Death to Cadbury (A monologue)

Let's talk about Lent/Easter/Easter Candy/The Easter Bunny/My Lack of Self Control

1. I gave up chocolate for Lent.

2. I hung in there for 3 weeks.

3. I am very proud of this stat.

4. I caved yesterday and had a few Cadbury Mini Candy Eggs...and by a few I mean 25.

5. This may seem like a lot, but if you have ever eaten them before you are aware of the fact you can fit almost 7 in your hand at one time; quite comfortably I might add.

6. I was okay with the 25, it is really just 2 servings, nothing too terrible. A lot of points on my WW, but I added them dutifully and went on my merry way.

Enter into this evening...I will set the scene.

I have just failed a midterm that I have studiously slaved over for the past two days.

7. Basic math tells us that if there are 7 servings in a bag and I have already eaten 2, then 5 are left.

8. Rhetorical question: How many servings did Anna eat?

9. Rhetorical Correct Answer: 5

10. How many eggs is that exactly? Around 60.

11. Insert shame, grief, denial and guilt. (SLP ladies...They need an Ice Burg for chocolate addicts)

12. Insert anger towards my teacher for being the trickiest professor known to mankind.

13. Insert more shame for anger towards teacher...I mean, maybe it was my own fault? I should have known what the traditional treatment methods for Aphasia were even if they were a single slide and were never discussed.

Final scene, Anna running

 (albeit walking a few times)

furiously over campus and the square

in an attempt to keep her 60 mini eggs from accumulating in her body.

I want to punch that Cadbury Bunny in the face.

20 Pounds Lost...Or a WHOLE PETE!

I am so excited, pumped, giddy, over-the-moon, and any and/or all other adjectives that imply happiness.

Today marked the loss of pound 2-0!

Or, as I like to think of it, I have lost an entire Pete.

For those of you who don't know who Pete is, he is my  twenty-pound Maine Coon cat

 (really my parent's, but I got him so I like to think he is mine).

Here is the chunky nugget...

He is much bigger in person and even heavier when you try to pick him up.

I call him "dense"...my father calls him obese.

Either way, I have lost an entire one of him. Exciting? Very much so.

Even more riveting news is the fact that I have almost reached my BMI goal!

 I had to lose 25 pounds to put my BMI back to "normal."

 I don't really put a lot of stock in BMI's,

but considering I have gone from a 28.6 (precariously close to "obese"....yikes)

 to a 26.2 (1.2 points away from normal), I feel it is worth celebrating.

So twenty pounds in a year...I suppose it could have been more if

I had a little more self-discipline and a slightly less hectic and demanding schedule,

 but I will take a win when I see one and twenty pounds is most definitely a win to me.

I have to admit, this feels way better than I imagined it would. Motivation to lose the next 15 lbs has been signed, sealed, and delivered to my door step! Let's do this!

Also, I ate a large amount of Cadbury mini candy eggs today...in celebration of course.

A Wee Bit of Snot and My Birthday

Sorry for the title of this one, but Adele saying that last night on the Grammy's was one of the funniest things I have ever seen and since I have been a big ball of tears the past 24 hours, I could emphasize. Plus I needed a funny title.

So another birthday has come and gone and I am reminded once again how wonderful everyone in my life is.

A weekend spent with Jeff, my parents, brothers, cousins and future in-laws was exactly what the doctor prescribed for this worn out graduate student. Sometimes you need a refresher, otherwise I am pretty sure I would continue my day to day living without any inspiration at all.

How dreary, right?

But, luckily, I am surrounded by the most fabulous support system ever known to man.
Boy oh boy, I should never let myself forget that!

As I type this I am cuddled under my warm heated throw (thanks mom and dad!) thinking how I wish the weekend's were longer. That way Jeff would still be here, watching ESPN per usual, and we could be talking of our future house or something silly. Those are some of the best moments, aren't they? A whole day full of nothingness that means the world to me.

I am currently taking a break from my Aphasia studying to type this because my morning started early and went downhill so swfitly I didn't even have time to catch a breath before it went splat on the clinic floor into little sticky pieces.

Combine that with my tear fest from Jeff leaving yesterday and you make for one rough 24 hours.

But I felt like I need to type all the positive things that happened this weekend so I can get today into perspective. One bad morning (or one rude parent) isn't going to make or break me. I need to remember that.

But I will say, I ate 6 hot tamales to make myself feel better. Nothing like a whole lot of wasted calories and a sweet hot fire in your mouth to make your day go a little better.

Totally worth the 2 points!

But in other words, I am writing this as my own sort of therapy. My life is wonderful, it really is. A rough day doesn't diminish that, it really just confirms it and I am working on seeing that whenever the proverbial crap hits the fan.

Thank you to everyone who shared my birthday with me this weekend! Consider it your good deed for the week because those two short days are what makes getting through this week easier.

Love you all and have a Happy Monday!

OH! 6 pounds down...24 to go!!

Sweet Potato Fries and I Shut My Mouth....

A play on words with an Alabama song. Classic.

But seriously, sweet potato fries are devilishly delicious.

Should you be craving some in the Mid-South region, the following locations come highly recommended:

Young Avenue Deli

Kooky Kanucks

Tracks Bar and Grill

(If you know some other places, tell me!

My life goal is to eat them in every place available.

I am ambitious, I know.)

I usually dip them in honey mustard (divine!) but last night the owner of Kooky Kanucks encouraged me to dip them in honey. It was pretty good, but I'll be honest, I ended up dipping them in the honey first and then the honey mustard, thus creating double honey mustard.

Probably strange and very redundant, but I don't care.

If you are inquiring as to how many points sweet potato fries and double honey mustard must have accumulated...

