White Mountain Getaway

So I’ve been neglecting my blog lately, I’m sorry I’ve been busy!!  I’ve also been neglecting Red lately :\  So this past weekend the hubby and I went to North Conway on a lil romantic getaway.  It was beautiful!  We stayed at this very quaint little B&B.  I’ve never stayed at a B&B before, but this was an amazing experience!  Light Asian décor, soft quiet music wafting thru the main rooms, a stream running by the back breakfast deck.  Hammocks by the stream, herb gardens, deep colors and wonderful hosts!  I just can’t say enough wonderful things about this Inn!  Riverbend Inn is a must for anyone going to the North Conway area!  Now we did have a little bit of bad luck in the way that kangamangus hwy. was shut down due to Irene spinning thru…dang hurricanes!  And Mount Washington had so many clouds on top we were told it wasn’t worth paying to go to the top of the mountain.  However the other mountains in area were simply spectacular!  Now, I must tell you about our complimentary breakfast, but to do that I must compliment the chefs!  Poached plum in yogurt with granola, fregula, blackberry rhubarb streusel, eggs Florentine, French toast with peach slices. It was AMAZING!!!! 

So now you can all see why I’ve steered clear of Red lately.  I think I’ll pay him a visit later this week after I’ve had a chance to work off the lbs I may have put on. Yuck.  Don’t worry though; I’ll get back on track!  Until next time…..

Puddin' Cups

So your craving chocolate, and to make it even worse your grocery shopping!  This is like a horror movie!  All eyes are on your basket, “what will she put in her basket” (I told you people watched what you put in there!)  You’re trying not to look at the candy bars, the chocolate syrup, the hot chocolate, the chocolaty cereal, and the COOKIEEEEEEESSSSSSS.  Let’s face it, we all have an inner cookie monster in us, and if you deny it, you’re lying.  But wait, you still haven’t gotten past the ice cream isle!  You’re not in the clear yet!  So my mom asked me, “Nikky, what can I eat that is chocolate that won’t be terribly bad for me?”  My first thought...well all the experts agree chocolate is good for you!  I mean right?!  Yea, Okay, I HEAR YOU RED!  In proper portions, doesn’t Red get on your nerves?  So I bit my cheek and I said, “Pudding cups.”  Here’s my reason, they are pre-packed, so you can eat one and get the desire out of your system, plus, when your done, there isn’t a gazillion other cookies or a whole pan of brownies still staring you down, “eat me eat me eat me!”  Your liking how I think right?

So MY battle of the grocery store will start tonight while I’m trying to decide on meals, and budgets, and then the shopping.  The problem I face EVERY WEEK is that all the junky crap is 1. Easier   2. Cheaper. Why would anyone in their right mind want to buy all the healthy stuff when it’s not as convenient and its more expensive!  Tsk Tsk.   I do of course know the answer, it’s better for you silly!  And truth be told, it does make you feel better too!  Just like exercising (yuck) releases endorphins that make you feel good when you’re done, I think salad does something like that too.  I have found that if I have a salad instead of a burger for example, I am more likely going to feel like going for a walk, weird?   

I have found that home-made croutons make eating salad more enjoyable!  Save your bread crusts and any rolls or breads, I store mine in the freezer, then when you’re ready take them out and let them thaw, cube them, put them in a large bowl and drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Mix it up well so they are nice and coated, then sprinkle on your favorite spices, anything goes!  Mix well. Spread out on baking sheet, and bake at 350 for maybe 20 minutes!  Store in gallon bags, and serve on top of any salad!  Also fun to munch on for a snack!

Tonight I’m going to raise my spoon to pudding cups and croutons!  Hold the salad please!  J   

Maxine on weight...I couldn't agree more!

