Book Teaser

Got the inspiration from my friend Beth.

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.



Wasted by Marya Hornbacher

p. 56, 5th & 6th sentences - 


Eventually I'd break down and eat.  And eat and eat and eat.




((PS, one of the best books I've ever read.))

What 10 Pounds Looks Like on Me.

Last week when I weighed in, I knew it'd be better this week.  And it was!  And now I'm SOMOTHERFLOCKINGCLOSE to the 150's that I want to freak out!

Drum Roll Please...

160.4

(teeny dance of joy inserted here.)  (Oh, and you guys keep commenting on my hideous toenails... I know.  Seriously, I know.  I'm  booked for a spa day on the 10th.  Until then, I can't be bothered.)

So!  Here's a sum-up of all my numbers:

Weight:  160.4 (-2.2lbs)
Arm:  11.5 (-5.)
Bust:  37  (-0)
Ribcage: 33 (I swear this is never changing)
Waist: 28.5  (What! -.5)
Butt:  40  (-0)
Hips:  38 (-1)
Thigh:  24  (-0)

This means my BMI as of today is 25.1.  ARGH!  I am SO close to "normal" it's not even funny!  Plus, I'm .4 pounds away from that 65 pounds lost button, so I'm waiting anxiously. ;)

So, I'm updating my little ticker thinggie:

This ticker will take me to 145 pounds.  That's my goal weight.  Ultimately I'd like to see 140 so I might end up readjusting the ticker when I get down so I can be working on those last five pounds, but for now I'm keeping it how it is.

And, now it's just a wait!  I definitely feel confident I can break the 160 mark by next weigh in.  I also think I'm totally on track to hitting my goal for going back to Denver.  In my head I am thinking that I want to lose another 5 pounds before then (August 15th).  I have 18 days until then (2.5 weeks) - and so technically it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibilities to hit that 155 number by my birthday.  Back when I started this I wanted to lose 15 pounds by my birthday.  Oh, wait.  It was actually to lose 13 pounds from 172.5 which actually means I wanted to be 160 or 159.whatever.  And somehow I upped the ante to being 155.

Why do we do that!?

/sigh.

Also I wanted to share with you guys what 10 pounds looks like on me.  I took the before photo on June 16th when I was at 170.8, and today I'm at 160.4.

Anyhoodle!  I wanted to share with you the most DELICIOUS eggplant I made last night!

Cut up the bastard.  I chose 1/2 inch-ish slices.  Nice and thick.

Then I whisked up the delicious marinade:

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs balsamic vinegar (I was out so I used balsamic vinaigrette dressing)

2 cloves garlic chopped finely

salt and pepper to taste

Then I brushed both sides of the eggplant slices with the marinade.  I also cut some groove slices into the meat of the eggplant (on one side only, criss crossed, not going all the way through) so the marinade would soak in.  I let it sit for about 15 minutes.

And voila!  This is after putting them on the grill for about 12-15 minutes total, flipping once.  DELICIOUS!  The flavor was so good you guys, I can't wait to make more. <3

~Jenn

Farmer's Market and Consignment Shops!

Hey guys!

Well holy comments, Batman!  Thank you for all your input on my birthday outfit. :)  It looks like the top winners are dress #3 and #4.  And for me, that works.  I think it might depend on where we go, so my plan is to wear dress #3 if we go bar hopping or to the clubs.  If we do something like jazz or a wine bar, dress #4 it is!  Thanks again for your help, all. :)

So!  Today I wanted to show you my take from the Farmer's Market today!

Potatoes, jalapenos,eggplant, bell pepper, two cucumbers, a vidalia onion, dill and three types of tomato: yellow, red and pink.  

Here are the salads I made Dan and I for lunch:

His is just lettuce, chicken, tomato, cucumber and feta.  Mine I added avocado (he doesn't like it.)  :)

So, I know some of you are overwhelmed by farmer's markets, so I thought I'd give you a little rundown on how I approach it.  There is inevitably a lot of stuff that you might not know how to use, or that you might not even know what it is.  For me, I mainly buy what I would normally buy at a grocery store:

-Cucumber

-Lettuce

-Tomato

-Bell Peppers

-Zucchini

-Yellow Squash

-Onion

-Broccoli and Cauliflower

-Jalapeños

-Potatoes (for Dan)

I will occasionally buy other things, and do so with last-minute intention to make something special.  For this trip, that includes:

- Dill

-Eggplant

I saw they had these two things, and immediately thought, "What kind of recipes do I usually hear of with these ingredients?"  The ones that came to mind were:  Eggplant Parmesan and Grilled Eggplant.  I also figured I could use fresh dill for the recipe Wes posted over at Gay Weigh.  And of course I got the jalapeños because I tried the jalapeño popper recipe Beth posted over at the B.E.T.H. approach and HAD to make it again.  /bliss.

