Yum!

Week one, done. Still feel a bit sluggish at times, but I have no doubt that it's due to the fact that I still love my soda....sigh. Trying to convert to more diluted juice and get rid of the refined sugar. On the bright side, I have discovered the wonders of healthy snacking to keep me going. Give me some "Mountain Rise" granola, celery and peanut butter, or "Mary's Gone Crackers" any day. No need for junk anymore. Ok, well maybe some organic chocolate here and there. In my quest for going all vegetarian, I have only had fish twice since the new year. Once was going out to eat, and the other was leftover. I even noticed the difference! Crazy! But I digress. The health quest continues!

New Year - No resolutions, only improvements!

So far this weekend I have managed to do the following:
Stick to my commitment to go vegetarian/vegan
Shop well at the store - no junk!
Get crafting! (See Ok Millie)
Clean and straighten a little (finished the library project! Finally!)
Prep for the week of work.
Tons of goals for this new year - and I have hit the ground running!
Still have to wean myself off the soda, but heck, I am down to one can a day!
Well, on to the next goal - getting to bed at a reasonable hour.
Nite!

Easy changing!

I have gone two days without pepsi. I still crave it - especially when I watch NCIS. (Caff-Pow!)
But other changes are coming along nicely. I actually look at ingredients to make sure what I am buying doesn't contain HFCS or any animal ingredients (sigh, so long Stove Top - has both!)
But I always find tons of new items that make the vegetarian transition easier! Sunsational sunflower seed milk is awesome - as is the Silk Nog!
Am I going vegan? Not yet, but when I find things that help replace animal stuff and make life a little easier on the cows, well that makes me happy. Even though I only eat/drink organic dairy when I have it, every little bit counts.
I think thats about it - off for the night - and to my homemade apple crisp!

It's a blah day-but I can put some pixie dust in

Yeah, it's one of those days. I just feel like I'm in a rut. Perhaps if I just do a bunch of creative stuff tonight it will get better. I want to get a couple craft projects going to upload to etsy tomorrow. I also want to get some writing and research done. Three hours til I get home. Then let the fun begin!

Motivation

All today at work I have been so motivated! Well not for work here, more crafting at home, but I digress. I can only hope I can keep this wave of motivation going through dinner and get a bunch of stuff done this evening! Keep moving forward!!! :)

It's a brand new day

Wow!!!! I crafted and I shall continue today. Started an excel spreadsheet to track expenses and income. I believe most everything is getting going. In the words of Winston Zedemore "we have the tools, we have the talent". Oh yeah about that meat eating business - I have since stopped and realized its just not good. It was a momentary weakness and I now remember the many reasons I stopped. Moving forward!

Oh the fun

So I went backwards a bit - and had a little bit of chicken in my sandwich. And yes, today I had a ton of vegetarian remorse for that.
But tonight I will be moving forward in two ways - vegetarian panini - homemade, and getting some things ready to craft tomorrow! Etsy here I come!
I also plan to get some more clutter clearing done tonight and tomorrow- love this kick of cleaning - some days it isn't as strong - but I keep plugging nonetheless! Yay!

Delutter = Destress

Whoa! More decluttering everywhere I go - and more to be done it seems! I love the feeling after getting things organized, even if I realize there is more to be done! I just want to tackle the coffee table and secretary desk - those are like weekly things - and then I am set for the day. After that its....drumroll please - crafting time! I have finally set up my etsy account and I need to get down to business! Lots of seriously great ideas - just need to get going on them! Well enough typing for now - there's cleaning to be done!

My Ode to the Bean Burrito

In my quest to go vegetarian - I have found what could be labeled as my go-to fast snack/meal. It is the bean burrito.

Bean Burrito, you are so easy to make.
I whip up some refried beans, with added garlic seasoning to taste.
All I add is guacamole and sour cream, wrapped up in a tortilla.
In less than five minutes, I have something healthy and yummy!
Bean Burrito, you fill me up without making me feel icky.
My belly reacts happily after my burritos.
You taste amazing and are easily changed up.
Sometimes I even get crazy and add tomatoes -fresh chopped.
So thank you, Bean Burrito. You are my new best friend.

Weekend of Awesome

Oh it was a wonderful weekend! Chip and I spend Saturday just being together and relaxing and having a great time. We went to Cracker Barrell for lunch and I found myself reading even the candy labels - that whole vegetarian thing. Sure, it was hard to resist the gummies, but I did find some other tempting treats - don't worry.
Today was UU Church with the water ceremony and the annual picnic. Now that was tons of fun! The food was amazing, and Chip's pasta salad was a hit! Our scavenger hunt team did wonderful - I even found a thistle! (pretty sure the first one I have ever found - thanks Mother Nature for helping us out!) We met a lot of wonderful people - and I am sure we will be seeing them a lot more!
But the weekend is slipping away - sigh, but tomorrow brings another day of doing fun things. Hopefully some creative things tomorrow!

Whirlwind!

