Celebrate YOU!

 

 Being single is awesome! Show yourself some love and celebrate the greatness that is YOU!

 

(Besides flowers die and candy goes to your hips)

 

 

My VDay mani -ignore my dry cuticles!!

 

Hope everyone has a great day!!

 

 

Friend Makin' Mondays: Persoal Quirks and Habits

Monday is here and a new work week begins - I don't know about you guys but I'm already counting down to Friday. I've got a long week ahead that's filled with work, stitches, and EGD's - I'll fill you all in later on those things. I will say my dermatologist is making a killing off me this month - hope she remembers my birthday.

 

So lets get to the fun stuff shall we?

 

If you've take part in FMM before then you know the routine. If you're new, simply take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at All The Weigh - encourage your readers to do the same and we can all connect!

 

 

Personal Quirks and Habits
1. Share one unique character trait that sets you apart from your friends. I'm pretty blunt and don't cut corners when sharing my thoughts and opinions.

2. List at least two pet peeves that always aggravate you. Laziness and uncleanliness (its the OCD!)

3. Is there a word or phrase that you say so regularly that people expect to hear it from you? However or you know what I'm saying/what I mean.

4. Are you a risk taker, or do you typically play it safe? I like to think of myself as a 'cautious thrillseeker' - I'll jump out of a plane but play it a little more cautious when it comes to everyday things - I'm an analyzer in that regard.

5. Describe your life as it was in high school. Are you the same person? Have you changed? High school was miserable - I've definitely changed!

6. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done that you’re glad you did? Packed up and moved to Chicago last year.

7. Do you ever talk to yourself? If so, share an example. All the time - "Shari - WTF are you doing - don't be a dumbass - get it together already"

8. Share something you did that unexpectedly helped shape your life. I had an accident at work about 10 years ago and it caused me to have back surgery & a permanent injury that will require lifelong care. It stopped my life as I knew it and made me reanalyze everything, my life turned around completely.

9. Do you follow a strict routine, or are you a free spirit? Are you somewhere in between? I'm in between if my OCD allows, if its in overdrive watch out!

10. Share something about yourself that you hope will inspire others. Would you believe I have a great story, one of perseverance and determination and a big insight as to why I am the way I am? Well I do but its kind of a long one so check back later and I'll update when Im not so tired and my eyes aren't closing as I type lol

Have a great week!

 

Julep Maven Free Polish Offer!

As most of you know I am a tad bit obsessed with nail polish. For those of you who don't know, well I'm a tad bit obsessed with nail polish. My personal collection is currently around 330 bottles, not counting clears and treatments. Some say I need an intervention, I say I need more polish.

Tomato, tomatoe.

Just a few of my favorites =)

I do have a few brand preferences but as long as I like the color I'll give it a try. One brand I'm happy with is Julep, I joined a while back at the suggestion of a friend and have been happy ever since. Julep is a monthly subscription box and unlike other similar programs, it is completely customizable and super easy to opt out of your monthly box if you don't like the choices or just don't have it in your budget that month. You also earn points on every purchase that can be used towards free product. In 2 months I accumulated enough points to get the February box for free!

 

February Maven Box

 

I got 3 polishes, the new Freedom top coat, an eyelash curler and a few chocolates. The colors this month are gorgeous and I'm VERY happy with the silver holo in my box - some holos just fall flat but even in my craptastic lighting you can see it clearly!

L-R Joan (raspberry/gold), Rebel (silver holo), Marion (teal shimmer)

The boxes are normally $19.99 a month but today (because I'm awesome!) I am giving you my personal referral link with a code for a FREE BOX. As in you pay zilch, nothing, nada. If you just sign up and never order another box after this one that's ok - there is no pressure with this and you can cancel anytime. I frequently opt out of boxes myself. And in case you are wondering - these colors are available and you can get them in your free box - I tested it out earlier myself.

 

 

Click on the link here: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/63929/

Take the 3 minute style profile and use code "FREEBOX" at checkout and your first box is free.

 

That's all it takes! Happy painting!

 

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for my review by Julep, Julep Maven, or its affiliates. This is a product and service that I personally participate in and wanted to share. All opinions are my own. While I am not compensated for my review, by using my personal referral link I do receive bonus points for each sign up - once you sign up you will have your own link too as it is part of the Julep Maven membership service.

Grilled Cheeseburger Wrap

I love a good hamburger but with all the bread and the typically large sizes they come in, they don't love me. I've been searching for tasty alternatives (tasty being the key word) and wasn't having much luck when I stumbled upon this gem. The original recipe can be found here - this knocked my burger craving out of the park. I'm now on Day 3 of leftovers and this girl doesn't do Day 3 leftovers, ok?

 

 

Calories: 329  |  Protein: 32  |  Carbs: 21   |  Fat: 15

Serves: 5  |  Serving size: 1 wrap filled with 1/2 cup beef, 1 slice cheese, lettuce, tomato slices, ketchup, and mustard.

