Friday, January 29, 2010

Fashion Flop Friday

Alrighty all.  So, many of you know that I went shopping with Jewlia Goulia this week.  What you DON'T know is that our shopping awesomeness produced the brain child also known as "Fashion Flop Friday."  This is because we went into way too many stores with God-Awful clothes.  (Rave, Forever 21, etc, etc.)


We went into Rave (...Why?  I have no idea.  Oh yeah!  'Cause they had signs that said "From $2.99" and Julia and I are suckers for deals.), and while I DID get a super cute sweater... the rest of the stuff in there was hideous.  I told her that I wanted to try something awful on and post it.  It took us ten minutes to decide what to choose.

So, I'd like to present you all with the first installment of Fashion Flop Friday.


That's right, yo.  80's style yellow jacket, Jean-ish material hammer-type pants, and a neon pink shirt that says "I heart my haters."

When I put this jacket on, I said, "Oh, shit!"  'cause it was really tight, and apparently I was trying on a size Medium, in a tiny teen girls type store.  But, after I got home, I realized... I really liked this jacket.  It's ridiculous and bright yellow, but it looked kind of bad-ass.  If I got it in a different color maybe?  ...Or am I being sucked into the bad fashion ideas of today, and will I regret said jacket in twenty years?  All I know is that Julia had to pull the jacket off of me by the sleeves, 'cause I couldn't get it off by myself.

Next week, who knows what I might bring to you?  Stirrup pants?  Gold leggings?  Only time will tell what the mall will bring.

 
Oh.  Julia and I also went to Kohls so I could spend a holiday gift card I got.  I bought a pair of size 11 Levi skinny jeans (joy!!) and Julia helped me pick out a bathing suit.  I honestly don't know how I feel about it and I'm considering going back to try a few others on.  This one feels sort of cute, but I'm having regretful issues with the ruffles on the bottom.  Thoughts?  They sort of look cute, but the ruffles flap up in the back and make me look like an angry, burnt duck or something.

I don't know about you guys, but I really hate going bathing suit shopping.  I wanted to find a suit that was sort of vintage looking, like, Marilyn Monroe style.  This was the closest I could find at Kohls... see how it pulls down over the hips?  Maybe I should try for a two piece.  I haven't worn one in five or six years.





Here's the view from the side.  I'm realizing now that I should have taken a picture of how the ruffles flipped up in the back.  I just have too much of an apple bottom, and the suit was like, "Whaaat?  Can't deal with this junk in the trunk," and couldn't hold their billowy, ruffly ground.

I hate bathing suit shopping.  Seriously.  I don't even swim.  I just have to have one so I can wade in the pool, and lay by the pool.  And you guys?  I don't even tan.  That pasty white you see... is me all year round.  I'm either white or red.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the wearing underwear under the bathing suit thing.  I mean, I'm REALLY GLAD we have to... for obvious reasons.  But, it's still a huge annoyance.  






In other, non-hideous news: Yesterday was Dan's birthday (Thank you all so much for the sweet birthday wishes! He thanks all of you.) and he wanted Manicotti. Holy crap balls, Batman! ...But, I sucked it up and made it anyway. I ate everything but the shells. Okay, I had three bites with shells, which equates to around 8 or 9 carbs, so I wasn't too worried. And I threw in some asparagus for good measure.


I actually went through a "Jenn, just enjoy his birthday dinner with him!  Have two mannicoti, nobody will know and you can get started again tomorrow."  But then I heard the other voice, and it said, "Jenn, you're back up somehow to 173 pounds, and that's crappy.  You need to hunker down and focus on eggs, salad and tuna.  For real.  And while you're at it, stop eating so much cheese, because it's allowed, but not THAT much."  (Seriously, you guys, I've eaten 1/2 a block of sharp cheddar over the last two days.  I'm supposed to have no more than 4 ounces of cheese per day.  Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the cheese, plus the cream cheese... are NOT helping the cause.  So I'm breaking up with cheese for the next few weeks.  My waist is angry at me.)


SO!   I also wanted to share that I got my panties from the Panty Pyramid!  I waited what seemed like an endless eternity of hoping and wishing for a new sexy pair, and when I got home from vacation, VOILA!  A beautiful pair of boy shorts was waiting for me.