So, Dan is going to be grilling steak tonight and I'll be grilling the Eggplant for myself!  I'll post a recipe later for you guys to follow if you want to.

Really, the trick is to not overthink it too much. There's no need to buy beets or endive if you don't usually buy or eat it.  Don't sweat the stuff you don't recognize... just buy the stuff you recognize and enjoy eating.  Just remember you can use fresh veggies in your salads and omelets! :)

On another note, I went to a few Consignment shops in the Third Ward yesterday and tried on a few pieces.  I love that they pretty much have Thrift Store prices but it's way more boutique-ish than a Thrift store.  Here are a few items I got:

A pair of size 6 Banana Republic slacks.  Holy crap, they fit.  Stoked!  

Oh, and they were $7.

I saw this cute blue dress and thought it looked kind of vintage.  It fits me like a glove.  Sort of tight around the bust/ribcage area (usual for me,) but I love it!  Size 10, $9.

This cute blue shirt was only $4.99.  I saw the detail on the sleeves and had to have it!

Last but not least, if you guys would like to take a look at what's been keeping me so busy...

Click here to see the recent shots of the studio.

Click here for Colleen or Megan or Haley's boudoir shoots.

You can check out these gorgeous weddings here... 

Milwaukee Art Museum

Lake Park Bistro

Osthoff Resort

At Home and Fabulous

Oh, and this engagement session at the Lakefront Brewery.

:)

~Jenn

Birthday Dress Dilemma.

I need your help, people.

I did a little bit of shopping with Esther this week, and also with Jewlia Goulia.  I got four dresses, and I'm not sure which one I should wear for my birthday when Dan and I go to Denver.  The deciding factor would usually be, "What are we doing?" -- but I have no idea what we're doing.  So.  I have four dresses and I can't decide!

That's where you all come in.  I need help!

Dress #1 (Target):

Dress #2 (Rave):

Dress #3 (Rave):

(Shoes:  Steve Madden)

Dress #4 (Boston Store):

SO!  Please leave a comment and let me know which dress you think should be the big Birthday dress!  :)

Also, fabulous news... remember last week when I was lamenting over the skirt at Express?  I thought the size 8 would be too small, so I didn't try it on.  Well, when I went back, dammit, it fit.  Just goes to show, it never hurts to try it on!

~Jenn

Harder, not in a good way.

Hello lovelies.

Well, Today is Wednesday, so I'm weighing in, and the number is not so pretty, but I think it's because I ate something like six stuffed mushrooms right before bed last night.  :)

Really, I think the closer you get to goal, the slower the weight wants to come off, and that's the truth, dammit.

Weigh in:  162.6

That's a miserable, lame loss of only .4 pounds for the week.  I DO, however, think it'll be way further down next week.  Here's why:

Dan and I ate out a lot this week.  Even though I made healthy choices the whole way (salads, grilled everything, burger with no bun, etc) - I still have NO clue how much salt was in all the stuff they gave me.  Plus a burger I'd make at home would be around 200 calories.  One they'd give me could be closer to 500 or more!  So, I need to take a break from eating out and focus on my huge salads and at-home recipes.

Here are the official numbers for the day:






7/21/10

162.6  (-8.2lbs in five weeks)
Average loss of 1.64 lbs per week for the last 5 weeks.
-17.4 lbs since 5/21 (2 months)
Average loss of 2.1 lbs per week over the last 2 months.



Arm: 12 (-0)

Chest:  37  (-.5)


Ribcage: 33  (-0)


Waist:  29  (-0)


Butt:  40  (-.5)


Hips:  39  (-.5)


Thigh:  24   (-0)

So!  I'd now like to share with you a few recipes.  (grin)

Something I'm munching on right now:

Cucumber Salad!

Peel and slice one large cucumber.  (This one was my ginormous cucumber so I did half of it.)

Chop into thick slices, one sweet onion.  Mix them together in a bowl with:

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp Splenda

Pepper to your preference

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

It's the most refreshing summery crisp salad!  If you like a sweet/vinegary type of taste, you'll love this.

So!  Also I wanted to show you my favorite breakfast:

This is 3 eggs scrambled with spinach, broccoli, turkey, red bell pepper, cheddar cheese and topped with chopped tomato, sour cream and 1/2 sliced avocado.  I also like to chop up zucchini lately and sautee it in the pan with mushrooms and broccoli, then add the other things.  As many veggies as I can pack in to my "scrambles" in the morning, the better! :)

Shopping: Part 1

Hellooooo lovelies!

Well, today Dan and I went to see Inception.  AMAZING.  I won't talk about it here, but I'm telling you, GO see it.  And if you get the chance to see it on IMAX, that's even better.

