Organic goodies

In the Dominican we took a day trip called "Fonny Monster Safari" Funny name LOL. I recommend this trip to anyone vacationing in Dominican Rep Punta Cana. You get to go through little towns and meet people living day to day. We stopped at this one place where the family made their own products. Things like Sugar, 100% Cocoa, Cinnamon and Coconut oil. So of course I bought some to take home! Yum!

I started reading up on the Coconut oil and read that it is really good as a moisturizer and also a great cooking oil. I cooked with it last night for one of my side dishes. The aroma is a bit strong and I'm not sure how it will be when cooking meats. I will experiment slowly. It's my first time buying this product. Any suggestions are welcomed :)

Hope you are all having a great week!

Weekly Weigh in

After a week on the beach just relaxing, I'm back at work with my goals. Weight loss goals, Job Hunt goals, Life goals... Reality! Lets see the reality of my measurements after a week of lounging around...

No bad news! Measurements are the same, weight is the same. Not bad, pretty impressive that I had no weight gain on my trip! whoohoo!

Weight 145
Upper Arms: 11 1/2"
Waist above Belly Button: 28 1/2"
Waist below Belly Button: 34 1/2"
Hips: 44"
Upper Thighs: 25

My current goal, which has been my goal for months now, is to lose 10lbs! Just 10lbs! This should be easy, right. I'm hopeful and I can feel how much more serious I am becoming in achieving my goals, so I will take it day by day(advice from fellow blog friends ;)

** Since I came back on Sunday my tummy has been feeling weak. Very nauseous, like the feeling of being on too many rollar coasters. I'm not sure if I caught a bug or something, boo ;( A friend of mine told me to drink Ginger tea to help with nausea, but I'm not a fan of the taste, any suggestions on what can relieve nausea?

Back from vacation!

Back from vacation! Our trip to Punta Cana was amazing! The resort and weather were just gorgeous! We stayed at the Grand Bahia Principe. This resort is HUGE and landscaping is beautiful.

While on my trip I was sure to try and stick to my goals, most days it went well but the last 2 days I admit I caved and ate french fries! To be honest, my tummy was weak and really only accepted french fries, it was the only thing that would stay down... see french fries do some good :)

My Breakfasts were very light and I stuck to going up to the buffet twice, once for the main course and second for fruits and small dessert. Luckily I did not have too much trouble with over eating as many of the food selections were not that appealing.

We did have to stop for some real food as soon as we landed :) we went to Baton Rouge and I ordered Ribs with a fully loaded baked potato. I was not able to finish it, so I have lots of left over for today yum!



Ok so back on schedule!!! Tomorrow I will do my weigh in and measurements. Today I want to get back on schedule with my weekly goals. Weight nees to start coming off already!

My weekly goals to achieve this week:
1. No eating out! Home cooked meals 7 days a week!
2. Limit carb intake at dinners
3. 1/2 hour twice a week on the gazelle
4. 5 mins a day on the trampoline
5. 2 10000 pedometer steps
6. drink plenty of water/tea
7. Supplements; Take fish oil pills with lunch.
8. sea salt baths twice a week

Do you have any weight loss secrets that I can add!? Let me know, I'm looking for anything that can help!

Thursday ups and downs.

Finally Friday (well soon enough)! And Finally our long awaited trip is here! I think Zoe has been sensing we are leaving, maybe the smell of the luggage's remind her of the previous trips. She is all over me wanting to be pet and cuddled, making it even more heartbreaking. I really hope she is ok in the pet hotel and really hope she behaves so they love her and give her lots of attention! I hope I hope!!!! Zoe will be taking some things with her on her stress-cation haahha. Some items to remind her of home. One of her flower toys that she carries up and down the stairs all the time and a new scarf that she started playing with. I wonder if I should add a piece of my clothing too... Ok sounds creepy i know, I won't do that. Husband already thinks I'm cat crazy. Not just any cat crazy tho, just for my Zoe :)



Job stuff: So today's interview went well! BUT I did forget to ask some very important questions, like ummm.... Salary? However, from the description of the job at the interview, I'm not sure it would be a good fit for me at all...not that I got the job yet anyway so no point worrying about that! I am feeling more and more confident as each interview goes by, i'll be a pro in no time! :) Practice does make perfect!