Now, The Insatiable Host, who hosts the Panty Pyramid, has all the best intentions, but the woman sent me Hershey Kisses with my panties!  Chocolate!  Bad!  Bad!  (See how I'm actively pushing the idea that chocolate is "bad"?  /gah.  I'm so awful.)  ...Crisis averted though.  I gave them to Dan.

So, many of you might be wondering, "What's this Panty Pyramid I keep hearing about?"  Well, it's a program about pampering each other because we're so damn busy, we don't take time to pamper ourselves.  So get thee over there and sign up. Then send some sexy britches to some sexy bitches.


I'm going to be in Chicago tonight through tomorrow night, and then it's Dan's birthday weekend partying.  After that, I should be free and clear, but I'm just telling you guys you might not see a post for a few days. :)

~Jenn

Thursday, January 28, 2010

TMI Thursday: Butts and Cats.

I do apologize for having not done a TMI Thursday in a while.  Unfortunately my life is devoid of really embarrassing things.  But, I have something great to share with you today!

TMI Thursday

This week, as normal, Dan decided to try to get one of our cats, Mocha, to lay on me.  Sometimes the cats need a little coaxing to cuddle, and though I normally don't care, Dan will go nuts trying to get them to lay down on my lap.  It gets to the point that the cats usually end up fighting him, and scratching me, when I was only minding my own damn business in the first place.

Well last night, Dan got Mocha to come lay on my lap while I was laying on the couch.  I mainly think it was because I was covered up with this really super soft blanket that the cats love.  She didn't stay put for very long, and Dan tried to grab her but she pushed away from him with her back side.  Dan scooted closer to me and I noticed a smell.  Not just any smell, but the smell of POOP.  I looked at him and asked, "What is that smell!?"  He said, "What smell?"  I said, "I swear, Mocha just got poop on your arm."

He put his forearm up to my face and told me to check.  Now, normally, I would NOT oblige this request, but Dan has a sort of... impaired sense of smell.  So, it was up to me.  So, I sniffed it, and yep, it smelled distinctly and grossly like cat ass.

Dan got up from the couch and said, "Dammit, Mocha!"  It was nasty, but I was laughing at him.

AND... it doesn't end there.  Before going to wash his arm off, Dan went over to where Mocha was laying on the couch next to me.  He promptly pulled down his pants and boxers and rubbed his bare ass on her.  For some reason, she didn't move, but just looked really confused.  He rubbed his ass cheeks on her and said, "Take that!  That's what you get!  Put poop on me?  TAKE THAT!"

I was laughing so hard, you guys.  It almost makes it bearable that the soft blanket also smells like cat ass.  I love Dan.  And it's only appropriate I share this today because it's his birthday! :)


~  Jenn

Monday, January 25, 2010

These Are My Confessions.

Confession #1:  I'm back to the weight I started at before I went on vacation to Denver.  I was around 169-170 when I was at the beginning of my vacation, and then at one point I got down to 167.6.  I ate Taco Bell and TCBY, and I gained some serious water weight.  I actually saw the scale go up to 174 the day after Taco Bell.  Today I'm back down to 169.  And so begins the process of being back on track with low carb eating.  I also am at the point where I'm sort of regretting the planned cheat.  I loved the taste of the food.  It felt good while I was eating it, and I felt like I deserved it.  But now, I'm regretting it because it set me off track on my goal.  I have to spend another week or two to get back into fat-burning mode.  I feel like I have wasted time.  Now, I know that in the grand scheme of things, one or two weeks isn't life-changing time to have lost.  But I'm impatient and greedy.  So, I stocked up on salad and eggs and I need to go get some tuna because I'm out of it.  I'm not going back, Jack!  Not until I get closer to my goal, or to it.


Confession #2:  I didn't complete the shred.  In fact, I only got about 2 weeks through.  Apparently I'm a 1/2-way through kind of girl.  I found myself getting busy and making excuses, and above all, getting really frustrated at the weight gain I saw instead of seeing a loss.  I'll totally admit it.  I quit.

