It takes many hats to complete a person. Here I will share some of my hats and how they effect my life and hopefully share some stories, insights and such about a variety of hats.
Now I know many of you are expecting some wild, "Rock your world, make the ground swallow you whole then spit you back out, smack me across the buttocks and call me sugar plum" drink.
This is not it.
It is, however, quite tasty, pretty good for you and a quick and easy way to get your day started.
Morning Mango Smoothie
1 Cup skim milk
2/3 Cup nonfat plain yogurt
3/4 Cup frozen mango chunks
1/4 Cup frozen green beans
(don't make that face, they actually give it a pleasant after taste and add nutrients)
1 calorie free drink packet peach mango green tea
Here is the nutritional breakdown (and if you have a website that does this for me when I input my own recipes, that would be awesome...PLEASE SHARE!)
Total Calories: 269
Calories from fat: 7
Total Fat: Not enough to count
Cholesterol: 8mg
Sodium: 254mg
Total Carbs: 45g
Fiber Carbs: 3
Sugar Carbs: 37
Protein: 18g
Vitamin A: 49%
Vitamin C: 32%
Calcium: 81%
Iron: 8%
Potassium: 388mg
Now, don't get too nickpicky about some of these numbers. This is as close as I could come and they are fairly accurate but I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, afterall, I did this with pencil and paper.
I cannot take full credit for this lovely start to the day. My bestiest buddy Missy gave me the basic recipe and I have only tweeked in in a minor fashion. I can send you her email addy if you wish to send her your compliments/complaints. (Love you Missy!)
I do have another mango drink to share with you another time...and it is one of those tasty, head turning type beverages. Keep watch, it'll be posted soon.
I admit it freely. I am nearly completely addicted.
My crack? Facebook games.
Yep, those pesky little games that keep popping up unwanted and numerous posts on your page for ridiculous achievements like "So and So has just defeated the terrible Snow Cone Beast Yeti!" or some quirky request like "So and So is in desperate need of Sparkly Spackle for their Fairy Castle".
I know you all thought better of me but the truth is, I really like them. I can build my kingdom, cottage, store or zombie hoard in between meetings, appointments, while cooking dinner or relaxing in the evening. I can ignore the filthy living room while I desperately try to get some small last piece to complete the puzzle so I can unlock the next completely frustrating puzzle and start all over again. What's not to love about all that?!
They are very clever in creating these games, you must admit. They lead you through the very colorful world to teach you the basic game (which is very similar to this other game you are playing and the 4 others you no longer play, but have fond memories of, so you feel like a pro very quickly. That's a good feeling. Then, you manage to go up at least 1 level while doing the lead through. Wow, a whole level already?! This is easy! And they might even be some pretty colors and smiling characters to share your joy at leveling. Wow, they must really like me in their world! Now, along comes a challenge. Uh-oh, have to think a bit, no wait, they explain all about how to finish off the challenge and then the smiling happy characters come back and another level rolls over! This is awesome. Friends? Of course I could add friends! I'm sure everyone on my list would LOVE to play this game, it's so awesome! I know some of them have asked me not to invite them but really, this game is so much better than all the rest that I am sure they would love it if they just gave it a shot. And the pretty lights suck me in again.
I am trying to manage my addiction. really, I am. I only play between 3 and 4 games at any given time and once they start making too complicated, or more importantly, too invasive so I feel uncomfortable continually asking my friends to send me stuff, I typically delete and move on to another game.
I enjoy the "build your own..." type as well as the puzzles so at least I am getting a variety when I play and there is a bit of educational content involved in some of the games. Words With Friends was quite challenging as I am a rotten speller (really glad spell check was invented and is now a standard on most machines and applications) so finding words I knew and could spell that would get me any kind of points at all was always a challenge.
I do wish some of the games were a little less pushy about getting more people to sign up and/or spending actual cash on buying tokens, crowns or what have you just so your zoo, farm, treehouse can look extra spiffy. I do have a firm policy on not ever giving these games real money. I work too hard for my money to blow it on some silly game that I will not be interested in playing anymore after 3 months.
So, there it is, I have confessed my addiction and I throw myself at your mercy. I hope you can overlook this small failing in me (as we all know I have many larger one to be more worried about) Love me, hate me, play games with me!
