blue-purple-grays and I think I will have the beak open a bit so if I ever decide I want to add to it I can maybe have something in the beak. Great Blue Herons have always reminded me of home in Skagit Valley and I have wanted to get a tattoo of one for awhile. I just couldn’t think of what I wanted.

     Anyway I’m very hungry. I’ve been thinking about a PBJ and now I think I might indulge. Hope you all had a great weekend + Happy Halloween!

Super Chunk

 **Okay, so I made this soup and it sat in my fridge for a few days and all the flavors mixed together in a way that wasn't tasty. It's like they never stopped soaking into each other and soon the lemon was overpowering and the herbs just didn't taste good together...I'm not 100% positive how to prevent this next time, but it's all trial and error. I'm not used to making soups in crock-pots yet.**

All the colors are getting beautiful outside and I am constantly thinking I want to get my camera out and start taking pictures of all the gorgeousness around me (I say this every year, still have yet to do it). Fall is a good time for soups and with the idea from my roomies I have decided to start making soup every week for myself. It will last me the entire week and I will have it for any meal time, ready to go.

I started last night. I just threw a bunch of vegetables into the slow cooker for a few hours. It's super chunky (I'm going to call it my Super Chunk Veg Soup) and I didn't put in as many udon noodles I might next time. The celery is also very squeaky on the teeth so I would either cut that smaller or cook it longer next time too. I originally thought it came out pretty bland, but the more I sip it the better I think it tastes. Some might argue that it needs salt but I know there was a lot of sodium in the veg broth and I didn't want to add anymore.

Vegetables I used in this recipe (literally rough cut and thrown in):
-Celery
-Red and Yellow bell peppers
-Green onions
-Mushrooms
-Zucchini
-1/2 Lemon, squeezed (let soak in for awhile, take out later)

Herbs & Spices:
-Fresh Sage
-Dried Organic Oregon
-Dried Organic Basil
-Black Pepper
-Dash of Organic Curry Powder
-Fresh Garlic

Additional:
-Udon Noodles
-Organic Vegetable Stock
-Boiling Water

Digesting it all.

Yesterday was the last day at The Stafford. It was really odd leaving, I felt like I was forgetting something, but alas I cleaned my locker empty, I had all my hats, my water bottle, my cell phone. I said my goodbyes and I am truly moving on to a new chapter in my life now. I feel like it will all officially start to sink in come Monday of next week. School is building up really fast with lots of information. Every week now on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we have a quiz. Each of those days we also learn new material that we will be quizzed on the following week. Mondays are chapters from our “Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning” book, Tuesdays are nutrition and Wednesdays are anatomy. Thankfully I’m getting nutrition pretty easily, which is also exciting because nutrition is something I’ve been interested in continuing education in if it came to me easily. Anatomy isn’t too hard for me either. It’s the Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning stuff that I’m having the most trouble with. As I previously stated, this week we are learning about bioenergetics. It is quite above my head at this point, but I’m slowly digesting it. I will be reading/studying it the rest of the week, making flash cards and that really helped me with last weeks material. Science and math are my two worst subjects, plus I’m a bit dyslexic so that does not help. I understand that there is meaning behind everything my teacher is explaining to us and I desperately try to hold on to the meaning of those things as my teacher explains them,(he is a great teacher and breaks things down very well!) but as much as I want to learn it’s just so hard for me to keep my attention held. I find myself thinking about the most random things sometimes in class and when I catch myself I snap back and try to catch back up to where we are in the lecture, but usually find myself lost. I’m getting there though. I have confidence in myself. It’s going to take baby steps and I have 5 more months to learn it all. I’m just so happy/thankful I have finally found a schedule that allows me to have time to study and take in all this information and have time to digest it all. It is still extremely exciting and I hope it continues to be.