Exercise: I went for my jog today and it felt great! Until I noticed the painful blisters on the back of my feet! nice huh just before my trip. Hope they heal quick! :( It seems that lately I've been so fragile and I am not liking this... Last weekend I had an allergic reaction to something that swelled my lips and caused canker sores in my mouth, then I had an little rash on my ring finger that prevented me from wearing my wedding rings all week, now my blisters, and not to mention my tummy aches and headaches from interview stress....GRR to stress!!

I can not believe how stress effects our bodies so much! Could all these symptoms be some sort of reaction to stress? Does stress give you any crazy symptoms?

Have a great (stress free) weekend everyone! :)

Hump day Update!

Is it me or are the days just flying by! Soon I will be on vacation, just relaxing and not thinking or worrying about anything!

Before I go on with my diet update, just want to say I have another interview tomorrow!! It's actually with the company I worked for before the one I was laid off at. So we will see! The position itself is not exactly what I want but I will get more details about it tomorrow and since the market is not that great I want to keep all options open. :)

Today's Weigh in: Same, no pounds up or down.

Body measurements:
Previous:
Upper Arms: 12"
Waist above Belly Button: 31"
Waist below Belly Button: 34 1/2"
Hips: 44"
Upper Thighs: 25 1/2"

Sept 2nd 2009

Upper Arms: 11 1/2"
Waist above Belly Button: 28 1/2"
Waist below Belly Button: 34 1/2"
Hips: 44"
Upper Thighs: 25

Weird huh! I lost some inches in some areas! Waist above belly with the most. I think I am less bloated since I have been eating healthier. :)

I'm already thinking of ways to be healthy while on vacation. Being at a resort with all the food I love will be really hard. So I started thinking of ways I could enjoy the food and not pay for it when I get back. (I've never taken this approach while going on vacation, so I'm really seeing my lifestyle changes taking in affect!)

1. Portion control. I will make sure I eat to be satisfied and not STUFFED.
2. 3 bite rule on high cal items, or share with the husband :)
3. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
4. Vacation Goal is to not put on any weight while on vacation!!

Very excited!

Now heading out for my 10000 steps! I will soo miss my time home :)

Cellulite and dead sea salt

Last week on my goals I said that I was going to try different things on this horrible cellulite I have. I tried the coffee grinds a couple times, but yuk! Coffee grinds all over the shower, is way too messy. So instead I shower with a body scrub and also been taking dead sea salt baths twice a week. Today I inspected the areas, and I think I'm seeing improvement! It looks a little more smoother and overall just looking better whoohoo. So this is a routine I will definitely stick to! I'm excited to see some results, finally!

The steps I take:
1. In the shower use a body scrub to scrub the areas
2. Then fill the bath with warm/hot water and add dead sea salt
3. Soak in tub for 20 mins (no more, because it's very dehydrating)
4. Drink lots of water
5. Cream your body with your favorite creams. I'm using coconut cream but usually use the nivea Q10 body cream.

Only 5 more days till the beach so I'm hoping to be beach ready! Now, if only I could get 10lbs to shed off already :)

Monday Weigh In

Soooo I had 2 cupcakes on the weekend! I had bought cupcakes for my sisters birthday Saturday night, so of course I had to try them. I'm such a sugar freak, I even ordered a smaller dinner fully knowing I wanted room for a cupcake and any other sweets I could get a hold of, but I was good and only had a small piece of birthday cake (2 cupcakes and a piece of cake in one day hmm not too good). I also have a little problemo. I got some sort of allergic reaction last week that swelled up my inner lips, they just feel tingly and puffy. What I noticed was that after I ate the cupcakes , they became more tingly. Do you think my body has finally said "enough with the sugar!" I'm not sure. I will continue to monitor it.