Confession #3:  I'm canceling my gym membership.  It's $80/month and I haven't been in two.  Zumba is fun but these tootsies haven't seen a treadmill in four months or so.  I guess I've just found that losing weight comes better to me when I'm focusing entirely on my food intake and less or not at all on my physical activity.  When I first started my weight loss journey in December of 2008, I worked out three to five times a week for an hour minimum each time.  I had a personal trainer.  I kept my calories around 1500-1700/day.  I lost ten pounds in five months.  I just wasn't seeing results and it was totally frustrating.  As soon as I switched gears and started paying crucial attention to the food I was putting in my mouth and customizing my eating to what MY body needs in order to lose weight, it started to come off.  I'm happy with my choice, and while I might miss the idea that the gym is there whenever I want it to be... I certainly miss that $80 a month more than that idea.

Confession #4:  I just finally watched Twilight.

Confession #5:  I fracking LOVED it.  (Mom, Dad, you were right.)  But, I honestly have to say, it probably has 90% to do with the fact that Robert Pattinson looks like my new boyfriend, Chris Thile. ;)



So.  What are your confessions?  ;)

~Jenn

Friday, January 22, 2010

Progresso Swag! (giveaway post)

Okay, people.  I have a crazy awesome bunch of news to share with you and a giveaway! 

Progresso got in touch with me and sent me a killer pack of awesomeness in celebration of their Souper You debut!  I received fifteen cans of their light and 100 calorie soups, a calorie counting jump rope and a mug.



Dan and I tried out two soups last night: 

Light Chicken & Dumpling and Light Italian Style Meatball.  Both are 1 point (for you weight watchers,) per serving.  That's 80 calories per cup, two servings per can.  We both ate the whole can.  The chicken and dumpling was pretty good - I only had two bites.  The Italian Style Meatball rocked.  Little bits of pasta and I'm telling you, the meatballs were really delicious.  I wasn't sure how I'd like them, but they were great.

Dan and I have been huge fans of Progresso soup for a long time, so this was really awesome.  The variety in the soups they sent just blew my mind.  I have three varieties of Chicken Noodle soup (my favorite) and they even sent some Onion soup!  Who knew?  So I'll be doing a few reviews as I come across soups I really like or ones that aren't so great tasting.  I do know that low cal soup is one of my favorite options when I'm watching calories, and especially when it's cold outside.


So.  I want to tell you guys about the contest they're doing!

From January 4 through March 15th, you can visit www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to enter the Progresso “Souper You Debut” contest for the chance to win a full makeover in New York City.

Three grand prize winners will be awarded a trip for two to New York City from May 21st-23rd. The prize includes roundtrip airfare, a two-night stay in a NYC hotel, a full makeover, a $1,000 wardrobe shopping spree and personal consultation at a New York department store. 

To enter, you’ll need to do the following:
·         Go to www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to learn more and enter the contest
·         Submit your essay (200 characters or less) telling Progresso why you love Progresso Light or 100 Calorie Soups and why you would like a makeover
·         In addition, please submit a photo of yourself that visually reinforces the theme of your essay

Once you enter, you’ll have the chance for your photo and/or an excerpt from your essay to appear on www.Progresso.com/SouperYou, so be sure to check back frequently! Once the 10 finalists are announced, you can visit www.Progresso.com/SouperYou from March 29 through April 12 to vote for your favorite.

In addition, throughout the duration of the contest you can visit www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to download a coupon for $1 off any three varieties of Progresso Soup!



Okay, so now for the giveaway!


Progresso has provided me with a sweet gift pack to give away to one of you guys!  It has the mug, the calorie counting jump rope, and two cans of Progresso Soup!!!


So.  Enter here for your chance at the gift pack! :)  The winner will be chosen February 7th! :)






Thursday, January 21, 2010

Taco Bell and other photos!

Alrighty.  So, I did the Taco Bell planned cheat today.  It was TOTALLY worth it.  I should clarify by saying that I didn't experience any negative side effects aside from the slightly uncomfortable full feeling I had.  No TacoBellRuns here.  I ordered a Nachos Bell Grande, a Bean Burrito with no onion and a Cheese Quesadilla.  Yum, yum, yum!