Moving on.  While we were at the mall, I wanted to go shopping for a birthday dress.  Dan was with me and we went to a few places.  I ended up trying on a few things but came away with a few other pieces (not dresses,) and still need to go back to the mall.  That's something I'm pretty confident Jewlia Goulia can help me with this week. :)

Here are a few of the things I tried on at Express!

I saw this outfit on a mannequin on the wall and I HAD to try it on:


Close-up of the shirt:


I bought that shirt in red and black.  I might go back for a few other colors... they're buy one get one 50% off.  The size is Medium.  I did a little happy dance that I bought a medium at Express!  I used to not be able to shop there at all.  I gave Dan a high-five, and then he said, "Hey, wait.  I'm not gonna give you a gay-shopping-buddy high five!"  I laughed and told him to be supportive. :)

I tried on this pencil skirt.  They had size 8 or size 12.  The 12 was just too big, and I knew the 8 would be too small, so I bought the first skirt in a size Large (what I tried on.)  However, after looking at the website today I see they have this pencil skirt which I'd greatly prefer, so I'm going to go back and see if I can exchange them.


In the search for a birthday dress, I tried these two on:

I liked this one a lot but it was too droopy at the bottom, and just a little large.


This was GORGEOUS but I felt it was too short, and I didn't love it enough to spend $130 on it.  BUT, it's a size 10.  A size 10 at Express makes me feel awesome!



Also I ended up getting this cardigan.  I didn't try it on but here's a photo from the website:




SO!

I also wanted to tell you guys a story about what happened at Express.  I was rummaging through one of the racks of dresses and I overheard a girl say, "Yeah, they have really cute stuff here but I just can't fit into any of it."  I glanced up and saw her.  She was a larger girl, I would guess her to be around 5'4" and at least 300 pounds.  I gave her a soft smile and a look of empathy, but then realized that the look I gave her might not have come across how I meant it.  If my look to her could have actually said, "I get it.  I used to not be able to shop here either, I understand," that would have been awesome.  Instead, I realized she probably saw me, a size 10 person, and thought, "Why is she giving me that look!?"  So, I quickly lowered my head and watched her leave out of the corner of my eye.

I think I'll always feel like a fat girl inside.  It's really interesting this happened to me today considering the recent post my friend Beth did over at the B.E.T.H. Approach.

So what happens when you lose weight to make it so difficult to relate openly and honestly to your heavier friends?  I know this woman wasn't my friend, but I wanted to hug her.  I wanted to say it out loud that it was crap there weren't sizes she could wear at Express.

Well, shit.  Maybe I should have just said that, huh?

~J

Wednesday Weigh In, yo

Hola everyone!

VERY quick update, as I'm actually heading out to go storm chasing today with my good friend Tony Laubach.  The severe threat out here in the Midwest was so good that he flew out to be my couch guest and we're going chasing today. :)


Date:        7/7/10         7/14/10
Weight:    164.2          163   (-1.2 lbs)
Arm:        12               12     (-.0)
Bust:        38               37.5  (-.5)
Ribs:        33               33     (-0)
Waist:      29               29     (-0)
Butt:        41               40.5  (-.5)
Hips:       39.5             39.5  (0)
Thigh      24.5              24    (-.5)


So I'll admit I'm disappointed with my weight loss today - I had a feeling I would have weighed in a pound less than this for the week.  BUT, here are my stats overall for the first month:


Date:        6/16/10         7/14/10
Weight:    170.8             163
Arm:        12.5               12     (-.5)
Bust:        40                  37.5     (-2.5)
Ribs:        34.5               33     (-1.5)
Waist:      31.5               29     (-2.5)
Butt:        42                  40.5     (-1)
Hips:       41                  39.5  (-1.5)
Thigh      25                  24   (-1)


-11 inches and 7.8 pounds in four* weeks.  Not so bad! :)  ((*edited:  Sorry, in my hurry and not-quite-awake-ness this morning, I wrote "two" weeks and 17.8 pounds on accident.))  I DID lose 17.8 pounds, but from MAY 21st, not June.  :)  I was 180 on 5/21, and I'm 163 today.  :)


Now, I'm off to chase tornadoes.  I'll come back with some badass photos for you later!


In the mean time, enjoy a video of my face transforming (And my hair, don't judge,) from 215-168. :)


<3 Jenn

Salads! Smashing! Sensational! Sexyliscious!

I'm obsessed with salads.  Beth and Bitch Cakes both talk about salad a lot, and I wanted to do my own little homage to them.

I try to eat a huge salad every day if possible.  I thought I'd take you all through my typical salad!

I buy these huge boxes of salad, and try to go through one a week!