I did my weigh in and to my surprise... No, no surprise, weight is exactly the same!!! That's fine I'll continue with my goals and last week I did pretty good and this week I will do even better! :)

My interview went well!

One more week and I'll get to be on the beach! Clearing my mind from all this job stuff! This Job stuff is really taking over my life! Well I guess it should until I actually get one huh, ahaha.

This morning I had my interview and thank goodness it went well! Before I went in, I reviewed all my notes (memorization is key for me, but really hasn't been working to my liking these days)
I went in and my heart was thumping so hard I could hear it! I was nervous at the beginning but slowly calmed myself down, which was sorta hard when I had the nervous voice in my head saying, "you don't know your stuff, you're going to stutter, he can see right thru you, bad stuff, bad stuff, run, RUN" (LOL) against the calming voice of "you know your stuff, you prepared enough, take it all in as more experience, you are doing well, don't worry, all is going fine" Calm voice won the match today and I was able to speak, smile, laugh and answer all questions without hesitation whew! (TAKE THAT NERVOUS VOICE!)

On FB Last night my aunt wrote on her status;

When life hands you lemons; squirt them in peoples eyes

Somehow this phrase makes me feel strong ahhaa, not that I would ever do that, but it gave me a different way of looking at things, with a sorta "Whatever" attitude.

I remember a phrase in one of the books I love (my soul just opened up) She says, don't let the wind rattle your core... I should really take that advice, since a lot of this stress has been totally rattling my core! I feel as I'm getting older I'm not as brave as I use to be, I remember kicking butt and taking names when I was in my early 20's, no one could stop me then. I was feistier, nothing scared me, I didn't care if people liked me or not, I just went for what I wanted and got it!. So not sure what is up these days! Hmm I need to tap back into that!

BUT! On a super good note! The Weekend is finally here! I have my sisters birthday and a friends wedding as well, Fun, Fun, Fun!! That is all I'm looking forward to right now! (oh and the beach next week, heehee)

Pet Hotel

To add to my stress list, Zoe needs to be sent to the Kitty Hotel for a week while we are away, next week. I just dread it! I know they will take care of her and she will be safe. But the thought of her in a cage for hours at a time just breaks my heart! It's hard to ask family and friends to watch her, especially since she is one of those kitties that is waiting for any chance to break away and run her fastest out the door lol.

I'm bringing her to a different pet hotel since the last one did not give me a good vibe and the lady was mad that I did not trim her nails which led to Zoe stabbing her real good in the thumb. haha, ok not funny, I bet it hurt a lot, I guess I too would be mad. However, cats get stressed we know that... and Zoe is my furbaby and Hellooo look at me always stressed. I really hope Zoe doesn't think I left her forever :(

Hump Day Update

Tuesday's afternoon walk plus a walk through the mall in the evening added up to 10514 steps on the pedometer! One of my weekly goals includes 2, 10000 steps so I have 1 more to go. The reason I have only 2, is because steps are done by walking only, the other days I jog, I do not wear the pedometer.

So far my mid week goals are going pretty well. I'm cooking at home, I'm working out, drinking lots of water and green tea. So I'm excited to see some results already!!!

As for my job hunt, it is going just ok. I have an interview with an agency on Friday and a potential interview next week with a company. Looking for a job is one of the most stressful areas in my life, I guess it is because I have a love hate relationship with working. I hate the 9-5 no offense, but I can remember how much I dreaded going into work everyday in my past. Yet the bills need to get paid and shopping needs to be done :) So the getting paid part is the good thing ahah! Ahhh just trying to help myself go into everything with ease this time around. Vaca is in 11 days and boy am I looking forward to laying on the beach with a good book!.

What are your love hate comments of working the 9-5?

Thanks everyone for visiting my blog today :) I found more blogger friends online today and I'm looking forward to reading all your fun interesting blogs!