And if anyone has an Ultra Cool WiFi Enhancing Techie Hat, let me know, cause I'm still looking for one.
It is January, late January but January none the less; and we all know that January is when we re-evaluate what is going well in our lives and what would we like to change as well. Like most people, I tend to think in negatives instead of positives so of course I have focused on the fact that I carry around a few more pounds than I should...Ok, a lot more pounds, and once again I am trying to fix this situation.
My very dear friend, Missy, who is my inspiration, confidant, cheerleader and fellow leave turner, and I have made charts (Ok, Karly made the charts...with glitter pens!) weighed in and set our final goals as well as 2 short term goals. I found an app (because I LOVE them!) to keep track of my daily calories and such. We txt and/or talk on a pretty much daily basis to keep each other going and to make plans for how to proceed. (We talk daily anyway but know we have even more to talk about!)
All of this is great and I am staying on track (since we weighed in yesterday that means I have been on track for almost 24 hours now...so proud of myself!) but I know that evening if my downfall. I don't over eat because I am hungry or because my body is craving a specific nutrient. I am not over eating and fat because of stress (although with a 15 year old in the house, believe me, there is STRESS!), I over eat because I get bored. Yep, simple and stupid. TV is boring and I'm just sitting here relaxing...let's find something to stuff in my mouth and make me fatter! Since I know this is my biggest problem area (ok, that and the fact that I am just sitting on the couch growing like a spud) I decided to make a list of all the things I could do int he evening that do not include stuffing myself with delicious, horrible, high calorie and processed flour fat packing snacks. Here we go...
1. Craft. I know how to crochet so I'm thinking that many people in my life might just have to suck it up and deal with hand made scarfs, hats, scrubbies and anything else I can find a pattern for. I found a terrific website for patterns. If you are a knitter (a skill that is beyond my abilities) you can find patterns for those here. Other crafts are options as well of course, like scrapbooking, photoshopping, cross stich or others. If I start talking about doing plastic canvas, shoot me in the head.
2. Exercise. I plan on finding the yoga on demand so I can ease in to the whole exercising thing. Once I get a little stamina and strength I can work my way up to more strenuous stuff like aerobics, quick walking, weights and my favorite, kickboxing. I also have a Pussycat dancing DVD I'm pretty stoked about trying after I'm able to exercise some without passing out or drowning in my own sweat.
3. Read. This one should be easy and hard at the same time. Easy: I LOVE to read. Give me a few hours and a book and leave me the heck alone, I will devour that sucker. Unfortunately because this is a long time habit (one I'm NOT willing to break) it has in the past gone hand in hand with snacking. I'm gonna keep reading, I just have to get in the habit of reading without eating.
4. Write. Since I have to use my hands to write/type, this will be a wonderful, for me, way to stop the snacking. Too bad for all of you (all 6 of you) that it means more posts you have to wade through or at least pretend to wade through. I appreciate your sacrifice.
5. Dreaming about Girl's Night! (contributed from the Fabulous Missy). Since we get to celebrate the small victories on the way to the grand slam, our first benchmark of 5% of our body weight will be marked with a Girl's Night Out. Dancing, laughing, drink, shot water and the hubby (of hers) to hold our purses and make sure we get home. (Thanks Todd) Shakin' our bootys all over the town, oh yea! The best part is shakin' it with my bestie but ranking pretty high on the pleasure scale is embarrassing the crap out of my daughter, who thinks I dance really badly, so we dance with her as often as we can, lol.
6. Clean. This is pretty far down on the list for a really good reason...I hate to clean. However, if I can't get my head around any of the other ideas, I could do this. Added bonus, clean house. Besides, cleaning dishes and cleaning the kitchen will make me not want to snack so I don't have to clean it all over again. Besides, I could be a serious hottie cleaning and scrubbing and I could play loud music and dance while I clean, AND, I could make my daughter help with the cleaning. That's a triple bonus! House clean, my svelte and daughter embarrassed!
7. Do My Nails. Point 1, can't snack and paint your nails. Point 2, can't snack with wet nails. Point 3, pretty nails. This is what we call a win, win, win!