Red the scale

I must tell you about Red.  Red is my weight scale, we have a love-hate relationship; I hate red when the red spinner goes up on weight, and Red hates me for stepping on him.  He stares at me each morning and I can hear him “dear God, please don’t let her step on me…..AHHHHHH GET OFFFFFF ME!!!!”  Red is a jerk, shouldn’t our weight scales be loving towards us?  It’s like a lie detector test.  You know that bag of cookies you ate last night and you thought no one ever has to know…And then Red shows up and all he says is, “I don’t make this stuff up, you shouldn’t have ate those cookies, and just to teach you a lesson…I’m going to put 3 pounds on you! Mwhahahaha”  Stupid Red.  But then, there are those days when I know I’ve been AH-MAZING, I step on Red and I’m like “yeaaa, in your face Red”  those are the days that red spinner takes weight off of me!  Thankfully, those days happen more and more often lately. 
So with all the weight I’ve been losing, and goals I’ve set for myself, I’ve recently discovered BMI charts. Can I just say GROSS!  Who are those things made for? I mean really!  My goal is to reach 150!  Do you know that for a 5ft woman, 150 lbs is still considered overweight?  I think that is insane!  First off on average how many women my height really weigh between 97 and 123 lbs?  Really?  It pisses me off that when I finally reach my goal weight, I’m still going to be considered unhealthy, are you kidding me!  This is my solution to the BMI charts, ignore them, they lie, unlike Red, Red doesn’t lie to me.
So you ask what exactly are you doing to please Red?  Let me tell you!  I have discovered Kayaking!  Simply put, kayaking is best thing ever!!!  Some friends of my husband and I invited us to go on a kayaking/camping trip.  I was scared.  First I thought, I’ll sink the damn kayak, Second, I can’t swim, Third, what will everyone think of the fat girl…wait a minute!  I don’t care what they think!  So I really only had two problems.  The swimming issue was easily solved by wearing a life jacket.  The other took a little more time.  I found kayaks can hold quite a bit of weight, you can even get special ones that carry a lot of extra weight.  Now when I first started this kayaking thing, I never would have thought it would help me lose so much weight, I mean you’re just sitting there right? WRONG! In a 2 day trip I lost 6 lbs.  If that isn’t a testament, I don’t know what is.  Let’s just say Monday morning, Red was able to breathe a little bit easier!!

So I’m going to sign off raising my glass (don’t worry its only water) to Red breathing easier!

Ta-Dah! It's me!

I’m 27, married, (to a crazy amazing guy) newly developed kayaking junky, and I’m fat.  WHOA!!!  Did you read that?!  I said I’m fat. And I’m not talking about fat like those skinny girls that say “oh I’m so fat” nope, I’m 5 ft. and 207 lbs.  INSANE!  Here’s the thing, I’ve come to terms with my weight, is it healthy, no way!  But for the moment am I better for it, absolutely!    I started gaining weight in 2003, I topped the scales at 240 lbs. Oh the self loathing, and hate, and embarrassment!  I was literally scared to go into a grocery store or convenient store to buy ANYTHING!  I wanted to go on a diet, but if I went to go shopping I felt like people were looking in my basket at the veggies and healthy stuff and going “yea right”  and if I was buying ice cream, breads and cookies…OH MY WORD, “no wonder she is fat!”  But then I started to realize something, I’m one freaking hilarious chick!  I learned this doing customer service for a company I worked for, no one can see you on the phone, they just judge you by the way you talk, and boy did I have them rolling!  I’ve learned to embrace humor, I’ve also learned that if someone doesn’t like me because of my size, I’ll sit on them…no wait…just kidding!  I don’t care; I am comfortable with my personality and who I am. I’ve learned to love me for who I am not what I am.

With all this being said, I’m not condoning a lifestyle of eating unhealthy and being overweight.  It’s important to take care of your body…yes this is going to be another one of those blogs about someone’s journey to getting healthy. Hopefully my journey will keep you laughing though!  Like right now, I totally have a dump cake in the oven, wait, I mean veggies?  Haha.  The thing is I always thought skinny people liked doing all the healthy stuff, and I thought, what the hell is wrong with me?! Why can’t I like that stuff?!  Truth is…they don’t, they are just like you and me!  So let’s get started on this journey, how about for the first part I’ll sit in the wagon and you pull me though  ;)