Fruits and a good book.

I know it's only Tuesday but I've been doing great following my eating plan and workout plan. Keeping calories under 1500 and I got workouts in yesterday and today so far, so I'm on track!

The number 1 key is to have enough healthy food and snacks in the house so when hungry I go for fruit, or cucumbers for energy! :)

I've been reading eat love pray. I'm only at the beginning of the book and the author talks about learning Italian in Italy. The book draws you in and you feel like you are there experiencing what she is talking about. So today I was inspired! I'm going to take Italian lessons!
My background is Italian, I can understand a little and speak a little but in no way can have a full conversation. I've always wanted to learn and I did when I was 16 and traveled to Italy for 2 months, but I never kept it up. So it's my time to re-learn! Once I feel comfortable with Italian I'll move on to Spanish! :)

Are there any languages you would love to learn?

New weekly diet approach

My flowers are blooming and the whole yard is looking great and full of color! I still haven't decided on the plants for the backyard.. I'll get to that eventually ha!
The weather was warm and humid this weekend. Hate the humidity, but I'll take the warmth. Zoe loves relaxing by the window catching up on her tan hahhaha!

I did really well in following my diet this week. I kept everyday under 1500 calories worked out and I feel great. However, it’s not enough to move that scale! I lost 1lbs, not much for my deprivation of many foods.

I know I’m lacking in the workout dept. I need to workout longer and add more days. I really do not want to decrease calories too much, so I keep it 1300-1500 and most days reach the 1500. I’m all about healthy lifestyle and really want to be sure I can maintain the same way not just in weeks and months but years! So that’s why I try to stick to a plan I know I will follow regardless of what life throws in, (busy day, work, events etc. But… I know I need to work out more. So I’m adding more days of working out, and adding a jogging day too! 3 days a week will be the minimum, but I will plan 5 days of working out.

Our new BBQ has really helped in making a better variety for dinners. Tonight we has Salmon and corn. It was delicious!
We also had some desserts... I want my cake and to eat it TOOO! So let's see how this week goes. Adding in some extra workouts, keeping calories in check but also leaving room for what life brings, and if life brings me a brownie.... I will enjoy it! ha! :)

My love for the bookstore

Ahh the bookstore, I can't really explain my love for the bookstore... It's the smell of new books, the feel of new books, I could just spend a whole day in the bookstore...

My sister came over and we ran some errands together and ended our evening with an hour browsing through books. I still have a couple books I have not finished, hmm or even started yet (I always buy more than I need)... but there is no way I will leave the bookstore empty handed ahahh. So I got this.

I'll turn to a page and write a sentence... "stop taking things personally" ... (i do this, so i'll stop ahhah!)

I also convinced my sister to get this other book called God never blinks. I'll borrow that from her once she's done :P

This chapter caught my attention. And I noticed it's my lucky number 13 tooo!
This jumped out at me because I believe it soo much. We all have different journey's. We all do things for different reasons. We need to always do things for our own reasons to be happy. I find many people look at other peoples lives and compare or compete or follow, but really we do not know what the other persons real journey for themselves is. Just because you see what you see does not mean you know, and even if you think you know, you should always look within and not at others when designing your own journey.. Because looking at others and not within, you may find yourself at a destination that is not for you... Just some food for thought :)


Happy weekend!

100 Calorie snacks

Tuesday! and following my plan perfectly! 200 calories left and will be at 1450 cals for the day!

What's working for me:

*Source granola yogurt for breakfast. Really liking these :)

*4pm snack - I have half a sandwich (about 200 cals) to ensure I make it home to make dinner without starving and then over eating.

*Buying no junk food for the house, so if I want it, I'll need to go out and get it!! haha!

Items I snack on during the day under 100 calories:
Handful of melon
100 cal granola bars
Fuji Apple
carrots
strawberries
cucumbers

To make sure I don't "forget" to workout I put an alarm on my phone that rings on the days of my work outs reminding me to GO WORKOUT! And that I did after work today! :)

I was asked if I track my calories online, I actually track my calories on my Iphone App "My Fitness Pal" I really like this app. You can search for all foods and it will give you the calories for them. It also has the categories for Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and saves what you put in.

....Now I just need that scale to move more! ha!

Got a sweet tooth?

I had a perfect Monday, I haven't had a perfect Monday in a while! Except when I was on vacation ha! Today I followed my diet plan to a T! Then tonight while watching TV I started having sweet cravings! UGH OH.

The good news, I have noo junk food in my house! I make it a rule now to not even go down those aisles! I made sure to buy plenty of fruit yesterday, so to calm my sweet tooth I munched on some delicious strawberries with a large glass of water.

Today's goals were met :) Calories were kept under 1500! :)

Happy week everyone!

Yogurt for breakfast...

Today we spent the day with family for my grandfathers 76th Birthday. Love my grandparents soooo much!

Eating at my grandparents house is my favorite thing to do ahah!. I love my grandmothers cooking and there is no refusing food allowed ha!
After lunch we went over to my aunts house that lives near by. My Aunt and Uncle gave us backyard tips on gardening. I have lots of ideas now for my backyard project! Now when I will get that started... eek I don't know.