The Insatiable Host asked if I shoved said items directly into my mouth and inhaled, or if I savored them.  Love the question.  I sat lovingly with the tub of nachos first and smelled them.  Then I sort of cooed over them like they were my baby.  Then I ate the baby slowly.  I started with my fingers, pulling chips out, and then decided I needed a fork.  I took quite a while to eat the nachos.  Then I moved on to the burrito and about half-way through realized I was eating it too quickly.  I savored the second half of the burrito.  I was pretty damn full by the end of the burrito, but was NOT going to NOT eat the Quesadilla.  (Hello, food-finishers-anonymous...)  Plus, it was my damn cheat, so I was gonna get all I could out of it.  The cheese wasn't exactly melted inside, and it wasn't the best cheese quesadilla I've had from Taco Bell, but I was still happy.  By the time I was eating it I'd kind of lost the magic, but I couldn't stop myself from finishing the damn thing. 

I feel completely satisfied in my craving, and ready to get back on my normal eating plan tomorrow.  :)  Now, it's not all hunky dory because I am battling some little voices telling me that I shouldn't have done it, and that I'm going to regret it when I see that water weight creep up on the scale tomorrow.  I feel a little guilty.  But for me, this was a small exercise in allowing myself a little bit of room to be human and to indulge a craving or two.  I enjoyed the food, and I need to just remember that I can get back on the horse tomorrow.

I will say that this is something I did after dieting my face off.  I haven't had sugar in over two months, so I did the TCBY at the airport.  And I've not had Taco Bell in about eight months.  This is not something you'll see me doing weekly, or monthly.  It was a gift to myself for losing 55 pounds.  A lot of people do "cheat" weekends, and I think that's fabulous if you're at the point in your journey where you are maintaining your weight.  For those of us on the weight loss wagon... I don't know if cheat days or cheat weekends really help us to our goals.  I can only share what works for me, and 99% of the time, that means being on plan every day.

I'm just saying, I don't want anyone to read this and decide to eat crap every week and see stalls in their weight loss.  Just keep going on your journey, stay on plan, stay active, and drink tons of water.


SO!  Moving on... Here are some other photos from the trip!

My Brother and I:


Me and my Mom:


My Parents:



Oh, and I can't stop thinking about this... it's my desktop background:



And did I mention?



Stay tuned for some really cool stuff and a giveaway tomorrow!!

~Jenn

All Things Delicious.

Yes.  That includes:  TCBY, and Chris Thile.  And yes, I also need to apologize for how few and far between my updates have been.  I'm safely home in Milwaukee now, so I'll be doing closer to daily updates. :)

So, yeah.  Let me start at the beginning.

My Brother and I are huge Chris Thile (and Nickel Creek) fans.  We have been to roughly 20 of his shows, and we drive all over to see him play.  This past weekend we saw the Punch Brothers show in Boulder,  and ran into our old choir teacher!  It was really fun to see the show and hang out with her and her family:




Then two days later drove up to Beaver Creek, in the mountains, to see another one.  The drive typically should take around 2 hours, but on the other side of the Eisenhower Tunnel, the weather was crap snow and the drive ended up taking 3 hours.  We missed most of the show and only saw five songs.

BUT.  The guys came out into the lobby, and we got to meet them all.  Oh, holy, crap.

You guys, seriously.  I met Chris Thile before his solo albums and all his genius was on display for the world.  It was cool then, but this time around, for some reason, I totally fell under the spell of his amazingness.  I was shaking so hard... when he put his arm around me, I thought my knees were going to give out.



/sigh.

He's number 2 on my top 5 for a reason, y'all.  Now I have met the guy, and seeing as though he Tweeted me last month, and (at least pretended to) remember who I was when I met him, I figure I have half a chance to seduce the guy at some point.  I'm not kidding.  Seriously.

SO!  If you don't know his music or the Punch Brothers (his current band) - check out "Deceiver" and "How To Grow a Woman From The Ground."  Phenomenal albums.

Moving on.

The binge!  Okay, I don't mean the "binge," 'cause it wasn't a "binge."  I mean, the "planned, controlled cheat.  Well, I have to report that I haven't done the Taco Bell yet.  I still want to, but just wasn't hungry when I got home from the airport and today I also wasn't hungry.  But, I'll tell you that I DID have TCBY.  In fact, it was sort of ridiculous.  I got two small sizes... one White Chocolate Mousse and one Peanut Butter.  The White Chocolate Mousse, I got chocolate chips on.  Oh, yummmmm.  It was just awesome.