Week 4 of School

The family visit was quite successful and fun! The ravioli did not turn out but with a great idea from my mom I got bought jumbo pasta shells and stuffed them, poured my sauce over them and baked the in the oven with cheese, everyone liked it! The haunted house was awesome!! I hadn’t been to one since I’ve been ‘grown up’ so it was cool not being the scared little kid. I laughed the entire time. It’s fun because being older you realize the characters in there are people just like me, and they also can’t touch me, so it’s pretty much just all looks. The strobe lights were pretty intense though and at times I literally could not see.  Would do it again in a heartbeat though! It would especially be fun to work one of them. In the waiting line there was a small girl dressed in a pretty long, flowing gown, but her face was painted up so she looked like she had a gaping gash in her cheek. She’d just go up and standing behind people in line until they noticed her. Really freaked a lot of the kids out. Would’ve been fun just to play that role. It rained the whole time we were in Seattle. Makes me miss it so much! Something about that rain, it is only comfort.

I feel like I’ve got the busiest week coming up ahead of me. I really want to start exercising more outside of school but I just haven’t been able to find the time. This week I’m going to focus on sticking to eating healthy and regularly and next week start incorporating more exercise, as I will have more time starting next week.

The dad at the residence I nanny for is on a business trip the next two nights so I am staying over with the children. I also have quizzes in school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I actually just took the first quiz and feel pretty confident about it. I blanked out on one part of an answer on one question but I think I made up for it…hopefully.

I believe tomorrow is my last day at The Stafford. I took PTO off for Wednesday and Thursday, but I wasn’t scheduled to work those days anyway. I know my boss really wants me to work this coming weekend but I’m not going to give in because I have already made plans for the entire weekend. It is Halloween after all. I’m making a trip south to Eugene, OR to visit a few friends of mine that go to school down there that I don’t get to see very often. I haven’t visited the school or anything yet so I’m super excited!!!

In between school and work this week I have a few errands I need to run. If I can find the time I need to run a diagnostic on my car, at least that’s what the guy at Oil Can Henry’s told me. I need to get my kitty in for a check-up at the vet because she hasn’t had one in two years. I have some clothes and a TV I need to drop off at a friend’s house, I need to go to the bank, etc. etc. Thankfully I’ve learned how to keep things in my life pretty tidy and organized and it makes things a lot less stressful for me. I like coming home to a clean bedroom and a clean house! There is nothing I love more than coming home from a weekend away to having a clean home to lounge around in! You don’t always get that when you have roommates, but it’s working out great for me so far J

Going to learn about Bioenergetics of Exercise and Training now in class. Don’t know a thing about that yet, but I guess I’m about to find out. I’m still so happy that I love this school so much more than I thought I would. It sounds so cheesy to say but it makes me feel ‘smart’. In the sense that I am doing and learning things that I would have never thought I would be remotely interested in. Funny how things change…

Second day of the nanny job, Last day of the 3rd week of school

I had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off of work at The Stafford this week and on the schedule it’s the same next week. Potentially, my last day there could be next Tuesday, which I would not complain about. I did try for 4 days, 32 hours, PTO that I had built up. I left the slip on my boss’s desk. I’m hoping I get it but if not I will at least get 20 hours on my last paycheck. I’ve never had a job where I got PTO before, so it’s really exciting, feels like extra money, but I also don’t know entirely how it works. I’m figuring it out now though. 

This afternoon after school I have my beginning aerial arts (silk ropes and trapeze) class, after class I am leaving for Lynnwood, WA (~20 mins north of Seattle) to visit my family!!! I am so excited; I haven’t seen them for a while! It’s my mom, one of her sisters, her kid and grandkids…so my mom, aunts, and cousins! The fun and favorites when it comes to my mom’s side of the fam. I’m making them dinner on Friday and afterward we’re going to a haunted house put on by one of the major radio stations in the area (Kiss 106.1). I haven’t actually cooked a meal for my family yet so I’m looking forward to it. I decided that I wanted to do a sausage and sage ravioli in a roasted red pepper sauce, all made from scratch –including the ravioli. With my incredibly busy schedule right now I am somewhat regretting the ravioli decision, but I am still hoping it will work out. Last week I went to a friend’s house warming party and started making ravioli dough there, but I didn’t end up wanting to finish it, the dough wasn’t right, and I was having trouble with the pasta roller. Yesterday I decided to throw out that old dough (that had gotten pretty nasty by this point) and make some new stuff. This dough turned out better but I’m still having trouble with the stupid pasta roller. I called my mom, who loves cooking too, and she is going to come to my aunt’s early on Friday and help me get the ravioli made. It will be fun. I don’t remember the last time I cooked with her. It’s funny because my aunt does not like vegetables, pretty much at all, so I’m making her her own separate simple marinara sauce to go over her ravioli. I think I want to serve dinner with a nice salad and garlic bread also. I will buy the bread and garlic it myself, but I’m not making the bread from scratch. I have a fear that my family isn’t going to like the dinner that much, because they’re so damn picky and super honest, but if that becomes the case I will be happy to not cook dinner for them again J

