January Goals

So we're a week into 2013 and I've barely had time to breathe - let alone blog - so please excuse the tardiness of this post. I started a new position at work and while it's been great, its also been exhausting. I know it doesn't help that I was sick with the plague/sinus/allergies almost the entire month of December and my body took a beating trying to recoup while still trying to function. Let's recap December goals to see how I did:

 

-Didn't do well on the workouts due to the plague.

-I got my fluids in but they weren't all clear.

-Budget is done & coming in a later post.

-I averaged 2 blogs a week - so close enough.

 

All in all not too shabby but I need to tighten the reins now that I'm feeling better! So this is what January's goal look like:

 

 

Track food daily - this one is pretty easy for me as long as I'm prepared with my meals and not winging it. Im on MyFitnessPal as ShoeVixen - feel free to add me!

 

More water - I think this will be my biggest struggle (again). I rearranged my fridge so where only liquids are on the top shelf (most easily accessible) and I've prefilled several to-go water bottles that I can just grab and drink. Im thinking for me that will be key - I found myself reaching for water yesterday and drank a whole bottle.

 

Finish C25K - This I'm confident I will do, I'll speak more on this in a later post but I've teamed up with Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans for a C25K program.

 

No coffee after 7 - I need to clarify  - no caffeinated coffee after 7p. The goal here is getting to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier.

 

Vitamins - I'm horrible about taking vitamins; even though they're right by the fridge I always forget so I took several large index cards and wrote TAKE YOUR DAMN VITAMINS in permanent marker and placed all over the house lol

 

 

 

What tips and tricks do you use? What do you feel is your biggest hurdle for staying on track?

 

 

 

Have a great week!

2012 Wrap-Up!

2012 is definitely one for the books. I've had so many life-enhancing experiences this year - my head is still spinning. I'm hoping 2013 will slow down for me just a bit (as it should since I'm more settled) so I can focus on my plot to take over the world. It's going to be epic! Epic I tell you!

 

Here's a little end of the year survey that I've doing the past few years, its a fun way to say adios!

 

 

Image courtesy of Google






 

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
I left the only place Ive ever called home and moved 1,000 miles away to Chicago

Photo by SleevedintheCity

 

  

2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions? Will you any for 2013?
I did actually, I told myself I was going to lose weight this year and I did. Im making my next years resolutions as we speak!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! A few people actually - I cant wait until I visit Texas to squeeze baby cheeks!

 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

 Not anyone close but I had some close friends lose people they loved.
 

5. What countries did you visit?

Does Missouri count? Then no.
 

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
A greater support system and more denero.

 

7. What dates in 2012 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
01/17/12 - Moved to Chicago
08/20/12 - VSG Surgery

 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Definitely taking the leap of faith to move so far away from home, it gave me the courage to make other leaps in my life!

 

9. What was your biggest failure?
I didn't have any failures in 2012. I had some learning experiences.

 

10. Did you suffer injury or illness?
I got sick twice, once in January and in December.

 

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Smaller underwear, 3 sizes smaller to be exact!

 

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
All the people who support and encourage me.

 

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
All the people who don't believe in themselves enough to make better choices.

 

14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills. Can I borrow $5?

 

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
So many things! Right now Im excited to be moving BACK to Texas next year!

 

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
Try by P!nk (seriously love her!)

Image courtesy of Rolling Stone

 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
a) happier b) thinner c) poorer

 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Seeing all the sights Chicago has to offer, I feel like Im on a time crunch now.

 

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Shopping!

 

20. How did you spend Christmas?

 I went to the movies and saw Django Unchained (awesome!) - took a nap.
 

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?
Only with myself =)

 

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Sons of Anarchy is still numero uno, but I recently got into Game of Thrones!

 

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
 I don't hate anyone. I just realize that boundaries are needed for some people.

 

24. What was the best book you read?
Hunger Games

 

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Kendrick Lamar

 

26. What did you want and get?
To pay my car off, last payment was this month! Woot!

 

27. What did you want and not get?
A new Keurig and a Wii. Im cheap.

 

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I saw quite a few good ones but Im going with Django Unchained & Skyfall. My favorite live performance was Freud's Last Session.

 

29. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 35 and my friend Amy surprised me with afternoon tea at the Drake Hotel!

Photo from SleevedintheCity

 

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had gotten to see my family in Texas for the holidays.

 

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Big and baggy! Im refusing to buy new clothes. I've got a twine belt and am wearing my pants until they fall off LOL

 

32. What kept you sane?
Coffee, blogging and remembering tomorrow is a new day.

 

33. What celebrity/public figure did you fancy most?
P!nk. She's not only extremely talented but she's fit, healthy, and strong. I'm obsessed!

 

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Lets just say my vote counted.

 

35. Who did you miss?
My papito.

 

36. Who is the best new person you met?
Ive met so many great people this year that its hard to choose just one.

 

37. What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012?
"Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to so with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim -- letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor." ~ C.R. Strahan

 

38. What was the best new blog you discovered this year?
Iowa Girl Eats and I also rediscovered And Then We Saved

 

39. Who inspired you the most in 2012?
Not to sound cocky, but I inspired myself. I saw so much strength and determination in myself this year; I know I can do anything I set my mind to.
 

40. What do you want to happen in 2013?
I want to move back to Texas, lose 80 more pounds, maybe go on a date, run an entire 5k.

 

 
Here's to a new year, a new you and new dreams! Happy 2013!

 

 

 

Friend Makin' Mondays: Fill in the Blanks

Merry Christmas Eve! I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for the holidays to be over and things get back to normal. I'm excited to be piloting a new program at work that starts right after the New Year so I'm sure that has something to do with my haste =)

 

 



If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

 

 

 

 

FILL in the BLANKS...