STOP.

I don't want to know.

Saturday was my blow the points out of the water day...

as in the fattest kid at the pool doing a cannonball off the high dive blow out. 

It was awesome. But that is enough about that.

Moving on, my goal for running is to run 6 miles a week. I realize this is not a lot, heck, it is really nothing at all, but the school schedule begs to be in first place in my life at the moment and I am inclined to let it.

(You're welcome school.)

Also, before I say adieu, a significant event is occurring in my life this week....

I am getting a CAT!!!

 (oh, and turning 23 on Friday...womp womp).

I will have to keep you updated on this development, but I am super pumped about it (obviously).

Also exciting news? I see Jeff for the first time in a whole month on Friday.

I swear, it's as if my whole life is just getting happier and happier.

Hooray!

Have a fabulous Super Bowl Sunday!

(Admit it, you totally thought I wouldn't even mention the Super Bowl in this post.)

"The Titan's didn't make it to the Super Bowl?
 I iz so sad."

Jennifer Hudson Made Me Do It.

Weight Watchers. Two words that cost me $56.43.
Worth it? We are waiting to see.

Yes, I finally caved and went for a weight-loss program. While I hate to do it, it was time for me to take some accountability for my eating habits and nothing will motivate me to stick with eating healthy better than me spending money on it! I like to think I am frugal (my mother would disagree with that statement), but I really do hate spending money on something I won't use, so I have been diligently counting up protein, fiber, carbs and fats and entering them as if my life depends on it.

Recent developments? So far, so good. I have lost 5 pounds in three weeks and I am feeling pretty positive about it. It hasn't been overly difficult and I have felt really energetic since I have been eating healthier.

If you people could see the amount of fruit and vegetables I go through a week, you would be amazed. I ate a pound of grapes in three days. But hey, that pound of grapes use to be a bag of chips, so improvements are being made! My new addiction is clementines. They are like big fat Sweet tarts! I could eat 10 in one day if I didn't exert some self-control. Yum. Just talking about it makes me want one. I am pretty sure I have trained my body to crave one between every meal...and before bed....and when I wake up...quite the clementine predicament I have put myself in!

In other news, Jeff and I have set a tentative date, Look out May 24th 2013!
We just decided to throw in the towel and wait until both of us are done with this marathon we like to call an education.
But I cannot wait to be that man's wife and, even more so, get to see his face every day!
4.5 hours apart is just too darn far. I like 4.5 seconds away infinitely better.

And speaking of marathons, The Future Mom-in-Law, Sister-in-Law, and myself will be at the Music City Half Marathon this April (Special thanks to Ms. Julie!), so a little training has been attempted on my part.

My 12-14 hour days aren't quite conducive to regular gym hours and to be perfectly honest, my poor body isn't too capable of going the distance after a day of going full speed. But I do try to get a little 2 miler every now and then. If you see me around town huffing and puffing, ignore me. I like to think I am invisible. Ha.

However, I will say my grad school friends are great motivators! They are all thin little southern things, so seeing them everyday makes me remember why I am trying to be healthier and thinnish. Thanks ladies:)

I am going to attempt to keep up the blog this time! But no promises here, my treatment plans and neurogenic quizzes take precedence! Good night all and have a happy Thursday!

I might just walk myself downstairs and award myself a clementine for typing this today...positive reinforcement, right?

The Tale of My Gluteus Maximus and A Little Doughnut History.

At Blair and Stefanie's recommendation I did TWO ab dvd workouts on Monday. Was it hard? Yes. Did it hurt the next day? A little. Was it anything compared to "Sexy Summer Beach Body" on Comcast OnDemand? No!!

I thought I did pretty well with the abs which must have led to my getting a little overzealous when I got ready to do yesterdays workout. She had me doing so much I don't even know where to begin, but I can tell you how it ended, with my butt muscles hurting so much I can barely sit without cringing. I honestly think these muscles did not exist until yesterday. Throw in my aching thighs and knees and you basically have my whole lower body in critical care. Ouch. I know this is a good thing because I am tapping into muscles that previously must have been the size of a grain of rice but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

Today's mission, focus on the top half and let my lower half rest.

Weak Moment of the Day?
This morning I went to Doughnut Country. I only got me one chocolate iced doughnut and then (thinking I would be oh so nice and get my roommate some too) I order a dozen doughnut holes for Kristen. How nice of me right?

Guess what?
Kristen doesn't like doughnuts.

I know, I know, I think she is a freak of nature as well, especially since she puts ketchup on mac and cheese (ew.), but the point is now I have doughnut holes sitting in my kitchen. Untouched. I won't tell you how many I ate but I will assure you it wasn't all 12. Still, when I did the calorie count is was somewhere in the upper 500's. Yeah. It is painful to type.

Who created doughnuts one might ask themselves?
Who created such a wonderful piece of puffed up dough that melts in your mouth and has a bazillion calories?

Supposively Hanson Greggory did in 1847. His mom baked little cakes and he didn't like the middle of them, so he cut them out thus creating the doughnut. There are other theories, but they all involve Hanson and his mother.

I would consider Hanson and his mother my biggest love/hate relationship in my life to date.



Come on Maria Menounos, we both know you are going to eat half that doughnut than run for your life to the closest gym. If I had any sense I would have too.

Current Stats and Denise Austin

My current weight as of this morning was 165 lbs. For those of you who have been reading from the start, you know this is a 12 pound loss. I am really proud of myself for getting those first few pounds out of the way...but here comes the tricky part. The last 15-20 pounds. Ug.

But to be thinnish is to work hard and that is what my plan is for the summer.

I am off to Stefanie's to do a Denise Austin abs dvd. Six Pack. Check it.