A little over halfway through:





And then, the end (3rd cup is my Mom's):




I was so....




But also so....





So yeah!

At this point I don't feel mad at myself or like I did anything "bad."  I did feel a little uncomfortably full after I ate them, but they were frickin' delicious.  I did find myself questioning whether I'd be still wanting to eat the Taco Bell, and as of right now, I still do.  I have been eating low carb other than the TCBY, and sneaking two of Dan's curly fries from Arby's.  

I had the opportunity to eat bad when I had Denny's with my Mother on Tuesday before my flight.  I actually said to her, "Well, I'm already cheating later today so shouldn't I just say to hell with it today?"  She was supportive, but I ended up ordering a veggie omelet.  She just said, "You can't help but to be good!"  Well, I guess not.  I just feel like I'll be I'd rather be in control.  I mean, yes, when you decide what you want to eat, you technically control that... but sometimes we feel OUT of control when we make those excuses.  You know:  "Well I've already eaten bad today, why not go all out?"  or, "I'll start my diet Monday morning." 

I did take a picture of the omelet.  The thing was incredible, it looked just like the menu.



My Mom got the yumtastic Slamwich with fries.  Mmmmm....


I'll have more updates and photos of other stuff tomorrow. Don't despair! I just don't want to put everything all on one post. :) <3

~Jenn

Thursday, January 14, 2010

I'm Planning a Binge.

Okee Dokee.

So, I have just got to share this with you all.  I'm not sure if I'll regret it, but I'm planning a little binge.  I've never done it before.  Well, I've never done it with this degree of planning, though I definitely have eaten this way in the past.  And now that I think about it, I don't think it actually will qualify as a binge, but it's at least a planned break in my diet.

You all know that I'm a freak of nature when it comes to my eating plan.  I'll stick to it come hell or high water, and refuse even the greatest holiday temptation or the sweetest offer of non sugar free gum.  I've lost two pounds since being on vacation, and I'm pretty damn proud of that.  I'll be doing a post later on losing weight (or simply maintaining it) while traveling.

Anyhoo.  I should back up and explain WHY I feel the need to do this.

I used to work at the most awesome place ever.  In high school, I worked at TCBY.  If you don't know what that is, I'm really sorry.  It stands for "The Country's Best Yogurt."  And that's the damn truth.  I worked there for a few years, and it was delicious.  I seriously hope some of you know what TCBY is, because I'd hate to be alone in my obsession with their yogurt.  So.  I've been craving and craving and craving it.  I'm not normally a sweets person.  I don't go nuts over ice cream usually (though I do have my favorites:  Mint Chocolate Chip or Coffee Ice Cream... yum!  Oh!  Or Peppermint.  That's the greatest thing ever.)  But because I used to work there, I figure there's also some kind of wiring in my brain that associates it with happy feelings.

So for the past six weeks I can't stop thinking about White Chocolate Mousse.  With mini chocolate chips.  And Golden Vanilla with chopped peanuts.




Here's the trouble:  a) My diet involves no dairy or sugar.  (Well, shit.)  b) There aren't any TCBY's in Denver or Milwaukee.  Except... at the airport.  YAY for the airport!

So I'm actually asking my parents to drop me off at the airport an HOUR early.  This, so I can go to the TCBY, order something fabulous and sit and eat it really slowly and savor the experience.  And then, I still will have time to order another flavor if I want to.  I'm serious about this, people.  I'll be sharing pictures.

Many of you are probably thinking I'm insane, and that's okay.  We all know I'm a lunatic.  But you're probably like, "Umm, Jenn?  A half cup of low fat yogurt is NOT a binge, and it's barely a cheat, mmmkay?"  Yes, I know.  It's simply a huge break from my very specific diet plan.  It's just a big deal to me.

...But you guys?  It doesn't end there.  'Cause I can't stop thinking about Taco Bell.

So, of course, I've decided that I want to go get Taco Bell with Dan when I get home.  I want a bean burrito with no onion, a cheese quesadilla  and a crunch wrap and a super bell grande nacho deluxe or whatever it's called.  Now we'll see if I have the guts to follow through with the Taco Bell idea when I actually get home, or if I'll feel satisfied and guilty enough over the yogurt to not do it.