8. Smoke. I don't recommend this one but since I will be switching over to the electronic cigarettes again I think I can use it as a snacking deterrent. No bad breath, kick the smoking habit and lose weight. It's all good.
9. Chew gum. It's not really snaking but maybe I can fool my mouth into thinking it is. Besides, it will exercise my jaw muscles (not that they need it) and it's good for your teeth after dinner (the sugar free kind of course).
I think that's pretty good start to a "No Snacking" plan. If you have any suggestions, I would welcome your input.
So, I was listening to some of my niece's music while she was working on a paper (that is due tomorrow) and one of the song's was "Stay" by Sugarland. While I enjoy some of Sugarland's stuff, I find I am not overly happy with this one. I am offended by the wishy washy woman hoping the phone doesn't ring calling her married lover back to his wife. I am morally opposed to women allowing themselves to be used and thrown away whether they are the wife or the other woman. So I was inspired to find music that shows women as strong and independent beings who take crap from no one. These are the type of women I look up to and they type I strive to be. Please do not thisnk that this means I hate men or think they a re all without worth. On the contrary, I have had the opportunity to many quite a few real men who are strong, loyal and true. Men who deserve and stay with these type of strong women. So, here are just a few of the songs I came across about strong, take-no-crap women. Enjoy!
As I was driving in to work this morning I heard Kenny Chesney's "Out Last Night", which seems to sum up his public image attitude toward life in general. I can get behind this completely. If ever there was a man who know how to work hard and play hard, it's Kenny Chesney. As I was listening to this song, and singing along as well, I was thinking about the announcement that came out recently about the Brothers of the Sun Tour reuniting Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, who sings one of my all-time favorite songs, "Indian Outlaw". He is another country artist who knows how to balance work, play and family. These 2 fine (both in talent and in sheer masculine beauty) toured together back in 2001 and are going back out on the road together this year. I looked up the concert dates and I sincerely hope I can get to a show as I think this is going to be EPIC! They will also have Jake Owens with them as an up and coming country star who has already won my music heart with his song "Yee Haw" So this morning I leave you with few words and many songs.
Kenny Chesney 2001 "Don't Happen Twice"
Tim McGraw 2001 "The Cowboy in Me"
Kenny Chesney 2011 "Reality" (sorry, couldn't find a real one that didn't look pirated)
Tim McGraw 2011 "Felt Good on My Lips"
Jake Owens "Yee Haw"
And the song that got everything started this morning, Kenny Chesney "Out Last Night"
And,of course, Tim McGraw "Indian Outlaw"
ENJOY!!! (And let me know if you have an extra ticket to the show)
I would like to take this opportunity to say, "I'm sorry mom."
I'm sorry for every eye roll in teenage angst when I was completely convinced you were without a clue as to what I was dealing with.
I'm sorry for every wake up call you gave me so that I could be on time even though I was fully capable of getting myself up, I was just too lazy to make it a priority.
I'm sorry for every phone call from school asking you to bring this or that massively important object that I left behind because I was too busy complaining about being up to think about what I needed.
I'm sorry for every time I spoke to you as if you had 3 heads and couldn't possibly understand the words coming out of my mouth unless they were layered with attitude and frosted with barely concealed disgust.
I'm sorry for the late nights you spent waiting for me to get back from some event with no regard for your schedule.
I'm sorry for all the rides I promised to my friends without asking you first if it was convienent or even possible.
I'm sorry for making you tell me to clean my room, shut off the light, do the dishes, or any other every day chore that I thought was beneath me and therefore ignored until you nagged me so I could be superior and angry again for your constant lack of understanding.
I'm sorry for not appreciating all that you did every day to make my life comfortable, secure and safe.
I'm sorry for not listening to you when you tried to get me to work harder in school.
I'm sorry for every grade I got that was less than my best.
I'm sorry for every hair I turned grey with my lack of thought beyond my own pleasures, wants and needs.
I'm sorry for every petty fight with my siblings that could have been and should have been avoided. (Even though they sometimes deserved it)
I'm sorry for the damage I did to the house during some of these fights with my siblings. (Most of which was their fault after all)
I'm sorry for every worry I put you though with my recklessness and lack of respect for others property.
And I'm very sorry you had to put up with all of this from my siblings 10 times more than you ever did with me, cause we all know I was the good one.