Late this evening we decided to test out our new BBQ!!! I bought some steaks and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I'm looking forward to grilling this week. We bought chicken and fish and I can't wait to try salmon on the bbq!
I had half a steak with corn and avocado salad. Oh but I felt soo guilty having a late dinner :(

So I made sure to quickly pack my salad for lunch with plenty of snacks. Honey dew, almonds and an apple ;)
My doctor also suggested that I have yogurt for breakfast. So I bought yogurt with granola. I will try that this week and see how that goes. So far I am doing great with my salads for lunch and my healthy snacks. My weekends, well haven't got that down yet.

Beautiful day to garden :)

We had an early morning today as our new BBQ was being delivered! So we woke up to the smell of coffee (I had it at 745 timer ha!) I made omelettes for breakfast with slices of avocado. It's the weekend so I know husband and I are pretty busy and since I knew I would eat out at some point today I made sure to have no carbs at breakfast. :)

After the BBQ was delivered we decided to clean up our yard and get some new flowers. I bought these cute flowers for my front yard urns.
I looked and many bushes/shrubs and tree's but I am nooo green thumb so I was pretty overwhelmed and decided to think about it some more.

The back yard plants have not blossomed yet so it is difficult to really see what I need. However, I do need to fill the left and right sides.

I also bought this grilling recipe book.

So many yummy recipes in here! Can't wait to get grilling!!!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Vacation is over, now it's time to lose those pounds!

I had a fun carefree week on vacation, no counting calories no exercise (although, we did walk and swim a lot!) and no worries. The good news is I did not gain a pound, not one! whoohoo for that!

It's time to get back on track! I still have not met my 10 lbs weight loss goal :( I have a new schedule that is going pretty good but no pounds are being shed! So hopefully with no interruption my next couple weeks I will see some results!

Here are my goals for the week :)

* Tea and 1 slice of toast for BF.
* Only 1 small coffee a day if needed
* Salads for lunch everyday! :) (spinach and romaine with cottage cheese and chickpeas)
* Fruits and nuts for daily snacks (Melons, strawberries, almonds and walnuts)
* 5 days a week of home cooking, include many "green" veggies.
* Drink lots of water everyday! A MUST!
* Tracking calories on Iphone "my fitness pal app" 1300-1500 Cals a day
* 3 bite rule on sweets
* 3 days a week basement work out: Ab Lounge and Gazelle 1 hour work outs
* No fast food! (no burgers, no fries, no pop!) :) Kicking this habit right on!

Timr to lose some pounds!!

Update on my ovarian cyst. My doctor called today and said my last ultrasound was all ok. I'm going in tomorrow to get the details on that. But All OK sounds GOOD TO ME!!! :)

Hope you are all having a great week!

Jamaica trip pt 2

Now what's going to another country and not experience outside the resort... While in Jamaica we did a couple tours, we went to Dunns River falls, sooo much fun! and we also went to the Bob Marley tour, a definite MUST when going to Jamaica. I would have loved to do other tours as well but we only had a week. ;)

Here are some pics enjoy! :)
Climbing the falls was pretty tough! I couldn't stop laughing while climbing. It was by far sexy looking with butt in the air and trying to stay balanced ahah!

Husband was always trying to get me stand under the falls, but the rough water was shifting my bikini left and right! Out tour guide had a free peek! Very embarrassing! ahah!

Bob Marley Tour



Our Rasta Tour Guide.

We traveled up the mountain to 9 miles where Bob grew up. The scenic ride is amazing. We stopped on a corner to get some pictures, it was scary looking down that huge hill!

Here we are in Bob's house. The "single bed" he sings about is right there.

The meditation rock.
We also went in to see his tomb and lit a candle while in there, but no pictures were allowed inside.

The most special part of these tours is the ride there, going through the city, waving to the people on the street and seeing their daily life.

I didn't know what to expect when I went there, but it exceeded my expectations by far! Jamaicans are very friendly very relaxed people and everyone we met really had a connection to their country and proud to be Jamaican. I put Jamaica on the top of my trip list!

I had sooo much fun with my husband, we had a stress free fun week. Ahhh love vacations :)

(I know my crocs are not the prettiest ahah! But I wear them in the water, the bottom of the ocean freaks me out when my feet touch things ahahh!)

Amazing Trip to Jamaica!

Jamaica is BEAUTIFUL and the Jamaicans are so nice, friendly and welcoming!

By far one of the best vacations we have been on. So much fun in Jamaica.

And the food... let's just say I was NOT counting calories at all!

Our resort had delicious Jerk Chicken by the beach which we ate every day for lunch.

It's also a very relaxing very romantic place to be. Husband and I had so much fun!
One of our tour guide was warning us that in Jamaica you come as two's and leave as three's ahahh. Hmmm.

When we go to resorts we always do a couple outside tours to really see the country and the people. In Jamaica we went to a Botanical garden, a pottery making place, Dunns river falls and the Bob Marley tour. The Bob Marley tour is a must in Jamaica! The scenic drive to where Bob Marley's house is, is just amazing! I love hills of green, after green after green.

I'll write about that tomorrow with more pics!

For now I need some sleep! zzzzzzzzzzzzz