Today I decided to tackle the clutter around the house. And tackle I did!
Moved around some magazines, did a bunch of laundry and dishes that piled up over the weekend (picnic at the house). I also went through all the junk mail, catalogs and miscellaneous mailings in the downstairs enough to recycle, shred and file the important stuff. The mega task was the ominous seven plastic sterilite drawers that continuously block my scrap area. Four are empty with contents put in better places. One has miscellaneous arts and craft supplies, but located under a table in stealth. The other two that remained are now in the basement with miscellaneous yet organized school supplies that need not occupy space in the upstairs. I still have much more to go - but I am loving this organizational kick. Last week I tackled parts of the bedroom - and that still needs more work too. But these dents are very visible. Can't wait to see the finished product. Goal date - mainly end of the week - I want to get some serious crafting done on the long weekend! :)

Overhaul

What an overhaul weekend. Finally committed to eating healthy and vegetarian - and I haven't really had any breaks (ok the pepsi on saturday was bad- but the vegetarian thing has been working for over a month now!)
I am also in the process of overhauling the house. Nothing crazy - just trying to make the space less cluttered and more welcoming. And workable. I have a fantastic space for crafting that rarely gets used. Bah.
To finish up, here are my wonderful random things of the weekend -
Bearitos refried beans, organic curried cashews, and local organic-multi-colored cherry tomatoes!

Moving right along

It was a stressful day. I even drank a pepsi. Yuck. However, I'm not tired yet, and I decided it would be a good night to devote to some writing - maybe book one or two - not sure, maybe both. I need to keep moving forward if I ever want to break out. I feel like I have hit the rut again - but the prospect of going to Florida in about a month makes it a little better. I have to get some outlines going for book research that month too. Thats about it for now - hopefully tomorrow I will write even more. Note to self - set up writing area on the front porch.

Haven't changed in a while....

Ok, so I got off track and started eating not-so-wonderful things again. My motivation has returned - it is the call of vacation and the promise of bikini weather.
I have decided to break out the super healthy diet - including mostly water to drink (occasional iced tea and milk in cereal and stuff) and getting rid of soda and junk that has crept into my diet. I took a break from derby because life got hectic. Chip needs to work on his wellness, as do I. We shall conquer together and get healthy together. Yay!

My stomach has ceased the assault

Feeling better today. Perhaps some sort of fiber overload, as my system is not super accustomed to the whole vegetarian business yet. But I digress..
Finances are actually coming along a little better than I expected. Sure, I am trying to figure out the next few months, but it will come along. And school is finally DONE, which means I can actually focus on reading and catching up on all of the wonderful things I have missed over the past almost seven years. Like reading lots and lots, watching some good tv and movies, gardening, etc. The list goes on. On that note, I made a stack of books that I have neglected and will finish them within the week. Yay!
On to a somewhat healthy evening snack and perhaps a little straightening.

What the?

Seriously...I ate healthy food today and somehow I feel yicky. Like my tummy hurts a lot yicky! Hmmm...what did I eat yesterday? A couple healthy snacks, good breakfast, salad for dinner.....nothing too crazy at all! Is this some kind of weird detox prank? Ah well. I will take it if it means that I will eventually feel better and have less of these shenanigans. After the belly calms for a bit, I will probably hike to the kitchen and make a light snack to further the calming.

Almost there......stay on target

Final draft has been submitted....almost done. Just in time for the #PG 1Wk challenge. One week of excercise, super healthy eating and meditation. I am soo ready for this - and I have goals like crazy!
I'm gonna clean, and garden like there's no tomorrow. I want this place to be a true reflection of me, and not just a jumbled mess.
Now that one hurdle is almost complete, I have to focus on my dreams. Keep moving forward.

Live and learn

Ok fine. I deviated from my healthiness for a day of pizza, microwave popcorn and soda made with the mother of all bad stuff (you know what I mean). I paid for it with one of the worst bellyaches in quite some time, possibly in years. You get to a point where you feel so good from eating the good stuff that you feel invincible. I was at that point. What the heck, I said. Just a little won't hurt. Sure did. Ok healthy food gods. I get it. If I want pizza and popcorn I will make it for reals, and not the junk way. And soda is slowly on the way out - but I still love my old fashioned stuff.

War on Junk

Oh I was good this weekend. We went shopping and bought most all healthy foods. I also cleaned out part of the kitchen and rid ourselves of anything that could be constituted as junk. I tried out Earth Balance buttery spread and it was suprisingly yummy! (again, no guilt with butter..well less than regular anyways). We also tried these kale chip things.....OMG! Delicious! I want lots and lots of them. It's amazing how many cool healthy foods and snacks are out there! Still looking for more...but right now the kitchen and dinner calls!

Merrily on my way to nowhere in particular~

I am working on the serious business of budgeting, trying to whittle down the bills and finishing schoolwork so I can graduate on time. Great. But the wheels in my head have been cranking away -and I have like ten or more plans of things I would want to do. And it doesn't seem to all mesh together. Hmmm.... But I will be consulting with two trusted friends to see how to make it all work. Will there be some sacrifices? Most likely. Will I have to give up some things in the short term to make the long term goals happen? Yeah. But I am convinced it will all be worth it. My first goal is to go through my house and organize. Yes, just that. If I know where things are, and everything is readily available that I need -things will run a little more smooth. Pics to be posted whenever this is done. :) For this week -it's all cleaning and research. Let the fun begin!