I know, I know, I shouldn't feel "guilty" over something like that.  But, I will.  I mean, it's been a vacation full of compliments and my head is huge now, especially 'cause you all are so damn sweet and supportive.  But I still am not to my goal.  I'm still overweight.  I just happen to carry my weight fairly well, and I'm blessed with decent proportions.  But I know how I feel and that the beginnings of muscle definition I have in my legs and the smaller waist I'm enjoying are only whispers of what I'm capable of.  I know I have more fat to lose, and I'll be more comfortable at that smaller size.  I still can't fit into those size 8's. :)

But then again, they say it's "okay" to cheat.  And I feel like it's sort of a reward for my hard work, and it's food I miss.  But, on the other hand, they also say you should have NON food rewards.  Well, I shop my face off and totally have no self control when it comes to just buying what I feel like I want to wear or getting a pedicure if I want one.  I'm a spoiled brat.  So, I just get confused and right now I want to stop writing about this because I'm sure you're confused too.

My point is:  I want TCBY and Taco Bell. 

So!  I wanted to update you all with my nuttiness and see if you have ever planned a binge.  Yeah, I guess this is only counting as a pseudo-binge if I do the Taco Bell thing, but dammit, I REALLY want to.

Mmmm, Taco Bell.

~Jenn

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Wow, I Suck.

Clearly, being on vacation is BAD for blogging.  I'm sorry guys!

I wanted to share some fun stuff with you all.  I've been doing some mad shopping lately, and I have two new pieces I LOVE.

First, this coat was my Christmas gift from my parents.  They have crazy good taste, and I'm obsessed with it!!



See the detail on it?  The shoulders!  The buttons!  The belt!!!



PLUS, it's got the best collar ever for Milwaukee cold:




Okay.  So, the other thing I wanted to share is about clothes and losing weight.  I talk about it all the time, but one of the reasons I wanted so badly to lose the weight was so that I could feel comfortable wearing cute clothes.  ie:  dresses and skirts.  This is the first dress I've worn above the knee in, like, four years or something.  It's awesome!  I found it at Target.  It's a "juniors" dress, size "Large," which I think is like a 9 or 10-ish.  :)




SO cute.

So yeah, needless to say I'm thrilled that I'm pretty comfy to be wearing the little number, and though I'm not at my goal weight yet, I'm still doing just fine! :)

I hope you all are doing well, and be sure to visit these other fabulous blogs while I suck and forget to update mine. :)

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Long time no posty.

Hello all!

Well, I'd like to offer my profound apologies for my calloused neglect in updating the past few days. We all know that being on vacation can make the days fly by and for me, that has definitely been the case.

I REALLY want to thank all of you for the sweet, awesome, kind, fabulous comments you left on my last post about the New Years dress and how I looked. You all are so sweet, I can't even stand it!!!

So, I've been keeping up my low carb eating, and I'm really happy about that. I know that low carb eating isn't for everyone, but I feel amazing when I cut bread, potatoes and pasta from my diet. No more snacking on crackers or eating mac and cheese. I feel lighter, my bloat goes away completely and I have a TON of energy.

I've been roughly maintaining around 169-170 over the vacation. I have had Pho twice, so that's probably to blame for a little bit of the fluctuation, plus normal fluctuation, of course. :)

So! I have nothing else cool to report. I wanted to share some more photos with you guys, 'cause, well, that's what I do.


The whole group, first party of the new year!




I'm a tiger! Growl!




Baller.





Baller, again.




Me with my friend Lori:




What????




Me with my old pal Dan:




Me with Rico and Dan:




Me with Beth, check out her blog!





ALSO! I did a family shoot, (weird, I know,) and a band shoot on Saturday. Check 'em out!


The Leyba Family (click here for more shots):





The awesome Mestizo (click here for more shots) (click here for their website):






~Jenn

Friday, January 1, 2010

New Years: The Party!

Just thought I'd check in and share some photos of last night! I hope you guys had a great New Years Eve and are excited to start the new year. :)




















Probably my favorite one of the night!







My friend Beth and her husband:






My brother and I:







Jesse with Wes from Swish Embassy.