 

 

You'll need -  

 

1 pound ground beef (I used 96/4)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon grated parmesan

1 teaspoon dried onion flakes (I used real onion)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 100 calorie wraps (I use Flatout Wraps)

5 slices sharp american cheese (I used low-fat American)

2 roma tomatoes, sliced

1 cup of romaine lettuce (I used iceberg)

Additional ketchup (optional)

Mustard (optional)

 

**You can easily customize this any way you want; I omitted the tomatoes and added bread and butter pickle slices to mine. Just be sure to scale down the other ingredients so your wrap doesn't overflow and break.

 

 

Then you'll -

 

In a medium to large skillet coated with cooking spray cook the beef on medium till almost cooked through but still a little pink (about 7-10 minutes). Break beef up as it cooks.

 

Add Worcestershire, ketchup, grated parmesan, dried onion flakes, salt, and pepper to the beef. Mix together until thoroughly combined.

 

Continue cooking until beef is cooked all the way through and is no longer pink.

 

Turn on indoor grill to 350 or you can also use a grill plan.

 

In the center of  the wrap place a slice of cheese and 1/2 cup of the beef mixture. Add tomato and lettuce. Then if you are using , and I highly recommend you do, add some ketchup and mustard. **I second this recommendation!

 

Roll the wrap and place seam side down on grill. Once there are nice grill marks turn over. Grill for another 2-3 minutes then remove.

 

Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the rest of the wraps.

 

 

Happy Cooking!

 



Faux Cookie Dough

A few weeks ago I posted the recipe for Weight Watchers Faux Cheesecake - Im so seriously in love with this stuff that not only do I eat several times a week but Ive also gone wild making different versions of it in my kitchen. I figure since 25,000 (CRAZY!) of you like the original recipe then you'll like my newest creation as well! I've seen a few versions of it on the net but I tweaked it to make it VSG & WW friendly. It had been taste-tested and co-worker approved!

 

Calories: 198  |  Protein: 18  |  Carbs: 21   |  Fat: 1

Makes 1 serving

 

 

You'll need -

 

1-5.3oz container plain, nonfat Greek Yogurt (I used Oikos)

1 tbsp.  Bell Plantation powdered peanut butter (PB2)

1 tbsp. Sugar Free Jell-O dry mix, vanilla

1 tbsp.  No Calorie Sweeter (I used Nevella & can be adjusted to taste)*

1 tbsp. mini chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 

*If you don't like artificial sweeteners you can replace with brown sugar just make sure to recalculate the calories/points

 

 

Then you'll -

 

I find it easiest to mix one dry ingredient into the yogurt at a time, this prevents clumping. Start with the PB2, follow with the Jell-O dry mix, and add the sweetener (again, adjust to taste). Once you have the base completed add and mix the vanilla and lastly repeat with the chocolate chips.

 

 

 

(The picture isn't pretty but you get the idea - I may have gotten carried away and ate my sample and don't have a close-up pretty blog picture for you guys)

 

Happy Cooking!

February Goals

Before I get into February's goals, I want to quickly review January and give you guys some updates. I'm sure the first thing you noticed about visiting SITC today was the font. I posted a survey last week and one of the questions was "How did you like the cursive font?" - a 100% of you said you liked it but it was hard to read so I changed it and Im hoping everyone can enjoy the posts more! You also said you wanted me to share more goals, do a Week In Review, and to see vlogs. And recipes, more recipes - which is perfect because Im cooking all over the place these days! A big thank you to everyone who took the survey, if it wasn't for you reading then I wouldn't be writing.

 

 

 

I won Roni's DietBet and pretty much doubled my money! I lost a total of 12.4 lbs! I ended up really liking DietBet and will definitely participate in the future! Congrats to everyone who participated!

 

Let's review January's goals:

 

 

- started great, then bombed

- started great, ended kind of weak

- still in the program as its 8 weeks (oops!)

- did pretty well with this one!

- started great, then bombed

 

See a pattern? I do. I really have to get out of this "all or nothing" mentality. I start out great and then after a day or two of missing the goal I think its all messed up and instead of picking myself up and getting back on track I just let it go. This is no bueno but they say practice makes perfect so here goes February:

 

 

 

 

Exercise 3x week - Im doing well with my C25K program but it will soon be over and its time to really buckle down and incorporate strength training and toning. Its time to create a routine.

 

Take vitamins - Im going to get this one down damnit!

 

More water - goal is to consume 24oz daily and increase month after month.

 

Track food - I'm in a "I don't wanna" phase with this one right now. I may not wanna but Im gonna!

 

Socialize on Twitter - Over the 6 months or so I've really fallen off the Twitter wagon, I love giving and receiving encouragement and keeping contact with so many great people!

 

 

What are your goals for this month?

 

 

Happy Super Bowl! Go 49ers!!!