This is how much salad I put on the plate.  I pile it up really high.  This is a full size dinner plate.


Then I cut the salad into little pieces so it lays nice and low and flat.  This way I can pile on a ton of veggies and eat bite sized pieces without any problems!


I cut up cucumber, bell peppers (here orange and yellow,) mushrooms, and a little bit of tomato.  Usually I'll put avocado on there too but the ones I bought aren't quite ripe yet.


Then I cut up lunch meat - chicken or turkey, and also put a bit of shredded cheddar.


Delish!


On a side note, I got a new t-shirt from Target a few days ago, and I LOVE it.  I'm obsessed with trees and birds (getting a half sleeve tattoo in October that will prove that point...) - and this shirt is awesome.  It says "Let love grow."  :)  I've gotten to the point where I'm tucking shirts into my jeans and it feels fantastic.  I'll be back with a weigh in on Wednesday!

Wednesday Weigh In, and I HATE my Aunt Flo.

Hello ladies and gents!  By the title you should have guessed I'm going to be whining about women's period-ey issues, so if you don't like it, you should leave now.

I weighed in today at 164.2.  That is a total weight loss for the week of -.8lbs.  Boo!  Well, I kind of knew it was coming because I'm on my period.  So, I'll take it.  Now I sort of want to fast forward to next week to see what it's going to be then.  Also I'll be done with bloat, blah, cranky, blah, BLAH.


With that said, here are the numbers:


Date:        6/16/10         7/7/10
Weight:    170.8             164.2
Arm:        12.5               12     (-.5)
Bust:        40                  38     (-2)
Ribs:        34.5               33     (-1.5)
Waist:      31.5               29     (-2.5)
Butt:        42                  41     (-1)
Hips:       41                  39.5  (-1.5)
Thigh      25                  24.5   (-.5)


SO!  I've lost 6.6 pounds in three weeks which means I'm right on track with the 2 pounds per week.  (I lost more than 2 pounds last week so I'm safe this week.)   My goal is still to hit 155 by my birthday (8/15) which means I have 5.5 weeks left.  If I continue to lose 2 pounds per week, I should hit 155 by then.  :)


In terms of inches, I'm down 9.5 inches in three weeks.  Wild eh?

And while we're at it, someone (Wes, check his blog out now) - suggested I do a new before/after since I can "fit" into my skinny jeans.  It also made me realize that I haven't compared my measurements, so let's do that too.

Pulling this info from my Starting Stats post...


As of 12/6/08

26 years old
Height: 5'6 inches
Weight: 225 lbs
Blood Pressure: 111/75
Waist: 38.5"
Hips: 48.5"
Waist to Hip Ratio: 0.79
BMI: 35.8


HOLY SHIT.  You guys.  YOU GUYS.  I've lost 9.5 inches in my waist???  9 inches in my hips!  HOLY CRAP!

The thing that made me the most happy today was this:

I never thought I'd see a 29 inch waist.  It's always been 30 something, y'all.  SO.  Even with the small loss this week (and the stretch marks, /sigh.) -- I'm feeling pretty good.  Another reason to do measurements and not just weigh!

I thought I'd take a look at my waist to hip ratio.  If any of you watch The Biggest Loser or You Are What You Eat, the "waist to hip" ratio is something they talk about being a big indicator of your health and how at risk you might be for various issues such as heart disease and diabetes.  

Waist = 29 inches (divided by)

Hip = 39.5 inches

Ratio = .73

Waist to Hip Ratio Chart
Male	Female	Health Risk Based Solely on WHR
<0.95	<0.80	Low Risk
0.96 - 1.0	0.81 - 0.85	Moderate Risk
1.0+	0.85+	High Risk

So, I'm falling into the Low Risk category.  Woo-hoo! :)

~Jenn

Aw, Dave - 4th Weekend!

Hello everyone!

Just a quick update.  This weekend was lotso fun.  I shot a wedding on Saturday (You can see that here,) and then Dan and I went to see one of my all-time favorite bands, Dave Matthews Band, on Sunday.








In other news, the size 8 skinny jeans fit!  They're a bit tight still, but here they are:



Also I will be giving away two pairs of jeans!

Size 16:




I'll link it up over at the Bloggerhood later tonight!


Yesterday it was so hot I finally decided to cave and I bought my first pairs of shorts since High School.



This was my outfit to the concert:


Of course I looked pretty cute as I can plainly see, but once I got there and was standing in a sea of girls with skinny tan legs, I started to feel pretty damn self conscious.  I started comparing myself to them and wondering how my legs looked to other people.  I wound up sitting on the blanket with a hoodie covering myself.

Damn you, self image.

Oh, and the amazing cherry cobbler Dan's Mom made that I DID NOT EAT even though I wanted some so bad!