The second day at the nanny job went well. The son spent the night with his mom so he was not there, but the dad left me with a couple cleaning projects and it was fine. I met the 3^rd of 4 cats that the family has (still waiting to see the 4^th one). I love cats so it’s awesome for me! Two of the cats just followed me around while I cleaned and I talked to them and petted them while I did my duties. I will be returning to the house Monday morning before school and staying the night Monday and Tuesday with the kids while the dad goes on a business trip. The family seems so friendly, relaxed, fun and even though I haven’t known them long at all, open-minded too. It’s going to work out great; I’ve just got a feeling about it. But if it ends up not, it’s okay, because that just means it wasn’t meant to be and something better will come along.

It’s lunch break now at school. I’ve got lots of studying to do this weekend. Monday = quiz on chapter 1, Tuesday = quiz on chapter 2 nutrition, Wednesday anatomy quiz on the lat muscles. Wish me luck, have a good weekend!

New Chapter

Week 3, Tuesday

I’m into my third week of school now and it’s getting to the point where I realize I need to study a lot more and start reading the chapters that we are covering in class. Thankfully I just found out this morning that I got the nanny job I really wanted and with starting that I will have much more time for studying and working out!

I put in my two-week notice at my current place of work yesterday. I didn’t know that I had the nanny job at that point but I was hoping for the best. I figured if I did not get the nanny position I would find something else and eventually it would all pan out. I just came to a realization at The Stafford that I was constantly annoyed, stressed and/or angry and that is not how I should feel at a place that I work 40 hours per week. I love the people there, half of them are my good friends anyway that I happened to be able to get jobs. But I can’t handle food constantly being looked over, to the point of rancidness. There are also a lot of weird things going on that I’m still very unsure of, but I can see them happening. The way my managers act towards the big boss and little whispers that I hear passed around. For example the Front of House manager (bless her heart, I love her, she’s from Costa Rica) ran into the walk-in after me yesterday and she shook me saying, “I can’t believe you’re leaving me! I envy you!” followed by how happy she is for me, etc. I will miss the place a lot. The residents are great and I know many of them are quite fond of me so it will somewhat sad leaving.

But I am oh so excited for this new chapter in my life! I have never been a nanny before, but I think I am going to get the swing of things right away! I’m one hundred percent confident about it. It is also taking a step towards working with people in their homes, which is something I am interested in. I have said that  I want to be a personal cook/personal trainer (2 in1) duo, but I also just want to let my paths steer me and see what opportunities arise as I walk upon them.

Time for practical part of class! Work-out time!

Honey Peanut-Butter Cookies

Every Sunday I work 2-5pm. I go into work and bake some treats, then bring them down to the assisted living (AL) residents. They love desserts, let alone home-made, freshly baked, steamy, warm baked goods. This week I decided to make Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies (makes about 2 dozen cookies)
preheat oven to 350


1 cup Butter
2 cups Peanut Butter (your choice crunchy or creamy)
2 cups Honey
4 eggs
2 yolks
6 cups AP flour
2 cups brown sugar
3 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

~beat together butter, peanut butter, and honey to a smooth/creamy consistency
~add full eggs one at a time, beating after each one
~add egg yolks, continue to mix
~add vanilla extract
~sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
~in three batches, add add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture
~make sure everything is well combined. wipe down sides as needed
~batter will be very thick

I find it most helpful to scoop my cookies out on to a sheet using an ice-cream scooper with a glass of hot water to help with stickiness.

Cook in oven 350 for 10 minutes 
Best eaten while still warm
Also Delicious when:
   -dipped in a cup of organic whole milk
   -made into an ice-cream sandwhich
   -blended up into a milkshake