 

 

1. I want to.... make 2013 as successful and adventurous as 2012 has been!

 

2. I've never.... been skydiving but I'm going with a friend to do just that in October!

 

3. I believe.... everything happens for a reason.

 

4. My mind often wonders.... the most random things and all the time too. I have ADHD.

 

5. Last night I dreamed that.... I was in a battlefield with dragons. No more Game of Thrones before bed.

 

6. This morning for breakfast I ate.... waffles - a rarity for me.

 

7. My love life is.... non-existent but that's ok I'm purposely taking time off for myself.

 

8. I enjoy.... a great cup of coffee.

 

9. When I was a child I used to.... ride my dogs like horses.

 

10. When I'm in the kitchen I.... wash my hands a hundred times.

 

11. My favorite exercise is.... Zumba!

 

12. When I travel I.... make sure there's extra room in my suitcase for souvenirs!

 

13. My friends would tell you that I am.... funny and opinionated.

 

14. If I had to eat at a restaurant today I would choose.... Razzoo's Cajun Café - they have the BEST grilled jalapeno catfish!

 

15. My favorite.... time of the day is pup cuddling.

 

16. My home is.... hot as hell. My apartment is right next to the boiler room.

 

17. I read.... just about anything if I can learn something from it. I've just started Wuthering Heights.

 

18. The last movie I saw was.... Savages on Redbox. Going to see Django Unchained tomorrow!

 

19. Music makes me feel.... expressive, I love how music can often find the words I am unable to.

 

20. All I want for Christmas is.... a new Keurig! Mine went kaput.  

 

 

Well that's it for this weeks edition! Don't forget to link up! I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

 

 

Nescafe Memento Review

I love my coffee. I mean I really, really, really love my coffee. If I could drink coffee all day and throughout the night and I'd be a happy little camper. Luckily my employer provides free coffee throughout the day so it saves on my pocketbook but I'm still a Starbucks girl at heart and it kills me to pay $5 for a SF VSG friendly foo-foo drink. Even their coffee pricing is getting outrageous. So when I heard a bunch of hub-bub about this new Starbucks - replacing product on the market from Nestle called Memento, I decided to request a free sample from Nestle and see for myself.


Nestle says:

 “Try an expertly crafted café beverage from NESCAFÉ® MEMENTO™ and enjoy coffee house quality flavor and foam that lasts until the final sip. Made with real coffee, milk and sugar, three enticing flavors await! Caramel Latte is a perfect blend of buttery caramel flavor, smooth coffee and pillowy froth – heaven for your taste buds! Cappucino – a top layer of frothy foam leads to a smooth creamy coffee – you’ll be licking your lips down to the last sip. Mocha – rich chocolate flavor and smooth coffee combine to create a delightfully indulgent chocolate lover’s dream.”

 

 

Let me start out by saying I'm not a fan of this product. Take that for what its worth but here are the reasons why -  

 

 

When I first got my sample pack in the first thing I noticed was the size. These things are HUGE in comparison to other prepackaged coffee-hot chocolate-thingys Ive seen before. It's as big as my measuring cup! It immediately reminded me of the Maxwell House International House Café tins where you have to scoop half the tin in one cup to get any decent flavor.

 

So I decided to measure.

 

 

There's almost 1/4 cup of powder in one packet! And lets face it, almost 2 ounces of powdered coffee, sugar, cream, and whatever hydrodextromextro stuff they put in there cant be good on the stats right? 

 

But they're only 100 calories you say?

 

Yes they only have 100 calories.

 

Yep.

 

100 calories.

 

Pretty good, right?

 

Until you see that the 1/4 cup of hydrodextromextro powder comes with a whopping  18-19 carbs and 12-14 grams of sugar. Per cup. Not so great now, huh? Especially for our sleeved and bariatric friends where carbs and sugars are the mortal enemy.

 

But how does it taste you ask?

 

Like weak coffee watered down with skim milk. Blech. My sample pack came with 2 flavors, Cappuccino and Caramel Latté. I had to sweeten them both and the Caramel Latte still tasted so bad that I didn't even finish the cup. I even went from 10oz of water to 8oz on the second cup to see if that helped. Sad to say it made no difference. I know people are raving about this stuff but it was a total miss with me. I will give it this, they got the frothy part right.

 

 

 

 

Now you're saying its not supposed to be healthy, its supposed to be a cheaper alternative to Starbucks. Cheaper, yes...about $.54 a serving - even less if you have a coupon - a box retails for $4.29 and each box comes with 8 gigantic packets. And if you are getting the full-flavored lattes from Starbucks then yes these stats are much better. But if you're like me and get the SF/FF versions then its about the same and price would be the only real difference.

 

 

Now for those of you who like the Peppermint Mocha drinks, I've created a most awesome recipe for even a fraction of the SF version. How? Its easy, you just need the following:

 

Coffee

Swiss Miss DIET Hot Cocoa packet (NOT the Sugar Free kind)

Individual serving of half and half cream

Equal or sweetener of choice (optional)

SF Peppermint coffee syrup (I use Target's brand/$3.99 bottle)

 

Mix and drink. You can adjust the amount of hot cocoa/syrup depending on your personal taste but if you're like me and have a big super gallon coffee tumbler and use the whole pack you're under 60 calories, 5 carbs and 2 sugars. And the cost is around $.60 a serving (including the cost of the syrup).

 

So while this was a bust for me, it was a valiant effort from Nestle. But I'll stick with my homemade version and pop for the good stuff on occasion. After all, there's nothing better than a great cup of professionally crafted coffee.

 

 

Don't take my word for it, this is my opinion and yours could be different. Click here for a free sample and tell me what you think!